1
00:00:05,251 --> 00:00:07,585
-Alright.
Let's do a little sound check.0

2
00:00:07,710 --> 00:00:10,376
Just can you tell us who you are

3
00:00:10,501 --> 00:00:14,585
and what your relation is
to this particular story?

4
00:00:14,710 --> 00:00:18,126
-My name is Eric Aaron --
A-A-R-O-N -- Bischoff.

5
00:00:18,251 --> 00:00:21,876
Date of birth, 5/27/1955.

6
00:00:22,001 --> 00:00:25,876
And I'm here to talk
about the NWO because...

7
00:00:26,001 --> 00:00:28,251
[bleep] I created it.

8
00:00:28,376 --> 00:00:29,918
♪♪

9
00:00:30,085 --> 00:00:32,335
-You are the...

10
00:00:32,418 --> 00:00:36,210
-♪ Driving in the fast lane ♪

11
00:00:36,293 --> 00:00:39,835
-In many ways, the NWO
was kind of a proof of concept

12
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,043
for the entertainment business
that you can put the villain,

13
00:00:44,126 --> 00:00:46,543
the bad guy,
in the protagonist role.

14
00:00:46,668 --> 00:00:49,418
-You're never gonna see
another bad guy like me, Chico.

15
00:00:49,543 --> 00:00:53,543
-Starting in the '90s,
it was a brand-new feeling

16
00:00:53,626 --> 00:00:58,835
where the regular, boring,
good-guy hero

17
00:00:58,918 --> 00:01:01,793
from the '80s
was no longer compelling.

18
00:01:01,918 --> 00:01:03,960
-♪ It feels right ♪

19
00:01:04,085 --> 00:01:06,376
-These guys are disgusting.

20
00:01:06,501 --> 00:01:10,043
Oh, no! Oh!

21
00:01:10,168 --> 00:01:13,918
-People like bad guys.

22
00:01:14,043 --> 00:01:16,293
-They are spray-painting him!

23
00:01:16,418 --> 00:01:17,626
♪♪

24
00:01:17,751 --> 00:01:21,210
-Here's the NWO!

25
00:01:21,335 --> 00:01:24,001
-Ready or not, here we come!

26
00:01:24,085 --> 00:01:25,710
-Shows like "Sopranos",

27
00:01:25,835 --> 00:01:27,793
shows like "Breaking Bad,"
shows like "The Wire,"

28
00:01:27,918 --> 00:01:31,960
where the featured protagonists
in these shows are bad people,

29
00:01:32,085 --> 00:01:33,876
and that's how the NWO was.

30
00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:37,460
But they were the ones
being cheered.

31
00:01:37,585 --> 00:01:40,043
-All of a sudden, it was kind of
liberating for the fans

32
00:01:40,168 --> 00:01:41,585
who had been toeing the line

33
00:01:41,710 --> 00:01:44,710
to all of a sudden
cheer for the bad guy.

34
00:01:44,793 --> 00:01:46,543
-Let's get right in.

35
00:01:46,710 --> 00:01:49,376
-Alright, we have seen
the end of Hulkamania.

36
00:01:49,543 --> 00:01:52,710
-One of the reasons
that people...

37
00:01:52,793 --> 00:01:58,960
find something interesting...
sometimes attractive...

38
00:01:59,085 --> 00:02:03,543
in a good villain
is they see themselves.

39
00:02:03,710 --> 00:02:04,793
-I'm the man!

40
00:02:04,918 --> 00:02:08,168
I am God!

41
00:02:08,251 --> 00:02:12,043
-♪ Driving in the fast lane ♪

42
00:02:12,168 --> 00:02:16,960
♪ Foot down, accelerate ♪

43
00:02:17,085 --> 00:02:21,126
♪ It feels right ♪

44
00:02:21,251 --> 00:02:24,543
[ Birds chirping ]

45
00:02:30,251 --> 00:02:33,293
-I think professional wrestling,
like anything else,

46
00:02:33,418 --> 00:02:35,501
you watch it, you enjoy it,

47
00:02:35,626 --> 00:02:38,168
becomes a part of your regular
viewing habits

48
00:02:38,251 --> 00:02:40,876
and maybe even
a part of your life.

49
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,501
Yes, it's physical.

50
00:02:43,585 --> 00:02:45,085
It's dynamic.

51
00:02:45,251 --> 00:02:46,918
It's risky.

52
00:02:47,085 --> 00:02:49,876
But more than all that,
it's psychology.

53
00:02:50,001 --> 00:02:51,210
It's storytelling.

54
00:02:51,335 --> 00:02:52,876
It's like
any other form of entertainment.

55
00:02:53,043 --> 00:02:54,668
When a story is really good,

56
00:02:54,793 --> 00:02:57,918
when the psychology
behind a story is good...

57
00:02:58,043 --> 00:02:59,585
it seems like real life.

58
00:02:59,751 --> 00:03:03,126
♪

59
00:03:03,251 --> 00:03:06,251
It is funny, like any other form
of storytelling,

60
00:03:06,376 --> 00:03:09,626
it really always comes down
to a good guy and a bad guy.

61
00:03:09,751 --> 00:03:12,960
Historically, most people
want to be the good guy.

62
00:03:13,085 --> 00:03:16,335
♪

63
00:03:16,418 --> 00:03:19,376
But that's not what the NWO
was all about.

64
00:03:19,501 --> 00:03:23,960
The NWO turned that...
idea on its head.

65
00:03:24,085 --> 00:03:28,210
It was a turning point
in a lot of ways.

66
00:03:28,376 --> 00:03:31,043
It became cool to be a bad guy.

67
00:03:31,168 --> 00:03:34,793
♪

68
00:03:34,918 --> 00:03:37,126
Welcome back to
World Championship Wrestling.

69
00:03:37,251 --> 00:03:40,376
I'm Eric Bischoff,
and this is the WCW magazine.

70
00:03:40,460 --> 00:03:44,043
I got hired in WCW
as a backup announcer.

71
00:03:44,126 --> 00:03:45,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

72
00:03:45,835 --> 00:03:47,460
Hello, everybody!

73
00:03:47,585 --> 00:03:50,626
And from the studios of
World Championship Wrestling,

74
00:03:50,751 --> 00:03:51,918
this is...

75
00:03:52,043 --> 00:03:53,835
WCW was in the tank.

76
00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,251
WCW's ratings were dismal.

77
00:03:56,418 --> 00:04:00,210
It will be Sting
taking on The Prisoner.

78
00:04:00,293 --> 00:04:02,210
The show looked horrible.

79
00:04:02,335 --> 00:04:04,543
They were giving tickets away.

80
00:04:04,626 --> 00:04:06,376
Obviously, we -- we have a --

81
00:04:06,501 --> 00:04:08,501
We had a little bit
of a technical difficulty here.

82
00:04:08,626 --> 00:04:13,085
WCW couldn't draw flies
if they rolled in cow manure.

83
00:04:13,210 --> 00:04:15,126
♪♪

84
00:04:15,251 --> 00:04:19,251
Even when you got
somewhat of a crowd,

85
00:04:19,376 --> 00:04:20,960
they weren't really invested.

86
00:04:21,085 --> 00:04:22,710
They were taking the tickets
because they were free,

87
00:04:22,835 --> 00:04:24,210
but most of them weren't

88
00:04:24,335 --> 00:04:26,460
really into any of
the stories or characters.

89
00:04:26,585 --> 00:04:30,543
So you can't possibly get
a reaction that you can go,

90
00:04:30,710 --> 00:04:32,501
"Oh, well,
they really liked that,

91
00:04:32,626 --> 00:04:34,501
so maybe we should do
more of that and less of this,"

92
00:04:34,585 --> 00:04:36,376
because you're dealing with
an artificial crowd,

93
00:04:36,501 --> 00:04:39,460
for the most part.

94
00:04:39,585 --> 00:04:43,043
Ted Turner, who, by the way,
was the only fan of WCW

95
00:04:43,126 --> 00:04:44,710
in Turner Broadcasting,

96
00:04:44,835 --> 00:04:48,001
came down to WCW
and essentially said,

97
00:04:48,126 --> 00:04:49,876
"Here's the deal.

98
00:04:50,043 --> 00:04:52,626
This is WCW's last shot."

99
00:04:52,751 --> 00:04:55,501
If this company
can't turn itself around

100
00:04:55,585 --> 00:04:57,876
in a relatively short
period of time,

101
00:04:58,043 --> 00:05:00,543
Ted is gonna pull the plug.

102
00:05:00,668 --> 00:05:04,876
It wasn't long after that that
I was made a vice president.

103
00:05:05,001 --> 00:05:08,043
I began to have
more influence over creative.

104
00:05:08,168 --> 00:05:09,543
As we go forward now,

105
00:05:09,668 --> 00:05:13,043
we needed somebody
to attract national advertisers.

106
00:05:13,126 --> 00:05:14,501
We needed a bigger,

107
00:05:14,585 --> 00:05:19,585
broader appeal
of a star in our company.

108
00:05:19,751 --> 00:05:23,626
-♪ I am a real American ♪

109
00:05:23,751 --> 00:05:25,918
♪ Fight for the rights
of every man ♪

110
00:05:26,085 --> 00:05:27,543
-[ Chanting ] We want Hulk!
We want Hulk!

111
00:05:27,668 --> 00:05:31,793
We want Hulk! We want Hulk!

112
00:05:31,918 --> 00:05:37,251
-Hogan! Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!
Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!

113
00:05:37,376 --> 00:05:40,335
-Hulk Hogan had left WWE.

114
00:05:40,418 --> 00:05:42,376
-This is the beginning

115
00:05:42,460 --> 00:05:45,085
of a new era for
World Championship Wrestling.

116
00:05:45,210 --> 00:05:49,418
Hulk Hogan, five-time World
Wrestling Federation champ,

117
00:05:49,585 --> 00:05:52,085
all of a sudden
back in the professional ranks,

118
00:05:52,251 --> 00:05:54,710
but this time with WCW.

119
00:05:54,835 --> 00:05:58,960
-Hulk Hogan transformed
what professional wrestling was

120
00:05:59,085 --> 00:06:02,376
in the eyes of not only the
public and the viewing audience,

121
00:06:02,460 --> 00:06:05,376
but advertisers
and television executives,

122
00:06:05,501 --> 00:06:09,543
and that's what
WCW needed in 1994.

123
00:06:09,626 --> 00:06:11,251
-Well, you know something,
Mean Gene?

124
00:06:11,376 --> 00:06:15,543
I told ya Hulkamania was gonna
run wild in the WCW, brother.

125
00:06:15,626 --> 00:06:17,210
Look at all the Hulkamaniacs.

126
00:06:17,335 --> 00:06:19,876
Can you hear them, Mean Gene?

127
00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,543
[ Cheers and applause ]

128
00:06:22,668 --> 00:06:26,126
The reason I went to WCW
is basically,

129
00:06:26,251 --> 00:06:29,335
Vince and I had
a different opinion

130
00:06:29,418 --> 00:06:31,376
on where my career was at.

131
00:06:31,501 --> 00:06:34,876
[ Waves crashing ]

132
00:06:37,751 --> 00:06:42,043
I felt that my run
definitely wasn't over.

133
00:06:42,168 --> 00:06:43,543
It was like a fresh start.

134
00:06:43,626 --> 00:06:46,876
It had a little bit
of a weird feel to it.

135
00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,543
I was so used to
those big live crowds

136
00:06:49,710 --> 00:06:51,876
every Monday and Thursday,
you know,

137
00:06:52,043 --> 00:06:55,918
so it didn't take long,
you know, to get in Eric's ear

138
00:06:56,043 --> 00:06:59,793
and explain to him that we
really need to be competitive.

139
00:06:59,918 --> 00:07:03,085
And anything less than that,
and I'd have been gone.

140
00:07:03,251 --> 00:07:11,543
♪

141
00:07:11,668 --> 00:07:15,126
-Hello, everyone, and welcome
to the Japan Supershow III.

142
00:07:15,251 --> 00:07:16,793
I'm Eric Bischoff.

143
00:07:16,918 --> 00:07:21,376
67,000 people on hand here
at the Tokyo Dome.

144
00:07:21,460 --> 00:07:22,876
Tremendous lineup.

145
00:07:23,001 --> 00:07:26,876
1993, '94,
I started doing business

146
00:07:27,001 --> 00:07:29,293
with a company
called New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

147
00:07:29,418 --> 00:07:30,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

148
00:07:30,876 --> 00:07:35,710
♪

149
00:07:35,793 --> 00:07:41,501
When I first went to Japan,
I saw such a contrast.

150
00:07:41,585 --> 00:07:45,585
WWE's live-event business
was in the tank.

151
00:07:45,710 --> 00:07:46,876
It was in the toilet.

152
00:07:47,043 --> 00:07:50,168
WCW's couldn't even
find the toilet,

153
00:07:50,251 --> 00:07:53,335
whereas in Japan,
they were putting

154
00:07:53,418 --> 00:08:00,001
60,000 or 80,000 people
in the Tokyo Dome.

155
00:08:00,085 --> 00:08:04,376
So I thought, "Okay, how do I
migrate some of the elements

156
00:08:04,460 --> 00:08:06,501
that I saw working in Japan?"

157
00:08:06,585 --> 00:08:10,376
[ Cheers and applause ]

158
00:08:10,543 --> 00:08:13,210
I think what the Japanese did
so much better

159
00:08:13,376 --> 00:08:15,710
than anybody in the U.S.
at that time

160
00:08:15,793 --> 00:08:19,335
was suspending disbelief.

161
00:08:19,418 --> 00:08:22,626
If you can consistently
do things

162
00:08:22,751 --> 00:08:25,960
that make the audience forget...

163
00:08:26,085 --> 00:08:29,376
that everything is scripted,
that's the sweet spot.

164
00:08:29,543 --> 00:08:33,126
[ Cheers and applause ]

165
00:08:33,251 --> 00:08:35,418
Something is going to happen

166
00:08:35,585 --> 00:08:38,001
that's gonna make the audience
say to themselves,

167
00:08:38,126 --> 00:08:41,126
either subconsciously or
to someone watching with them...

168
00:08:41,251 --> 00:08:45,876
"Hey, look, I know all
that stuff's scripted,

169
00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,960
but <i>that</i> -- that wasn't
supposed to happen."

170
00:08:49,085 --> 00:08:52,210
[ Reel clicking ]

171
00:08:58,418 --> 00:09:02,876
[ Cheers and applause
in distance ]

172
00:09:03,001 --> 00:09:06,710
-You people...
you know who I am.

173
00:09:06,835 --> 00:09:08,543
♪

174
00:09:08,668 --> 00:09:11,960
[ Footsteps approach ]

175
00:09:13,293 --> 00:09:17,043
-You're never gonna see
another bad guy like me, Chico.

176
00:09:17,126 --> 00:09:21,626
Say hello to Razor Ramon.

177
00:09:21,751 --> 00:09:24,543
-He means business.

178
00:09:24,668 --> 00:09:26,876
-I'm gonna show you...

179
00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:33,085
just how bad the bad guy can be.

180
00:09:36,293 --> 00:09:38,876
<i>I remember going to events
and asking them,</i>

181
00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,210
"What can I do
to improve my work?"

182
00:09:41,335 --> 00:09:44,418
<i>I said, "Is it my microphone
skills that enhancement?</i>

183
00:09:44,585 --> 00:09:45,876
<i>Is it my ring work?"</i>

184
00:09:46,001 --> 00:09:47,751
<i>And he said, "Absolutely not.</i>

185
00:09:47,876 --> 00:09:50,793
<i>I'm very pleased
with your performance."</i>

186
00:09:50,918 --> 00:09:54,043
I said,
"Well, I'm curious because...

187
00:09:54,126 --> 00:09:55,710
my pay has plateaued

188
00:09:55,835 --> 00:09:57,876
compared to the guys
who preceded me,

189
00:09:58,001 --> 00:10:00,751
and I'm wondering what I need
to do to make that big money

190
00:10:00,876 --> 00:10:04,376
like these guys
who went before me."

191
00:10:04,460 --> 00:10:06,126
And he just kind of went, "Hmm,"

192
00:10:06,251 --> 00:10:09,126
and I was summoned to the office
for meetings after that.

193
00:10:09,251 --> 00:10:12,418
And we couldn't really
come to any kind of agreement,

194
00:10:12,585 --> 00:10:14,710
and I ended up
getting my notice.

195
00:10:14,793 --> 00:10:17,585
Nobody cares
where you come from, Chico.

196
00:10:17,710 --> 00:10:20,251
They only care
where you're going.

197
00:10:20,376 --> 00:10:23,543
And like about a week later,
Kevin Nash gave his notice.

198
00:10:23,668 --> 00:10:28,043
-Two reasons --
more money and less dates.

199
00:10:28,168 --> 00:10:31,376
♪

200
00:10:31,543 --> 00:10:33,418
For three years,
I had been there.

201
00:10:33,585 --> 00:10:35,751
We had a no-cannabis rule.

202
00:10:35,918 --> 00:10:37,543
♪

203
00:10:37,668 --> 00:10:40,043
Scott and I weren't gonna
take a piss test

204
00:10:40,210 --> 00:10:42,043
if they were
gonna administer one,

205
00:10:42,210 --> 00:10:45,001
so we smoked on the way
to the Garden.

206
00:10:45,085 --> 00:10:48,876
We had, like, an Astro van,
something horrible,

207
00:10:49,001 --> 00:10:51,585
and we drove into the city.

208
00:10:51,710 --> 00:10:55,085
And we knew going to Turner

209
00:10:55,251 --> 00:10:57,543
that we would not be back
in the Garden.

210
00:10:57,710 --> 00:10:59,876
That was the significance
of the Garden.

211
00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:04,043
[ Cheers and applause ]

212
00:11:04,168 --> 00:11:08,543
We just got lost in the emotion
of it because it was over.

213
00:11:08,710 --> 00:11:11,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

214
00:11:11,793 --> 00:11:14,626
-I felt like,
"Wow, chapter completed.

215
00:11:14,751 --> 00:11:16,543
This chapter is done.

216
00:11:16,710 --> 00:11:18,543
Now I gonna go to see WCW

217
00:11:18,668 --> 00:11:20,668
to see what's
waiting for me there."

218
00:11:26,210 --> 00:11:27,335
-You are looking live as
professional wrestling's

219
00:11:27,418 --> 00:11:30,418
hottest television program
has just gotten bigger.

220
00:11:30,585 --> 00:11:37,668
Welcome to WCW Monday Nitro
on TNT!

221
00:11:37,751 --> 00:11:39,043
-I arrive in Macon, Georgia.

222
00:11:39,210 --> 00:11:41,835
Eric Bischoff picks me up
at the airport.

223
00:11:41,918 --> 00:11:43,960
And, you know, I've never met
Eric and, you know,

224
00:11:44,085 --> 00:11:47,626
I'm handsomely paid by them
and, you know, blah, blah, blah.

225
00:11:47,751 --> 00:11:49,668
Here we go,
and I'm a little skeptical.

226
00:11:49,751 --> 00:11:52,210
I mean, I've just left
the biggest show there is.

227
00:11:52,376 --> 00:11:55,001
I was just in Madison Square
Garden the night before,

228
00:11:55,126 --> 00:11:57,876
and now here we go
to Macon, Georgia.

229
00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,543
All due respect
to the residents of Macon,

230
00:12:00,710 --> 00:12:02,376
but it ain't New York City.

231
00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:05,418
-The program you already love
is now getting bigger.

232
00:12:05,585 --> 00:12:07,876
One of the things
that I wanted to do

233
00:12:08,043 --> 00:12:12,710
to make our show different
than the WWE show --

234
00:12:12,835 --> 00:12:15,460
I wanted Nitro to feel gritty.

235
00:12:15,585 --> 00:12:17,668
I wanted it to feel live.

236
00:12:17,793 --> 00:12:19,876
Welcome back live
to the first hour

237
00:12:20,001 --> 00:12:22,835
of this edition
of WCW Monday Nitro on TNT,

238
00:12:22,918 --> 00:12:24,876
Tony Schiavone
and Larry Zbyszko,

239
00:12:25,001 --> 00:12:29,210
and we are taking a look
at The Mauler completely maul

240
00:12:29,376 --> 00:12:30,543
his opponent, Steve Doll.

241
00:12:30,668 --> 00:12:32,043
-Well, you know, Steve Doll

242
00:12:32,126 --> 00:12:33,960
is trying to get
the offensive going, but --

243
00:12:34,085 --> 00:12:36,710
-Wait a minute.
What the hell is going on here?

244
00:12:36,876 --> 00:12:38,876
It's a lot easier sometimes.

245
00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:40,710
You get
a lot more real reaction,

246
00:12:40,835 --> 00:12:43,626
honest reaction,
by surprising as many people

247
00:12:43,751 --> 00:12:45,668
as you can that are on camera,

248
00:12:45,793 --> 00:12:47,376
which is why
when I had Scott Hall

249
00:12:47,543 --> 00:12:50,626
walk down through the crowd,
nobody's seen that before.

250
00:12:50,751 --> 00:12:52,210
Interrupt the match
in the middle of a match

251
00:12:52,293 --> 00:12:55,001
on live television,
nobody's ever seen that before.

252
00:12:55,126 --> 00:12:57,710
I didn't even tell
the two guys in the match.

253
00:12:57,835 --> 00:12:59,960
They had no idea
what was going on.

254
00:13:00,085 --> 00:13:01,501
[ Cheers and applause ]

255
00:13:01,626 --> 00:13:02,751
-What's with this?

256
00:13:02,876 --> 00:13:04,126
-And instead of hitting the ring

257
00:13:04,251 --> 00:13:05,668
and, like,
beating these guys up,

258
00:13:05,751 --> 00:13:07,043
I just went right
to the microphone,

259
00:13:07,210 --> 00:13:10,043
right to the hard camera,
and did my interview,

260
00:13:10,210 --> 00:13:11,751
and they stopped wrestling.

261
00:13:11,918 --> 00:13:13,876
And it was -- it became real,

262
00:13:14,001 --> 00:13:15,626
like, "What are you doing,
Scott?

263
00:13:15,751 --> 00:13:17,543
What are you doing?"

264
00:13:17,710 --> 00:13:20,668
You people...
you know who I am...

265
00:13:20,793 --> 00:13:22,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

266
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,751
...but you don't know
why I'm here.

267
00:13:27,876 --> 00:13:30,085
-All of that created
that sense of believability

268
00:13:30,210 --> 00:13:34,376
and allowed
for the suspension of disbelief

269
00:13:34,543 --> 00:13:36,960
that really launched the NWO.

270
00:13:37,085 --> 00:13:40,210
-You want to go to war?

271
00:13:40,293 --> 00:13:43,293
You want a war?

272
00:13:43,418 --> 00:13:45,376
You're gonna get one.

273
00:13:45,460 --> 00:13:46,793
♪♪

274
00:13:46,918 --> 00:13:49,585
-Watching Scott Hall
come into the ring,

275
00:13:49,751 --> 00:13:51,876
you go, "Holy crap.

276
00:13:52,043 --> 00:13:55,043
This is good stuff."

277
00:13:55,126 --> 00:13:58,210
You know, I caught myself,
you know, watching it, like,

278
00:13:58,335 --> 00:14:00,835
"Oh, my God," you know,
"What's he doing here?"

279
00:14:00,918 --> 00:14:02,751
I went, "Oh, my God.
I knew he was coming, but I --

280
00:14:02,876 --> 00:14:05,876
I got locked into
the moment with him."

281
00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:10,960
-The only reason it worked
was because I'm a WWE guy.

282
00:14:11,085 --> 00:14:12,501
I'm Razor. I'm Razor.

283
00:14:12,585 --> 00:14:16,626
I was just in Madison Square
Garden the night before.

284
00:14:16,751 --> 00:14:19,543
People thought
Vince sent me there.

285
00:14:19,710 --> 00:14:22,376
I knew then that it was working.

286
00:14:22,460 --> 00:14:23,626
Yo, Ken Doll...

287
00:14:23,751 --> 00:14:25,585
[ Cheers and applause ]

288
00:14:25,710 --> 00:14:28,751
I had such a good time
last week...

289
00:14:28,918 --> 00:14:31,001
that I came back for more.

290
00:14:31,085 --> 00:14:33,376
-It became clear to me

291
00:14:33,501 --> 00:14:39,168
that the more I could get
the audience to ask questions...

292
00:14:39,293 --> 00:14:41,460
the more engaged they were.

293
00:14:41,585 --> 00:14:43,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

294
00:14:44,001 --> 00:14:47,043
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!

295
00:14:47,126 --> 00:14:50,585
Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
-Huh? Okay.

296
00:14:50,751 --> 00:14:52,376
Okay, tough guy.

297
00:14:52,501 --> 00:14:57,876
I got a little -- no, I got
a <i>big</i> surprise for you...

298
00:14:57,960 --> 00:14:59,376
next week.

299
00:14:59,501 --> 00:15:01,960
-That created questions.

300
00:15:02,085 --> 00:15:04,543
Who is it?
Who could it possibly be?

301
00:15:04,626 --> 00:15:06,835
Scott Hall was a surprise.
It was a shock.

302
00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:08,460
The way he came down
was a shock.

303
00:15:08,585 --> 00:15:13,043
Now we're teasing who
his big buddy was going to be.

304
00:15:13,168 --> 00:15:16,376
That was designed intentionally
to get the audience

305
00:15:16,543 --> 00:15:19,585
to start asking questions
and debate amongst themselves.

306
00:15:19,751 --> 00:15:23,501
Where is it? The big surprise.

307
00:15:23,585 --> 00:15:27,501
I mean, I heard a lot of talk,
but where's the walk?

308
00:15:27,626 --> 00:15:30,668
[ Cheers and applause ]

309
00:15:33,585 --> 00:15:37,668
-Even though we were heelish,
we were so much cooler

310
00:15:37,793 --> 00:15:41,585
than...
everybody else on this show.

311
00:15:41,751 --> 00:15:44,668
The measuring stick
just changed around here, buddy.

312
00:15:44,751 --> 00:15:46,043
You're looking at it.

313
00:15:46,168 --> 00:15:49,335
-There was also that sentiment
in the '90s,

314
00:15:49,460 --> 00:15:52,918
who wouldn't want to punch their
boss in the face or, you know,

315
00:15:53,043 --> 00:15:55,626
powerbomb their boss
off of a stage onto a table,

316
00:15:55,751 --> 00:15:57,918
as Kevin Nash did
to Eric Bischoff.

317
00:15:58,043 --> 00:15:59,543
They were involved
in these segments

318
00:15:59,626 --> 00:16:02,293
where they were jumping
other wrestlers from behind.

319
00:16:02,418 --> 00:16:04,210
They were bullying
the commentary team.

320
00:16:04,335 --> 00:16:06,418
They were doing all of these
outside-the-ring things

321
00:16:06,543 --> 00:16:08,835
to get under WCW's skin.

322
00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,710
-Came to see the big boys!
[ Laughs ]

323
00:16:12,876 --> 00:16:16,210
-We tossed around some ideas,
and I was thinking, like,

324
00:16:16,376 --> 00:16:20,001
"How about aluminum
baseball bats?"

325
00:16:20,085 --> 00:16:22,251
Like, right before we went out,
Eric said,

326
00:16:22,376 --> 00:16:25,751
"Do not bring the bats
to the ring."

327
00:16:25,918 --> 00:16:28,376
And I went..."Okay."

328
00:16:28,543 --> 00:16:32,043
Like, that means,
"Bring the bats to the ring."

329
00:16:32,210 --> 00:16:34,043
-They've got baseball bats
in their hand!

330
00:16:34,126 --> 00:16:35,960
[ Cheers and applause ]

331
00:16:36,085 --> 00:16:38,626
They've got
baseball bats in their hand!

332
00:16:38,751 --> 00:16:40,710
-We went off the air
with the Charlotte cops

333
00:16:40,876 --> 00:16:45,793
coming underneath the rope
and unbuttoning their holsters

334
00:16:45,918 --> 00:16:49,001
and putting their hands
on the firearms.

335
00:16:49,085 --> 00:16:52,210
And I don't think anybody
had ever seen that

336
00:16:52,335 --> 00:16:54,043
in professional wrestling
before.

337
00:16:54,168 --> 00:16:56,210
-Ladies and gentlemen,
never before have we seen

338
00:16:56,335 --> 00:16:58,501
or witnessed
anything like this.

339
00:16:58,585 --> 00:17:03,168
The Outsiders in the ring,
and they are hammering away!

340
00:17:03,251 --> 00:17:06,168
-See ya, Monty! Whoo!

341
00:17:06,251 --> 00:17:08,626
-The first thing the NWO did
and the storyline did

342
00:17:08,751 --> 00:17:10,001
was they kind of changed

343
00:17:10,085 --> 00:17:11,626
the rules of engagement
of pro wrestling.

344
00:17:11,751 --> 00:17:14,793
The way that they drew up
the storyline was to make it

345
00:17:14,918 --> 00:17:17,793
blur the lines between
what was real and what was not.

346
00:17:17,918 --> 00:17:21,335
-Well, many of you know that
for the last several weeks,

347
00:17:21,460 --> 00:17:23,918
since May 27th,
as a matter of fact,

348
00:17:24,043 --> 00:17:26,210
we've had a number of...

349
00:17:26,293 --> 00:17:30,668
let's just call them
interruptions on Nitro.

350
00:17:30,793 --> 00:17:33,293
-Hall and Nash together,
when they came to WCW,

351
00:17:33,418 --> 00:17:35,043
they were known
as The Outsiders.

352
00:17:35,210 --> 00:17:38,210
That was the first name
that anyone gave them.

353
00:17:38,293 --> 00:17:40,085
Even before they were starting
to call them

354
00:17:40,251 --> 00:17:42,126
by their real names,
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash,

355
00:17:42,251 --> 00:17:44,418
they were referred to
as The Outsiders,

356
00:17:44,543 --> 00:17:47,501
but what they're asking for
is a match.

357
00:17:47,626 --> 00:17:49,210
-You want a match.
You want a war.

358
00:17:49,335 --> 00:17:51,293
You want it inside of the ring,
you're gonna get it.

359
00:17:51,418 --> 00:17:53,501
-They want a match against
WCW's top stars,

360
00:17:53,626 --> 00:17:54,835
and they say three.

361
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:56,585
There's only two of them
at that time.

362
00:17:56,710 --> 00:17:59,543
There's only Hall and Nash,
so there was that implication

363
00:17:59,668 --> 00:18:02,460
that there's going to be
a surprise third member.

364
00:18:02,585 --> 00:18:05,126
-You know,
you tell billionaire Ted

365
00:18:05,251 --> 00:18:08,876
to break out the money
and get anybody you can

366
00:18:09,043 --> 00:18:11,710
because the big man

367
00:18:11,835 --> 00:18:17,543
and the medium-sized man
and our surprise buddy

368
00:18:17,710 --> 00:18:19,876
are gonna carve them...

369
00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:22,418
-From that point forward,

370
00:18:22,585 --> 00:18:26,293
the evolution of that story was
all about who's the third man?

371
00:18:26,418 --> 00:18:28,751
-I've got to know
who that third man is.

372
00:18:28,876 --> 00:18:29,918
-Well --
-Why can't we know it?

373
00:18:30,085 --> 00:18:31,126
-We've talked about that before.

374
00:18:31,251 --> 00:18:33,501
That was all intentional
and by design.

375
00:18:33,585 --> 00:18:38,376
However, I had no idea
that it was going to have...

376
00:18:38,460 --> 00:18:41,335
the impact
it ultimately had had.

377
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:47,793
[ Birds chirping ]

378
00:18:47,918 --> 00:18:49,876
-Go get the rabbits.

379
00:18:50,043 --> 00:18:54,543
Early '96, Hulk has been with us
for a little over a year.

380
00:18:54,668 --> 00:18:58,043
Initially, there was all kinds
of enthusiasm --

381
00:18:58,168 --> 00:19:01,876
ticker-tape parade at Disney,
a lot of media.

382
00:19:02,001 --> 00:19:04,710
Got a lot of coverage
in the press,

383
00:19:04,835 --> 00:19:06,293
all very positive.

384
00:19:06,418 --> 00:19:09,751
Wrestling fans initially
were really excited,

385
00:19:09,876 --> 00:19:15,376
but after about a year,
kind of seemed like fans

386
00:19:15,460 --> 00:19:17,710
were just -- I don't know.

387
00:19:17,876 --> 00:19:20,043
It was kind of like a
"been there, done that,"

388
00:19:20,168 --> 00:19:21,751
and it just got me thinking,
you know,

389
00:19:21,876 --> 00:19:26,210
"I wonder -- I wonder
if Hulk would consider...

390
00:19:26,293 --> 00:19:28,710
shifting gears and turning heel.

391
00:19:28,835 --> 00:19:31,710
♪

392
00:19:31,793 --> 00:19:36,960
-I felt a little bit of a lag,
so I started disappearing,

393
00:19:37,085 --> 00:19:38,751
doing movies
and different stuff,

394
00:19:38,876 --> 00:19:42,418
trying to give the fans
a break from my stuff.

395
00:19:42,543 --> 00:19:46,960
When Eric first came to me
with this, I said no.

396
00:19:47,085 --> 00:19:49,335
-He looked at me and he said,
"Brother,

397
00:19:49,418 --> 00:19:53,126
until you walk a mile
in my red and yellow boots,

398
00:19:53,251 --> 00:19:55,710
you'll never really understand
this character."

399
00:19:55,835 --> 00:19:57,543
-I've been training
and saying my prayers

400
00:19:57,668 --> 00:20:00,293
and eating my vitamins,
and everywhere I go, man,

401
00:20:00,418 --> 00:20:02,043
the people are training
in the parking lots,

402
00:20:02,126 --> 00:20:03,376
posing in the gyms.

403
00:20:03,501 --> 00:20:04,793
The women
are getting better shape.

404
00:20:04,918 --> 00:20:06,043
-Hulk had two very young kids.

405
00:20:06,126 --> 00:20:07,543
I think they were still

406
00:20:07,668 --> 00:20:09,876
in grade school
or junior high at the time,

407
00:20:10,043 --> 00:20:14,710
and their whole lives, Daddy has
been this red and yellow hero

408
00:20:14,793 --> 00:20:16,543
and this character
that everybody loved.

409
00:20:16,626 --> 00:20:19,043
And Hulk Hogan the character
was doing

410
00:20:19,210 --> 00:20:21,251
Make-A-Wish appearances.

411
00:20:21,376 --> 00:20:24,626
It meant a lot to Hulk.

412
00:20:24,751 --> 00:20:27,043
-I was concerned about
a lot of the kids

413
00:20:27,210 --> 00:20:29,251
because I had so many things

414
00:20:29,418 --> 00:20:32,210
along those years
being Hulk Hogan that,

415
00:20:32,335 --> 00:20:34,335
"Oh, my gosh,
I grew up without a father.

416
00:20:34,418 --> 00:20:36,043
If it wasn't for you,
I would've never made it,"

417
00:20:36,168 --> 00:20:37,876
or, "I quit doing drugs
because of you,"

418
00:20:38,001 --> 00:20:41,876
or, "My childhood was horrible,
except I believed in you,"

419
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,085
and I was like, "Oh, boy,
this is gonna be tough."

420
00:20:46,251 --> 00:20:48,376
-It's not like he could
go back and become

421
00:20:48,460 --> 00:20:50,835
that red and yellow character
the very next week.

422
00:20:50,918 --> 00:20:53,335
Once you make this decision,
once you pull the trigger

423
00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:54,918
and the bullet
leaves the barrel,

424
00:20:55,085 --> 00:20:58,418
you're not putting it back in
for a long, long time.

425
00:20:58,543 --> 00:21:01,210
-A former five-time
world champion,

426
00:21:01,376 --> 00:21:03,335
the six-foot, seven-inch...

427
00:21:03,418 --> 00:21:07,043
As we go forward now
into the Bash at the Beach,

428
00:21:07,168 --> 00:21:09,126
which is going to be
the big reveal

429
00:21:09,251 --> 00:21:12,501
of who the third man was...

430
00:21:12,585 --> 00:21:14,126
♪♪

431
00:21:14,251 --> 00:21:15,668
Later on, ladies and gentlemen,

432
00:21:15,751 --> 00:21:18,626
we will have this big
six-man main event.

433
00:21:18,751 --> 00:21:21,210
Who is the third man?
We are still not sure.

434
00:21:21,335 --> 00:21:23,876
You will find out
by calling your cable operator

435
00:21:24,001 --> 00:21:25,210
and saying you want...

436
00:21:25,293 --> 00:21:26,918
I had the story
pretty much laid out

437
00:21:27,043 --> 00:21:31,376
exactly the way it played out,
but instead of Hulk Hogan,

438
00:21:31,501 --> 00:21:34,585
it was originally
gonna be Sting.

439
00:21:34,710 --> 00:21:39,543
At the time, Sting was
the biggest hero in WCW.

440
00:21:39,710 --> 00:21:41,543
I wanted Sting to turn heel.

441
00:21:41,668 --> 00:21:46,126
-Ladies and gentlemen, the most
popular wrestler of 1994

442
00:21:46,251 --> 00:21:49,876
as voted by you, the fans,
this is Sting!

443
00:21:50,001 --> 00:21:52,668
[ Applause ]

444
00:21:52,751 --> 00:21:54,626
-I make speech!

445
00:21:54,751 --> 00:21:58,376
-Sting finally
got comfortable with that.

446
00:21:58,501 --> 00:22:02,168
Then I get a phone call one day
from Hulk Hogan.

