1 00:00:05,980 --> 00:00:09,940 Don't let people see you out there signing autographs, all these little 2 00:00:09,940 --> 00:00:11,880 stuff. They say, oh, you're not a bad guy. 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:16,440 You want them to think you're the baddest, meanest bastard ever walked the 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:18,380 street. And that's where you're going to make money. 5 00:00:18,660 --> 00:00:19,660 Dr. D. 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,220 David Schultz. In the early 80s, there were few better at playing the villain 7 00:00:25,220 --> 00:00:25,959 than Dr. 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:27,240 D. David Schultz. 9 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,000 What's wrong with you? You're crazy. Come out here and try to make a fool out 10 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,160 me. Get the camera out of here. He was big enough and mean enough to get his 11 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:36,800 way. Get down and fight, baby. 12 00:00:37,020 --> 00:00:37,879 Get down. 13 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:39,900 At the same time, he was a tremendous performer. 14 00:00:40,260 --> 00:00:44,720 He was destined to become one of World Wrestling Federation's most notorious 15 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:45,720 stars. 16 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,200 They hated me, but they loved me. They loved to hate me. 17 00:00:51,900 --> 00:00:55,840 I'm the guy that went to school with you people out there when you was growing 18 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,320 up. They took your lunch money from you. That was my job, to be bad. 19 00:00:59,580 --> 00:01:00,580 And I can back it up. 20 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:05,680 But one fateful encounter in New York would destroy his career in an instant. 21 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:08,100 make sure that nobody knew the secret. 22 00:01:08,570 --> 00:01:12,010 Inside the locker room. You know? Standard question. I think this is fake. 23 00:01:12,250 --> 00:01:15,850 What's your response to the people who point out that this is fake? 24 00:01:17,330 --> 00:01:20,630 Holy shit, what the hell just happened here? 25 00:01:20,870 --> 00:01:26,330 In an era when wrestlers lived by an honor code of protecting the business, 26 00:01:26,330 --> 00:01:28,650 one took it more to heart than David Schultz. 27 00:01:29,110 --> 00:01:31,950 And one single action cost him everything. 28 00:01:32,460 --> 00:01:35,540 They called me back and said, nobody wants to sign a contract with you. 29 00:01:35,540 --> 00:01:36,880 too mean. You're too bad. 30 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:38,420 I'm anything but fake. 31 00:01:38,740 --> 00:01:42,000 I'm an entertainer, a con man, whatever. 32 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:44,520 I am not a fake. 33 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:58,080 For most of the 20th century, professional wrestling was a closed 34 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,040 the rules of the game were never revealed to the paying public. 35 00:02:02,380 --> 00:02:07,060 wrestlers lived by a secret code that maintained the illusion of good and evil 36 00:02:07,060 --> 00:02:11,440 in the squared circle, make the fights look real even if the matches are 37 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:16,480 predetermined. But at the dawn of a pro wrestling revolution, the old traditions 38 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,080 were changing faster than some performers could keep up with. 39 00:02:23,700 --> 00:02:26,220 Okay, this is one of my storage units here. 40 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:28,800 Oh, yeah, here we go, baby. 41 00:02:29,310 --> 00:02:31,950 Just come on in. Bring yourself on in here. Watch your step. 42 00:02:32,690 --> 00:02:37,550 Watch the spiders and the snakes and all that. Here's a card that I used to use. 43 00:02:37,830 --> 00:02:41,910 It said, you've just been patronized by the world's greatest pro wrestler. 44 00:02:42,250 --> 00:02:43,270 Where'd this thing come from? 45 00:02:43,510 --> 00:02:47,090 I don't know how they get it to look so lively, you know, just like me. 46 00:02:47,350 --> 00:02:52,310 This bag here has got some very special items. 47 00:02:53,090 --> 00:02:57,090 One of them is a stun gun, and you take this. 48 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:03,400 And you pull it back here, and when you hold it on the guy, you just tell him, 49 00:03:03,420 --> 00:03:05,160 you're under arrest, get your hands up. 50 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:09,000 If you don't obey, I'm going to shoot you. 51 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:10,600 And they say, hey, man. 52 00:03:11,460 --> 00:03:16,840 Boom. I'm Dr. D. David Schultz, probably the greatest pro wrestler of all time, 53 00:03:16,860 --> 00:03:17,860 in my opinion. 54 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:23,600 You know, about 72, 73, I was watching wrestling on TV one time, and I said, 55 00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:25,540 well, this is not hard, so. 56 00:03:26,110 --> 00:03:27,830 I went by to see Herb Welch. 57 00:03:28,130 --> 00:03:33,130 This one right here is Herb Welch, the one that trained me. Herb Welch, how to 58 00:03:33,130 --> 00:03:34,150 become a champion. 59 00:03:34,970 --> 00:03:38,090 Herb Welch had been one of the biggest wrestling stars in the South from the 60 00:03:38,090 --> 00:03:42,950 time of the Depression through the 1950s. He had learned from the pioneers, 61 00:03:42,950 --> 00:03:46,970 original pro wrestlers that came from the carnivals. It was the last place in 62 00:03:46,970 --> 00:03:51,730 the country that you could go to literally learn from a guy who was there 63 00:03:51,730 --> 00:03:53,910 formation of organized professional wrestling. 64 00:03:54,250 --> 00:03:57,930 I'm Jim Cornette, and for nearly 40 years, I've been a promoter, a 65 00:03:58,130 --> 00:04:01,350 announcer, manager, and a historian in professional wrestling. 66 00:04:01,980 --> 00:04:06,000 He lived in Dyesburg. I went out there and pulled the truck over, and he come 67 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:07,000 out on the porch. 68 00:04:07,220 --> 00:04:10,880 We sat there and talked a while, and he said, yeah, I'll train you when you want 69 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:11,879 to start. 70 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:16,620 His method of training was to take these guys into his barn on his farm and beat 71 00:04:16,620 --> 00:04:17,620 the piss out of them. 72 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,920 Herb Welch was such a salty, mean old bastard that he would go in the locker 73 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,020 room and he would take a dump, and he would take a handful of it and he would 74 00:04:26,020 --> 00:04:27,900 rub it in his armpit. 75 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:31,500 And then when he got out there, the first thing he'd do is he'd lock up with 76 00:04:31,500 --> 00:04:35,560 guy and grab a headlock and start grinding that head as hard as he could 77 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:39,580 the guy was screaming, please let me go. I'll do anything you want. Please let 78 00:04:39,580 --> 00:04:40,239 me go. 79 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:45,500 They was trying to hurt me, say, can you be one of us? Are you capable of doing 80 00:04:45,500 --> 00:04:49,390 this? I'd already gotten in pretty good shape after about a month and a half, 81 00:04:49,450 --> 00:04:53,270 two months. He was getting wrestlers to stop by and work out with me. And these 82 00:04:53,270 --> 00:04:56,270 boys told Herb, said, you got to do something with this kid, man. We can't 83 00:04:56,270 --> 00:04:58,230 handle him. We do something to him, he fights back. 84 00:04:58,750 --> 00:05:02,770 Herb Welch sat David Schultz down then and said, you've got what it takes to 85 00:05:02,770 --> 00:05:03,890 make it in this business. 86 00:05:04,450 --> 00:05:05,930 Now we're going to have to smarten you up, son. 87 00:05:06,570 --> 00:05:08,470 He said, well, you're hurting everybody. 88 00:05:09,010 --> 00:05:10,070 You're too damn stiff. 89 00:05:10,390 --> 00:05:11,870 Well, he never told me any different. 