1 00:00:09,442 --> 00:00:10,877 [Eric]                              In the early 90s,             2 00:00:10,910 --> 00:00:13,179   we couldn't attract             an audience.                    3 00:00:13,213 --> 00:00:16,416   I needed people to               take WCW seriously.            4 00:00:16,449 --> 00:00:18,084    We needed a star.             5 00:00:18,118 --> 00:00:19,853   [Commentary]                      Hulk Hogan is here!           6 00:00:19,886 --> 00:00:23,723   [Hogan] You can call this the   New World Order                 7 00:00:23,757 --> 00:00:24,824   of wrestling,                      brother!                     8 00:00:24,858 --> 00:00:27,861  I don't think I'd ever            seen anything as hot as NWO.   9 00:00:27,894 --> 00:00:30,230 They were bad,                     but they were cool.            10 00:00:30,263 --> 00:00:32,999    It was the biggest turn in       the history of wrestling!     11 00:00:33,033 --> 00:00:34,000  Oh, no!                         12 00:00:34,034 --> 00:00:35,035  Whap!                           13 00:00:35,068 --> 00:00:37,270    [Bret] WCW is now beating       WWF in the ratings.            14 00:00:37,303 --> 00:00:40,273     Have we created a                monster, or what?            15 00:00:40,306 --> 00:00:43,676 Shit's gonna hit the fan            at some point, and it did.    16 00:00:43,710 --> 00:00:46,246   [Bret] It was a company that    was infested with guys          17 00:00:46,279 --> 00:00:48,014  that had their                    own agenda.                    18 00:00:48,048 --> 00:00:50,183 Eric Bischoff,                     he was just a prop.            19 00:00:50,216 --> 00:00:52,752    And Hulk Hogan was               the puppet master.            20 00:00:52,786 --> 00:00:54,687  Once a god...                   21 00:00:54,721 --> 00:00:56,689  always a god!                   22 00:00:56,723 --> 00:00:58,291   [Overlapping voices]           23 00:00:58,324 --> 00:00:59,959   You cannot sweep this           under the rug!                  24 00:00:59,993 --> 00:01:01,728   ...this is a fucking               television show.             25 00:01:01,761 --> 00:01:03,063     ...and I don't understand        what he's doing.             26 00:01:03,096 --> 00:01:04,731     The real reason                 men commit lies...            27 00:01:04,764 --> 00:01:05,932    ♪                             28 00:01:05,965 --> 00:01:07,934    [Flatlining extended beep]    29 00:01:07,967 --> 00:01:11,438   ♪ [Dramatic instrumental]  ♪   30 00:01:11,471 --> 00:01:13,206   Ladies and gentlemen!          31 00:01:13,239 --> 00:01:16,276    You are tuned in to            the world's  32 00:01:16,309 --> 00:01:18,211   professional                      wrestling program!            33 00:01:18,244 --> 00:01:20,113  By 1997, we had built           34 00:01:20,146 --> 00:01:22,048    so much good will                with the audience,            35 00:01:22,082 --> 00:01:25,251 as a result of the NWO.          36 00:01:25,285 --> 00:01:27,487   We were absolutely on fire.    37 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:28,421   NWO!                           38 00:01:28,455 --> 00:01:29,923  When it rains!                  39 00:01:29,956 --> 00:01:31,658     It pours!                    40 00:01:31,691 --> 00:01:32,959  For 83 weeks straight,          41 00:01:32,992 --> 00:01:36,396 WCW Nitro defeated WWE.          42 00:01:36,429 --> 00:01:38,965 And then, all of                 a sudden, boom.                  43 00:01:38,998 --> 00:01:42,769    [Thunder]                     44 00:01:42,802 --> 00:01:44,237  [Phone ringing]                 45 00:01:44,270 --> 00:01:45,972   I get a phone call.            46 00:01:46,005 --> 00:01:47,107 [Phone ringing]                  47 00:01:47,140 --> 00:01:49,175  It's Harvey Schiller.           48 00:01:49,209 --> 00:01:51,744  He's the president of             Turner Sports, and by proxy,   49 00:01:51,778 --> 00:01:53,780  you could say,                    WCW.                           50 00:01:53,813 --> 00:01:55,615    So, I answered it:             "Hey, Harvey!                   51 00:01:55,648 --> 00:01:56,516 How you doing?"                  52 00:01:56,549 --> 00:01:57,484   "I'm good.                      How are you?"                   53 00:01:57,517 --> 00:01:59,486 I said, "Oh, I'm good."           "Before you hang up,            54 00:01:59,519 --> 00:02:01,621 I want to let you know,          Nitro is having                  55 00:02:01,654 --> 00:02:03,356 so much                          success on TNT,                  56 00:02:03,389 --> 00:02:06,993 Ted wants to do another             prime time show for TBS."     57 00:02:07,026 --> 00:02:08,495     Feel the Thunder.            58 00:02:08,528 --> 00:02:10,697     Only on the Superstation.    59 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:11,865   I hung up the phone,              I thought,                    60 00:02:11,898 --> 00:02:13,032   this can't be real.            61 00:02:13,066 --> 00:02:15,368    They weren't happy enough     62 00:02:15,401 --> 00:02:17,270    with the ratings they had.    63 00:02:17,303 --> 00:02:20,607  They wanted to expand,           not realizing                   64 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:23,543   you're gonna weaken               the Monday show.              65 00:02:23,576 --> 00:02:25,612    [Eric] I mean, things were     going so well.                  66 00:02:25,645 --> 00:02:28,815    You're giving them such a        great show on Monday night    67 00:02:28,848 --> 00:02:32,385  that the idea of doing            another show, live,            68 00:02:32,418 --> 00:02:35,121  48 hours after I just           got done producing one?          69 00:02:35,155 --> 00:02:36,890  It...                           70 00:02:36,923 --> 00:02:38,791    there was no way I             thought it could work.          71 00:02:38,825 --> 00:02:42,896    But, I didn't want to be         the guy to tell Ted "no".     72 00:02:42,929 --> 00:02:45,198   That was my mistake.           73 00:02:45,231 --> 00:02:48,201    Tonight, we welcome            you to Thunder!                 74 00:02:48,234 --> 00:02:49,702 TBS said, "Sure,                   we'll take the show.           75 00:02:49,736 --> 00:02:51,371  We just don't have it           in our budget.                   76 00:02:51,404 --> 00:02:54,908  We can't pay for it."              So, reluctantly,              77 00:02:54,941 --> 00:02:56,876  of course it was a big           part of WCW's budget.           78 00:02:56,910 --> 00:02:59,145  That's what Ted wants.          79 00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:01,047  The challenge                   80 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,349    right off the bat,               audience fatigue,             81 00:03:03,383 --> 00:03:05,818    because now they're seeing      too much of the same talent.   82 00:03:05,852 --> 00:03:07,687   -Who's who?                     -I don't know!                  83 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:09,355   Even though we had               a very deep roster,            84 00:03:09,389 --> 00:03:12,058   if we're going to do           another show, I thought,         85 00:03:12,091 --> 00:03:15,728  that roster has to be            substantially unique.           86 00:03:15,762 --> 00:03:17,063    It's why I brought             Bret Hart in.                   87 00:03:17,096 --> 00:03:19,232    [Cheering]                    88 00:03:19,265 --> 00:03:21,201  Bret!                              [Echoing]                     89 00:03:21,234 --> 00:03:24,404    ♪                             90 00:03:24,437 --> 00:03:27,674  I was at the top of the heap     of the WWF during those days.   91 00:03:27,707 --> 00:03:29,409    ♪                             92 00:03:29,442 --> 00:03:31,377    I beat Undertaker             for the title.                   93 00:03:31,411 --> 00:03:33,413    I beat Stone Cold              Steve Austin.                   94 00:03:33,446 --> 00:03:35,014   Agh!                           95 00:03:35,048 --> 00:03:38,017 I was a WWF guy, and ah,          I think I was                   96 00:03:38,051 --> 00:03:40,019    a big part of the success     that they had.                   97 00:03:40,053 --> 00:03:43,056    [Cheering]                    98 00:03:43,089 --> 00:03:46,593  I like Bret. A lot of            respect for that man.           99 00:03:46,626 --> 00:03:48,261   Bret Hart, somebody            I probably had                   100 00:03:48,294 --> 00:03:50,129  my best matches with.           101 00:03:50,163 --> 00:03:51,231    Oh!                           102 00:03:51,264 --> 00:03:53,032    Ultimate respect.             103 00:03:53,066 --> 00:03:54,467    I loved Bret Hart.            104 00:03:54,500 --> 00:03:56,436  He was like a national          hero in Canada.                  105 00:03:56,469 --> 00:03:59,539  People respected him,           people looked up to him.         106 00:03:59,572 --> 00:04:03,443  I emulated some of my            style from Bret Hart,           107 00:04:03,476 --> 00:04:05,712 like my suplex.                  108 00:04:05,745 --> 00:04:07,614 Bischoff says,                      "What's it gonna take for     109 00:04:07,647 --> 00:04:10,717   you to come to WCW?"           110 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:11,551 Bret...                          111 00:04:11,584 --> 00:04:14,554 We got it up to                    2.8 million a year.            112 00:04:14,587 --> 00:04:15,922 Bret...                          113 00:04:15,955 --> 00:04:18,157 So I joined WCW.                 114 00:04:18,191 --> 00:04:20,393  Bret 'The Hitman' Hart!         115 00:04:20,426 --> 00:04:21,961   Has arrived!                   116 00:04:21,995 --> 00:04:24,497    First night I walked out,       and I got a great reaction.    117 00:04:24,530 --> 00:04:26,733    [Cheering]                    118 00:04:26,766 --> 00:04:29,135    I needed an anchor             for that show.                  119 00:04:29,168 --> 00:04:31,938    Bret was critical to that.    120 00:04:31,971 --> 00:04:34,340   But it went                      downhill from there.           121 00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:40,647 [Booing]                         122 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:42,448   It sounds to me like            you people are                  123 00:04:42,482 --> 00:04:44,817   a little disappointed in me.   124 00:04:44,851 --> 00:04:46,486    They're flying me                down from Calgary,            125 00:04:46,519 --> 00:04:49,822    then they tell me              I'm off for the night.          126 00:04:49,856 --> 00:04:52,792  The next week, I'd do            the same thing again.           127 00:04:52,825 --> 00:04:54,961 Just sit in the dressing           room and do nothing.           128 00:04:54,994 --> 00:04:57,697    Eric, he apologized to me      many times, and said,           129 00:04:57,730 --> 00:05:00,199 "I'm so sorry about how            we brought you in."            130 00:05:00,233 --> 00:05:03,002    Everything he ever            said was a lie.                  131 00:05:03,036 --> 00:05:06,606  We already knew that             we were running thin.           132 00:05:06,639 --> 00:05:08,875   You had Monday Night Nitro,       and then you had              133 00:05:08,908 --> 00:05:10,843 two days that you had to         do house shows.                  134 00:05:10,877 --> 00:05:13,146   That's followed by               a two-hour Thunder.            135 00:05:13,179 --> 00:05:16,616 We had a Saturday show.          136 00:05:16,649 --> 00:05:18,051    [Janie] And then you might      have a Pay Per View            137 00:05:18,084 --> 00:05:19,519  or something in there.          138 00:05:19,552 --> 00:05:22,388   [Kevin Nash]                   You're basically booking         139 00:05:22,422 --> 00:05:25,525  ten hours in two days.          140 00:05:25,558 --> 00:05:30,029  It was impossible to have any    kind of attention to detail.    141 00:05:30,063 --> 00:05:31,464  And I think it showed.          