All language subtitles for Dark Side Of The Ring s06e06 Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert.eng

Tonight I'm
going to prove,

when you mess around
with Hot Stuff,

you're gonna
get burned.

Eddie Gilbert knew what
he needed to do

to attract attention
to himself.

Get that camera up here
on me just a second.

He was a sneaky, conniving,
dirty backstabber.

He really thought
he was Hot Stuff.

Egotistical.
Arrogant.

Conceited.
Self-confident.

He loved --ing
with the crowd.

You cowards
in Dothan, Alabama!

Eddie, himself, was the
complete opposite of that.

What he loved
was creating.

[Narrator] Born into
professional wrestling,

Eddie Gilbert's vision
and ambition had a

profound impact on the
business he loved.

This is not wrestling.
This is a street fight!

He would see the shift
before the shift.

Eddie said,
"This is wrestling."

"You can do anything."

This is getting out of hand.

Sure enough,
Eddie was right.

Without Eddie,
there's no ECW.

Your king of Philadelphia!

He would have gone on
to be one of the

most influential minds
in wrestling.

But, it didn't
happen that way.

A rising star with
undeniable charisma,

Eddie's demons threatened
his career from the start.

I've worked too hard
and too long!

Eddie could burn a bridge
better than anybody.

He has a history of
going to territories

and just leaving.

A small thing
can set him off.

I have been run out of every
wrestling organization

I've ever been in!

For Eddie, coping with the
chronic pain from a

life threatening injury came
at a devastating cost.

?

Night after night of

putting your body
through that abuse...

I don't think that pain
ever left him.

We just want to take
this opportunity

to pay tribute to
a real warrior.

You know, Eddie passed
away 30 years ago,

and he's still
--ing missed.

But this is a story
of what if.

What if this
didn't happen?

What if this didn't happen?

What if?

?

?

Hey, we're on.
Eddie!

Oh. Oh, okay.
Hello, everyone.

I think what the wrestling
business lost was

a great worker and a mind

that was about a
generation ahead

of what anybody else's
at the time.

But I look at what my
brother did in his angles

and pushing
the limits...

[Screaming]

And the guys that he
helped in his short life.

It's you and me,
brother.

He lived 32 years.

He done more in that 32 than
most people will do in 70.

He made the best out of
all of them. And to me,

that's where you tell the
character of a person.

I'm "Dangerous"
Doug Gilbert,

and I've been in the
wrestling business

about 36 years.

And my brother is
"Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert.

Tell him, Hot Stuff.
[Laughing]

I looked up to Eddie.

I mean, he was an
idol of mine also.

He was a fun guy.

I mean, he was my
best friend, and...

Eddie looked out for me,

and I was lucky enough
to have that.

That's when we was partners
in Memphis and everything.

To me, that's really cool.
That's, that's history.

His life and obsession
was wrestling.

He thought about it
all the time.

"Let's kick some ass and
draw some money."

That was a big one.

When he was a kid,
he would make cards out

with his friends'
names on it,

and I think that's
when my dad realized

he was actually
really serious-serious

about the business.

Eddie's father,
Tommy Gilbert,

was one of the most popular
wrestlers in the Tennessee

territory from the late 60s
through the early 80s.

Eddie grew up
watching that...

and that was what Eddie
had his sights set on.

I'm Jim Cornette, and I was
friends with Eddie Gilbert

even before he began his
pro wrestling career.

We started in wrestling
in the same way.

Eddie began taking ringside
pictures of the matches in

Memphis at the Mid-South
Coliseum, and at the same age,

I started doing it
in Louisville,

and we ran into each other
at the matches and

just instantly developed
a friendship.

Eddie, I think,
was 16.

Instead of saying, "Oh,
I'm Tommy Gilbert's son,"

he would walk in
with a tripod.

So, that was how he was
getting access

to the dressing room.

He was slowly, slowly
working his way in.

He loved, loved the
wrestling business.

My name is Dutch Mantell,

commonly called
"Dirty" Dutch,

and I've been in this
wrestling business for over

50 years, and I used to
work with Eddie Gilbert.

You better watch your
big fat lip, Gilbert.

He would watch Memphis
live television

on Saturday
morning at 11:00.

He would study
how it was produced.

He would study when the
commercials came on.

When Eddie turned 18,
that's when he started

his major league
wrestling career

as partners with his
father, Tommy.

