The Sandman Recalls Going To WCW And Barely Being Used There

The Sandman had a run in WCW where he didn’t get used much, and says he thought he might sit home for the whole deal. Sandman left ECW for WCW in September of 1998, initially appearing in some vignettes for an idea that was scrapped before he eventually debuted as Hardcore Hak. He wasn’t in the company long and was released a year after he signed.

Sandman recalled his WCW experience during his interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight. He recounted how he was being paid around $5,000 a week to do nothing and that he kind of hoped he would have been able to keep doing that. He also explained why he wasn’t interested in going to WWE right after ECW closed. You can see the highlights below:

On Leaving ECW For WCW:

“Oh, dude, I almost got to sit home for the whole contract. So they signed me and they gave me a $10,000 signing bonus on September 9 or something like that. They didn’t use me until the beginning of March, but that company was going down, was going to be closed soon, less than two years. So I thought maybe I was going to sit home for the whole contract. They had me do some stupid stuff with Raven, but that wasn’t going anywhere. I did some vignettes with him as his brother. But then Nash gets the book. Nash gets the book Saturday afternoon, later on Saturday afternoon. J.J. Dillon calls me and says, ‘Nash just got the book. He wants you in Minnesota Monday night.’ I’m like, Okay. I was like, damn. Half of me is like, okay. The other half is like, wow, I really could have sat on this whole contract.”

On Not Wanting To Wrestle:

“Well, no. Dude, it’s nice sitting home making $5,000 a week doing nothing. There was a lot of guys doing that. I’m like yeah, I could be that guy, save your body.”

On If There Was Talk Of Him Going To WWE Right When ECW Closed:

“No… I don’t think I was interested in them right then, and I don’t think they were interested in me. I had a reputation at that point, though, too. They were trying to do everything away. At that point, they’re testing guys. I don’t know where their health freaking policies were at that point. They’re like, No, we ain’t touching that.”