After jumping ship from WWE to WCW in 1996, Scott Hall — formerly known as Razor Ramon — helped change the face of wrestling and seriously heat up the Monday Night Wars. Kicking off the big invasion angle that led to the formation of the New World Order faction, Scott Hall formed The Outsiders with Kevin Nash, amassed seven tag team titles, and even had a hand in the end of Goldberg’s legendary winning streak.
10 Things Fans Should Know About Scott Hall
Scott Hall has a complicated history in pro wrestling, but there is no doubting his impact on the business, having ignited the famed Monday Night WarsBut those are just a couple of the big moments fans remember about Hall’s time in WCW. Given that he stuck around in the promotion for four years, there’s a lot that fans may have forgotten about Scott Hall in WCW. Let’s take a look at some of them, including his entirely forgotten earlier run with the promotion.
10 Scott Hall First Appeared In JCP As A Tag Team Specialist
Hall Was In A Tag Team Called American Starship
Tag Team | Members | Run |
American Starship | American Starship Coyote & American Starship Eagle | 1984-1985 |
If one traces their WCW history back to its pre-Turner incarnation as Jim Crockett Promotions, they’ll find some of Scott Hall’s earliest work. After debuting in 1984, Hall was paired with Dan Spivey as American Starship, Hall adopting the moniker American Starship Coyote while Spivey was American Starship Eagle. During their 1984-1985 run, American Starship frequently JCP events under the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling banner, though the duo never managed to capture any championships during their time together.
9 Scott Hall’s First WCW Singles Run Was In 1989
His Gimmick In This Brief Run Was Scott “Gator” Hall
Gimmick | WCW Tenure |
Scott “Gator” Hall | June 1989-November 1989 |
The year 1989 brought a new direction in Scott Hall’s career. Returning to what was now known as WCW, the former American Starship Eagle wrestled under his real name, albeit with a twist. Dubbed Scott “Gator” Hall, Hall’s persona was an outdoorsy gator expert whose vignettes mostly featured him out in the swamp, jabbing alligators with sticks. This run lasted all of five months, with most of his televised matches being losses to bigger stars like The Great Muta, Terry Funk, and The Samoan Swat Team.
8 Scott Hall Spent A Year In WCW As The Diamond Studd
This Run Preceded His Debut in WWE As Razor Ramon
Gimmick | WCW Tenure | Titles |
The Diamond Studd | April 1991-May 1992 | None |
After spending 1990 wrestling in Japan, Puerto Rico, and Europe, Scott Hall returned to WCW in the spring of 1991 under a new moniker: The Diamond Studd, a cock heartthrob heel. Managed by Diamond Dallas Page, Studd was part of Page’s stable The Diamond Mine alongside Scotty Flamingo (a.k.a. Raven), Vinnie Vegas (a.k.a. Kevin Nash), and The Fabulous Freebirds.
10 WCW Factions That Only Hardcore Fans Remember
Only hardcore WCW fans will remember these factions ever existed.While his previous run in WCW had him strictly at jobber status, Hall fared better as The Diamond Studd, and managed to tangle with stars like Sting and Ron Simmons, and even took part in a War Games match during the 1991 Great American Bash tour.
7 Took Part In The Chamber Of Horrors Match
The Diamond Studd Was On The Heel Side Of This Infamous Bout
Match | Event | Date | Location |
Sting, El Gigante & The Steiner Brothers vs. Cactus Jack, Big Van Vader, Abdullah The Butcher & The Diamond Studd | WCW Halloween Havoc | 10/27/1991 | Chattanooga, Tennessee |
He was likely the least important person on the team, but The Diamond Studd managed to wrestle in one of WCW’s most infamous gimmick match misfires. The feud between Sting and Cactus Jack saw Cactus introduce violent icon Abdullah The Butcher into the mix, leading to the macabre Chamber of Horrors Match at Halloween Havoc ‘91. With The Diamond Studd and Big Van Vader joining the group, the aim of the eight-man cage match was to put someone from the opposite team in an electric chair and throw the switch.
6 Driving The Steiner Brothers Off The Road
The Outsiders & Syxx Attempted A Little Vehicular Homicide
Event | Date | Location |
WCW Monday Nitro | 2/17/1997 | Tampa, Florida |
During his time alongside Kevin Nash as The Outsiders in WCW, Scott Hall feuded with all of the promotion’s top tag teams, including Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner, collectively known as The Steiner Brothers. The two teams traded the World Tag Team Championship a couple of times, and were involved in one of the more wild segments to air on pro wrestling television. In mid-February 1997, WCW Monday Nitro aired a tape — seemingly recorded by Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and their nWo buddy Syxx — of the trio following The Steiner Brothers on the road and ramming their car, causing the Brothers’ vehicle to crash.
