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[Eric]
In the early 90s,
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00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,210
we couldn't attract
an audience.
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00:00:08,210 --> 00:00:11,470
I needed people to
take WCW seriously.
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00:00:11,470 --> 00:00:13,130
We needed a star.
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00:00:13,130 --> 00:00:14,890
[Commentary]
Hulk Hogan is here!
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00:00:14,890 --> 00:00:18,760
[Hogan] You can call this the
New World Order
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00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:20,180
of wrestling,
brother!
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00:00:20,180 --> 00:00:22,890
I don't think I'd ever
seen anything as hot as NWO.
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00:00:22,890 --> 00:00:25,270
They were bad,
but they were cool.
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00:00:25,270 --> 00:00:28,020
It was the biggest turn in
the history of wrestling!
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00:00:28,020 --> 00:00:29,020
Oh, no!
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00:00:29,020 --> 00:00:30,030
Whap!
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00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:32,320
[Bret] WCW is now beating
WWF in the ratings.
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00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,320
Have we created a
monster, or what?
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00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,700
Shit's gonna hit the fan
at some point, and it did.
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00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:41,290
[Bret] It was a company that
was infested with guys
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00:00:41,290 --> 00:00:43,040
that had their
own agenda.
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00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,210
Eric Bischoff,
he was just a prop.
19
00:00:45,210 --> 00:00:47,790
And Hulk Hogan was
the puppet master.
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00:00:47,790 --> 00:00:49,710
Once a god...
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00:00:49,710 --> 00:00:51,710
always a god!
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00:00:51,710 --> 00:00:53,340
[Overlapping voices]
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00:00:53,340 --> 00:00:55,010
You cannot sweep this
under the rug!
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00:00:55,010 --> 00:00:56,760
...this is a ----ing
television show.
25
00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,100
...and I don't understand
what he's doing.
26
00:00:58,100 --> 00:00:59,760
The real reason
men commit lies...
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00:00:59,760 --> 00:01:00,970
♪
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00:01:00,970 --> 00:01:02,980
[Flatlining extended beep]
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00:01:02,980 --> 00:01:06,480
♪ [Dramatic instrumental] ♪
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00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,230
Ladies and gentlemen!
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00:01:08,230 --> 00:01:11,320
You are tuned in to
the world's #1
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00:01:11,320 --> 00:01:13,240
professional
wrestling program!
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00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:15,150
By 1997, we had built
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00:01:15,150 --> 00:01:17,070
so much good will
with the audience,
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00:01:17,070 --> 00:01:20,280
as a result of the NWO.
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00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,540
We were absolutely on fire.
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00:01:22,540 --> 00:01:23,450
NWO!
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00:01:23,450 --> 00:01:24,960
When it rains!
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00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:26,710
It pours!
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00:01:26,710 --> 00:01:28,000
For 83 weeks straight,
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00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,420
WCW Nitro defeated WWE.
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00:01:31,420 --> 00:01:34,010
And then, all of
a sudden, boom.
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00:01:34,010 --> 00:01:37,800
[Thunder]
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00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:39,260
[Phone ringing]
45
00:01:39,260 --> 00:01:41,010
I get a phone call.
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00:01:41,010 --> 00:01:42,140
[Phone ringing]
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00:01:42,140 --> 00:01:44,220
It's Harvey Schiller.
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00:01:44,220 --> 00:01:46,770
He's the president of
Turner Sports, and by proxy,
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00:01:46,770 --> 00:01:48,810
you could say,
WCW.
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00:01:48,810 --> 00:01:50,650
So, I answered it:
"Hey, Harvey!
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00:01:50,650 --> 00:01:51,570
How you doing?"
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00:01:51,570 --> 00:01:52,690
"I'm good.
How are you?"
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00:01:52,690 --> 00:01:54,530
I said, "Oh, I'm good."
"Before you hang up,
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00:01:54,530 --> 00:01:56,650
I want to let you know,
Nitro is having
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00:01:56,650 --> 00:01:58,410
so much
success on TNT,
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00:01:58,410 --> 00:02:02,030
Ted wants to do another
prime time show for TBS."
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00:02:02,030 --> 00:02:03,540
Feel the Thunder.
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00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:05,750
Only on the Superstation.
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00:02:05,750 --> 00:02:06,910
I hung up the phone,
I thought,
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00:02:06,910 --> 00:02:08,080
this can't be real.
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00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,420
They weren't happy enough
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00:02:10,420 --> 00:02:12,290
with the ratings they had.
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00:02:12,290 --> 00:02:15,630
They wanted to expand,
not realizing
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00:02:15,630 --> 00:02:18,590
you're gonna weaken
the Monday show.
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00:02:18,590 --> 00:02:20,640
[Eric] I mean, things were
going so well.
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00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:23,850
You're giving them such a
great show on Monday night
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00:02:23,850 --> 00:02:27,430
that the idea of doing
another show, live,
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00:02:27,430 --> 00:02:30,150
48 hours after I just
got done producing one?
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00:02:30,150 --> 00:02:31,940
It...
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00:02:31,940 --> 00:02:33,820
there was no way I
thought it could work.
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00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:37,940
But, I didn't want to be
the guy to tell Ted "no".
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00:02:37,940 --> 00:02:40,240
That was my mistake.
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00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,240
Tonight, we welcome
you to Thunder!
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00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:44,740
TBS said, "Sure,
we'll take the show.
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00:02:44,740 --> 00:02:46,410
We just don't have it
in our budget.
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00:02:46,410 --> 00:02:49,960
We can't pay for it."
So, reluctantly,
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00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:51,920
of course it was a big
part of WCW's budget.
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00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:54,170
That's what Ted wants.
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00:02:54,170 --> 00:02:56,090
The challenge
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00:02:56,090 --> 00:02:58,380
right off the bat,
audience fatigue,
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00:02:58,380 --> 00:03:00,840
because now they're seeing
too much of the same talent.
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00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:02,720
-Who's who?
-I don't know!
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00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,390
Even though we had
a very deep roster,
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00:03:04,390 --> 00:03:07,100
if we're going to do
another show, I thought,
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00:03:07,100 --> 00:03:10,770
that roster has to be
substantially unique.
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00:03:10,770 --> 00:03:12,100
It's why I brought
Bret Hart in.
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00:03:12,100 --> 00:03:14,270
[Cheering]
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00:03:14,270 --> 00:03:16,230
Bret!
[Echoing]
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00:03:16,230 --> 00:03:19,440
♪
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00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,700
I was at the top of the heap
of the WWF during those days.
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00:03:22,700 --> 00:03:24,450
♪
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00:03:24,450 --> 00:03:26,410
I beat Undertaker
for the title.
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00:03:26,410 --> 00:03:28,450
I beat Stone Cold
Steve Austin.
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00:03:28,450 --> 00:03:30,040
Agh!
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00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:33,040
I was a WWF guy, and ah,
I think I was
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00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:35,040
a big part of the success
that they had.
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00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,090
[Cheering]
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00:03:38,090 --> 00:03:41,630
I like Bret. A lot of
respect for that man.
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00:03:41,630 --> 00:03:43,300
Bret Hart, somebody
I probably had
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00:03:43,300 --> 00:03:45,180
my best matches with.
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00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:46,260
Oh!
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00:03:46,260 --> 00:03:48,060
Ultimate respect.
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00:03:48,060 --> 00:03:49,520
I loved Bret Hart.
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00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:51,480
He was like a national
hero in Canada.
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00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,560
People respected him,
people looked up to him.
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00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,480
I emulated some of my
style from Bret Hart,
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00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:00,740
like my suplex.
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00:04:00,740 --> 00:04:02,650
Bischoff says,
"What's it gonna take for
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00:04:02,650 --> 00:04:05,740
you to come to WCW?"
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00:04:05,740 --> 00:04:06,780
Bret...
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00:04:06,780 --> 00:04:09,580
We got it up to
2.8 million a year.
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00:04:09,580 --> 00:04:10,950
Bret...
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00:04:10,950 --> 00:04:13,210
So I joined WCW.
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00:04:13,210 --> 00:04:15,420
Bret 'The Hitman' Hart!
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00:04:15,420 --> 00:04:17,000
Has arrived!
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00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,550
First night I walked out,
and I got a great reaction.
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00:04:19,550 --> 00:04:21,760
[Cheering]
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00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:24,180
I needed an anchor
for that show.
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00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:26,970
Bret was critical to that.
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00:04:26,970 --> 00:04:29,390
But it went
downhill from there.
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00:04:29,390 --> 00:04:35,690
[Booing]
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00:04:35,690 --> 00:04:37,480
It sounds to me like
you people are
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00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:39,860
a little disappointed in me.
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00:04:39,860 --> 00:04:41,530
They're flying me
down from Calgary,
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00:04:41,530 --> 00:04:44,860
then they tell me
I'm off for the night.
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00:04:44,860 --> 00:04:47,820
The next week, I'd do
the same thing again.
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00:04:47,820 --> 00:04:49,990
Just sit in the dressing
room and do nothing.
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00:04:49,990 --> 00:04:52,750
Eric, he apologized to me
many times, and said,
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00:04:52,750 --> 00:04:55,250
"I'm so sorry about how
we brought you in."
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00:04:55,250 --> 00:04:58,040
Everything he ever
said was a lie.
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00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,630
We already knew that
we were running thin.
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00:05:01,630 --> 00:05:03,920
You had Monday Night Nitro,
and then you had
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00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:05,880
two days that you had to
do house shows.
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00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,180
That's followed by
a two-hour Thunder.
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00:05:08,180 --> 00:05:11,640
We had a Saturday show.
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00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:13,100
[Janie] And then you might
have a Pay Per View
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00:05:13,100 --> 00:05:14,560
or something in there.
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00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:17,440
[Kevin Nash]
You're basically booking
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00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,570
ten hours in two days.
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00:05:20,570 --> 00:05:25,070
It was impossible to have any
kind of attention to detail.
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00:05:25,070 --> 00:05:26,490
And I think it showed.
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00:05:26,490 --> 00:05:27,820
I've never seen a human
being do anything
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00:05:27,820 --> 00:05:29,490
like this in my life!
144
00:05:29,490 --> 00:05:31,160
This has never been
done in our sport!
