Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 - March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was known for his work within the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) as 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, assuming 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 defected to 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 short stint in 2002. He spent the rest of his career wrestling for various promotions, such as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he held the TNA World Tag Team Championship once, with Kevin Nash and Eric Young.

Although he never won a world championship in a major promotion, Hall was nonetheless a two-time world champion, as he held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a singles competitor in 2014, and again as a member of the nWo in 2020.

Early life

Scott Oliver Hall was born on October 20, 1958 in St. Mary's County, Maryland, 70 miles south of Washington, D.C..[1][8] He grew up as an army brat and moved once every year before he was fifteen.[9] He attended high school in Munich, West Germany.[10

Professional wrestling careerNational Wrestling Alliance territories (1984-1985)

Hall began his 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.[11] 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.[1][12]

At first, American Starship were booked to wrestle infrequently, so much so that the two were given ground crew jobs for the Charlotte Orioles (which Jim Crockett owned at the time). When they did get in the ring, it was with little success. The highlight of their stay in Crockett's Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling was a losing challenge to Arn and Ole Anderson for the NWA National Tag Team Championship. After leaving Crockett, the duo joined Bob Geigel's NWA Central States territory (based in Kansas City) in 1985.[citation needed]

They received a shot at NWA Central States Tag Team Champions Marty Jannetty and "Bulldog" Bob Brown, but lost the match. Dan Spivey's stay in the Central States territory was brief. He returned to the Carolinas and Crockett, jobbing in the freshly rebranded Jim Crockett Promotions as "American Starship" Eagle. Hall, meanwhile, stayed in Central States, receiving a solid push.[citation needed]

American Wrestling Association (1985-1989)

Hall joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1985, where he wrestled as "Magnum" Scott Hall and, later, "Big" Scott Hall. He wrestled as a babyface wrestler.[1][13] 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).[11][13] Gagne had Hall use mannerisms and moves similar to Hogan.[11] Hall also travelled to Japan, where he wrestled several matches for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) between 1987 and 1990.[14]

Hall formed a tag team with his more experienced friend Curt Hennig, whom he later would credit for cultivating his early professional wrestling career.[15] 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.[1][16] The champions defended against such challengers as Buddy Rose and Doug Somers, Nord the Barbarian and Boris Zhukov, and Bill and Scott Irwin.[1][11][13] 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.[11] 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.[11][13] 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.[11]

World Championship Wrestling (1989)

Hall was brought into the NWA's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) territory by Jim Ross in 1989, as part of the NWA's initiative to develop new, young stars (also including Brian Pillman and Sid Vicious).[11] He made his debut on the June 3 edition of World Championship Wrestling (the predecessor to WCW Saturday Night) in a vignette that showed Scott "Gator" Hall swimming and playing volleyball at a beach, riding boats, fishing, and scaring alligators. His in-ring debut came on June 16 on a house show in Cleveland, OH, where he teamed with Randy Rose in a losing effort against WCW World Tag-Team Champions The Freebirds. While waiting for his first television match, he continued to wrestle on the road and was winless in tag-team and singles action, facing Norman, The Freebirds, and Dan Spivey. Hall finally gained his first victory on June 29 when he pinned Rip Morgan in Salisbury, MD, and then entered a successful house show series with Bill Irwin.

His television debut finally came on the July 9 edition of World Championship Wrestling where he was pinned by The Great Muta. On the July 9 edition of WCW Pro he faced Terry Funk and was defeated.[17] His PPV debut came at The Great American Bash: The Glory Days, where he participated in a King of the Hill battle royal.[18] He then began jobbing regularly, losing to The Great Muta, Mike Rotunda, Sid Vicious, Ron Simmons, and Butch Reed. His final match came on November 7 when he was defeated by Butch Reed at a house show in Chicago, IL. After this he went on hiatus.[11][19]

World Wrestling Federation (1987, 1990)

A little over two years after having received a tryout at a house show in August 1987,[20] In 1990, Hall received another tryout at a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping in Fort Myers, Florida. At the event, Hall was defeated by Paul Roma but was not signed with the company.[21]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1990)

Shortly afterwards Hall joined New Japan Pro-Wrestling, teaming with Larry Cameron and defeating Hiroshi Hase & Kuniaki Kobayashi March 2, 1990 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan[22] He wrestled numerous times for the company, facing a diverse group of opponents including Bam Bam Bigelow, Koji Kitao, Nord the Barbarian, and Shinya Hashimoto.

