Early career (1989–1993) After training under
Boris Malenko, Joe Malenko, Masami Soronaka, and
Karl Gotch, Waltman began his career as "The Lightning Kid". He worked his way through various independent promotions, including
Pro Wrestling America (PWA) in Minnesota and the
Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) in Texas, winning the
PWA Light Heavyweight title, the
PWA Iron Horse TV Title and the
GWF Light Heavyweight Championship. During this time, Waltman worked extensively with
Jerry Lynn in North America and Japan. They often wrestled each other, but also teamed up to win the
PWA Tag Team titles twice in 1993. While working for
Larry Sharpe and
Dennis Coralluzzo's WWA Promotion on November 28, 1992, in
Clementon, New Jersey, his opponent "The Kamikaze Kid" Bill Wilcox overshot a
suicide dive and landed on Waltman's head, driving it to the concrete and causing a blood clot near his brain. He was hospitalized for three days, could not work for four months, and was advised to give up wrestling completely.
World Wrestling Federation (1993–1996) Early appearances (1993–1995) As The Lightning Kid, Waltman had his WWF tryout match in
Phoenix, Arizona, in April 1993, the day after
WrestleMania IX, losing to
Louie Spicolli. After earning a contract, he made his television debut as "The Kamikaze Kid" on
Monday Night Raw on May 3 (taped April 26), losing to
Doink the Clown. He quickly became "The Cannonball Kid", losing to Mr. Hughes. He then became simply "The Kid", scoring an upset pinfall on
Razor Ramon on the May 17 episode of
Monday Night Raw, thus becoming "The 1–2–3 Kid". At
Survivor Series on November 23, Kid was on Razor's team in a four-on-four elimination match, in which he and
Marty Jannetty were the sole survivors. This led to them forming a tag team and holding the
WWF Tag Team Championship for a week in January 1994 after beating
The Quebecers. The 1–2–3 Kid competed in the
King of the Ring tournament, losing to
Owen Hart in the semi-finals on June 19. On July 11, he wrestled
Bret Hart in an unusually long (for the time) and competitive match for the
WWF Championship on
Raw, which was ranked by WWE as the third-best match ever aired on
Raw. He had another brief (one-day) tag title reign on January 22, 1995, with
Bob Holly, defeating
Bam Bam Bigelow and
Tatanka at the
Royal Rumble before losing to
The Smoking Gunns (
Billy and
Bart) the next day on
Raw. At
SummerSlam on August 27, he lost to
Hakushi.
Million Dollar Corporation (1995–1996) in 1995 After Kid and Razor failed to win the Tag Team Championship from the Smoking Gunns on October 22 at
In Your House 4, Kid attacked the face Gunns after the match to tease a
heel turn. On the
Raw before
Survivor Series in November, he was the
guest referee in a match between Ramon and
Sycho Sid. As Razor attempted his finisher,
The Razor's Edge, Kid pulled Sid down from Razor, allowing Sid to hit Razor with his Powerbomb, and Kid fast-counted the pinfall, turning heel. He was the sole survivor of his team at
Survivor Series on November 19, besting rival
Marty Jannetty with assistance from Sid. Kid and Jannetty traded victories over one another, culminating in a tag team match where Kid and Sid lost to Razor and Marty on December 17 at
In Your House 5. After Survivor Series, Kid joined Ted DiBiase's
Million Dollar Corporation faction. The 1–2–3 Kid's final WWF match, which saw him lose to
Savio Vega, aired on the May 20 episode of
Monday Night Raw. Notably, Waltman was the only Kliq member not involved in the infamous
"Curtain Call" that took place at
Madison Square Garden the night before his final match from his first WWF run aired, as he was in
drug rehab at the time.
World Championship Wrestling (1996–1997) On September 16, 1996, Waltman was shown sitting in the front row for a live episode of
Nitro. Later that night, he used a remote control to release
New World Order (nWo) propaganda from the ceiling, revealing himself as the newest member of the recently formed faction. In his first major angle, Syxx stole
Eddie Guerrero's
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship belt, leading to a
ladder match for the title on January 25, 1997, at
Souled Out, which Syxx lost. In June, he lost the championship to
Chris Jericho at a
webcast house show in
Los Angeles, California, minutes after successfully defending against
Rey Mysterio Jr. He disparagingly portrayed Flair as part of an nWo segment parodying his
Four Horsemen group.
