Original subtitles

What is your name?

I told you-

It doesn't matter what your name is.

In the wild world of WWE, the words spoken on a live

microphone can leave you with the symphonies of

a verbal smackdown.

Remember tying bows in our shoes when we were kids?

Of course your shoes were always tied together.

The unpredictable era of the 1990s saw some of the best

wordsmiths that fans ever lent their ears to.

Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass.

Today we look back at some of the biggest mic drops

in the 1990s.

Whatcha gonna do?

This is WWE's Greatest Moments.

Acknowledge me.

My God.

Stone Cold with a beer bath.

This is surreal.

Look at this.

He slammed him.

Welcome, everyone to WWE's Greatest Moments.

I'm Michael Cole, and on this edition,

we're looking back at

some of the wildest mic drop moments of the 1990s.

The outlandish duo of Shawn Michaels and Triple H certainly

had their share of controversial moments.

We promise there will be less references.

Ah

Raging against the machine was the name of The Game for the

unpredictable D-Generation X.

And let's go to the wise ass of the WWE.

D-Generation X was raunchy.

They broke the fourth wall.

Look, smarty pants didn't Austin break

that stack of dimes you call a neck in the first place?

We said what we wanted to say.

We went places you weren't supposed to go.

We were just jabbing whoever we wanted to jab at the time.

And Triple H,

this is your chance, my friend.

I want you to unload on the World Wrestling--

'cause this is what you've been waiting for, buddy, get 'em.

I remember saying to Vince beforehand like,

"Hey, how stiff do you want me to be in this thing?"

And he was like, "Go for it."

I've been sitting back for a couple of years.

I watched his eyes change.

While you and the World Wrestling--

have spread your legs like some cheap whore.

And I was like, "Oh man, I might have just crossed the

line, but I'm already over it."

So I went full tilt.

The way things are going.

I'll hold the mic.

McMahon's losing control.

At least you're good for something.

From his standpoint,

you know, I give you a green light and you freaking

just pounce on it.

And so on one hand, are they disrespecting me?

But on the other, you just thought it was like you got to

get a pat on the back they're ballsy as hell.

Because from now on, this ring is our house and

it is our House of Pain.

Vince came in the back.

I said uh, "Was that okay?"

And he looked down for a second and then looked me dead in the

eye and was like, "Yeah, it was great."

Like interviewing the ninth grade gym class.

If you grew up in the 1980s,

chances are you were a Hulkamaniac.

Say your prayers, eat your vitamins,

and believe in yourself brother.

Hulkamania is running wild like it's never ran before.

Hulk Hogan transcended Sports Entertainment

and was a hero's hero.

Hulkamania's runnning worldwide.

But when The Hulkster joins Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in WCW

to form the New World Order.

The end of Hulkamania.

The professional wrestling world stood in absolute shock.

The scourge of the wrestling world.

The New World Order

is taking over professional wrestling.

Superhero like that.

Just can't imagine ever being a villain.

I'm the greatest wrestler in the world.

I made professional wrestling.

By the time he had committed to do it, he was already all in.

So he wasn't going to pull any punches.

You fans can stick it, brother.

Hulk Hogan was sick of the establishment.

I'm the leader of the nWo, and these are my guys

that are coming in.

The New World Order shall rule the wrestling world.

They threw stuff 'cause they hated Hulk.

It was really visual with all that stuff raining in.

And this is a pretty good example of the way your life

is going to go, Hulk Hogan.

Well, you know, dude, I laid it out straight

for all those kids, brother.

They didn't want to follow the path,

so I'm done with 'em man.

Hulk Hogan betrayed millions of people around the world-

Betrayed WCW.

We'll, beat up the whole WCW right now.

And what are they gonna do?

Oh, please, Hulk Hogan, I can't believe it.

When you talk about the greatest to ever do it on the

microphone, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair is in the conversation.

This kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin', limousine riding',

jet flyin', son of a gun.

Gold and fortune were always on the mind of The Nature Boy.

And at the 1992 Royal Rumble, Flair would surprisingly last

over one hour to become the undisputed WWE champion

for the first time in his illustrious career.

Oh yes.

Flair did it.

Yes, yes.

The party commenced backstage.

It was a celebration that no one would ever forget.

All right.

By virtue of winning the Royal Rumble,

we have a brand new World Wrestling-- champion.

That Royal Rumble,

it wasn't for a title match at WrestleMania,

it was for the title.

Winning that thing that night and the next day

being their champion.

I mean, it was something I hadn't experienced in a while.

I'm going to tell you all with a tear in my eye-

With a tear in my eye.

With a tear in his eye.

Tear in my eye.

This is the greatest moment in my life.

It was one of the first times that I saw

that emotion from Ric Flair,

that wasn't just like over the top put on charisma.

It was, oh, this is a genuine Ric Flair

really creating something.

And this is the only title in the wrestling world that makes

you number one.

Woo

Woo.

Woo.

I can see Ric getting emotional.

I was thinking, "Wow, this is history."

We're not the kind of guys to say we told you so,

but we told you so.

