All language subtitles for WWE Rivals - Season 1 - EP-05 - WWE VS. WCW

- I got a hell of an idea.

Consider this an open
invitation, vince mcmahon.

- How do you describe
the Monday night wars?

The yankees can't stand
the boston red sox.

Well, in wrestling,
we have wwe and wcw.

- Hulkamania lives at
world championship wrestling!

- We just wanna be
as successful as vince is,

And then we'd like to,
you know, kick his butt.

♪ ♪

- He was there to try to put
vince out of business.

- They beat us
for 83 weeks straight.

We fought back.

- Go!

- I felt very
competitive with 'em.

It's like,
"hey, man, [bleep] these guys."

- This is going
entirely too far.

- Such a unique time
in the business.

[thunder booms]

- Everything had an edge.

It was kind of like
the cool thing to do.

- Mike tyson!

- Uh-oh, here we go!

- You don't know
what's going to happen next,

And you don't wanna miss it.

- It was a legit rivalry
and competition

Between two companies.

- You want a war?

You're gonna get one.

♪ ♪

- This rivalry has just
escalated into a war.

♪ ♪

- When two legends collide,

Their rivalry stays pinned
in our minds forever.

♪ ♪

This is where we break down
the legendary stories

Behind the greatest rivalries
of all time.

♪ ♪

I'm freddie prinze jr.

And this is "wwe rivals."

♪ ♪

This was the craziest time
in wrestling

That I had ever experienced
as a fan.

We're gonna discuss
wcw and wwe.

- As a fan, you're getting,
like, the best of both worlds

To where you're tapin' "nitro"
on the vcr in one room,

And then in the other room,

You're watching live
'cause you can't go back

And watch both, otherwise,
you're missing the key points

Of the stories.
So I feel like

It was just such a good job
of really trying to honor,

I guess,
the customer or the viewer

By putting out,
like, good stuff.

[crowd roars]

- So, john,
I'm wondering if you can

Sort of put into perspective--

How did this come about?

- Sure.
It's because of television.

Look, television was regional,
and they were talking about

Goin' national because
they saw what was coming

With national television,
and they knew somebody

Was gonna do it.

- Hello, everyone.
This is vince mcmahon

In the studios
of the usa cable network.

We wholeheartedly welcome you
to the premiere

Of all-american wrestling.

- Vince is the guy
that is going national.

- Welcome to wrestlemania iii!

- And look at the hulkster.

What an unbelievable
individual he is.

- But guys weren't able
to beat vince at it,

And the one guy that's left is
jim crockett in the carolinas.

And jim crockett sells
to ted turner.

So this is the last battle
of the territories

In the united states.

- I wanna congratulate
world championship wrestling

For continuing the tradition
of bringing

Action-packed wrestling
excitement to tbs.

The reason that I got involved
from an ownership standpoint

Is that I had a vision
that eventually,

We'd be successful with it.

- Wcw was the distant
number two to wwe.

Nobody ever thought it would be
competitive to wwe.

- We just wanna be as
successful as vince is,

And then we'd like to,
you know, kick his butt.

[sirens wailing]
- welcome, everyone

To "Monday night raw"!

- "Monday night raw" starting
on the usa network in 1993

Was revolutionary.

- Prior to that, shows felt
very canned and put-together.

The launch of "raw"

Sort of completely changed
sports entertainment.

- Is uncut.

- Uncensored--
- and uncooked.

- The live nature of it--

The sort of
anything-can-happen quickness

Of it--
- wait a minute!

- One, two, three!
[bell rings]

- He got him!

- There was a magic
to that show,

And the way it was presented--

That sort of
was a game changer.

All: Macho! Macho!
Macho! Macho!

- Back then, vince was moving
in a different direction.

Vince was moving to younger
wrestlers at the time,

And it was like
a youth movement.

- Unbelievable applause
for lex luger!

- And it just seemed like
the perfect time

For us to mutually part ways.

When I did
"thunder in paradise,"

On the soundstage next to me,
where I was filming,

Was ted turner's wcw.

Eric bischoff
started coming over,

And he started bringing
ric flair with him, goin',

"hey, hulk,
we want you to come back

And be a part of wrestling."

I said, "no way."

This went on
for a good five or six months.

I missed wrestling so much
that finally, I caved,

And basically went to work
for ted turner.

I told ya hulkamania was gonna
run wild in the wcw, brother!

Look at all the hulkamaniacs!

[crowd cheering]

- That was the first blow
of, like, "hmm."

Now they're taking
established stars from the wwe

And bringing them into wcw.

That's gonna get 'em noticed.

