Scott Hall kills a man outside a strip club
One of many mugshots from Scott Hall’s rocky personal life. This one dated 2010.
The world of wrestling can be a dark place. The lifestyle of a professional wrestler on the road, especially in the 80s and 90s, was not exactly forgiving.
But some demons exist prior to stepping into the ring.
On January 15, 1983, a 25 year old Scott Hall was working as a bartender at ‘Thee DollHouse’ – a strip club that still stands today on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando.
“I remember what he was wearing, what I was wearing, what it smelled like… it’s burnt in my brain.”
What is Scott Hall referring to? Hall is recounting the incident where he killed another man.
It’s not clear what exactly ignited the dispute, other than it being “over a girl”. Whether this means a personal dispute with Hall over a shared love interest, or between the victim and a dancer at the club is not public knowledge.
Hall gives a brief account of the incident to ESPN:
“He smashed all the windshields out of my car. I walked outside and a security guard was there who watches the cars. I said where is he?”
Hall continues:
The strip club in Orlando where Scott Hall killed another man in 1983.
“I drilled him and he went down. His shirt went up and he was reaching for the gun so I reached for it too. We wrestled around with the gun. I took it and shot him in the head.”
“…point blank with a 45 caliber. A guy is dead and I’m the reason and this is bad.”
Hall was charged with 2nd degree murder.
The homicide case was eventually dismissed by the prosecution due to insufficient evidence, but Scott’s troubles were far from over.
Murder charges dropped, Hall enters the world of professional wrestling and begins to heavily abuse drugs and alcohol
The 6’7″ 280 pound Hall signed with the AWA to begin his professional wrestling career.
“I did probably the most unhealthy thing I could have done – I should have sought counseling right then but I didn’t know anything – I was a kid.”
By age 33, Hall signed with the WWF (now WWE). Scott saw a successful run under the moniker ‘Razor Ramon’. His ladder match against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X is the stuff of wrestling legend.
Throughout the 90s, Scott Hall was on top of the wrestling world. photo: wwe.com
Professionally, Scott Hall was on top of the world, and the Orlando incident which left another man dead remained largely unknown.
Despite massive success in the ring, Hall was abusing cocaine, alcohol, painkillers, and other prescription drugs.
Scott Hall recalls his drug abuse while working for WWF:
“I literally have shared hotel rooms with Shawn Michaels… on more than one occasion we lay there and I go “Hey Shawn, your heart still beating?”
[Shawn responds] “Wait a minute… yeah”
“Here, take half of this.”
No one except for Hall himself will ever truly know how the events of January 15th, 1983 in Orlando ended up contributing to his personal struggles.
Out of the spotlight, divorced, health problems
2011: Scott Hall enters the ring at a poorly attended indie show
After his departure from WCW in 2000, and a failed attempt at a comeback in the WWF, Scott Hall spent the next decade wrestling for various independent promotions. After years on top, Hall was out of the spotlight.
Since 1998, Hall has been arrested and charged on four different occasions in Florida. Charges included disorderly conduct, criminal mischief and DUI. 1998 was also the year Hall was divorced and estranged from his family. Ex-wife, Dana Hall told ESPN:
“Drugs, alcohol and wrestling – he chose all of that over us… he gave us up. He gave his kids up. I would ask the kids to write their Dad. They needed a Dad, they didn’t need a wrestler. They never got one [letter] back.”
2010: Scott Hall suffers congestive heart failure and begins battling seizures.
In 2010 Scott Hall suffered congestive heart failure and began battling seizures. By 2011 he was taking 11 different medications daily and needed a pacemaker to monitor his heart. Friends of Hall said that he called them to say good bye, threatening to commit suicide. Hall had been to rehab ten times – his former employer, WWE, picking up the tab.
In 2011, WWE Executive Vice President, Stephanie McMahon told ESPN “without giving too many particulars, it’s in the six figures, for how much money we spent sending Scott to rehab. It’s the most amount of money we’ve spent on anyone [for treatment]”
The Fall River Incident
Hall hit another rock bottom on April 8, 2011. Slated to appear as the main draw for an indie event in Fall River, Massachuetts – Hall had been released from the hospital after suffering from a seizure just two days prior. He was clearly in no condition to do anything other than rest. Still wearing a hospital band around his wrist, Hall needed assistance to physically get in and out of the ring.
Various disturbing YouTube videos of the incident began to surface:
Steve Ricard, the event promoter said: “He got off the plane in a wheelchair and the first thing he said is ‘I want my money’. I knew we were in a world of hurt at that point.”
Fans who attended the event stormed social media noting that Scott Hall was not physically capable of signing autographs as originally scheduled, and instead took photos with fans – despite barely being able to keep his eyes open and having no idea where he was.
The infamous April 8, 2011 indie show in Fall River, Massachusetts where Scott Hall can barely stand.
PJ Polaco (aka Justin Credible and Aldo Montoya) took part in the main event. Polaco said “it was horrifying and very sad.”
Former WWE wrestler, Scotty 2 Hotty was also on the April 8th Fall River card. He Tweeted: “Just witnessed the saddest, most embarrassing thing in my career!!!! How many guys have to die before some guys learn?”
After the match, Hall checked into a hospital in Rhode Island. Medical reports state that he was treated for an overdose of opiates and benzodiazepines.
In 2011, former WCW figurehead Eric Bischoff told ESPN: “Scott Hall is representative of what a lot of young guys in the business look at and realize that if you allow this business to consume you, you can become a victim of it.”
Hall’s struggles were documented in 2015’s “The Resurrection of Jake the Snake”.
Hall lives to talk about new found sobriety
Against all odds, Scott Hall managed to get sober.
In 2014 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and appeared in good health. He has not been arrested since 2012 and has salvaged a relationship with his son, current NJPW wrestler, Cody Hall.
Hall’s case involving the murder of another man on January 15, 1983 at a strip club in Orlando was not well known until it’s mention in an ESPN mini documentary that aired in 2011. In the documentary, an emotional Hall says:
“There’s gotta be some reason that I’m still here. I should have been dead 100 times.”
One can only speculate how the violent altercation on that fateful night in Orlando ended up impacting Scott Hall throughout the decades that would follow.
What are your thoughts on the incident involving Scott Hall that left another man dead? Sound off in the comments section below.
