The Rock Pays Tribute to Late Scott Hall: 'Pro Wrestling Just Lost a Legend'

The tributes to Scott Hall are still coming in the wake of his death Monday at the age of 63. 

In a post on Instagram, The Rock wrote that "pro wrestling just lost a legend" and talked about a match he had with Hall on SmackDown in March 2002:

"Scott came from an era of pro wrestling where wrestlers were the biggest and toughest men on the planet. Scott was a big man who was athletically gifted. Tough as hell. And inside that ring he was an extraordinarily talented and intense athlete. Before my match here with Scott, I made sure to tell him how much his in ring work influenced me. When I was a rookie in wrestling, I would study Scott’s matches. His style, intensity, crispness and his excellent in ring IQ and psychology. "

"I studied his matches, frame by frame. He was shocked to hear this from me. We came up in different eras. He knew I was a student of the game, but had no idea he was one of the ones I studied. He thought that was so cool and we went out there that night and lit it the fuck up inside that ring. It was my honor, brother. And 'thank you for the house.' Go rest high."

The Rock and Hall had a one-on-one match leading up to WrestleMania X8, where the Great One took on Hulk Hogan. 

Kevin Nash, Hall's longtime friend and tag team partner in WWE and WCW, wrote Sunday that Hall was on life support. 

Per Wade Keller of PW Torch, Hall had to be placed on life support after suffering three heart attacks Saturday. He had complications after undergoing hip replacement surgery last week when a blood clot got loose. 

Hall had stints in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, WCW and Japan before being signed by WWE in 1992. He debuted for the promotion as Razor Ramon. 

The pinnacle of Ramon's first stint in WWE were his two ladder matches against Shawn Michaels for the intercontinental championship. Ramon won the first bout at WrestleMania X in Madison Square Garden. 

The second bout took place at SummerSlam 1995, with Michaels getting the win over "The Bad Guy."

The most important moment of Hall's career came in May 1996 when he showed up for an unannounced promo on WCW Monday Nitro. Nash joined him in the promotion two weeks later, with Hogan turning on WCW at Bash at the Beach to form the New World Order. 

Hall's second stint in WWE only lasted four months before he was released in May 2002. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame twice, in 2014 as a solo performer and 2018 as a member of the nWo.