All language subtitles for S04E02 Dark Side of the Ring

At the dawn of the 1980s,

Magnum T.A. burst onto
the wrestling scene.

With his athleticism,
charisma,

and movie star good looks,
he quickly became

a top star for Jim Crockett
Promotions,

and a valuable weapon
in the company's

war against
Vince McMahon.

All the big guns come here
when they want to

get it done, and that's why
Magnum T.A. is here.

At that point in time,
Jim Crockett Promotions

was the only other wrestling
promotion in the country

that had the ability to
compete with Vince McMahon.

There's only one
Hulk Hogan, daddy.

I believe that Magnum
could've been for Crockett

what Hulk Hogan
was for WWF.

There's only
one Magnum T.A.

There will ever be
only one Magnum T.A.

It was like being
a rock star.

I was given the
keys to the city.

The sky is the limit.

But Magnum's meteoric rise
to fame and fortune

would end in an instant.

The blow took me
right into the roof,

and my C5 vertebrae
exploded.

Throwing his life and career
into tragedy and chaos.

He is in the intensive
care unit at

Charlotte Memorial Hospital.

Terry Allen was the future.

You put all your cards
in that basket and,

the basket was turned over.

This, you know,
devastating thing

changed everyone's reality.

Healthy, wealthy, wise.

All of a sudden,
boom... gone.

The story of
Magnum T.A. is

the story of what
might have been...

not just for the man,
himself,

but for the entire
wrestling world.

He was told he would
not walk again.

♪

This is WrestleMania.

This is the thing of today.
Hulkamania is running wild.

In the early 1980s,
professional wrestling

explodes in popularity,
dominated by Vince McMahon,

his star, Hulk Hogan,

and his powerhouse
promotion, the WWF.

This Vince McMahon
is a genius.

But down south, a rival
wrestling company

stands in defiance of the
growing McMahon empire.

They know that Jim Crockett...

the wrestling network
is the best thing going!

That's why they're here!
Yeah!

As smaller companies
across the country fold,

Jim Crockett Promotions
represents one of the last

lines of defence against the
WWF's nationwide takeover.

But where the WWF showcases
kid-friendly cartoon personas,

Crockett's brand of
pro wrestling is a world of

blood, grit, and glamour.

Soon to appear on Lifestyles
of the Rich and Famous,

Mr. Jim Cornette!

Woo!

I'm Jim Cornette.

I've been involved in
wrestling for over 40 years,

but in the 1980s, I was one
of the managers that led

many of Magnum T.A.'s
opponents to the ring.

Crockett,
in the Carolinas,

had a tremendously strong
base of fans.

And also, that roster-

from Ric Flair, and
Dusty Rhodes...

The Road Warriors,
The Rock 'N Roll Express...

It went on and on.

That was the gathering place
now for all the top wrestlers

that were going to
oppose Vince McMahon.

Crockett Promotions,
around 1985,

we are on the rise.

We were clicking on
all four cylinders.

My name is David Crockett.

Jim Crockett is my father.

I'm Tony Schiavone joined
by Mr. Jim Crockett,

President of Jim
Crockett Promotions.

You had Vince McMahon,
WWF,

that was wanting to
take over the country.

It is well documented
in the official

World Wrestling Federation
magazine that

Mr. Hogan's popularity is,
indeed, worldwide.

And, we liked what
we were doing.

So, we said, "Nah,
that's not gonna happen."

We had a great staple
of wrestlers.

Nobody can beat
the American Dream!

But, we needed that
special something.

Crockett needed
somebody for the future.

And if you had a character,
kickass babyface over here,

and a legend over here,
you always needed

the matinee idol,
the movie star

right there in the
middle of everything.

Who would be the good guy?

♪

Earliest memories of
television, like 6,

7 years old, were watching
professional wrestling

with my dad.

And it evoked all these
emotions of watching guys

that were like real
live action superheroes.

So, as a little kid,
you start thinking, maybe,

maybe this is
something I could do.

And, I was the most unlikely
guy to be doing this

'cause I had no
athletic background.

My name is Terry Allen,
better known as Magnum T.A.

I started out wrestling
in the 9th grade,

and I applied myself to it
like nothing I'd ever done.

So, as I worked my
way up the ranks,

by the time I'm a senior,

I end up winning the
state tournament.

Magnum is from
Norfolk, Virginia.

And, he was working at
a bar in Virginia Beach,

and that's where tons of the
Carolina wrestlers would go,

because that
was kind of a...

a vacation spot.

When you were up in that part
of Virginia for the weekend,

the guys would go party
in Virginia Beach.

