1. [SOUND]
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2. [MUSIC]
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3. Good evening everyone,
welcome to Championship Sports.
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4. Now all of you have heard about the
tragic and untimely death of Bruiser Brody.
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5. Very disappointing to all.
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6. A wrestler prior to
a bout in Puerto Rico.
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7. His menacing looks gave him the
reputation of a madman inside the ring, but
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8. a long time wrestling promoter and
others remember a very different man.
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9. If you could picture a man coming into
the ring, 6'6 ", 6'7", 350 some pounds.
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10. He looked like danger coming.
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11. It was the kind of
danger you were drawn to.
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12. People would actually run from him.
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13. They just all run and scatter.
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14. He had a chain.
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15. He sometimes hit people with it.
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16. He was just a wild guy.
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17. Bruiser Brody's larger than
life presence and in ring brutality
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18. delivered an undeniable
authenticity to professional wrestling.
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19. Brody coming in
and out is like a tornado
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20. coming to your house,
but you still want to see it.
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21. He'd beat you up with two by fours,
chairs, anything he could get his hands on.
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22. Bruiser Brody was insane.
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23. Come back here, come back here.
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24. On July 16th, 1988, this insanity
bled out of the ring into real life
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25. when Bruiser Brody
was violently killed in a
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26. locker room moments
before the opening bell.
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27. In the world of professional
wrestling, it is still the only sport where
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28. its characters live in two worlds,
where fantasy bleeds out into reality.
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29. [MUSIC]
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30. Hi, I'm Mick Foley.
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31. In my career, there was one
man more than any other I wish
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32. I could have had the opportunity
to step into the ring with.
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33. That person was Bruiser Brody.
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34. The day that I got my hands
on an old VHS tape with vintage
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35. Brody matches was the day
that everything changed for me.
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36. I wanted to be the next Bruiser Brody.
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37. The stories I've heard surrounding
Brody's death have always troubled me.
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38. After 30 years, we tracked down three
wrestlers willing to tell their version
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39. of what happened that night
and to chronicle the life and
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40. death of one of
wrestling's greatest outlaws.
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41. Just in case you don't know
who I am, I'm Tony Mr USA Atlas,
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42. Brawley the shoulder, Narrowly the hip,
Tower of Power, Too Sweet to Resolve.
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43. One of the last people to see Bruiser
Brody alive was Mr USA Tony Atlas,
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44. a former bodybuilder turned wrestler
and a current WWE Hall of Famer.
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45. Okay, LT, stand up, take
a clothesline over the top.
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46. Cameraman, watch out.
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47. [SOUND]
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48. That was the shittiest
finish I've ever seen.
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49. Dirty Dutch Mantell
is one of the business'
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50. most infamous villains
in front of the camera.
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51. Has the taste returned
to your mouth after
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52. I slapped it out just
a few seconds ago?
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53. And one of wrestling's
greatest minds behind the scenes.
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54. In your experience, did
you ever work with Brody?
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55. I never did, I never
had a match with Brody.
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56. Why's that?
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57. Well, he beat the shit out of you.
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58. And then there's the madman
from the Sudan, Abdullah the Butcher.
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59. Abdullah was also Bruiser
Brody's greatest in-ring Nemesis.
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60. And this is a very graphic
display of exactly what the world
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61. of professional wrestling is all
about, the dark side, so to speak.
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62. I've been in the business for 53 years.
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63. What else can I say?
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64. My name is Abdullah the Butcher, right?
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65. I'm not a wrestler, I don't grab
holds, I use karate, I use jujitsu, okay?
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66. I'm not a wrestler.
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67. I can beat you up anytime
that I wanna beat you up.
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68. You understand?
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69. And the guy behind the
camera, give me the forks so
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70. I can stab it all in his
head, then you'll know.
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71. Let me tell you something.
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72. Don't you ever say that me and
Brody was fake, we are not fakes.
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73. We kept bringing them back and
back, and the people would say,
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74. when I seen that match,
that was no bullshit.
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75. [MUSIC]
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76. What would a match resemble
between Abdullah and Bruiser Brody?
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77. A bloodbath every night.
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78. We were like killers, we kept pounding.
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79. When you get Abdullah, Butcher, and
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80. Bruiser Brody in the ring,
gonna be a lot of blood.
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81. Because Abdullah
had his fork, and they
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82. did it every night, they
were just a formula.
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83. Boy, I love the fork,
I can stab him in the
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84. head, stick it into his
mouth, do everything.
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85. Probably 85% of the
match was outside the ring.
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86. He struck fear in the hearts of fans.
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87. When he went down to the ring, people
moved out of the ring, that's an art.
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88. Brody's reputation in the
business was, he was a main eventer.
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89. He could make you a lot of money.
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90. So that's why he was so
popular, that's why so many
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91. promoters want him, because
he could put asses in the sea.
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92. [FOREIGN]
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93. He was a superstar, and at the time,
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94. he was one of the biggest
stars in the late 70s, early 80s.
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95. One of the biggest stars in the world.
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96. Bruiser Brody, he was a legend.
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97. He was a legend back before he died.
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98. [MUSIC]
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99. My gosh.
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100. My God.
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101. Well, every time I come
out here, I find something new.
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102. Look at this, another one.
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103. Some sentimental
stuff associated with it.
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104. There's a lot of it though.
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105. Here's a whole pile
of photographs in here.
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106. I mean, take a look at that.
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107. Boy.
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108. I first met Frank in Australia
in the hotel that I was working in.
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109. I had no idea of his character,
because I only saw Frank Goodish.
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110. I never saw Bruiser Brody.
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111. Frank was very quiet, very intelligent,
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112. even back in those days,
just like a regular person.
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113. So he never lost sight of who he was.
