Living On A Razor's Edge - The Scott Hall Story

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 436 Minutes
Certificate: 12
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: July 4 2016

The latest WWE DVD features a career retrospective documentary, along with a selection of memorable matches for the subject in question. The usual stuff, right? Actually, no. This set on the life and times of Scott Hall is very different from your usual profile of a legendary wrestling performer due to the topics covered in the main feature.

Yes, the documentary does look back at Hall's in-ring adventures, from his beginnings in the wrestling industry to his early days in Kansas City and the AWA, his original WCW stint as The Diamond Studd, his very successful WWF tenure under the name Razor Ramon, his unforgettable contributions to WCW upon his return as a founding member of the groundbreaking nWo faction, his short-lived 2002 return to the WWF and his 2014 WWE Hall Of Fame induction. The key matches and moments are recapped, although I personally felt that the Razor section was a little bit on the short side, and the recap of his nWo involvement was even more brief; the first two years for the new World order, from Hall's initial promo upon his Nitro debut/return to the summer of 1998 (around which time the faction splintered into two) are all handled within a few minutes, and whilst the impact of the faction and the rise of Hall's status are analysed, it still doesn't quite explain why the nWo was so crucial, from the Hogan heel turn to Nitro battering Raw in the ratings from then on until April 1998. So, whilst the documentary covers the main highlights of Hall's career from an in-ring standpoint (complete with sit-down contributions from Hall, several of his family members, his Kliq buddies Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and X-Pac, and other personalities like Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, Dusty Rhodes and Eric Bischoff, it would be considered a slight disappointment, or at least a bit brief, if we were judging it solely on the retelling of his big matches and moments.

However, the documentary is about far more than the wrestling side, as it examines Hall's well-known personal problems in relation to drinking. Although his alcohol addiction is first referred to during the recapping of his 1998 "Last Call" storyline in WCW, it is only implied that Hall had real-life issues at this point. In reality, Hall had several arrests between 1998 and 2000 as well as other regrettable backstage incidents, which led to Hall being fired from WCW in 2000. In addition, the subject of the Plane Ride From Hell (which is a story in itself) is not broached, meaning that the exact reason for his 2002 termination from WWE is not mentioned. However, Hall's subsequent troubles from 2002 to 2012 are covered in-depth, and the footage, stories, opinions and images from this decade of Hall's life are at times excruciatingly candid. Little did most people know that the source for much of Hall's excess drinking, brought on by depression, was an incident long before Hall jointly founded the nWo, his Ladder match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania X or even his initial exposure in the AWA.

In 1983, whilst working as a bouncer at the Doll House strip club in Orlando, Florida, Hall was involved in an altercation with a man who, he quickly learned, had a gun in his possession. The attacker was attempting to shoot Scott, but Hall commandeered the gun and attempted to pistol-whip him. Instead, he ultimately shot and killed the man. Hall was charged with second-degree murder but was not convicted as it was considered an act of self-defence. However, the dark incident (which was only revealed on a 2011 ESPN documentary, although that isn't mentioned here) remained a black cloud over Hall's life, and he spent decades pondering the moment and carrying guilt over what had happened, even though under the circumstances, Hall would have been killed himself had he not tried to defend himself in this manner. It was something that Hall told few about in the business, hence why it only came to light in the last few years, and Shawn acknowledges that it was only touched upon as opposed to ever being discussed in detail, which played a part in Hall carrying the weight of the shooting for so long.

But without this being public knowledge, the perception of Hall outside the ring was that of a buffoon, whose uncontrollable drinking habits had affected his ring work, his marriage and his health. For years, all people heard about was Hall's drinking and arrests stemming from disorderly conduct. At best, he became a punch line for darkly comical jokes. At worst, he was considered the next probable wrestling statistic to die years before his time. He arguably hit rock bottom in 2011 when, working on an independent show for Top Rope Promotions, he appeared in an awful physical condition and needed assistance just to stand up straight. Footage of the moment is shown here, and is hard to watch when you see how far Hall had fallen. Up until around 2012-2013, Hall seemed beyond help despite WWE's assistance through its paid rehab for all employees past and present when required. Triple H acknowledges that he was no longer advised to take calls from Hall because his situation seemed irreparable.

