Scott Hall On How Wrestling Might Have Changed If He Stayed With WWE, Working With Talent In NXT
I recently spoke with WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall, who will be participating in a Q&A session at the Resurrection of Jake the Snake movie screening this Thursday, October 29th, at the Regal Green Hills Stadium 16 in Nashville, TN. Jake "The Snake" Roberts and Diamond Dallas Page will also be appearing, and there will be autographs and photo ops after the Q&A session. You can get more details or purchase tickets at JakeTheSnakeMovie.com by clicking here.
During the interview, I asked Hall about how different the wrestling scene would be today if he and Kevin Nash stayed with WWE in 1996 instead of leaving for WCW. Hall and Nash's departures led to the formation of the nWo, which turned around the Monday Night Wars in WCW's favor and set off a chain reaction of events that led to the hottest period in modern history. Their departure also led to the Kliq "curtain call" incident, which resulted in Steve Austin winning the King of the Ring tournament instead of Triple H. Austin defeated Jake Roberts and cut his infamous "Austin 3:16" promo, which got him on fire. While Austin likely would have become a superstar anyway, it would have been later and the "Austin 3:16" promo would have never happened, as that was a response to a religious promo Roberts had cut earlier in the night.
"It was great for wrestling," Hall said of their departures. "What if I'd have stayed with Vince [McMahon] and worked as Razor my whole career? I think the pay scale would be lower now. The pay scale is lower now, it's no secret. People still get paid well. Maybe not like before, because there's nowhere else to go so what are you going to do, you know?
"Rock, Austin, Triple H, guys like that started making big money because of merchandise. Vince started giving up merch to them. It's other people's money, and it was all things that I discussed with him [before leaving] and he said no. It's like, what the f–k?"
Hall admitted that Vince McMahon was upset with his departure, and he was suspended after he gave notice for a failed drug test that was six weeks old. He has been working with the company again, and has been working with talent at the WWE Performance Center.
"I'm so happy to be back there with them, I don't give a f–k with what happened with them in the past," Hall said. "I'm just trying to help with these young guys. I would love to help guys transition from NXT to Raw and get them ready for that transition."
You can listen to Hall's comments in the video above. Make sure to check back Monday for the first part of my interview with Hall, where he discussed signing with the WWF, Randy Savage not being happy with their finishes, Vince McMahon personally working on his vignettes, his failed drug test and suspension after he gave notice and more. To get more information about The Resurrection of Jake The Snake and screenings for the movie around the country, go to JakeTheSnakeMovie.com for dates and times.