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I had the chance to see an early cut of the ESPN E:60 piece on Scott Hall that will officially debut on tomorrow’s episode. Watching it, you get a really sad, depressing feeling that it’s only a matter of time until Scott Hall is going to die…and unlike a lot of stories that have been produced about professional wrestling and those who have passed away, the feeling is that the clock starting ticking on that death for years before he ever took a bump.
The early portion of the story paints the story of Hall’s life before he entered pro wrestling, being raised in a family of “hard drinking rednecks†that places Hall as the self-professed head of the household at the age of only 15. As if that wasn’t enough to mentally process, Hall is charged with second degree murder after getting into a fight with someone over a woman he was dating. While the charges were dropped, the mental scars of the incident and Hall’s decision not to seek help coping with the fallout of the experience really set the stage for the mental issues he began compensating for by turning to self-abuse.
Hall’s career is recounted with clips from the AWA, WCW and WWE as Hall recounts pitching the Razor Ramon character to Vince McMahon, who had never seen “Scarface.†The business, with the Hall as a member of the NWO at the forefront of the big boom of the 1990s, is showcased as being on the largest, most popular scale it had ever achieved – with all the darker pitfalls of the wild, wild west hard living lifestyle talked about by Hall (including a haunting story about a hotel room conversation with Shawn Michaels while both are in a partying-induced stupor), Sean Waltman and Eric Bischoff.
Like every bubble, the wrestling one crashed and at the same time came the crash of Scott Hall. There is a well edited sequence showing the difference between the young and vibrant Hall before thousands of fans and the bloated, pale Hall of today working before sparse crowds while fighting to stay both relevant and on top of the personal issues that have now defined his life and career alike. 911 calls made to check on Hall’s well being are played during the piece as are comments from members of Hall's family.
Hall's infamous incident in Fall River, MA where Hall stumbled through an Internet PPV broadcast is both the centerpiece and the most depressing thing in the piece. Hall, out of the hospital for just 24 hours, is shown staggering like a slow motion jellyfish while making his trademark mannerisms as if he was trapped within a sea of molasses. Justin Credible talks of switching the pills Hall was taking with aspirin while the promoter of the event defends himself for putting Hall out there in that condition. In the end, Hall admits he didn’t even know what country he was in. The footage of Hall working the show is among the worst, most depressing examples of what independent pro wrestling has to offer.
For someone who once lived in a fantasy life only few have seen, the reality of Hall’s life in 2011 is that he now has to take and maintain close to a dozen medications daily due to congenital heart failure brought on by so many of his self-abusive traits. Hall is close to a dozen rehab stays at a cost of six figures to WWE. His once trademark physique and chiseled good looks have been weathered and worn away. Hall's friends, including Kevin Nash, admit that they’ve been preparing themselves for the worst for over a year. It's a situation where you can't help but shake your head and wonder who's to blame, and whether you should have anger or sympathy for the man.
The lone beacon of hope towards the end of the piece is Hall’s son Cody. Long estranged, Cody has tried to reconcile with his father, moving in with him. The younger Hall admits that at this point, he’s more concerned with helping his father stay alive than whether Hall can finally get himself clean. However, in one of the more surprising moments of the feature, it’s revealed that Cody himself is now training as an independent wrestler. That revelation comes only a few minutes before Scott’s ex-wife Dana declares that Scott is as addicted to his alter ego and wrestling as he is any substance. The piece does not show her reaction to Cody following his father's journey in life as a performer.
Overall, an absolutely a deep, well edited piece that is worth going out of your way to see. Hulk Hogan is also interviewed in the piece, but doesn't add much beyond an understanding of the qualities of Hall as a performer.
It's a sobering piece where Hall is described as a "shell of himself" by his own child. Hall himself admits he should have died but for some reason, he is still here. As his health continues to break down, one can only hope that Hall can finally find some peace for himself and his family, before it's too late. Anything more may be overreaching, given the pattern of history, one that Hall appears to have been born into without choice and only ended up compounding that pattern with his life choices.
E:60 airs tomorrow evening.
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