Return to the WWF / World Wrestling Entertainment (1998–2002) D-Generation X (1998–2000) Waltman returned to WWF television on the March 30, 1998 episode of
Monday Night Raw, the night after
WrestleMania XIV and days after his firing from WCW. With
Shawn Michaels beginning a four-year retirement after a WWF Championship loss and back injury,
Triple H was now the leader of
D-Generation X (DX). He said he was forming a DX army and "when you start an army, you look to your blood... you look to your buddies... you look to your friends... you look to
The Kliq." He subsequently became known as "X-Pac" and lost to
D'Lo Brown on July 26 at
Fully Loaded: In Your House. He feuded with
Jeff Jarrett and defeated him in a hair-vs-hair match on August 30 at
SummerSlam. On September 21, X-Pac defeated Brown on
Raw to win the
WWF European Championship. He lost the title to Brown two weeks later, then won it again at
Judgment Day: In Your House on October 18. At
Survivor Series on November 15, he competed in a tournament for the vacant WWF Championship, but fought
Steven Regal to a double countout. He failed to win the title from
The Rock on December 6 at
Capital Carnage. X-Pac lost the European Championship to
Shane McMahon on the February 15, 1999 episode of
Raw. At
WrestleMania XV on March 28, he failed to regain the title when Triple H betrayed him and hit him with his
Pedigree finisher. At
Backlash on April 25, X-Pac lost to Triple H. He and Kane successfully defended the titles against Brown and
Mark Henry at
Over the Edge on May 23, before losing them to the
Acolytes (
Bradshaw and
Faarooq) on the May 31 episode of
Raw. X-Pac competed in the King of the Ring
tournament, losing to Gunn in the finals on June 27. They regained the titles on the August 9 episode of
Raw but lost them to
Big Show and
The Undertaker on August 22 at
SummerSlam. After DX reunited as a heel group, X-Pac led Kane to believe he would be inducted into DX, but instead betrayed him and eventually stole his new girlfriend,
Tori. At
WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, X-Pac and Road Dogg lost to Kane and
Rikishi, ending their feud. At
King of the Ring on June 25, X-Pac, Road Dogg, and Tori defeated
the Dudley Boyz in a
dumpster match; during the bout, Tori was
powerbombed through a table by the Dudley Boyz, marking the end of her affiliation with X-Pac. Growing dissension between X-Pac and Road Dogg led to a match at
SummerSlam on August 27, which X-Pac won after a
low blow; after the match, Road Dogg attacked X-Pac, marking the end of their tag team and the dissolution of DX. X-Pac then began feuding with Chris Jericho, but lost to him at
Unforgiven on September 24 and in a cage match at
No Mercy on October 22. During the feud, X-Pac sustained a neck injury when Jericho gave him a powerbomb, side-lining him for three months. X-Pac formed a new stable called
X-Factor with
Justin Credible and
Albert, defeating the Dudley Boyz on April 29 at
Backlash. At
King of the Ring on June 24, X-Pac failed to win the
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from
Jeff Hardy, but won the title in a rematch the next night on
Raw. He won his second
WCW Cruiserweight Championship by defeating
Billy Kidman on July 30. When Credible joined the
ECW/WCW Alliance, X-Factor broke up. At
SummerSlam on August 19, X-Pac defeated Tajiri to win his second Light Heavyweight Championship, but lost the Cruiserweight Championship to Kidman on the October 11 episode of
SmackDown!. After this, he took time off to recover from another injury, and the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was abandoned upon his return to television in March 2002. This match was also the end of the nWo angle, as Nash tore his quadriceps, and Vince McMahon disbanded the group a week later. In August,
Raw commentator
Jim Ross announced WWE and Waltman had parted ways.
NWA Total Nonstop Action (2002, 2003) Waltman, as "Syxx-Pac", debuted for
NWA Total Nonstop Action on September 18, 2002, losing a
gauntlet match. Rejoining his WWF tag partners
Scott Hall and
B.G. James, he feuded with
Jeff Jarrett and
Brian Lawler. He held the title for two weeks before losing to
A.J. Styles in a
No Disqualification match. He abruptly left TNA after defeating Lawler in the first round of an
NWA World Heavyweight Championship number one contender tournament on November 6. Waltman returned to TNA for a single night on June 18, 2003, at their first anniversary pay-per-view, as Styles's mystery partner in a loss to Jarrett and
Sting. On November 23, he lost to Sabu in a match for the 3PW World Heavyweight Championship. Waltman, as "X", debuted in
Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) on February 28, 2003, winning the
XPW Television Championship from Kaos, a title which he held until the promotion closed in March. On October 7, 2005, Waltman made his debut for
Full Impact Pro (FIP), defeating
Jimmy Rave at
X-Factor. He engaged in a feud with DP Associates, facing members Rave,
Austin Aries,
Adam Pearce, Bryan Danielson and Shane Hagadorn.
