1 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:16,980 Abdullah the Butcher was like a nightmare come to life. 2 00:00:17,300 --> 00:00:18,720 He terrified people. 3 00:00:19,900 --> 00:00:24,400 Just a savage, bloody, thirsty machine. Trying to rip the eyeball. 4 00:00:24,740 --> 00:00:27,460 When Abdullah walks in the ring, you know you're going to get blood. 5 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,900 Every match he was in, he bled. 6 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:32,800 You bled. 7 00:00:33,020 --> 00:00:39,040 One of the most infamous wrestlers of all time, Abdullah the Butcher, left a 8 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,820 legacy of violence and bloodshed wherever he went. From Puerto Rico. 9 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:45,520 to Japan, and across North America. 10 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:54,960 You can't think of a heel that was bigger than Abdullah. 11 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:56,240 You can't. 12 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:04,459 He made money everywhere he went. But the more money we made, the more danger 13 00:01:04,459 --> 00:01:05,399 had to face. 14 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:09,880 Even though Abdullah was playing a character, inside, that was him. 15 00:01:10,350 --> 00:01:13,670 He would have people with slingshots hitting him and throwing things at him 16 00:01:13,670 --> 00:01:15,230 because they think he's a damn guy. 17 00:01:15,590 --> 00:01:19,870 Fans at ringside, when he got too close, I mean, they were running. 18 00:01:22,870 --> 00:01:23,870 Everybody's bloodthirsty. 19 00:01:25,830 --> 00:01:28,690 Everybody is bloodthirsty. They want it. 20 00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:34,670 Notorious for blurring the line between reality and fiction, Abdullah remained a 21 00:01:34,670 --> 00:01:36,910 mystery even to those closest to him. 22 00:01:37,150 --> 00:01:38,650 You all know the wrestler. 23 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:40,500 You don't know the person. 24 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:43,440 He's a hero all the time. 25 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:45,240 He is a very good person. 26 00:01:45,820 --> 00:01:51,520 In a gruesome but successful career spanning seven decades, Abdullah's 27 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,320 for blood made him infamous, but also led to his downfall. 28 00:01:55,540 --> 00:02:00,620 He cost me my WWE career. That was a fact. The Hep C caused me not to have my 29 00:02:00,620 --> 00:02:01,640 WWE contract. 30 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,680 You're a piece of shit, and I hope that when you die, you die a really slow and 31 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:09,680 painful death. 32 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:24,460 Acting like he finds the taste of the blood pleasurable. 33 00:02:24,860 --> 00:02:29,500 Abdullah the Butcher would come into a regional wrestling territory and just 34 00:02:29,500 --> 00:02:30,500 business on fire. 35 00:02:30,860 --> 00:02:31,860 Blood everywhere! 36 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,920 The difference between Abdullah and everyone else is when anyone else came 37 00:02:36,920 --> 00:02:40,280 the territory, fans were rooting for their favorite to win. 38 00:02:40,640 --> 00:02:44,420 When Abdullah came in, they were rooting for their favorite to survive. 39 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:53,720 Hello, I'm Mick Foley, sometimes known as the Hardcore Legend, and I have been 40 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,900 involved with professional wrestling since 1985. 41 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:03,700 I knew of the legend of Abdullah because in those days, you learned about people 42 00:03:03,700 --> 00:03:07,160 outside of your geographic area largely by the magazines. 43 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,820 And the magazines painted this amazing portrait of this unstoppable monster. 44 00:03:13,460 --> 00:03:18,400 I was so intrigued by Abdullah the Butcher that the first thing I did when 45 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,540 to college as a freshman is I put a black and white photo of him on the wall 46 00:03:22,540 --> 00:03:25,560 began to tell the entire dormitory that he was my father. 47 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:34,360 When you have those taekwondo karate pants, and you see him with a fork with 48 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:40,320 all those gigantic cuts, and he opens those big eyes, and you see him on 49 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:47,240 eating liver and the blood of the liver coming out, that's Abdullah the Butcher, 50 00:03:47,300 --> 00:03:49,700 and he was unstoppable. 51 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:54,760 My name is Hugo Sabinovich. I'm from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and I've been in 52 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:55,980 passionate industry. 53 00:03:56,750 --> 00:04:01,810 For close to 50 years, and I will do it again, love Lucha Libre. 54 00:04:03,490 --> 00:04:04,670 No one was safe. 55 00:04:06,010 --> 00:04:09,870 Not the referee, not the owner of the company. 56 00:04:10,590 --> 00:04:15,610 He will put fear into your body, into your brain, your soul. 57 00:04:24,050 --> 00:04:25,250 What's happening in here? 58 00:04:26,250 --> 00:04:28,510 Can you explain to everybody what you're watching? 59 00:04:29,230 --> 00:04:32,010 Yeah. Eating the raw meat. 60 00:04:33,150 --> 00:04:39,770 Chicken. Uh -huh. And he could even take a phone book and 61 00:04:39,770 --> 00:04:40,910 tear it in half. 62 00:04:43,350 --> 00:04:44,350 Mm -hmm. 63 00:04:44,850 --> 00:04:48,270 My name's Josephine Heron Shreve. 64 00:04:48,850 --> 00:04:51,310 Abdullah the Butcher is my brother. 65 00:04:52,970 --> 00:04:54,970 Windsor at that time when I... 66 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:59,120 When I was growing up, I always say, that's old school. 67 00:05:00,620 --> 00:05:05,840 And it was like we was raised in a two -bedroom house, wartime house. There was 68 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:06,840 eight of us. 69 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,900 Two or three of us slept in a bed together. 70 00:05:11,820 --> 00:05:16,100 I had my own room because I slept in the bathtub. 71 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,140 I had a cushion to put in there. 72 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,800 My father and I had to go to the bathroom. They'd piss in a can. 73 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,420 My mother had to come in the washroom. She'd knock on the door, and I'd get out 74 00:05:25,420 --> 00:05:26,420 of the tub and let her in. 75 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,140 But I don't think my mother wanted to piss in a can. 76 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:31,060 Okay, that's the way it was. 77 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:33,540 My name is Ralph Shreves. 