90 00:05:12,130 --> 00:05:14,390 I thought you was fighting for your life. I thought it was real. 91 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:16,300 I thought it was 100 % real. 92 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,720 The training that David Schultz got from Herb Welch centered on one thing. 93 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:22,740 It's the world of kayfabe. 94 00:05:23,180 --> 00:05:27,840 Kayfabe means you don't be seen together. Right after you had a bad 95 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:32,040 here, blood and guts and everything, and then 10 mile down the road they catch 96 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:33,180 you at Shawnee's eating together. 97 00:05:33,540 --> 00:05:36,080 No, that's supposed to be your enemy back then. 98 00:05:36,860 --> 00:05:41,220 Continuing the aura that wrestling and the people in it are real. Those are the 99 00:05:41,220 --> 00:05:42,220 secrets of wrestling. 100 00:05:42,490 --> 00:05:43,490 Protect the business. 101 00:05:43,630 --> 00:05:46,210 Don't spill the secrets. You're in a secret society. 102 00:05:46,550 --> 00:05:49,070 This is our world. It was like being in the mafia. 103 00:05:49,290 --> 00:05:51,250 What does it take to be a pro wrestler? 104 00:05:51,490 --> 00:05:53,990 Well, you need to learn how to work. 105 00:05:54,630 --> 00:05:57,150 The holds and the moves and the timing. 106 00:05:58,630 --> 00:05:59,630 No, 107 00:06:00,290 --> 00:06:01,790 what's going to make the people mad? 108 00:06:02,090 --> 00:06:03,090 No, 109 00:06:05,930 --> 00:06:07,210 what's going to make them feel good? 110 00:06:08,990 --> 00:06:15,010 David Schultz found success in wrestling. Just being David Schultz 111 00:06:15,010 --> 00:06:18,370 20 is this crazy, you know, redneck hillbilly from Tennessee. 112 00:06:20,490 --> 00:06:23,590 Through it all, Schultz did what he was trained to do. 113 00:06:23,910 --> 00:06:25,190 Never break KP. 114 00:06:26,380 --> 00:06:30,560 A lot of boys thought I was, I mean, as bad as they ever seen because I made 115 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:36,520 them work hard in the ring. Hogan was one of them. This man is not a 116 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:37,520 illusion. 117 00:06:38,540 --> 00:06:41,980 He is not an artist's conception. 118 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,640 He is not a figment of the imagination. 119 00:06:48,140 --> 00:06:50,000 He is the Hulk. 120 00:06:50,980 --> 00:06:56,000 In the late 1970s, Hulk Hogan is an up -and -coming wrestler from Augusta, 121 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,560 Georgia. He first crossed paths with Schultz working the Florida circuit. 122 00:07:01,020 --> 00:07:04,980 I thought he was just a big old bodybuilder that wanted to get into 123 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:06,260 and he was. 124 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:11,820 He had no money. He had nothing. He was living in a van, and I let him come into 125 00:07:11,820 --> 00:07:15,480 my apartment with me and share my apartment with me in Pensacola. We've 126 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:16,480 real good friends. 127 00:07:16,990 --> 00:07:21,150 The two are natural adversaries, and it's not long before their epic 128 00:07:21,150 --> 00:07:26,170 confrontations attract the attention of Vince McMahon, whose World Wrestling 129 00:07:26,170 --> 00:07:32,710 Federation is expanding nationwide. And in 1983, McMahon handpicks Hogan to be 130 00:07:32,710 --> 00:07:33,750 his centerpiece attraction. 131 00:07:41,420 --> 00:07:46,360 In 1983, Vince McMahon was systematically going around filling 132 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,140 plan to take over the wrestling world. 133 00:07:48,700 --> 00:07:51,120 Why did Hulk go with Vince to the WWF? 134 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,260 Money. Of course, Vince told him, we're going to put the belt on you. You're 135 00:07:55,260 --> 00:07:56,260 going to be our number one guy. 136 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,440 Hogan wanted me to come up and work with him because he told Vince, hey, I can 137 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:02,440 make money with this guy. 138 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,020 Hulk was brought into the WWF to be Hogan's top rival. 139 00:08:07,530 --> 00:08:11,170 as their in -ring chemistry was already a proven draw. 140 00:08:11,870 --> 00:08:16,690 Vince called me and said, I need you to come on up and you ain't got to worry 141 00:08:16,690 --> 00:08:20,150 about making money anymore. We're going to be sure you make all the money you 142 00:08:20,150 --> 00:08:23,170 need for the rest of your life. You ain't got to worry about it. Vince 143 00:08:23,430 --> 00:08:26,050 he said, David, I want you to be the baddest heel around. 144 00:08:26,730 --> 00:08:28,790 Baddest bad guy there is, you're going to be it. 145 00:08:29,050 --> 00:08:32,929 They told me the competition was here. They told me the greatest wrestlers in 146 00:08:32,929 --> 00:08:33,929 the world was here. 147 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:44,059 He wasn't a cookie -cutter heel. He was a little wilder and a little crazier. 148 00:08:44,220 --> 00:08:48,280 And that type of thing was starting to get over. They had the footage on TNT, 149 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,640 Tuesday Night Titans, where they go to Schultz's house and he's firing rifles 150 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:52,980 off in their living room. 151 00:08:55,740 --> 00:08:59,120 You know, telling his wife to go scrub the floors. Get up and get us something 152 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,020 to eat or something. Woman, get in there and get that done. Kids, get in there 153 00:09:02,020 --> 00:09:02,699 and do this. 154 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:05,340 I'll slap that smile off your face. Don't smile at me, boy. 155 00:09:05,580 --> 00:09:10,780 Ben said the sheriff's department and the state police came to his office that 156 00:09:10,780 --> 00:09:14,400 Monday morning and wanted to know my address, where I live. They had wants 157 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:17,960 my arrest for child abuse and spousal abuse. 158 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:22,020 And Ben said, oh, my God, that was a show. 159 00:09:22,660 --> 00:09:24,080 And the guys couldn't believe it. 160 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:25,700 That was all Vince. 161 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:30,060 Those wasn't my guns. Vince had somebody at the TV station bring those guns. 162 00:09:30,620 --> 00:09:33,520 This in here is worth a lot of money. Everything I got's worth a lot of money. 163 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:36,600 Wasn't my house, wasn't my wife, wasn't my kids. 164 00:09:39,500 --> 00:09:45,140 All that was Vince McMahon to make people hate me. And the more they hated 165 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:46,360 the more money we made. 166 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,800 McMahon has hit on a formula that works, and his empire is growing rapidly. 167 00:09:52,060 --> 00:09:56,640 However, as a result, it starts to attract unwanted attention. 168 00:09:57,260 --> 00:10:03,460 I liked it as a kid, and now I thought it was kind of silly and hypocritical. 169 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:09,480 I'm John Stossel. I was a consumer reporter who became a general reporter 170 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:10,480 2020. 171 00:10:11,390 --> 00:10:15,050 And you know, sometimes I wonder about the credentials of these doctors who 172 00:10:15,050 --> 00:10:16,050 promote vitamins. 173 00:10:16,070 --> 00:10:21,750 In the early 1980s, John Stossel is a rising journalist for ABC News who's 174 00:10:21,750 --> 00:10:25,710 a name for himself taking down shady companies and corrupt businessmen. 175 00:10:26,030 --> 00:10:30,270 How can you say it might not be harmful, yet most of the people who die of lung 176 00:10:30,270 --> 00:10:31,270 cancer smoke? 177 00:10:31,450 --> 00:10:36,590 Now, Stossel has chosen to turn his investigative lens towards another 178 00:10:36,590 --> 00:10:40,410 lucrative industry, one he believes is deceiving its audience. 