I was a diehard wrestling fan from about 1985 - 2000 when I watched everything from WWF to WCW to ECW sprinkled in with some New Japan Pro Wrestling. I picked up the Pro Wrestling Illustrated quite often and was on the Wrestling Observer newsletter mail list for at least a couple of years to stay up on rumors and happenings around the sport of wrestling. When dial up internet entered all of our lives in the late 90’s, I found myself in chat rooms and message boards trying to learn more and more about wrasslin’. I couldn’t get enough of it!
Shout out to Doink the Clown!
While some of my favorite wrestlers of all-time include Ric Flair, Ravishing Rick Rude, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Owen Hart, The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase, and Chris Benoit; Razor Ramon is right at the top of the list. The swag was next level and he had one of the best finishers of all time, The Razor’s Edge. His history in the sport was great too. He hit the regional circuit in the mid-80’s (used to be in a tag team with Curt Hennig aka Mr. Perfect!) and got his first big break in 1989 from WCW where he went by the name of Scott “Gator” Hall. Here’s a little footage in case you haven’t seen it. At least the gimmick wasn’t as bad Kevin Nash’s silver-haired Oz right?
Scott “Gator” Hall wasn’t the best character and unfortunately he did not catch on with fans. Over the next few years, he wrestled in Japan and in some different regions in the US trying to find a gimmick or storyline that would work. Scott always had the body and the athleticism so it was only a matter of time before he found something that clicked. Scott made his way back into the WCW in 1991 as the Diamond Studd where he was managed by Diamond Dallas Page. The Diamond Studd was a part of DDP’s Diamond Mine which also included The Fabulous Freebirds, Vinnie Vegas (aka Diesel aka Kevin Nash aka Big Daddy Cool), and Scotty Flamingo (aka Raven). Looking back, how solid was that Diamond Mine posse? The Diamond Studd’s gimmick was loosely based off of Ravishing Rick Rude which can be seen in old footage. Shout out to his patented toothpick dangling out of his mouth even back in the day.
Scott Hall finally made his way to the WWF / WWE in 1992 where he brought the idea of Razor Ramon to Vince McMahon. The character would be modeled after Tony Montana from Scarface where Scott would have that Cuban and Miami gangster swag as his persona. Vince bought into everything and you really have to give Scott credit for coming up with the gimmick because it was great. But the buildup of his character through the various vignettes was absolutely golden. While I loved watching matches, it was really the promos and interviews that I loved most. It gave me a chance to see these wrestlers’ true personalities and show off their chops on the mic. Razor Ramon had everything you wanted in a wrestler. I’d argue that he was the best package in a wrestler of all-time. The gimmick, the mic skills, the body, the powerful clotheslines, the theme song, and let’s not forget the one of the best finishers of all-time, The Razor’s Edge. Fun fact, in 1998 I gave my girlfriend at the time a Razor’s Edge on my parents’ bed while they were gone. I got a little carried away and slammed her awkwardly on her neck super hard. Thought I broke her neck (seriously) but thank god she walked away unscathed.
Here’s Razor Ramon’s debut match on TV for the WWF from 1992.
Anybody actually reading this article likely knows all about Scott Hall’s career so I’m not going to go into his return to WCW with The Outsiders / NWO angles and his many bouts with addiction, rehab stints, arrests and various troubles over the years. While many people liked to simply poke fun about all of this, I wonder if they knew anything of Scott’s background. While a bouncer back in the early 80’s, Scott got into an altercation outside of a club and wrestled a gun away from a guy he was fighting with. In self-defense, Scott shot and killed the man. Scott has had to live with this on his conscience his whole life. I can’t even begin to imagine the toll that would take on you. I don’t see how you couldn’t turn to vices when something like that happens.
Scott invading WCW in May of 1996 on Monday Nitro shook up the wrestling industry like never before. But when I look back at his career, I obviously first go to his legendary SummerSlam Intercontinental Title Ladder Match with Shawn Michaels in 1995. But looking past that, I can’t help but laugh at his great promos and interviews from the 90’s. They were pure gold. So without further adieu, I give to you my Top 5 favorite Razor Ramon vignettes from the WWE.
To close this all out, check out Lunchmade’s card art piece on the bad guy, Razor Ramon. Includes a slick gold border along with a match used toothpick from 1995. Okay, it’s not one of Razor’s toothpicks but now I have a new eBay rabbit hole to go down.