Ep. 359: WWF's Royal Rumble 1988 (Part 1)

It's the lapsed fan wrestling podcast with Jack and crn SEO and JP Sorrows the
lapsed fans get all my years rustling, I never seen anything like it,
and it's the laps fan name by the one in the ring to get about
the slatter with the real King of swing. When the bell goes in,
then kick like me throne in the corner of a splash like stay even Jerry
King can take off the clown nodding his head like hiss d low brown which
you get low down, go even high up, flip you on your head.
But you know, coul Driver, you speaking more knowledge and dragon spits
fire keep you more shocked than my head. Tree tires drop a more truth
than the cond of sniper less you with a coconut, Roddy Piper checking jpe
be like j y D drop the cupcakes and golden the brain, by means
the best podcast fun start to close. Rind if y'all a pose spent a
lot of time Boss in twenty twenty three talking about origin stories. Didn't we
yes we did not the origins of Hulk Hogan, but the you know the
oranges pardon the pun oranges on the fur Freudland slip. Yeah, but the
origins of the modern Hulk Hogan that only tier Ah you can trisually give us
a window into and continues to um. The fumes continue to pollute the air,
and I think it's time. I think it's time. As we enter
the summer here, we're smacked out in the middle of the summer. As
a matter of fact, by the time we got to it. It's time
to look at a new origin story. It's time to move past the journey.
It's time to start to explore how other things that define our wrestling fanhood
came to be. It's time, yes, to look at the very first
Royal Rumble thoughts. Uh okay, I got a lot of thoughts. I
got a lot of thoughts. And of course by the very first, we
mean the first televised one. Yes, because this is the thirty at the
anniversary. Let's not forget that this is the thirty fifth anniversary, and we
probably would have done in January had it not been for teenage. So um,
okay, number one, hold on, I'm gonna have this ready.
Number one. When did you first know about this Royal Rumble? That is
a great question. Um, late nineties I knew in nineteen ninety two,
that's correct. And why did you know in nineteen ninety two, even though
because of WWE Wrestling the official book, motherfucker, So no other place,
no other place at that time. I mean, you got to think about
this, Okay, nobody ever mentioned the nineteen eighty eight Royal Rumble. I
don't know why they didn't, but they never did until until the nineties,
right when they started talking about it being you know, blah blah. But
in ww Wrestling the book it says this, and I remember, I'm I'm
like a twelve, eleven, twelve year old kid, Okay, eleven year
old kid reading this all right, and I'm reading this cover to cover eleven
twelve year old kid, You're already a massive fan of the Rumble. Yeah,
yoh, hugh, Yes, yes, yes, I'd only known about
it since December of ninety one, but I had already watched all of them
by this point, easily again my favorite pay per view. So I go,
I flipped through the pages and I'm reading all of them. They have
a whole section on the first seven WrestleManias and then it says then it comes
to a section called get to Grips with the WWE, and it's basically covering
the other shows that they do during during the year. The Big Four first
one, it's a Royal Rumble and says this right at the beginning, starting
in January nineteen eighty eight, I was like, what what are you talking?
One eighty eight? It makes no sense. I thought it was a
typo. It continues. The WWE's Royal Rumble is a unique event in wrestling.
It's highlight is a thirty man Battle Royal. Wrestlers are eliminated by being
ousted from the ring over the top rope. The last man in the ring
is the winner. Given that it is every man for himself, there are
no friends or allies in the Royal Rumbles. Battle Royal, even tag team
partners have gone on one another. What makes this Battle Royal different, however,
is that wrestlers enter the ring by the luck of the draw. They
draw numbers by chams. Numbers one and two enter the ring first. Every
two minutes after that, another wrestler enters until the man who drew number thirty
is the last man to join the fray. This means that wrestlers who draw
high numbers will be fresher than those who entered earlier. And that's its first
paragraph. And I'm like, okay, so obviously it wasn't TYPEO what they
meant to say. It was January nineteen eighty nine. I get it,
no problem. Well, how did you form your reception that nine was the
first rumble because that's the only that's the last video cassette. Then every went
further further in time, so you could find eighty nine Rumble at your local
videos store. Oh yeah, I couldn't want to find the eighty nine rumble,
one of them. I could find. I found it in one place.
So to me, the ninety rumble was the first one in my head.
How holy shit? Hold on though, this is where this is where
I my mind was blown. The winner of the first Royal Rumble Battle Royal
on cable television but not yet on pay per view, was Hack saw Jim
doing. I went through twenty third. By the way, they're only twenty
fucking people in that role the first rumble, So that's a big, big
mess. But I'm like, I saw that and all of a sudden my
mind was blown. There is a missing Royal Rumble. Oh my god,
there is a missing rumble, and so it took me. M h,
hold on, are you there something weird just happened? Okay, something weird
to hear that. I don't know what the brother, brother, what the
brother? I guess it isn't over, um, I guess not. It
took until you and I were in college, and I got that when I
were in college and I got that that video off eBay, that video you
and I watched, Remember that you and I watched? Remember that sort of
yeah, okay, it was a home video. Someone taped it off TV
and taped it off and you and I watched it up in uh up in
seabrook up in seok Wow, wow, wow. Summer we watched them that
summer. Well, we also watched the Real Sports with Roddy Piper thing.
It's remember And what was mind blowing to us? What was about the video
tape that we were watching? The video tape that was that it was was
that the commercials were all in New England commercials. The commercials were so someone
commercials from New England and taped this show and happened and I bought this tape
from that ridiculous and I bought this tape. Do you still have the vhs
I do. I was. I was tempted to use it as my source
to get them, but it's the quality so bad. But I keep it
as a mentality of sorts that I keep it at the memento. Yeah.
Yeah, so that's yeah, that's number one when I think of that.
Number two when I think of is the worst match on this show is better
than anything we've been watching in tenah been watching like I just was, I
get warm and fuzzies watching the fucking Islanders versus Jim Powers and and Paul Roma
for Foxers and and Paul Roma for fox sake. Yeah, that's saying something
I did not. I was just I was just like feeling it, just
like this is it. This is the good stuff. It was like,
this is it? This is the good stuff. Yeah, it's detail totally.
I mean, it's wrestling when people showed up hoping their favorites one and
their at least favorites lost, and that was the beginning and the end of
it. And it's not, you know, a hugely well regarded show historically,
because the fact of the matter is, WWF had no big plans for
this event, no conception that this would be an annual spectacular. Certainly no
conception that this would be number two on the pay per view calendar after WrestleMania.
This show was put together because they wanted to fuck with Crockett and the
bunk House Stampede, and because USA after the Slammy's, had an appetite for
more live style specials that weren't just you know, pre taped primetime wrestling and
so cy and they got the Rumble, and it was already a date booked
for Hamilton, Ontario on the calendar for a standard era house show. It
wasn't something that they set up. Has come out and see this brand new
concept, the Royal Rumble. As far as I can tell, most of
the early tickets of BOO for this thing where people that didn't necessarily know about
the Royal Rumble or expected just that WWS is coming through time that they were
red hot coming off WrestleMania three, of course, especially of course around Toronto,
which is a market adjacent to Detroit, where WrestleMania took place and where
Summer Slam is going to sell out Ford Field again for twenty twenty three,
all these years later. But the rumble was, yeah, I mean,
you're gonna talk about it. I know you are, But it wasn't.
Wasn't the rumble the rumble idea? I mean it was. I mean,
you know it's Pat Patterson's correct, But but wasn't didn't they do a test
or something that just totally bombed? Yes, it failed to inspire. Let's
put it that way. Ye. The very first Royal Rumble was actually October
fourth, nineteen eighty seven, at the Keel Auditorium in Saint Louis. It's
a house show. It was a twelve man rumble and the One Man Gang
won the match after eliminating j y D. Is there a tape of that?
No, I defy it, putting the solar system to find it.
I mean, I mean not. I mean, is it one of those
that's in the vault and we can I don't know. Inasmuch as they ran
tape for all their house shows back then. You gotta remember this is the
ABC towns. These are the days, the whole cog and Salad days where
you ran three, sometimes four cities on the same night. You split your
crew up all different ways. In fact, a lot of the key play
years like Randy Savage, Demolition and others aren't even in Hamilton's for this,
because, like I said, this was just part of the Canadian loop that
they had already had on the schedule, with no plans for one of these
to be a live television special or anything like that. So the wrestlers they
had available, of the wrestlers they had available, a lot of key players
aren't even in the Rumble. Think about wee Randy Savage is about to go
at WrestleMania four in nineteen eighty eight, and he's nowhere to be found on
the Rumble broadcast. I think if they had a little more you know,
leeway, a little more round foresight on what was going to happen, that
would have been taken care of. So my point is if they did begin
to make it a habit to run, you know, handheld cameras or whatever
the case might be for all their house shows going forward, I don't think
it would have started as early as nineteen eighty eight because that's a whole lot
of tape, that's a whole lot of shows, and they weren't really of
the television mindset yet. Of course, when it came time to produce a
Saturday night's main event under the watchful Eye of Dick Ebersol, which as we
know started at nineteen eighty five. Yeah, their game got up, but
that was sort of like you know, third parties, Dick Ebersolt, NBC
other people helping them really dress something up for a television spectacular or Other than
that, they were still pretty much, you know, a big marathon five
hour television taping promotion. Still based mainly around house shows, still based mainly
around garden shows, Philly Spectrum shows, Boston garden shows of course, Maddison
Square, Maple Leaf Gardens, and all the other major arenas that they had
managed to penetrate, and many of them challenged Jim Crockett and run Bill Watts
out of business in, run Fritz bon Eric out of business in, run
vern Ganya out of business in. But they're still a live arena business first
and foremost. That's what they show up to do. And it's interesting here
Bruce Pritchard on his podcast talk about the conception for this show because he had
come in in eighty seven and was a key part of putting this together.
And you know, the original card was just a house showcard. It was
just going to be put on television because USA network had needs, and they
saw a opportunity to once again crowd out Jim Crockett on a pay per view
effort, the bunk House Stampede at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island. Of
course, a little too close to roll WWFHQ to not be fucked with,
thank you very much. But this is that time period where Crockett and Dusty
thought out, you know, we're still they still had their gander up,
They still thought they could fight, They still thought they had a chance.
They still thought there was any other way it could end besides Vince pissing in
their face and making them work for him. Of course, that they were
starting to push into you know, WWF stronghold cities and start to try to
do big two doos. They had their first pay per view, of course,
Starcade eighty seven. But as we've chronicled on the Memorial Tour and other
forums, I was not only countered by the Survivor Series Thanksgiving, but it
was also basically crowded out of almost every major market in the country by Vince
McMahon, who, coming off WrestleMania three, had an ultimatum for folks.
He said, you know what if you carry Starcade nineteen eighty seven, you're
not gonna get WrestleMania four. And that's after tasting that sweet nectar of WrestleMania
three. That's a problem with that. I don't, that's just that's just
a good business practice. I practice good business. So it was, you
know, not a match that didn't It was a match that did not evoke
a strong enough response when it was tried in Saint Louis that Vince mc dan
had confidence that they should do it again, or that they should do anything
further with it. Of course, the Battle Royal is in the annual tradition
in just about every you know, pre WWF national expansion territory. There was
in particular in San Francisco, which of course is where Pat Patterson truly cut
his teeth working under roy Shire in San Francisco, and the Battle Royal in
January he was one of the big annual attractions for you know, a big
purse. It was like everyone puts money in and the winner wins all the
money. And usually they were like twenty men rumbles Battle Royals, I should
say. They used to do some in Houston, Paul Bosh, where Bruce
Pritchard cut his teeth. They used to do twenty two man to ring twenty
two thousand dollars ones. So you had the Battle Royal that actually won that
kind of money. Right now, it was all work, right, total
capeabe. Whereas you know, unlike w Yeah, if the original rumbles,
you pretty much just won for the bragging rights of having said you won.
The match. Wasn't really until ninety three, right or ninety two was for
the title, but at the first time it was you know, the winner,
the winner gets the title shot, right, And now it doesn't even
matter. That doesn't matter, right, I mean, you know, I
kind of I kind of can't believe we're there where it's like, you know,
it's a big deal, but they so rarely consummate right the you know
what I mean, in the in the way that you've been trained to think.
The Royal Rumble is supposed to signal a moment, and after a while,
if you stopped giving it to people, they're kind of not going to
take the rumble as seriously. They'll sell the place out and they'll love the
match and the unpredictability of it and the creativity of it. But you're you're
you're sacrificing something big. If nine times out of ten the Rumble winner doesn't
win the title at WrestleMania, hart stop. I mean, let's look at
this here. Okay, Cody didn't win, Brock Brock didn't win, right
Edge didn't win. What's the problem? What do you? I guess drew
one? Uh, Seth well, I didn't even know Seth Rollins won one?
Did Seth Rowlands women? No? Well, I guess no, he
did that. I guess he did in the opening match. But that doesn't
even count in my opinion. Am I lost because you can't if you're supposed
to main event WrestleMania. Yep. Knakama lost and by the way lost main
event the main belt right, the brand extension and the split, the draft
split. It ruined a number on the rumble. It did a number on
the rumble, and it took years to recover where it was like, all
right, well, you know I want you seriously, I'm gonna keep on
going because little police, you'll be my guest. Triple H lost, but
he also won the title that night, but he still lost. WrestleMania,
Roman Reigns lost, Batista lost, John Cena one, and shamoosed one so
like, dating back to twenty thirteen, ten years, Drew McIntyre is the
only person to win the main event of WrestleMania. Yes, Seth Rollins won
his championship match the opening of WrestleMania thirty five, But that's what I mean.
That doesn't count Drew McIntyre in the last ten years. In the last
ten years, the Royal Rumbo winner hasn't won the fucking match. And let's
be honest, if it wasn't the COVID WrestleMania, they'd have shown up to
that Mania that year and tuck themselves into Brock beating McIntyre. Of course,
that's your fucking ass. Of course that's disgraceful. I mean, it's just
it's such a it's such an unnecessary watering down of the match. Yea,
in most years, you know, Romans going through a rain now where yeah,
I understand, let's you know, you don't want to cut it short
just because you want to protect the significance of the rumbled match. But I
don't know, for the past decade plus, I feel like it's been twenty
years since I've I feel like, not since Ben waugh One or Batista one
have I watched the Rumble and said, all right, that guy's going to
be closing the show at Mania and I can look forward to that. Yeah,
Ray Masteria Ray didn't close the show after the year after Batista. I
don't think it didn't close the show. The Rumble is not a tool to
get a lower card match boosted out man. Sorry, John Cena didn't close
the show. Randy Yorton did close the show. Yep, but this is
also John Cena. Also, let's not forget in two thousand and eight he
didn't actually go to WrestleMania with his title shot. He decided to cash in
it. No way out. Oh, for God's sae. Remember that?
Remember when Alberto did he win or did he want to win that? He
he won the forty man and then he won the forty man match of WrestleMania,
just lost and he lost. I mean, what the fuck? Guys?
Shamus the next year, same thing that he was. He won the
Rumble in twenty twelve and then opened and just destroyed h Daniel Bryan in two
minutes two seconds rather two seconds. So thirty five years later, they still
haven't perfected it, that's for sure. Well, no, no, no,
they had perfected it, they just ruined it. Yeah, yeah,
they had us. You know, they had a very very predictable pattern where
if they really wanted to make somebody, they could do it. And now
they get cute every single time and harm the rumble yep, um, especially
when it's somebody like if you're gonna put somebody over in the rumble who's had
the belt before, it's less of a big deal if they don't succeed at
wrestling, right, But what if somebody's card of like this is like the
thing they've got to get. You invested in somebody as a top guy and
they don't consummate. It's like, what did you waste that equity for?
You know, I mean you look at two thousand and one, But from
from two thousand on here Rock one, Stone Cold one, Triple H one,
brock Lesner one, Chris ben Wah one, Batista one, and then
Ray Mysterio started this fucking down, right, that's right, then we go
off the edge, yep, yep. Batista is the last one to really
go up. I don't think any of these other ones. Yeah, and
that's just say we're not pining for the nineties here, we're pining for like
just way after the era. You think we're nostalgia, we're pining. We're
pining for the Rumble winner to actually main event WrestleMania, right like they're supposed
to anyway, even if it is, I'll tell you what, even if
they are, if you decide you are using the Rumble too to to to
elevate a lower card match, you fucking better put that in the main event.
Absolutely, all right, that's just the way it's got to be.
Have some balls, exactly. But I think you know, when we look
back to nineteen eighty seven, it's it's important to remind ourselves that this is
not a creation that Vince mcmah as ever lay claim to, as successful as
it's been, as much of a lynch pin as it's been. This is
something that you know, and we'll hear from Pat Patterson in terms of the
things he said and wrote about the creation of the match, and he was
still left wanting for the Rumble to be a little more prestigious than Vin's ever
wanted it to be. Like we said, the early Rumbles were just,
you know, you won for the honor of winning, with no particular stakes.
The champion and Hogan winning, it's like it doesn't go anywhere. It's
just it's over that night, It's over. They did use it, you
know, to build a Hogan Warrior in nineteen ninety in terms of the mid
match face off. Sure, and that's always been a wonderful part of the
Rumble as building storylines within the match itself. But you know, ninety two
was epic, but they were sort of forced into that position. They found
themselves in a place where they didn't quite know who to put the strap on.
And the Rumble presented a solution to the problem, just like the Rumble
nineteen eighty eight presented a solution to a problem. And that we've got this
live television special time that USA Network wants us to fail, and we don't
really have an idea with any oomph that as we'll talk about Dick eber Saw
saw any excitement in particular excitement in and so you know, Vince has never
really been It doesn't seem like as gung ho as others have been about making
the Rumble mean more than just about anything WW does every year. Right,
and the problem with the nineteen eighty seven match, according to you know,
the lore of it and we'll get a bit into what you know has been
said by participants and Patterson about this rumble is that it was sort of like
communicated the idea of the match through intermediaries. Pat Patterson wasn't at the Keel
Auditorium to direct the thing. Which is a very important part of the rumble
is that someone shows up with the full plan and vision. Who comes in,
when, who goes out, when, who interacts when? How the
actual mechanics work of who throws who out? The nineteen eighty seven Rumble,
according to all accounts, had no sort of countdown between entrance, which is
right the magic of the match, Yeah, exactly. That innovation has been
credited to Dick Ebersol, who, when hearing of the concept of the rumble,
thought it was perfect with television, and in particular because he suggested adding
the countdown clock to the screen. Wow, and not only that, adding
the countdown clock in the arena itself so you can get the crowd as well
counting down. Think of the rumble without that, Think of the rumble where
suddenly someone just runs out next right, And you've never seen it, You've
never been excited by it before. You didn't grow up in the Golden Age,
like we did. We're renting the stuff on VHS was magic in terms
of being your orientation to the Rumble match and all the wrestlers that had introduced
you. To think about if you've never even heard of the Royal Rumble and
you're sitting there in October fourth, nineteen eighty seven in Saint Louis and like,
these guys just keep running in the ring. It just doesn't work.
There isn't the big long Howard Finkel introduction and reading of the rules. All
those things happened because they found themselves in need of an idea. And Vince
turns to Patterson and says, picture Rumble thing, because you know, obviously
we don't. We don't have enough Jews to satisfy the TV experts that were
partnering with here to put this live special on. But yeah, I mean,
if it exists on tape somewhere and it hasn't been released, I mean
that to me, that's a first degree felony. Someone needs to go to
jail if this match exists on tape. And how I agree? I mean,
Jesus, I'll talk about the ultimate hidden gem honestly, So I invite
you to take a look at this boss. Okay, this is a print
ad building that first twelve man Royal Rumble in the newspaper at Keel. Look
at it except except the time and place it puts you in and read it
for the people. We're rousting Entertainment This Sunday, October fourth, thirty pm,
Keel Auditorium. For the first time in wrestling history, a twelve man
Royal Rumble Rumble starts with two men in the ring. One is added every
two minutes. Entrance are eliminated by being thrown over the top rope. The
lone survivor left in the ring is the winner. Mister Wonderful Paul Orndorff versus
Rick Rude plus a pose down decided by the fans before the battle. Ricky
Steamboat versus King Kong, Bundy One Man Gang versus Junkyard Dog, Morocco versus
Horton Hillbilly versus Volkoff, British Bulldogs versus Demolition plus a Girl's World title match.
Get tickets at Keel and all ticket Now outlets, including Famous Bar Programs.
Something to Change, Regis trademarket Titan Sports Incorporated. Headshots there of Paul
Orndorf, King Kong, Bundy and Junkyard Dog. Imagine going to this show
having no idea. I'll tell you you know, if I saw that,
I'd be like, I gotta go, I gotta go. I need to
know what this is. And I said that it was eventually promoted as the
winner. I don't know if it's promoted or just announced on the night.
The winner of this Royal Rumble will get a world title shot the next time
WWF comes to the Keel Auditorium. Wow. So the notion of the winner
of the Rumble getting a title shot dates all the way back to the very
first one. But again just to how show attraction or as I know,
Narya Peep said on any WWF television show about this, even in the syndicated
shows in Saint Louis, I've never heard of like, you know, a
bumper or something where people are cutting promos about this upcoming Royal Rumble thing.
And you can tell by the way they promote the nineteen eighty eight one and
how they start shooting promos for it that it's all kind of being cobbled together
from this kind of loosely formed idea that a few of the wrestlers and participants
being asked to cut promos about it have a firm grasp on. Yet it
doesn't even seem like until people got to the Cops Coliseum in Hamilton for this
January twenty four, nineteen eighty eight event, that they really even knew how
the Royal Rumble worked. And there was actually something approaching panic backstage among the
wrestlers who aren't just able to go out there and do their routine. There's
a lot to suddenly think about to get the Rumble right, and you're on
live television, no less. So it was quite a quite a deal.
So go ahead, I said, I'll say it is quite a deal.
The full results, according to the papers, um was hill Billy Jim over
Nikolai Morocco over. Oh my god, I don't know what newspaper this is
from. It says hill Billy Jim over Nikolai Bolcoff with the b Yes,
what's wrong on that? It says Manif Morocco defeating cowboy Bob Gordon. Okay,
again, I don't see the problem. The gang beats some dogs,
so the game wins the Rumble and he's wrestling a singles match. Earlier in
the night. It's not like all I would bet that all the guys who
wrestled single matches were in the were in the Rumble. Yeah, there's seven
matches, so yeah, but the seventh was a woman's match, so you
got it. Brother all came back. Worndorff beat Rude Haynes who just come
into the company. Haynes beat Davey Boy, pardon me Haynes, and Davey
Boy beat the demolition. It says demolitions plural. Of course dynamite was unavailable.
Are you for demolitions? And the uh yeah, just these are you
know, the wrestling types exactly. Billy Haynes doing a double duty comes back
to beat King Kong Bundy, and then Sherry beats Velvet McIntyre before the Rumble
match is won by Gang. Sound have been a Hogan show? You know.
