Behind-The-Scenes Insight Into Sean Waltman And Scott Hall's WWE Exits For WCW

Even 26 years and countless stories later, one of the biggest stories in wrestling history remains the departures of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash from WWE and their subsequent signing with WCW, which would lead to the creation of the New World Order, entering WCW into a golden age. And the story becomes even more fascinating when one learns of how it all came together, which was primarily thanks to a meeting between then-WWE star Sean Waltman and talent agent Barry Bloom.

In an appearance on Talk is Jericho, Bloom, who by 1996 had represented wrestling talents such as Jesse "The Body" Ventura and had a decent relationship with WCW Executive Vice President Eric Bischoff, revealed that a friend put him in touch with Waltman one January evening. Despite already working overtime late into the evening, Bloom agreed to meet with Waltman right then and there. 

"I wait, he shows up right away, he comes in and we're talking," Bloom said. "He had had his own problems with WWE, and now he started talking about maybe jumping to WCW. I talked to him back and forth about contracts and what he was making. It was very little, it wasn't even worth a guarantee of any kind in WWE. We talked through it, and he said 'You know, I have another friend who's interested in leaving as well.' I said 'Who is that?' He said 'Scott Hall. He plays Razor Ramon.'"

The revelation, according to Bloom, led to him nearly falling out of his chair. But with Waltman's contract not up until later in 1996, and armed with inside information Bischoff had previously given to him, Hall became, in Bloom's eyes, precisely what WCW was looking for. All he needed was Waltman to put him in contact.

"Eric had said to me earlier in the month that Ted [Turner] was looking to hire some mainstream talent with nice guarantees," Bloom said. "Scott's was up in May. And this was January. Sure enough, Sean says 'Why don't we call him now?' We get on the phone and Sean goes 'Hey Scott, it's Sean. I'm with a guy here who thinks he can get you a really good deal and a really nice guarantee.'

"And Scott knew everything, was very smart, very sharp. I explained a little bit, that they were looking to sign some key talent, and to me, he was one of the best. He said 'Yeah, I could be in.' And sure enough, I called Eric that night or the next morning and said 'I think I found somebody that might fit a need that you're looking at. He goes 'Who?' 'Scott Hall.'"

Bloom would insist that Hall wasn't necessarily out the door at WWE and was open to renegotiating a better deal with the promotion. But after Hall and Bloom drafted a signed fax where Hall sought to stop his contract from being automatically renewed, Bloom found that then WWE owner Vince McMahon wasn't keen to negotiate.

"He [Vince McMahon] didn't want to talk to me," Bloom said.

As such, Hall would indeed sign a contract with WCW that spring and would debut in May. As for the man who started it all, Waltman would himself join WCW later in 1996, joining the New World Order as Syxx, a play on his WWE name,1-2-3 Kid.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription