Scott Hall

**Scott Oliver Hall** (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring name **Razor Ramon** and with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name.

Hall began his career in 1984, before rising to prominence after signing with the WWF in May 1992 under the name Razor Ramon. While within the company, he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship four times. He departed the company in May 1996, and subsequently signed with rival promotion WCW, where he became a founding member of the New World Order (nWo) faction, along with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash.

In the company, he became a two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WCW World Television Champion, and a nine-time WCW World Tag Team Champion. He left WCW in February 2000, and returned to the WWF (later renamed WWE) for a brief stint in 2002; he spent the rest of his career wrestling for other promotions and at the same time, battling addiction and health issues.

## Early life

Scott Oliver Hall was born in St. Mary's County, Maryland, on October 20, 1958. He grew up as a military brat, attending high school in Munich and moving once every year before he was 15.

## Professional wrestling career

Hall began his professional wrestling career in 1984 in the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) Florida territory Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) and soon began a feud with Dusty Rhodes. He and Dan Spivey trained together in Florida (mainly under Rhodes, but also under Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham). When it was time for the two to debut as a tag team, Rhodes sent them to work in Jim Crockett's Charlotte, North Carolina based territory. They debuted as American Starship, Hall under the ring name Starship Coyote and Spivey under the ring name Starship Eagle; the team was short lived.

Hall joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1985 as a face, where he wrestled as "Magnum" Scott Hall and, later, "Big" Scott Hall. Verne Gagne, the owner and promoter of the AWA, had wanted to push Hall to the same heights as he had Hulk Hogan, following Hogan's departure for Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Gagne had Hall use mannerisms and moves similar to Hogan. Hall also travelled to Japan, where he wrestled several matches for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) between 1987 and 1990.

Hall formed a tag team with his more experienced friend Curt Hennig, whom he later would credit for cultivating his early professional wrestling career. The team defeated Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal for the AWA World Tag Team Championship on January 18, 1986, in a 58-minute match in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The champions defended against such challengers as Buddy Rose and Doug Somers, Nord the Barbarian and Boris Zhukov, and Bill and Scott Irwin. They lost the belts to Rose and Somers by countout (an unusual and unexplained deviation from the standard rule of pro wrestling) on May 17, after interference by Colonel DeBeers. After losing the title, Hall and Hennig soon parted ways.

Hall then received shots at the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, against Stan Hansen and Rick Martel. Although Gagne wanted to put the belt on Hall, Hall hated the cold weather in the territory, recognized the AWA as a "sinking ship", and left for the NWA in 1989.

Hall spent his early years in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as a jobber, but when he returned to the company in 1991, he was renamed "The Diamond Studd", a gimmick similar to Rick Rude's (both were cocky, vain and would invite attractive women from the audience into the ring). He was managed by Diamond Dallas Page.

It was during his time as "The Diamond Studd" that he also began sporting his trademark toothpicks and also debuted his trademark toothpick fling at television cameras. He left the company the following years, and another gimmick would change his career.

Hall joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) later that month, as "Razor Ramon", a shady and stylish Cuban American bully from Miami. The character was modeled after the characters Tony Montana and Manny Ribera from the 1983 film *Scarface*. Ramon's nickname (The Bad Guy) and catchphrase ("Say hello to The Bad Guy") derived from Montana's quotes: "Say hello to my little friend" and "Say goodnight to the bad guy".

After weeks of introductory vignettes, Razor Ramon made his ring debut on the August 8, 1992 episode of *Superstars*, defeating local jobber Paul Van Dale (Carmella's father) with his finishing move, *The Razor's Edge* (previously called "The Diamond Death Drop" in WCW). Early on, Ramon wore large gold chain necklaces to the ring. While handing them to an attendant at ringside he would threaten "Something happens to this, something gonna happen to you", and then flick his toothpick at the hapless attendant.

Razor's first major angle began on the September 14 episode of *Prime Time Wrestling*, when he interfered in a WWF Championship match between champion Randy Savage and Ric Flair, attacking Savage on the floor and enabling Flair to win the title.