It's there's like Sandwich isn't on this It's like there's nothing here. Nah,
it's just like, let's spice up this house show. You know,
in a major city and a major arena for professional wrestling for sure. I
mean we've the Colisseum Collection and another venue is talked about how hard and a
sort of concentrated Vinceus Push wasn't a Saint Louis as this a venerable wrestling city
with its you know, pretty much the richest tradition of any city in the
country due to being the you don't you're talking about tradition. See you say
tradition, and I see an appetizer that's correct, and I'm gonna eat it.
I'm gonna eat I'm gonna tell you this, all right, comes when
it comes to Keel Auditorium, I'm gonna have a nice plate of Keel parmesan,
a Keel lime pie or a Kiel lime pie. All right, that's
the way it's going to be, and I'm According to Bruce Pritchard on his
podcast, he said that a Chief Jay Strongbow was the agent for this house
show, this Royal Rumble in nineteen eighty seven and just didn't get it and
had trouble sort of communicating the vision to the wrestlers and no clocker buzzer guys
running in every so often. Crowd didn't grasp what that was all about,
what it was supposed to mean. It didn't have a presentation to it,
whereas on television, you know, you can talk about who's coming up next,
and the announcers can build the anticipation, they can sort of point you
to what you're supposed to be looking forward to. But if you're sitting there
in the arena and you've never seen it presented on television, it is very
hard to understand what a royal rob course. I mean again, if especially
don'trom a countdown and yeah, we talk a lot about this one, and
like, you know, you said it right off the top, people have
this sort of vague notion that there was a Royal Rumble before the nineteen eighty
eight one and that it wasn't, you know, terribly successful. I don't
know though, if people know about all of the other Royal rumbles that happened
after, are you fucking kidding me? They essentially took the Rumble on the
road after this USA Network special and did it in cities all over the country.
The fuck. So it's kind of specious when we talk about all the
Royal Rumble winners in history. It's almost like art of war games. Most
like we shit, no one talks about the nineteen ninety one war games that
happened all over the country with Elga Hunte. Did you know this before I
did? Not know that there were this many house show rumbles after the first
one on television. No I knew there was at least one, But there
were ones in New York, there were ones at the Cow Palace. There
were ones all over the place. Essentially the way Bruce Pritchard described it as
it was almost a way to give guys a chance to rest and take it
really easy in the months leading up to the big show WrestleMania, but still
make the towns and work matches because of course, you know, a royal
rumble doesn't require a lot of exertion or big bump taking right right, So
look at this one. This is an article about Jake Roberts winning a Oh
My Gone, a Royal Rumble at the Meadowlands that no one even knows about
from ADI eight. Why don't you hit people with this piece? Roberts rocks
in Royal Rumble? Got that right, Jake the Snake. Robberts was the
shining light of last night's doubleheader World Rusling Entertainment card in the Meadowlands Arena.
The two hundred and forty eight pounder from Stone Mountain, Georgia was the only
grappler to emerge unbeaten on the long card. Jake won the twenty one man
twenty one man twenty one man Royal Rumblin came back to earn a draw in
a man to man match with Hercules her Nandez. I invite you to consider
that Jake the Snake Roberts has won a Royal Rumble. I am all about
it because I had, I had. Jake won a number of Royal Rumbles
in march Y bro Universe. His brilliance last night established Roberts is one of
the contenders for the vacant WWE title, which will be decided during WrestleMania four
during Rustlemania four card at Atlantic City's Convention Hall March twenty seventh. Rules for
the Royal Rumble, which was being held in a New Jersey ring for the
first time, call for each wrestler to draw a number. Numbers one and
two start the battle, and the others in number rotation joined the skirmish at
an a minute and a half intervals. Don Morocco and Hernandez began the began
the action. There were eight wrestlers in action before Brian Blair was the first
to be eliminated. The action was wild and it became its wildest when it
got down to the final four Honky Donk Man, Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude,
and Roberts. Steamboat was the first of the four finalists to be tossed
over the rope. Rude followed. Roberts then made a clever maneuver, grabbing
the legs of Honky Tonk and tossing him over the rope for the victory.
The match consumed forty minutes and thirty eight seconds of your time. Let's to
say nothing of what one Man Gag consumed. On the next right, exactly
what the thing is. The match may have consumed forty minutes and thirty eight
seconds, but how much food did the One Man Gang consume in forty minutes
and thirty eight One Man Gang consumed four forty minutes and thirty eight seconds.
You damn right. Hockey talk Man gained some consolation when he defeated Steamboat.
In their singles bout, Randy Savage bested One Man Gang, and Don Morocco
outlasted Rude. In other singles bouts, the Young Stallions defeated the Conquistadors,
The Heart Foundation conquered the Killer Bees, and the Champion Strike Force team of
Tito Santana and Rick Martell vanquished Nikolai Volkoff and Borzookoff in tag team bouts that
from The Jersey Journal March fifteenth, nineteen eighty eight. If you're trying to
place exactly when this rumble would have been, so, I guess March fourteenth,
nineteen eighty eight. This is fucking consider that reality, big time,
big whole ship going ahead. Everyone knows about the eighty seven test run.
Very few realize that they just went all around the horn with the rumble.
Match is just like a How Show attraction. So we've got to expand by
like thirty because Didaci won one of the cow Palace whoa, We got to
expand by several the amount of quote unquote rumble winners we recorded in the history
books. It's funny because the only one that I actually know of outside of
of like the One Man Gang winning Matt one is um is the own Heart
one in Madison Square Garden in like ninety four or something. Oh yeah,
the heel Owen Heart. Yeah yeah. I didn't had no idea, amazing,
no idea they had more. So, man, if that doesn't wet
the appetite, I don't know what does for our coverage of the very first
royal rumble, or at least, as we are to think of it,
the first rumble. WWF choose to acknowledge at least first Royal rumble that was
on television the twenty four nineteen eighty eight Cops callisse M Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada on the USA network is TLF gets back in the driver's seat and begins
a campaign of full penetration for the year twenty twenty three. Of course,
if we're going to wet the appetite, we need to wet our beaks as
well. We need to wet those lips. We need to boss, I
don't know, get get appropriately sudds for the summer. The only one way
to do that in a TLF approved fashion, and that's with our friends over
at Papsed. It's that iron clad alliance between a cold can have Papst and
a long hard edition on the Lapsed fan continues well into twenties from three.
You want to invite all you to support Papst and enjoy the full range of
their beverages, the beer that doesn't allow you to take your tell yourself too
seriously, even if you'd like to sort of lex TLF does each in every
week, and so we want to thank and salute and crack a can and
tip a glass to our friends at Papsed here as we embark on a post
TNH reality here at the Lapsed Fan and I always appreciate PAPS support and doing
that, and we appreciate your support for them as well as we hit a
hot papst Summer that PAPS Fan t shirt again at Pro Wrestling teas boss a
game again and Summer Slam's coming up the hottest party of the summer yep,
yep, oh yeah, oh yeah. And I understand a contingent of TLF
fans are on the ground in Detroit. Folks on the discord on Patreon.
I put together other a wonderful kind of like full Detroit wrestling experience, and
we look forward to checking in with them as well as a survivor Syritt pardon
me as SummerSlam of course hits Detroit and it hits your Patreon. Those subscribe
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call as it happens fresh out of the oven on pay per view night.
The three sixteen tier gets it on a three day delay, and of course
our high level big dick tiers like the twenty and fifty dollars tiers get it
immediately as well. Yes, so we've we've done a lot of feedback shows
lately in mailbag shows. You know the value proposition by now you've heard that
the auto Rojo read down. You know that the list is long enough that
you can sort of swallow your pride and nobody will notice slip in falling at
the pay for that cast worthy of our efforts, and you know, be
a citizen that can look himself in the mirror, someone who pays for what
instead tries to find a ways to sneak it for free. Absolutely, that's
the only way you can do it, all right, you know because again,
and you know we've said this, We've been saying this for now,
for for years. Okay, we've been saying it for years and I'm just
gonna say it one more time. Do it because it makes you feel good
exactly, all right, Get a rush, you get a dopamine rush.
Do it because deep down you know that that is the only thing that can
heal wounds, your personal DNS, your personal truth trouble. It's all right
there. Do you want to get better or not? If the answer was
yes, Patreon dot com slash the lapsed fan add free versions of the show
Deep dives a day before everybody else, the higher up you go under the
cinemat, the eptor and above just crap, can what's next under the cinemat
for these motherfuckers? I can't tell you. I'm killing the summer. The
summers, say the summer, the summer, this summer. As we are,
as we are heading towards the one hundredth episode, is is um is
going to be all secret? That's for sure, because it's just it's it's
it's gonna be It's gonna be a lot of fun. And actually what I'm
I'm very excited because I didn't even know the depth as to what the upcoming
movie like, just the craziness around it. I had no idea. I
thought it was a part of this ride with us, you know, the
formula on the wrestling side, on the main TLFT podcast that you're listening to
right now. We just had a little moment of discovery there with rumbles that
had nothing to do with right, Seriously, I mean, and those come
so hard and so fast under the cinemat because no one spends more time than
the boss does examining the wrestlers and the movies. I want to tell you
something to a funny story that has to do with cinemat. So we we've
we've had some guests over, some friends traveling in from Texas over the last
um week, and so I was telling them, you know, they asked
about the podcast. You know, they'd like to hear stories, and so
I said, oh, you know, I said to myself, you know
what, Oh, this would be funny. They they'll get a kick out
of this. And I told them, and only those you know who can
who listened under the cinemat. No this when we did the Punisher episode,
we talked, we did this whole thing out of this this random me randomly
saying Carlyle and we're in reference to Carlyle Massachusetts and so I told them that.
I told him the whole story about that, right, thinking they'll find
this funny that you know, da da, And they just looked at me
like I was a fucking moron, like this kind of looked at me like,
okay, what's so funny about that? And so and so I said
to myself, I said, okay, you know what, try to like,
let's reverse it. Let's say you know, and it'd be so fun
Imagine too, if if there was a Massachusetts, like a random patch of
Massachusetts talking of of Texas that just happened to have, you know, this
random group of people from Massachusetts who just talked with Massachusetts accents. I mean,
that's crazy, right, same expression. Yes, complete dud. It's
so amazing. That is as lapsed as it gets. It's a part of
the reason, you know, the cast has so much vibrancy because finally people
like that have found each other. Yes, yes, and don't have to
worry about you know, landing like a fart in church in the real world
and respectable company. Absolutely amazing. So it was so crazy crazy. Of
course, the Moat tier the strongest podcast supporters of any podcast on the planet.
That's our tip top tier where you get the Russell Mommia features this boss
sits down with Mama sorrow and watches racing in a way that in a one
of a kind way that elicits how it used to feel sitting on the living
room carpet and um watching just an assortment, a monthly crew, a grab
bag of matches. But by the time this drops, they will have seen
motors, will have had access to listen to my mom and myself watch Bret
Hart versus Skinner from Tuesday in Texas. It's that kind of shit. It's
either that or it's fucking Hogan vers Andre or undertake a verse by kind helen
a self, or it's uh John versus Bobby Lashley. I mean, it's
fucking wild, folks. I mean, you owe it to yourself. No
one that that takes the plunge regrets it. And of course if we have
a little moment of inspiration between ourselves and we're like, you know, we
got to share this with the solar system, the moteteers who we keep in
mind firstactly look no further than us continuing the art of war games by attending
the recent aw Blood and Gut show in Boston. Yeah, and providing our
live thoughts play by play for MOTE Tier members only. Much more of that
to come, including the call when we hear about a wrestler passing inside to
communicate with each other. We're going to do our damn just to UM record
that and make it available to Mote Tier members only. It's all rocking and
rolling. We mentioned UM Pro Wrestling teas Uh. Ton of stuff going on
over there, yes, UM no harm in bringing folks up to date,
Boss Pro Wrestling Tease dot Com, the Laps fans dot com, Slash the
Lapse Fan hopefully by you. You know, I found a glitch in one
of my designs and so I went back to fix it. So, but
what should be up this week? The new TLF Rustle Pania shirt. UM,
that'll help tell people the origin. I mean, the Russell Pania really
comes from WrestleMania this past year, you know, all the shit that we
suffered through its correct? You know? I think I forget I think that
it Did it start with UM with with Shane or was it Cody that started
that all Russell Pania? I don't know. That's a good question. I
don't remember. I don't remember where it all began. But yeah, nonetheless,
Uh, that's there We've got. Of course, Taz's Red Hook Diner
is available, the tal the new TLF generation shirt, one Sting Moon,
a ton of I mean just a fucking ton of of TNH references. Um.
Uh, those who on the mot tier listen Russell Mammia, the the
Dan Cook t shirt based off of Mankind. Um. If you're wondering what
the fuck that's about motors, all we can say motor up Chief Brunch,
Perfect Snakes, that's one was one of my absolute favorites. I might have
to get that. That's some some some point, giving the Perfect Snakes shirt
one of my own Hasbro Universe tag teams and so so many I mean literally
hundreds of shirts, hundreds of shirts available, So it's all there. It's
all flier colors. Next time you're an event, nothing tickles us more than
to get two pictures the TLF steak Zone. Yeah, of course, so
inclined this Barbecue Seasons LOPS Fan contactless combat shirt. Let's say that again.
That's one. That's one thing that they held on to after the pandemic.
Oh for sure. Of course, Burger in the Room shirt, that's another
one. Yeah, we make these utterance as we say these things, you
know, ten years before the podcast exists. Now it's it's a shirt that
people buy and where in cities, well we've never been to people will never
meet from that ass the like in the in the style of the in your
House logo. Oh that's yep, that's a winnervorites. I love that one.
So yeah, it's a check us out. And we're reving up the
engines again now that we're out of the muck and the myer of TNH on
cameo. Um, yes, we know a lot of people have been missing
our availability on cameo and the boss is really stepping up once again. Boss
let him know. Okay, there was one so cameo dot com slash the
Lapse fan, there was one just like, I mean, listen, I
appreciate it and I and I tried to go in as hard as I possibly
could with it. All Right, So there was one, um a request
about somebody celebrating twenty years of sobriety. Sure, and this was from a
wife to their to their husband, and she was like, she loves you
guys. She just she said he want just have Vince going on him nothing's
off the table. Yes, And I'm just like, you know, I
really respect people who who who who are sober. I really do. I
admire them and the commitment to that. So it's part of me's like,
oh my god, like I I want to fulfill this guy's wishes, but
I also feel like absolute shit. Well, I also know that lapsed Vince's
nature is trying to knock him right off the back, right exactly, and
so and so I I you know, I did go into him. I
you know, I you know laps. You know what. I guess you're
you know, if you need if you if you need to be sober,
I guess you're a lesser man than I am. Ah, that's a nice
way to play it. So the whole thing, and you know, and
Vince wanted to fuck his wife and stuff like that. So you know,
it's been some weird one usual stuff. They're are totally weird ones. So
so it up say that one's weird, but it reminds me of the week.
Yes, yeah, they're there are weird ones. I mean, let's
not forget that that in cameos, Randy Savage has been shot and murdered.
Um in cameos uh, we've had for some reason. I remember one with
Brian Pillman and uh Johnny Ace running in the rain for some reason, or
the discovery that Bob Backland's sister married the last editor. Yes, yep,
yep, yep, we turned it over to you folks. Yeah, a
lot of a lot of lapsed character cannon has been has been written in the
cameos, So great again for a quick shout out of friendly message, a
birthday present, whatever the case might be. Put the lapsed fucking Murderers row
of characters to work at cameo dot com slash the Lapsed fam We look forward
to servicing you in that way as well. And if you need inspiration,
if you need things to key off of, and as we approach Lapsed X
ten years of TLF next year, no better time to turn your attention to
LATS. LATS the Lapsed Archive Transcription service run by our friend haste x Calhoun.
You can email Lapsed Scribes at gmail dot com if you'd like to help
and to gain access what this is. It's basically a full digest of transcripts
of Lapsed fan episodes where you can go in and locate, you know,
precise time codes, for moments that have meant so much to you, And
we've put the call out for members of the Solar System to help, you
know, create kind of a corpus of great moments that we can play around
with to celebrate ten years of Rocket and rolland here at TLF next year and
so many folks emailing us at the Lapsed fan at gmail dot com with rock
solid contributions so far. Again, just looking for voice memos about moments and
the history of the show that coincided with something meaningful perhaps in your life or
just something that had you laughing out loud and traffic the personal moments, the
moments that keep you coming back. You know, we want, we want
moments that meant something to you individually, that are unique to you that not
everybody in the Solar System might you know, equally praise and celebrate and appreciate.
And the LATS Transcription Service is a great way to hone in on that
and be part of you know, kind of just it's important work, but
it's it's sort of a labor of love style work. It's sort of like,
you know, it's like we all agree that would be great if such
a thing exists. Let's bring it into existence to that that's the way to
get started there. And as we push forward here into our Rumble eighty eight
coverage and talk about the formation of the Rumble, we are proud and a
post TNH world to also continue to extend our hand out to our friends at
tight Nutrition continue supporting the show. Excited of course with this partnership. Of
course, Titan is one of the most trusted and respected supplement brands in the
industry and you can find their products and supplement stores across the country. They
got a wide range of products from amazing proteins and vitamins to pre workouts and
superfoods, and all their products are backed by the cGMP, which means for
greater manufacturing practices using FDA monitored facilities and third party testing. You heard that
right, I take several of their products and super excited to be partnering with
these great folks. So go to the site tight nutrition dot net to check
out some of their amazing protein flavors like cinnamon Roll, cherry Bomb, Strawberry,
shore Bat, jumping Bomb, Angels. It's all there and here's the
key. Use the discount code lapsed lapsed at checkout to get ten percent off
your order and free shipping. And that also lets us know, and let's
lets them know, of course, that we sent you, which is the
whole fucking point. Yes, let them know that. Because they support the
cast, we support them. And when it comes to reaching for a protein,
which of course is such a vital part of the workout and health routine
of so many folks out there, including in our listenership, you might as
well do it in a way that's TLF approved. You might as well do
it in a way that that that that creates the shine on the thing that
gives you the will to live in the first place. The lapsed fan Wrestling
push. Sure, it's tight Nutrition dot net, but the discount code lapsed.
You will not be disappointed. And we think Titan very much for their
continued support. It's just it's just too poetic for a supplement brand named Titan
to fall into our laps. And it's here the announcement the return of the
Hopper. Folks have wanted this so badly, they have salivated at the opportunity.
They needed, they needed, they needed. Okay, fine, we
will respond. It's been a sacrifice. Okay, seven and a half months
of TNH. Essentially if you include all the feedback shows and that Lost Brook
Knows Best episode that we tacked onto the end there, and that's a lot
of months that folks were trigger happy, you know, flush wallets. They
wanted a chance to come on the show, to sit with your coach chairman,
as we have in the past for Hopper shows, to do an interview
about why a particular show means something to them, and then have your coach
chairs do what they do right, just yes, drop Krau and serve as
the account. Yes. And the opportunity to do that at Long Last is
back. There is pent up demand, there is a need for release,
and let the release begin. What you need to do is follow us on
Twitter or x whatever it is at the lapsed fan follow us on d X
tw brother, what slim jims are you? I didn't. We didn't either,
and that's the good news. Monday August seventh, I repeat Monday August
seventh, Dial it in on Twitter seven am start time on the East Coast
and through the course of the afternoon right up until three pm Eastern we'll be
taking your submissions in your bids to be the next Hopper winner. And while
we do plan on, you know, keeping it pretty loosing open for the
rest of the year. I can't say you're going to get another crack for
the next several weeks. So don't um, don't sit back waiting for the
next shot on goal here. This is really the one for the summer here.
You want to take advantage of this opportunity. And for those unfamiliar,
what we do is we open it up and our Twitter continuously updates what the
high bid is. The high bid is submitted by emailing us at the lapsed
fan at gmail dot com and please put in the subject line hopper bid and
the dollar amount, so it's easy enough for us to keep track of.
And every time somebody ups the next high we tweet it. Sometime upset again,
we tweet it, and others, you know, watch it and pretend
they don't notice the innovation going on if they're not participating of course on Twitter.
And we go and we go and we go until we hit the deadline,
and whoever comes in highest at that moment gets the opportunity to pick which
show we deep dive next, and to come on the show with the coach
heirs for a long and involved discussion as to why you pick that show.
It can be any reason under the sky, and we've gotten some wonderful reasons
for shows over the years, and it's put us on some amazing paths that
we wouldn't have pushed ourselves into. That's one of my favorite things. It
pushes us not only out of the comfort zone, but it has the two
things we wouldn't do, Like the Pro Wrestling Exposed special. We'd never would
have done AWA Wrestling for a cure. Shit, we did Black Saturday because
of the Hopper. You would think that that's totally a TLFS wheelhouse. Um,
you know, with all the court documents and all the deep research involved
there and all the uncovering that went on, that's because of you know,
Christian Hollister said, you know what, here's here's the cash. This is
this is what it means to me for the coach heirs to put this one
on the shelf for future generations. Wow. And who knows what what mission
they might embark us on next. And if it's a big enough mission,
then ship you know, that might mean the Hoppers closed for that much longer.
Because the last thing we want is a big backlog, right yep?
That's happened that ain't happening again. We first did this concept years and years
ago. It was a Patreon thing, and god damn it took us like
a year and a half until we had given everybody we had promised to show
a show it was And that's how we knew this is like something that needs
to be carefully controlled. Yeah, you need, I mean build way up
past. And I'll be the first one who admit it was me who was
really the like I needed to be shown a method that was going because I
was like, I cannot and will not go through that again. Yes,
that's right, you were, you were I gutive on it, that's right.
Ye. Well, it's so important to us to have you know,
some degree of control over what you like. It's great coming off a journey
to know that we can we can call the next shot. We can go
for a big one like the first rumble on television. Yea. And so
that's what we're doing again for you here, um and then as we'll talk
about, that'll extend even further into the next episode as well. We like
to have that optionality. But August seventh, consider it pretty much the only
chance at the Hopper this summer. I think I can safely say that we
always reserve the right to change our minds. But get your wallet's ready,
to get your bids ready, have your coffee, and join us on Twitter
at the lapsed fan on x at the Lapsed Fan. I've got to say
both. I mean, can't believe it. People are they're changing the logo,
like on screen, like WWE. You watch a broadcast, aw,
it's sys X now instead of Twitter. It's right wow. Oh yeah yeah.
People are totally allowing this to be a thing. So it's wrong with
them. Here we are. Um. Yeah. It's like I remember when
when Facebook we named met I was like, good luck, everyone's gonna call
it Facebook forever. Yeah, thanks, About eight months and people change it.
Same thing with w WE. You know when you started us, you
just got to start putting shit in people's brains. You know, it takes.
Yeah, you just need the right people to say we're over again.
Yea, the new name, and pretty soon people forget the old name.
