All language subtitles for Dark Side of the Ring s02e08_English

In 30 years, I have never
seen more exciting matches.

[Announcer]
Down for the count: 1, 2, 3!

[Narrator] In 1990, the Universal Wrestling Federation

appeared out of nowhere, ready to make a major impact

on the wrestling world.

The UWF was a dream.

[Announcer] I tell you,
we have some of the

finest talent anywhere
in the world.

The UWF brought together
a roster of

all-time greats
and future stars.

It was an ambitious
dream of an outsider,

a man named Herb Abrams.

The purpose of this
Federation is to have

wrestling go back to basics,the way wrestling used to be.

I really believed that I was
stepping into something new

and cutting edge with
Herb Abrams and the UWF.

UWF! Number one, baby!
Number one!

While his lofty vision put the UWF on a path to success,

Herb's dream became
everyone else's nightmare.

[shouts] I am going to
get you once and for all!

Right from the get-go
the show was a joke.

The money wasn't legit.

Herb had squandered
millions of dollars.

All hell broke loose.

Herb was like a
ball of fire,

just looking for oxygen.

SWAT teams are gonna be
knocking down the door here

in a minute.

I couldn't even fathom it.

I heard that he was covered
in Vaseline and cocaine.

It was crazy.

You've got to start from the
bottom and work your way up.

Herb started at the top
and worked his way down.

Now, for the
first time ever,

the true story behind the
monumental downfall

of Herb Abrams.

You can't get any darker
than the story of

the UWF and Herb Abrams.
You can't.

♪

By the end of the 1980s,

the WWF dominated
professional wrestling.

Powered by the vision and
expertise of Vince McMahon,

no other organization
came close to

its mainstream popularity.

But in 1990, an unknown
wrestling fanatic came from

out of nowhere to attempt
to slay the WWF monster.

I mean, I see him so
clearly in my mind,

like it was yesterday.

And, I cannot talk
about Herb without smiling.

I am Mick Foley.

I am sometimes known
as The Hardcore Legend.

[Announcer] Look out! Oh!
All the way to hell!

Good God almighty!
They've killed him!

[Mick] Herb was a little guy
with a big personality.

His enthusiasm
was contagious.

I believe I was at one of

John Arezzi's
Weekend of Champions.

John was one of the
first guys who was

putting together
wrestling weekends.

My name is John Arezzi,
and I've been in and out of

the pro wrestling
business, really,

since the early 1970s.

There was a gentleman
who was looking to start

a wrestling promotion and,
he was...

a little eccentric.

He had really
big aspirations.

He wanted to launch at the
Wrestling Fan Convention.

He mentioned a lot of
money being pumped into

the organization, but when hementioned a name like

Bruno Sammartino, I mean,
to me, that was legitimacy.

For most of the
20th century,

Bruno Sammartino was the face of professional wrestling,

and one of
its first true icons.

And I called Bruno to verify itand he said he was

gonna be getting
involved with Herb so...

I certainly gave him the
time of day and

welcomed him to my
Wrestling Fan Convention.

The wrestling fans' fantasy
weekend event is

one of the first fan
conventions of its kind,

and a convenient arena
for Herb to approach talent

looking for new
opportunities.

There was a lot of the
guys from the northeast,

the Cactus Jack's,
Sunny Beach's,

and Herb made a point to
introduce himself to

almost everybody there.

I know he was
trying to, you know,

look for talent
at the convention.

He was there,
I guess, recruiting.

My name is Rick Allen,
formerly known as

Sunny Beach in the
wrestling world.

He, he was, you know,looking to do big things and,

he goes, "Sunny, my boy,

we're gonna make
it big one day,

you know, just be
there for the ride."

I didn't aspire to become
a professional wrestler,

to be honest with you.

He saw something in me
that I didn't even see.

He's a hell of a wrestler,
this guy.

The brand name is
"Wild Thing" Stevie Ray.

He said, "Stevie, my boy,

I'm gonna turn you
into a big star."

I can't wait to be
around this guy.

Herb had never wrestled.

He had never really
experienced anything in

the wrestling other than
really being a fan.

My name's B. Brian Blair,and I've been wrestling for...

a long time.

I knew Herb Abrams
from the very beginning.

He asked me if I wanted
to come work for him.

I thought, well, you know,
this is a...

a great way back to kind of
the WWE without the pressure

of wrestling 67 days in a rowand it was perfect for me.