As a result, Razor and Savage started a feud, which later involved The Ultimate Warrior, after Warrior saved Savage from a post-match beating by Razor. Razor and Flair were scheduled to face The Ultimate Maniacs (Savage and Warrior) at Survivor Series. Warrior was fired from the WWF prior to the event and replaced by Flair's "executive consultant", Mr. Perfect. Razor and Flair lost to Savage and Perfect via disqualification, for constantly double-teaming them.

WWF Champion Bret Hart was scheduled to defend his title against The Ultimate Warrior at the Royal Rumble, but Razor Ramon replaced Warrior after the latter left the company. During the feud, Razor verbally disrespected Hart and the Hart wrestling family. Razor lost to Hart at the Royal Rumble, submitting to the Sharpshooter. Razor made his WrestleMania debut at WrestleMania IX, pinning former WWF Champion Bob Backlund with a roll-up.

On the May 17 episode of *Monday Night Raw* he suffered an upset loss to jobber "The Kid" (who consequently became known as "The 1–2–3 Kid"), beginning a feud between the two. It carried into the King of the Ring tournament and triggered a slow fan favorite turn for Razor, as he gained respect for The 1–2–3 Kid and support from the crowd.

Ted DiBiase showed no respect for Razor, making fun of him for losing to such a small jobber. Ramon helped The 1–2–3 Kid defeat DiBiase, solidifying his face turn. The feud culminated at SummerSlam, where Ramon defeated DiBiase in DiBiase's final WWF match.

On the October 4, 1993 episode of *Monday Night Raw*, a 20-man battle royal was held; the last two participants would face each other the next week for the vacant WWF Intercontinental Championship. Razor and Rick Martel were those final two. The next week on *Raw*, Razor pinned Martel after a Razor's Edge to win the Intercontinental Championship.

Ramon began a feud with Shawn Michaels over which man had the stronger claim to the Intercontinental Championship. Michaels had been stripped of the title months before due to "inactivity" (he was actually suspended during that time). He returned to television with his own version of the belt, claiming he was still the champion, since he hadn't been beaten for it.

The matter was settled when Ramon defeated Michaels in a ladder match at WrestleMania X, becoming the undisputed Intercontinental Champion after retrieving both belts. This match was critically acclaimed, and was voted as the Match of the Year for 1994 by readers of *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*, and it was also the first WWF match to receive a five star rating from sports journalist Dave Meltzer in his *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. On WWE.com, this match is ranked No. 5 of the Top 24 Matches in WrestleMania History.

Razor continued to feud with Michaels and his bodyguard Diesel. On the April 30 episode of *Superstars*, he lost the Intercontinental Title to Diesel, after interference from Michaels. At SummerSlam, Razor (with Walter Payton in his corner) defeated Diesel to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship for a second time, after Shawn Michaels accidentally hit Diesel with Sweet Chin Music.

At Survivor Series, he captained a team called "The Bad Guys", consisting of himself, The 1–2–3 Kid, Davey Boy Smith, and The Headshrinkers (Fatu and Sione). They faced The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, and Jeff Jarrett). Ramon ended up the sole survivor of the match. This began a feud with Jeff Jarrett, which led into the next year.

At the 1995 Royal Rumble, Razor lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jarrett, in controversial fashion; Jarrett had originally won the match by count-out, but demanded that the match be restarted so he could win the title. It was, and Jarrett pinned Razor with a small package. Razor faced Jarrett in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XI, winning by disqualification when Jarrett's assistant The Roadie interfered. Jarrett retained the title, as a title cannot change hands by countout or disqualification. Razor defeated Jarrett and The Roadie at In Your House 1, in a handicap match.