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114. He didn't become the character he created.
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115. That's his, that's his football home.
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116. In my own case, I
spent three years with
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117. the Washington Redskins
in 1969, 70, and 71.
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118. I was an All-American
high school football player.
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119. I went to school on
an athletic scholarship.
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120. We're rolling for this, huh?
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121. Yeah, keep it rolling.
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122. Okay, good.
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123. Okay, I'm sorry.
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124. I won't, I don't think you said
anything, or it's-Yeah, I did.
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125. You did? - Yeah.
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126. And I don't think it's good that
anybody knows that I'm Frank Goodish.
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127. No, well, I don't know what happened.
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128. Frank was kind of
a little bit of a renegade.
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129. We were together for a long time,
and he just came up with this idea.
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130. Why don't we stop off in
Vegas and get married?
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131. He said, I'm gonna tell you now,
it is not gonna be an easy life.
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132. Out of a year, he maybe would only
be home three months of that year.
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133. It was a challenge, but you do it.
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134. When Jeff was born, he changed
so much, cuz then he wanted to do for
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135. his family, and he wanted
to provide for his son.
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136. So it changed him, even made
him softer than who he really was.
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137. When he was around his son,
they had a really good relationship.
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138. I do believe I've
subconsciously possibly
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139. blocked a lot of things
out, unfortunately.
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140. So a lot of stories I hear are stories
other people have tell me about my dad.
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141. At the same time, it's hard to hear
these stories because they're stories that
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142. people are telling me, and I don't
have a lot of stories I'm gonna tell.
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143. It was like this
character that he created,
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144. that it was separate
from the person I knew.
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145. I would take him to the airport,
and he would just be dad, husband,
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146. get out of the car, had his hair
pulled back, walk through those doors,
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147. take his hair down, he became
Bruiser Brody on the other side.
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148. And I could actually see the
whole transformation take place.
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149. [MUSIC]
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150. In July 1988, Frank departed
for a booking in Puerto Rico,
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151. an isolated wrestling
territory notorious for
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152. its wild blood feuds and
the zealousness of his fans.
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153. Hey, hey.
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154. It was Blood City, blood all the time.
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155. Big show, you'd have three
or four matches blooded.
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156. Because remember I
told you people believed, and
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157. they believed when you
saw blood that it was serious.
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158. Ricky Brody just wants to stop him.
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159. Look, the blood is just coming out.
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160. The people are violent people.
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161. They wanted violence.
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162. They wanted->>
People throw rocks at you,
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163. they throw piss on you, they throw
urine on you, they throw feces on you.
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164. They stoned me.
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165. They used to take cups, put glass
or stones and throw them at me.
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166. They wanna see somebody get hurt.
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167. They want to see somebody
get carried out on a stretcher.
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168. Every place you go, they love violence.
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169. [MUSIC]
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170. Some weekly planners, 1987, 1988.
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171. Just as daily activities
it appears, this workout
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172. scheduling regimen and
where he's traveling to.
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173. San Juan, Puerto Rico, of all places.
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174. Yeah, I believe it was the 16th and
17th that that happens, unfortunately.
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175. In July 1988, Frank Goodish
left his family in Texas and
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176. entered one of the most violent
wrestling territories in the world.
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177. His family could not have
imagined that this would
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178. be the last time that
they would see him alive.
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179. [MUSIC]
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180. In the summer of 1988, Bruiser
Brody left his family in Texas and
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181. entered one of the most violent
wrestling territories in the world.
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182. It wasn't only his Puerto Rican fans
who were waiting for his return, but
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183. some unresolved business and
a bitter, long standing grudge.
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184. The World Wrestling Council is
Puerto Rico's main wrestling promotion,
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185. which was established by wrestlers Gorilla
Monsoon, Victor Jovica and Carlos Colón.
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186. Carlos Colón, Carlos Colón.
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187. [MUSIC]
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188. Carlos Colón was the boss.
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189. He's also a WWE Hall of Famer now.
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190. He was probably as big
a star as Roberto Clemente.
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191. Carlos Colón's right hand
man was Jose Huertes Gonzalez,
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192. a local wrestler celebrated in
the ring as Invader number one.
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193. Gonzalez also acted as the company's
Booker, the person in charge of
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194. the creative direction and
outcomes of wrestling shows.
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195. Frank understood the value of his
character consistently appearing as
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196. an unbeatable monster to fans as a
way to keep them coming back for more.
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197. He took this aggression to a new level
when he wrestled a young Jose Gonzalez,
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198. when Gonzalez was hoping to
make a big impression in the WWF.
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199. [MUSIC]
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200. Brody and Invader, they
didn't really care for each other.
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201. Their personalities did not
match, even their matches.
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202. You could tell there was
something not quite right with them.
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203. He was a pretty
decent guy, if he liked you.
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204. If he didn't like you, he would
beat the living crap out of you.
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205. But I just see Brody
take people in the ring
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206. many a time and just
beat them unmercifully.
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207. He would just beat them to death.
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208. Well, I've tried to piece
it together over the years.
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209. What brought this on?
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210. Let's go back in
the past, in the mid 70s.
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211. They were grooming, I heard, Jose
Gonzalez to be the next Puerto Rican star.
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212. Bruiser Brody came in
and had a match with Jose
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213. Gonzalez and just
beat the shit out of him.
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214. He ate him up.
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215. I mean, the whole face was
swollen, the head was swollen up.
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216. Looked just like a pumpkin.
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217. Brody beat him so bad that SD
had to take him to the hospital.
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218. SD especially delivered
Jones, he was a wrestler.
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219. We put him in the car and
SD took him to the hospital.
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220. He turned to SD Jones and said,
one day I'm gonna kill that man.
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221. He was angry.