In the 70s,
I was in college,

and I was working security
in nightclubs and bars,

and the wrestlers
would come down to

the place where I worked.

And you know,
they're, you know,

ribbing with me
because I'm a big guy.

There was a guy
there that saw me,

and his name
was Buzz Sawyer.

Buzz Sawyer was one of
the most talented in-ring

performers in the
history of wrestling,

and was one of the
most obnoxious,

crooked, surly, and...

discontented son of a bitches
in the world outside of it.

So, Buzz Sawyer sees me.

He's like all buddy-buddy.

Said, "Look, you know,
it's really hard to get

into this business,
but I can help you."

I feel like this guy is
really gonna help me.

So, now I see this as a
potential career path.

So, he comes even to
my parents' home and

talks with all of us.

Tell us, you know, how tough
the business is to get in,

but he has these inroads,
and he can help me.

And he tells me a wrestling
license costs $10,000.

10 grand.

And, my mom and dad are
like, "Phew, 10 grand."

10 grand, might as well
have been 100 grand in,

you know, 1979.

My mom believed in me,
and she went to her dad,

my Granddaddy Smith,
and...

he gave me the money.

Gave me the money.
He said, "I believe in you."

And, so...

we give him the
money and, you know,

so I'm gonna get in. He's
gonna get, get me in the door.

The next thing I know,
Buzz has left the Carolinas.

"Psh!"
Mind blown.

Buzz was just trying to bilk
an aspiring young man out of

some money, and saw
where he could get it.

He was an asshole!

Wrestling licenses are
still a real thing,

and were a real
thing at that point,

in states that have
athletic commissions.

If they have an
athletic commission,

you have to be licensed to
be a wrestler, a manager,

an announcer,
or whatever.

They generally cost
between 10 and $25.

[Off-screen] [Laughing]
[Jim] So... [Laughing]

So, there was no-
Buzz Sawyer

wasn't gonna
sell Magnum T.A.

any kind of
wrestling license.

No.

So, one night, I tell Jimmy
Garvin my Buzz Sawyer story.

Jimmy knew Buzz.

He knew all too well
what was going on.

Garvin does not lose his
cool as quickly as Sawyer.

I encouraged him to
go find Buzz and

ask Buzz to
hook him up.

And I literally believe
he left the next day,

and drove to Oregon.

I found out what his
apartment number was,

and- [Clicking tongue]-
Knocking on the door.

He opens the door, kind of
surprised to see me.

So, he takes me down to
the ring the next day,

and I work out for
two solid hours.

I learn how to tie up,
hit the ropes,

do some spots,
take a backdrop.

It wasn't uncommon,
in those days

if a guy saw some
young perspective talent

that wanted to train or
wanted to be taught:

"Yeah, I'll take this guy.
He's an idiot.

We'll run him off,
whatever."

But in this case,
it came back to

bite him because Magnum
turned out to be

a bigger star
than Buzz ever was.

And, the next night,

I wrestled Buzz
on television.

They all think, "Hey,
he did a pretty good job."

They think I've been
in the business.

They think I'm trained.
They think Buzz trained me.

Well, he did.
He trained me for two hours.

And then, I got booked
7 nights a week.

I knew Magnum
from the get-go.

He burst onto the scene,
man, and he was...

a breath of fresh
air to watch.

Jake "The Snake" Roberts!

I am what's left of Jake
"The Snake" Roberts.

He was no
sucker, man.

He was just so hungry
and wanted it so bad.

Terry's unrelenting drive
and raw talent

earn him admiration
from promoters,

fans,
and fellow wrestlers.

His hard work pays off
when a single phone call

propels his career
to new heights.

Eddie Graham, that owns
Florida Championship

Wrestling, so he, boom,
picks up the phone,

gives me a call, and he said,
"I got a spot for you."

And so, again, I packed up
all my belongings and

off I go back across the
country, and head south.

That's where the true
education of the

wrestling business really
started, the day I

stepped foot in that
territory of Florida.

From Virginia Beach,
Virginia,

weighing in at 240 pounds,
Terry Allen!

So, when I first came to
the territory in Florida,

the booker, the creative
development guy...

American Dream,
Dusty Rhodes.

Never met him.

I've seen his pictures on
the cover of magazines.

Well, Dusty Rhodes
was one of the

greatest wrestlers
ever, man.

The best showman ever,
without a doubt.

He was our
Muhammad Ali.

The booker of a major
wrestling promotion is like

the major motion picture
director in Hollywood.

He decides the final
say on the actors,

who's gonna
play the parts.

How they're gonna do it,
what their demeanour is,

the way that the
thing is shot.

So, the booker
was the director.