Fortunately, things would soon take a turn for the better. Hall finally opened up about the 1983 incident that shaped his future woes, which assisted the rehab process because his counsellors could identify the true root of the problems and work on helping Scott to put that fateful night behind him, thus making him less inclined to drink. What really made the difference, though, was that Diamond Dallas Page invited Hall to stay at his home. Through his DDP Yoga programme and generally positive and logical advice on health, DDP had helped Jake Roberts recover from his own addiction problems, and Jake's health and physical condition had improved greatly. When Hall finally accepted Page's invitation, the Bad Guy was bloated and in a wheelchair, almost unable to stand up. Within a few months, Hall had dropped weight, was in shape and had largely kicked his drinking habits. Hall's life (and Jake's too) had undergone a remarkable transformation, so much so that Hall was eventually invited back into the WWE fold, with Hall (and Jake) inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2014. Since then, Hall has made occasional appearances for WWE and hopes to work more closely with the NXT talent at the WWE Performance Center. More importantly, he has put his alcoholism and health problems behind him, and is in better condition and more positive about life than he has been for a long, long time. He still can't truly forget what happened all those years ago (Hall returns to the scene of the crime to discuss what went down), but he is doing a better job of coping with it and coming to terms with the fact that it would have been his life taken that night had he not made the decision to defend himself.

All of this is utterly compelling and quite emotional to watch. Combined with candid talking head comments (those from Page and Jake are particularly vital towards the end) and gripping real-life footage (we see the initial call that DDP and Jake made to Hall, as well as his condition when Scott initially accepted the offer for Page to help him), this ends up being one hell of a documentary. Sure, the wrestling sections are enjoyable, albeit a little brief as mentioned earlier, but the chapters that cover Hall's troubles outside the ring are incredible. It's harrowing at times, but ultimately it has the happy ending of Hall putting his life-threatening problems behind him. (As an aside, Page deserves a Hall Of Fame induction at the very least for helping Hall and Jake in the manner that he did, if not something more prestigious.) I was actually surprised that WWE would even cover the darker parts of this story, although they played a key role in Hall's self-destruction, so they couldn't really be ignored. Actually, the documentary is essentially based around the 1983 shooting, as we open with Hall trying to recap what happened, then we get an explanation a little later on, and the feature continuously refers back to it when investigating the fall of Scott both personally and professionally.

This is the best documentary that WWE has produced for years, and one of the best documentaries that it has ever produced. It is a must-see.

The rest of the DVD has little in common with much of the documentary, as aside from a few bonus stories (one of which is a cool anecdote about Scott's brief time spent with ECW), the focus shifts to Scott's wrestling career. Along with all of the original Razor Ramon vignettes (as well as a series of outtakes from said segments), we get matches that span Hall's career from 1984 to 2002 (Scott's various runs with TNA are not mentioned at any point, by the way).

A squash match from Mid-Atlantic precedes a few AWA bouts, with Scott facing Michael P.S. Hayes, participating in a Battle Royal (which is not exactly a masterpiece; certain eliminations are either ignored or just plain clumsy), and teaming alongside Curt Hennig against The Long Riders in a good old-school doubles bout. There's also a segment where Scott has a verbal confrontation with Larry Zbyszko. It is rarely mentioned, but Hall was clearly positioned as a future star during his AWA stint, and this was in the mid-1980s; so it's fascinating in hindsight that it would be many years before Scott truly made waves in the wrestling business.

