TRP Promoter Speaks Out On Scott Hall’s Appearance Last Week

Source: Busted Open

Steve Ricard, promoter of Top Rope Promotions, appeared on Busted Open with Doug Mortman and Dave LaGreca to talk about the Scott Hall fiasco from this past weekend. You can check out his Ricard’s below.

What happened this past Friday?

“Obviously he has some demons and he has been battling them for awhile. We were well aware of that. I’m getting a lot of criticism now saying that I shouldn’t have booked him in the first place because I knew of that. Well he made appearances in New Jersey last month and Florida last month and hes scheduled for a show in Florida on Saturday but I’m sure those promoters are not receiving the kind of heat that I am right now and that’s cause he showed up to their shows fine. He performed in the ring and was good with the fans and everything so I don’t think I should be accountable for his past demons. He’s been telling me for the last week that he’s been sober.

“We had a newspaper interview on Thursday evening and he was sober….and hes talked about how hes been sober for a while and he was happy to be coming up to the area. I did talk to his nurse Friday morning, she was bringing him to the airport, and she said he was not in the best condition but he was ok for the show. He showed up in a wheelchair.

“At that point, we did make the arrangements, he wanted to be prepaid, we paid him at the airport. He harassed my driver who happened to be female the entire ride to the show. I have seen reports about how hes at a bar prior to the show, none of that is true. The guy didn’t have a drink from noon until he went to the hospital that night. Definitely wasn’t an alcohol abuse issue.

“He showed up at our show and he was just taking his own prescription drugs, he had three huge bottles of pills and I think he was just digging in a little more than what the regular dosage was. At this point in this thing, we had a packed house and the good majority of them came out just to see Scott Hall. He wanted to come out. I felt like the fans would have rioted if we didn’t bring him out…..by no circumstances did I want him to take a bump or not leave the ring, go on a big rampage promo, any of that.”

On having Hall go out there, saying giving out refunds could kill a small promotion like his

“It’s a double thing, I’d have to not only scratch the whole show but also the money I paid out to him. My biggest concern was that the people would riot, because we announced he was there. I’m not the one that pushed him out of the curtain. He wanted to go out there and perform.

“If I could have predicted the future and know that that’s the state he would have come in, none of this would have ever happened. What I wanted him to do was throw his toothpick, give a ‘Hey Yo’, give a Razor’s Edge…..didn’t go down like that.

“When I heard the report from our driver that picked him up at the airport, I knew we were in trouble either way. There’s no way we could have rectified the situation. If we canceled him…..if we had him at the show and didn’t bring him out, people would have been pissed. We would have lost a lot of money. If we had him at the show and brought him out in the shape he was, people would have been pissed. Either way, it wasn’t a win-win situation. I didn’t get out of that night what I wanted to get out of that night.

“He (Hall) asked the guy he was working with if he could give him the Razor’s Edge about 5 times which he declined in the ring and in the back every time. He wanted to get in the ring. He wanted to cut a big promo and if you know anybody that’s talked to him or known him for his life, Scott does what he wants to do. We let him out there, figured let him cut the promo. In the state he was in, I didn’t want him to get physically involved. I thought we could put him out there. I didn’t think he would be dangerous or harmful. We did have 400-500 people that did pay to see him and I already had him prepaid. People told me I should have cut my losses, well no one is in that position. No one is in the position to have to issue refunds to 300-400 people that wanted to see Scott Hall while I already ate all the money for his appearance, his travel, his transportation, etc.”

On being asked to remove footage of Scott Hall to promote iPPV event

“I’ve heard reports that they’ve (Hall’s representatives) asked us to remove the footage and we haven’t. No one’s contacted me, I know hes got an agent or a friend that drove up from New Jersey to take care of him after my guys brought him to the hospital. She has not contacted me. I was talking to his nurse in Florida and she has not contacted me. I have talked to his promoter friend in Florida who he hangs out with him and runs wrestling shows down in Florida, he has not contacted me. None of his close personal friends have contacted me. Obviously, I want Scott Hall to get better and healthy. I do think he owes us an apology. He owes the fans an apology more than anything. I had a lot of disappointed people who thought their childhood icon was wrecked and ruined.”