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00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:32,200
There were so many times
we didn't have
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00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,620
finishes for this or
finishes for that
147
00:05:34,620 --> 00:05:37,000
because it was so
time consuming.
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00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:38,630
We're out of time!
149
00:05:38,630 --> 00:05:40,790
When these guys are trying
to think up something new,
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00:05:40,790 --> 00:05:41,960
they're gonna go
to something
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00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,170
that worked before.
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00:05:44,170 --> 00:05:46,380
[Eric] You know, NWO was still
rocking and rolling.
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00:05:46,380 --> 00:05:48,470
Printing money,
and printing ratings.
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00:05:48,470 --> 00:05:51,760
And as a result, we took
the easy way out.
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00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:53,970
We kept adding
to the NWO.
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00:05:53,970 --> 00:05:55,890
Let's create
the Red Faction.
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00:05:55,890 --> 00:05:58,140
We got some new
colors going on!
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00:05:58,140 --> 00:05:59,900
[Eric] Let's create the
Latino Faction.
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00:05:59,900 --> 00:06:01,610
The Latino World Order.
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00:06:01,610 --> 00:06:03,530
You just can't pass
t-shirts out and
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00:06:03,530 --> 00:06:07,570
water down the greatest
show in town.
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00:06:07,570 --> 00:06:08,700
You gotta wear that?
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00:06:08,700 --> 00:06:10,950
There were too many people.
It wasn't cool anymore.
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00:06:10,950 --> 00:06:13,030
[Bret] If you watched
one match...
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00:06:13,030 --> 00:06:14,410
you watched 'em all.
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00:06:14,410 --> 00:06:16,120
Every show ends
with a run in,
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00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,000
there's about 20 guys
running in there.
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00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,290
And I'm going, "And why
am I running in?"
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00:06:21,290 --> 00:06:24,840
Nothing made sense from
one week to the next.
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00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:27,800
And the fans disgusted,
thumbs down.
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00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,090
Unbelievable!
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00:06:30,090 --> 00:06:33,640
[Eric] Creating momentum is
really, really hard.
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00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:35,930
The only thing harder than
creating momentum
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00:06:35,930 --> 00:06:37,680
is maintaining momentum.
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00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:41,020
Thanks for having me here,
Mr. President Elect.
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00:06:41,020 --> 00:06:43,820
We'd lost our momentum.
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00:06:43,820 --> 00:06:47,440
And we found ourselves
in a rebuild mode.
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00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,400
[Guy]
April 13th of 1998,
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00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:50,860
something
significant happened,
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00:06:50,860 --> 00:06:53,490
which was Raw beating Nitro
for the first time
181
00:06:53,490 --> 00:06:56,330
in the ratings
for 22 months.
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00:06:56,330 --> 00:06:58,250
Whenever you're
leading a night,
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00:06:58,250 --> 00:07:00,170
and now you're not
leading a night,
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00:07:00,170 --> 00:07:03,710
there's reason for concern.
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00:07:03,710 --> 00:07:06,170
As WCW and Monday Nitro
186
00:07:06,170 --> 00:07:09,220
became a huge
prime time hit,
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00:07:09,220 --> 00:07:12,140
those numbers
exploded because
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00:07:12,140 --> 00:07:14,600
it wasn't just men 18 to 34.
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00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:16,680
It now became families.
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00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:19,230
So, my eye was
on Goldberg.
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00:07:19,230 --> 00:07:21,690
♪
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00:07:21,690 --> 00:07:24,060
[Faint chanting]
Goldberg! Goldberg!
193
00:07:24,060 --> 00:07:25,730
I was born with something.
194
00:07:25,730 --> 00:07:27,570
[Chanting]
Goldberg!
195
00:07:27,570 --> 00:07:30,400
I'm ----ing 6'3,
280 lbs.
196
00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,160
I could go from 0 to 100,
and 100 to 0,
197
00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:36,660
in 60 seconds.
198
00:07:36,660 --> 00:07:38,830
But what the business didn't
have was something
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00:07:38,830 --> 00:07:42,330
that I wanted to
fill the void with.
200
00:07:42,330 --> 00:07:44,460
And that's the beauty of
the character that
201
00:07:44,460 --> 00:07:46,800
we came up with.
202
00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:48,800
I am the ----ing character.
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00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:50,590
I am Goldberg.
204
00:07:50,590 --> 00:07:53,220
[Grunting & growling]
205
00:07:53,220 --> 00:07:55,800
[Indistinct commentary]
...evolution of man!
206
00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,520
We have reached
the epitome!
207
00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,980
[Eric] I don't think there
ever had been
208
00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:02,020
an athlete...
209
00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:03,100
The man!
210
00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:04,100
[Eric] A star...
211
00:08:04,100 --> 00:08:05,110
Superman, himself!
212
00:08:05,110 --> 00:08:06,110
[Eric] A performer...
213
00:08:06,110 --> 00:08:07,690
100% adrenaline!
214
00:08:07,690 --> 00:08:08,820
[Eric]
In professional wrestling...
215
00:08:08,820 --> 00:08:10,280
Goldberg will not
be intimidated!
216
00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:13,150
[Eric] ...that rose
as quickly
217
00:08:13,150 --> 00:08:14,990
as Goldberg.
218
00:08:14,990 --> 00:08:16,620
[Chanting]
Goldberg! Goldberg!
219
00:08:16,620 --> 00:08:19,370
Bill Goldberg, he was on a
rocket ship from day one.
220
00:08:19,370 --> 00:08:21,040
[Loud popping]
221
00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:22,960
♪
222
00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,580
A "professional wrestler"
was never
223
00:08:25,580 --> 00:08:27,250
anything I aspired to be.
224
00:08:27,250 --> 00:08:30,260
My entire life existence
was to play football.
225
00:08:30,260 --> 00:08:31,630
I don't know if you know
who this guy is,
226
00:08:31,630 --> 00:08:33,170
but I've got the picture.
227
00:08:33,170 --> 00:08:35,470
I know all about him-
Bill Goldberg,
228
00:08:35,470 --> 00:08:39,890
former Georgia Bulldog
and Atlanta Falcon.
229
00:08:39,890 --> 00:08:41,600
I was never the best
football player,
230
00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:43,560
by any stretch of
the imagination.
231
00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:45,230
I got hurt,
tore my abdomen
232
00:08:45,230 --> 00:08:48,270
off of my pelvis in '94.
233
00:08:48,270 --> 00:08:50,280
I had no idea what I
was gonna do with
234
00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:51,610
the rest of my life.
235
00:08:51,610 --> 00:08:53,950
I was depressed as shit.
236
00:08:53,950 --> 00:08:57,030
When I finally seriously
considered becoming a
237
00:08:57,030 --> 00:08:59,330
professional wrestler,
I had to come up with
238
00:08:59,330 --> 00:09:02,660
something where I felt
as though I was
239
00:09:02,660 --> 00:09:06,460
continually building upon
what I had built.
240
00:09:06,460 --> 00:09:08,210
You strive to be the
biggest, baddest dude
241
00:09:08,210 --> 00:09:09,880
on the field.
242
00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,260
I gave him the
short black boots.
243
00:09:13,260 --> 00:09:15,180
Black tights...
244
00:09:15,180 --> 00:09:17,220
Combination slam,
1, 2...
245
00:09:17,220 --> 00:09:18,430
3!
246
00:09:18,430 --> 00:09:19,470
He didn't talk.
247
00:09:19,470 --> 00:09:21,600
You absolutely
manhandled him tonight!
248
00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:25,520
Sir, I've gotta get a
little bit more than that.
249
00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,310
Mike Tyson-
black boots.
250
00:09:28,310 --> 00:09:30,400
Black shorts.
251
00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,780
Didn't need to talk, just
come down and do that.
252
00:09:33,780 --> 00:09:36,320
[Bill] He might bite your
----in' ear off.
253
00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,990
Or he might knock you
out with an uppercut.
254
00:09:38,990 --> 00:09:40,870
You don't know
what's gonna happen.
255
00:09:40,870 --> 00:09:42,410
Hey, you gotta watch
this guy, Goldberg.
256
00:09:42,410 --> 00:09:44,950
He's a time bomb just
ready to explode.
257
00:09:44,950 --> 00:09:47,170
Maybe that's
why it worked.
258
00:09:47,170 --> 00:09:50,130
The crowd was reacting
to him like a superstar.
259
00:09:50,130 --> 00:09:52,750
Listen to this reception-
[Roaring cheering]
260
00:09:52,750 --> 00:09:54,380
It's like, holy crap.
261
00:09:54,380 --> 00:09:55,510
[Cheering]
262
00:09:55,510 --> 00:09:58,130
Oh, my god!
1, 2, 3!
263
00:09:58,130 --> 00:09:59,260
[Match bell chiming]
264
00:09:59,260 --> 00:10:00,640
People were
chanting his name,
265
00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:02,810
"Goldberg!
Goldberg!"
266
00:10:02,810 --> 00:10:05,600
[Chanting]
Goldberg!
267
00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,640
They pushed him like crazy.
268
00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:10,560
There's never been a push
anything like it anywhere.
269
00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:12,320
Let's just put him out there
and have him squash people.
270
00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,440
Kept doing it, and
doing it, and doing it,
271
00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,440
and people kept loving it,
loving it, loving it.
272
00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:17,650
Ah!
273
00:10:17,650 --> 00:10:18,740
And why would you
mess with that?
274
00:10:18,740 --> 00:10:20,110
Agh!
275
00:10:20,110 --> 00:10:22,620
There were a lot of
people jealous of him.
276
00:10:22,620 --> 00:10:24,700
Ah!
He speared Nash!
277
00:10:24,700 --> 00:10:26,500
Bill was a fan,
Bill was a mark,
278
00:10:26,500 --> 00:10:28,370
Bill was a football player.
279
00:10:28,370 --> 00:10:29,500
Someone should 'a
taught him,
280
00:10:29,500 --> 00:10:31,330
or pulled him aside,
and said, "Hey, Bill,
281
00:10:31,330 --> 00:10:33,840
you do know that
this is pretend, right?"
282
00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:34,840
Agh!
283
00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,220
He didn't.
284
00:10:37,220 --> 00:10:40,340
This is a ----ing
television show!