And Dusty Rhodes
saw in Magnum T.A.

his next movie star.

[Cheering]

Dusty had the potential
to see talent and charisma

within people that didn't
know how to bring it out.

Right here is the global

tag team champion,
Terry Allen!

And he became the most
influential guy on my career,

of anybody that I ever
came in contact with.

Dusty pushed
Magnum T.A.

to the heights
of pro wrestling.

He believed in him,
he teamed with him.

They were personal friends.

Hello, everyone,
this is Bill Apter.

And I am the most
recognizable journalist and

independent broadcaster in
the world of pro wrestling

for the past 51 years.

People used to say that he
looked like Tom Selleck.

And Andre The Giant
thought so much about that,

that he said to Magnum,
"You look like Tom Selleck.

You should call yourself
Magnum T.A."

And that's how it happened.

Back in the 80s, there was a
TV show with a star

named Tom Selleck, and it
was about a detective,

and his name
was Magnum, p.i.

So, Andre looks over at me
and he says,

"Boss," he said,
"you're ready."

And I said, "What
do you mean, I'm ready?"

He said, "You're ready
for something."

He said, "But you
need a handle."

So, he tied it all together
and took the Magnum and

the Terry Allen, "T.A.", and
put that name together.

After just over a year
in Florida, Magnum T.A.

returns to the road, this
time joining the high-octane

wrestling circuit
known as Mid-South.

Magnum T.A.!

Action continues now the
popular star, Magnum T.A.

Here's Buddy Nichols
to tell us about it.

He's really a very
personable young man,

one with a lot of
wrestling talent.

And as we mentioned
last week,

one with a lot of desire and
an opportunity to go

a long way in this
wrestling business.

So, I come to Mid-South
as Magnum T.A.

I don't know what
Magnum T.A. means

at this point in time.
It's a name.

I don't know how this
translates into me.

And, nor do the people that
have brought me in.

So, one week they're telling
me to wear suits and ties.

And, we do that for a
couple weeks and they say,

"You don't really seem
comfortable in that."

Oh, then they say,
"Well, maybe..."

you know, punk rock
was kind of a thing,

they wanted me to wear like
some punk rock clothes.

I'm not comfortable
at all in this,

but we go through all
these little things

they're trying to do.
Nothing's clicking.

So, I call Dusty up.

I said, "I need to
do something else.

They don't know
what to do with me."

He said, "I got it, baby.
I got it, it's all good."

He said, "Well, I'll tell
you what you do." He said,

"You go down and buy you a
brand-new Harley Davison."

So, I bought a motorcycle
jacket when I bought the

new bike, and I ride that
bike into town with

that jacket on, and
everybody looks,

and it changed the
whole perception,

immediately,
of who I was.

Clint Eastwood,
and Charles Bronson,

and Bruce Lee,
and John Wayne

all wrapped up in one
package in a leather jacket.

He had the perfect look
for professional wrestling.

The perfect size,
the physique, the face,

the whole nine yards.

This incredible "it" factor
that I had not seen in

a lot of pro wrestlers,
he had it.

He was going up
the ladder, man.

He had it all.

He was burning it up
there for a while.

But, of course...

not very long.
[Sighing]

Magnum T.A. is a
rising star and

a fan-favourite in the
Mid-South territory

when he receives
an offer that will

change the course
of his career.

I get the phone call,
and Dusty says,

"I want to introduce you
to Jim Crockett."

He puts Jim Crockett on the
phone with me, and says,

"Look, I will promise you
if you come here,

I will give you the greatest
opportunity that anybody

could ever ask for
in the business."

I first met
Magnum T.A. when

he walked
into the office.

You know, here's
this tall, what-

6"1, 6"2-
very well built,

blonde hair coming down.

These piercing eyes.
And this husky, raspy voice.

Looking at the women in
the office, they all-

you know,
they do that.

So, that is the
total package.

The camera, who is the
main judge, loved him.

All the fans have been
waiting for this man,

Magnum T.A.!
And here he is!

You didn't have to put lights
on him to make him look good.

He just,
he glowed.

Magnum T.A.'s coming
for one reason,

one reason only.

Coming for the US
heavyweight championship.

Almost immediately,
Crockett goes and

barters a deal to go on TBS,
on the SuperStation.

The moment we went
on the SuperStation,

everything changed.

They territory started
popping immediately and,

we blew the roof
off the place.

♪

My name is
Tamara Howell.

And, I was married
to Terry Allen.

We were together
from 1981...

until 1988.

He got this
raincoat jacket.

He loved it. It was his
Jesse James look.