78 00:05:35,340 --> 00:05:41,620 I don't... Larry calls Shreves' brother as Adoodle the Butcher. 79 00:05:42,100 --> 00:05:43,260 I call him Larry. 80 00:05:45,020 --> 00:05:46,720 That's his name to me. 81 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,860 Adoodle the Butcher is his money name, his wrestling name. 82 00:05:53,350 --> 00:05:56,950 If you ever interview him, you just look at his damn head. 83 00:05:57,590 --> 00:06:00,290 You ever interview him? Oh, there you go then. 84 00:06:00,610 --> 00:06:03,570 I guess he tells the truth, but I'll tell you one thing. 85 00:06:04,130 --> 00:06:08,190 There I think you should be better off talking to him a longer distance. 86 00:06:09,010 --> 00:06:10,010 You're at the end. 87 00:06:10,770 --> 00:06:12,630 You have your ass jump up in one minute. 88 00:06:13,910 --> 00:06:15,210 And you're scared to death. 89 00:06:15,410 --> 00:06:16,410 He's a good actor. 90 00:06:33,669 --> 00:06:38,310 I got my head off. Let me take my head off. 91 00:06:39,730 --> 00:06:40,730 Looking good. 92 00:06:41,310 --> 00:06:42,310 Very good. 93 00:06:42,690 --> 00:06:43,690 Oh, 94 00:06:44,950 --> 00:06:45,950 it really is you. 95 00:06:47,030 --> 00:06:50,610 My name is Larry Shreve. 96 00:06:50,830 --> 00:06:54,270 My other wrestling name is Abdul the Butcher. 97 00:06:54,970 --> 00:06:56,430 I'm from Khartoum, Sudan. 98 00:06:57,170 --> 00:07:03,830 But now, since I'm pretty near out, I'm from Khartoum, Sudan, Windsor, 99 00:07:03,830 --> 00:07:04,830 Ontario. 100 00:07:06,030 --> 00:07:08,170 Your parents had to take care of a lot of kids? 101 00:07:08,490 --> 00:07:11,490 Like, was it challenging? Oh, they worked hard. My mother worked hard. My 102 00:07:11,490 --> 00:07:12,249 worked hard. 103 00:07:12,250 --> 00:07:13,250 Yeah. 104 00:07:20,930 --> 00:07:24,270 When I see my mother on the floor, scrubbing floors, 105 00:07:24,970 --> 00:07:30,930 You know, at a funeral home, I said to myself, holy shit, my mother works hard. 106 00:07:31,150 --> 00:07:33,830 But I never knew that she was on her hands and knees until I went there. 107 00:07:35,610 --> 00:07:42,550 I didn't want to learn how to read or write because I was only worrying about 108 00:07:42,550 --> 00:07:43,550 mother and father. 109 00:07:44,550 --> 00:07:45,890 I wanted to make money. 110 00:07:46,530 --> 00:07:51,770 I used to buy candy, three for a penny, go to school. 111 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:55,780 You want to buy some candy? 112 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:57,200 Right? 113 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:02,640 I'd sell it for maybe a penny a piece or whatever, where the kids owed me money. 114 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,240 And I said, when are you going to pay me my money? 115 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:11,260 So maybe he got scared, like I was going to do something, right? 116 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:14,300 So he wouldn't go to school. 117 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,900 Maybe his mother came and says, my kid is scared to come to school. 118 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,880 And that was it. Then I said, I got to. 119 00:08:22,890 --> 00:08:26,310 get out of here and try to make some money where I don't have a problem. 120 00:08:26,830 --> 00:08:27,830 And that's what I've done. 121 00:08:28,090 --> 00:08:30,470 So Larry only finished the second grade? 122 00:08:30,970 --> 00:08:34,630 He only finished the grade second. I was a year smarter than him, and I'm not 123 00:08:34,630 --> 00:08:35,630 really that smart myself. 124 00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:41,049 But I'm saying we've done a lot. Larry, he went to people's houses knocking on 125 00:08:41,049 --> 00:08:43,150 their door and asking for old clothes and all that. 126 00:08:43,390 --> 00:08:47,930 And he had a second -hand store with all kinds of old clothes. And he had a 127 00:08:47,930 --> 00:08:50,850 store. He shined shoes for years. 128 00:08:51,820 --> 00:08:55,100 Then he got a janitorial service, a business. 129 00:08:55,540 --> 00:09:00,100 He had people cutting grass and all that. He had a truck where he went 130 00:09:00,100 --> 00:09:04,540 moving stuff out of people's basements and all that. He was a worker. Let's 131 00:09:04,540 --> 00:09:06,680 say he was always a hustler. 132 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:12,700 He'd been in the karate and all that. He had a karate place where, like senior 133 00:09:12,700 --> 00:09:14,780 citizens, he trained them. 134 00:09:15,290 --> 00:09:16,670 to learn how to defend yourself. 135 00:09:16,930 --> 00:09:20,010 That's right in Windsor. You had about eight or nine old ladies in their 60s or 136 00:09:20,010 --> 00:09:22,590 70s, and he had it where they could defend themselves. 137 00:09:22,970 --> 00:09:23,990 Just old people and that. 138 00:09:24,830 --> 00:09:28,930 I was down at the Windsor Arena, and I was doing karate and stuff like that, 139 00:09:28,930 --> 00:09:34,810 the manager of the place, he said, hey, you should be a wrestler. I said, oh, I 140 00:09:34,810 --> 00:09:35,810 don't want to do that crap. 141 00:09:38,050 --> 00:09:39,430 He said, you can make some money. 142 00:09:39,690 --> 00:09:40,890 I said, oh, okay. 143 00:09:41,870 --> 00:09:46,630 Abdullah crosses the river to Detroit, where he meets the original Sheik, one 144 00:09:46,630 --> 00:09:48,370 the innovators in hardcore wrestling. 145 00:09:48,790 --> 00:09:53,710 Wait a minute. The Sheik has got that fire. That despicable act of biting. 146 00:09:54,350 --> 00:09:59,650 Abdullah playing an Arabic wrestler, they only had one at that time, and that 147 00:09:59,650 --> 00:10:04,630 was, they called him the Sheik, not the Aaron Sheik, the Sheik out of Detroit. 148 00:10:05,190 --> 00:10:10,010 He used to do all that stuff, you know, cut you with your forehead, walk around 149 00:10:10,010 --> 00:10:11,010 crazy. 150 00:10:16,860 --> 00:10:21,800 Hi, this is Mr. USA, WWE Hall of Famer, Tony Atlas. 151 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,820 You're up watching at the Sheep. He imitating the Sheep. 152 00:10:26,980 --> 00:10:30,920 I told 153 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:37,220 my dad, I said, Dad, I'm wrestling at Cobo Hall. 154 00:10:37,700 --> 00:10:40,680 My dad said, those are some dangerous people over there. 155 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:43,940 My dad used to see me with cuts on my head. 156 00:10:44,490 --> 00:10:47,210 He told my mother, tell him that he better get out of that shit. 157 00:10:47,710 --> 00:10:49,390 I said, Dad, listen. 158 00:10:50,290 --> 00:10:51,290 Smack me. 159 00:10:51,510 --> 00:10:52,510 He said, for what? 160 00:10:53,050 --> 00:10:54,650 I said, just smack me. 161 00:11:06,930 --> 00:11:11,070 He went... You see me bleeding. 162 00:11:11,590 --> 00:11:12,590 He said... 163 00:11:12,780 --> 00:11:14,100 I didn't hit you that hard. 164 00:11:15,060 --> 00:11:17,160 Then I showed him the blade. 165 00:11:18,060 --> 00:11:20,260 He said, now I know you're crazy. 166 00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:27,200 Having learned this bloody trick of the trade, Abdullah travels the world 167 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:29,140 showcasing his hardcore style. 