Scott Hall, former WWE and WCW star, dies at 63

Scott Hall, who rose to fame as “Razor Ramon” in WWE and later was better known under his own name as part of the NWO in World Championship Wrestling, died Monday in Marietta, Ga., after he suffered multiple heart attacks following hip surgery.

“WWE is saddened to learn that two-time WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall has passed away,” WWE announced on its website.

“A hugely influential Superstar, Hall began his career in 1984, performing with various organizations across the country before joining World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as The Diamond Studd. In 1992, Hall signed with WWE and introduced fans all over the world to the character of Razor Ramon, becoming a four-time Intercontinental Champion and one of the most enduring personas of WWE’s “New Generation.” He participated in memorable rivalries against Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and countless others, with his two Ladder Matches against Michaels at WrestleMania X and SummerSlam 1995 both considered all-time classics by fans and industry insiders alike. In 1996, Hall re-joined World Championship Wrestling and joined Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan as the founding members of the nWo (New World Order), revolutionizing the sports-entertainment industry and ushering in the “Monday Night Wars.”

After starting as a pro wrestler in 1984 and competing in various organizations around the world, Hall entered the then World Wrestling Federation in 1992 under the name of Razor Ramon, a character modeled after Tony Montana from “Scarface.” He spoke with a Cuban accent, wore a gold-plated razor blade on a necklace and had pictures of razor blades on his knee pads, heavily implying he was a drug dealer. He always had a toothpick in his mouth and would flick it at his opponent when the bell rang to start the match. Despite all of that, and the fact he was a heel, he quickly became a fan favorite.

As Ramon, Hall won the Intercontinental title four times, the most in history at that time.

In 1996, Hall left WWE and went to WCW, where he had a memorable debut during a live “Monday Nitro” TV show. He came in through the crowd and entered the ring while two wrestlers were competing, in a segment that was designed to look unscripted. The announcers acted like they had no idea what he was doing here, with Tony Schiavone saying “That’s Scott Hall! He doesn’t work here. What’s he doing here?”

Hall said he was an outsider and over the weeks he was joined by Kevin Nash, who also had left WWE, both implying that they were still with that company and were coming to destroy WCW. When they were joined by Hulk Hogan, they named themselves the New World Order and quickly became one of the hottest acts in pro wrestling history.

During all this, Hall had many public battles with drugs and alcohol, going to rehab multiple times. He eventually left WCW in 2000, returned briefly to WWE in 2002 and then wrestled for various organizations, with his last match in 2016.

Hall was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, once as Ramon, and once as a member of the NWO.

On March 1, Hall fell and broke his hip. He had surgery to repair the hip, and on March 12 a blood clot caused him to suffer three heart attacks. He was removed from life support on Monday after his family arrived.