It's pretty remarkable how that happens. There's there's something, there's a truth there
about human psychology. You haven't put my finger on, but there's something.
And how easy it is to rename something that yep is instructive, I think.
But yeah, So that's all. That's all the news and notes we've
got for you this go around, because there's a lot to chew on here.
I mean, I don't know, can you deal with a March nineteen
eighty eight Royal Rumble in Hartford, Connecticut? No? I mean, let's
just look at how busy they were around in January twenty fourth, nineteen eighty
eight, the date of this Royal Rumble. Oh my god. They're in
Landover, Maryland on the twenty third, and they have a thirty man bunk
house Battle Royal on that event that Don Morocco won. Okay, we'll talk
about the difference. But if ever anyone were to deny at the Royal Rumble
was a direct hit on Dusty Rhodes is bunk house stampede concept that had been
going since nineteen eighty five over at Crockett. The fact that they fucking named
the Battle Royals that came before the Royal Rumble concept bunk house battles. Wow,
should tell. So that's January twenty third in land Over, Maryland at
the Capitol Center. That same night they're at the Harrah Arena in Dayton.
That same night. They're also in Lexington, Kentucky at the Rupper Arena with
Hogan and Bigelow over Andrea and Dbasi, And then they're in London and no
that they actually canceled a couple of dates, which is interesting when you look
at um history of WWF, which is, you know, the best archive
I think of chronological WBF results as far as you can think of. Uh,
there there were dates in London, Ontario and Cornwall, Ontario that are
canceled or rescheduled around this time. One has to think because they realized we
got to recalibrate here for this royal rumbel idea which again fell out of the
sky after they already had these dates penciled in. So they're starting to move
things around here think is a fair read of the situation. They were in
Halifax on the same night as the Rumble in Nova Scotia with Honky Tonk and
Savage in the main event and Beefcake and Valentine underneath and Demolition working singles matches.
This the same night as the Rumble. They're in Halifax, the Rumble
in Ontario and Hamilton did sixteen thousand, two hundred paid for an announced twenty
thousand sellout. They are just totally on fire. I mean, that's why
they're doing three major cities on the same night, because they can draw and
they can sell it totally absurd. It is unbelievable. I mean, eighty
eight was it was a huge year for them. I remember when we did
the Trial of his Life and they had the former CFO of the WWF MO
was it, Doug Doug Sages was this, Yeah, And they were getting
into all this stuff as far as what the most profitable year ever was because
it was obviously deemed relevant for um the trial, and they were talking about
eighty eight as like the year eighty as well. But you know, WrestleMania
doing a huge buyer, right. You would think, because you know,
WrestleMania three was this record shattering attendance, that that must be the year.
But no, eighty eight is when really everything was following. It kind of
makes sense, you know, because because when you when you think about it,
like eighty seven is gonna draw people in, you know, it's it's
kind of like it's kind of like when they talk about how two thousand was
such a big profitable year. Yeah, when you'd think it'd be ninety eight
or ninety nine, right, But that's like bringing them in and then kind
of in a weird way, the next year is going to be the most
profitable, even though you get more attention in the previous year, Right,
the next year is kind of a lot of Citi's first chances to buy tickets
to see this exactly. And you know, in a lot of ways,
it was eighty four with with Hogan and then um MTV UM and that had
that bleeded over in eighty five, but there was a whole other level reached
in eighty seven. Because now you're two years in a Saturday Nights made event.
They've done these huge rating shows on NBC four times a year, and
that you know again four times a year. That's it, folks. There's
like eight of these by the time we hit a you know, nineteen eighty
seven, mid eighty seven, so it's you know, the LJN's are profligate.
Now the Rock and Wrestling cartoon is out and it's been distributed, is
in people's minds. There's just so many seeds that have been planted by this
point that they just they can print money, they can set up a fucking
ring somewhere and people will come the next night. This is why this show
is such an afterthought in some ways. The next night they were in the
Garden in New York City. Oh my god, sell out nineteen thousand and
seventy. Wow. You imagine going from this Royal Rumble the next night you're
in the garden. Of course, you're not going to think of the Rumble
is some special night in your in your life or your career, especially when
they've done something they already done, one that you kind of vaguely heard about.
In Saint Louis. There've been a ton of Battle Royals. Sometimes you
call them bunk house battles. There there's always Battle Royals on house shows.
You know what the difference does it make if you call it a Royal Rumble
or not, Because when you go back and you you know, listen interviews
with wrestlers who are participating in this first Rumble in eighty eight, this first
televised Rumble, they don't really remember the match at all. It's almost like
they've you know, they've been forced to remember that night because it's taken on
a lore. But at the time the next night you were in the world's
most famous arena, sold out house. That's what you're going to remember.
That's the big payoff. Don't care about this one, no, No,
it's just it was a house show in Hamilton that happened to be on USA.
So there was a bit more you know, logistics to worry about in
terms of a live television hitting time cues and stuff and some angles. But
you don't remember this any differently. It wasn't a big payoff. It's just
it's it's amazing to think about how differently the wrestler's mentality worked back then,
because, like I said, it was still like ninety percent of live arena
how show business. It was still about doing stuff that could sell out arenas
as opposed to draw huge television ratings and then draw huge rights fees from the
television networks. They were getting paid, I'm sure some nominal amount from a
USA network. They were still some of the highest rated stuff on all of
cable at the time, but that never really translated to dollars and cents in
the eighties. You know, it wasn't really something that you could draw a
direct line to. Okay, because we do these huge ratings, they pay
US hundreds of millions of dollars a year just to be able to broadcast our
shows. No, sir, it was still very much. We got to
use that exposure to sell tickets here and sell tickets there. It's all about
the syndication. It was all about taping shows and shooting local interviews that would
sell out arenas. And when that's the mentality of the wrestlers, they are
not going to remember, you know, one show in the middle of a
six city, six day run as well as you would think when history reflects
on you know, the history of the Royal Rumble. And then they were
in Toledo also in the twenty fifth the next day, so they're in the
garden and Toledo, Ohio. That's with a hard foundation on top jeeze.
And they were in Potsdown, Pennsylvania at a high school with hercules and cocoa
ware. And then the next day they're at Hershief for a taping of Marathon
taping of Superstars and Challenge in primetime. So, I mean, two days
after the Rumble, these guys are taping you know, a month of television.
I kind of remember this stuff. That's unbelievable. Yeah, yeah,
it's a totally different business now in that way, because you just don't have
that kind of just like total onslaught of stuff. And you got to remember
that it's not just that these shows are back to back, they're far away
geographically. Now, they booked the show as much more, you know,
on a loop, right, it's a lot more logistically sensible, right,
you're you're a general region. But back then they were just like grabbing anything
they could on any arena in any major city they could, because they were
just sort of still creating the idea of what it was to be a national
wrestling company from a logistics and travel standpoint, and there wasn't a whole lot
of appreciation for the you know, potential economic benefits of keeping everything in a
tight geographical region. You just booked, You just booked buildings as you could,
and you sent the talent there. You got them there one way or
the other. So these guys are also flying an incredible amount between these shots
day after day after day. They don't remember any of it by the time
they're done, and they're probably all i mean, all the drugs they did
to get through it. Listen, this is no different than any other job.
Yeah, okay, events, what people can commute on a day to
day basis to commute, people fly for their for their work. You know,
I don't understand, you know, if I believe that it is the
responsibility of the talent and of the of the of the private contractors that we
hire. You know, they sign up for this. They need to know
that this is the job and they're doing the job. Are they ever?
And again I don't, you know, there is there there's there's no law
that says I can't make these guys travel as much as I want to.
I mean, they want to get still when Vince's in his fantasy world where
that he can work, run the guys this hard and they're not going to
get injured at an increasingly fast clip and fun. They didn't. They didn't.
They didn't get injured, blow up all of his plans in regular time.
They didn't get injured. So I don't. Again, I don't see
what the problem is exactly. An eighty five Crockett comes up with the bunk
house standard. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, pal. And
if it is broke, I ain't broke. Yeah, And if it is
broke, it ain't broke. That's right, pretty simple. I'll decide if
it's broke, make the town. I don't want to hear about your torn
acl make the town. Wording bitch, find ways to make the town,
or don't get paid and go home. And I have no problem. If
you can't make the town, I'll find somebody else who's already at That's exactly
correct, and I'll give them your money and more. It's the opportunity of
a lifetime pal. We've never been so busy, there's never been so much
demand for our product in your home. We are. We are stub Toe,
we are creating entertainment. We are You are the wwee's super entertainers.
That's what you do. You entertain superbly, right, Okay, I couldn't
put it better myself. So you act. Stampe created by Dusty working for
Croc at eighty five. It's a Battle Royal where wrestlers dress up like cowboys
and jeans and they bring weapons. It's basically like lethal lockdown. When he
got the Book of ta years later, sucks. I know, why are
the dressing cowboys? What's what's the deal with that? It's just, you
know, Dusty, he just he thinks people care about like country western boor.
He thinks it means he thinks people associate something with a bunk house,
as opposed to say, what the fuck is a bunkhouse? You don't even
know what a bunk house is? I mean you remember that commercial? Um,
what was it? New York City? Oh? Yeah, what was
that for? What that was for? U? Some kind of salsa?
God? I can't believe I forgot about this already. Then I'll tell you
just how impactful it was New York Pace? Is it? I forget what
it? Um? Pace Pacante? Oh? I didn't know it was Pace
Pacante. I thought it was another brand anyway. The idea like those guys
that say New York City, that's who Dusty thinks, we like, we
care about that mythology, and we don't. We don't care about it.
But that's that's his thing. And and so you know, if we're going
to go right for the juggular of Jim Crockett Promotions as the last company with
the gaul to pretend that they can offer competition to the World Wrestling Federation and
it's increasing hegemony as they continue to get their pick of the letter of all
the top stars of every territory across the country. Um, then they're going
to have to pay, and they're going to have to you know, basically
be matched. It's no different than them hiring away, Cody wrote to Hurt
a w or hiring away aj and Shinsky Nakamura to hurt New Japan. What
truly animates Vince is grabbing talent that not only gives him talent, it also
hurts the other guy. You know, and I have no issue. I
think I'd be that very clear when it comes to breaking promises. I don't
believe in promise. That's right. I believe in the promises you make to
me. I but listen, I believe the only promises that I believe in
are the ones that I choose to believe in. Its correct, any promise
that comes out of my mouth, it's not a promise, right. In
fact, you're better off thinking the opposite. It ceases to be a promise
the moment it escapes my lips. Is a matter of fact, it ceases
being a promise the moment you sign your name on the dotted line. Then
all of a sudden, it's fair game for me to take my pants down
yep, and to drop a deuce on your face? Do you realize I
could do that to everyone who works for me and they wouldn't do a single
thing about it. You know, you could. You can talk about any
kind of corporate abuse or any kind of office abuse. Sure, but you
know what, no one's going to do that. No one's going to do
that because some tried, some tried to step to the man a couple last
year, exactly what tried, and you know what happened? Nothing, No,
what happened. He put more money in his pocket, billions and billions
of dollars selling the company than you ever could have imagined. And he did
it all while saying, so what, So what? You know there's fourteen
million paid and hush money? So what? And there are all these incredible
accusations. Let me say this, there's only that much paid and hush money
that you know about. Yeah, so what about? Now? What are
you gonna do? No one says shit about it. I mean, you
cannot remove me from my from my job posts, exactly correct. You can't
take my company away from me, you stupid bitch. Right. I will
do what I want, that's exactly correct, to whom I want to do
that's even more correct, and you will not only do nothing about it,
you will enjoy it. One of my shit drops unto your face. You
will say, thank you, mister McMahon. Can I have another? That's
exactly Can we have another bunk house battle? Royal? Yes, they say,
how did it look? How did it feel? Well? You know,
cheez. Even less is known about these bunk house brawls that they would
do around the loop to sort of you know, as far as I can
tell, it's like the first draft of let's make fun of Dusty by bringing
him in polka dots. Let's just make fun of his concepts before the first
Royal rumble, right, yes? And after and after yes, sometimes it
would be, you know, after this one, sometimes be a royal rumble.
Sometimes it would be a bunk house brawl. And the best I think
we're going to be able to do in getting a window into what WWF's version
of the bunkhouse Stampede looked like the bunk house Brawl is in the pages of
WWF magazine. This is from Ugal nineteen eighty eight, that month's Battle of
the Titans. Boss as I've just sent to you, and I would appreciate
you conveying along with the solar systems. Here's Keith Elliott Greenberg's coverage Bam Bam
wins bunk house Brawl. What the fuck doesn't come in yet? Deal with
the fact that this exists, and we'll get it. We'll get it over
to you that you should have it Battle of the Titans, and yes,
Battle of Titans is crucial. Why don't I have it yet? Um?
What? What? What I have in your email? Oh? In my
email? Pardon me? Yeah, right, I was looking in the chat
there here. It's just looked out first, you know, before you leave
the words, tell us what you see, because there's photographs of this thing.
I see number one, I see Battle of the Titans, and that
just makes me happy. Holy shit, holy shit, you get I guess
there are there are members of the New York Rangers. I guess they're in
the Battle Royal New York Islanders, New York Islanders. Sorry, yeah,
yeah, So they're just in there with hockey helmets on, and then someone's
got a fish net. They're clearly to me, a player from the Jets
is in there making fun of the idea that you know, a bunk house
brawl is bring any weapons bring any gear? Is that Lammy Poffo? Well
where next? Right in front of Jyd there, I believe it is.
I don't know what he's wearing, though he appears to be wearing a super
Shredder costume. Well that I think he's wearing armor. I think he's wearing
a night and I think he's a Knight in shining armor. You know,
they're just having a fucking great time with this idea of like come ready for
battle in the bunk House Bam Bam wins bunk House Brawl. Bigelow battles his
way to victory by Keith Elliott Greenberg. Bam Bam. Bigelow arched his eyebrows,
stared down to the ground, clenched his fists, and hopped from foot
to foot. They pound human fireball grimmaceda waiting for the waiting for the world
Losing Entertainments. Second Annual bunk House Brawl to begin, second annual an annual?
So this is eighty seven it started? Huh wow? I wonder if
Greenberg is conflating it with the rumble from eighty seven, But would it be
annual? I mean this happened when did this happen? In eighty eight.
Well, this is in the April eighty eighth edition, but I'm not sure
you never know it. This could have happened in eighty seven, you know,
like there was a battle one of my in the March. In the
March nineteen ninety two W magazine, they the Battle of the Titans was from
Tuesday in Texas, three months prior acazing, no clue. Let's not forget.
This is when they brought Bigelow in with big plans in eighty seven.
Remember him and Survivor series that year. Yeah, he was the last man
before andre Andre killed him. And it's timely because Dark Side of the Ring
just came out with their Bam Bam episode, so we've got the full you
know, tragedy of his story. All right. I remember I remember that
call. That was a two thousand and seven one, right, wasn't that
when he passed? Yeah? Sounds about right. I feel like I remember
him being part of that. It was like every week you were calling me
with somebody. Every week I was getting the call at that was intense there
for a while. That was a rough year. Um. So Bam Bam
came in in eighty seven. He had you know, been a sensation in
the wrestling magazines. He had his first match at Studio fifty four with Paul
Hayman promoting it in New York City after training at the Monster Factory with Larry
Sharp out of New Jersey and just being able to do just the videotapes of
him the things he could do for his size from an acrobatic standpoint, which
were just out of this world. Oh yeah, ton of buzz about the
guy. They brought him in after just a couple of matches to WWF and
had big plans. He was, you know, rubbing shoulders with Hulk Cokean.
He was always very complimentary of Hulk and didn't really felt like Hulk was
ever trying to you know, undercut him. But he ran and Andre the
giant who you know, is a bitch when it comes to other people being
presented as the next big guy in WWF, and he's going to find a
reason to hate them. He's going to find a reason to say that they're
not grateful for the opportunity exactly. B If Andre hated if Andre loved you,
he was the best. Andre hated. Andrea only hated you if you
felt like you were going to get paid to be the big guy in roster
instead of him? And what what is it? What is it? Bell
about it? Very please? Ansk questions? And I've got I've got things
to do, all right, I'm very busy. I've got I've got you
know, I've got lots of can't you see paperwork? There's there's papers and
in front of me in my hands, I've got my glasses down at the
end of my nose. You know very well that I'm very busy. Apologize
mis bar however, or won't the tolo something? You're both bigger? Which
one is that? Who? Patterson? Who's bam bam bigel he's got the
got the fire on his head? What who? Who? What? Got
a touchdows on the side and give it the ball the bad guy from Jersey
to get the bald guy Bundy, you know to bam bam. Not Terry
Gordy. I didn't even know what that is. What's a Terry Gordy dude?
I'm right here, brother, what I'm here? Terry Terry Terry No
not you damn it. Get back in the closet please, what Terry Gordy?
Brother? I don't do nobody's taking Terry brother I'm whole COVID. Terry,
dude, Terry, please just get them, get out, get out.
I'd rather take Terry Garvin at this point. Seriously, Jesus Christ Patterson,
you're gonna teach me how to speak with an echo? You do it
very well? Now, Um? All right, So there's a bolt?
Are you talking about some andre? Are you talking about some bald man that
has things drawn his skull? Is that? What is that? I guess
that's who Bam Bam Bigelow is? Yes? Are you what? What do
you want to do about? What is it about Bam bam that that has
you? So whatever? Mister he does me an oil chuck and he did
it? You know what? Now he divis? Oh? But then I
first of all, and the fact that you just oil check to yourself is
very very very disturbing to me. Uh. Second of all, Uh,
why patter Patterson? What what does you know? Is there any reason why
we should keep man Bam Bigelow? Does he do anything interesting? Does cart
wheels? Does cart wheels? Does he jump off the top rope at all?
Yes? He does? What does he do? A headbut a Headbut
can you do a head but off the top rope. Andre, No,
I come, mister macmahn. Maybe you didn't hear me correctly. Can you
do a headbut off the top rope? No, mis come and climb.
I come over, climb top rope Andre. If you if I'm to you
know, acknowledge and to fulfill your request, you are going to need to
add multiple top rope flying maneuvers to your repertoire. And I want to him
and I'm going to have to approve all of them. I wonder he hated
Bam bam. So get going, Bell, start training, talk to Coco,
talk to anybody who gets on the top rope, all right, and
I'll take care of that fucking idiot from New Jersey. I hate New Jersey.
I hate people from New Jersey. Yes, I'm gonna kill him.
And right Bam Bam comes in. He's doing all of these high impact dives
at his size, and come early eighty eight, he's got two bad knees
already and he needs surgery. Wow. So they had big plans for him.
I mean, he was going to probably be like one b under home
it we'll talk about it. It was kind of like the spot they originally
had in mind for Jim Duggan after they signed him away from Mid South,
but then he had the problem with Iron Cheek and the arrest which you will
also talk about. This comes before Douggan has chosen to win the first Royal
Rumble. But Duggan was sort of like going to be you know, the
baby face that headlines the show's Hogan couldn't but it's kind of like associated with
Hogan. And then of course clearly right you watch the Driver series, you
can tell that's exactly what they want for Bam Bam. He puts his arm
around Hogan like a roquette and does a double big boot boss for Gotsy Patterson.
Can we who can we? Who can we use to take out Bam
BAM's knees? There's only one and it's Andre and it pisses Vince off.
According to the Dark Side documentary and other things, Bam Bam said in interviews
that Bigelow needs time off to rest his knees, that he can't just keep
grinding through these injuries and find a way to work around him, despite you
know, Vince's enthusiasm for pushing Big a little fast and hearts. Wow,
what are the first examples of Vince you know, just souring on something that
he gets so excited about because it doesn't play out to his liking immediately from
the from from the jump. What do you mean you can't? What do
you mean hurt your knees? What did you do? Huh? I don't
know, Vince. I was kind of just being a three hundred and seventy
five pound guy that's jumping off the top rope. It's gonna happen. It's
inevitable, you know the style. No no, no, no, no
no. I can't work all these towns and be bam bam bigelow every night.
We'll tell you what. I'll tell you what, Pal, You're not
going to work these towns. Yeah, exactly, all right, You're fucking
done, all right, because you know what, I can't have fat asses
like you who jump off the fucking top rope and can't handle it. Right,
You get on my radar because you can do things big men supposedly never
could do, and within a year you're damaged. Goods to me, within
a year, you can't do the only thing I ever even heard of you
for you're doing shit that no other fat bitch is ever done. I think
him here, I'm I have a sold a guy that could do shit that
no other fat fuck could do. And you know what, now you tell
me you can't do it. So who who's been screwedy? Are you fucking
bitch? By June he's getting pinned cleaned by Andre in the garden. By
December, what's he doing? He's a Starcade. He wrestling Berry Windham at
Starcade. Yeah, but here this U bunk House Brawl. This is before
things had soured on the first run of the Bammers in the e. Please
continue from magazines. Everyone just better stay out of my way, he warned.
Bigelow's weapons this night would be his bulk, his surprising speed, and
his might. Others who are in themselves with only their natural skills and physiques.
Where the mountainous one man gang and young, sleek footed Sam Houston.
What made the arsenals of these men curious is the character of the Bunkhouse Brawl,
the only w t B match where the use of foreign objects is not
only condoned but encouraged. No way, this isn't a knock on Dusties contin
totally. The thirty odd wrestlers who competed in this helter skelter variation of a
battle Royal were allowed to wear anything and bring whatever they wanted into the ring.
The get ups were frighteningly creative. Wrestling Wrestling great Ernie bigcat Lad who
played football with the San Diego Chargers, Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs,
or a complete football uniform into combat, as did the Rock Don Morocco,
Canadian Dino Bravo and Jacques and Raymond Rougeau sported hockey gear including sticks hercules,
and the Junkyard Dog brought chains I didn't think he was in the company at
this time. The British Bulldogs took in a long handed dog catcher's net,
Australian outback jack, a boomerang ska, a bone outlaw ron bass, a
whip, and the Natural butcherad a weightlifters belt. Demolition came in leather and
spikes and leaping Lanny Poffo a suit of armor. Oregonians Ken Petera and Billy
Jack Hayes terrified grapplers and fans alike when they entered the ring wielding timber slicing
chainsaws. Fortunately for the other Titans, the duo placed the cutters on the
timekeeper's table before the opening bell sounded, A disoriented George the animal Steel wandered
the arena floor while those in the ring clustered together, throwing punches, kicks,
and each other. Popo took off the armored helmet to bash one man
Gang, but the four hundred and fifty pound monster from the backstreets of Chicago
did not feel the thing. He all but ignored leapin Lanny and formed a
quick partnership with Bass to hammer on Bigelow. Bigelow fought gamely back against his
two opponents. As Popo searched for someone else to clauber, he settled for
out back Jack, who countered with a boomerang blow. You imagine this in
nineteen eighty seven in WWF. This kind of fucking hijinks so bizarre, it's
like the hardcore division before. Right on the opposite side of the ring,
Hercules and Bolshevik Boris Zukov forged a hasty alliance. They first wrestled the British
Bulldogs net away and used the handle to choke Hanes against the ropes. Morocco
made the save, charging to the trouble spot and breaking up the mugging by
smacking the assailants with hercules chain. Somehow the chain was transferred to the Ultimate
Warrior, who wasted no time in swinging it against the sharp studs worn by
acts of demolition. Ultimate Warrior then took a swipe at Lad, protected by
his football equipment. It is not certain if the big cat even knew that
he was hit. Lad rambled across the ring and shoulder blocked one man.