285
00:10:40,340 --> 00:10:42,180
I know when you
tackle somebody,
286
00:10:42,180 --> 00:10:44,350
you think it's real.
287
00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:46,560
But the person getting
----ing potatoed
288
00:10:46,560 --> 00:10:49,640
in the corner's
had enough.
289
00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:51,520
I feel bad about it.
290
00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,860
But, as long as the
intent is not there...
291
00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:58,320
it's not my fault.
You can't blame me.
292
00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:02,070
Jesus Christ, dude,
like, get some skills.
293
00:11:02,070 --> 00:11:03,780
A lot of jealousy.
294
00:11:03,780 --> 00:11:05,620
This guy hasn't
paid his dues,
295
00:11:05,620 --> 00:11:08,620
and Goldberg doesn't love
this like we do, you know.
296
00:11:08,620 --> 00:11:10,540
They can all kiss my ass.
297
00:11:10,540 --> 00:11:13,000
I'll take that criticism on
the way up because
298
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:15,500
I'm still that guy.
299
00:11:15,500 --> 00:11:17,710
And you guys tried
every frickin' thing
300
00:11:17,710 --> 00:11:20,010
you could do for me
not to be that guy.
301
00:11:20,010 --> 00:11:21,800
And who prevailed?
302
00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:24,760
[Clicking tongue]
303
00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:26,470
Please welcome...
Goldberg!
304
00:11:26,470 --> 00:11:29,180
[Cheering]
305
00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:31,940
[Brad] I felt that Goldberg
was really...
306
00:11:31,940 --> 00:11:36,440
the phenomena that could
bring advertisers and
307
00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:38,820
all the other stuff that
they're buying,
308
00:11:38,820 --> 00:11:40,150
or they're consuming.
309
00:11:40,150 --> 00:11:43,530
Nash and Goldberg
Bashin Brawlers!
310
00:11:43,530 --> 00:11:45,280
The kids loved Goldberg.
311
00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:46,910
They loved that character.
312
00:11:46,910 --> 00:11:48,910
And they loved the fact
that he was undefeated.
313
00:11:48,910 --> 00:11:50,750
All anyone ever wanted
to talk about was
314
00:11:50,750 --> 00:11:52,580
Goldberg,
Goldberg, Goldberg.
315
00:11:55,540 --> 00:11:57,170
[Eric]
So, I'm in LA one day.
316
00:11:57,170 --> 00:11:59,760
And, I get a phone
call from Hulk.
317
00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:00,880
"I got an idea.
318
00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,130
I'm gonna wrestle Goldberg
at the Georgia Dome.
319
00:12:03,130 --> 00:12:04,760
I'm gonna put
him over, clean.
320
00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:07,470
The time is right.
This is the time.
321
00:12:07,470 --> 00:12:08,680
Let's do this."
322
00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,480
Nitro!
It's on the air!
323
00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:13,140
From the professional
wrestling capital
324
00:12:13,140 --> 00:12:15,860
of the world,
Atlanta, Georgia!
325
00:12:15,860 --> 00:12:18,150
Bill Goldberg was
a hometown hero.
326
00:12:18,150 --> 00:12:20,360
There he is, and here
comes the eruption.
327
00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,740
[Cheering]
Bigger than before!
328
00:12:23,740 --> 00:12:25,740
Guys from the
Falcons were there.
329
00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:28,790
You know, former teammates.
It felt like the Super Bowl.
330
00:12:28,790 --> 00:12:30,620
I mean, we sold out
the Georgia Dome.
331
00:12:30,620 --> 00:12:32,580
44,000 tickets, man.
332
00:12:32,580 --> 00:12:35,880
That place was packed.
It was electric.
333
00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:37,670
It was Nitro.
334
00:12:37,670 --> 00:12:38,670
This is the biggest one,
335
00:12:38,670 --> 00:12:40,840
that heightened sense
of anticipation.
336
00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,590
Let the match begin!
337
00:12:42,590 --> 00:12:45,510
[Eric] 10 million people in the
United States between
338
00:12:45,510 --> 00:12:47,760
Monday Night Raw
and Nitro
339
00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:51,680
were zeroed in on
professional wrestling.
340
00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:53,600
Mind blowing.
341
00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,400
That really was...
342
00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,110
the height of WCW.
343
00:12:59,110 --> 00:13:01,480
Oh!
Hell, yeah!
344
00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,530
That was the
coolest shit ever.
345
00:13:03,530 --> 00:13:06,990
The feeling that I got
when I heard the crowd
346
00:13:06,990 --> 00:13:09,780
after I received the belt...
347
00:13:09,780 --> 00:13:11,370
Thank you!
Thank you!
348
00:13:11,370 --> 00:13:13,040
We've got a new
heavyweight champion
349
00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:14,500
of the world!
350
00:13:15,670 --> 00:13:17,750
Nothing like it.
351
00:13:17,750 --> 00:13:20,040
It was just the
coolest moment.
352
00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:21,840
♪
353
00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:24,300
Okay, why is this not
on a Pay Per View?
354
00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:27,090
It's like, man, we could've
made a lot more money,
355
00:13:27,090 --> 00:13:28,970
if we'd 'a kept it
off TV for a while.
356
00:13:28,970 --> 00:13:31,260
One of the things that I was
criticized for was that I was
357
00:13:31,260 --> 00:13:34,020
putting Pay Per View
quality matches on free TV.
358
00:13:34,020 --> 00:13:37,560
WCW is getting higher
ratings than
359
00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:39,400
anything else
in the company.
360
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,610
This is, this is the
hottest product we've got.
361
00:13:42,610 --> 00:13:45,450
It didn't always advertise
in the highest value that
362
00:13:45,450 --> 00:13:46,780
you could get
for ad dollars.
363
00:13:46,780 --> 00:13:49,160
The disconnect between
364
00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:51,620
the advertising dollars,
and, and
365
00:13:51,620 --> 00:13:54,160
the size of the
audience for wrestling
366
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,620
became an issue.
367
00:13:55,620 --> 00:13:58,330
One of the forces
working against...
368
00:13:58,330 --> 00:14:00,880
ad revenue was
our ad people
369
00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:02,340
wouldn't
sell wrestling.
370
00:14:02,340 --> 00:14:04,130
They don't like it,
they want to get rid of it.
371
00:14:04,130 --> 00:14:06,970
There was such pressure
on Eric with opposition
372
00:14:06,970 --> 00:14:08,470
not only at
the corporate,
373
00:14:08,470 --> 00:14:11,260
but also the people
that reported to him.
374
00:14:11,260 --> 00:14:12,930
I mean, he had
no friends.
375
00:14:12,930 --> 00:14:14,850
We're gonna take
your paycheck.
376
00:14:14,850 --> 00:14:17,390
We're gonna
take your job.
377
00:14:17,390 --> 00:14:21,150
There was always a hint
of ulterior motive,
378
00:14:21,150 --> 00:14:23,650
which at the end of
the day, could maybe
379
00:14:23,650 --> 00:14:26,820
mean the destruction
of your company.
380
00:14:26,820 --> 00:14:28,240
I don't know.
381
00:14:33,450 --> 00:14:34,870
Alright, here we go,
ladies and gentlemen!
382
00:14:34,870 --> 00:14:36,120
His debut!
383
00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:38,410
Rocky... Maivia!
384
00:14:38,410 --> 00:14:40,380
Now there's gonna be
the man, right there.
385
00:14:40,380 --> 00:14:42,460
In the world of
professional wrestling,
386
00:14:42,460 --> 00:14:44,130
any kind of fresh
take on something
387
00:14:44,130 --> 00:14:46,630
is challenging to do.
388
00:14:46,630 --> 00:14:48,590
Back then, I was
still opening match.
389
00:14:48,590 --> 00:14:51,800
-Unbelievable agility!
-[Cheering]
390
00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:53,720
What a way
to make your debut!
391
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,140
Before the show ended,
I was already back in
392
00:14:55,140 --> 00:14:57,930
my hotel room,
watching Nitro.
393
00:14:57,930 --> 00:15:00,980
I just wanted to see where
they were doing things
394
00:15:00,980 --> 00:15:02,810
differently and figure out
how we could
395
00:15:02,810 --> 00:15:04,980
do something like that.
396
00:15:04,980 --> 00:15:07,190
Or, possibly
even better.
397
00:15:07,190 --> 00:15:11,490
♪
398
00:15:11,490 --> 00:15:13,240
When you're getting
your ass kicked
399
00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,490
week, over week, over week,
which was our company,
400
00:15:15,490 --> 00:15:18,160
you're gonna say,
"Hey, ---- this.
401
00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:19,790
What do we need to do?"
402
00:15:19,790 --> 00:15:24,090
Welcome to WWF Raw!
403
00:15:24,090 --> 00:15:28,170
WWE's answer to NWO
was the Attitude Era.
404
00:15:28,170 --> 00:15:30,720
Suck it!
[Cheering]
405
00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,260
-Here comes Austin!
-Oh, no!
406
00:15:32,260 --> 00:15:34,260
[Indistinct commentary]
Okay, here we go!
407
00:15:34,260 --> 00:15:36,850
Okay, first of all, I refer
to it as the Nitro Era,
408
00:15:36,850 --> 00:15:40,520
because the Attitude Era
was nothing more
409
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:45,520
than a replication of
the Nitro format.
410
00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,530
They were going after
the same audience that
411
00:15:47,530 --> 00:15:50,360
I recognized as
being underserved.
412
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:51,530
[Cheering]
413
00:15:51,530 --> 00:15:53,700
Okay, we're in a fight.
414
00:15:53,700 --> 00:15:55,490
We've been
dominating that fight.
415
00:15:55,490 --> 00:15:57,450
But this guy's
coming back.
416
00:15:57,450 --> 00:15:59,700
It wasn't like
we were hurting.
417
00:15:59,700 --> 00:16:01,620
They were just
getting stronger.
418
00:16:01,620 --> 00:16:03,710
I mean, '98 was a
record revenue year.
419
00:16:03,710 --> 00:16:05,460
But, all of a sudden,
420
00:16:05,460 --> 00:16:07,460
none of that
mattered anymore.
421
00:16:07,460 --> 00:16:10,300
♪
422
00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:12,970
And it affected WCW
in ways that I...
423
00:16:12,970 --> 00:16:14,800
didn't anticipate.
