1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:05,200 Tammy and Chris's story is everything. It was a love story. 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:06,960 It was a cautionary tale. 3 00:00:07,220 --> 00:00:08,720 It was a success story. 4 00:00:08,980 --> 00:00:10,320 It was a failure story. 5 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:15,160 High school sweethearts Chris Candido and Tammy Sitch soared to wrestling 6 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:20,140 stardom, fueled by their talent, ambition, and devotion to one another. 7 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,980 Anybody who met Chris loved Chris. You couldn't help it. From the first time 8 00:00:24,980 --> 00:00:28,300 that I saw Chris in the ring, I knew he had exceptional talent. 9 00:00:28,830 --> 00:00:31,030 He was a natural, and he loved wrestling. 10 00:00:31,330 --> 00:00:36,730 I went from seeing Chris and Tammy backstage to seeing them as two of the 11 00:00:36,730 --> 00:00:37,689 biggest stars. 12 00:00:37,690 --> 00:00:42,750 But as Tammy's star rose higher and brighter than Chris's, the bond between 13 00:00:42,750 --> 00:00:48,610 young lovers was put to the test. Tammy was the first female internet sensation 14 00:00:48,610 --> 00:00:50,370 in professional wrestling. 15 00:00:50,690 --> 00:00:56,670 And when she came onto the scene, she took all of the attention away from him. 16 00:00:57,340 --> 00:01:02,560 until a series of devastating injuries and ill -fated choices sent them 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:03,560 towards disaster. 18 00:01:03,860 --> 00:01:04,920 There was substance abuse. 19 00:01:05,180 --> 00:01:06,720 There was alcohol abuse. 20 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:09,600 There were rumors of infidelity. 21 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:16,060 If you are fucking around with the top guy, have enough decorum to shut your 22 00:01:16,060 --> 00:01:17,060 fucking mouth. 23 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,120 They were the two cleanest kids that you could possibly imagine. 24 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,140 What has happened? What's happened to these two? 25 00:01:23,380 --> 00:01:24,720 I once said to myself, 26 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:29,060 I'd probably die at 36 because I wanted to be just like Marilyn Monroe. 27 00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:31,780 I know my son loved her. 28 00:01:33,100 --> 00:01:34,100 Loved her. 29 00:01:34,380 --> 00:01:40,940 As addicted to opioids as Chris became, his biggest addiction was to Tammy. 30 00:01:41,740 --> 00:01:48,740 Tammy's legacy in wrestling is both a meteoric rise and a meteoric fall. 31 00:01:49,260 --> 00:01:54,180 What happens is bound to happen. You don't live like that and not go away 32 00:01:54,180 --> 00:01:55,750 without. paying the piper 33 00:01:55,750 --> 00:02:05,110 if 34 00:02:05,110 --> 00:02:11,990 you would have came down to 13 year old Chris Candido and said 35 00:02:11,990 --> 00:02:17,390 listen you're going to die at 33 but you're going to be a WWF champion 36 00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:22,390 you're going to have more belts than you can count 37 00:02:23,910 --> 00:02:27,770 You're not going to have kids or get married, but you'll be a wrestling star 38 00:02:27,770 --> 00:02:30,870 who's going to be remembered by the people and by other wrestlers. 39 00:02:31,110 --> 00:02:34,790 Do you accept? He would say yes. 40 00:02:35,390 --> 00:02:38,510 You know, like he took what came. 41 00:02:40,010 --> 00:02:44,930 I'm Johnny Ray, also known as Johnny Candido. I'm Chris Candido's younger 42 00:02:44,930 --> 00:02:45,930 brother. 43 00:02:47,870 --> 00:02:49,110 This is the office. 44 00:02:49,550 --> 00:02:52,010 This is where he concocted all of the... 45 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:55,320 His wrestling ideas and stuff. 46 00:02:56,740 --> 00:03:00,100 My brother hung this fan. That's why I haven't taken it down. 47 00:03:01,220 --> 00:03:02,660 He's got all the old pictures. 48 00:03:03,900 --> 00:03:05,440 I mean, just stuff everywhere. 49 00:03:07,700 --> 00:03:14,660 In Chris's spare time, he would draw wrestling in here. I wish there was a 50 00:03:14,660 --> 00:03:16,460 on this. This was probably before I was even born. 51 00:03:18,140 --> 00:03:21,320 Cook is what me, my family, everybody in the neighborhood calls him Cook. 52 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:26,040 When I was a baby, I couldn't say Chris. I called him Cook. It kind of stuck. 53 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,020 So he started the Eastern Kids Wrestling Federation. 54 00:03:31,380 --> 00:03:37,860 He took this platter that was left behind at somebody's wedding, and, yeah, 55 00:03:37,860 --> 00:03:39,660 he just made this out of a weight belt. 56 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,420 It looked like a legit wrestling belt, and he made it when he was 13. 57 00:03:43,820 --> 00:03:47,420 Like, how the fuck do you even make that at 13, right? Like, him and his friend 58 00:03:47,420 --> 00:03:51,760 Scott would say, Chris would say, I'm sleeping at Scott's house. 59 00:03:52,190 --> 00:03:55,850 Scott would tell his mom he's sleeping over here, and the two of them, they 60 00:03:55,850 --> 00:04:00,170 13, they'd get on a bus, go to Brooklyn, and they would wrestle at the Galaxian 61 00:04:00,170 --> 00:04:01,170 Bar. 62 00:04:01,270 --> 00:04:07,430 Then they would take a bus back home the next morning and wash off their gig 63 00:04:07,430 --> 00:04:10,330 marks and come back home like they were just at a regular sleepover. 64 00:04:11,030 --> 00:04:12,830 That's how determined he was. 65 00:04:14,350 --> 00:04:17,250 So he was sort of starting his wrestling career behind your back. 66 00:04:17,550 --> 00:04:18,890 Oh, way behind my back. 67 00:04:19,230 --> 00:04:21,010 I had no clue he was doing that. 68 00:04:21,470 --> 00:04:25,230 I wouldn't have allowed it. It was not my dream or wish for him at all. 69 00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:30,150 Hi, my name is Peggy Ray, and I'm Chris Candido's mom. 70 00:04:31,010 --> 00:04:35,690 He was confident that he was going to be a wrestler. It was what he wanted for 71 00:04:35,690 --> 00:04:38,290 his future. That's what he wanted to do. 72 00:04:39,950 --> 00:04:46,790 He was in a wrestling match at Madison Regional High School, and I went to 73 00:04:46,790 --> 00:04:47,810 the match that night. 74 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:53,200 I think he was working with Johnny Hotbody, and Johnny Hotbody had him in a 75 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,660 headlock, and he's like, hey, dude, you know, check out the blonde in the front. 76 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:05,260 I actually saw Tammy while I was sitting in the bleachers, and I said to him, 77 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,840 oh, my God, I saw this girl, and she was all dressed in white, and she looked so 78 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:10,840 heavenly. 79 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:16,300 And he told me that, yeah, Mom, I met that girl, too. Actually, we all went 80 00:05:16,300 --> 00:05:17,300 to her house. 81 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:23,020 The girl in white was Tamara Lynn Sitch, a bright high school student preparing 82 00:05:23,020 --> 00:05:26,980 for college, unaware that her life was about to take a sharp turn. 83 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,800 When Chris and Tammy started dating, they were very into each other, together 84 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:32,800 all the time. 85 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:35,220 And he would say, Mom, Tammy's coming, please be nice. 86 00:05:35,540 --> 00:05:36,720 I was always pleasant. 