We did talk about
having a family,

but we were waiting
until he became

the world championship
title holder.

Here, we were at
the baptism of

Dusty and Michelle's
son, Cody.

That's pretty special.

The minute I make the
emotional decision that

I'm gonna settle down and
I'm gonna get married,

immediately,
my career path says,

"We want to promote you
as a sex symbol.

We want you to be
our superstar.

We want you to be the-
the people, everybody,

tear their hair out and
want to get a hold of."

[Cheering &
match bell ringing]

He was the rock star.

The cheers for Magnum
were the squeals of

the women in
the audience.

It was hysteria.

[Terry] It was just
absolute insanity.

And it was the wild,
wild west from

the partying standpoint,

the girls in every port,
in every place.

It was bad.

You know, it was like
Animal House, 24/7.

And more than any red
-blooded male can handle.

They were getting
the motel key and

panty treatment
every night.

It was insane.

They had more sex on
the way to the ring

than I've had in my life.

[Off-screen]
[Laughing]

You always play
to the audience,

whether it's
male or female.

I mean,
the women crying?

They'd want to get close to
him after the match and

get blood off of him.
You know,

"Oh, I'm never washing
my hands again!"

[Laughing]

Well, I definitely could
see his popularity.

We were in a mall.

We were in a boot store,
and this girl

just fainted,
seeing him.

She got all flustered, and
turned red, and fainted.

So, I think if everyone
thinks you're the

best thing since
sliced bread,

you might start
believing that.

I didn't work
outside of the home.

I always would unpack
his dressing bag

from the night before.

And, when I was doing that,
he had pictures in there.

I had taken out
the pictures,

and I just was
flipping through them.

And, then I stopped,
and I was like,

wait a minute,
I don't have that bag.

I thought it was
me in the picture,

but she had a different
handbag than

I would have carried so,

and I realized
that wasn't me.

And I hadn't been
wherever they were, so...

As Terry's rising fame pushes
his marriage to the brink,

a powerful opponent emerges,
a Soviet era strongman,

bringing the Cold War
to the wrestling ring.

Was I intimidated
by Magnum T.A.?

Ah, ah, I think it was the
other way around, ah...

I think he was
intimidated by me.

I am Nikita Koloff,

better known to the
wrestling fans as...

"The Russian Nightmare".
[Speaking Russian]

I hail from the great
state of Minnesota.

Not from Russia
like I portrayed

back in the
wrestling days.

Well, in the 80s,
the United States

and Russian
political situation-

here you have Magnum T.A.,
American made.

So, you had the
Russian might

against the American made.

Magnum T.A. or-

[Russian accent]
"Maga T.A.",

as I used to call him,

he had that whole look
of that all-American.

I'm like, man, this is,
you might say,

a match made in heaven.

And they had this
incredible series,

the 'Best of 7' series.

It was one of the
greatest feuds in

pro wrestling history.

Between the number
one challenger,

who is Nikita Koloff,

and the former champion,
Magnum T. A.

There's gotta be a clear-cut
winner for 4 matches.

And Nikita Koloff, there's
never gonna be a day

in my life that I'll look up
to a Russian and

call you a superior athlete.

Match #1, I have set myself
to be this physical specimen,

and so,
to go up one-nothing.

So, the way we just built
the story and how each match

was finished, you know,
whether it was a,

a dominating
victory on my part.

Going up two to nothing.

And then to go up
three to nothing.

And then he catches me
by surprise,

and he wins that first.

Three to one.

And the winner
of match #4...

Magnum T.A.!

He slips by and wins,
three to two.

Oh, my gosh,
there's hope.

There's hope for America.

Match #6, and he squeaks
out another victory,

and now it's three to three.

And it's gonna come down
to that final match, #7.

[Cheering]

The man standing before you
right now is

the man that's gonna
take it all home.

Bring it home right here,
United States of America.

It couldn't have been
set up any better.

[Cheering]

And Nikita Koloff
gets the 1, 2, 3.

[Match bell ringing]

Man, I want to tell you,

the fans were not happy
that night, boy.

Talk about heat.

The heat on me elevated

to a whole 'nother level.

And so, of course, Magnum,
now he's got to chase and

get back that US title
that, by the way,

sets you up as #1
contender for the

world heavyweight title
back in those days.

Now the chase is on.

1986 was pretty much the
culmination of a

long-running rivalry between
Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair

for the world title.

And next in line, whenever
that trigger would have

been pulled, was Ric Flair
and Magnum T.A.

Into '87, '88,
that would have been

the direction
they were going.

Who's gonna be the
world champion?

Who's gonna be the
dominant guy in the NWA-

Ric Flair or
Magnum T.A.?