142 00:05:31,497 --> 00:05:32,799  I've never seen a human             being do anything            143 00:05:32,832 --> 00:05:34,467   like this in my life!          144 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:36,135    This has never been              done in our sport!            145 00:05:36,169 --> 00:05:37,036 There were so many times          we didn't have                  146 00:05:37,070 --> 00:05:39,572   finishes for this or              finishes for that             147 00:05:39,605 --> 00:05:41,974    because it was so             time consuming.                  148 00:05:42,008 --> 00:05:43,576    We're out of time!            149 00:05:43,609 --> 00:05:45,745    When these guys are trying       to think up something new,    150 00:05:45,778 --> 00:05:46,913 they're gonna go                   to something                   151 00:05:46,946 --> 00:05:49,148   that worked before.            152 00:05:49,182 --> 00:05:51,351  [Eric] You know, NWO was still    rocking and rolling.           153 00:05:51,384 --> 00:05:53,419 Printing money,                   and printing ratings.           154 00:05:53,453 --> 00:05:56,723 And as a result, we took            the easy way out.             155 00:05:56,756 --> 00:05:58,925  We kept adding                    to the NWO.                    156 00:05:58,958 --> 00:06:00,860   Let's create                   the Red Faction.                 157 00:06:00,893 --> 00:06:03,096 We got some new                  colors going on!                 158 00:06:03,129 --> 00:06:04,864 [Eric] Let's create the          Latino Faction.                  159 00:06:04,897 --> 00:06:06,566  The Latino World Order.         160 00:06:06,599 --> 00:06:08,501   You just can't pass               t-shirts out and              161 00:06:08,534 --> 00:06:12,538 water down the greatest           show in town.                   162 00:06:12,572 --> 00:06:13,639   You gotta wear that?           163 00:06:13,673 --> 00:06:15,908   There were too many people.    It wasn't cool anymore.          164 00:06:15,942 --> 00:06:18,010  [Bret] If you watched            one match...                    165 00:06:18,044 --> 00:06:19,379   you watched 'em all.           166 00:06:19,412 --> 00:06:21,080 Every show ends                  with a run in,                   167 00:06:21,114 --> 00:06:22,949  there's about 20 guys              running in there.             168 00:06:22,982 --> 00:06:26,252 And I'm going, "And why             am I running in?"             169 00:06:26,285 --> 00:06:29,789 Nothing made sense from           one week to the next.           170 00:06:29,822 --> 00:06:32,759  And the fans disgusted,           thumbs down.                   171 00:06:32,792 --> 00:06:35,061   Unbelievable!                  172 00:06:35,094 --> 00:06:38,598   [Eric] Creating momentum is     really, really hard.            173 00:06:38,631 --> 00:06:40,900    The only thing harder than       creating momentum             174 00:06:40,933 --> 00:06:42,635 is maintaining momentum.         175 00:06:42,668 --> 00:06:45,972    Thanks for having me here,      Mr. President Elect.           176 00:06:46,005 --> 00:06:48,775 We'd lost our momentum.          177 00:06:48,808 --> 00:06:52,412  And we found ourselves             in a rebuild mode.            178 00:06:52,445 --> 00:06:54,380  [Guy]                             April 13th of 1998,            179 00:06:54,414 --> 00:06:55,815    something                      significant happened,           180 00:06:55,848 --> 00:06:58,451   which was Raw beating Nitro      for the first time             181 00:06:58,484 --> 00:07:01,287  in the ratings                   for 22 months.                  182 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,222 Whenever you're                  leading a night,                 183 00:07:03,256 --> 00:07:05,124    and now you're not            leading a night,                 184 00:07:05,158 --> 00:07:08,661   there's reason for concern.    185 00:07:08,694 --> 00:07:11,130 As WCW and Monday Nitro          186 00:07:11,164 --> 00:07:14,167  became a huge                   prime time hit,                  187 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,103  those numbers                   exploded because                 188 00:07:17,136 --> 00:07:19,572   it wasn't just men 18 to 34.   189 00:07:19,605 --> 00:07:21,641 It now became families.          190 00:07:21,674 --> 00:07:24,177  So, my eye was                    on Goldberg.                   191 00:07:24,210 --> 00:07:26,646    ♪                             192 00:07:26,679 --> 00:07:29,015     [Faint chanting]                Goldberg! Goldberg!           193 00:07:29,048 --> 00:07:30,683    I was born with something.    194 00:07:30,716 --> 00:07:32,518    [Chanting]                       Goldberg!                     195 00:07:32,552 --> 00:07:35,354 I'm fucking 6'3,                 280 lbs.                         196 00:07:35,388 --> 00:07:39,125    I could go from 0 to 100,      and 100 to 0,                   197 00:07:39,158 --> 00:07:41,627  in 60 seconds.                  198 00:07:41,661 --> 00:07:43,796   But what the business didn't      have was something            199 00:07:43,830 --> 00:07:47,300    that I wanted to                fill the void with.            200 00:07:47,333 --> 00:07:49,435 And that's the beauty of            the character that            201 00:07:49,469 --> 00:07:51,771 we came up with.                 202 00:07:51,804 --> 00:07:53,773   I am the fucking character.    203 00:07:53,806 --> 00:07:55,541  I am Goldberg.                  204 00:07:55,575 --> 00:07:58,177  [Grunting and growling]           205 00:07:58,211 --> 00:08:00,780  [Indistinct commentary]           ...evolution of man!           206 00:08:00,813 --> 00:08:03,483  We have reached                   the epitome!                   207 00:08:03,516 --> 00:08:05,952    [Eric] I don't think there     ever had been                   208 00:08:05,985 --> 00:08:06,986  an athlete...                   209 00:08:07,019 --> 00:08:08,054     The man!                     210 00:08:08,087 --> 00:08:09,055 [Eric] A star...                 211 00:08:09,088 --> 00:08:10,056    Superman, himself!            212 00:08:10,089 --> 00:08:11,057  [Eric] A performer...           213 00:08:11,090 --> 00:08:12,658     100% adrenaline!             214 00:08:12,692 --> 00:08:13,526  [Eric]                            In professional wrestling...   215 00:08:13,559 --> 00:08:15,228     Goldberg will not             be intimidated!                 216 00:08:15,261 --> 00:08:18,130   [Eric] ...that rose              as quickly                     217 00:08:18,164 --> 00:08:19,966   as Goldberg.                   218 00:08:19,999 --> 00:08:21,567    [Chanting]                       Goldberg! Goldberg!           219 00:08:21,601 --> 00:08:24,337    Bill Goldberg, he was on a       rocket ship from day one.     220 00:08:24,370 --> 00:08:26,005  [Loud popping]                  221 00:08:26,038 --> 00:08:27,907    ♪                             222 00:08:27,940 --> 00:08:30,543    A "professional wrestler"        was never                     223 00:08:30,576 --> 00:08:32,211    anything I aspired to be.     224 00:08:32,245 --> 00:08:35,214 My entire life existence          was to play football.           225 00:08:35,248 --> 00:08:36,582 I don't know if you know         who this guy is,                 226 00:08:36,616 --> 00:08:38,150    but I've got the picture.     227 00:08:38,184 --> 00:08:40,419  I know all about him-           Bill Goldberg,                   228 00:08:40,453 --> 00:08:44,857  former Georgia Bulldog            and Atlanta Falcon.            229 00:08:44,891 --> 00:08:46,559   I was never the best           football player,                 230 00:08:46,592 --> 00:08:48,528    by any stretch of                the imagination.              231 00:08:48,561 --> 00:08:50,196   I got hurt,                    tore my abdomen                  232 00:08:50,229 --> 00:08:53,232 off of my pelvis in '94.         233 00:08:53,266 --> 00:08:55,234   I had no idea what I              was gonna do with             234 00:08:55,268 --> 00:08:56,569   the rest of my life.           235 00:08:56,602 --> 00:08:58,905 I was depressed as shit.         236 00:08:58,938 --> 00:09:02,008 When I finally seriously          considered becoming a           237 00:09:02,041 --> 00:09:04,277  professional wrestler,           I had to come up with           238 00:09:04,310 --> 00:09:07,613  something where I felt          as though I was                  239 00:09:07,647 --> 00:09:11,417    continually building upon        what I had built.             240 00:09:11,450 --> 00:09:13,185  You strive to be the             biggest, baddest dude           241 00:09:13,219 --> 00:09:14,854  on the field.                   242 00:09:14,887 --> 00:09:18,224  I gave him the                     short black boots.            243 00:09:18,257 --> 00:09:20,126 Black tights...                  244 00:09:20,159 --> 00:09:22,194     Combination slam,             1, 2...                         245 00:09:22,228 --> 00:09:23,396    3!                            246 00:09:23,429 --> 00:09:24,230 He didn't talk.                  247 00:09:24,263 --> 00:09:26,599 You absolutely                   manhandled him tonight!          248 00:09:28,601 --> 00:09:30,469  Sir, I've gotta get a              little bit more than that.    249 00:09:30,503 --> 00:09:33,272   Mike Tyson-                      black boots.                   250 00:09:33,306 --> 00:09:35,374  Black shorts.                   251 00:09:35,408 --> 00:09:38,744    Didn't need to talk, just     come down and do that.           252 00:09:38,778 --> 00:09:41,280    [Bill] He might bite your        fuckin' ear off.              253 00:09:41,314 --> 00:09:43,950  Or he might knock you            out with an uppercut.           254 00:09:43,983 --> 00:09:45,818  You don't know                    what's gonna happen.           255 00:09:45,851 --> 00:09:47,386   Hey, you gotta watch             this guy, Goldberg.            256 00:09:47,420 --> 00:09:49,922   He's a time bomb just              ready to explode.            257 00:09:49,956 --> 00:09:52,124   Maybe that's                    why it worked.                  258 00:09:52,158 --> 00:09:55,094  The crowd was reacting          to him like a superstar.         259 00:09:55,127 --> 00:09:57,730     Listen to this reception-       [Roaring cheering]            260 00:09:57,763 --> 00:09:59,332  It's like, holy crap.           261 00:09:59,365 --> 00:10:00,466    [Cheering]                    262 00:10:00,499 --> 00:10:03,102    Oh, my god!                       1, 2, 3!                     263 00:10:03,135 --> 00:10:04,236   [Match bell chiming]           264 00:10:04,270 --> 00:10:05,605   People were                       chanting his name,            265 00:10:05,638 --> 00:10:07,773    "Goldberg!                       Goldberg!"                    266 00:10:07,807 --> 00:10:10,576    [Chanting]                       Goldberg!                     267 00:10:10,610 --> 00:10:12,612   They pushed him like crazy.    268 00:10:12,645 --> 00:10:15,514    There's never been a push        anything like it anywhere.    269 00:10:15,548 --> 00:10:17,283   Let's just put him out there     and have him squash people.    270 00:10:17,316 --> 00:10:19,418   Kept doing it, and             doing it, and doing it,          271 00:10:19,452 --> 00:10:21,420    and people kept loving it,     loving it, loving it.           272 00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:22,622   Ah!                            273 00:10:22,655 --> 00:10:23,689    And why would you             mess with that?                  274 00:10:23,723 --> 00:10:25,091   Agh!                           275 00:10:25,124 --> 00:10:27,593   There were a lot of             people jealous of him.          276 00:10:27,627 --> 00:10:29,662   Ah!                                He speared Nash!             277 00:10:29,695 --> 00:10:31,464 Bill was a fan,                  Bill was a mark,                 278 00:10:31,497 --> 00:10:33,332   Bill was a football player.    