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00:00So am I addressing everything to you?
00:24Yeah.
00:26I think it's got to go that way.
00:33They're all straight pieces.
00:35Oh, thank you everybody.
00:53You good?
00:54I'm good, I guess.
00:55Where are we?
00:56What are we doing?
00:57Ah, well, I'm talking about me, which I have never done before.
01:01I don't like talking about me.
01:03You know, I'm talking about everybody else I'm cool with, I can go perform.
01:06But this is like, very strange, a little different, me talking about me.
01:12So I'll do the best I can.
01:15Larger than life, Vince McMahon.
01:17More famous than some of the wrestling stars he helped create.
01:21McMahon has been called the P.T. Barnum of wrestling,
01:24building WWE into an international billion-dollar business.
01:28He's also an on-screen presence as the billionaire bad guy boss.
01:36For a long period of time, people wondered who I really am.
01:40You know, portrayal of me as I'm a bad guy.
01:43But no one really knows me.
01:46And it's been a while for me to try and figure out myself.
01:49I still haven't quite figured out who I am.
01:52Do I know Vince McMahon?
01:55I don't think anybody knows Vince McMahon.
01:58Please welcome, Mr. McMahon!
02:01People know who he is, but they really don't know who he is.
02:07The person that he puts out there, the larger than life promoter,
02:12a lot of that is a character when it comes to him personally.
02:16He's going to show you what he wants you to see.
02:19Very few people are in control of a world.
02:22Vince McMahon was.
02:24He has built something so powerful, so big,
02:29and so ingrained in people generationally.
02:32He did things that no one thought were possible.
02:35And he took no prisoners in the process.
02:38With Vince McMahon, he comes as advertised.
02:41And what you expect, well, that's exactly what you're going to get.
02:44I love Vince and I have a lot of respect for him.
02:47He was a guy that often lied to me and let me down with his lies.
02:51Do you think your dad gets a bad rap?
02:53I think my dad gets the rap that he wants.
03:05Breaking news that was just brought to me.
03:07Vince McMahon, the legendary CEO and chairman of Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment
03:12is stepping aside.
03:14The Wall Street Journal reports that WWE
03:16is investigating a secret $3 million settlement
03:20that Vince McMahon agreed to pay a now former employee
03:23who McMahon is accused of having a consensual affair with.
03:26It started with a tip, and the tip was that
03:29the board of WWE had received an anonymous email.
03:32The emailer was accusing McMahon of having taken advantage of an employee
03:36and then covered it up.
03:37Another thing we heard was, you're only scratching the surface
03:40and there's a lot more here.
03:42That first story in June of 2022
03:46touched off a series of events that included us reporting on other NDAs,
03:51government investigations,
03:54Vince stepping down,
03:56Vince McMahon returning,
03:58and then selling the company,
04:00and then a lawsuit against him
04:03that contained some of the most graphic details imaginable.
04:06The WWE mogul resigning on Friday
04:09after a former employee filed a lawsuit
04:11accusing him of subjecting her to, quote,
04:13countless depraved and humiliating acts.
04:26I wish I could tell you the real stories.
04:28Holy shit.
04:32All right, give us one.
04:33No.
04:34Why?
04:35That's what I'm saying.
04:36I don't want to tell you these stories.
04:39I'll give you enough that's similarly interesting.
04:43I don't want anybody to really know me.
04:49He's as polarizing as he is entertaining.
04:52Vince McMahon is part renegade,
04:54part mogul,
04:55and all showman.
04:56Over decades, McMahon turned the WWE
05:00into a billion-dollar juggernaut.
05:02Throw in one part athletics,
05:04one part theatrics,
05:05and more than a dash of violence,
05:07and what do you get?
05:08One of America's favorite pastimes.
05:09100% Grade A Americano.
05:12The Justice Department has announced the indictment
05:14of a man who runs the World Wrestling Federation.
05:17This is about crime.
05:18This is about breaking the law.
05:21This was a tyrant,
05:22a head of this organization
05:24that ruled by fear.
05:25What did he know?
05:26What did he do?
05:27And what did he try to hide?
05:29This goes beyond business.
05:30It's a family matter as well.
05:32This is like succession in a wrestling ring.
05:35Another corporate leader mired in a sex scandal.
05:38We're not talking about garden-variety misconduct.
05:40We're talking about some real awful things.
05:43A lot of Vince McMahon,
05:44his ability to get away with stuff,
05:46was because he was also this character.
05:48Where does the line between Vince McMahon
05:50and Mr. McMahon end?
06:05Well, the first thing I need to tell you is
06:10you're not going to totally understand
06:14what happened or what is
06:16because you'd have to live it to comprehend it.
06:20You're only going to know what they tell you.
06:23So I just know wrestlers and promoters
06:25and know this business,
06:26so you're not going to get,
06:29you know,
06:31the whole enchilada.
06:33To explain what pro wrestling is,
06:37is turning fantasy into reality.
06:49I remember guys going,
06:50why do you watch that bullshit wrestling?
06:52And so none of it's real.
06:53Who cares? It's just phony wrestling.
06:56It's like,
06:58you're wrong.
07:00I look at what I did
07:02that's an art form.
07:04Just watch the beauty of it.
07:07Wrestling is this curious phenomenon
07:09that allows people to let out their aggressions
07:11while watching a morality play.
07:14Most people, when they're driving home,
07:15they go, ah, it was all a show.
07:17Son, none of that was real.
07:19But when they're there in the building,
07:22you want to believe it's real.
07:25I was a true artist.
07:28People that weren't fans would say,
07:30it's all fans that are too stupid
07:32to realize that it's not real.
07:35No, it's all people that are smart enough
07:37to accept the fact that it's a show
07:39and buy into characters and the storylines
07:42and engage in it in that manner.
