Gods he looks terrible. Too many nights of acting way too young.

Fame is a hell of a drug.

and I thought The Wrestler was a downer.

I never knew he killed a man... that has to have a part in his addictions

This was even more depressing than Ben Affleck's True Hollywood Story (new window)

Jeez that's depressing. One more reason I sometimes wish I'd never started watching pro wrestling as a kid (it's a big list - the Von Erichs, Chris Adams, Dynamite Kid, Jake the Snake, Guerrero, Benoit, Pillman, Hall, and so on - a lot of early deaths and ruined lives)

arekthorn: I never knew he killed a man... that has to have a part in his addictions

Nash thinks that Hall has PTSD stemming from that incident and that it's at the root of everything that's happened to him. Makes sense.

I've avoided the Fall River video till now. Holy hell.

whoa very depressing

WTF, We get rid of Gaddafi but we can't get rid of scumbags like ESPN that spread false rumors about wrestling? This is Bullshiat.

FTFV: "If I ask you for a quick list of the biggest wrestlers that you know about, who would you put on the list?"

"Hulk Hogan."

"Andre the Giant."

"OK, in the late 90s, Scott Hall was as big, maybe bigger, than any of them."

Um... FALSE. There is no farking way that statement is correct.

Knowing absolutely nothing about wrestling (the last time I recall paying any attention to it was when my father would watch it Sunday mornings and cheer on Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat), i thought this was some parody skit.

Even the tragic parts of it came across as some what comical. I thought they were making fun of wrestlers. Based on the comments, I have to ask, is this actually real?

Never mind my question, I read the wiki. Sad Story.

Kevin Martin: WTF, We get rid of Gaddafi but we can't get rid of scumbags like ESPN that spread false rumors about wrestling? This is Bullshiat.

Not bullshiat enough for Hall, his son, ex-wife, former colleagues , and the WWE to participate in the production apparently.

Why would the WWE want to spread false negative rumors about itself?

Jeebuz Rice! That was a sad effing story

GhostJax: FTFV: "If I ask you for a quick list of the biggest wrestlers that you know about, who would you put on the list?"

"Hulk Hogan."

"Andre the Giant."

"OK, in the late 90s, Scott Hall was as big, maybe bigger, than any of them."

Um... FALSE. There is no farking way that statement is correct

During the Height of the Monday Night Wars, I would say that isn't far from the truth. Scott Hall basically was the face that started the Monday Night Wars.

Kevin Martin: WTF, We get rid of Gaddafi but we can't get rid of scumbags like ESPN that spread false rumors about wrestling? This is Bullshiat.

The wrestling biz is a cruel mistress. I can't even begin to tell you how many people I have seen broken down and destitute coming off of the stardom and also how many people get caught up in the lifestyle of drug abuse before they get their first big shot. It's a dirty business.

/Yes I am an indy wrestler.

There is no business like the wrestling business. It kills off the people that loves it most.

That promoter at the end, who pushed Hall out into the ring even with him obviously intoxicated, shouldn't be running shows. I help with a small independent wrestling show in East Texas, and if anyone showed up like that, they wouldn't go on, period. Even if they were the headliner.

Yeah, there are ways to get a sick or injured wrestler to do the show without putting them at risk, but when they're that messed up, it's just wrong to even consider sending them out there to do the show. One bad fall, one mis-aimed punch, or one kick to the wrong spot injures a guy and that's how you lose credibility.

GhostJax: FTFV: "If I ask you for a quick list of the biggest wrestlers that you know about, who would you put on the list?"

"Hulk Hogan."

"Andre the Giant."

"OK, in the late 90s, Scott Hall was as big, maybe bigger, than any of them."

Um... FALSE. There is no farking way that statement is correct.

lol Had never heard of him... Guy looked familiar, and remember the name "Razor" I think (sure not Scott Hall), but stopped watching it once it started resembling my grandmother's afternoon soaps.

dragyne: During the Height of the Monday Night Wars, I would say that isn't far from the truth. Scott Hall basically was the face that started the Monday Night Wars.

True, he was the one who started the initial invasion angle but he was always content to work in the shadow of Hogan and Nash (his only single belts were US and TV - both secondary titles whereas Hogan and Nash were WCW World Champions multiple times). He was well known among wrestling fans but hardly the household name that Hogan or Andre were - those two transcended the industry and were mainstream celebrities.