From Lexington,
Tennessee...

The Gilberts,
Tommy and Eddie!

Tommy and Eddie Gilbert,
father and son champions.

My brother was
thrilled any time

to do anything like this
with my dad.

My dad was both
of our heroes,

and he wanted my dad
to be proud of him.

What teamwork
by the Gilberts!

When he was
training Eddie, it was,

"For you to really be able
to say that you're great,

you've gotta be able to
work with any style."

Oh!

The bloody Tommy Gilbert
in the ring right now.

Tommy Gilbert had been
trained by the old timers.

The way that they
laid the blows in,

you can hear the smack of
the meat and the flesh

from the cheap seats
in the arena.

Tennessee wrestling is
about brawling, fighting,

blood and guts,
personal issues...

[Screaming]

Hatred, rivalries,
animosity.

Hey, you guys,
save that for the ring.

And Eddie Gilbert
fit right into that.

Here comes Eddie!
Look at that!

And they went into the
concession stand of

the Tupelo Sports Arena...

Into the
concession stand!

And had a knock-down,
drag-out brawl

involving furniture,
and concessions,

and hotdogs,
and mustard.

Nailed with mustard
and blood all over him!

It was a very
believable fight,

because I think even the
people involved in it

believed it.

They were knocking the
shit out of each other.

Onita's head
busted wide open!

Oh, we was just hitting
each other in the head

with pots and pans,
and chairs.

Rick Morton hammered
with a garbage can top!

I mean, that shit hurts,
buddy.

I'm Ricky Morton,
one half of the

Rock 'n' Roll Express.

One of the greatest
babyface tag teams ever.

And I was best friends with
Eddie Gilbert.

You see, it was a
hardcore match, really.

But at that time,
we didn't understand that.

As a matter of fact,
that night...

is where Atsushi Onita
got the idea for

hardcore wrestling that
he took back to Japan...

and in the 90s made
a fortune with.

It came from that night
in Tupelo, Mississippi.

What a brawl.

Yeah, keep shooting it.

We're not gonna be able
to show a lot of it,

but just keep
shooting it.

He was always on fire.

Thank you very much.
I'd like to say hello

to my friends and family
and everyone out there.

Let's face it, he was
a good looking kid.

My name is Darla Staggs,
and I met Eddie Gilbert

when he was 17 years old.

We were just good,
good friends.

He went on to
work for WWE.

It was a dream for him,

and it was his
road to stardom.

Memphis was great.

But WWF,
you know, it's...

It's Madison Square Garden.

I mean, what are you
gonna say, no?

Making his Madison
Square Garden debut...

Eddie Gilbert!

My brother brought me
with him to New York.

I guess I was 12 or 11.

Doug and Eddie
were close. Very close.

Eddie was 18 years old,
and he's hanging out

with his 11-year-old
brother.

That says something to me.

Being two smalltown
country boys,

seeing him in Madison
Square Garden, you know,

I was really
proud of that.

Eddie wasn't a big guy,

and that actually
helped him.

-Oh, that was beautiful.
-He had great timing.

You see, that was Eddie
getting his foot through.

Right back on his feet.

Did you see that?
Can you believe it?

En route to a meeting
with WWF's patriarch,

a tragic series of
events is triggered.

?

[Screeching tires
& thudding impact]

?

We got a phone call
at my house.

It was like 1 to 2
in the morning.

And they said, "Mrs.
Gilbert, your son, Eddie,"

and she said, "Yes?"
And they said,

"He's been in
an accident."

They didn't even know if
they could keep him alive.

He's in critical condition.
And it broke his neck.

The steering wheel, I think,
hit him right here

in the solar plexus,
like about over his heart.

They said, "He will
never wrestle again."

His heart was
like jello.

It will never,
it will never heal.

He wasn't even
22 years old yet.

And suddenly,
his career may be over.

That was not acceptable,

that wasn't an
option for Eddie.

No matter how catastrophic
the injury was,

he was gonna get
back in the ring.

When something like
that happens to you,

takes a long, long time
to get over that.

It takes years.

Put yourself in
that situation.

You still want
that opportunity.

So, that's why
you keep going.

Ladies and gentlemen,
let's welcome back

the very popular
Eddie Gilbert.

[Cheering]

Three months later,

he wanted to start back
wrestling again.

Such is the tenacity of this
young man, Eddie Gilbert,

who has made it
all the way back.

