Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman Discusses WWE's Infamous Plane Ride From Hell

Few behind-the-scenes wrestling stories are worthy of the proverbial popcorn-munching meme than those involving the infamous "Plane Ride from Hell." In 2002, a flight taking several WWE talent and crew from a U.K. tour back to the U.S. was marred by alcohol-fueled debauchery and frat boy antics. A series of mini dramas involving several wrestlers led to subsequent firings, disciplinary actions and even a lawsuit filed by two flight attendants. 

For years, because there were no cameras rolling, drama-hungry fans had to subsist on rumor and innuendo until a highly anticipated Season 3 episode of Vice's "Dark Side of the Ring" shed more light on the matter. One wrestler who found himself in hot water once the plane touched down was Sean "X-Pac" Waltman. But on a flight whose transgressions included an in-cabin scuffle between Curt Hennig and Brock Lesnar, Goldust hijacking the PA system to drunkenly serenade his ex-wife, and Ric Flair exposing himself, the incident involving Waltman seemed minor by comparison.

At a recent "For the Love of Wrestling" event hosted by Monopoly Events, Waltman was asked what further memories he had (if any) of the Plane Ride from Hell.

"So much of that stuff ... I'm going, oh my god, I had no idea that happened," Waltman said. "I thought I was the real bad boy on that flight. I smoked a little pot in the bathroom and cut Michael Hayes's hair. And that was nothing, apparently. Honestly, that was my memory. And a little bit of Ric [Flair] going down the aisle in his robe."

Waltman was released from his contract a few months later and never wrestled for WWE again, although he made several one-off appearances at reunion shows. Waltman is a two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee, as a member of both D-Generation X and the nWo.