5 Feuding With Larry Zbyszko
“The Living Legend” Was A Commentator At The Time
Match | Event | Date | Location |
Scott Hall vs. Larry Zbyszko | WCW/nWo Souled Out | 1/24/1998 | Dayton, Ohio |
As a singles wrestler in the Monday Night Wars era, one of Scott Hall’s first major feuds was with a mostly retired wrestler in Larry Zbyszko, whom Hall used to tangle with back in the American Wrestling Association In the 1980s. Now a color commentator on WCW broadcasts, Zbyszko first started out guest refereeing some of Scott Hall’s matches before the two began directly feuding. This led to a one-on-one bout at Souled Out ‘98, which ended in a DQ after Dusty Rhodes attacked Zbyszko, turning heel to join the nWo.
4 Louie Spicolli Was Scott Hall’s Sidekick
Spicolli Joined Hall In His Feud With Larry Zbyszko
Wrestler | Other Gimmicks | WCW Run |
Louie Spicolli | Rad Radford (WWE), Madonna’s Boyfriend (AAA) | 1997-1998 |
Scott Hall wasn’t alone in his feud with Larry Zbyszko. Hall had his own personal lackey/sidekick in the form of Louie Spicolli, who fans had previously seen in ECW as well as WWE, where he wrestled as Rad Radford. Spicolli proved to be an entertaining addition to Scott Hall’s act, and even helped him out during his aforementioned Souled Out match against Zbyszko.
The Tragic Death Of Beloved Wrestler Louie Spicolli, Explained
Louie Spicolli became a star in ECW and was about to break out in WCW when he died. Here is the story of the loss of the talented young WCW wrestler.From there, Spicoli was booked for a one-on-one bout with Zbyszko at SuperBrawl 8 in February 1998, but sadly died of a drug overdose a week before the show.
3 Drinking During A Match
Scott Hall’s Real-Life Drinking Problems Were Fodder For A Kayfabe Storyline
Match | Event | Date | Location |
Scott Hall vs. Konnan | Fall Brawl | 9/13/1998 | Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
In 1998, Scott Hall’s substance abuse problems began to affect his appearances on television (see below), and soon enough these real-life issues became kayfabe concerns. By the fall, Scott Hall regularly appeared “drunk” on TV, including during his Fall Brawl pay-per-view bout against Konnan. As Hall wrestled the match, appearing visibly intoxicated, nWo hanger-on Virgil would hand him drinks from ringside. Eventually, Hall would have a much more well-known match, a highly criticized bout against former tag partner Kevin Nash at Halloween Havoc the following month.
2 Throwing The Television Championship In The Trash
The Belt Was Later Found By Jim Duggan
Match | Event | Date | TV Title Reign |
Scott Hall vs. Booker T | WCW Mayhem | 11/21/1999 | 8 Days |
While Scott Hall established himself as a tag team specialist in WCW, he ended up holding several singles titles, including the WCW World Television Championship. However, Hall didn’t actually “win” the belt per se — initially, he was supposed to challenge Rick Steiner for the title, but Steiner’s injury resulted in a forfeit and Hall being awarded the belt, which he later defended alongside his already-won United States Heavyweight Championship against Booker T. Hall’s TV Title run only lasted eight days, however, as he tossed the belt in the trash a week later on Nitro. A few months later, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan would find it and declare himself the new champion.
1 Scott Hall Took A Lot Of Time Off In WCW
Hall Had To Vacate Several Titles Due To Injury
Title Vacated By Scott Hall | Vacated Date | Reason |
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 3/18/1999 | Foot Injury |
WCW World Television Championship | 11/29/1999 | He Didn’t Want It |
WCW World Tag Team Championship | 12/13/1999 | Knee Injury |
WCW United States Heavyweight Championship | 12/19/1999 | Knee Injury |
Because his time in WCW was so memorable, fans may forget that Scott Hall ended up taking a surprising amount of time off — and not for vacation. One of Hall’s first big layoffs was in early 1998, when he had to go to rehab after he legitimately showed up on television intoxicated. The following year, Hall suffered a couple of injuries that not only took him out of the ring, but also forced him to vacate the titles he held, including the World Tag Team Championship and the United States Heavyweight Championship, which he had to vacate twice due to injury.
