83 Weeks - Scott Hall in WCW Part 2 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Almost 2 years ago Eric - you & Conrad sat down to discuss Scott Hall in WCW. Our 79th episode back in October of 2019 covered what is the beginning of Scott Hall’s career and time in WCW. 

Since then you’ve had Scott on the show - Episode 168 - Who’s The Third Man? Discussing his time in WCW.

Sadly Scott has since passed away. You discussed his death earlier this year on the Sid episode but now we’re going to take a look back at Scott Hall in WCW Part 2.

Scott’s birthday would’ve been October 20th so let’s discuss him!

We left off after his return from rehab at Slamboree and all the controversy that came along with that match with him, Syxx, Kevin along with Piper & Flair.

When Scott returns to the company - was he different at this time?

Scott & Kevin would take on Flair & Piper in Boston on Nitro in front of the largest crowd & gate in WCW history and there were all sorts of problems with cooperation.

When something like this happens - and I know 1997 is a different time - do you check in on Scott? Are you making sure he’s in an ok mental state?

Did you do anything different - in terms of managing him - regarding alcohol or drugs - when he returns?

At the Great American Bash Nash & Hall retain the titles over Flair & Piper when Hall pins Piper. Something I always wanted to know Eric - when is the idea of someone in the nWo replacing one of the Outsiders for matches when they couldn’t either work or make it. It’s almost like a Freebird rule - how is that decided or come up with?

Was it easier to just replace people in those matches instead of stripping them of the titles?

At Road Wild 1997 there’s a ton of controversy as reported in the Observer:

Road Wild was ruined before it ever started. The setting was strike one. The backstage maneuvering was strike two. And the results of that maneuvering, the lame hastily-put together finishes up and down the show, were strike three. Booker Terry Taylor had put together a show and subsequent bookings for the next couple of months built around three title changes on this show--Chris Jericho to regain the cruiserweight title from Alex Wright, The Steiners to finally win the tag team titles from Kevin Nash & Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan to regain the WCW heavyweight title from Lex Luger. What exactly happened wasn't clear. The belief is that Hall & Nash went to Bischoff and told him that they thought there had been too many title changes of late and it was ruining the credibility of the titles. At least that's where everyone was placing the blame. On the surface, they have a valid point. Bischoff agreed. Which may have been the correct thing to do. The problem was, if that was the case, it needed to have been done before all the plans were made. And the fact that it was Hall & Nash who came to that conclusion at the same time they were going to drop the titles does give that viewpoint something of a conflict of interest. The whole idea beforehand for Hall & Nash to lose the titles was to then put them into singles programs, with the Nash-Giant program thought to be a potential big moneymaker.

Do you remember this particular time? Were Scott & Kevin active in talking about plans and overruling finishes and giving advice?

Do you think Kevin & Scott were hesitant to go back into working singles matches or did they think there was a lot left to do as a tag team? Were you pushing for them to get into those singles programs?

We’ve discussed the time that Syxx was fired for a short time when he pulled Flair’s tights down - but its hard not to give Scott & Kevin credit for sticking up for their friend right?

We recently discussed Fall Brawl 97 so be sure to check that our in the archives - but this is really the launching point of the Scott Hall - Larry Zybysko program. Why Larry Z for Scott?

The end of September 97 Nash hurts his knee and Scott has a bad back but Scott keeps working singles matches and has his infamous loss over Hector Garza where he gave him nothing but lost to a school boy. Where do you think that creative came from? Kevin Sullivan? Do you think Garza got anything out of it?

Meltzer would speculate that the working plan in October for Starrcade is that Hall & Nash will screwup interference to lead to Sting beating Hulk and the splinter in the nWo will be a big focus in 98 with Hall & Nash on one side and Hulk on another. Was that the original plan before Bret Hart became available?

