23/03/2022
RIP Scott Hall
Professional wrestler Scott Hall died last week. He had gone in for a hip replacement operation, suffered a complication and had three heart attacks as a result. He was 63.
At some point in the late 80s or early 90s I became enthralled with the world of professional wrestling. Something about the pageantry, the
popculture, gonzo scripting and the larger than life characters appealed to me, and their was none larger than Scott Hall aka Razor Ramon. He was arguably the meanest, baddest heel to ever grace the squared circle, and unlike some wrestlers who put distance between themselves and their characters, it was impossible to tell whether Hall was as badass as his alter ego or not. He had been a nightclub bouncer in his early years and gotten into an altercation that resulted in the death of a man, an event
that haunted him for much of his life and was rumoured to be the reason for the drug and alcohol dependency he later suffered from.
In the ring, Hall was an athlete of almost no equal. A towering 6'7 man, his finishing move, the Razor's Edge, involved hoisting his opponent on his back in a crucifix pose, and dropping him mercilessly over his shoulders, all the way onto the ring floor below. He fought in the first, and some say still unequalled, ladder match with Shaun Michaels, and together with partner
Kevin Nash gave the WWE its first big scare as he captured huge ratings moving to the rival WCW franchise and creating the legendary NWO (New World Order) angle.
Out of the ring he raised an equal amount of hell and was the reputed inspiration for Darren Aronofsky's 2008 film The Wrestler. Acute addiction to drugs and alcohol took a toll on his career and body, and along with the injuries sustained in the ring, Hall became almost unrecognisable as he sank into middle age, crippled by his demons, and appearing only sporadically, at conventions and ill-advised showcase bouts where he'd have to be propped up to even enter the ring.
He finally got clean after multiple failed attempts at rehab and had reconciled with his estranged family, and was admitted to the WWE Hall of
Fame in 2014 where he gave a short speech that contained the words: "Hard work pays off, dreams come true. Bad times don't last, but bad guys do"
Much like modern film, the once wild world professional wrestling has become almost unwatchable in recent years for many reasons, but foremost amongst them is that in the minutely scripted and programmed world of modern sports entertainment, personalities like Hall simply don't exist anymore. They're
too real to be sewn into the corporate fabric and too independent to be turned into content. I'll settle for the old matches that still do the
rounds on YouTube and marvel at Hall in his prime. Say bye to the bad guy.