I'll just speak for myself.

You know, it was a hard,
long road in our business.

Oh, you wonder if
blows like that,

if they would affect
the neck. Apparently not.

When you have a car wreck
and break your neck,

they don't' send you
home with Tylenol Plus.

You understand me?

I'm sure he wouldn't be
back in the ring

if he was not ready.

It takes a tremendous amount
of courage for a man that

had a broken neck to come
back into wrestling.

Eddie came back to wrestling
probably too quick,

but he wanted to get back
before he lost his spot.

They did an angle based on
the fact that the fans

knew that he'd had a
serious neck injury,

and they used the
Masked Superstar to,

allegedly, re-injure
the broken neck.

-Oh, no!
-Oh!

Ah!

Now there's no need
for anything like that.

See those scars
there on the...

Yeah, on the throat.

That was from the
automobile accident.

And unfortunately,
that is where Eddie met

Doctor George Zahorian.

I'm presently evaluating
Eddie Gilbert following a

traumatic accident to the
vertebrae of his neck.

Doctor George Harrison was a
doctor in, in Pennsylvania,

was also appointed by the
Athletic Commission to be the

doctor to give physicals and
etc. to all the wrestlers.

Anything that the wrestlers
wanted- drugs, substances,

whatever that he
could prescribe...

there was your guy.

Now you've got
Eddie Gilbert,

who's had a severe
neck injury.

What do you think's
gonna happen?

He was in a lot of pain
from the, from the wreck,

but the doctors
prescribed him something.

He would
definitely take it.

When he was doing it
to be able to work,

I guess that was
our justification.

As Eddie steps
back into the ring,

the WWF charts
a new direction,

jeopardizing his
climb to the top.

The WWF at the time
was like superheroes.

That was the Hulk Hogan
starting there.

Everybody that was
up there got bigger.

Oh, look at that.

I didn't want to go
that bodybuilding path,

and Eddie didn't
want to either.

Now, we might have did a
little something something

to, to tone you up...

But you get caught up
in that circus act.

I think Eddie thought that
some of the stuff they do

in WWE was too much
show business and

not enough realism.

Returning to the
southern territories,

Eddie reinvents himself
as a villain,

and creates his
most iconic persona.

Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert!

[Cheering &
booing]

Eddie knew that
in the 80s,

the people expected
more excitement,

more action, more life,
more talking.

I am the greatest wrestler,
the prettiest face and the

greatest set of brains in
professional wrestling.

He had the flashy
sequined jacket,

frosted the hair blond,

and he was wearing
sunglasses.

Now he's this guy
that looked like

he just stepped off this
new thing called MTV.

A cocky heel that really
thought he was hot stuff

and was better than
everybody else.

Listen to me, boy,
when I'm talking to you!

He came up with a
patter and a style

that was all of his own.

Heaven won't take me and
hell's afraid I'll take over.

My grandmother said to me,
"He's so mean and dirty.

I just hate him."
If you hate him,

that means he's
doing his job well.

But you know what?

He's still the same sweet
guy that he's always been.

"No, he's not either!"
[Laughing]

It was an amalgamation
of all of the heels that

Eddie had watched
over the years.

And it, it worked.

One of his idols was
Jerry "The King" Lawler.

Who's the greatest wrestler
in the world and why am I?

Who was the undisputed
King of Memphis wrestling.

Lawler from the top rope!
He gets him!

I am in rare form
and I guess

you saw it right there,
didn't you?

The first chance he got,

he went to wrestle
Jerry Lawler.

Lawler, I want to tell
you something, brother.

You're not
hungry anymore. I am.

He ultimately wanted to
follow in Jerry Lawler's

footsteps as The King
of Memphis wrestling.

Whoa!

Jerry Lawler, look what
you've done to me!

When opportunity comes,
you got to chase your dream.

Stop, Eddie Gilbert!

You're gonna be
real hot, brother!

[Screaming]

Eddie had that in
his mind. He knew that.

That's why he was
successful down south.

Already a star in Memphis,

Eddie gets his first
shot at fulfilling his dream

of becoming a company's
booker in Louisiana,

working for Bill Watts'
Mid-South Wrestling.

The booker is basically
the matchmaker.

Even from the time
he was a teenager,

Eddie already had
that in his sights.

What's Eddie Gilbert
doing out there?

We're getting ready to
find out, I think, here.