Jim Cornette is negative towards WCW on the WWF online show Byte This regarding the nWo parody on Arn Anderson. He would have this to say regarding the talent:

“I'm going to say this right out front. I mean every word I'm saying and I don't care who knows it. It shows how little taste and how little class that the whole promotion has to begin with to do a parody of that interview, but I'm not surprised because of the quality of human beings that are involved. As far as the whole group of them goes, Konnan couldn't draw money if you dipped him in glue and drug him through Fort Knox. Bagwell, I don't know, maybe he was just trying to keep his job. But Nash, Hall and Syxx, I guess he's named after his IQ or the number of brain cells he has left, ya know all the fans think that these guys are so cool and they're so sweet. They got the easiest jobs in the world. All they got to do is go out there and be themselves, childish, obnoxious, adolescent, smartasses with a bad case of arrested emotional development and a fixation on trying to act macho. In my opinion, Kevin Nash is one of the biggest no-talents that ever stepped in a ring in this business. He's got six moves. No ability and his one talent is that he has enough timing to cover up for some of it. He got into this business because of accidental genetics and because he had a multi-million dollar promotion push him to the moon to make him a star. Then he leaves that promotion, the WWF, after giving his word that he was staying, so he's a liar too. He's had one good match in his career, and he had to pull a guy's wooden leg off to do that. He's made his entire living out of being a backstage manipulator. As far as Scott Hall goes, Scott Hall is a good wrestler. Good's about it, but he's the best of the bunch. He had the same multi-million dollar promotional company make him a star after he'd been in this business close to ten years without putting three asses in a seat. As a human being, he's about the quality as Nash in terms of honesty and/or integrity. Which means, if they tell you the sun is going to come up tomorrow, go out and buy a flashlight. You're going to need it. As far as Syxx goes, he had a job because he carries the other guys' bags and they think he's cute when he gets drunk and throws up on himself. And that's the entire reason he's employed. He has the distinction of being, in case anyone hasn't noticed, the only guy on either side of the wrestling war to have been released from a valid wrestling contract to go and join the other side, which shows how valuable he is. The only reason the NWO guys are in the position that they are in right now is because Eric Bischoff, even more than being a mark for his own face and voice, is a mark for hanging out with studly guys with long hair that smoke cigars and ride Harleys, so maybe some of that can rub off on his little pansy ass frame, so he throws a billionaires money around to prove that his johnson is bigger than the guys what put their own money on the line."

Well Eric - what say you?

From the Observer and you can guess where Meltzer would get this from:

“The situation with Hall was kind of strange, as there was an argument before Nitro on 9/22 in West Valley City, UT between he and WCW promoter Zane Bresloff about the short and generally unsatisfactory main events with all the big houses at the arenas of late. Then Hall came down with a bad back (although those close to him say he had been complaining of the back injury over the weekend) and showed up for the weekend shows on crutches.”

Do you remember this argument and why do you think Zane would tell Meltzer would this?

From the October Nitro 10/6/97

“Scott Hall pinned Hector Garza in 1:53 with the edge in a match where he mockingly faked a back injury as a spoof since everyone figured he was faking his injury the past two weeks anyway. He didn't give Garza any offense. After the match he spray painted "Z" on the ref, who was made to act like a total scared rabbit.

There was some internal heat because Hall & Nash didn't do television angles to explain their injuries as everyone else has done.”

Where do you think the internal heat came from - Terry Taylor?

Hall & Syxx would drop the tag team titles to the Steiners and Syxx would get hurt in this match on Nitro and never wrestle for WCW again…kind of crazy looking back at that isn’t it?

At Halloween Havoc 1997 Luger and Hall faced off…

7. Lex Luger beat Scott Hall in 13:02 total time with Larry Zbyszko as referee. This wasn't much of a match. Luger didn't do a thing and Hall just did enough to keep the match going, as it was really just a backdrop to working with Zbyszko. Hall did a few moves and got two counts and yelled about the slow counts. The two started arguing and at one point Hall charged at Zbyszko, who backdropped him over the top rope. Bischoff came out and Zbyszko kicked him off the apron. They teased a double count out but both made it in on time, and Luger kept giving Hall those reverse atomic kneedrops that are sold like crotch shots but actually miss by a lot. As Bischoff distracted Zbyszko, Syxx kicked Luger in the head (that whiffed as well) and Zbyszko turned around and very slowly counted three. Zbyszko was mad about Hall winning and said he wanted to watch the replay on the video wall (this should set a nice precedent since all referees being confused about finishes on TV shoots should do the same). Seeing the outside interference, he ordered the match re-started. Syxx then attacked Zbyszko, but Zbyszko was on the bottom doing his Jiu Jitsu (of course that term can't be used although they tried to portray Zbyszko's submissions as being learned from Gene LeBelle, which, since he was a pro wrestler in the 60s, I guess is a name they're allowed to use for shoot moves) trying an armbar and then clamping on a front guillotine which Syxx sold as if his neck was re-broken. Hall and Zbyszko then argued, Zbyszko shoved Hall and was picked up in Luger's torture rack for the submission 20 seconds after the re-start. Hall and Bischoff then attacked Zbyszko after the match and Zbyszko kicked him in the head, and then gave him a stomp worthy of a green valet on an independent show, and stood over him while Hall counted as Bischoff stepped on Zbyszko's chest. 3/4*”

Well Eric - that reads like a mess and it is a mess if you go back and watch it. Is this one of those things that just - didn’t work?

Hall and Nash having custom tag belts made

From Nitro 11/3/97

“Scott Hall came out wearing a tag title. I guess the angle is that Hall & Nash are going to proclaim themselves as the real tag champs since they never lost the titles and bought themselves belts. Hall then lost to Chris Jericho clean in 2:41 of a good surprise finish, and then beat him up after the match. Seems like we just saw that angle with Hector Garza. Larry Zbyszko made the save and challenged Hall to a match but of course Hall didn't accept.”

This has always been looked back on as a big win for Jericho - but he is just really the body who Scott lost to. Was this an attempt at making another 1-2-3 Kid moment?

Meltzer would report that Nash & Hall actually had tag belts made up for themselves…is that true?

At World War III in 1997 Hall does get the victory to earn a future title shot. Is this to set him up as the first opponent for Sting?

It’s also speculated in the Observer that the rules of the battle royal were changed because some guys didn’t want to take a bump over the top rope and so far they could be eliminated just by their feet hitting the floor. Is that why?

Scott Hall is not scheduled for a match at Starrcade - but he’s the current #1 contender to the WCW Title and also feuding with an announcer - Larry Zybysko - that you’ll be wrestling at Starrcade. Did Scott have any issues with not wrestling or was he content not having to bump?

Before Starrcade it’s reported that Hall & Nash had signed four year contract extensions to lock them up until 2003. The reality is on January 1st, 1997 Hall signed a 4-year deal that would expire on December 31st, 2001. Did Hall or Barry Bloom ever come up after the contract was signed to renegotiate or was Hall content from a contract point of view?

Did he have a favored nations clause in his contract so he wouldn’t have to?

At Starrcade - please go check out our show in the archives as it’s one of all-time greats - Scott would attempt to help you beat Zybysko but it does not work and Nitro will not become nWo Nitro. I think you made the right call there Eric don’t you?

1998 would bring dissension in the nWo ranks but it feels like Scott & Kevin are on opposite sides. Scott seems to be on the Hogan side while Kevin is on his side. Was there a plan to split these two up?

I ask because on Nitro on January 12th there’s miscommunication and Nash kicks Scott before Randy Savage interferes and tries to drop an elbow on Nash and Nash moves and hits Rick Steiner and the Outsiders regain the world tag team titles. I know that’s a lot to read in one sentence…is this overbooked?

Was there money in your mind for Hall & Nash to not be on the same page? Wouldn’t there be a ton of money in Hogan & Savage against the Outsiders?

You had to have scripted this promo for Scott right?

“Scott Hall came out for an interview and said that when Larry Zbyszko was AWA champion, it was because his father-in-law owned the company and that the company then went out of business, and then said that Dusty Rhodes was a better wrestler than Zbyszko was. Well, he was a bigger star.”