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222. I mean, his head looked
like a pumpkin, brother.
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223. Bruiser Brody was worried about
one image, and that was Bruiser Brody.
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224. Once the people see you get beat once
or twice, that brand, and he knows this.
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225. The brand becomes kind of
violated, and he didn't want
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226. that to happen, and that's
why he acted the way he did.
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227. I don't know about the
other professional wrestlers.
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228. I only know about Bruiser Brody.
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229. And when I go in the ring, it
doesn't matter whether I'm in Texas or
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230. New York, it doesn't matter
whether people like me or dislike me.
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231. I'm gonna be just as
aggressive every night.
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232. But I also heard that Brody was
making huge money in Japan, and
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233. he had wanted to invest in a
wrestling promotion somewhere.
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234. And he had Puerto Rico in mind.
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235. And there was an owner, a
part owner, a minority owner,
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236. named Victor Quinones
who had 10% or something.
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237. But a lot of it was owned
by Gorilla Monsoon.
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238. And I think Victor Quinones was brokering
a deal between Monsoon to sell his
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239. shares to Brody, which would have
made Brody probably a minority owner.
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240. I think he bought part of that company.
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241. They wanted his money,
but they didn't want his ideas.
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242. And Brody ain't that type of guy.
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243. Brody had his opinions.
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244. If you didn't like them, too bad.
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245. Can you tell us your name?
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246. David Manning.
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247. I was the booker for World
Class Championship Wrestling.
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248. I was a little worried because Frank
was going to Puerto Rico to wrestle.
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249. Frank said they owed
him around $20, $25,000.
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250. And he had asked for the money, politely.
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251. He had been waiting for the money.
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252. He told me before he left, remember I
said this, I'm coming back with my money.
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253. And he said, if I have to beat
everyone I'm up, I'm getting my money.
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254. Brody had mentioned to people that, and if
he took over, he was gonna get rid of Jose.
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255. And also, Jose Gonzalez had
just lost his three year old daughter.
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256. She died in a swimming pool accident.
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257. She drowned about three months earlier.
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258. Now his job is being threatened.
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259. He doesn't like Brody in the first place.
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260. So you add all those
ingredients, just like fire and
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261. gasoline, an explosion
was gonna happen and it did.
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262. [MUSIC]
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263. Can I please tell the story?
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264. I beg you, cuz I wanna tell it.
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265. Okay.
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266. I wanna tell the story.
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267. See.
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268. Okay, okay, okay.
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269. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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270. Because for two days I've been
talking about everything but Brody.
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271. And I wanna tell this story
so bad I'm ready to explode.
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272. I've been carrying this story around
in my chest for how many years now?
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273. This is how me and Brody started our day.
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274. Yeah?
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275. Yeah, yeah, we were working
out in the gym that morning.
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276. The same routine we did,
this last day here on Earth.
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277. I go to gym every morning anyway.
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278. And so me and him, we worked out together.
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279. And he said, hey Tony,
wanna go get something to eat?
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280. So I said, sure, I gotta
go get something to eat.
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281. And then he turned to me at breakfast and
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282. he said, I waited a long
time to get in down here.
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283. So I just got the impression that maybe,
just maybe, that he bought in the company.
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284. He said, you are gonna
see a lot of changes.
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285. [MUSIC]
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286. We was at the hotel and Bruiser Brody and
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287. Dutch Mantell was sitting on the
steps outside in the front of the building.
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288. And I said, Brody, I figure
you'd be gone by now.
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289. He said, I'm waiting on Jose Gonzalez.
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290. He's supposed to pick me up.
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291. And right then I said, that's unusual.
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292. Why would Jose, the booker,
leave his main eventer?
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293. And I said, you could
ride with us if you like.
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294. So we went to the show and traffic
was horrible leading into the stadium.
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295. Cuz cars were lined up so you
know it was gonna be a sellout.
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296. And we hopped out and we took our
bags to where the dressing rooms were.
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297. Then looking back
on it was kinda strange.
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298. Cuz when I walked in, I
remember I got a strange feeling.
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299. But Jose was sitting there.
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300. I said, he's here.
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301. As soon as I come to the door, I saw
the three of them sitting there talking.
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302. Jose, Carlos Colón, and Victor, they
were sitting there, the football hunter.
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303. Yeah, it kinda seemed a little strange.
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304. Cuz I've never really seen
them together like that.
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305. And it didn't look like
they were in conversation.
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306. They were just sitting there,
which was even more strange.
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307. Gonzales gets up from his seat,
looked me straight in the face, and left.
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308. Never looked at Brody, never looked at Dutch,
and he walked out of the dressing room.
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309. And Brody sat down right beside me.
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310. And I sat there maybe five minutes.
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311. And that feeling of
tension, it just got stronger.
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312. So I said, I gotta get out of here.
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313. I gotta move, I gotta something,
maybe if I move around it'll go away.
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314. So I get up and walk out.
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315. I go and I sit in the dugout.
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316. And I'm watching the crowd come in.
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317. So I had my art pad, I set my bag down,
I set my chair, and I started sketching.
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318. Brody came over and he looked at it.
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319. He said, that is freaking fantastic.
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320. He get all the sighted, big smile
is on his face and everything.
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321. And he said, I wonder if
you could do one for me.
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322. So he opened up his little pouch, reached
in, and pulled out a picture of his son.
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323. Jose came back into the dressing room.
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324. I looked up and Jose was standing there.
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325. He had a towel over his hand.
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326. Brody, can I talk to
you for a minute please?
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327. Just like that.
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328. Can I talk to you for a minute please?
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329. And Brody said yeah.
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330. And he walked in there.
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331. And that's where it happened.
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332. It's not unusual to
discuss match plans privately.