Wrestling is more than
just doing the moves.

Wrestling is telling a story.

I really think I need to set
the record straight because

I'm not a communist,
ladies and gentlemen.

And Eddie, Eddie was
very good at that.

You can do whatever you
want to with this flag.

I'd like to give it to you.

-[Cheering]
-Let's burn it.

Everybody loved
Bill Watts,

the big Cowboy babyface
down there.

And everybody thought
Eddie was gonna

do something tricky
or low down.

Hold on!
[Indistinct shouting]

Kolov... Kolov!

[Indistinct shouting]

They've got that chain!

When a great heel
has a great babyface,

they can tell a story
that's unbelievable.

That guy put the flag
over the cowboy!

Look at that!

The fans are getting
out of their seats!

This place is mayhem!

What does the people
want to pay to see?

They want to pay because
they don't like you,

and they want to
see the good guy

beat the crap
out of you.

A little bit too
cocky there.

If you have
heat like that,

you was usually
drawing good money.

Listen to this crowd!
They love it!

Eddie had some great guys
there that went on

to be superstars,
like Sting,

Rick Steiner was there,
Ultimate Warrior,

Dr. Death
Steve Williams.

All these guys were there

under the guidance
of Eddie Gilbert.

In his mind, he'd say,
"Where can I take this guy?"

"Who can I book
this guy with?"

Because his mind
never stopped.

Bill Watts sold the company
to Jim Crockett Promotions,

and about a year
and a half later,

Crockett Promotions had
sold to Turner Broadcasting.

Eddie's booking success
lands him on

WCW's creative team...

trading sole control for
a seat on the committee.

?

One of the worst things to
be is be on a frigging

booking committee because
you have no control.

And that's when
Ric Flair got involved.

Flair was the
top star for

World Championship
Wrestling...

and he demanded to
be made the booker.

Ric Flair didn't
know that much about

Tennessee wrestling.

Ric Flair didn't know that
much about Eddie Gilbert.

He wanted people to
carry out

what he was
asking them to do.

They go to Memphis
one night.

Eddie Gilbert is booked to
wrestle against Ron Simmons.

So Flair sends the finish.

Ron Simmons beat
Eddie Gilbert.

Well, there must be
some mistake.

This is Memphis.
He can't beat me

at a preliminary
match in Memphis.

So Eddie changed
the finish.

[Match bell ringing
& cheering]

Within a week, I got a
phone call from Ric Flair.

"He changed the finish!
Who the -- is this guy?

I'm gonna have
to move him out."

And that's when
he told me,

"I'm fixing to have an opening
on the creative team.

Would you like to fill it?"

I had had aspirations
of one day being a booker,

but here was an opportunity
right in front of me

to start doing what I'd
always wanted to do.

But it was at the expense of
Eddie losing the chance

to do what he
wanted to do.

After overriding Ric Flair's
planned finish to a match,

Eddie is dismissed from
the creative committee.

His spot taken by
a childhood friend.

We never had a face
to face disagreement.

However, Eddie told
the story that,

"Well, I showed up at the
booking meeting,

and there was Jim Cornette
sitting in my chair."

Actually, no. Eddie never
came in to see me there

because he already
knew he was done,

regardless of whether
I got the job or not.

But, I've heard it said
by people close to him

that that demotion...

pretty much
broke his heart.

Hot Stuff
Eddie Gilbert!

Surprise,
surprise, surprise!

Bit of a surprise,
yes, indeed.

Returning to his home
territory in Memphis,

Eddie solidifies his
legacy as an innovator,

pushing the boundaries
between reality

and fiction even further.

He knew the fans
were getting smarter,

and he was trying to
do cutting edge stuff.

But, ah... Hey!

Him and Lawler was
shooting that angle.

Jerry said, "Well, what
have you not all done?"

You know, Eddie said, "Well,
I haven't run over him."

Wait a minute. Eddie,
you're gonna do what?

Lawler says,
"Man, I love it."

Dang, he actually
wants to do this.

The only problem was,
we was going way too fast.

Oh, look out.
Whoa!

Oh, holy shit.
Excuse my language.

My goodness.

No, I don't
think he's okay.

Calling for some help from,
well, there's Jerry Calhoun.

The fans at home called
the police department,

and said they had
a hit and run.

They was going
to arrest us.

So, Lawler had to
come out and

actually tell the police,
"It's not their fault."

People hated us for that.