168 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:34,380 While working in Puerto Rico, he meets promoter Carlos Colon and his right 169 00:11:34,380 --> 00:11:36,120 man, Hugo Savinovich. 170 00:11:36,590 --> 00:11:40,570 I started working with Carlos, and they say, you're good, but you're not big 171 00:11:40,570 --> 00:11:42,490 enough. He says, I want to make you a manager. 172 00:11:42,710 --> 00:11:49,150 And then he says, by the way, we're bringing into Puerto Rico one monster, a 173 00:11:49,150 --> 00:11:51,850 dude of the butcher. And I had heard of him, and I said, wow. 174 00:11:52,230 --> 00:11:54,530 I mean, what a way to begin a managing career. 175 00:11:55,970 --> 00:12:01,590 Managing him, it was, you know, just a crazy, crazy way of earning a living. 176 00:12:01,830 --> 00:12:03,490 Everybody just going crazy here. 177 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:08,800 By 1983, he was already drawing gigantic money in the Caribbean islands and 178 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,680 Puerto Rico. People will fill up the stadium. 179 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,420 Abdullah will make the promoter, Carlos Colon, look good. 180 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:22,120 But at the same time, he will destroy them. Perhaps the fear of being involved 181 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:23,120 in this match. 182 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,500 Abdullah would wrestle in Puerto Rico for a couple of months. He wrestled in 183 00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:29,540 Japan for a couple of months. And then he would come back to the States. 184 00:12:33,290 --> 00:12:34,630 And he was a big draw. 185 00:12:34,950 --> 00:12:37,110 I mean, he went and he drew money. 186 00:12:37,570 --> 00:12:43,310 Abdullah was worth every penny that he got paid. And trust me, he was making 187 00:12:43,310 --> 00:12:44,590 huge money. 188 00:12:45,030 --> 00:12:48,890 He lived really like a rich guy. 189 00:12:50,930 --> 00:12:55,990 Abdullah was very cautious of his money. When he got paid, as soon as you give 190 00:12:55,990 --> 00:12:57,870 it to him, he'd count it. 191 00:12:58,430 --> 00:13:03,160 I made sure my mother and father, my brothers and sisters, Got something of 192 00:13:03,660 --> 00:13:06,580 My mother used to work for the funeral home and stuff like that. 193 00:13:06,980 --> 00:13:08,920 I went there one day, and I said, come on, Ma. 194 00:13:09,460 --> 00:13:10,460 She said, what? 195 00:13:10,580 --> 00:13:13,520 She said, I want you to meet Mrs. I said, I don't want to meet them. 196 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:15,319 You understand? 197 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,320 You're here scrubbing floors and stuff like that, and I'm supposed to be a 198 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,580 butcher, and you're on your hands and knees scrubbing floors and stuff? 199 00:13:22,260 --> 00:13:27,240 From that day, she never worked another day in her life, and I made sure of 200 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:28,240 that. 201 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:29,840 But I was dumb. 202 00:13:30,460 --> 00:13:31,780 I didn't have the schooling. 203 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,780 Like I tell you, if I know what I know now, everybody shafts me. 204 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:38,240 You understand? 205 00:13:38,780 --> 00:13:44,100 Despite his successful and profitable rise to fame, Abdullah today finds 206 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:46,460 in legal trouble and financial ruin. 207 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,980 What has the whole situation been like for you personally? 208 00:13:50,660 --> 00:13:51,660 Hell. 209 00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:56,640 You don't know who in hell is working with you or working against you. You 210 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:57,640 understand? 211 00:13:58,360 --> 00:13:59,400 I'm in bad shape. 212 00:14:00,110 --> 00:14:01,110 Real bad shape. 213 00:14:07,430 --> 00:14:14,110 And anybody, anywhere, that does not fear the name of the almighty 214 00:14:14,110 --> 00:14:20,130 Abdullah the butcher is either an insane fool or they're lying to you. 215 00:14:20,330 --> 00:14:26,370 With Larry Shreve, yeah, it could be really difficult for a fan to know where 216 00:14:26,370 --> 00:14:28,710 the character ends, where the real person begins. 217 00:14:34,460 --> 00:14:41,400 For someone who rode with him for hundreds of hours, yeah, you get to know 218 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:44,700 real guy or what he wants to show you of the real guy. 219 00:14:47,540 --> 00:14:51,620 See, he always talked about he's an entertainer. 220 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:53,600 He's entertaining you. 221 00:14:54,060 --> 00:14:57,220 But the real true person, you all don't know. 222 00:14:58,220 --> 00:15:00,980 My name is Jocelyn Malika Marshall. 223 00:15:03,180 --> 00:15:07,820 I met Abdullah while I was on the street feeding the homeless. 224 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:14,540 He told me his name was Joe, and I was just so excited to see somebody else out 225 00:15:14,540 --> 00:15:17,660 there like myself feeding the homeless. 226 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:19,940 So I didn't know he had a restaurant. 227 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,580 He gave me the address of the restaurant. 228 00:15:24,110 --> 00:15:28,790 And I brought my son over there. My son said, did you know who that is? He said, 229 00:15:28,830 --> 00:15:30,530 that's Abdullah the Butcher. 230 00:15:30,870 --> 00:15:34,410 And I said, who is that? Because I'm not into wrestling. 231 00:15:35,150 --> 00:15:37,070 Abdullah was his hero. 232 00:15:37,850 --> 00:15:39,190 Your son liked all the bad guys. 233 00:15:39,450 --> 00:15:41,050 He loved the bad guys, yes. 234 00:15:42,010 --> 00:15:45,650 Abdullah was the best heel that the world ever saw. 235 00:15:46,510 --> 00:15:51,290 Even picturing my head now, just the way he stands, the way he moved around the 236 00:15:51,290 --> 00:15:53,030 ring, and the things he did. 237 00:15:54,250 --> 00:15:59,670 To see a whole crowd of people move back, he could walk through an aisle and 238 00:15:59,670 --> 00:16:00,970 people would run from him. 239 00:16:01,330 --> 00:16:03,890 And when he'd come through that ring, people would go, uh -oh, here come 240 00:16:03,890 --> 00:16:04,890 Abdullah. 241 00:16:05,130 --> 00:16:10,410 It got so, it wasn't a gimmick. He was in character most of the time, 242 00:16:10,410 --> 00:16:11,410 when it went public. 243 00:16:12,170 --> 00:16:15,750 I remember seeing a flight attendant go over to him, and as soon as Abdul was a 244 00:16:15,750 --> 00:16:20,750 flight attendant, eyes bugged out, his mouth started watering, and she tried to 245 00:16:20,750 --> 00:16:25,990 get his beverage order and just walked away. I was like, Abby, are you okay? He 246 00:16:25,990 --> 00:16:27,770 goes, got to protect the character, champ. 