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333. But on this evening, the
conversation between Brody and
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334. Gonzalez would descend
into an unthinkable nightmare.
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335. [MUSIC]
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336. In Puerto Rico before his match,
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337. Bruiser Brody is summoned to a private
meeting with talent booker Jose Gonzalez.
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338. There was a history of bad
blood between Brody and
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339. Gonzalez and wrestler Tony Atlas
was witness to the growing tension.
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340. He had a bag in his hand.
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341. Picture of his son in this hand.
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342. And when he turned away with the picture,
that's when I noticed Carlos staring at me.
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343. As I'm looking at
Carlos, I hear this sound.
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344. [SOUND] So I looked up.
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345. Brody was halfway hunched over.
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346. I thought Jose punched him in the stomach.
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347. That's what I thought.
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348. That the first thought came
to me, damn, he hit Brody.
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349. I said, this is gonna be a fight.
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350. So then he holler again.
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351. I looked at Jose face and
his eyes was bloodshot red.
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352. Then I saw the knife.
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353. The knife went in the air like
this with blood dripping off of it.
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354. I sprung up out of my chair, wrapped
my arm around Brody waist just like this.
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355. I yank him back just in the Nick of
time to keep from his throat getting cut.
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356. And because I pulled him back,
the knife came and cut his ponytail off.
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357. That's how sharp that knife was.
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358. Carlos shoot right by me.
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359. He grabbed Jose and pushed him up against
the wall and said, no Jose, no Jose.
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360. And Carlos was keeping
people away from Jose,
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361. telling the rest of them,
y'all stay back, stay back.
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362. So I take Brody and I take him
and I lay him down on the ground.
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363. I felt his intestines and
blood all over his arm.
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364. And this whole arm was dripped in blood.
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365. And he looked up at me, he said,
brother, don't let them hurt me no more.
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366. Please brother, don't
let them hurt me no more.
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367. He said, don't let them, not him, them.
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368. That's why I didn't know who
the hell he was talking about.
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369. Who else is involved in this?
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370. I'm thinking.
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371. I said, ain't nobody
gonna do anything to you.
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372. Carlos tried to approach
Brody after I laid him down.
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373. I told Carlos, I said, don't
bring your ass over here.
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374. I will knock your mother
head right off the shoulder.
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375. He said, Tony, calm down.
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376. I said, calm it down.
Copy !req
377. I said, y'all just stabbed your guy.
Copy !req
378. I had nothing to do with him.
Copy !req
379. I said, you're a goddamn liar.
Copy !req
380. I said, y'all work together.
Copy !req
381. So then Brody tugged at my leg.
Copy !req
382. He said, let him over.
Copy !req
383. So as I make my way back through
the tunnel, I could hear the noise.
Copy !req
384. And it was kind of dark in there, but I
could see the lights in the dressing room.
Copy !req
385. Something was going on.
Copy !req
386. And that's when I asked Mark
Youngblood what happened.
Copy !req
387. He said, invader, invader, stab Brody.
Copy !req
388. The dressing room was in a panic.
Copy !req
389. And I see Brody laying,
laying in front of me.
Copy !req
390. And Carlos is leaning
over him, talking to him.
Copy !req
391. He said, Brody, is there
anything I can do for you?
Copy !req
392. That's what Carlos asked Brody.
Copy !req
393. Brody said, just take care of my family.
Copy !req
394. And I don't know what Carlos was saying,
Copy !req
395. but I'm sure he's saying,
hang on there, ma'am.
Copy !req
396. We're gonna get you help.
Copy !req
397. We're gonna get you help.
Copy !req
398. But I do remember
Brody looking up at Carlos
Copy !req
399. and telling Carlos,
tell my wife I love her.
Copy !req
400. That's the only thing I heard him say.
Copy !req
401. So that right there tells me that he doesn't
have a lot of faith in his own survival.
Copy !req
402. The shower had a door
on it that wasn't clear.
Copy !req
403. It was translucent, that you
could see light behind it in figures.
Copy !req
404. Vader never came out of the shower.
Copy !req
405. He never came out.
Copy !req
406. And he was in there with Joe Vicca,
who was part owner of the company.
Copy !req
407. And they were screaming at each other.
Copy !req
408. There was nothing I
could really do, just watch.
Copy !req
409. He walked out of the
shower, walked around Brody's
Copy !req
410. feet, went to his bag,
got his keys, and he left.
Copy !req
411. And his shirt, they said, was torn.
Copy !req
412. Which tells me that whatever
happened in that shower,
Copy !req
413. that it was a physical confrontation
with Brody ripping the shirt.
Copy !req
414. It took at least 35 to 45 minutes
for the ambulance to get there.
Copy !req
415. They tried to put Brody on the girdie.
Copy !req
416. They couldn't lift him.
Copy !req
417. Brody about 300-some
pounds, he was too heavy.
Copy !req
418. So I got down in the squat position,
Copy !req
419. squatted all the way down,
and slid my arm underneath him.
Copy !req
420. And he looked up at me
and said, "Don't you drop me."
Copy !req
421. And I said, "Don't worry, brother,
"I curl more than what you weigh."
Copy !req
422. So I pulled him gently
and laid him on the girler.
Copy !req
423. The old man walked back to the back of
the ambulance to shut and lock the door.
Copy !req
424. He said, "Before I shut
the door, "is there anybody
Copy !req
425. here that want to go with
him "to keep his company?"
Copy !req
426. So I say, "I go."
Copy !req
427. And I jumped and got on the
ambulance, and I remember guys
Copy !req
428. look at me like, "What in
the fuck is wrong with Tony?
Copy !req
429. "He just stay out of this."
Copy !req
430. You could almost feel they thinking this.
Copy !req
431. Nobody was saying
nothing, but you could almost
Copy !req
432. feel that they were thinking
what is wrong with him.
