Shawn Stasiak, the son of the former WWWF Champion Stan ‘The Man’ Stasiak, was a talented wrestler who could have had a long and successful career with the WWE. Unfortunately, his aspirations were cut short due to an unfortunate incident involving a hair transplant.
Stasiak was with WWE from 1998 to 2000 before leaving to work for WCW. He later returned to WWE in 2001, but his second stint with the company would only last for a year. In September 2002, Stasiak requested his release from WWE to pursue other ventures outside of the industry.
One of the most significant moments of Stasiak’s career was when he faced Kurt Angle during the Olympian’s debut at Survivor Series 1999. However, as Angle explained on his podcast, a hair transplant ultimately proved to be the turning point in Stasiak’s career.
According to Angle, Stasiak was losing his hair and decided to undergo a hair replacement surgery a week before he was scheduled to be called up to WWE. Stasiak called WWE and informed them of the situation, and they agreed to wait until he had recovered from the procedure.
“I want to tell you a story about Shawn. This also affected his career, and I hate to say this, but I have to let the cat out of the bag. Shawn was losing his hair just like I was. He decided to get a hair replacement surgery and it was a week before he was called up. He called the WWE and said, ‘Hey, I can’t be called up right now. I’m getting my hair done’, and they’re like, ‘Oh, okay. All right. We’ll take care of you then.’
“He didn’t lose his confidence because of that, but I think that painted him in a corner where, okay, this guy’s not going to be a team player. They were like, ‘We want you to debut right now’, and he’s like, ‘I can’t. I have to wait about two months.’ I was like, ‘Okay, you can wait two months. Let’s see what happens then.’ When I look at it, I just wonder if that might have affected his career a little bit.”
However, when WWE wanted to debut Stasiak earlier than he had anticipated, he refused and said he needed to wait for two more months to fully recover from the surgery. This decision may have painted Stasiak as not being a team player, and it may have ultimately affected his career in WWE.
After leaving WWE, Stasiak earned his certification as a chiropractor and opened his practice in Dallas, Texas, in 2007. Additionally, he worked as a motivational speaker and shared his experiences with young people on issues such as bullying and obesity.
Stasiak expressed his happiness in making a positive impact on the lives of others, especially young people, as he himself is a self-professed big kid. While his wrestling career may have been cut short, Stasiak has found success in other areas and continues to make a difference in people’s lives.