179 00:10:40,990 --> 00:10:45,390 I was a wrestler in high school, and I was always a little annoyed that people, 180 00:10:45,490 --> 00:10:51,210 some people believed that pro -wrestling was real rather than a scripted event 181 00:10:51,210 --> 00:10:57,110 where the winner is preordained and people dress up in funny clothes and 182 00:10:57,110 --> 00:10:59,190 anger and bullshit. 183 00:10:59,670 --> 00:11:03,910 It had leaked out that 2020 was going to do a piece, and obviously if it's ABC 184 00:11:03,910 --> 00:11:05,730 Network News, it's going to be an expose. 185 00:11:06,860 --> 00:11:11,200 I just thought it was interesting that this big, growing, successful business 186 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,020 was based on bullshit. 187 00:11:13,260 --> 00:11:17,760 I mean, cleverly done athletic bullshit, but lies. 188 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:23,140 The worst thing that could ever happen, everybody's going to want to know, is 189 00:11:23,140 --> 00:11:24,320 wrestling fake or not? 190 00:11:31,850 --> 00:11:35,490 The number one cardinal rule of professional wrestling for 100 years was 191 00:11:35,490 --> 00:11:42,010 expose the secrets. One of the biggest, most famous exposés happened in New York 192 00:11:42,010 --> 00:11:47,770 in the 1930s. A thrilling and dramatic exposé of modern wrestling fakes coming 193 00:11:47,770 --> 00:11:52,790 soon. In New York, newspaper exposés killed wrestling for almost 15 years. 194 00:11:53,090 --> 00:11:57,910 Everybody realized, this is our society, this is kayfabe, we can't reveal what's 195 00:11:57,910 --> 00:12:00,450 going on, it'll cost us all our livelihoods. 196 00:12:00,780 --> 00:12:05,300 50 years later, the stakes are just as high for Vince McMahon's World Wrestling 197 00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:11,220 Federation. And for his newest superstar, David Schultz, kayfabe is a 198 00:12:11,540 --> 00:12:14,920 I don't care what you think. I don't care what the people think about me. I 199 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:18,060 don't care what nobody thinks about me. I don't care what you think about me. 200 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:23,420 It was my business. If I didn't observe kayfabe, they'd look at me and say, ah, 201 00:12:23,660 --> 00:12:26,360 he's a phony. No, I was a pro wrestler. 202 00:12:26,830 --> 00:12:33,110 I come to the WWF, baby, where the toughest in the world is wrestling right 203 00:12:33,430 --> 00:12:37,990 Being a pro wrestler means that I had standards I had to stand up to. That's 204 00:12:37,990 --> 00:12:39,890 only way I could make money, have high standards. 205 00:12:40,450 --> 00:12:46,810 As the WWF's popularity is reaching new heights, ABC News reporter John Stossel 206 00:12:46,810 --> 00:12:51,850 must somehow infiltrate wrestling's secret society if he's to expose what 207 00:12:51,850 --> 00:12:53,270 happens behind the scenes. 208 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,860 We either did a survey or found a survey that about a third of the people who 209 00:12:57,860 --> 00:13:01,280 attended the event thought it was real. Is this real? 210 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:02,660 Yeah, I think so, yes. 211 00:13:03,060 --> 00:13:08,100 And I don't like people being bullshitted and couldn't do a story 212 00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:14,100 could find some insider who would say, yeah, here's how we fake this and that 213 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:17,160 and was willing to go into a ring and demonstrate. 214 00:13:17,700 --> 00:13:20,640 And eventually we found Eddie Mansfield. 215 00:13:21,380 --> 00:13:23,320 I'm the continental lover, Eddie Mansfield. 216 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:25,600 A rich woman's lover and a poor girl's dream. 217 00:13:25,860 --> 00:13:28,580 The continental lover, Eddie Van Steen. 218 00:13:29,140 --> 00:13:32,200 I left the state of Georgia when I was 17 to go play baseball. 219 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:36,200 When I hurt my arm and I couldn't play baseball anymore, I had to find 220 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,220 to do. You couldn't just drink every day. 221 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:40,400 And you wrecked Saul Cowboy. 222 00:13:40,620 --> 00:13:44,220 And so I always liked wrestling. When I was breaking into business, I was kind 223 00:13:44,220 --> 00:13:47,620 of self -taught a little bit. But the bottom line is, I could draw money. 224 00:13:48,010 --> 00:13:51,210 And I can talk on that mic. First, I'm going to chase you around the place, and 225 00:13:51,210 --> 00:13:52,470 then I'm going to erase your face. 226 00:13:52,690 --> 00:13:53,690 And I was very fortunate. 227 00:13:53,910 --> 00:13:59,290 The only thing that really shocked me was the payoffs. You know, you're 228 00:13:59,290 --> 00:14:03,210 sellout crowds, and you're getting not even pennies on their dollar. But no 229 00:14:03,210 --> 00:14:04,770 health care, no nothing. 230 00:14:05,010 --> 00:14:06,490 That's where I'm having the problem. 231 00:14:06,790 --> 00:14:10,890 Well, how come you don't treat us like professional athletes are supposed to be 232 00:14:10,890 --> 00:14:11,890 treated? 233 00:14:12,390 --> 00:14:13,910 Not like the scum of the earth. 234 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:19,540 Why don't you give these guys health insurance and a 401k? Set an example. 235 00:14:19,540 --> 00:14:22,140 want to be a big -time promoter? Let's set an example. 236 00:14:23,540 --> 00:14:25,760 You know, I didn't quit the rest of the business. 237 00:14:25,980 --> 00:14:27,300 The rest of the business quit me. 238 00:14:27,860 --> 00:14:28,860 How did you get in that position? 239 00:14:29,260 --> 00:14:32,040 Well, I wouldn't kick back 20 % of my money. 240 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:34,620 The booker at the time wanted to control people. 241 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:37,580 They did it to the other guys who agreed to it. 242 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,820 But I didn't agree to it. And then my bookings stopped. 243 00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:42,060 I mean, boom. 244 00:14:42,540 --> 00:14:43,900 As quick as I went up. 245 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:45,320 I was out. 246 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:51,900 I said, you do this to me, I will promise you I'll go on national 247 00:14:51,900 --> 00:14:57,560 and I will tell the whole world what kind of scam you're running on the guys. 248 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:00,440 I said, try me. 249 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:04,780 Well, he did. I made one phone call to ABC. 250 00:15:06,700 --> 00:15:10,940 Dosswell and his producers at 2020 arranged an interview with Eddie 251 00:15:11,450 --> 00:15:14,430 who agrees to reveal the tricks of the trade. 252 00:15:14,650 --> 00:15:20,170 You couldn't just say, hey, this is fake. You had to both reveal and 253 00:15:20,170 --> 00:15:25,370 people, so I needed a genuine professional wrestler to demonstrate. 254 00:15:26,210 --> 00:15:28,570 And so when was the first time you met John? 255 00:15:29,730 --> 00:15:30,790 When we shot. 256 00:15:32,930 --> 00:15:36,730 You know, I talked to them, and we were kind of laying out the show and how it 257 00:15:36,730 --> 00:15:37,730 would run and all that. 258 00:15:38,869 --> 00:15:42,530 John Stossel come down, went in the ring with him. Pro wrestlers show him how 259 00:15:42,530 --> 00:15:43,530 that stuff's done. 260 00:15:44,130 --> 00:15:47,650 He lands on his forearms and elbows, not on me. 261 00:15:48,190 --> 00:15:52,830 He showed me how to jump and be thrown and some of the tricks. 262 00:15:54,290 --> 00:15:56,410 You just take off on your own. Right. 263 00:15:56,690 --> 00:15:59,590 Why didn't they come get me? Let me take him into the ring. 264 00:15:59,810 --> 00:16:01,110 I could show him how it's done. 265 00:16:01,430 --> 00:16:05,250 No, you had to have two wimps out there, Stossel and Mansfield. 266 00:16:06,670 --> 00:16:12,410 Good. Mansfield tried to give the standard expose that, yes, we're told to 267 00:16:12,410 --> 00:16:13,189 and lose. 268 00:16:13,190 --> 00:16:14,190 Is this real wrestling? 