07:45Pro wrestling has always been a soap opera,
07:49just in broad, primary colors.
07:51Here's your hero.
07:52Here's your villain.
07:53Here's your damsel in distress.
07:55We give you an opportunity to feel.
07:58When you see everything that we do,
08:00it's about emotion.
08:02And it's about grandeur.
08:05That's what America is.
08:07It's art and life.
08:09It's great stories.
08:11Powerful entertainment is American culture.
08:15Professional wrestling matters in that
08:18it's so much a part of American culture.
08:21And not only that,
08:23it's part of American culture.
08:25And nobody talks about it as mattering.
08:29Vince McMahon's influence and impact
08:32is largely ignored.
08:35But it is affecting the way
08:37the world around us is working.
08:48From there we're going to have to swing down to Phoenix
08:50to do some PR for March 31st.
08:52This is 39-year-old Vince McMahon,
08:54a third-generation wrestling promoter,
08:56sometime announcer,
08:57and the force behind the WWF.
09:00One day we hope to be recognized as
09:04the premier source of sports entertainment
09:06in the world today.
09:10I got my start in the business
09:12because of my dad.
09:15My dad was considered the best promoter
09:17in the business.
09:19I first met Vince McMahon Sr.
09:21in Madison Square Garden
09:22when I was 15 years old.
09:25He looked and presented himself
09:28like the Pope of Madison Square Garden.
09:32When I was growing up,
09:33I didn't know that my last name was McMahon
09:35until I met my dad when I was 12 years old.
09:38Before that I grew up in a trailer park
09:40with my mom and this certain stepfather
09:42who was abusive.
09:44I got the crap beat up on me
09:46on almost a daily basis.
09:49You just live with it until you get out of it.
09:53When all that physical abuse
09:54and everything was happening,
09:56I never heard a word from my dad.
09:59I saw my dad for the first time.
10:03It's almost like my dad had a glow about him.
10:06I ran up to him,
10:08open arms, expecting him to have this big hug.
10:11And I got a,
10:13you know, on the back kind of like,
10:14hey boy,
10:15hmm, that's a little bit different.
10:17But nonetheless,
10:18I sort of fell in love with him right away.
10:20You could feel he had in his heart
10:23the way that you wanted him to be, somewhat.
10:26Or maybe I was just bullshitting myself.
10:29I don't know.
10:31My dad and I never had the conversation
10:33about why he wasn't in my life
10:35during all those formative years.
10:38Even when I became much older,
10:39we never talked about that.
10:43One thing that's indisputably true
10:45about Vince McMahon
10:46is that he came from basically nothing.
10:50But once his father came into his life,
10:52whatever dreams of escape Vince had
10:54went from the abstract to the concrete.
10:57He could point at his dad and say,
11:00that's what I aspire to.
11:02And that's going to be my way out of this.
11:07I never saw much wrestling on television
11:09until I met my dad.
11:11And then, oh, this is what he does.
11:14Hmm.
11:15I mean, he's a big, charismatic individual.
11:17He's larger than life,
11:18and they have problems with each other.
11:20And the resolution is physical,
11:22and they fight.
11:24I like that.
11:26At that time,
11:27it was sort of a strange relationship with my dad.
11:31We didn't play ball together,
11:32or there was no camaraderie that way.
11:35We talked business, even at that age.
11:38That was sort of what we had in common,
11:41the fact that we were blood.
11:42Vince and I met when I was 13,
11:45and he was 16.
11:47I don't think I ever heard him
11:48talk about doing anything else
11:50other than wanting to be involved
11:53in the business of professional wrestling.
11:56I knew I wanted to be in my dad's business.
11:58Come on, Pop, there's got to be something.
12:00And that's when he allowed me
12:01to go to Bangor, Maine.
12:04It's the furthest northern outpost
12:06in my dad's territory.
12:09Bangor was a success.
12:11And my dad was thinking,
12:13huh, the kid did pretty well.
12:16Then one day, I'm with my dad.
12:18He's doing a television show.
12:19And our television announcer
12:21kept asking for more money.
12:23The show was about ready to begin.
12:25And he said, well,
12:26if you don't pay me what I want,
12:27I'm walking out.
12:29And my dad, a lot of times,
12:30had these quarters.
12:31He would, like,
12:32click these quarters in his hand
12:34as he was thinking.
12:35So I'd see him off like this,
12:36and he's thinking.
12:38I said, Pop, what are you going to do?
12:42Go announce.
12:43Hear the announcer.
12:45Show number one,
12:46recording of all-star wrestling
12:47in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
12:48Just quick enough for you, Pop.
12:50Slated to play.
12:51Just roll it, Daddy.
12:53Hello, everybody.
12:54My name is Vince McMahon.
12:55So I start trying to BS my way through
12:58as an announcer.
12:59Bobo, look at those neck muscles.
13:01Big biceps.
13:02A great athlete,
13:03and really, indeed,
13:04not to belabor a point,
13:05but it is, indeed,
13:06nice to have him back here
13:07this week.
13:09Vince was a horrible commentator.
13:11But one thing that Vince had
13:13was emotion.
13:15And Vince told stories.
13:17I realized that I'm the conduit.
13:20I have to translate to the audience
13:23what's going on in the ring.
13:24Here's the story that's being told.
13:26Nevesco is facing a legend.
13:28Our business is no different
13:29than a play, a movie, books.
13:32It's all the same.
13:33Okay, you have an environment,
13:34so we establish
13:35whatever that environment is.
13:36They've jam-packed this arena.
13:38The next thing you have to do
13:39is create some
13:40very interesting characters.
13:42Nevesco, of course,
13:43the only individual
13:44to have been trained
13:45by Bruno Sammartino.
13:46The good and the bad.
13:47A baby face,
13:48which meant a good guy,
13:49and the other was a heel,
13:51which meant a bad guy.
