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WRESTLING COLUMNS
Scott Hall's Career Ruined In WCW
October 30, 2005 by James Reinheimer
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Scott Hall in my opinion is one of the most under-rated wrestlers in wrestling history. During his time in both the WCW and the WWE he was a two-time United States Champion, a five-time WCW Tag Team Champion, and a four-time Intercontinental Champion. Although he had everything it took to be the World Champion in the industry, he was never given the chance.
He was first established in the WWE as Razor Ramon. This was early in his career and during his time there he started off in the industry extremely well. Named most improved wrestler of the year in 1993. He won four Intercontinental Championships. One of the matches he won the title was in was a Ladder Match against Shawn Michaels. This match was named the Match Of The Year in 1994. Also during his time there he was wrestled in some excellent matches against the likes of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. This proved him as being a great mat wrestler. Everything was going good for him until he left for the WCW with Kevin Nash in 1996.
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In WCW Scott Hall was a huge part of the company, being the co-founder of the group nWo. Although he was one of the top guys in the company he never got the chance to become champion. He continued to wrestle in the mid-card division, winning the US Championship twice and the Tag Team Championship five times. This is all well and good, but for a wrestler who had already had a decent mid-card career, he really deserved better. His partner Kevin Nash was on top of the company a couple of times and the same should have happened with Hall. By this time Hall was in his late 30's and chances of him becoming World Champion were getting less likely, and to this point has not happened.
Looking at this it is obvious that Hall was never given the chance to become World Champion. He was given the matches, but he would have never been champion at the end of the night. I blame the WCW for this. Scott Hall had to of been one of the best all around wrestlers in the WCW during the time he was there. Along with Hogan and Nash, Scott Hall helped make the WCW as popular as it was and was never rewarded greatly for it. I for one hate the WCW for this. Scott Hall could have been one of the greatest champions of all time. If he stayed in the WWE then he would have definitely became a World Champion, but due to him going to WCW it never happened. This was just a complete waste of good talent and Hall should have had his time at the top.
by James Reinheimer ..
Aaron Stone wrote:
With all due respect James, I disagree with your point. Scott Hall was right
where he belonged, as an upper mid carder. He had some fantastic matches against
Shawn (ladder match at Wrestlemania X and Summerslam 95), but that's really all
he is known for (besides beating the 1 2 3 Kid in a crybaby match...enough
said). In WCW, he helped the company grow (ratings wise). However, he was just a
supporting role. What you never mentioned in your article is about his brief
appearance in the WWE. He showed up to show's drunk and even had a drinking
problem a little bit in WCW. He was not a very well liked person especially back
stage (this obviously hindered his chances of becoming promoted to Heavyweight
Championship). Stone Cold Steve Austin initially refused to wrestle Scott Hall
at Wrestlemania because of Scott Hall's "demons". All in all, Scott Hall's
actions held him back from the heavyweigh champion not Eric Bischoff or Vince!
Joe L. wrote:
Words cannot describe my disappointment over the turnabouts of Scott Hall's career. He may not have been one of the greatest single wrestlers in the world but damn it, he was a well-balanced wrestler with splendid mic skills and he could have been a contender. In a horrible 1994-1995, he was always one of the major highlights in the WWF as his feuds with Shawn Michaels, 1-2-3 Kid and Jeff Jarrett managed to keep casual fans interested, staying loyal to the product. He had one of the coolest gimmicks in the world, a deep contrast of the laughably Disney cartoons like Doink the Clown, Men on a Mission and the Sheepfuckers.
He came to WCW and became a bigger star but he was never treated like a true main eventer. He only received one title shot against Sting and then his career went downhill. He suffered personal demons and that got the best of him as his workrate deteriorated and the "alcohol" gimmick defamed his image. He no longer became a contender. He was just a bum.
Scott Hall's falling from grace is a sad story as he had great potential and could have been one of the biggest stars in wrestling history. But alcoholism and substandard booking had robbed us one of the wrestling's most underrated performers.
Good article, good respect to this man.
Flagg wrote:
A lot of things can be blamed on WCW, but I'm not sure this is one of them. While Hall had everything he needed to be the top dog, he also had/has a slight chemical-dependency problem which made him very unappealing to WCW (and WWE/F) as a world champion. Kinda hard to put the belt on someone who may show up too drunk to defend it.
NamaewaJieshii wrote:
Expect a lot of talk from smarks about him being Diamond Studd in WCW...
With that said, I always thought that Hall was underused. He had a great character to him, a great sized, and decent enough promo skills to get him to the top in the years of 95-96 (if he were to have stayed in WWE.) However, his career wasn't killed because he went to WCW, his career was killed because he had his own say in the back. Combined with his loyal friendship with Hogan and Nash, he always decided to let one of them be the champion.
Another thing that seriouslly damaged his career was his drinking problem. Scott Hall, although great as a wrestler, couldn't stop drinking and his body suffered from it. Backstage politics, Vince's ego, and personal demons are all the causes of Hall's downfall, not him leaving the WWE... that's how he became a bigger star than ever.