In January Louie Spicolli begins acting like Scott is his hero. Where did the idea come of Louie being paired with Scott? Were you aware of Louie’s issues at the time?

At Souled Out - Dusty Rhodes - yes that american dream - turned and became a nWo member when helped Scott defeat Larry Zybysko. This is just one of those things that you look back on and go why the hell did we do that right?

From the Observer:

“5. Larry Zbyszko beat Scott Hall via DQ in 8:09. Hall came out with Louie Spicolli was his second/flunky, while Zbyszko then brought out Rhodes. Rhodes has gained so much weight he looked like a cross between Mark Madden and the late Adrian Adonis. For an issue that has drawn so much heat for so many months, it was almost eerie the lack of heat once they actually got in the ring. There was nothing wrong with the match, as Zbyszko's actual work was solid and visually he looked in better shape than when he was a full-time wrestler, but there was nothing good about the match either. There was a period where the match threatened to fall apart, before they went to the finish. Hall, who was getting a pretty solid face reaction by this point, delivered his fallaway slam. He went for the edge, but Zbyszko backdropped his way out of it. Hall came back a few clotheslines that Zbyszko didn't sell well (Zbyszko never took clotheslines during his career). Zbyszko was supposed to kick referee Mickey Jay, and actually barely grazed the kick but Jay sold it since there was no other choice. Hall had him pinned with no ref, but then Zbyszko got Hall in a front facelock with a bodyscissors and Spicolli interfered for the DQ. Rhodes ran in and delivered the big elbow on Spicolli, who sold it so well that if they could go back 13 years in the time machine, Dusty would have made him one of the Four Horsemen. Rhodes went to elbow Hall, who moved and "accidentally" clobbered Zbyszko. At this point, Rhodes teased going after Hall, but then took off his shirt revealing an NWO t-shirt, and Rhodes and Spicolli began dropping elbows on Zbyszko while announcer Tony Schiavone acted disgusted. As Zbyszko was laying there to get sympathy, a huge "Larry sux" chant started again. *”

I mean…Scott is in line for a big WCW title shot in a couple months against Sting…he could’ve pinned Larry here right?

From Thunder: “Hall & Rhodes came out. It was Rhodes first heel interview and boy did he drop the ball, to the point Hall actually had to cut him off because he was going nowhere babbling about the people in the front office who were mad at him six years ago when he was booking and ripping on Tony Schiavone. Hall talked about Piper.”

Is this just letting Dusty go and Hall cutting him off to save the segment?

In February Hall & Nash would drop the titles clean to the Steiners. It was time was it not?

In late February - Louie Spicolli overdoses and passes away. Do you know who delivered the news to Scott? How did he take it? What did you & him discuss regarding this?

It’s been said Scott got Louie the job - did he feel any guilt or anything like that? Were you worried about a relapse of Scott’s because of this?

At SuperBrawl 98 Scott Steiner turns on his brother Rick and helps the Outsiders regain the WCW Tag Team Titles. It’s weird to see the Outsiders being a backdrop to a new member joining the nWo is it not?

Sting is WCW World champion again after SuperBrawl when he showed up with a small tan to beat Hogan again - and now Uncensored is going to be Sting vs. Hall for the title. On Nitro to build to it Sting & Randy Savage - the first time WCW & nWo have teamed together in over 18 months will take on Hulk Hogan & Scott Hall. Meltzer would have this to say: “No attention being given to the Sting-Hall program, as Hall might as well have been as invisible next to Hogan as Francine is next to Sunny as Hogan and Savage have become the total focal point of WCW.”

We’ve always been told that when Kevin & Scott didn’t agree with something - they’d speak up. Did Scott care about playing second fiddle here to Hulk?

Well in March the shit hit the fan. From the Observer:

“The behind-the-scenes turmoil exploded over the past week between the Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff power base and the Kevin Nash/Scott Hall group that has clearly lost power as it has been phased down during the same period the company is doing record business.