We get two short matches from his WCW stint as The Diamond Studd, both of which have a squash feel to them (the latter sees him team alongside DDP, who had just become a wrestler at the ripe age of 35 after years as a manager), and then the bonus material takes a step up as we approach his WWF tenure. His on-screen debut as Razor Ramon is followed by a great WWF Title bout against Bret Hart from Royal Rumble 1993 (his only World Title shot on a WWF PPV, incidentally) and the greatest upset victory ever, when he shocking lost to the 123 Kid from Raw in May 1993. After that, Razor turned babyface (not shown here), but the next match is a match taped for Coliseum Home Video (remember that?) where he challenges Shawn Michaels for the Intercontinental Title. It's a nice little gem and a good match, albeit one that's overbooked in a confusing manner, and as an aside, this must have taken place right before HBK got suspended. That suspension led to the IC Title being vacated, which would ultimately be snapped up by Razor in an entertaining match, perfect for the era, with Rick Martel (which we are treated to here). Disc two ends with THAT Ladder match against Shawn from WrestleMania X, the most famous of his career from an action standpoint. Their Ladder rematch from SummerSlam 1995 isn't here, which is a minor disappointment.

Disc three opens with Razor attempting to regain his IC Title from Diesel at SummerSlam 1994. It's a good mid-card match, as is Razor vs. Jeff Jarrett from Royal Rumble 1995. Razor vs. Goldust from the 1996 Rumble isn't quite as good, perhaps because Hall was legitimately unhappy at the Goldust gimmick (which at this early stage played up some strong homosexual tendencies; attitudes towards homosexuality were very different twenty years ago from what they are nowadays). We strangely don't get Hall's famous Nitro promo which kicked off the nWo angle, or the Bash At The Beach 1996 main event which cemented it as the biggest storyline in years, if not ever. But we do see Hall and Nash battle Sting and Lex Luger at Hog Wild 1996 and their WCW Tag Team Title success against Harlem Heat from Halloween Havoc a few months later.

From there, the focus of the DVD turns to Hall wrestling without Big Kev at his side. He battles Scott Steiner in a decent bout from Nitro, and another Monday night showdown with a then-underdog Chris Jericho has a surprising result. The best WCW match on this DVD is his WCW World Title challenge against Sting at Uncensored 1998, but arguably his greatest WCW match - his Ladder match against Goldberg from Souled Out 1999 - is not included (and has yet to be released on any WWE-produced release, for some reason). His WCW run is wrapped up by The Outsiders facing Goldberg and Sid Vicious from a late 1999 episode of Nitro (the highlight of which is commentator Bobby Heenan's ludicrous suggestion that fans should call their friends and turn up late for work the next day just to see previous enemies Goldberg and Sid team up). Completing the DVD are two short matches from Hall's 2002 WWF return: a SmackDown bout with The Rock, and his forgotten WrestleMania X8 showdown with Steve Austin (which doesn't feel like a WrestleMania match, one of many reasons for Austin walking out of the WWF/WWE twice that year, but that's another story). The Blu-ray has a few more matches, as well as Hall's 2014 HOF induction (this should have been on the DVD as well).

Coming just a few months after the release of The Kliq DVD, and at a time when compilations of 1990s personalities are the norm, there was every chance that this would be a forgotten DVD, one that would be classed as "yet another DVD on a name from the past". But whilst most in-ring achievements are tackled in the documentary and the majority of the subject's biggest matches are included within the bonus section, this DVD (the first WWF/WWE home video release on Scott Hall for 22 years, by the way) will not be quickly forgotten by those who watch it due to the refreshing and at times painful honesty of the main feature. For the amazingly candid manner in which Hall's real-life problems are tackled, the documentary is one that you should definitely buy this DVD for. The lighter content on his run as Razor Ramon and his nWo contributions, as well as some high-quality action amongst the extra matches, further boosts the prestige of this set, which will be remembered as one of the best WWE releases all year.

Overall Rating: 9/10 - Outstanding

The Kliq Rules

Image Source: Amazon

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Running Time: 397 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Number Of Discs: 3
Studio: Fremantle Home Entertainment
Released: September 7 2015

If you were following the WWF in the mid-1990s, or if you have studied the history of the company at the time, chances are that you'll have heard of The Kliq.

On-screen, it was a nickname given to Shawn Michaels' fan base. Off-screen, however, the Kliq was something far greater. A backstage group consisting of Shawn, Kevin "Diesel" Nash, Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall, Sean "123-Kid" Waltman and Paul Levesque (whose WWF tenure began as Hunter Hearst Helmsley before later having his name shortened to Triple H), the Kliq caused a great amount of trouble and terror within the locker room, whilst allegedly using their considerable influence on Vince McMahon to succeed in key main event spots. How great their control was has been debated over the years, from Kliq members suggesting their influence was minimal to former WWF stars outright stating that the Kliq ruined their careers. The power of the Kliq and their impact on sports entertainment is explored in this DVD set.

Truth be told, I was wondering what the point of this DVD was. A one-hour documentary on the group sounded intriguing, but it surely would have served better as an exclusive feature on the WWE Network; did we really need a full DVD set to discuss the off-screen faction? And is there really an audience for the backstage mechanisms of the pre-Attitude Era WWF/WWE in modern times? Well, that's what we got with this release, and whilst I still feel this would have been better as Network-only content, I enjoyed the DVD more than I thought I would.

The documentary provides brief introductions to the players involved before quickly exploring how the group formed and how their power increased over time. Shawn and Razor knew each other from their AWA days. Diesel was brought in at Shawn's request to become his bodyguard, leading Nash to be grateful for an opportunity to revive a then-dying career. Razor considered Kid his protégé after his unforgettable debut match (more on that later). And HHH says, after being advised by Terry Taylor, that he went out of his way to befriend Shawn and company when he first appeared backstage at WrestleMania XI. Although the seeds for their various friendships had been planted in the early 1990s, 1995 is often considered the "peak" year of the Kliq, on-screen and off.

All five members discuss their friendship and how strong their bond was. Of greater note are the comments from their co-workers at the time, including Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Aldo Montoya (later Justin Credible, who was considered a minor Kliq member), Shane "Dean" Douglas, Kama/The Godfather, Lex Luger and others. Vince McMahon is also on hand to provide his thoughts on the backstage powerhouse. Some of these are quite critical or, at least, they are of the belief that the Kliq occasionally abused their power. It is interesting to see Kama discuss another backstage faction known as the "BSK", or Bone Street Krew, which included Kama, Undertaker, Yokozuna, The Godwinns and Savio Vega. It is stated that this crew formed to ensure that the Kliq couldn't completely dominate the locker room, especially with the respected Undertaker at the helm.

During 1995, the key Kliq moment was a famous story whereby several Kliq members met up with Vince McMahon prior to a house show in Indianapolis, Indiana to essentially express their grievances at business and at certain members of the locker room. Although it is stated that nothing directly changed as a result and that nobody was told to start walking following the Kliq criticisms, the mere thought of Michaels, Nash etc having a private meeting with the boss to discuss business and who should/who shouldn't be on the "team" was a frightening one for the lesser-pushed members of the roster. Although it isn't acknowledged here, certain wrestlers such as Bam Bam Bigelow, Dean Douglas, Body Donna Skip and others firmly believed that the Kliq at best had a detrimental effect of their careers, and at worst were entirely responsible for their WWF tenures ending. Matters weren't helped by the Kliq's crazy off-screen lifestyles, which allegedly included plenty of drinking and a certain amount of substance use (in some cases, anyway).

It's easy to understand why the Kliq received such resentment and fear. Diesel was WWF Champion from November 1994 to November 1995. Shawn, Razor and Diesel dominated the Intercontinental Title scene from the summer of 1993 to January 1995, with Shawn and Razor enjoying further reigns thereafter. Shawn and Diesel held the Tag Team Titles in 1994. Meanwhile, even when they weren't holding titles, the Kliq members were pushed heavier than anybody else, with the exception of Bret Hart and The Undertaker. Bret Hart in his autobiography Hitman recalls asking Vince when the WWF became "the Diesel and Shawn show". Kid and Hunter were further down the card, but they were promoted as the stars of the future (which they were, but it added further weight to the belief that the Kliq were running the show).