279 00:10:33,366 --> 00:10:34,300    Someone should 'a               taught him,                    280 00:10:34,333 --> 00:10:36,302  or pulled him aside,             and said, "Hey, Bill,           281 00:10:36,335 --> 00:10:38,804 you do know that                 this is pretend, right?"         282 00:10:38,838 --> 00:10:39,805   Agh!                           283 00:10:39,839 --> 00:10:42,174    He didn't.                    284 00:10:42,208 --> 00:10:45,311    This is a fucking                television show!              285 00:10:45,344 --> 00:10:47,146 I know when you                  tackle somebody,                 286 00:10:47,179 --> 00:10:49,315   you think it's real.           287 00:10:49,348 --> 00:10:51,517  But the person getting          fucking potatoed                 288 00:10:51,550 --> 00:10:54,620 in the corner's                    had enough.                    289 00:10:54,654 --> 00:10:56,489   I feel bad about it.           290 00:10:56,522 --> 00:11:00,826   But, as long as the             intent is not there...          291 00:11:00,860 --> 00:11:03,295   it's not my fault.               You can't blame me.            292 00:11:03,329 --> 00:11:07,033   Jesus Christ, dude,             like, get some skills.          293 00:11:07,066 --> 00:11:08,734    A lot of jealousy.            294 00:11:08,768 --> 00:11:10,569 This guy hasn't                  paid his dues,                   295 00:11:10,603 --> 00:11:13,572    and Goldberg doesn't love        this like we do, you know.    296 00:11:13,606 --> 00:11:15,508    They can all kiss my ass.     297 00:11:15,541 --> 00:11:17,977   I'll take that criticism on      the way up because             298 00:11:18,010 --> 00:11:20,479   I'm still that guy.            299 00:11:20,513 --> 00:11:22,682    And you guys tried              every frickin' thing           300 00:11:22,715 --> 00:11:24,984   you could do for me              not to be that guy.            301 00:11:25,017 --> 00:11:26,752    And who prevailed?            302 00:11:26,786 --> 00:11:29,722    [Clicking tongue]             303 00:11:29,755 --> 00:11:31,424    Please welcome...                Goldberg!                     304 00:11:31,457 --> 00:11:34,160    [Cheering]                    305 00:11:34,193 --> 00:11:36,896   [Brad] I felt that Goldberg     was really...                   306 00:11:36,929 --> 00:11:41,400 the phenomena that could          bring advertisers and           307 00:11:41,434 --> 00:11:43,769 all the other stuff that         they're buying,                  308 00:11:43,803 --> 00:11:45,104  or they're consuming.           309 00:11:45,137 --> 00:11:48,507     Nash and Goldberg                Bashin Brawlers!             310 00:11:48,541 --> 00:11:50,242 The kids loved Goldberg.         311 00:11:50,276 --> 00:11:51,877    They loved that character.    312 00:11:51,911 --> 00:11:53,879 And they loved the fact          that he was undefeated.          313 00:11:53,913 --> 00:11:55,715  All anyone ever wanted             to talk about was             314 00:11:55,748 --> 00:11:57,583    Goldberg,                       Goldberg, Goldberg.            315 00:12:00,553 --> 00:12:02,121  [Eric]                           So, I'm in LA one day.          316 00:12:02,154 --> 00:12:04,724    And, I get a phone            call from Hulk.                  317 00:12:04,757 --> 00:12:05,758 "I got an idea.                  318 00:12:05,791 --> 00:12:08,094    I'm gonna wrestle Goldberg      at the Georgia Dome.           319 00:12:08,127 --> 00:12:09,729  I'm gonna put                   him over, clean.                 320 00:12:09,762 --> 00:12:12,431    The time is right.               This is the time.             321 00:12:12,465 --> 00:12:13,632 Let's do this."                  322 00:12:13,666 --> 00:12:16,435  Nitro!                              It's on the air!             323 00:12:16,469 --> 00:12:18,104   From the professional              wrestling capital            324 00:12:18,137 --> 00:12:20,806   of the world,                      Atlanta, Georgia!            325 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,109    Bill Goldberg was                a hometown hero.              326 00:12:23,142 --> 00:12:25,311   There he is, and here             comes the eruption.           327 00:12:25,344 --> 00:12:28,714    [Cheering]                       Bigger than before!           328 00:12:28,748 --> 00:12:30,716  Guys from the                     Falcons were there.            329 00:12:30,750 --> 00:12:33,753   You know, former teammates.      It felt like the Super Bowl.   330 00:12:33,786 --> 00:12:35,588   I mean, we sold out               the Georgia Dome.             331 00:12:35,621 --> 00:12:37,556   44,000 tickets, man.           332 00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:40,826  That place was packed.          It was electric.                 333 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:42,628  It was Nitro.                   334 00:12:42,661 --> 00:12:43,596     This is the biggest one,     335 00:12:43,629 --> 00:12:45,798   that heightened sense              of anticipation.             336 00:12:45,831 --> 00:12:47,566   Let the match begin!           337 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,469 [Eric] 10 million people in the   United States between           338 00:12:50,503 --> 00:12:52,738 Monday Night Raw                    and Nitro                     339 00:12:52,772 --> 00:12:56,642    were zeroed in on             professional wrestling.          340 00:12:56,675 --> 00:12:58,577  Mind blowing.                   341 00:12:58,611 --> 00:13:01,347    That really was...            342 00:13:01,380 --> 00:13:04,083    the height of WCW.            343 00:13:04,116 --> 00:13:06,452    Oh!                              Hell, yeah!                   344 00:13:06,485 --> 00:13:08,487   That was the                      coolest shit ever.            345 00:13:08,521 --> 00:13:11,957  The feeling that I got           when I heard the crowd          346 00:13:11,991 --> 00:13:14,760   after I received the belt...   347 00:13:14,794 --> 00:13:16,328    Thank you!                       Thank you!                    348 00:13:16,362 --> 00:13:17,997     We've got a new                heavyweight champion           349 00:13:18,030 --> 00:13:19,498   of the world!                  350 00:13:20,666 --> 00:13:22,701 Nothing like it.                 351 00:13:22,735 --> 00:13:25,004 It was just the                  coolest moment.                  352 00:13:25,037 --> 00:13:26,806    ♪                             353 00:13:26,839 --> 00:13:29,275  Okay, why is this not             on a Pay Per View?             354 00:13:29,308 --> 00:13:32,044   It's like, man, we could've    made a lot more money,           355 00:13:32,077 --> 00:13:33,946   if we'd 'a kept it               off TV for a while.            356 00:13:33,979 --> 00:13:36,215  One of the things that I was     criticized for was that I was   357 00:13:36,248 --> 00:13:38,984  putting Pay Per View              quality matches on free TV.    358 00:13:39,018 --> 00:13:42,521  WCW is getting higher            ratings than                    359 00:13:42,555 --> 00:13:44,356  anything else                   in the company.                  360 00:13:44,390 --> 00:13:47,560   This is, this is the              hottest product we've got.    361 00:13:47,593 --> 00:13:50,396    It didn't always advertise       in the highest value that     362 00:13:50,429 --> 00:13:51,730  you could get                   for ad dollars.                  363 00:13:51,764 --> 00:13:54,133  The disconnect between          364 00:13:54,166 --> 00:13:56,569 the advertising dollars,         and, and                         365 00:13:56,602 --> 00:13:59,138 the size of the                   audience for wrestling          366 00:13:59,171 --> 00:14:00,573 became an issue.                 367 00:14:00,606 --> 00:14:03,309    One of the forces                working against...            368 00:14:03,342 --> 00:14:05,845  ad revenue was                   our ad people                   369 00:14:05,878 --> 00:14:07,313    wouldn't                      sell wrestling.                  370 00:14:07,346 --> 00:14:09,081   They don't like it,              they want to get rid of it.    371 00:14:09,114 --> 00:14:11,917 There was such pressure          on Eric with opposition          372 00:14:11,951 --> 00:14:13,419   not only at                     the corporate,                  373 00:14:13,452 --> 00:14:16,222   but also the people             that reported to him.           374 00:14:16,255 --> 00:14:17,890  I mean, he had                    no friends.                    375 00:14:17,923 --> 00:14:19,825 We're gonna take                  your paycheck.                  376 00:14:19,859 --> 00:14:22,361   We're gonna                     take your job.                  377 00:14:22,394 --> 00:14:26,098 There was always a hint            of ulterior motive,            378 00:14:26,131 --> 00:14:28,601   which at the end of              the day, could maybe           379 00:14:28,634 --> 00:14:31,770   mean the destruction           of your company.                 380 00:14:31,804 --> 00:14:33,239  I don't know.                   381 00:14:38,444 --> 00:14:39,845   Alright, here we go,             ladies and gentlemen!          382 00:14:39,879 --> 00:14:41,080    His debut!                    383 00:14:41,113 --> 00:14:43,382     Rocky... Maivia!             384 00:14:43,415 --> 00:14:45,351   Now there's gonna be             the man, right there.          385 00:14:45,384 --> 00:14:47,419 In the world of                  professional wrestling,          386 00:14:47,453 --> 00:14:49,088    any kind of fresh                take on something             387 00:14:49,121 --> 00:14:51,590  is challenging to do.           388 00:14:51,624 --> 00:14:53,559 Back then, I was                   still opening match.           389 00:14:53,592 --> 00:14:56,762  -Unbelievable agility!            -[Cheering]                    390 00:14:56,795 --> 00:14:58,697    What a way                       to make your debut!           391 00:14:58,731 --> 00:15:00,099  Before the show ended,           I was already back in           392 00:15:00,132 --> 00:15:02,902 my hotel room,                   watching Nitro.                  393 00:15:02,935 --> 00:15:05,938    I just wanted to see where     they were doing things          394 00:15:05,971 --> 00:15:07,773    differently and figure out      how we could                   395 00:15:07,806 --> 00:15:09,942 do something like that.          396 00:15:09,975 --> 00:15:12,144   Or, possibly                     even better.                   397 00:15:12,177 --> 00:15:16,448    ♪                             398 00:15:16,482 --> 00:15:18,217   When you're getting            your ass kicked                  399 00:15:18,250 --> 00:15:20,452   week, over week, over week,    which was our company,           400 00:15:20,486 --> 00:15:23,122    you're gonna say,                "Hey, fuck this.              401 00:15:23,155 --> 00:15:24,757 What do we need to do?"          402 00:15:24,790 --> 00:15:29,061    Welcome to WWF Raw!           403 00:15:29,094 --> 00:15:33,132   WWE's answer to NWO             was the Attitude Era.           404 00:15:33,165 --> 00:15:35,668     Suck it!                        [Cheering]                    405 00:15:35,701 --> 00:15:37,236    -Here comes Austin!               -Oh, no!                     406 00:15:37,269 --> 00:15:39,238  [Indistinct commentary]             Okay, here we go!            407 00:15:39,271 --> 00:15:41,807   Okay, first of all, I refer    to it as the Nitro Era,          408 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,477 because the Attitude Era         was nothing more                 409 00:15:45,511 --> 00:15:50,482  than a replication of              the Nitro format.             410 00:15:50,516 --> 00:15:52,484  They were going after            the same audience that          411 00:15:52,518 --> 00:15:55,321 I recognized as                     being underserved.            412 00:15:55,354 --> 00:15:56,488    [Cheering]                    413 00:15:56,522 --> 00:15:58,657 Okay, we're in a fight.          414 00:15:58,691 --> 00:16:00,459    We've been                     dominating that fight.          