And I mean, we wanted
them not to like us.

But that goes into where
you're getting to the point

where it's almost
went too far.

One night, me and Eddie,
we went to get in the car,

and I heard Eddie
say, "Hurry up.

A guy's coming with
a knife." "What?"

He had a butcher knife,
and he's running.

And so I start trying to
get the key in the car,

and I heard Eddie say,
"Hurry up, hurry up."

And he got right
almost to Eddie.

There was cops
at the fence,

and a police officer
saw that.

He got him before
they got to us.

?

Here's the thing,

and a lot of people don't
understand this.

Look at your TV today

and then go back and
see what we did.

[Screaming]

He was ahead of his
time for so many years.

Oh, come on!

And it was stuff that he
thought about all the time.

Rotten, despicable,
devious mind.

He's a perfectionist
at work.

And he was a
perfectionist at booking.

And a lot of people
will say,

"Well, that's why you
wind up with burnout."

I don't think he was the
booker at one spot...

more than six months
at any, anywhere.

-You know, whatever.
-Yeah.

?

As Eddie bounces from
promotion to promotion,

he enters a romantic
relationship with

WCW star,
Missy Hyatt.

Meow.

Missy Hyatt was one of the
first women in wrestling

that was both
attractive and used

as the valet, slash,
manager,

slash, confidant of
many of the top heels.

And then, of course,

we got adorable
Eddie Gilbert.

And then Eddie and Missy
became a couple in real life.

The whole marriage
and everything,

maybe a year and a half
or something like that.

I hate you!
And I hate everybody!

[Laughs] He liked
beautiful ladies.

From Milan, Italy...

the AWA Ladies
World Champion...

I got the opportunity to

be in the ring with Eddie,

and that's when everything
started between him and I.

Hi, Madusa.
M-A-D-U-S-A.

Made in the USA, baby, and
I've been in this business...

hm, over 40 years.

And I was married
to Eddie Gilbert.

It was Eddie and myself

against Mick Foley
and Luna Vachon.

[Cheering]

Right then and there,
I'm like, alright,

there's something about
this guy and his cockiness.

[Laughing]
We just hit it off.

One thing led to another,
and he's like,

"Do you want to
get married?"

And I'm like,
"What? What?

Yeah, let's just do it!"
And we did.

His family was so loving
and so open to me.

What do you got there?

Oh, do you know
how to do that?

Not at all.

And I felt welcomed.

His dad...

There's more action
going on over there.

No, you're the only
one that's opening 'em.

And his mom
was his world.

And little Dougy
at the time.

Doug, what you got?

My Game Boy
that you got me.

Oh, he loved his family.

[Indistinct speaking]
I got it all.

Shirt, sweatshirt.

It was healthy,
that's how I felt.

-Ah!
-Oh, you wiener.

My marriage overall was
wonderful from the beginning.

And towards the end,
I knew it wasn't

the Eddie that I...

grew to love and
was in love with.

If it was because of the
pain of the business,

physically,
and his choices to...

get rid of the pain,
then, you know,

that's what he did and it
just changed him.

I remember I just got
done making dinner.

We sat down to eat,
and he fell asleep

at the dinner table
in his food.

I did see him fall asleep
at the table one time.

I mean, I tried to
talk to him about it.

He kind of shut it
down like...

it's none of your business,
and it wasn't my business.

I didn't really see
too much wrong with it,

which I look at it today,
and I can say that

maybe it was a little bit
wrong, but now...

see so much other stuff so
much worse than anything

that was going on with
Eddie, so I guess I just

took that as everything
was kind of normal.

It wasn't just being
a rock star that

caused him to do this.

It was trying to overcome
serious injuries

to get back in the ring.

The pills, they had
taken over Eddie.

That wasn't who
Eddie was, though.

He wanted to get better.

It just didn't happen.

Cactus Jack and
Eddie Gilbert.

They probably know what
physical punishment

they're both
going to endure.

Eddie and I had the best feud
of the independent scene.

Oh! Almost ripped his
head off of him.

What he loved was
bringing excitement to

the television screen.

Cactus, the barbed
wire around his face.

Gotta stop this
match right now.

Stop it now.

Our business
brings with it...

constant pain.

I did not know that he was
having trouble with pills.

Eddie was part of an era
where not as much

was known about
pain medication.

It wasn't really frowned
upon at that time,

but it's easy to abuse.