Ironically, the most famous Kliq incident came as the faction was about to dissolve. This section is the longest of the documentary, and rightfully so. To sum it up, Diesel and Razor were leaving the WWF for WCW, and their last night was a house show at Madison Square Garden on May 19 1996 (my eighth birthday!). Shawn beat Diesel in a Steel Cage, and earlier on Hunter had pinned Razor. After the Cage match, all four celebrated together in the ring and made Kliq symbols in front of what remained of the crowd, since this was after the last match. Why was this such a noteworthy moment? Because this involved babyfaces and heels essentially admitting that they were really all friends and that their apparent hatred of one another was all part of the show. Consider that this was 1996, when kayfabe (the concept that professional wrestling was to be portrayed as real to the fans) still ruled, so this was seen as a major and disrespectful slap to the face of all those who worked in the WWF, and in the industry really, and those who came before. Only Hunter could be punished, since by now Shawn was WWF Champion and Nash and Hall were heading to WCW (Kid was injured, otherwise he would have been at MSG too) and he was given an extended losing streak to ensure that the locker room wouldn't take action to the point of possibly walking out in protest at the Kliq's self-serving actions.

The documentary looks at how the Kliq supposedly divided and conquered, since they would soon be in control of the main event scenes in the WWF and WCW, with Shawn and Hunter, as DX, dominating Raw and Nash and Hall tearing it up within the nWo on Nitro. During this period, the former 123-Kid worked for both parties, being on Nitro as Syxx and, after a controversial firing, resurfacing on Raw as X-Pac. The Kliq would occasionally make references to their friends via promo one-liners or quick messages into the camera. This aspect of the Kliq's history is exaggerated because everyone knows that Steve Austin was the star of the show from 1997 onwards in the WWF; yes, DX were crucial, but they were not and never were more important than Austin. Nash and Hall were a massive boost to WCW alongside the heel Hulk Hogan, to be fair, but their presence was turning into a key reason for WCW's downfall from 1998 up until 2001.

The Kliq members nearly all had setbacks, some of which were mentioned here: Shawn had a seemingly career-ending back injury in 1998. Hall began suffering from years of heavy drinking. Waltman had a number of close calls due to his personal problems. Nash's problems were less serious, although his career would never reach the heights of 1994-1998 again. Only HHH avoided the pitfalls that befell his Kliq compadres, with his future secured once he began dating and eventually married Stephanie McMahon. Through Shawn's 2002 comeback, various Hall Of Fame inductions and the Sting-HHH match which involved all five Kliq players in some way, the group has had a number of memorable reunions in recent years, and with all five (including Hall) being able to put their issues behind them, their current goal is simply to reminisce and enjoy life going forward.

Included on the DVD are many bonus matches with various combinations of the five Kliq members. We see Kid's Raw debut from May 1993 where, cast as a typical jobber, he scored a major upset win over Razor. We also get their rematch, which has an interesting story to it (as told on this DVD), as well as Diesel vs. Razor and Shawn vs. Kid (a gem of a bout) from Raw in the same year. A tag bout against The Quebecers for Razor and Kid is presumably here as part of the build for the Razor vs. Shawn WrestleMania X Ladder match, which is a very familiar bout, but it remains a classic and is a justifiable inclusion. A Razor-Diesel match for the IC gold is decent and a tag bout pitting Shawn and Diesel against Razor and Kid from 1994 is excellent. A Survivor Series elimination match involving all four Kliq members besides Hunter is watchable and plays a big role in Diesel's development (the big man would win the WWF Title from Bob Backlund just three days later).

The year 1995 is strangely not represented, an odd decision since this year saw all five Kliq members in the thick of things on WWF television in some form. Razor vs. Hunter and Shawn vs. Hunter from 1996 are two interesting bouts to view from this point in their careers (the Razor-Kid "Crybaby" bout from In Your House 6, less so), and the Shawn-Diesel No Holds Barred bout from In Your House 7 was one of the best matches of the year, and the first true hint as to what the Attitude Era would eventually provide. We see The Outsiders team against The Steiners on Nitro during WCW's boom period, but Nash vs. Hall from Halloween Havoc 1998 is less enjoyable given its focus on Hall's real-life alcoholism. HHH vs. X-Pac from Backlash 1999 is alright but a bit dull, partly because a straight wrestling match wasn't what the WWF fans of 1999 really wanted to see. A six-man bout from a 2002 edition of SmackDown is a glimpse at the short-lived nWo reunion on WWF television, and HHH vs. Nash from Judgment Day 2003 is okay, but it happened during what is now referred to as Triple H's reign of terror as World Heavyweight Champion. DX vs. JeriShow from TLC 2009 is a weird bout to include (even if it does showcase HBK and HHH as a team), and whilst undoubtedly entertaining, it is highly overrated in my opinion. The Blu-ray version has a few more bouts including the Sting-HHH spectacle from Mania 31, which is very enjoyable but has a very frustrating finale (you know, where HHH unnecessarily pinned The Stinger in his WWE debut).