In the 70s, 80s,

the National Wrestling
Alliance World's

Heavyweight title is the
most coveted wrestling title

you could go after.

That 10 pounds of gold
belt was an amazing thing.

And he was gonna
get that...

no doubt about it.

Because, the powers that
be loved him, you know.

And they trusted him.

The "powers that be" are
the promoters of the

National Wrestling Alliance,
the governing body of the

majority of the nation's
regional territories,

including Jim Crockett
Promotions.

There was a meeting
that Dusty, and I,

and Jim Crockett had,

where we flew
up to New York,

went out to dinner.

And, they told me that the
decision had been made,

the NWA had blessed it,
and that I was gonna be

the next world's
heavyweight champion.

♪

The trajectory was to
take the next step,

move away from Nikita
so I could

move back into that chase.

But in the meantime,
we've got this new,

brash, fresh,
smack-talking heel

named Jimmy Garvin
that comes in.

And we got this great
new opportunity.

This is "Gorgeous"
Jimmy Garvin!

And this angle with Terry,
and Patty and I

was gonna be huge.

And I have confidence because
I know that I'm the greatest

athlete in the world,
and nobody can beat me.

But, you know, I had that
match with him in

Greenville, South Carolina
that night...

[Thunder]

...heck of a match,
and we were

getting ready to blow the
territory wide open.

It just never happened
because that was

the night of the incident.

And now, here's your host,
senior editor of

Pro Wrestling Illustrated,
Bill Apter!

Last week's show
with Magnum T.A.

got such a great response,
we've asked the

US champ, Magnum T.A.,
to be with us again this week.

Magnum, 1985 was a
darn good year for you.

What's '86 have
in store for you?

Well, '86 will be a
continuation of the quest

that I started in 1985,
which was for the world's

heavyweight championship
held by Ric Flair.

He was going right to the top.

I could not see any road
taking him

anywhere else
except to the top.

We had everything...

sunk into him.
Terry Allen was the future.

As Magnum T.A.
closes in on

the heavyweight title,

he begins living the
life of a world champion.

At that time, I had more
money than I had sense.

I walked in the
Porsche dealership,

and they had a brand-new
911 Turbo sitting out

on the floor, and
that was the Mac Daddy.

"Write me up,
I'm taking it."

It was quick and it
was cool, and...

[Screeching tires]

I had the need for speed,
like Top Gun.

You know, it had a
combustion engine in it,

and it was loud, and it
was fast. I liked it.

My plan was to have a run
with the belt, I'm 27.

By the time I'm 30,
out of it,

and then go
drive NASCARs.

I didn't want to be running
around in my underwear

in front of people
at 37 years' old.

I thought that
was ridiculous.

On October 14th, 1986,

after defeating Gorgeous
Jimmy Garvin

in front of a roaring
crowd in South Carolina...

[Thunder]

Magnum T.A. hits
the road in his

prized Porsche 911.

I'm 5 minutes
from my house.

I'm on a two-lane road that

I've driven hundreds
of times, and it's like

the horse turns the
corner and knows

the barn's right there,
and I'm on the track.

[Thunder]

It was raining so hard,
you know, coming back,

you could barely see.

The road that I was traveling
on that night had a little,

slight bend curve in it.

Right in the middle
of the curve,

was a little divot in the
road where water had

gathered probably
2, 3 inches of water

all the way
across the road.

When I went around the
corner and that dip

right in the middle,
the car hydroplaned.

When a car hydroplanes,
it means your tire patch

loses contact with that
road, so my tires were

actually floating on
top of that water.

So, I did what I had
done before to counteract

something, and I made
the situation worse.

[Screeching tires]

The car spun violently
the other direction,

and I broadsided
a telephone pole

so hard that it
cut it in half.

[Impact]

It happened so fast,
it was violent.

And the blow was like I had
been hit by a freight train.

♪ [Horn blaring] ♪

I didn't know I was not
okay until I couldn't move.

And I was so big in the car
that my shoulder was

right up against the door.

And I had just maybe
an inch of headroom,

so the blow took me
right into the roof.

The emergency crew came,
and one of them

grabbed me by my jacket
to try to pull me up.

And the other guy stopped him
and said, "No, don't."

I can't move, so
they use the jaws of life,

cut the whole top
of the car off,

peeled it back
like a tin can.

And, stabilize me, they
couldn't air lift me out

'cause it was raining so hard,
took me by ambulance.

It changed my life,
it changed the people

I worked for,
it changed my family.

It changed everybody
in a nanosecond.

[Thunder]

The police called me.

They were taking him
to the hospital.