Return to NWA Total Nonstop Action (2005, 2006) Under his real name, Waltman returned to TNA at
Against All Odds on February 13, 2005, attacking Jeff Jarrett during his
NWA World Heavyweight Championship match with Kevin Nash. Nash, Waltman and
Diamond Dallas Page formed an alliance and feuded with
Planet Jarrett (Jarrett,
The Outlaw and
Monty Brown). At
Lockdown on April 24, Waltman, B.G. James and Page defeated Planet Jarrett in a
Lethal Lockdown match. At
Hard Justice on May 15, Waltman replaced
Jeff Hardy, who
no-showed, losing to
Raven in a
Clockwork Orange House of Fun match. At
No Surrender on July 17, Waltman lost to Styles after guest referee Jerry Lynn prevented him from cheating. Waltman challenged Lynn to a match at
Sacrifice on August 14, which he lost, then attacked Lynn in an attempt to reinjure his shoulder. Waltman then partnered with
Alex Shelley to win the
Chris Candido Cup, earning them a shot at the
NWA World Tag Team Championship at
Unbreakable on September 11. However, Waltman no-showed the event. He was not seen again until a one-night return at
Final Resolution on January 15, 2006, being brought in by
Larry Zbyszko to defeat his rival, Raven.
Wrestling Society X (2006) In February 2006, Waltman joined
MTV's newly formed
Wrestling Society X (WSX) promotion, as "6-Pac". At their inaugural tapings on February 9, 6-Pac had a ten-man
hardcore battle royal ladder match, which both he and
Vampiro won by climbing the ladder to retrieve WSX contracts. 6-Pac lost a
WSX Championship match to Vampiro the following week. He defeated
Adam Pearce for the
NWA Heritage Championship on April 21, 2007, but lost it in a rematch a week later. In June, Waltman, as X-Pac, began working regularly for
AAA, initially a member of Konnan's
La Legión Extranjera (Foreign Legion) and managed by girlfriend
Alicia Webb. He later feuded with one of AAA's top stars,
El Zorro. On August 8, 2009, at GLCW Slamfest, X-Pac became the new GLCW Heavyweight Champion by defeating Skull Crusher, who had replaced champion
Al Snow when he failed to show.
Second return to TNA (2010) On a special live, three-hour
Monday night episode of
Impact! on January 4, 2010, Waltman (as Syxx-Pac) and Scott Hall returned to TNA. That night, fellow former
nWo member
Hulk Hogan debuted in TNA. Kevin Nash, Hall and Waltman quickly reformed an alliance called
The Band, but Hogan stayed away, saying times had changed. On the January 14 episode of
Impact!, The Band attacked
Beer Money, Inc. (
Robert Roode and
James Storm), losing to them at
Genesis on January 17 (with Syxx-Pac replacing Hall and teaming with Nash). On the next
Impact! Hogan, disgusted by The Band's actions, had security eject Syxx-Pac and Hall, saying they weren't contracted to TNA. Despite this, they appeared the next week, attacking
Kurt Angle. A week later, they betrayed Nash and beat him down. At
Destination X on March 21, Syxx-Pac and Hall wagered their TNA jobs in a match against Nash and
Eric Young. Nash turned on Young and helped The Band win the match and full TNA contracts. On the March 29 episode of
Impact!, The Band lost a six-man steel cage tag match to Young,
Jeff Hardy and
Rob Van Dam. Syxx-Pac was scheduled for a tag team match at
Lockdown on April 18, but was replaced by Nash after the Missouri Athletic Commission barred Waltman from wrestling, due to his
hepatitis C. On the April 26 episode of
Impact!, Waltman was written off of television when
Team 3D found Syxx-Pac on a backstage floor in a pool of blood; Eric Young took his place in The Band. In June, TNA released Waltman and Hall.
