"I was there that night" – Wrestling veteran remembers Scott Hall for changing the business after Curtain Call incident (Exclusive)
Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell recently spoke about Scott Hall and how he influenced the wrestling business.
The Curtain Call is one of the most infamous incidents in professional wrestling. It happened at a house show in Madison Square Garden back in 1996 when Hall, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H had a group hug and turned to the crowd with their arms raised. This shocked fans and other superstars because Triple H and Nash were heels while Michaels and Hall were babyfaces.
Speaking on this week's Smack Talk, Mantell said Hall and Nash changed the wrestling industry in the late 90s. He recalled being in the building during The Curtain Call and recounted how the events transpired:
"He did change the business. Him and Kevin Nash changed the business. I was there that night at Madison Square Garden where they had the Curtain Call. I was standing about 10 feet from Vince and he was so hot. He went back to the room and I heard screaming and throwing. I said, 'Well, I guess I better get out of here.' He didn't talk to any of those guys when they came back. So it was left to another day. Out of the ones who did the curtain call, none of them got punished except Triple H." (from 28:24 onwards)
You can watch the full video here:
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left WWE after the Curtain Call
During the show, Mantell detailed the impact of the Curtain Call. He said Vince was angry at all four men, but Triple H got punished because Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left for WCW, and Shawn was WWE Champion.
.@ShawnMichaels, #Diesel, @SCOTTHALLNWO and @TripleH change sports-entertainment forever with the infamous "Curtain Call." https://t.co/VslZdd47QM
"Hall and Nash left. Can't punish somebody when they're not there. Michaels was the champion, so you can't punish him. So all that punishment really went down to Triple H. For about 6 months after that on every house show, Triple H was looking at the lights every night."
Triple H was supposed to win the King of the Ring tournament that year, and instead, Stone Cold Steve Austin won.
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