13:52And Sammartino
13:53holds the rope open
13:54for Nevesco.
13:55Uh-oh.
13:56Uh-oh, look out!
13:58And then you introduce
13:59another character.
14:00Sends the referee flying out.
14:02There's always this big finish.
14:04Nevesco striking Sammartino,
14:07and he really let him have it.
14:09Nevesco couldn't take it.
14:11The formula is simple,
14:14but not that easy to do.
14:17Sammartino laying in a pool of blood.
14:22Kept that job,
14:23announcing for my dad.
14:26And it wasn't long after that
14:27that my dad wanted
14:28to get out of the business.
14:30He wanted to sell to someone.
14:32And when he was going
14:33to sell to someone,
14:34he wasn't thinking
14:35about me at all.
14:36As a matter of fact,
14:37he was going to sell it
14:38to Gorilla Monsoon,
14:39who was a partner
14:40at that time.
14:41Monsoon with another
14:42little jab there.
14:44He's not finding
14:45his mark at all.
14:46When I joined the company,
14:47Gorilla Monsoon
14:48was the heir apparent.
14:50And I could feel
14:51the tension right away.
14:53Gorilla Monsoon thinks
14:54I'm competition.
14:56And boy, was he right.
14:59When I proposed
15:00to buy my dad's business,
15:01he made a deal with me.
15:02I'll give you
15:03extra dollars here.
15:05Three months later, those.
15:06Three months later, that.
15:08And then the final payment.
15:09And if I miss a payment,
15:11then you get the business back
15:13and keep the money.
15:14That appealed to my dad
15:16and appealed to his
15:17other stockholders
15:18because they're thinking
15:19this kid's not going to make it.
15:21We took over
15:22Vince's father's company.
15:24We actually were paying
15:27with money that they
15:28would have been generating
15:29should they have stayed
15:30in the business.
15:31You know, it was
15:32robbing Peter to pay Paul.
15:34Made the last payment
15:35and no one could believe it.
15:37My dad was really,
15:38really surprised.
15:40Do you think your dad
15:41wanted you to succeed?
15:43I think my dad
15:45wanted me to succeed.
15:46But then again,
15:47sometimes I think he didn't.
15:50I honestly thought
15:51that he didn't want
15:52to make it easy for Vince.
15:54That he really wanted
15:55to let him know
15:56what it was like to struggle.
15:58But it was strange
15:59because when I bought
16:00the business,
16:01there was some friction there
16:03because my dad,
16:04he then worked for me
16:06and I knew he didn't
16:07want what I wanted.
16:09Hello, everyone.
16:10Welcome to All-American Wrestling.
16:11My vision was
16:12to upgrade the product.
16:14My vision was
16:15to make this mainstream,
16:17not the lower class
16:19that everyone thought it was.
16:21I didn't want to be pro-wrestling.
16:23I don't like that term today.
16:25I want to be something
16:26beyond pro-wrestling.
16:28I wanted us to grow
16:30and compete against
16:31all these other promoters
16:32all over the country.
16:34During this point in time,
16:36the wrestling industry
16:37was regional and operated
16:38in what was called
16:39the territory system.
16:41There were separate
16:42wrestling companies
16:43around the country
16:44and they each ran shows
16:46both live and on TV
16:47within their own territories.
16:50So you had Florida,
16:52you had Georgia,
16:53you had the Mid-Atlantic,
16:54the Carolinas,
16:55there was San Francisco,
16:56Portland, Seattle.
16:58Vince's dad had the WWE,
17:00which was then known as WWF,
17:03in the Northeast Territory.
17:05And there were these
17:06imaginary lines
17:08that no one crossed.
17:10It was a good old boy system.
17:12People had agreements
17:14and you didn't break
17:15those agreements.
17:16As soon as I closed the deal,
17:19I knew right what
17:20I wanted to do.
17:21I'm going to go right
17:22into their territories.
17:23One of the great
17:24World Wrestling Federation cities,
17:26St. Louis, Missouri.
17:29Vince started promoting
17:30his own shows
17:31in what would traditionally be
17:33someone else's territory.
17:36And that ruffled
17:37a lot of feathers.
17:38Whether it's in St. Louis,
17:40Los Angeles, Hoboken,
17:42New Jersey, or wherever,
17:43no doubt the
17:44World Wrestling Federation
17:45will be there.
17:47So my dad was very much
17:49against that.
17:50He said,
17:51take it easy, Vinny.
17:52Don't rock the boat.
17:53It hurt my dad,
17:54but at the same time,
17:56I'm in business.
17:58Other promoters
17:59started threatening my dad,
18:00you know your kid, Vince,
18:02is going to wind up
18:03at the bottom of the river.
18:04I don't know what it is
18:05these promoters, I guess,
18:06love the bottoms of rivers.
18:10Whenever I was threatened,
18:11I didn't care.
18:13Because you didn't
18:14own anything.
18:16I'm competing with you.
18:18Back with you here
18:19on All-Star Wrestling
18:20and joining me now,
18:21former nine-time
18:22heavyweight champion
18:23of the world,
18:24Vern Gagne.
18:25I worked for Vern Gagne
18:26in the AWA,
18:27which was one of the
18:28strongest territories.
18:29And as far as
18:30Vern Gagne was concerned,
18:32Vince was Satan.
18:34He was the devil.
18:35He came in and ruined
18:36all the territories.
18:38In a moment,
18:39we'll take you to
18:40Tampa, Florida.
18:41Once they made their
18:42national expansion
18:43and started shattering
18:44the territory mold,
18:45so many of the top talent
18:46who were really fixtures
18:48in other territories
18:49decided to take
18:50a better opportunity.
18:51With Vince McMahon
18:52on the WWE,
18:54our talent were making
18:55so much money,
18:56which attracted
18:57other talents.