424
00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:18,350
♪
425
00:16:18,350 --> 00:16:21,140
I was introduced to a
different kind of
426
00:16:21,140 --> 00:16:23,940
corporate structure,
with regard to WCW.
427
00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:28,690
♪
428
00:16:28,690 --> 00:16:31,570
In July of 1998,
I was sitting in a meeting...
429
00:16:31,570 --> 00:16:34,160
with 10 or 12 other people
430
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,030
much higher in the
food chain than I am,
431
00:16:36,030 --> 00:16:41,290
telling me how
I was going to operate WCW,
432
00:16:41,290 --> 00:16:44,000
and change our target
demographic that
433
00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,710
we had built an
entire business upon.
434
00:16:46,710 --> 00:16:49,460
He said, "No, we want
kids and families."
435
00:16:49,460 --> 00:16:50,880
What you really need for
success is the
436
00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,880
people coming in
on the outside.
437
00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:54,340
But there was a discussion
about, you know,
438
00:16:54,340 --> 00:16:56,390
could they do it
without being...
439
00:16:56,390 --> 00:16:59,680
as lewd as WWE.
440
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,600
Oh-ho!
441
00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:05,190
Vince McMahon and the
WWE decided, "Let's do...
442
00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:08,310
what Eric's doing, and let's
do it better than them."
443
00:17:08,310 --> 00:17:10,270
Oh, my god,
he's on fire!
444
00:17:10,270 --> 00:17:11,530
That's exactly
what they did.
445
00:17:11,530 --> 00:17:13,110
What a good day
for a pimp.
446
00:17:13,110 --> 00:17:15,990
Ted Turner was very strict
about things on the show
447
00:17:15,990 --> 00:17:17,490
that could be done.
448
00:17:17,490 --> 00:17:19,030
Vince was quite happy
to do all of that.
449
00:17:19,030 --> 00:17:21,080
[Wrestler] We will have
less references
450
00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,120
to our enormous genitalia.
451
00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:25,830
They took it
into the gutter.
452
00:17:25,830 --> 00:17:27,580
Didn't matter.
It worked.
453
00:17:27,580 --> 00:17:30,000
They had Jenna Jameson
on their show.
454
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:34,340
Our rebuttal is, we'll give
the guy an NWO shirt.
455
00:17:34,340 --> 00:17:36,260
I guess there's a
new member now, huh?
456
00:17:36,260 --> 00:17:41,260
Everything you can
possibly do to combat WWF,
457
00:17:41,260 --> 00:17:43,270
they're taking
away from us.
458
00:17:43,270 --> 00:17:44,640
Shut up, you idiot!
459
00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:47,140
[Eric] We were being mandated
to change the nature of
460
00:17:47,140 --> 00:17:48,850
the way we were
producing our show.
461
00:17:48,850 --> 00:17:52,150
To go back to doing
what we were doing
462
00:17:52,150 --> 00:17:55,030
when we couldn't even
be a distant #2...
463
00:17:55,030 --> 00:17:58,280
I had taken the business out
of the dumpster and
464
00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,030
turned it into
a success story.
465
00:18:01,030 --> 00:18:03,080
Now, all of a sudden,
Standards & Practices
466
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:05,120
is about to tell me...
467
00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:07,080
what I can and can't do.
468
00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:08,710
Forget that.
469
00:18:08,710 --> 00:18:11,170
If push comes to shove,
I'm just gonna fight all this
470
00:18:11,170 --> 00:18:13,460
until it gets to Ted's desk,
and then it's gonna be
471
00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:16,510
me and this guy,
and we'll see who wins.
472
00:18:16,510 --> 00:18:18,720
-Like a wrestling match.
-[Laughing]
473
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:20,930
You heard the man,
himself, Ted Turner.
474
00:18:20,930 --> 00:18:23,140
When you're winning,
and you're the guy,
475
00:18:23,140 --> 00:18:25,060
it's a lot of fun.
476
00:18:25,060 --> 00:18:27,980
And when you're losing,
not so much fun.
477
00:18:27,980 --> 00:18:29,900
And it was hard on him
at times, man.
478
00:18:29,900 --> 00:18:31,480
You could see it.
479
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,860
Eric was always a
really positive person.
480
00:18:33,860 --> 00:18:35,440
Really positive.
481
00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:39,570
And, all of a sudden,
it shifted to negative.
482
00:18:39,570 --> 00:18:42,200
Don't show anything unless
we tell you to show it!
483
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,660
I found myself fighting
with departments of
484
00:18:44,660 --> 00:18:47,660
Turner Broadcasting that I'd
never heard of before.
485
00:18:47,660 --> 00:18:50,750
It took a lot out of me.
486
00:18:50,750 --> 00:18:52,380
One afternoon
I was in my office,
487
00:18:52,380 --> 00:18:54,500
and I was just out of gas,
488
00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:55,920
and Kevin came
into my office.
489
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:58,220
And he just...
490
00:18:58,220 --> 00:19:01,300
he was having such a
hard time banging heads
491
00:19:01,300 --> 00:19:04,140
with everybody
on everything.
492
00:19:04,140 --> 00:19:05,510
And Kevin offered,
he said, "Boss,
493
00:19:05,510 --> 00:19:07,980
why don't you let someone
to take over the book?"
494
00:19:07,980 --> 00:19:10,350
"Temporary, get your
feet back underneath you.
495
00:19:10,350 --> 00:19:12,560
Let me take this
pressure off of you."
496
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,570
The head booker was the
one determining
497
00:19:15,570 --> 00:19:17,190
whether the concepts for
each week's show
498
00:19:17,190 --> 00:19:19,030
actually made air or not.
499
00:19:19,030 --> 00:19:20,240
I think it's been fairly
well acknowledged
500
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:21,700
that Kevin Nash,
you know,
501
00:19:21,700 --> 00:19:24,120
had been instrumental in
being a huge part
502
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:25,990
of the creative process.
503
00:19:25,990 --> 00:19:27,910
[Eric] There were other people I
could have handed it off to,
504
00:19:27,910 --> 00:19:31,500
but I had confidence
in Kevin's instincts.
505
00:19:31,500 --> 00:19:34,130
So, that's how it started,
I said, "I'll help you."
506
00:19:34,130 --> 00:19:37,630
I should have said,
"Let's go to a strip club."
507
00:19:37,630 --> 00:19:40,130
There's a big difference
between being
508
00:19:40,130 --> 00:19:43,340
part of a group that
throws ideas out...
509
00:19:43,340 --> 00:19:45,850
and being the guy
that says, you know,
510
00:19:45,850 --> 00:19:47,220
"I know you don't
want to do this,
511
00:19:47,220 --> 00:19:48,970
but this is what
you're gonna do."
512
00:19:48,970 --> 00:19:53,270
Especially if you,
yourself, are a talent.
513
00:19:53,270 --> 00:19:55,400
It was a bad situation,
514
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:57,440
but it was the best
case scenario.
515
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:58,650
It's quite simple!
516
00:19:58,650 --> 00:20:00,400
If you don't run
with the pack...
517
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:02,530
you're hunted by it.
518
00:20:02,530 --> 00:20:04,070
[Cheering]
519
00:20:04,070 --> 00:20:06,030
Once you have the
monkeys running the zoo,
520
00:20:06,030 --> 00:20:07,450
you're in trouble.
521
00:20:07,450 --> 00:20:09,330
And that's exactly
what was happening.
522
00:20:09,330 --> 00:20:11,000
Woo!
523
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,170
He listened to all the guys
that didn't have
524
00:20:13,170 --> 00:20:15,540
the best interest of the
company in mind.
525
00:20:15,540 --> 00:20:17,750
I don't think
that's debatable.
526
00:20:17,750 --> 00:20:20,800
It's not just about being
the biggest, strongest.
527
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,430
It's about whose ass
they kiss.
528
00:20:24,430 --> 00:20:28,140
Sooner or later, someone
will beat Goldberg.
529
00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:29,930
I never had any
problem with Bill.
530
00:20:29,930 --> 00:20:32,890
I was happy that he
was getting pushed.
531
00:20:32,890 --> 00:20:36,270
But, he's had the
belt too long.
532
00:20:36,270 --> 00:20:38,690
He was still really green,
533
00:20:38,690 --> 00:20:41,110
and had no idea
what he was doing.
534
00:20:41,110 --> 00:20:42,650
Goldberg hit the post!
535
00:20:42,650 --> 00:20:44,280
Not only is he gonna keep
hurting all the wrestlers
536
00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,160
that he works with, but
he keeps hurting himself.
537
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:48,990
I'm wrestling Scott Hall,
538
00:20:48,990 --> 00:20:52,160
and I screw a spot up.
539
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,120
Scott Hall
went down hard!
540
00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:55,250
And he's laying
on the ground,
541
00:20:55,250 --> 00:20:56,330
and he looks up at me,
and he goes,
542
00:20:56,330 --> 00:20:58,170
"Yo, man,
what are you doing?"
543
00:20:58,170 --> 00:20:59,630
♪
544
00:20:59,630 --> 00:21:02,880
And, my reaction was,
"I don't ----ing know
545
00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:05,130
what I'm doing."
546
00:21:05,130 --> 00:21:06,510
You're live on television,
547
00:21:06,510 --> 00:21:08,260
you're in front
of your fans.
548
00:21:08,260 --> 00:21:10,430
I was scared shitless
when I screwed that up
549
00:21:10,430 --> 00:21:11,770
'cause I didn't know
what was next.
550
00:21:11,770 --> 00:21:14,140
I didn't know what to do.
551
00:21:14,140 --> 00:21:16,020
If you can't do that,
you can't be,
552
00:21:16,020 --> 00:21:18,060
you can't be the
----ing top guy.
553
00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:21,110
Showing us a
little new twist.
554
00:21:21,110 --> 00:21:23,570
That's when I
really realized
555
00:21:23,570 --> 00:21:25,700
there was a lot
of shit going on,
556
00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:27,110
and it wasn't all for
face value.
557
00:21:27,110 --> 00:21:28,740
...2, 3!
[Match bell ringing]
558
00:21:28,740 --> 00:21:31,990
So, that's when I started
really smartening up to it.
559
00:21:31,990 --> 00:21:33,790
This document will
represent the meeting of
560
00:21:33,790 --> 00:21:37,420
these two men
at Starrcade.