415 00:16:00,492 --> 00:16:02,428  But this guy's                    coming back.                   416 00:16:02,461 --> 00:16:04,663  It wasn't like                  we were hurting.                 417 00:16:04,697 --> 00:16:06,598 They were just                      getting stronger.             418 00:16:06,632 --> 00:16:08,667    I mean, '98 was a               record revenue year.           419 00:16:08,701 --> 00:16:10,436  But, all of a sudden,           420 00:16:10,469 --> 00:16:12,438  none of that                       mattered anymore.             421 00:16:12,471 --> 00:16:15,274    ♪                             422 00:16:15,307 --> 00:16:17,943   And it affected WCW               in ways that I...             423 00:16:17,977 --> 00:16:19,778    didn't anticipate.            424 00:16:19,812 --> 00:16:23,315    ♪                             425 00:16:23,349 --> 00:16:26,118  I was introduced to a              different kind of             426 00:16:26,151 --> 00:16:28,887   corporate structure,             with regard to WCW.            427 00:16:28,921 --> 00:16:33,659    ♪                             428 00:16:33,692 --> 00:16:36,528    In July of 1998,               I was sitting in a meeting...   429 00:16:36,562 --> 00:16:39,131    with 10 or 12 other people    430 00:16:39,164 --> 00:16:41,000   much higher in the              food chain than I am,           431 00:16:41,033 --> 00:16:46,238 telling me how                     I was going to operate WCW,    432 00:16:46,271 --> 00:16:48,974  and change our target              demographic that              433 00:16:49,008 --> 00:16:51,677 we had built an                   entire business upon.           434 00:16:51,710 --> 00:16:54,413  He said, "No, we want             kids and families."            435 00:16:54,446 --> 00:16:55,848 What you really need for          success is the                  436 00:16:55,881 --> 00:16:57,850 people coming in                 on the outside.                  437 00:16:57,883 --> 00:16:59,318    But there was a discussion    about, you know,                 438 00:16:59,351 --> 00:17:01,353 could they do it                 without being...                 439 00:17:01,387 --> 00:17:04,656 as lewd as WWE.                  440 00:17:04,690 --> 00:17:06,558  Oh-ho!                          441 00:17:06,592 --> 00:17:10,162  Vince McMahon and the              WWE decided, "Let's do...     442 00:17:10,195 --> 00:17:13,265   what Eric's doing, and let's   do it better than them."         443 00:17:13,298 --> 00:17:15,234    Oh, my god,                     he's on fire!                  444 00:17:15,267 --> 00:17:16,502  That's exactly                   what they did.                  445 00:17:16,535 --> 00:17:18,070 What a good day                    for a pimp.                    446 00:17:18,103 --> 00:17:20,939    Ted Turner was very strict    about things on the show         447 00:17:20,973 --> 00:17:22,441   that could be done.            448 00:17:22,474 --> 00:17:24,009  Vince was quite happy             to do all of that.             449 00:17:24,043 --> 00:17:26,045 [Wrestler] We will have          less references                  450 00:17:26,078 --> 00:17:29,081    to our enormous genitalia.    451 00:17:29,114 --> 00:17:30,783   They took it                   into the gutter.                 452 00:17:30,816 --> 00:17:32,551  Didn't matter.                     It worked.                    453 00:17:32,584 --> 00:17:34,953  They had Jenna Jameson           on their show.                  454 00:17:34,987 --> 00:17:39,291   Our rebuttal is, we'll give     the guy an NWO shirt.           455 00:17:39,324 --> 00:17:41,226    I guess there's a               new member now, huh?           456 00:17:41,260 --> 00:17:46,231    Everything you can               possibly do to combat WWF,    457 00:17:46,265 --> 00:17:48,233  they're taking                   away from us.                   458 00:17:48,267 --> 00:17:49,368   Shut up, you idiot!            459 00:17:49,401 --> 00:17:52,104  [Eric] We were being mandated   to change the nature of          460 00:17:52,137 --> 00:17:53,806 the way we were                    producing our show.            461 00:17:53,839 --> 00:17:57,109   To go back to doing              what we were doing             462 00:17:57,142 --> 00:17:59,978  when we couldn't even             be a distant  463 00:18:00,012 --> 00:18:03,248   I had taken the business out     of the dumpster and            464 00:18:03,282 --> 00:18:05,984  turned it into                  a success story.                 465 00:18:06,018 --> 00:18:08,053  Now, all of a sudden,            Standards and Practices           466 00:18:08,087 --> 00:18:10,089  is about to tell me...          467 00:18:10,122 --> 00:18:12,057 what I can and can't do.         468 00:18:12,091 --> 00:18:13,659   Forget that.                   469 00:18:13,692 --> 00:18:16,128 If push comes to shove,           I'm just gonna fight all this   470 00:18:16,161 --> 00:18:18,430   until it gets to Ted's desk,    and then it's gonna be          471 00:18:18,464 --> 00:18:21,467    me and this guy,              and we'll see who wins.          472 00:18:21,500 --> 00:18:23,669 -Like a wrestling match.           -[Laughing]                    473 00:18:23,702 --> 00:18:25,904    You heard the man,              himself, Ted Turner.           474 00:18:25,938 --> 00:18:28,107   When you're winning,             and you're the guy,            475 00:18:28,140 --> 00:18:30,008    it's a lot of fun.            476 00:18:30,042 --> 00:18:32,945 And when you're losing,             not so much fun.              477 00:18:32,978 --> 00:18:34,847  And it was hard on him           at times, man.                  478 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:36,448    You could see it.             479 00:18:36,482 --> 00:18:38,817    Eric was always a             really positive person.          480 00:18:38,851 --> 00:18:40,419 Really positive.                 481 00:18:40,452 --> 00:18:44,523  And, all of a sudden,           it shifted to negative.          482 00:18:44,556 --> 00:18:47,159    Don't show anything unless    we tell you to show it!          483 00:18:47,192 --> 00:18:49,628 I found myself fighting            with departments of            484 00:18:49,661 --> 00:18:52,631   Turner Broadcasting that I'd    never heard of before.          485 00:18:52,664 --> 00:18:55,701 It took a lot out of me.         486 00:18:55,734 --> 00:18:57,336  One afternoon                     I was in my office,            487 00:18:57,369 --> 00:18:59,471    and I was just out of gas,    488 00:18:59,505 --> 00:19:00,873 and Kevin came                   into my office.                  489 00:19:00,906 --> 00:19:03,175  And he just...                  490 00:19:03,208 --> 00:19:06,278  he was having such a            hard time banging heads          491 00:19:06,311 --> 00:19:09,114  with everybody                   on everything.                  492 00:19:09,148 --> 00:19:10,182    And Kevin offered,            he said, "Boss,                  493 00:19:10,215 --> 00:19:12,951    why don't you let someone     to take over the book?"          494 00:19:12,985 --> 00:19:15,320  "Temporary, get your               feet back underneath you.     495 00:19:15,354 --> 00:19:17,523    Let me take this               pressure off of you."           496 00:19:17,556 --> 00:19:20,526 The head booker was the          one determining                  497 00:19:20,559 --> 00:19:22,161 whether the concepts for         each week's show                 498 00:19:22,194 --> 00:19:23,996    actually made air or not.     499 00:19:24,029 --> 00:19:25,197 I think it's been fairly            well acknowledged             500 00:19:25,230 --> 00:19:26,665 that Kevin Nash,                    you know,                     501 00:19:26,698 --> 00:19:29,067 had been instrumental in            being a huge part             502 00:19:29,101 --> 00:19:30,969 of the creative process.         503 00:19:31,003 --> 00:19:32,871 [Eric] There were other people I   could have handed it off to,   504 00:19:32,905 --> 00:19:36,475  but I had confidence             in Kevin's instincts.           505 00:19:36,508 --> 00:19:39,077    So, that's how it started,    I said, "I'll help you."         506 00:19:39,111 --> 00:19:42,581   I should have said,              "Let's go to a strip club."    507 00:19:42,614 --> 00:19:45,083 There's a big difference          between being                   508 00:19:45,117 --> 00:19:48,320   part of a group that             throws ideas out...            509 00:19:48,353 --> 00:19:50,822    and being the guy               that says, you know,           510 00:19:50,856 --> 00:19:52,191    "I know you don't                want to do this,              511 00:19:52,224 --> 00:19:53,926    but this is what                 you're gonna do."             512 00:19:53,959 --> 00:19:58,230   Especially if you,             yourself, are a talent.          513 00:19:58,263 --> 00:20:00,365 It was a bad situation,          514 00:20:00,399 --> 00:20:02,401   but it was the best            case scenario.                   515 00:20:02,434 --> 00:20:03,602    It's quite simple!            516 00:20:03,635 --> 00:20:05,370 If you don't run                 with the pack...                 517 00:20:05,404 --> 00:20:07,506   you're hunted by it.           518 00:20:07,539 --> 00:20:09,041    [Cheering]                    519 00:20:09,074 --> 00:20:11,009    Once you have the             monkeys running the zoo,         520 00:20:11,043 --> 00:20:12,411    you're in trouble.            521 00:20:12,444 --> 00:20:14,279   And that's exactly               what was happening.            522 00:20:14,313 --> 00:20:15,948   Woo!                           523 00:20:15,981 --> 00:20:18,116   He listened to all the guys       that didn't have              524 00:20:18,150 --> 00:20:20,519 the best interest of the         company in mind.                 525 00:20:20,552 --> 00:20:22,721  I don't think                      that's debatable.             526 00:20:22,754 --> 00:20:25,757    It's not just about being     the biggest, strongest.          527 00:20:25,791 --> 00:20:29,394   It's about whose ass              they kiss.                    528 00:20:29,428 --> 00:20:33,098 Sooner or later, someone           will beat Goldberg.            529 00:20:33,131 --> 00:20:34,900 I never had any                     problem with Bill.            530 00:20:34,933 --> 00:20:37,869   I was happy that he              was getting pushed.            531 00:20:37,903 --> 00:20:41,240    But, he's had the             belt too long.                   532 00:20:41,273 --> 00:20:43,642    He was still really green,    533 00:20:43,675 --> 00:20:46,078 and had no idea                     what he was doing.            534 00:20:46,111 --> 00:20:47,613  Goldberg hit the post!          535 00:20:47,646 --> 00:20:49,248    Not only is he gonna keep        hurting all the wrestlers     536 00:20:49,281 --> 00:20:52,117 that he works with, but             he keeps hurting himself.     537 00:20:52,150 --> 00:20:53,952    I'm wrestling Scott Hall,     538 00:20:53,986 --> 00:20:57,122  and I screw a spot up.          539 00:20:57,155 --> 00:20:59,091    Scott Hall                     went down hard!                 540 00:20:59,124 --> 00:21:00,225 And he's laying                  on the ground,                   541 00:21:00,259 --> 00:21:01,293  and he looks up at me,            and he goes,                   542 00:21:01,326 --> 00:21:03,128    "Yo, man,                       what are you doing?"           543 00:21:03,161 --> 00:21:04,596    ♪                             544 00:21:04,630 --> 00:21:07,833  And, my reaction was,            "I don't fucking know           545 00:21:07,866 --> 00:21:10,102 what I'm doing."                 546 00:21:10,135 --> 00:21:11,470    You're live on television,    547 00:21:11,503 --> 00:21:13,238 you're in front                   of your fans.                   548 00:21:13,272 --> 00:21:15,407  I was scared shitless            when I screwed that up          549 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:16,742   'cause I didn't know            what was next.                  550 00:21:16,775 --> 00:21:19,111    I didn't know what to do.     551 00:21:19,144 --> 00:21:20,979  If you can't do that,            you can't be,                   552 00:21:21,013 --> 00:21:23,015 you can't be the                 fucking top guy.                 553 00:21:23,048 --> 00:21:26,084   Showing us a                       little new twist.            