Scott Hall never winning the WCW/World Heavyweight Championship

[President Evil]

Scott Hall wins World War 3 1997, which gives him the right to face whom ever is the champion by Superbrawl VIII. Most likely it'll be against Sting or Hogan since those two had a rivalry for the belt. For some reason Hall vs Sting or Hogan in Superbrawl VIII doesnt happen. Instead, Its Hogan vs Sting again. Why? Luckily the Hogan vs Sting storyline still had juice and the match played out well in Superbrawl VIII.

Next is Uncensored 1998, finally we see a match for the WCW World Heavyweight championship with Sting vs Hall. Good match. But what I dont understand is, why Hall never got to win the belt at that time? Everything was right for Hall to become champion. the nWo was still hot, Hall was in his prime, and it made perfect sense for him to win it, since he had won WW3.

I never understood why hall never won the WCW belt. Was it politics? Was Hall starting to show signs of substance and alcohol abuse and perhaps WCW saw him to be unfit to carry the belt?

Hall got the shaft in that whole ordeal big time.

 

[eljay7i]

I was thinking the same thing the other day. One possibility is Hogan's ego, he probably didn't want to play second fiddle to Hall. You gotta remember Hogan was the leader of the NWO and probably didn't want anyone else in that group to be World Champ.

 

[GUMBO2ndcoming]

One possibility is Hogan's ego, he probably didn't want to play second fiddle to Hall. You gotta remember Hogan was the leader of the NWO and probably didn't want anyone else in that group to be World Champ.

This could be true although Nash was champ a few times and he was in nWo. So it probably isnt the biggest factor.


I believe it had more to do with two things: Like mentioned before the substance abuse problem was probably starting to show

If not that then I believe it has to do with someone in the back feeling he just wasnt world champion material. I sure as hell think Hall was a worthy champ but the powers at be might have had a different opinion.

 

[President Evil]

I can understand Hogan hogging the championship storyline wise or in real life. But others had a crack at the belt, such as Nash, DDP, and Goldberg. So why not Scott? He deserved it as much as these men if not more.

The Spring of 1998 was his time and its a shame it didnt happen for him.

 

[wrestler36]

You probably hit the nail on the head on both points. Hogan was the one with creative control so he probably wanted to remain the top draw. I disagree with Hall being in his prime. Maybe in popularity, but it's 98, he must have signs of drug or alcohol abuse. I would say his prime would be when he was Razor Ramon. With that being said, I think Hall was a huge favorite for wrestling fans, but probably not a household name to the casual fan.

 

[ultimateherts]

I still think after the ladder match him and Shawn put on should have been enough for him to get a World Title shot in WCW. I always enjoyed Scott and thought of him to be very intelligent when cutting promos. Hogan was just a glory hog though.

 

[President Evil]

This topic is not about Hall's prime, even though in my personal opinion his prime was 1994-1998. Shortly after 1998 and forward we started seeing less of Hall on tv, and I believe his alcohol and family issues were taking a toll.

I still dont understand why Scott never won the WCW title, that Spring of 1998 was his time.

If anyone has an excerpt of an interview or video of someone explaining why Scott never won the title please post it here.

 

[rokuma]

Well I think it's a bit of both. Remember at that time (1998), Nash hadn't been WCW Champion yet. He didn't win it until Starrcade of that year when the Wolfpack and Black and White were separate. Hogan was viewed as the "top dog" of the NWO and the announcers always wondered what Hogan would do if someone else had the title...they always played that angle. Then remember, when Nash DID win the title, he dropped it back to Hogan when the NWO consolidated. Now, should he have won it after 1998? I'm not sure...I think the substance abuse problems were surfacing (they did the whole Scott Hall shows up drunk for matches angle against Nash in late 1998), so I think his window had closed at that point.

I think the better question is....why didn't he win one in the WWF? He was enormously popular in the mid-90s as Razor Ramon and the title bounced back and forth between Yokozuna, Hart, Diesel, and eventually HBK (after Diesel left and Bret went on hiatus)...are you telling me Razor couldn't have held the title for a while? I have never understood that.

 

[PhD]

From what I've always heard, Hall was content being an upper-midcard guy, and never pushed to go over as the champ. So, the opposite of a Hogan. Perhaps it sounds nonsensical, but I could buy Hall as a cool guy who just liked to wrestle and was happy with the money he was making, although not pushing himself enough is something he may regret in retrospect.