[Cheering]

He would say
he was in pain,

but I never knew
the severity.

He kept everything
so inside.

?

The hardest thing he did was
sign those divorce papers.

He told me straight out,
"I need to fix this.

I need to get
myself better."

It was...

Eddie's choice.

I guess what I told
myself at that time,

the only thing I could say
is that I found my way to...

say okay and let go.

At that time, you know,
the early 90s,

a lot of things were
falling apart for Eddie.

Almost all the territories
had gone out of business.

So at that point, he really
didn't have a lot of options

of the old fashioned
territories,

places to go anymore.

Here we are at
the ECW Arena

in the heart of
South Philadelphia.

It's June 19th...

Facing setbacks in
his personal and

professional life,

Eddie Gilbert moves
to Philadelphia,

betting on a new promotion
led by a virtual unknown

in the business.

They're ready to go!
Tonight's the night!

I grew up
watching the WWWF,

and there was something
called believability.

What happened was,
as time went on,

it became a cartoon.

Hi, my name is Tod Gordon,
and I am the founder and

originator of Extreme
Championship Wrestling,

ECW.

I worked side by side
with Eddie Gilbert to

get this promotion
off the ground.

Jimmy's Snuka
on the top rope! Oh!

I just want to see something
that I would enjoy,

something that I
can believe in.

This is getting out
of hand, fellas.

My goal was to put
on a believable,

hard hitting product.

A great night, and it's
going to get even better

as we go on
week to week.

Stick with it,
Jay Sulli.

You know,
Philadelphia...

they are the meanest
people I ever seen.

These people don't even
like ice cream.

I'm not bullshitting ya.

So, when you bring that part
of Eddie being a heel

to them, well they just
eat that shit right up.

Eddie brought in a lot of
big names and put together

the matches, and he was
very good at it.

I'm coming for you,
Eddie Gilbert!

He wanted to be the
king of Philadelphia

as Jerry was
The King of Memphis.

Yes, me, Hot Stuff
Eddie Gilbert,

The King of Philadelphia.

We were doing that
kind of hardcore stuff.

He took it to
another level.

Whoa!

Oh, my word!

Eddie would say,
"This is wrestling.

You can do anything."

I carried that
over years later.

When Sandman came out
smoking a cigarette,

"What are you crazy?
What are you-

You can't do that."
Who says you can't?

We did it, and he
became an icon.

That was Eddie.

Eddie gave us that
ground floor to build on.

Without Eddie there's
no ground floor.

Without Eddie,
there's no ECW really.

The King, "Hotstuff"
Eddie Gilbert.

Eddie brings ECW
to new heights,

but it's his friend Paul
Heyman who will have

the biggest impact on
wrestling's future.

Ladies and gentlemen...

or you people
of Philadelphia!

Today, Paul Heyman is the
most brilliant manager

on the professional
wrestling scene.

In those days,
Paul Heyman

always wanted to be
the booker.

So, he started
shadowing Eddie Gilbert.

That's enough.

They were together
in Alabama.

They were together
in Georgia.

They were together
everywhere.

It was a good combination,
and it worked.

It was probably
6, 7 months in when,

all of a sudden,
it was, you know,

"Where's Eddie?"

He was supposed
to be here at 2 o'clock

and he's rolling in
around 3, 3:30.

He wasn't kidding
around and carrying on.

Everything changed,
his whole demeanor.

I wasn't that
familiar with...

what drugs, painkillers,
the effect they had

on people's
personalities.

He'd get in the ring
with anybody,

and if he wasn't bleeding,
his opponent was.

Those things don't just
end when the show ends.

They all turn to
pain killers for that.

It is very easy to
fall into that trap.

He had lost that
joie de vivre.

Lost that fun side.

As Eddie spirals
into addiction,

Paul Heyman pushes
forward with plans

to take ECW national.

Paul was working
with Jim Crockett,

and he was very
excited about it.

Eddie thought that me,
Paul, and Crockett

were gonna go off and
leave him in the lurch.

At this point, he was really
in the depth of his...

despair, paranoia.

He said, "Oh, yeah,
well guess what? We quit."

We being he
and Doug.

We had a huge
show coming up.

Ultra Clashes,
our big, big, big event.

It's going to be the
biggest, hottest show

in the history of
Philadelphia wrestling.

That's right.

Even though he's gonna
still be on the show.

But it didn't matter.

