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In the early 1990s, Sean Michael Waltman – then known as the 1-2-3 Kid – made headlines with arguably one of the biggest upsets in professional wrestling.
On an episode of WWE's Monday Night Raw in 1993, aged just 21, he fought, and beat the legendary Razor Ramon in a moment nobody saw coming.
But fast forward a decade, and the downfall of the now-49-year-old is also something nobody, not even he, saw taking place.
Reported drug abuse, an up-and-down relationship with a fellow WWE star and even the release of a sex tape would all follow.
Waltman was a mainstay through the early 90s until around 1996.
He had wrestled the legendary Bret Hart for the WWE Championship less than a year after his underdog victory, and even held the company's tag team titles for just one day, teaming with Bob Holly to defeat Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka at the 1995 Royal Rumble event.
They would lose the next night to the Smoking Gunns – Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn – on Raw, however.
Over the next year or so, they would join the famed Million Dollar Corporation, but left the company in May 1996.
He lost an oddly-named Crybaby match to his former nemesis Razor Ramon at the In Your House 6 show, and lost his final match on May 20 against Savio Vega.
By this time, apparent drug issues had surfaced, and he was already in rehab by the time his final match aired – it took place at a time when Monday Night Raw was taped in advance.
Waltman's own childhood was self-described as “troubled”, and has often told of how he was “unsupervised from the age of five”.
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Having left the WWE in May 1996, he made a surprise appearance at a live episode of rival company World Championship Wrestling's Nitro show, revealed as a member of the infamous NWO group.
However, his two-year stint with the company was marred by injuries and drug abuse.
Former boss Eric Bischoff had said in recent years that while Sean was “lucky to have a job”, he was a “competent” performer when sober.
He also said that the sober moments were “few and far between”, and was fired by Bischoff while on injury leave.
Having returned to WWE in 1998, he would join the group D-Generation X as X-Pac, form his own X-Factor group, and return to the now-WWE owned NWO group.
After his second stint with WWE ended in 2002, X-Pac began dating Joanie Laurer – better known as former Intercontinental Champion Chyna.
The pair were engaged twice – although possibly more times were rumoured but never confirmed – and it was said that the relationship was fraught with issues from the start.
Chyna had formerly dated legendary wrestler, and Waltman's fellow D-generation X member Triple H.
Waltman recalled telling Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, about him dating Chyna.
He told the Steve Austin podcast “I had a breakup right before I saw her.
“So I was kind of down, and she was there, scooped me up and things just happened, man.
“I just remember Hunter texting to me like, 'Hey man, what kind of psycho shooting are you getting yourself into now?”
“He wasn’t mad, he was just worried because he had his experiences with her.
“I don’t want to get too much into it, but yeah he was just going by what was his experiences."
Chyna and Sean released a sex tape in 2004, called 1 Night in China, a play on Paris Hilton's tape.
Released via Red Light District Video, it was named Best Selling Title of the Year in 2006 by the Adult Video Network.
However, the decision would see Chyna effectively barred from WWE, making no more appearances for the company before being found dead at her home in April 2016.
Shortly after her death, Sean recalled the last time he saw her.
Speaking to the Tomorrow Show he said: “I left her with the people (at rehab).
“There was nothing I could do – I was messed up, too, and I wanted her to get better.
“I couldn't make that happen.
“In the end, she wouldn't even take a booking if I was in the same building.”
In one of her last interviews, Chyna did claim that the 2004 film was released without her consent, something Waltman has denied.
Now aged 49, Sean has put his life back together, and made a wrestling comeback last month, making a surprise appearance at the Game Changer Wrestling event.
He was inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame twice, in 2019 with DX and 2021 with the NWO, and had pitched for an appearance at WWE's Royal Rumble event earlier this year, but it never happened.
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, he now claims to have resolved “a lot of my health issues”.
He said: “I’ve worked on my body and got a lot of my health issues resolved. My right knee struggled for years, but it’s feeling great now.
“I’m motivated, I’m happy, and I’m hungry – this is holistic.
“It’s more than just having my body in good shape again – I’m clear-headed.
“This is a chance to play a few songs off the new album.
“There is a lot I want to prove to people that have believed in me for a long time."
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