Kevin Nash: Drugs, Alcohol, Wrestling & Scott Hall
By Sean Farrell
The internet has been abuzz since the “New England Incident” occurred with Scott Hall a few weeks back, but the rumored overdose of one of wrestling’s most beloved came as a shock to all. On April 8, 2011, one day after his rumored overdose, Hall showed up clearly intoxicated to his appearance at a wrestling show in Massachusetts. Things were so bad for Hall, who was still wearing a hospital bracelet; he had to be helped into the ring by two men because he was unable to walk on his own. Hall proceeded to cut a promo and was confronted by a local wrestler who was trying to begin a match with once-Kliq member Justin Credible.
Most of the fans were confused by Hall’s behavior, while some understood what was happening and proceeded to heckle him to the point where he yelled back at the crowd. After Credible’s match ended, Hall, who was still slurring, tried to goad Credible’s opponent to come back into the ring. Former wrestler, Scotty 2 Hotty was at the show and said seeing Hall in that condition was one of the saddest, most embarrassing things he has ever witnessed, and asked “How many people have to die before they learn?” After the event, Hall was on hand for autograph signings but was clearly still intoxicated.
TMA then reported on April 9, 2011, that Hall was taken to the hospital following his appearance at an indie wrestling show in Massachusetts a day earlier. Hall is being treated for his cardiac issues and will remain in the hospital for at least three days. Hall is reported to be on ten different medications, which TMZ reports led to his overdose on April 7, although his agent quickly denied that report.
Top Rope Promotions released a statement on April 11, 2011 regarding Hall’s behavior and performance at their April 8 show. 31 year old owner Steve Ricard said that Hall arrived the day before the event in a wheelchair with 3 bottles of prescription pills in his possession though the following day he showed in the state he was in demanding appearance fee although he was already paid. Hall made threats to the staff and made demands about money and when he would perform. According to Ricard, Hall was threatening to “kill me if I ‘screwed’ him over.”
Longtime friend, Kevin Nash commented on Hall’s recent problems saying that once Hall is released from the hospital he will be there to pick him up and take him back to his home and try and help him. Nash asked fans to please not judge his friend and that Hall was his brother and together they would get through this. Eric Bischoff, another one of Hall’s close friends and former boss said he wished he knew how to help him, saying “he was an amazing talent and deep down a great person but his demons were killing him.” Kevin Nash wrote on his blog addressing Hall’s current state and it’s quite saddening to report that Scott Hall may not be with us much longer; Nash’s blog entry is as follows:
“Over the last few weeks, since the horrifying New England appearance of Scott Hall, my Twitter page has blown up with plea’s to help Scott. First of all, nobody has to ASK me to help Scott Hall. I consider Scott like a brother. He’s much more than a friend. I have spent more time with Scott Hall in the last 18 years than I have with my wife in the 23 years we’ve been married. We have no secrets between each other. This is ‘real life’. Nobody knows what Scott has gone thru since early childhood to what he has gone thru up unto this point, except for me. I can tell you Scott Hall has neither a drug or alcohol addiction, Scott’s problem is he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Drugs and
alcohol aren’t the problem, to Scott they are the solution. He is a fragile and broken human being, not a race horse that you take a whip to to perform. Scott Hall is in bad shape and each time I talk to him I feel it may be the last. It’s gotten to the point where I save his voice mails, much like I would’ve saved Andrew’s (Test), because I knew sometimes when I heard his message it could be the last. The media will want to blame wrestling when Scott passes. Scott was broken way before he broke into the ring for the first time. For the last 8 years everything that has come out about Scott has been negative, but I’ve been with him to the Make-A-Wish children, who wanted to see Razor Ramon as their last wish, and see him spend more time than any human being possible and cry like a baby as we drove to the next town. Saying ‘How unfair the World was’. I know how proud Scott is of his children. Every time he spoke of them his face lit up like a kid at Disney for the first time. Scott Hall is a great wrestler, a better friend, but more than anything a very caring human being. Scott never passed a homeless person or someone in need without opening his wallet. This is a guy that has the first two nickels he ever made. He’s not the Bad Guy, he’s not Razor Ramon, he’s SCOTT HALL, from Baltimore, MD.
His ex-wife Dana, will be the first to tell you that she’s not perfect. For 15 yrs, I thought she was the enemy. As Scott’s condition continued to decline, and people that were willing to help continued to diminish, Dana and I found ourselves as the last 2 on the wall at the Alamo. I’ve gotten to know her somewhat. She’s a loving, caring Mother, and let’s NOT forget that Scott is the father to her children. She fears, much like I do, that Scott may not be here much longer. She’s been on twitter, and people are saying ‘she’s unstable’. She just wants to make sure her children have closure with their Father. The internet and media, I guess are against this. Let’s all watch ‘Last Call With Scott Hall” and get a chuckle on the demise of someone that had the World by the balls. Scott Hall, in his prime was one of the most handsome wrestlers (not homo). A gifted wrestler and superb mic man. If you wonder what we were all talking about on the stage with Shawn, it was incomplete this was without Scott. It was like the Beatles without John. The Kliq is a hand. There is 5 of us. Cut a finger off your hand and see how hard it is to make a fist. While the rest of the wrestling world copied ‘The Outsider’s’ style and catch phrases, the one catch phrase of the NWO , ‘NWO 4 Life’ wasn’t a catch phrase, but a blood oath. You can watch all the shoot interviews you want, but it’s like talking to a soldier who’s been in a fire fight., explaining it to the media. If he’s lucky he cover’s 15% of what happened. I’m not saying that wrestling is in any way protecting our country, but I would like to see a list of soldiers that has lost the same amount of friends that Scott and I have. When you sign up for combat you expect to lose guys in your company, not so much as a fake wrestler. I have been in contact with HHH, HBK, X-Pac several times this past week. I commend the WWE: Linda and Vince McMahon and Ann Russo, for their incredible support in helping my colleges that have addiction problems. The proof is in their success. We have lost few since the wellness program started.
The World is a mess. It seems that life gets harder on a personal level each and every day. Hug and kiss those you love every day. You never know when the tragedies of this world may visit your life.
In ending, I know this is an old one, but good one (do not judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes). May God bless you if you believe, let calmness and tranquility find you if you don’t. NASH”