With the exhilaration
of an obsessive fan,

Herb officially launches
the UWF at the convention,

with a press conference
laying out his grand plans

for global domination.

It was really designed to
kind of introduce his vision

and announce some of the
performers that were

gonna be associated with him.

But, it turned into
more of a circus.

There was an angle betweenDan Spivey and B. Brian Blair.

There were tables torn,
there were glasses thrown.

[Announcer]
And look at this!

He introduced as his booker
Jack Black Mulligan who,

at the time,
was incarcerated.

[John] And, he mentioned thathe was gonna be using

Bruiser Brody as
one of his top stars,

but Bruiser Brody had
been murdered a year ago.

It was far-fetched, but it
wasn't because

the entire wrestling businessis far-fetched.

His belief in his own words
made people around him

want to believe and, you know,when he's telling you,

"This is going to be one of thegreatest wrestling promotions,"

I thought, this is the
man who's going to mix

Hollywood and sports
entertainment in a way that

not even Mr. McMahon
had done.

Exploding out of
the convention,

Herb's pure force of
personality has bought him

a roster of eager wrestlers, each with the high

expectations of a man
who is a complete mystery.

I didn't know a whole lot
about who Herb Abrams was.

I knew that he was a
business man of some kind.

He was working with
the stock market.

He told me he was in
the clothing industry.

I have no idea
what Herb Abrams did.

I, I really don't know.

Herb owned clothing companiesin New York city called,

I'm A Big Girl Now.

It was all these beautiful
dresses that you wouldn't

have thought would have been
for these oversized women.

My name is Lenny Duge.

I worked at NBC for 24 years

as Head of Post Production
and Quality Control.

I always wanted to get involvedwith professional wrestling.

When, when you're a fan,
you have that

deep desire to want to
be on the inside.

Herb Abrams was
my best friend.

We were kindred spirits.

Herb was in a pair of jeans,
cowboy boots,

and he was going from
the minute I met him.

He let me in so quickly
because he didn't have a me.

He didn't have someone
that could do what I did.

He believed so much in
what he was doing and

in what he was selling.

Herb Abrams' greatest
dream comes to life

on October 1st 1990,

when the UWF Fury Hour
debuts on cable television.

[Announcer] There's
excitement in the air

throughout this capacity crowd.

This is the
premiere of the UWF.

We were in
Reseda, California.

It was, it was a nice setup.

It was a small venue,
but it was sold out.

[Mick] We were believing
in Herb's vision.

I didn't know where
it might take us,

but I resolved to enjoy it.

This is Cactus Jack,
and I would rather

hurt a man than love a woman.

He had guys that hadrecently parted with WWF and so,

they were fresh and hot
on the television.

[Mick] Herb Abrams had what Ithought was arguably

more star power than
WWE at that time.

Guys like Paul Orndorff,
who'd drawn an

enormous amount of money.

[Rick] Then he had
Steve "Dr. Death" Williams.

Captain Lou Albano.

[Mick] Danny Spivey and
then Bob Orton.

It brought instant
credibility to the UWF,

having these big
names onboard with us.

[Announcer]
It's coming, wrestling fans,

the Orndorff Pile Driver!
Boom!

Taking a hands-off approach, Herb empowers his talent

with creative freedoms
they'd never had before.

It was a lot looser in Herb
Abrams' territory than

it was in Vince's
where, you know,

you had to walk like
you did in the army.

I went from feeling like
I had been wrestling with

handcuffs on to feeling
like I had total freedom.

I thought it was
something special.

I thought I got in on the
ground floor of

the infancy of the show.

I knew that I was heading
for stardom, you know.

I knew that Herb was
gonna give me that big push.

Everybody was happy and...

things were good.

With his dream of becoming a big-time promoter within reach,

Herb seeks to align
with the one man who can

fast track his success
in the wrestling world.

[Lenny] Herb met withVince McMahon and said to him,

"You want the east coast
and the central,

and it's all yours.

What about if I promote
the west coast for you?"

And Vince McMahon
blew him off.

Rejected by
wrestling's king,

Herb's attitude towards the
WWF evolves into

a desire for utter domination.

In order to compete,

he looks to expand
the UWF roster.

Do you think they'd let us?
You shut up!

You shut up, I'm talking!
I am a manger, for God sake.

I am the man who has
to bring them to glory!

I'm Marty Yesberg. I'm from
Gaffney, South Carolina.

And, back in the 80s,
I was branded The Colonel

by Jimmy "The Boogie
Woogie Man" Valiant.