247 00:16:28,030 --> 00:16:29,310 Got to protect the character. 248 00:16:29,610 --> 00:16:33,650 And that's what he would do. And so in his own way, he would create this 249 00:16:33,650 --> 00:16:37,970 grassroots campaign for the authenticity of his character. 250 00:16:39,530 --> 00:16:44,850 When he went into the ring with any wrestler, he made them a good wrestler. 251 00:16:45,270 --> 00:16:48,990 If you fight Abdullah, you fought Abdullah, you got over him. 252 00:16:49,230 --> 00:16:50,710 People knew you the next day. 253 00:16:50,990 --> 00:16:55,050 They got like a crown on their head because they're wrestling one of the 254 00:16:55,710 --> 00:16:59,550 That's why I say Abdullah made Carlos Colon. 255 00:16:59,890 --> 00:17:05,510 Abdullah made Tony and Mr. USA Adler. Everybody that fought Abdullah became a 256 00:17:05,510 --> 00:17:06,510 big star. 257 00:17:11,380 --> 00:17:18,319 Here he is, the fake karate thrust to the head of the Dirty Dutchman's 258 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:19,319 tail. 259 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,880 What really made Abdulla was a time in Japan. 260 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:31,960 In Japan, during that time, wrestling was still about seven percent real. 261 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,440 You got a karate kick in Japan doing a real karate kick. 262 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,980 You got chopped in Japan. It was a real chop. 263 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,780 The only thing that was fake in Japan was who won and who lost. 264 00:17:46,260 --> 00:17:52,020 It was on the cover of all these magazines. They have billboards of 265 00:17:52,260 --> 00:17:53,620 you know, pictures of Abdullah. 266 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,420 He was what I call crazy over. 267 00:17:56,660 --> 00:18:00,620 Like, he was an iconic part of Japanese culture. 268 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:05,680 That's fine. 269 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:07,380 Doesn't bother me at all. 270 00:18:12,540 --> 00:18:18,340 As crazy as this might sound, he recorded an album in Japan. 271 00:18:18,980 --> 00:18:20,740 In the dress room. 272 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,820 My name is Abdullah the Butcher. I want to do all these crazy things to you. My 273 00:18:26,820 --> 00:18:29,800 whole family hates me because I'm too vicious. 274 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:34,120 They've never seen nothing like me. 275 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:35,600 I was different. 276 00:18:36,140 --> 00:18:38,060 They only seen the wrestling. 277 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:39,680 You know? 278 00:18:39,900 --> 00:18:41,760 That was it. I was different. 279 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:51,880 Having found success with the hardcore style he adapted from the chic, Abdullah 280 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,620 becomes a mentor to wrestler Devin Nicholson. But this long -term 281 00:18:56,620 --> 00:18:58,280 will end in disaster. 282 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:00,960 I actually ended his career. 283 00:19:01,420 --> 00:19:03,420 Retired him in the ring, retired him out of the ring. 284 00:19:05,130 --> 00:19:09,590 My name is Devin Nicholson, and my wrestling name was Hannibal. 285 00:19:13,110 --> 00:19:20,050 Starting his career with Stampede Wrestling 286 00:19:20,050 --> 00:19:26,050 in 2001, Devin begins working under the name Madman Hannibal, and soon launches 287 00:19:26,050 --> 00:19:31,690 his own indie promotion, Great North Wrestling. In 2006, he begins working 288 00:19:31,690 --> 00:19:32,690 Abdullah. 289 00:19:33,230 --> 00:19:39,210 Before all the negative stuff happened, I actually considered him somewhat of a 290 00:19:39,210 --> 00:19:40,210 mentor. 291 00:19:40,770 --> 00:19:47,150 I would say he was the first wrestler to take me under his wing a bit 292 00:19:47,150 --> 00:19:51,350 and teach me about how to get heat and stuff. 293 00:19:52,270 --> 00:19:57,330 We ended up tag -teaming and wrestling each other numerous times. 294 00:19:57,870 --> 00:19:59,630 I knew I used to work for him. 295 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:04,600 Right, you guys were friends, weren't you? Yeah, I used to fly into Toronto or 296 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:06,700 whatever, and we had shows. 297 00:20:07,220 --> 00:20:09,980 You come out to Calgary, Alberta, we'd have shows. 298 00:20:10,700 --> 00:20:11,700 You understand? 299 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,640 Abdullah, you think I'm not ready for you? 300 00:20:16,180 --> 00:20:19,280 I'm going to catch you in your last match in Canada. 301 00:20:20,700 --> 00:20:26,540 There will be some people that will always hate me for exposing him, but 302 00:20:26,540 --> 00:20:27,780 whatever. I don't care. 303 00:20:28,580 --> 00:20:30,680 I stopped him from wrestling. 304 00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:44,780 Already 68 years old and six decades into his career, Abdullah returns to 305 00:20:44,780 --> 00:20:48,280 to wrestle Hannibal in what's being billed as his retirement match. 306 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:54,460 I remember my first experience of Abdullah. My grandmother was actually 307 00:20:54,460 --> 00:20:59,300 of a wrestling fan, and I remember she let me watch a wrestling movie called I 308 00:20:59,300 --> 00:21:00,300 Like to Hurt People. 309 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:07,980 And I just remember thinking, how did they make this blood effect? 310 00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,020 You didn't really know how they did blood in those days. 311 00:21:12,860 --> 00:21:14,500 You'll probably have to edit this. 312 00:21:17,100 --> 00:21:21,440 And I know Bret Hart would put it in his mouth, he said, but I was always afraid 313 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:22,440 to do that. 314 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:27,720 So then he would take the blade and put it like there and tape over top. 315 00:21:28,260 --> 00:21:32,060 And then when it comes time to bleed, he'd pull it out. 316 00:21:32,860 --> 00:21:37,900 And then, I'm not going to do it, I'm not Abdullah, but he'd slice down like 317 00:21:37,900 --> 00:21:38,900 that. 318 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:42,360 Now, for me to hit myself, I would hit myself like this. 319 00:21:45,060 --> 00:21:46,060 You see it? 320 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:52,180 I was around Abdullah a lot, and you never actually see him do the deed. 321 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:56,440 The blood would arrive as if, you know, by magic. 322 00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,000 Abdullah had razor blades on all his fingers. 323 00:22:00,340 --> 00:22:01,820 First, he'd cut you with the razor blade. 