Sean O'Haire
Sean O'Haire | |
---|---|
Birth name | Sean Christopher Haire[1] |
Born | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | February 25, 1971
Died | September 8, 2014 Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S. | (aged 43)
Cause of death | Suicide by hanging |
Spouse(s) |
Joy Haire
(m. 2005; div. 2007) |
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 American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kickboxer, better known by his ring name Sean O'Haire.[1][5]
Haire was best known for his appearances with the
Upon retiring from professional wrestling in 2006, Haire competed in mixed martial arts and kickboxing before becoming a hair stylist.[2][3][6]
Early life
Haire was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but was raised primarily in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Prior to becoming a wrestler, Haire practiced martial arts for many years and participated in and won multiple Toughman Contests. He also was part-owner of a Hilton Head fitness center. He was of Irish descent, and attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia.[7]
Professional wrestling career
World Championship Wrestling (2000–2001)
After completing his training in the
]On the July 3 episode of Nitro, O'Haire and Jindrak faced the
O'Haire and Jindrak won the title once more before splitting when O'Haire and Jindrak participated in a tag team battle 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 defeated
Over the following two weeks, O'Haire and Palumbo feuded with Team Canada (Lance Storm and Mike Awesome), defeating them on the final episode of Nitro on March 26.[16] WCW was purchased by the WWF, and both O'Haire and Palumbo's contracts were picked up.[5]
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2001–2004)
The Alliance and developmental territories (2001–2002)
O'Haire and Palumbo made their WWF debuts on the June 28, 2001, episode of SmackDown! as part of The Alliance, attacking the Hardy Boyz. O'Haire and Palumbo started feuding with the WWF Tag Team Champions the Acolytes Protection Agency in the following weeks, which ended at Invasion 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 of SmackDown!.[18]
O'Haire and Palumbo next dropped the WCW Tag Team Championship to
Palumbo was thrown out of The Alliance in late October and joined the WWF in November. Also in September, O'Haire was sent to
Undefeated streak (2003–2004)
In January 2003 vignettes started to appear on WWE programming showing O'Haire in his new gimmick — a Devil's advocate character.[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 main SmackDown! roster, telling various superstars to perform indecent acts, which included persuading Spanky to streak through the arena and Dawn Marie to flash the audience.[22]
O'Haire's persona included a long black
New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and later career (2004–2006)
Haire went to work for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) following his WWE release, still using the ring name Sean O'Haire. He wrestled Hiroshi 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 face Jimmy Hart's hand-picked wrestler Abyss. O'Haire defeated Abyss by disqualification. Haire then went on to work for California based independent promotion Ultimate 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 Predator. O'Haire retired from professional wrestling soon after in order to focus on mixed martial arts. [citation needed]
O'Haire's last match was on March 28, 2006, when he returned to WWE for a one night appearance on
Kickboxing
Haire signed with Japanese based kickboxing promotion K-1 in 2004. He made his K-1 debut on December 31, 2004 with a second-round knockout loss to Musashi. Haire then went on to compete in two world grand prix tournaments held in Las Vegas, where he was defeated by Gary Goodridge (2005) and Chalid Arrab (2006).[26] Not long after his first K-1 bout he was allegedly slated for a fight against Rick 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]
Mixed martial arts
Haire made his professional mixed martial arts debut in September 2004 with a first round submission win over Tony Towers. In November 2004, Haire faced
On August 17, 2007, Haire was scheduled to fight Mark Kerr at the Mohegan 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 and Edwin Dewees were pulled from the card by the overseeing athletic commission for missing weight. According to commission doctors, Kerr registered an unhealthy blood pressure reading the day prior.[30] Kerr was set to fight Haire.[30]
In 2007, Haire took part in Champions 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]
Personal life
Haire married a woman named Joy Elizabeth in
Haire was involved in an altercation where he was jumped outside of a bar in
Arrests
In 1992, Haire was arrested in Hilton Head Island and charged with assault.[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 and battery for a fight at a bar weeks prior. The charge was later dismissed.[34]
On September 6, 2009, Haire was arrested in Chatham County, Georgia, for allegedly assaulting his then girlfriend.[35] He was charged with domestic battery and criminal trespassing before being released on $4,600 bail.[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]
Death