In the dressing room,
we kept hearing about...

this mark,
out in California,

who had tons of money and
was putting together

a TV show called The UWF.

He flew us all
out to California.

He set me up in this
two-bedroom estate hotel,

Beverly Hills.
And it was...

all that and a bag of chips.

And we wasn't
working for him.

Understand, we was
just going to meet him.

You know, I'm like, wow.

That night, he knocks
on the door and,

he has two high end call girls.

We're not talking about
South Carolina

snaggletooth call girls.

We're talking about
Hollywood honeys.

He brings these girls
into my suite,

that I thought was my suite,

and I'm drooling all over
myself because I mean,

I'm thinking, I don't even
get to see women like this

much less, you know...

have this
delivered to my room.

And, in the process,he broke out a little mirror.

And, he had his
nose candy with him.

The only thing I can
think of is, you know,

SWAT teams are gonna be
knocking down the door here

in a minute and we got
two high price hookers

and cocaine everywhere.

I didn't know how to
get out of the room.

I really and truly
wanted out of that room.

I'm in California,
I'm on his dime...

I can't call the police.
Hell, the room's in my name!

So, I kind of just sat over
in the corner and, you know,

I mean, it was like a live

pornography session and...

it was a very long night.

♪

This is my pride and joy.
This is the original

Television Championship belt
for Sports Channel.

It says UWF on
both sides and,

when you hold it
like this, it was...

fuck you to Vince McMahon,

that's what the "FU"
was standing for.

So, when he
would hold it up,

Herb would hold it up,
he knew that he was

telling Vince McMahon to...
have himself.

Herb's vision for the UWF was toput the WWF out of business.

I mean, he was that cocky.

Herb was doing everything
in power to intentionally

needle McMahon and
to piss 'em off.

He wanted to squash Vince.

He wouldn't even be happy
with peaceful coexistence.

I think he just wanted
to put the guy down.

With rival WWF
far out of view,

Herb Abrams takes the
opportunity to launch

his first attack,
bringing in one of

Vince McMahon's
most prized attractions.

Herb calls me and
he's so excited.

He goes, "Lenny, get here
as fast as you can.

I'm not gonna tell
you who's sitting here,

but this is the best thing."

Now, when I came
out here before,

I said I had a surprise.
Something special...

something that onlyUniversal Wrestling Federation

can handle...

The 12th wonder
of the world,

here he is, Andre the Giant!

Yes, this is true,
Andre the Giant has signed

a long-term contract with theUniversal Wrestling Federation.

Well, he's not in
his prime anymore

as everybody knows, but...

- He will be wrestling, John.- He will be wrestling?

He will be wrestling.

They had Andre the Giant...

Andre the Giant had come in.

It was just colossal to have
him walk down to the ring.

Even though we
maybe had 200,

300 people in the audience,
they were all standing,

and they knew
that we had hit.

I want to ask you one thing:
What does UWF mean?

And after Andre made
that appearance for UWF,

Vince McMahon got on the
phone and called him and

brought him right back in.

The 8th wonder
of the world...

- Andre the Giant!
- [cheering]

This is going to be
very, very interesting.

The embarrassment of
losing Andre the Giant is

an enormous blow to
Herb's plan for dominance.

Without McMahon's riches,
Herb responds by throwing

every gimmick in the book to gain the attention of fans.

Herb would think of
things on the fly,

change things on the fly.

- Ladies and gentlemen...
- What?

This is a disgrace!
I am reversing the decision!

As long as it
entertained Herb,

he thought it was
entertaining the world.

The Viking is back.
I told you I'm gonna hurt

every pencil-neck,
every pipsqueak.

I want a cage match!

Give me a strap match!

Give me a strap match,
no holds barred.

I don't think he had
the knowledge, you know,

to really take it to
the next level.

[Commentator]
Southside flip.

He went for a southside flip
and he missed.

[Brian] If you don't understandthe psychology,

if you don't understand
how each guy works,

what their strengths are,
what their weaknesses are,

how to put them together,who they worked the best with,

then, you are never
going to be successful.

Running out of ideas,
Herb turns to yet another

new strategy to
invigorate the UWF.

What made you come to this--

Who is this overgrown Smurf hereasking me questions?

I beg your pardon?!
I beg your pardon?!

I said, who is this overgrownSmurf asking me questions?

It's interesting what happensto a promotion when the,

when the boss becomes the,you know, the star of the show.

