10 Spontaneous Wrestling Decisions That Became Famous
Steve Austin's improvisation created a mega-seller...
Ask a wrestling fan what their main problem is with WWE nowadays, and there's a decent chance they'll say it's too scripted. Today, almost every aspect of a character's act is perfected before they even step from behind the curtain. It wasn't always the case.
Once over spontaneity was encouraged. Promoters enjoyed seeing performers come up with their own ideas and gimmicks. In the WWE system of today, things are incredibly rigid. Scripts are reportedly handed out to those verbalising big promos on television and pay-per-view. To past generations of wrestlers, this is a horrifying trend.
Had things been so tightly controlled back in the days of yore, it's likely that a lot of wrestling's most famous moments may have slipped the net.
Some catchphrases or characters come from unlikely sources, and some have even been born out of sheer frustration. All of the entries on this list had a spontaneous feel to them, and the performers in question decided to roll with their ingenuity to see what could be achieved. In most cases, it was an awful lot.
10. Scott Hall's Entire 'Razor Ramon' Character
When Scott Hall met with Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson in the early-'90s to discuss his forthcoming WWF run, one of the chairman's big ideas for his new signing was to have Hall reportedly play a military character. The gimmick the wrestler ended up playing was remarkably different.
Likely horrified by what was being presented to him, Hall decided to pitch his own idea. Almost out of desperation, he told the WWF management team all about a movie he had seen called Scarface. The main character, Al Pacino's Tony Montana, was a fiery Latino figure. McMahon eventually liked the premise, despite apparently never having seen the film.
Still needing a name, Hall sought the advice of Tito Santana. He already had the 'Razor' part sewn up, but it was Santana who suggested it should be followed by 'Ramon'. The rest is history, but had Hall not thought quickly on his feet, who knows what his WWF guise could have ended up being?