87 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,740 That relationship was his other obsession. 88 00:05:41,580 --> 00:05:43,600 He actually had a prom date. 89 00:05:44,530 --> 00:05:48,810 Tammy was just an acquaintance at that time, but he left the prom with the 90 00:05:48,830 --> 00:05:51,570 and she was sitting there in her convertible. 91 00:05:54,390 --> 00:05:58,290 And he left the date and got in the car with her, 92 00:05:58,390 --> 00:06:02,830 which I didn't think was very nice. 93 00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:08,490 I thought in the very beginning that she was lovely. 94 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:15,640 After graduating from high school, Chris does everything in his power to 95 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:17,600 establish himself in the wrestling business. 96 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,400 My brother was constantly on the phone trying to get books, driving to shows. 97 00:06:22,500 --> 00:06:25,040 Even if he's not booked, he's still going to drive there and see if he can 98 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:28,880 on. And he wanted to go to Smoky Mountain, and he was calling Jim 99 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,740 He started sending me VHS tapes of all of his matches on the independent 100 00:06:33,740 --> 00:06:38,200 circuit. I saw a lot of natural talent in Chris Candido. 101 00:06:38,810 --> 00:06:42,830 I'm Jim Cornette. I was the promoter of Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and I'm the 102 00:06:42,830 --> 00:06:46,650 one who brought Chris Candido and Tammy Fitch to mainstream wrestling. 103 00:06:47,490 --> 00:06:52,530 The drawback for me bringing Chris Candido to Smoky Mountain Wrestling was 104 00:06:52,530 --> 00:06:57,870 I couldn't pay him enough to justify asking this kid to move from New Jersey 105 00:06:57,870 --> 00:07:01,810 East Tennessee for 75 bucks a night, four times a week or whatever. 106 00:07:02,090 --> 00:07:03,650 At the same time... 107 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,560 Tammy had never been involved in wrestling. She was Chris's girlfriend. 108 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,820 would go and do some ringside photography or just support him. 109 00:07:12,460 --> 00:07:15,500 But I was looking at her. I said, there's something about her. She's got 110 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:19,200 charisma. She's a very pretty girl, but she seems quick and intelligent. 111 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:21,940 Finally, I got an idea. 112 00:07:22,900 --> 00:07:25,160 What if Tammy was a manager? 113 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:30,640 What if she could talk? I don't know. Can she? I'm not sure. She's never done 114 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:35,420 before. But if she can talk, then I could pay them both a little bit. So I 115 00:07:35,420 --> 00:07:37,760 called him and pitched him the idea. 116 00:07:37,980 --> 00:07:40,320 And I said, you're not going to leave school. 117 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,620 So he applied to the University of Tennessee and got accepted. 118 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:45,700 And I said, well, that's great. 119 00:07:46,140 --> 00:07:50,760 Yeah, you can take that little road trip and go see Mr. 120 00:07:50,980 --> 00:07:52,960 Cornett as long as you go to school. 121 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:55,320 Yeah, I thought it was going to be temporary. 122 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:57,240 Of course, he had to wear a baby bonnet. 123 00:07:58,140 --> 00:07:59,140 What? 124 00:07:59,820 --> 00:08:02,080 And he gets that baby bonnet count of two, and no! 125 00:08:03,100 --> 00:08:05,080 Wrestling just makes me so crazy. 126 00:08:05,660 --> 00:08:09,900 They make up these stories. So there was Christopher walking around in a baby 127 00:08:09,900 --> 00:08:10,940 bonnet and a diaper. 128 00:08:11,220 --> 00:08:14,000 The suicide blind, Chris Candido. 129 00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:19,180 I guess it makes sense to some people. It made no sense at all to me. 130 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,540 Chris was such a student of the game, and he understood that it took more than 131 00:08:24,540 --> 00:08:30,260 great moves or a great match to get over. He realized he had to be a 132 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,539 My name is Mick Foley. I am a three -time WWE champion. 133 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,919 I'm known as the Hardcore Legend, and I was a colleague of Chris and Tammy's. 134 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:45,760 It's just more fun to be a bad guy. Bad guys have more fun. 135 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:47,800 The cat is in that bag! 136 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:49,440 Oh, no! 137 00:08:49,660 --> 00:08:56,220 He embraced the heel mannerisms. He liked to be a jerk. He was one of the 138 00:08:56,220 --> 00:08:58,620 best jerks I've seen in our business. 139 00:08:58,980 --> 00:09:03,980 Though Chris relishes playing the bad guy, it's Tammy who is destined to be 140 00:09:03,980 --> 00:09:04,980 ultimate villain. 141 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:09,300 The way I fell into the business, Jim Cornette asked me to work for him. And I 142 00:09:09,300 --> 00:09:12,000 was in college. I was a pre -med student. I wanted to be a plastic 143 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:16,480 And I was like, this is his thing. You know, I'm in school to be a doctor. But 144 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,000 was like, all right, it might be fun. I'll make a couple extra bucks. And 145 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:20,000 how I fell into it. 146 00:09:20,620 --> 00:09:25,360 We were in East Tennessee in the early 90s. And it was a highly Republican 147 00:09:25,700 --> 00:09:27,260 Everybody hated the Clintons. 148 00:09:27,670 --> 00:09:28,669 He's president. 149 00:09:28,670 --> 00:09:32,190 Hillary has tons of heat with all the Republicans. 150 00:09:32,450 --> 00:09:35,490 I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had tea, but what I 151 00:09:35,490 --> 00:09:37,410 decided to do was to fulfill my profession. 152 00:09:37,630 --> 00:09:43,270 I saw an opportunity to basically piss off every Republican and every hillbilly 153 00:09:43,270 --> 00:09:44,970 in East Tennessee and surrounding states. 154 00:09:45,610 --> 00:09:49,450 This young lady is Tammy Fitch. Now, the Smoky Mountain Wrestling attorneys have 155 00:09:49,450 --> 00:09:52,310 advised us to let her have her say here on the program. 156 00:09:52,630 --> 00:09:57,210 And I gave her notes. I said, here, this is the story we'd like you to tell on 157 00:09:57,210 --> 00:09:58,209 your first interview. 158 00:09:58,210 --> 00:10:00,810 Put it in your own words. Make it sound natural. 159 00:10:01,170 --> 00:10:05,490 Tammy? My name is Tammy Fitch. Of the New England Fitches, I'm sure you've 160 00:10:05,490 --> 00:10:06,109 of us. 161 00:10:06,110 --> 00:10:07,110 One take. 162 00:10:07,530 --> 00:10:08,870 One take she did. 163 00:10:09,180 --> 00:10:12,880 Mrs. Clinton has proven that a woman can do anything she wants. 164 00:10:13,140 --> 00:10:17,760 Here is this woman who idolizes the person that they all can't stand. 165 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,820 And she was coming to Smoky Mountain Wrestling because she demanded equal 166 00:10:22,820 --> 00:10:27,340 opportunity. At any rate, the reason I'm here today is because I have filed a 167 00:10:27,340 --> 00:10:31,040 sexual discrimination lawsuit against Smoky Mountain Wrestling. 168 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:35,420 And the people hated that shit. 169 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:46,540 She leaned into the idea that she could make people hate her. She wasn't scared 170 00:10:46,540 --> 00:10:47,540 of it at all. 171 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:50,500 I'm ready to become the first lady of Smoky Mountain Wrestling. 172 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:55,860 Hi, this is Tammy Fitch, and I'm here with Tammy's Tips. You'll be amazed at 173 00:10:55,860 --> 00:10:58,140 I can make Margie into an acceptable human being. 174 00:10:58,380 --> 00:11:00,320 Tune in next week for more of Tammy's Tips. 175 00:11:00,820 --> 00:11:02,460 I'll make something out of you yet. 176 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:08,820 As soon as she was on screen, she lit it up, you know, like she just popped on 177 00:11:08,820 --> 00:11:10,060 screen. Right, Jim? 178 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:13,660 Cornette put her in a perfect spot because she was that. 179 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:16,160 She wasn't playing a part either. That was Tammy. 180 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:23,760 My name is Dr. Tom Pritchard, and I was Chris Candido's tag team partner in WWE. 181 00:11:26,460 --> 00:11:30,720 Chris was starved in his eyes, and this love for this one woman that he's going 182 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:31,940 to spend the rest of his life with. 183 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:34,380 Why wouldn't you want to be with your partner? 184 00:11:35,130 --> 00:11:39,210 From the time they first came to Tennessee, they were inseparable. They 185 00:11:39,210 --> 00:11:43,550 together. They lived together, obviously. They seemed to be the most 186 00:11:43,770 --> 00:11:44,770 loving couple. 187 00:11:45,150 --> 00:11:49,670 You know, Tammy had no idea that wrestling was going to pan out for her. 188 00:11:49,670 --> 00:11:51,470 thought it was something that Chris was going to do. 189 00:11:51,890 --> 00:11:57,330 And then, actually, it made it all the more surprising when she got over 190 00:11:57,330 --> 00:11:58,330 than he did. 191 00:11:58,490 --> 00:12:01,410 They're obviously insecure about the masculinity. 192 00:12:02,450 --> 00:12:04,030 In early 1995, 193 00:12:05,100 --> 00:12:09,620 Tammy's charisma and Kristen's dynamic wrestling style catch the attention of 194 00:12:09,620 --> 00:12:14,700 the WWF. Signing with the company, the pair finally achieve their ultimate 195 00:12:14,700 --> 00:12:21,340 dream. My relationship with Kristen Tammy was obviously as a mentor as well 196 00:12:21,340 --> 00:12:25,740 boss, but I genuinely believed in both of their talents, and I wanted to see 197 00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:28,320 them succeed even past my promotion. 198 00:12:29,390 --> 00:12:33,410 He said, yeah, I'm going to go wrestle for the WWF, which I thought was, well, 199 00:12:33,510 --> 00:12:37,370 okay, so you did make it. That means you're dropping out of school, but I 200 00:12:37,370 --> 00:12:38,370 you did make it. 201 00:12:39,130 --> 00:12:44,130 His ultimate dream was getting to the WWF and being a top talent. 202 00:12:44,810 --> 00:12:50,010 He attained his goal, and a lot of people just never attain their goal, and 203 00:12:50,010 --> 00:12:52,370 did it without any encouragement from me. 204 00:12:53,210 --> 00:12:57,670 Tammy, from the beginning, was ready to conquer the world, and she didn't care 205 00:12:57,670 --> 00:12:58,750 who knew it. 206 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:00,800 Didn't care what anybody thought about her. 207 00:13:01,300 --> 00:13:07,200 Yes, I do think with the success, her head grew pretty big. 208 00:13:07,420 --> 00:13:12,860 But the transformation that she was undergoing personally inside and 209 00:13:12,860 --> 00:13:19,600 all that was even more remarkable and honestly much more 210 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:20,600 dangerous. 211 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:28,400 Hi, I'm Skip. 212 00:13:28,890 --> 00:13:34,410 And I'm Sunny. And we're the Body Donnas. At that time, a lot of people in 213 00:13:34,410 --> 00:13:36,670 were vocations. 214 00:13:36,950 --> 00:13:41,650 They were Mounties. They were IRS agents. They were repo men. 215 00:13:41,950 --> 00:13:43,530 I love my job! 216 00:13:44,270 --> 00:13:47,690 They made them fitness gurus. 217 00:13:48,070 --> 00:13:49,770 The Body Donnas. 218 00:13:50,310 --> 00:13:54,190 Chris was the young, jacked guy that would work out, and she was the... 219 00:13:54,730 --> 00:14:01,130 pretty girl that would exercise along with him. He would have been much more 220 00:14:01,130 --> 00:14:05,690 comfortable being himself, but I think he just thought of it as a rite of 221 00:14:05,690 --> 00:14:07,850 passage. See where it goes, and it went. 222 00:14:08,270 --> 00:14:09,970 I mean, they won the tag titles. 223 00:14:14,150 --> 00:14:21,110 When they added the tag partner and they 224 00:14:21,110 --> 00:14:23,390 made Tom Pritchard, who had, you know, long... 225 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:27,800 curly hair that he was a big fan of, shave his head. And I'm like, they 226 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,260 have just called me. It's like I had the hair already. 227 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:36,040 Hi, I'm Lance Storm, a professional wrestler who worked with Chris and Tammy 228 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:39,320 Smoky Mountain Wrestling as well as Extreme Championship Wrestling. 229 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,160 I could have been Zip, yeah. 230 00:14:45,380 --> 00:14:49,960 Although in hindsight, being 2020, and thank God they didn't. It sucked. 231 00:14:50,540 --> 00:14:51,540 It was horrible. 232 00:14:51,740 --> 00:14:54,780 It was the worst goddamn time of my life. Shit! 233 00:14:55,540 --> 00:14:58,040 Just, it was rotten. It was a rotten gimmick. 234 00:14:58,420 --> 00:15:03,200 And that's what got Chris Candido off on the wrong foot with the fans and the 235 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,680 WWF is they saw this as preliminary foolishness. 236 00:15:07,020 --> 00:15:12,620 And they weren't mad at Tammy anymore because she wasn't this bitchy heel 237 00:15:12,620 --> 00:15:17,760 manager. She was this girl doing jumping jacks and she's pretty, so they started 238 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:18,760 loving her. 239 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:25,040 She was amazing on the mic. She was amazing as a manager. She was amazing at 240 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:29,740 damn thing in the business that you could possibly ask of her. 241 00:15:29,940 --> 00:15:36,080 I am Terry Reynolds, former diva, manager, wrestler. 242 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:44,080 She was, back in the day, the most downloaded female on AOL. 243 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,760 And if you don't know what AOL is, well... 244 00:15:48,430 --> 00:15:53,710 It was back in the day, like way back when Christ was born, we had AOL books. 245 00:15:54,090 --> 00:15:56,030 Anyway, she was gorgeous. 246 00:15:56,490 --> 00:15:58,290 She just, she had it all. 247 00:15:58,650 --> 00:16:00,330 Viewer discretion is advised. 248 00:16:00,810 --> 00:16:07,630 She went from a 19 -year -old kid to a 24 -year -old sex 249 00:16:07,630 --> 00:16:08,630 bimbo. 250 00:16:08,910 --> 00:16:14,010 I think it timed well with, you know, the explosion of the Internet, and all 251 00:16:14,010 --> 00:16:17,250 a sudden it's, you know, everyone's downloading sexy pictures of attractive 252 00:16:17,250 --> 00:16:18,250 women. 253 00:16:20,339 --> 00:16:25,640 And Tammy was just hitting at the right time as this new sex symbol character on 254 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:26,640 wrestling television. 255 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:31,180 And there was a lot of teenager, younger boys that thought that was a pretty 256 00:16:31,180 --> 00:16:32,180 damn good thing. 257 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,840 In the beginning, a lot of people liked Tammy because she could come across as 258 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:37,840 very charming. 259 00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:43,500 But once you got to know her, you understood that was just a front. And 260 00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:44,680 was all about Tammy. 261 00:16:45,060 --> 00:16:47,340 I had heard Tammy was divisive. 262 00:16:47,740 --> 00:16:51,620 I always liked Tammy. I understood she was ambitious. 263 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:53,740 Like, that's not a negative. 264 00:16:54,020 --> 00:16:57,200 But it can be if you're a woman in a man's business. 265 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:03,460 So there was one time on television before they had taken her off the road 266 00:17:03,460 --> 00:17:04,560 the body Donna's manager. 267 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:10,760 Henry and Phineas Godwin, the pig farmers, they carried a slop bucket 268 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:14,839 they would dump the slop over the head of their opponents and people would 269 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:15,839 and they'd just love it. 270 00:17:17,869 --> 00:17:23,230 On a particular night, I remember the Godwins coming in, putting the bucket 271 00:17:23,230 --> 00:17:28,210 in the locker room. I said, Guy, the bucket is going on Tammy tonight. So 272 00:17:28,210 --> 00:17:31,610 anybody do anything in this bucket. 273 00:17:31,990 --> 00:17:33,050 And you can imagine. 274 00:17:33,870 --> 00:17:40,810 There must have been DNA from 20 different 275 00:17:40,810 --> 00:17:41,810 people in there. 276 00:17:42,430 --> 00:17:46,210 Tammy seemed to have heat in the dressing room. 277 00:17:46,510 --> 00:17:47,750 I don't know why. 278 00:17:48,430 --> 00:17:53,490 If cockiness was a penalty, then we wouldn't have much of a business. 279 00:17:56,750 --> 00:18:02,050 Everybody needs to have the performer's ego. Yes, you must have an ego. No 280 00:18:02,050 --> 00:18:08,490 doubt, Tammy didn't lack an ego, but she went off the rails because she didn't 281 00:18:08,490 --> 00:18:09,490 know how to control it. 282 00:18:09,810 --> 00:18:14,890 Tammy skyrockets to fame as one of the first female megastars in the WWF. 283 00:18:15,260 --> 00:18:18,880 But her rise to the top is plagued by a culture of drugs and alcohol. 284 00:18:19,460 --> 00:18:22,580 Soon, she's caught up in the hard partying lifestyle. 285 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:30,340 Well, at the time that Tammy and Shawn Michaels started their liaison, I didn't 286 00:18:30,340 --> 00:18:31,340 know about it originally. 287 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:37,100 Most people didn't. Then the rumors started circulating, and then it started 288 00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:38,940 become more of an out in the open thing. 289 00:18:42,860 --> 00:18:48,640 In the mid -90s, Shawn Michaels, the Heartbreak Kid, was the top star in the 290 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:54,500 WWF. He was the champion. He defeated Bret Hart in 1996 at WrestleMania and 291 00:18:54,500 --> 00:18:57,620 carried the belt through the end of 1997. 292 00:18:59,340 --> 00:19:02,640 I think Michaels did it because he could, and he could get away with it. 293 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,480 Can you feel it? Do you want to feel me? I can feel it. Did Chris find out about 294 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:10,379 Sean and Tammy? 295 00:19:10,380 --> 00:19:15,620 I don't know if he actually caught them red -handed, but how could you not know 296 00:19:15,620 --> 00:19:16,620 is my point. 297 00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:17,740 Of course he knew. 298 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:24,560 Everybody knew. I have to believe that he knew it and just could not accept 299 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,120 it. Oh, my goodness! 300 00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:31,640 She was a little girl that just wanted to be loved and, you know, being loved 301 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:32,640 the top guy. 302 00:19:33,330 --> 00:19:38,610 Felt a whole lot better than being loved by, you know, her boyfriend that was 303 00:19:38,610 --> 00:19:39,910 down here, I assume. 304 00:19:41,370 --> 00:19:46,350 If Shawn Michaels hadn't been Shawn Michaels and he got sideways with Chris 305 00:19:46,350 --> 00:19:50,190 Candido, Chris Candido would have broke him in 15 pieces and shoved him up his 306 00:19:50,190 --> 00:19:51,190 own ass. 307 00:19:51,650 --> 00:19:56,310 But Chris wasn't going to do that because Michaels is a big star. 308 00:19:56,570 --> 00:19:59,070 This is Chris's dream to work for the biggest promotion. 309 00:19:59,410 --> 00:20:00,530 He took it. 310 00:20:01,380 --> 00:20:03,520 And he internalized it, I think. 311 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:07,600 My brother and Tammy had an altercation in a hotel. 312 00:20:08,940 --> 00:20:15,600 It was too much. I couldn't watch my brother get treated like that. So I 313 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,140 him. I threw him out of the room into the hallway. 314 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,600 He's trying to fight to get back in. I'm not letting him. 315 00:20:22,260 --> 00:20:24,940 I'm like, dude, let's get in the car and let's get the fuck out of here. 316 00:20:25,460 --> 00:20:26,580 He's like, I can't do that, dude. 317 00:20:27,100 --> 00:20:29,960 He's like, dude, I brought her into this business. It's my responsibility to 318 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:33,060 take care of her. I'm like, that's bullshit, dude. Like, get the fuck out 319 00:20:33,060 --> 00:20:35,040 here. And he's like, I can't do it. 320 00:20:35,460 --> 00:20:37,820 We were together for almost the seven -year mark. 321 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:42,360 And it was like I had the itch. You know what I mean? I was kind of tired of 322 00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:43,360 being in the same thing. 323 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:46,900 And so we split up for a little while, and that's when I was seeing Sean. 324 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,740 Nothing was ever talked about. Nothing was ever brought up. 325 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:55,140 That's why, like, to this day, I always wondered, did he know everything? Did he 326 00:20:55,140 --> 00:20:56,140 not know? 327 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,000 If he knew he just loved me so much, he just ignored it. 328 00:20:59,260 --> 00:21:01,800 You know what I mean? I would love to know, but I'll never know. 329 00:21:03,140 --> 00:21:07,920 Chris Candido's undeniable talent isn't enough to make him a top star in the 330 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:08,920 eyes of the company. 331 00:21:09,100 --> 00:21:14,340 After falling down the ranks of the WWF, a serious injury makes his prospects 332 00:21:14,340 --> 00:21:15,340 even worse. 333 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:17,220 He was in Madison Square Garden. 334 00:21:19,500 --> 00:21:21,600 He came back to the dressing room. 335 00:21:22,460 --> 00:21:25,540 It's not going to hurt neck. Well, they found out that it was. 336 00:21:25,850 --> 00:21:27,030 More than hurt, it was broke. 337 00:21:27,970 --> 00:21:29,910 And this kid's going out there busting his ass. 338 00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:36,270 You know, having a broken neck, aching back, everything else in life. 339 00:21:37,050 --> 00:21:38,830 Somebody says, here, try this. 340 00:21:39,290 --> 00:21:41,890 Well, if one's good, six must be even better. 341 00:21:42,670 --> 00:21:48,810 My brother never touched a drink, a drug, anything until he 342 00:21:48,810 --> 00:21:50,750 was in WWF. 343 00:21:51,270 --> 00:21:54,270 And it was out of necessity. It was pain. He was hurt. He broke his neck. 344 00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:59,980 I was surprised when I heard that Chris had fallen into that trap because he'd 345 00:21:59,980 --> 00:22:03,240 always been so clean. Didn't even drink. 346 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:09,500 It started for pain, obviously, but then it became he could use it to just go to 347 00:22:09,500 --> 00:22:10,560 sleep and forget about it. 348 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:13,900 And I think he used it for his emotions at times, yes. 349 00:22:21,420 --> 00:22:26,380 While Tammy Sitch revels in the fame and excitement of being on top in the WWF, 350 00:22:26,540 --> 00:22:31,460 Chris Candido finds himself squeezed out and even bullied by the toxic culture 351 00:22:31,460 --> 00:22:38,120 of the locker room. He wasn't well -liked by a few key people in the locker 352 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:42,660 room. And life can be really tough for somebody who's not well -liked by the 353 00:22:42,660 --> 00:22:43,840 people in the locker room. 354 00:22:44,300 --> 00:22:47,620 Battling injuries and frustration with his mid -card status. 355 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,960 Chris leaves the WWF in search of the main event spotlight and joins the 356 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,420 hardcore and controversial Extreme Championship Wrestling. 357 00:22:56,660 --> 00:22:59,000 Paul Heyman was in charge of ECW. 358 00:22:59,260 --> 00:23:03,420 Chris knew he would be well utilized there, and he was. 359 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:13,780 The thing that the fans liked about Chris was that he was a throwback to an 360 00:23:13,780 --> 00:23:14,780 -time wrestler. 361 00:23:14,910 --> 00:23:18,510 He was exciting and fast and strong and he could talk and he looked good. 362 00:23:19,010 --> 00:23:24,090 That in -ring portrayal was the best thing that Chris Candido ever did. 363 00:23:29,430 --> 00:23:33,990 It's like, and people think we're, and we were insane, but it's like an ECW 364 00:23:33,990 --> 00:23:37,370 we were working. It's like his finisher was the blonde bombshell, the power bomb 365 00:23:37,370 --> 00:23:38,370 off the top rope. 366 00:23:38,950 --> 00:23:40,670 And depending on which one of us won. 367 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,100 We would give the other one the power pump off the top rope every night. 368 00:23:47,140 --> 00:23:48,680 There it is, the blind doctor! 369 00:23:49,180 --> 00:23:53,020 And he had injuries from these bumps. I remember there was one time in the 370 00:23:53,020 --> 00:23:55,680 middle of the night his back was bothering him so much they caved in and 371 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:56,680 him to the hospital. 372 00:23:57,180 --> 00:23:59,720 And when they went in and first looked at his back, the doctor looked at him 373 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:01,000 said, well, I need to see the accident report. 374 00:24:01,260 --> 00:24:02,520 And Chris was like, what do you mean? 375 00:24:03,100 --> 00:24:05,380 He's like, well, you were in a car accident, right? He's like, no. 376 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:09,460 They're like, well, how did your back end up this messed up? He's like, um, I 377 00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:10,460 wrestled professionally. 378 00:24:11,050 --> 00:24:15,970 The fans for that 90s grunge era loved that kind of shit. 379 00:24:16,370 --> 00:24:20,050 And as a result, all those guys crippled themselves. 380 00:24:20,570 --> 00:24:23,330 Had to face the reality of breaking my neck twice. 381 00:24:23,810 --> 00:24:29,810 And that fed the drug use that most of the people involved on the ECW roster 382 00:24:29,810 --> 00:24:31,650 were already heavily involved with. 383 00:24:33,190 --> 00:24:39,390 Thomas were a drug of choice for a lot of wrestlers, especially in the 90s. 384 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:45,400 2000s, it's a muscle relaxer, heavy -duty muscle relaxer. They're really 385 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:50,980 for back pain. The intended use for somas is take one or two with food. 386 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:58,080 However, if you take six, seven, chew them up, swallow them, and it's 387 00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:04,520 like instant, I was going to say instant drunk, but it's not drunk. It's like a 388 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:06,540 euphoric state is pretty much what it is. 389 00:25:07,150 --> 00:25:13,370 It seems to me like people can be addicted with one prescription, with 30 390 00:25:13,490 --> 00:25:18,850 By the time that week is up, you can be an addict. 391 00:25:19,890 --> 00:25:22,010 Tammy, she didn't have any of that problem. 392 00:25:22,330 --> 00:25:26,410 It was the jack -offs that she was going out and partying with. They're all 393 00:25:26,410 --> 00:25:30,530 drinking. They're all doing somas. She didn't have any of those issues. She 394 00:25:30,530 --> 00:25:31,670 started doing it socially. 395 00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:37,500 Tammy's meteoric rise in the WWF hits a sudden obstacle with the arrival of 396 00:25:37,500 --> 00:25:42,700 Sable, a new diva who quickly outshines Tammy in the eyes of both the company 397 00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:43,940 and the fans. 398 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:45,180 Shut up, I'm reading. 399 00:25:45,380 --> 00:25:51,360 In the hopes of revitalizing her career, Tammy joins Chris at ECW as his on 400 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:52,360 -screen manager. 401 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,100 But her struggles with substance abuse continue, affecting her performance in 402 00:25:57,100 --> 00:25:57,659 the ring. 403 00:25:57,660 --> 00:26:02,620 She would, walking on her high heels, her ankles would be vibrating and 404 00:26:02,700 --> 00:26:05,260 and she'd be stumbling, and the audience noticed it on her entrance. 405 00:26:05,660 --> 00:26:09,380 Joey, take a look at that front row, that ringside area. It's not like 406 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:18,440 As Chris and Tammy's drug use spirals out of control, it becomes impossible to 407 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:23,640 ignore, both for audiences and ECW owner Paul Heyman. Let me tell a few jokes. 408 00:26:23,700 --> 00:26:26,720 Let me get on the floor and do the curly shovel. There's no more jokes now. 409 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,940 It's no more fun and games. No more joking around. 