269 00:16:14,350 --> 00:16:16,990 No. Not real, no. Not at all. 270 00:16:17,530 --> 00:16:19,750 I mean, if somebody believed that, they'd be stupid. 271 00:16:20,010 --> 00:16:23,930 But also, he went so far as to show the blade. 272 00:16:25,250 --> 00:16:29,790 Nobody wanted fake blood where people could find it. That would be proof that 273 00:16:29,790 --> 00:16:30,890 what we were doing was bullshit. 274 00:16:31,450 --> 00:16:33,190 So everybody bled for real. 275 00:16:33,710 --> 00:16:36,570 There's two ways to do that, the easy way and the hard way. 276 00:16:37,110 --> 00:16:39,550 The easy way is with a blade. 277 00:16:40,530 --> 00:16:44,110 You know, they were just on me, just show the blade, show the blade, show the 278 00:16:44,110 --> 00:16:47,310 blade. I'm going, hey, what about all this other stuff I need to talk about? 279 00:16:47,470 --> 00:16:54,010 They had to push it, push it, push it, you know what I mean? And so, and I did 280 00:16:54,010 --> 00:16:55,010 it. 281 00:16:55,510 --> 00:16:56,690 You go just like that. 282 00:17:00,940 --> 00:17:03,760 And gradually during the match, it would drip down over your face. 283 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:05,940 See, if I was sweating, he'd pour. 284 00:17:07,940 --> 00:17:13,160 I was pretty shocked, and also something about hiding a razor blade in their 285 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,680 mouth. Some keep the blade right here, in their mouth. 286 00:17:17,740 --> 00:17:19,200 Some, in their tights. 287 00:17:19,819 --> 00:17:25,260 These are tough dudes who risk a lot for this sport. Sport, I shouldn't call it 288 00:17:25,260 --> 00:17:27,579 a sport, for this entertainment. 289 00:17:30,770 --> 00:17:34,750 John Stossel is only focused on anything to expose the business. 290 00:17:34,990 --> 00:17:39,470 And I wasn't there to expose the business. I was there to help the 291 00:17:40,390 --> 00:17:46,010 And the promoters are very ruthless people. And they don't take care of the 292 00:17:46,010 --> 00:17:49,450 people that make them the money. I wanted to get the health care and the 293 00:17:49,450 --> 00:17:50,450 benefits for the boys. 294 00:17:51,090 --> 00:17:53,730 He come back and says, oh, I wanted to do it for insurance. 295 00:17:54,210 --> 00:17:57,790 This guy, he just couldn't get no work. Nobody wanted to use him. He wasn't 296 00:17:57,790 --> 00:17:58,790 worth a shit. 297 00:17:59,370 --> 00:18:03,250 Eddie Mansfield's a has -been, never was, couldn't get where he wanted to be, 298 00:18:03,310 --> 00:18:07,010 didn't have the talent, and still tries to claim he did it for the boys. 299 00:18:07,330 --> 00:18:12,490 Bottom line is, it's time now for them to step up and protect the guys where 300 00:18:12,490 --> 00:18:14,190 they have a future when they get old. 301 00:18:14,450 --> 00:18:19,250 You know, I made a statement one time. I said, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, 302 00:18:19,390 --> 00:18:22,210 but Abraham Lincoln forgot to free the pro wrestlers. 303 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:28,930 Armed with insider knowledge, Stossel sets out to confront the industry over 304 00:18:28,930 --> 00:18:30,330 Mansfield's allegations. 305 00:18:32,330 --> 00:18:37,110 I thought, well, we need to have the usual person from the professional 306 00:18:37,110 --> 00:18:40,590 organization say, oh, this isn't fake, this is all real. 307 00:18:41,330 --> 00:18:45,590 So we went to Madison Square Garden. I guess Vince McMahon okayed it or we 308 00:18:45,590 --> 00:18:46,590 wouldn't have been there. 309 00:18:47,669 --> 00:18:52,550 I arrived at the arena, and of course, downstairs, we walked through where the 310 00:18:52,550 --> 00:18:57,010 wrestlers come in, and the fans, some people hollering, some people cussing. 311 00:18:57,010 --> 00:19:00,530 in the dressing room, talk to all the boys, hello, sit down, put boots on like 312 00:19:00,530 --> 00:19:05,250 always do, get ready, and that's when Vince come walking in, and he said, 313 00:19:05,370 --> 00:19:08,790 listen, we got a guy out here making a joke out of the business. 314 00:19:09,350 --> 00:19:13,810 I want you to go out and interview with him, blast him, tear his ass up, stay in 315 00:19:13,810 --> 00:19:14,769 character, Dr. 316 00:19:14,770 --> 00:19:15,629 D. 317 00:19:15,630 --> 00:19:21,030 We were backstage, and I talked to the guy they call the Iron Sheik, and then 318 00:19:21,030 --> 00:19:23,910 McMahon said, here's another guy. 319 00:19:24,890 --> 00:19:27,170 And then Schultz came out. 320 00:19:28,370 --> 00:19:29,930 He was a little frightening. 321 00:19:30,350 --> 00:19:31,710 Why are you called Dr. D? 322 00:19:32,050 --> 00:19:33,050 Why not? 323 00:19:33,750 --> 00:19:36,930 This was a recipe for disaster. 324 00:19:37,150 --> 00:19:38,150 I'm thinking. 325 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,220 Why would anybody have gone up to Schultz? Is this a good business? 326 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,020 Yeah, it's a good business. I wouldn't be in it if it wasn't. Why is it a good 327 00:19:45,020 --> 00:19:46,760 business? Because only the tough survive. 328 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,620 That's the reason you ain't in it. And this punk holding the camera, reading he 329 00:19:49,620 --> 00:19:52,380 ain't in it. Reading these rednecks out here ain't in it because it's a tough 330 00:19:52,380 --> 00:19:58,820 business. I was feeling uncomfortable all the way and almost didn't ask him 331 00:19:58,820 --> 00:20:00,400 the question. 332 00:20:00,820 --> 00:20:02,200 I'll ask you the standard question. 333 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:04,620 And I said, standard question, huh? 334 00:20:05,450 --> 00:20:07,970 Okay. Standard question. I think this is fake. 335 00:20:08,270 --> 00:20:09,370 I think it's fake. 336 00:20:09,790 --> 00:20:11,890 Now I'm thinking Vince wanted me to stay in character. 337 00:20:12,450 --> 00:20:15,010 Dr. D, slap the hell out of somebody and say that. 338 00:20:15,470 --> 00:20:16,510 I think this is fake. 339 00:20:16,710 --> 00:20:17,710 You think it's fake? 340 00:20:19,190 --> 00:20:22,610 What's that? Is that fake? Holy shit. What the hell just happened here? 341 00:20:31,899 --> 00:20:33,780 Boom, there goes Stossel down. 342 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:36,280 Go back before the first slap. 343 00:20:36,820 --> 00:20:37,980 Look, look, look. 344 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,760 Now that I watch that back, he didn't even hit him nearly as hard as he could 345 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:42,760 have. He didn't even draw back. 346 00:20:43,380 --> 00:20:49,020 Boom. I mean, still, it's David Schultz, but he could have paralyzed him if he'd 347 00:20:49,020 --> 00:20:50,020 drawn back and swung. 348 00:20:50,260 --> 00:20:51,960 I think this is fake. You think it's fake? 349 00:20:52,540 --> 00:20:57,660 Whack whacked me in the ear and knocked me down, and then I stupidly got up 350 00:20:57,660 --> 00:20:58,660 again. 351 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,660 What the hell's wrong with you? That's open -hand slap, huh? I was always 352 00:21:01,660 --> 00:21:03,840 taught, man, get up. You got to knock him back down. 353 00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:05,780 Because if he gets up, he might hurt you. 354 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:07,640 You think it's safe to talk? 355 00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:10,960 He whacked me in the other ear. My ears were ringing. 356 00:21:11,380 --> 00:21:16,740 What do you mean? I was stunned, a little scared, and that's why I crawled 357 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:18,940 I didn't want to get hit again. 358 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:25,520 That's why I told them specifically not to interview David Chills. 359 00:21:26,220 --> 00:21:30,040 Because I told him, I said, if you ask him stupid questions, you're going to 360 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:31,040 slapped. 361 00:21:32,540 --> 00:21:34,560 I was angry and stunned. 362 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:40,060 I also thought, well, that's a clip we'll use at the end of our 2020 story. 363 00:21:41,380 --> 00:21:43,140 I didn't think it'd be anything. 364 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:50,660 I figured you slapped him for rude manners, like my mama would slap me if I 365 00:21:50,660 --> 00:21:51,660 something wrong. 366 00:21:51,860 --> 00:21:53,820 In a minute, and I think about it. 367 00:21:55,760 --> 00:22:01,620 Moments after flooring 2020 reporter John Stossel, David Schultz heads to the 368 00:22:01,620 --> 00:22:05,540 ring for his match with Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki. 369 00:22:05,940 --> 00:22:10,260 He's unaware of the gravity of the situation developing backstage. 370 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,960 After the match, Vince said, just go to the hotel because Fossil Sandy's hurt 371 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,440 and all that. He's talking about pressing charges. 372 00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:26,700 For what? 373 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:30,220 Vince said, don't even take a shower. Go to the hotel. 374 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,280 I just put my sweatpants on, sweatshirt, grabbed my bag, and was gone. 375 00:22:37,300 --> 00:22:40,920 Vince had to be thinking, starting at that point, I'm going to have to do 376 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:43,960 something with Schultz, or I'm going to have to eliminate Schultz from the 377 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:44,960 equation. 378 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:48,120 Next day, I went up to Stanford and seen him. 379 00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:52,720 He was telling me about the New York Athletic Commission suspending me and 380 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:53,740 me he's going to pay the fine. 381 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,380 He's going to get everything straightened out. Don't worry about it. 382 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,960 He's going to send me to Japan and we'll let this thing cool over. 383 00:23:00,380 --> 00:23:05,400 Eight weeks after the incident, John Stossel's 2020 report airs and the 384 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:09,200 wrestling community is universally outraged. You are trying to kill our 385 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:14,060 business, take money away from us and our families, you little piss ant. John 386 00:23:14,060 --> 00:23:16,940 Stossel, that's what all the wrestlers thought about him. Eddie, the body 387 00:23:16,940 --> 00:23:21,980 slammed me, but Eddie says anybody can do it. Eddie Mansfield, they hated him. 388 00:23:22,220 --> 00:23:23,220 Stop collusion. 389 00:23:23,860 --> 00:23:28,380 I had death threats, people trying to plant cocaine on me, and I knew I just 390 00:23:28,380 --> 00:23:31,740 to get out of the South, you know, before I either went to jail for killing 391 00:23:31,740 --> 00:23:34,080 somebody or somebody killing me. 392 00:23:35,020 --> 00:23:40,760 I moved into New York. I had four FBI guys with me on the plane to make sure I 393 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:41,760 got to New York safe. 394 00:23:42,410 --> 00:23:45,670 You're not messing with the promoters when you expose the business. You were 395 00:23:45,670 --> 00:23:46,670 messing with the boys. 396 00:23:46,790 --> 00:23:52,010 They fear more about what their friends and what their cohorts will do to them 397 00:23:52,010 --> 00:23:54,410 than the penalty they can get from the law. 398 00:23:54,790 --> 00:23:58,950 When you look back, I should have just got my butt up and just left. 399 00:23:59,510 --> 00:24:03,350 If the deal feels bad, the deal is bad. 400 00:24:03,590 --> 00:24:10,090 It cost me my career, but that's okay. They did me a favor because I'm better 401 00:24:10,090 --> 00:24:11,090 off today. 402 00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:13,260 than I ever would have been in wrestling. 403 00:24:14,300 --> 00:24:18,260 Pro wrestling doesn't take care of the people that make us the money, and it 404 00:24:18,260 --> 00:24:19,079 never has. 405 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,940 And just preaching, oh, you got to protect the business, you got to do 406 00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:26,200 Well, why do I want to protect something that doesn't protect me? 407 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:32,300 Vince McMahon sends Schultz to wrestle in Japan, hoping the follow -up from the 408 00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:33,400 incident will die down. 409 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,980 Instead, the controversy follows Schultz east. 410 00:24:38,340 --> 00:24:40,020 First thing they wanted me to do in Japan? 411 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:41,920 was hit a reporter. 412 00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:47,680 And I told them, I'm not hitting nobody unless you write it down as part of the 413 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,200 script. And they did write it down. 414 00:24:50,740 --> 00:24:55,280 How was that set up? Well, he come into the dressing room, had a camera. I told 415 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,040 him, I just slap you upside the head, you fall down. 416 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,260 Then the camera guy take a picture of you laying on the floor. 417 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:07,720 And the news, Tokyo News, saying, you know, Dr. D comes now to Japan and slaps 418 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:09,300 reporter like he did in New York. 419 00:25:11,269 --> 00:25:17,210 Back at ABC News, more than 1 ,000 people call in to inquire about John 420 00:25:17,210 --> 00:25:20,830 Stossel's well -being after seeing his report on television. 421 00:25:21,250 --> 00:25:26,130 My ears were ringing, and I had pain when there was a loud noise. 422 00:25:26,670 --> 00:25:31,350 My daughter was a baby at the time, and when she cried, it hurt my ears. It made 423 00:25:31,350 --> 00:25:34,750 it tough for me to change her diapers or parent well. 424 00:25:35,850 --> 00:25:40,760 I thought that McMahon and his group should be... taught a lesson that they 425 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:42,120 can't go beating up reporters. 426 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:47,600 And I sued for damages. I wanted some compensation for my pain. 427 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:54,360 What Stossel don't understand is I went to his lawyer and talked to his lawyer 428 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,180 before Vince ever got sued or anything else. 429 00:25:57,420 --> 00:26:01,180 My lawyer that I had at that time told me, you need to go tell him the whole 430 00:26:01,180 --> 00:26:04,900 story and take care of yourself because Vince is not going to take care of you. 431 00:26:05,550 --> 00:26:11,130 At the WWF, it's clear to McMahon that the Stossel incident is not going away, 432 00:26:11,310 --> 00:26:14,530 and he needs Schultz to help him solve it. 433 00:26:14,910 --> 00:26:17,590 He didn't know he was going to get sued by John Stossel. 434 00:26:18,110 --> 00:26:23,070 And when he got sued, my name wasn't in it, so he was mad. 435 00:26:24,150 --> 00:26:28,510 I went by the office, and that's when he wanted me to sign a paper saying that 436 00:26:28,510 --> 00:26:32,230 it was all my fault. I did it under my own influence. 437 00:26:32,530 --> 00:26:34,190 I know, that ain't going to happen. 438 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,280 I'm not going to take blame for you, what you had me to do. 439 00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:41,880 I'll sign a paper saying I did what you told me to do. 440 00:26:42,340 --> 00:26:46,680 John Stossel said I hit him in both cheeks, the right cheek and then the 441 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,100 cheek on deposition. 442 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:53,080 And anybody watching the tapes that got any sense can see I never hit his ears. 443 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:59,560 While Schultz is falling out of favor at the WWF, Stossel's lawsuit is 444 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:00,560 intensifying. 445 00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:02,320 It's part of the... 446 00:27:02,830 --> 00:27:07,610 Pre -trial prep, you go to their doctor so their doctor can examine you. 447 00:27:08,750 --> 00:27:14,230 They sent me to a highfalutin guy who, without examining me, said, I think 448 00:27:14,230 --> 00:27:16,350 you're suffering from a jurosomatic illness. 449 00:27:16,650 --> 00:27:19,430 What? I said, a jurosomatic illness. 450 00:27:19,710 --> 00:27:23,430 You're holding on to your pain because you're involved in a lawsuit. 451 00:27:23,730 --> 00:27:29,050 And I said, screw you. You're the paid lawyer for the defendant and you haven't 452 00:27:29,050 --> 00:27:30,810 even examined me and you're saying this? 453 00:27:31,690 --> 00:27:32,890 What was the outcome of that situation? 454 00:27:33,790 --> 00:27:37,690 Years later, they settled. I got $280 ,000. 455 00:27:38,070 --> 00:27:43,830 Do some people psychologically feel pain longer because of that, as this doctor 456 00:27:43,830 --> 00:27:44,830 claimed? 457 00:27:45,170 --> 00:27:46,930 Maybe. Maybe he was right. 458 00:27:47,970 --> 00:27:53,390 Because I held on to my pain, but it gradually did go away when I got paid. 459 00:28:02,350 --> 00:28:08,250 As the blowback from the 2020 piece dissipates, McMahon focuses on the 460 00:28:08,250 --> 00:28:09,410 his biggest event yet. 461 00:28:09,970 --> 00:28:14,870 Vince's concept for WrestleMania was the biggest wrestling event ever held times 462 00:28:14,870 --> 00:28:20,270 10, an over -the -top, closed -circuit, globally broadcast extravaganza that 463 00:28:20,270 --> 00:28:22,750 would combine celebrities and wrestling matches. 464 00:28:23,190 --> 00:28:28,390 Looking to appeal to the widest possible audience, McMahon adds a Hollywood 465 00:28:28,390 --> 00:28:31,790 actor to the roster and puts him at the top of the card. 466 00:28:32,270 --> 00:28:36,670 Mr. T was one of the biggest television stars in the country. In 1985, he had 467 00:28:36,670 --> 00:28:39,050 been a star of The A -Team with George Pappard. 468 00:28:39,330 --> 00:28:40,269 You want some? 469 00:28:40,270 --> 00:28:41,390 No, you take it. 470 00:28:43,290 --> 00:28:48,810 He's working with Sylvester Stallone. He had a great body and a mohawk and he 471 00:28:48,810 --> 00:28:52,030 wore the chains, but he looked the part and he talked the part and could make 472 00:28:52,030 --> 00:28:53,250 people believe he was the part. 473 00:28:55,110 --> 00:29:01,370 The WWF positions Hulk Hogan and Mr. T front and center in their nationwide 474 00:29:01,370 --> 00:29:02,370 promotion. 475 00:29:02,710 --> 00:29:05,250 But Schultz's name is missing entirely. 476 00:29:05,930 --> 00:29:09,970 I didn't think Mr. T should be coming in to go in a wrestling match when he's 477 00:29:09,970 --> 00:29:14,430 never wrestled or anything and pay him more than he pays any of his wrestlers. 478 00:29:14,690 --> 00:29:18,130 I said, that's a joke. You're putting T in WrestleMania 1? 479 00:29:18,350 --> 00:29:19,350 What about me? 480 00:29:19,830 --> 00:29:20,870 Where are you putting me? 481 00:29:21,690 --> 00:29:27,730 Schultz watches on as buzz around WrestleMania grows bigger by the day. At 482 00:29:27,730 --> 00:29:31,350 event in Los Angeles, tensions backstage escalate. 483 00:29:31,660 --> 00:29:36,720 even further. Mr. T and some of his Hollywood friends were there to see the 484 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,840 matches and I'm sure he was being treated as a guest and just being 485 00:29:40,840 --> 00:29:41,840 run of the place. 486 00:29:42,020 --> 00:29:48,680 I believe that Schultz genuinely resented T's presence there and didn't 487 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,800 in the locker room because that was reserved for the boys. That was a 488 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,400 Did you have a physical altercation with Mr. T that night? 489 00:29:55,620 --> 00:30:00,440 No. Mr. T was in the hallway talking to me that night. Jay Stonebow. 490 00:30:00,940 --> 00:30:04,340 Was the agent on the job. He come out and seen him in the hallway with me. 491 00:30:04,560 --> 00:30:09,180 He said, David, Vince had told me if you was going to go out there and bother 492 00:30:09,180 --> 00:30:12,500 Mr. T to fire you. Well, you better fire me then. 493 00:30:13,100 --> 00:30:14,400 He said, okay, you're fired. 494 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,940 I get dressed and go down to the ring to watch the match. 495 00:30:20,220 --> 00:30:22,120 I'm just going out to see Tarzanaka. 496 00:30:22,610 --> 00:30:26,390 Good friend of mine, he's sitting with Mr. T. So I went to the ring side, and 497 00:30:26,390 --> 00:30:30,950 the cops come up. Jay Strongbow called the cops and told them that I was a 498 00:30:30,950 --> 00:30:35,470 fairly dangerous guy, and I was about to hurt somebody out there, and they need 499 00:30:35,470 --> 00:30:36,470 to get me out of there. 500 00:30:38,090 --> 00:30:43,430 They hog -tied me, hands handcuffed behind my back, flat on my stomach, feet 501 00:30:43,430 --> 00:30:45,410 shackled and tied to my hand. 502 00:30:45,810 --> 00:30:47,370 And then two cops... 503 00:30:48,060 --> 00:30:52,440 takes guns and put them to my head on each side and threw me out the back 504 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:58,100 Vince, he had to be thinking, I got to calm these guys down. 505 00:30:58,340 --> 00:30:59,780 That was the atmosphere. 506 00:31:00,060 --> 00:31:04,560 They didn't relate well with outsiders at that point. Vince had to get rid of 507 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:06,780 Schultz because it was only going to get worse. 508 00:31:07,870 --> 00:31:12,330 When I got back to Connecticut, I checked with Vince, and he said, I'm 509 00:31:12,330 --> 00:31:15,850 have to check with Jay Strombo, find out what happened. He knew what happened. 510 00:31:16,110 --> 00:31:19,990 And my lawyer wrote him a letter, told him I was ready to go back to work. And 511 00:31:19,990 --> 00:31:23,430 said, no, Mr. Schultz will not work for us no more, ever. 512 00:31:24,170 --> 00:31:29,890 In 2019, Hulk Hogan came forward with a completely different recollection of the 513 00:31:29,890 --> 00:31:31,270 incident with Mr. T. 514 00:31:32,850 --> 00:31:36,270 Out of nowhere, I had T sitting in ringside because he's a friend of mine, 515 00:31:36,270 --> 00:31:37,270 didn't know what was going on. 516 00:31:37,390 --> 00:31:40,710 David rolled out of the ring and bitch slapped the hell out of him, just out of 517 00:31:40,710 --> 00:31:42,530 nowhere, a shoot slap. 518 00:31:42,870 --> 00:31:44,750 And after that, he was pretty much done. 519 00:31:44,990 --> 00:31:49,130 Vince was so pissed at him, that pretty much was the bullet that did him in. 520 00:31:51,050 --> 00:31:56,630 Most people know who that is, Dr. D, and I guess, you know, Hogan. 521 00:31:57,340 --> 00:32:01,300 Oh, Big Head Hogan. Boy, he used to hate for me to tell him he had a big head. 522 00:32:01,700 --> 00:32:03,800 And now he don't have no hair at all. 523 00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:05,920 Wow. What is that on the back? Okay. 524 00:32:07,780 --> 00:32:09,540 Old friend forgot his name. 525 00:32:11,580 --> 00:32:15,960 So, I don't know if it also had anything to do with my getting fired. 526 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:17,860 They said it was because of Mr. T. 527 00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:19,760 Well, that's a bunch of crap. 528 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:24,840 And then, you know, to beat all of that is Hogan went within a few weeks after 529 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:26,260 that and dropped Belzer. 530 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:28,400 Mr. Hulk Hogan. 531 00:32:29,940 --> 00:32:34,300 One of the publicity appearances that they had arranged for Hulk Hogan and Mr. 532 00:32:34,300 --> 00:32:37,960 to build up for WrestleMania was an appearance on the Richard Belzer show. 533 00:32:38,140 --> 00:32:42,800 There's a thing that the boys used to do with a reporter or a photographer or 534 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,020 somebody from the public. 535 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:46,800 Now, the first thing you need to know about amateur wrestling. Yes. Or 536 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:49,880 professional wrestling. You just tell me, brother, when you want to quit 537 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:50,880 squealing. All right. 538 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,820 Let me just put one hold on you and just show you what it feels like, what we go 539 00:32:54,820 --> 00:32:56,000 through. How about it, T? 540 00:32:56,780 --> 00:32:57,880 Keep him like that for a little while. 541 00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,060 Put him in a sleeper. I mean, choked him. 542 00:33:04,820 --> 00:33:10,140 And he passed out, dropped him on the floor, and he busted his head. 543 00:33:11,300 --> 00:33:13,460 He's all right. He's just sleeping. He's sleeping. 544 00:33:13,700 --> 00:33:16,760 Huh? Hogan didn't eat nothing out of it. 545 00:33:17,210 --> 00:33:20,190 We feel real bad about the incident that just happened. When somebody asked me 546 00:33:20,190 --> 00:33:22,970 to show a professional wrestling hold, especially when they sit here and laugh 547 00:33:22,970 --> 00:33:26,610 in my face when I'm talking to them, I just showed him the simplest hold that I 548 00:33:26,610 --> 00:33:30,470 knew, and I thought... There was a settlement. I'm sure Vince probably paid 549 00:33:30,470 --> 00:33:33,770 at that point. Number one, Vince McMahon wouldn't have fired Hulk Hogan, even if 550 00:33:33,770 --> 00:33:36,650 he'd have shot Richard Belzer in the head. Hogan was the golden child. 551 00:33:37,870 --> 00:33:41,410 It seemed like you and Terry were, like, close at one point. Did this kind of 552 00:33:41,410 --> 00:33:45,250 come in between your friendship with him at all? Oh, yeah, yeah. We was close. 553 00:33:45,390 --> 00:33:46,390 We were very close. 554 00:33:46,510 --> 00:33:49,870 Probably one of the best friends I ever had in the business until he turned his 555 00:33:49,870 --> 00:33:50,870 back on me. 556 00:33:51,150 --> 00:33:57,170 Then all of a sudden, you know, he's with Vince, and it's like, hey, I can't 557 00:33:57,170 --> 00:33:58,450 talk to you, can't deal with you. 558 00:33:58,830 --> 00:33:59,830 You know, you know. 559 00:34:00,750 --> 00:34:01,930 And I ain't talked to him since. 560 00:34:03,110 --> 00:34:05,250 As Hogan becomes a household name, 561 00:34:05,970 --> 00:34:07,610 Schultz's star fades away. 562 00:34:08,170 --> 00:34:13,050 He tries to find steady work in the smaller territories, but believes he's 563 00:34:13,050 --> 00:34:14,570 blackballed by the industry. 564 00:34:14,889 --> 00:34:17,870 They called me back and said, nobody wants to sign a contract with you. 565 00:34:17,870 --> 00:34:19,190 too mean. You're too bad. 566 00:34:19,650 --> 00:34:23,590 Everybody I called, they didn't even want to talk to me. The promoters, 567 00:34:23,590 --> 00:34:27,909 of Vince, you know. He told them, hey, you use him, I'm through with you. Don't 568 00:34:27,909 --> 00:34:29,110 call me for nothing, ever. 569 00:34:30,870 --> 00:34:33,889 Yeah, it was a hardship, but I worked through it. 570 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:39,080 I kept working independent for a year or two, and then I became the world's 571 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:40,080 greatest bounty hunter. 572 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:42,719 Open the door, right now. 573 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,699 What happens when wrestling's most notorious bad guy becomes a real -life 574 00:34:47,699 --> 00:34:52,080 for hire? Dr. D. David Jules, the world's greatest bounty hunter, is 575 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:53,080 screen near you. 576 00:34:59,920 --> 00:35:04,250 Exiled from wrestling and desperate for cash, David Schultz is introduced to the 577 00:35:04,250 --> 00:35:07,770 dangerous world of bounty hunting by a friend in law enforcement. 578 00:35:08,150 --> 00:35:12,870 He told me, I'll introduce you to the bondsman, and what you do is you go pick 579 00:35:12,870 --> 00:35:17,430 them up, you get the paperwork, and you bring them in, you get paid 10 % of the 580 00:35:17,430 --> 00:35:22,410 bond. Oh, okay, that sounds good. Yeah, $250 ,000. Yeah, that's a nice one. And 581 00:35:22,410 --> 00:35:26,810 they had nobody doing it at that time. I went in, they told me they had this one 582 00:35:26,810 --> 00:35:29,830 guy, motorcycle guy, bad guy, nobody wanted to go get him. 583 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,340 And they needed to get him in. Well, the next morning, I brought him in. Come 584 00:35:33,340 --> 00:35:37,080 around the corner, I put a 9mm in his mouth, and he wasn't bad at all. He went 585 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:39,700 right to the ground, handcuffed him, took him to jail. 586 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,020 And I said, wow, it's pretty easy right here now. 587 00:35:43,340 --> 00:35:48,220 When you're a pro wrestler, as long as I was, every day you got your hand on a 588 00:35:48,220 --> 00:35:49,220 man. 589 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:54,400 Every day you got a man's arm, you got a man's wrist. You know what hurts, what 590 00:35:54,400 --> 00:35:58,920 not, how to hook him, how to take him down, because you do it every day. 591 00:35:59,580 --> 00:36:02,240 All right, get your hands on the car, okay? Get them on the car. It's not 592 00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:06,160 strange to you, and it don't bother you to grab a guy, and he don't know what 593 00:36:06,160 --> 00:36:07,160 happened to it. 594 00:36:07,540 --> 00:36:08,900 Have my brother call Tony. 595 00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:14,100 Schultz takes to the job like he was born to do it. He soon develops a 596 00:36:14,100 --> 00:36:18,140 reputation as one of the most reliable bounty hunters in America. 597 00:36:18,420 --> 00:36:21,640 And the only way you're going to get away from the doctor is when you come 598 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,460 that house and you see me standing out there. 599 00:36:24,090 --> 00:36:27,190 You better take off running. My job takes me where the criminal goes. 600 00:36:27,430 --> 00:36:31,370 Wherever he goes, I go. It may take me to Saudi Arabia. Wherever he goes, I'm 601 00:36:31,370 --> 00:36:32,750 going to follow him. I'm going to be right on him. 602 00:36:32,990 --> 00:36:36,350 All the bondmen started calling me. I had more work than I could do. 603 00:36:36,870 --> 00:36:39,450 If you found them, you got paid. If you didn't, you didn't. 604 00:36:40,590 --> 00:36:42,510 People, man, they hide everywhere. 605 00:36:43,190 --> 00:36:47,530 But you got all kind of them, man. You got all kind of them. You got hookers. 606 00:36:47,530 --> 00:36:49,350 You got drug dealers. 607 00:36:49,610 --> 00:36:53,630 But everybody out on the streets knew me as Dr. D. You know, when people know 608 00:36:53,630 --> 00:36:57,810 you, it's a lot easier to get into their house or they'll open the door for you 609 00:36:57,810 --> 00:36:58,709 or whatever. 610 00:36:58,710 --> 00:37:01,370 Papa, that's Dr. D, David Schultz, buddy. 611 00:37:02,220 --> 00:37:04,260 That's the one that beat the shit out of Donald Rivera. 612 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:07,820 I feel good going there with you. 613 00:37:11,780 --> 00:37:18,520 We're coming to your home, your living room, and it's going to be true, live, 614 00:37:18,700 --> 00:37:22,420 actual footage. No more make -believe. It's all over. 615 00:37:23,220 --> 00:37:24,220 I'll be there soon. 616 00:37:25,300 --> 00:37:29,540 What would you say is the most memorable experience you had as a bounty hunter? 617 00:37:30,170 --> 00:37:34,510 Well, the best one was when I picked up the two girls that was kidnapped by this 618 00:37:34,510 --> 00:37:39,450 piece of garbage, and three years they couldn't find him in the FBI. The two 619 00:37:39,450 --> 00:37:43,770 girls got kidnapped, 14, 15 years old when he took off with them. They said 620 00:37:43,770 --> 00:37:47,930 he left the house, he would chain them around the commode. 621 00:37:49,530 --> 00:37:52,850 And the only way they could drink water was out of the commode while he was 622 00:37:52,850 --> 00:37:55,310 gone. I mean, this guy was sicko, you know. 623 00:37:55,610 --> 00:37:57,010 I found him in Puerto Rico. 624 00:37:57,660 --> 00:38:02,160 And I walked in the bar, and he was sitting at the bar. The two girls were 625 00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,680 stripping on stage, and they had a baby in the back room. 626 00:38:05,980 --> 00:38:07,940 Two Dobermans living back there with her. 627 00:38:08,660 --> 00:38:13,320 And I said, hey, Larry, Dr. D. David Schultz, bail enforcement agent, you're 628 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:14,178 under arrest. 