Razor defeated Jarrett in a ladder match at a May 19, 1995 house show to win his third WWF Intercontinental Championship. Razor Ramon was the first man to win the Intercontinental Title three times. On May 22, he re-lost the title to Jarrett. On June 9, Razor suffered a rib injury during a ladder match rematch against Jarrett. Around this time, he had formed a team with Savio Vega, and Vega replaced Razor to defeat Irwin R. Schyster in the Free for All tournament match before the King of the Ring pay-per-view. Razor managed Vega throughout the tournament. He lost to Mabel in the final match. Razor and Vega lost to Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo) at In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks, and lost a WWF (World) Tag Team Championship match to Owen Hart and Yokozuna on the August 7 episode of *Raw*.

Razor had an Intercontinental Championship ladder match (a rematch from WrestleMania X) against the new champion Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam, but lost. He then began a feud with Dean Douglas. Razor defeated Douglas at In Your House 4 to win the Intercontinental Championship, after Michaels had just forfeited the title to Douglas. This win made him the first four-time Intercontinental Champion in WWF history.

In early 1996, Razor feuded with newcomer Goldust, leading to an Intercontinental Championship match at the Royal Rumble. Razor lost the title to Goldust after Razor's former partner The 1–2–3 Kid attacked him. Ramon was originally scheduled to face Goldust in a rematch for the title at WrestleMania XII in a Miami Street Fight, but Hall was suspended for six weeks by the WWF due to his drug use. He returned to WWF television at April's In Your House 7, where he lost to Vader.

He became associated with the backstage group known as The Kliq (also consisting of Kevin Nash (Diesel), Paul Levesque (Hunter Hearst Helmsley), Shawn Michaels, and Sean Waltman (The 1–2–3 Kid)). Hall was involved in an incident dubbed the "Curtain Call" at a MSG show. Because Hall and fellow Kliq member Kevin Nash were departing for WCW, the pair (along with Michaels and Levesque) broke kayfabe by celebrating and embracing in the ring together, though the characters they portrayed were supposed to be enemies. According to Hall, he went to WCW not for the money, but because they offered him days off.

In 1996, Scott Hall shocked the wrestling world when he and WWF Superstar Kevin Nash jumped ship to arch-rival WCW. There, they (along with Hulk Hogan) formed the wildly successful faction, the New World Order. The stable stormed WCW, recruiting such stars as Syxx (formerly 1-2-3 Kid) and The Giant.

Hall and Nash teamed up as The Outsiders and defeated Harlem Heat at Halloween Havoc for their first WCW World Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended the title against The Nasty Boys and The Faces of Fear in a three-way match at World War 3, and then again defeated The Faces of Fear at Starrcade. They lost the title to The Steiner Brothers at Souled Out, but two days later Eric Bischoff returned the title due to the fact that the referee was not the official referee for the match. The Outsiders held the World Tag Team Championship from February 24, 1997 to October 13, 1997, often facing The Steiner Brothers, Lex Luger and The Giant, and combinations of The Four Horsemen.

Since Eric Bischoff (the Executive Vice President of WCW) was a member of the nWo, he used his power to return the title to The Outsiders on a technicality whenever they lost it. The Outsiders would also use the Freebird Rule to defend their title. With Nash and Syxx out with injuries, Hall mostly wrestled singles matches in the last quarter of 1997, and in one of them he submitted to Lex Luger in a grudge match at Halloween Havoc, with Larry Zbyszko as the guest referee. Hall won the 60-man battle royal at World War 3 in November 1997 to earn a shot at the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

On the January 12, 1998 episode of *Nitro*, The Outsiders defeated The Steiner Brothers to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship for a fourth time. Hall wrestled Larry Zbyszko at Souled Out and lost by disqualification. The Outsiders lost the title back to The Steiner Brothers on the February 9 episode of *Nitro*. At SuperBrawl VIII, The Outsiders won the WCW World Tag Team Championship for a fifth time, again by defeating The Steiner Brothers.

At Uncensored, Hall got his WCW World Heavyweight Championship shot against Sting, losing the match despite interference on his behalf from Dusty Rhodes. Hall was (legitimately) taken off TV for a short while and forced by WCW to enter rehab, after he and Nash showed up to the March 16, 1998 episode of *Nitro* heavily intoxicated and under the influence of painkillers.