On the morning of September 9, 2014, Haire's father found him dead, hanging from a bedpost in his bedroom in the Spartanburg, 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 via Twitter by former WCW wrestler and personal friend of Haire's Scotty Riggs.[38][39] Haire reportedly battled depression and substance addiction for many years. It was reported that Haire had attended WWE sponsored rehab six times in the six years preceding his death.[40]
Championships and accomplishments
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mark Jindrak (2) and Chuck Palumbo (1)[12]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Rookie of the Year(2000)
- Victory Championship Wrestling
- VCW Hall of Fame (Class of 2018)
Kickboxing record
Mixed martial arts record
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 |
See also
References
- ^ The McClatchy Company. Archived from the originalon August 14, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mark Jindrak and Sean O'Haire". WCW.com (via Wayback Machine). World Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 7, 2001. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ a b "15 Superstars who should've been bigger deals". WWE.com. WWE. March 12, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ "Sean O'Haire CageMatch". Retrieved November 26, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Sean O'Haire". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ Vrabel, Jeff (July 31, 2012). "The devil came down to Georgia". South. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ^ "Sean O'Haire (1971–2014)". IMDB. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
- ^ "Nitro report on June 26, 2000".
- ^ "Nitro report on July 3, 2000".
- ^ "Nitro report on July 31, 2000".
- ^ a b "The Natural Born Thrillers Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ a b c Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary. "WCW World Tag Team Title History". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
- ^ "WCW Thunder Year-By-Year: 2000 - December 20". Online World Of Wrestling. 2000-12-20. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ a b "Palumbo & O'Haire Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Powell, John (2001-03-18). "WCW downplays demise at Greed". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "WCW Nitro Year-By-Year - March 26, 2001". Online World Of Wrestling. 2001-03-26. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Powell, John (2001-07-22). "Austin turns at Invasion". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results - August 2, 2001". Online World Of Wrestling. 2001-08-02. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results - August 9, 2001". Online World Of Wrestling. 2001-08-09. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "WWE Raw Results - August 13, 2001". Online World Of Wrestling. 2001-08-13. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ a b c "Sean O'Haire (or Sean Oh'where")". Online World Of Wrestling. 2004-02-09. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results - February 6, 2003". Online World Of Wrestling. 2003-02-06. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ "WWE SmackDown! Results - June 26, 2003". Online World Of Wrestling. 2003-06-23. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ a b c "Sherdog Fightfinder - Sean O'Haire". Sherdog. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ "NJPW Nexess". Cagematch.net. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
- ^ "Sean O'Haire profile". K-1 Official Site. Archived from the original on 28 September 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ "Duke Roufus... Back For The Fans...Back For The Fight!". 30 March 2005. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ "Pride 32 Results". Tapology. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Pride 32 - The Real Deal". Sherdog. Retrieved 2022-04-10.
- ^ a b "'Friday's Global FC Event Cancelled". Sherdog. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ Meltzer, Dave (September 14, 2009). "Here and There". Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
- ^ Profile Archived 2018-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, SEANsational.com; accessed September 10, 2014.
- ^ Divorce announcement Archived 2018-08-16 at the Wayback Machine, SquaredCircleRadio.com; accessed September 10, 2014.
- ^ "Divas/Playboy, Bar Fight Details, SD!, Lots More". www.wrestlinginc.com.
- ^ a b "Other News: Former WCW tag champion arrested for assaulting girlfriend; TMZ covers story". Pro Wrestling Torch.
- ^ "Former WCW/WWE Wrestler Star Arrested on Battery Charges".
- ^ "Former WCW/WWE Wrestler Sean O'Haire Arrested".
- ^ Selby, Jenn (September 11, 2014). "Sean O'Haire dead: Former WWE and WCW star dies in apparent suicide". The Independent. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
- ^ Caulfield, Philip. "Former pro wrestler Sean O'Haire dies at 43". Daily News. New York. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Sean O'Haire's final fight was one he couldn't win". The Post and Courier. September 14, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
External links
- Professional MMA record for Sean O'Haire from Sherdog
- Sean Haire at IMDb
- Sean O'Haire's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database