The Maturation of Sean O'Haire
By: Dan Murphy
Source: Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine September 2002

A Step Backward Moves Him Closer To WWF Glory

    For A Man of Sean O'Haire's intensity and pride, a demotion to Ohio Valley Wrestling must have sounded like a condemnation to purgatory.

    By the time the WWF acquired WCW in March 2001, O'Haire had already won three WCW tag titles with two different partners.   He had both teamed and feuded with Kevin Nash and had surprising success against the five-time world champion.  With less than two years experience on his resume, O'Haire had become a darling of the wrestling press and earned glowing reviews; he was a 6'6'', 280-pounder who could fly like a cruiserweight.  With his massive frame, mop of unruly hair, and long goatee, O'Haire had a fresh, unusual look and a natural charisma.

    He was a little more experience and the right push away from becoming the next WWF superstar.

    But it hasn't worked out that way yet.

    O'Haire was brought in for the WCW invasion storyline.  After a handful of unmemorable matches (including a lopsided loss-with Chuck Palumbo-to The Acolytes at the Invasion pay-per-view), he was quietly reassigned to OVW, a WWF developmental territory.

    O'Haire was going from 20,000-seat arenas- to the very cozy confines of OVW's tiny Davis Arena, from national pay-per-views to a weekly program aired on the Louisville area's WB network.  For the first time in his brief career, someone was telling O'Haire he wasn't quite ready for the big leagues.  He still had work to do, and he was going to do it in OVW.

    "It was sort of hard, to be honest," O'Haire said when asked about making the transition to OVW.  He is speaking slowly, deliberately.  O'Haire has earned a reputation as a man who isn't afraid to speak his mind.  That particular trait has earned him his share of enemies-particularly among those who still resent the push he received in WCW before he ever "paid his dues"-but it has also earned him respect.  Brutal honesty is a rare thing in the world of pro wrestling, and that makes some people appreciate O'Haire's candor all the more.  As he speaks, he is carefully choosing his words, answering the question honestly, but tactfully.  It's just one example of how O'Haire has matured during the past year.

    "Being sent to OVW put me in my place," he said.  "It also gave me a chance to slow down and have fun with the sport.  Before, in WCW, I was under so much stress.  I went from the Power Plant straight to matches on Nitro.  Here in OVW, I was able to calm down a little."

    He's also been able to refine his wrestling skills and develop more of a character.  After arriving in OVW, O'Haire was hired as the head of security for Bolin Services, the heel stable headed by Kenny "The King" Bolin.  The move was made at the request of now-OVW champion Prototype, who claimed the former head of security, the rotund Mr. Black, was more of a liability than an asset outside the ring.  The arrangement worked out well for Prototype, who upset Leviathan to win the OVW title a short time later, but O'Haire and Black have been unable to co-exist, and a rift has developed in Bolin Services.

    In his new capacity as an enforcer for the arrogant Prototype, O'Haire has an explosive temper.  Even when he stands silently at Prototype's side, O'Haire glowers, he paces, he looks over his shoulder-he's like a hungry tiger just waiting to tear into whatever prey might venture into his line of vision.  In a business in which personality is perhaps the most essential job requirement, O'Haire has become one of OVW's most entertaining characters.

    "The Sean O'Haire you saw in WCW was my true personality," O'Haire said, his words starting to flow a bit more freely.   "Here, I've had a chance to loosen up."

    As a director of security, O'Haire has placed more emphasis on power moves,  His breathtaking Seanton bomb is rarely used these days.  He also pays more attention to cutting the ring off in tag matches and concentrating on one body part and wearing it down.  Instead of using every movie in his arsenal in every match, he has learned to simplify his offense, and he's become a more versatile wrestler because of it.

    "In WCW, I worked like a small guy, using a lot of high-flying moves, because that's what I thought I had to do," O'Haire said.  "Now I've learned to take advantage of my size and strength.  I'm wrestling the way a 280-pound man should wrestle."

    As the conversation shifts to his wrestling style, O'Haire lets his guard down.  Words come very quickly, with a generous number of expletives scattered throughout for effect.  The result is almost comical.  Get him on the right subject, and O'Haire could put a drunken sailor to shame.  It's a wonder the guy can make it thought a promo once he get's going.

    Besides toning down the arcobatics, O'Haire has incorportated more of his martial arts and shootfighting background into his arsenal.  Before he went to the Power Plant, O'Haire owned a gym in which he trained and taught kickboxing classes.  A third-degree black belt, he got involved in shootfighting tournaments and Ultimate Fight-style competitions.  He knows plenty ways to hurt people.

    "Sean draws much of his offense from his martial arts background," said "Mr. Wrestling" Nick Dinsmore, Ohio Valley's premier ring technician.  "He is one of the best athletes I have ever seen for a man of his size,  He is going to make a major impact in this business."

    Queen Victoria agreed, and she knows a thing or two about the WWF's developmental talent.  Victoria, the matriarch of "The Revolution ("The Machine" Doug Basham, The Damaja, and Johnny Spade are the other members) is the only wrestler to have trained in all four WWF developmental territories" OVW, UPW in California, MCW in Memphis, and the HWA in Cincinnati.

    "OVW is far and away the best learning environment I have worked in.  If you work hard here, you will improve," Victoria said.  "Sean not only has been working hard in and out of the ring, but he's also a very charismatic guy.  He's without a doubt the life of the party."

    "Machine better treat me right, or my eyes might just start to wander," she added with a coy smile.

    By making improvements to his ring skills and working so hard at character development, O'Haire seems to have impressed OVW officials enough the he wil soon be given an even more prominent storyline role.  He has Prototype's back for now, but it's probably only a matter of time before "The Perfect Man" does something to get on O'Haire's bad side and the two of them square off for the belt.  It's usually how these bodyguard-employer scenarios work out.   In the meantime, O'Haire is watching Prototype, perhaps learning his weaknesses, mentally developing counters, and biding his time.

    He has also been studying tapes from a variety of wrestlers, a prerequsite in a promotion run by Jim Cornette.  Cornette is know to school his wrestlers in a variety of different styles, presenting them with tapes from both the U.S. and overseas and encouraging them to pick up nuances from a variety of wrestlers.  O'Haire watched a little wrestling as a kid, but was never a superfan.   He's making up for that now, devouring tapes and picking apart matches to see what he can add to his repertorie.

    And as O'Haire continues his toil in OVW, he looks to the WWF, where he sees one of his former partners, Palumbo, wearing a WWF tag title belt.  He sees former WCW mid-carders like Hurricane Helms, Shawn Stasiak, and Billy Kidman-men he has beaten-pulling in WWF paychecks and building fan followings.   As someone who was touted as a future superstar before his first match (a match that took place live on Nitro, no less) it would be easy for O'haire to get frustrated, to become disenchanted with the fickle nature of the wrestling business, and maybe return to his Atlanta home and go back to running his own gym.  Instead, the better part of a year's worth of experience in OVW has instilled in Sean O'Haire a passion for pro wrestling.  It has handed him a reality check, and has made him more focused than ever on becoming a success.

    "I'm the most athletic person in wrestling, in my opinion," O'Haire said.  "Like I said, I was under a lot of stress before.  I'm a much better wrestler today than I used to be, and I have high expectations for myself."

    The bar has always been high for O'Haire.  OVW has given him the tools to surpass those expectations, and it has prepared him for the greatness that he believes still lies ahead.