Scott Hall/Razor Ramon
Inducted by JCool
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“Hey yo.”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve imitated that to my friends and family, and not even as an impersonation. For a number of years, it was just a part of my vocabulary. This is just one way Scott Hall aka Razor Ramon influenced a generation of wrestling fans.
As Razor Ramon, in WWE, Hall quickly rose to the main event.
Within 6 months of his debut, which was heavily invested in by the company with engaging promos and placement in feuds with top stars, he was wrestling WWE Champion Bret Hart at Royal Rumble 1993. Some critics have said that match directly contributed to Vince McMahon’s confidence in him as a top guy.
His main area of success, though, was in the upper mid-card. The next year, his feud with Shawn Michaels over the Intercontinental Championship was important enough to showcase a new match type: the Ladder Match. This was the first match I saw him wrestle, on the old-school “Best of Wrestlemania I-XIV” VHS I rented from a local video store. It was awesome. The suspense, the creativity, the drama. It was so successful they reprised it at SummerSlam 1995 in what was also a pretty decent match. For the mid-1990s, Hall was the definitive Intercontinental champ.
Hall was a capable, technical wrestler, but it was his charisma and mic work that won over crowds.
On the character he built in WWE, Hall was able to leave for a better contract in WCW. He wasn’t the first to defect, but the way he was brought in had not been done before. On the May 27, 1996 Monday Night Nitro, during a match, Hall walked from the crowd, unannounced, over the security railing and into the ring.
He got on the mic and said, “You know who I am, but you don’t… know why…I’m here.” From there, the intrigue and interest only rose higher and higher, with thanks to the arrival of his good friend, Kevin Nash. They became known as the Outsiders and their mission was to destroy WCW. This would materialize into the New World Order (nWo) with Hulk Hogan in July, and Hall never looked back. The realism of this angle, along with Hall’s charismatic and unique delivery, made him a must-see presence on the roster. Hall’s survey to the fans became a staple part of his promo work. Hilarious stuff. It didn’t ever matter how the fans responded; Hall would always say “one more for the good guys”. He stayed on top, wrestling in important feuds, in and around the main event, for 3 years.
Hall was a charismatic and great promo guy, but he also benefitted greatly from the friends he made.
Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman and Hunter Hearst Helmsley were Hall’s brothers-at-arms during his WWE run. They became known as the “Kliq”, and their reputation wasn’t exactly favourable amongst the roster. All of them were well-promoted characters. They enjoyed working with each other, and enjoyed pretty decent booking, often near the top of the card. Look at the mid-90s championship scene and you’ll see matches between Hall and Michaels, Hall and 1-2-3 Kid (Waltman), Hall and Nash, Nash and Michaels, and it repeated in tag matches, too.
The benefits of this group would influence his run in WCW, where he and Nash won 7 WCW Tag Team Championships. As a founding member of the nWo, he consistently received top booking, plenty of TV time, a favourable schedule and spotlight feuds with other top wrestlers. Even during his short run in TNA, Hall continued to wrestle alongside his old pals, and if he wrestled some of the newer generation, he often won in short matches. Those are the perks of fighting with the right guys at the right time.
Hall’s presence in the Kliq led to multiple opportunities, but the greatest story is his redemption from drug addiction and estrangement to health and reuniting with his children.
Throughout this time, not everything was golden. Hall struggled with addiction, marital problems and was arrested multiple times. His decline was visible on TV, to the point where it was used in a feud, leading up to WCW’s Halloween Havoc 1998. Hall’s alcoholism was promoted and he was even taken to a bar and shown drinking as part of the show. By 2000, Hall was done with WCW and couldn’t stay healthy and sober longer than a few months at any promotion after that, including his 2002 WWE run, which saw him wrestle Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania X-8.
Hall became a pretty depressing sight to watch, showing up at independent wrestling events, stumbling and mumbling incoherently. Spring 2013: Hall wasn’t half the man he used to be and his health was not going to keep him going for much longer. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to live anymore, but he called Diamond Dallas Page, his old buddy, and asked for help.
Recovery & Hall of Fame Ending
We can thank DDP for not giving up on him, and for teaching him how to take care of himself. DDPYoga and an invite to live at DDP’s crib were two integral components of Scott Hall taking control of his life again. He got healthy, stayed healthy and has been doing a heck of a lot better since then.
Scott Hall could have been another one of those Hall of Fame worthy wrestlers who died too young, whose induction would be received by his kids. Thankfully, this story got a happy ending and Hall got to see his career celebrated first-hand by the WWE Universe, in April 2014, as a WWE Hall of Fame inductee. In his speech, he concluded it by saying, “Hard work pays off. Dreams come true. Bad times don’t last, but Bad Guys do.”
This bad guy is fully deserving of his induction into the LOP/WH Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
Career Accomplishments
- 7-time WCW Tag Team Champion w. Kevin Nash (The Outsiders)
- 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion
- 2-time WCW US Heavyweight Champion
- 2014 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee
- 1997 PWI Tag Team of the Year
- 1994 Wrestling Observer Match of the Year: vs. Shawn Michaels, IC Title Ladder Match @ Wrestlemania X
Lords of Pain.net/Wrestling Headlines.com welcomes Scott Hall into the Hall of Fame class of 2020.
Related Links:
Scott Hall On Working At The WWE PC, His Favorite Part Of Raw Reunion & More
Sean Waltman On Finding Out He’d Beat Razor Ramon, The Real Reason For The Angle
2018 LOP Hall of Fame Inductee: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon at WrestleMania X