18:59It's a virtual flood
19:01of wrestling talent
19:02into the World Wrestling
19:03Federation,
19:04the likes of which
19:05we've never seen before.
19:06If you really look
19:07at what he did,
19:08he was quite cutthroat.
19:10He basically went
19:11into almost every territory
19:12and brought out
19:13their top guys.
19:14Then he would go back
19:15to their town
19:16with three or four guys
19:17that he stole from there.
19:19There was nothing
19:20he could do about it.
19:21We understand that
19:22you're attempting to invade
19:23almost every area
19:24in the United States.
19:25That's right.
19:26Most wrestlers
19:27that worked for Vince
19:28came from somewhere else
19:29and somebody else
19:30did the hard work
19:31to make that person
19:32who they were.
19:33And one phone call,
19:35they ran and left
19:36that guy standing
19:37in the dust.
19:39Just like he did with me.
19:40I could make you
19:41more money here.
19:43It's a dog eat dog world
19:45and you have to get
19:46your bite out of it.
19:48It was one of those
19:49things where I'm not
19:50taking anything away
19:51from anyone.
19:52I'm building.
19:54And if you can't compete
19:55with me,
19:56it's America.
19:58Tough.
20:00There's no doubt
20:01that the popularity
20:02of the World Wrestling
20:03Federation continues
20:04by leaps and bounds.
20:06At that time,
20:07I'm competing with
20:08all these promoters
20:09successfully.
20:10So I then said,
20:11okay,
20:12now I can do things
20:13my way.
20:15My dad chose Bob Backlund
20:16as a champion.
20:17I love to travel.
20:18I love the fans.
20:19I love wrestling
20:20and every minute
20:21of my life is a pleasure.
20:23He was the all-American boy
20:24but a little too milk toast.
20:27I was looking for someone
20:28that had more charisma.
20:30Look at that.
20:31Are you kidding me?
20:32Look at this.
20:33The Dream.
20:34Just pummeling
20:35his man now.
20:36Oh, no.
20:37It's like, okay,
20:38there was dusty roads
20:39as a possibility.
20:40You can look up
20:41in this building
20:42in a matter of few hours
20:43when it's full
20:44and you can see
20:45a black man
20:46and a white man
20:47in a popcorn box.
20:48Woo!
20:49That's funky.
20:51That's the American Dream.
20:53I had only ever been told
20:54by my father
20:55that he just didn't
20:56believe in it.
20:58It seemed too large
20:59of an endeavor.
21:02Dusty could not take
21:03advantage of the opportunity
21:05and so I kept looking
21:06for someone
21:07that would charm you,
21:08someone that would
21:09excite you,
21:10you know,
21:11someone that was
21:12larger than life.
21:13This man
21:14is not
21:15a television illusion.
21:18The first time
21:19I met Hulk Hogan,
21:21it was years before
21:22I bought my dad's business.
21:24Wow,
21:25what a physical specimen.
21:26And he was
21:27Sterling Golden.
21:29Sterling Golden.
21:31And my dad saw him
21:32and said,
21:33nah, nah,
21:34that's not your name.
21:35And he changed it
21:36to Hulk Hogan.
21:37The incredible Hulk
21:39Hogan!
21:41When they brought me up,
21:42they needed somebody
21:43that people thought
21:45to beat Andre the Giant.
21:47He was one of their
21:48big stars.
21:49Come on!
21:51Come on!
21:53Andre the Giant
21:55is sports entertainment's
21:56first attraction.
21:58You could advertise
21:59Andre the Giant
22:00and you could
22:01trawl a house.
22:02Hulk Hogan going
22:03for the buzzer!
22:04I was kind of like
22:05Andre's other half.
22:07We wrestled everywhere.
22:09K-Stadium was sold out
22:10with me and Andre the Giant.
22:12So,
22:13I was pretty well established.
22:14And one of the ways
22:15I would get established
22:16was to have these
22:17so-called TV matches.
22:19During those matches,
22:21I would wrestle two guys.
22:24Sylvester Stallone
22:25saw that.
22:26So that's how
22:27I ended up
22:28getting offered
22:29the part in the Rocky movie.
22:31I was talking with
22:32Vince Senior
22:33about doing Rocky 3.
22:34And Vince Senior says,
22:35you're not doing that.
22:37You're a wrestler.
22:38You know,
22:39you don't act
22:40and you don't do
22:41TV stuff.
22:42He asked my dad
22:43and my dad said,
22:44no,
22:45no.
22:46Because my dad
22:47had invested a lot
22:48in Hogan
22:49and wanted to get
22:50his money out of him.
22:51He goes,
22:52well, if you do that,
22:53you're fired
22:54and you'll never
22:55work here again.
22:56I said,
22:57okay, cool.
22:58When I did
22:59the Rocky movie,
23:00I knew it was
23:01going to be big.
23:02I'm coming
23:03after you,
23:04Malboa.
23:05If you took
23:06Starface,
23:07if you took
23:08The Godfather,
23:10the Rocky franchise
23:11was bigger
23:12than all that.
23:13It was Americana.
23:15I knew
23:16it was going to
23:17put me on the map.
23:19It just went crazy.
23:20Would you welcome
23:21Hulk Hogan.
23:24You are one
23:25good sized person.
23:26Thank you, thank you.
23:28One big man.
23:29In the middle
23:30of this,
23:31Ferengani got ahold of me
23:32and said,
23:33how quick can you
23:34get to Minnesota?
23:35Hulk Hogan,
23:36back in the AWA
23:37and I cannot wait.
23:38When I went
23:39to the AWA,
23:40I started the Hulkamania
23:41stuff,
23:42I started ripping
23:43my shirt off
23:44and it was growing
23:45and becoming
23:46dominant.
