WWE Exec Bruce Prichard Thought This Late Star Could Have Been 'The Next Guy'

History has not been kind to WWE's Invasion storyline of 2001, with fans and pundits criticizing it for its clunkiness and lack of star power on the non-WWE side. Many of the contracts included in the sale of WCW were not the "top guys" that fans wanted to see, although there were some talent the company saw upside in. On a recent "Something to Wrestle," Bruce Prichard recalled how WWE attempted to build one of WCW's imports into becoming a bigger star within their organization. 

"I thought Sean O'Haire could've been the next guy," Prichard said. "I thought he had all the tools. Had the look. Could do some incredible things in the ring. Unfortunately, had no psychology and/or larger-than-life personality to bring him to the next level. He got so far on his look, he got so far on 'Oh wow, this big man can do incredible things.' But that's where it ended, unfortunately."

At the start of the Invasion angle, O'Haire initially teamed with his original tag team partner from WCW, Chuck Palumbo, before being sent down to Ohio Valley Wrestling for refinement. He later returned to WWE programming where he formed an on-screen alliance with WWE Hall of Famer "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.

"We tried putting him with Piper," Prichard said. "Had Roddy on the road with him to try to help him with his psychology and try and help him with 'Here's why you do this here, here's why you do that there,' and teach him. And, man, it just didn't work."

WWE pulled the plug on the O'Haire experiment in 2004, after which he wrestled on the independent circuit and dabbled in kickboxing and mixed martial arts. He experienced a litany of legal and personal problems and sadly took his own life in 2014.