 

[s3machine]

Hall was definitely the most technically sound wrestler of the nWo.. but I think around 1998 or so is when his some of his out of the ring problems starting to show while he was in the ring and on camera.. not that the WCW execs really understood how to do business properly.. but you cant have someone who is battling so many demons as your World Champion.. which is pretty much the face of the company.

 

[ahoyhoy]

A champion has to be the face of the company and Hall wasn't in any state to work matches sober or turn up on time. He regularly went AWOL. It would be like Charlie Sheen being champion.

 

[czar76]

It's hard to say what the reasons were. Hall seemed to always be right on the edge of the title and then nothing. The problems he had were exploited by WCW but who knows what was real and what was a work. The time that stays in my mind is when he wandered out to the ring during a Scott Stiner match on Nitro. He "was drunk" and Bisch and Nash came out and talked him into the back. I have no idea if that was a work or not but if it was real then I think that closed the door for Hall to ever get out of the upper/mid-card.
He was one of the most creative minds in the business and a hell of a worker but the substance problems were starting to show as early as '96. Watch his matches the first year in WCW and then from '96 on. They were not as clean. So I think in the end he couldn't be trusted to be the face of the company.

 

[berlinbrawler]

Hall only ever became Intercontinental champion at the WWE. WCW largely worked like Indian Casts - you were worth whatever you once achieved in the WWE. Nash had been the WWE champion before, so he was in that top caste.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

Scott Hall wins World War 3 1997, which gives him the right to face whom ever is the champion by Superbrawl VIII. Most likely it'll be against Sting or Hogan since those two had a rivalry for the belt. For some reason Hall vs Sting or Hogan in Superbrawl VIII doesnt happen. Instead, Its Hogan vs Sting again. Why? Luckily the Hogan vs Sting storyline still had juice and the match played out well in Superbrawl VIII.

Next is Uncensored 1998, finally we see a match for the WCW World Heavyweight championship with Sting vs Hall. Good match. But what I dont understand is, why Hall never got to win the belt at that time? Everything was right for Hall to become champion. the nWo was still hot, Hall was in his prime, and it made perfect sense for him to win it, since he had won WW3.

I never understood why hall never won the WCW belt. Was it politics? Was Hall starting to show signs of substance and alcohol abuse and perhaps WCW saw him to be unfit to carry the belt?

Hall got the shaft in that whole ordeal big time.

Sting vs Hogan happened at SuperBrawl because they vacated the title after what happened at Starrcade.

Why would Hall win it though? Sting was still having a run with it. Scott also never eventually won it because of his drinking problem.

He wasn't "shafted" in any way.

 

[HBK_EDGE]

Just to play Devils advocate so to speak. How many runs with the title did HBK have battling substance abuse problems. I know that was WWF and not WCW just thought Id throw that in there.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

Just to play Devils advocate so to speak. How many runs with the title did HBK have battling substance abuse problems. I know that was WWF and not WCW just thought Id throw that in there.

HBK would show up though. Hall wouldn't and actually compete drunk. You wouldn't let something happen like with what happened with Jeff Hardy would you?

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

HBK would show up though. Hall wouldn't and actually compete drunk. You wouldn't let something happen like with what happened with Jeff Hardy would you?

Thats the thing, Hall was a good wrestler but if you show up drunk/stone you can't be a World Champion / face of the company. Look at what happened with Jeff Hardy in TNA, he might be back once his court issues are dealt with ( how long has it been by the way?) but you can bet your ass that he won't be World Champion again (unless he is fully clean).

________________________________

"Its the end of the world as we know it and i feel fine!!!" - Kevin Nash

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Scott Hall is someone that's had a reputation for self destructive behavior. Allegations of problems with drugs and alcohol have followed Scott Hall throughout most of his career. That isn't something that's only just popped up within the last couple of years, but has been an ongoing issue.

Hall's ex wife Dana wrote an open letter in late October 1998 slamming WCW. According to her, she accused WCW of not only encouraging Hall's reckless behavior but of exploiting his issues with drugs & alcohol on television. WWF did something similar with Road Warrior Hawk and his alcohol problems back in the 90s. I don't doubt that there's at least some truth to her allegations as wrestling was heavily invested in shock value and crash tv during this period of time.