447
00:22:02,293 --> 00:22:05,418
Hulk said, "So..."

448
00:22:05,543 --> 00:22:08,460
Always curls his lips up.

449
00:22:08,585 --> 00:22:11,710
"So...who's the third man?"

450
00:22:11,793 --> 00:22:14,501
-Eric was thinking about
putting Sting in there.

451
00:22:14,585 --> 00:22:17,793
Once I saw, you know,
Scott show Big Kev

452
00:22:17,918 --> 00:22:21,793
powerbomb Eric off the stage,
I went, "Oh, boy.

453
00:22:21,918 --> 00:22:23,210
When I turn heel,

454
00:22:23,335 --> 00:22:27,126
this is gonna either
destroy my career

455
00:22:27,251 --> 00:22:28,710
or this is gonna be
the greatest thing

456
00:22:28,793 --> 00:22:30,626
that ever happened
in wrestling."

457
00:22:30,751 --> 00:22:33,210
-So much has been said,
written, and talked about.

458
00:22:33,335 --> 00:22:34,960
So many unexpected occurrences

459
00:22:35,085 --> 00:22:37,001
have happened
over the past couple of weeks.

460
00:22:37,085 --> 00:22:38,543
-The day comes.

461
00:22:38,710 --> 00:22:41,460
Bash at the Beach pay-per-view,
July of '96.

462
00:22:41,585 --> 00:22:43,668
I was not 100% sure

463
00:22:43,793 --> 00:22:47,043
that Hulk
was gonna follow through.

464
00:22:47,126 --> 00:22:51,751
-At 5:30, we still don't know
if he was in or out.

465
00:22:51,876 --> 00:22:53,793
-You know, we're doing this
"who's the third man?" thing,

466
00:22:53,918 --> 00:22:55,668
this big angle
at the Bash at the Beach.

467
00:22:55,793 --> 00:22:57,460
We're gonna launch the NWO.

468
00:22:57,585 --> 00:22:59,251
Now we go to the ring.

469
00:22:59,376 --> 00:23:00,876
Hulk is still not there,

470
00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:04,210
and we still don't know
if Hulk agrees or not,

471
00:23:04,376 --> 00:23:05,960
because in his contract,

472
00:23:06,085 --> 00:23:08,710
he has approval
over what his character does.

473
00:23:08,793 --> 00:23:13,793
And he's been a hero
to millions his whole career.

474
00:23:13,918 --> 00:23:15,793
I remember looking at Bischoff,
going, "What's up?"

475
00:23:15,918 --> 00:23:19,126
And he goes,
"Well, listen, if it's not Hulk,

476
00:23:19,251 --> 00:23:21,710
we're gonna send Sting."

477
00:23:21,835 --> 00:23:26,460
All due respect to Sting,
it wouldn't have worked.

478
00:23:26,585 --> 00:23:30,251
-WCW picks their top three,
and it's Lex Luger,

479
00:23:30,376 --> 00:23:32,418
Sting, and the Macho Man.

480
00:23:32,585 --> 00:23:34,960
-Three against two,
the way I like it.

481
00:23:35,085 --> 00:23:36,501
-I'll tell you what,

482
00:23:36,626 --> 00:23:39,210
I'm still seeing
that bad intentions going on.

483
00:23:39,293 --> 00:23:41,543
This whole hand
has not been dealt.

484
00:23:41,668 --> 00:23:43,668
The hand has not been dealt,
brother.

485
00:23:43,751 --> 00:23:45,251
-It's just Hall and Nash.

486
00:23:45,418 --> 00:23:47,126
There's no third person.

487
00:23:47,251 --> 00:23:48,626
The commentary team is trying

488
00:23:48,751 --> 00:23:50,376
to sell this as,
"What's going on?

489
00:23:50,543 --> 00:23:51,585
Where is this third person?

490
00:23:51,710 --> 00:23:52,876
Is a third person
even in the match?"

491
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:54,376
You know,
"Who is this third person?"

492
00:23:54,501 --> 00:23:55,960
-They have said
the third man is here,

493
00:23:56,085 --> 00:23:57,418
but he is not in the ring.

494
00:23:57,543 --> 00:24:00,710
-As the WCW team starts
to get the better

495
00:24:00,835 --> 00:24:03,168
a little bit of Hall and Nash...

496
00:24:03,251 --> 00:24:04,960
Hulk Hogan comes out.

497
00:24:05,085 --> 00:24:06,460
[ Cheers and applause ]

498
00:24:06,585 --> 00:24:09,418
-Hulk Hogan is here!
Hulk Hogan's here!

499
00:24:09,543 --> 00:24:12,543
Hulk Hogan is in the building!

500
00:24:12,668 --> 00:24:15,251
-You're damn right, he is!
-Go get 'em, Hulkster!

501
00:24:15,418 --> 00:24:17,793
-It was just crazy
when I came out.

502
00:24:17,918 --> 00:24:21,293
I wanted that natural reaction
from the fans.

503
00:24:21,418 --> 00:24:24,085
How could our hero
stab us in the heart?

504
00:24:24,210 --> 00:24:26,626
[ Cheers and applause ]

505
00:24:26,751 --> 00:24:30,043
-I could feel the audience.

506
00:24:30,168 --> 00:24:33,085
Here comes their hero.

507
00:24:33,210 --> 00:24:34,751
Everybody was certain

508
00:24:34,918 --> 00:24:38,585
he was there to defend the honor
of WCW,

509
00:24:38,710 --> 00:24:41,585
and then the leg drop.

510
00:24:41,710 --> 00:24:45,001
[ Cheers and applause ]

511
00:24:45,085 --> 00:24:48,460
♪♪

512
00:24:48,585 --> 00:24:50,293
-What is he doing?!
-Oh, my God!

513
00:24:50,418 --> 00:24:52,001
Is he the third man?!

514
00:24:52,126 --> 00:24:55,876
-He's the third man!
-What the hell is going on here?

515
00:24:56,001 --> 00:24:58,293
-He is the third man
in this picture!

516
00:24:58,418 --> 00:25:00,043
-Look at this! Oh, my God!

517
00:25:00,168 --> 00:25:01,626
What the hell is going on?!

518
00:25:01,751 --> 00:25:05,085
Oh, my God. Are you kidding me?!

519
00:25:05,210 --> 00:25:08,293
[ Cheers and applause ]

520
00:25:08,418 --> 00:25:14,751
♪♪

521
00:25:14,876 --> 00:25:16,418
-Unbelievable, brother.

522
00:25:16,585 --> 00:25:19,376
-I remember Scott
looking at him, going,

523
00:25:19,501 --> 00:25:20,918
"Whatever you do, man,

524
00:25:21,043 --> 00:25:25,126
make sure the referee
counts three."

525
00:25:25,251 --> 00:25:26,876
And the first thing he does

526
00:25:27,001 --> 00:25:31,251
is picks up the referee
and throws him out of the ring.

527
00:25:31,418 --> 00:25:34,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

528
00:25:34,835 --> 00:25:36,251
♪

529
00:25:36,376 --> 00:25:39,793
And Scott has to do the count.

530
00:25:39,918 --> 00:25:41,335
If you look back at it,

531
00:25:41,460 --> 00:25:43,543
there's never a count
at the match

532
00:25:43,626 --> 00:25:46,001
of, like, us
actually beating them,

533
00:25:46,085 --> 00:25:47,251
and that's -- I mean,

534
00:25:47,376 --> 00:25:49,835
those little details
are priceless.

535
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:51,460
-See those little Hulksters

536
00:25:51,585 --> 00:25:53,585
with the tears rolling
down their face right now?

537
00:25:53,751 --> 00:25:57,585
-A career of a lifetime,
right down the drain, kid.

538
00:25:57,751 --> 00:26:02,043
-It was such an abrupt
change of energy.

539
00:26:02,126 --> 00:26:04,376
-Incredible. What a show.

540
00:26:04,501 --> 00:26:06,960
-Everyone is shocked, Tony.

541
00:26:07,085 --> 00:26:09,668
Look at the ring.

542
00:26:09,751 --> 00:26:11,585
-The most incredible scene.

543
00:26:11,710 --> 00:26:15,043
Ladies -- We're --
I don't know where we're going.

544
00:26:15,168 --> 00:26:18,335
-He has --
He has slept with the devil.

545
00:26:18,460 --> 00:26:19,918
-I'm thinking, "Oh, my gosh.

546
00:26:20,043 --> 00:26:22,543
I've just completely lost
this audience.

547
00:26:22,668 --> 00:26:26,501
This is the worst idea
in the history of ideas.

548
00:26:26,626 --> 00:26:28,543
I'm gonna burn in wrestling Hell
for this."

549
00:26:28,668 --> 00:26:29,710
-There you go. That's right.

550
00:26:29,876 --> 00:26:31,418
-I never thought I'd see people

551
00:26:31,543 --> 00:26:34,585
throwing debris
and Hulk at Hulk Hogan.

552
00:26:34,710 --> 00:26:37,001
-This was not
supposed to happen.

553
00:26:37,085 --> 00:26:38,543
[ Chuckles ]

554
00:26:38,668 --> 00:26:41,710
Heard that before, right?
Not supposed to happen.

555
00:26:41,835 --> 00:26:44,585
-Mean Gene, the first thing
you need to do

556
00:26:44,710 --> 00:26:46,793
is to tell these people
to shut up

557
00:26:46,918 --> 00:26:49,293
if you want to hear
what I got to say.

558
00:26:49,418 --> 00:26:51,085
[ Cheers and applause ]

559
00:26:51,210 --> 00:26:54,376
But when I was in the ring,
they were cutting the promo

560
00:26:54,501 --> 00:26:56,543
with Scott and Kevin,
me and Gene,

561
00:26:56,668 --> 00:27:00,460
and they started
throwing the stuff.

562
00:27:00,585 --> 00:27:02,085
I felt the building rumbling.

563
00:27:02,210 --> 00:27:05,126
I said, "Oh, man,
we might have a riot in here."

564
00:27:05,251 --> 00:27:08,043
-I don't want to downplay
the fact that I'm really,

565
00:27:08,168 --> 00:27:13,418
really, really relieved
because I was not 100% sure

566
00:27:13,585 --> 00:27:15,876
that Hulk
was gonna follow through,

567
00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,210
but once he got to the building
and we talked,

568
00:27:18,335 --> 00:27:19,960
I knew, "Okay, it's on."

569
00:27:20,085 --> 00:27:22,710
I'm talking him through
his interview one last time.

570
00:27:22,835 --> 00:27:25,085
I'm saying, "Hulk,
and when you're finally done

571
00:27:25,210 --> 00:27:26,960
and you said everything
you're gonna say,

572
00:27:27,085 --> 00:27:28,751
you grab that microphone
and you say,

573
00:27:28,918 --> 00:27:33,418
'And this is the New World Order
of professional wrestling.'"

574
00:27:33,585 --> 00:27:39,751
-You can call this the New World
Order of wrestling, brother.

575
00:27:39,876 --> 00:27:42,126
These two men right here...

576
00:27:42,251 --> 00:27:48,126
-As soon as I said it, I went,
"Wow. That's cool.

577
00:27:48,251 --> 00:27:50,293
NWO, New World Order."

578
00:27:50,418 --> 00:27:52,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

579
00:27:53,001 --> 00:27:56,335
-I knew that if I turned into
a bad guy

580
00:27:56,418 --> 00:27:59,126
and I said the training,
the prayers and the vitamins

581
00:27:59,251 --> 00:28:01,293
and everything I did
for all you kids

582
00:28:01,418 --> 00:28:04,668
and the Make-A-Wish kids,
I did it for the money,

583
00:28:04,793 --> 00:28:07,835
you know, I knew it would
light the people up so much,

584
00:28:07,918 --> 00:28:10,918
it would reignite their interest
in their Hulk Hogan.

585
00:28:11,043 --> 00:28:13,793
I had no idea
with Scott and Kevin

586
00:28:13,918 --> 00:28:16,293
as two big lead horses with me

587
00:28:16,418 --> 00:28:18,751
how the whole business
would flip in an instant.

588
00:28:24,460 --> 00:28:25,418
-Jimmy Hart -- Jimmy Hart
threw something in the ring.

589
00:28:25,585 --> 00:28:28,001
Lex's got it.
He took Big Bubba out.

590
00:28:28,126 --> 00:28:31,376
And now...
-Oh! Here we go!

591
00:28:31,460 --> 00:28:35,918
-The Outsiders in the ring,
and they are hammering away!

592
00:28:36,043 --> 00:28:39,043
-This was a sneak attack.
There's Hogan!

593
00:28:39,168 --> 00:28:41,710
-There he is!
-There's Hulk Hogan.

594
00:28:41,876 --> 00:28:44,376
There's no yellow.
There's no red.

595
00:28:44,543 --> 00:28:46,376
He's wearing black.

596
00:28:46,543 --> 00:28:47,876
-Now, here we are.

597
00:28:48,001 --> 00:28:50,418
Hulk Hogan has turned heel.

598
00:28:50,585 --> 00:28:53,126
We know who the third man is.

599
00:28:53,251 --> 00:28:59,335
We know they refer to themselves
as the New World Order...

600
00:28:59,460 --> 00:29:01,043
and it was a beautiful thing.

601
00:29:01,126 --> 00:29:05,376
It was spontaneous combustion
of the best kind, right?

602
00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:07,335
Happened in the moment.

603
00:29:07,460 --> 00:29:09,543
Well, guess what didn't happen

604
00:29:09,668 --> 00:29:12,668
while all those great things
were happening in the moment?

605
00:29:12,751 --> 00:29:15,876
We had no plan.

606
00:29:16,001 --> 00:29:19,543
We got to come up with a logo.

607
00:29:19,668 --> 00:29:23,335
We got to come up
with merchandise.

608
00:29:23,460 --> 00:29:24,960
We've got to come up with a look

609
00:29:25,085 --> 00:29:27,876
and an identity
for this new faction.

610
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,501
So we're scrambling.

611
00:29:30,626 --> 00:29:33,835
We went to the Disney MGM
design team

612
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,085
because we were there
on location,

613
00:29:36,210 --> 00:29:39,585
and they came to me
with about 8 or 10

614
00:29:39,710 --> 00:29:42,210
different ideas
for logos and graphics

615
00:29:42,335 --> 00:29:45,001
and color combinations
and things.

616
00:29:45,126 --> 00:29:50,376
And one of them was the NWO
kind of graffiti logo,

617
00:29:50,501 --> 00:29:53,168
and I went, "That's the one."

618
00:29:53,293 --> 00:29:55,835
[ Static ]

619
00:29:55,918 --> 00:29:57,210
-Alright. I'm good to go.

620
00:29:57,335 --> 00:29:59,376
-I don't mind
sharing the wealth...

621
00:29:59,501 --> 00:30:00,710
pillaging...

622
00:30:00,835 --> 00:30:02,585
Well, I think
it did take a while

623
00:30:02,751 --> 00:30:05,168
for Scott and Kevin and I
to click.

624
00:30:05,293 --> 00:30:09,001
When we first started out...
none of us liked each other.

625
00:30:09,126 --> 00:30:11,710
Hulk Hogan and the brotherhood,
The Outsiders.

626
00:30:11,835 --> 00:30:14,210
Scott and Kevin had real me in.

627
00:30:14,335 --> 00:30:16,501
-I wanted to tell you --
I wanted to ask you something.

628
00:30:16,585 --> 00:30:17,876
-Okay, guys.

629
00:30:18,043 --> 00:30:19,210
-He was doing the,

630
00:30:19,293 --> 00:30:20,918
"Brother, brother.
Hey, brother."

631
00:30:21,085 --> 00:30:23,418
You know,
"Let me tell you something."

632
00:30:23,543 --> 00:30:24,876
He was still doing that.

633
00:30:25,043 --> 00:30:28,251
We're like, "No, man.
We're not doing that."

634
00:30:28,376 --> 00:30:29,793
-Ready? Go.

635
00:30:29,918 --> 00:30:34,710
We don't care how you
used to do it around here.

636
00:30:34,876 --> 00:30:37,960
We don't care
what you think works

637
00:30:38,085 --> 00:30:40,835
because, Chico,
look at your track record.

638
00:30:40,918 --> 00:30:43,376
It ain't been working.

639
00:30:43,501 --> 00:30:45,460
It's NWO.

640
00:30:45,585 --> 00:30:47,335
Learn to love it.

641
00:30:47,418 --> 00:30:48,876
-[ Rapping ]
♪ Yeah, I played the block ♪

642
00:30:49,001 --> 00:30:50,376
♪ Like we played it loud ♪

643
00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:53,335
♪ Go hard or go home,
that's the model ♪

644
00:30:53,418 --> 00:30:56,251
♪ And if the cops follow,
strap on my seatbelt ♪

645
00:30:56,418 --> 00:30:59,793
♪ Open doors,
get the message like an e-mail ♪

646
00:30:59,918 --> 00:31:01,460
♪ You want the details? ♪

647
00:31:01,585 --> 00:31:03,251
♪ I can't ♪

648
00:31:03,418 --> 00:31:06,001
♪ 'Til these clowns
match up like ♪

649
00:31:06,085 --> 00:31:08,335
♪ You ain't an OG ♪

650
00:31:08,460 --> 00:31:09,876
♪ You don't know me ♪

651
00:31:10,001 --> 00:31:13,085
♪ Yeah, you brought on
like Moby ♪

652
00:31:13,210 --> 00:31:15,626
♪ Thinking you better,
you give me his name ♪

653
00:31:15,751 --> 00:31:18,918
♪ You ain't got to be Rihanna,
baby, to feel the ring ♪

654
00:31:19,085 --> 00:31:20,793
♪ Got some homies in the hood ♪

655
00:31:20,918 --> 00:31:24,376
♪ They'll switch it ♪

656
00:31:24,460 --> 00:31:26,376
♪ Call me the antidote ♪

657
00:31:26,501 --> 00:31:27,668
♪ I ain't that dude, no ♪

658
00:31:27,793 --> 00:31:29,376
♪ I ain't that dude, no ♪

659
00:31:29,460 --> 00:31:30,835
♪ I ain't that dude,
I ain't that dude ♪

660
00:31:30,918 --> 00:31:32,376
♪ I ain't that dude, no ♪

661
00:31:32,501 --> 00:31:33,793
♪ I ain't that dude, no ♪

662
00:31:33,918 --> 00:31:35,293
♪ I ain't that dude, no ♪

663
00:31:35,418 --> 00:31:36,960
♪ I ain't that dude,
I ain't that dude ♪

664
00:31:37,085 --> 00:31:39,376
♪ I ain't that dude, no ♪
-It's only business.

665
00:31:39,501 --> 00:31:41,876
-Here's a guy that's
a generation older

666
00:31:42,001 --> 00:31:44,043
than these younger guys.

667
00:31:44,168 --> 00:31:46,460
I can feel the vibe, man.
I can tell.