Welcome back to another
night of The Fury Hour.

I'm Herb Abrams, and again,

we've got a powerful show
for you tonight.

He was writing the checks,
so Herb could do anything

that he wanted to do because
it was Herb's world and

we were just living in it.

You think about it!
You think about it!

'Cause you're the
one that wanted it,

and now you've got it!

All I saw was money, TV.

I was open to anything to getthe exposure that I was after.

He saw a way to get heat
and actually be on camera,

and have a feud between
The Colonel and

the owner of the organization.

[Commentator]
What's Herb doing?

Herb took him down!

Herb Abrams may
have a new career, folks!

[Marty] I knew as long as
he was part of it,

he would keep me around.

[Commentator]
Herb Abrams...

he hit him right in
the head with that cane.

And another one!

Colonel, no one has everdone something like this to me!

I am going to get you,
once and for all!

Herb attempts to get one
over McMahon by

emulating one of WWF's
most lucrative ventures,

merchandising.

Everybody's buzzing
over the UWF merchandise!

Call the UWF PowerLine, now.

Introducing the UWF
Superstars cookies.

We've got the Steve Ray
"Wild Thing" cookie.

The Steve Williams cookie.

And, coming soon,
the Herbie cookie.

Herbie cookies.
Herbie.

Let me repeat that for you,
Herbie cookies.

He also wanted
the ice cream bar,

but the cookies, they were,
they were great.

Now, let's not forget the
B. Brian Blair cookie.

It's honey-flavored.

Herb is in desperate need
of a power play when

his television contract
starts slipping away.

Beach Brawl!
The battle that crowned the

Sports Channel
Television Champion!

Pay Per View. $14.95.

The UWF Beach Brawl.

Call your cable
operator today!

When I heard that Herb was
putting out a Pay Per View,

it seemed like the
breakthrough moment.

And it was
proven by the WWF,

it was proven by WCW.

That's where they made the
majority of their income,

was through their
Pay Per View events,

and to Herb,
to step into that arena,

maybe he was
expecting to roll the dice,

get lucky, and then
finance the whole operation.

High expectations for the
UWF's inaugural

Pay Per View
weigh heavily on Herb.

Instead of holding the
Beach Brawl in

a largely populated area, Herb lands on Palmetto, Florida,

over an hour away from
the closest major city.

Palmetto Manatee Civic Centerwas a nice venue.

I mean, WWF does
TV tapings out of there.

I think that's one of
the reasons why

Herb picked that place.

Herb said that he
had every newspaper,

he had every
radio station...

everyone was gonna give
it a push to help him.

Of course, we're real excitedabout the Beach Brawl and

I would highly suggest
that people call to secure

Beach Brawl right
in their living room because

it will be just that,
a brawl at the beach.

Hopefully, millions of
fans watching the show.

I go, and I look
at this building,

and I know that there's
no way in hell

we can sell this building out.

Building was a mince.
Building was bigger than

any building I had ever
seen in my entire life.

And, I knew damn well that wedidn't sell this building out.

Somebody screwed up.

♪

With the UWF's first Pay Per View event just days away,

promoter Herb Abrams
indulges in Florida's

nightlife scene, letting it
get the better of him.

They talk about those people
that work hard, play hard.

That was Herb Abrams.

[off-screen] What was his drugof choice, would you say?

Um...

Obviously, it was cocaine.

There were more drugs
back in the late 80s,

early 90s than any other timein the history of pro wrestling.

That was just, like,
debauchery down there.

I mean, they were staying up
around the clock, partying.

It was like one, big party
for some of the guys.

When I got to Florida,he was in his hotel room and,

he had been partying.

I found Herb to be in really,really bad shape, and

I said to him, "You've gotta
straighten yourself out.

We've got this goddamn
Pay Per View to do.

You're' gonna kill yourself
like you're doing this."

"Ah, you know, Len,
it's the stress I'm under."

And I said to him, "Herb,when we're finished with this,

we gotta get
you into the rehab.

If you don't go into rehab,
I can't do this with you."

Herb's distractions from the Beach Brawl comes to a head

as he arrives to find thousands of empty seats at the arena.

They had to cut the,
the auditorium lights down

to do the TV show...

so nobody would know
there was nobody there.

That's Pay Per View.
That was a Pay Per View.

When I saw how few people
were in the audience,

I said to Herb,
"How can this be?"

And he said,
"Somebody screwed up."

He tried to keep upbeat and
he was in there doing the

ring announcing
and his thing,

but I think that
really hurt him.