410 00:26:30,700 --> 00:26:37,140 To keep their jobs in ECW, Tammy agrees to film a provocative tell -all video as 411 00:26:37,140 --> 00:26:40,600 directed by Paul Heyman. My first drink was at home. 412 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,220 And there were no more pills to make you go to sleep. 413 00:26:46,700 --> 00:26:48,060 It was disheartening. 414 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,480 As their friend, I'm watching it sitting there going, this is not productive. 415 00:26:52,860 --> 00:26:55,440 This is not going to help these kids in any way. 416 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,440 I was hoping I wouldn't wake up this morning. 417 00:26:58,240 --> 00:26:59,880 Tell me about it. Describe that feeling. 418 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:04,740 It's the worst feeling in the world. 419 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:08,020 I was mad at Heyman. 420 00:27:08,520 --> 00:27:12,600 For a long time, still, I could work up getting mad at him now for doing that, 421 00:27:12,700 --> 00:27:17,060 but it was all because Paul thought people will watch this, it'll get 422 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:21,280 Well, they'll watch two dogs fucking on the side of the road too, Paul, but I 423 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:22,520 wouldn't have put it on my television. 424 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:29,560 I don't think it did anyone any favors. Now, the right answer would have been 425 00:27:29,560 --> 00:27:32,680 that their time off, they had gone to rehab and got everything worked out, and 426 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:36,840 we had the triumphant story on the return, but... 427 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:38,480 That's not what happened. 428 00:27:45,580 --> 00:27:51,160 As their alcoholism and soma addictions grow more severe, Chris and Tammy's 429 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,460 domestic problems escalate to a whole new level of intensity. 430 00:27:54,740 --> 00:27:56,860 I would see something really crazy. 431 00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:58,660 Just crazy insanity. 432 00:27:59,100 --> 00:28:02,060 Like she's pulling knives out of the butcher block. 433 00:28:03,140 --> 00:28:04,260 He's running away. 434 00:28:05,390 --> 00:28:09,210 Then she's locked in the car, and then he picks me up from high school the next 435 00:28:09,210 --> 00:28:13,570 day, and he's like, oh, dude, Tammy's waiting for you to put together your 436 00:28:13,570 --> 00:28:17,110 bedroom set. And he's, like, wondering why I'm not stoked to go put together a 437 00:28:17,110 --> 00:28:18,110 bedroom set. 438 00:28:18,230 --> 00:28:21,210 And we just never talked about it. We just left it under the rug, and that was 439 00:28:21,210 --> 00:28:22,210 it. 440 00:28:26,150 --> 00:28:31,990 Chris would be in the ring wrestling, and Tammy... 441 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,940 would be somewhere else with somebody else in the back. 442 00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:38,880 Well, he's in the ring. 443 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:42,020 Well, he's in the ring. 444 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:43,840 You have to want to stop. 445 00:28:44,380 --> 00:28:45,860 You have to want to get better. 446 00:28:46,380 --> 00:28:52,220 And I don't think either one of them knew how to live any other way at that 447 00:28:52,220 --> 00:28:57,680 time. While serving their suspension from ECW, Paul Heyman keeps Chris and 448 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:02,180 on the payroll by assigning them office jobs, including arranging travel plans. 449 00:29:02,590 --> 00:29:04,150 for other wrestlers on the road. 450 00:29:04,390 --> 00:29:10,510 My brother had the American Express card, and he would book the boys' 451 00:29:10,510 --> 00:29:12,690 hotel rooms and then get reimbursed with cash. 452 00:29:12,890 --> 00:29:16,890 He'd do it, get reimbursed with cash, and then he stopped getting reimbursed 453 00:29:16,890 --> 00:29:17,609 with cash. 454 00:29:17,610 --> 00:29:22,490 What Chris and Tammy don't know is that ECW is struggling with crippling debt. 455 00:29:22,670 --> 00:29:27,690 As the promotion crumbles, the couple is stuck with a massive bill for tens of 456 00:29:27,690 --> 00:29:31,230 thousands of dollars in unreimbursed ECW expenses. 457 00:29:31,820 --> 00:29:38,180 So they ended up in huge, huge debt and ultimately ended up 458 00:29:38,180 --> 00:29:39,500 losing their home. 459 00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:46,920 So that was a horrible time for them. His drug use was probably as bad as it 460 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:47,920 ever was. 461 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:53,840 We knew of pharmacies that were corrupted, and we could go there and get 462 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:55,620 somas every other day, you know. 463 00:29:55,940 --> 00:29:59,660 So we were at this pharmacy, and we were waiting, waiting, waiting. 464 00:30:00,490 --> 00:30:01,650 And all of a sudden he goes, oh, no. 465 00:30:03,710 --> 00:30:06,770 And he has a seizure, and he bites his tongue, and he's coughing up blood. 466 00:30:07,230 --> 00:30:10,230 And I'm holding him, trying to get his eyes to, like, look at me, you know. 467 00:30:12,270 --> 00:30:14,010 So they call the ambulance. 468 00:30:14,750 --> 00:30:18,530 And when you come out of a seizure, you don't know what you're saying. 469 00:30:19,590 --> 00:30:23,730 They're like, sir, sir, what day is it? Sir, what day is it? I'm like, move out 470 00:30:23,730 --> 00:30:24,730 of the way. Ask him something he knows. 471 00:30:25,260 --> 00:30:27,960 I'm like, look, how many times did Ric Flair win the NWA title? 472 00:30:28,460 --> 00:30:29,660 He's like 16. 473 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:30,960 I'm like, all right, he's alive. 474 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:36,540 Then we go to the hospital, and he would, you know, be like, where am I? 475 00:30:36,540 --> 00:30:37,540 like, you're in the hospital. 476 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:39,820 And he'd be like, I'm in the hospital. Get the fuck out of here. 477 00:30:40,420 --> 00:30:41,900 Drip the things out of his arm and we'd go. 478 00:30:44,020 --> 00:30:45,520 After years of uncertainty. 479 00:30:46,170 --> 00:30:49,990 Chris and Tammy receive an invitation to join an independent wrestling promotion 480 00:30:49,990 --> 00:30:53,430 in Puerto Rico with the hope of revitalizing their careers. 481 00:30:53,970 --> 00:30:57,750 However, things quickly take a turn for the worse. We get there. 482 00:30:58,190 --> 00:31:01,090 The buildings are decrepit. A lot of them are outside. 483 00:31:01,410 --> 00:31:02,410 No running water. 484 00:31:03,330 --> 00:31:06,770 You get hit in the head with 9 -volt batteries as you walk in and out of the 485 00:31:06,770 --> 00:31:07,770 locker room. 486 00:31:08,270 --> 00:31:11,530 People go up to the concession stands, buy a cup of soda, drink it, fill it 487 00:31:11,530 --> 00:31:13,870 pee, pour it on your head as you walk in the locker room. Whether you're a heel 488 00:31:13,870 --> 00:31:15,250 or a baby face, it doesn't matter. 489 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:18,320 I had wealth on my head from 9 -volt batteries night after night. 490 00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:22,040 The access in Puerto Rico to SOMAS was very easy. 491 00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:28,040 You know, it was well known where you could go to get SOMAS just like that. 492 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:29,740 I heard Chris was struggling. 493 00:31:30,060 --> 00:31:32,480 Ah, man, I heard it was bad. 494 00:31:32,940 --> 00:31:37,140 He would just say, you know, dude, if I go out, I want to leave a good -looking 495 00:31:37,140 --> 00:31:42,620 corpse, you know, blonde, tan, and, you know, I want to, like, live fast, die 496 00:31:42,620 --> 00:31:45,100 young. I'm like, dude, don't fucking say that shit. 497 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:50,920 He needed to change. I think he even knew, you know, that he needed to 498 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:56,120 And it's not time to throw in the towel and just, you know, stay there and 499 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:57,120 fucking die. 500 00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:03,740 One day, you know, we were sitting there having our lunch. 501 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,600 And he's like, man, you know, the guys on the Indies right now fucking, you 502 00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:09,600 know, he's like, they really. 503 00:32:09,660 --> 00:32:12,040 get under my skin. He's like, you know, they don't look like professional 504 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:17,840 athletes. He's like, you know, when I was 17, 18, I was already big, muscular. 505 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:21,320 was going to Smoky Mountain. I was making moves. I was doing all this 506 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:25,260 I'm like, yeah, dude, that's why you were a standout. That's why you made it, 507 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:31,900 numbnuts. And he's like, he's like, man, I really fucked everything up. 508 00:32:32,420 --> 00:32:36,840 And I was like, dude, no, you didn't. Like, you're 32, 31. 509 00:32:37,300 --> 00:32:38,920 Let's get back on fucking track. 510 00:32:39,790 --> 00:32:41,730 And he's like, yeah, dude, fuck it. 511 00:32:43,150 --> 00:32:49,850 It was at that point that his love for wrestling overcame his addiction 512 00:32:49,850 --> 00:32:50,930 to the psalmist. 513 00:32:56,990 --> 00:33:01,510 Chris gets clean and undergoes intense training to regain his fighting form. 514 00:33:01,710 --> 00:33:05,970 With Tammy by his side, he returns to the mainland to join a new wrestling 515 00:33:05,970 --> 00:33:08,690 promotion called Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. 516 00:33:09,260 --> 00:33:13,560 Back on television, he's determined to work his way to the top of the industry. 517 00:33:13,980 --> 00:33:20,200 What I noticed from Chris Casso is being reinvigorated, getting that drive back, 518 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:23,860 and you could see it in his eyes. I could see it in his work. 519 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:28,280 He was as happy as he was when he first got signed to WWF. 520 00:33:28,740 --> 00:33:32,460 Like, he had that same happiness. Like, dude, he was, like, glowing, you know? 521 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:38,120 The thing he just said, he's like, dude, like, I'm really sorry for all the... 522 00:33:38,350 --> 00:33:40,950 Stuff that you saw at such a young age, you know, I apologize. 523 00:33:41,770 --> 00:33:44,770 He's like, I shouldn't have like, you know, put you in that situation. And I'm 524 00:33:44,770 --> 00:33:48,030 just like, dude, you were a baby too. You know, you were 23, 24. 525 00:33:49,010 --> 00:33:54,170 I had heard at that point he had cleaned up and he certainly seemed like Smokey 526 00:33:54,170 --> 00:33:55,610 Mountain, Chris Candido again. 527 00:33:57,350 --> 00:34:01,810 There was a camera in the ring and he tried to bump to get away from it. 528 00:34:02,750 --> 00:34:07,190 And that got his boot hung up a little bit in the canvas when he was trying to. 529 00:34:07,710 --> 00:34:14,530 bump and his shin broke and right 530 00:34:14,530 --> 00:34:21,510 away he he wanted to stand up but he couldn't he got out of the ring and 531 00:34:21,510 --> 00:34:27,449 they they took him to the hospital and i'm freaking out i'm here you know i i 532 00:34:27,449 --> 00:34:31,630 call his phone and he's just like he's like dude i can't believe i left the 533 00:34:31,630 --> 00:34:35,790 he's like i just couldn't stand up you know i think i'm just like Fucking 534 00:34:35,790 --> 00:34:38,989 embarrassed that I left the ring. Like, I shouldn't have done that. 535 00:34:41,030 --> 00:34:47,630 I talked to him on Monday, and he said, hey, I'm about to go to the doctor. 536 00:34:48,070 --> 00:34:49,290 I'll call you back. 537 00:34:49,630 --> 00:34:54,610 After undergoing extensive ankle surgery, Chris makes a surprise 538 00:34:54,610 --> 00:34:59,530 TNA event just two days later. He then boards a flight home, unaware of the 539 00:34:59,530 --> 00:35:00,610 tragedy that awaits. 540 00:35:01,130 --> 00:35:03,370 Everybody saw the horrendous injury. 541 00:35:03,930 --> 00:35:05,290 that I sustained in lockdown. 542 00:35:05,750 --> 00:35:08,990 On Wednesday, he flew home and he called me Wednesday night. 543 00:35:10,090 --> 00:35:15,550 And he's like, oh, Mom, I just don't feel good. I said, well, Chris, you 544 00:35:15,550 --> 00:35:16,850 probably shouldn't have flown home. 545 00:35:17,070 --> 00:35:18,970 You just need to go to bed. 546 00:35:19,990 --> 00:35:22,090 And that was the last time I talked to him. 547 00:35:23,810 --> 00:35:27,630 All I know is he was fine on the phone talking to me. 548 00:35:28,170 --> 00:35:29,890 You know, the two of us were chatting. 549 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,680 You know, last thing we said to each other was, hey, love you, bro. Love you, 550 00:35:33,700 --> 00:35:38,640 too. It was the next morning that I get a call that Cook's in the hospital. 551 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:45,220 I go in there, and I see him, like, laid on a hospital bed. 552 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,080 And I get on top of him like I've done a million times, and I'm like, Cook, 553 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:49,839 Cook, Cook. 554 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:51,900 You know, I'm like, yo, wake up, wake up. 555 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:56,220 And, you know, I'm trying to, like, open his eyes and shit. 556 00:35:56,860 --> 00:35:58,340 And then when I... 557 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:03,680 I was trying to grab, once I grabbed his hand, I realized he passed away, 558 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:10,580 because the blood stopped flowing, and I was like, holy shit, like, 559 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:15,480 it was fucking, like, it was the worst experience of my entire life. 560 00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:24,220 I just go walking, and I found a church, and I went and said a couple prayers, 561 00:36:24,460 --> 00:36:25,920 and then, yo. 562 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:30,520 Sorry, hold on. 563 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,160 The last interaction I had with Chris. 564 00:37:00,110 --> 00:37:01,110 Everything was off. 565 00:37:01,630 --> 00:37:03,890 Everything didn't. It was just fucked. 566 00:37:04,590 --> 00:37:08,270 And I got home, and Tommy Dreamer called me. 567 00:37:08,490 --> 00:37:10,010 I said, Chris is dead. 568 00:37:10,290 --> 00:37:11,290 I said, Chris who? 569 00:37:11,310 --> 00:37:13,510 It couldn't have been Candido. I just talked to him Monday. 570 00:37:13,950 --> 00:37:15,110 He said, Candido. 571 00:37:15,390 --> 00:37:16,430 He started crying. 572 00:37:17,530 --> 00:37:18,730 I said, oh, my God. 573 00:37:20,750 --> 00:37:23,370 And I hung up. He hung up. I started crying. 