668
00:31:46,585 --> 00:31:49,668
It just took us a while to,
"Okay, everybody's cool."

669
00:31:49,793 --> 00:31:51,376
-He just basically sat down
and goes,

670
00:31:51,543 --> 00:31:53,793
"Where are you guys
getting this from?"

671
00:31:53,918 --> 00:31:55,251
Like the whole, "For life."

672
00:31:55,376 --> 00:31:58,126
That was one of Mack 10's songs
during that time.

673
00:31:58,251 --> 00:32:00,876
They were robbing
a burger place,

674
00:32:01,001 --> 00:32:02,376
and one dude says,

675
00:32:02,501 --> 00:32:06,668
"Man, I've been wanting
to do this for life."

676
00:32:06,793 --> 00:32:09,126
And we just -- NWO for life.

677
00:32:09,251 --> 00:32:12,626
Because it's NWO for life.

678
00:32:12,751 --> 00:32:14,376
[ Laughter ]

679
00:32:14,501 --> 00:32:17,168
-Once they learned to trust me
and figured out

680
00:32:17,293 --> 00:32:20,918
how to mold me to fit in,
because those two guys did it,

681
00:32:21,043 --> 00:32:23,001
that that's where
those promos came from.

682
00:32:23,126 --> 00:32:25,085
-The following announcement
has been paid for

683
00:32:25,251 --> 00:32:26,251
by the New World Order.

684
00:32:26,376 --> 00:32:28,126
-And there you see The Outsiders
are here.

685
00:32:28,251 --> 00:32:30,335
-They're in
the control room now.

686
00:32:30,460 --> 00:32:34,251
-Hold on. What do we got here?
-What does that do? Oh!

687
00:32:34,418 --> 00:32:35,418
Fade to black.

688
00:32:35,543 --> 00:32:37,793
Oh! Shouldn't have bought
that cheap TV.

689
00:32:37,918 --> 00:32:39,501
[ Both laugh ]

690
00:32:39,585 --> 00:32:42,876
-Wait, they are completely
hijacking this program!

691
00:32:43,001 --> 00:32:44,293
We need to get security...

692
00:32:44,418 --> 00:32:48,793
-In storyline, the NWO's goal
was to take over.

693
00:32:48,918 --> 00:32:53,460
It ended up really happening
in practice...

694
00:32:53,585 --> 00:32:57,710
and what I mean by that is
the NWO kind of took over

695
00:32:57,835 --> 00:33:02,460
WCW shows in the sense that
they were the featured acts.

696
00:33:02,585 --> 00:33:04,543
-I proudly present --

697
00:33:04,668 --> 00:33:08,210
Yo, here's the NWO!

698
00:33:08,376 --> 00:33:11,501
-Ready or not, here we come!

699
00:33:11,585 --> 00:33:15,210
-One of the advantages that
I saw in doing live television

700
00:33:15,293 --> 00:33:20,168
is that you can take the viewer
into the arena

701
00:33:20,293 --> 00:33:24,001
and reveal things that
they'd never seen before.

702
00:33:24,085 --> 00:33:26,668
-These guys are disgusting.

703
00:33:26,751 --> 00:33:28,751
-And because they were seeing it
for the first time,

704
00:33:28,918 --> 00:33:30,043
"Well, this must be real,

705
00:33:30,168 --> 00:33:31,501
because I've never
seen this before."

706
00:33:31,626 --> 00:33:34,751
-Security trying to put
a stop to this here.

707
00:33:34,918 --> 00:33:36,210
Go to the back!

708
00:33:36,335 --> 00:33:39,501
-One of those that stands out
was at Disney.

709
00:33:39,585 --> 00:33:41,043
It was in '96.

710
00:33:41,168 --> 00:33:43,543
We had this big scene
at the end of the show

711
00:33:43,626 --> 00:33:47,168
where the NWO kind of
attacked everybody backstage.

712
00:33:47,293 --> 00:33:49,043
[ Indistinct shouting ]

713
00:33:49,126 --> 00:33:52,793
Kevin Nash in particular
grabbed little Rey Mysterio,

714
00:33:52,918 --> 00:33:55,210
picked him up,
and lawn-darted him.

715
00:33:55,376 --> 00:33:58,418
-Oh, no!
-Laid waste to everybody,

716
00:33:58,585 --> 00:34:01,960
destroyed equipment --
chaotic scene.

717
00:34:02,085 --> 00:34:05,668
[ Indistinct shouting ]

718
00:34:05,793 --> 00:34:09,001
-Serious injuries, maybe
career-ending injuries here.

719
00:34:09,126 --> 00:34:12,001
-All of a sudden,
we hear sirens.

720
00:34:12,126 --> 00:34:13,710
"What the hell?"

721
00:34:13,876 --> 00:34:15,668
Cops are showing up.

722
00:34:15,793 --> 00:34:17,210
Fire trucks are showing up.

723
00:34:17,335 --> 00:34:19,335
Couple of ambulances showed up.

724
00:34:19,418 --> 00:34:23,293
It's like, "What? Somebody got
hurt really bad here."

725
00:34:23,418 --> 00:34:25,668
And evidently,
some of the people

726
00:34:25,793 --> 00:34:27,376
in the local area around Disney,

727
00:34:27,501 --> 00:34:30,043
MGM Studios,
saw what was going on live

728
00:34:30,168 --> 00:34:33,376
and decided
they needed to call 911.

729
00:34:33,460 --> 00:34:36,543
♪♪

730
00:34:36,668 --> 00:34:38,043
And that's another moment
where you go,

731
00:34:38,126 --> 00:34:41,043
"Oh, yeah, this is working.

732
00:34:41,168 --> 00:34:43,668
They're buying it."

733
00:34:43,751 --> 00:34:46,835
♪♪

734
00:34:55,751 --> 00:34:57,376
-Hi, I'm Sean Waltman.

735
00:34:57,501 --> 00:35:00,835
In the original NWO,
I was called Syxx and Syxx-Pac.

736
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,626
-The man you're looking at
right now,

737
00:35:02,751 --> 00:35:06,543
he was formerly The 1-2-3 Kid
when he was with the WWF.

738
00:35:06,710 --> 00:35:08,793
Now, we do know he was released
from that organization,

739
00:35:08,918 --> 00:35:10,168
no longer with them,

740
00:35:10,251 --> 00:35:12,626
but what in the world
is he doing here?

741
00:35:12,751 --> 00:35:16,918
-Vince basically told me,
"Look, we'd like you to stay,

742
00:35:17,043 --> 00:35:19,876
but if you stay, you're gonna
have to start from scratch."

743
00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:21,376
This was his exact words.

744
00:35:21,460 --> 00:35:23,835
He said, "Or if you can get
a better deal

745
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,376
for you and your family

746
00:35:25,501 --> 00:35:27,751
and you want to go work
for that billionaire [bleep]

747
00:35:27,918 --> 00:35:30,043
I'll give you a week
to think about it. Let me know."

748
00:35:30,210 --> 00:35:32,460
I heard Nitro is
the hottest show going today.

749
00:35:32,585 --> 00:35:35,335
I thought I'd come check it out,
you know what I mean?

750
00:35:35,460 --> 00:35:37,460
-Yeah, well, you're here.
-It was a hard decision,

751
00:35:37,585 --> 00:35:40,710
but I knew
it was the one I had to make.

752
00:35:40,876 --> 00:35:42,251
I wanted to be a part of it

753
00:35:42,376 --> 00:35:44,460
because it was automatically
being a part

754
00:35:44,585 --> 00:35:47,668
of the top storyline
in the business.

755
00:35:47,751 --> 00:35:50,543
NWO was the catalyst
that started the biggest

756
00:35:50,710 --> 00:35:54,168
boom period
of pro-wrestling history.

757
00:35:54,293 --> 00:35:56,210
It was the coolest thing
on television.

758
00:35:56,335 --> 00:35:59,543
The NWO, to me,
was like a big street gang,

759
00:35:59,626 --> 00:36:02,918
just trying to take over,
and by any means possible.

760
00:36:03,043 --> 00:36:05,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

761
00:36:06,043 --> 00:36:07,418
I mean, I remember one time,

762
00:36:07,585 --> 00:36:09,793
we -- they only showed it
on television once

763
00:36:09,918 --> 00:36:13,543
because apparently,
it was a bit too -- too much.

764
00:36:13,710 --> 00:36:16,168
You know, we ran the
Steiner brothers off the road

765
00:36:16,251 --> 00:36:18,168
and crashed their car.

766
00:36:18,251 --> 00:36:19,710
-Check both w--

767
00:36:19,835 --> 00:36:22,043
Proceed when clear.

768
00:36:22,168 --> 00:36:25,585
-Let's see what they're about.

769
00:36:25,751 --> 00:36:28,918
-I was holding the camera,
filming everything,

770
00:36:29,043 --> 00:36:30,376
and we kept bumping --

771
00:36:30,501 --> 00:36:32,710
like, Kev was driving,
and he kept bumping them.

772
00:36:32,793 --> 00:36:34,793
Get them again! Get them!

773
00:36:34,918 --> 00:36:38,043
[ Both laugh ]

774
00:36:38,126 --> 00:36:42,210
♪♪

775
00:36:42,335 --> 00:36:43,710
[ Tires screech ]

776
00:36:43,876 --> 00:36:45,376
Oh!

777
00:36:45,501 --> 00:36:47,960
Oh, man.

778
00:36:48,085 --> 00:36:51,335
Oh, my goodness.

779
00:36:51,418 --> 00:36:53,543
You just never knew
what was gonna happen.

780
00:36:53,710 --> 00:36:57,460
We ran through everyone
for what seemed like forever,

781
00:36:57,585 --> 00:36:59,501
to the point where all the,
like, the WCW guys were like,

782
00:36:59,626 --> 00:37:01,460
"What the [bleep] going on?"

783
00:37:01,585 --> 00:37:04,918
Like, like, it was too much
for a lot of people.

784
00:37:05,085 --> 00:37:07,751
-Wearing black
instead of his customary

785
00:37:07,876 --> 00:37:15,210
and traditional yellow and red,
presenting the WCW

786
00:37:15,293 --> 00:37:24,543
heavyweight champion
of the world...Giant!

787
00:37:24,626 --> 00:37:30,335
-Putting the world title
on Hulk Hogan versus The Giant

788
00:37:30,418 --> 00:37:32,835
was a super easy decision.

789
00:37:32,960 --> 00:37:35,668
[ Cheers and applause ]

790
00:37:35,793 --> 00:37:37,668
-Hello!

791
00:37:37,751 --> 00:37:44,668
-There was just this extra
"'F' you" to having Hulk Hogan,

792
00:37:44,793 --> 00:37:50,501
who betrayed millions of people
around the world, betrayed WCW,

793
00:37:50,585 --> 00:37:55,168
and now Hulk Hogan
has WCW's greatest prize.

794
00:37:55,293 --> 00:37:57,668
-Hogan's got the --
he's got the --

795
00:37:57,751 --> 00:37:59,085
-He laid him out!

796
00:37:59,210 --> 00:38:01,876
-He laid him out!
-I can't believe this!

797
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:03,293
-One, two -- no!

798
00:38:03,418 --> 00:38:05,001
[ Bell dinging ]

799
00:38:05,126 --> 00:38:07,835
-A new champion! A new champion!

800
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:10,043
-What do they --

801
00:38:10,126 --> 00:38:12,085
Oh, that's spray paint.

802
00:38:12,251 --> 00:38:14,210
Oh, my God,
they're gonna spray paint --

803
00:38:14,335 --> 00:38:16,501
-I cannot believe this.
This is unbelievable.

804
00:38:16,626 --> 00:38:19,210
-Somebody --
Somebody need to go there --

805
00:38:19,293 --> 00:38:21,043
-They are --
[ Cheers and applause ]

806
00:38:21,168 --> 00:38:24,001
-There it is, brother!

807
00:38:24,126 --> 00:38:26,335
The NWO!

808
00:38:26,418 --> 00:38:33,085
The NWO is the only way to go,
and what you gonna do?

809
00:38:33,251 --> 00:38:35,210
Thank you, brothers.

810
00:38:35,293 --> 00:38:37,710
-No longer was this just a group

811
00:38:37,876 --> 00:38:39,376
causing disruption
behind the scenes.

812
00:38:39,543 --> 00:38:41,335
This is a group whose leader,

813
00:38:41,418 --> 00:38:43,710
Hulk Hogan,
is now the WCW champion,

814
00:38:43,876 --> 00:38:45,376
and it took things
to a whole different level.

815
00:38:50,126 --> 00:38:52,835
[ Cheers and applause ]

816
00:38:55,418 --> 00:38:56,876
-When Hollywood Hogan

817
00:38:57,001 --> 00:39:01,085
won the WCW title
from The Giant at Hog Wild,

818
00:39:01,210 --> 00:39:03,251
if that was not an indication
that this storyline

819
00:39:03,418 --> 00:39:05,876
was here to stay
for a long period of time,

820
00:39:06,043 --> 00:39:07,251
that was it.

821
00:39:07,418 --> 00:39:08,710
You know,
you're putting the title --

822
00:39:08,835 --> 00:39:10,501
the number-one
most important thing,

823
00:39:10,585 --> 00:39:12,251
really, in the company,

824
00:39:12,418 --> 00:39:13,751
in the promotion,
is the world title --

825
00:39:13,918 --> 00:39:15,710
you're putting it
on a guy from the NWO.

826
00:39:15,835 --> 00:39:17,543
-Well, I can see
that the Dungeon of Doom

827
00:39:17,668 --> 00:39:19,751
and The Four Horseman
are now together,

828
00:39:19,876 --> 00:39:21,460
representing
World Championship --

829
00:39:21,585 --> 00:39:23,335
-Here comes The Giant!

830
00:39:23,460 --> 00:39:25,543
Look out, NWO!

831
00:39:25,626 --> 00:39:27,585
-Thank God for The Giant.

832
00:39:27,751 --> 00:39:29,710
-Never thought we would hear it.

833
00:39:29,835 --> 00:39:33,543
The Giant is gonna have
their lunch.

834
00:39:33,668 --> 00:39:36,501
The Giant is in the building.

835
00:39:36,626 --> 00:39:40,210
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

836
00:39:40,293 --> 00:39:41,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

837
00:39:41,835 --> 00:39:43,293
The Giant!

838
00:39:43,418 --> 00:39:44,835
[ Cheers and applause ]

839
00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,668
The Giant!

840
00:39:47,751 --> 00:39:49,460
No!

841
00:39:49,585 --> 00:39:52,585
-If someone who represents WCW
could join the NWO,

842
00:39:52,710 --> 00:39:55,543
then who <i>couldn't</i> join the NWO?

843
00:39:55,626 --> 00:39:58,710
-Whether you like it
or you don't,

844
00:39:58,835 --> 00:40:02,543
it's the best thing going today.

845
00:40:02,668 --> 00:40:05,710
-It showed the unpredictability
of who could join the NWO,

846
00:40:05,835 --> 00:40:09,293
who could become a part of it,
and that -- that deeper feeling

847
00:40:09,418 --> 00:40:10,751
that was going on
in the storyline

848
00:40:10,918 --> 00:40:13,376
of you just didn't know
who was gonna join next.

849
00:40:13,501 --> 00:40:16,126
There was almost a paranoia
with fans about,

850
00:40:16,251 --> 00:40:17,960
"Well, if this guy is in
the NWO,

851
00:40:18,085 --> 00:40:19,376
then anyone could be."

852
00:40:19,501 --> 00:40:21,543
-You know what?
Maybe it's time to dig in.

853
00:40:21,710 --> 00:40:24,043
Maybe now, we start to fight.

854
00:40:24,168 --> 00:40:28,293
As the on-camera talent,
I was doing everything I could

855
00:40:28,418 --> 00:40:30,501
to stop
this NWO thing from happening.

856
00:40:30,626 --> 00:40:33,043
It's got to stop.
It is going to stop.

857
00:40:33,168 --> 00:40:34,585
It's going to stop now

858
00:40:34,710 --> 00:40:36,210
because this company
is not going to tolerate it --

859
00:40:36,335 --> 00:40:38,626
not at the corporate level,
not at the level here that...

860
00:40:38,751 --> 00:40:41,043
-In order for this to grow

861
00:40:41,210 --> 00:40:45,251
and to continue to grow,
we need, like, less parameters.

862
00:40:45,418 --> 00:40:46,876
-Tell me something --

863
00:40:47,043 --> 00:40:48,543
You piece of [bleep]

864
00:40:48,668 --> 00:40:51,376
You are a --
[ Cheers and applause ]

865
00:40:51,543 --> 00:40:57,751
-The idea is suggested
that I become...

866
00:40:57,918 --> 00:41:01,543
the secret weapon of the NWO.

867
00:41:01,710 --> 00:41:05,376
Now, on face value,
well, that makes no sense,

868
00:41:05,501 --> 00:41:09,418
but if you think about it,
who better?

869
00:41:09,585 --> 00:41:11,960
Who better to defect?

870
00:41:12,085 --> 00:41:13,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

871
00:41:14,043 --> 00:41:20,085
-Now...
now that everybody realizes...

872
00:41:20,251 --> 00:41:23,751
who everybody's working for...

873
00:41:23,918 --> 00:41:32,501
I mean, my God, this guy here
was the foundation of the WCW.

874
00:41:32,626 --> 00:41:36,376
Now he works for the NWO.

875
00:41:36,543 --> 00:41:38,793
-So in the beginning,
it seemed like --

876
00:41:38,918 --> 00:41:43,585
like Eric was, like,
the Turner exec, head of WCW

877
00:41:43,710 --> 00:41:46,043
trying to fend off the NWO.

878
00:41:46,210 --> 00:41:48,335
Eric was like Palpatine.

879
00:41:48,418 --> 00:41:53,710
-Only through me can you achieve
a power greater than any Jedi.

880
00:41:53,876 --> 00:41:55,543
-Thought he was, like,
the leader of the Senate,

881
00:41:55,668 --> 00:41:58,460
ended up being the Sith Lord.

882
00:41:58,585 --> 00:42:01,251
-You're the Sith Lord.

883
00:42:01,418 --> 00:42:04,293
-Eric Bischoff is revealed

884
00:42:04,418 --> 00:42:08,626
as the the mastermind
behind the NWO.

885
00:42:08,751 --> 00:42:10,585
♪

886
00:42:10,751 --> 00:42:14,710
It was a brilliant stroke
because the NWO was doing

887
00:42:14,876 --> 00:42:16,543
all these, you know,
crazy things that, you know,

888
00:42:16,668 --> 00:42:17,835
they're creating
chaos backstage,

889
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,335
and in the ring,

890
00:42:19,460 --> 00:42:21,085
they're bringing baseball bats,
they're attacking people.

891
00:42:21,210 --> 00:42:23,168
How are they getting away
with all this stuff?

892
00:42:23,293 --> 00:42:25,376
Oh, that's why they're getting
away with all this stuff.