Catch Wrestling Association (1990)

Scott Hall, as Texas Scott, competed for the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA) at the "Catch Cup '90" tournament on December 22, 1990 in Bremen, Germany before 6,000 fans. Hall was defeated by the Soul Taker in the tournament final. This big event featured the retirement match of Otto Wanz, as well as Terry Funk, Bull Power (Big Van Vader), Chris Benoit, David Taylor, Fit Finlay, and Akira Nogami in action.

World Wrestling Council (1990-1991)

From 1990 to 1991, Hall had a stint in the Puerto Rican promotion World Wrestling Council (WWC).[19] On March 3, he defeated Miguel Pérez, Jr. for the WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship.[23] He lost it to Super Medic III on April 20.[19]

Return to WCW (1991-1992)

Main article: The Diamond Mine

After wrestling a dark match on April 29, 1991 in Atlanta, GA at a taping of World Championship Wrestling,[24] Hall made his official return to WCW[25] and 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, and made his first appearance on May 19 at SuperBrawl 1.[25] In his debut match, he squashed Tommy Rich on the June 14 episode of Clash of the Champions XV: Knocksville USA.[26] He defeated Tom Zenk at The Great American Bash.[27] At Clash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl on September 2, The Diamond Studd lost to Ron Simmons.[28] At Halloween Havoc 1991, the team of Studd, Abdullah the Butcher, Cactus Jack, and Big Van Vader lost to Sting, El Gigante, and The Steiner Brothers in a "Chamber of Horrors Match".[29] On the November 19 episode of Clash of the Champions XVII, Studd lost to Zenk in a rematch from The Great American Bash.[30]

After an injury sidelined him for Starrcade in December 1991, Hall entered 1992 forming short-lived tag teams with Vinnie Vegas and Scotty Flamingo (as part of The Diamond Mine stable), as well as with members of Paul E. Dangerously's Dangerous Alliance.[25] Hall began a feud with Dustin Rhodes in April 1992 when he interfered in two televised matches Rhodes had with Bobby Eaton.[31] The idea of adding him to the Dangerous Alliance was contemplated, but fell through, and Hall left WCW shortly after a final televised match against Ron Campbell on May 8.[25]

Return to the WWFDebut and various feuds (1992-1993)

Hall as Razor Ramon

Hall joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) later that month, as "Razor Ramon", a shady and stylish Cuban American bully from Miami.[11][32] The character was modeled after the characters Tony Montana and Manny Ribera from the 1983 film Scarface.[32] Ramon's nickname (The Bad Guy) and catchphrase ("Say hello to The Bad Guy") derive from Montana's quotes: "Say hello to my little friend" and "Say goodnight to the bad guy".[32][33] He made his first appearance in a dark match on a Wrestling Challenge taping against Chris Hahn on May 18, 1992.[34] Later in his career, Hall claimed he pitched the idea of a Scarface-like character during a meeting with Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson, as a joke.[11] Hall quoted lines from the film with a Cuban accent and gave ideas for vignettes that would recreate several of the film's scenes, such as driving around South Florida in a convertible with a leopard-skin interior.[11] Although taken right from the film, Hall claims McMahon and Patterson were nevertheless floored by the ideas and called him a "genius".[11] Hall later learned that McMahon and Patterson had neither seen nor heard of the film, and believed that Hall was coming up with the ideas himself. Patterson and McMahon came up with the name "Razor", but agreed with Hall's suggestion that it should be a nickname, and that the character should have a proper given name. Hall later asked Tito Santana for a Latino-sounding name that starts with "R". Santana suggested "Ramon", Hall brought it back to McMahon and the name stuck.[11] The Razor Ramon logo and costume were designed by Tom Fleming.[35]

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 with his finishing move, The Razor's Edge (previously called "The Diamond Death Drop" in WCW).[36] 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.[11]

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.[37] 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.[37] Razor and Flair were scheduled to face The Ultimate Maniacs (Savage and Warrior) at Survivor Series. However, 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.[32]

Personal life

Hall married Dana Lee Burgio in 1990. They divorced in 1998 due to Hall's drug use.[133] They remarried in 1999 and divorced again in 2001. He had a son (Cody Taylor, born 1991)[134] and a daughter (Cassidy Lee, born March 27, 1995).[135] Hall married his second wife Jessica Hart, in 2006. The marriage lasted for only a year when they divorced in 2007.[136]