Mike Adams wrote:
Scott Hall's problem has always been Scott Hall. His problems with alcohol go way back, and he is one of those guys who has the talent, but seems to lack motivation. Scott Hall had great charisma and could cut a promo that served its purpose well. He was decent in the ring, a good brawler and an acceptable but not good technician when he was younger. However Scott Hall is also one of those guys that didnt keep himself in top shape, could get very sloppy in the ring and was a trouble maker. You just can't put a World title belt on a guy like that, regardless of what kind of potential he has. Missing shows on a regular basis is not acceptable, especially for a World Champion. You have to put the belt on someone who puts the companies best foot forward. If you put the belt on someone who is a danger to miss shows, to show up drunk for matches or promotional gigs, then your company looks like he does. Scott Hall, could have been a champion at some point, Scott Hall should have been a champion at some point, but the reason he wasn't is because Scott Hall couldn't straighten up long enough to be the champion.
Lightz0ut wrote:
Scott Hall ruined himself because he couldn't stop drinking. That's nobody's fault but his own. He couldn't control it in WCW and when he came back to WWE he couldn't do it either. He screw himself. I'm tired of people feeling bad for Scott Hall. He had a lot of backstage pull in WCW with Nash having his back but the management knew he was a screw up and would never put the World Belt on him. Its the same thing with X-Pac. How many chances are these guys going to get"
Matt Storm wrote:
This is in response to James Reinheimer's article about Scott Hall. Being a big
Scott Hall fan I read your article with much anticipation, and while I agree
that Hall was underused in both the WWF and WCW, I think it's fair to say a lot
of that was of his own doing. There's no denying that when properly motivated
Hall was a highly talented in-ring performer. He was also one of the most
charismatic and popular wrestlers in either promotion. However, given his
well-documented problems with alcoholism, I can understand why he was never
given the World title in WCW. As big a fan as I am, I can completely understand
why no promoter in his right mind would want to put the most prestigious title
in their company on a man who may or may not show up for his championship
responsibilities. He may have been a great performer, but the excess baggage
was probably too great to warrant making him World champion.
Scott Jenkins wrote:
It's true that Scott Hall had all the skills to become world champion, but he probably lacked the self-control to actually carry the belt and put booties in the seats for any length of time. I remember Scott Hall way back, far before his Diamond Studd gimmick, when he wrestled with Kurt Hennig as Big Scott Hall in the AWA and actually became a tag team champ there as well. Yes, Hall continually battled demons, but not just of the chemical sort. His marital problems became the talk of the wrestling community. Keep in mind that it takes a certain personality to carry any world title, and the pressure that goes with that title, representing the company and motivating people to come to the shows and order the PPVs, is incredible. That is the true reason Eddie Guererro's title reign was cut short, he, by his own admission, didn't want the pressure of being the world champ. Eddie has had his own battles due to pressure so perhaps Scott Hall's not having the title actually lengthened his career. He was a good worker, proven so by Jerry and Jeff Jarrett when they brought him into TNT, but again, his personal issues got the better of him.
There is no question that Hall was the better wrestler between himself and Kevin Nash. I never really understood how Nash could become champ, because it certainly wasn't due to overall talent. He did, however, manage to pressure of being champ, especially in the WWF, even though he gained more notoriety in WCW, and subsequently more money, I think his best work was in the WWF, especially his battles with the Undertaker.
Scott Hall will probably be in the WWE Hall of Fame, at least I hope this happens for him. Unfortunately, I fear the "book" on his career will be one of missed opportunities and failure to achieve his potential due to things totally unrelated to wrestling.
Chris Kash wrote:
After reading everything everyone has said, I think that everyone has said a peice of truth in the matter so far. Scott did have problems with alcohol and a rocky personal life, and that did keep him from accomplishing all of what he could have, but that in itself wasnt all that stopped him. Just as someone else said a little earlier, another part of his undoing was such close ties with Nash and Hogan. He could've been World Champion, I'm sure, at different times, but you have to think he wanted his friends to be happy too. Even if he would've stuck up for himself and said he wanted to be champion instead of Hogan or Nash, they could've cried and complained and cut it off there. He wouldn't have had a chance had that happened. And you're right any company that cares about their image wouldn't put their belt on a guy that might not show up in any condition to wrestle or even show up at all, but of course we're talking about WCW. They put the belt on Hogan and Nash both and both of them were known for regularly missing shows as well. WCW gave guaranteed contracts allowing guys to pick up big money and not do anything they didn't wanna, meaning if they had the belt and didn't feel like coming to work, then they didn't have to. And yeah, giving Hall the belt may have shortened his career, but then again, it may have motivated him to clean up his act. You never know. Because in the back of his mind I'm sure he knew he would never get the belt because of his ties with the rest of the nWo. And if you're not going to be champion, but you're already a top star and you've done all you can do but be champion, what's there to motivate you" You've proved all you can prove.That's the final step. But I agree it is sad that Scott never won the belt, whether it be his own fault, the companies' fault (whoever he was working for at the time), or both.
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