Gang Gang reached nonchalantly pushing Lad away and moving on to flail others. George's
animal. Steele was still confused on the arena floor. Seeing the men in
the ring bashing their neighbors, Steele decided to go after the individual closest to
him. Slick back, hunched and arms flapping steel chase the doctor of style
who show who shoved a side ring a ringside referees, judges and photographers to
escape the wild man. The word in The Observer at the time was that
George Steele wasn't about to take that over the top rope to the floor bump
necessitated by the Battle Royals, so he'd come out and just hang around ringside
and do whatever. How would you get eliminated? How do you get eliminated?
Then it was almost like he was never in the match. He would
just come down in the middle of these matches. I guess these things at
ringside now never renowned for a long attention span, Steel tired of the capt'
and mouse contest and looked for another diversion. A table struck his interest.
The animal grabbed it and used it is inhuman strength to hoist it over the
ropes. Hercules was the first to be victimized by the new weapon dynamite.
Kid turned the table up on the mat, and the Ultimate Warrior ran Herk's
head into the top. Hercules, no strangers to chains, chairs and other
injurious injurious objects, held his aching skull and reeled, but continued fighting.
In a move reminiscent of the story of David and Goliath, two hundred and
twenty seven pound Sam Houston attempted to square off against one man Gang. Houston's
method was innovative. He snuck up on Gang from behind Clauton brother, climbed
the big man's back, sat on his shoulders, and punched down on the
gargantuan's tattooed head. Gang lumbered to the ropes, lifted Houston by the thighs
and hurled him onto the arena floor, where Popo and Outback Jack had recently
been deposited at Morocco and the New York kids. What a goofball? What
the fuck is going on? I don't even know what a fucking moron?
What are the screaming Norman smiling there? That's it. The fit the picture
of the magazine. He looks like everybody's doing a Dubie stub hardcore man right
exactly. The eliminations continued in rapid succession. Steele finally entered the ring,
only to be thrown out by Read. The Animal compensated for his loss by
again attacking Natural's manager Slick before returning to the dressing room. The Bolsheviks ritted
the bout of Jacques Rougeou and Ken PETERA. Ultimate Warrior broke up the Soviet
force by discarding Nikolai Volkoff Taxa. Jim Duggan managed to pick up one man
Gang and cast him toward the first row. Okay Reid crept behind Duggan and
disposed of him. Lad rushed pushed out Read, Junkyard Dog pushed out Lad.
Ultimate Warrior and Hercules were removed and continued their slug fest at ringside.
The Bunkhouse Brawl finally evaporated to four survivors, Bam Bam, Bigelow, the
Rock, Don Morocco. If you smell what Don Morocco was cooking wrestlers to
be Ax and Smash of Demolition. Morocco and Bigelow realized they were in against
an established combo adept at brutal teamwork. The only way to beat Ax and
Smash, their foes quickly concluded was by using divide and conquer tactics. Rock
removed his football helmet and wrapped Smash with it repeatedly. Bam Bam floored and
choked Axe in another part of the ring, placing his helmet back on his
head. Morocco tried a flying tackle pretty enough to gain him an NFL roster
spot. Okay, cool, There was also there was only one problem.
It's fake. Wrestling is fake, and we'll be ahead of that in the
end. Thank you for reading Smash sidestep the maneuver, and with the help
of Sicca, who pulled down the top rope from outside the ring, Morocco
was done for Demolition then concentrated their attack on one large target. Bigelow,
Axe and Smash pummeled Bigelow and whipped him into the ropes. Bigelow went over,
but held onto the top strand, and exhibiting astounding agility, boosted himself
back into the ring. That went to work. A bewildered Smash was punched
to the arena floor. In a moment later, Axe was ejected by an
authoritative dropkick from behind. Man Bigelow had cautioned the other wrestlers to keep out
of his path. When the Bunkhouse Brawl ended, there was no one left
in it. Bigelow had plowed his way to a decisive and unforgettable victory.
Truly amazing, truly amazing. That's wild. So you know, if you
see it this way, you almost start to see. Of course, Vince
didn't take the Royal Rumble concept seriously. He was in the mode of mocking
the very idea of a specialty battle royal because that's a dusty thing and a
Crockett thing, and we must make fun of them, we must mock.
Truly wild. So the Bunkhouse Brawl in many ways preceded the Royal Rumble and
the WWF. And that's kind of what it look and felt like. Come
one, Come all dressed in as much goofy clothing as you possibly could imagine
man to be a fly on the wall for those I know got to be
one of those on tables have Morocco dress like a fucking idiot. Right.
So the Bunkhouse stampede again as we as we touched on already was you could
say this second but in a lot of ways, the first attempt by Jim
Crockett Promotions to do pay per view as we know it, not closed circuit
starcade around the country and arenas on big movie screens. We're talking about pay
per view as WWF had had known yet and perfected it. And they tried
to do it at Starcade eighty seven, and they you know, had clearance
in several major cities across the country, but not nearly as many as they
would have liked when Vince pulled the powerplay, of course, So this January
twenty four, eighty eight is really, you know, Crockett's attempt without thinking
there was a chance that WWF would counter them on pay per view and force
cable companies to pick and choose here and uh sure, well we won't do
that, but we'll go up live for a free special. And you better
believe, just as prominent in the hype for this show on WWF Television before
it took place, it is not the idea, serilely that there's going to
be this unique novel battle royal concept on the show, but that it's free.
They hit free, and they hit free. And why do they hit
free because they know on that same night the other guys are asking you to
pay pay, pay, pay, pay free, free free. It was
so cutthroat, man, it was so much worse than it is today.
I mean, they went right for your date and they just tried to,
you know, wave as many objects over here as they possibly could to get
you to not look at the other guys, even though they had they were
dying. I would love to to kind of have witnessed some of this,
Oh to live through right, to have been a fan, I'm mature fan.
In the eighties, what a ride like if you live down in Atlanta
and you got like every they had, like the Joe Petticino Hour where they
showed like highlights from all over the country and just basically every single promotion going
on territorially had some way in if you had you know, the full cable
package and everything. You could watch it all forget about it, man,
so exciting because you had Vince Plucky is pick of the litter. That's the
thing. It's so different today, is right. These guys aren't, with
few exceptions, anywhere near the level of stars when WWF comes knocking now as
they were back then, and it's like every single top guy in the in
the territory you grew up watching is now in the WWF, and it's just
it's just wonder it's wonderfully fascinating to watch play out. Not great for everybody
in the business, but just of course what a time to be alive.
Now, what's the rumble about this eighty eight rumble? It's really about the
February fifth main event NBC special, isn't It's about the whole cocon under the
giant contract signing for that big show, which is of course, in a
lot of ways, you could say it's the first primetime network special that wrestling
did since the fifties, because the Saturday eight made events were of course at
eleven thirty at night on these coasts and replacing Saturday Night Live. This was
you know this, It took me forever to kind of figure this out because
I had no idea, Like, you know, I didn't really realize that
that Saturday Night's main event. We're all taped, and I remember kind of
figuring out, like, no, the main event is a different thing.
It's like, yes, like w puts it underneath the Saturdaynight main event banner
and it has a similar type of graphics, right, it like it's kind
of a spinoff of it. But no, it's prime time. It's network
television. It's on not on Saturday. Yeah, it's crazy, it's huge,
it's um it's really another one of those examples of the hotness of WrestleMania
three paying off like a full year later, and that NBCY was compelled to
put this on live in prime time like this, and with that kind of
a huge opportunity in front of them, you can start to see you again,
a whole other reason why the very first televised Royal Rebel didn't seem like
a big deal. They're a week away from the real deal, the real
opportunity, and we've done this main event in the archives. Oh yeah,
we've talked about the rating that show did. It'll never ever get to that
point again unless they somehow put a huge WrestleMania on network television for free in
some year in the future. I don't think it still will never be that
number. Yeah, that percentage of the people who were watching television to be
tuned into a WWF show. It's just it's just possible, wasn't It wasn't
like thirty three million people or something somewhere around there. Yeah, I get
the exact number, but you'll send the archives that I'll never I mean,
you can't get people to watch that except for like the Super Bowl, right,
And that's a time, you know, when there were just so many
more households with televisions, but you had Andre and Hogan wrestling each other on
free network primetime television. And that's whether of course they did the twin Hebner
angle, that brilliant angle, and it was just and that incredible shot of
Teddy Bias with the championship belt. Oh, so many people care, like
people in your life, normal people, people to the grocery store. They
cared enough to watch this from from how Hogan you watch that? This This
is perfect into this episode because you got to hear it just like you're saying,
we rest all kinds of news people watching this for the first did you
see that the referee he get that plastic surgery done? That's correct, you
see that unbelievable Hogan said was plastic surgery? What do people don't you know
what people will do these days alone and everything. But that's that's too far,
you know. You know, look, I get it, I get
it. I get the idea that that that, But come on, you're
telling me that that that that the guy went so far as as as as
to just completely you know, we do his face with plastic surgery. I
mean, what what's going on here? What's next? Me? What?
What? What's next? You? You know, parking tickets for the Easter
Bunny? You know, what are you talking about? And one of the
things Bruce Pritchard makes very clear and talking about the show is the Ilvingvins cared
about with the Hogan Andre angle. Of course, in fact, the first
draft of this Live USA special, before they put the Rumble on, there
was just matches and the Hogan Andre contract signing, you know. And the
thing is, I just don't understand. If there's one thing you know that
I really have an issue with on this show is the formatting of it.
Yeah, I just don't understand. Now, I understand, I do remember
that this is the day, this is the time period of you put on
your your biggest thing close to the beginning, but they didn't even do that
with the Hogan Andre thing. And it's like, I just I just don't
understand why why either Hogan Andre or the Royal Rumble didn't close the show well,
and why we have ever Saw loved the Rumble and wanted that to be
first. That's his version of Saturday Night Live has its best sketch at the
beginning, or you know, Jay Leno has his best guest on first,
because ever Saw loved the Rumble concept more than he loved the contract signing angle
that was vix. So yeah, that's what you have here. That's why
the Rumble comes on so early. He's just like, yeah, okay,
all right, And you wonder why Ebersol and it's kind of weird. I'm
so glad that that Conrad did an episode about this show with Bruce Pritchard,
because it never made sense to me. I mean, Dick Ebersol had no
he did not work at USA network. NBC had nothing to do with the
USA Network at the time. It was just a Stanley cable station. But
apparently there was like this sort of like loose alliance between Vince and Dick Ebersol,
who had a third party production company that he ran in addition to working
for NBC in a production capacity and being just you know, a total legend
in terms of sports television programming and production over there, where he basically you
know, hung out with Vince and wanted to be involved and putting WWF shows
together at this point in time, even if they weren't on a network that
he was contracted to or working for. Dick, I just want to run
something by you. Yeah, what what's um? What's going on? I
just well, you know, I I admire you. You're you're a very
you know you you understand they entered him business what I'm going for? Yeah?
Yeah, yeah, of course, of course, of course, yeah,
I get it. I totally get it. And so what I what
I want to do is is I just I know that I am it would
it would I would be greatly appreciative if there was any way that that we
could we could do business. Just I would love to have your your your
ideas outside of just the NBC shows. Is this is this something that you
you'd be you'd be interested in. Well, yeah, you know, I
always happy to help a friend. I just want to tell you, I'm
always happy to help a friend, and I consider you to be a friend.
Oh my god, that's so great, Thank you so much. But
listen, listen. I'm under contract with NBC. You know, I've got
to deal with them, and uh, it's not necessarily you know, iron
clad per se. But you know I don't I don't necessarily want to go
behind their backs and do something like this. I just you know, what
if I got an idea. I got an idea. All right, I'm
listening. What if I what if I opened a company for you? What
if I set up and I paid for a production company just made it for
you and you could produce it from there. We Hey, you know that's
not that's something interesting. I will say. There's definitely an interesting proposition,
you know. I I don't you know, but just having a business isn't
enough, you know. I mean, you gotta have you gotta have an
office, You're gotta have people who work. I'll pay for it all.
I'll pay all their salaries. So just I will be you're your financier.
But please, I just I just need you to dick to do this.
Please make it seem like I know how to please live television. Make it
seem like I understand live television. Well you know, Vince, like I
love you like a brother. Ah, I do. I love you.
I love you despite the noises you make sometimes. I mean, you do
make some some awkward noises. But but but it's just this I understand.
Listen, I don't want to dick your can you your your cozy Connecticut suburban
home is everything I ever hoped for. I want Connecticut. I want your
fucking ranch of state bullshit like house. I want. I want your life.
Well, uh, excuse me. I want. I want my grass
to be green. I want one hundred degrees out ten fifteen days in a
row. I want my grass to be green. I want to be but
I also want to get your grass that's greener. I want all the grass.
I want my daughters to ride horses. I want I want my I
want my Yes, I want horses to be to be ridden in my in
my yard. Are we still talking about a production company? M Well,
maybe what do we What do you think we're talking about? Well, listen,
I'll tell you what. All right, if you're willing to listen,
I'm grateful. I again, I don't want to. I don't want to
push you out, all right, But if you're willing to to um you
know, to to set up the company, to pay for the employees and
the company. Uh. Look, I can help you out with a two
million dollar bonus. Okay, okay, I'll I'll write you a personal check
two million dollars to Dick eversaw here. Take about tell you tell you sick
seven degrees see you Tuesday, and so you get it. Listen the temperature
in the room, all right, the on the office, it's going to
be the same day in, day out. Doesn't go up, doesn't go
down. I look, I'm Dick Ebersol. I need to wear a sweater
with a collar underneath, no matter what the season. Look. I want
exact exactly. I want to be able to be comfortable enough. I don't
have to wear a jacket, but I want it to be cold enough where
I'm not sweating if I'm wearing a sweater in my cashmere, in my cashmere,
all right. I want my hair to be exactly the way that it
is when I came into the office as I leave the office. Well,
you know, the man knows what he wants in exchange for service, that's
for sure. So yeah, the first reports in the Observer about this upcoming
live special does not mention a thirty man rumbla, just mentions the Hogan Andre
angle and a bench press that they're gonna do with the No Bravo. Now
here's another shot at Crockett, because guess what they had in the pipeline.
What the Road Warriors doing a bench press challenging Wow, It's played out in
the days following the Bunkhouse Stampede pay per view, where um, I think
it was the Russians like disrupted it. We've talked about this before and like
the thing falls on Hawk's neck and yeah, oh Jesus so a total So
right, so they say, oh, all right, well, guess what
else we can do to fun with them, not only our version of the
Bunkhouse Stampede, but we can also but the strongest guy in the company,
Dino Bravo, who can legit bench press you know, more weight than anybody
on Crockett's roster, and make sure that he sets a record that will make
them look ridiculous for trying to break as well. I mean, that's that's
how they work. That's the mentality back then. Let's fun with them at
any possible opportunity. And so that's the way it played out. Now we
need to acquaint ourselves. This is the lapsed fan. We can't forget this.
We need to quaint ourselves with the look and feel of the time,
do we not? Of course, isn't it about remembering the texture of what
it was like to watch television at a time time when yes, you know,
all television asked of you was appointment viewing, attention and a good snat.
What was USA Network like in nineteen eighty eight? What did it taste
like? How did it make you feel? You tell me, I wasn't
watching at the time. In a minute, what's the most embarrassing thing that's
ever happened to you? This USA Network program is viewed by the wonderful world
of Kenner Oh, robo Cop, part man, part robot, all cop,
the ultimate in law enforcement RoboCop, and the Ultra Police. The only
cop with rabid repeat cap firing. He's unstoppable, battling the worst criminals,
head Hunter and Nitrobe. The Ultra Police protected by robo Armor bring RoboCop even
more firepower in the fight for justice. Nothing can stop RoboCop. RoboCop and
the Oprah Police Eat sold separately with Robocaps. You are watching USA Kable's Entertainment
Network. Well they have that writing. Yeah, I can't Cable's Entertainment Network.
I want to feel those feelings so badly, but then I can't go
on after I feel them, I know, because it's just they're so much
less warmth in entertainment. Now there's nobody trying to like, come on in,
you know what I mean. No, yeah, no, no,
no, no, they don't want you to know. They don't want you
to come in like they want you to. They want you to watch your
phone while you're commuting on the subway. Fucking hell, you know it's all
over. They don't want you. They don't need you to because that's the
thing. They don't need you to come home to watch. I could feel
my eyes getting heavy to stay up for prime Time. I meant that USA
Network voice. I mean, it's there. I reach for it. I
reach for it, but it's it's thirty miles further away than I think.
Then the eye then it appears to the naked eye that. How about how
about those rup toys one one? Remember the smell of the whatever the Salver
capital Yeah, yeah, when you do fucking heavenly. And of course the
sort of ragtag nature of putting this event together meant that, you know,
the USA Network certainly didn't have a long lead time to plan on this live
television special and accounting for the time slot, so they had to do some
preemptions. And if you were watching USA Network is just a you know,
Joe six pack in nineteen eighty eight and the Rumble was coming up, this
may have been part of the campaign USA put together that you would have heard
to make sure that you knew that on this particular Sunday evening, um,
you're normally scheduled USA programming might not be available. Dude, who are special
coverage have royal Rumble? Our program schedule has been changed. Please check your
local listings for details. So harmless, I'll be glad to due to our
coverage give it to me coverage. The coverage that soundly the guy who did
all the all the voice over work and the mid mid slate nineties. Yeah,
yeah, recap videos and stuff that sounds like the guy who does if
life were fair, Oh my god, my mom would go to the bathroom
on a regular basis, but she doesn't, and so the surgery is scheduled
for frere um. Now. I don't know exactly when it was decided that
the Royal Rumble was going to happen on USA Network, but the closest hint
I think we can get is when they started mentioning it on the weekly Primetime
wrestling show, which of course was hosted in studio by Guerrilla Monsoon and Bobby
Heenan as they perfected their legendary stick together just doing you know, pitches to
matches from you know, pre tape matches from around the country. That was
the format, and they started talking about the Royal Rumble. I believe it
was December fourteenth or whatever. The second week of December was wow, nineteen
eighty seven, so there's like less than a month to get ready for this.
Pritchard remembers tickets only being on sale for about a month beforehand for you
know, something that was being promoted as the Royal Rumble and so let's let's
acquaint ourselves. I was fascinated to hear them describe, yes, the Royal
Rumble to the USA Network viewer. Before they had any idea really what it
was going to be and what it was going to look like, they were
just dealing with, you know, text descriptions of the match and explanations of
what the match might be like. I love text and it evolves quite a
bit over the Hull Day season of nineteen eighty seven into the Rumble in January
twenty fourth of eighty eight, describing what this match is going to be.
Let let's hear from a grill and Bobby here. They am not coming up
right here in, folks. In just a moment, We're going to be
giving you some interesting news on something that's happening right here on the USA Network
in a very near future. A free attraction for you, folks. That's
right free. Am I involved? Aren't you involved in everything that's free?
No? Never for anything in your life. We'll be back told me something
not to do anything free ever. Well, folks, as we promise you
earlier on a special event coming up right here on the USA Network, The
Royal Rumball Sunday, January twenty four, featuring the King. No it's not
featuring the King, well, it's the Royal rum well, that's just a
name they gave to This event has nothing to do with the King should It's
a special tribute to the fans in the World Wrestling Federation, and you folks
right here on the USA Network are going to get to see it in the
privacy of your own living rooms for apps lutely nothing. It's got free attraction
put on by the World Wrestling Federation featuring all the stars of the Royal Wrestling
Federation. It's all coming your way Sunday, January twenty fourth, The Royal
Rumble. You won't want to miss it. Talking about interesting things coming up
here on the USA Network in nineteen eighty eight, A big special January twenty
fourth, a Sunday night live right into your living rooms. The Royal Rumble.
What do you know about the Royal Rumble. It's kind of like a
reverse Battle Royal, A reverse Battle Royal. Yeah, let's say there's two
guys in the ring. Every couple of minutes another guy comes down. Eventually
the ring can be full of twenty thirty people. Has this been explained to
you? Do you know exactly what you're talking to? You don't? Okay,
here's what's happening folks. There are twenty men involved in this Royal Rumble.
They each have a number. Nobody knows who's got number what. We
start out with number one and two inside the ring. After two minutes of
wrestling has gone on, number three will enter the ring, and so the
procedure continues until all twenty men have been called to the ring at what At
one point there could be eight against number seven coming in. Fifteen men left
at the end, but the ultimate winner will be the man who remains the
last man to be thrown over the top rope and down to the floor of
the arena. Other interesting matches also involved here in the Royal Rumble. Ladies
Tag Team Championship on the line, Clamor Girls against the Jumping Bomb Angels,
who I think brain are going to be the next Ladies Champions of the World.
No way, no way, it can't be done. Jimmy Hiris got
him keen tuned and they're ready. Another interesting tag team matchup, the Killer
Bees against Demolition. I go Demolition, You go with why because of mister
Fuji. He's a very strong factor. But the Demolition they're ready. Talking
about strong factors, Let's talk about Dino Bravo, former Canadian heavyweight champion.
He's going to attempt to break the world's bench press record of over seven hundred
pounds. Where you think he's capable of doing, Yes, I do,
you do, very strong upper body and he's a terment man, very too
much upstairs though a Frenchie Martin as his manager. Well you consider that a
plus. I do do. It's coming your way Sunday night, January twenty
fourth, right here on the USA Network, a free attraction, sort of
a tribute to the World Wrestling Federation and a fan appreciation night, so fan
appreciation humanoid night, the Bullwhip. Let's go to the interview, all right,
gimble him on soon, Bobby the Week, Bobby the brain Head,
and you know, of course you're talking about it about the big Rumble Royal,
that guy taking place USA Network from the Cops Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada, at seven pm Eastern Time on Sunday night, January the twenty
fourth. What an extravaganza this is going to be. And it happens all
free right here on the USA Network. By the way, In addition to
the Rumble Royal, Rickey Steamboat to go against Ravishing Rick Rude Young Stallions to
meet the isitors in two out of three falls. Also a title defense for
Jimmy Hart's Glamour Girls two out of three falls against the Jumping Palm Angels.
Now onto the Rumbo Royal on the twenty from Hamilton here on the USA Cable
Network. Outlaw, Rod Bass, you are gonna be one of a number
of men that's gonna be involved in this extravaganza actually before the event takes place.