While Hall was absent, the nWo split into two feuding factions. At Slamboree, Hall returned to team with Kevin Nash, for a tag team title defense against Sting and The Giant. Hall turned on Nash, costing them the title, and switched sides to align himself with Hulk Hogan and his splinter faction, nWo Hollywood.

On the July 6 episode of *Nitro*, Hall was handpicked by Hogan to wrestle United States Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg. Hall lost the match, giving Goldberg a shot at Hogan's World Heavyweight Championship later that night (which Goldberg won). Hogan publicly blamed Hall for the loss, and Hall was treated as a "weak link" by the rest of the nWo, especially Scott Steiner. On July 13, Hogan challenged Hall to a match on *Nitro*, during which Kevin Nash (leader of the nWo "Wolfpac" faction) interfered, but as he was apparently about to Jacknife Powerbomb Hogan and regain Hall as his friend, Hall viciously attacked him, proving his allegiance to Hogan and nWo Hollywood.

In the following weeks, Hall mocked Nash, calling himself "Medium Sexy (later "Super Sexy"), the Nash Killer". On the July 20 episode of *Nitro*, Hall (with The Giant) won the WCW World Tag Team Championship for a sixth time, defeating Sting and Nash after outside interference from Bret Hart (who was feuding with Sting at the time). This reign ended at Halloween Havoc, when Rick Steiner defeated The Giant and Scott Steiner (who replaced Hall) to win the title, even after Rick's partner Buff Bagwell had turned on him. Hall and Nash faced each other on October 25 at Halloween Havoc. After hitting Hall with two Jacknife Powerbombs, Nash left the ring and lost the match by countout, in what was described by the commentators as an act of mercy.

Hall was ejected from nWo Hollywood in late 1998, after Scott Steiner took control of the group in Hogan's absence, and then referred to himself as "The Lone Wolf". On November 30, 1998, Hall needed a tag team partner to face Steiner and Horace Hogan. Initially, Hall said he would do it alone, but Kevin Nash came to the entrance and offered his help. The team (no longer billed as The Outsiders) won the match. At Starrcade, Hall, disguised as a security guard, used a stun gun on WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg during his title defense against Kevin Nash. Not having seen the interference, Nash powerbombed and covered Goldberg to become the WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and break Goldberg's 173 match winning streak. After the nWo returned in December 1999, Hall joined Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett, and Scott Steiner in what was coined "nWo 2000". Hall feuded with WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sid Vicious, and nWo teammate Jeff Jarrett, over the world title. Sid pinned Hall in a match also involving Jarrett at SuperBrawl in February 2000. This was Hall's last appearance in WCW.

Hall was released in 2000 and worked briefly in ECW and New Japan. On the January 24, 2002 episode of *SmackDown!*, WWF co-owner Vince McMahon stated that his company had a "cancer", and that he would inject the WWF with a "lethal dose of poison", so he would no longer have to share ownership of the WWF with Ric Flair.

He then revealed the "poison" to be the nWo, who would help McMahon destroy his own company, before it could be ruined by anyone else. Six years after defecting from the promotion, Hall returned to the WWF on February 17 at the No Way Out pay-per-view, and was reunited with Kevin Nash and Hollywood Hogan in a repackaged nWo. Later on the February 25 episode of *Raw*, the nWo attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hall destroyed a cinder block on Austin’s leg. On the March 4 episode of *Raw*, Hall wrestled his first WWF match since May 1996, defeating Spike Dudley.

At WrestleMania X8, Hall lost to Austin, his first loss at a WrestleMania. Later in the night, after Hollywood Hogan had lost to the Rock, Hogan proceeded to shake the Rock's hand out of respect, thus turning his back on the nWo. Hall and Nash then attempted to attack Hogan and Rock, but were promptly dispatched by the duo. Hall and Nash later recruited X-Pac (formerly Syxx and 1-2-3 Kid) into the nWo on the following episode of *SmackDown!*.

