O'Haire returns to WWE with win on HEAT
By: Seth Mates
Source: wwe.com

It was just about one year ago that Sean O’Haire and Chuck Palumbo made their debuts on World Wrestling Entertainment programming. At the time, they were WCW Tag Team Champions. They first made their presence felt on an episode of SmackDown! from Madison Square Garden, attacking the Dudley Boyz and Hardy Boyz. Little did O’Haire and Palumbo know that the entire WWE roster was waiting in the wings to put a beat down on them, culminating in the APA putting them through tables in one of the most memorable WWE moments of last summer.

Fast forward a year. Palumbo is now simply known as “Chuck,” one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, with Billy. And after eight months with Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), O’Haire, 29, has finally returned to the big dance, as he pinned Justin Credible on Sunday Night HEAT.

“I’m 110 percent better, wrestling-wise, fighting-wise – it was like going to a hardcore camp for eight months where you do nothing but fight, train, eat and breathe,” O’Haire told WWE.com.

O’Haire has an extensive athletic past. A third-degree black belt in karate, he also has experience in boxing and kickboxing. He put together a tape of his athletic acumen and sent it to former WWE Superstar Paul Orndorff, who ran the WCW Power Plant wrestling school.

“I showed him the tape and he hired me right away,” O’Haire said.

O’Haire trained with WWE Superstars Johnny Stamboli, Palumbo, as well as developmental athletes Mike Sanders and Mark Jindrak under trainers Orndorff, Mike Graham, and Sgt. DeWayne Bruce.

O’Haire says he considers Orndorff a mentor. He also cites Kevin Nash, Jim Cornette and Danny Davis as some of his role models in the business. “I ask those guys everything now,” O’Haire said.

At 6-foot-5, 280 pounds, O’Haire dominates his opponents with raw power. But O’Haire’s repetoire also includes a number of high-flying maneuvers, including a top-tope standing backflip and a variation of the senton bomb, which he calls the “Seanton Bomb.”

“People told me I couldn’t do it, and it pissed me off, so I did it,” he said. “I like the rush. I like to be able to do it. I think I should be able to do anything, whether I’m big or small. If I put my mind to it, I can do anything I want. And that’s what I’m here for.”

A three-time WCW Tag Team Champion, O’Haire says his time in OVW was crucial to his development as a sports-entertainer.

“OVW got me so pumped, but I need to take a step up and learn more from the more seasoned veterans, who I respect very much,” he said. “I need to pick their brains now, more so than I was before. It’s like going from elementary school to college – I had to get back to high school first.”

He says that as much as he enjoyed his run in WCW, he’s now more well-rounded than ever.

“Back then, I got to do whatever I wanted, and I liked it,” he said. “I got to do all my gymnastics and martial arts. Here I don’t have to do that as much. I don’t have to fly off the ropes as much as I did there. I haven’t changed my style totally, but I’ve learned more ground fighting and in-ring technique, more than just jumping off the ropes and flying around.”

What can we expect this time around from O’Haire?

“Just vicious fury,” he said. “Vicious, psychotic fury. I’m back and I’m pissed.”