Not gonna ready, He's welcome, hot or ladies welcome. No,
they're not fucking Betsyna be there. You better believe it. Side. Let
me tell you for sure. All right, the numbers are gonna be put
in a hat. You're gonna draw him out just prior to the matter.
Back in the locker room. Then two men starting every two minutes thereafter one
man is at it. What's gonna happen now? I mean, Gene,
if you happen to be number one, or if you happen to be number
two, is you're gonna be in that ring for a long long time.
In other words, you're gonna have to reach way down that bag of tricks,
and you're gonna have to be really resourtful or you're gonna have to be
just playing bad. And then in a case the big old outlaw, he's
neither one. You look m down that land brother, like t be no
tag teams in here. That's ever man for himself. It's called a royal
rumble. And what happens number one? If I'm number one, I got
big party people, and you para believe you're looking at the mannequin does so
right here on the USA people, you might have been believing that's a big
outlaws. We're gonna be in there. If we're one, we'll take them
all. If it's a rumba Royal. On January twenty fourth, at seven
pm here on the USA Network, The Rumbell Royal, Yeah, obviously,
can you believe it? That's what it should be. It should have been
called the Rumble Royal presenting there as far as I know, the very first
description of the Royal Rumbell on ww television, that's wild to hear them,
like navigate it like it's some concept from a far away land. To hear
heenan just stumble over how many guys is involved, and it's just tremendous just
to hear them it's so funny play around at the clay. That is the
idea of the match. Again, the emphasis on free fan appreciation night,
as in, if we were to charge you on this night, we hardly
appreciate our fans exactly. Why would we charge you for main event pay per
views to quality wrestling. So for whatever taping it was where Gene Okerland got
the word that we need you to do some interviews for this USA Network special
we just put together. There's there's there's one where he was told it was
the Rumble Royal. Clearly, Yeah, you think about the idea of Battle
Royal, right, you want to keep royal at the end. I can
kind of understand that. Um, but yeah, Rumbo Royal, Yes,
coming sooner. USA Network Television. Yeah. Ron Bass gets it right and
Grilla mont soon gets it right. And here is the follow up a week
later where Okay, kind of make fun of a Gene I think for getting
it wrong. Good Sunday, January twenty fourth, the night of the big
happening the Royal Rumbo from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Cops calls Sam,
I'm going to be there doing the commentary. You think hosting just like your
host here on this program exactly you and me. It's going to be an
outstanding night, a most unique night, a match one of a kind,
so to speak. Royal rumble. I don't understand the royal rumble. You
don't. Nobody's made it clear to me, yet you do it. Let
me try to explain it to your brain. You start out with twenty of
the top wrestlers here in a world wrestling federation, each of which picks a
number from one to twenty out of a hat, so to speak. No
one knows who has what numbers. Number one and two start the match off
by entering the ring at the same time. And the match begins. A
timekeeper is on hand, and every two minutes the next number has to go
in. Number three will go in. After two minutes has expired, and
after four minutes has expired, number four we'll go in at the same time.
The action is going on in the ring. Guys may be eliminated at
any point in time by being thrown over the top and onto the concrete floor.
So like Jake Jake, the Saint Roberts could be number one one main
game could be number two. They start to may start then the could be
three, possibly yes, Okay, then m Danny Davis could be four,
right, so that could be like three against one on Jake the Snake.
What do you mean three against one? Well, they could try to eliminate
him, but then you got another guy coming in two minutes. Right,
absolutely, Yeah, you're right. It's a very unique type match and very
different and very interesting and dangerous to say the least. Wow, just they
don't know what to make of it. They keep explaining it over and over
again, and that's wild. It's wild to hear because it's just it's it's
so taken for granted that it's always been dyed in the wall, but it
was on television then navigating what it meant. Hannah, let's concern ourselves with
the Royal Rumble right now, this most unusual type match where twenty men involved
in this what seems to be a battle royal, but a little different participation
as far as how the combatants entered the ring. Well, that little fur
fade ball headed midget gene Orca, and he was calling at the rumble Royal
with the Royal Rumble. And the reason they call it the Royal Rumble is
because the King Harley. No, that is not the reason at all.
That is not the reason. Are you sure? No, Yeah, I'm
positive I don't think so. Well, let's look at some of the contestants
involved in that brain You've got some guys in there. You've got You've got
the King of course, another friend of yours, One Man Gang, Dino
Bravo, the Natural Butcher Reid. You look at you, the Hearts,
the bees. Your talking about three tag teams, Dangerous Danny Davis, Ron
Bass, Jake the Snake, Roberts, the Ultimate Warrior, the Rock,
the Magnificent One, j Y d the dumb Yard DAWs. Let's not forget
the Hillbilly, Jim Badman, Bigelow. It's a dangerous type man. It's
over the top rope to the floor, right. But the important thing is
that once the first two guys are in there and the matches started, two
minutes will elapse between the next individual coming in. That's what makes it interesting
and exciting, right, It's still elimination in the same manner. Over the
top rope, out of the arena floor. All right. I want to
expostulate just momentarily on the virtues of this, but I a the shootnique event
that's gonna be taking place next Sunday night, January the twenty fourth, originally
from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Royal Rumble twenty men at all involved in
this this very exciting and unique event for the first time ever, a Royal
Rumble, Rumble, Royal something they call it whatever. Are gonna be going
for a lot of and a lot of well, I imagine notoriety for the
man who wins this one. Oh my god, what a fucking He just
wants to expostulate momentarily. Yeah, I can expostulate momentarily. Use that in
any kind of meeting, like next meeting, Just just do that. SE's
just going to expostulate momentarily. If I could get the funk out of here,
you're fired. Do you need to go to the bathroom? Yeah?
Is that some kind of like x slax thing or what? So? The
top of things notable in there one Demolition verse Killer Bees. They mentioned that
match. Yeah, it doesn't happen. Demolition aren't even in the city.
They're in a different city. Yea, the Bees are in the rumble.
They also mentioned that Grill and Bobby are going to be on the call.
That's not what happens. It's Vincent Jesse on the call. Isn't it yes?
Right? It is totally vincent Jesse. Eventually something happens where Heenan realizes
he can't make the shot, so he starts making excuses on Primetime about how
he's going to be in Barbados on like Gorilla starts a thing about well,
I need a co host for a couple of weeks. He's doing that whole
thing on Primetime and then he suffers a heart attack for legit yes wow,
and ends up not being able to make the Royal Rumble himself. So that's
how we end up with the fateful pairing of Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura.
One might think, you know, it's Ventura Saturday Night's main event. I
g Ebersaul's involved that. No, it was a last minute scramble and they
found Jesse, who was right. We've talked about this under the cinemat.
He is well on his way in Hollywood at this point. I I you
know, I've I've already had my second movie released, The Running Man with
Arnold Schwarzenegger and uh, you know, with a Professor to Tanaka. I
already have my sag card. I've already got my got my union. I've
got I've got my union, and I don't know, boss, if you
agree he's getting a little testy with the boss on the air. Oh god,
almighty, the whole fucking like talking about the lawyers and and and Barry
Bloom and he mentions Berry Bloom and rumble, don't make me talk to Barry
Bloom is here the rumble? I don't know yet. You know, you
know what I'm talking about, Vince McMahon. You know I've got hey,
you know what, I've got my union, I've got representation. You're not
going to push me around anymore. Oh my god. And you can hear
I swear that they've already had a little bit friction between him. Yeah,
because that Vince has got to state cape Fabe is the string announcer, so
we can just needle him right on all this stuff that actually is pissing him
off, that's going on in real life. They're gonna have to pay me
more money, right, How does that make you feel? McMahon, Um,
Uh, well, you know these are uh, you know, nothing's
for certain. We'll say that when it comes to uh financial contributions to the
talent in the WWE, we have certain uh you know, um regulations and
certain procedures in order to uh to provide our talent with the appropriate you know,
the the the the appropriate uh financial uh compensation right and level of representation
for that's right and and love you know, we we appreciate the fact that
that that a man of such esteemed talent as as a Jesse, the body
of ventura is um you know, he is seeking other opportunities and uh and
and also in that respect needs to desires really the the the companionship on a
professional level of a man such as Barry Bloom Right. I don't know after
having watched just say, huh think you can't picture what I talked over?
You say it again, Oh I showed What the hell did you just say?
Okay, I'll repeat myself, Jazz that having watched this in eighty eight,
yes, I mean as it took place, I can't imagine this being
called by Gorilla and heenan. Yeah, yeah, I agree, it's it
doesn't it wouldn't feel it actually wouldn't feel right because one of the things I
think it's great about this and Jesse was so awesome at this because he felt
licensed to say whatever he wanted. Yea, even if you know he would
defend the heels, he'd point out contradictions, even if it put the baby
face announcer in a possible position to explain why it's okay when a good guy
does this and not okay but a bad guy does the exact same thing.
All the things he would do just to point out contradictions, that's his nature.
He's a contrarian, right, He's well, that's not consistent. I'm
a third list. I'm a third party, right right. I look at
it, a look at all the different things. I see how you know,
you get one side doing one thing, get the other side doing the
same thing, yet yet they're being criticized for it exactly the other side's not
getting criticized for it. Why do we criticize these guys? That was his
thing and it means that much more. Then when he just starts rejoicing at
the concept of the rumble match as it's unfolding. Yep, how many times
does he say something like this is really interesting, yes, yes, and
he starts realizing how fun it is to think about the idea of strategy and
how how you have to play it different If you draw an early number versus
a late number. He gives us the blueprint for how to put over somebody
who lasts a long time and heart yep, yep, yeah, he puts
over Britain Hart over Huge who draws number two in this rumble. And he's
starting to identify those key beats that one. I think it was him and
Tito, I don't know, Yeah, it was he one. I think
he's won. Yeah, um, But he starts to identify the key beats
of calling a rumble, the key beats of like the stories of rumble can
tell and he's yes, And it's not like he's referring to production notes to
do it. He's realizing it as the match plays out before his eyes that
this is actually really TV friendly and there's a hell of a lot of things
you can say, yeah about a Royal Rumble match that that you can't say
about a traditional match. And I just think it's it's it's really cool,
and I think it would have been a big loss actually to the concept if
it was Gorilla and Bobby doing stick back and forth instead of you know,
Jesse's proclivities to like really focus on the merits of the match. I totally
agree I think he really gets over, like how hard of a task this
is for these guys, and and it's it's kind of a happy accident.
And that's that's WWF for you. All the great things they do. You
go back in history and it just was a fucking a lark. It was
just due to some chance that last minute changed that it worked out the way
it did and stuck the way it did. From Steve Auston versus Bret Hard
all the way on down. Yep, let's hear a little more. This
is them discussing the realization on primetime that Bobby's not going to be able to
be in the chair for Rumble and the gorilla is going to need some backup.
Mister Marston. Yes, yes there one eight? Oh great, Hello
Bob, Yes, yeah, I know, I know, Yes, I
know you're busy making movies. I understand that. Yeah, this one's about
a prison. Just a moment, please, yeah. Question, are you
tied up this weekend? You're shooting Friday? And how about Sunday? You're
you're available? Great? I'd like you to co host this Royal Rumble with
me, because this piece of garbage sitting next to me just informed me today
that he's bailing out going to Barbados or something, but you can't make it.
Oh great, Yeah, go direct to the coliseum and I'll meet you.
There are cops, right, yeah, try to get to earth.
What is it to talk to him when you're done? Wait, wait a
second, hey, Jess, good walk in the movie. Hey, be
interesting going on to Barbados when you stop, he's not going to I'll see
me Sunday. Yeah, trying to be a nice scoli seum. Right,
it doesn't matter what you wear. Where that snake thing? I gotta know
what I gotta wear. Okay, I'll see that. Great, it is
confirmed, folks, Jesse the Body Ventura will infect co host the Royal Rumble
with me this coming Sunday. How do you like those apples? I could
maybe a convinced Jesse to just come in and occupy this chair. True my
chair? Well that we'll be back with our feature. And just wait a
minute, monshoon, you're talking cops. Coloseum bod are calling back? Yeah,
I just want to confirm some things here. Number one, what Colosseum
are we talking about? Cops? Cops? What? What? Where's that?
Hamilton, Ontario? Jess, Well, I've never been to Ontario.
Of course you have or met may Belief Gardens a hundred times. I think
he's offered I well, I well, Gino, you know, you kind
of thrown me for a little bit. Jess must be talking again, and
he must be high as a kite. He's paranoid about accepting the royal rumble
gig what it could be? Just what I you know, I just don't
know if it's the best move for me to go to to go to on
Terry. Sounds like you got warrants. Okay, see what else we could
do? Yes, I'd love to know what if he didn't actually wasn't a
vacation, Like what's the deal? Like, how does he know he's not
probable to make it right? Fascinating? Um? Yeah, And you know,
Vince at the time was just the voice of Superstars. He was just
one of many announcers on roster. He wasn't really like it's got a step
down to him in there, but he did. But he did do the
Satura Nis main event, didn't he He did? Yeah, he did with
Jesse, So I mean it's not like complete step down. And he was
hosting Tuesday Night Titans too. He did such a miserable job filling in for
Gorilla on primetime. Wow, really like a two week period there where Gorilla
was recuperating from it what was, you know, obviously a mile heart attack.
He was back quite soon, but oh he tries to sit in there
and the Gorilla chair and try to do stick with Bobby and it is so
bad. And in fact, Keenan at one point goes, can we find
somebody else? He looks off camera, is there anybody else we can send
down here? Not notwithstanding Fince was hardly the ultra polished television performer we would
know from the Attitude era at this particular point in time, but I think
he does a pretty good job of the Rumble eighty eight proadcast. Sure,
yeah, agree. So that's how we get to the announcing composition that we
have on this show. And for Bruce Pitcher whould come in in eighty seven,
this was the first live TV show he had been asked to put together.
In a lot of ways, if you don't count pay per view,
which doesn't have advertising breaks, it's the first time Wwffitt had to do a
live television show with ad breaks where they were really responsible for timing out the
segments to make sure it didn't go long, timing it out to make sure
they had the ad breaks where they needed them, and just a whole lot
of considerations that you really don't need to do a you know, live to
tape show, even Saturday Night's main events, we're live to tape at the
time you had pay per views, but again less considerations around timing with ads
and stuff, and the MTV shows were MTV pretty much doing all that.
They were just producing a Madison Square Garden television show like they always did,
right, you know, the monthly MSG shows on the MSG network or like
Prison in Philadelphia. So it was kind of a new series of demands being
put on a WWF that, you know, it's kind of a bare bones
thing. They put the show in Hamilton, according to Pritchard, because it
was proximate enough to Toronto and all the dates they had in Canada around this
January twenty fourth, this was the one that was closest to where they knew
they could reliably get cameras and the kind of equipment that you need to do
a live shoot. Because they had some experience, I guess doing live shows
from Maple Leaf Gardens on a Canadian television back then, So they picked Hamilton
for that reason, and they didn't even go to Hamilton until the morning of.
He said. They chartered the jet from Stamford to Hamilton and got to
the town at one o'clock in the afternoon the day of the Rumble, like
Vince and everybody, and they had a production meeting and put everything together.
Pritchard was involved a bit in formatting Survivors series eighty seven for television. The
job is pretty much like, you know, Vince and Pat figure out who's
wrestling, who, who's going over, what the card looks like, and
then Pritchard has to like, you know, interpret it in a way that
helps the directors and stuff actually make it a television show. So he's in
the position of really sweating how long everybody's taking at the Rumble eighty eight and
how the show's progressing and pacing, and it was a daunting a task for
him, and it's kind of programming. He doesn't hesitate to admit that Pritchard
on a show because sometimes he gets cute about that, you know, acting
like it was just a coincidence that it hurt Crockett or hurt WCW that they
did something. Yeah, yeah, this one you cannot deny, said absolutely.
This was Crocket's first attempt to pay per view, and Vince did not
want them to have success on pay per view. That's so amazing. That
really was the thing. It wasn't just a fuck with. It was to
not present in the pay per view provider's mind that there is a viable alternative
if we don't adhere to Olivins's demands, that there's nothing else that can do
any kind of anywhere near the atmosphere of numbers that WWF can not at all.
No, we are the numbers. We are the only entertainment that people
out there in the world will want to watch. And this would hardly be
the end of this volley back and forth, even though there was kind of
a truce called after the eighty seven Thanksgiving situation where the cable companies would like,
look, guys, you can't force us to choose between the two again.
We can all make money here. But come WrestleMania four. What's on
opposite that on TBS? Do you remember, boss? I do remember?
It would be the first ever clash of the champions Sting versus Flare and the
performances, right, sting, So Crockett's firing back. Fast forward to WrestleMania
five and what's on TBS clashed the Champions. It's um, it's the second
of the Flare and Steamboat matches, right, tremendous. It's the two out
of three falls match. Yeah, so um, pretty wild that we're in
the throes of that return is the first one. That's the middle one,
right, are you talking about between Flare and Steamboat? Yeah? Yeah,
it is because they did um, Shytown Rumble. I believe it's March.
They did this one and they did Russell Warre in May, Okay of eighty
nine. Yes, I believe Shytown Rumble. Maybe it was February. Actually
February of nineteen eighty nine. So we turned to a seminal text in the
history of the show, Shauna Sail and Mike Munaham's Sex, Lies and Headlocks,
for a quick sketch about what that competitive tension was like At the time
of the nineteen eighty eight Royal Rumble between Crockett and Vince Sale writes, it
was a blood bath. Only five cable companies out of the original two hundred
stayed loyal to the Crocketts, and Starcade wound up being bought by just fifteen
thousand homes, the leading the company, taking just eighty grand after expenses.
Oh, Crockett made weathered it if he had a strong base, But as
he looked around, he realized that the two in revenue streams he'd hoped would
carry him to the top pay per view income in national advertising sales were bone
dry. Remember he has those balloon contracts. Were like, He's signing these
guys to big promises down the line, thinking I'm gonna get going on pay
per view like Vince's and I'll be able to afford these contracts. Call seven
eighty eight. Nope, nope, and it is not going to let you
succeed. There the in hell, pal, that's when people start leaving in
droves in eighty eight. Right. What he needed was a salesforce akin to
the one Vince had built. Instead, all he had was a few fast
talking consultants in New York and a bunch of grateful wrestlers driving Mercedes in Dallas.
As he turned to his bankers to make up for cash flow problems,
resentments in the family begin to flare. David, who had grown up,
sharing the same room with his brother David Crockett that is had to choke back,
discussed every time he flew to Dallas and saw the suite of marble FLOORID
offices bearing his father's name. Big Jim always told them never to flunt their
money before the public, which is why he ran things out of his house
until his wife got a new white carpet. Only then did he move his
office to a boarded up convenience store marble floor. David was sure their father
was turning in his grave like many of the wrestlers. David also believed that
Rhodes was running on fumes. For one thing, he'd all but given up
on writing. The days of his half hour classic matches were gone, replaced
by Bland, Blink and You Miss A playlets. Rhodes argued that he didn't
want to give away the best material free on television because he needed to save
it for pay per view. Either way, the Saturday night show on TBS
that McMahon had left with a five point three rating I'm talking about Black Saturday,
was doing at two point nine in October nineteen eighty seven, five point
three to two point nine on We Extended down to the arena shows, where
Roads insisted on penciling himself in his Flaire's challenger long after the fans stopped caring.
Worse he'd fallen in love with the transparent trek ending dust. He would
win their matches, only to have the referee to qualify him on a technicality
after the belt told. The scheme allowed Flaire to retain then wa belt,
but at a cost his title was diminished, while Rhodes, whose weight problem
was becoming embarrassing, clung to the limelight. At Christmas of nineteen eighty seven,
Roads launched a last gasp series of bunk House Stampede events, and which
two dozen wrestlers started in a ring and got eliminated as each was thrown over
the ropes until one was finally left standing. Not only are they flung out
of the ring, Boss, So I forget Bunkhouse Stampede eighty eight. You
got thrown over the top of a steel cage wall. Are you serious?
I have no idea, I've never seen it. Can you imagine a battle
row? You have to pull a guy up a cage and throw them over?
How convoluted that looks? I would imagine that it just makes total sense.
You know what. I'll even submit to you that maybe we'll find out
for ourselves next time when TLF covers Bunk House Stampede eighty eight. That's the
game plan, folks, So lock yourselves in on that, because by the
time we're done with Rumble eighty eight, it just begs to be done.
And it's not a show that's really going to beg to be done any other
time as far as I can tell, I mean, no one else is
begging to haven't done. It's correct. Rhodes had wrestlers flinging garbage cans and
tire irons, well dressed in stetsons and spurs, and after eight successful shows,
he decided to turn the whole thing into a pay per view. That's
not forget. The bunk House Stampede was like a house show attraction, much
like War Games under Dusty. The main event was to be a cage match,
literally a match held inside a locked wire cage placed over the ring the
prior eight Bunk House winners. Once again, he penciled himself in to win
the main event. The January twenty fourth, nineteen eighty eight show might have
done business in Atlanta or Dallas yet Crockett inexplicably decided to stage it at Long
Island's Nassau Cool sum. That's what they went wrong, and they thought they
could punch back instead of doubling down right on their strengths to Chicago, because
the biggest problem right exactly like that was the biggest problem to begin with,
Like you would have made more money if you'd stayed, if you'd stayed at
home and done it on pay per view from home, right Vince's game of
moving in other other areas. You're going to strike at the right moment,
and it's not the right moment. Power. It's so sad during this period
to hear Dusty and Flair come out and like talk about Baltimore and New York
and Boston in LA and try to like sell the people on the idea that
they were draws and all the same cities WWF was And it's like you're just
not You're running these towns and you're not making any money. It's pointless.
You're only doing it because you want to all yourself that you can beat Vince
at that game. Instead of doubling down, circling the wagons. You know,
a place that owed more to Billy Joel Shawn of Sale writes than Billy
Jack making matters worse. McMahon once again counterprogrammed another show aimed to hobble Crockett.
This time he decided to attack via cable, creating a Battle Royal of
his own and airing it free on USA. Now, the framing might quibble
with a bit, because it always seems to me and I could be wrong
about this and naive about this. Clearly the idea was to go after Crockett
on Crockett's Night. But I think it's USA that wanted alive special and perhaps
it was Vince who suggested this particular night to do it on m I see,
but the Slammings had gone on in late nineteen eighty seven and that was
a big hit for USA two, So they really liked the idea of not
just you know, the weekly television, but one off specials. Sure,
of course, and this is the latest in that regard. Okay, more
than three million homes tuned in to see his show, called The Royal rum
Bowl, a record up to that time for the network and the most homes
ever tuned to a wrestling show. Jim Cornette remember sitting in the Colisseum's locker
room for the Crockett show, and looking around at the long faces. We
wanted to be there, like we wanted to have our mothers hooked up to
a machine. The crowd was dead. They hated everything because they'd never see
a machine like I don't know, like a oxygen. Machines only indicates the
entire health. No one wants to see their mother in the hospital hooked up
to a machine. I think that that's what he's trying to say, but
he needs to say that little bit better. After it was over, several
wrestlers climbed into a limousine to head to the Helmsley Palace hotel in Manhattan.
