Professional wrestling and its fans lost an icon March 14th, 2022.
Scott Hall
aka Razor Ramon, 1/3 of the revolutionary nWo (New World Order) has passed away. He was 63 years old. Rest in Peace Scott Hall.
In Early March, Scott Hall Suffered a Broken Hip
After suffering a broken hip due to a fall, Scott Hall was scheduled to undergo hip surgery on March 12th. Sadly, complications during surgery caused a blood clot to dislodge and he suffered three heart attacks over the weekend and was placed on life support. It was then announced by Hall’s close friend and nWo/Outsiders teammate Kevin Nash (aka Diesel) early Monday that Hall would be removed from life support once his family had come to peace.
The Legend Behind The Man’s Early Beginnings
Hall got his start in the wrestling business in 1984 with the National Wrestling Alliance’s (NWA) Championship Wrestling from Florida territory and in 1985 he joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where Hulk Hogan got his big start. He would be known as “Big” Scott Hall and Verne Gagne, the head booker and owner of the territory, would do his best to push Hall the same as he had Hogan.
It was in that promotion that he met one of his closest friends, Curt Hennig (aka Mr. Perfect). From 1989 to 1991 Scott bounced between World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) with unremarkable results. His return to WCW in later 1991 he joined The Diamond Mine stable where he would take on the moniker “The Diamond Studd” and would be paired with Diamond Dallas Page as his manager. Hall would make changes to his look based on Page’s suggestion, losing the brown hair and cowboy-like mustache. Hall would start dying his hair black, and establish a more tough-guy persona. This character was the earliest incarnation of his most famous character. In 1992 he was back in the WWF as Razor Ramon. It was then that he took the wrestling world by storm.
The Break Out of The Bad Guy
Ramon was modeled after Tony Montana and Manny Ribera from the 1983 film Scarface and he was billed as a Cuban bully from Miami. The Razor Ramon character began in the WWF as a heel (bad guy) but quickly became so popular that his face turn (good guy) was inevitable. During his time as a heel, he would feud with Bret “Hitman” Hart, Macho Man Randy Savage, and the 1-2-3 Kid. It was during his time in the WWF that Hall befriended wrestlers Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman (The 1-2-3 Kid and later X-Pac in WCW), and Paul Leveque (Triple H). This group became known as ‘The Kliq’.
Among Hall’s biggest matches, which I watched live on PPV, was his Intercontinental Unification Ladder Match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X in 1994 which is still ranked to this day as a top 5 all-time WrestleMania match in history.
“Like it or not, we are taking over!”
In May 1996, Scott Hall made an unannounced appearance on WCW’s Monday Nitro match. That event changed the wrestling business forever. That was the night that the New World Order was formed. A week later, Hall would be joined by Kevin Nash (whom he’d been feuding with during his stint in the WWF) and they began to take the WCW by storm. Then, at the Bash of the Beach pay per view the wrestling business was changed forever when Hulk Hogan would make his infamous heel turn and join the coined ‘Outsiders’ in their war against World Championship Wrestling.
The nWo would help WCW to almost destroy the World Wrestling Federation and would forever blur the lines of kayfabe (storyline vs. real life). Hall and Nash would also set the stage for wrestling antiheroes like D-Generation X, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock. Hall remained with WCW until 2000 and returned to the WWF/E in 2002 with his nWo partners Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan.
In 2014 Scott Hall was elected into the WWE Hall of Fame under his Razor Ramon character. Six years later Hall was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2020 under his birth name with his nWo stablemates Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and Sean Waltman.
The Man Behind the Legend and The Resurrection of The Bad Guy
There was no secret that Scott Hall had a lot of personal demons when it came to addiction. Sadly, his addiction to alcohol was showcased in a WCW storyline during his later years in the company. Despite how close to home this storyline hit, Scott handled it with the grace of a professional even though he shouldn’t have had to.
One thing that Hall’s closest friends and wrestling fans will remember, and proudly proclaim, is that despite his demons he always stood tall and proud and strong. He overcame his demons and became a beacon of hope for those battling addiction and seeking their own redemption.
His earlier attempts to clean up his life included moving into the home of his friend Diamond Dallas Page. At the same time, Page had fellow wrestling legend Jake “The Snake” Roberts living with him as well. During this time, he was included in the documentary ‘The Resurrection fo Jake the Snake’ and began practicing DDP Yoga, cleaning up his living, and doing everything that he possibly could to turn his life around.
The world, not just the wrestling world but the entire world, lost a great man. A man that not only rose to prominence but also faced demons. He not only faced them, but he also overcame them to be a beacon of hope for those that do not have the same resources that Hall himself had.
Among his greatest accolades are the final lines of his WWE Hall of Fame speech.
Rest in Peace Scott Hall.
RIP Scott. May you find the peace in the afterlife that you found in the ring. I hope and pray that you and the Macho Man are hanging out, having some laughs, and you can finally just breathe.
I was hoping that I would have the chance to meet you one day after my success with DDP Yoga. It was never meant to be. You never knew me, you never knew my name. But know that you touched my life and were among the people that pushed me to be the best me that I could be.
Say goodbye to the Bad Guy.