This DVD is an unusual one because of its random feel, but it does have its moments. The documentary is a little on the short side, and does ignore some noted criticisms of the faction, but it also provides refreshing honesty and is about as in-depth a look at this backstage supergroup as WWE would allow. The Kliq is a fascinating topic because, yes they did appear to have considerable influence over Vince and company, and they did dominate the WWF during their "prime". However, besides Bret and Undertaker, there was nobody else who the WWF fans truly wanted to see; the talent pool was at its lowest ebb, as was business. There were other stars like Owen Hart, Yokozuna and The British Bulldog, but ask any fan of the era who the top names from the WWF at that time were, and they'll probably say several Kliq members. Shawn seemed to be the heartbeat of the Kliq, for the group's heavy influence only really faded in the WWF when he suffered his back injury; without HBK, the main event scene was Kliq-less in Stamford until HHH rose up the ranks - which, based on his performances, he did appear to merit by this point - in late 1999. Of course, he later married Stephanie and became a target for backstage criticism himself, but that's for another time.

And the Kliq didn't always have things their way. The booking of Shawn Michaels over the weekend of WrestleMania XI was rather questionable. Kid was never given a true opportunity to reach the main event level. And even Razor, who is often considered to have had a great WWF tenure, had a pretty rotten 1995, all things considered; in fact, once he lost the IC Title to Jeff Jarrett at Royal Rumble 1995, his only notable contribution before leaving was the Ladder rematch with Shawn as his later title reigns and feuds (against the likes of Mabel and Mo, Dean Douglas and Goldust) weren't exactly classic material. Diesel was on a losing streak even before he declared his intentions to jump ship. And we've already covered how Hunter took the rap for the MSG incident, which would become known as the Curtain Call (incidentally, this incident is shown in full on fan cam as a DVD extra).

The Kliq was also a sign of the times, because the WWF was struggling, and it lacked a major veteran like Hogan or Randy Savage. Yes, Bret and Taker were there, but Bret was the CM Punk of the 1990s, the obvious best wrestler in the company but someone who was never 100% accepted by the promotion as the guy; and Undertaker only had the top title for five days in his first six years with the WWF (and even Taker was in the BSK). Had Hogan still been in the WWF, the Kliq wouldn't have exerted the power that they had, nor would they have done if it were 1998 and Steve Austin was on a one-way trip to wrestling immortality; Stone Cold certainly wouldn't have been pushed around by Michaels or Nash or Hall at this point. And in the modern WWE, we rarely hear of true backstage politicians, even if HHH and John Cena are occasionally accused of political manoeuvrings, because times have changed and in the performance-driven WWE of today, fewer wrestlers are truly battling to earn or keep "their spot". It's no longer about one man or one feud, evidenced by how WWE's on-screen product succeeds in spite of the fact that fans completely resent the chosen one Roman Reigns.

The Kliq Rules will be appealing to fans of the mid-1990s WWF and those who have a keen interest in the behind-the-scenes aspect of wrestling. Newer fans will be less inclined to watch this DVD, and may even be confused by much of what is being discussed. That being said, the documentary is adequate, and many of the bonus matches are worth watching, if a little familiar. I would say, therefore, that this is a fairly good DVD set which, while revealing little in the way of new information, does recap the highs and lows, and of course the influence over the WWF (and the fear caused to the locker room) by the most infamous backstage unit in wrestling history. But you do have to be interested in either mid-1990s WWF wrestling or you have to be interested in how wrestling works, because otherwise this DVD won't be for you.

Overall Rating: 7/10 - Respectable