Tutlly Blanchard, who was in a foul mood, was one of them.
Dusty just booked himself against Dusty, he muttered. At the hotel bar.
Blanchard's mood got worse with every new drink that got poured. Finally, he
and Crockett exchanged words. Dusty's a genius, Crockett insisted and walked away.
This thing is going to hell and he can't see it. Blanchard said to
no one in particular, Dusty told me he was a genius. Oh my
god, Jim, he's a genius. Jim, what it's not working,
Jim, You're not. I can It's exactly right. I know it's sacrilegious
to remember. This was Dusty's reputation in the business before Cody came along.
Let's not forget all this. Okay, dust is doing fine, his shit
is great, and you know, we're just gonna keep on moving forward because
that's that's what Dusty tells me. Sounds like a plan. And I am.
I'm you know what, I'm I'm the new vinstrict Man. That's correct,
and there's nothing you can do about that. Jim Crocket's face when I'm
saying that, I'm the new Vince McMahon with no curism at all, and
there's nothing you can do about that. Tolly, I am the new Vince
mrict Man. And I and I'm I and I'm gonna keep on making money.
And let's not forget A big reason that Tully skips down is, uh,
you know, during the transition, when Turner starts kicking the tires on
buying Jim Crockett promotions, there's all these like back back channel me with different
talent about you know, how they feel about the state of affairs and the
business and feeling them out and being part of this new what would become WCW
and Blanchard complains loudly, I guess you could say, or at least vociferously
about Dusty and his booking. They were at odds, clearly, and the
idea was everything said in these sessions as confidential, just some due diligence,
and then of course instantly Dusty finds out about it, and pretty soon Tully
is confronted with working conditions he can't tolerate and leaves with arn Anderson to WWF,
that's right. So this bunkhouse stampede and the rumble kicking its ass and
fucking it all up leads to, apparently, according to Shawn a sales book,
a Manhattan hotel blow up from Tully Blanchard that would be very much the
canary in the coal mine for what would be a disastrous nineteen eighty eight for
Jim Crockett Promotions. Also around this time, the WF had just signed Big
Bubba Rogers, one of Dusty Rhodes's big investment projects, in Crockett to become
the Big boss Man, and he was pissed off about his payoff for the
scaffold match. It's at a starcade. So these kinds of problems starting to
really red in terms of defections. But I didn't but I paid you,
didn't I I saw something in you. I gave you. I in a
sense, I gave I gave you my my, my innocence. And how
did you pay me back? And what did you turned your back on me?
You paid me back in scorn? You pick me, You're you're a
scornful fat bit. Should have at least paid me back in corn something with
that. You know, you could at least pay me back in porn.
That's good. So he's fine that season, full control. It's not like
he's going on TBS and basically having a hissy fit about being punked by Vince.
Thank you, thank you very much, Billie. You know all my
years have to fall a long time, and bill at does for wrestling.
What the major magazines look magazines, time, magazines, books illustrated to for
the rest of the world, the finest gentleman, the finest publication pro wresting
illustrated of any magazine in the world. And proof of that it's right here
I want to take the minute fast throughout this country that love Dust the Rods
and voted Dust the rosbook Popular Wrestler. But most of all, what tells
what Jim Crockett promotions are all about and what the wrestling world it's all about.
What's the scene right here? Magi ta and the key to cull off.
That's what it's all about. It ain't no comedy, it ain't no
cartoon, it ain't no comedy cat television and talk about something that you create,
create what it is. It's Jim Crockett promotion, the real, the
real wrestling. Take your villas, Okay, Dust, Wow, how you
doing Dust? You're gonna be all right? Hey man, that's what I'm
talking about, Daddy. We're talking about the day I've been to pick a
CuPy cat motherfucking be for ship, Daddy eating the ferial. Baby. When
I'm talking about it, I gotta go home, Daddy. I gotta take
the things and I gotta say fuck it, fuck you. Hold on,
man, I gotta take the things and I gotta say, fuck it.
What things would those be? Does I matter? The things are, baby,
to the things that I need, the thing that you need, the
thing that the wall name daddy and make Donna say fuck it because all they
do they're steal the things that I have, the things that I am,
baby, and they do it the bad way. Thank you, Thank you
very much, Billy. You know all my years refling. I've known Bill
out there for a long time. And Bill out done, don for reffling.
What the major magazines look, magazines, time, magazines, books don't
spread it do for the rest of the world. The finest walking I'm on
the finest public and illustrated a Bay magazine in the world. And proof of
that it's right here. I want to take the mini fast throughout this country.
That love Dust, the Rosan voted Dust, the robot popular wrestler.
But most of all, what what tells what Jim Crocket Promotions are all about?
The restling world. It's all about what's the scene right here? Magnum
ta and the key to call off. That's what it's all about. Baty.
It ain't no cartoon, it ain't no company, cat glor television and
talk about something that you grace create what it is. It's Jim Crocket's emotion,
the real, the real wrestling. Take your daddy, Daddy is no
cartoon. Baby, we're not torting the heath stiff, Daddy. We're not
talking about about our pound puppets of my pet moms and Daddy. We're talking
about people. We're talking about emotions, Daddy. We're talking about what is
real, what is fake? And what is mine? Baby? What is
real? What is fake? What is mine? An unauthorized biography of the
American Dream Dusty Rhodes. I mean, you talk about a guy losing grip.
You talk about a guy who's like everything he tells himself is starting to
go up and smoke about who he is and what he is. Yes,
tremendous and uh copycat, that's what this is. The rumble is I mean,
they were already calling it bunkhouse brawls, as we've documented. Let's just
fucking put it in the ring. Let's do a royal rumble on the same
night they're got a royal rumble, and there's no competition. Pale at the
best man. When we're talking, we're talking competition. We know this is
the best way to compete. Let's see what the fans want. Let's see
you know what's more desirable the bunkhouse dot Pete Sampede or the royal rumble.
I'm not copying anything. I'm creating my own creationally. Remember what are you
talking about, daddy? You're taking my idea of men in the ring bade
a number of men double digits in the ring doing things, baby, throwing
hands. Fairness, you hardly have a copyright on the idea and men in
the ring. I mean, Dusty, I don't mean to be to be,
you know, offensive in anyway, but you I mean, last time
I checked that there are a number of other organizations that do have men in
rings. I don't know if that is illegal. Um, you know,
do you did you license the idea to other people? The baby? I
don't need a license nothing, daddy. All I know is you feel my
ideas. Baby, You steal, you stole from your making dream dating roads.
You do the things out there that I do over here, baby,
and you're gonna fuck yourself for doing the things that you do over there with
the thing that I do over here. And I'm gonna dance around the circles
until you understand. Are you gonna keep talking around in circles? How do
you're gonna dance? You're gonna dance in servile right now? Can I see
can I see that? What? What do you dusk? Can you?
Can you listen? We'll get back to the conversation about about about how I
stole things from you, But first I would like to see you dance in
the circle. You know? Okay? Good, good Patterson? Patterson,
Imagine this in polka dots. Imagine him doing this. Keep going, Dusty,
don't don't pay any ntion to Patterson. Look at him. Look at
him. He's like because his hands going around and like a little flaming little
whatever polka dots. We put him in polka dots. Sounds good, Vince,
I loved I love the idea. Yeah, Dusty, when when you're
tell you what, give me a call? All right, we'll we'll we'll
talk baby while you're going UNTI fuck, fuck, it's going well. Newsday
in New York, which is, of course the paper that covers Long Island,
the geography where the Bunkhouse Stampede will be taking place in nineteen eighty eight.
There on top of it, this is a couple of days before the
show, when the Friday City edition they print the following, Grappling gladiators vie
for viewers. Okay, I'm sold Royal Wrestling Federation, which Boshulk Coogan and
Andre the Giant on its roster of grappling gladiators, once again seems bent on
thwarting the pay per view TV efforts of its rival, the National Wrestling Alliance,
represented by chokehold artists like Dusty Rhodes and Rick Flair, although it's calling
the timing coincidental, the Connecticut based WWF is airing a power packed card free
to cable viewers on the USA Network on Sunday. The very same night,
the North Carolina based NWA has a special pay per view card scheduled for cable.
Insiders say that when the NWA announced its Bunkhouse Stampede featuring twenty monument on
that win and a no holds barred Rumble with the winner being the last left
standing in the ring, the WWF quickly put together the Royal Rumble with surprise
twenty wrestlers. The rules are similar. A WWF spokesman said, the Royal
Rumbo has been in the planning, stay just for some time. Come on,
let's get Mike Webber on this. That's been in the plant. Come
on, you know, I mean, we're aware that they're out there,
but I'm sorry, Are we supposed to put every idea that we've ever had
out there? And what? What? What? Just in case someone one
day accuses us of you know, copycat and come listen, listen the royal
Rumble idea. We we we first came up with this in nineteen eighty six,
guys, years come please listen. You're hometown paper. Guys, do
you understand do you understand how long it takes to to to take an idea?
All right? Someone has an idea, then to develop it, all
right? Then we have to kind of Then we have to develop it.
We have to throw things at it and see what happens. Then we have
to keep it moving, to stretch it out. We have to play with
it. And you're here suggesting that we hear about what they're doing and we
can just spring an action. You're giving them way too much credit, and
you can even that's not nearly enough. Do you know? I don't even
I don't even know what they're doing over they don't watch their style. What
is it a bunk house? What is it that? Anyway? What is
a bunk house? What is it a bunk bed? Do they have a
match on a bunk is that what it is? This guy's looking over his
glasses at Vince, who's across the room, pantomiving everything. They should say,
you get twenty you got to get twenty three guys in a bunk bed
and they got to throw each other out. Is that how it works?
It's a bunk bed stampede you're talking. I mean, it's just it's it's
it's this is ludicrous. It's ludicrous to suggestionwhere near the same concept, Jerry,
Jerry, Look, I respect you guys, you guys, I know
your editor well, I've known him for years. I just gotta say,
I think you're off on this one. I think this is this is a
little the way you're framing this thing is a little unfair. Okay, we
would listen, if we make a mistake, we're going to admit to it
exactly, and if we don't need to. We're not paying to copy good
ideas. We're not above acknowledging. But that's not what's happening here, Jerry.
You know, Yeah, if we were coppying, if we if we
said, if anything, Dusty's coppying our ideastly, if you want to go
there, we can. Ah. I mean, it's off the record.
But you gotta you gotta understand this. I mean you listen, You're we're
letting you in. We're letting you see more than we really should, you
know, and we trust you in that way as long as it's off the
record. And of course the thing is said. You know what you're you're
writing a non story. That's one of my favorite. It's nothing, Burger,
Jerry, Jerry, you got nothing here. There's nothing. We're running
a show. That's what we do. We've been with USA since nineteen eighty
three. This is not just because the other guys have a show on the
same night. I don't you know what I mean. Listen, you know
we don't. We don't select the dates. USA says we want to show,
all right, we gotta do come. We used to say no because
the other guys have a pay per view that night. We gotta say,
oh, you know what, sorry, guys, it's not we don't.
We don't want to business works. We don't want to help you guys out,
the guys who were under contract. We've been in the business a long
time, all right. Yeah, we don't have that kind of power.
Jerry, you're gonna print what you're gonna print. Okay, just just just
realize he's telling you you're making a mistake exactly, You're making a mistake.
This is your career, not mine. And you hang right and call his
editor and try to get him to stop the story. You act like to
Jerry that that's the last word on it, and then you play other games
to try to go over his head. Bill. Bill, Yeah, I'm
over here at Titan You got you got a guy out there writing a story
and Andy, Andy, and he can't listen. It's all bullshit. It's's
there's no fact behind it. He's got no he's got no sources. What
do you mean, right, the guy listen, he's talking about us stealing
an idea from from from from Jim Crockett Promotions down to me, it's it's
but it's the same as their show, right or something. No, No,
but yeah, but again, we don't do that's not our call.
That's not our call. Oh is this is a non story all right?
You guys are It's it's just it's gonna get lost in the clouds because there's
nothing to back it up. There's no there's no repeating of this. It's
just it's just a thing that happened. What's his name again? What's this
editor's name? Joe Bill Bell Bell. Look, you know, you know
I grew up in the Tri State area. I have a lot of respect
for you guys, and I'd hate to see your credibility take a hit just
because one of your one of your reporters has this this you know theory that's
that this conspiracy theory has come up with. Honestly, I mean, there's
it's it's not going to reflect well on Newsday to go out there and frame
it the way this guy sounds like he's gonna frame it. I just I
thought I had to call you and let you know that that's I just think.
I just think you're making a big error. All right, you look,
try State native. I lived with you know, my my parents moved
this to to to to eighty six straight, all right, I've been there.
Well you know they still live there. They still live there, all
right, And listen, my blood is in this city. My blood is
in this city. I mean, I basically have Newsday newsprint in my in
my skin. I have read I have read Newsday, I have read the
New York Times, and I have read the Wall Street Journal. And be
a laughing stock. It's all I'm saying, and it's you're never going to
recover because we didn't steal anything. We have the idea back in nineteen eighty
six, all right, we it just takes time. It takes time to
develop, and we can't just have an idea and put it on TV.
And look, I guess it was to assume that your report would understand that.
But you know, I listen, listen, I just you know you
and I go way back, and I'm doing you this favor, all right.
I'm trying to help you before before it gets out of hand, and
I think you know what's going to happen if it does, all right,
and I did what I you know I'm doing. I'm doing what I can
to help you. We have options here, some of them are nuclear,
and I'm just letting you know that I can. I can. I can
tell you right now that if something happens here, I cannot be held responsible
for what mister mcman chooses to do. If this story is framed the way
it sounds like your reporter wants to frame it, there's going to be I'll
tell you what consequences. I mean, tell you there should be consequences.
And we don't hold a lot of cards, but there are some we do
hold with some very powerful people that you need to stay in the good graces.
Off Bill, I just want to say, you know, if you
if you play this card the wrong way, Bevin's Nick Mann is going to
own Newsday. All right, I'll talk to you later, Mike Bill.
Yeah. Donald Trump on line one, a WWF spokesman said the Royal Rumble
has been in the planning stages for some time and was not prompted by the
nWay event, but our sources say it will greatly diminish the nway's pay per
view base. At WWF live card featuring Hogan, to be held at Madison
Square Garden on Monday, is also expected to hurt Punk House tendance at the
Nasau Coliseum on Sunday. That's right. Think about that. They're running Nasau
Coliseum on Sunday night and the next night Hogans at Madison Square Garden. You
want to get both tickets. I'd want to get both tickets. Oh,
I would totally do that. You kidding me. The n w WA's last
pay per view card, held on Thanksgiving, also faced WWF competition in the
form of a rival pay per view event, and it went swimmingly electronic media.
February first, nineteen eighty eight, World Wrestling Federation Royal Rumble earned the
highest ratings ever for USA Network ever the twenty men wrestling match in January twenty
fourth through and eight point two eight point two cable rating eight point two eight
point two eight point two. I mean, these days we talk about a
demographic rating like zero point six's cause for celebration, we didn't even do the
ratings anymore. We just do the cumulative audio number. Right, they're like
down around like twos. Now, if that it's amazing, um that that
kind of resonance. Um. But as Pritchard says, you know, back
then to Vince, ratings weren't a big deal, and USA Network and Dick
Ebersol were probably happier than they were a titan about a television rating. It
was cable TV. It was like, okay, great, they'll keep us
on when it comes time to renegotiate. But all of our stuff um on
USA was the highest stuff on that network. And that's like, that's that's
the secret man, Like all these years from k Coplevitz to Bonnie Hammer too.
Yeah, the other guy that ran the network. Um, oh my
god, I say the other guy just because I'm I know he's a big
deal. Reaching for his name, the guy who was running Barry Diller USA.
They all pretend that they have a network without w WF, and of
course they don't. And now it's like to point where literally, if ww
did not does not re up with USA network, the channel, as far
as I can tell, will mostly cease to exist. So that's that,
and it was the case in eighty eight, it was the case before that,
and it's the case after that. Here's an article that kind of orients
us to the tone around the wrestling business in the months following Royal Rumble and
really capturing the time period the Rumble takes place in. It was published on
May twenty third, nineteen eighty eight, and electronic media headline riding high with
wrestling sizzling sport is hot television property too. So this is um, I
believe, sort of helpful context as we think about what rating like this for
the very first televised Royal Rumble meant to the you know, television business.
Writ large boss, if you could please absolutely there may have been a time
when wrestling was a pseudo sport to be snickered at, but no more.
Wrestling is hot and glittery these days, both as a live event and as
a television programming. Television and wrestling in fact, have become an extensively compatible
couple. Wrestling provides strong ratings to the television industry, the TV exposure promotes
wrestlings, merchandising and ticket sales. Perhaps nowhere is the marriage of convenience stronger
than at the World Wrestling Entertainment. The WWE stages three weeknight wrestling events and
six more on weekends, and uses them to feed three weekly, hour long
syndicated TV shows. These shows, produced by Titan Sports, are carried by
nearly three hundred stations, about half of which our network affiliates. One hundred
of the stations have been added in the last year alone, and TV revenue
including home video is hovering, and the fifty million a year range live gates
and merchandising, both of which benefit immensely from the TV exposure, bring in
another three hundred million. The WWE's Wrestling network penetrates nine brother What Network,
What Dude Network? Brother The w's Wrestling Network penetrates ninety six percent of the
country, A respectable part of the country is tuning in. Recent syndication figures
from as from ac Nielsen company gave WWE programming a one hundred nine point nine
national rating. Yes, what how do they get that number? You just
you accumulate every single station in the country that's airing the syndicated show. You
put them all together. You assume there's no duplicate eyeballs, So you do
like a what a eight point two in New York and a four point two
and Sheboygan. You just keep atting. Wow Jesus. As for network numbers,
the WWE's last primetime main event special, which NBC aired in February,
got a fifteen point two rating and a twenty five share percentage of sets and
use. Those figures represent a record TV wrestling audience of thirty three million viewers.
On the cable side of the TV industry, at USA network, telecast
of WWE Royal Rumble in January chucked up an eight point two rating, a
record for any special carried by that basic cable network. Finally, the recent
WrestleMania four gross and estimated forty million from closed circuit home video and pay per
view, where it drew average buy rates of about nine percent. Perhaps not
surprisingly, WWE has built a state of the art TV production center near at
Stamford, Connecticut headquarters. The center is equipped with broadcast studios for live,
remote, or taped feeds. It also will make customized copies of WWE tapes
twenty four hours a day for local syndication markets. WWE is not the only
major player in the wrestling business. In addition to a few regional wrestling organizations,
the field includes the Wrestling Network, which carries the National Wrestling Alliance on
nearly two hundred TV stations, up from seventy stations a year ago. We're
both going to stay in business for a long long time, and we're both
going to make good money. He was heaping out of business within six months
of saying this, says Jim crocket who' Jim Crockett Promotions in Charlotte, North
Carolina, produces the Wrestling Networks matches. While the casual observer might not detect
much difference between either company's productions aside from the more lurid, bloodier style of
NWA matches, mister Crockett insists a distinction exists, we present it more as
an athletic event, where the WWE presents it more in a show business style.
They use dogs, birds, snakes, and we have more athletes in
the ring. The next new wrestling wrinkle US TV viewers we'll see as a
syndicated pro wrestling sitcom, Learning the Ropes, featuring Lyle Alzado along with NWA
performers. Meanwhile, WWE is upgrading its syndication presentation, using its new production
facility to present a studio based host announcer in Oakerland. The idea is to
make WW shows look more like network sports programs. But even the giants of
wrestling are not betting their entire future on weird men in Tight trunks. Mister
Crockett is planning some non wrestling and action adventure films. Okay, WW is
contemplating other wrestling program including a revival of a talk show like the TNT program
that formerly ran on USA Network. You know, we're very conscious of the
fact that there can only be so much similar product on television, says Basil
de Vito, w's senior vice president of Marketing and Promotion. Still, for
the foreseeable future, at least, the focus remains on wrestling, which has,
as they say, come a long way since being launched as part of
P. T. Barnum's sideshow attractions. Wrestling eventually found its way to television,
but as an essentially local attraction with more beef than pizzaz. Its rebirth
as a national sport probably began with Gorgeous George, a popular wrestler who blaze
a trail on small TV screens in the nineteen fifties. Hulk Hogan and other
heirs to George Wagner's legacy have become celebrities in their own right. While the
money has changed, the top deputy performers currently pulled down up to ten million
dollars annually, the entertainment remains essentially unchanged. As for why wrestling, with
its emphasis on good guys versus villains, has become such a happening, the
explanations vary. Well, you know, people want to be entertained, you
know, they want to be grabbed, They want to have that two or
three hours that is real high energy, says Basil DeVito, the w executive.
I think that's what we provide, and I think that's the kind of
entertainment for the eighties says Tom Shells, the Washington Post Pulitzer Prize winning TV
critic. It's like Morton Downey, only actions and awards. Now. TV
is a medium that seems to thrive on simplistics. You know. That's probably
why Ronald Reagan was elected president, you know, and many be why wrestling
has become so popular at the same time when even the academic community is wrestling
with the wrestling question. Well, and wrestling presents the confort of good and
evil and extremely simplistic stereotype terms, says Gerald Morton, English professor at Auburn
University who has written extensively about pro wrestling. The good guy you recognize immediately,
or if you see an Arab you know he's a bad guy. In
a country that would buy Ronald Reagan and his simplistic view of international and national
affairs, that country is going to buy and enjoy wrestling. Searing societal commentary
there in this article. Maybe I need to find the works of Gerald Morton.
I think that's exactly correct. I wonder if he's around, we'll have
him on the show. The wrestling question, by the way, is how
can all these people watch this one? It's fake, that's exactly right,
very simple. Why are all these people being hoodwinked? Absolutely this piece in
CBN, this piece and electronic media. It's about the CBN cable network,
Christian Broadcasting Network losing ground in the cable ratings from May eighty eight does get
a lot more into what's happening elsewhere in the industry, and this gives us
also helpful orientation around the positioning of TBS and Crockett's platform, of course,
and WWF and USA Superstation. TBS REMA regained rather it's traditional first place status
in primetime. So let's not forget superstation is doing well enough at this time.
It's not just it's not like croct's declining fortunes are harming TBS's position to
the cable marketplace. Excuse me for one second. Wrestling to rassling ain't sport
to American Spectrumle fucking hell is that? Gerald Morton. It's a book.
