The pro wrestling world is still mourning the death of one of its most treasured legends, Scott Hall. I’ve decided to take a look at some of his most epic moments in the sport of pro wrestling.
He started wrestling in 1984 and since then he had runs in some of the most influential territories and promotions in the sport. In so writing this article, I wanted very much to encompass the entirety of his history in the sport.
It was impossible to include everything, as he has had a rich history in the pro wrestling industry, which includes many moments like matches with Japanese legends of the sport like The Great Muta, tagging with the legendary Curt Hennig in the AWA, and even wrestling in ECW.
There are indeed a lot of memories to choose from, but I narrowed it down to those moments that made him stand out…those moments that helped change the business and usher in a new era in pro wrestling.
*The memories are in order of when they occurred, historically chronological, and are not necessarily in order of preference or impact made.
10. American Starship Takes On Ole and Arn Anderson For The NWA National Tag Team Championship in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
This was a losing effort, but for a young man starting in the business, facing Arn and Ole Anderson at that point in his career is like an MBA graduate getting a chance to sit in with Elon Musk before embarking on a career in the cutthroat business industry.
American Starship was his tag team in the NWA; his partner, Dan Spivey.
9. The Original Diamond Mine and the “Chamber of Horrors Match”
The Diamond Mine is currently a faction—and an impressive one at that—in NXT. But back in the eighties, it was a faction led and managed by the then flamboyant Diamond Dallas Page.
Scott Hall was a part of the revamp of the original faction called The Diamond Exchange. While with the troop, Hall was known as The Diamond Studd.
It was at Halloween Havoc in 1991 that he would team with Abdullah the Butcher, Cactus jack (Mick Foley and Vader to take on El Gigante, Sting and the Steiner Bros. The match has gone down in history as being over the top for sure, but oh-so-entertaining.
8. The Razor Ramon Vignettes
After running wild on the indies and at many promotions, Hall would be accepted into the WWF with open arms. He had tried out for the company in the past but had been rejected.
Finally in 1992 they had a spot for him. His gimmick was pretty much ripped off of that Tony Montana Scarface character, but boy did he run with it. They filmed a series of vignettes and as Hall said of his character—that particular character—it went over big with the fans. The rest is history of course.
7. Ladder Match For The Intercontinental Title
His time in WWF was a great run, but the moment that perhaps will never be forgotten was the ladder match at WrestleMania 10 against Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship.
6. WCW Debut In 1996
He would sign a contract with WCW for a lot more money than he was making in the WWF and for a lot less days worked. His debut shocked the world because many though he was still in WWF. He showed up, acting like he was still part of the company and soon, he’d be joined by his great friend, Kevin Nash.
5. The Outsiders Take On WCW
Nash appeared soon after and they formed The Outsiders tag team and they took on the entirety of the WCW locker room. They held the show hostage at times, or seemingly, and all the while, they looked like they were still WWF guys all the way.
This actually led to a law suit in which McMahon believed it was copyright infringement. They needed to address it on TV stating clearly that they were not employed by the WWF. A crazy time and one in which the line between reality and fiction is so marred, it’s hard to see. Now talk about epic moments in pro wrestling.
4. The Formation Of The nWo
This of course led to one of the most impactful moments in pro wrestling history. So much has been written about this moment, that I’ll assume if you’re reading this, you know how impactful it was.
I firmly believe that without this moment—without that Hogan turn—the Attitude Era would never have happened. As the Attitude Era was Vince’s way of pushing boundaries, much in the same way WCW was as soon as Hogan turned heel and started that faction with Hall and Nash.
3. The Return of The nWo
Of course as time went on, the nWo was kind of watered down. With many of the bad decisions that WCW made on the way to its demise in 2001, a mismanagement of one of its greatest factions was inevitable.
But it was in 2002 that Vince McMahon decided to bring back the original trio for a run, and that initial run was quite a time to be a pro wrestling fan, as they ran rampant in the company like a “poison,” which had been McMahon’s intent all along…they mixing it up with the two biggest stars in the industry at the time: The Rock and Steve Austin.
2. Takes On Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania X8
Of course the meddling in the affairs of WWF’s current stars was on their agenda, and it was Hall that interfered with the agenda of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Hogan was busy with The Rock and although this moment or rather this storyline is often marred because many believe that the Hall/Austin match wasn’t the one fans really wanted, they pulled off quite the match at Mania X8. That’s what should be taken away from that time.
1. Hall, Nash and Jeff Jarrett Take on AJ Styles, Randy Savage and Jeff Hardy At Turning Point (2004)
I wanted to include his time in TNA, as it was significant, and what better way to show significance than in specifying that in his time in TNA, he faced the company’s greatest export, AJ Styles, as well as the legendary Randy Savage and Jeff Hardy.
And perhaps one of the greatest moments of all was his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hall was inducted twice…once as Razor Ramon and once as a member of the nWo.
It was in his speech when being inducted as Razor that he encompassed his legacy best. He got an incredible reaction from his peers and the fans, and I figure the best way to finish this tribute of career moments is to let the man speak for himself:
“Hard work pays off, dreams come true. Bad times don’t last, but BAD GUYS do.”
NEXT: Scott Hall Passes On—Many In The Industry Pay Tribute
