Scott Hall on help from WWE, substance abuse, his legacy
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross spoke to another WWE Hall Of Famer Scott Hall for the FOX Sports website. The full interview is at this link. It was noted that Hall needed the help of Antabuse during the WWE SummerSlam weekend, for him to stay sober. Antabuse makes a person very ill when mixed with alcohol. Hall told JR that he “hated being sick even more than he used to enjoy drinking” so the Antabuse works. It is to be noted that WWE previously paid for his previous six stints on the rehab and suggested Hall to get rid of the the root cause of his problems and not just the symptoms. Hall on his part did not blame the wrestling industry for his substance abuse issues. Here are highlights:
Hall on the help and support he got from Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Diamond Dallas Page:
Many of Hall's wrestling friends had been addressing Jake the Snake's sobriety for weeks, noting miraculous strides in Jake's overall health through DDP Yoga and Page's "relentless positivity. Both Diamond Dallas Page and Jake Roberts wanted to give Hall a last chance at sobriety and self preservation, picked their friend up at the Atlanta airport while being filmed and stared upon by onlookers, many of them longtime wrestling fans. He says it was pure fate that he had answered DDP and Jake’s calls otherwise he was drinking himself to death.
What did I have to lose? I was drinking myself to death. I don’t even know why I answered the phone when Dally and Jake called because I wasn’t answering any calls or talking to anyone. I guess it was fate. Jake was one of my professional heroes and Dally was always a great friend. It was just the two of them and me in Page’s home.”,he says
On his lifestyle:
Hall says he contemplated suicide in the days leading to finally getting into the wrestling business, but his Roman Catholic upbringing prevented him from doing that. He says it was his dream to be main eventer in pro-wrestling and feels good to have lived his dream. However he admits the excess of the '80s and the huge money of the '90s became a great temptation for many of them as they turned to alcohol and drugs.
“I always wanted to be a main eventer in pro wrestling. I lived my dream but the excess of the ’80s and the huge money of the ’90s became a great temptation for many of us. After working in a main event, on the advice of one of my peers, I took my downers, Xanax was my drug of choice, before I stopped sweating and got into the showers. Then I’d have a few beers on the drive to the hotel and then hit the rack to make that 6 a.m. flight. Some nights we wouldn’t go to bed at all and hit the hotel bar and then hit a diner, eat and then get to the airport to sleep on the plane.”
On if he blames wrestling for all his problems:
Hall says he loves the wrestling business and would never blame it for all his woes. He blames himself. He says all his friends who died prematurely only have themselves to blame.
“Absolutely, not. Never. I just blame myself. If I want to know who the culprit is I simply look in the mirror. All my friends that died much too early have themselves to blame and no one else.”
On his legacy:
Hall’s love for the wrestling business is pretty much imminent as he speaks, but says at the end of the day wrestling is all about money and miles. Hall says his most important legacy will be in being a good father to his two children.
“I love the wrestling business, but my Mom never named me Razor. That I did with the blessing of Vince McMahon but, at the end of the day, the wrestling business was always essentially about the money and the miles. My most important legacy is being a good father to my two children.”
“My life is like driving down a road. I occasionally glance in the rearview mirror but I’m not focused on the past or looking back anymore. That’s why the windshield is bigger than the review view mirror. I prefer to look ahead, make my short term goals, and focus on today. I’m where I’m supposed to be but not where I want to be. Thank God I’m not where I used to be. I’m OK and I’m on my way one day at a time. Help awaits everyone if they truly want it.”