561
00:21:37,420 --> 00:21:40,290
And this man- looks him
in the ring, look at that.
562
00:21:40,290 --> 00:21:41,630
Oh, doesn't he?
563
00:21:41,630 --> 00:21:45,170
Yeah, I learned the good,
bad, and the evil very quickly.
564
00:21:45,170 --> 00:21:48,550
I was jumping in to
shark infested waters.
565
00:21:48,550 --> 00:21:51,100
♪
566
00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:52,600
To say the least.
567
00:21:57,600 --> 00:21:58,980
Agh!
568
00:21:58,980 --> 00:22:00,480
Who in the world...
569
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:02,360
can stop this man?
570
00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:04,440
Common fact...
571
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,030
Wrestling 1-0-1.
572
00:22:07,030 --> 00:22:11,330
Babyface always
draws more money
573
00:22:11,330 --> 00:22:14,580
chasing the belt
574
00:22:14,580 --> 00:22:16,580
than having the belt.
575
00:22:16,580 --> 00:22:18,790
Still undefeated
here at WCW.
576
00:22:18,790 --> 00:22:20,460
The sultan of slams...
577
00:22:20,460 --> 00:22:22,630
Goldberg.
578
00:22:22,630 --> 00:22:25,420
It was a padded stat.
579
00:22:25,420 --> 00:22:26,760
Who cares?
580
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:28,800
We gave the people
what they wanted.
581
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:30,340
We gotta take him in
a different direction,
582
00:22:30,340 --> 00:22:31,760
in order for him to grow.
583
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:34,310
[Snorting] I never got tired
of watching Mike Tyson
584
00:22:34,310 --> 00:22:35,980
come out and
annihilate people.
585
00:22:35,980 --> 00:22:37,560
So, with the
right creative,
586
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,270
there's ways to
keep things going.
587
00:22:39,270 --> 00:22:40,650
That's what you do.
588
00:22:40,650 --> 00:22:43,820
You chase with
the babyface.
589
00:22:43,820 --> 00:22:45,400
And when he
----ing gets it,
590
00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,110
you take it right
----ing back.
591
00:22:48,110 --> 00:22:50,490
Because that's
where the money is.
592
00:22:50,490 --> 00:22:52,200
[Scoffing]
593
00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:53,620
[Eric]
Kevin was a politician.
594
00:22:53,620 --> 00:22:56,330
There's nobody I've ever met
that is a top talent
595
00:22:56,330 --> 00:22:58,040
that is not a politician!
596
00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,790
It's a job prerequisite.
597
00:23:01,790 --> 00:23:04,170
Just look at it
on the surface.
598
00:23:04,170 --> 00:23:08,220
From a pure physicality
point of view.
599
00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:10,840
The way we had built
Bill Goldberg up to
600
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,010
be this indestructible
man-eating monster,
601
00:23:14,010 --> 00:23:17,180
who on that roster looked
like they could possibly
602
00:23:17,180 --> 00:23:18,810
beat that monster?
603
00:23:18,810 --> 00:23:19,810
Ugh!
604
00:23:19,810 --> 00:23:21,230
Goldberg's a
move away...
605
00:23:21,230 --> 00:23:23,860
From continuing the streak!
606
00:23:23,860 --> 00:23:26,530
And Kevin Nash, standing
at nearly 7 foot, 6'10,
607
00:23:26,530 --> 00:23:28,990
whatever he is-
probably at that time
608
00:23:28,990 --> 00:23:32,530
340, 350 lbs...
609
00:23:32,530 --> 00:23:33,740
it was believable.
610
00:23:33,740 --> 00:23:35,080
Hook and...
611
00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:36,490
[Cheering]
612
00:23:36,490 --> 00:23:38,790
Got him!
1, 2...
613
00:23:38,790 --> 00:23:39,960
And he kicked away.
614
00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:41,210
What I needed
was somebody
615
00:23:41,210 --> 00:23:44,380
who could tell a story
with a finish.
616
00:23:44,380 --> 00:23:47,170
The finish I wanted
was beat him, 1, 2, 3,
617
00:23:47,170 --> 00:23:49,090
like the same way
he was winning.
618
00:23:49,090 --> 00:23:50,470
Took Nash off
of his feet!
619
00:23:50,470 --> 00:23:51,760
Clean.
620
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,640
But they thought that
621
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,100
he needed something
more to lose.
622
00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:58,390
[Crackling taser]
623
00:23:58,390 --> 00:24:00,430
[Crowd screaming]
624
00:24:00,430 --> 00:24:02,900
That's one of those tasers
the police use!
625
00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:04,480
It's like a stun gun!
626
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:06,980
[Laughing]
627
00:24:06,980 --> 00:24:10,110
It, no-
it was a mistake.
628
00:24:10,110 --> 00:24:12,660
You watch that match back.
629
00:24:12,660 --> 00:24:14,570
When I Power Bomb him...
630
00:24:14,570 --> 00:24:16,780
Oh, no.
Wait a minute.
631
00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:18,450
[Cheering]
632
00:24:18,450 --> 00:24:20,450
...Power Bomb!
633
00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:23,080
I'm over as ----.
634
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:24,460
Could this be it?
635
00:24:24,460 --> 00:24:27,040
1! 2! 3!
636
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:28,500
[Match bell ringing]
The streak is over!
637
00:24:28,500 --> 00:24:30,300
And we have a new
World's Champion!
638
00:24:30,300 --> 00:24:31,920
The streak is over!
639
00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:34,010
Did I like it?
---- no.
640
00:24:34,010 --> 00:24:36,760
Did I question it? Yeah,
everybody questioned it.
641
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:38,600
But, I don't
control that shit.
642
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:40,850
I go out and I do my job.
643
00:24:40,850 --> 00:24:44,810
I think it was quite clear
that there was no real plan
644
00:24:44,810 --> 00:24:47,020
in terms of where does the
Goldberg character
645
00:24:47,020 --> 00:24:48,520
go from here?
646
00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:49,860
And so, the follow up
left a bad taste
647
00:24:49,860 --> 00:24:51,030
in people's mouths.
648
00:24:51,030 --> 00:24:53,450
I'm gonna try tonight
to right the wrongs
649
00:24:53,450 --> 00:24:56,410
that happened at Starrcade.
650
00:24:56,410 --> 00:24:58,030
Me and you,
Goldberg!
651
00:24:58,030 --> 00:25:00,620
In Atlanta!
For the belt!
652
00:25:00,620 --> 00:25:02,580
[Guy] You have to imagine,
being in the audience
653
00:25:02,580 --> 00:25:04,750
on that night...
654
00:25:04,750 --> 00:25:06,420
It's January.
655
00:25:06,420 --> 00:25:09,210
There's an incredible
atmosphere.
656
00:25:09,210 --> 00:25:11,590
But at the same time,
the taped edition of Raw
657
00:25:11,590 --> 00:25:13,130
was happening on
the other station.
658
00:25:13,130 --> 00:25:14,880
There was going to be a
title change on that show.
659
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,180
[Commentary] ...right
here tonight on Raw!
660
00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:20,760
...The first Nitro of 1999!
661
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,020
It's The Rock!
662
00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:24,020
Mankind!
The championship!
663
00:25:24,020 --> 00:25:26,230
Ladies and gentlemen, we set
the stage for the biggest
664
00:25:26,230 --> 00:25:28,440
rematch in professional
wrestling history!
665
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,110
WCW had to remind
viewers that
666
00:25:30,110 --> 00:25:31,440
this is where the
real action is.
667
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,360
[Kevin Nash]
I say, ---- this.
668
00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:37,610
I'll fight Goldberg again.
669
00:25:37,610 --> 00:25:40,370
But that ends up taking
a rather bizarre turn and
670
00:25:40,370 --> 00:25:42,990
devolving into a
situation in which
671
00:25:42,990 --> 00:25:45,210
Hollywood Hogan comes
back into the mix,
672
00:25:45,210 --> 00:25:48,380
and challenges
Nash to a match.
673
00:25:48,380 --> 00:25:52,210
After tonight, when I
beat Kevin Nash,
674
00:25:52,210 --> 00:25:55,670
when I retire with the
World Heavyweight title,
675
00:25:55,670 --> 00:25:57,680
you can just call me
676
00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,470
Hollywood The Big Bad Wolf.
677
00:26:01,470 --> 00:26:02,890
Roo!
678
00:26:02,890 --> 00:26:06,140
We were creating this
illusion of a conflict
679
00:26:06,140 --> 00:26:08,350
between Hulk Hogan
and Kevin Nash.
680
00:26:08,350 --> 00:26:11,150
And we built it up like this
was gonna be the match of ages
681
00:26:11,150 --> 00:26:14,940
in the NWO to determine the
fate of the organization.
682
00:26:14,940 --> 00:26:17,910
Hogan got to the ring,
and he looked all serious.
683
00:26:17,910 --> 00:26:19,620
Kevin Nash came to the ring,
he looked like
684
00:26:19,620 --> 00:26:22,410
he wanted to eat
Hulk Hogan for lunch.
685
00:26:22,410 --> 00:26:23,990
And they get
close together,
686
00:26:23,990 --> 00:26:26,500
they're almost chest to
chest, nose to nose.
687
00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:28,500
♪
688
00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:30,290
And then...
689
00:26:30,290 --> 00:26:32,630
[Indistinct crowd chatter]
690
00:26:32,630 --> 00:26:34,550
What was that about?
691
00:26:34,550 --> 00:26:37,010
-1! 2! 3!
-What's going on here?
692
00:26:37,010 --> 00:26:38,760
[Cheering &
match bell rings]
693
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:40,010
[Eric]
1, 2, 3, oh, yeah.
694
00:26:40,010 --> 00:26:41,720
It looked like a finish.
695
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,520
But it was contrived
by the NWO, right,
696
00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:47,270
to keep the belt
in the family.
697
00:26:47,270 --> 00:26:49,390
That's ultimately
what it was all about.
698
00:26:49,390 --> 00:26:51,440
We're back in
the saddle, baby!
699
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:53,020
And when that happened...
700
00:26:53,020 --> 00:26:55,570
me and a lot of
wrestlers were like,
701
00:26:55,570 --> 00:26:57,820
"What the ---- is this?"
