WWE Hall Of Famer Says Memorable Promo Got Him Sued

One WWE Hall of Famer found himself being deposed after cutting a memorable promo.

The winds of change were blowing in WWE in the spring of 1998 as Austin 3:16 ran wild in the company. At WrestleMania 14 Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated Shawn Michaels in the main event to claim his first WWE Championship and in the process sent Michaels off into a four-year hiatus from the ring while he dealt with serious back issues.

The night after WrestleMania 14 on Raw, Triple H reacted to the vacuum left in DX after Michaels had “dropped the ball” by welcoming Sean Waltman back to WWE after the star had spent two years in WCW where he was affiliated with fellow Kliq members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in the NWO. Now being referred to as X-Pac, the star cut a scathing promo on his former employer and noted that Hall and Nash would be with him in WWE if they were not “being held hostage by WCW.”

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, Sean Waltman recalled that the promo landed him a lawsuit but revealed in his deposition that the hostage line was one that Nash himself had a hand in forming:

“I got deposed for that, the deposition was classic. So I’m sitting in the deposition … [the lawyer for WCW] goes, ‘Why did you say Kevin Nash and Scott Hall would be right there with you if they weren’t being held hostage by WCW?’ I said, ‘Well I was talking to Kev the night before and he told me it would be a good idea if I said that.'”

When was Sean Waltman put in the WWE Hall of Fame?

Sean Waltman was first inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of DX along with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, and Chyna in 2019. He received his second induction as part of the NWO alongside Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall in 2021. That induction made all four members that were recognised as part of the NWO two-time inductees into the Hall of Fame.