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