In the WWF as Razor Ramon, Hall might simply have just been unreliable. As others have suggested, he might have been content with his place in wrestling. In WCW after all, he was one of the highest paid guys on the roster. He was part of the gang along with Kevin Nash, Bischoff, Hulk Hogan & Sean Waltman. With Hogan there, Hall was never gonna be WCW WHC at any rate. As long as Hall was making big money, he may not have given a crap about being a main eventer.

 

[hbkhhh44]

I think halls time has come just as he left the wwe. after the wm10 ladder match it was hbks turn at the title shot (WM11) then eventually win the title (wm12). they should have brought both guys up in parallel... but that is a lot easier to do these days with two heavyweight titles. with diesel, hbk, bret, yoko there was barely any room for anyone else. also don't forget guys like taker, 123 kid, and bulldog were around at the time as well. also they spent a lot of time building up luger so you could consider him too. just too crowded for a guy like nash

 

[President Evil]

About Hall/Razor Ramon never winning the world title in wwe, Id say right after the WM 10 Ladder match, him and Shawn had shown the world they were main event caliber plus giving good quality matches, yielding towards a world title run. But in those times, Vince believed in having main babyfaces carry the title for almost a year, 1994 Bret Hart March-November, Diesel November 94 November 95, Shawn March 1996-November 1996. It was a long wait for the title. Then in 96 Hall went to WCW. If Hall would have stayed in wwe I dont see why he wouldnt have won the world title.

Maybe its like some have said here, that at the time Hall was just happy making money and didnt want the pressures and extra work of being a world champion.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

I think the drugs and alcohol probably played some sort of a role in Hall not being champion. But I think the greater part is that Hall probably never cared about being the champion. He understood that the championship is a prop that is nothing more than a tool in helping to tell a story. I think it's us the fans that put value on that strap. All I imagine Hall gave a shit about was a steady paycheque and being one of the top paid wrestlers in the business.

 

[relentless1]

hall wasnt overlooked, it just wasnt the right time for him to get the belt as sting had just won it a month before at superbrawl, even if he won the belt at starrcade, hall would get the shot at superbrawl, he still wouldnt have won because it wouldve derailed stings push, on the other hand, giving hall the world title couldve been the catalyst for the wolfpac split, as hogan wouldve demanded the belt causng nash and hall to break away....

 

[President Evil]

To many wrestling fans including myself, and to wrestlers still to this day. Being World champion still has meaning. Yes physically is a leather strap and metal, but its the MEANING behind it. Just like when they win the World championship in the NBA, Hockey, Football, its more than a trophy, it has MEANING to it. It defines that you are the best in the world, you have achieved the highest goal there is to achieve, you are on top of the mountain. And unless a wrestler wins that title, they'll never know what it feels like.

Hall should have been World champion for at least a few weeks. Most likely he didnt care for it, and the exec's probably said "if this guy doesnt give a shit why should we?"

 

[Honkey_Kong]

To many wrestling fans including myself, and to wrestlers still to this day. Being World champion still has meaning. Yes physically is a leather strap and metal, but its the MEANING behind it. Just like when they win the World championship in the NBA, Hockey, Football, its more than a trophy, it has MEANING to it. It defines that you are the best in the world, you have achieved the highest goal there is to achieve, you are on top of the mountain. And unless a wrestler wins that title, they'll never know what it feels like.

Hall should have been World champion for at least a few weeks. Most likely he didnt care for it, and the exec's probably said "if this guy doesnt give a shit why should we?"

That strap doesn't define who is the best in the world. It's a selling point to an angle. The difference between the world championships in the NBA, Hockey, Football, etc is that those sports aren't fixed. Those teams actually won their championships that year. The WCW champ became the WCW champ because the promoters decided that dude will be champ. Don't agree with that? Look at when Khali was the WHC in the WWE. Did he earn that by being the best wrestler? Maybe it was the promos he cut? Since WCW is the topic... David Arquette. He really paid his dues and put on 5 star matches to get that belt.

 

[Austin_Better_than_Hogan]

He simply wasn't good enough ....saying that in WcW's zoo, he probably should have had atleast 1 run with it....a feud with Nash may have been enjoyable. He certainly wasn't worthy of a WWF title.