On my way to
the hospital...

[Thunder]

I was behind
the tow truck that

had his Porsche on it.

And, to see the
Porsche the way it was,

was very frightening.

The roof was off...

It was a mess,
it looked like...

he probably was dead.

Well, they took me aside
and they told me that

he had fractured
his vertebrae.

They needed to get him
into surgery, quickly.

My first view of a medical
professional that's giving me

a diagnosis, you know,
he would use the words,

"C5 quadriplegic," and,
"neck-down paralysis".

Million to one shot of
ever attaining any level of

mobility beyond sitting in
a wheelchair and being

taken care of by someone for
the rest of your life.

Matter of fact, they were
just trying to figure out

how I was
gonna breathe.

They said my lungs
were paralyzed.

I mean, they were saying
things to me like,

"Well, maybe you might be
able to be on

an iron lung instead
of a ventilator."

A guy's in
intensive care,

they've got him
all hooked up.

They keep him sedated.

You just fear for the worst.
You know, and it was...

you know, is he
truly gonna make it?

You know, what was
going through his mind?

They're shooting me up with
morphine every time I blink

because they can't
communicate with me.

If I try to
communicate anything,

they think I'm hurting.

So, I'm in such bad shape,
they're just zapping me

with the moon and stars.

♪

My brother came in,
and he just said...

"He'll never, ever...

get in the ring again."

According to the
police report,

Allen was going south here
on Sardis Road,

away from town, when his
car went off the road

on the far side back there,
about 200 feet.

He apparently tried to
correct and bring it back

onto the road, but
it was slippery,

and he ended up
on this side,

slamming into this
telephone pole

with enough force
to break it in half.

♪

Memorial spokesperson,
Cecily Newton,

explained that Magnum has a
spinal cord injury that is

localized to the 5th
cervical vertebrae.

And, it exploded.

It sent the bone fragments
back and created

compression on
the spinal cord.

[Jim] It was on every
news channel.

You saw the pictures
of that car.

And it's an absolute miracle
that anybody was alive.

It was completely destroyed.

It was the front page of
The Charlotte Observer.

It's a type of situation
where you don't believe it

has happened until
you actually see him,

and no one has been
able to see him so,

we're still kind of stunned.

Radio, newspaper, we really
didn't have internet.

So, it was all
word of mouth.

I'm sorry, ma'am,
that's the only thing

I'm permitted to release
at this time.

Memorial Hospital has
fielded some 8 to 10,000

phone calls
about Magnum T.A.

since the wrestling
star was admitted.

The hospital lobby looks
like a florist convention.

I think he received the most
letters of anyone there

at their hospital.

I do have the newspaper
clippings and bags,

and bags of mail
we received.

The hospital got
so many calls,

they had to shut the
switchboard down.

There were candlelight vigils
of fans outside the hospital.

We love you, Magnum!

A lot of people held him
close to their heart.

Marion Allen has been with
her son since the accident.

This afternoon, she wanted
to thank all of the people

who have sent
prayers and cards.

It has been rough
in a lot of cases,

but I just don't think I
could have gotten through

this time without all that
love and positive energy that

I felt flowing around me.

Back in the day, like,
we didn't go to the hospital

'cause kayfabe,
you know, I was a heel,

he was a babyface, so...

didn't go to the hospital.
We just didn't do it.

In the 1980s, wrestlers and
promoters still go to

great lengths to maintain
the illusion that wrestling

is real, a practice known
as "keeping kayfabe".

So, Flair and the Horsemen or
any of the heels couldn't...

go to the hospital
and see Magnum.

So, what they did was,
one of our people that

worked at the
office was also

a Charlotte City
police officer,

and he arranged with the
hospital to sneak Flair and

some of his guys up a back
stairway and into the room

in the middle of the night
so that nobody would

see 'em so they could go
and see Magnum.

Flair came to my room with
the 10 pounds of gold,

laid it on my chest, said,
"I'm giving you this one.

I'm waiting 'til you come
back in the ring and

get the other one."

When Magnum had his
accident, he was,

obviously, automatically
without income.

And in this case,
all of the guys

on the roster got
together and said,

"We will donate whatever
from our cheque

per week to Magnum,"
and Jim Crockett,

as the promoter, would match
the total of everything that

was collected by
the wrestlers.

So, whether it was $25
a week or $50 a week,

out of everybody's cheque,
but there were 30 guys...

and then he'd
match it.

I was there every day.

I went to the
hospital every day.

And I helped feed him,
bathe him,

helped him with
everything that he needed.

So, I don't really get to
have real soul searching

moments about all of
this for about 30 days.