Copy !req
433. - Like I've said before,
I'm not a religious person.
Copy !req
434. Never have been, probably never will be.
Copy !req
435. But I did go and say a lot of prayer for
Brody, for whatever worth it could be.
Copy !req
436. If it could help him
find, it couldn't hurt.
Copy !req
437. - We were sitting in the ambulance.
Copy !req
438. Brody was laying there,
and I started crying again.
Copy !req
439. I mean, I couldn't hold back the tears.
Copy !req
440. And I sung this song.
Copy !req
441. If heaven ain't a lot like
Dixie, I don't wanna go.
Copy !req
442. My voice got choked up,
everything got choked up.
Copy !req
443. I just told him, I said, "You
gonna be all right, brother."
Copy !req
444. I said, "I'm gonna stay with you, man."
Copy !req
445. I said, "I'm with you, man, I'm with you."
Copy !req
446. - There's an old saying
in professional wrestling.
Copy !req
447. Consider yourself lucky if you
make it out with one true friend.
Copy !req
448. On this night, Brody had
that true friend in Tony Atlas,
Copy !req
449. but he would need more
than that to make it out alive.
Copy !req
450. Tony Atlas finally made it to the hospital
with Bruiser Brody in critical condition,
Copy !req
451. although Atlas' struggle to save
Brody's life was far from over.
Copy !req
452. - We get to the hospital, and he laid
there for probably about 15 or 20 minutes.
Copy !req
453. I got frickin' tired of
waitin' on the doctor.
Copy !req
454. So I finally got one doctor
that spoke a little bit of English.
Copy !req
455. And I said, "I've been tellin'
people, "my friend been stabbed.
Copy !req
456. "How come nobody gonna see him?"
Copy !req
457. He told me, he said, "A stab
in here "is like a cold in the US.
Copy !req
458. "There's no big deal."
Copy !req
459. He said, "Well, I would get to him when
I can "and turn to walk away from him."
Copy !req
460. I grabbed him around
the waist, yanked him up,
Copy !req
461. all the way up on my
shoulder just like this.
Copy !req
462. And I carried him in to Brody.
Copy !req
463. So finally he looked at Brody,
he lifted Brody's hand up.
Copy !req
464. It was like this the
whole time, just like this.
Copy !req
465. At the same time he lifted his hand
up, I remember I was takin' his shoes off.
Copy !req
466. When I saw his feet, and it
was blue, oh, no, no, no, no, no.
Copy !req
467. 'Cause I knew this is real bad.
Copy !req
468. So I said, "Doctor, please
get him in now, now.
Copy !req
469. "You gotta go now."
Copy !req
470. He started callin' them people.
Copy !req
471. "Come on, come on, we need some
help here, "we need some help here."
Copy !req
472. I got so frickin' mad when I
saw that, I punched the wall.
Copy !req
473. I buried my fist probably about
up to my elbow in that wall.
Copy !req
474. That's how hard I hit that wall.
Copy !req
475. While chaos and confusion erupted at
the scene of Bruiser Brody's stabbing,
Copy !req
476. rumors began to fly and word
reached across the stadium
Copy !req
477. to Abdullah the Butcher
in a second dressing room.
Copy !req
478. The doctor came and says,
Copy !req
479. "Brody was cut or stabbed or whatever."
Copy !req
480. I said, "Come on."
Copy !req
481. You know, I thought it was a joke.
Copy !req
482. In my opinion, I thought
it was working an angle.
Copy !req
483. But when the doctor told
me, then I says, "Holy shit."
Copy !req
484. 'Cause the doctor wouldn't be lyin'.
Copy !req
485. And that was it.
Copy !req
486. Brody was, he'd already been taken out.
Copy !req
487. But the police walked in and thinking,
Copy !req
488. "Well, it's just another
crazy, wild wrestling brawl."
Copy !req
489. They didn't think it was real.
Copy !req
490. - I was bangin' on the operating room door
Copy !req
491. talkin' about what the fuck is goin'
on in there, what's goin' on in there.
Copy !req
492. And the doctor came out and he
said, "Tony, he had two eight-inch cuts."
Copy !req
493. He said, "We got his
intestines back together."
Copy !req
494. He said, "The only problem we have
in there "is that his liver was sliced."
Copy !req
495. He told me it was gonna be okay.
Copy !req
496. He said, "He's stable."
Copy !req
497. He said, "But what you need
to do, you need to go home
Copy !req
498. "because everybody in
here is more afraid of you."
Copy !req
499. - I wanted to be as far away from
that dressing room as I could be.
Copy !req
500. Then I saw Invader walk in.
Copy !req
501. That he had on a different shirt.
Copy !req
502. He continued business
like nothing had happened.
Copy !req
503. I don't know why he came back.
Copy !req
504. I really don't.
Copy !req
505. I'm thinkin', "Man, what
ball's this guy's got?"
Copy !req
506. The thing that was so horrible was
when I got back to the dressing room.
Copy !req
507. It was more horrible than the stabbin'.
Copy !req
508. It was more horrible than
him laying on that table.
Copy !req
509. The most horrible thing
that happened on that night
Copy !req
510. was goin' back to that
dressing room and hear laughter.
Copy !req
511. - First, I couldn't believe
they didn't cancel the show.
Copy !req
512. That was the first thing, thinkin'.
Copy !req
513. And openin' up the door, and the
blood on the floor ain't even dry yet.
Copy !req
514. And they in the dressing
room laughin', and jokin',
Copy !req
515. and patting each other on
the back, talkin' about how
Copy !req
516. great the matches were, and
what a wonderful show it is.
Copy !req
517. I took the freakin' chair and I
threw it across the damn hallway.