Sometimes when you're
that high or that buzzed,

you think reality is
completely different than

what reality is, and he had
his own reality at that point.

Welcome to a very special
Ultra Class preview edition

of Eastern
Championship Wrestling.

Fearing that he's
losing control of ECW,

Eddie Gilbert storms
out of the company

just days before
a major show.

Two days later, Eddie
calls me up and he said,

"Hey boss, I'm sorry.
I was being stupid.

So I'll be there
Saturday night."

And I had to tell him,
"Eddie..."

At Ultra Clash, there
will be a major change.

That's correct.

You quit five days
before the show.

I had to do something,
I had to replace you.

That man who will be
the partner

on September the 18th

with Abdullah The Butcher
is none other than...

Kevin Sullivan.

He said, "Okay...

Can I come to the show?
I'm there anyway,

and say goodbye
to everybody."

And I said, "Sure."

He told me he was gonna
come and cut a promo,

which nobody else
knew that.

What's this?

That's Hot Stuff
Eddie Gilbert!

What's he doing here?

He's not scheduled
to wrestle!

He told the people that he
wanted to thank them

for coming out and
supporting ECW,

and supporting him,
and everything.

And all of a sudden,
they started hollering

in the back, "Cut the mic,
cut the mic, cut the mic!"

?

Paul lost it in the
locker room. He said,

"He's trying to screw me by
doing such a long goodbye!"

Why would you want to
cut the mic on a guy

that's just telling
the people,

thanks for supporting the
company and him?

And that's what kind
of pissed me off.

So, there was
a bat there.

So, I thought I'd tell 'em
what I had to say.

?

I just swung the bat and

I hit everything in
there and broke it.

A couple people come up
that was my friends,

said, "Man,
everything okay?"

And I said, "Man,
everything's fine."

He left,
and Paul and Eddie

really never spoke
again after that.

That was the end of
their relationship.

And they were
best friends.

It made no sense.

Oh, my goodness,
it's Eddie Gilbert.

After Eddie
Gilbert's departure,

Paul Heyman propels
ECW to heights

few wrestling companies
will ever reach.

This is wrestling the
way it's gonna be,

and the way we know
that you like it.

Rebranding Eastern
Championship Wrestling

into the iconic Extreme
Championship Wrestling.

?

With nothing left to lose,

Eddie taps into
his fan base...

once again,
setting a trend

that will influence
the future.

Eddie wanted recognition.

He wanted to be able
to plead his case.

Eddie had been
especially popular with

the hardcore smart fans,

the ones that knew the
behind the scenes,

the ones that knew
how everything worked.

I've done- A lot of the
stuff is gonna be

out of order and
stuff because...

One of 'em basically sat
Eddie down in a hotel room,

and shot the first
"shoot interview."

Well, first off...

Where one of the
personalities involved

in wrestling sat there
and told inside stories

of how it was done.

I did a few angles with John
I'd like to tell you about.

In those days,
believability in the ring

was the most important.

If the people know how
they're being tricked,

it'll kill the business.

It got some people
raising their eyes at,

you know,
"Eddie Gilbert did that?"

What's been your
relationship with Lawler?

Yeah, I think, I think,
I think it's probably

best described
as love-hate.

It was about time
that he did...

because everybody out
there thought they know

everything about our
business, and they,

they don't.

When he saw an
opportunity,

he took advantage of it
before anybody else.

About ten years
after he died,

everybody and their
brother started doing it.

Gilbert laid the Russian
flag on Bill Watts.

Eddie hated
Kevin Sullivan.

Call it. Marker.
Beautiful.

Eddie was the first one
in the business

to recognize that.

But, this was 1994.

People in the business
didn't do that,

but that was all that
Eddie had left.

The smart fans
loved his booking,

but the upper echelon
in the major companies,

they didn't
really know or care.

?

I was running Smoky
Mountain Wrestling

out of Knoxville,
Tennessee.

...of Smoky
Mountain Wrestling!

I called Eddie.

I said, "Eddie,
you've got a great mind.

Let's see if we can put
this thing together."

I can't believe what
I'm seeing here.

Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert
is here, and...

Wow. What are
you doing here in

Smoky Mountain Wrestling?

I didn't know you
were gonna be here.

He came to
the TV taping.

Just to be honest with you,
I didn't really know

I was going to be here
either, but...

Came out and had a
match with Ricky Morton.