When things cleared
a little bit,

I got out of the ICU,
got in a room-

people were able to start
relating things to me

that was going on in
the outside world that

I was pretty
oblivious to.

I love Magnum more than
I love everyone else.

Sad what happened
to him, man.

So talented and
in good shape.

Don't want it to end
his career or nothing.

Immediately I felt horrible.

Not for me, but for
my friends-

for Dusty, for Jimmy-

because I knew everything
they had built around me.

Their whole future,
and plans,

and everything is
built around me.

There was no Plan B.

Magnum T.A. was
this shooting star that

we attached ourselves to.

We were flying high
with him.

There was nothing
to stop us.

But then, that shooting
star went dark.

And with that,
we went dark.

We were trying
to find our way,

just like Magnum was
trying to find his way.

I'm on a tour in Japan.

My first night back
is in the

city of brotherly love,
Philadelphia.

Dusty and Jim Crockett
pull me into an office-

and it took 'em a few
minutes, as I recall,

to really convince me, like,
"No, we're not kidding."

Like, "This is for real.

He's lying in a hospital in
Charlotte, North Carolina

right now,
fighting for his life."

He's Dusty's guy!

He's his bread and butter.

He's groomed to be the next
world heavyweight champion,

so obviously this
leaves a void.

The last two weeks have
been very difficult for

Dusty Rhodes,
the American Dream.

Because Magnum T. A.
and Dusty Rhodes

made their own rules.

We loved fast cars
and fast times,

and that's the way we lived,
on the end of that lightning

bolt that crashes through
this vast earth of ours.

So, Dusty and Crockett
and everybody else

was faced with, well,
what do you do when

you're still making a movie,
but your star is gone?

You gotta find
a new star.

At that point, there was no
major wrestling name that

was just floating around
waiting for a phone call,

so Dusty looked within
his own roster,

and said, "Who can possibly
not take Magnum's spot and

look like him,
act like him,

and do the same thing
that will be seen as

a copy of him, but who can
take that spot and

do it in a completely
different way?"

And I have a
new partner...

And that's Nikita Koloff.

I'm like the #1 most-hated
guy in wrestling right now.

I mean, the fans
love to hate me.

And I'm Russian.
At this juncture,

I'm only two and a half
years into my career.

[Cheering]

With the new plan in place,
the challenge

becomes selling the
story to the fans.

Jim Crockett called me,
and he says,

"Would you be willing to
come up to the hospital?

Magnum's asking for you.

He needs to talk to
his fans, nationally,

about what's going on,
and you guys' magazines

are the only
way to do this."

Reporting from
Magnum's bedside,

Bill Apter helps to engineer
Nikita's transformation

into a babyface hero.

Bill Apter was the only-
from the magazine side-

that I had built a bond
with, and I trusted.

The story that was worked on
was so heartwarming

'cause Nikita Koloff- and
we had a picture of this

in one of the
wrestling magazines-

it was a tear coming down
Nikita's eyes for the cover,

and he said, "I cry for
Magnum T .A."

And for the fans,
for the very first time,

"Oh, my gosh, Nikita really
does have a heart."

There was literally
millions of people

like watching from
the sidelines now,

that they were
looking at this man,

that's now fighting
this real-life battle,

and they're all
pulling for me.

"How's he gonna
handle it?

What's he gonna do?"

Despite being
partially paralyzed and

confined to a
hospital for months,

Terry Allen
refuses to give up.

We all love him,

and we hope he gets better
so he can wrestle.

If not wrestle, at least,
you know,

be a part of the NWA still.

In April of 1987,

Crockett hatches a plan to
bring Magnum T.A.

back at one of their biggest
events of the year.

Baltimore Arena.

Terry Allen, aka,
Magnum T.A.'s gonna

make his first appearance
back in an arena.

And to see him again in
person, was just something...

it's hard to put into words.

Magnum...
T... A!

[Cheering]

For me, watching Terry
Allen walk down that aisle,

that shows me that you can
overcome almost anything.

And never give up.

I mean, for a guy who was
supposed to be lifted

out of a bed and fed
the rest of his life,

and bathed and all of that,
to be able to walk under his

own power was an absolute
miracle in and of itself.

I mean, I got
choked up, like,

for real 'cause it
was a surreal moment.

I can remember the moment,
the emotion and the feel,

and the fans, and...

just like it was yesterday.

It was one of the most
emotional moments

I've ever experienced.

They saw me come from,
you know, death's door,

to never gonna walk again,
to my gosh,

he walked to the ring.

Despite his
enduring popularity,

it's clear that Magnum's
wrestling days have come to

a permanent end, leaving
his future uncertain.