324 00:22:02,420 --> 00:22:03,900 And what does he got? He's got a fork. 325 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,360 And then he would take the fork and scrape it across you to make it bigger 326 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:08,360 could bleed more. 327 00:22:09,100 --> 00:22:12,060 He actually would stick that fork. He would stick you with that fork, too. 328 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:14,940 He's like stabbing you in the head with that fork. It hurt like hell. 329 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:16,439 That's Abdullah. 330 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:17,440 Abdullah the butcher. 331 00:22:18,660 --> 00:22:20,020 He would cut you deep. 332 00:22:20,340 --> 00:22:22,340 Well, did anybody ever complain about being cut? 333 00:22:23,080 --> 00:22:24,080 Not to Abdullah. 334 00:22:25,820 --> 00:22:30,240 Because, you see, in the older days, the guys would tell you this. 335 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:31,760 Suck it up. 336 00:22:32,620 --> 00:22:36,020 If you don't like it, you're in the wrong business, kid. Suck it up. 337 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,760 There was no bitching or complaining in wrestling. 338 00:22:39,390 --> 00:22:43,170 I didn't carry a blade because I didn't juice every night. But this was part of 339 00:22:43,170 --> 00:22:44,170 these guys' gimmick. 340 00:22:45,250 --> 00:22:46,250 Abdullah, 341 00:22:46,690 --> 00:22:49,510 Bruiser Brody, Dusty Road. 342 00:22:53,170 --> 00:22:55,550 Abdullah's blade every night. Every night. 343 00:22:55,790 --> 00:22:58,170 It's kind of like Ric Flair got to have the road. 344 00:22:58,490 --> 00:23:00,530 Well, Abdullah got to have the blade. 345 00:23:00,890 --> 00:23:04,870 Why do they call him Abdullah the Butcher? What does the butcher do? 346 00:23:05,770 --> 00:23:07,150 They take to make blood. 347 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:09,520 They try to hurt you, to torture you. 348 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,680 This guy here, he was rushed to the hospital and had four stitches in the 349 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:18,880 of his head. This guy chopped him in the damn head and got cut. Don't think that 350 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:20,040 this is all phony blood. 351 00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:26,020 Abdullah's intense bloodlust and unpredictable style keeps him from 352 00:23:26,020 --> 00:23:29,540 the world's largest promotion, Vince McMahon's WWE. 353 00:23:30,420 --> 00:23:36,260 Vince kind of knew that Abdullah was going to be very hard to be controlled. 354 00:23:36,910 --> 00:23:43,910 And I think that if you would even ask Abdullah, I don't think he even trusted 355 00:23:43,910 --> 00:23:44,910 himself. 356 00:23:45,150 --> 00:23:48,170 Because I don't think a lot of times he planned things. 357 00:23:48,470 --> 00:23:54,310 We were going to have a tag team match in Ottawa. And before the match, we were 358 00:23:54,310 --> 00:23:59,430 appearing on a local television show called Rogers Daytime. 359 00:23:59,770 --> 00:24:01,450 I just happen to have a fork right here. 360 00:24:02,150 --> 00:24:03,730 With the old, you know. 361 00:24:06,519 --> 00:24:08,980 Without this being plaid or anything. 362 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:10,880 It's always a pleasure. Thank you. 363 00:24:11,220 --> 00:24:15,340 He put the male host in a headlock. 364 00:24:18,660 --> 00:24:22,520 Walked the male host over to where there was going to be a cooking segment 365 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:23,520 after. 366 00:24:24,980 --> 00:24:31,560 And then the guy started bleeding. 367 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,420 It was the weirdest moment ever. The guy was like, I just remember him shaking 368 00:24:43,420 --> 00:24:48,180 like that. He was like going to shock almost. It was like a guy that obviously 369 00:24:48,180 --> 00:24:52,080 isn't used to bleeding or getting in fights or anything. 370 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,220 We'll be right back after this. I think that was 2009. 371 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,740 You couldn't even really get away with it then. It was a miracle he did. 372 00:25:01,470 --> 00:25:06,170 But you could see how in the old days he could get away with stuff like that. 373 00:25:06,710 --> 00:25:13,610 But I think in 2022 it would be hard to assault a TV show host to get away with 374 00:25:13,610 --> 00:25:15,890 it. I think he was in his late 60s by then too. 375 00:25:16,590 --> 00:25:19,790 So it certainly helped. 376 00:25:20,970 --> 00:25:25,470 After years on the independent circuit and mentorship from Abdullah, Hannibal 377 00:25:25,470 --> 00:25:28,830 finally achieves his own opportunity to wrestle for the WWE. 378 00:25:29,690 --> 00:25:34,930 When I was signed by WWE, he actually screamed with joy. 379 00:25:35,330 --> 00:25:40,310 Because I guess since he never actually wrestled for them, it was kind of like 380 00:25:40,310 --> 00:25:44,930 someone that kind of represented him in a way was going to get in. 381 00:25:45,150 --> 00:25:50,230 But after a series of routine blood tests, Hannibal received career 382 00:25:50,230 --> 00:25:55,410 news. In my blood test, they found that the hepatitis C virus was present. 383 00:25:56,190 --> 00:25:58,730 And I was like... 384 00:25:59,810 --> 00:26:05,410 Well, first of all, I was confused on how I would have such a thing. A lot of 385 00:26:05,410 --> 00:26:07,190 guys would use dirty razor blades. 386 00:26:08,050 --> 00:26:10,990 Because everybody didn't care about blades. Everybody didn't care about 387 00:26:11,050 --> 00:26:15,410 They would say something like, Hey, Abbie, you got a blade I could use? 388 00:26:17,970 --> 00:26:19,130 He's going to use the blade. 389 00:26:19,450 --> 00:26:22,030 And when you borrow something, you got to do what? 390 00:26:22,710 --> 00:26:23,710 Give it back. 391 00:26:24,430 --> 00:26:25,930 And they would give it back to Abdullah. 392 00:26:27,310 --> 00:26:29,350 So it was very easy for him. 393 00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:33,980 Somebody to catch the disease, because who knows where that blade came from or 394 00:26:33,980 --> 00:26:35,960 who they cut before they cut Hannibal. 395 00:26:36,260 --> 00:26:40,260 Did it cross your mind at that point that it might have been Abdullah? Yes, 396 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,120 because there was no other way that I would have thought that I would have 397 00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:50,420 caught it. But I wasn't, like at this point, I didn't think that I 398 00:26:50,420 --> 00:26:53,360 would have the evidence or anything. 399 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:57,600 At some point, you and this guy Hannibal were friendly with each other, right? 400 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,020 Yeah, we were good friends. I used to work for him. He was a promoter. 401 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:08,560 Right. So I don't know what happened, but I don't want to talk about this. 402 00:27:08,700 --> 00:27:09,860 I don't want to talk about it. 403 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:21,600 His career cuts short by his hepatitis C diagnosis. 404 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:23,940 Hannibal is desperate for answers. 