Brian, I'm gonna go
with the Doc.

I'm gonna go with the Doc.

So, Herb Abrams going with
Steve "Dr. Death" Williams.

He was running in and out
of the bathroom a lot

that night so, obviously,he was doing a lot of cocaine.

[Rick] It was the worst
Pay Per View, I think,

in Pay Per View history.

He got like a 0.01,
you know, buy rate.

That equates to maybe
a hundred--

it's either a hundred
or a thousand people.

It was a financial loss,
a tremendous financial loss.

Nobody was happy.

All the guys were talking,you know, between themselves.

And, they thought it
might be the end of,

you know, the promotion.

I was a glass half full guy.

I would see those empty
seats and I would think that

it was a way to
do cool stuff.

It was really clear that
most of his best intentions

were not going to
come to fruition.

With the event a
financial disaster,

and checks for the talent
starting to bounce,

the UWF wrestlers
confront Herb face-to-face.

I go, knock on
his hotel door...

so I can get my money.

And, the door opens andthere's these two naked girls.

So, not like I hadn't
seen a naked girl before,

but this was a little unusualand then I look and

I see Herb on the bed.

He's naked and
he's laughing,

and I look over and he's got
two big ol' piles of cocaine

on each night stand.

It's a picture that's
forever etched in my mind.

So, he tells
those girls to leave,

and as they're
getting dressed,

Herb writes 'em a
check for $2,000, each.

I thought, golly,
$2,000, you know,

this guy's crazy,blowing money on cocaine and,

and hookers.
I mean, how long is...

how long is this
promotion gonna last?

I had a guy tell me
one day, he said,

"You know this is
a runaway train."

I said, "No, bro,
this is a train wreck,

and all they're trying to do
now is just figure out

if there's any survivors."

Herb Abrams' connections
in the wrestling world

start to dry up.

Many of the wrestlers
stiffed on pay are refusing

to work while Herb's
vices are taking hold.

I kept in contact with Herb evenwhen I did not work for Herb.

You could see the wear
and tear on his face.

I mean, between the drugs
and the failing promotion,

it was really
taking a toll on Herb.

I don't think he was
keeping up with money.

I don't think it
mattered to him,

as long as the
party continues.

In Spartanburg,
South Carolina, he pulled...

a fast one.

So, the day of
the show arrives.

TV crew gets thereabout 12 o'clock. Herb's there.

And, they said, "We need
to get a check from you

for tonight's show."
Herb says,

"Let me get everything set upand I'll cut you a check."

So, we get up to about 4:30,
TV crew came back and said,

"Mr. Abrams, if you don't
give us some money...

we're packing up
and leaving."

Herb says, "Okay.
Let's go up to the office."

They call Herb's bank,
"Ah, Mr. Abrams has

multi-millions of dollars
in this bank account."

Confirms it.
TV crews look at each other.

They said, you know,"You definitely got the money."

He had two bank accounts.

He had one that was filthy richand then he had the

other bank account that
he cut his check on

that had no money in it.

Herb worked something out
where they accepted a check.

And I told them,
"Don't accept a check

if you don't want to
accept a check."

And they accepted a check.

All hell broke loose.

Some of the guys that had
worked that show threatened

to throw Herb off the
fifth-floor balcony,

and that's when reality
hit me upside the head.

I was hiding out.

I had people
calling my phone,

I mean, they were wanting
to kill me for being

associated with the company.

♪

As UWF leader, Herb Abrams,
is now forced to

promote shows in smaller towns, his party lifestyle grows

more intense and his grasp on reality begins to slip.

He would get in this paranoiastate where he would

swear that there was someone
with a bug, you know,

in his hotel room.

I seen him paranoid
several times and,

I'd ask, "What's wrong?"
And he'd, like,

just stare around and
look around and say,

"I think they're outside."
And I said, "Who?"

He goes, "They're watching us."I said, "Who?"

And he would never
tell me who it was.

I don't know who he
felt was recording him,

whether it be the police,
whether it be the hookers,

whether it be the pimps.

And I'm thinking, no
one's spying on you, Herb.

It's the drugs talking.

He would go through the
furniture and look for

microphones or cameras,

and he'd tear the furniture up,just tear it up to bits.

For some reason, he had a
fascination with cushions.

And, if there was a zipper,
he'd open them up...

And, he'd just start
ripping through them.

I mean, he just
ripped them out and,

you know, and when
that was ripped out,

he'd go to the next one.