- Hulkamania lives in
world championship wrestling!

- The first night
on a pay-per-view

It had much more traction
than they'd had ever.

One man, one champ,

And the only champion
in the world today.

Everybody
double-bobbed and said,

"whoa,
what's going on over here?"

It made everybody look
and not look away.

- And then from there,
it was randy savage.

- I'm here for only one reason

And that's to take it
to the limit, yeah!

- Mach and hogan came in.
It was huge.

- All these wrestlers that
we used to watch growing up

Were now going to a different

Place of business

To work for someone else

That we never thought
we'd see before.

- Hulk hogan and
"macho man" randy savage

Had been established
as the two biggest stars

In all of sports entertainment.

So the idea that
they were on another channel,

Wrestling for another company,

Instantly gave
that company credibility

And gave that company eyeballs.

- Without a shadow of a doubt,

This is where
the big boys play.

♪ ♪

- Look,
they were out-vincing vince.

Both: Yeah.
- You know, you look at what

Vince did at wrestlemania 1.

He poaches piper.

He brings in liberace.

He brings in muhammad ali.

They were doing
the same things.

- The hulkster is in the ring!

High-fives shaquille o'neal!

- They poached hogan.

They bring in the celebrities.

This was his most
formidable opponent by far.

♪ ♪

- We'd like to make
an announcement today.

"wcw Monday nitro" live on tnt
will be seen Monday nights.

- The first time
I heard about "nitro"

Going head-to-head with us,
I thought they were crazy.

Why wouldn't you go
on a different day

Where you have an opportunity
to have all of the audience?

- I wanted to go
on Monday night,

'cause I wanted to go
head-to-head with vince.

You can't beat anybody

Unless you get
into the ring with 'em.

- We wanna give viewers
a choice.

We believe we got the
biggest stars in our industry.

- When wcw made the decision
to go head-to-head

Monday nights, that was
absolutely an act of war.

- It was real competition--

Same time spot,
one channel apart.

- Buckle your seatbelt,
because it's gonna be

A bumpy, bumpy ride.

♪ ♪

- Everyone in the minneapolis,
st. Paul area getting ready

For "Monday nitro" on tnt
this Monday night.

Check your local listings.
It's coming your way.

I had just finished doing,
probably, about six months

Worth of research.

I traveled
all over the country,

Sitting in
different focus groups.

The element of surprise
is one of the things

That I kept hearing.

- And I've got the inside track
on a scorching rumor

That has a very prominent
wrestling superstar

About to sign with
world championship wrestling.

- Lex luger was one of
wwe's biggest stars.

Lex luger's contract
had expired.

Lex didn't
let anybody in wwe know

That his contract
was coming up,

And somehow, wwe just let it
slip between their fingertips.

- As we're getting
closer and closer

To the debut of "nitro,"
lex came to me, and he said,

"look,
my contract is up Sunday."

I thought, "whoa, huh."

"lex, it's eric.

I got an idea."

[laughs]

♪ ♪

- What a matchup
we have got in store

In this debut broadcast.

- What in the hell
is he doing here?

All: Luger! Luger! Luger!

- Lex came in,
that was like, "whoa."

- He had jumped ship.

People are freaking out.

He really helped set us up

For great success, because
there was already controversy.

- Now we have the opportunity
to really surprise people.

- Well, you said
things are gonna happen

Every Monday night, bischoff,
and it's happenin'!

- It was definitely a big
shocker for wrestling fans.

- "wha--how is this happening?"

- Wait, luger's in there!

- Lex luger in the ring!

- It was
such a shocker to everyone.

It was a big deal.

- Lex luger has
come from out of nowhere!

- It was gonna be different.

It was never gonna be the same
ever again.

- This is the most
amazing turn of events

I have ever seen.

- It worked magically,
didn't it, bruce prichard?

- Damn, how did that happen?

- I am sick and tired

Of playing around with kids!

I'm here to get it on

With the big boys,
and that means you!

- It was electric.
I mean, this was our

Opportunity to gain
some more momentum.

I know where you've been,
brother!

- It told everybody that you
have to tune into "nitro"

Every week
because you don't know

What's going to happen next.

And you don't wanna miss it.

- Okay, we're gonna compete.
Let's go.

We're in a fight.
Let's go fight.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- Last week,
debut edition of "nitro,"

We saw it--
lex luger stunning the world,

Making his appearance here.

That lex luger moment,
it had a lot more to do

With "nitro's" success--
in its early success--

Than almost anything,
because it set the tone.

Here's this new show
coming on to compete

With "Monday night raw,"
head-to-head,

And we're doing things that

Nobody else in the wrestling
business had ever done.