893
00:42:25,501 --> 00:42:29,710
Eric Bischoff, who is literally
the executive producer of WCW,

894
00:42:29,793 --> 00:42:31,918
has turned
and he's part of the NWO,

895
00:42:32,085 --> 00:42:35,543
and he's allowing them to
get away with all these things.

896
00:42:35,668 --> 00:42:38,210
-And as much fun as it was,
and it was very effective

897
00:42:38,293 --> 00:42:41,543
from the very beginning
because it was believable,

898
00:42:41,668 --> 00:42:45,710
I didn't think about
how it was going to impact

899
00:42:45,835 --> 00:42:47,585
my day-to-day work.

900
00:42:47,751 --> 00:42:50,293
Hello, everybody, and welcome.

901
00:42:50,418 --> 00:42:55,210
NWO Monday Nitro is on the air.

902
00:42:55,335 --> 00:42:57,043
I'm Eric Bischoff.

903
00:42:57,168 --> 00:42:58,835
Now all of a sudden,

904
00:42:58,918 --> 00:43:01,376
without me realizing it
or paying attention to it,

905
00:43:01,501 --> 00:43:05,376
a lot of people in Turner
Broadcasting are watching Nitro

906
00:43:05,501 --> 00:43:07,126
because it's the number-one show
on cable.

907
00:43:07,251 --> 00:43:09,626
We're kind of a big deal
within Turner Broadcasting,

908
00:43:09,751 --> 00:43:11,918
but I didn't realize it.
I didn't think about it...

909
00:43:12,085 --> 00:43:14,710
We have some business
we have to attend to here.

910
00:43:14,835 --> 00:43:17,626
For those of you that
weren't able to join us

911
00:43:17,751 --> 00:43:21,876
on pay-per-view last night,
major, major injustice.

912
00:43:22,001 --> 00:43:27,210
...until on an episode of Nitro
in a scene,

913
00:43:27,293 --> 00:43:28,876
I fire a referee

914
00:43:29,001 --> 00:43:31,585
for making a decision
that I didn't approve of.

915
00:43:31,751 --> 00:43:34,376
But under the circumstances,
I have -- there is --

916
00:43:34,460 --> 00:43:36,168
I have no other choice.

917
00:43:36,251 --> 00:43:37,876
You are hereby terminated.

918
00:43:38,043 --> 00:43:40,376
[ Laughter ]
You're fired.

919
00:43:40,543 --> 00:43:42,085
-My wife and children
are watching.

920
00:43:42,210 --> 00:43:44,251
-I don't want to hear about
your family problems.

921
00:43:44,418 --> 00:43:46,585
I'm telling you, you're fired.

922
00:43:46,710 --> 00:43:48,251
His name was Randy Anderson.

923
00:43:48,418 --> 00:43:49,751
He went by Pee Wee.

924
00:43:49,918 --> 00:43:52,085
Everybody loved
Pee Wee Anderson --

925
00:43:52,210 --> 00:43:55,626
everybody that he worked with,
the audience loved him.

926
00:43:55,751 --> 00:43:58,376
In real life, Randy had cancer,

927
00:43:58,460 --> 00:44:00,876
and somebody came up
with the idea --

928
00:44:01,001 --> 00:44:07,710
it was probably me --
where I fire Randy,

929
00:44:07,835 --> 00:44:10,376
and then a couple
of weeks later,

930
00:44:10,501 --> 00:44:11,960
he comes back to the ring.

931
00:44:12,085 --> 00:44:15,210
Presumably now, I've had time
to think about it,

932
00:44:15,293 --> 00:44:17,335
because Randy has cancer.

933
00:44:17,418 --> 00:44:19,543
What -- What are
your kids' names?

934
00:44:19,710 --> 00:44:21,543
Names -- what are their names?

935
00:44:21,668 --> 00:44:23,710
This is on live television.

936
00:44:23,793 --> 00:44:27,543
I'll tell you what --
kids, come on up here.

937
00:44:27,668 --> 00:44:29,501
It's alright, Randy.

938
00:44:29,585 --> 00:44:31,210
-They're children.

939
00:44:31,293 --> 00:44:33,001
-It's alright.

940
00:44:33,126 --> 00:44:37,543
Kids, would you do me a favor?

941
00:44:37,626 --> 00:44:40,335
And I look down
at his little son,

942
00:44:40,460 --> 00:44:42,668
and I said, "Tell your daddy..."

943
00:44:42,751 --> 00:44:44,751
Tell your daddy he's fired.

944
00:44:44,918 --> 00:44:46,751
Get on with his life.

945
00:44:46,876 --> 00:44:48,668
-Do it for little Tiny Tim.

946
00:44:48,793 --> 00:44:50,251
God bless us, everyone.

947
00:44:50,418 --> 00:44:51,543
-Is there anything...

948
00:44:51,710 --> 00:44:53,293
-'Course, the kids are crushed.

949
00:44:53,418 --> 00:44:56,085
Randy looks like he's gonna
break down and cry.

950
00:44:56,210 --> 00:44:58,085
His wife doesn't know
what to do,

951
00:44:58,210 --> 00:45:00,335
and he turns around
and he walks off

952
00:45:00,460 --> 00:45:03,918
as the crowd is wanting
to just fillet me like a fish

953
00:45:04,085 --> 00:45:06,793
because they were so angry
for what I just did.

954
00:45:06,918 --> 00:45:09,710
Tell you story walking.

955
00:45:09,876 --> 00:45:12,835
[ Indistinct shouting ]

956
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:16,918
-The next day, I come to work,
get in my office,

957
00:45:17,085 --> 00:45:18,876
and there's a note on my desk
from my assistant,

958
00:45:19,001 --> 00:45:21,085
says, "Dr. Schiller," who was
my boss, Harvey Schiller,

959
00:45:21,251 --> 00:45:23,751
"wants to speak to you
immediately."

960
00:45:23,918 --> 00:45:26,210
Well, <i>that</i> never happens.

961
00:45:26,293 --> 00:45:28,043
♪♪

962
00:45:28,210 --> 00:45:31,876
So evidently, what had happened
is so many people

963
00:45:32,043 --> 00:45:35,043
in Rome, Georgia,
where Randy was from,

964
00:45:35,210 --> 00:45:38,043
were watching that show,
got so angry,

965
00:45:38,126 --> 00:45:42,376
reached out to Human Resources
at Turner Broadcasting

966
00:45:42,501 --> 00:45:47,126
to complain about the fact
that I fired Randy Anderson,

967
00:45:47,251 --> 00:45:49,043
who's undergoing
cancer treatment,

968
00:45:49,168 --> 00:45:52,710
in front of his children
and wife on national television

969
00:45:52,835 --> 00:45:56,293
and I was disgrace
to the community.

970
00:45:56,418 --> 00:45:59,210
Human Resources immediately
calls Harvey Schiller

971
00:45:59,376 --> 00:46:01,876
and is like,
"What's this maniac up to?!

972
00:46:02,001 --> 00:46:03,751
You can't have an executive
firing people

973
00:46:03,918 --> 00:46:05,710
on national television!

974
00:46:05,876 --> 00:46:08,751
We're gonna get sued!"

975
00:46:08,876 --> 00:46:10,835
But the executives
that were watching it

976
00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:12,835
didn't realize it was wrestling.

977
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:14,876
That's how real our stuff was,

978
00:46:15,001 --> 00:46:18,710
and that line between
live or Memorex,

979
00:46:18,876 --> 00:46:21,043
as they used to say,
is it real, is it not real?

980
00:46:21,168 --> 00:46:25,376
It's that sweet spot,
that -- it's a gray area.

981
00:46:25,501 --> 00:46:29,043
Created enough of that confusion
in a good way

982
00:46:29,168 --> 00:46:32,543
to make people believe that what
they were watching was real.

983
00:46:37,668 --> 00:46:38,960
-The biggest icon in wrestling.

984
00:46:39,085 --> 00:46:42,251
[ Cheers and applause ]

985
00:46:42,376 --> 00:46:44,668
-Over a very brief
period of time now,

986
00:46:44,751 --> 00:46:50,210
the entire
traditional paradigm...

987
00:46:50,376 --> 00:46:53,751
of wrestling storytelling
and characters

988
00:46:53,876 --> 00:46:56,126
had been turned upside down.

989
00:46:56,251 --> 00:47:02,668
♪♪

990
00:47:02,751 --> 00:47:05,918
Bad guys are doing
cool things...

991
00:47:06,085 --> 00:47:09,210
and...getting cheered.

992
00:47:11,418 --> 00:47:13,293
Whoa.

993
00:47:13,418 --> 00:47:15,668
[ Cheers and applause ]

994
00:47:15,751 --> 00:47:17,960
Cool if you're a bad guy
doing cool things,

995
00:47:18,085 --> 00:47:21,710
getting cheered,
not so cool if you're a guy

996
00:47:21,793 --> 00:47:24,043
who makes his living
being a good guy

997
00:47:24,210 --> 00:47:26,710
and now you've got to get
that audience behind you.

998
00:47:26,793 --> 00:47:31,710
-Let's just stick with good, old
family entertainment wrestling.

999
00:47:31,876 --> 00:47:36,376
I could feel a shift
happening in our business.

1000
00:47:36,543 --> 00:47:40,001
I relate to the people,
or at least I try to.

1001
00:47:40,085 --> 00:47:42,001
You know, there are
a lot of great wrestlers

1002
00:47:42,085 --> 00:47:44,251
that just have a style of -- of

1003
00:47:44,418 --> 00:47:47,668
walking into the ring
and -- and tunnel vision,

1004
00:47:47,751 --> 00:47:50,876
thinking about their opponent
and -- and nothing else.

1005
00:47:51,001 --> 00:47:53,043
You know, black tights,
black boots.

1006
00:47:53,210 --> 00:47:56,001
"Let's get down to business"
kind of wrestlers, you know.

1007
00:47:56,126 --> 00:48:00,918
And me, I like to throw a little
bit of color into it, obviously.

1008
00:48:01,043 --> 00:48:04,668
So I'm somebody that everybody
can relate to, hopefully.

1009
00:48:04,793 --> 00:48:07,126
They wanted to see
something else

1010
00:48:07,251 --> 00:48:10,751
a little bit more cutting edge,
a little bit more hardcore.

1011
00:48:10,918 --> 00:48:15,668
[ Cheers and applause ]

1012
00:48:15,751 --> 00:48:17,210
Right around that time,

1013
00:48:17,335 --> 00:48:20,085
I knew that my character
was gonna have to change.

1014
00:48:20,251 --> 00:48:25,043
I will walk into this either
a loser...or a giant killer.

1015
00:48:25,168 --> 00:48:26,876
They didn't want "woo" anymore.

1016
00:48:27,043 --> 00:48:28,501
I mean, that was
right around the corner.

1017
00:48:28,585 --> 00:48:30,043
I could just feel it coming.

1018
00:48:30,126 --> 00:48:33,418
...feel like a Giant killer!

1019
00:48:33,543 --> 00:48:34,918
I knew I had to change,

1020
00:48:35,085 --> 00:48:38,876
and I set out
to try to figure out something,

1021
00:48:39,043 --> 00:48:41,751
some kind of way
to change my character

1022
00:48:41,918 --> 00:48:44,335
and be a little bit more
cutting edge.

1023
00:48:44,460 --> 00:48:47,210
How you doing?
-How you doing, Sting?

1024
00:48:47,335 --> 00:48:51,210
[ Chatter ]

1025
00:48:52,543 --> 00:48:56,751
[ Cheers and applause ]

1026
00:48:56,918 --> 00:48:58,376
There's nobody around.

1027
00:48:58,543 --> 00:49:04,251
-Well, the problem was NWO
in the mid-'90s was so cool --

1028
00:49:04,376 --> 00:49:07,210
the baby faces, you know,
that still painted their faces

1029
00:49:07,335 --> 00:49:09,918
or the bright red
and yellow colors like I did

1030
00:49:10,043 --> 00:49:12,210
or the neon colors
and -- and stuff.

1031
00:49:12,293 --> 00:49:13,668
That was kind of like, "Eh."

1032
00:49:13,793 --> 00:49:15,793
-Alright, we'll you see there.

1033
00:49:15,918 --> 00:49:20,335
♪♪

1034
00:49:20,460 --> 00:49:24,126
-This particular story
had way too much edge on it

1035
00:49:24,251 --> 00:49:27,835
to try to go back to any kind of
a candy-coated, kiddy,

1036
00:49:27,960 --> 00:49:31,126
teen, pre-teen,
hero solution to it.

1037
00:49:31,251 --> 00:49:33,168
The formula wasn't
gonna work anymore.

1038
00:49:33,251 --> 00:49:35,918
The audience was way past
that formula.

1039
00:49:36,085 --> 00:49:38,335
We needed a hero with an edge,

1040
00:49:38,418 --> 00:49:40,793
with as much of an edge
as the NWO had,

1041
00:49:40,918 --> 00:49:43,710
but it had to be somebody
with credibility.

1042
00:49:43,835 --> 00:49:45,460
If you want that hero

1043
00:49:45,585 --> 00:49:49,001
to be a hero
that's going to register

1044
00:49:49,126 --> 00:49:51,168
in every way,
including financially,

1045
00:49:51,251 --> 00:49:53,710
it's got to be somebody that the
audience already believes in.

1046
00:49:53,793 --> 00:49:55,918
♪♪

1047
00:49:56,085 --> 00:49:58,251
-The NWO really needed a foil,

1048
00:49:58,418 --> 00:50:01,876
so what WCW did
was they took Sting

1049
00:50:02,001 --> 00:50:04,418
and they made him an anti-hero.

1050
00:50:04,543 --> 00:50:08,751
-I remember having a
conversation with Eric Bischoff,

1051
00:50:08,918 --> 00:50:10,168
and I think Kevin
might have been there.

1052
00:50:10,293 --> 00:50:12,168
I know Scott was there,
Scott Hall.

1053
00:50:12,251 --> 00:50:13,210
You know,
I'm slicking my hair back,

1054
00:50:13,376 --> 00:50:14,710
getting ready to go to the ring,

1055
00:50:14,793 --> 00:50:15,960
and he's in the mirror
next to me

1056
00:50:16,085 --> 00:50:18,251
and he's putting
his face paint on.

1057
00:50:18,418 --> 00:50:20,501
At that point in his career,
he wore his hair really short

1058
00:50:20,626 --> 00:50:23,335
and fried blond, like,
just white blond, you know?

1059
00:50:23,418 --> 00:50:24,710
And he started --
he was growing it out.

1060
00:50:24,876 --> 00:50:25,835
It was kind of brown.

1061
00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:27,293
I remember thinking,

1062
00:50:27,418 --> 00:50:28,585
"Well, you're letting
your hair grow out?"

1063
00:50:28,751 --> 00:50:30,418
He goes, "Yeah."

1064
00:50:30,543 --> 00:50:32,710
I said, "You still gonna wear,
like, the happy-guy tights?"

1065
00:50:32,793 --> 00:50:34,335
He was wearing, like, these
neon tights and all that stuff.

1066
00:50:34,460 --> 00:50:36,210
He goes, "Yeah."

1067
00:50:36,335 --> 00:50:39,085
-"Why don't you paint your face
white or something, you know?

1068
00:50:39,210 --> 00:50:41,126
Wear a trench coat or something
like that, you know?"

1069
00:50:41,251 --> 00:50:43,793
And, "Eh."
-And I don't know him.

1070
00:50:43,918 --> 00:50:45,876
I have nothing to gain
by saying this,

1071
00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:47,376
but that's the way
I like to do business.

1072
00:50:47,501 --> 00:50:50,751
If I think it's good
for our company,

1073
00:50:50,918 --> 00:50:53,210
whether I like you
as a person or not

1074
00:50:53,376 --> 00:50:56,501
and you're part of the team,
"Here's what I think, bro."

1075
00:50:56,585 --> 00:50:59,043
And I said,
"You ever see 'The Crow'?"

1076
00:50:59,210 --> 00:51:00,585
-The Crow could bring
that soul back

1077
00:51:00,751 --> 00:51:02,793
to put the wrong things right.

1078
00:51:02,918 --> 00:51:04,543
-And Scott's describing

1079
00:51:04,626 --> 00:51:08,751
all these different scenes
where The Crow would pop up.

1080
00:51:08,876 --> 00:51:11,335
And by the time he got done,
I'm looking at Sting,

1081
00:51:11,418 --> 00:51:13,376
and Sting's eyes
were like this big.

1082
00:51:13,460 --> 00:51:16,543
Just like, "Give me more."

1083
00:51:16,668 --> 00:51:21,168
-Think it's time
you break on through...

1084
00:51:21,251 --> 00:51:22,710
to the other side.

1085
00:51:22,876 --> 00:51:24,376
[ Thunder rumbles ]

1086
00:51:24,543 --> 00:51:27,960
-Somewhere here in the arena,
there is Sting.

1087
00:51:28,085 --> 00:51:29,876
-Oh, he's actually
haunting the place.

1088
00:51:30,043 --> 00:51:31,793
Look at the man. He has no soul.

1089
00:51:31,918 --> 00:51:35,543
-The Sting character
was so mysterious at that time.

1090
00:51:35,626 --> 00:51:38,835
Started out up in the rafters,
the spotlight here and there,

1091
00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:40,168
smoke and mirrors.

1092
00:51:40,251 --> 00:51:42,210
-The dark side of Sting.
It is very scary.

1093
00:51:42,376 --> 00:51:44,335
-They brought the devil
out of him.

1094
00:51:44,418 --> 00:51:47,210
-This character seems to be
gaining a lot of momentum.

1095
00:51:47,376 --> 00:51:49,376
People are really buying
into the fact

1096
00:51:49,543 --> 00:51:52,293
that blond flattop hair
was going away

1097
00:51:52,418 --> 00:51:54,043
and, you know, all of a sudden,
the hair was dark

1098
00:51:54,126 --> 00:51:56,543
and it was growing longer.

1099
00:51:56,710 --> 00:51:58,960
Don't open your mouth
and become Sting again.

1100
00:51:59,085 --> 00:52:00,210
Less is more.

1101
00:52:00,335 --> 00:52:01,543
That's one of
the biggest lessons

1102
00:52:01,668 --> 00:52:03,543
that I learned
at that particular time.

1103
00:52:03,668 --> 00:52:05,918
-He didn't speak for,
I don't know,

1104
00:52:06,085 --> 00:52:08,001
9 months, 10 months.

1105
00:52:08,126 --> 00:52:12,543
He became...
like the cool antihero.

1106
00:52:12,626 --> 00:52:16,876
There was no more heroes.
Just didn't exist.

1107
00:52:17,001 --> 00:52:20,126
-Sting kind of, like,
gave us momentum

1108
00:52:20,251 --> 00:52:21,543
because anybody
that helped Sting

1109
00:52:21,710 --> 00:52:24,251
or anybody that Sting helped
or stood by Sting,

1110
00:52:24,376 --> 00:52:26,251
they gave him
instant credibility

1111
00:52:26,376 --> 00:52:28,543
and made him
a formidable foe for us.