All the feathers would
have been all over the room.

I mean, you know,
he wanted everything.

That paranoia thing...

it concerned me because

there was some truth
behind some of that.

[Marty] Is, he would go
over to the door,

and the peep hole...

and he would look through thepeep hole like this right here.

Now, you gotta understand,
here's this 5-foot tall,

little naked Jewish
fella with cowboy boots.

That's the one thing
he didn't take off,

was his cowboy boots.
And he's going, "Sh. Sh."

I said, "What's wrong, Herb?"

[whispers] "They're coming.
They're coming.

You can hear them.
They're coming. Sh..."

[off-screen] What are you
thinking around this time?

Oh...

Yeah, they're
probably coming.

Herb's problems escalate
further when he tries to

put one over on the
wrong people.

Here he is,
he's with this girl

who he's supposed to pay up.
And, he's doing this,

"Well, I'll give you a check,"type thing.

"No, you're supposed
to give me cash."

She's not falling for it.
Boom, door breaks down.

Thugs there.
Herb's eyes pop out.

He goes and throws himself
through a window.

I literally get a phone
call from him in California,

he's running through a
neighborhood, naked.

-And he's like, "What do I do?
-What do I do?"

And I said, "Make yourself
visible. I don't care.

Make people see you.
Get arrested. Go to jail."

And, that probably wouldn't
have been a smart thing

because she probably had
contacts in there as well,

but anyway...

Herb's excessive lifestyle has finally reached its limit,

and his activities
in wrestling cease.

Any comeback for the UWF
seems near impossible.

Meanwhile, his old rival,
Vince McMahon,

stages one of his most flamboyant events yet.

The spectacle of
WrestleMania IX shows

Las Vegas casinos that wrestling can be a huge draw.

For Herb, it opens the door
to a golden opportunity

in the city of second chances, his first event in over a year,

The Black Jack Brawl.

What better way to showcase
your product than in

one of the preeminent
locations in Las Vegas,

or in the world
for that matter?

For Herb to pull off
the MGM grand, it's...

it's a wager city,
it's a betting city.

So, obviously, he got
somebody to take the bet.

That was his deal.
That was his motif.

That's what he did.

And he would go for the
biggest freaking bite

he could get and he'd take it.

He was spending an enormous
amount of money on

the talent that he was
bringing in for it.

It was a loaded show
with big, big names.

And it just
seemed like a party.

The night before the show,
Herb brings me up

to his penthouse suite.
When I saw the suite,

I believed that MGM was
gonna be packed.

I was thinking 17,000 people
packed to the rafters.

I mean, this overlooked
the whole city.

And Herb goes,
"Wait 'til you see this.

People are going to
lose their minds."

♪

He proceeds to pull out a
pair of yellow ostrich skin

cowboy boots that have "UWF"
burnished into the leather.

The fact that he thoughtpeople would lose their minds

over a pair of cowboy boots
was an indicator that

there were issues.

Making their way into
the luxurious MGM Grand,

UWF talent discover,
once again,

that Herb's reach is leagues beyond his grasp.

[Mick]
It was a gorgeous arena.

That night, it was
a gorgeous, empty arena.

[Rick] It was, like, sad to
wrestle in front of,

you know, a couple
hundred people again.

You know, my first match was
in Clarksburg, West Virginia

and we had 300 people,

but we were at the
Clarksburg Armory.

He didn't seem bothered
by what was going on,

almost like it was
part of the grand plan.

Like, okay, those 300 people
are gonna be checking out

my ostrich skin boots.

He was just a bundle ofenergy running here to there,

and he was
involved in everything.

It really was an embarrassmentand, you know,

he was really outrageous
during that show.

He might have been coked up
throughout that entire show.

I mean, he takes the microphoneand he just screams into it,

"Let's hear it for the Jews!"

I mean,
in front of the crowd.

I mean, it was
kind of hilarious.

It was sad....

all, all in the same way.
It was kind of weird.

He was acting
very strangely.

His mannerisms
were different.

The showdown
will take place!

Steve "Dr. Death" Williams
puts the title on the line

against "Malicioius"
Sid Vicious!

Say, I'm happy
to have you as champion,

but I'm glad you
got busted up. Ha!

Herb's not making too
many friends tonight, John.

He was twitching
and jumping and such,

so they all
knew he was high.

On that night, I had a chance towrestle my idol, Jimmy Snuka.

