WWE star, ambassador, and former tag champion Titus O’Neil recently spoke with Beckles & Recher about the passing of Hall of Famer Scott Hall, his early interactions with The Undertaker, and who would be on his pro-wrestling Mount Rushmore. Highlights from the interview are below.
His thoughts on the passing of Scott Hall:
“I got to know him probably around 2014 and even when he was not around, he would text me. He’d see something on TV on Monday Night Raw or Smackdown and he’s like, ‘hey man, that’s good stuff. Keep pushing. Keep pushing. Stay positive, no matter what they give you, you know? Make the best out of it.’ And then last year, obviously I got a chance to spend some time with him, being inducted into the Hall of Fame with nWo, and he was always just, always full of life. You know, the life of the party. Everybody deals with their own demons, but at the core, he was a really good man and obviously changed the whole landscape of professional wrestling and sports entertainment when he formed the nWo with Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan and was one of the first professional sports entertainers to have guaranteed contracts. They literally changed the pay scale and the landscape for a lot of people.”
Recalls first interaction with the Undertaker:
“First coming in, it was scary. I mean, he’s very intimidating. But once you get to know him, you realize that he truly loves this business and he wants it to continue to thrive. And he’s just one of those guys, I didn’t bust my tail all these years to just come and not take it seriously. But you look at how big he is and the stuff that he did. He’s 6’8, 6’7. He’s probably close to 3oo lbs. I mean, he’s just diving over the rope, you know, head first, almost killing himself a couple of times.”
Who is on his pro-wrestling Mt. Rushmore:
“Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and Vince McMahon.”
(H/T and transcribed by Wrestling Inc.)