554 00:21:26,118 --> 00:21:28,520  That's when I                   really realized                  555 00:21:28,553 --> 00:21:30,656 there was a lot                     of shit going on,             556 00:21:30,689 --> 00:21:32,090  and it wasn't all for             face value.                    557 00:21:32,124 --> 00:21:33,692     ...2, 3!                       [Match bell ringing]           558 00:21:33,725 --> 00:21:36,962    So, that's when I started       really smartening up to it.    559 00:21:36,995 --> 00:21:38,764    This document will                represent the meeting of     560 00:21:38,797 --> 00:21:42,367   these two men                    at Starrcade.                  561 00:21:42,401 --> 00:21:45,270     And this man- looks him         in the ring, look at that.    562 00:21:45,304 --> 00:21:46,471  Oh, doesn't he?                 563 00:21:46,505 --> 00:21:50,142    Yeah, I learned the good,     bad, and the evil very quickly.  564 00:21:50,175 --> 00:21:53,512   I was jumping in to             shark infested waters.          565 00:21:53,545 --> 00:21:56,048    ♪                             566 00:21:56,081 --> 00:21:57,616    To say the least.             567 00:22:02,587 --> 00:22:03,955   Agh!                           568 00:22:03,989 --> 00:22:05,457    Who in the world...           569 00:22:05,490 --> 00:22:07,326    can stop this man?            570 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:09,394  Common fact...                  571 00:22:09,428 --> 00:22:11,997 Wrestling 1-0-1.                 572 00:22:12,030 --> 00:22:16,301 Babyface always                  draws more money                 573 00:22:16,335 --> 00:22:19,538 chasing the belt                 574 00:22:19,571 --> 00:22:21,540  than having the belt.           575 00:22:21,573 --> 00:22:23,742     Still undefeated               here at WCW.                   576 00:22:23,775 --> 00:22:25,410  The sultan of slams...          577 00:22:25,444 --> 00:22:27,579     Goldberg.                    578 00:22:27,612 --> 00:22:30,382  It was a padded stat.           579 00:22:30,415 --> 00:22:31,717    Who cares?                    580 00:22:31,750 --> 00:22:33,752    We gave the people               what they wanted.             581 00:22:33,785 --> 00:22:35,320   We gotta take him in            a different direction,          582 00:22:35,354 --> 00:22:36,421    in order for him to grow.     583 00:22:36,455 --> 00:22:39,257   [Snorting] I never got tired    of watching Mike Tyson          584 00:22:39,291 --> 00:22:40,926   come out and                      annihilate people.            585 00:22:40,959 --> 00:22:42,527  So, with the                    right creative,                  586 00:22:42,561 --> 00:22:44,229 there's ways to                     keep things going.            587 00:22:44,262 --> 00:22:45,597   That's what you do.            588 00:22:45,630 --> 00:22:48,767  You chase with                   the babyface.                   589 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,369   And when he                    fucking gets it,                 590 00:22:50,402 --> 00:22:53,071    you take it right              fucking back.                   591 00:22:53,105 --> 00:22:55,440 Because that's                     where the money is.            592 00:22:55,474 --> 00:22:57,175    [Scoffing]                    593 00:22:57,209 --> 00:22:58,577 [Eric]                           Kevin was a politician.          594 00:22:58,610 --> 00:23:01,279   There's nobody I've ever met     that is a top talent           595 00:23:01,313 --> 00:23:03,014    that is not a politician!     596 00:23:03,048 --> 00:23:06,752 It's a job prerequisite.         597 00:23:06,785 --> 00:23:09,121 Just look at it                  on the surface.                  598 00:23:09,154 --> 00:23:13,191 From a pure physicality          point of view.                   599 00:23:13,225 --> 00:23:15,794   The way we had built             Bill Goldberg up to            600 00:23:15,827 --> 00:23:18,964  be this indestructible            man-eating monster,            601 00:23:18,997 --> 00:23:22,134    who on that roster looked        like they could possibly      602 00:23:22,167 --> 00:23:23,769    beat that monster?            603 00:23:23,802 --> 00:23:24,770   Ugh!                           604 00:23:24,803 --> 00:23:26,204   Goldberg's a                     move away...                   605 00:23:26,238 --> 00:23:28,807    From continuing the streak!   606 00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:31,476 And Kevin Nash, standing         at nearly 7 foot, 6'10,          607 00:23:31,510 --> 00:23:33,945 whatever he is-                   probably at that time           608 00:23:33,979 --> 00:23:37,482 340, 350 lbs...                  609 00:23:37,516 --> 00:23:38,717    it was believable.            610 00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:40,051    Hook and...                   611 00:23:40,085 --> 00:23:41,453    [Cheering]                    612 00:23:41,486 --> 00:23:43,755     Got him!                         1, 2...                      613 00:23:43,789 --> 00:23:44,923    And he kicked away.           614 00:23:44,956 --> 00:23:46,158  What I needed                    was somebody                    615 00:23:46,191 --> 00:23:49,327  who could tell a story           with a finish.                  616 00:23:49,361 --> 00:23:52,130   The finish I wanted             was beat him, 1, 2, 3,          617 00:23:52,164 --> 00:23:54,065    like the same way             he was winning.                  618 00:23:54,099 --> 00:23:55,434   Took Nash off                    of his feet!                   619 00:23:55,467 --> 00:23:56,735  Clean.                          620 00:23:56,768 --> 00:23:59,604  But they thought that           621 00:23:59,638 --> 00:24:02,073   he needed something             more to lose.                   622 00:24:02,107 --> 00:24:03,341    [Crackling taser]             623 00:24:03,375 --> 00:24:05,410     [Crowd screaming]            624 00:24:05,444 --> 00:24:07,846    That's one of those tasers        the police use!              625 00:24:07,879 --> 00:24:09,448   It's like a stun gun!          626 00:24:09,481 --> 00:24:11,950    [Laughing]                    627 00:24:11,983 --> 00:24:15,086 It, no-                             it was a mistake.             628 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,622    You watch that match back.    629 00:24:17,656 --> 00:24:19,524 When I Power Bomb him...         630 00:24:19,558 --> 00:24:21,760     Oh, no.                       Wait a minute.                  631 00:24:21,793 --> 00:24:23,428    [Cheering]                    632 00:24:23,462 --> 00:24:25,464  ...Power Bomb!                  633 00:24:25,931 --> 00:24:28,033    I'm over as fuck.             634 00:24:28,066 --> 00:24:29,434     Could this be it?            635 00:24:29,468 --> 00:24:32,003     1! 2! 3!                     636 00:24:32,037 --> 00:24:33,472   [Match bell ringing]             The streak is over!            637 00:24:33,505 --> 00:24:35,273     And we have a new                World's Champion!            638 00:24:35,307 --> 00:24:36,875    The streak is over!           639 00:24:36,908 --> 00:24:38,977  Did I like it?                  Fuck no.                         640 00:24:39,010 --> 00:24:41,713 Did I question it? Yeah,         everybody questioned it.         641 00:24:41,746 --> 00:24:43,548   But, I don't                      control that shit.            642 00:24:43,582 --> 00:24:45,817    I go out and I do my job.     643 00:24:45,851 --> 00:24:49,788   I think it was quite clear       that there was no real plan    644 00:24:49,821 --> 00:24:51,990    in terms of where does the       Goldberg character            645 00:24:52,023 --> 00:24:53,492  go from here?                   646 00:24:53,525 --> 00:24:54,826  And so, the follow up              left a bad taste              647 00:24:54,860 --> 00:24:55,794   in people's mouths.            648 00:24:55,827 --> 00:24:58,396  I'm gonna try tonight             to right the wrongs            649 00:24:58,430 --> 00:25:01,366   that happened at Starrcade.    650 00:25:01,399 --> 00:25:03,001   Me and you,                       Goldberg!                     651 00:25:03,034 --> 00:25:05,570   In Atlanta!                     For the belt!                   652 00:25:05,604 --> 00:25:07,539    [Guy] You have to imagine,     being in the audience           653 00:25:07,572 --> 00:25:09,708 on that night...                 654 00:25:09,741 --> 00:25:11,376  It's January.                   655 00:25:11,409 --> 00:25:14,179  There's an incredible             atmosphere.                    656 00:25:14,212 --> 00:25:16,548  But at the same time,           the taped edition of Raw         657 00:25:16,581 --> 00:25:18,083 was happening on                    the other station.            658 00:25:18,116 --> 00:25:19,851 There was going to be a             title change on that show.    659 00:25:19,885 --> 00:25:23,154   [Commentary] ...right            here tonight on Raw!           660 00:25:23,188 --> 00:25:25,724    ...The first Nitro of 1999!   661 00:25:25,757 --> 00:25:26,992  It's The Rock!                  662 00:25:27,025 --> 00:25:28,994     Mankind!                         The championship!            663 00:25:29,027 --> 00:25:31,196   Ladies and gentlemen, we set      the stage for the biggest     664 00:25:31,229 --> 00:25:33,398  rematch in professional            wrestling history!            665 00:25:33,431 --> 00:25:35,066    WCW had to remind              viewers that                    666 00:25:35,100 --> 00:25:36,401    this is where the             real action is.                  667 00:25:36,434 --> 00:25:38,336  [Kevin Nash]                       I say, fuck this.             668 00:25:38,370 --> 00:25:42,574    I'll fight Goldberg again.    669 00:25:42,607 --> 00:25:45,343 But that ends up taking             a rather bizarre turn and     670 00:25:45,377 --> 00:25:47,946 devolving into a                    situation in which            671 00:25:47,979 --> 00:25:50,181  Hollywood Hogan comes             back into the mix,             672 00:25:50,215 --> 00:25:53,351  and challenges                  Nash to a match.                 673 00:25:53,385 --> 00:25:57,188  After tonight, when I              beat Kevin Nash,              674 00:25:57,222 --> 00:26:00,625  when I retire with the          World Heavyweight title,         675 00:26:00,659 --> 00:26:02,627   you can just call me           676 00:26:02,661 --> 00:26:06,431   Hollywood The Big Bad Wolf.    677 00:26:06,464 --> 00:26:07,866   Roo!                           678 00:26:07,899 --> 00:26:11,102  We were creating this            illusion of a conflict          679 00:26:11,136 --> 00:26:13,305    between Hulk Hogan            and Kevin Nash.                  680 00:26:13,338 --> 00:26:16,107   And we built it up like this    was gonna be the match of ages  681 00:26:16,141 --> 00:26:19,911   in the NWO to determine the       fate of the organization.     682 00:26:19,945 --> 00:26:22,881  Hogan got to the ring,             and he looked all serious.    683 00:26:22,914 --> 00:26:24,583   Kevin Nash came to the ring,    he looked like                  684 00:26:24,616 --> 00:26:27,385    he wanted to eat               Hulk Hogan for lunch.           685 00:26:27,419 --> 00:26:28,954  And they get                    close together,                  686 00:26:28,987 --> 00:26:31,456 they're almost chest to           chest, nose to nose.            687 00:26:31,489 --> 00:26:33,458    ♪                             688 00:26:33,491 --> 00:26:35,260   And then...                    689 00:26:35,293 --> 00:26:37,596    [Indistinct crowd chatter]    690 00:26:37,629 --> 00:26:39,497   What was that about?           691 00:26:39,531 --> 00:26:41,967    -1! 2! 3!                      -What's going on here?          692 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,735    [Cheering and                       match bell rings]            693 00:26:43,768 --> 00:26:44,970  [Eric]                             1, 2, 3, oh, yeah.            694 00:26:45,003 --> 00:26:46,671 It looked like a finish.         695 00:26:46,705 --> 00:26:49,474   But it was contrived              by the NWO, right,            696 00:26:49,507 --> 00:26:52,243 to keep the belt                  in the family.                  697 00:26:52,277 --> 00:26:54,346    That's ultimately              what it was all about.          698 00:26:54,379 --> 00:26:56,414  We're back in                      the saddle, baby!             699 00:26:56,448 --> 00:26:57,983    And when that happened...     700 00:26:58,016 --> 00:27:00,518 me and a lot of                    wrestlers were like,           701 00:27:00,552 --> 00:27:02,787 "What the fuck is this?"         702 00:27:02,821 --> 00:27:05,156    ♪                             703 00:27:05,190 --> 00:27:06,791  [Eric] Wrestling fans            around the world say,           704 00:27:06,825 --> 00:27:09,961 "That's exactly when WCW         started to go downhill."         705 00:27:09,995 --> 00:27:11,930   That's dirt cheap material.    706 00:27:11,963 --> 00:27:15,700   You know why people              hate that so much?             707 00:27:15,734 --> 00:27:17,268    Beause it got 'em.            708 00:27:17,302 --> 00:27:19,771    Look at the crowd.            709 00:27:19,804 --> 00:27:22,207   They don't know what           the fuck they're seeing.         710 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,209 People expected                     to see something,             711 00:27:24,242 --> 00:27:26,878    and they felt like            they got fucked.                 712 00:27:26,911 --> 00:27:31,516 WCW had chronic                    bad finish disease.            713 00:27:31,549 --> 00:27:34,319  Sometimes just a good,            clean finish                   714 00:27:34,352 --> 00:27:36,354    is the best thing.            715 00:27:36,388 --> 00:27:38,556    That same night,              Mick Foley was going to          716 00:27:38,590 --> 00:27:41,026  be wrestling The Rock.          717 00:27:41,059 --> 00:27:43,962    As I often had with Nitro,     and became famous for-          718 00:27:43,995 --> 00:27:45,830    giving away their finish,        starting my show              719 00:27:45,864 --> 00:27:47,999 two minutes before they            started their show.            720 00:27:48,033 --> 00:27:50,001  [Indistinct commentary]         721 00:27:50,035 --> 00:27:53,304    I thought, why not go back       to the well and give them     722 00:27:53,338 --> 00:27:56,675  a reason not to watch           Rock and Mick?                   723 00:27:56,708 --> 00:27:58,176  We understand                       that Mick Foley,             724 00:27:58,209 --> 00:28:01,579    who wrestled here one time        as Cactus Jack,              725 00:28:01,613 --> 00:28:04,215    ...is going to win               their world title.            726 00:28:04,249 --> 00:28:06,484   That fucking Eric Bischoff.    727 00:28:06,518 --> 00:28:07,552    [Laughing]                    728 00:28:07,585 --> 00:28:09,020 He just                             spoiled the match!            729 00:28:09,054 --> 00:28:11,823   [Laughing]                     He took a shot.                  730 00:28:11,856 --> 00:28:14,993    A big chunk of WCW Nitro's     audience went,                  731 00:28:15,026 --> 00:28:16,995  "Really? That's going           on over there?                   732 00:28:17,028 --> 00:28:19,230 I'm going too."                  733 00:28:19,264 --> 00:28:20,832  And they left!                  734 00:28:20,865 --> 00:28:22,534    [Cheering]                    735 00:28:22,567 --> 00:28:25,170 So, it backfired                  in a huge way.                  736 00:28:25,203 --> 00:28:28,606    [Cheering]                    737 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,009  Two big moves                    in one night.                   738 00:28:31,042 --> 00:28:33,178   Finger poke of doom,            and...                          739 00:28:33,211 --> 00:28:35,714    Crapping all over             Rock and Mick.                   740 00:28:35,747 --> 00:28:37,749    ♪                             741 00:28:37,782 --> 00:28:39,918   Neither one of them               worked very well.             742 00:28:39,951 --> 00:28:42,687   What a way to                   start the year!                 743 00:28:42,721 --> 00:28:44,255 We got a little                     lucky that night.             744 00:28:44,289 --> 00:28:46,524  We had a great match,            me and Mick.                    745 00:28:46,558 --> 00:28:49,394 That was a real                  defining moment.                 746 00:28:49,427 --> 00:28:51,730   This feels                        pretty damn good.             747 00:28:51,763 --> 00:28:53,098    ♪                             748 00:28:53,131 --> 00:28:54,232   There was-                        I mean, there was             749 00:28:54,265 --> 00:28:57,268    a lot of mistakes,            you know, but...                 750 00:28:57,302 --> 00:29:00,038 My check didn't change.          751 00:29:00,071 --> 00:29:01,973 The in-fighting,                 the jealousy...                  752 00:29:02,006 --> 00:29:04,109   who is Eric                    gonna listen to?                 753 00:29:04,142 --> 00:29:07,812   All that started to             disintegrate something          754 00:29:07,846 --> 00:29:11,416   that was so                     cool and hot.                   755 00:29:11,449 --> 00:29:14,052 We were our own                  worst enemies.                   756 00:29:14,085 --> 00:29:15,820  It was bad enough that           the Turner executives           757 00:29:15,854 --> 00:29:17,222    didn't want us...             758 00:29:17,255 --> 00:29:19,524  we did ourself                     no favors.                    759 00:29:25,430 --> 00:29:27,632    ♪                             760 00:29:27,665 --> 00:29:30,635  Now, a discussion about           cable television programming.  761 00:29:30,668 --> 00:29:32,504  Can I go to wrestling            for a second?                   762 00:29:32,537 --> 00:29:34,906    [Laughing]                    763 00:29:34,939 --> 00:29:36,741    Does it bother you               a little bit that             764 00:29:36,775 --> 00:29:37,742 wrestling is so popular?         765 00:29:37,776 --> 00:29:40,278  I didn't know that was           the promise of cable.           766 00:29:40,311 --> 00:29:42,947    [Laughing]                    767 00:29:42,981 --> 00:29:44,482  Four years ago, I went           to a wrestling event,           768 00:29:44,516 --> 00:29:46,751 and as you were                   going on the highway,           769 00:29:46,785 --> 00:29:49,821    you were basically seeing        people in pickup trucks,      770 00:29:49,854 --> 00:29:51,456 you know, going.                 771 00:29:51,489 --> 00:29:56,694 A month ago, I went to a         WCW Monday Nitro event.          772 00:29:56,728 --> 00:29:58,630    There were                     40,000 people.                  773 00:29:58,663 --> 00:30:00,331  Sold out in one hour.           774 00:30:00,365 --> 00:30:02,867   And, all I'm seeing              are families going.            775 00:30:02,901 --> 00:30:04,803  So...                           776 00:30:04,836 --> 00:30:07,505  We're not embarrassed            by it at all.                   777 00:30:07,539 --> 00:30:09,641  When you're a                     single organization,           778 00:30:09,674 --> 00:30:11,876    you do one thing,               which is...                    779 00:30:11,910 --> 00:30:14,546 professional wrestling,          it's very different than         780 00:30:14,579 --> 00:30:17,882    when you're a company like       Time Warner and you've got    781 00:30:17,916 --> 00:30:21,519 a lot of businesses that         have to get sorted out.          782 00:30:21,553 --> 00:30:23,288    You're gonna have people         who kind of look at this,     783 00:30:23,321 --> 00:30:26,224 and go, "Is this classy             enough for our networks?"     784 00:30:26,257 --> 00:30:27,225   Whoa!                          785 00:30:27,258 --> 00:30:30,161  And how is that going           to rub off on our brand?         786 00:30:30,195 --> 00:30:33,231  Well, wrestling may be a good    product for some, but we are,   787 00:30:33,264 --> 00:30:36,634  after all, the world's leader     in news and entertainment.     788 00:30:36,668 --> 00:30:39,971 That was the rationale-          we just don't like it.           789 00:30:40,004 --> 00:30:44,242 [Eric] The fact that WCW           became successful...           790 00:30:44,275 --> 00:30:47,645  was really frustrating            for a lot of people.           791 00:30:47,679 --> 00:30:49,714   It was not part of the plan.   792 00:30:49,747 --> 00:30:51,749  It never was part of the plan!  793 00:30:51,783 --> 00:30:53,151  You know, the average           person's going,                  794 00:30:53,184 --> 00:30:55,486    "Why would anybody care?"     But I'll tell you why.           795 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:58,890   Because WCW                      occupied prime time            796 00:30:58,923 --> 00:31:01,860   beachfront property            on TNT.                          797 00:31:01,893 --> 00:31:03,194    There were a lot of people    that wanted that                 798 00:31:03,228 --> 00:31:04,696    prime time real estate...     799 00:31:04,729 --> 00:31:08,433    and were frustrated at our       success because we got it.    800 00:31:08,466 --> 00:31:12,003    [Brad] There were so many      demands from different places.  801 00:31:12,036 --> 00:31:14,772 And, a lot of answering          to shareholders                  802 00:31:14,806 --> 00:31:17,175 that have expectations.          803 00:31:17,208 --> 00:31:21,412   And, WCW got                      caught up in that.            804 00:31:21,446 --> 00:31:23,181  The revenue challenges            were simple.                   805 00:31:23,214 --> 00:31:27,719    One of the goals of Turner     Broadcasting was to...          806 00:31:27,752 --> 00:31:31,522    enhance the bottom line of     various divisions that          807 00:31:31,556 --> 00:31:33,224    they wanted to hold onto.     808 00:31:33,258 --> 00:31:34,359 Let's take some                  of their debt,                   809 00:31:34,392 --> 00:31:35,760    move it over here.            810 00:31:35,793 --> 00:31:38,196  So, they reallocated            the guts out my budget,          811 00:31:38,229 --> 00:31:41,599   so that money could be moved   over to other divisions.         812 00:31:41,633 --> 00:31:43,902    It made their bottom line     look that much better.           813 00:31:43,935 --> 00:31:48,373   We'll recognize all             those earnings at TBS.          814 00:31:48,406 --> 00:31:50,041   And because they do              business with WCW,             815 00:31:50,074 --> 00:31:52,543 we're gonna move some of         those losses over here,          816 00:31:52,577 --> 00:31:55,713   so WCW's books look            a little worse                   817 00:31:55,747 --> 00:31:58,449   'cause we want it to           go away anyway.                  818 00:31:58,483 --> 00:32:01,419  You could've probably             made it profitable             819 00:32:01,452 --> 00:32:04,789    if WCW charged a                 boatload of money             820 00:32:04,822 --> 00:32:07,992  for carrying                    wrestling to...                  821 00:32:08,026 --> 00:32:11,062   TNT and to TBS, but               because we wanted             822 00:32:11,095 --> 00:32:15,166    TNT and TBS to be             much more profitable...          823 00:32:15,199 --> 00:32:17,402 the license fee we paid-            [clearing throat]-            824 00:32:17,435 --> 00:32:20,772  was very low.                   825 00:32:20,805 --> 00:32:22,807  And that was,                    you know, not,                  826 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,743 not my decision.                  