Author: When Egos Clash: The Clash Between Scott Hall and Marty Jannetty
Young and hot-headed Scott Hall was not one to mess with back in the day. This was a memo Marty Jannetty didn’t pick up on, and unfortunately, he had to deal with the consequences.
Scott Hall on His Backstage Fight with Marty Jannetty
In an interview with High Spots (H/T: ‘Wrestling’s Glory Days’ Facebook page), Scott Hall (AKA Razor Ramon in WWE) told of the time he had no choice but to deliver some rough justice to a sleeping Marty Jannetty after Jannetty wronged him behind his back.
“One time, I got into a scuffle in the locker room with Marty Jannetty, and I beat Marty’s ***.”
Hotel Havoc and Misguided Mayhem
Scott Hall continued, “There was a dude named D.J Peterson. D.J and Marty were really good buddies. They stayed at a hotel, and when they checked in, they registered as ‘Scott Hall.’ Then, story has it, they trashed the room.
“So now the hotel calls the wrestling office, and the wrestling office calls me. And I didn’t even drink back then, brother, I didn’t do anything wrong.
“They said, ‘Well, we have a feeling who it was, but we just wanted to check with you…’
Scott Hall’s Conflicted Emotions Surrounding the Prank
“I remember Bob Brown – Bob ‘Bulldog’ Brown, who was the booker – I said, ‘If I slap [Marty] around a little bit, am I gonna get fired?’
“And he went, [slow shake of the head] ‘No…’
All I could think about was them checking into the hotel and going, ‘Oh, whose name should we put? Hahaha, just put Scott Hall…’
“And all day long, it just kept eating at me. I liked Marty – and I thought he liked me – but it hurt my feelings.
The Redneck’s Revenge: Scott Hall’s Fiery Confrontation
“So, I’m such a redneck, when I went to the show that night, I knew I was gonna fight. I wore old clothes, I wore my old cowboy boots, I wore a shirt I didn’t mind getting blood on, and I went straight to the babyface locker room looking around for him.
“There he was, sleeping on a table.
“I beat the hell out of him, and I fight dirty.
“I just beat the hell out of him.
Fury and Defiance
“Marty was a top babyface, so I figured, ‘Well, I’m fired now. Screw it. I’ll go back to Florida, back to bouncing at strip clubs. I can always get a job doing that.’
“As I was walking under the tunnel back to the heel side, I hear, ‘Hey Steeve…’
It’s Harley Race.
“I turn around – and you know, I’m pumped ‘cos I’m 290 pounds, I’m young, I’ve just been in a fight – and I go, ‘Are you talking to me, Harley?’ – Because I figure I’m fired anyway, right?
“‘Are you talking to me, Harley? My name is Scott! SCOTT HALL!
“‘I’ve been here six ‘effin months…my name is SCOTT HALL!!’
“He went, [non-plussed] ‘Caaalm down, kid…’
“He’s so cool, he comes over – I’d damaged my knuckle hitting [Jannetty] like a wild man, ‘cos instead of boxing, I was just wailing, and I jammed my knuckle on my little finger – so Harley re-set my knuckle for me.
“And then he goes, ‘Hey, kid. Next time you do that ****, do it after the show. Now the ******’ guy can’t work.'”
Recommended reading: Harley Race – Tales of His Tenacity and Strength
Marty Jannetty Gives His Side of the Story
In an interview with Hannibal TV, Marty Jannetty shared his side of the story:
“Dave [DJ] Peterson was one of my best friends in life. He wrestled during the AWA days and made it in WWF, too, for a while.
“Scott Hall had a mustache thing [during his AWA days], and he had the curly hair. [Peterson] could have actually had a little bit of a Scott Hall look.
“Well, what [Peterson] did when we went and checked into a hotel one night, [the hotel staff] were fans of wrestling, so you got a rate. A discount. So, [Peterson] went in and said, ‘Hey, I’m Scott Hall.’
“[DJ] wasn’t known yet. He was just starting out, so this got us the rate.
Night of Party: Recounting the Misadventures
“We ended up partying up in the room, and we had a bunch of girls over. It was just a typical, you know, young guys partying. It was nothing, no damage. They actually took it out of my check for $50. I think a lamp had broke.