And when Jimmy Snuka andI start heading into the stands,

you know,
16,700 empty seats,

I remember Brian Blair going,"What are you doing?"

I said, "It's Herb's show.
We can do whatever we want."

They're high.
They're way up there!

Ladies and gentlemen, we havea double disqualification!

The downside is that
check did not clear.

He wrote me a check...

It... it bounced.

[Brian]
It was a failure and...

you know, that's gotta hurt.

He had the weight of the
world on his shoulder.

I would never have wanted to beHerb Abrams in his position.

And when he came back, he toldme how successful it was.

"I had the MGM, Len."

"Yeah, you drew 200 people andit was a total clusterfuck."

And he says, "Yeah,
but I had the MGM."

♪

Emotionally and physically
defeated by his failure in

Las Vegas, Herb's dreams
of a wrestling triumph

may finally be over.

The lifestyle took,
took a toll on Herb.

He didn't have the spunkthat he had, that electricity,

constant, constant spark
that made the room glow.

You know, it was like he
aged ten years in two years.

It was such a big deal
that he left LA for good,

he came back to New York.

I thought he, I thought he wasreally cleaning himself up.

So, I get a phone call
from Herb and he goes,

"Len, big things
are happening."

I go, "Herb, are you
sure you're straight?"

He goes, "Len,
I'm perfectly straight."

On July 17th 1996,

longtime friend visits Herb

at his office in
New York city.

This is the last-known
recording of Herb Abrams.

- Hey! Come in.
- Hey! Herbie!

You want to look
around here first?

Yeah, we're looking.

-You know, I can't keep,
-I can't keep a house together

myself 'cause it's,
it's just too much work.

- Are you happy?
- I'm very happy.

- I've never been happier.
- Okay.

Never been happier.

Can we be filming this, or
is this supposed to be a...?

Well, you need to
get a release from me.

[laughs]

Herb appears to have turned a corner on his sobriety,

but his friends
are left in the dark

as he suddenly disappears.

'96, when I was working
in the offices with him,

sometimes, you know,
he'd come in the next day

all hung over.

Sometimes he wouldn't
even come in at all.

Sometimes you wouldn't see
him for a couple days or

hear from him
for a couple days.

So, that was just
Herb being Herb.

I was working at NBC. I got
a call from Stacy, my wife.

And she said, "Lenny,
I have some really,

really bad news.
Sunny Beach called,

and Herb's passed away.
Herb's dead.

Sunny's crying
on the phone."

So, I call Sunny Beachand I go, "What is going on?"

Nobody knew what happened.

And then,
his mother called me up.

And then, it was
just like a...

a blur after that.

I must have cried
for like two hours.

And it was just the hardest
thing to call those men,

and then to hear them
all start to cry.

These super gargantuan,
strong men that you saw

fly across the ring,
all cry over Herb dying,

and me not being
able to almost talk.

On July 23rd 1996,

officers respond to
an unbelievable scene

at the office of
Herb Abrams.

Details are sparse,
and those closest to Herb

would hear varying accounts
of the disturbing events

as they unfolded.

It was kind of like how
someone would say if they

walked into his hotel roomand saw him, you know, naked.

That's, that's a real
shock to some people.

Okay, to me, that was part
of his process of

what he was going through.

[Rick] The night that I
guess he passed away,

he was partying, drinking,

he had a couple of escorts
up there with him.

I heard that he had
done so much cocaine that

he was whacked and,he'd found a baseball bat and

started tearing up the room
that he was in and

just went absolutely berserk.

[John]
I heard that he was covered in

either oil or Vaseline
and cocaine.

It was crazy.

And he was chasing aroundhookers with this baseball bat.

Somebody told me that theescorts tried to rob him, too,

and that's why
he grabbed the bat.

That's a sight
to see, I'm sure.

So, I call Sunny Beach and
I go, "What is going on?"

And he says, "Exactly what
it says in the tabloids,

that Herb was
running around naked,

smashing a baseball bat on
the walls in the office,

chasing a couple of hookerswith coke all over his body."

Had baby oil
all over him and,

I guess somebody
called the police.

I heard somebody
called the police on him.

[Steve] There was rumors likehe got sodomized by police

with their batons.

I mean, I heard
that and I'm going,

"What the hell?"

[Rick] I guess one of the girlsran out of the office and

shut the door behind them andI think he ran into it,

and I think that's
how he passed away.

[John]
When the police showed up,

I heard he had a massive
coronary and died.