1112
00:52:28,626 --> 00:52:32,543
-The long, slow point right at
Hollywood Hulk Hogan.

1113
00:52:32,710 --> 00:52:35,210
-For years,
all I ever heard about,

1114
00:52:35,335 --> 00:52:37,626
"Vince McMahon
knows a year in advance

1115
00:52:37,751 --> 00:52:39,043
what he's going to do."

1116
00:52:39,168 --> 00:52:41,585
Hell, I was lucky
to get through week to week.

1117
00:52:41,751 --> 00:52:43,543
All I constantly,
constantly hearing it,

1118
00:52:43,710 --> 00:52:46,876
so I thought,
"Okay, here's my shot.

1119
00:52:47,001 --> 00:52:48,168
Sting-Hogan.

1120
00:52:48,293 --> 00:52:50,460
I want
the longest build in history."

1121
00:52:50,585 --> 00:52:52,626
-WCW is back.

1122
00:52:52,751 --> 00:52:55,210
There has never been
a better time...

1123
00:52:55,376 --> 00:52:58,668
-And that really, I think,
started the American people's

1124
00:52:58,793 --> 00:53:01,335
obsession or infatuation
with the anti-hero,

1125
00:53:01,418 --> 00:53:03,710
with the bad guy
as the protagonist.

1126
00:53:03,793 --> 00:53:05,876
Well, that's what we want.

1127
00:53:05,960 --> 00:53:07,710
♪♪

1128
00:53:07,835 --> 00:53:10,085
-It was obvious so early on

1129
00:53:10,251 --> 00:53:12,668
that we had crossed over
into mainstream

1130
00:53:12,751 --> 00:53:16,376
in a way that
I have never experienced.

1131
00:53:16,543 --> 00:53:18,376
-It became so much bigger
than wrestling.

1132
00:53:18,501 --> 00:53:20,126
-Please welcome
our buddy Hulk Hogan.

1133
00:53:20,251 --> 00:53:23,793
-What is the sponsor? NWO.

1134
00:53:23,918 --> 00:53:25,668
-For the NWO in the '90s,

1135
00:53:25,793 --> 00:53:28,835
it was a time
of the anti-establishment,

1136
00:53:28,918 --> 00:53:33,001
and the NWO was a story
that took that to another level.

1137
00:53:33,085 --> 00:53:35,751
-Hey, your busting my leg!

1138
00:53:35,918 --> 00:53:39,210
-The hottest thing
in pop culture at that time

1139
00:53:39,293 --> 00:53:40,751
was Death Row.

1140
00:53:40,876 --> 00:53:43,918
That's why I would tie
my bandana backwards,

1141
00:53:44,043 --> 00:53:45,418
like Tupac.

1142
00:53:45,585 --> 00:53:48,043
Like, we'll be the cool guys.

1143
00:53:48,168 --> 00:53:50,376
-Bud Light, baby, Bud Light!

1144
00:53:50,501 --> 00:53:51,918
Whoo!

1145
00:53:52,085 --> 00:53:54,001
-Dennis Rodman joined the NWO.

1146
00:53:54,085 --> 00:53:56,335
-Dennis Rodman
went AWOL on Monday,

1147
00:53:56,418 --> 00:53:58,251
and he decided to do
the wrestling thing.

1148
00:53:58,418 --> 00:53:59,876
-Dennis Rodman was one of
the most popular

1149
00:53:59,960 --> 00:54:02,710
and controversial and edgiest
NBA players.

1150
00:54:02,835 --> 00:54:04,126
-He's in your league.

1151
00:54:04,251 --> 00:54:05,751
That's why you're with the NWO,
my friend.

1152
00:54:05,918 --> 00:54:08,293
-That's right, baby.
New World Order, baby.

1153
00:54:08,418 --> 00:54:12,210
-Favorite memory would probably
be the NWO guys

1154
00:54:12,335 --> 00:54:14,210
going out to the ring
with Rodman,

1155
00:54:14,293 --> 00:54:16,376
in Chicago smoking cigars,

1156
00:54:16,460 --> 00:54:21,085
and having Phil Jackson
out of his mind...

1157
00:54:21,251 --> 00:54:23,710
calling me going,
"Where's Rodman at?

1158
00:54:23,876 --> 00:54:25,543
He needs to get back
to practice,"

1159
00:54:25,668 --> 00:54:27,501
and I said,
"He doesn't want to come back."

1160
00:54:27,626 --> 00:54:29,126
He wants to hang out with us.

1161
00:54:29,251 --> 00:54:30,710
I don't know what to tell you."

1162
00:54:30,876 --> 00:54:33,085
We're the NWO!

1163
00:54:33,251 --> 00:54:37,043
You're messing with us for life.

1164
00:54:37,210 --> 00:54:42,168
-This is entertainment,
and the hair color, the tattoos,

1165
00:54:42,251 --> 00:54:45,043
the piercings, the wildness,
why not?

1166
00:54:45,210 --> 00:54:47,210
It's a perfect fit.

1167
00:54:47,376 --> 00:54:49,793
-It felt like there was
something more there

1168
00:54:49,918 --> 00:54:51,793
than your traditional
pro-wrestling program.

1169
00:54:51,918 --> 00:54:54,501
-The bottom line is this is all
serious business, joke man.

1170
00:54:54,626 --> 00:54:56,376
You crossed the line.
-I didn't cross --

1171
00:54:56,501 --> 00:54:58,335
Let me get you a hat, okay?

1172
00:54:58,418 --> 00:55:00,501
-I'm tired of it.

1173
00:55:00,585 --> 00:55:02,751
-You know what they say,
the old cliche.

1174
00:55:02,876 --> 00:55:04,751
The bigger they are...

1175
00:55:04,876 --> 00:55:07,460
-The harder they fall!

1176
00:55:07,585 --> 00:55:11,501
-Is we all know how hard it is
to become successful.

1177
00:55:11,626 --> 00:55:15,668
What I learned
is that it's far more difficult

1178
00:55:15,793 --> 00:55:19,168
to <i>remain</i> successful
than it is to <i>become</i> successful.

1179
00:55:19,251 --> 00:55:21,043
-I'm the man!

1180
00:55:21,168 --> 00:55:23,751
I am God!

1181
00:55:23,876 --> 00:55:26,001
♪♪

1182
00:55:30,585 --> 00:55:32,501
♪

1183
00:55:32,626 --> 00:55:34,876
-The Monday-night wars --
it was the reason

1184
00:55:35,043 --> 00:55:40,043
for everything in pro wrestling
during the '90s.

1185
00:55:40,126 --> 00:55:43,543
-You know, Ted Turner wanted
to put lightning in a bottle...

1186
00:55:43,668 --> 00:55:46,293
and the only conversation
I had with him

1187
00:55:46,418 --> 00:55:47,710
is if you're gonna
put lightning in a bottle,

1188
00:55:47,835 --> 00:55:49,668
you've got to go head to head
with Vince.

1189
00:55:49,793 --> 00:55:53,210
The NWO
with Hollywood at the helm

1190
00:55:53,376 --> 00:55:57,710
is just too damn sweet!

1191
00:55:57,835 --> 00:56:01,876
-It's hard for me sometimes
to be as honest with myself

1192
00:56:02,001 --> 00:56:03,585
as I'd like to be.

1193
00:56:03,710 --> 00:56:08,626
Nitro, Monday Night Raw were
head-to-head in competition,

1194
00:56:08,751 --> 00:56:12,251
too close to call most weeks,
from the very beginning.

1195
00:56:12,418 --> 00:56:17,585
It wasn't until
the NWO story that WCW and Nitro

1196
00:56:17,751 --> 00:56:19,251
began to dominate the ratings.

1197
00:56:19,418 --> 00:56:22,543
It did so for a year and a half,
almost two years.

1198
00:56:22,626 --> 00:56:26,085
♪♪

1199
00:56:26,251 --> 00:56:29,918
That would not have happened
had it not been for the NWO.

1200
00:56:30,085 --> 00:56:32,585
-He wants to punch out a fan!

1201
00:56:32,751 --> 00:56:37,376
-That was the goal, was to
become the number-one company.

1202
00:56:37,460 --> 00:56:41,335
I don't think the goal was ever
to put Vince out of business,

1203
00:56:41,460 --> 00:56:44,293
even though we got really,
really close.

1204
00:56:44,418 --> 00:56:46,460
-♪ We are the champions ♪

1205
00:56:46,585 --> 00:56:48,168
-♪ We are the champions ♪

1206
00:56:48,293 --> 00:56:50,626
-I've had a conversation with
Vince where he was just

1207
00:56:50,751 --> 00:56:53,210
a couple of weeks away
from shutting the doors.

1208
00:56:53,335 --> 00:56:55,335
-The number-one program
in the world,

1209
00:56:55,460 --> 00:57:01,043
it's Nitro with
World Championship Wrestling.

1210
00:57:01,168 --> 00:57:04,418
-I believed from day one
when I cut that promo

1211
00:57:04,585 --> 00:57:05,835
that this was gonna work,

1212
00:57:05,918 --> 00:57:07,501
that they were gonna cheer
for the bad guys,

1213
00:57:07,626 --> 00:57:11,668
but I didn't realize
how big it was gonna get.

1214
00:57:11,793 --> 00:57:14,710
It got to the point where
the only way to get destroyed

1215
00:57:14,835 --> 00:57:16,960
was the people that created it.

1216
00:57:17,085 --> 00:57:20,918
-The battle between good
and evil has begun.

1217
00:57:21,043 --> 00:57:24,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

1218
00:57:24,960 --> 00:57:29,376
-The catalyst for the
Monday-night wars was the NWO.

1219
00:57:29,501 --> 00:57:33,001
The rocket fuel for those wars
was Sting-Hogan.

1220
00:57:33,085 --> 00:57:36,210
♪♪

1221
00:57:36,335 --> 00:57:39,460
-Sting to the rescue for
World Championship Wrestling!

1222
00:57:39,585 --> 00:57:41,960
-You want him, you got him!

1223
00:57:42,085 --> 00:57:44,043
[ Cheers and applause ]

1224
00:57:44,210 --> 00:57:46,168
-He threw the bat away.

1225
00:57:46,251 --> 00:57:47,876
-Right here, let's go!

1226
00:57:47,960 --> 00:57:51,543
Right now!

1227
00:57:51,668 --> 00:57:55,335
-We did a fantastic job
of building that story.

1228
00:57:55,418 --> 00:57:56,876
It exceeded 12 months.

1229
00:57:57,001 --> 00:57:58,876
-Now, hold on here.
-Wait a minute.

1230
00:57:59,043 --> 00:58:00,876
-That -- That's Sting.
Who's that?

1231
00:58:01,043 --> 00:58:02,376
-It's another one!

1232
00:58:02,501 --> 00:58:05,251
It's a Sting-fest!
I mean, they're everywhere!

1233
00:58:05,376 --> 00:58:06,918
[ Cheers and applause ]

1234
00:58:07,043 --> 00:58:08,626
-Oh!

1235
00:58:08,751 --> 00:58:11,793
-We were putting
so much pressure

1236
00:58:11,918 --> 00:58:14,876
on ABC and Monday Night Football
that ABC network,

1237
00:58:15,001 --> 00:58:16,668
who had the rights
to Monday Night Football,

1238
00:58:16,793 --> 00:58:18,668
had to take out an ad
to convince advertisers

1239
00:58:18,751 --> 00:58:20,876
not to spend their money
with us.

1240
00:58:21,001 --> 00:58:24,043
The audience was so invested
in that story,

1241
00:58:24,210 --> 00:58:26,876
I knew that the payoff
was gonna be fantastic.

1242
00:58:27,001 --> 00:58:30,710
-The thing that gets me madder
than anything else

1243
00:58:30,835 --> 00:58:37,126
is all those idiots out there
with those Sting masks on!

1244
00:58:37,251 --> 00:58:39,418
I was here last week.

1245
00:58:39,585 --> 00:58:41,710
I'm here this week.

1246
00:58:41,876 --> 00:58:46,585
And if Sting had any guts,
he'd show his...

1247
00:58:46,710 --> 00:58:48,418
because I will beat him up.

1248
00:58:48,543 --> 00:58:49,835
-You know, guys,
Hogan's lost it.

1249
00:58:49,918 --> 00:58:52,918
-There's Hogan's nightmare
right there.

1250
00:58:53,043 --> 00:58:56,710
-The payoff was originally
going to be Sting,

1251
00:58:56,876 --> 00:59:00,710
finally,
after all of this time...

1252
00:59:00,793 --> 00:59:02,085
♪♪

1253
00:59:02,251 --> 00:59:04,335
...putting a period
at the end of the sentence

1254
00:59:04,460 --> 00:59:06,543
and walking away
with a WCW victory.

1255
00:59:06,710 --> 00:59:08,793
-You know, that's an image
that wrestling fans,

1256
00:59:08,918 --> 00:59:11,543
sports fans around the world,
will never forget --

1257
00:59:11,668 --> 00:59:13,626
Sting, the door swings open.

1258
00:59:13,751 --> 00:59:16,710
He walks slowly
towards Hollywood Hogan,

1259
00:59:16,835 --> 00:59:18,835
and he signs the contract,

1260
00:59:18,960 --> 00:59:23,210
not taking his eyes off
his enemy, off his opponent.

1261
00:59:23,335 --> 00:59:28,543
-That was the plan for almost
the entire 18 months...

1262
00:59:28,710 --> 00:59:31,668
-Sting and Hogan --
the contract has been signed.

1263
00:59:31,793 --> 00:59:35,501
The two men will meet
for the world title.

1264
00:59:35,626 --> 00:59:38,710
-...until the night
we got to the arena.

1265
00:59:38,835 --> 00:59:41,668
-Ladies and gentlemen,
we welcome you

1266
00:59:41,793 --> 00:59:44,835
to the biggest night in
the history of this grand sport.

1267
00:59:44,960 --> 00:59:46,710
-We had a plan all these months,

1268
00:59:46,876 --> 00:59:49,335
and then suddenly,
there was a shift.

1269
00:59:49,418 --> 00:59:51,793
[ Bell ringing ]

1270
00:59:51,918 --> 00:59:56,543
-Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to Starrcade '97

1271
00:59:56,668 --> 01:00:00,960
for the Heavyweight Championship
of the world.

1272
01:00:01,085 --> 01:00:05,710
-Hulk looked at me and said,
"Not today."

1273
01:00:05,793 --> 01:00:09,335
-Let's get ready to rumble!

1274
01:00:09,460 --> 01:00:12,501
[ Cheers and applause ]

1275
01:00:12,585 --> 01:00:17,835
♪♪

1276
01:00:17,918 --> 01:00:20,501
-Let's just stick
with the original plan,

1277
01:00:20,626 --> 01:00:22,376
deliver what we said
we were gonna do,

1278
01:00:22,460 --> 01:00:23,876
and move on from there.

1279
01:00:23,960 --> 01:00:26,376
You know, not --
not this last-minute stuff.

1280
01:00:26,543 --> 01:00:28,710
-I had a problem with it because
if you're gonna beat me

1281
01:00:28,793 --> 01:00:30,376
when I get
this type of momentum,

1282
01:00:30,501 --> 01:00:31,710
this is about making money.

1283
01:00:31,876 --> 01:00:33,210
Whenever you beat somebody,

1284
01:00:33,335 --> 01:00:35,710
you beat them in a way
that they're better off

1285
01:00:35,835 --> 01:00:38,376
<i>after</i> they're beat
than they were before,

1286
01:00:38,501 --> 01:00:39,793
and Eric really wasn't sure

1287
01:00:39,918 --> 01:00:41,751
where we were going
with this thing.

1288
01:00:41,918 --> 01:00:44,835
-He had creative control.

1289
01:00:44,960 --> 01:00:48,626
You can't give a wrestler
creative control.

1290
01:00:48,751 --> 01:00:50,418
Can't happen.

1291
01:00:50,543 --> 01:00:52,710
Just can't happen.

1292
01:00:52,793 --> 01:00:55,376
He doesn't have to do anything
he doesn't want to do.

1293
01:00:55,501 --> 01:00:56,710
-Despite the fact

1294
01:00:56,835 --> 01:00:58,710
that Hulk Hogan did have
creative control,

1295
01:00:58,876 --> 01:01:01,668
and he never exercised it,
he never threatened to use it,

1296
01:01:01,751 --> 01:01:03,543
he never implied that he might,

1297
01:01:03,710 --> 01:01:07,251
it was like, "Yeah,
it's there, but it's not."

1298
01:01:07,376 --> 01:01:08,668
Except for that night,

1299
01:01:08,793 --> 01:01:10,251
and because
Hulk wasn't feeling it,

1300
01:01:10,376 --> 01:01:11,710
he called an audible.

1301
01:01:11,835 --> 01:01:13,460
And it was a mad scramble.

1302
01:01:13,585 --> 01:01:17,751
-It got to the point where...
there was too much tension.

1303
01:01:17,876 --> 01:01:19,710
I said, "Okay, bro,
I'll put him over.

1304
01:01:19,835 --> 01:01:22,376
No big deal.
We'll figure it out."

1305
01:01:22,543 --> 01:01:25,626
-Not really sure
what we were going to do

1306
01:01:25,751 --> 01:01:27,876
literally until
walking through the curtain,

1307
01:01:28,043 --> 01:01:31,126
and even then, it's like,
you know, anything can happen.

1308
01:01:31,251 --> 01:01:33,543
[ Cheers and applause ]

1309
01:01:33,710 --> 01:01:36,460
-That's a cold stare,
is what that is.

1310
01:01:36,585 --> 01:01:39,043
-We had to figure out what
we were gonna do that night,

1311
01:01:39,168 --> 01:01:41,876
and we determined and agreed
that the best way to do that

1312
01:01:42,043 --> 01:01:46,585
was with a controversial,
disputable ending of the match.

1313
01:01:46,710 --> 01:01:48,585
[ Cheers and applause ]

1314
01:01:48,710 --> 01:01:49,835
-Ladies and gentlemen...

1315
01:01:49,960 --> 01:01:52,876
-Come on, hero! Come on, hero!

1316
01:01:53,043 --> 01:01:56,710
-The goal was to give Hogan
the quick count

1317
01:01:56,835 --> 01:01:59,626
that gave Sting justification

1318
01:01:59,751 --> 01:02:02,210
and the right
to demand a rematch.

1319
01:02:02,293 --> 01:02:04,418
[ Cheers and applause ]

1320
01:02:04,585 --> 01:02:07,001
-Big leg drop.

1321
01:02:07,126 --> 01:02:09,585
One, two, three!

1322
01:02:09,751 --> 01:02:12,085
[ Cheers and applause ]

1323
01:02:12,251 --> 01:02:13,626
-The quick count
wasn't a quick count.