- At the time,
"Monday night raw"

Was recorded live
every other week,

And they were live every week,

And they would often
give spoilers

As to what was gonna happen

On our taped shows.

Announcer:
In case you're tempted to grab

The remote control,
check out the competition,

Don't bother.

Shawn michaels
beat the big guy

With a superkick he couldn't
earn a green belt with

At a local ymca.

- He wasn't there to do
good business for himself.

He was there to try to put
vince out of business.

It was just, "try to attack
vince mcmahon.

That's how I'm going to get
recognized."

- Look at her.

- And alundra blayze,
once again,

The wwe woman's champion!

- So alundra blayze never lost
the wwe women's championship.

But her contract ran out,

And eric bischoff and wcw

Signed her right away,

And she brought
the championship belt with her

To "nitro."

- That, indeed, it is.
- Not in the trash can.

- And that's what I think

Of the
wwe woman's championship belt.

- Alundra blayze throwing
that title in the garbage can

Let the wwe know
that the gloves were off.

- Competition is one thing,

But wcw, some of their tactics

Were a little
on the personal side.

- Oh, sheet covers
just got soaked up

On that one in connecticut,

Didn't they, my friend?
- Wow!

- Competition's great,
and it brings out the best.

It also brings out
the worst sometimes,

And one thing
that we had never done

Was acknowledge
our competition.

"don't acknowledge them.
They don't exist."

But we were in a fight,

And there are no rules
in a fight.

- I built this company by doing
one thing really well--

Buying old assets
and repackaging them.

Heck,
I even bought old wrestlers.

- The billionaire ted skits

Were something we had to do.

It was unorthodox.

- Joining us tonight,
the huckster and the nacho man.

- Vince started doing
the mockeries--

Not really the smartest move,

'cause all of a sudden,

The wwe wrestling fan

Who loved those two guys

And you mock those two?

That pissed wwe fans off.

- It kind of, like,
made fans--

"we better turn to wcw
to see if hulk hogan's

Really pushing a walker."

It made people look, you know,

To see if I was really
that washed up.

- I was not that
offended by 'em.

I said, "boy,
vince must be hurtin'

To be resortin'
to this kind of stuff.

- We're losing guys
left and right,

And our business is suffering.

♪ ♪

- We were starting to lose
in the ratings more regularly,

And it became clear

That wcw had,
what I would call,

The hot hand.

- Am I on a roll,
or am I on a roll, bobby?

- You're on a roll.
- How 'bout it?

♪ ♪

- When I got there, business
wasn't that great.

- I can remember very
distinctly being in pittsburgh

In a half-full arena,
standing in the curtain

With austin, him saying,
"man, do you think it'll ever

Be as big as it was
like in the '80s?

- I remember one show,
we had like 500 people.

That was really, really bad.

- A lot of our big guys
are leaving to go to wcw.

They had just kind of basically
opened up their checkbook

And said, "come on down.

"you're not gonna
have to work much,

And you're gonna get paid
a lot of money."

- There was more money
being offered

Than had been offered before
to guys.

- The businessman in me is
going, "this is a good thing,"

'cause I'm a wrestler.

So the more wrestling companies

There are,
the better it is for me.

- Dallas page, who was really
good friends with scott hall,

Kind of brought a ballpark
number of what he would get

Guaranteed money
for half as many dates.

So it was basically, for scott,

Almost three times the amount

Of money he made
for half as many dates,

And it was guaranteed.

♪ ♪

I looked over at scott,
and I said,

"see what they'll give me."

♪ ♪

- Dude...

- Say hello to razor ramon.

- Razor ramon and diesel
had been built

As two of the biggest
new superstars in wwe.

They left the wwe and decided
to go for big money in wcw.

- It works because number one,
the stars are aligned.

Scott hall walks on wcw tv.

- You want a war?

You're gonna get one.

- The next week,
kevin nash walks on tv.

This is where
the big boys play, huh?

- You know who I am,

But you don't know
why I'm here.

- They're not saying
they're razor or diesel.

Razor's got the same haircut.
He's got the toothpick.

His "hey, yo,"

And diesel's,
you know, out there

And doing
big daddy cool stuff.

Perception
as an audience member is,

Are we working together?

Wwe's invading wcw.

Oh, this is good stuff.

- These two rogues

Who think they're gonna
come in and take over

World championship wrestling--

- So it seemed as if

Wwe was invading wcw.

- It made it so you never

Wanted to turn
the channel off "nitro."

- The big mang

And the medium-sized mang

And our surprise buddy

Are gonna carve them up.

- Who is gonna show up
to wcw next?

And who is going to join

This invasion organization

That razor and diesel--

Hall and nash--were starting?

♪ ♪

- I wanna confront you.

I don't see three men
here tonight.

Where is your partner?

- Chico,
you know too much already.

All you need to know,
little mang,

Is he's here, and he's ready.

- I thought the buildup
to "who's the third man?"

Was huge.
It was one of the coolest

Things in wrestling.

- Hulkamania!

- Hulk hogan--
- hogan is here!

- Hulk hogan's here!

- Now, hulk hogan,
since the early '80s

Had been the ultimate hero
in wrestling.

So wcw decided
to shock the world.

♪ ♪

- Hulk hogan arrived.
- Go get him, baby!

- The white meat, baby face,
good guy--

This was the role model
for your children.

But the act had started to get
stale with wrestling fans.

- What is he doing?
- Oh, my god!

- Is he the third man?

- He's the third man!

- Hulk hogan dropped the leg
on wcw.

Hulk hogan went villain.

- Like, are you kidding me?
And not only that,

But literally have trash thrown
at hulk hogan,

Beloved hulk hogan.

- The ring filled up
with so much crap, I said,

"oh, my god,
we got some heat."

As far as I'm concerned,

All this crap in the ring

Represents these fans out here!

You fans can stick it, brother!

[crowd jeering]

- "all you fans can stick it,
brother."

Like, what a moment
in wrestling history.

- This right here
is the future of wrestling.

You can call this the new world
order of wrestling, brother!

- He's like,
"I'm bigger than wwe,

And I'm gonna make this company
bigger than you."

- That fuse was lit.

- Oh.
- And it was a short fuse.

- Yeah.
- And when it blew up,

You guys took over.

["rockhouse" by 5 alarm music]

- The following announcement

Has been paid for

By the new world order.

- Well,
you talk about the money.

You talk about
beatin' people up.

Well, it's a new world order,
and I hope it's okay,

Because there's nothing
you can do about it.

- The nwo became
the most popular thing

In sports entertainment--

The antiheroes that everybody
was craving in that era.

- Here's...

The nwo!

- Ready or not, here we come!

- They were so hot.

They kind of, like,
redefined wrestling.

- He is spray painting
on the video truck!

Oh, you talk about
a bunch of cowards.

- They were supposed to be
the bad guys...

- Oh, no!
- [grunts]

- But they were too cool
to be bad.

- Everybody here just can't

Get enough of the nwo.

[crowd cheering]

- And so you were kind of

Wondering what's
gonna happen next week.

"who's gonna be the next guy
in the nwo?"

- I guess we're getting

The official coronation

Of the newest member

Of the new world order.

- Culturally, the most
influential thing that was

Happening was west coast rap.

- For life.

- I remember hogan saying,
"well, where'd you guys

'4 life' at?"
I said, "it's at the beginning

Of 'mack 10.'"

All we did was just took all
these different little culture

Things and kind of integrated
'em and then just ran with it.

- It kind of mashed what was
really goin' on in society

Where everything had an edge,
and nwo fell right

In that pocket with what
was cool and acceptable.

[dramatic music]

- You gotta love this.

Once the nwo emerged,

That train just took off

And left everybody,
including "Monday night raw,"

In the dust.

- Nwo for life, brah.

[crowd cheers]

- Wcw beat us for 83 weeks
straight.

- The nwo is the reason
for the success

Of "Monday nitro."

- Wcw was catering to that 18

To 34-year-old
male demographic.

- Everything they did
seemed to work.

We didn't have that yet.

- The wwe product
in the mid-1990s

Was a cartoon.

- Yes, isaac yankem
on his way.

- It was aimed
at young people.

- Is it
the whoopie cushion?

- Wha--
[fart]

- It certainly was.

- Wrestling fans
around the world--

That's just not
what they want.

♪ ♪

- We couldn't sell
any tickets.

They're on fire.
- Yeah.

- They're the innovators.
We're not,

And they're kicking our ass.

- Back then, you know,
you are true blue, wwe.

You get that loyalty,
you know what I mean--

In this kind of a thing, but
then you see this other side

Of these guys doing their thing
over here.

You're captivated by it.

- I remember one time, we
were flying back from "nitro."

It was hulk, me, scott, eric,

Randy, and all of us
have worked for vince.

- Mm-hmm.

- We're all drinkin' and
laughin' and bischoff said,

"ha, I'm gonna put him
out of business."

It's just like, "ha ha--"

[laughter]

And hogan's the first one.
Hogan goes,

"you'll never
put that man out of business."

- You're looking at a company

Where top stars
are leaving to go there,

And the tide shifts,
and all of sudden,

You have to recreate
from what you have left.

- Guys, we're gonna be doing--

Is--some of you,

I think, were in
this last meeting that I had

In terms of where we're going
with our product.

To give us more of an edge,

One of the things we're doing

Is putting more sex appeal
into our product.

- Viewer discretion is advised.

- When we really made the
change and dove in head first,

There was no turning back.

- We are d-generation x.

You make the rules,
and we will break 'em, yeah!

- Shawn michaels
and hunter hearst helmsley

Started gesturing
to their crotches,

Became d-generation x.

- Took on a life of its own.

You're not gonna tell us
what to do.

You're not gonna tell us
what we can say.

You're not gonna tell us
how to dress.

We're gonna tell you
to suck it.

Shawn and I
both got jumbo weenies.

I don't think you saw yourself
hanging out with the nwo.

You saw yourself
hanging out with dx.

It resonated in the same voice
of kind of a culture

And where it was at
at the time.

- Surely, the era
of the superhero who urged you

To say your prayers
and take your vitamins

Is definitely passé.

We encourage some degree
of parental discretion

As it relates
to the younger audience

Allowed to stay up late.

- When he committed to,

"okay, we're leaving
the kid stuff behind,

Now we're moving to this"--

Hell yeah.

- Whoa!

- The product needed to change
and be more realistic,

Hence, the birth
of the attitude era.

- We're gonna push it.

We're gonna walk to the line

And step over it.

We're gonna try and move that
line a little bit as well.

- Wait a minute.

This is going
entirely too far.

- The attitude era represented
the seismic shift into a more

Edgier program.
- [bleep]!

- It was such a unique time
in the business,

And there was one man in
particular who was responsible

For ushering in the
attitude era, and that man was

"stone cold" steve austin.

[glass shattering]

- Steve austin does
what he wants, when he wants,

And that's the bottom line,
'cause stone cold said so!

- The style of delivery
was so much different

Than other wrestling promos.

- The only thing
that I'll deliver is

A big can of whoop ass
right to your front door!

- Austin is entertaining
as hell.

- Someone's gonna
get their ass whipped!

- He's impactful.

[dramatic music]

- Steve was unique,
and he was special,

And what that did just in
terms of moving the needle

And raising the bar--

- Austin 3:16 says
I just whipped your ass!

Tune in next week,

Same stone cold time,
same stone cold channel!

I knew that we were
in competition with wcw,

And I felt very competitive
with 'em.

It's like, "hey, man,
[bleep] these guys."

♪ ♪

- "Monday night raw" began

To have a little bit
more of an edge,

And I began to notice it,

But it didn't really concern me
too much...

♪ ♪

Until mike tyson showed up.

- "iron" mike tyson!

- Mike tyson was, at the time,
one of the biggest celebrities

On the face of the planet
and certainly, the baddest man

On the face of the planet.

- Mike tyson in a wwe ring.

- This is big,
ladies and gentlemen.

- I thought, "oh, [bleep]."

That's gonna sting.

♪ ♪

- Mike tyson in a wwe ring.

- Mike tyson brings
a lot of eyeballs

From boxing
and mainstream media

And everywhere in the world
to what we do.

- Mike tyson is
standing in stone cold's ring.

- To see mike tyson
go nose-to-nose

With "stone cold"
steve austin,

That was very interesting.

- I respect what you've done
in the boxing world.

But [bleep],
son, when you step

In this ring, you're messing
with "stone cold" steve austin,

And that's something
you don't do.

- Whoa!

- Whoa, here we go!

- Here we go!
- Here we go!

- Tyson and austin!
Tyson and austin!

All hell has broken loose!
- Look at this!

- I sat there, and I said,
"oh, my god, they got it."

[dramatic music]

They figured it out.

- You ruined it, damn it!
You ruined it!

You ruined it,
you son of a bitch!

- That was the first time
that I knew

We were in for a rough fight.

- This is pandemonium!

[crowd cheering]

- Vince realized
from the numbers

That people were not watching
"raw" like they used to.

What does vince do--is he takes

The number one
pay-per-view name, mike tyson,

And puts him
into wrestlemania.

- I would like
to thank mike tyson,

Being the media magnet
that he is.

- It's just what I love to do.
I love wrestling,

And I was just so happy
to be involved with that.

I'm happy with the wwe.
I'm very happy.

- Mike tyson is
the hottest thing in sports.

With mike there,
it'll draw more attention

To the athleticism and
showmanship of the athletes

In the
world wrestling entertainment.