702
00:26:57,820 --> 00:27:00,200
♪
703
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:01,820
[Eric] Wrestling fans
around the world say,
704
00:27:01,820 --> 00:27:04,990
"That's exactly when WCW
started to go downhill."
705
00:27:04,990 --> 00:27:06,950
That's dirt cheap material.
706
00:27:06,950 --> 00:27:10,750
You know why people
hate that so much?
707
00:27:10,750 --> 00:27:12,290
Beause it got 'em.
708
00:27:12,290 --> 00:27:14,800
Look at the crowd.
709
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:17,260
They don't know what
the ---- they're seeing.
710
00:27:17,260 --> 00:27:19,260
People expected
to see something,
711
00:27:19,260 --> 00:27:21,930
and they felt like
they got ----ed.
712
00:27:21,930 --> 00:27:26,560
WCW had chronic
bad finish disease.
713
00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:29,350
Sometimes just a good,
clean finish
714
00:27:29,350 --> 00:27:31,400
is the best thing.
715
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,610
That same night,
Mick Foley was going to
716
00:27:33,610 --> 00:27:36,070
be wrestling The Rock.
717
00:27:36,070 --> 00:27:38,990
As I often had with Nitro,
and became famous for-
718
00:27:38,990 --> 00:27:40,860
giving away their finish,
starting my show
719
00:27:40,860 --> 00:27:43,030
two minutes before they
started their show.
720
00:27:43,030 --> 00:27:45,030
[Indistinct commentary]
721
00:27:45,030 --> 00:27:48,330
I thought, why not go back
to the well and give them
722
00:27:48,330 --> 00:27:51,710
a reason not to watch
Rock and Mick?
723
00:27:51,710 --> 00:27:53,210
We understand
that Mick Foley,
724
00:27:53,210 --> 00:27:56,630
who wrestled here one time
as Cactus Jack,
725
00:27:56,630 --> 00:27:59,260
...is going to win
their world title.
726
00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:01,510
That ----ing Eric Bischoff.
727
00:28:01,510 --> 00:28:02,590
[Laughing]
728
00:28:02,590 --> 00:28:04,050
He just
spoiled the match!
729
00:28:04,050 --> 00:28:06,850
[Laughing]
He took a shot.
730
00:28:06,850 --> 00:28:10,020
A big chunk of WCW Nitro's
audience went,
731
00:28:10,020 --> 00:28:12,020
"Really? That's going
on over there?
732
00:28:12,020 --> 00:28:14,270
I'm going too."
733
00:28:14,270 --> 00:28:15,860
And they left!
734
00:28:15,860 --> 00:28:17,570
[Cheering]
735
00:28:17,570 --> 00:28:20,190
So, it backfired
in a huge way.
736
00:28:20,190 --> 00:28:23,660
[Cheering]
737
00:28:23,660 --> 00:28:26,030
Two big moves
in one night.
738
00:28:26,030 --> 00:28:28,200
Finger poke of doom,
and...
739
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,750
Crapping all over
Rock and Mick.
740
00:28:30,750 --> 00:28:32,790
♪
741
00:28:32,790 --> 00:28:34,960
Neither one of them
worked very well.
742
00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,710
What a way to
start the year!
743
00:28:37,710 --> 00:28:39,300
We got a little
lucky that night.
744
00:28:39,300 --> 00:28:41,550
We had a great match,
me and Mick.
745
00:28:41,550 --> 00:28:44,430
That was a real
defining moment.
746
00:28:44,430 --> 00:28:46,760
This feels
pretty damn good.
747
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:48,140
♪
748
00:28:48,140 --> 00:28:49,260
There was-
I mean, there was
749
00:28:49,260 --> 00:28:52,310
a lot of mistakes,
you know, but...
750
00:28:52,310 --> 00:28:55,060
My check didn't change.
751
00:28:55,060 --> 00:28:57,020
The in-fighting,
the jealousy...
752
00:28:57,020 --> 00:28:59,150
who is Eric
gonna listen to?
753
00:28:59,150 --> 00:29:02,860
All that started to
disintegrate something
754
00:29:02,860 --> 00:29:06,450
that was so
cool and hot.
755
00:29:06,450 --> 00:29:09,080
We were our own
worst enemies.
756
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,870
It was bad enough that
the Turner executives
757
00:29:10,870 --> 00:29:12,250
didn't want us...
758
00:29:12,250 --> 00:29:14,500
we did ourself
no favors.
759
00:29:20,420 --> 00:29:22,670
♪
760
00:29:22,670 --> 00:29:25,680
Now, a discussion about
cable television programming.
761
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,550
Can I go to wrestling
for a second?
762
00:29:27,550 --> 00:29:29,930
[Laughing]
763
00:29:29,930 --> 00:29:31,770
Does it bother you
a little bit that
764
00:29:31,770 --> 00:29:32,980
wrestling is so popular?
765
00:29:32,980 --> 00:29:35,310
I didn't know that was
the promise of cable.
766
00:29:35,310 --> 00:29:37,980
[Laughing]
767
00:29:37,980 --> 00:29:39,520
Four years ago, I went
to a wrestling event,
768
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:41,780
and as you were
going on the highway,
769
00:29:41,780 --> 00:29:44,860
you were basically seeing
people in pickup trucks,
770
00:29:44,860 --> 00:29:46,490
you know, going.
771
00:29:46,490 --> 00:29:51,740
A month ago, I went to a
WCW Monday Nitro event.
772
00:29:51,740 --> 00:29:53,660
There were
40,000 people.
773
00:29:53,660 --> 00:29:55,370
Sold out in one hour.
774
00:29:55,370 --> 00:29:57,920
And, all I'm seeing
are families going.
775
00:29:57,920 --> 00:29:59,840
So...
776
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,550
We're not embarrassed
by it at all.
777
00:30:02,550 --> 00:30:04,670
When you're a
single organization,
778
00:30:04,670 --> 00:30:06,930
you do one thing,
which is...
779
00:30:06,930 --> 00:30:09,590
professional wrestling,
it's very different than
780
00:30:09,590 --> 00:30:12,930
when you're a company like
Time Warner and you've got
781
00:30:12,930 --> 00:30:16,560
a lot of businesses that
have to get sorted out.
782
00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:18,310
You're gonna have people
who kind of look at this,
783
00:30:18,310 --> 00:30:21,270
and go, "Is this classy
enough for our networks?"
784
00:30:21,270 --> 00:30:22,270
Whoa!
785
00:30:22,270 --> 00:30:25,190
And how is that going
to rub off on our brand?
786
00:30:25,190 --> 00:30:28,280
Well, wrestling may be a good
product for some, but we are,
787
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,660
after all, the world's leader
in news and entertainment.
788
00:30:31,660 --> 00:30:34,990
That was the rationale-
we just don't like it.
789
00:30:34,990 --> 00:30:39,290
[Eric] The fact that WCW
became successful...
790
00:30:39,290 --> 00:30:42,670
was really frustrating
for a lot of people.
791
00:30:42,670 --> 00:30:44,760
It was not part of the plan.
792
00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:46,800
It never was part of the plan!
793
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:48,180
You know, the average
person's going,
794
00:30:48,180 --> 00:30:50,510
"Why would anybody care?"
But I'll tell you why.
795
00:30:50,510 --> 00:30:53,930
Because WCW
occupied prime time
796
00:30:53,930 --> 00:30:56,890
beachfront property
on TNT.
797
00:30:56,890 --> 00:30:58,230
There were a lot of people
that wanted that
798
00:30:58,230 --> 00:30:59,730
prime time real estate...
799
00:30:59,730 --> 00:31:03,480
and were frustrated at our
success because we got it.
800
00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:07,030
[Brad] There were so many
demands from different places.
801
00:31:07,030 --> 00:31:09,820
And, a lot of answering
to shareholders
802
00:31:09,820 --> 00:31:12,200
that have expectations.
803
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:16,450
And, WCW got
caught up in that.
804
00:31:16,450 --> 00:31:18,210
The revenue challenges
were simple.
805
00:31:18,210 --> 00:31:22,750
One of the goals of Turner
Broadcasting was to...
806
00:31:22,750 --> 00:31:26,550
enhance the bottom line of
various divisions that
807
00:31:26,550 --> 00:31:28,260
they wanted to hold onto.
808
00:31:28,260 --> 00:31:29,380
Let's take some
of their debt,
809
00:31:29,380 --> 00:31:30,800
move it over here.
810
00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:33,220
So, they reallocated
the guts out my budget,
811
00:31:33,220 --> 00:31:36,640
so that money could be moved
over to other divisions.
812
00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:38,930
It made their bottom line
look that much better.
813
00:31:38,930 --> 00:31:43,400
We'll recognize all
those earnings at TBS.
814
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:45,070
And because they do
business with WCW,
815
00:31:45,070 --> 00:31:47,570
we're gonna move some of
those losses over here,
816
00:31:47,570 --> 00:31:50,740
so WCW's books look
a little worse
817
00:31:50,740 --> 00:31:53,490
'cause we want it to
go away anyway.
818
00:31:53,490 --> 00:31:56,450
You could've probably
made it profitable
819
00:31:56,450 --> 00:31:59,830
if WCW charged a
boatload of money
820
00:31:59,830 --> 00:32:03,040
for carrying
wrestling to...
821
00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:06,090
TNT and to TBS, but
because we wanted
822
00:32:06,090 --> 00:32:10,220
TNT and TBS to be
much more profitable...
823
00:32:10,220 --> 00:32:12,430
the license fee we paid-
[clearing throat]-
824
00:32:12,430 --> 00:32:15,800
was very low.
825
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:17,850
And that was,
you know, not,
826
00:32:17,850 --> 00:32:20,770
not my decision.
Um...
827
00:32:20,770 --> 00:32:22,600
They didn't care if they
had to sacrifice WCW.
828
00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:23,900
That's kind of what
they wanted to do
829
00:32:23,900 --> 00:32:26,270
all along anyway.
830
00:32:26,270 --> 00:32:29,070
There were people
deconstructing WCW
831
00:32:29,070 --> 00:32:31,400
from a budgetary perspective
right underneath
832
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,610
everybody else's noses.