There are a lot of things unsaid that appear to be extremely serious. Whether this was just for being caught in the crossfire, or for reasons we simply don't know, Syxx (Sean Waltman) was given his written release on 3/9 and his representatives have already approached the WWF about going back. It was weird because even after he was fired, later that night on Nitro he was being plugged for autograph sessions kicking off some first-day sales for later this week, as the announcers weren't given the word he was gone. Nash & Hall did get significant interview time separately from Hogan on Nitro. Hall didn't do his survey, and made a point of bringing up that he wouldn't be doing it. Nash put on a Hogan t-shirt, but seemed less than thrilled about outwardly being a good soldier for television purposes. The problems had gotten bad enough that Bischoff noted that both were under contract until the end of 2001, and basically if they wanted to quit as the subject of them getting a release was broached, they couldn't work anywhere else for that length of time, which was a reality check, but also invites people already with a reputation for being disruptive forces from working harder at living up to that reputation.”

How do you remember broaching the subject of Sean’s release to Scott & Kevin? What was Scott’s reaction? Did you feel them going out there like that was unprofessional?

“The original plan was to break up The Wolfpac from the NWO in early 1998 which would put Hall & Nash in the top program working against Hogan & Savage, but Hogan nixed the plan, basically not letting them up to his level, saying it wasn't the time to do an internal NWO feud, and immediately after started the feud, but instead to bring Savage back up to the top level and leave everyone else clearly in secondary issues.”

I mean it feels like this is the time to do this - why do you think Hulk nixed it? Do you think this is what led to all the issues and problems?

In covering Uncensored Meltzer would have this to say:

“It's been more of the same with World Championship Wrestling, filled with turmoil behind the scenes and setting records in front of the camera and at the box office.

The situation regarding Syxx (Sean Waltman), if anything got hotter over the past week with no explanation as to his firing other than Eric Bischoff was trying to send a message to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Waltman, who had approximately 18 months left on a three-year contract, was given his termination notice in a fed-ex letter from WCW Vice President Nick Lambros on 3/9, and immediately his agent Barry Bloom opened up negotiations with the World Wrestling Federation.”

Were you worried at any point with Waltman’s release you would lose Scott or Kevin?

“As the week went on, there was no contact between the front office at WCW and Waltman, although Waltman had been told by Nash that Bischoff had agreed to "make everything right.

Many wrestlers, including some who would have been on the opposite side of the fence as him (Waltman) politically, recognized the problem with firing a wrestler with a wife and two children who is rehabbing a broken neck suffered in the ring working for the company for no apparent reason other than his friends were in a political struggle with the boss. And this was being done apparently to send the message to Nash and Hall, the latter of whom is in the midst of giving depositions in the WWF vs. WCW lawsuit.

Hall & Nash tried to rally the wrestlers together as a power base. The plan got to Bischoff in its early stages of formation. There were a lot of other problems that got deeper. On 3/9, there was a showdown where reportedly Hogan brought up Nash wanting him out of the company and Nash told him point blank that he wanted his spot, and Hogan told him that he wasn't giving up his spot. Reportedly there have been some hypothetical talks where indications were given that Hall & Nash could receive comparable money in WWF should they be able to get out of their contract, but the idea of Bischoff releasing them is laughable because both at this time would be more valuable to Titan, which is sorely lacking in wrestlers that could challenge Steve Austin for the WWF title, than they were at the peak of their Razor Ramon and Diesel days. But that isn't going to happen.

On 3/16, Hall & Nash definitely positioned themselves, or were positioned, as apart from the rest of the NWO crew with the exception of one interview where Hogan went out of his way to put Nash over. While the rest dressed in NWO attire, they came out in swim trunks, Hawaiian shirts and flip flops, building up to doing a comedy routine where Nash did a belly-flop into a swimming pool to mockingly escape from The Giant and kind of make him look like a fool, and Hall took a press-slam into the pool from Giant. To make a mockery of the whole scene even more, when Hall & Nash in the interview were running down Giant, Hall actually said, "Hey Giant, that's your cue."

