Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Was it his toothpick he was throwing at his opponents? His character inspired by scarface ? The epic ladder fight he delivered to Shawn Michaels? His famous Razor’s Edge, his favorite ultra-cool to finish his fights?
Be that as it may, Scott Hall, with his character of Razor Ramon, will have marked a generation of wrestling enthusiasts. The Ras l’bock microbrewery has the Razor among its selection. And in his biography, the late Derek Aucoin says his brother, Raymond Jr., was nicknamed “Razor” because of you-know-who.
“It’s quite incredible, the wave of love he had. It surprised me a little, it made me realize that he may have marked a generation more than I thought, admits Patric Laprade, wrestling historian. If Shawn Michaels dies tomorrow, I expect that. Michaels, Triple H, Kevin Nash, those are bigger names. But it looks like Razor has impacted people as much as the other three, even though he was never a world champion. »
PHOTO FROM TWITTER ACCOUNT @ENVIOUS_REBEL85
Scott Hall in his Razor Ramon character
In fact, he had everything to mark the spirits. “He was an impressive character, a big guy, 6’4”, 260 lbs and in good shape, adds former wrestler and descriptor Raymond Rougeau. He had a charisma and a presence. When I interviewed him, he was always available, happy to be there. He looked good, he had the glory. He had everything to be happy. »
He had everything to be happy, but for a long part of his life he was not.
***
Scott Hall didn’t come out of nowhere when the WWF introduced him as Razor Ramon in 1992. “With cable, I saw him on AWA shows, but he was a mid-card guy” , remembers Pierre-Carl Ouellet, former partner of Jacques Rougeau in the Quebecers team.
great lover of scarface, Hall offers Vince McMahon a character inspired by the film. Before sending him into the arena, the WWF airs a series of scenes to introduce him. The one at the restaurant is memorable. “Besides, do you want me to wash the dishes?” he says, outraged, to the poor server.
It quickly becomes a crowd favourite. His success culminated at WrestleMania X, on March 20, 1994, at Madison Square Garden, the temple of wrestling.
In the semi-finals of the card, he is opposed to the acrobatic Shawn Michaels, in a fight then practically unheard of: a ladder match. Basically: the belt is suspended in the air, the goal is to unhook it, only a ladder allows you to get there. And wrestling being wrestling, the ladder is used for pretty much anything but climbing.
Ouellet wrestled with Jacques Rougeau at the same show. He remembers the preparations.
“First, they took to the ring for three quarters of the afternoon to prepare for their fight! recalls Ouellet with a laugh. Shawn took the match to another level, but it takes two to put on a show. You have to give him due credit, even though as a wrestler, Razor was average. He wasn’t the one who fell from the top of the ladder at the end. Razor had the right guy to steal the show with! »
“It was his consecration to the WWF, underlines Laprade, also descriptor of the fight at TVA Sports. Certainly Shawn led the fight. But it helped Razor’s trajectory. »
***
Outside the arena, Scott Hall charges towards the wall. He befriends a few wrestlers who form a backstage group nicknamed the Kliq. Guys “not convenient”, explains Rougeau, who lead wide, whose misbehavior is almost never sanctioned.
“When he arrived, there was no problem, he was straight. He drank, but I never knew he did before a show, says Rougeau. But over time, he was showing up to shows under the influence, and it went downhill. »
“In the ring, it was fine, I trusted him, adds Ouellet. But in the evenings, it seemed that he was not happy. He had a ball, he had something. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY PIERRE-CARL OUELLET
Razor Ramon and Pierre-Carl Ouellet (Pierre, on the poster) in the final during a WWF tour in Quebec. The presence of Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz reminds us that the tour takes place during the 1994 labor dispute in Major League Baseball.
This something, it was in particular a murder committed in 1983, at the exit of a strip club. The charges were dropped for lack of evidence, but in a shock ESPN documentary released in 2011, he describes the murder outright.
Despite his drinking problems, Ramon made the jump to WCW, the WWF’s great rival. He and Diesel (Kevin Nash) land there under their real names and are portrayed as the “Outsiders”, who have come to wreak havoc on WCW. Soon after, Hulk Hogan joins in and plays the “bad guy” role for the first time in over 10 years. This is the beginning of the nWo, the New World Order, one of the most significant groups in the history of wrestling.
“It was the story that led to WCW’s dominance in the ratings for nearly two years. He has become an important face in the Monday Night War,” says Laprade.
His drinking problems, however, became common knowledge, to the point that WCW used it in a fight, where Hall acted as if he was inebriated.
His career quickly declined. He returned to the WWF in 2002, but the adventure ended after three months, again due to his drinking problems. Problems exposed in the open at an obscure gala in Boston in 2011, where he’s just in no condition to step into the arena, but does it anyway. This is the culmination of the ESPN documentary mentioned above.
***
In recent years, however, Scott Hall seemed to have put his life back together, before being struck down by three heart attacks, the result of a blood clot that formed after hip surgery.
I think that in the end, he found a certain serenity. But he struggled with his demons all his life.
Raymond Rougeau
Hall was often seen in recent years at autograph sessions and other events involving former wrestlers. In the company of his old friends from the Kliq, he kept his teenage side, sometimes insolent. “He didn’t look unhappy, he seemed to be having fun with Kevin Nash,” recalls Ouellet.
“But you have to draw conclusions from his death, good or bad. When I see guys die young like that, I think maybe they didn’t really have fun anymore, not much to relate to. He was 63 years old… At one point, the guy said to himself: as well raise the legs. It’s not suicide, but I see it somewhat the same way. If you’ve seen it go, you can’t say life is unfair. It is of value. »