833
00:32:33,610 --> 00:32:35,200
♪
834
00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:37,950
The reason it became
so successful is what,
835
00:32:37,950 --> 00:32:40,580
in retrospect,
looked like bad deals.
836
00:32:40,580 --> 00:32:43,210
The no-cut contracts,
creative controls.
837
00:32:43,210 --> 00:32:44,790
And all those things
were necessary to
838
00:32:44,790 --> 00:32:47,750
swing the immediate
tide over.
839
00:32:47,750 --> 00:32:49,630
Guess you'd like me to sign
that, wouldn't you, huh?
840
00:32:49,630 --> 00:32:51,670
Everybody...
841
00:32:51,670 --> 00:32:54,300
was making
seven figures, plus.
842
00:32:54,300 --> 00:32:55,590
You see this!
843
00:32:55,590 --> 00:32:57,140
People know how much
this guy's getting,
844
00:32:57,140 --> 00:32:59,640
and they want to know why
they're not getting as much.
845
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:01,980
Just drew their money
and did nothing.
846
00:33:01,980 --> 00:33:03,350
Oh, you work here?
847
00:33:03,350 --> 00:33:04,640
Oh, you've been
collecting money for
848
00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,350
a year sitting
on your ass.
849
00:33:06,350 --> 00:33:07,400
"Ver-say-se"?
850
00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,150
I can only imagine how
much money went out.
851
00:33:10,150 --> 00:33:12,650
[Laughing]
Like, they got what?
852
00:33:12,650 --> 00:33:16,870
ATM Eric.
The inference was...
853
00:33:16,870 --> 00:33:19,200
"Well, Eric has access
to Ted Turner's money.
854
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:20,910
All he needs to do
is write a check.
855
00:33:20,910 --> 00:33:22,580
He can hire
anybody he wants."
856
00:33:22,580 --> 00:33:24,580
Like I was an
ATM machine.
857
00:33:24,580 --> 00:33:26,420
I get to spend...
858
00:33:26,420 --> 00:33:28,210
a billionaire's money!
859
00:33:28,210 --> 00:33:30,210
I got a call from
Harvey Schiller.
860
00:33:30,210 --> 00:33:32,550
Harvey said, "Eric, I need
you to come up to my office."
861
00:33:32,550 --> 00:33:36,510
Now, Harvey very rarely
summoned me to his office.
862
00:33:36,510 --> 00:33:40,720
Essentially, Harvey brought
me in to let me know...
863
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:45,270
that I had been under a
forensic investigation
864
00:33:45,270 --> 00:33:48,860
for misuse of funds.
865
00:33:48,860 --> 00:33:51,020
I thought,
this can't be real.
866
00:33:51,020 --> 00:33:54,030
Presumably,
somebody had
867
00:33:54,030 --> 00:33:58,280
met an executive from
Time Warner...
868
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,870
and laid out this
crazy story:
869
00:34:00,870 --> 00:34:03,120
"Oh, Eric's just handing out
million-dollar contracts,
870
00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,250
right and left." But this
individual suggested that
871
00:34:06,250 --> 00:34:08,330
the reason I was doing that
is because those wrestlers
872
00:34:08,330 --> 00:34:10,790
were giving me
a kickback.
873
00:34:10,790 --> 00:34:15,420
So, Harvey proceeded
to tell me how this...
874
00:34:15,420 --> 00:34:18,010
forensic investigation
proved
875
00:34:18,010 --> 00:34:20,010
that none of that was true.
876
00:34:20,010 --> 00:34:21,640
They wanted to come clean,
and also to let me know
877
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:23,310
it was complete...
878
00:34:23,310 --> 00:34:25,100
bullshit.
879
00:34:25,100 --> 00:34:27,140
That pissed me off.
880
00:34:27,140 --> 00:34:30,650
I didn't quit my job,
I wish I would have.
881
00:34:30,650 --> 00:34:33,360
That was the
moment that
882
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:35,820
I quit being loyal
to the company.
883
00:34:35,820 --> 00:34:38,990
♪
884
00:34:38,990 --> 00:34:40,410
---- them.
885
00:34:47,210 --> 00:34:49,040
[Bret] When I think back
on my career,
886
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:50,330
there will always be
a little bitterness
887
00:34:50,330 --> 00:34:52,290
about that time period.
888
00:34:52,290 --> 00:34:55,670
I had so many things left
unfinished in my career,
889
00:34:55,670 --> 00:34:57,920
things I wanted to do.
890
00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,800
To watch what WCW did
with me, it was sad.
891
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:03,510
♪
892
00:35:03,510 --> 00:35:05,560
They're killing me off
on purpose.
893
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:07,480
And they did.
894
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,690
I've always known...
895
00:35:09,690 --> 00:35:12,610
that sooner or later...
896
00:35:12,610 --> 00:35:15,190
I'd have to step in the
ring with Bill Goldberg.
897
00:35:15,190 --> 00:35:17,360
[Cheering]
898
00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:18,820
How do you fight
Bill Goldberg?
899
00:35:18,820 --> 00:35:21,070
He's like a gorilla.
900
00:35:21,070 --> 00:35:23,200
Slamming guys right
through the mat.
901
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,160
Running them
over like a car.
902
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:26,160
I would pull him aside,
and say,
903
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:30,290
"I want to teach you how to
actually not hurt guys."
904
00:35:30,290 --> 00:35:33,420
And, when I walked out to the
ring with Bill that night,
905
00:35:33,420 --> 00:35:35,710
and I remember I, like,
really looked him in the eye,
906
00:35:35,710 --> 00:35:37,800
and said,
"Don't hurt me out there."
907
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:39,840
"You need to trust me."
908
00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:42,970
And, it all went into
one ear, out the other.
909
00:35:42,970 --> 00:35:45,810
I really think Bill just
saw me as another...
910
00:35:45,810 --> 00:35:48,890
job guy, and someone
that was cannon fodder.
911
00:35:48,890 --> 00:35:51,770
If you're watching
that match, Bill goes,
912
00:35:51,770 --> 00:35:54,310
"Watch the kick."
913
00:35:54,310 --> 00:35:56,650
And I'm like,
"Watch the kick?"
914
00:35:56,650 --> 00:35:58,780
And I don't understand
what he's doing.
915
00:35:58,780 --> 00:36:01,240
Oh!
Standing sidekick!
916
00:36:01,240 --> 00:36:03,870
And he kicked me as
hard as he could.
917
00:36:03,870 --> 00:36:06,330
You can see me
grabbing my neck.
918
00:36:06,330 --> 00:36:09,080
I was concussed.
919
00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:10,040
You should protect yourself.
920
00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:12,540
You knew the kick
was coming. Right?
921
00:36:12,540 --> 00:36:14,540
I mean,
it was in the deal.
922
00:36:14,540 --> 00:36:16,960
It was never talked about or
explained to me: "I do this
923
00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:20,090
move where I kick guys in
the head as hard as I can."
924
00:36:20,090 --> 00:36:23,340
Nobody deserves that, but
it was a fricking accident.
925
00:36:23,340 --> 00:36:25,140
Complete accident.
926
00:36:25,140 --> 00:36:26,640
No, Bill, that's not
an accident.
927
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:29,640
That's a career-ending
injury, you idiot.
928
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,100
I somehow will myself
to stand up to be
929
00:36:32,100 --> 00:36:34,060
run over by this imbecile.
930
00:36:34,060 --> 00:36:36,650
[Indistinct shouting
& cheering]
931
00:36:36,650 --> 00:36:38,650
It was one of the
saddest days of my life,
932
00:36:38,650 --> 00:36:41,030
and I knew my
career was over.
933
00:36:41,030 --> 00:36:42,780
He never aspired to
do anything else,
934
00:36:42,780 --> 00:36:46,320
other than be that guy.
And, I ended that for him.
935
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:47,990
I've never been
so remorseful,
936
00:36:47,990 --> 00:36:49,620
and I have
been for years.
937
00:36:49,620 --> 00:36:51,540
But ----, man, I can't
do anything else.
938
00:36:52,710 --> 00:36:55,330
[Bret] Bill Goldberg was
not qualified.
939
00:36:55,330 --> 00:36:57,540
But he's our star.
940
00:36:57,540 --> 00:36:59,550
They just...
941
00:36:59,550 --> 00:37:01,550
looked the other way.
942
00:37:01,550 --> 00:37:03,050
When you go through the
type of brain injury that
943
00:37:03,050 --> 00:37:07,100
I went through, you're just
grateful to be alive.
944
00:37:07,100 --> 00:37:10,430
From the very, very first
second that I got here,
945
00:37:10,430 --> 00:37:13,310
I got screwed over,
and screwed over,
946
00:37:13,310 --> 00:37:16,690
and screwed over.
947
00:37:16,690 --> 00:37:20,150
It was just such a lousy
ending for such a...
948
00:37:20,150 --> 00:37:22,030
a great career.
949
00:37:22,030 --> 00:37:24,860
Ladies and gentlemen,
he claims to be the...
950
00:37:24,860 --> 00:37:27,620
It just shows that WCW
never really appreciated or
951
00:37:27,620 --> 00:37:31,370
understood the
talent that they had.
952
00:37:31,370 --> 00:37:34,370
They dropped the ball
with me, and he knows it,
953
00:37:34,370 --> 00:37:37,460
and I know it,
and fans know it.
954
00:37:37,460 --> 00:37:41,050
But in the end, Eric Bischoff
only can answer to himself.
955
00:37:41,050 --> 00:37:44,090
♪
956
00:37:44,090 --> 00:37:46,340
[Eric] By the summer of '99,
I was toast.
957
00:37:46,340 --> 00:37:49,180
I was frustrated, angry,
958
00:37:49,180 --> 00:37:52,180
demoralized... lost hope.
959
00:37:52,180 --> 00:37:54,600
Once you lose that,
it's pretty much over,
960
00:37:54,600 --> 00:37:56,060
and that's
where I was at.
961
00:37:56,060 --> 00:37:59,020
I was pretty disrespectful,
intentionally,
962
00:37:59,020 --> 00:38:01,360
because I always thought
I had Ted's support
963
00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:03,190
in my back pocket.
964
00:38:03,190 --> 00:38:07,160
And, I didn't know what
was going on with Ted.
965
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,580
So, in October of 1997,
the Turner-
966
00:38:10,580 --> 00:38:13,830
Time Warner merger
was finalized.