Eric - you had to be upset. You had to be pissed. This had to be one of the tougher moments in running the company…did you ever think you’d get to this point with Scott & Kevin?

Scott is to take on Sting at Uncensored for the WCW Title…from Meltzer…

“8. Sting pinned Scott Hall in 8:28 to retain the WCW title. Another match with far less heat than you'd expect. Hall worked much harder than usual and did a very entertaining job, but it wasn't enough to make up for Sting's stoic personality dying whenever he's in a match. Hall used a choke slam early to mock The Giant. Dusty Rhodes was in Hall's corner and did some interfering, tripping Sting to allow Hall to level him with a vicious clothesline. Hall used his fallaway, but Sting didn't take the bump right. Rhodes ran in and dropped the bionic elbow on Sting, but Sting kicked out of the pin. After a Stinger splash, Sting decked Rhodes. Ref Mark Curtis took a bump. Rhodes threw Hall a foreign object and he hit Sting with it, but Sting kicked out of the sure pin. Hall went for the edge, but Sting got behind him and dropped him with the scorpion death drop for the pin. *½”

It’s really surprising to see this as one of the few WCW Title matches on pay-per-view with Scott in it. Was he just not able to get past Kevin & Hulk?

Just a few weeks later though…

From the Observer

“Almost exactly one year after checking himself into rehab, Scott Hall, 38, again checked himself in this week. He is expected to be out of action until around the 4/27 Nitro taping in Norfolk, VA. Unlike last year, where Hall was still pushed on television as if he were still around and promoted as being in a PPV main event match that the company knew full well in advance he wasn't going to be able to participate in, this year his name wasn't mentioned once on television on the 3/23 Nitro.”

Eric - was anything different this time around? How disappointing is it to go through this just one year later at a time when Scott’s footing in the company isn’t exactly on solid ground with the Waltman issue looming?

Meltzer would go on to speculate that Louie Spicolli’s death spurred this on. Did you feel that as well?

You would go on Off the Record with Michael Lansberg and have this to say:

“In regard to Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, neither of whom were stars originally in WCW but became superstars in WWF, Bischoff said that the truth was McMahon wanted Hall to play a G.I. Joe character and the character of Razor Ramon, largely taking WCW's Diamond Studd gimmick and adding a Spanish persona to it, was all Hall's idea. He said that McMahon should be recognized for giving Nash his break but that Nash deserves the credit for what he did once he got the break.”

You still feel that way don’t you?

From the Observer:

“Scott Hall didn't go into rehab after all, but instead is supposed to be doing three hours daily of outpatient counseling, although nobody knows whether or not he's doing it. The situation at this point is that the leverage the top guys have right now is unique, on both sides, in that there really is limited discipline m·over the long haul the companies can have over their stars because every lop star knows they can't be fired because they'll just go to work for the other side, probably with a raise. Nash & Hall have supposedly gotten informal word that if they can get out of their contracts, which have 45 months to go, they'd find a $1.5 million per year deal on the other side waiting for them.”

Are you disappointed Scott didn’t go the whole way with it?

You can’t be shocked to know that Vince would take both Scott & Kevin back right?

“Bischoff did a Prodigy chat this past week. He was brutally honest when the subject of Wallman came up: "I hired Sean Wallman because of Hall and Nash. And I basically terminated Scan Wallman because of a combination of Hall and Nash, and Wallman's neck injury. Both Scott Hall and Kevin Nash have a track record, both in the WWF and here in WCW of being fairly disruptive in the locker room. I made it clear to Scott Hall on the very first day he came back that one of the things I was most proud and protective of in WCW was that the locker room and the production team was a pretty positive environment. Not to say there weren't problems from time to time, but by and large our locker room is a positive place to be. I pointed that out to Scott Hall because of his track record in the WWF and told him I didn't want him to bring that over to WCW. I brought Sean Waltman in more as a gesture to Kevin and Scott in an effort to create a positive environment and to make them as comfortable as possible. I thought that might be a way to help achieve that. Because of what I consider to be negative and disruptive behavior on their part, it became clear to me that there was nothing I could do to create a positive environment for them, and in light of the fact that Waltman was down with injuries more than he was able to work while with WCW, it no longer made sense to carry one of their friends under contract when it served absolutely no purpose. Had Sean been healthy and able to perform, I probably wouldn't have cut him loose. In light of his neck injury, it was a decision I felt it was time to make."