Everyone remembers that interview, everyone.

Acknowledge Ric Flair, and y'all pay homage to the man.

Woo.

Over the course of WWE history, we've seen a literal

who's who of trash talkers become industry icons.

Right on top of that list is the most electrifying man in

Sports Entertainment, The Rock.

The Rock says, know your role and shut your mouth.

The Rock is gonna give you the biggest smackdown.

Your seven foot, 500 pound, big fat candy ass has ever seen.

No one was safe when the Great One had a mic in his hand.

And as he says-

It doesn't matter what you think.

And after winning the 1999 King of the Ring,

"Badass" Billy Gunn was about to find that out firsthand.

Finally, the Rock has come back to Indianapolis.

Now on to "Badass" Billy Gunn.

My goal was just to entertain the fans.

I didn't want to be the loudest.

I didn't want to be the biggest, but I did want to be the best.

The Rock understands what took place,

the night you won King of the Ring,

you got down on your knees, put your little hands together,

and you said a prayer and it sounded like this.

"Oh dear God.

My name's Billy and I just won King of the Ring.

But there's one problem.

Everybody still thinks that I absolutely suck."

I remember when everybody popped.

Everyone who was watching my monitor.

I was sitting by the main monitor.

There was a big pop-

-you know, and people were legitimately entertained by it.

And then at that point, Billy, your house started to shake,

the heavens opened up, and God himself spoke to you and said

this, "Bob-"

"But my name's Billy."

"It doesn't matter what your name is."

Rock, of course, just being Rock, you know,

that pretty much speaks for itself.

20 plus years later, that's still a promo people

bring up with Billy Gunn.

If you smell,

what the Rock is cooking.

Upon his debut in 1990, the mysterious aura

of The Undertaker was unlike anything

WWE audience has ever seen before.

Undertaker causing a lot of sleepless nights

for a whole lot of folks.

There's few words over the years were dark and ominous,

leaving fans chilled to the bone.

Rest in peace.

When one night on Raw in 1998 saw the Deadman enter the ring

without the typical fanfare and angrily spoke his mind.

Why is he coming to the ring?

I've had enough.

The times were changing.

You got to see a different side of the Undertaker by himself.

Now it's time the Undertaker got what is rightfully his.

I demand my shot at the World Wrestling-- title.

All those guys that were putting these un believable promos,

it was just like-

"Man, you know, I have that in me."

I think it's time you got your pencil neck geek ass out here

and faced the Reaper.

Whoa.

Then I-

"Did he just say that?"

I think it was just so different for the time period,

and it just caught people off guard.

Seeing the Undertaker talking like a normal human

being was an absolute shock.

We are live.

Anything's had to happen here.

Perhaps one of the best on the microphone in the 1990s was none

other than the Hellraiser himself,

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin is going to whip somebody's ass.

And that's the bottom line, 'cause Stone Cold said so.

He said whatever he wanted-

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin does what he wants when he wants.

-but he did whatever he wanted as well.

Give me a hell yeah.

Which did not sit well with the WWE commissioner.

Sgt. Slaughter.

There will be law and order.

Have I made myself clear?

Uh oh.

Good God almighty.

Here he comes.

Well, once the glass shattered,

the audience was ready.

What the hell is going to come out of Steve's mouth?

I'll break every damn law you can make.

And can't nobody stop me.

I will.

No you won't.

It was all about cutting a promo and all about letting those

people live vicariously through me.

You sit there and you say, "That's an order.

This is an order.

That's an order."

And I can look at you, son.

The only thing you've been ordering is a whole bunch of

damn cheeseburgers.

There's something obviously very intriguing about seeing

somebody go after the authority.

You talk about me delivering the Intercontinental title.

The only thing that I'll deliver is a big can of whoop ass

right to your front door.

He said whatever was on his mind, he did it with cuss words.

We thought,"Let's see how far he's going to take it.

Is he ever going to actually really cross the line?"

And sure enough, he did it right before our eyes.

No.

Oh, God.

Oh, no.

Oh my God.

Austin has just attacked the commissioner.

He's definitely- just like a shocker-

Nobody saw it coming.

Stone Cold not only dropped the mic that night,

he dropped Sgt. Slaughter.

He's a rattlesnake, and he'll strike anybody he wants to.

In the late 1990s, a new WCW star was on the rise

in the form of Chris Jericho.

While his in-ring abilities were a sight to behold,

it was his charisma on the microphone

that got everyone talking.

My future which is so bright I gotta wear shades.

Engulfed in a rivalry with the Man of a Thousand Holds,

Dean Malenko.

Jericho took the opportunity to prove he was better than his

opponent in every way possible, as only he could.

Malenko you claim to be the Man of a Thousand Holds,

but I counted and you know about 60,

but I know 1004 and I wrote them all down.

Here we go.

My moniker was the Man of a Thousand Holds, so he kind of

tried to one up me by having four more holds than me.

Hold one, arm drag.

Hold two, arm bar,

Hold three,

the Moss-Covered Three Handled Family Gradunza.

What's going to be next?

What other obscure move is he going to name?