1324
01:02:13,751 --> 01:02:16,460
-One, two, three!

1325
01:02:16,585 --> 01:02:19,585
-When a change that big is made
at the last minute,

1326
01:02:19,751 --> 01:02:21,835
there's a lot of scrambling
going on,

1327
01:02:21,918 --> 01:02:23,501
and there's an opportunity

1328
01:02:23,626 --> 01:02:26,876
for a lot of really bad
communication as a result of it.

1329
01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:29,376
-The referee counts
one, two, three.

1330
01:02:29,543 --> 01:02:32,126
He doesn't kick out.

1331
01:02:32,251 --> 01:02:35,001
-One, two, three!

1332
01:02:35,126 --> 01:02:37,043
-The quick count was
the last-minute plan.

1333
01:02:37,126 --> 01:02:39,876
It was the Band-Aid that was
put on the original plan.

1334
01:02:40,001 --> 01:02:41,418
-So he was supposed to kick out?

1335
01:02:41,585 --> 01:02:43,376
-Yeah, and he didn't kick out.

1336
01:02:43,501 --> 01:02:45,501
-One, two, three!

1337
01:02:45,626 --> 01:02:48,960
-I know some timing issues.
-One...

1338
01:02:49,085 --> 01:02:50,376
-We got messed up
on some timing.

1339
01:02:50,543 --> 01:02:52,126
-...two...

1340
01:02:52,251 --> 01:02:53,751
-There were some things
that happened timing-wise.

1341
01:02:53,876 --> 01:02:55,960
-...three!
-Watching it from the monitor

1342
01:02:56,085 --> 01:02:58,626
felt like
watching the Hindenburg.

1343
01:02:58,751 --> 01:03:01,668
You know, just like,
"Oh, the humanity."

1344
01:03:01,751 --> 01:03:03,085
-One, two, three!

1345
01:03:03,210 --> 01:03:05,876
-I like things to be, you know,

1346
01:03:06,043 --> 01:03:10,043
I like them to go, you know,
not always as planned.

1347
01:03:11,251 --> 01:03:13,376
-No one in the building
in Washington, D.C.,

1348
01:03:13,543 --> 01:03:15,668
thought at that time
that it was a fast count,

1349
01:03:15,751 --> 01:03:18,793
but in the storyline,
Bret Hart comes out.

1350
01:03:18,918 --> 01:03:20,751
[ Indistinct shouting ]

1351
01:03:20,876 --> 01:03:23,668
-I don't remember
Bret Hart being involved.

1352
01:03:23,751 --> 01:03:25,501
I don't remember
another referee coming down.

1353
01:03:25,585 --> 01:03:28,126
I remember anything like that
ever being talked about.

1354
01:03:28,251 --> 01:03:30,751
-Man, I can't even remember now
sitting here.

1355
01:03:30,918 --> 01:03:33,585
-Sting eventually
wins the title.

1356
01:03:33,751 --> 01:03:35,376
He beats Hulk Hogan.

1357
01:03:35,501 --> 01:03:39,126
And it was just a confusing mess
of what happened,

1358
01:03:39,251 --> 01:03:41,168
and it just felt
so anticlimactic

1359
01:03:41,251 --> 01:03:42,835
for something that
they were building for so long

1360
01:03:42,918 --> 01:03:44,543
and they had built brilliantly.

1361
01:03:44,626 --> 01:03:50,210
And then the climax was just...
kind of a wet fart.

1362
01:03:50,293 --> 01:03:52,585
-What a wonderful night
that was.

1363
01:03:52,710 --> 01:03:56,460
♪♪

1364
01:04:01,418 --> 01:04:04,876
[ Cheers and applause ]

1365
01:04:05,001 --> 01:04:06,793
-Last night,
ladies and gentlemen,

1366
01:04:06,918 --> 01:04:08,210
history was made.

1367
01:04:08,335 --> 01:04:11,376
After 18 months,
Sting returned to the ring.

1368
01:04:11,460 --> 01:04:14,376
There is a new
world heavyweight champion.

1369
01:04:14,501 --> 01:04:18,001
He is Sting with
World Championship Wrestling.

1370
01:04:18,085 --> 01:04:20,210
[ Cheers and applause ]

1371
01:04:20,335 --> 01:04:23,126
-When the viewer puts trust
into a product,

1372
01:04:23,251 --> 01:04:26,918
into characters, into a brand,

1373
01:04:27,043 --> 01:04:29,501
and then all those things
disappoint the viewer,

1374
01:04:29,585 --> 01:04:32,960
there is a loss of trust.

1375
01:04:33,085 --> 01:04:34,751
-But if you don't deliver

1376
01:04:34,876 --> 01:04:37,376
on that anticipation
that you've built

1377
01:04:37,543 --> 01:04:40,876
and the investment that the
audience has made in your story,

1378
01:04:40,960 --> 01:04:44,043
they're pissed at you,
they're disappointed in you,

1379
01:04:44,168 --> 01:04:46,001
and they don't
trust you anymore.

1380
01:04:46,085 --> 01:04:47,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

1381
01:04:47,835 --> 01:04:52,085
Nothing in terms
of a build-up in the finish

1382
01:04:52,210 --> 01:04:54,543
has ever been
more of a disappointment.

1383
01:04:54,626 --> 01:04:56,460
[ Cheers and applause ]

1384
01:04:56,585 --> 01:04:58,793
-I certainly think that it was

1385
01:04:58,918 --> 01:05:01,251
the beginning
of the end for WCW.

1386
01:05:01,376 --> 01:05:03,210
♪♪

1387
01:05:03,376 --> 01:05:08,376
-Me and Rodzilla --
we be taking over, bro.

1388
01:05:08,543 --> 01:05:13,043
[ Cheers and applause ]

1389
01:05:13,210 --> 01:05:17,043
-In '98,
the NWO starts to fracture,

1390
01:05:17,168 --> 01:05:19,418
and they become
two separate groups.

1391
01:05:19,543 --> 01:05:22,918
The NWO Wolfpac is wearing
black and red.

1392
01:05:23,043 --> 01:05:28,126
-Wolfpac in the house!

1393
01:05:28,251 --> 01:05:31,251
-The NWO Hollywood
is wearing black and white,

1394
01:05:31,418 --> 01:05:33,043
and now they're
warring factions.

1395
01:05:33,210 --> 01:05:34,876
So instead of being at war
with WCW,

1396
01:05:35,001 --> 01:05:36,626
they're actually at war
with each other.

1397
01:05:36,751 --> 01:05:39,210
That was definitely a departure
from what the original idea

1398
01:05:39,335 --> 01:05:41,876
for the NWO was supposed to be.

1399
01:05:42,001 --> 01:05:45,085
-I'm sure you've heard
the sad saga...

1400
01:05:45,210 --> 01:05:49,918
of Kevin Nash
losing his little buddy.

1401
01:05:50,043 --> 01:05:52,460
[ Cheers and applause ]

1402
01:05:52,585 --> 01:05:54,293
Hey, Kev --

1403
01:05:54,418 --> 01:05:58,876
Hey, Kev,
you're an embarrassment to me,

1404
01:05:59,001 --> 01:06:03,168
and I used to call you
my big brother.

1405
01:06:03,293 --> 01:06:07,710
You're not half the man
Hollywood Hogan is.

1406
01:06:07,835 --> 01:06:09,210
-They broke Kevin and Scott up,

1407
01:06:09,293 --> 01:06:11,585
and no one wanted to see
Kevin and Scott broke up.

1408
01:06:11,710 --> 01:06:12,960
That was [bleep]

1409
01:06:13,085 --> 01:06:18,001
-The whole split of the NWO

1410
01:06:18,085 --> 01:06:21,543
was probably more
a function of frustration.

1411
01:06:21,626 --> 01:06:22,960
-We're gonna humiliate him!

1412
01:06:23,085 --> 01:06:24,960
We're gonna teach him
who the master is,

1413
01:06:25,085 --> 01:06:27,251
then we're gonna choke slam him.

1414
01:06:27,376 --> 01:06:32,001
-There were a lot of internal
structural financial changes

1415
01:06:32,085 --> 01:06:35,126
being made mid-stream.

1416
01:06:35,251 --> 01:06:38,001
My budget was being gutted.

1417
01:06:38,085 --> 01:06:40,293
Didn't understand it.

1418
01:06:40,418 --> 01:06:42,376
Tried to fight it.
That was my biggest mistake.

1419
01:06:42,460 --> 01:06:45,585
I tried to fight it
because I thought I could.

1420
01:06:45,751 --> 01:06:48,918
-We're seeing a man
whose life has fallen apart.

1421
01:06:49,043 --> 01:06:50,293
Oh!

1422
01:06:50,418 --> 01:06:53,251
-I picked fights with people

1423
01:06:53,418 --> 01:06:56,210
I should have never
picked fights with corporately.

1424
01:06:56,335 --> 01:06:58,085
I was just fighting that battle
and finally,

1425
01:06:58,210 --> 01:06:59,668
I just threw up my hands
and said,

1426
01:06:59,751 --> 01:07:01,876
"Okay, well, we can't do
all the stuff we want to do,

1427
01:07:02,001 --> 01:07:04,376
so what do we do?"

1428
01:07:04,501 --> 01:07:08,751
Well, we can create
some internal strife,

1429
01:07:08,876 --> 01:07:14,418
conflict within the NWO
and have the NWO have a split.

1430
01:07:14,585 --> 01:07:17,460
♪

1431
01:07:17,585 --> 01:07:21,960
It was random,
and it was ineffective.

1432
01:07:22,085 --> 01:07:26,043
And it really took the steam
out of the NWO.

1433
01:07:26,168 --> 01:07:29,043
NWO heavyweight champion
of the world,

1434
01:07:29,126 --> 01:07:35,918
Big Sexy Kevin Nash!

1435
01:07:36,043 --> 01:07:39,210
-There's actual books that say

1436
01:07:39,293 --> 01:07:41,835
that I single-handedly
killed WCW.

1437
01:07:41,918 --> 01:07:43,085
-You?
-Yeah.

1438
01:07:43,210 --> 01:07:44,376
-What -- Who said that?

1439
01:07:44,460 --> 01:07:47,376
-There's books.
-What's the premise?

1440
01:07:47,460 --> 01:07:50,043
-Because the Fingerpoke of Doom.

1441
01:07:50,126 --> 01:07:51,543
[ Scoffs ]
-The what?

1442
01:07:51,668 --> 01:07:54,376
-They always say
the Fingerpoke of Doom.

1443
01:07:54,501 --> 01:07:57,043
-Very tentative look
on Hogan's face,

1444
01:07:57,210 --> 01:07:59,460
but Nash ready to go at it.

1445
01:07:59,585 --> 01:08:02,085
-Taking their time
with each other.

1446
01:08:02,251 --> 01:08:07,543
-Well, the Finger Point
of Doom...wrong.

1447
01:08:07,668 --> 01:08:08,793
Makes no sense.

1448
01:08:08,918 --> 01:08:10,585
Embarrassing.

1449
01:08:10,710 --> 01:08:13,835
-Let's see if that gets
a reaction from Hollywood here.

1450
01:08:13,960 --> 01:08:15,876
-Sorry I was a part of it.

1451
01:08:16,001 --> 01:08:17,793
Can I please take it back?

1452
01:08:17,918 --> 01:08:20,043
I mean, I got no words for it.

1453
01:08:20,168 --> 01:08:24,876
It was just completely wrong,
wrong thing to do.

1454
01:08:25,001 --> 01:08:27,001
-He's been in so many
big matches.

1455
01:08:27,085 --> 01:08:29,085
♪♪

1456
01:08:29,210 --> 01:08:31,585
-What was that about?

1457
01:08:31,710 --> 01:08:33,710
What's going on here?

1458
01:08:33,793 --> 01:08:35,960
What?

1459
01:08:36,085 --> 01:08:38,001
What just happened here?

1460
01:08:38,085 --> 01:08:40,543
[ Cheers and applause ]

1461
01:08:40,626 --> 01:08:43,460
-Ladies and gentlemen...
-Oh, my God!

1462
01:08:43,585 --> 01:08:45,126
-...the winner

1463
01:08:45,251 --> 01:08:48,543
and new heavyweight champion
of the world,

1464
01:08:48,710 --> 01:08:51,126
Hollywood Hogan.

1465
01:08:51,251 --> 01:08:56,126
-[ Speaks indistinctly ]

1466
01:08:56,251 --> 01:08:59,001
-The continued B.S. finishes

1467
01:08:59,085 --> 01:09:01,376
and just the way
that the NWO was presented,

1468
01:09:01,501 --> 01:09:05,376
they weren't giving the fans...
something satisfying.

1469
01:09:05,543 --> 01:09:07,710
♪

1470
01:09:07,835 --> 01:09:09,293
-I think the Fingerpoint of Doom

1471
01:09:09,418 --> 01:09:11,876
definitely contributed
to the demise.

1472
01:09:11,960 --> 01:09:15,460
You know, I mean, if you're --
you're going downhill

1473
01:09:15,585 --> 01:09:17,793
and, you know,
somebody pushes you,

1474
01:09:17,918 --> 01:09:18,960
it makes it even worse.

1475
01:09:19,085 --> 01:09:21,668
[ Thunder rumbles ]

1476
01:09:21,751 --> 01:09:23,876
And Eric got caught up.

1477
01:09:23,960 --> 01:09:25,876
[ Thunder rumbles ]

1478
01:09:26,001 --> 01:09:29,751
-I became...pretty distracted.

1479
01:09:29,918 --> 01:09:31,751
I want my lawyer!

1480
01:09:31,918 --> 01:09:33,501
I want him now!

1481
01:09:33,626 --> 01:09:35,126
-What's he yelling?
He wants his lawyer?

1482
01:09:35,251 --> 01:09:39,043
-Some of his business
decisions...weren't...

1483
01:09:39,168 --> 01:09:40,501
I don't think what they would be

1484
01:09:40,626 --> 01:09:43,043
now that he knows
what he knows now.

1485
01:09:43,210 --> 01:09:45,293
-You're out of here!
You are fired.

1486
01:09:45,418 --> 01:09:47,626
He's out of here, end of story.

1487
01:09:47,751 --> 01:09:49,960
-We know Eric's really
our boss...

1488
01:09:50,085 --> 01:09:52,418
-Eric Bischoff, president, WCW.

1489
01:09:52,543 --> 01:09:55,043
-...but when Eric forgot that
for a short while,

1490
01:09:55,210 --> 01:09:57,835
that's when I feel
Eric kind of like

1491
01:09:57,918 --> 01:09:59,751
got in the "cool zone."

1492
01:09:59,876 --> 01:10:01,335
-Is that Eric Bischoff?

1493
01:10:01,460 --> 01:10:03,085
-It's a new look, isn't it?

1494
01:10:03,210 --> 01:10:06,126
-The lines were blurry
for all of us.

1495
01:10:06,251 --> 01:10:08,668
-We know all about
that martial-arts background.

1496
01:10:08,793 --> 01:10:11,376
Bischoff's seven years
perfecting his craft

1497
01:10:11,501 --> 01:10:13,335
in his own words
as a trained killer.

1498
01:10:13,418 --> 01:10:15,376
-He wants a piece of me?

1499
01:10:15,543 --> 01:10:18,376
He wants to get
in the ring with <i>moi?</i>

1500
01:10:18,501 --> 01:10:20,710
-Sometimes it was cool
for the NWO

1501
01:10:20,835 --> 01:10:24,335
or cool for Scott and Kevin
or cool for Hollywood Hogan.

1502
01:10:24,460 --> 01:10:27,960
-Hollywood Hogan has said that
he will run for the president

1503
01:10:28,085 --> 01:10:31,751
of the United States
in the year 2000.

1504
01:10:31,876 --> 01:10:35,543
-But it wasn't cool
for the business at hand.

1505
01:10:35,668 --> 01:10:38,543
America shall be
the richest country.

1506
01:10:38,626 --> 01:10:41,043
Every child shall have
an education,

1507
01:10:41,168 --> 01:10:43,501
and we shall make
the whole world

1508
01:10:43,626 --> 01:10:45,710
a peaceful place to live in.

1509
01:10:45,876 --> 01:10:48,251
It wasn't cool for what needed
to be done

1510
01:10:48,376 --> 01:10:50,126
to compete with Vince.

1511
01:10:50,251 --> 01:10:52,043
That's where I feel
the guard was dropped.

1512
01:10:52,168 --> 01:10:56,876
-I'm just having more and more
fun every time I come out here.

1513
01:10:57,043 --> 01:10:58,918
-Hey, yo.

1514
01:10:59,085 --> 01:11:02,376
-Eric becoming a mark
for Hall and Nash at the time --

1515
01:11:02,501 --> 01:11:04,168
-What does that mean, a mark?

1516
01:11:04,251 --> 01:11:06,001
-Well, it means
instead of being their boss,

1517
01:11:06,126 --> 01:11:07,460
he becomes a fan.

1518
01:11:07,585 --> 01:11:10,876
-This is a very disgusting,
confusing picture.

1519
01:11:10,960 --> 01:11:13,376
This is a joke.
-It's a crime, is what it is.

1520
01:11:13,501 --> 01:11:16,793
-What I felt was, "Man, we need
to tighten this ship up.

1521
01:11:16,918 --> 01:11:19,251
Man, we got to get back to what
this business is all about

1522
01:11:19,376 --> 01:11:22,376
and not, you know,
sitting up in a suite, you know,

1523
01:11:22,501 --> 01:11:25,001
with a bunch of girls
from a strip club drinking wine

1524
01:11:25,085 --> 01:11:27,043
while WCW
is wrestling down there."

1525
01:11:27,168 --> 01:11:30,876
-And I never, ever thought
it would be quite this good.

1526
01:11:31,043 --> 01:11:32,418
-Just tell the girls to go home

1527
01:11:32,543 --> 01:11:34,210
and go down
and backstab these guys

1528
01:11:34,293 --> 01:11:37,376
and beat them with spray paint
and leave them laying, you know?

1529
01:11:37,543 --> 01:11:39,710
But that's just my opinion.

1530
01:11:39,876 --> 01:11:41,043
This is life.

1531
01:11:41,210 --> 01:11:42,251
-I like the way you think,
though.

1532
01:11:42,376 --> 01:11:44,210
-I learned from you.

1533
01:11:44,293 --> 01:11:46,793
That bus last year, remember?

1534
01:11:46,918 --> 01:11:48,710
-If the bus ain't rocking,
don't come knocking, right?

1535
01:11:48,793 --> 01:11:50,501
-Rodzilla.

1536
01:11:50,626 --> 01:11:52,418
-At the dawn
of the Internet age,

1537
01:11:52,543 --> 01:11:54,210
there is stunning new evidence

1538
01:11:54,335 --> 01:11:56,501
of the growing power
of the new media.

