Sean Waltman won't sugarcoat anything. When asked about the last time he and his friends were together in the World Wrestling Federation, the superstar known as X-Pac admits they "were getting away with stuff that other people might not have gotten away with" and that they were miserable to be around at times.

Rumor has it that some of his fellow superstars are not too thrilled that Waltman's buddies- Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, not to mention Hulk Hogan- are on their way back to the Federation. Quite candidly, Waltman admits that "some guys have a right to bitch."

In a telephone interview with WWF.com on Monday, Waltman, who has been off Federation television since last fall rehabilitating a chronic neck condition, said he's been able to sit back and reflect on a variety of topics during his time off.

When asked about the infamous Kliq, Waltman spends several seconds thinking about what he wants to say. They were no "canned" or "political" respsonses with him.

In addition to him, Hall and Nash, the Kliq consisted of the Federation's two Grand Slam Champions, Shawn Michaels and Triple H.

"Looking back, I can see what (people) mean," Waltman said. "I'm trying to look back on it objectively. I think it was just that we were getting away with stuff that other people might not have gotten away with. Like being late. That's the main thing I can remember. We were late quite a bit and we got talked to a couple times about it."

Waltman also says that he doesn't remember parts of that time period because he was battling a serious drug addiction. His personal problems, he admits, made him difficult to be deal with.

"When you get (messed) up a lot, it really does something to the way you act," he said. "You have a lot of mood swings."

They may not have had drug problems, but his friends could be difficult to deal with as well, he said.

"Shawn- he's my friend and he always will be- he can be a (jerk) to be around sometimes, and I think he's say the same," Waltman says. "And so can Scott. And he'll admit it.

"As friends, you accept people for who they are. That doesn't mean everybody else in the locker room is going to though. Nor should they be obligated necessarily to do so. Everybody doesn't always see eye to eye."

Nash, Hall, and Michaels were three of the Federation's top talents during the mid-1990s. Federation Chairman Vince McMahon was in court defending himself from federal charges. Business was down. When you put it all together, the locker room morale as at an all-time low.

"I don't foresee that being a problem this time," Waltman concludes. "I mean, personality is going to come through. But we're all a lot more mature. I know I've changed. I mean, I still have a temper on me sometimes when I think something's right as far as the product. I'm very outspoken. But I don't think you have to give that up."

Since Nash and Michaels were big stars on a roster without many, "they had big stroke with Vince" back then, Waltman said. "I'm sure that's why we got away with some of that stuff."

Not anymore.

"We've got The Rock, we've got (Stone Cold Steve) Austin. We've got Hunter (Triple H)," Waltman said. "The stroke is spread a lot thinner, if you know what I mean, and I think it's better that way."

The Kliq membesr are also cleaner than they were before, Waltman said. McMahon paid for Waltman to go to a rehab clinic in 1996, and he says drugs are no longer a factor in his life. Scott Hall's substance abuse problems have been well documented as well.

"He's doing way better," said Waltman, who continued to speak with Nash and Hall after he returned to the Federation in 1998. "He has got custody of his children. I ain't going to speak for him. I know the reading I get from talking to him. It's good."

One of the main reasons that morale was low in the mid-1990s had nothing to do with Waltman and his friends, he said. Business was simply bad, which led to bad feelings.

"A lot of people were really miserable at that time in the company's history, because things were really bad," Waltman said. "You don't know anything about business being bad until you've done Monday Night Raw at Liberty High School in front of 800 people. You could tell what time it was becuase there was a clock on the wall opposite the hard camera."

To those superstars who are concerned that they'll see their spot on the card lowered and their television time reduced with the arrival of the nWo, Waltman admits "some of them have a grip." But he also adds there's a potential bright side to the arrival of Hall and Nash.

He dismisses the notion that Hall and Nash will refuse to compete with certain talent.

"People can say what they want about Kevin because of the last days of WCW," he said. "A person can become a product of their environment. When you're in a place that's (screwed up), it's everybody for themselves.

"If (the other superstars) are lucky, they'll get to work with guys like Scott, Kev, myself- I don't mean to put myself over at this point, but I will- and Hunter," he said. "We're some of the guys who can show people what to do and when to do it. One thing you can't deny is the passion that we all share for wrestling."