It's a book. It's a book, and the tradition continues today where it's
like I'm gonna write a book, but I'm gonna I'm gonna mention the president
too. So it's about American I want I want to talk about kind of
the capitalism, you know, that's the thing about it. And wrestling is
a sport that that transcends really the the the the and in many ways it
reflects the rise of Americas, the current world power that it is. And
I believe that say something about late stage capitalism too, I believe, you
know, I mean, and it exemplifies late stage capitalism in a way that
I think very few other other other un businesses and industries do. And I
see, no, you don't have my respect because you haven't named an academic
that's written on wrestling before quite yet. Well you don't need to, because
I'm Gerald Morton unwrestling before you that made cultural commentary. Well, I mean,
let's be honest. I mean, if we're going to if you want
to talk about other intellectuals, we can go as far back as Bath I
mean, and you know, I mean it was examples of postmodernity for that
matter. And you know, and Bath was was a colleague of such other
do you know, post Medonists and in the early Ageans Bracton, you know,
so many others. And really what pro wrestling is is a reflection of
society, yep, of sociological examination. You know, it's just there's a
Republican in the White House. It's because of pro wrestling. I got it.
Okay, that's right. I mean, that's the This is not say
yet. Yeah, it's it's. It's it's it's it's it's what we are.
It's what we are and who we are and where we are and how
we are. Thank you, professor. We moving on now. Superstation TBS
regained its traditional first place status in primetime after being temporarily unseated in the fourth
quarter of nineteen eighty seven, of course, by ESPN and it's skyrocketing National
Football League telecast results at both the twenty four hour. In primetime periods,
TBS gained point four points over the first quarter of ninety eighty seven. Primetime
viewing stood at three point one, while total day registered a two. The
superstation also gained two hundred thousand households in both periods, with a total of
one point four million in primetime at eight hundred and sixty four thousand for total
day. Those ratings increases were larger than any commercial cablecaster experienced in the quarter,
and they resulted in TBS's highest ever audience count. That's particularly good new
for the channel. Which got Spody results in nineteen eighty seven. USA Network
moved from fourth to second place in total day results compared with the same period
last year, increasing it's twenty four hour ratings by zero point one point to
a one and it's households by more than seventy thousand to a total of four
hundred and nine thousand. USA moved to third place from fourth in primetime with
a point three point gain to a one point six and almost a two hundred
thousand household increase to six hundred and ninety four thousand. So that's on the
increase. Of course, it's so much on the down slide. It's ridiculous.
So many people are dropping cable. But no, that's important. Hey,
you know what you know listen, I'm just I'm gonna cut the cord,
cool man. So how much you can pay by the time you pay
for internet without discounted bund cable, you don't even need you listen. I
don't need cable, Okay, I don't need to have YouTube TV three hundred
dollars a year. Listen. All I gotta do is listen. All If
all I pay for is YouTube TV and Roku TV and Hulu, you know,
if I get all the packages on Hulu and I get a Disney Plus,
like at Paramount Plus, I get Peacock, I get um, you
know, a Netflix, Amazon Prime, seventy dollars a year, I got,
you know, all these things. I'm saving money. I'm only spending
five million dollars a year. About when the ESPN goes Oh how about your
local sports? Are you a Boston fan? Do you got to pay thirty
dollars a month to watch all the Red Sox games without a cable subscription we're
getting Actually, it might be more expensive than cable. I think it is.
Honestly, when it comes, when push comes to shove, I believe
that. I believe that because like, what is the the Hulu package alone?
Yeah, I don't even the highest Hulu package where you get everything including
live TV, is like eighty dollars a month. Yeah, get Sunday ticket
for you. But as it goes to YouTube, good luck but you,
but you also don't get right, you don't get anything that doesn't include Netflix,
that doesn't include uh, Peacock, it doesn't include all those other things.
And that's only the Disney stuff. It's almost like they're gonna get their
money either way. It's almost like you've been hoodwinked. Yes, yes,
but but cable campy is good because it's not an app. But I don't
know. But I cut the cord. Are called horn the cord. Don't
forget even though you cut the cord, when the baby comes out, that's
still your mom for the rest of your life. Okay, I make the
cord. I am the cord. I am Rick McCord aka Austin Idol.
So let's not forget. You know what we're talking about Crocket for stef.
We're also talking about a battle between these plumber excuse me, James McCord.
White House Plumber has Plumer. It's important for audience members to know. I
think sometimes that the way that the signal comes across, like when one of
us is talking, the other one can't always tell the others talking. So
I'm like talking about TBS verus USA, and then I hear White House Plumber
old context whatsoever. So we deal with it and you will have to deal
with it as well. That's right. So yeah, it's not just Crockett
vers WWF. It's USA versus TBS, and this is a big stage model
and they both need wrestling so badly to compete so bad, either loses wrestling
the other one runs away with the fucking day. And that's always been the
case on cable as long as cable has existed, from MTV using wrestling in
eighty four to TBS starting and you know with Turner and seventy two, all
the way through to it becoming superstationed with Georgia Championship Wrestling, Vince being with
USA back when it was the MSG network on through to All American Wrestling in
eighty three. Give me a fucking break, folks, Fucking Southwest Championship US
on USA. Very simple. Pro wrestling is cable exactly Cable link shit without
pro wrestling never has been a definitely isn't today. January was a particularly good
month for USA, according to Ray Jacobelle, the network's senior search channelist.
Most significant, he said, it's the eight point two rating garnered by the
WWF Royal Rumble Wrestling special on January twenty fourth. So here's an industry piece
that's just about the battle between the two major basic cable stations in the country,
and they have to mention that it's pretty much wrestling that explains these returns.
USA also benefited from the strong debut of The Tales of the Gold Monkey,
Never Heard Of It, which shared on ABCTV in eighty two and eighty
three. The programming was USA's third highest rated series, with an average two
point six rating or one point one million households in the six pm Eastern time
slot. Nothing much was new at CNN and CNN Headline News, Etc.
Primetime news stations, ESPN Primetime Okay, Nashville Networks who were going to Lifetime,
and Nick at Knight in Discovery Channel A and E. These were all
in play back then, but suffice to say the Royal Rumble earning a mention
and Superstation TBS doing pretty strongly as well. But again the Rumble is just
so, what's the word I'm looking for? Conspicuous In the top cable rankings
for the week and the month, and the quarter and the year for USA,
that's it's definitely worth talking about when covering this show in and of itself.
This is a list that eventually comes out in the press top fifty basic
cable programs for the first quarter of nineteen eighty eight. Number two on all
of cable is The Royal Rumble. Wow ol, second only to the Pro
Bowl from the NFL in February, which did inn eight point five. I'm
here to tell you that the Royal Rumble in nineteen eighty eight did a significantly
higher cable rating than the NBA All Star Game Clash of the Champions on TBS,
which again went head to head with the Rumble. Pardon Me, Wrestle
ninety four was number five. Number four was the Sackets playing on TBS.
A movie Operation Petticoat on TBS was sixth, and um, March Madness Basketball
underneath that, so higher than March Madness Basketball, higher than the NBA All
Star Game, The Rumble, That's insane. Even a repeat of the Rumble,
which aired on Monday Night from eight to eleven PM, was the thirteenth
highest ranked show of the quarter on cable. Um Man, look at these
look at these movies? Sons of Katie elder Man who loved cat dancing,
Paint your Wagon, No time for Sergeant's Big Jake? Did these ring a
bell for you at all? Um? Yeah? I know some of them.
A little bit death wish too. Once upon a Time in the West,
Lash of the Titans. That's all. The Top twenty is like Once
upon the West the cinema serious is a wrestler, Yes, yes there is.
Oh fucking hell, our good, good power Woody Strode. That's awesome.
I get down to seventeen, we get you know, Saturday six oh
five WCW on TBS at a four point seven. Wow. Andy Griffith on
TBS. Flintstones on TBS. TBS was so dominant Man Logan's run movie Flinstones
were big hits for them in the morning on Sunday shirts. Absolutely. Did
you remember watching Flintstones on Sunday mornings? I don't remember that being um,
yeah I did. I think I did four point three ratings from nine oh
five to nine thirty five AM. Wow. Primetime Wrestling all the way down
at number thirty three on USA Network at a four point three, but again
beating NBA games Boston, Chicago no less on TBS. And this is a
time when, unless I'm mistaken, um, live sports from the big leagues
on cable we're much more rare. Yeah, so you know, if you're
not telling they're not beating the game of the week on fucking you know NBC
or ABC by any stretch. But they're doing better than the major sports on
cable, and that's that is remarkable. So this, this Royal Rumble is
very significant in the TV business. It's just not so significant WWF's business,
right, that'sn't that weird? It really? First thing to consider how much
this all became a ratings game later Yep, yep. Here nobody really cares.
But for USA, rushing ads like this onto the air for this Royal
Rumble was obviously worth it. Style. Let me take the match designed exactly
to me join us later tonight right here on the USA network. That's the
best they could come up with. That's so crazy a short turn around time.
Bam BAM's not in it. I was looking like hell for any hint
that they were going to make Bam Bam win the Rumble because when I saw
that article about the bunk house battle, and I was thinking about where Bam
Bam was positioned. But I think by now they'd already gotten word that he
was going to just pict you for a while with the knee injuries. Yeah,
but I think if he you know, if the eighty seven Survivor series
is any indication, if he didn't come up with bad knees, he probably
would have won this first Rumble because they weren't you know, they weren't all
about Duggin yet. They just kind of hesitatingly, as we'll talk about later,
welcomed him back into the fold after firing him over the Irishik arrest in
New Jersey, when, according to Duggan, at least, he starts making
entreaties to Dusty and Crockett to make the jump and they're like, well,
well, well hope you know, never doesn't mean never, Jim, I
mean, come on, right, but what is it people turning out?
Why are these people watching on television? Why do these kids love wrestling?
And why do these kids love Jim Duggan boss? That's really the question that
in so many ways, the nineteen eighty eight Royal Rumble presents us with,
and we're headed up to Ontario. You think the Toronto Star might have any
answers for us? I would imagine that they do. Turn to the March
twenty seventh edition of nineteen eighty eight headline why do kids love wrestling? Ho
ho, quickly becoming the famous battle cry in the circles of professional wrestling.
He saw Jim Duggan, who carries a plank of two by four Wood when
he wrestles, has made the saying famous. What's the big attraction for kids
and why do they love wrestlers like ha Saw Duggan. After starting his professional
career eleven years ago as a bad guy, the thirty four year old Duggan
said he has pleased the way his life as a good guy is going.
Besides being known for carrying his piece of lumber, Duggan has hoed his way
to start him except that that is a universal Douggan says, a lot of
kids like me because all they have to do to show support for me is
yll Garry Sue Ay, a twelve year old student at Saint Thomas Aquinas,
agrees, I like the way he goes home. It's easy to do.
He's my favorite wrestler. We introduce you to a guy named Santa. You
love him really and I think he should be the next world champion. Yes,
I watch him on TV all the time, adds nine year old Tanya
weather All, the student at Blake Street Public School. He doesn't back down
for anybody. He deserves the people's help. I think he's funny. I'm
a great guy, says John Moses, eight, a student at Rodan Public
school, other children like the bearded You know this could be said too,
like other children like like the bearded Duggan. Other children like the bearded Duggan
because of his looks. Veronica Brooks of Earl Gray Public School thinks Duggan is
quote cute, he's a hillbilly and I don't really like him. He's got
a lot of moves and the other guys are scared of him. Imagine they
take a guy from Glen's Falls, New York and make people think he's a
hillbilly. Right, but let's not forget like Vince like told him to cross
his eyes and act like Eugene in the beginning. You got you gotta act
like a like a fucking idiot after coming out of Mid South. It's like
the baddest ass, fucking former pro football brawler of the business. And I
want I want you to be a goofball one thing we're missing chromosome here right
all right? I want you to act like you don't have it all in
your head. And hey, Veronica, you go to Earl Gray Public High
School. That's a public school. Funny, I went to English Breakfast public
school. You know. I went to Lodge Regular Public school all right,
But Garth Waterson fourteen thinks Duggan's popular because, you know, because he doesn't
really have a gammac. The Earl Gray Public School student thinks Doug into the
fan in favor because he's different from others. He's not like most most men.
Yeah, it's like most girls. Yeah, some wrestlers props are less
desirable. Jake the Snake Roberts brings a live boa constructed into the ring,
while the Honky talk Man carries a guitar. Duggan's fame has grown since breaking
into the world lessing entertainment last year. Today, he will be one of
the fourteen wrestlers trying to become the World Heavyweight Champion at the w WWE at
WrestleMania four in Atlantic City. Duggan said, there's a good reason why kids
love him. A lot of kids wire a late Martin me, and they
do some of the other wrestlers because they see me that's more of a role
model. I'm just like one of them, and I'm eye for an eye
kind of guy. I can't believe they got the story published with Neria mention
of his marijuana arrest, like national news. Yeah. After playing college ball
at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He had a brief tryout as an offensive
guard with the Toronto Argonauts, and Duggan likes kids. He has worked with
handicapped children and the Special Olympics. There's one thing for certain, kids of
all ages are hoping Duggan continues to win his matches. Truly amazing. So
there's an article there in Toronto's Star, not far from the locus of nineteen
eighty eight Royal Rumble there in Hamilton, Ontario, climenting on the cultural resonance,
if you will, of Hacksaw Jim Duggan at the time here of winning
an eighty eight Pretchard said that Morocco and Jake Roberts were also considered as potential
winners of the nineteen eighty eight Royal Rumble. Really yep, But Duggan they
felt like was the biggest star that needed a boost and this was the opportunity
to do that. I guess I always thought of See, you know,
I understand what you're saying about how Duggan was a certain type of character in
mid South, but it's it's really hard to think of him as anything less
or anything more than what he was in nineteen ninety two, right, And
I can't get I just can never picture him being anything remotely money. He's
just a dufus. Yeah, well that's exactly how Vince cast him. And
that's kind of part of the frustration that Dusty was screaming about in that clip
we played twice before. It's like, you take these guys that meant something
in a bit in a presentation that takes it very seriously, You're turning it
in a cartoon. You know, You're you're sort of putting your creation on
top of a guy that actually meant something to wrestling fans. You think of
you know, big boss Man is gonna be Big bubb is gonna come boss
Man, Tibiasse became an eight dollar man, etc. Well, uh,
where what are you paying them? Exactly? I think it's pretty damn cool,
pal, that I can that I have so much money that I can
make them dress up however I want, across their eyes, however I want
them to cross their eyes. I'll tell you what, Pal, I'm gonna
pay people so much money they're gonna kiss my ass. Let me ask you
a question, Dusty, do you think you're above this? Do you think
you're above doing what I tell you to do in response to my check book,
Dusty above wearing what I tell you to wear. Dusty, do you
think you're immune to cleaning my toilets and wiping the ship from my ass?
I can tell you you're not immune. Yeah, nobody is immune. And
you w the dig inside my anus for every last piece of the ship that
comes out of it. Let me ask you, bosses Axe Jim Dugan remember
winning the first televised royal rumble is a big I'm sure no, no,
I'm sure he doesn't remember his big deal. I'm sure doesn't remember it at
all. He is to Hannibal. Yeah, thing about the whole arrested with
me in the Iron Cheek is a false think he and the sheet, Yeah,
I should have made clear they start with the nineteen eighty seven arrest of
Yes Duggan in the Iron Sheet. This is um a pretty famous case.
We'll get into it in a bit more. I think they were in the
Jersey Turnpike to get pulled over. Dug in U has marijuana on his person.
He confesses that to the cop. She has cocaine. Of course,
the bigger story here is that on television these two our enemies, right.
Oh yeah, fuck the drugs they're breaking cafe brother. Yeah. The worst
thing about that who arrest with me and the iron Chekas That folks think he
and the chiker friends and we're not friends. I gave the guy a ride
one day, you know, and a long story short, guy head said
marijuana and my seat and we were drinking beers and the drooper pulled us over.
And it was in the eighties, you know. I wasn't drunk.
I was just sipping on a beer. So I was surprised I got pulled
over. He's like, he can't do that. I'm like in New Jersey.
I'm like, I loved in Louisiana. I'm sorry, So I gotta
give me a ticket for that. And he said, well, he spelled
the marijuana. He said, you got any marijuana? He said, you
got anything else you want to tell me about. I figured out I was
going to search the car anyway. I said, yes, sir, I
got a small amount of marijuana under my seat, you know. And of
course boom Me hooked me right up and locked me up and put the cuffs
on me, and then he pulled the she go out of the car.
And she got three grams of cocaine. So it was a huge arrest,
you know, she got to go in front of a judge and everything.
But we still made the show that night. And after the show we went
home and I called my wife. I said, you know, to the
hotel. I said, we got arrested. But I don't think anybody knows.
She calls to me the next day she goes, everybody knows. So
my first call to was my dad, God bless him, and he chewed
me out a little bit, but my family really rallied behind me. And
my second call was the Vince McMahon. And never before have I got so
through so quickly with Vince. And uh, you know, Vince, I
remember verbatim. He goes, Jim, what have you done to us?
And I said, Vincent Barrison and shame and whatever you do, I understand.
He says, we'll turn in your tickets and go home because us to
have a big stack of airplane tickets. And he can me and it looked
like it was the end of my career at w w F or E at
that time, and my buddy Jake the Snake trying to smooth it over,
but he called me said you're screwed, and so I was like, well,
that's what I called Dusty down to WCW. I said a meeting up
to go down and see Dusty. And before I got there, WWE called
me back up and said just lay low, we're going to bring it home,
bring it back. But I never regained the big push I was getting.
You know, they always kept me kind of strong, but they never
put the heavy gas on me. So it was really hamstring my career.
Do you think you may have had like an ultimate ware style push if that
incident hadn't occurred. Well, I don't know about ultimate water style push,
but I think they were kind of grooming me for a championship for a while.
You know, who knows which one, especially in the beginning when I
first came up that people were with me, you know, WrestleMania three.
I had a big party. I mean I actually went from the penthouse to
the ship house and one deal and I was lucky to survive that arrest.
I think I would have killed a lot of guy's careers. Ended up winning
the very first Royal Rumbell. So I had that come about in our youth
shot that the Royal Rumble has gone on to become one of the WWE market
margary events. Yeah. Well, you know, back in the day that
we were running the day after day, I was fifty four days straight without
a day off. So we did the Royal Rumble Boom. It was a
great show, and I knew it was a big push for me, a
big feather in my camp. But the next day was another show, so
we loaded up and went to the But I don't think anybody realized that the
Royal Rumble would become one of the top four pay per views, or that
WWE would become the huge worldwide powerhouse that it is. You know, I
always joke with the NFL guys at Major League Baseball and the World champions Where
in the world have you guys been? You know, in my thirty six
years wrestling, I wrestled in every state and union, every providence in Canada
and thirty different countries. It's amazing to the appeal of professional wrestling around the
world. So yeah, he has great memories of that night. Yeah right,
yep. Notice how he said the biggest problem with the Art and Cheek
Arrest was that people thought we were friends. And yes, yes, I
do think he put it to RF video several years before that interview. Were
they friends or were they not? Let's see, Jim oh boy. Well,
actually the Sheik and I were very good friends. And we flew into
Newark, a territory. And I'm not you know, I was over eighteen,
so I can't put no heat on nobody but myself. But the she
said, maybe I have no credit card and maybe I ride with you to
town. I'm sure she could have ride me my head a little weed,
you know. Of course, back then Bill Clinton was smoking the wheats you
big in the early eighties there or min eighties. And I was drinking a
beer, which is rare because I really drank pot. But the sheet drank
Saint Poly girls. And he's stopping he Paly girls. As we're going down
the Garden State Parkway. The cops saw me put this his drinking the beer,
and he pulled us all was trooper smelled the weed, pulled me out
of the car so that the others, maybe four or five dubies under the
seat boom bought me for possession of marijuana and drinking. My driving searches.
She had three grams of cocaine on him, so of course, the next
day in the New York Daily News is boozing bozos, you know, coke,
marijuana and booze on the Guarden State Parkway. It was a huge story.
Of course. I never recuperated professionally from that deal, but didn't kill
myself neither, you know, you know, Vince, the first time I
ever got through the vents so quick in my life, because you know,
we got popped and we're on our way to Asbury Park. Of course we
that night she said we wouldn't work, you know, And I called my
wife and said, I don't know if anybody will find out about it.
Of course she called me the next night says everybody knows. And of course
my first call wasn't And my dad, who was chief of police wins Falls
at the time, and you know, he said, you get arrested for
cocaine? I said, noah, pop, I got arrested for marijuana.
He said, well, I knew that gets you in trouble sooner or later,
because I know you smoked that stuff once in a while. And yes,
sir, you know, but he was. My family was very very
supportive throughout that, and my dad took a lot of eat because I lived
in Louisiana. Then I went home. I didn't answer my phone. Boom.
My family up in New York just got bombarded with PRESSED. So I
went through a very hard time with it. And of course the chic I
think he got a felony arrest for three grams and the separate containers, and
of course it was a big schmas And this is the Hillbilly Jim story we
were talking about earlier. So I called Vince. You know the next thing,
I called my pop and you know, my Pope give me a choose
my butt a little bit and it gives me support. My next call was
Vince. I never been through to Vince. I quick in my life.
I call up as to Jim Jogum for Vincent man. Hold on, boom,
boomp Jim, and I said this, sir, he says, I
remember verbatim what he says. He says, Jim, what have you done
to us? I said, Vince, I'm embarrassed and ashamed. And then
anything you do I understand. He says, turn your airplane tickets in and
go home boat or the phonos. And I turned my tickets in, it
went home, and that night or two later he hit a big meeting somewhere,
and he pounded the table. Dug in cheek, will never ever work
for the WWF again. So Jake called me that night, says, Jim,
who you might have screwed up? There? Those sound good? So
I waited like a week or two when I called Dusty at the NWA or
whatever it was that there in the you know, Georgia deal turner and as
a negotiating with Dusty, Bruce Pritchard called me, says, just way to
lay low for a little while. So I laid low for you know,
like three months, and they brought me back. So we're all in the
dressing room one night and hill Billy Jim goes, you know that vencement man,
he lied to all of us. You're sending one higher Duggan cheek,
and are Dugan soon right there? Billy? Can I talk to you the
bathroom fuel? Please? A garbage Duggan? Wow? So are your friends
or not? Jim A yeah? And it wasn't boozing Bozos. I got
it right here in New York Gilly News, May twenty eighth, nineteen eighty
seven. Brownie Bozos, it says, thank you very much, Ronnie Bozos
that's great pictures of dug In and chic throne for loss. Two wrestlers face
New Jersey shirts. That's a shirt. I'll say this whole Bozos. That's
fucking great, Ronnie Bozos. Um, the article is a throne for loss.