629 00:38:14,180 --> 00:38:17,900 And he jumped off the bar and ran around the side. I slid over the top of the 630 00:38:17,900 --> 00:38:19,320 bar, and he was going out the back door. 631 00:38:19,740 --> 00:38:23,800 And two Puerto Rican policemen pulled down on him with shotguns. 632 00:38:24,810 --> 00:38:28,030 I jumped on him, handcuffed him, took him outside, threw him in the car. 633 00:38:29,250 --> 00:38:32,050 We ended up with two girls, two dogs, a baby. 634 00:38:33,370 --> 00:38:34,690 We had an old group, man. 635 00:38:34,990 --> 00:38:39,210 But I got them back home, and I guess they're doing great today. 636 00:38:39,650 --> 00:38:41,410 It's like kind of living in an activism. 637 00:38:42,150 --> 00:38:47,430 Oh, yeah, all the time, all the time. You just got to be careful because, let 638 00:38:47,430 --> 00:38:49,090 tell you, one mistake is your last one. 639 00:38:49,810 --> 00:38:54,300 While the former wrestler is risking his life in the streets, His old boss, 640 00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:56,980 Vince McMahon, drops a major bombshell. 641 00:38:57,240 --> 00:39:01,280 State legislatures are being urged by the biggest of all wrestling promoters 642 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:05,740 think the unthinkable, to declare that pro wrestling is not a sport at all, but 643 00:39:05,740 --> 00:39:09,420 an entertainment whose outcome is actually known before the battle begins. 644 00:39:09,900 --> 00:39:14,420 In an ironic twist, McMahon is attempting to lift the veil on the very 645 00:39:14,420 --> 00:39:16,520 Schultz became infamous for protecting. 646 00:39:17,340 --> 00:39:21,880 Vince McMahon went to athletic department in Baltimore and told them, 647 00:39:23,150 --> 00:39:24,150 It's entertainment. 648 00:39:24,890 --> 00:39:26,830 It's not a sport. It's entertainment. 649 00:39:27,210 --> 00:39:28,850 Yeah, you expose the whole business. 650 00:39:36,250 --> 00:39:41,650 Four years after the inaugural WrestleMania, Vince McMahon's gamble has 651 00:39:41,650 --> 00:39:47,410 than paid off. But to increase profits, he aims to change the rules around how 652 00:39:47,410 --> 00:39:48,510 wrestling is regulated. 653 00:39:49,230 --> 00:39:55,090 Those commissions would license promoters and wrestlers and take tax cut 654 00:39:55,090 --> 00:39:59,370 right to hold that event in their state. It might be 5 or 6 percent of the gate. 655 00:39:59,430 --> 00:40:02,010 Some states, maybe up to 10 percent. 656 00:40:02,330 --> 00:40:03,550 It is now official. 657 00:40:03,810 --> 00:40:06,270 Wrestling is not really wrestling. 658 00:40:06,730 --> 00:40:10,110 Wrestling promoters have told their secrets in an attempt to free themselves 659 00:40:10,110 --> 00:40:12,190 from the half Nelson of government regulation. 660 00:40:12,470 --> 00:40:16,030 We shouldn't be governed by a state body unless you're going to license 661 00:40:16,030 --> 00:40:17,030 Broadway. 662 00:40:17,210 --> 00:40:22,150 That was the comparison. It's a show. When Vince McMahon came out and said it 663 00:40:22,150 --> 00:40:25,010 was entertainment, he justified what I said. 664 00:40:25,410 --> 00:40:26,410 You understand? 665 00:40:27,150 --> 00:40:29,270 Kayfabe. That's a bunch of crap. 666 00:40:29,590 --> 00:40:32,830 I mean, what idiot came up with that? 667 00:40:34,650 --> 00:40:40,590 After McMahon makes his appeal to the state Senate, New Jersey finally frees 668 00:40:40,590 --> 00:40:42,150 WWF from regulation. 669 00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:45,240 For Vince McMahon, it's all part of the show. 670 00:40:45,460 --> 00:40:49,380 I did watch it with my son, who was a very big fan, and we bought all the 671 00:40:49,380 --> 00:40:52,640 figures, and I understand what a difference it makes to people. 672 00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:59,000 Many other states eager for the WWF's business follow New Jersey's lead and 673 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,560 deregulate what McMahon now calls sports entertainment. 674 00:41:03,720 --> 00:41:08,020 Stossel was set up, and Eddie Mansfield had everybody set up. 675 00:41:09,220 --> 00:41:11,460 He went up there and sold his soul out. 676 00:41:11,770 --> 00:41:14,930 I gave my whole career up because of these people. 677 00:41:15,330 --> 00:41:18,870 Do you or will you ever or would you ever forgive John Soppa? 678 00:41:19,570 --> 00:41:21,550 It's really not for me to forgive. 679 00:41:23,070 --> 00:41:25,070 It's God's job to forgive him. 680 00:41:26,530 --> 00:41:27,630 And I'm not God. 681 00:41:30,130 --> 00:41:34,150 What are the things you're doing now? What am I doing now? Well, starting next 682 00:41:34,150 --> 00:41:38,350 week, I'll be driving a tractor trailer, 18 wheel hauling cotton from the gym to 683 00:41:38,350 --> 00:41:39,350 the warehouses. 684 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:41,840 I'll do that about three months, four months. 685 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,320 I work from sunup to sundown and then during the night. 686 00:41:47,140 --> 00:41:50,420 There's two ways that David Schultz's career in wrestling could have gone. 687 00:41:51,180 --> 00:41:54,320 One, he would have made a ton of money in the WWF because he would have been a 688 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:56,080 big star there for quite some time. 689 00:41:56,280 --> 00:42:03,280 Or, David being David, as Vince McMahon got more cartoony, more showbiz, 690 00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:06,700 David would have found something else to blow up about and something would have 691 00:42:06,700 --> 00:42:08,020 happened, which is... 692 00:42:08,250 --> 00:42:09,250 Probably more likely. 693 00:42:11,210 --> 00:42:15,250 Vince McMahon also wanted to be the Walt Disney of wrestling. 694 00:42:17,790 --> 00:42:23,350 He wanted to be more clean, more family -oriented, a show that he could take on 695 00:42:23,350 --> 00:42:24,049 the road. 696 00:42:24,050 --> 00:42:28,330 So some went with him and trusted that vision and got their pictures on ice 697 00:42:28,330 --> 00:42:29,330 cream bars. 698 00:42:29,850 --> 00:42:36,850 The problem was with Schultz, he had a guy that was tougher than a Waffle House 699 00:42:36,850 --> 00:42:39,270 steak. And didn't like to be pushed around. 700 00:42:40,030 --> 00:42:42,530 Is David Schultz the type of person that you could control? 701 00:42:42,910 --> 00:42:47,630 I think if you treated David as a human being and respected him as a 702 00:42:47,630 --> 00:42:51,230 professional athlete, you can control anybody. 703 00:42:51,450 --> 00:42:53,530 I don't think that's the problem with David. 704 00:42:53,950 --> 00:42:56,350 I think it's being disrespected. 705 00:42:57,490 --> 00:42:59,730 And I think that was all of our problems. 706 00:43:02,230 --> 00:43:07,320 It's annoying that I've done a million pieces that... People still come up and 707 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:09,760 say, aren't you the guy who got whacked by the wrestler? 708 00:43:09,980 --> 00:43:13,380 On YouTube, it's probably my second most watched video. 709 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:15,560 I've become immortal? 710 00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:17,900 People are going to talk about me when I'm dead and gone. 711 00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:22,820 Oh, yeah, we remember that guy. He slapped the hell out of that reporter, 712 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:26,940 David Shultz. And I've offered to go face -to -face with him and let's 713 00:43:26,940 --> 00:43:31,140 straighten this thing out, John Stossel and me. And don't worry, John Stossel, 714 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:32,340 I'm not going to hurt you, boy. 715 00:43:33,100 --> 00:43:36,980 If there's something you could say to David Chilton now, what would you say to 716 00:43:36,980 --> 00:43:37,980 him? 717 00:43:38,020 --> 00:43:39,020 You, David. 718 00:43:40,380 --> 00:43:42,840 I understand. I stood up for wrestling. 719 00:43:43,260 --> 00:43:46,740 And it don't really bother me what people think about me. 720 00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:48,640 I really don't care. 721 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:52,020 You know, they can think anything they want. I don't care. 722 00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:56,040 And I'll tell them I don't care. I don't care. 723 00:43:57,440 --> 00:43:58,440 Hmm.