A Tribute to Scott Hall

Hey yo...

A few days ago I sat down to start reviewing Superbrawl I. Half way through the show, Diamond Dallas Page introduced his newest charge, The Diamond Studd. 

Scott Hall as The Diamond Studd with Diamond Dallas Page


Without saying a word, 'Studd positively oozed charisma, giving a simple flick of a toothpick that would become one of his many trademarks over the rest of his career.

Less than 24 hours later, the wrestling world heard the devastating news that the man behind The Diamond Stud, Scott Hall, was on life support following multiple heart attacks. A later statement from Hall's best-friend Kevin Nash sadly confirmed that the man who had successfully fought so many battles both inside and outside of the ring was unlikely to kick out this time.

Truthfully, I've been incredibly sad ever since. 

A year after his Superbrawl debut, Hall made his way to the World Wrestling Federation, combining many of the Diamond Studd's mannerisms with more than a little influence from the movie Scarface in order to take on his most iconic role as The Bad Guy, Razor Ramon.

Scott Hall as Razor Ramon


At a time when the WWF was becoming increasingly over-run by cartoon characters, Ramon stood out as being the real deal, thanks in no small part to Hall's talent and the absolute conviction with which he portrayed the character.

As the ill-fated New Generation era arrived, The Bad Guy remained a bright spot in an otherwise dark time for the WWF, competing in great matches against the likes of Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, giving us two classic ladder matches against Shawn Michaels that are still revered to this day and, of course, who could ever forget the time a young Sean Waltman upset Razor on that fateful episode of Monday Night Raw?

In 1996, Hall, along with Nash, moved back to World Championship Wrestling, changing the game both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Together with Hulk Hogan, Hall and Nash formed The New World Order and things were never the same again.

Scott Hall with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash as The New World Order

WCW began to truly establish itself as the number one pro wrestling company in America, if not the world, a sea of black and white nWo t-shirts could be seen in the crowd at every show, and wrestling fans the world over gave each other the "Two Sweet" while reminding one another that when you're nWo, you're nWo for life. 

Hall's last WCW run was also the last great run of his career.

After that, a short stop in WWE, followed by brief runs in TNA and elsewhere gave us a glimpse of The Bad Guy of old, but Hall's personal demons and off-screen life meant that we'd never again see the multi-time Intercontinental Champion at his best.

In his last few years, we'd see Hall finally give those demons a Razor's Edge for the ages, and as we say goodbye to this all-time legend, it's that, more than anything he did in the ring, that must surely serve as The Bad Guy's biggest victory. 

Alas, no matter how much we all prayed for Scott to kick out on two, death got the cover, the count, and the fall on one of the greatest of all time, and now the wrestling world mourns the loss of a true legend.

Scott Hall - Hard Work Pays Off, Dreams Come True, Bad Times Don't Last, but Bad Guys Do

Rest in peace, Bad Guy.

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