AnimeNathan: That promoter at the end, who pushed Hall out into the ring even with him obviously intoxicated, shouldn't be running shows. I help with a small independent wrestling show in East Texas, and if anyone showed up like that, they wouldn't go on, period. Even if they were the headliner.

Pretty sure that was Justin Credible. He's always had a reputation as kind of a dick. That video pretty much confirms it.

GhostJax: FTFV: "If I ask you for a quick list of the biggest wrestlers that you know about, who would you put on the list?"

"Hulk Hogan."

"Andre the Giant."

"OK, in the late 90s, Scott Hall was as big, maybe bigger, than any of them."

Um... FALSE. There is no farking way that statement is correct.

I thought the same thing. When I think of great wrestlers, 'Razor Ramon' isn't one of them. Nothing against Scott Hall, but he was one of those wrestlers you remember but he isn't really on the same level as Hogan and The Giant. That said, I stopped really watching wrestling in the early '90s, so there you go.

cman: No. Exact opposite situation happens.

I love how Stephanie McMahon tries to make WWE look compassion while running away from any responsibility. "Oh, we tried to help him and we're kind and you know how much it cost SIX FIGURES but we shouldn't go into that...." Yeah, she's her father's daughter, all right. Use and abuse.

That said, I really feel bad for Scott Hall. The whole eighteen minutes of that video is a prime example of how wrestling really takes advantage of some farked up people and just jacks them up to fail. Scott Hall's demons are killing him, but wrestling both enabled and enhanced the fall. Hall is one of those people who see success as the main point of existence, and you can tell that he doesn't want to get better as much as he wants to go back to that point where everything was working. He's Jeff Conaway of the WWE: he'll kill himself just to get back to those halcyon days that pretty much created the wreck we see today. It doesn't help that his family is now enabling him with his son wrestling simply to get close to his suicidal father and that the wife/mother is pretty much doing the hick excuse of 'he'll learn his lesson' instead of actually getting their asses into therapy to confront the real issues.

So, I guess this video has it all: the problem with American excess, the problems with 'success' as a nebulous concept, the problems with 'success' as some sort of goal, and how short-sighted people are when they pursue an idea instead of gaining some sort of peace and/or self-worth. It's one of the most depressing eighteen minutes I've ever spent, but it made its point. That said, the intro could have been a bit more...realistic.

HardRocker488: Justin Credible was that PJ guy who was wrestling him that night. The promoter was that guy in the glasses I think.

You're right. They were in the same segment and for some reason my brain just made a weird connection.

KellyKellyKelly: I've avoided the Fall River video till now. Holy hell.

Me too. I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad. He needs a 24/7 caretaker for whatever time he has left. The lifespan on his heart must be in months now, not years.

I was big into wrestling in the 90s, and Scott Hall WAS huge. Not Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant huge like they tried to say, but probably the biggest star to come up in the early-mid 90s. He was really entertaining, inventive and mugged for the camera like nobody else in his time. I hope he can get the right help, but he's pretty much past it now. He's been a right mess for years, since long before the Fall River.

HardRocker488: Snapper Carr: dragyne: During the Height of the Monday Night Wars, I would say that isn't far from the truth. Scott Hall basically was the face that started the Monday Night Wars.

True, he was the one who started the initial invasion angle but he was always content to work in the shadow of Hogan and Nash (his only single belts were US and TV - both secondary titles whereas Hogan and Nash were WCW World Champions multiple times). He was well known among wrestling fans but hardly the household name that Hogan or Andre were - those two transcended the industry and were mainstream celebrities.

AnimeNathan: That promoter at the end, who pushed Hall out into the ring even with him obviously intoxicated, shouldn't be running shows. I help with a small independent wrestling show in East Texas, and if anyone showed up like that, they wouldn't go on, period. Even if they were the headliner.

Pretty sure that was Justin Credible. He's always had a reputation as kind of a dick. That video pretty much confirms it.

Justin Credible was that PJ guy who was wrestling him that night. The promoter was that guy in the glasses I think.

No, the promoter was Steve Ricard, the skinny ass douche who said that he had Hall go out because that's what they paid him to do. Glasses dude is Mike Mooneyham, who writes wrestling articles for (I think) the Baltimore Sun.