Number five, the Saskatchewan Spitting Nerve hold.

Oh, is he just going to stay in the ring?

Number eight, armbar.

And he's reading so long that they go to commercial break.

Number ten, right handed punch.

When they come back,

Chris Jericho is still reading the list.

Can we physically get him out of the ring?

Hold number 712 The Super Blizzard.

Some of the words that he was just spewing out at one point.

I'm just like, "Yo, what the heck?"

Hold number 713 the-

Now they're finally able to get him out of the ring,

but he's more concerned with the safety of his list of holds.

Give me my holds.

He still has several hundred more to go.

I got 200 more holds to list.

Mick Foley has always left audiences in awe of his

daredevil like performances in his hardcore nature, but he was

also able to captivate fans with the spoken word.

I mean, every word when I tell you I'm going to tear you apart.

One instance takes us back to 1995,

in the land of extreme ECW.

Foley thought the promotion may be a little too

hardcore for his taste.

A sign in the crowd directed his young son set him off into one

of the most malevolent monologues

audiences had ever heard.

Cane Dewey.

Somebody had taken the time and

the effort and the thought to make a sign that said

"Cane Dewey."

Like advocating the caning of a three year old child,

which is my son's age at that time?

When I relayed that to my wife, she nearly got sick.

It's embedded in my skull.

It's embedded in my heart,

and it's embedded in every nightmare.

That I will ever have again.

You ripped out my heart.

You took everything I believed in and you flushed it

down the damn toilet.

It was like this form of therapy in that I could just get

out these real life emotions.

When you open up your soul,

and it gets [bleep] on,

it has to make Jack a very mean boy.

He no longer loved the fans and wanted to tell the selfish,

uncaring, heartless son of a bitch fans

what he thought of them.

Those fans who sit there and say "He's hardcore,

he's hardcore,"

wouldn't piss on you if you were on fire.

We saw what Mick Foley was doing in ECW and the fact that

he despised everything about ECW.

We had to have Mick Foley.

Dewey Foley is a three year old boy,

you sick sons of bitches.

Bret.

The mid 1990s ushered in a new generation

of WWE superstars.

And at the forefront-

Bret "The Hitman" Hart.

The excellence of execution was beloved throughout the world and

prided himself on being the very best role model he could be.

I am the best there is-

The best there was-

And the best there ever will be.

However, by 1997, a new side of The Hitman

reared its face value.

All you American wrestling fans, you don't respect me.

The American wrestling fans coast to coast can kiss my ass.

I wonder what you'd like to say to these

American fans here tonight in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A sly look on my face sort of said it all.

I'm really mad at America for this-

What they've done to me.

Last week, I said the United States of America was one big,

giant toilet bowl.

If you are going to give the United States of America an

enema, you'd stick the hose right here in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

When Bret Hart said they would insert the hose in Pittsburgh,

jaws dropped to the floor.

I will never forget that line.

Shawn Michaels, you're going to just be

one more name that I'm going to add on to a list of

Americans that I'm going to flush down the toilet.

He was frustrated and angry, and now he's getting

the chance to unload on you.

And he did it.

I will be fifth time World Wrestling-- champion,

and I promise to bring the championship belt back

to Canada where it belongs.

It's now time for our number one moment.

It is also time to play the game.

The Hall of Fame career of triple H is second to none.

From the Greenwich Snob-

It's high time for all these Superstars to learn

a lesson in class.

-to the sophomoric degenerate.

Oh, let's get ready to suck it.

Triple H was always a master of his craft,

but was missing that elusive prize.

In 1999, Jim Ross sat down with The Cerebral Assassin in a

moment that cemented Triple H as the future of WWE.

What you want me to shoot with this interview?

I'm gonna shoot with it.

I'm going to tell you how I feel,

whether you like it or not.

There's moments in time where you can be real

and not having to be projecting

on a microphone to a large crowd.

And I knew that was a pivotal moment for me.

I don't need anybody else, JR, this is about me.

I don't need to be in a Kliq anymore.

I don't need to be in DX anymore.

It's about me reaching my goals.

I think you got a lot of things off his chest,

and we had never heard him

really that impassioned that hell bent on,

"My God, you're going to notice me."

You guys talk about being students of the game.

I am The [bleep] Game, JR.

It just was something that I said.

I was no longer Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

I was Triple H.

I was The Game.

Like it was a different conversation.

I knew that we had heard something special.

There is nobody that eats, sleeps or breathes

this business more than me.

And now it's my time to prove that to the world.

To hell with the Rock-

To hell with Austin-

To hell with the Undertaker-

I own all their asses.

This is someone to be reckoned with.

This is a top guy.

But when it's said and done, it's about me getting

what I deserve in this business.

And that is becoming the WWE champion.

And with those famed words, a superstar was born.

Triple H truly encapsulated becoming The Game-

went on to have a Hall of Fame career.

That'll do it for this edition of WWE's Greatest Moments.

I hope you've enjoyed this look back

at some of the biggest mic drop moments of one of the

craziest times in professional wrestling-

The 1990s.