Copy !req
518. There was a policeman that said, "Hey,
hey, hey, hey, calm down, calm down."
Copy !req
519. He said, "Did you see what happened?"
Copy !req
520. I said, "Hell yeah, I saw what happened."
Copy !req
521. He said, "Did you get a look?
Copy !req
522. Did you get a look at
the fan that stabbed him?"
Copy !req
523. I said, "What were you told?"
Copy !req
524. He said, "Everybody in here
said that Brody was stabbed
Copy !req
525. before he got in the dressing
room, that a wrestling fan
Copy !req
526. stabbed him in the hallway, he
stumbled into the dressing room."
Copy !req
527. I said, "That's a damn lie."
Copy !req
528. I said, "That's some of the bitch sittin'
right there is the one that stabbed him."
Copy !req
529. He said, "You mean Vader?"
Copy !req
530. I said, "Yes, I mean Vader, that sucker
right there, that's who stabbed Bruce Brody."
Copy !req
531. I asked everybody in the dressing room,
he said, "They all turned to dip floor."
Copy !req
532. I said, "Oh, they all liars."
Copy !req
533. I said, "He's the sum of
the bitch that stabbed him."
Copy !req
534. - He was telling the cops, "Hey, hey, that's
the guy you need to arrest right there."
Copy !req
535. He pointed to Jose Gonzalez.
Copy !req
536. - A woman sitting
right in the chair right
Copy !req
537. there was putting his
resting gear in his bag.
Copy !req
538. Like nothing happened.
Copy !req
539. That's the part that messed with my head.
Copy !req
540. It was like nothing happened.
Copy !req
541. - If you're a policeman and
you come into a situation
Copy !req
542. that you think could be staged,
they didn't think it was real.
Copy !req
543. Tony knew it was real,
so they were actually
Copy !req
544. engaging each other
from different perspectives.
Copy !req
545. That's why the disconnect.
Copy !req
546. - In professional
wrestling, the line between
Copy !req
547. fiction and reality is
intentionally blurred.
Copy !req
548. As the night's events continued to unfold,
it would be nearly impossible for anyone
Copy !req
549. to tell the difference
or to know the truth.
Copy !req
550. [MUSIC PLAYING]
Copy !req
551. - While Bruiser Brody
was fighting for his life
Copy !req
552. at the hospital, Tony
Atlas's eyewitness
Copy !req
553. account of the stabbing
was making the rounds.
Copy !req
554. - So then that night you wrestled.
Copy !req
555. - Carlos Colon, your timing is over.
Copy !req
556. - That night I wrestled Earl
Sheik the night of the murder.
Copy !req
557. I just went and did it.
Copy !req
558. I just went in the match.
Copy !req
559. He locked up with me.
Copy !req
560. He said, "How's Brody?"
Copy !req
561. The doctor said he's going to be OK.
Copy !req
562. He said, "You wrestling fan,
they told me that they dangerous."
Copy !req
563. I said, "Jose Gonzalez did it right there."
Copy !req
564. The Sheik just straightened
right up just like that.
Copy !req
565. "That mother... Jose Gonzalez... fatal
mother... killed the King Kong of the Brody."
Copy !req
566. He rolled right out of the ring and
went straight back to his locker room.
Copy !req
567. We only wrestled for
maybe one or two minutes.
Copy !req
568. - I go to my room and a guy named
Sabio Vega, they call him TNT.
Copy !req
569. He said, "Tony, I got you a bag.
Copy !req
570. I went to your room
and got your bag for you."
Copy !req
571. I said, "For what?"
Copy !req
572. He said, "Don't go to your room.
Copy !req
573. They are looking for
you because you talking."
Copy !req
574. So I took my bag and I went down to the
beach and I walked the beach the whole night.
Copy !req
575. I tried to lay down and get some sleep
Copy !req
576. but kept waking up every
time I hear something.
Copy !req
577. I didn't... kept looking.
Copy !req
578. Our paranoia is hell now.
Copy !req
579. - I go back to that hotel, walk to
the front desk, and I told the girl.
Copy !req
580. And I said, "Listen, if
Brody gets any calls to
Copy !req
581. his room, please put
them through to my room."
Copy !req
582. They said, "OK."
Copy !req
583. - The phone started ringing about midnight.
Copy !req
584. Kept ringing, ringing, ringing.
Copy !req
585. By this time, it's 1
o'clock in the morning.
Copy !req
586. I said, "I'm going to answer and
give them a piece of my mind."
Copy !req
587. So I picked up the phone
and there was this woman.
Copy !req
588. And she said, "This is Nancy Colon."
Copy !req
589. Well, Nancy Colon is Carlos Colon's wife.
Copy !req
590. I'm calling to let you know
there's been an accident.
Copy !req
591. And I think you better come to Puerto Rico.
Copy !req
592. So I called the hotel and
they put me through to Dutch.
Copy !req
593. - She said, "Who is this?"
Copy !req
594. I said, "Well, this is Dutch."
Copy !req
595. She said, "Well, what happened to Dutch?"
Copy !req
596. And I knew it was pretty serious.
Copy !req
597. But I was saying, "Well, Brody had
an accident and it's pretty serious."
Copy !req
598. - And that maybe you
should come to Puerto Rico.
Copy !req
599. He didn't have any details.
Copy !req
600. - After I got the call,
I tried to go to sleep.
Copy !req
601. I couldn't sleep.
Copy !req
602. Like I said, the adrenaline was flowing.
Copy !req
603. About 8 o'clock, I get up.
Copy !req
604. I go downstairs to the front desk.
Copy !req
605. I said, "Can you do me a favor?"
Copy !req
606. And she said, "Yeah, what do you need?"
Copy !req
607. I said, "Can you call the hospital
that my friend Brody is in?"