967
00:38:13,830 --> 00:38:16,370
And famously, Ted Turner
was not receptive to
968
00:38:16,370 --> 00:38:17,790
the idea at first.
969
00:38:17,790 --> 00:38:21,000
Big, huge company,
a lot of money for Dad.
970
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:22,920
They needed him and
he needed them,
971
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,340
but he deluded himself.
972
00:38:25,340 --> 00:38:28,430
He's losing more
and more control.
973
00:38:28,430 --> 00:38:30,510
More control goes
to the bureaucrats,
974
00:38:30,510 --> 00:38:34,390
more control goes to
the executive types.
975
00:38:34,390 --> 00:38:35,850
He couldn't protect Eric.
976
00:38:35,850 --> 00:38:38,020
He couldn't protect
anybody at that point.
977
00:38:38,020 --> 00:38:40,440
These fans love you.
We want to see more of you!
978
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,480
[Eric] That was the opportunity
so many people within
979
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:45,110
Turner Broadcasting wanted,
980
00:38:45,110 --> 00:38:47,570
and now finally had.
981
00:38:47,570 --> 00:38:50,410
I was out of ammunition,
out of everything.
982
00:38:57,790 --> 00:39:00,920
It was several years before
I recognized just how much
983
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:05,510
freedom I had and how unique
of an opportunity I had,
984
00:39:05,510 --> 00:39:10,010
that the freedom is what
led to WCW being successful.
985
00:39:10,010 --> 00:39:13,680
The time I spent
battling internally,
986
00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,600
it took the fun
out of it for me.
987
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:18,810
If it wasn't for
the NWO and moi...
988
00:39:18,810 --> 00:39:22,610
none of you people
would be here tonight!
989
00:39:22,610 --> 00:39:25,480
If I had to reflect
back on that snapshot,
990
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,320
summer of '99...
991
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:30,820
may have been one of the
worst periods of my life.
992
00:39:30,820 --> 00:39:32,910
All the way across
the board.
993
00:39:32,910 --> 00:39:34,530
September 10th, 1999,
994
00:39:34,530 --> 00:39:36,200
I get up like any
other morning.
995
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:38,080
I'm on my way to work,
996
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:39,790
and I get a phone call
from Harvey.
997
00:39:39,790 --> 00:39:43,330
[Phone ringing]
998
00:39:43,330 --> 00:39:46,500
[Laughing] And,
Harvey said, "Eric,
999
00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:48,630
you need to come
to my office."
1000
00:39:48,630 --> 00:39:52,590
I got to the CNN Center,
went up to Harvey's office.
1001
00:39:52,590 --> 00:39:55,930
And he said, "Eric,
you need to go home."
1002
00:39:55,930 --> 00:39:58,310
I said, "Harvey...
1003
00:39:58,310 --> 00:39:59,930
I'll get home in
a little while,
1004
00:39:59,930 --> 00:40:01,810
but I've got a
Pay Per View on Sunday."
1005
00:40:01,810 --> 00:40:06,570
The WCW Fall Brawl
of 1999.
1006
00:40:06,570 --> 00:40:08,150
[Cheering]
1007
00:40:08,150 --> 00:40:10,700
He said,
"Not anymore."
1008
00:40:10,700 --> 00:40:12,660
♪
1009
00:40:12,660 --> 00:40:15,450
And that's when
it dawned on me.
1010
00:40:15,450 --> 00:40:19,450
And I'll be honest with you,
it was a combination of...
1011
00:40:19,450 --> 00:40:22,830
confusion, because it
hadn't quite sunk in.
1012
00:40:22,830 --> 00:40:24,500
♪
1013
00:40:24,500 --> 00:40:26,540
And relief.
1014
00:40:26,540 --> 00:40:29,210
♪
1015
00:40:29,210 --> 00:40:31,470
I wasn't disappointed.
1016
00:40:31,470 --> 00:40:33,680
I didn't fight it.
1017
00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,640
I was shocked.
I was shocked.
1018
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:40,180
How many years head
start had Vince had?
1019
00:40:40,180 --> 00:40:44,690
And then, he beat him
for 83 straight weeks.
1020
00:40:44,690 --> 00:40:48,520
I did it...
I did it!
1021
00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:51,690
Pretty, pretty
impressive record.
1022
00:40:51,690 --> 00:40:54,240
What do you say
about Eric Bischoff?
1023
00:40:54,240 --> 00:40:58,410
It's what you call "taking
the bull by the horns".
1024
00:40:58,410 --> 00:41:01,790
What Eric did was impossible,
in spite of the fact that
1025
00:41:01,790 --> 00:41:04,670
everybody was against him.
1026
00:41:04,670 --> 00:41:07,460
I don't know how he didn't
blow his brains out.
1027
00:41:07,460 --> 00:41:09,420
This has- [Laughing]
This has gotta be the most
1028
00:41:09,420 --> 00:41:12,550
terrible circumstances for
anybody to work in.
1029
00:41:12,550 --> 00:41:13,880
[Eric] I pulled into
the driveway...
1030
00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:15,300
He walks in the door,
and I asked him-
1031
00:41:15,300 --> 00:41:16,300
"What are you doing here?"
1032
00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:19,010
And I sat down at the
kitchen table, and I said,
1033
00:41:19,010 --> 00:41:20,310
"I got fired."
1034
00:41:20,310 --> 00:41:22,140
I think he was a bit rattled.
1035
00:41:22,140 --> 00:41:23,390
She says, "What are
you gonna do?"
1036
00:41:23,390 --> 00:41:25,730
He got on his plane,
you know, threw his stuff
1037
00:41:25,730 --> 00:41:29,270
in a bag and flew himself
to, to Cody, Wyoming.
1038
00:41:29,270 --> 00:41:32,110
The next day I was fishing
right up the road from
1039
00:41:32,110 --> 00:41:34,150
where I live right now.
1040
00:41:34,150 --> 00:41:39,490
♪
1041
00:41:39,490 --> 00:41:42,750
The fishing was awesome,
by the way.
1042
00:41:42,750 --> 00:41:45,000
It was awesome that day.
1043
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,420
♪
1044
00:41:47,420 --> 00:41:50,210
I'll give Eric his props.
At the end of the day,
1045
00:41:50,210 --> 00:41:52,880
it was his idea for
the NWO.
1046
00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:54,590
He did push the luchadores.
1047
00:41:54,590 --> 00:41:56,840
He did push Goldberg.
1048
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:59,720
Eric put the pieces of
that puzzle together.
1049
00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:01,260
And, "Oh,
it wasn't his money,"
1050
00:42:01,260 --> 00:42:04,890
and blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah.
1051
00:42:04,890 --> 00:42:07,400
He knew what
he was doing.
1052
00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:10,520
The moves he made
by getting Hogan...
1053
00:42:10,520 --> 00:42:14,650
Savage, Nash,
and the remake of Sting.
1054
00:42:14,650 --> 00:42:16,740
There were so many
good things he did.
1055
00:42:16,740 --> 00:42:18,610
Wait a minute...
1056
00:42:18,610 --> 00:42:20,450
I didn't get involved
in his world.
1057
00:42:20,450 --> 00:42:23,540
I didn't know the intricacies
of the soap opera.
1058
00:42:23,540 --> 00:42:26,290
Eric knew that.
1059
00:42:26,290 --> 00:42:28,920
In those years that
we were crushing it,
1060
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:33,090
Eric delivered exactly what
I asked him to deliver.
1061
00:42:33,090 --> 00:42:35,840
This is where the
big boys play, huh?
1062
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:37,510
We ain't here to play.
1063
00:42:37,510 --> 00:42:39,680
Hollywood at the helm.
1064
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:43,600
It's the N...W...O!
1065
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:44,770
I mean, no matter what
you think about Eric
1066
00:42:44,770 --> 00:42:47,810
later down the road,
he really was
1067
00:42:47,810 --> 00:42:49,770
one of those people
that worked his butt off,
1068
00:42:49,770 --> 00:42:52,440
he worked hard,
and he stayed at it.
1069
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:54,940
And, he was great
to work with.
1070
00:42:54,940 --> 00:42:58,360
♪
1071
00:42:58,360 --> 00:43:01,200
It is my honor and my
privilege to introduce you
1072
00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:05,370
to the man,
Vince Russo!
1073
00:43:05,370 --> 00:43:09,290
He's the man behind all
the story lines at WWE.
1074
00:43:09,290 --> 00:43:12,340
Now we've got him.
We've got their genius.
1075
00:43:12,340 --> 00:43:15,250
He's using Jeff Jarrett's
testicles for punching bags!
1076
00:43:15,250 --> 00:43:17,470
His thing was,
let's get the audience
1077
00:43:17,470 --> 00:43:19,090
that isn't watching
wrestling.
1078
00:43:19,090 --> 00:43:22,260
It was lots of
shock and awe.
1079
00:43:22,260 --> 00:43:25,390
It made it not
advertiser-friendly.
1080
00:43:25,390 --> 00:43:27,270
Eric's boys were not
1081
00:43:27,270 --> 00:43:29,600
in tune with what
Russo wanted.
1082
00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:31,650
I've got plans
for you, pal!
1083
00:43:31,650 --> 00:43:34,900
Vince Russo, you're going to
----ing hell just for that.
1084
00:43:34,900 --> 00:43:37,030
I am the boss!
1085
00:43:37,030 --> 00:43:38,690
Those guys didn't want
to give up their spots.
1086
00:43:38,690 --> 00:43:41,070
Yeah! 'Cause we
earned our spot.
1087
00:43:41,070 --> 00:43:43,200
It's now an end of an era!
1088
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:45,830
This is a television show.
1089
00:43:45,830 --> 00:43:47,910
You want to go to a wrestling
show, go to a house show.
1090
00:43:47,910 --> 00:43:49,660
...I think we're
deviating from the script.
1091
00:43:49,660 --> 00:43:51,000
What the hell is going on?
1092
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:52,540
That's gonna go down
as one of the most
1093
00:43:52,540 --> 00:43:55,340
infamous moments in the
history of television.
1094
00:43:55,340 --> 00:43:57,420
That's why this company's
in the damn shape it's in
1095
00:43:57,420 --> 00:43:59,550
because of bullshit like this!
80212
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