Reversal of the Irish..

and he brought him out
with the power slam!

He looked great.

You know,
he was ready to go.

And he told me,

"We're going to shoot
this angle tonight."

We'll be right here
next week.

Show us what you got,
Hot stuff.

Maybe we won't go
through with it because

I have an opportunity
in Puerto Rico...

to do what I love.

And that's booking.
I was proud for him.

And I said,
"Go for it."

"You know, if you don't come
back up, I'll cover it up."

And bless my heart,
he never came back.

After that first TV taping,

I never saw
Eddie Gilbert again.

He was dead
three months later.

Looking to make a
fresh start and

leave his
demons behind,

Eddie Gilbert heads to
work in Puerto Rico.

He looked at it as a
great opportunity

to turn it around.

Carlos Colon had
offered him a deal.

Carlos was wanting somebody
with different ideas,

something fresh.

He was real excited.

[Spanish commentary]

Hot Stuff!
Ha-ha-ha!

This is the briefcase that
my brother carried around

all the way to his
Puerto Rico days.

But February 18th '95.

Eddie Gilbert
versus Ted the Bear.

So that's the bear that
my brother wrestled.

I'm going against a bear?

I'm going against,
I'm going against a bear?

Yeah, you are
against a bear.

I can't go against a bear!
No!

He was trying to get it
popped again where everybody

could make money and
everybody would be happy.

He asked me, he said,
"You want to come?"

I said, "Give me a
minute to think.

I'm sure it won't
be too long."

But...

It, it would be the
last territory

that he ever booked.

The next day...

Somebody called and told me,
"They found your brother

in his apartment
laying across the bed

with earphones on
and music,

just laying back
like he'd laid back to go

to sleep and rest."
Really peaceful.

Weeks after arriving
in Puerto Rico,

tragic news
arrives back home.

Eddie Gilbert
has passed away.

The wrestling world is
saddened by the death

this past week
of Eddie Gilbert.

We were notified that on
February 18th

in San Juan,
Puerto Rico,

Eddie had passed away of
apparent heart failure.

When you know somebody
in his early 30s,

the first thing you're going
to think is, was it drugs?

Especially in Puerto Rico.

In Puerto Rico,
you don't have to

have a script
to do nothing.

All you have to do is
walk into the drugstore,

get anything you want.

So, the first thing
they done, say,

"Oh, you know what
he was doing."

Well, no, you don't know
what he was doing.

Of course there's
speculation

on drugs, OD'ing.

But he had a
bad heart too.

And they list the cause of
death as the heart attack.

Anybody could have
made up anything,

and it spreads
like his gospel

through the
entire industry.

But I really learned take
everything I hear like that

with a grain of salt.

I'm there to protect
Eddie first...

before I start believing
rumors and speculations.

We ain't gonna say
we was choir boys.

We probably
did some things

we shouldn't
have done, but...

I'm not making an excuse,
I'm just telling you.

He had the car wreck.

Half of his heart, it would
never work again.

And if it wasn't
working right,

it had to have
a strain on it.

And that never quit
until he passed away.

If Eddie was still alive,
he'd be one month older

than I am sitting here
right now.

?

We kept in contact.

We wrote letters
to each other.

And this one here that
I kept was probably...

was one of the end ones.

He starts off with,
"Deborah Ann."

[Sighing]

"Deborah, you have
been a terrific friend,

lover, companion,
and most of all,

best and
wonderful wife.

I just wish I had
realized that

before it got
too out of hand.

I have nothing but the most
respect for you as a person

and your abilities in the
ring and also in the..."

[Laughing]

If you need someone to
talk to at any time,

night or day,
please don't hesitate

to give me a call.

I mean that."

And that was
one of the last letters

that I received
from Eddie.

He was a good person.
[Chuckling]

And he meant well.

You know, Eddie passed
away 30 years ago,

and he's still down...

as one of the best.

And he died...

loving what he did.

[Cheering]

See, when you
step in that ring,

it's like we're
on Broadway.

And we can give you
part of our soul.

He gave his heart and
soul to you people.

Remember him
for that.

Eddie never really
wanted much in return.

He just wanted
this business.

I was born to
be the king.

This year it will be 30 years
since my brother's passing.

I wish he could be here.

And I love him.
And...

I know how really proud
he was of me, and...

He had a huge heart.

He done what
he loved...

to the last day
of his life.

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