Does Scott & Kevin bring this up to you? Did you feel that you were getting through to them with Waltman’s release? Did you notice a change or difference?

Scott would get himself into a situation just a few weeks later at a ECW house show. From the Observer:

Hall, who lives in the area, went to the ECW house show on 4/11 in Kissimmee, FL with Justin Credible (P.J. Walker), a friend from the WWF days. When he got to the back at about 5 p.m., before the crowd had arrived, word went through the dressing room and he was confronted by, among others, Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido and Francine. Douglas, Bigelow and Candido all had heat with him stemming from their days in the WWF when the clique ruled the company and for various reasons all believed they had fallen victim to their power. The situation, which lasted about ten minutes, was described as tense with potential for problems but all were sitting down and talking although Douglas was said to be tense with veins bulging as he cut a promo on Hall similar to interviews he's given in so many places about his WWF experience working with Hall as Dean Douglas. Bigelow, who left the WWF with largely other problems with McMahon's catering to the clique, was backing him up and making references to ECW not needing people with Hall's problems in their dressing room. After about ten minutes, Hall called a cab and left, but not before Francine yelled at him to get in line and buy a ticket like the rest of the marks, and a humorous situation where Tommy Dreamer, not knowing what was happening, walked by and saw everyone sitting down and Hall needing a ride and offered to give him a ride home.”

Does this get back to you? What are your feelings on this?

Hall is still off TV going through his problems when DX showed up at Nitro for that infamous skit in Virginia. Did you ever talk to Scott about that and his feelings on it?

There’s some news from the Observer at the May 4th Nitro…

“Nash said that the reason Hall hasn't been on TV is because Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan are afraid of what he might say on a live interview. After Sting wouldn't turn heel and team with Hogan, Hogan wanted Hall to join his side of the NWO recognizing he needed a strong partner to make the feud work, and perhaps, since fake storylines turn into real life changes in friends and lovers (see Kevin & Nancy Sullivan and Steve & Debra McMichael), maybe it would weaken Nash's attempt at a power base if Hall wasn't always with him. We'll have to see if Hall will agree to the idea but the betting line is against that one and even Luger's name has been thrown around as Hogan's potential back-up.”

Dude what kind of mess are you working with here? No wonder you lost in the ratings back in April?

Finally at Slamboree…Giant & Sting will take on Hall & Nash for the tag team titles in Hall’s return and the plan is for Hall to turn on Nash. How much were they against this? Did you think it was the right idea?

“Hall was at the 5/4 Nitro but the decision was made not to use him on camera until the PPV, trying to tease an angle as if nobody is sure he'll be at the PPV because Hogan and Bischoff may keep him off the show.”

Was there hope that Scott returning would drive business?

Hall would do some work on house shows even beating Sting twice before his return at the pay-per-view. Was there any heat on Hall just returning and winning matches?

At Slamboree 1998…the one infamous for you challenging Vince McMahon…

” Before the show, both Hall and Nash were heavily lobbying Bischoff to change his mind on the Hall turn, citing that in recent weeks both Bret Hart and Giant had turned and that another two turns (Hall and Dusty Rhodes) at this point when fans are almost numb to hotshot turns probably would leave everyone flat, which as it turned out, was a correct prediction. In addition, the timing of the turn made virtually no sense since Hall was scheduled to go into rehab after Nitro, this time for real, so he'll again be unavailable for four-to-six weeks. Hall & Nash eventually agreed to the turn because ultimately Bischoff wouldn't budge and they weren't looking to breach their contract, but insisted that when Hall returns, the two are going to still travel together and hang out together away from the building even though they'll be feuding.

