| Sean O'Haire | |
|---|---|
 Sean O'Haire in March 2003 | |
| Birth name | Sean Christopher Haire[1] |
| Born | (1971-02-25)February 25, 1971 Atlanta,Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | September 8, 2014(2014-09-08) (aged 43) Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Sean O'Haire[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (122 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Hilton Head, South Carolina[2] |
| Trained by | WCW Power Plant[2][3] |
| Debut | May 25, 2000[4] |
| Retired | June 28, 2006 |
Sean Christopher Haire (February 25, 1971 – September 8, 2014) was an Americanprofessional wrestler,mixed martial artist andkickboxer, better known by hisring nameSean O'Haire.[1][5]
Haire was best known for his appearances with theprofessional wrestling promotionsWorld Championship Wrestling, theWorld Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment on itsSmackDown brand andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling in the early to mid-2000s. Athree timeWCW World Tag Team Champion, O'Haire was named "Rookie of the Year" by theWrestling Observer in 2000.
Upon retiring from professional wrestling in 2006, Haire competed in mixed martial arts and kickboxing before becoming a hair stylist.[2][3][6]
Haire was born inAtlanta,Georgia, but was raised primarily inHilton Head Island, South Carolina. Prior to becoming a wrestler, Haire practiced martial arts for many years and won multipleToughman Contests. He also was part-owner of a Hilton Head fitness center, was ofIrish descent, and attendedHargrave Military Academy inChatham, Virginia.[7]
After completing his training in theWCW Power Plant,World Championship Wrestling'straining school, Haire, using the ring name Sean O'Haire, began making appearances on second-tier WCW television shows such asWorldwide andSaturday Night. Haire made his live television debut on the June 26, 2000 episode ofNitro teaming with his fellow Power Plant graduateMark Jindrak as they defeated theFilthy Animals (Rey Mysterio Jr. andJuventud Guerrera).[8][unreliable source?]
On the July 3 episode ofNitro, O'Haire and Jindrak faced theMisfits in Action (General Hugh G. Rection andCorporal Cajun) to determine the number one contenders for theWCW World Tag Team Championship, but were defeated.[9][unreliable source?] Despite this, O'Haire and Jindrak faced then-World Tag Team ChampionsKroniK andVampiro andThe Great Muta in a three-way match for the championship, but were unsuccessful in winning the title.[10][unreliable source?] In August, O'Haire and Jindrak helped form theNatural Born Thrillers withMike Sanders,Shawn Stasiak,Chuck Palumbo,Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli, andReno.[11] They were briefly mentored byKevin Nash.[11] In September, O'Haire and Jindrak won the World Tag Team Championship for the first time.[12]
O'Haire and Jindrak won the title once more before splitting when O'Haire and Jindrak participated in a tag teambattle royal with the Natural Born Thrillers teammates Stasiak and Palumbo.[13] After the conclusion of the match, Sanders declared both teams victorious and said that the teams should trade partners. As a result, O'Haire formed a new tag team with Palumbo, while the second team consisted of Jindrak and Stasiak.[14]
Palumbo and O'Haire defeatedThe Insiders (Diamond Dallas Page and Nash) in January 2001.[14] A short time later, the Natural Born Thrillers broke up when Stasiak and Jindrak became jealous of Palumbo and O'Haire's success. The teams met atSuperBrawl Revenge on February 18 for the tag team gold. Palumbo and O'Haire retained their titles.[12] O'Haire and Palumbo next feuded with Totally Buffed (Buff Bagwell andLex Luger) and defeated them atGreed on March 18 to retain the Tag Team Championship.[15]
Over the following two weeks, O'Haire and Palumbo feuded withTeam Canada (Lance Storm andMike Awesome), defeating them on the final episode ofNitro on March 26.[16] WCW was purchased by the WWF, and both O'Haire and Palumbo's contracts were picked up.[5]
O'Haire and Palumbo made their WWF debuts on the June 28, 2001, episode ofSmackDown! as part ofThe Alliance, attacking theHardy Boyz. O'Haire and Palumbo started feuding with theWWF Tag Team Champions theAcolytes Protection Agency in the following weeks, which ended atInvasion on July 22 when the APA defeated O'Haire and Palumbo in a non-title match.[17] Subsequently, O'Haire and Palumbo defeated the Hardy Boyz on the August 2, 2001 edition ofSmackDown!.[18]
O'Haire and Palumbo next dropped the WCW Tag Team Championship to theBrothers of Destruction (The Undertaker andKane) on the August 9 episode ofSmackDown! and lost their rematch for the championship in acage match the following week onRaw.[19][20] O'Haire and Palumbo's last televised match together was on the August 26 edition ofHeat defeatingThe Holly Cousins (Hardcore Holly andCrash Holly).