- Get ready--

The world wrestling
entertainment title at stake,

And the enforcer,
the baddest man on the planet,

Mike tyson.

- Austin--he got it!
- Ah!

- The stunner!

Mike tyson in.

Austin is the champion!
[bell rings]

The austin era has begun!

- I think
the mike tyson/steve austin

Storyline,
and the way it was presented,

Was so believable.

That not only set up
steve austin,

But it launched
the mr. Mcmahon character

In such a credible,
believable way.

- Nobody,
especially vince mcmahon,

Tells "stone cold" steve austin

What to do,
and that's the bottom line.

- Oh! Oh!

Stone cold just
stunned the owner of the wwe!

♪ ♪

- All of a sudden,
it wasn't just about wrestling.

It was about this guy
against his boss.

[crowd cheers]

Mcmahon 3:16 says
I just pissed my pants.

If you wanna see
austin/mcmahon,

Give me a "hell yeah!"

All: Hell yeah!

- Just brought viewers in.

- Austin and mcmahon

Turned the tide for wwe.

♪ ♪

- I can't believe

What we're about to witness.

- And wwe started
winning the ratings.

♪ ♪

- You know,
you've heard the saying,

"all boats rise
with a high tide."

Wwe, wcw
was at its highest tide.

Announcer:
Welcome to "wwe raw!"

We are absolutely sold out!

- All my friends would come
over, and so we would just

Be, like, flipping back and
forth, flipping back and forth.

- It's austin!
It's austin!

- I mean, arenas are full.

Everybody's household names.

- Sting is heavyweight
champion of the world!

- The greatest time, I think,

In the history of wrestling.

- If ya smell!

- This was two mega companies
going head-to-head

With one another.

- The wrestling universe
got bigger

Than it had ever been before.

I mean, millions and millions
of people

Watching every night.

- The mailman,
karl malone, teaming

With diamond dallas page
against the tandem

Of "hollywood" hogan
and dennis rodman.

Jay leno in command!

- Bullseye!

- I feel like nwo was
really cool up to a point.

And then austin and dx
kind of made wwe cool.

So wcw now needed
an answer to that.

Who was their answer?

Goldberg.

All: Goldberg!
Goldberg!

- And goldberg
just went on a streak

Of just beating people's ass.

- 173 and 0.

- It was completely different.

It was shock and awe.

What you see is what you get.

- The first undefeated man

To ever win
the world championship!

- It was perfect.

- Who's he think he is,
dick clark?

- The amount of rivalry
that wcw and wwe had

At that moment in that time.

They would throw jabs at
each other live on television.

- Me and you, mcmahon,
in the ring.

- You didn't see the red sox
or the yankees doing that.

- It really was
a legit rivalry.

- And I'm gonna knock you out.

- Wcw is now going in
and actively going in

And trying to hurt business.

They're going in,
and we booked tv at a venue,

And our stuff
is announced earlier.

They shift,
and they booked the scope

Right just down the road,

And things are
thrown out, like,

"we should go down there,
and do something live

"in their parking lot,
or just, like,

Get that attention on it."

Go!

Ladies and gentlemen,

We are the number one
wrestling promotion

In the world!

All: Dx! Dx! Dx! Dx!

- Oh, my gosh,
we're talking about it being

The Monday night wars,
and here's dx

Driving up outside their arena
while their show is going on.

That's just something that
had never been done before.

- It was so, like,
"holy [bleep]."

- Wcw is a bunch of cowards--

- If someone came to your
house, trying to fight,

You'd close the drapes.

- They closed that door
because they knew scott and I

Were trying to get out there.

[laughter]
- well, let 'em out!

From watching it as a fan,
it just looked like,

"oh, my god, they just came
to the doorstep."

- Yeah, "let's do it."
- "this is goin' down

Right now."

- Yoo-hoo!
Yoo-hoo!

- There was a 68-year-old man
running that door.

We're like, "open the door.
Open the door."

[all laughing]
all I'm thinkin' of--

"I'm gonna walk on 'raw'
here in a minute."

- We're thinkin', "boy, [bleep]
about to go down."

Something's about to go down.
We don't know what it is.

But we're gonna be
a part of it.

That's how crazy it was--
and then nothing.

Nothing.

- Tell me who rules
professional wrestling!

All: Dx!
Yeah!

- I remember
there was a moment

Where bruce prichard had said,

"what if they
put a bunch of guys in a car

"and they come here,
and they try to do

"the same thing back to us,
and they just shoot it

"and then they put it
in the show next week?

What do we do?"
and vince was like,

"open up the garage doors.
Let 'em in.