9. Sting (Steve Borden) & The Giant (Paul Wight) beat Kevin Nash & Scott Hall to win the WCW tag titles in 14:46. Dusty Rhodes came out in Hall & Nash's corner. Hall & Nash got a huge babyface pop coming out, but the match itself got no heat since Sting & Giant worked as the faces and it wasn't as if the fans didn't like them, but they didn't care about them and really once they saw Hall & Nash walk to the ring, didn't care a hell of a lot about them either. It was boring. Finish saw Rhodes put one of the tag belts on the apron, and Hall picked it up and hit Nash with it and Giant pinned Nash to win the titles. Apparently Nash suffered a legit concussion from the stiff belt shot. DUD”

Were Kevin & Scott worth the squeeze at this point? Or is it just trying to navigate everything politically to get the match in the ring?

How bad were Scott’s problems at this time that he needed to go back to rehab?

At Nitro the next night:

“Show ended with Hogan's group, called NWO Hollywood, come out, which included Dusty Rhodes. Hart came out with the group but never talked and kind of hung by himself in the corner. They then introduced Hall. Hogan & Bischoff did all the talking, clearly hogging the spotlight and making Hall and Hart look like second-tier stars. Giant then told Sting to come out and make his decision. Sting came out and spit at Giant, and as he left, Giant destroyed Sting until Nash made the save holding a bat as the show went off the air.”

How worried were you about Scott? Obviously his life becomes first over wrestling but still…not knowing and the unknown…couldn’t have been fun right?

From the Observer in early July:

WCW: The behind-the-scenes tension is really building. We don't have a lot of details, but it does appear that there are big problems involving Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash, as there have been, but perhaps now bigger than ever. Nash was not at the Thunder taping on 6/24 in Orlando, having been pulled from the show although nobody really knew why, which explained by Sting & Lex Luger defended the tag titles at that show after just a few weeks earlier having it explained that the tag champ can't simply pick any partner and make it a tag title match. After the fact it was later explained that it's Wolfpac rules so Sting could pick any member to defend the title. Nash was also not at the 6/29 Nitro in Tampa. We got two different versions of this, one is that Nash was again asked not to come, but the more reliable version is that Nash called in the day of the show and claimed he had suffered a back injury and couldn't make it. Scott Hall was at the Tampa show and scheduled to do an interview. Why that didn't happen, we also have no idea although we do know Hall walked out of the building during the show and didn't do an interview and it may have been something about being asked to do a job either on TV or PPV in the future. There is also office heat on Konnan, who also wasn't in Tampa, and there is some question whether the heat on Konnan is because of Nash or visa versa or both”

Scott wouldn’t come back until the classic Nitro where Goldberg beat Hogan and he had to beat Hall first. Why was this the way to bring him back in to TV?

Was this a test to see with Scott returning he would do business?

The next week on Nitro - the big story is the dysfunction between Hogan and Hall…and you’re the referee for the match. From the Observer:

Hogan no contest Hall in 7:00 of a match even worse than the PPV match of the night before. Ungodly bad, and that's on a show that had a Duggan match. Bischoff did the heel ref gimmick where he favored Hogan throughout. Disciple attacked Hall. Hogan moves like he's under water. Page did a run-in and gave Bischoff the diamond cutter. Hogan and Disciple beat up Hall and Page. Nash ran in to help Hall and they signalled like they were back together again, but when Nash tried to power bomb Hogan, Hall attacked him. I don't think it's because they already saw the angle with Barbarian and Meng that there was no reaction to Hall turning on Nash again. It's because nobody believes it and nobody wants to see it. Hogan legdropped Page and Hogan and Hall hugged when it was over.”

Eric - this is a swerve before Russo was even in play in WCW…what did you think of this story and do you think it was executed perfectly?