Palumbo was thrown out of The Alliance in late October 2001 and joined the WWF in November. Also in September, O'Haire was sent toOhio Valley Wrestling (OVW) for seasoning where he joined Kenny Bolin's "Bolin Services". O'Haire returned to WWE on the June 30, 2002 edition ofHeat, defeatingJustin Credible.[5] He made a few more appearances onHeat, indark matches and athouse shows throughout the rest of 2002.[5] He also made an appearance on the December 23 episode of Raw, in a promo where he played a mall Santa Claus character who tells the kids there’s no Santa, and then reveals himself to be "Big Sean O’Haire."
In January 2003vignettes started to appear on WWE programming showing O'Haire in his new gimmick — aDevil's advocate character a laRalph Fiennes inStrange Days.[21] He urged people to commit adultery, break the law, not pay taxes, and not go to church, among other things. He ended each vignette with the line "I'm not telling you anything you don't already know." In 2003, O'Haire returned to the mainSmackDown! roster, telling various superstars to perform indecent acts, which included persuadingSpanky tostreak through the arena andDawn Marie toflash the audience.[22]
O'Haire's persona included a long blacktrench coat he wore to the ring and his obsession withspiders, including fairly new tattoos with black flames on each wrist and a red spider web shooting out from the flames on his left wrist and a blue spider web on his right wrist. His Titantron video was also inside the body of a spider with a spiderweb in the background. He quickly came under the tutelage of wrestling legend,Roddy Piper in April 2003.[21] His new persona was abandoned but he held victories over major starsRikishi,Funaki,Mr. America by count out,Chris Benoit, andEddie Guerrero.[21] He would lose in-house show to Rikishi, Chris Benoit,Billy Gunn,Bill Demott,John Cena,Orlando Jordan andRhyno. WWE officially released Piper from his contract on June 26, 2003, right after O'Haire and Piper made their last appearance together onSmackDown!.[23] O'Haire continued on his own mainly on Velocity. In late November 2003, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that required stitches and kept him out of action for the next month or so. When he recovered in February, he was sent back to OVW and had a few matches against John Cena in house shows before being released from his contract on April 3, 2004.[24]
Haire went to work forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) following his WWE release, still using the ring name Sean O'Haire. He wrestledHiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW Nexess on May 3, 2004, in a losing effort.[25] On July 17, 2004, O'Haire and Piper re-united at a Ballpark Brawl show where Haire was Piper's hand-picked wrestler to faceJimmy Hart's hand-picked wrestlerAbyss. O'Haire defeated Abyss by disqualification. Haire then went on to work for California based independent promotionUltimate Pro Wrestling.[5]
O'Haire reunited with Chuck Palumbo on February 23, 2005, at UPW's Homecoming Havoc in which they were defeated by Tom Howard and the Predator. O'Haire retired from professional wrestling soon after in order to focus onmixed martial arts.[citation needed]
O'Haire's last match was on March 28, 2006, when he returned to WWE for a one night appearance onWWE Velocity losing toScotty 2 Hotty in a dark match.