574 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:39,440 I don't really break up, you know, but that image has freaking stuck with me. 575 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:46,280 Doctor comes in, kneels down in front of me and says, sorry, he's gone. 576 00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:47,700 I said, what? 577 00:37:49,260 --> 00:37:50,500 You're sorry he's gone? 578 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:54,060 I said, what are you talking about? Gone where? Did he have to walk out? 579 00:37:54,740 --> 00:37:58,800 He's like, no, we lost him. I was like, what do you mean? I don't comprehend 580 00:37:58,800 --> 00:38:00,780 this. And then that's when they said they found the blood clot. 581 00:38:01,210 --> 00:38:04,710 They said after the surgery, blood clot formed in his ankle and went to his 582 00:38:04,710 --> 00:38:07,010 lungs, which caused pneumonia, and went to his heart. 583 00:38:07,250 --> 00:38:08,910 And they said this was nothing they could have done. 584 00:38:11,390 --> 00:38:13,970 By the time I got to the hospital, he was already gone. 585 00:38:15,190 --> 00:38:16,910 I let him down. 586 00:38:17,450 --> 00:38:18,450 Why do you say that? 587 00:38:18,930 --> 00:38:20,030 Because if I knew, 588 00:38:21,370 --> 00:38:24,370 maybe I could have helped him. Maybe I could have saved him. 589 00:38:24,970 --> 00:38:28,830 Maybe I should have been there. I shouldn't have let him go through 590 00:38:28,830 --> 00:38:34,270 himself. You know, you think back on things and you say, maybe if I was 591 00:38:34,490 --> 00:38:35,730 things would be different. 592 00:38:38,610 --> 00:38:42,530 I miss him. I miss him all the time. 593 00:38:43,250 --> 00:38:49,050 And I just feel sad that he didn't get the opportunity to 594 00:38:49,050 --> 00:38:54,590 enjoy a lot more life because he had a lot more life to live. 595 00:39:00,270 --> 00:39:02,990 You know, here's the thing about this whole deal. 596 00:39:03,990 --> 00:39:06,850 They said this kid never did anything wrong to anybody. 597 00:39:08,010 --> 00:39:10,130 And he finally, he has all those problems. 598 00:39:10,350 --> 00:39:12,150 And then he finally is getting straightened out. 599 00:39:12,930 --> 00:39:17,950 And just when he gets his last chance, 600 00:39:18,090 --> 00:39:24,930 it was because he was so dedicated to the wrestling business that he 601 00:39:24,930 --> 00:39:27,970 died. He could have sat at home and they would have paid him. 602 00:39:28,750 --> 00:39:33,370 But after he had that surgery, he had to get on a plane and go somewhere, and 603 00:39:33,370 --> 00:39:38,350 you shouldn't fly after surgery. You can get blood clots in the altitude and the 604 00:39:38,350 --> 00:39:39,390 pressure, whatever. 605 00:39:40,350 --> 00:39:44,030 And that's what happened. A goddamn broken ankle killed him. 606 00:39:46,790 --> 00:39:47,890 I need a minute. 607 00:39:48,690 --> 00:39:49,690 I'm sorry. 608 00:39:50,190 --> 00:39:55,810 With Chris, I don't get sentimental about many people. 609 00:40:15,130 --> 00:40:19,790 If Chris Candido was around today, he'd be one of the biggest stars in wrestling 610 00:40:19,790 --> 00:40:21,410 because the style has changed. 611 00:40:21,750 --> 00:40:25,290 And they like smaller, younger, faster guys. 612 00:40:26,640 --> 00:40:31,660 The road that Chris helped pave is now the road most traveled. 613 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:36,840 And I think because of that, he's left a bigger legacy, even though she was by 614 00:40:36,840 --> 00:40:38,840 far the bigger star at her peak. 615 00:40:39,060 --> 00:40:42,300 Tammy was that bridge to divas. 616 00:40:42,540 --> 00:40:47,780 The road she paved at the time is a road almost no longer traveled. 617 00:40:48,660 --> 00:40:51,760 I once heard her say she has no regrets. 618 00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:54,160 None. Zero. Vilch. 619 00:40:54,510 --> 00:41:00,110 I don't know if you are a living, breathing human being that you can truly 620 00:41:00,110 --> 00:41:06,950 those words and mean them because mistakes are regrets, in my opinion. 621 00:41:07,290 --> 00:41:08,910 When was the last time you spoke to her? 622 00:41:09,190 --> 00:41:10,750 I think she'd just gotten out of jail. 623 00:41:11,510 --> 00:41:12,790 Real quick, what's your last name? 624 00:41:14,570 --> 00:41:15,570 What's your first name? 625 00:41:16,050 --> 00:41:17,430 Okay, what's your middle name? 626 00:41:18,330 --> 00:41:21,870 I mean, the way I look at it, did I fuck up? Sure, I did. Absolutely. 627 00:41:22,250 --> 00:41:23,250 But you know what? 628 00:41:23,310 --> 00:41:24,310 Shit happens. 629 00:41:24,510 --> 00:41:28,330 Life happens, and there's nothing you can do about it. I, unfortunately, 630 00:41:28,330 --> 00:41:33,870 know how to cover it up very well with, you know, seven DUIs and a couple of 631 00:41:33,870 --> 00:41:39,410 jail stints. You could still always hold out hope that she'd straighten up and 632 00:41:39,410 --> 00:41:41,630 get her shit together. People do. 633 00:41:42,910 --> 00:41:48,070 And then we got the news, and at this point, it's never surprising, but still, 634 00:41:48,090 --> 00:41:50,450 it's like, oh, boy, you know, she's done it now. 635 00:41:51,070 --> 00:41:56,290 49 -year -old Tamara Sitch, a former WWE wrestler, crashed into the back of a 636 00:41:56,290 --> 00:41:58,430 car, killing its 75 -year -old driver. 637 00:41:58,810 --> 00:41:59,810 She's drunk. 638 00:41:59,970 --> 00:42:05,390 She has no license with the multiple DUIs. She has no business being anywhere 639 00:42:05,390 --> 00:42:11,950 behind the wheel and is now charged with DUI manslaughter, 640 00:42:12,190 --> 00:42:14,190 up to 20 -something years in prison. 641 00:42:15,270 --> 00:42:19,550 She's denying it and denying it and denying it. 642 00:42:21,050 --> 00:42:23,470 When you can't be honest with yourself, you're not going to be honest with 643 00:42:23,470 --> 00:42:28,110 anybody else. So I just don't think she's coming out. 644 00:42:28,750 --> 00:42:29,870 I hope she doesn't. 645 00:42:30,090 --> 00:42:31,610 I don't want to do any more damage. 646 00:42:32,410 --> 00:42:38,750 It was surprising, the way that everything turned out, to see both of 647 00:42:38,750 --> 00:42:43,630 young people and then especially to see what happened with Tammy. 648 00:42:44,050 --> 00:42:45,050 Tammy changed. 649 00:42:45,550 --> 00:42:46,550 Tammy... 650 00:42:47,110 --> 00:42:50,810 lost track of what was going on, and Tammy lost control of her life. 651 00:42:52,090 --> 00:42:56,030 I wouldn't have seen that coming from the girl I first met. 652 00:42:56,750 --> 00:42:59,530 Chris Candido, the real world heavyweight champion. 653 00:43:00,010 --> 00:43:06,230 Chris, the last 15 years, I don't think if he'd have lived, if he would have 654 00:43:06,230 --> 00:43:08,090 been a significantly different person. 655 00:43:08,550 --> 00:43:11,190 Today, Chris would be one of the biggest stars in the business. 656 00:43:12,020 --> 00:43:16,440 Because the business is more accepting of what Chris offered and what he 657 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:17,440 brought. 658 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:19,640 His legacy. 659 00:43:20,540 --> 00:43:27,240 I think if you're happy doing what you're doing, you should just do it. 660 00:43:28,540 --> 00:43:33,620 Just do it. If you have a dream, dream it. Live your dream. Live your life to 661 00:43:33,620 --> 00:43:34,279 the fullest. 662 00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:37,620 He did more in 33 years than I've done in 73. 663 00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:44,240 He's been everywhere. He's seen so many things. He's had so many life 664 00:43:44,240 --> 00:43:46,560 experiences. He was special. 665 00:43:46,860 --> 00:43:50,340 He was my special kid. He was special to a lot of people. 666 00:43:50,740 --> 00:43:52,220 And I'm thankful for that.