23:47I followed
23:48his career
23:49and he was
23:50really honing
23:51in on his talents.
23:52Here comes
23:53Hogan.
23:54Here is the
23:55leg smash.
23:56I am the champion.
23:57This is your belt.
23:58Vince came
23:59to me and said,
24:00hey,
24:01I want to take
24:02over all the territories
24:03and I want to
24:04do it with you
24:05and I went,
24:06let's go brother.
24:07Hulk knew
24:08where the business
24:09was going
24:10and he knew
24:11Vince was the
24:12direction.
24:13It was an easy
24:14decision.
24:15Some guy is going
24:16to push you
24:17and make you
24:18the biggest star
24:19and you are
24:20going to go
24:21national.
24:22The other guy
24:23just wants to
24:24promote Minneapolis
24:25and Chicago
24:26and Milwaukee.
24:27I had been
24:28dreaming my
24:29whole career
24:30about going
24:31back and when
24:32Vince said
24:33what he was
24:34going to do
24:35with me,
24:36so somehow
24:37I had to
24:38transfer the
24:39title from
24:40Bob Backlund
24:41to get to
24:42Hogan.
24:43I couldn't
24:44make that
24:45match.
24:46There were
24:47two quote
24:48baby faces
24:49so I used
24:50the Iron
24:51Sheik.
24:52The Iron
24:53Sheik
24:54from Iran
24:55was one of
24:56the most
24:57disliked
24:58individuals
24:59we have
25:00ever had
25:01as a heel
25:02in our
25:03company.
25:04There was
25:05the
25:06Iron
25:07Sheik
25:08and
25:09the
25:10Iron
25:11Sheik
25:12and
25:13the
25:14Iron
25:15Sheik
25:16and
25:17the
25:18Iron
25:19Sheik
25:20and
25:21the
25:22Iron
25:23Sheik
25:24and
25:25the
25:26Iron
25:27Sheik
25:28and
25:29the
25:30Iron
25:31Sheik
25:32and
25:33the
25:34Iron
25:35Sheik
25:36and
25:37the
25:38Iron
25:39Sheik
25:40and
25:41the
25:42Iron
25:43Sheik
25:44and
25:45the
25:46Iron
25:47Sheik
25:48and
25:49the
25:50Iron
25:51Sheik
25:52and
25:53the
25:54Iron
25:55Sheik
25:56and
25:57the
25:58Iron
25:59Sheik
26:00and
26:01the
26:02Iron
26:03Sheik
26:04and
26:05the
26:06Iron
26:07Sheik
26:08and
26:09the
26:10Iron
26:11Sheik
26:12and
26:13the
26:14Iron
26:15Sheik
26:16and
26:17the
26:18Iron
26:19Sheik
26:20and
26:21the
26:22Iron
26:23Sheik
26:24and
26:25the
26:26Iron
26:27Sheik
26:28and
26:29the
26:30Iron
26:31Sheik
26:32and
26:33the
26:34Iron
26:35Sheik
26:36and
26:37the
26:38Iron
26:39Sheik
26:40and
26:41the
26:42Iron
26:43Sheik
26:44and
26:45the
26:46Iron
26:47Sheik
26:48and
26:49the
26:50Iron
26:51Sheik
26:52and
26:53the
26:54Iron
26:55Sheik
26:56and
26:57the
26:58Iron
26:59Sheik
27:00and
27:01the
27:02Iron
27:03Sheik
27:04and
27:05the
27:06Iron
27:07Sheik
27:08and
27:09the
27:10Iron
27:11Sheik
27:12and
27:13the
27:14Iron
27:15Sheik
27:16and
27:17the
27:18Iron
27:19Sheik
27:20and
27:21the
27:22Iron
27:23Sheik
27:24and
27:25the
27:26Iron
27:27Sheik
27:28and
27:29the
27:30Iron
27:31Sheik
27:32and
27:33the
27:34Iron
27:35Sheik
27:36and
27:37the
27:38Iron
27:39Sheik
27:40and
27:41the
27:42Iron
27:43Sheik
27:44and
27:45the
27:46Iron
27:47Sheik
27:48and
27:49the
27:50Iron
27:51Sheik
27:52and
27:53the
27:54Iron
27:55Sheik
27:56and
27:57the
27:58Iron
27:59Sheik
28:00and
28:01the
28:02Iron
28:03Sheik
28:04and
28:05the
28:06Iron
28:07Sheik
28:08and
28:09the
28:10Iron
28:11Sheik
28:12and
28:13the
28:14Iron
28:15Sheik
28:16and
28:17the
28:18Iron
28:19Sheik
28:20and
28:21the
28:22Iron
28:23Sheik
28:24and
28:25the
28:26Iron
28:27Sheik
28:28That's the art form of wrestling.
28:30He's got it.
28:31He's got it.
28:32I jumped in before the bell rang.
28:34Didn't tell him I was going to do it.
28:36It just felt like the right thing to do.
28:38Hock now has the Sheik's robe, and he clotheslined him with it.
28:41Didn't tell him I was going to clothesline him with it, choke him out of it.
28:44It just all happens.
28:46Hock now is in trouble.
28:48You have to listen to the crowd.
28:50The noise is deafening.
28:51You kind of like feel it, you listen, you think.
28:54Hulk Hogan, he drops a big leg on him.
28:56One, two, he's got it.
28:59It's a really huge response from Madison Square Garden.
29:04Hulkamania is here.
29:07And of course, everyone knows of Hulk Hogan to this day.
29:11All I asked was for the whole WWF to stand behind the holster,
29:15and I told them I'd bring it home for the USA.
29:17Hulkamania's running worldwide.
29:21To put the belt on the Iron Sheik,
29:23and then to have the business direction that the belt's coming to me
29:27because we need a guy to be the hood on him and to take over the world,
29:30that was a business decision that Vince had to execute creatively.
