February 19, 2000 Scott Hall might actually be fired this week stemming from his conduct on the Germany tour. An airline official refused to let Hall board the plane Monday morning that was scheduled to fly him to New York in time for Nitro on Monday night because he was clearly under the influence of something. The idea of such an incident taking place is no surprise; what is a surprise is that WCW officials have continued to use Hall in a prominent role considering his track record of similar behavior. If WCW feels forced to keep Hall around for essentially blackmail-type reasons - be it because he knows too much regarding the ongoing legal battle between WCW and the WWF, or because he dates a niece of a top Turner executive, or any other reason unrelated to his actual reliability and value to the company - then it's time to shut the company down. Or at least fire the executives who continue to place an obviously unfit person in a role that requires a high level of responsibility. WCW's current in-over-their-heads management team believes they need his star power due to all of the current injuries. Despite his escapade in Germany, during Nitro later that day they went on to add him to the PPV main event. By Tuesday, though, serious consideration was being given to finally firing him.
February 26, 2000 Scott Hall was hospitalized after his match at SuperBrawl after complaining of numbness on one side of his body. He says he felt a numbness in his arm late in the match which grew intense after the guitar shot and powerbomb. He lay in the ring for about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the PPV and was stretchered from the ring and taken to a local hospital. There he underwent X-rays which came back negative. He also had an MRI done. The early tentative prognosis is a possible swollen spinal cord. He was injected with steroids to reduce swelling, which is standard procedure for anyone with a possible back or neck injury.
There was great skepticism about the veracity of Hall's injury the night it happened, and quite a bit existed even after he spent two days in the hospital. It had been a rough week for Hall. At the Thunder tapings last week he told people he was going to legitimately rough up Terry Taylor during an in-ring angle. Taylor, who has been an open critic of Hall's backstage conduct, was supposed to make an announcement in the ring. Jeff Jarrett and Hall were supposed to go to the ring and get involved in a fight. Hall told people backstage he was going to "accidentally" hit Taylor. When J.J. Dillon got word of Hall's words, he confronted Hall. Hall said he was joking. Dillon didn't buy it and sent Hall home. The Thunder tapings were held up for about 35 minutes as management decided backstage how to proceed with the show which would air just five days before SuperBrawl. They decided to leave the door open for Hall to participate in the main event as advertised the night before on Nitro. Meetings were held the next day in Atlanta to determine the fate of Hall. There were two factions in management. One faction thought they should fire Hall; the other thought they couldn't afford to fire Hall because they think he will be a credible witness in their lawsuits with the WWF. The decision was made to keep him in the PPV main event, but what management planned to do afterward wasn't known. Some thought WCW planned to suspend Hall without pay or fire him. Hall was aware of that. Because Hall knew he might have run out of slack when it came to his insubordination, some think he devised an elaborate scheme to claim to have a back injury so he can stay on payroll and not work. He has had friends who have had injuries so he would know exactly what symptoms to claim he had. If he is legitimately injured, it is a huge coincidence of timing.
March 4, 2000 WCW is planning on Scott Hall being back in about three weeks, but Hall is seeing another doctor for a second opinion on whether it is advisable he return so soon. There are still very strong feelings within WCW (and elsewhere in wrestling) that Hall's "stinger" was a work to buy some time with management, which was apparently ready to take serious action against him for his misconduct at work recently.
March 11, 2000 Scott Hall is still on "injured reserve," but WCW bookers plan to utilize him when he is healthy
March 26, 2000 Scott Hall will be back any week now...
April 15, 2000 Scott Hall was not at the show. Some of the wrestlers suggested Bischoff fire Hall, but Bischoff told them it is in the hands of Siegel. Some were skeptical, assuming Bischoff was trying to pass the buck rather than address the problem. Friends of Hall say his head is as straight as it's been in a long while, so Nash's on-air comments during Nitro have some truth to them
May 5, 2000 The story on Scott Hall's condition, lifestyle, marriage status, and timeline on returning to WCW TV changes every week or so. The latest expectations are that he will return to WCW TV within a month or so, but that could change six times this month...
May 27, 2000 Scott Hall isn't even talked about among wrestlers these days. He could return anytime, but there is no buzz about it being imminent.
June 10, 2000 Even if Scott Hall were healthy enough to return, Goldberg is against Hall returning. Minutes before Goldberg punched his hand through the limo window months ago, there was heat between Hall and Goldberg. Hall had been cutting heels promos against Goldberg, but showing him up with one-liners. Goldberg had complained to management that such lines were counter productive because they were getting babyface pops. Hall agreed not to do it again, but then went ahead and did it anyway. Goldberg claims that Hall set off his temper, which triggered him to recklessly punch in the window and he still holds a grudge against Hall for it to this day.
June 24, 2000 Russo wants to bring Scott Hall back, but Goldberg is still against it based on Hall "showing him up" during live interviews months ago which led to him punching in the limousine window in anger.
July 1, 2000 Russo did want Scott Hall back at Bash at the Beach, but without Russo around, that may not happen. Nobody else seems enthusiastic about dealing with the unpredictable Hall... There is talk of an NWO Anniversary Reunion at the Bash involving Hall, Nash, and Hogan. Syxx's invitation may be lost in the mail.
July 8, 2000 It's doubtful that Scott Hall will return at the PPV, which had been the plan until Brad Siegel stepped in. When Hall was separated from his wife, it's well known that he dated Siegel's niece Emily, which may have something to do with Siegel's decision.
July 15, 2000 The official line out of WCW is that Hall "will never work for WCW again." It is doubtful that Brad Siegel will allow Scott Hall to return due to an incident that occurred between Hall and Siegel's niece, Emily Sherman. Sherman's official title with WCW is vice president of international coordination. As has been reported in past issues, Hall and Sherman had an on again, off again relationship while he was separated from his wife, Dana. Friends say that during the last WCW Germany tour, Hall and Sherman went out for a private dinner and, Sherman later told friends, she confronted Hall regarding his drinking problem. According to the story, when confronted, Hall stood up and threw his plate of food onto her, slapped her, and stormed out of the restaurant. One source recall seeing Sherman crying at the hotel bar following the incident. The next day, Hall wasn't allowed to board an airplane due to his behavior at the airport and ended up missing Nitro as a result. Upon