"what show are you gonna watch?
The one with all the wrestlers

"or the one
with none of the wrestlers?

"let 'em go right to the ring.
They drive straight out there

"into the ring,
and then we'll all come out.

That's--that's--that's
the greatest tv ever."

And I remember thinking
at that moment, like,

"this is why we're gonna win.
Like, that's genius,"

♪ ♪

- 40,000 fans are on hand
for "wcw Monday nitro"!

- There's nothing
like a good battle.

It was not only the
creative battle that took place

Between the characters
inside the ring,

It was the battle
between two companies.

I suggested to tony schiavone
that he give away the finish

To "Monday night raw"
and kind of downplay it.

- If you're even thinking
about changing the channel

To our competition,
fans, do not.

- I hear tony schiavone
tell their viewers

To not even think about
changing the channel.

- We understand
that mick foley

Is going to win
their world title.

[scoffs] that's gonna put some
butts in the seat.

[scoffs]

- "they're taped,
and here's what happens.

So you might as well
stick around here."

That was the idea,
and it worked very, very well

All the way up until
the night I tried it

With the rock and mick foley,

Because a lot
of my audience went,

"oh, really?
Rock, mick foley?

Ah, I'm gonna go
check that out."

- The rock against mankind,

And the odds are stacked
against mick foley.

- 500,000 to 600,000 people

Had switched channels
instantaneously.

- No!
No!

Don't do it!

[crowd roars]
[bell rings]

- Foley was so beloved,
and it backfired on "nitro."

- Sometimes, things work
really, really well,

And sometimes, they suck.

That one sucked.

- Did you watch "raw"?

- Yes.
[laughter]

I watched every Monday.

Back then, we would have our
show, and then we would have

The "raw" show, both monitors.

- What the hell?

Austin's driving
the beer truck!

- Look out!
- Wait a minute,

King!

- Steve was such a mega star,

And rock was
such a mega star...

- Wait a minute!

- Ah!
- Stone cold!

- That's beer!
- Stone cold

And a beer bath!
- Ah!

- But when you watched

The landscape
of sports entertainment

At that time, from the minute
that show started,

Everybody was a star.

Every Monday was woodstock.

- Jeff hardy--
- look at that!

- Leapfrogged the ladder,

For god sakes!

- Triple h
has realized his dream!

He is now the world wrestling
entertainment champion!

- To go up against this thing,
that's when I just sat back,

And I went, "I am so glad
I got guaranteed money."

[laughter]

- [sighs]

This is ridiculous.

At wcw, for the first time in
a year and a half, two years,

Almost three,
we're playing catch up.

- The wcw
world television champion,

Chris jericho.

- For a while,
it felt more like,

"oh, wwe guys are
jumping ship to go there,"

And when it started
becoming the opposite,

That was pretty exciting
as a fan, for sure.

["break down the walls"
by wwe & jim johnston"]

Jericho's tron hits,
and I lose my mind.

My dad's, like,
gotta work in the morning.

I wake him up.
I'm just losing my mind.

It just felt
like a really big deal.

- That one stung.

When you start losing
key talent

At the same time you're
losing ground competitively,

It's kind of a double whammy.

- I fell out of wwe
for about a year,

So now, I just got back in.

I think it's the best thing
in sports entertainment.

- Fans started to realize how
much was really happening

On "Monday night raw."

- We're talking about sable.

She's on the cover
of "playboy magazine."

- And when they
changed the channel,

They didn't change back.

- Ted turner really doesn't
care about his fans.

He just throws
together a program.

- Wcw sucks!

- Wwe, number one.
Wcw sucks.

- Wwe has always
greatly benefitted

By having one genius
in charge of everything.

And wcw, they were part of
a much larger corporation,

Which was time warner.

- We are very excited

About joining forces
with time warner,

Because we share a common
vision for the future.

- The subsequent
aol time warner merger

With turner created
a lot of radical changes

Within turner broadcasting.

People within turner
broadcasting didn't want wcw

In that prime-time
real estate position

On Monday night on tnt.

They wanted those
time slots for movies.

Everybody looked
down their nose at wrestling,

With the exception of ted.

He had been relegated
to a back office with a view,

Had absolutely no influence.

- Wcw was in shambles
at that point.

The people at aol time warner,

They weren't wrestling fans,
and they wanted to get rid

Of that property,
the wcw property.

We made an offer.

It was, "look,
we're gonna buy certain assets.

"we'll buy the library.

"we'll take a look
at your contracts.

"if there's any contracts
we may want to pick up,

We'll pick up some of 'em."

