Scott Hall, the beloved professional wrestling star of the 80s and 90s, will be soon be taken off life support, according to long-time friend and in-ring partner, Kevin Nash.
Nash confirmed the news on Instagram Monday morning, stating that Hall's life support will be discontinued "once his family is in place." On Sunday, Hall, 63, suffered three heart attacks due to complications from hip replacement surgery in Marietta, Georgia, according to wrestling news outlet PWTorch.
"I love Scott with all my heart but now I have to prepare my life without him in the present," Nash wrote in his Instagram post. "I've been blessed to have a friend that took me at face value and I him."
While his career began in 1984, Hall's best-known work began when joined the World Wrestling Federation, now WWE, as "Razor Ramon," a sleazy Miami gangster-type character inspired by Scarface. During his time with the company, he had a notable reign as Intercontinental Champion, which he defended in 1994 against fellow legend, Shawn Michaels, at WrestleMania X in WWE's first televised ladder match.
In 1996, Hall, going by his real name, joined WWE's then-main competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) alongside Nash, whom he had formed a successful partnership with in WWE. The duo, eventually joined by Hulk Hogan, formed the immensely popular villain group, "New World Order," later in the year. The group's popularity is largely credited with helping WCW briefly surpass WWE in success and notoriety.
Following the dissolution of WCW in 2001, Hall briefly returned to WWE, but substance abuse issues cut his tenure short. He was fired from the company in 2002 after he, and numerous other wrestlers, were accused of sexually harassing flight crew members on a plane ride back to the U.S. from a pay-per-view special in London.
Hall wrestled his last televised match for the promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in May 2010, according to the online database Cagematch.
Later in life, Hall managed to overcome his various addiction issues and returned to WWE on good terms. He has twice been inducted into the company's Hall of Fame, first in 2014 and then again in 2020 as part of the New World Order, and also made an appearance at ringside for a match at WrestleMania in 2015.
Newsweek reached out to WWE for a comment on this story but did not hear back in time for publication.
In light of the news that he had been put on life support, messages of support and admiration for Hall poured in from across the wrestling industry.
"Scott Hall, pulling for you my friend," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson wrote on Twitter. "Stay strong! We need the 'bad guy' back in the game."
"My heart is so heavy," former wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts also tweeted on Sunday. "All my love to you and family. I hope you find the peace Scott!!!"
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Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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