29:35And it worked.
29:37Many fans feel that Hulk Hogan is perhaps the most exciting pro-wrestling champion ever.
29:42You can't overemphasize the importance of Hulk Hogan.
29:47You take Hulk Hogan out of the equation, I think Vince fails in his expansion.
29:51I'm relatively certain he fails in his expansion.
29:54Pro-wrestling is a star-driven business,
29:56and the ability to make stars is what makes you popular.
30:00Vince was much better at making stars than all of these other promoters
30:04because his father was.
30:06Vince McMahon Sr. was really good at making the top guys come across like stars,
30:11which was more important than having good wrestling matches.
30:14That was Vince's strength because it was his father's strength.
30:18There is a point when my dad told me he was proud of me.
30:22He said, you know what, Vinny, all these friends of mine,
30:24they're not really friends of mine, all these promoters I've worked with all these years
30:27and their territories, you know what, fuck them.
30:29You're beating all of them.
30:31I'm proud of you for what you've done.
30:33Fuck them all.
30:34And I thought, wow.
30:37It's the first time my dad ever said anything like that, that he was on my side.
30:41Of course, he waited until I was a success,
30:44and maybe he felt that way all along, but he never told me.
30:48That was one of the biggest moments of my life.
30:53Until...
30:59I would like to have you all rise in a moment of silence for Mr. Vincent J. McMahon.
31:07The day before he died, it was the only time that he told me that he loved me.
31:11But wow, he told me before he died.
31:15Because I felt so good.
31:19Whether or not they care for you or not,
31:21it's so wonderful in life to have someone that you care for.
31:24And I had that opportunity to really care about my dad and to love my dad.
31:32I don't think he liked his father, to be honest with you.
31:36Why do you say that?
31:39When Junior came along, he had a vision that wrestling is going to change.
31:44It can't remain the same.
31:46And every idea that came out of his head drove his father up the roof.
31:51It drove the wrestlers up the roof.
31:53I remember the guy just sat in the dressing room talking about how nutty he was.
31:56When Vince became the owner of the company,
31:59and he and his father started to clash,
32:03the clashes were mostly because of Vince Sr.'s lack of willingness
32:10to accept where the industry and the business was headed.
32:16Vince come along with all these ideas that we thought were crazy.
32:20It was just, it was not wrestling.
32:23Vince had ideas about programming to a younger audience
32:28and not shying away from the fact that this was scripted entertainment.
32:32Vince really wanted to grow and expand.
32:36While everybody else was looking at the territories,
32:39Vince understood that national cable was the future.
32:43It was very clear to me from the very beginning
32:46that Vince was looking at a bigger distribution.
32:49USA Network became the marketing channel for WWF.
32:54Vince always wanted to promote something new that they were doing.
32:59Vince was never in the wrestling business.
33:02He was always in the entertainment business.
33:06Like for example, when he first came in and took over,
33:10he made that talk show, and we thought he was off his deep end.
33:14Thank you, welcome to TNT.
33:16It was so much fun.
33:19That's right!
33:21It was the Wild West in a talk show format.
33:25It was a riot.
33:27Whoa! You stupid idiot!
33:29Vince was experimenting with different kinds of ways
33:33to expose the talent to different audiences.
33:36I'm in favor of that for sure.
33:38He always wanted to use wrestling as a stepping stone into other stuff.
33:43Our company was growing, and things just started opening up.
33:48And I was like, well, yeah, let's do this, let's do that.
33:51The voice of the WWF and host of TNT, Mr. Vince McMahon.
33:58Hey, but as you know, there are lots of mothers in New York City.
34:02There was an overlap that you and Vince had early on.
34:05Oh, yeah, yeah.
34:08It was Letterman's third anniversary show,
34:11and they decide if a baby was born during the show,
34:15then that baby would become the late night baby.
34:19And so they sent Vince McMahon to one maternity ward and me to another.
34:24Vince, I have a question for you.
34:26Yes, David.
34:27Is that your tuxedo?
34:28No, actually it's not.
34:30Okay.
34:32I think Vince enjoyed being on David Letterman.
34:35It was as culturally hip a show as you could find.
34:39It was a mark of credibility
34:41if David Letterman gave you a figurative thumbs up.
34:44I have a question for you, Larry. Is that your tux?
34:46No, it's not.
34:47All right. Thank you.
34:49Vince always looked at how could he connect
34:53different aspects of the world of entertainment.
34:56How can we co-brand with something
34:58and make both of our brands bigger and stronger?
35:04Hi, you're listening to MTV Music Television,
35:08and I'm Cindy Lauper.
35:10Cindy Lauper was on MTV at that time,
35:13and she was a huge star.
35:19For the uninitiated, this is Cindy Lauper,
35:22whose debut album, She's So Unusual,
35:24placed four singles in the top five.
35:26On the video for one of them, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,
35:29Captain Lou Albano appeared as Cindy's father.
35:32Cindy Lauper met Captain Lou Albano on a plane
35:37and just felt that there could be some connection.
35:40Heavy metal wrestling goes.
35:42There's an opportunity to grow our businesses, both of us.
35:46Cindy, tell all these people out here
35:48how I made you a superstar.
35:50Tell them how you came off my reputation, Cindy,
35:53how all women are nothing, Cindy.
35:57Cindy was associated with us, and that made MTV think,
36:01well, okay, here's Cindy. She's going into this other genre.
36:04Let's work for this other genre as well.
36:07This week on MTV, The Brawl.
36:10We did two television shows on MTV.
36:12Got great ratings for MTV, and it was a great storyline.
36:16I challenge you, you fat bag of wind.
36:19At that time, women's wrestling was...
36:24de classe, in a de classe business.
36:27And so I thought, I'll have Cindy connect
36:30with one of our female performers.