405 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:28,880 I had a guy that was doing a documentary on me. It was called This is Hannibal. 406 00:27:29,180 --> 00:27:34,280 We were hoping that it was going to be my journey to WWE movie, but it ended up 407 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:35,780 just being like a sad movie. 408 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:38,200 Obviously, it didn't work out. 409 00:27:38,540 --> 00:27:43,060 The contrast got rescinded because I had hepatitis C. 410 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:49,880 So he was the one that actually saw the cutting incident, and he showed me the 411 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,040 clip from the 2007 match. 412 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,220 And he's like, what is Abdullah doing here? 413 00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:01,000 I haven't even seen footage of the match, to be honest with you. I would 414 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:01,959 see it. 415 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,380 You can see here he's cutting his own head with his razor blade that's taped 416 00:28:06,380 --> 00:28:10,640 his finger, right where all the scars are on his forehead, what he's been 417 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,000 for the past 50 years. 418 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:19,300 And you see him doing that to my forehead. 419 00:28:20,330 --> 00:28:22,430 So I'm like, he's blading me. 420 00:28:22,670 --> 00:28:29,050 Oh, my God. Eight years managing him in different countries, I never saw 421 00:28:29,050 --> 00:28:35,270 him doing that to another guy. And if that's the case, 422 00:28:35,450 --> 00:28:41,090 wow. Many local news stations saw my movie and did their own stories on it 423 00:28:41,090 --> 00:28:45,370 because Ottawa, I don't think, ever had somebody that had made WWE. 424 00:28:45,730 --> 00:28:46,930 Ronald Tazza. 425 00:28:47,790 --> 00:28:54,750 One of the top lawyers in this area saw the case, and with his skill as 426 00:28:54,750 --> 00:29:00,470 a lawyer, he was able to basically force Abdullah to provide his blood test. 427 00:29:01,470 --> 00:29:07,470 According to his blood work, there's a history of Hep C, so you would think 428 00:29:07,470 --> 00:29:12,650 he knew, but whether he knew or not, he should have known it's dangerous to cut 429 00:29:12,650 --> 00:29:15,510 someone with a razor blade with blood on it. 430 00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:21,660 The footage of Abdullah cutting Hannibal with a used razor blade and the results 431 00:29:21,660 --> 00:29:26,080 of Abdullah's blood test form the basis of a lawsuit filed by Hannibal. 432 00:29:26,300 --> 00:29:30,380 A lawsuit that Abdullah claims he couldn't read or understand. 433 00:29:30,900 --> 00:29:33,500 I was getting a lot of letters, right? 434 00:29:34,540 --> 00:29:36,240 What am I going to do? Open it up? 435 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:38,600 I don't know what the hell it says. 436 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,440 If it wasn't for Malika, no. 437 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,040 I'd really be in bad shape. 438 00:29:49,860 --> 00:29:54,880 And he said, sat me down. He said, sit down, Malika. But he told me he didn't 439 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,420 know how to read and write, and he cried like a baby. 440 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:02,420 A big, huge man, like this, crying. 441 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:05,460 I'd never seen a man cry like that. 442 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:09,760 That's when I understood. 443 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:16,120 What was going on in his life. And he would ask me to open his mail and read 444 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:22,760 to him. And after I looked through it, it included the court case with Devon 445 00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:25,920 Nicholson. I don't know anything about that. 446 00:30:26,260 --> 00:30:31,940 My sister called me and said, you lost the case in 447 00:30:31,940 --> 00:30:35,800 Toronto. I said, what? 448 00:30:38,660 --> 00:30:40,320 It was default. 449 00:30:41,380 --> 00:30:43,940 That's what, because I didn't show up. 450 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:45,160 And that was it. 451 00:30:46,060 --> 00:30:51,040 When you aspire to be a professional wrestler, this is how you celebrate a 452 00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:55,840 victory. He ended up losing in court in both Ontario and Georgia. 453 00:30:56,980 --> 00:31:00,460 And he was found guilty of negligence, assault, and battery. 454 00:31:00,780 --> 00:31:03,680 He either knew or should have known. 455 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:08,820 that he had Hep C, which Abdullah still denies, even though he provided the 456 00:31:08,820 --> 00:31:09,820 blood tests. 457 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:15,980 Court documents show that Abdullah carries the same rare strain of 458 00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:16,859 as Hannibal. 459 00:31:16,860 --> 00:31:21,620 In the years that follow, Abdullah makes a range of claims, including the 460 00:31:21,620 --> 00:31:24,720 allegation that it was Hannibal who gave the disease to him. 461 00:31:25,300 --> 00:31:29,780 After the Canadian judge sees the video evidence, coupled with the confirmation 462 00:31:29,780 --> 00:31:34,530 that both men share the same rare strain of Hep C, The courts side with 463 00:31:34,530 --> 00:31:40,670 Hannibal. It's very good to have that on the record after all these years of 464 00:31:40,670 --> 00:31:41,670 being called a liar. 465 00:31:41,830 --> 00:31:45,610 Devin Nicholson was awarded $2 .3 million in damages. 466 00:31:46,270 --> 00:31:49,690 No, I don't think it's your pay. No, not that much. 467 00:31:50,270 --> 00:31:51,410 What should he have gotten? 468 00:31:52,310 --> 00:31:53,310 Nothing. 469 00:31:54,550 --> 00:31:55,890 I wouldn't have sued him. 470 00:31:56,570 --> 00:32:00,330 When you get into a certain profession, you know, you're taking the risk. 471 00:32:02,250 --> 00:32:03,590 Hannibal could have done it himself. 472 00:32:05,370 --> 00:32:06,850 That's what the guys told me. 473 00:32:07,070 --> 00:32:09,350 Tony, he don't change his blade. 474 00:32:09,690 --> 00:32:10,850 Do it yourself. 475 00:32:11,830 --> 00:32:13,330 He let that dude cut him. 476 00:32:14,030 --> 00:32:17,490 He could have cut himself, but he was scared to cut himself, so he got 477 00:32:17,490 --> 00:32:18,490 else do it. 478 00:32:18,990 --> 00:32:20,030 And it cost him. 479 00:32:27,330 --> 00:32:31,880 In dire financial straits, Abdullah continues to make wrestling -related 480 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,260 appearances and autograph signings. 481 00:32:35,320 --> 00:32:39,980 Hannibal claims that Abdullah has moved around his assets in order to avoid 482 00:32:39,980 --> 00:32:44,220 paying him, and to this day, the matter is still in front of the courts. 