Um...                           827 00:32:25,777 --> 00:32:27,578 They didn't care if they          had to sacrifice WCW.           828 00:32:27,612 --> 00:32:28,846   That's kind of what               they wanted to do             829 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,249    all along anyway.             830 00:32:31,282 --> 00:32:34,018    There were people                deconstructing WCW            831 00:32:34,052 --> 00:32:36,354   from a budgetary perspective   right underneath                 832 00:32:36,387 --> 00:32:38,589 everybody else's noses.          833 00:32:38,623 --> 00:32:40,158    ♪                             834 00:32:40,191 --> 00:32:42,927   The reason it became            so successful is what,          835 00:32:42,961 --> 00:32:45,530  in retrospect,                   looked like bad deals.          836 00:32:45,563 --> 00:32:48,166  The no-cut contracts,             creative controls.             837 00:32:48,199 --> 00:32:49,767   And all those things              were necessary to             838 00:32:49,801 --> 00:32:52,704   swing the immediate              tide over.                     839 00:32:52,737 --> 00:32:54,605   Guess you'd like me to sign       that, wouldn't you, huh?      840 00:32:54,639 --> 00:32:56,641   Everybody...                   841 00:32:56,674 --> 00:32:59,277    was making                      seven figures, plus.           842 00:32:59,310 --> 00:33:00,545  You see this!                   843 00:33:00,578 --> 00:33:02,113   People know how much             this guy's getting,            844 00:33:02,146 --> 00:33:04,615    and they want to know why       they're not getting as much.   845 00:33:04,649 --> 00:33:06,951  Just drew their money              and did nothing.              846 00:33:06,985 --> 00:33:08,319    Oh, you work here?            847 00:33:08,353 --> 00:33:09,620 Oh, you've been                    collecting money for           848 00:33:09,654 --> 00:33:11,322  a year sitting                    on your ass.                   849 00:33:11,356 --> 00:33:12,290  "Ver-say-se"?                   850 00:33:12,323 --> 00:33:15,126  I can only imagine how            much money went out.           851 00:33:15,159 --> 00:33:17,628    [Laughing]                      Like, they got what?           852 00:33:17,662 --> 00:33:21,833    ATM Eric.                       The inference was...           853 00:33:21,866 --> 00:33:24,168  "Well, Eric has access           to Ted Turner's money.          854 00:33:24,202 --> 00:33:25,870    All he needs to do               is write a check.             855 00:33:25,903 --> 00:33:27,538   He can hire                       anybody he wants."            856 00:33:27,572 --> 00:33:29,540  Like I was an                    ATM machine.                    857 00:33:29,574 --> 00:33:31,376    I get to spend...             858 00:33:31,409 --> 00:33:33,177  a billionaire's money!          859 00:33:33,211 --> 00:33:35,179    I got a call from                Harvey Schiller.              860 00:33:35,213 --> 00:33:37,515   Harvey said, "Eric, I need      you to come up to my office."   861 00:33:37,548 --> 00:33:41,486 Now, Harvey very rarely             summoned me to his office.    862 00:33:41,519 --> 00:33:45,690   Essentially, Harvey brought    me in to let me know...          863 00:33:45,723 --> 00:33:50,228 that I had been under a          forensic investigation           864 00:33:50,261 --> 00:33:53,831   for misuse of funds.           865 00:33:53,865 --> 00:33:56,000   I thought,                       this can't be real.            866 00:33:56,034 --> 00:33:59,003   Presumably,                      somebody had                   867 00:33:59,037 --> 00:34:03,241  met an executive from           Time Warner...                   868 00:34:03,274 --> 00:34:05,843    and laid out this              crazy story:                    869 00:34:05,877 --> 00:34:08,079   "Oh, Eric's just handing out      million-dollar contracts,     870 00:34:08,112 --> 00:34:11,215    right and left." But this        individual suggested that     871 00:34:11,249 --> 00:34:13,284   the reason I was doing that      is because those wrestlers     872 00:34:13,317 --> 00:34:15,753  were giving me                    a kickback.                    873 00:34:15,787 --> 00:34:20,391   So, Harvey proceeded            to tell me how this...          874 00:34:20,425 --> 00:34:22,960  forensic investigation           proved                          875 00:34:22,994 --> 00:34:24,962   that none of that was true.    876 00:34:24,996 --> 00:34:26,597    They wanted to come clean,    and also to let me know          877 00:34:26,631 --> 00:34:28,266    it was complete...            878 00:34:28,299 --> 00:34:30,068    bullshit.                     879 00:34:30,101 --> 00:34:32,103   That pissed me off.            880 00:34:32,136 --> 00:34:35,606  I didn't quit my job,            I wish I would have.            881 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:38,309   That was the                     moment that                    882 00:34:38,342 --> 00:34:40,778    I quit being loyal            to the company.                  883 00:34:40,812 --> 00:34:43,948    ♪                             884 00:34:43,981 --> 00:34:45,416    Fuck them.                    885 00:34:52,190 --> 00:34:53,991 [Bret] When I think back          on my career,                   886 00:34:54,025 --> 00:34:55,293   there will always be             a little bitterness            887 00:34:55,326 --> 00:34:57,261 about that time period.          888 00:34:57,295 --> 00:35:00,631    I had so many things left        unfinished in my career,      889 00:35:00,665 --> 00:35:02,900  things I wanted to do.          890 00:35:02,934 --> 00:35:06,771  To watch what WCW did            with me, it was sad.            891 00:35:06,804 --> 00:35:08,473    ♪                             892 00:35:08,506 --> 00:35:10,508  They're killing me off            on purpose.                    893 00:35:10,541 --> 00:35:12,443  And they did.                   894 00:35:12,477 --> 00:35:14,645   I've always known...           895 00:35:14,679 --> 00:35:17,582 that sooner or later...          896 00:35:17,615 --> 00:35:20,151 I'd have to step in the          ring with Bill Goldberg.         897 00:35:20,184 --> 00:35:22,320    [Cheering]                    898 00:35:22,353 --> 00:35:23,788 How do you fight                  Bill Goldberg?                  899 00:35:23,821 --> 00:35:26,023   He's like a gorilla.           900 00:35:26,057 --> 00:35:28,159   Slamming guys right               through the mat.              901 00:35:28,192 --> 00:35:30,128   Running them                   over like a car.                 902 00:35:30,161 --> 00:35:31,262 I would pull him aside,             and say,                      903 00:35:31,295 --> 00:35:35,266   "I want to teach you how to       actually not hurt guys."      904 00:35:35,299 --> 00:35:38,369  And, when I walked out to the     ring with Bill that night,     905 00:35:38,402 --> 00:35:40,671 and I remember I, like,           really looked him in the eye,   906 00:35:40,705 --> 00:35:42,773    and said,                        "Don't hurt me out there."    907 00:35:42,807 --> 00:35:44,809 "You need to trust me."          908 00:35:44,842 --> 00:35:47,945  And, it all went into           one ear, out the other.          909 00:35:47,979 --> 00:35:50,781 I really think Bill just           saw me as another...           910 00:35:50,815 --> 00:35:53,851  job guy, and someone            that was cannon fodder.          911 00:35:53,885 --> 00:35:56,721    If you're watching             that match, Bill goes,          912 00:35:56,754 --> 00:35:59,290    "Watch the kick."             913 00:35:59,323 --> 00:36:01,626  And I'm like,                      "Watch the kick?"             914 00:36:01,659 --> 00:36:03,728  And I don't understand          what he's doing.                 915 00:36:03,761 --> 00:36:06,197   Oh!                               Standing sidekick!            916 00:36:06,230 --> 00:36:08,833   And he kicked me as               hard as he could.             917 00:36:08,866 --> 00:36:11,302 You can see me                      grabbing my neck.             918 00:36:11,335 --> 00:36:14,038 I was concussed.                 919 00:36:14,071 --> 00:36:14,906   You should protect yourself.   920 00:36:14,939 --> 00:36:17,508    You knew the kick                was coming. Right?            921 00:36:17,542 --> 00:36:19,510 I mean,                            it was in the deal.            922 00:36:19,544 --> 00:36:21,913   It was never talked about or     explained to me: "I do this    923 00:36:21,946 --> 00:36:25,049    move where I kick guys in       the head as hard as I can."    924 00:36:25,082 --> 00:36:28,319    Nobody deserves that, but       it was a fricking accident.    925 00:36:28,352 --> 00:36:30,087    Complete accident.            926 00:36:30,121 --> 00:36:31,589   No, Bill, that's not             an accident.                   927 00:36:31,622 --> 00:36:34,592  That's a career-ending             injury, you idiot.            928 00:36:34,625 --> 00:36:37,061  I somehow will myself              to stand up to be             929 00:36:37,094 --> 00:36:39,030    run over by this imbecile.    930 00:36:39,063 --> 00:36:41,599   [Indistinct shouting             and cheering]                    931 00:36:41,632 --> 00:36:43,601    It was one of the             saddest days of my life,         932 00:36:43,634 --> 00:36:46,003  and I knew my                   career was over.                 933 00:36:46,037 --> 00:36:47,738   He never aspired to               do anything else,             934 00:36:47,772 --> 00:36:51,275 other than be that guy.             And, I ended that for him.    935 00:36:51,309 --> 00:36:52,944 I've never been                  so remorseful,                   936 00:36:52,977 --> 00:36:54,579   and I have                     been for years.                  937 00:36:54,612 --> 00:36:56,547  But fuck, man, I can't             do anything else.             938 00:36:57,715 --> 00:37:00,284 [Bret] Bill Goldberg was          not qualified.                  939 00:37:00,318 --> 00:37:02,520    But he's our star.            940 00:37:02,553 --> 00:37:04,522   They just...                   941 00:37:04,555 --> 00:37:06,524  looked the other way.           942 00:37:06,557 --> 00:37:08,025 When you go through the             type of brain injury that     943 00:37:08,059 --> 00:37:12,063   I went through, you're just     grateful to be alive.           944 00:37:12,096 --> 00:37:15,399    From the very, very first     second that I got here,          945 00:37:15,433 --> 00:37:18,269   I got screwed over,               and screwed over,             946 00:37:18,302 --> 00:37:21,639    and screwed over.             947 00:37:21,672 --> 00:37:25,109 It was just such a lousy           ending for such a...           948 00:37:25,142 --> 00:37:26,978 a great career.                  949 00:37:27,011 --> 00:37:29,814  Ladies and gentlemen,            he claims to be the...          950 00:37:29,847 --> 00:37:32,583 It just shows that WCW             never really appreciated or    951 00:37:32,617 --> 00:37:36,320 understood the                    talent that they had.           952 00:37:36,354 --> 00:37:39,323  They dropped the ball              with me, and he knows it,     953 00:37:39,357 --> 00:37:42,426 and I know it,                      and fans know it.             954 00:37:42,460 --> 00:37:45,997  But in the end, Eric Bischoff     only can answer to himself.    955 00:37:46,030 --> 00:37:49,066    ♪                             956 00:37:49,100 --> 00:37:51,302   [Eric] By the summer of '99,     I was toast.                   957 00:37:51,335 --> 00:37:54,138 I was frustrated, angry,         958 00:37:54,171 --> 00:37:57,141    demoralized... lost hope.     959 00:37:57,174 --> 00:37:59,577   Once you lose that,             it's pretty much over,          960 00:37:59,610 --> 00:38:01,012   and that's                     where I was at.                  961 00:38:01,045 --> 00:38:03,981   I was pretty disrespectful,    intentionally,                   962 00:38:04,015 --> 00:38:06,317 because I always thought           I had Ted's support            963 00:38:06,350 --> 00:38:08,152    in my back pocket.            