And what I'm told is that

he took his clothes off
in the jail and...

he had a seizure
and it killed him.

[Rick] Nobody knew if
he was robbed,

nobody knew if he got
beat up with a baseball bat.

So, there was all kinds
of stories going around

at the time and nobody
knew the true story.

Still, we don't know 'cause
I wasn't there so, you know,

you never believe
everything you hear.

Chasing hookers
around and, you know,

all greased up and...

died in the back
of a police car.

The one thing I know is that

Herb Abrams left this world
doing what he loved...

cocaine and hookers.

♪

The wild and conflicting
circumstances surrounding

Herb Abrams' death
overshadow his already

extreme life and reach
urban legend status

within the wrestling world.

It kind of became folklore.

Everywhere we go,
you get a Herb Abrams story,

you know, and...

some are better than others,
some are true.

Some, you don't
know what to believe.

When they told me he died...

I said, "No, he's faked
his death. He's left.

He's left the country."

And I hate to talk ill of
the dead - if he's dead -

but I had a...

promotion that was down
in Union, South Carolina

that ran under UWF,and this promoter swore to me

that the night of his show,
this little fella

came to the show in blue jeansand cowboy boots and

asked him what the name
of the organization was.

And he swore it.

He said,
"I'm telling you," he said,

"that Herb Abrams
showed up at my show."

And because it said UWF,
this person gave them

the riot act that he
would sue them,

and it was as if Herb
was legitimately alive.

And, I said to Marty,
"Herb's dead."

I question.

[Mick] Herb Abrams couldn't
keep quiet for 30 years.

I mean, maybe he went underwitness protect-- I don't know.

He would find a
way to resurface.

No, I find it completely
unfeasible that Herb Abrams

is alive and not seeking
the limelight somewhere.

And I know that if
he was still alive

he would have come
and found me.

He would have let me
know that he was alive.

He would have...

he would have done
everything he could

to send a message somehow.

He wouldn't have stayed
away 30 years.

♪

He wouldn't have
stayed away 30 years.

[Rick] [sighs]
Herb, we miss you.

Wish you were
still here with us.

♪

You know, could have
been a great thing.

[off-screen]
What's that?

You know, the UWF and...

just what he
was doing, if...

he would have had a
little bit more backing,

a little bit more support,

I think it could have
went a long way.

And now I'm visiting
Herb in a cemetery.

We deal, we cope,
and we go on.

♪

I actually inherited Herb's
dog after he passed away.

Cokey.

It was snow white,
the dog, and it was

laying in the coke and
Herb called it Cokey.

Herb loved that
dog to death.

Herb's style was always
to be a generous guy,

picked up the tab
for everything.

But again, that's easy to do
with other people's money.

If it was his
hard-earned money,

he would still do the same.

[Rick] I think he was justalways trying to prove himself,

always wanting to be liked,
or always wanted to be

somebody to be respected.

But, we all respected him
and we all liked him.

[off-screen] How did you feelafter he passed?

♪

It was a loss of
someone who...

Hm.

♪

Someone who believed in me.

[sniffles]

[sighs] And...

♪

[sniffles]

I have to say that he
truly brought life.

He brought it out of me.

♪

I think Herb should be
remembered as a person who

tried to do something specialin the wrestling industry.

[John] I think Herb Abrams isthis bizarre character who

wanted to become a major playerin the pro wrestling business

and he was never able to succeed'cause he got in his own way,

from his personal demons,

to the way he
ran his business.

[Lenny] The worst thing
that Herb Abrams did,

whether you hear about thathe was involved with hookers or,

or coke, or this,
or not paying people,

the worst thing that Herb Abramsever did to me was die.

It's haunted me for the entiretime of this 30 years and

that's the only reason that
I've ever talked about--

it's the first time I've everlet the secret of the UWF out.

And, you have it, the best thatI could give it to you today.

He had the enthusiasm and
I think the courage

to try to live out his dream.

He was such a diehard fan
that that was his downfall.

He would love the negative
that's on the internet.

He would love it all.

'Cause he was Herb Abrams.
He was a thing unto himself.

I have to believe this is
the way Herb would want it.

Like, maybe he got in death
what he didn't have in life

and that is he
became a legend.

Time.

[laughs]

Yeah, there's no way
Herb's gonna keep his taxes.

I just think he'd be
behind bars.

He would have hurt no one
except himself and,

I'd be visiting him and
we'd be toasting with

a glass of milk and
Herbie cookies.

♪