Professional wrestler Scott Hall, known to many by his ring persona of Razor Ramon, passed away Monday at the age of 63. After breaking his hip last month, Hall underwent surgery over the weekend, during which he suffered sever complications stemming from a dislodged blood clot. On Monday, Hall was pulled off of life support and he passed away, according to ESPN.
Hall was one of the most influential wrestlers of the ’90s, working for both WWE and WCW during the sport’s explosion into the mainstream. Hall was the ultimate villain (called a “heel” in wrestling lingo). With his trademark slicked back black hair, single curl dangling across his forehead, chin covered in stubble and toothpick hanging out of his mouth, Hall oozed arrogance when he was on the mic. Fans were supposed to hate him and root for him to lose, but reality went quite differently.
Much of his iconic Ramon character was pulled directly from “Scarface,” including his signature catchphrase, “Say hello to the Bad Guy.” And much like Al Pacino’s Tony Montana, Hall’s pulls was so magnetic fans couldn’t help but root for him, even when he was taking on the good guys. It wasn’t all about charisma either, Hall also had the coolest finishing move of the era with the Razor’s Edge. Just give it a look:
If you grew up in a certain era, as I did, I can assure you that you did this move to your friends hundreds of times. It never looked as good and we did it into a swimming pool, but it made us feel just like Razor Ramon.
As iconic as his Razor Ramon persona was, Hall will be most remembered for making the leap from WWF to WCW along with Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan. The move ignited the Monday Night Wars between the two wrestling organizations and it would spark some of the most memorable moments to ever occur in the squared circle. Hall had to leave his persona behind due to copyrights, but he never stopped being a bad guy. Hogan making the leap from the WWF and becoming a heel likely never would have worked if he didn’t have Hall on his side teaching him the ropes. Hogan’s career was on the slide and he was about to reinvent himself as part of the villainous nWo.
“He took care of me when I was down and out,” Hogan said in a speech on Monday night, according to TMZ. “Everybody thought Hulkamania was dead. Scott Hall resurrected me. He put me back on the map.”
Hall gave us so much joy in the ring, it’s hard to believe he’s gone so soon. In his honor, enjoy this gallery of Scott Hall tattoos.
Source: www.inkedmag.com