Criminal history

In 1983, Hall was charged with second-degree murder after shooting a man with his own gun (after wrestling it away from him) in an altercation outside of a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. According to Hall, this was done in self-defense. The charges were dropped due to lack of evidence. In a 2011 interview for ESPN, Hall said he is unable to forget the incident.[137]

In 1998, Hall was also arrested for groping a 56-year-old woman outside a hotel in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[138][139]

On October 10, 2008, Hall was arrested during a roast of The Iron Sheik, held at a Crowne Plaza hotel in New Jersey. A comedian, Jimmy Graham, had joked, "After The Sheik and Hacksaw Jim Duggan got caught snorting coke in the parking lot, his career fell faster than Owen Hart". An enraged Hall charged at Graham and knocked down a podium, then grabbed the microphone from him and yelled about how the joke was disrespectful to Hart[140] (who died on May 23, 1999, due to injuries sustained after a fall from the rafters of Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri). Graham described the incident on his MySpace page, claiming Hall was drunk at the time of the attack.[141]

Hall was arrested on May 14, 2010, and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting a police officer. Police were called to the Hitching Post Bar in Chuluota, Florida, after Hall (who had been "drinking heavily", according to the police report), "became aggressive". When they arrived, they found Hall yelling and cursing at independent professional wrestling personalities and bar staff. Hall was told he was not allowed to return to the establishment. In his police statement, Hall described himself as an unemployed professional wrestler, despite having a job with TNA Wrestling (who would release him a month later).[126][142]

On April 6, 2012, Hall was arrested in Chuluota, Florida, at around 9:30 p.m., by deputies of the Seminole County Sheriff's office. The arrest was later reported to be for a domestic disturbance involving his girlfriend, Lisa Howell. Hall allegedly choked Howell while he was drunk. He was taken to a hospital in Seminole County to be medically cleared prior to being taken to a drunk tank.[143] Hall denied the choking allegations.[144] The prosecutor dropped the charges, citing insufficient evidence.[145]

Health

Hall's problems with drugs and alcohol were made public in the late 1990s and were incorporated into a controversial WCW storyline. While the storyline was playing out, Hall was legitimately arrested for keying a limousine (vandalizing its painted surface by scratching it with a key) while intoxicated outside of a night club in Orlando, Florida, causing $2,000 in damages.[146]

After his release from TNA in 2010, Hall checked into rehab paid for by WWE.[147] Hall checked out of the rehab facility in early October 2010.[148] Weeks after he checked into rehab, Hall had both a defibrillator and a pacemaker implanted in his chest.[149] He was hospitalized twice in 2010 for double pneumonia (affecting both lungs).[150] During this time, Hall started having seizures and was soon diagnosed with epilepsy, resulting in him requiring to take eleven different medications on a daily basis to treat his heart and seizure problems.[151] On April 6, 2011, Hall was reportedly taken to the hospital due to a seizure.[151] Hall's representative, Geena Anac, said Hall was in the hospital that night to be treated for extremely low blood pressure, and that Hall visits his doctor on a regular basis while recovering from double pneumonia, for blood work and checkups.[152] Three days later, TMZ reported Hall had been taken to a hospital, treated for cardiac issues and remained in the hospital for three days. According to medical reports, Hall was being treated after overdosing on both opioids and benzodiazepines.[151]

Longtime friend Kevin Nash claimed Hall's substance abuse stemmed from posttraumatic stress disorder.[153] In October 2011, ESPN's E:60 featured a documentary detailing Hall's experience with drugs and alcohol. It included interviews with several of Hall's family members (including his ex-wife and his son, Cody), as well as several prominent figures and close friends from the wrestling industry (including Hogan, Nash, Waltman, Bischoff, and Stephanie McMahon).[151] In early 2013, former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page invited Hall into his home in order for Hall to stay sober and "rebuild his life from the ground up... physically, mentally, professionally, and spiritually." Page also initiated a fundraising drive, which raised nearly $110,000 ($30,000 over their $80,000 goal) to pay for hip replacement surgery and dental work for Hall.[154]

Death

In March 2022, Hall was hospitalized after falling and breaking his hip.[155] After Hall underwent hip surgery, a blood clot was dislodged, resulting in him suffering three heart attacks on March 12, after which he was put on life support in Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia.[156] He was taken off life support on March 14 and WWE announced his death later that day.[157][158]