483 00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:46,220 He's never paid anything. 484 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:47,660 Hasn't paid a penny. 485 00:32:50,100 --> 00:32:52,560 Nah. I don't think he has. 486 00:32:53,340 --> 00:32:55,240 I want you all to look at this. 487 00:32:56,630 --> 00:33:00,070 This is dangerous, the stuff that you have ever seen. 488 00:33:01,050 --> 00:33:02,050 Look at this. 489 00:33:03,310 --> 00:33:06,810 Oh, boy. He has no money to repair none of this. 490 00:33:07,030 --> 00:33:14,030 Now, this is a light fixture where the water is coming down. This is 491 00:33:14,030 --> 00:33:15,030 electrical. 492 00:33:15,490 --> 00:33:16,490 Listen. 493 00:33:16,850 --> 00:33:21,530 This is how his house is right now, currently. Right now, currently. That's 494 00:33:21,530 --> 00:33:23,410 I didn't allow you all to come back there. 495 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:28,560 Oh, I am stressed. 496 00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:30,500 I'm stressed. 497 00:33:30,860 --> 00:33:35,600 I've never had blood pressure until I got moved into this house. 498 00:33:37,300 --> 00:33:41,920 But it's worth it when you see someone being taken advantage of. 499 00:33:42,220 --> 00:33:43,560 He built a career. 500 00:33:44,860 --> 00:33:46,340 I should have went to school. 501 00:33:46,820 --> 00:33:52,460 I should have went to school to learn how to read and write. 502 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:54,360 I studied. 503 00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:01,600 But I needed more than that. 504 00:34:03,260 --> 00:34:04,400 I got shafted. 505 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:12,520 All the tapes, what I made for many, many years, got nothing. 506 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,540 Whatever he's going through, whatever he's going through, that was all his 507 00:34:17,540 --> 00:34:18,540 anyways. 508 00:34:19,340 --> 00:34:22,760 I don't want to say too much. I just tell the absolute truth. My brother... 509 00:34:23,210 --> 00:34:28,650 Don't worry, my brother, he's a very nice person, but people play games with 510 00:34:28,650 --> 00:34:32,710 him. Are you aware that he says that he can't read or write? Did he ever tell 511 00:34:32,710 --> 00:34:38,409 you that he can't read or write? No, and I've seen him order at restaurants, 512 00:34:38,510 --> 00:34:39,510 reading menus. 513 00:34:40,170 --> 00:34:45,030 I've seen letters from him. I've seen him sign autographs. He's owned several 514 00:34:45,030 --> 00:34:49,810 businesses over the years and been involved with large wrestling contracts 515 00:34:49,810 --> 00:34:50,969 companies like... 516 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:54,520 WCW and Japanese companies. 517 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:56,520 So he can't read or write? 518 00:34:57,100 --> 00:35:03,360 No. Nope, he never could. But he'd find ways, like, if they told him, like, to 519 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:10,160 go to a chicken farm or something like that, he'd draw a 520 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:11,160 picture of a chicken. 521 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:17,080 I don't mean this to be humorous, but, like, he knew how to read a menu. 522 00:35:17,690 --> 00:35:22,070 You know, like we would eat out three times a day. He never had an issue. 523 00:35:22,610 --> 00:35:27,070 I don't know if that's the case. If it is, I think it's just an 524 00:35:27,070 --> 00:35:33,990 accolade for him to be that successful around the world without 525 00:35:33,990 --> 00:35:37,210 that ability. But I don't know. I've only recently heard that. 526 00:35:38,170 --> 00:35:43,270 That's like a shock to me because he made great business. 527 00:35:45,260 --> 00:35:48,400 Even in a check, in a check, you have to write it. 528 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:55,140 I did not know that. And eight years, we traveled a lot, spent a lot of time 529 00:35:55,140 --> 00:36:00,520 together, and that is a shock to me. If that is a guy of a second -grade 530 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:07,440 education, wow, that whoever was the teacher, we've got to 531 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:12,300 find him or her and honor that person because that teacher did a lot. 532 00:36:12,830 --> 00:36:17,530 Abdul the Butcher himself getting stitched up right here. The punishing 533 00:36:17,530 --> 00:36:22,250 hardcore wrestling has a long legacy, but it often comes at great personal 534 00:36:22,250 --> 00:36:23,250 for those involved. 535 00:36:23,890 --> 00:36:28,590 Abdul and Carlos Colon invented a match with a chain going right across the ring 536 00:36:28,590 --> 00:36:34,250 and they were hooked to it. And even with the rain, a storm, you could still 537 00:36:34,250 --> 00:36:41,110 just all the blood coming down. It was horrendous, but for the fans, it was 538 00:36:41,110 --> 00:36:45,460 just... devastating the punishment that they inflicted on each other. 539 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:48,020 We felt invincible. 540 00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:51,660 And they trained you to feel invincible. 541 00:36:52,140 --> 00:36:56,120 At those times, we would put the blood of their opponent as part of being a 542 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,420 and suck the blood out of your opponent's head. 543 00:37:00,340 --> 00:37:06,180 When I talk about it right now, I see the expressions on the young, the new 544 00:37:06,180 --> 00:37:09,800 generation, like, what the heck were you guys thinking? 545 00:37:10,410 --> 00:37:13,910 But, you know, back then, it was a whole different world. 546 00:37:16,890 --> 00:37:23,090 Anytime you watch something, even if you watch a movie picture or something like 547 00:37:23,090 --> 00:37:25,330 that, they always have violence in it, right? 548 00:37:25,930 --> 00:37:28,890 You have the cops and the robbers, you have this and stuff like that. 549 00:37:29,250 --> 00:37:30,730 It's always violence. 550 00:37:31,170 --> 00:37:35,350 And if you don't give the people violence, they don't come and see you. 551 00:37:35,970 --> 00:37:37,890 In a twist of fate in 2021, 552 00:37:38,860 --> 00:37:43,160 Seven years after his own court battle, Hannibal finds himself at the center of 553 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:46,200 his own controversy by brutalizing a referee. 554 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:51,500 They were looking for someone to bleed from the spike, so the promoter found 555 00:37:51,500 --> 00:37:56,900 this referee that was a known bleeder to take the spike. 556 00:37:58,080 --> 00:38:04,260 It hit him several times, and it did some damage. 557 00:38:08,810 --> 00:38:11,490 Did not have any medics on site. 558 00:38:12,650 --> 00:38:15,710 It went on longer than it should have. 559 00:38:16,070 --> 00:38:18,710 Like, it was bad communication all around. 560 00:38:18,970 --> 00:38:23,490 Guy, the referee, he ended up getting an infection. His head was, I mean, 561 00:38:23,490 --> 00:38:26,410 mutilated. I was appalled. 