On the March 25 episode of *Raw*, Hall was drafted to the Raw brand with the rest of the nWo, as a result of the WWF draft lottery. Hall faced Bradshaw in a match at Backlash, which he won with help from X-Pac. On the next night on *Raw*, Hall and X-Pac took on Austin and Big Show. Late in the match Big Show chokeslammed Austin and joined the nWo.

On May 5, on a flight back from England (following a tour leading to the Insurrextion pay-per-view) to the United States, retroactively dubbed "The Plane Ride From Hell", Hall became incredibly intoxicated. Taralyn Cappellano and Heidi Doyle, who served as flight attendants during the flight, accused Hall and several other wrestlers of behaving in a sexually inappropriate manner during the trip. In Hall's case, he was accused of licking Doyle's face, and making sexual remarks to the two women. The case was ultimately settled out of court.

The incident would have renewed interest in September 2021 after it was featured in the documentary series *Dark Side of the Ring*. Hall's last appearance for the company was the following night on *Raw*, wrestling in a six-man tag match with Big Show and X-Pac against Austin, Bradshaw and Ric Flair, which ended in a no contest. He was released from the promotion the following day due to ongoing issues stemming from his substance abuse. Hall worked in Total Nonstop Action (TNA), Juggalo Championship Wrestling, and the WWC.

On March 24, 2014, Razor Ramon was announced as the seventh and final inductee into that year's class of the WWE Hall of Fame. He was inducted in New Orleans on April 5, the night before WrestleMania XXX. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, X-Pac and Kevin Nash joined Hall onstage after his speech, reuniting The Kliq.

WWE promotional material for the event referred to him solely as Razor Ramon, without footage or mention of his work under his real name. At WrestleMania XXX, Hall, as Razor Ramon, appeared onstage with the other Hall of Fame inductees. Hall appeared on the August 11, 2014 episode of *Raw* for the first time since 2002 to reunite the New World Order with Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan to celebrate Hogan's birthday.

On the January 19, 2015 episode of *Raw*, Hall appeared with X-Pac and Kevin Nash to reunite the nWo, and along with the APA and The New Age Outlaws they beat down The Ascension, who had been insulting legends from past years.

At WrestleMania 31 in March 2015, Hall, along with Kevin Nash and Hogan, reunited as the nWo to help their old foe Sting in his match against Triple H, who had D-Generation X helping on his behalf. On *Raw 25 Years* on January 22, 2018, Hall (as "Razor Ramon") returned in a segment featuring D-Generation X, The Balor Club, and The Revival. Hall also returned to WWE for the RAW Reunion show on July 22, 2019.

Hall was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame a second time as a member of the New World Order, together with stablemates Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman, as part of the Hall's class of 2020. The induction of the 2020 honorees took place in April 2021 due to the previous year's ceremony being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Death

In March 2022, Hall was hospitalised after falling and breaking his hip. He was immobile on the floor for days before being discovered during a wellness check by Diamond Dallas Page, who took him to the hospital. After Hall underwent hip replacement surgery, a blood clot was dislodged, resulting in Hall suffering three heart attacks on March 12, after which he was put on life support at WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia. He was taken off life support on March 14 after his family had travelled to see and be with him at hospital, and with them at his bedside he passed away some 3-4 hours later. WWE announced his death later during that day's *Raw* episode with a tribute video.

Four days after Hall's death, Sean Waltman revealed to the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* that Hall had relapsed back into alcohol abuse when the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns rendered him unable to have social interactions, and at one point he had dropped weight down to 210 pounds (95 kg) from his usual 287 pounds (130 kg). Waltman also revealed that Hall was in particularly bad shape the night before the 2021 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and even passed out at a bar. Waltman also stated Hall's condition worsened throughout the two years prior to his death and that he had offered to move in with Hall in February 2022 to help with his health issues. Page also returned to help with Hall's alcoholism.