During an interview with the WWF website, Scott Hall defended himself against accusations that he has held back younger talent in WCW. Hall pointed out that he got in trouble in WCW for doing a job to Chris Jericho in Philadelphia on Nov. 3, 1997. That story is true, and in fact Hall volunteered to do the job and did so without management’s approval. Torch reader Doug Peacock of Kennett Square, Pa. remembers the match: “I was at the Nitro at the Philadelphia Spectrum on November 3, 1997. I assumed that Hall would go over, but my friend pointed out that Hall was talking too much smack. Sure enough, Jericho (to my surprise) got the win.” Doing one job to a then-mid-carder in Jericho isn’t the same as being Jericho being portrayed as a serious contender by the entire promotional structure, but Hall did do his part in that instance to break the pattern of management just putting over “name wrestlers.” Hall does not have a rep for refusing to job to anyone; if anything, he has a rep similar to Ric Flair’s where he was all-too-willing to supersell and job at the expense in the long run of his main event credibility.
