[WNS Column] A Man That Entertained Millions

“The man that Entertained Millions…”

by Jason Hyde (@jaysun927)

Can you think of the last day you sat down at the end of the day and you could honestly say nothing sad or bad happen that day? Me either, it has become common place to except that at any given time something bad will happen in the world. Sometimes it affects a small group of people, sometimes a large group, then every once and a while a tragedy strikes that affect thousands of people.

A few weeks ago this tragedy happened, did you hear about the man that entertained Millions? This man was not only loved and endeared by his family but by thousand of his fans. Every time he performed you could easily tell he gave his all, every time he was in front of a crowd he aimed to please. Did you hear that this man tragically and sadly took his own life? He would never entertain again; his family would never have and hold him again. Can you name the man I am talking about? Did you guess Robin Williams? I am sure many of you did, his death affected many, and mainstream media ran with the story for days and weeks; bringing much needed attention to the issue of suicide. But, I am not talking about Robin Williams; I’m talking about an entertainer by the name of Sean Christopher Haire, better known by his ring name Sean O’Haire. He wrestled for both WCW and WWE in the early and mid 2000’s. I do not know what happened in his later years to cause such a tragedy nor will try and guess, instead I want to talk about how, just like Williams, O’Haire brought smiles and happiness to many fans around the world.

As a wrestling fan I was growing very disappointed with WCW in 2000, then one night I decided to watch it instead of WWE’s Monday Night RAW. I am glad I did because I was treated to the debut of two young wrestlers by the name of Mark Jindrak and Sean O’Haire. These two were larger than life, I remember marveling at their size and thinking they could destroy anyone. Their opponents that night were two cruiserweights, the problem I saw was I knew O’Haire and Jindrak were new and I was afraid the cruiserweights would run circles around them making the two giants seem slow and un-talented. I enjoyed the match greatly O’Haire seemed like a natural performer and I instantly became a fan. I would follow him for the next few years always making sure I saw his matches on TV, and even catching him live a couple times. Every time he came out no matter the character he was playing he always seemed to be giving his all, whether it be as part of the “Natural Born Thrillers” or later on in his vignettes as the evil devil’s advocate. Even as a heel you could always see a hint of smile in the corner of his mouth every time he performed, go on I dare you to look it’s there. I remember at the time thinking he was a real student of the business, mainly because you could see parts of other wrestlers persona’s in what he did. Watch him while he was part of the “Natural Born Thrillers” you can’t help but see Scott Hall’s “Razor Ramon” character in him. I felt as though he entertained to 100% of his ability right up until his last match. I never met him so I can’t speak to how he was as a person, but as a wrestling fan that wasn’t what mattered to me, it was what he did as a performer. Now I do realize and acknowledge he never reached the same heights as John Cena, The Rock, HHH, or even a wrestler such as Christian. But, he entertained with the same drive and passion they did. He risked his body as they did. He was away from family and friends just as they did, just to chase a dream that he had, and that dream was to entertain us fans at all cost. I am sure like most there was times he wrestled sick and hurt just for us, just to see us smile and enjoy the product he and his wrestling family were putting together.

As a fan of Robin Williams like many Americans I felt saddened a sense of loss when he passed, trying to make sense of it. A few weeks later I felt the same thing all over again when Sean O’Haire took his own life. I know just like me there was millions of wrestling fans who felt the same way and realized just like me they would never see him perform again, just like Robin Williams. I am thankful for the times I got to see him perform, I am also thankful for videos where I can revisit those moments much like I do wrestlers such as Curt Hennig and Eddie Guerrero. In closing, I want to say thank you Sean O’Haire for giving me a reason to smile, cheer, and boo you. Thank you Sean O’Haire for being a wrestler and thank you to his family for letting us enjoy him for the short time he was with us.