964 00:38:08,185 --> 00:38:12,123 And, I didn't know what          was going on with Ted.           965 00:38:12,156 --> 00:38:15,526 So, in October of 1997,            the Turner-                    966 00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:18,796    Time Warner merger             was finalized.                  967 00:38:18,829 --> 00:38:21,332 And famously, Ted Turner           was not receptive to           968 00:38:21,365 --> 00:38:22,767    the idea at first.            969 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:25,970   Big, huge company,             a lot of money for Dad.          970 00:38:26,003 --> 00:38:27,872   They needed him and            he needed them,                  971 00:38:27,905 --> 00:38:30,308 but he deluded himself.          972 00:38:30,341 --> 00:38:33,377    He's losing more                 and more control.             973 00:38:33,411 --> 00:38:35,479    More control goes               to the bureaucrats,            974 00:38:35,513 --> 00:38:39,350   more control goes to             the executive types.           975 00:38:39,383 --> 00:38:40,818    He couldn't protect Eric.     976 00:38:40,851 --> 00:38:42,987   He couldn't protect             anybody at that point.          977 00:38:43,020 --> 00:38:45,389  These fans love you.              We want to see more of you!    978 00:38:45,423 --> 00:38:47,458 [Eric] That was the opportunity   so many people within           979 00:38:47,491 --> 00:38:50,061   Turner Broadcasting wanted,    980 00:38:50,094 --> 00:38:52,530   and now finally had.           981 00:38:52,563 --> 00:38:55,433 I was out of ammunition,            out of everything.            982 00:39:02,773 --> 00:39:05,876   It was several years before      I recognized just how much     983 00:39:05,910 --> 00:39:10,481   freedom I had and how unique   of an opportunity I had,         984 00:39:10,514 --> 00:39:14,985 that the freedom is what           led to WCW being successful.   985 00:39:15,019 --> 00:39:18,656 The time I spent                   battling internally,           986 00:39:18,689 --> 00:39:20,558 it took the fun                     out of it for me.             987 00:39:20,591 --> 00:39:23,761 If it wasn't for                    the NWO and moi...            988 00:39:23,794 --> 00:39:27,565    none of you people             would be here tonight!          989 00:39:27,598 --> 00:39:30,434   If I had to reflect             back on that snapshot,          990 00:39:30,468 --> 00:39:32,269 summer of '99...                 991 00:39:32,303 --> 00:39:35,773    may have been one of the         worst periods of my life.     992 00:39:35,806 --> 00:39:37,875    All the way across               the board.                    993 00:39:37,908 --> 00:39:39,510  September 10th, 1999,           994 00:39:39,543 --> 00:39:41,178    I get up like any             other morning.                   995 00:39:41,212 --> 00:39:43,047  I'm on my way to work,          996 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:44,749  and I get a phone call            from Harvey.                   997 00:39:44,782 --> 00:39:48,285 [Phone ringing]                  998 00:39:48,319 --> 00:39:51,455 [Laughing] And,                    Harvey said, "Eric,            999 00:39:51,489 --> 00:39:53,591 you need to come                  to my office."                  1000 00:39:53,624 --> 00:39:57,561    I got to the CNN Center,        went up to Harvey's office.    1001 00:39:57,595 --> 00:40:00,898   And he said, "Eric,             you need to go home."           1002 00:40:00,931 --> 00:40:03,267    I said, "Harvey...            1003 00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:04,902 I'll get home in                 a little while,                  1004 00:40:04,935 --> 00:40:06,771  but I've got a                  Pay Per View on Sunday."         1005 00:40:06,804 --> 00:40:11,542    The WCW Fall Brawl            of 1999.                         1006 00:40:11,575 --> 00:40:13,110    [Cheering]                    1007 00:40:13,144 --> 00:40:15,646 He said,                          "Not anymore."                  1008 00:40:15,679 --> 00:40:17,615    ♪                             1009 00:40:17,648 --> 00:40:20,418 And that's when                  it dawned on me.                 1010 00:40:20,451 --> 00:40:24,422   And I'll be honest with you,      it was a combination of...    1011 00:40:24,455 --> 00:40:27,792  confusion, because it            hadn't quite sunk in.           1012 00:40:27,825 --> 00:40:29,460    ♪                             1013 00:40:29,493 --> 00:40:31,495   And relief.                    1014 00:40:31,529 --> 00:40:34,165    ♪                             1015 00:40:34,198 --> 00:40:36,434  I wasn't disappointed.          1016 00:40:36,467 --> 00:40:38,636    I didn't fight it.            1017 00:40:38,669 --> 00:40:41,605  I was shocked.                   I was shocked.                  1018 00:40:41,639 --> 00:40:45,142   How many years head              start had Vince had?           1019 00:40:45,176 --> 00:40:49,647  And then, he beat him            for 83 straight weeks.          1020 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:53,484   I did it...                       I did it!                     1021 00:40:53,517 --> 00:40:56,654  Pretty, pretty                     impressive record.            1022 00:40:56,687 --> 00:40:59,190     What do you say                about Eric Bischoff?           1023 00:40:59,223 --> 00:41:03,360    It's what you call "taking        the bull by the horns".      1024 00:41:03,394 --> 00:41:06,764  What Eric did was impossible,      in spite of the fact that     1025 00:41:06,797 --> 00:41:09,633    everybody was against him.    1026 00:41:09,667 --> 00:41:12,436    I don't know how he didn't      blow his brains out.           1027 00:41:12,470 --> 00:41:14,371   This has- [Laughing]              This has gotta be the most    1028 00:41:14,405 --> 00:41:17,508    terrible circumstances for      anybody to work in.            1029 00:41:17,541 --> 00:41:18,843   [Eric] I pulled into           the driveway...                  1030 00:41:18,876 --> 00:41:20,277  He walks in the door,              and I asked him-              1031 00:41:20,311 --> 00:41:21,345    "What are you doing here?"    1032 00:41:21,378 --> 00:41:23,981  And I sat down at the              kitchen table, and I said,    1033 00:41:24,014 --> 00:41:25,282  "I got fired."                  1034 00:41:25,316 --> 00:41:27,117  I think he was a bit rattled.   1035 00:41:27,151 --> 00:41:28,152   She says, "What are            you gonna do?"                   1036 00:41:28,185 --> 00:41:30,688  He got on his plane,               you know, threw his stuff     1037 00:41:30,721 --> 00:41:34,225    in a bag and flew himself      to, to Cody, Wyoming.           1038 00:41:34,258 --> 00:41:37,061    The next day I was fishing     right up the road from          1039 00:41:37,094 --> 00:41:39,129 where I live right now.          1040 00:41:39,163 --> 00:41:44,468    ♪                             1041 00:41:44,502 --> 00:41:47,705 The fishing was awesome,           by the way.                    1042 00:41:47,738 --> 00:41:49,974 It was awesome that day.         1043 00:41:50,007 --> 00:41:52,376    ♪                             1044 00:41:52,409 --> 00:41:55,179    I'll give Eric his props.     At the end of the day,           1045 00:41:55,212 --> 00:41:57,848   it was his idea for               the NWO.                      1046 00:41:57,882 --> 00:41:59,550   He did push the luchadores.    1047 00:41:59,583 --> 00:42:01,819  He did push Goldberg.           1048 00:42:01,852 --> 00:42:04,688  Eric put the pieces of           that puzzle together.           1049 00:42:04,722 --> 00:42:06,223    And, "Oh,                      it wasn't his money,"           1050 00:42:06,257 --> 00:42:09,860   and blah, blah, blah, blah,    blah, blah, blah, blah.          1051 00:42:09,894 --> 00:42:12,363  He knew what                     he was doing.                   1052 00:42:12,396 --> 00:42:15,499    The moves he made               by getting Hogan...            1053 00:42:15,533 --> 00:42:19,603  Savage, Nash,                   and the remake of Sting.         1054 00:42:19,637 --> 00:42:21,705   There were so many               good things he did.            1055 00:42:21,739 --> 00:42:23,574 Wait a minute...                 1056 00:42:23,607 --> 00:42:25,409  I didn't get involved            in his world.                   1057 00:42:25,442 --> 00:42:28,512  I didn't know the intricacies     of the soap opera.             1058 00:42:28,546 --> 00:42:31,248 Eric knew that.                  1059 00:42:31,282 --> 00:42:33,884   In those years that              we were crushing it,           1060 00:42:33,918 --> 00:42:38,055   Eric delivered exactly what    I asked him to deliver.          1061 00:42:38,088 --> 00:42:40,791    This is where the               big boys play, huh?            1062 00:42:40,824 --> 00:42:42,459  We ain't here to play.          1063 00:42:42,493 --> 00:42:44,628  Hollywood at the helm.          1064 00:42:44,662 --> 00:42:48,566    It's the N...W...O!           1065 00:42:48,599 --> 00:42:49,733  I mean, no matter what            you think about Eric           1066 00:42:49,767 --> 00:42:52,770   later down the road,            he really was                   1067 00:42:52,803 --> 00:42:54,738   one of those people               that worked his butt off,     1068 00:42:54,772 --> 00:42:57,408 he worked hard,                    and he stayed at it.           1069 00:42:57,441 --> 00:42:59,910    And, he was great              to work with.                   1070 00:42:59,944 --> 00:43:03,314    ♪                             1071 00:43:03,347 --> 00:43:06,150  It is my honor and my              privilege to introduce you    1072 00:43:06,183 --> 00:43:10,321   to the man,                      Vince Russo!                   1073 00:43:10,354 --> 00:43:14,258 He's the man behind all          the story lines at WWE.          1074 00:43:14,291 --> 00:43:17,294   Now we've got him.             We've got their genius.          1075 00:43:17,328 --> 00:43:20,230    He's using Jeff Jarrett's       testicles for punching bags!   1076 00:43:20,264 --> 00:43:22,433  His thing was,                   let's get the audience          1077 00:43:22,466 --> 00:43:24,068   that isn't watching              wrestling.                     1078 00:43:24,101 --> 00:43:27,237  It was lots of                   shock and awe.                  1079 00:43:27,271 --> 00:43:30,341  It made it not                    advertiser-friendly.           1080 00:43:30,374 --> 00:43:32,242   Eric's boys were not           1081 00:43:32,276 --> 00:43:34,578    in tune with what              Russo wanted.                   1082 00:43:34,612 --> 00:43:36,614  I've got plans                   for you, pal!                   1083 00:43:36,647 --> 00:43:39,850   Vince Russo, you're going to     fucking hell just for that.    1084 00:43:39,883 --> 00:43:41,986  I am the boss!                  1085 00:43:42,019 --> 00:43:43,654 Those guys didn't want           to give up their spots.          1086 00:43:43,687 --> 00:43:46,023 Yeah! 'Cause we                  earned our spot.                 1087 00:43:46,056 --> 00:43:48,158    It's now an end of an era!    1088 00:43:48,192 --> 00:43:50,794    This is a television show.    1089 00:43:50,828 --> 00:43:52,863  You want to go to a wrestling      show, go to a house show.     1090 00:43:52,896 --> 00:43:54,632     ...I think we're                deviating from the script.    1091 00:43:54,665 --> 00:43:55,966    What the hell is going on?    1092 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:57,501   That's gonna go down              as one of the most            1093 00:43:57,534 --> 00:44:00,304 infamous moments in the          history of television.           1094 00:44:00,337 --> 00:44:02,373    That's why this company's        in the damn shape it's in     1095 00:44:02,406 --> 00:44:04,575  because of bullshit like this!