Copy !req
608. She said, "Yeah."
Copy !req
609. So she calls out there and
she's speaking in Spanish.
Copy !req
610. And I hear luchador.
Copy !req
611. I hear wrestler.
Copy !req
612. And then she starts crying.
Copy !req
613. And I look at her and she said,
"I'm sorry, your friend didn't make it."
Copy !req
614. I said, "What?"
Copy !req
615. She said, "No, he died last night."
Copy !req
616. (somber music)
Copy !req
617. - How did you first learn
that Brody had passed?
Copy !req
618. - Abdullah told me at the meeting
when I slept on the beach the whole night.
Copy !req
619. So now I'm going back to the hotel.
Copy !req
620. I saw Abdullah and some
of the wrestlers in the lobby.
Copy !req
621. And they said, "Totally,
we having a meeting."
Copy !req
622. And they waiting on you
to tell them what happened.
Copy !req
623. - Did you ever have
any hotel room meetings?
Copy !req
624. - Hotel?
Copy !req
625. Hell no, no.
Copy !req
626. No, sir, no, no.
Copy !req
627. - Abdullah told us that
he didn't have a meeting.
Copy !req
628. - He lied.
Copy !req
629. - Maybe they did, but not me.
Copy !req
630. You understand?
Copy !req
631. - He lied to you.
Copy !req
632. If that's what he told you,
I'm telling you what happened.
Copy !req
633. - I had 5% of the business.
Copy !req
634. You see what I mean?
Copy !req
635. In a way that people
did not want to talk to me.
Copy !req
636. - What do you mean?
Copy !req
637. - Well, if you own some
of the territory, right,
Copy !req
638. who's gonna come and
say, "Oh, this happened,"
Copy !req
639. or, "This guy done
this, this guy done that."
Copy !req
640. They were in their own little bunch.
Copy !req
641. So why would they come and talk to me?
Copy !req
642. Brody was a friend
and I didn't wanna be in
Copy !req
643. all the gossip what
they were talking about.
Copy !req
644. Nobody heard me say shit.
Copy !req
645. - It's a shame.
Copy !req
646. That's a damn shame that he done that.
Copy !req
647. Dutch Mantell asked him.
Copy !req
648. He was there in the meeting.
Copy !req
649. - I think we all met in somebody's room.
Copy !req
650. And somebody said, "Man, are
they investigating this or what?
Copy !req
651. I mean, a man died.
Copy !req
652. What's going on here?"
Copy !req
653. - I just started thinking, "In
this territory, this happened?"
Copy !req
654. That's why I left.
Copy !req
655. - I said, "Well, I saw it."
Copy !req
656. So I go down, I make my
report to the police department.
Copy !req
657. He said, "Your story is
different than everybody else's."
Copy !req
658. He said, "We will be
contacting you for a court date."
Copy !req
659. He said, "Now that we got a
witness to it, we're going to arrest him."
Copy !req
660. - Then they took me
and I gave my statement.
Copy !req
661. And then all through the night, they
took statements from the wrestlers.
Copy !req
662. He did say, he says, "You tell Carlos
Colon we run this island, not him.".
Copy !req
663. - I think they asked, "Did I see a weapon?"
Copy !req
664. I did not see a weapon.
Copy !req
665. As a matter of fact, no
weapon was ever recovered.
Copy !req
666. That weapon, whatever was used, what
knife was used, has never been recovered.
Copy !req
667. - I got my bag, I went
to the airport, and I left.
Copy !req
668. - Then I made arrangements.
Copy !req
669. I said, "I gotta go to the airport."
Copy !req
670. - Got on the plane with
Jeff, get off the plane,
Copy !req
671. waiting to see if anybody
was going to pick me up.
Copy !req
672. - So I looked around and here's Abby.
Copy !req
673. - I was going and this lady
and this little boy walked up
Copy !req
674. and she says, "Oh, Abdullah, you
don't know me, but I'm Frank's wife."
Copy !req
675. She says, "How's he doing?"
Copy !req
676. I said, "What?"
Copy !req
677. She said, "Well, how's he doing?"
Copy !req
678. I says, "They didn't tell you?"
Copy !req
679. "Tell me what?"
Copy !req
680. I says, "He's gone."
Copy !req
681. And she grabbed me.
Copy !req
682. - You sure know.
Copy !req
683. - All you think about is surviving.
Copy !req
684. All I thought about was I saw
a man get stabbed to the death,
Copy !req
685. holding on and dying with a
picture of his son in his hand.
Copy !req
686. He never put that picture down, brother.
Copy !req
687. When I put him on the ambulance,
he had a picture in his hand.
Copy !req
688. He laid on the floor, he's
still holding that picture.
Copy !req
689. He go in the operating room, he still,
he never put that picture down, brother.
Copy !req
690. Never.
Copy !req
691. - The irony of Brody's greatest
Nemesis delivering this news
Copy !req
692. was only the beginning of the
unthinkable events that would follow.
Copy !req
693. Alone with her son in a foreign land and
dealing with the shocking circumstances
Copy !req
694. of her husband's death,
Barbara Goodish found
Copy !req
695. the strength to make the
necessary arrangements.
Copy !req
696. - Nancy was Carlos Colon's wife.
Copy !req
697. She took me to the morgue and
of course everybody is speaking.
Copy !req
698. Spanish.
Copy !req
699. They took me to the window and you
could just see all these bodies in there
Copy !req
700. and then of course the reality,
boom, just really started to sink in.
Copy !req
701. - Not sure how long
it took before it set in.
Copy !req
702. We were in the hotel room
and I just remember crying
Copy !req
703. just incessantly for hours, hours and
hours and hours, yelling, screaming.