We had a real cash offer
on the table

That--
[snaps finger]

Could be done like that,
and they took it.

[dramatic music]

- Many of you may already know

That wcw has new owners.

- We couldn't believe it.

Somebody's going out
of business,

And at the end,
we realized that wwe had won,

And we were
staying there with them,

And we had been with them
throughout--

Through the thick and thin.

I mean, it was a pretty,
I don't know, euphoric,

Because we didn't dislike
the boys down there.

- Of course.
- They were us.

- Of course.
- They were us.

They were our friends.

- The fans weren't the ones
who were fighting.

We were just enjoying
all of the product

That we were gettin' to see.
But it wasn't like,

"oh, good job, wwe.
You won."

It's like,
"aw, this is one less product

That I get to watch."

- 'cause the whole time, I was
a double agent with vince.

- Of course.
- Oh...

- See?
[laughter]

[dramatic music]

- Imagine that.
Me, vince mcmahon,

Here I am on wcw television.

How can that happen?

- Rival networks, and we were
simulcasting this thing--

Huge deal.

- Here's wcw, and here,
we have the owner

Of the world wrestling
entertainment

And, now, the owner of wcw.

- The Monday night wars
are over.

- The strongest passion
won out.

Time warner had
no skin in the game.

They didn't care.
They hated the property,

And wanted to get rid of it.

We loved our property,
loved what we do,

And that was the difference.

- Shane mcmahon is on "nitro"!

- The decision was
to let shane go down

And shock vince and say that
he had bought wcw.

- The name on the contract
does say "mcmahon."

However, the contract reads
"shane mcmahon."

- Oh, my god!

- The storyline was my brother
against my dad.

But in reality,
it was the moment

That we knew wcw was done.

♪ ♪

- Wwe didn't buy wcw.

Wwe bought the assets of wcw,
bought the tape library,

Bought the intellectual
properties--

Smart purchase.

- You have to grab your
competition by the throat,

And you've gotta squeeze the
life out of your competition,

Just like I did to wcw!

- In the end,
wwe put the boots to wcw,

And we wound up
winning the war.

- The landscape of
our industry is changing.

- As a fan, the idea that
your experience

Watching wrestling
on a Monday night

Was never going to be
the same again

Was a tough pill to swallow.

- I remember one guy crying,
and he was like,

"man, it's the final night.
What are you gonna do, book?"

I was like,
"man, I'm going to wwe."

♪ ♪

- Flair, sting,

Hogan, the nwo--

Those contracts were paying
so much money to people

To just sit at home--didn't
get sting versus austin,

Flair versus the rock,

The nwo versus dx--

Didn't get the dream matches
I wanted

Until it was done ten,
15 years later.

♪ ♪

- Sting's first-ever
appearance

On the grandest stage of all,

Wrestlemania.

- You know,
there had been periods of time

When there had been overtures

Of sting to come in,

And they had been shut down.

When sting finally signed
to come in,

We end up making the match
with me and him.

♪ ♪

- I was sitting
in the third row

For wrestlemania 31.

To see him in the ring,
face-to-face with triple h,

Who is a symbol
for everything that wwe is,

Is enough
of a mind-blowing moment.

But then,
halfway through the match,

The nwo music plays.

The dx music plays.

- Dx, the nwo!

The Monday night wars
have come to wrestlemania!

This place is buzzing!

- And you're like,
"oh, my god,

"this is all happening
right in front of me

All these years later."

- Look out!
- Shawn michaels!

Sweet chin music!

- Like the Monday night war
is still happening.

- What an absolutely
incredible moment.

History in the making,
tonight at wrestlemania.

- These two great,
iconic, legendary groups

That people will remember
as long as

There's sports entertainment
in the world,

They finally hook up.

To me,
it was just a magical moment.

- When the match was over,

We kind of all just stood
there in the ring,

And sting and I
sort of shook hands,

And it was,
"we all did this war.

It's all over," and to me,
that's what made it work.

- The rivalry between wcw and
wwe, the Monday night wars,

It completely changed
the wrestling industry.

Announcer:
Goldberg dominates again.

- Who's next?

- Suck it!

- That was a great time
for television.

- Ah!
[bedpan clanks]

- It was hot.

- There will be nothing
like this ever again.

The two number one rated shows
on two networks,

And they're fighting each other
on live television.

- Good god, almighty!
He killed him!

- The battle between
wcw and wwe was real.

People gravitated towards it.

- It doesn't matter
what your name is!

- It was the right time
and the right companies

Going head-to-head.

It stands the test of time.

We're still talking about it
to this day.

♪ ♪