GavinTheAlmighty: KellyKellyKelly: I've avoided the Fall River video till now. Holy hell.

Me too. I knew it was bad, but I didn't know it was that bad. He needs a 24/7 caretaker for whatever time he has left. The lifespan on his heart must be in months now, not years.

I was big into wrestling in the 90s, and Scott Hall WAS huge. Not Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant huge like they tried to say, but probably the biggest star to come up in the early-mid 90s. He was really entertaining, inventive and mugged for the camera like nobody else in his time. I hope he can get the right help, but he's pretty much past it now. He's been a right mess for years, since long before the Fall River.

He and his son are no longer talking. He relapsed since the filming of this piece (he is rehab now I think) and his son left him again.

elaborate work

Say whatever about Scott Hall as a wrestler, but ANYONE who falls into the trap of drugs an alcohol and becomes this lost.... it is a tragedy. The pain in his son's voice.....

A real shame.

*move toothpick from one side of mouth to the other*
*move mic as if to speak, pause, smirk then say*

Hey YO!

*crowd goes wild*

I about cried watching that.

Followup article about him.

TMZ (new window)

What a selfish arsehole.

Wow. In my 29 years of living and watchign wrestling for about 4 of them, I never ever knew he killed a man. I've always had a huge soft spot for Hall, as he still is great on the mic and has charisma at 53. Just sad his prime years are so far behind him. I'd love to see him do a clean last run as a manager -esque type role in the WWE, run a small stable or something.

* 24

AshCampbell: Followup article about him.

TMZ (new window)

Ah, I didn't need to see that.
Dammit, addictions a hell of a thing.

Sad documentary.

Gunny Highway: He and his son are no longer talking. He relapsed since the filming of this piece (he is rehab now I think) and his son left him again.

I honestly would have thought that seeing what it did to his dad would be enough to keep him away from pro wrestling.

Eventually he'll end up wrestling for that group that the Insane Clown Posse runs, and I suspect he will die in the ring.

He was wrestling on TV (TNA...but still, on TV and on a PPV or two) as recently as a year ago. Amazing he hasn't died in the ring yet.

Heres one of my favorite scott hall videos; Him overselling a stunner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Wd3fKwl0Q

The fake production meeting at the outset is lame.

"We are having a completely natural conversation, now. This is a candid moment we are having"

"Indeed. Our statements and reactions are genuine and unscripted. Wouldn't it be great if there happened to be a collection of cameras and mics recording this?"

/sticking around for the rest, but that intro was annoying

phedex: Heres one of my favorite scott hall videos; Him overselling a stunner.

We discussed this recently. That is the best Stunner of all time. Everything about it was perfect.

dragyne: GhostJax: FTFV: "If I ask you for a quick list of the biggest wrestlers that you know about, who would you put on the list?"

"Hulk Hogan."

"Andre the Giant."

"OK, in the late 90s, Scott Hall was as big, maybe bigger, than any of them."

Um... FALSE. There is no farking way that statement is correct

During the Height of the Monday Night Wars, I would say that isn't far from the truth. Scott Hall basically was the face that started the Monday Night Wars.

Kevin Martin: WTF, We get rid of Gaddafi but we can't get rid of scumbags like ESPN that spread false rumors about wrestling? This is Bullshiat.

The wrestling biz is a cruel mistress. I can't even begin to tell you how many people I have seen broken down and destitute coming off of the stardom and also how many people get caught up in the lifestyle of drug abuse before they get their first big shot. It's a dirty business.

/Yes I am an indy wrestler.

Wait, are they saying that he was bigger than Hogan and Andre were in the late nineties, or in his prime he was bigger than they were at their prime? Because both seem... still wrong, and it's a facile comparison, considering that Hogan was 45 and Andre was dead.

But that whole thing about nWo changing the wrestling game, that was all Hogan. The fact that he A) wrestled for someone other than Vince and B) turned heel created a viable competitor to the WWF. Razor Ramon was just along for the ride.

GhostJax: But that whole thing about nWo changing the wrestling game, that was all Hogan. The fact that he A) wrestled for someone other than Vince and B) turned heel created a viable competitor to the WWF. Razor Ramon was just along for the ride.

Outsiders.