1539
01:11:56,626 --> 01:12:00,251
Internet pioneer
America Online announced today

1540
01:12:00,376 --> 01:12:02,751
it is buying big,
sprawling Time Warner,

1541
01:12:02,918 --> 01:12:06,168
creating the world's largest
media conglomerate.

1542
01:12:06,251 --> 01:12:08,376
-There's a possibility
for some friction,

1543
01:12:08,460 --> 01:12:10,376
but I don't think
that's going to happen.

1544
01:12:10,460 --> 01:12:12,960
I think we're all committed
to making this thing work

1545
01:12:13,085 --> 01:12:17,376
and creating the most exciting
and socially conscious company

1546
01:12:17,460 --> 01:12:19,710
that the world has ever seen.

1547
01:12:19,876 --> 01:12:21,960
[ Laughter ]

1548
01:12:27,710 --> 01:12:30,460
-I want to make an announcement
now that next Monday night

1549
01:12:30,585 --> 01:12:33,543
in Panama City
very well could be

1550
01:12:33,626 --> 01:12:36,876
the last night of wrestling
on the Turner Networks.

1551
01:12:36,960 --> 01:12:42,501
-It was just a matter of time
before I, Vince McMahon,

1552
01:12:42,585 --> 01:12:44,835
bought my competition.

1553
01:12:44,918 --> 01:12:46,085
That's right.

1554
01:12:46,251 --> 01:12:48,376
I own WCW.

1555
01:12:48,501 --> 01:12:51,085
-The merger changed
our priorities.

1556
01:12:51,251 --> 01:12:53,876
You know, instead of having two
really high-rated shows

1557
01:12:53,960 --> 01:12:55,835
on TBS and TNT,

1558
01:12:55,960 --> 01:12:57,918
they were more interested
in movies of the week,

1559
01:12:58,085 --> 01:12:59,918
new programing, Turner Classics,

1560
01:13:00,043 --> 01:13:05,168
and they didn't want "wrasslin'"
as part of their portfolio.

1561
01:13:05,293 --> 01:13:07,460
-Next week,
ladies and gentlemen,

1562
01:13:07,585 --> 01:13:11,751
the finale of WCW Monday Nitro
on TNT.

1563
01:13:11,876 --> 01:13:14,876
♪♪

1564
01:13:15,001 --> 01:13:21,335
-I think we might have
had half a chance...

1565
01:13:21,418 --> 01:13:23,543
if there wasn't
a Time Warner merger.

1566
01:13:23,626 --> 01:13:28,293
-Welcome to a landmark night
in the industry!

1567
01:13:28,418 --> 01:13:30,543
We are stunned. We are floored.

1568
01:13:30,626 --> 01:13:37,418
On the very Last telecast of
WCW Monday Nitro on TNT.

1569
01:13:37,543 --> 01:13:39,918
-WCW gets sold to WWE

1570
01:13:40,043 --> 01:13:42,418
for somewhere between
$3 million and $4 million.

1571
01:13:42,585 --> 01:13:46,668
-For the first time ever
in sports entertainment history,

1572
01:13:46,751 --> 01:13:52,293
this broadcast is not only
being seen here on TNN

1573
01:13:52,418 --> 01:13:54,876
and Cleveland, Ohio...

1574
01:13:55,043 --> 01:13:57,043
[ Cheers and applause ]

1575
01:13:57,168 --> 01:13:59,376
...but it is also being seen

1576
01:13:59,501 --> 01:14:04,835
across
Turner Network Television.

1577
01:14:04,918 --> 01:14:09,335
-The landscape of our industry
is changing.

1578
01:14:09,460 --> 01:14:12,793
-What should I do with WCW?

1579
01:14:12,918 --> 01:14:16,585
-When we went to the WWE,
I think, once again,

1580
01:14:16,751 --> 01:14:20,001
just like Hulk Hogan leaving
the WWE and going to WCW,

1581
01:14:20,126 --> 01:14:21,335
there was a short --

1582
01:14:21,460 --> 01:14:24,043
short, little red and yellow
running

1583
01:14:24,210 --> 01:14:26,710
and the NWO thing took over.

1584
01:14:26,793 --> 01:14:30,210
I think us coming back
to the WWE

1585
01:14:30,335 --> 01:14:31,626
would have had the same effect.

1586
01:14:31,751 --> 01:14:35,543
-Hollywood Hogan,
Hall and Nash --

1587
01:14:35,668 --> 01:14:39,668
the three men
who who built the old WCW

1588
01:14:39,751 --> 01:14:42,793
but did more to destroy
that company,

1589
01:14:42,918 --> 01:14:46,210
that brand,
than any other entity

1590
01:14:46,335 --> 01:14:52,085
are now full-fledged members of
the World Wrestling Federation,

1591
01:14:52,210 --> 01:14:55,210
thanks to Mr. McMahon.

1592
01:14:55,376 --> 01:14:58,626
[ Cheers and applause ]

1593
01:14:58,751 --> 01:15:08,626
♪

1594
01:15:08,751 --> 01:15:18,501
♪

1595
01:15:18,626 --> 01:15:21,876
-So we come in.

1596
01:15:22,001 --> 01:15:25,501
The Rock challenges me,
yes or no for for WrestleMania.

1597
01:15:25,585 --> 01:15:27,210
-How do you feel

1598
01:15:27,335 --> 01:15:30,335
about headlining one more
WrestleMania with The Rock?

1599
01:15:30,418 --> 01:15:33,251
-Oh, my God!

1600
01:15:33,418 --> 01:15:36,668
-Scott and Kevin come down.
We beat the crap out of him.

1601
01:15:36,793 --> 01:15:39,168
[ Cheers and applause ]

1602
01:15:39,251 --> 01:15:41,126
We take him outside.
We put him in an ambulance.

1603
01:15:41,251 --> 01:15:44,001
We chain the ambulance.
I run him over with a semi.

1604
01:15:44,126 --> 01:15:49,126
I did everything I could
to get heat on myself

1605
01:15:49,251 --> 01:15:50,751
and on Scott and Kevin.

1606
01:15:50,918 --> 01:15:53,126
They'd have the people
boo me out of the building.

1607
01:15:53,251 --> 01:15:57,001
[ Cheers and applause ]

1608
01:15:57,126 --> 01:15:59,835
I walk out at WrestleMania 18,
and they cheer me

1609
01:15:59,960 --> 01:16:02,418
out of the building
against The Rock.

1610
01:16:02,585 --> 01:16:05,793
[ Cheers and applause ]

1611
01:16:05,918 --> 01:16:13,585
♪

1612
01:16:13,751 --> 01:16:17,001
As soon as The Rock starts
punching me, they boo him.

1613
01:16:17,126 --> 01:16:20,210
[ Crowd booing ]

1614
01:16:20,293 --> 01:16:27,168
♪♪

1615
01:16:27,251 --> 01:16:29,460
Soon as I block a punch
and start making a comeback,

1616
01:16:29,585 --> 01:16:31,710
the whole place cheers.

1617
01:16:31,876 --> 01:16:36,710
[ Cheers and applause ]

1618
01:16:36,835 --> 01:16:39,668
Certain baby faces,
and there were a bunch of them,

1619
01:16:39,751 --> 01:16:43,585
that were very upset
that we were getting cheered

1620
01:16:43,751 --> 01:16:45,876
and they all of a sudden
were getting booed.

1621
01:16:46,001 --> 01:16:48,751
I think the NWO, in my opinion,

1622
01:16:48,918 --> 01:16:52,210
came in too hot and too strong,
all of a sudden.

1623
01:16:52,335 --> 01:16:55,918
Once Vince saw what happened
at WrestleMania

1624
01:16:56,085 --> 01:17:00,626
with me and The Rock...
flew back to Tampa the next day

1625
01:17:00,751 --> 01:17:04,793
got my red and yellow stuff,
flew back to Montreal.

1626
01:17:04,918 --> 01:17:07,001
♪♪

1627
01:17:07,126 --> 01:17:12,335
And I think that was pretty much
the end of the NWO.

1628
01:17:12,418 --> 01:17:14,335
It ended very quickly.

1629
01:17:14,418 --> 01:17:18,960
♪♪

1630
01:17:23,626 --> 01:17:24,876
[ Rain pattering ]

1631
01:17:33,251 --> 01:17:35,835
-You're never gonna see
another bad guy like me, Chico.

1632
01:17:35,918 --> 01:17:37,460
[ Cheers and applause ]

1633
01:17:37,585 --> 01:17:40,668
-You want a war?

1634
01:17:40,751 --> 01:17:43,085
You're gonna get one.

1635
01:17:43,251 --> 01:17:45,418
-Those in the regional
pro-wrestling community

1636
01:17:45,585 --> 01:17:48,376
are sharing their thoughts
about wrestler Scott Hall,

1637
01:17:48,460 --> 01:17:51,043
who died Monday
at the age of 63.

1638
01:17:51,210 --> 01:17:58,960
♪

1639
01:17:59,085 --> 01:18:00,751
-This is weird
because this is --

1640
01:18:00,876 --> 01:18:05,335
this is the first thing
we've done without Scott.

1641
01:18:05,418 --> 01:18:07,710
-This weekend or this film?

1642
01:18:07,793 --> 01:18:11,793
-This, from talking about NWO.

1643
01:18:11,918 --> 01:18:14,335
He was my boy. Still is.

1644
01:18:14,418 --> 01:18:17,376
♪♪

1645
01:18:17,460 --> 01:18:20,001
It's funny, I was talking
to Sean Waltman the other day,

1646
01:18:20,085 --> 01:18:25,543
and it was just like, sometimes,
it's just like, he's not gone.

1647
01:18:25,668 --> 01:18:29,793
♪

1648
01:18:29,918 --> 01:18:32,210
I think that when
it came to Scott and I,

1649
01:18:32,335 --> 01:18:37,001
you could always -- you could
tell we were having fun.

1650
01:18:37,085 --> 01:18:40,793
♪♪

1651
01:18:40,918 --> 01:18:43,210
Everything else on that show
might have been fake,

1652
01:18:43,293 --> 01:18:45,585
but our [bleep] was real.

1653
01:18:45,710 --> 01:18:47,960
As far as just the bond.

1654
01:18:48,085 --> 01:18:53,585
♪

1655
01:18:53,751 --> 01:18:57,001
People know
when something is real.

1656
01:18:57,126 --> 01:19:01,335
-The following short film
is produced

1657
01:19:01,460 --> 01:19:03,043
and directed by The Outsiders.

1658
01:19:03,126 --> 01:19:06,376
-We hope you enjoy it. We did.
[ Laughs ]

1659
01:19:06,460 --> 01:19:10,126
♪♪

1660
01:19:10,251 --> 01:19:12,543
And just all the time
we spent together.

1661
01:19:12,710 --> 01:19:19,585
♪

1662
01:19:19,751 --> 01:19:21,876
Give me a second.

1663
01:19:30,335 --> 01:19:33,543
This is, like,
the retired athlete.

1664
01:19:33,668 --> 01:19:35,585
They always say
when an athlete retires,

1665
01:19:35,751 --> 01:19:37,710
if he gets choked up,

1666
01:19:37,835 --> 01:19:40,168
it's better to say thank you
and walk away.

1667
01:19:43,835 --> 01:19:48,793
There's nothing worse
than seeing a...man cry.

1668
01:20:08,001 --> 01:20:15,751
-The most impactful moment
I've had...in all of these years

1669
01:20:15,918 --> 01:20:19,210
happened about maybe
five or six years ago.

1670
01:20:19,376 --> 01:20:23,501
I was in a comic-con
in Phoenix...

1671
01:20:23,585 --> 01:20:27,460
and I was actually moderating
or hosting a panel.

1672
01:20:29,460 --> 01:20:31,168
What's it feel like
to be back in Phoenix?

1673
01:20:31,293 --> 01:20:33,043
How long has it been
since you've been here?

1674
01:20:33,168 --> 01:20:35,335
-Man, I think one of
the last times was one of --

1675
01:20:35,418 --> 01:20:37,001
when we did the Nitros.

1676
01:20:37,085 --> 01:20:38,918
-Really? Yeah, that's what Hulk
and Jimmy said, too.

1677
01:20:39,085 --> 01:20:40,460
But, I mean, honestly,

1678
01:20:40,585 --> 01:20:43,418
I think that's
one of the last times for me.

1679
01:20:43,585 --> 01:20:46,668
-And there was a young lady.
Her name is Amanda.

1680
01:20:46,751 --> 01:20:49,960
-You know,
I was her first crush.

1681
01:20:50,085 --> 01:20:52,085
-He was. He was my first crush.
-She told me that --

1682
01:20:52,251 --> 01:20:53,543
She told me that earlier today.

1683
01:20:53,710 --> 01:20:56,168
It made me feel so good!

1684
01:20:56,293 --> 01:21:00,460
-She told me this amazing story
about how

1685
01:21:00,585 --> 01:21:03,043
when she was a little kid...

1686
01:21:03,168 --> 01:21:05,626
she had a tough
family situation,

1687
01:21:05,751 --> 01:21:10,210
and the only time that she got
to spend with her dad --

1688
01:21:10,293 --> 01:21:12,293
I'll start...

1689
01:21:12,418 --> 01:21:14,876
[Bleep] I start crying
every time I tell this story.

1690
01:21:15,001 --> 01:21:17,293
[ Chuckles ] It's funny.

1691
01:21:17,418 --> 01:21:18,793
♪♪

1692
01:21:18,918 --> 01:21:21,793
[ Clears throat ]

1693
01:21:21,918 --> 01:21:23,876
She said the only time
she ever had

1694
01:21:24,001 --> 01:21:28,668
to really have...
father-daughter time

1695
01:21:28,793 --> 01:21:33,251
was on Monday nights because
he worked different jobs.

1696
01:21:33,418 --> 01:21:36,043
And he was an alcoholic.
He had issues.

1697
01:21:36,168 --> 01:21:39,710
But on Monday nights,
that was father-daughter time.

1698
01:21:39,835 --> 01:21:42,376
They'd watch Nitro.

1699
01:21:42,460 --> 01:21:44,460
Loved the NWO.

1700
01:21:44,585 --> 01:21:46,543
And when she told me
that story, it was like,

1701
01:21:46,668 --> 01:21:49,210
"Oh, God, stop." You know?

1702
01:21:49,293 --> 01:21:53,835
1,500 people here watching me
cry like -- like a baby.

1703
01:21:53,918 --> 01:21:55,293
And, you know,
that was the end of it.

1704
01:21:55,418 --> 01:21:56,751
I got away from that show.
It was over. It was done.

1705
01:21:56,918 --> 01:21:59,876
It was, you know, a nice story.

1706
01:22:00,001 --> 01:22:04,043
And, of course, she finds a way
to track me down,

1707
01:22:04,168 --> 01:22:06,335
and she sent my wife an e-mail

1708
01:22:06,418 --> 01:22:11,543
and really went into detail
about that same story

1709
01:22:11,710 --> 01:22:13,668
and said, "Look, you know,
my mother's no longer here.

1710
01:22:13,793 --> 01:22:15,793
My father's no longer here.

1711
01:22:15,918 --> 01:22:17,585
I'm getting married."

1712
01:22:17,710 --> 01:22:19,626
♪♪

1713
01:22:19,751 --> 01:22:21,210
[Bleep]

1714
01:22:21,335 --> 01:22:23,210
[ Chuckles ]

1715
01:22:23,376 --> 01:22:26,376
"Would Eric
walk me down the aisle?"

1716
01:22:26,501 --> 01:22:29,710
[ Chuckles ]

1717
01:22:29,793 --> 01:22:33,376
And...of course I said yes.

1718
01:22:33,501 --> 01:22:35,585
♪

1719
01:22:35,751 --> 01:22:39,751
I walked her down the aisle,
and that's when I realized...

1720
01:22:39,918 --> 01:22:41,835
♪

1721
01:22:41,960 --> 01:22:43,960
...stuff has a bigger impact
on people

1722
01:22:44,085 --> 01:22:47,210
than you realize
when you're doing it.

1723
01:22:47,376 --> 01:22:50,126
When you hear a story
about how...

1724
01:22:50,251 --> 01:22:53,543
what we did
actually brought people together

1725
01:22:53,668 --> 01:22:58,293
and created bonds,
made it way more meaningful.

1726
01:22:58,418 --> 01:23:08,168
♪♪

1727
01:23:08,293 --> 01:23:11,668
-What do you think
the legacy of NWO is?

1728
01:23:13,210 --> 01:23:15,793
[ Cheers and applause ]

1729
01:23:15,918 --> 01:23:17,668
♪

1730
01:23:17,751 --> 01:23:22,710
-You know who I am,
but you don't know why I'm here.

1731
01:23:22,876 --> 01:23:26,293
-The legacy of the NWO
is innovation.

1732
01:23:26,418 --> 01:23:29,001
It's inventing a new way
of telling stories.

1733
01:23:29,126 --> 01:23:31,793
-The most historic 48 hours...

1734
01:23:31,918 --> 01:23:32,960
-This wasn't just
a group of people.

1735
01:23:33,085 --> 01:23:35,168
This was an idea.

1736
01:23:35,251 --> 01:23:39,751
[ Cheers and applause ]

1737
01:23:39,918 --> 01:23:42,210
It became a part of pop culture

1738
01:23:42,335 --> 01:23:46,460
in a way that
we hadn't really seen before.

1739
01:23:46,585 --> 01:23:49,126
♪♪

1740
01:23:49,251 --> 01:23:52,960
-It is my pleasure to welcome
to the WWE Hall of Fame

1741
01:23:53,085 --> 01:23:56,876
Class of 2020,
Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall,

1742
01:23:57,043 --> 01:24:02,626
Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman,
the NWO!

1743
01:24:02,751 --> 01:24:07,043
-It really was bigger
than I ever dreamed it would be.

1744
01:24:07,168 --> 01:24:09,543
-New -- New World Order.

1745
01:24:09,626 --> 01:24:12,751
[ Cheers and applause ]

1746
01:24:12,876 --> 01:24:16,293
♪♪

1747
01:24:16,418 --> 01:24:20,168
-I think one of the most
touching things in my career

1748
01:24:20,293 --> 01:24:23,543
is the fact that you go out
and you do personal appearances

1749
01:24:23,668 --> 01:24:26,335
and you look,
and there's a line of people.

1750
01:24:26,418 --> 01:24:30,376
And 80% of those people
got NWO shirts on.

1751
01:24:30,460 --> 01:24:32,918
There's a 5-year-old kid
who walks up in front of you,

1752
01:24:33,043 --> 01:24:34,876
and he goes like this.

1753
01:24:34,960 --> 01:24:37,585
He's got his NWO shirt on.

1754
01:24:37,751 --> 01:24:39,126
You say to yourself,

1755
01:24:39,251 --> 01:24:42,876
"Wow, man, this NWO thing
is for life."

1756
01:24:43,043 --> 01:24:52,876
♪

1757
01:24:53,043 --> 01:25:02,876
♪

1758
01:25:03,043 --> 01:25:08,751
♪