36:32That'll make that division mean more.
36:35Woman's going down!
36:37Get her back!
36:39Wendy Richter was the choice to represent Cindy.
36:42I just got a call from her out of the blue
36:45asking if I could represent her in the ring.
36:48And I said, sure.
36:51Managing the challenger, Cindy Lopar!
36:58There was a buzz in the arena,
37:01and it was because of her involvement.
37:04At this point, many of my friends,
37:07we were wrestling fans.
37:09We liked the whole tongue-in-cheek aspect of it.
37:12Like, here's a mainstream sports guy,
37:15and now he's lending his voice
37:17to introducing Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper.
37:20And he's doing it straight.
37:22Thank you, Howard. This is indeed an honor.
37:24It was funny. I loved it.
37:26Oh, here it is!
37:28They're on it!
37:31The Rock and Wrestling Connection!
37:33Wow!
37:35Look out!
37:37You've got to be kidding me!
37:39Here comes Mr. T, ladies and gentlemen!
37:41I had made friends with Mr. T,
37:44and Mr. T was white-hot at the time,
37:46just really on fire.
37:48So you bring the celebrity into our world.
37:51Oh, we've got a madhouse!
37:53What is going on, ladies and gentlemen?
37:55It's pandemonium!
37:58To have this partnership with MTV,
38:01it was quite a step up from what we had been doing.
38:04MTV was red-hot back then.
38:06So this product that Vince McMahon put together
38:10just wasn't in the back rooms of people that smoked cigars.
38:13I mean, this was getting to be mainstream.
38:16It changed wrestling.
38:18Now it's okay for people to say,
38:20I watch wrestling.
38:22Andy Warhol, your impressions
38:24of what took place earlier on here?
38:26I'm speechless.
38:28It's just so exciting, I just don't know what to say.
38:31I don't think it's over.
38:33I think we have just seen the tip of the iceberg.
38:37At that time, the business was growing leaps and bounds,
38:41and I enjoyed putting in the work.
38:43But my wife finally, you need a vacation.
38:47So I went to the Caribbean someplace for two days.
38:51I came back the next day and announced,
38:53we're going to have one big event a year,
38:55just like the Super Bowl,
38:57and we're going to call it WrestleMania.
38:59She turned to me and she said,
39:01you weren't relaxing, you weren't enjoying any of that at all.
39:03You were thinking about business.
39:06On Sunday afternoon, March 31st, it's WrestleMania.
39:09Mr. T risks it all, wrestling for the first time,
39:12teaming up with champion Hulk Hogan.
39:14You will see the greatest production
39:16of wrestling ever in the world.
39:18Wrestling history will be made.
39:20The Woodstock of professional wrestling.
39:22WrestleMania was obviously just, again, common sense.
39:25There was a Super Bowl, there were other big culminations
39:28of sports and things of that nature.
39:30So why wouldn't we have one big end-of-the-season type deal?
39:35WrestleMania. WrestleMania. WrestleMania.
39:37Maybe we could take this one huge event
39:40and put it on what was known as closed circuit.
39:43There are going to be over a million people
39:45watching on closed circuit television
39:47all over the United States here.
39:49It was simply a very large projector
39:52projecting on a screen in an arena
39:54what you were presenting.
39:56And you paid money as if it were a live event
39:58to come in and watch.
40:00That concept today sounds ridiculous,
40:02but that's the way it was then.
40:04Closed circuit television,
40:06every major city in the United States.
40:08Not only that, Jack,
40:10but it's going to 24 foreign countries
40:13on big screen.
40:15The hype worked so well that Hulk Hogan and Mr. T
40:17have been granted the ultimate yuppie honor,
40:19co-hosting Saturday Night Live.
40:21Mr. T and Hulk Hogan!
40:25We got a really big match coming up.
40:27Madison Square Garden. WrestleMania, that is.
40:30So in terms of publicity for WrestleMania,
40:32you wanted to invite the media as much as you possibly could.
40:37We had an event in Madison Square Garden.
40:39This isn't really wrestling. This is wrestling.
40:41And John Stossel from one of the networks
40:44wanted to interview some of our performers.
40:46John Stossel's there under the premise
40:49that he wants to find out if Hulk Hogan's
40:51really as popular as the New York Times say.
40:53And as we're walking, he goes,
40:55do you guys use razor blades to bleed?
40:57And I said, are you kidding me?
40:58Isn't that kind of masochistic?
41:00My head was already carved up from the last couple weeks.
41:03Man, I make a beeline to Vince.
41:06I say, Vince, this guy is not here
41:09to find out how popular Hulk Hogan is.
41:11He's here to expose the wrestling business.
41:14Vince come into the dressing room,
41:16and he said, there was a reporter here
41:18that ran around asking if wrestling is wrestling fake.
41:21Fans, I'm afraid I have to tell you, it is fake.
41:25He said, I wish somebody would do something with that guy.
41:28I did not hear Vince McMahon say anything
41:32about putting him in this place.
41:34That's verbiage I never heard.
41:35He didn't tell us to do it,
41:38but he said, I wish someone would take care of that guy.
41:42And he walked out of the dressing room.
41:44And this wrestler by the name of David Schultz
41:47decided he would step into the shot.
41:49I think this is fake.
41:50You think it's fake?
41:52Out of nowhere, David Schultz just slaps the crap out of Stossel.
41:57You think it's fake?
41:59Huh?
42:01What do you mean?
42:02Do you remember Vince's reaction to John getting hit?
42:06We all celebrated.
42:08Not just Vince, everybody.
42:10I mean, David was getting pats on the back.
42:12People were buying him drinks.
42:13Well, at the time, we were very protective of the business
42:17because wrestling is not fake.
42:19It's predetermined, and it's exhibition.