It makes you have to
adjust your thinking.

You try to find a way to,
to fit back into the industry.

I was an intelligent guy.
I was still well spoken.

So, I worked as a colour
commentator for a while.

I'll be working with you,
Magnum.

I really look
forward to that.

I know all the fans in
Chicago look forward to

seeing you again.

It's gonna be great,
and I can't wait.

Magnum finding his niche in
wrestling after his accident

was very hard because,
being around it,

you always want
to be back in it.

The hard times continue for
Magnum behind the scenes.

We settled into a normal life.

I thought our marriage
was doing well, but...

We stayed together
for about a month

after I got out
of the hospital.

There was some infidelity

past the accident.

I felt like I had given
pretty much everything I had.

I just couldn't
do that anymore.

And it was so
overwhelming for her

because the
realities of all the things

that had taken place
on the road, you know,

she becomes aware
of because I'm forthcoming.

And I feel bad about it.
This is a bad deal.

I loved him very much.

It was hard for me
to leave him.

But, I think at some point,
you're just like,

once something is
done again,

you know,
how many times...

can you let that happen?

As Terry's
relationship ends,

the once mighty Crockett
Promotions implodes.

At this point, nobody
on either side of the

wrestling war or any of the
fans or the observers

realized exactly how crucial
this was gonna be

a point in the
wrestling business.

All of a sudden, they had
to start from scratch.

In 1988, Crockett makes
a deal with media mogul,

Ted Turner, leading
to the birth of

World Championship
Wrestling,

and the end of an era
for wrestling fans.

If Terry Allen had never
been in the accident,

the future of the NWA,
Jim Crockett Promotions...

the sky is the limit.

I do. I totally would've
been satisfied being

recognized as the world's
heavyweight champion,

having my run,
having my time in the sun,

and pass it off to
the next 20-year-old

that thought
he could do it better.

If he never had the accident-
movies, commercials,

lifestyle, the world
heavyweight championship.

When they see
Magnum T.A. come

out there to defend the
United States heavyweight

championship, they know that
I'm the man that they can

stand behind because I'm
always out there 100%.

You know, he was
right at the brink of

becoming the
world champion.

No doubt.

For it to be gone in the
blink of an eye, man...

It should be a
lesson for everybody.

You know, that life can
change- [Snapping]-

that quick.

[Terry] One time,
I remember Dusty and I,

we were in Columbia at the
Township Auditorium.

We're sitting on the
back steps, and he said,

"Can you imagine how
successful we could be as

something else if we
worked as hard at it

as we are at this?"
And, he was right.

I used the same commitment
with the new opportunity

as I had done
all those years,

and attacked it with
the same ferocity that

I had when I was chasing
the world title.

He is an individual
that will not give up.

Here's a man that is
classified as a quadriplegic.

He's not gonna let it
slow him down.

Terry decides to leave the
wrestling world behind and

sets his sights on
a new career

far from the squared circle.

Along the way, he also finds
another chance at love.

My name is Courtney
Blanchard-Allen,

and I am
Terry Allen's wife.

I first met
Terry Allen in 1997.

Both of us were going
through divorces.

And, we became really,
really good friends,

and leaned on each other
a lot for support

during that time.

And, through
that friendship,

developed an intimacy
and a relationship.

He's my best friend.

For me,
it's another miracle.

I was given a chance
to have a family.

So, I've done my
best to be steady,

make a secure home and
loving home for all the kids.

Make sure they're all
provided and well taken

care of and loved, and it's
been an amazing ride.

It was the end
of Magnum T.A.,

but it wasn't the
end of Terry Allen.

You can be sad for
what could've been,

what the wrestling fans
could've seen that

they would have enjoyed,

and what he could
have accomplished.

But you can't be sad overall
because he came back

from the wreck,
he's lived a long life.

He's been successful
in other things,

and he's had a
family and fans that

still care about him.

Magnum T.A.!

[Cheering]

-That's a pin.
-That's it!

That's gotta be some
kind of a record!

He pinned him, it had to
be less than 15 seconds!

Oh, you know,
it's gotta be, yeah.

Yeah. He'll never
tell you that.

He had just a small
percentage chance of survival.

And, his ability to overcome
absolutely anything has

proven true every day
since that accident.

If he wasn't at peace
with how it ended,

it wouldn't be
so inspirational.

There are so many
people out there

that want to know
more about his story,

to be able to do the
things that he can do now.

I lived the dream most
people only dream of,

and never getting to
see come to fruition.

The other "What if?"
is, you know,

"What if I hadn't
woken up at all?"

And I am so
thankful that I did.