“Well, what we had done was taken the top of the bed off and threw it on the floor because we had a bunch of people there.
“So everybody was lying on the box springs, lying on the bed, lying on that bed, you know. It looked much worse than what it really was. It wasn’t really that bad. Just the lamp broke, and I got charged for that.
Hungover Havoc and a Surprise Wake-Up Call
“The next day was Thursday. I can remember every detail of it. I was still hungover. (laughs)
“Back then, I used to party. We got to the arena, the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, and I was lying on the table taking a nap before my match.
“It was TV tapings, so I wanted to do real good. I was laying there hungover like, ‘Oh gosh, this hurts. This hurts!’ I then fell asleep.
“The next thing I know, I’m on my hands and knees in this dressing room, and I hear commotion over this noise, and then I see Scott Hall. Like what the hell is going on?
From Slumber to Chaos
“DJ came and got me. He goes, ‘Come here, man.’ He told me from the mirror that this [pointing under his left eye] was cut open. It was like hanging a little bit.
“My lip was split. I mean, a half-foot was here, the other half was over there, and I’m like, ‘What the ****? What the hell just happened? What’s going on?’
“He said, ‘Scott has just come in and started pounding you while you were sleeping.
“At that point, I got so upset about it. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘So he just beat me up while I was asleep…’
“[Scott] was big, man, 6’5", and boy, he was jacked back then, man. He was like 280, so a big old boy, especially to my little 5’11" butt!
The Desperate Urge to Confront Scott Hall
“I remember going out the door and found a little pipe. I grabbed the pipe, went across the stage, and Bob Geigel and ‘Bulldog’ Bob Brown grabbed me. They said, ‘Where are you going? What are you doing?’
“I said, ‘I’m about to go see him!’
“I remember Bulldog said, ‘Don’t do that, you’ll just get hurt worse.’
“That [upset] me off more actually, but I wouldn’t hit him. They made me go to the hospital, and they stitched up.
“I had to wrestler the next night with Art Crews. I was stitched up here [points again to under his left eye]. I then saw Scott Hall.
“It was Kiel Auditorium, and you go up these stairs, and there’s like twenty dressing rooms. So you pretty much get your own room, you know, or with one other person in there with you.
“So I’m stitched up; it just happened the night before. I see Scott Hall. I’m right there in the hallway, and I see him coming, and I’m like, ‘Oh, ****.’
“He sees me, and it’s like, ‘Oh God, here we go…’
“It was the next day; I was still sore.
“He comes up, and he stops a little bit and goes, ‘I guess we won’t go round and round now.’
“And I’m like, ‘Just one more time, but can I please heal first?’ (laughs) I was sore as ****!
“He then apologized. He goes, ‘Man, they worked me.’
Averted Retaliation and a Wrestling Legend’s Intervention
“He said ‘Bulldog’ Bob Brown told him that I tore the room up and put his name on it. First of all, I wouldn’t. It wasn’t even me who signed in [at the hotel]. But, Bulldog told Scott, ‘You need to let him know he ain’t going to do this stuff anymore.’
“Scott said, ‘[Marty] tried to get you fired.’ That’s what set Scott off enough to do that, you know? And then he apologized.
“If I had that pipe, I was going to now go off on Bulldog! But Harley Race was there that night too. He said, ‘What’s going on, kid?’
“I told him and said, ‘He just did this ****. I’m gonna **** him up!’
“And he goes, ‘No, no, let me handle it. If I find that he did that to you, I will take care of it. He won’t like it.’ (laughs)
I wanted to take care of it, but with Harley Race, man, I put just put hands up and had to back up.
Marty Jannetty’s Reflection on Wrestling’s Rowdy Lifestyle
“That night in the ring, Art Crews snapmares me, and you know how you do that pull apart thing [with one finger on each side of the mouth and pull]? He pulled my face right apart! (laughs)
“But yeah, that’s what happened with Scott, man.
“I will agree to this. I admit that maybe they needed to calm me down, but that wasn’t the way because I was in there, and I was new. I was a wild boy.
“We were partying with girls, doing what rockers do. Okay, there was a little collateral damage, but they just thought I was too wild, and that was their way of calming me down.
“In hindsight, I get it, but that wasn’t the way to do it.”
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