Copy !req
704. I still didn't realize the
magnitude of what happened.
Copy !req
705. And it probably took, I don't know
how long, 10, 15, 20 years maybe.
Copy !req
706. - When everything happened,
it was like, what do I do?
Copy !req
707. How do I bring him back to the States?
Copy !req
708. And it was like I heard
his voice and it was like
Copy !req
709. he was saying, "Barbara,
you know what to do."
Copy !req
710. And at that moment it
was, "I need to cremate
Copy !req
711. him down here "and
take him home with me."
Copy !req
712. There was a very simple
ceremony in Puerto Rico.
Copy !req
713. I mean, nobody was there
except me and Jeff and
Copy !req
714. some of the wrestlers and
some of the Puerto Ricans.
Copy !req
715. And Jeff picked out his dad's casket.
Copy !req
716. It was blue.
Copy !req
717. - When did you hear Jose was arrested?
Copy !req
718. Start of there.
Copy !req
719. - About three, four days later.
Copy !req
720. From what I hear, he was taken down to
a local precinct, never was put into cell.
Copy !req
721. Bail was made for him immediately
by some big businessmen there.
Copy !req
722. And he walked back home same day.
Copy !req
723. And so did you come to learn anything
about Jose Gonzalez or any of this stuff?
Copy !req
724. I know that the, I'm not
even gonna say his name.
Copy !req
725. I know that the attacker did it.
Copy !req
726. From what I can hear from everybody,
the whole court case was a sham.
Copy !req
727. - I mean, do you think
there was a cover-up?
Copy !req
728. - No, there was no cover-up.
Copy !req
729. The only guy that could have covered
was Jovica Knight and we didn't do that.
Copy !req
730. You know, we told the judge in the courtroom,
we said what we saw, we didn't do that.
Copy !req
731. 'Cause I didn't see any stabbing, I didn't
see any weapon, I didn't see anything.
Copy !req
732. - A guy named Tony
Rumba, the Boston bad boy,
Copy !req
733. banging on doors, said,
"Tony, Tony, put your
Copy !req
734. channel, "put the TV on
on certain channel."
Copy !req
735. They're talking about
the Puerto Rico thing.
Copy !req
736. I flipped the TBR, I see Jose on
TV coming out of the courthouse.
Copy !req
737. I said, "What the hell, they hear?"
Copy !req
738. He said, "No, they have a trial,
"they let him go for self-defense."
Copy !req
739. I said, "You gotta be kidding
me, they never contact me."
Copy !req
740. So you never got contacted?
Copy !req
741. Never.
Copy !req
742. Never did, never did.
Copy !req
743. Finally, my subpoena came
in the mail for my appearance
Copy !req
744. and I already knew the verdict when by
the time my subpoena arrived at my door.
Copy !req
745. It was 10 days late.
Copy !req
746. That's why the verdict came
back, not innocent but not guilty.
Copy !req
747. And Jose never testified, but they
believe what his attorney put out
Copy !req
748. that he was just merely
acting in self-defense.
Copy !req
749. The fans in Puerto Rico
believe wrestling was real.
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750. That was the major reason
that Jose was acquitted
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751. because they believed
Brody was this character,
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752. this wild looking psychopath, hulking
figure, and his defense was self-defense.
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753. - Do you believe it
was really self-defense?
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754. - I don't know, really, I don't know.
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755. I respect the law.
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756. So sad, I really,
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757. you know, I wouldn't want to talk about
this anymore because it makes you sad.
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758. - One month after Bruiser Brody's passing,
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759. All Japan Pro Wrestling
hosted a massive tribute
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760. show, inviting both
Barbara and her son Jeff
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761. to be honored in front of
the 17,000 fans in attendance.
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762. - The honor that they respected and being
in that ring and hearing that 10-bell count
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763. and hearing everybody
chanting, this whole
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764. building, chanting his
name, Brody, Brody, Brody.
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765. And I'm just standing
there in the ring with Jeff.
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766. And it was the most, I mean, just to
know how much he was respected.
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767. - May peace be with you, Bruiser Brody.
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768. - Bruiser Brody was a brawler,
mythic proportions, and will
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769. always live on as such in the
world of professional wrestling.
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770. - I didn't ever guess that I was
going to be a professional wrestler.
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771. Once I started in professional
wrestling, learned the ropes.
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772. If I had it to do over again,
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773. I think that I would probably
even pass up my three years
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774. in the NFL and devote them to wrestling
because it has been that good to me.
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775. - He was one of its biggest
stars in the 1970s and '80s
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776. and is considered one of
the all-time greatest wrestlers
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777. in Japanese wrestling history, where
he is still celebrated today as an icon.
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778. (speaking in Japanese)
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779. - Yeah, justice would be great.
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780. Some personal justice would be more
gratifying than some legal justice, honestly.
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781. - Mr. Brody, every dog has his day.
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782. Cannot kill a legend.
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783. See, legends never die.
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784. So if that was Jose's theme, is
to kill a legend, or to kill a legend.
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785. He failed miserably.
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786. - Nobody knows the exact
circumstances, including the words, if any,
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787. exchanged between Frank Goodish and Jose
Gonzalez on the night of Brody's death.
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788. It remains one of wrestling's
darkest and most intriguing mysteries.
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789. (dramatic music)
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790. Join us next time as we continue to explore
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791. the untold stories of
professional wrestling.
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792. - I wish he was here.
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793. I wish he was here.
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794. He dished it out, I dished it out, and we
kept going and going and going and going.
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795. I'm pulling up my dress!
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796. No, that loser Brody is
the king of what he's doing.
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797. (laughing)
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798. Hush, hush, hush, Brody.
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799. All right, shit.
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800. (dramatic music)
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