562 00:38:26,630 --> 00:38:30,790 I saw the dude's head with, you know, a dozen different gaffes with staples in 563 00:38:30,790 --> 00:38:33,490 his head. And I'm just like, what in the heck happened here? 564 00:38:34,170 --> 00:38:37,770 Why have charges not been pressed? Why is this guy not in jail? 565 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:45,280 Even your story is saying you are recklessly, dangerously careless and 566 00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,220 damn near killed this guy because you're just sloppy. 567 00:38:48,460 --> 00:38:52,520 And if we believe that he got mad and actually attacked this guy with a spike, 568 00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,740 it's like you should be in jail. 569 00:38:55,260 --> 00:38:57,240 You should never be booked to wrestle again. 570 00:38:57,460 --> 00:39:01,260 This is not good for the business. This is 1960 where we're going to convince 571 00:39:01,260 --> 00:39:04,760 somebody that he's the madman from the Sudan that attacked somebody with a 572 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:05,760 spike. 573 00:39:06,510 --> 00:39:08,690 There's no place for that in the industry anymore. 574 00:39:09,130 --> 00:39:15,510 Oh, my God. That even makes no sense. I mean, you just were in a situation 575 00:39:15,510 --> 00:39:22,370 and, wow, strange things do happen because what are the chances that you 576 00:39:22,370 --> 00:39:27,450 a court case and now you're going to do that to a referee? 577 00:39:28,930 --> 00:39:29,930 Crazy. 578 00:39:36,230 --> 00:39:40,730 To this day, Abdullah's legal problems haunt him, and the Hepatitis C 579 00:39:40,730 --> 00:39:44,810 controversy has tainted the legacy of his legendary career. 580 00:39:45,250 --> 00:39:51,430 I know it was horrendous to hear, because you never want to hear that 581 00:39:51,430 --> 00:39:55,330 somebody did this to another guy. 582 00:39:56,730 --> 00:40:01,350 But then you also wonder, because in my case, I was around him in bloody 583 00:40:01,350 --> 00:40:03,030 matches, you know. 584 00:40:04,170 --> 00:40:06,210 Carlos Colon and other guys. 585 00:40:06,510 --> 00:40:12,410 But none of us tested, you know, positive to that. 586 00:40:13,230 --> 00:40:17,170 Hannibal eventually finds an experimental treatment that cures him of 587 00:40:17,170 --> 00:40:19,570 hepatitis C, but his bitterness remains. 588 00:40:20,410 --> 00:40:22,950 Is there anything that he can do to make this right? 589 00:40:23,590 --> 00:40:24,590 Yes. 590 00:40:25,530 --> 00:40:30,830 I mean, start paying what you can. 591 00:40:31,550 --> 00:40:37,510 and take some responsibility for what you did. You've been found guilty in 592 00:40:37,510 --> 00:40:40,610 Canada and the U .S., but you never apologized for anything. 593 00:40:41,650 --> 00:40:46,330 And, yeah, it's just been a nightmare situation, but I would never expect that 594 00:40:46,330 --> 00:40:47,330 from him. 595 00:40:47,590 --> 00:40:53,950 So all I can do is move on, which I have been doing. I'll be honest, talking 596 00:40:53,950 --> 00:41:00,470 about this situation, I mean, this is hopefully the last time I'll have to 597 00:41:00,470 --> 00:41:01,470 about it. 598 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:05,840 It was a terrible period of my life, and I'm over it. 599 00:41:08,500 --> 00:41:13,500 Because the lawsuit is argued in a civil trial, the judge found Abdul the 600 00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:18,120 Butcher liable, but not guilty, of causing Hannibal's hepatitis C. 601 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:23,740 This is the Hall of Fame, and all these rascals here, these are the old ones, 602 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:24,920 they're probably all dead now. 603 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:27,740 They're all in the Hall of Fame with Abdul the Butcher. 604 00:41:28,330 --> 00:41:32,650 Well, I put it this way. All my family is his biggest fan. He's done good. 605 00:41:33,350 --> 00:41:37,170 And I hate to say this. There's a lot of good wrestlers. I put it this way. He's 606 00:41:37,170 --> 00:41:38,170 one of the best. 607 00:41:40,170 --> 00:41:44,050 In a round, our next inductee always made me a little nervous. 608 00:41:44,930 --> 00:41:49,010 This is the man who took hardcore to another level. 609 00:41:49,550 --> 00:41:50,550 Take a look. 610 00:41:52,050 --> 00:41:56,790 In 2011, Abdul the Butcher is inducted into the WWE's Hall of Fame. 611 00:41:58,060 --> 00:42:01,200 When I found out I was going to be in the Hall of Fame, I said, I don't 612 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:03,480 it until they book me there. 613 00:42:04,220 --> 00:42:10,680 And Terry Funk was the one who put me over strong, said nice things about me. 614 00:42:11,260 --> 00:42:17,040 He said, whatever people say about Abdullah the Butcher, he made these 615 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:18,040 a lot of money. 616 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:24,460 I cried because I know the story that to be what he 617 00:42:24,460 --> 00:42:26,420 became, 618 00:42:27,180 --> 00:42:33,900 He paid the price, and yes, he made the money, but it 619 00:42:33,900 --> 00:42:36,440 wasn't easy being Abdullah the Butcher. 620 00:42:36,940 --> 00:42:43,000 What's missing in wrestling today is the idea that someone, an opponent, is 621 00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:46,280 fighting for something bigger than a title or a victory. They're fighting for 622 00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:47,058 their lives. 623 00:42:47,060 --> 00:42:50,960 That's what he brought to the table, and I don't know if anyone ever did it 624 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:52,260 better than Abdullah the Butcher. 625 00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:56,220 I've never seen anybody that the fan was actually afraid of. 626 00:42:57,310 --> 00:42:58,730 They was afraid of him. 627 00:42:58,990 --> 00:43:01,610 And I never saw that with anybody. 628 00:43:01,950 --> 00:43:05,370 I think he should be remembered for his greatness. 629 00:43:06,850 --> 00:43:10,810 His greatness because he is the god of wrestling. 630 00:43:11,890 --> 00:43:16,570 Not the negative, you know, just one little situation. 631 00:43:16,870 --> 00:43:19,810 And it's not proven. 632 00:43:22,510 --> 00:43:24,090 He didn't get a chance to. 633 00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:27,900 Prove his innocence. 634 00:43:29,220 --> 00:43:32,980 I don't care if they take everything he owns. 635 00:43:33,420 --> 00:43:39,240 I would never turn my back on a man of greatness, such greatness. 636 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,700 He's going to be okay with the help of God. 637 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:47,440 Long after you're gone, what would you like people to think when they hear the 638 00:43:47,440 --> 00:43:48,480 name Abdullah the Butcher? 639 00:43:49,560 --> 00:43:52,960 Just to give me the respect for what I've done. 640 00:43:55,020 --> 00:43:57,600 A lot of things people say I've done, I did not do. 641 00:43:58,860 --> 00:43:59,860 You know what I mean? 642 00:43:59,920 --> 00:44:00,920 That's all I can say. 643 00:44:02,220 --> 00:44:04,760 Whatever you want to think, I'll leave it up to you.