The characters and heroes of my youth (our collective youth) have seemingly fallen at a more rapid rate of late. Maybe I’m more keenly aware of it given some near-misses of my own.
The wrestling world lost one of its true characters and legendary heels when Scott Hall (aka, Razor Ramon) died following complications related to a hip surgery. He reportedly suffered three heart attacks, and the decision was made to take him off of life support.
I’d seen a note about the surgery ahead of the weekend and offered up a few good thoughts to a man who entertained the hell out of me and multiple generations of wrestling fans into a fourth decade.
My first memories of Hall come from his success and tag team championship days in the AWA alongside Curt Hennig during the mid-80s. He was given the all too creative moniker “Big” Scott Hall. Hell, I remember the Remco action figures of those legends - we had them all, including the wooden ring, and we created matches and did commentary to rival anything on the airwaves.
There are plenty biographies that will chronicle each step of Hall’s career. I’ll just put it in its simplest terms —- “Razor Ramon” and the “nWo.” Those two characters and time periods, in WWF and WCW, respectively, made Hall an enduring piece of the wrestling landscape and one of its treasured stars.
The looks were unforgettable. His catchphrases became part of pop culture history.
Toothpick, greasy hair, 5 o’clock shadow.
“Say hello to the bad guy.”
“Hey, Yo!”
“Too sweet!”
The man had his demons and transgressions, drug and alcohol problems that compromised his career at multiple turns. Dallas Page But the outpouring of love from fellow wrestlers, his peers, his mentees and the fans, demonstrated the good he created as well.
His tag-team partner with the nWo and “The Outsiders,” Kevin Nash wrote of one of Hall’s favorite quotes. “The last perfect person to walk the planet, they nailed to a cross.”
Strong words, for sure. Not an excuse-making statement, but just a reminder to be mindful of others’ struggles, fails and to love and build up. As well as our own. Take ownership and work to be better. Bit by bit.
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I talk of it often on FOX Sports Radio. The microphone skills of wrestlers in the 80s and 90s (along with those Chicago broadcasters) make up a good base of my training. Rants and looks (more video to come here), rewound on video tapes and memorized.
I sent and received myriad Scott Hall videos that chronicled his entire career on Monday — shoot interviews, in-ring rants and bits of skits and matches. I knew our show on FOX Sports Radio was going to consist of deep dives on NFL Free Agency, Tom Brady’s decision and the latest debacle from the Lakers.
I thought I’d share a great clip from his HOF speech. Watch the eyes to close it out.
Go find your greatness. And remember to, “give the flowers,” as we say, while folks are around to receive them.
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