Haire signed with Japanese based kickboxing promotionK-1 in 2004. He made his K-1 debut on December 31, 2004 with a second-round knockout loss toMusashi. Haire then went on to compete in two world grand prix tournaments held inLas Vegas, where he was defeated byGary Goodridge (2005) andChalid Arrab (2006).[26] Not long after his first K-1 bout he was allegedly slated for a fight againstRick Cheek but his record was brought into question; K-1 reportedly claimed his record was 10–1 in kickboxing & 8–0 in MMA, where only his K-1 bout vs Musashi & his MMA bout against Shungo Oyama could be found.[27]
Haire made his professional mixed martial arts debut in September 2004 with a first round submission win over Tony Towers. In November 2004, Haire facedPride FC veteranShungo Oyama atK-1 Fighting Network Rumble on the Rock 2004 where he was victorious via first round technical knockout. Haire's next bout came against 1996 Olympic judo silver medalistKim Min-soo and was defeated via first round submission. On October 21, 2006, Haire, replacingMark Hunt, foughtEric "Butterbean" Esch atPride 32 in Las Vegas.[24] He lost the fight via knockout early in the first round.[28][29]
On August 17, 2007, Haire was scheduled to fightMark Kerr at theMohegan Sun Arena for the Global Fighting Championships promotion but the entire card was canceled after four of the eight scheduled bouts fell through. No explanation was given at that time, regarding the cancellation, only a guarantee of a full refund. It was revealed by GFC representative Joel Parker that half of the night's fights were called off, prompting the decision to nix the card rather than put on a lackluster event. Parker revealed that several fighters were disqualified for either failing to meet their contracted weight or for medical reasons. Kerr andEdwin Dewees were pulled from the card by the overseeing athletic commission for missing weight. According to commission doctors, Kerr registered an unhealthyblood pressure reading the day prior.[30] Kerr was set to fight Haire.[30]
In 2007, Haire took part inChampions Quest Fighting Challenge. He was successful in his first fight on September 29, against Darrell Wood, and beat Frankie Parkman on December 7.[24] However, he never fought again after December 2007. Haire defeated Tony Towers with a Guillotine Choke in the first round. Haire had many MMA fights on smaller shows not listed by the major MMA fight databases.[31]
Haire married a woman named Joy Elizabeth inMaui, Hawaii, on May 15, 2005.[32] Approximately a year and a half later, he announced their divorce during a radio interview with SquaredCircleRadio.[33]
Haire was involved in an altercation where he was jumped outside of a bar inHilton Head, South Carolina, on March 30, 2007, in which he sustained fractures to his face and skull, including his orbital bone. As a result of the fight, the vision in his left eye was impaired. Although Haire claimed that he was going to the aid of a friend, witnesses asserted that Haire tried to instigate a fight with one of his alleged assailants, Juan Brantley. Brantley had filed a complaint with police on March 17, in which he stated that Haire had attempted to start a fight with him at another bar.[1]
In 1992, Haire was arrested inHilton Head Island and charged withassault.[1]
In June 2004, Haire was arrested and charged with multiple counts of assault after a brawl at a Hilton Head night club, in which he was accused of striking two women. He was later convicted of one count of assault in 2006.[1]
On April 24, 2007, Haire was charged with aggravated assault andbattery for a fight at a bar weeks prior. The charge was later dismissed.[34]
On September 6, 2009, Haire was arrested inChatham County, Georgia, for allegedly assaulting his then girlfriend.[35] He was charged with domestic battery and criminaltrespassing before being released on $4,600bail.[35]
On November 23, 2011, Haire was again arrested in Chatham County, Georgia and charged with simple battery.[36] He was later released on $1,850 bail.[37]
On the morning of September 9, 2014, Haire's father found him dead, hanging from a bedpost in his bedroom in theSpartanburg, South Carolina home they shared. He was 43 years old. It was determined by the Spartanburg County coroner's office that Haire committed suicide the night prior. Haire's passing was announced to the public viaTwitter by former WCW wrestler and personal friend of Haire'sScotty Riggs.[38][39] Haire reportedly battleddepression andsubstance addiction for many years. It was reported that Haire had attended WWE sponsored rehab six times in the six years preceding his death.[40]
| Date | Result | Record | Opponent | Event | Method | Round | Time |
| 2006-08-12 | Loss | 0–4 |  Justice Smith | K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas II, US | KO | 2 | |
| 2006-04-29 | Loss | 0–3 |  Chalid Arrab | K-1 World Grand Prix 2006 in Las Vegas, US | KO (Right Uppercut) | 1 | 0:23 |
| 2005-04-30 | Loss | 0–2 |  Gary Goodridge | K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Las Vegas, US | KO (Right Uppercut) | 1 | 1:56 |
| 2004-12-31 | Loss | 0–1 |  Musashi | K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!!, Japan | KO | 2 | 0:44 |
| 6 matches | 4 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 3 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 4–2 | Frankie Parkman | KO (punch) | Champions Quest – Fighting Challenge | December 7, 2007 | 1 | 1:04 | Savannah, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 3–2 | Darrell Wood | KO (punches) | Champions Quest – Fighting Challenge | September 29, 2007 | 1 | 2:07 | Savannah, Georgia, United States | |
| Loss | 2–2 | Eric Esch | KO (punches) | Pride 32 | October 21, 2006 | 1 | 0:29 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Kim Min-soo | Submission (guillotine choke) | Hero's 2005 in Seoul | November 5, 2005 | 1 | 4:46 | Seoul, South Korea | |
| Win | 2–0 | Shungo Oyama | TKO (punches) | Rumble on the Rock 6 | November 20, 2004 | 1 | 0:31 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Tony Towers | Submission (guillotine choke) | Venom - First Strike | September 18, 2004 | 1 | 1:42 | Huntington Beach, California, United States |
,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database