Late career (2010–2019) On March 5, 2011, Waltman reunited with former D-Generation X members Road Dogg and Billy Gunn for a six-man tag match at a Pro Wrestling Syndicate show in
Long Island, New York. A week later, X-Pac defeated UIW Lightweight Champion Stupid in a non-title match. On April 2, Waltman returned to WWE television to celebrate, with Kevin Nash and Triple H, their longtime friend
Shawn Michaels' induction into the 2011
WWE Hall of Fame. He later worked backstage as a scout and evaluator in WWE's
developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). after their match at
King of Trios on April 17, 2011 On April 15, 2011, Waltman, as The 1–2–3 Kid, debuted for
Chikara by entering their
King of Trios tournament, teaming with
Arik Cannon and Darin Corbin (Team Minnesota). They were eliminated in the first round by Team
Michinoku Pro (
Dick Togo,
Great Sasuke and
Jinsei Shinzaki). The day after, Waltman defeated
Amazing Red,
Frightmare and
Obariyon in a four-way elimination match to make it to the next day's
Rey de Voladores tournament final, losing to
El Generico. After the match, Waltman said he believed 2011 would be his last year in professional wrestling, praising Chikara as the "future of wrestling" and thanking them for a memorable weekend. On July 23, 2012, he,
Billy Gunn and
Road Dogg returned to join Shawn Michaels and Triple H for a
D-Generation X reunion on the
1000th episode of Raw. In September 2012, the 1–2–3 Kid returned to Chikara for the
2012 King of Trios tournament, this time teaming with
Aldo Montoya and
Tatanka as Team WWF. On September 14, they lost their first-round match to The Extreme Trio (Jerry Lynn,
Tommy Dreamer and
Too Cold Scorpio). The next day, The 1–2–3 Kid was low-blowed and pinned by
Mark Angelosetti. On the final day of the tournament weekend, The 1–2–3 Kid and Marty Jannetty won the annual tag team
gauntlet match. On November 18, he and Jannetty defeated The Heart Throbs (
Antonio Thomas and
Romeo Roselli) to earn their third point (for three consecutive wins) and a shot at the
Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas. In March, Waltman signed a WWE Legends contract (a long-term contract which gives WWE merchandising rights to a wrestler's name and likeness, requires occasional appearances and prevents them from working for competing major promotions, but allows for independent appearances). Waltman, under his real name, returned to Chikara on March 8, 2013, losing to
Hallowicked. He underwent a
sphincteroplasty and was released the following morning. On November 9, X-Pac and
Lance Storm lost to
Tommy Dreamer and
Terry Funk in the main event of House of Hardcore 3. On June 14, 2014, X-Pac and Rikishi defeated Gangrel and Matt Striker at House of Hardcore 6. In September, Waltman returned to Chikara to do commentary during the first round of the
2014 King of Trios. On the January 19, 2015 episode of
Raw,
Damien Mizdow appeared with Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels,
Scott Hall and Triple H dressed as X-Pac, only for X-Pac to confront him, until
The Miz interrupted them to tell them that Mizdow was only his stunt double, and that the party was over. He appeared again with Hall and Nash, being interrupted by
The Ascension, who were attempting to attack them, only to be joined by
The APA and
The New Age Outlaws in fending them off. At
WrestleMania 31 on March 29, X-Pac along with the New Age Outlaws and Michaels helped Triple H win his match against Sting. In July 2016, X-Pac reunited with Billy Gunn in Scotland for Pro Wrestling Elite (PWE)'s fifth anniversary weekend. On September 4, Waltman made a surprise return to Chikara, again representing DX alongside Gunn in a tag team gauntlet match. The two entered the match as the final team and scored the win over Prakash Sabar and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova. In January 2018, Waltman returned at
WWE Raw 25 Years and reunited with DX and Scott Hall. In
2019, Waltman, as X-Pac was inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame as a member of
D-Generation X alongside Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and the late
Chyna. During
WrestleMania 35 weekend in April 2019, X-Pac,
Hurricane Helms and
Jushin Thunder Liger won a six-man tag team match against Revolt! (
Caleb Konley, Jake Manning, and Zane Riley) at the WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial SuperShow. Later in July, he claimed that the match would be his last and that he was retired.
Game Changer Wrestling (2022) Waltman came out of retirement on February 25, 2022, debuting in
Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) at Welcome to Heartbreak as the tag team partner of
Joey Janela, defeating the
Major Players (
Matt Cardona and
Brian Myers). On March 31, at
Joey Janela's Spring Break 6, Waltman lost to Janela. ==Other media==