42:21But I can tell you, in the last 10 years,
42:24I've had 23 surgeries in 10 years.
42:26So if that's fake, please explain it to me.
42:29I didn't get the memo.
42:30At the time, you got to realize,
42:32David was protecting the business.
42:35We loved it until the lawsuit came down.
42:38That's when the shit hit the fan.
42:40How is it physically?
42:42A doctor now says I have ear damage that's probably permanent.
42:45Mainstream culture was coming to pro wrestling.
42:48But pro wrestling wasn't quite ready for prime time.
42:52You see a similar thing on the Richard Belzer show
42:55when Hulk Hogan, who's the most media-ready of anybody in that crew,
43:00finds himself in this incredibly bizarre and unfortunate situation.
43:05Well, you know, apparently you don't know what's going on, man.
43:07You must have been in a ball cabin or something.
43:09Well, I'll lay it out for you, little dude.
43:11Okay, big dude.
43:13It's tough to take when people are trying to undermine our business.
43:16And the thing is, I fear no man.
43:18I believe you.
43:19Can you dig it?
43:20I can dig it twice.
43:21Are you a man?
43:22What do you think?
43:23I really don't know.
43:24You want to step outside?
43:25Like when Richard Belzer says,
43:27hey, put one of those wrestling moves on me.
43:29Well, you just tell me, brother, when you want me to quit squealing, okay?
43:32All right.
43:34We're not supposed to be in the front chin lock.
43:36How about it, T?
43:38Keep it like that for a little while.
43:40When I let him go, he fell and hit his head.
43:45Belzer just flopped.
43:48And Hulk thought it was a pratfall.
43:51In actuality, he was hurt.
43:57He hit his head when he fell, and it was bleeding.
44:00This was not good.
44:01I sued Mr. T.
44:02I sued Hulk Hogan.
44:03I sued Vince McMahon.
44:04I sued the World Wrestling Federation.
44:05I sued them all.
44:06Yeah, Vince wasn't real happy with me.
44:09We were in a very, very vulnerable stage with WrestleMania I
44:13for me to be going around choking people out and stuff, you know?
44:17WrestleMania was a big risk.
44:19Vince banked everything on this WrestleMania being a success.
44:22He put a lot of money into it.
44:24The story is if it had failed, he'd have been belly up.
44:26And, you know, it's very possibly true.
44:31My parents mortgaged everything they owned to make WrestleMania I happen.
44:36I was so young, I didn't truly understand what that meant.
44:41My parents never really took finance in front of us, but you can feel it.
44:45You know, my dad would just keep saying,
44:46this is going to work, and, you know, we're betting a lot on this one.
44:50You know, at this point, you know, I'm a teenager,
44:52and I'm just like, hmm.
44:54We really didn't have the money to do it.
44:56And if it was a huge failure, then we were in trouble.
45:00I'd say that's an accurate statement.
45:03Welcome, everyone.
45:04Guerrilla Monsoon here at ringside
45:06as the World Wrestling Federation presents
45:08the wrestling extravaganza of all-time WrestleMania.
45:13I knew that if we didn't pull this thing off,
45:16that we were completely out of business.
45:20The crowd definitely behind Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.
45:25It was a roll of the dice, a big one.
45:31But so many things that night went right.
45:35It was a big success.
45:38From Ben's perspective,
45:40it was a big success.
45:42So many things that night went right.
45:45It was a big success.
45:48From Ben's perspective, you could not hit a bigger home run.
45:52It really was the sum of all parts.
45:56When you think back to WrestleMania I,
45:58I was trying to make a statement as to what our business really is.
46:01We wanted to be all forms of entertainment all rolled into one.
46:06When you have all these extraordinary people
46:08from all different parts of the entertainment combined,
46:11that is sports entertainment.
46:12That's what we're about.
46:15If there was ever a perfect storm, this was it.
46:18Vince was very excited and very happy.
46:21You could tell he was vibrating, man.
46:23He was on a high.
46:25He knew we pulled it off.
46:27Hulk Hogan and Mr. T. in a tag team grudge match?
46:31They called it WrestleMania,
46:32the biggest event in pro wrestling since Gorgeous George.
46:36Everybody, Madison Square Garden,
46:37all the way around the world,
46:38now you know what it's all about, brother.
46:40Right before the first WrestleMania,
46:42the whole business was looking good.
46:44Vince was the strongest,
46:46but there was still all these territories still going on.
46:50After WrestleMania 1, nobody knew it yet.
46:52These other promoters didn't know it yet,
46:54but Vince won the war with that show.
46:56I don't know if it was good for the industry.
46:59It was good for me and my organization.
47:00That's all I cared about.
47:03After WrestleMania, whatever city we were in,
47:06all of a sudden, more TV cameras were everywhere in the buildings
47:09and people wanted to do interviews with us.
47:12It was such a major success,
47:13it really just put a skyrocket on the company.
47:16This whole momentum changed the wrestling business
47:20from star smokers and beer drinkers who want to see violence
47:24to having families in the front row
47:26that want to buy a ton of merchandise.
47:28It definitely made wrestling so mainstream
47:33there was no denying that we were here to stay.
47:37CHEERING
47:41WrestleMania 1 is a huge success.
47:44It achieves more than Vince could have possibly imagined for his company.
47:49But with greater success comes greater scrutiny,
47:53and Vince becomes a target.
47:56That expression of there's no such thing as bad publicity,
47:59that's BS because there is.
48:02The special investigation has turned up allegations
48:04that could outrage the biggest wrestling fan.
48:08A legal fight is in store for the head of the World Wrestling Federation.
48:11It's a scandal that threatens to knock him right out of the ring.
48:14Right on the heels of this huge success,
48:17Vince finds himself caught up in a series of scandals
48:20that threaten to open his entire world.
48:22ANNOUNCEMENTS