Eric Bischoff Recalls Jerry Sags Shooting on Scott Hall in the Ring in WCW Over a Chair Shot

– During an episode of 83 Weeks earlier this year, Eric Bischoff recalled Jerry Sags infamously shooting on Scott Hall during a match at a WCW live event in 1997. The incident in question took place at a house show in Shreveport, Louisiana.

A couple of months earlier, Hall had hit Saggs in the back of the head with a chair. Saggs, who already had a neck injury, said in a 2012 interview that he received a concussion and was mad about it, but got talked down when Hall apologized.

Later on at the Shreveport show, Sags got knocked down by a belt shot from Kevin Nash, who was improvising because Sean Waltman was supposed to come to the ring but had been hurt and couldn’t do so. Not knowing what had hit him, he stood up and turned to see Hall having picked up a chair. Hall threw the chair and hit Sags in the face. Enraged, Sags went after Hall and laid into him with shoot punches. Hall got a tooth knocked out in the incident. The Nasty Boys were released from the company a few weeks after this.

Bischoff was not there for the actual incident, but recalled hearing about it and his reaction. Highlights are below:

On Sags’ version of the story: “Well, I heard about it right away. I had a call that night after it happened, and — f**k, I just ran into Jerry Sags a few weeks ago, we did an event together and I still got an earful of it. Jerry Sags will tell you that story every time he sees you, whether you wanna hear it or not. What happened is, according to Jerry now, there’s two sides to every story. But according to Jerry, there was a chair involved in a match and he felt that Scott took liberties. He felt that Scott was under the influence and just wasn’t as careful as he should have been. And it started out, you know, Jerry Sags is not somebody that’s gonna take any s**t from anybody. Especially back then, and probably even now. He’s a very easy guy to get along with by the way. Jerry Sags always was. But there was always a line with Jerry that if you crossed it, he became irrational. You couldn’t talk to him for quite a while. And again, according to Jerry, Scott crossed that line. He took liberties with the chair, Sags took exception to it.”

On Hall provoking people backstage in WCW: “Scott was really good at taunting people. He liked to stir s**t, and particularly with the Nasty Boys. Not just with them, but particularly with them. He loved to stir people up, he loved to make people angry about the fact that Scott was getting something that they weren’t getting. Or that he was special, or some kind of exclusive citizen within WCW. And a lot of guys took exception to that. He was working them, he was f**king with them. But a lot of guys took the bait. Jerry wasn’t one of them, and they got into it. And Jerry was a tough song of a b**ch. People talk about the Mengs, and some of the tougher guys in WCW or WWF. Jerry Sags was no slouch. He was a real legit deal, and he wasn’t afraid to go at it. And he did, and Scott Hall was on the receiving end of it.”

On Hall’s claim that Bischoff was going to fire Sags, but that he talked Bischoff out of it: “No, what I remember is hearing the other side of the story. What I remember is talking to some of the people who were there and saw what actually happened. And that’s why [Sags] didn’t get fired.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.