Two wrestlers face New Jersey drug raps. Two professional wrestlers who took a
fall for drug possession were freed on bail to grapple with each other in a
brone crushing chair smashing tag team bout and her schedule to grapple with the New
Jersey court system on Monday axed Jim doug In thirty three, a traditional American
good guy fucking grapple with the you know, worse camp and Hossein the Aron
Cheek FAZII forty five and intie American maps Set Heavy, who allegedly hils from
Iran, allegedly were arrested for marijuana and cocaine. Both were immediately the most
truthful thing about him Actually, yeah, no, exactly, Like, why
would you doubt that he's from Iran? Exactly? Both were immediately suspended by
the World Wrestling Federation. Yeah, it's important. Remember Duggan's father was a
police chief at the time right. A trooper pulled him over on the Garden
State Parkway at two forty pm Tuesday when he noticed Duggan swinging beer while driving
toward Asbury Park for about at the convention Hall. As he was checking Duggan's
license, the trooper noticed the smell of burnt marijuana from the direction of the
other man, said Sergeant John Cavalery of the Homdale Barracks. Cops said they
found several partially smoked marijuana joints in the cars ashtray, three grams of cocaine
and the Cheek's shaving kit kfebe, and a small quantity of mar wanna in
a bag belonging to Duggan. Duggan was given summons is for drinking while driving
and for possession of marijuana. The Sheik was released on five thousand dollars bail.
They were scheduled to pier Middletown Court Monday. After their release, the
wrestlers continue to Asbury Park for a tag team match that pitted Cheek and Knpetera
against Taxaw and Nikolai Volkova. Saw one after breaking a total of four chairs
over the Sheik's Turban. Turban never wore a fucking turban. It's not a
turban. That's fine. Um, it's just if it's an Arab headdress,
it's a turban to some I've noticed, what did he wear a head I've
never seen Oh yeah, he right, he wears the right were they?
I believe it's pronounced cafe. I could yes, mispronouncing that, Yes,
cafe turban is what a seaquares like high. It's that, right, exactly.
It's the whole. It's a it's the cloth that's kind of I don't
know how it's kind of it's done in a certain way. It's elevated,
it's like a right, it's like the Pope's hat almost right. Um,
But anyway, that's uh, that's the fun part of it, right,
as they went from this arrest to wrestle each other in the garden because it's
fake, yeah, um, or Asbury Park wherever the match was. So
that's uh, that's dug in. And to hear him tell it that not
happened. Um. He might have already been bigger than winning the rumble by
this point, but this is him coming back after, you know, threatening
to go to Crockett. And as we've well documented, the last thing Vince
wants is to be perceived as losing a single asset to Jim Crockett at this
point in time. And don't duggan. Um listen, uh listen, you
don't what It's all good? I mean, you know we we you know,
I'll tell you what I um, Jim, I overread Jim. Pal,
come on, let me tell you something, Pal. You know what
listen, I know the last time we talked, I said, what have
you done to us? You don't understand what I meant by that? I
said, you know, he wasn't like what have you done? It's like,
what have you done to us? What have you done for us?
And you you have to have helped skyrocket the WWE Internet and IDI eight right,
you you know you gave us. You know, listen, you know
what they say? You know no, nope, no press is bad press,
right, And that's the same. And if you the thing is,
I can't believe you thought I was being negative. I mean I'm sorry if
that. If that's the case, I apologize you and I have always been
good. Pal. You know, I go way back and we're gonna go
way forward. Right. I'm gonna tell you what something right, now you
and I are gonna go to Canada and you're gonna win the Royal Rumble.
What have you done to us? Well, Pal, I would suggest are
you going somewhere with that? Or oh and there's a lot more to be
done. So, Jim, how much doesn't mean to you to win the
rumble? Uh? One of winning the first round rumble back in eighty eight?
Yeah, it didn't. I mean, it didn't mean a lot of
question. It was just another night's work. Didn't realize the significance of it
at that point. Quarter back then he did to show that night in Urine
didn't mean nothing. The next night, it was just another night at work.
Yeah, we did all kind of just blurred together or blurred together.
Yeah, thanks for answering the question for me. Blurred I'm sure, I'm
sure a lot of things are blurred together for a fucking Jim Duggan didn't mean
anything. It's basically what he just said. Yeah, yeah, exactly,
that's what he said. Doesn't mean anything. Now, the difference you notice
kind of a difference in tone between the Hannibal answer and that answer. They're
the same in substance, but there are a video interview. It's important to
remembers. It's back when you know, he was coming off WCW closing and
he was kind of still a little salty about not how a place in the
business, and still he could contribute, and he's got to play down,
right, he's played down in his mind the significance of what he's done in
WWF because he's still a businessman looking at brighter and he's not back in their
graces with like a Legends contract and basically like a paid mascot from the company.
But later on it's like, oh, you know it's at the time
it wasn't but it's been so great. No, I'm gonna be in the
Rumble again. And back then he was just like, noun didn't mean anything.
That's the real Jim. That's exactly, thank you, exactly drive through.
As for Vince going back on his word, we're gonna hear more from
this guy as we get into the deep dive of the nineteen eighty eight Royal
Rumble Show because he's in the closing tag match. But I'm here to let
you know Boss that I think Paul Roma is our hardcore Hollie of the nineteen
eighties. Wow this guy and shoot interview formats doesn't fuck around. Yes,
this is a guy we need. This is a guy who did not grow
up a fan of the wrestling business, was recruited into it and had all
of the assets they were looking for, so got a quick push and therefore
had a chip on his shoulder who had a background such where he wasn't going
to be disrespected. Everything was a perceived slight and he's the kind of guy
that we want and wrestling, the kind of guy who's going to say go
fuck yourself to someone's face. Yes, yes, and when asked by our
very video and a great shoot interview that I'd highly recommend about the reaction in
the locker room to Hax saw Jim Duggan returning to the w WF so shortly
after Vince, you know, acted so betrayed by what happened in this New
Jersey arrest. Paul Romo puts it quite clearly here. Vince came out and
basically said that they're both done, they'll never work again. And then a
few months later, when it blew over, Vince brought him back, and
people just when I tell you, if they had any respect for Vince,
it was gone after that because all he talked about in the locker room was
you know, oh yeah, you guys are done. Hey, you'll never
work in his business again. Hey, looked they're back, you know.
And that was the big joke in the locker room. Vince was a joke.
So awesome. Wow, a guy who's not afraid to say Vince was
a joke. I love it. I fucking love it. Paul Roma doesn't
give a fun I think I think Paul Roma is a fucking I mean,
I've heard it. I've heard a couple of interviews that he's done, like
he did Steve Austin's show years ago, and I, you know, don't
listen. I stand by. I'm a Paul Roma guy. Yep. Yeah,
for sure. Yeah, He's definitely one of those guys that, like
anything you can say about like how he never lived up to his potential or
anything, it's because he doesn't give a fuck, that's why. It's because
he doesn't give a fuck in a business where everybody is trying to master the
art of kissing ass. The second he feels like he's got a kiss ass,
he lashes out and makes any Yes, yep, that's my kind of
guy. Yep. X U Jim Duggan in his book, doesn't really tell
much more of a flowery story about winning the Rumble, but has a bit
more detail. It was while the way wrestling evolved, he writes, from
a regional attraction to this big national powerhouse. On Thanksgiving Night at nineteen eighty
seven, I was in the first match in the Survivor series pay per view,
and it didn't really register with me at the time how the business was
changing and going to this pay per view business model. All I knew was
that it was an extra good payday. I never did think it would become
the big worldwide thing that Vince has groaned it into with all these huge venues
and shows. When I was in San Antonio, we would have looked at
a crowd of ten thousand and thought, Wow, this must be the biggest
show ever. Now the ww guys see a crowd of ten thousand and say
where the hell is everybody? Meanwhile, that same Thanksgiving night, Crockett's NBA
was running its first pay per view, but Vince aced him out of most
of his pay per view clearances with the big cable companies. Vince never mentioned
the NWA or anything they were doing to the boys. We never really gave
them any thought. They were doing their best, but Vince was just crushing
them. I never liked Crockett because he had been rude to my dad.
There was some function we went to early in the eighties and I had my
dad with me. I introduced my dad to Crockett and he just brushed us
off. I'm sure Crockett doesn't even remember it, but to me, that
was a big deal. He's lucky I didn't punch him in the nose.
Hey, Jim, this is my dad. Okay, Jim, it's great.
Jesus, you'd get out of here. This is my dad. Okay,
are you grown man? Why? He might not even have realized what
he had done, but it always stuck in my craw, Jim wrote about
two months later, after Survivor should probably stuck in his craw. Every Rumble
since has been a pay per view, but that first show was a free
special in the USA Network, airing January twenty fourth, nineteen eighty eight,
which, by complete coincidence I'm sure was the night of Crockett's second pay per
view. The Rumble was a twenty man battle Royal, but with a guy
coming in every two minutes, instead of everyone starting in the ring at once
as in a regular Battle Royal. The novelty of it reminded me of a
match Watts had done in Mid South, the Blindfold Battle Royal. That one
was a lot of fun because we were wearing full hoods and can barely see
it sounds good, great time. They drove people nuts because the ending would
be something like this. The last three guys would be me, Ricky Morton,
and Hercules. The fans love Rookie and Me, but hated Hercules.
It was a baby face. I'd point toward Hercules the heel and the fans
were cheer, so I'd walk toward him, but he'd start off in another
direction and we'd missed each other. We'd go back and forth until at some
point Rickie would walk in between us and I'd grab Rookie and beat the hell
out of him while the fans were screaming at the tops of their lungs.
It's Rickie hacksots and the rumble was fun too. Yeah, I can tell
somebody colorful. Sorry, now let me tell you how much the rumble meant
to me. This is how we did blindfold rumbles, and Mid South didn't
fucking care, he writes. The crowd really got into it, and the
end came down to me and my old friend one man Gang. When I
tossed him to win, the place really popped, which made me feel good
to get such a warm reception in Canada, where the show was held.
Even though I was best known for being one hundred pound pardon me, one
hundred percent American patriot pounds, no one cares last about winning the nineteen eighty
eight Royal Rumble. Then Jim dug indes seriously, Jim was in the two
thousand nine Rumble. Remember they burn him back. No, I don't remember
that at all. I'm ended by big show. So around the time,
he was asking a lot of press interviews about his memories of winning the first
Rumble. It was around this time and he was trying to bank another Rumble
appearance for future years. That was as a payday. Remember Nash was chasing
that. He was like campaign in for another Rumble spot a long ago something.
Yeah, they decided to go for every couple of years. She ended
up pleading innocent to the charges in the nineteen eighty seven arrest and and said
the following This is from the Daily registered newspaper runching second at eighty seven in
New Jersey, where they covered his core proceeding, which was telegraphed there in
the New York Daily News article. Walking across the parking lot to court,
Fazzeri clutched an iron cheeked doll from Matthew viad four of Port Monmouth and kissed
the youngster on the forehead. I hope you get off, and Matthew's mother,
Karen says, oh he will. Yeah, it's up to you.
Karen. As iron Cheek signed the autograph, I know you didn't do it.
Iron Cheeks said he flew into Newark International hours before the bout, but
he said he had misplaced his driver's license and had no way to reach convention
Hall. I don't like him, I never have. I hate him,
iron Cheek said, and broken English, referring to Duggan. I think maybe
he did it on purpose. Yes, he put that cocaine in my gimmick.
That's an old Fritz trick, remember, And maybe with the free birds
planted the drunk on my boys. Oh my god, what a fucking she
continued. Somehow, some way, I'll get him, whether it's in a
ring or not. Um, he said, despite his lawyer Sherman's advice to
fend off the question. This is a court of law. Sherman, mister,
I think it's best if we just come on Michael Sherman's I think it's
best if we don't mention that they they listen. I think less is more,
Okay, I think less is more in a situation among this, I
think we have uh, you know, the proper you know, you just
just don't don't speak, Just don't speak, all right. I I I
fear for you. Oh that's a lawyer. I want, Michael Owner.
I fear for you. I fear for you, and I, uh please,
just mister cheek. I just think that the best thing we can do
is is, um is, just let me. Let me handle the talking
as Chik is going on trying to make a promo out of this whole case,
your honor. I uh, he's not my client. Yeah, that's
probably next. But what he said first is this is a court of law.
Let's not associate the charges in wrestling. It's an insult to the court.
We don't need to listen. It's it's it's we we don't need to
to to, you know, bring out the illegitimacies of wrestling and the phoniness
and the buffoonery of wrestling, when we can discuss the fact that they have
legal proceedings that are real, Paul in world, Paul, my understanding decion,
Chike's got an arrangement today? Is that right? Yes? Strikes strikes
me as an opportunity, Paul, uh for what why were these two in
the car together? If it's supposed to be real, these two are supposed
to be hating each other while we're in the cart again, I want you
to run up on Chic in the pocket a lot after the arrangement, and
I want you to ask him this question, why are we in the car
together? You're right? Are you? Do you watch this? This is
something that you ask forward to the article asked why the two traveled in one
car. The lawyer paused and sayd car pooling. Yeah, listen, we've
all we've all had to give rides to people that we don't like. You
know, we've all had to give rides to you know, the enemy,
so to speak. And yes, very familiar with that dynamic. I mean
think about it like this, you know, imagine if you know you live
in the same apartment complex, as as as someone you work with but you're
not very fond of them, and they say, hey, I'm sorry to
do this, but I don't my cars broke down, I could use a
ride to work. What are you gonna do. You're gonna just leave them,
let them, let them get fought, potentially fired or not, you
know, showing up. But no, of course not. You're going to
be a human being. You're going to be unfairness. If he's friends with
she can he gave me two different answers in the space of two different minutes.
So um, well you know, um the thing about the sometimes the
she gets confused. Yeah, uh, you know, I I wouldn't.
Maybe I think that maybe they're French. They have they have adopted a friendship
because of the of the car ride. But are were they friends at the
time? No? Are they friends now? Uh, we're not. I
have no comment about that at this time. Uh. I can tell you
that that that that we're all very very upset about this tragic event, and
that we can just hope that we all hope that we can um recover and
move forward with our day to day lives. And we want to begin the
process of healing from this arrest. Jim, what have you done to us?
Can you picture of Vincent eighty eighty seven saying something like that, shive
done? Damnas, Jim, what us done to us? What's us?
Give me a break? You've you've destroyed the business. You have destroyed k
fabe idiot carpooling. They travel so much. It's not whether they're good guys
are bad guys, Chicke's lawyer says. Sherman said his client understands the seriousness
of the charges and his indefinite suspension from the Federation. We know that they're
serious charges. That's why he's not commenting on that. He said, he's
so much shy about the whole situation. Sherman said he had no other comment
except to add, we're not going to try this before the news cameras,
where sure justice will prevail. Weber the de Wintive spoken and said Thursday have
suspended the wrestlers while it conducts its own investigation. Permanent suspensions are a very
distinct possibility. I just don't know right now what the chances are. He
said. Federation authorities will review the arrest separately because of the differences in the
charges. He added during a suspension, Vizier said he would continue working with
young wrestlers in Georgia. Volkov, Webber said, was not involved in the
incident. Earned Chik and Volkov won the Federation at tag titles. Okay,
blah blah blah. So well, at least they didn't handle it like they
did, mister Michael Sherman, Right, mister, let's not turn this into
a wrestling angle, and let's not insult the court. This wasn't the first
time Cheky baby got the cuffs put on him while under employee of Vince Jamers
Titan. You got arrested h for hitting somebody in Bridgeport, Connecticut in nineteen
eighty five, a gas station attendant, and this same exact lawyer. Mister,
you know above the fray of making this into wrestling hijinks. You know,
I think we're above this, of showing up on promo day with the
WWF logo in the background and asking the roster to offer testimonials as to the
character of this man causro ZERI, oh my god, and it survives on
YouTube check it out. All right, we are we are going to do
I need quiet, please, all right, ladies and gentlemen. This is
a very special presentation and I need quiet please, Oh my god, what
an idiot. Ladies and gentlemen. This is a very special presentation. This
is a presentation that is designed and geared to help benefit the Iron Sheik in
his cause. Thank you very much. All Right, you may look anytime.
I'm gonna roll. I'm gonna give you find. Okay, are we
righting? Here we go? Five? Four three, Thank you one,
Thank you very much. We're here today to talk about the Sheik. Uh,
your honor is well aware that the Chik has been charged with the salt
and the third degree in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We've got some people here who
know the Sheik, who work with the Sheik, and who think very well.
Often right, he's good, he's honesty steaks. But God bless you
to thank you. But what but do you feel strongly strong? Yes,
very strongly, because I know he's missed, understood, miss interpretive and he's
a good man. If you weren't good, I wouldn't stay ter. Thank
you for I'm the captain. You got it. Thank you, Lou And
lastly, of course, jan I thank you very much, mister Sherman.
If I am me I would like to just expostulate momentarily God's virtues of this
very fine gentleman to your immediate left, Kasrova. Sorry, is not a
shik Ilahani or the iron cheek in his country. In nineteen sixty eight in
Mexico City, I happen to be covering the games for NBC Television and it
was at that time that I met this tremendous gentleman, of course representing his
country at that time. Later, as a matter of fact, I have
to be the best man in his wedding. He has a lovely family.
He's married to a very attractive Scandinavian girl from up in Minnesota. Judge,
this guy is first class all the way. Granted, does have problems from
time to time with the language, but certainly you can understand that. And
Judge Rotman, I've always been a big proponent of yours and all of the
things that you've been doing in this part of the country, and hopefully you'll
take this man into consideration where you have to put the gabble down and close
up shop. Thank you very much, Thank you very much. I just
they'd like to say that all I've got to collect telephone call I've got to
accept what an oath? Oh god, I think you just expostulate momentarily.
Yeah, please, I wish you'd fucking explodulate. What is wrong with all
these people sushokling? That is bullshit, you know, like thinks it's all
style. You know, Oh, I cannot stand covering the games in sixty
eight. And he's married with a very attractive Scandinavian woman. I've seen her
naked through you. I can tell you right now she is attractive. I
got a rock hard boner I saw naked. Have you seen her naked?
Your honor? Exactly, your honor. This is supposed to what help him.
There's all kinds of like, you know, you're hurt. I just
put the tail into Albano screaming about but if they're all cutting promos, they're
all in their characters. And this is mister attorney Sherman, who in eighty
seven thinks it's the last thing they should be doing. In eighty five,
he's he's holding the microphone and he's joking about you know, do you feel
strongly about it with Louelbano trying to pop the wrestlers. I don't know,
man, I don't know. How this happens. It's like everybody else is
a worst carding than the wrestlers. I know. It's you know, I
think they want to get it on the fucking they want it so bad.
I'm a joke. They want that kind of attention, and they look like
fucking idiots, thank you, exactly correct, like absolute losers. It's worth
The television TV Guide listings for the Rumble said that Bam Bam Bigelow is going
to be there and Nikolai Volkov, so that didn't come to pass. As
for the origins of the Rumble, Let's get this out there. Oh yeah,
he is there. He's the right. I have that big thing with
the rock. That's right. Pat Patterson created the Rumble. We know this.
How does he phrase it? Let's turn to his book. Okay,
let's not forget um. You know, a veteran of rumbles, the guy,
a veteran of Battle Royals, um in San Francisco and stuff. And
you know, I mean nineteen men, twenty men, twenty one men,
and that is hardly the most men he took on in one night. But
uh, in terms of his experience with this kind of match, it's deep.
He's seen it all, he knows a lot of tricks as far as
how these matches, you know, can create fun moment. So he was
so custom made to create the Royal Rumble. And here's what he says in
this book about it. The first Royal Rumble was January twenty fourth, nineteen
eight eight, in Hamilton, Ontario. The difference between WWS Royal Rumbl and
a traditional over the top rope Battle Royal is that the participants come into the
match at two minute intervals, not all at the same time. At the
beginning of the match, I wanted to create something special, something just like
we had in San Francisco, where it had been such a hot event.
The more I kept running the idea over in my mind, the more it
took shape, and I was sure I was on something. I felt it.
Every instinct my body told me it would work. So I finally brought
the idea of events. He laughed at the concept at first, saying that
an hour was way too long to keep fans interested. I didn't get upset.
I knew sometimes he needed time for ideas to sink in, but I
made sure to say, all right, but keep in mind. But keep
it in mind, will you because I know this can work. Sometime later,
we had a meeting with the USA Network about doing a special. We
worked on the special with Dick Ebersol, who did the Saturday Night's Made Event
shows for US at NBC. With US for NBC, it was going to
be a three hour live show, but it needed something to take to the
level of a WrestleMania or Survivor series. In desperation, Vince through my idea
out there. Pat tell Dick about your stupid idea for that Battle Royal.
Wow. First, it's not stupid. I dig it's a good idea.
God damn it, I dig it's a great idea. Abrasaul loved the concept
right away. He immediately imagined the drama of the clock ticking down on screen
and the audience's anxious anticipation of who was going to enter the ring next being
played out every two minutes. Vince, it's great TV, he said.
Vince told me to start putting it together, and I approach at all,
don't you're talking about great TV? Well we'll see, all right, We'll
fly in without a fucking compass. You know what. I'll just sit here
and keep my cock in my hand. Exactly what about that boss. The
final touches were completed at the arena on the morning of the show. Pat
writes, because I kept expecting Vince to give me some direction run where he
wanted things to go, but he never did. It's your match, he
told me. When we got to the building. We didn't want to simply
call it a Battle Royal. We had people at the office who came up
with the names, and they submitted something like fifty of them to us.
As soon as we read Royal Rumble, we knew we had the name.
Personally, though I didn't care what it was called. I just wanted to
see my idea come to life. The talent was freaking out on the morning
of the show because all of my detailed instructions, none of them had ever
done a match quite like this before. When it was all said and done,
I think they loved it. I was happy too. The First Royal
Rumble was a success, but until it was over, we didn't really know
if it would work. I knew it was a unique idea, but until
a crab response, it's hard to know for sure. That First Rumble had
only twenty participants. I feel that thirty is the ideal number. Boss,
do you agree, thirty? Yes, the only number. At times the
match has expanded to forty participants, and it's been too many. Patsy agreed,
you need to have main event wrestlers in there to really drive home the
importance of the match, but people have to feel that just about anyone can
win, just as with the case in nineteen ninety two when Wick Flare won
the match in the vacant w B Championship. That show took place in alban
in New York. When I came back to a locker room, Flare was
crying like a little Katie was so happy. Thank you so much, you
guys. Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening. Imagine a
man that celebrated and decorated freaking out. That celebrated and decorated freaking out.
It was one hell of a site. He later says, I'm repeating myself
here, but I don't care. People can say what they want about the
business, but to us, the performers is as real as ken be Rick
had done everything that could be done in wrestling twice, but winning the w
TB Championship in the Royal Rumble was real for him. Moments like that validate
what we do. That's the passion I try to share with our superstars today.
You need to think about and believe in what you're going to do out
there to make it special. Some friends of mine tell me that their kids
who are into WWB superstars today love watching classic Royal Rumble matches on www network
and that they don't care if they don't know all the characters. That is
so true. Like when that network came out, Boss, that's one of
the first things I remember hearing people watching her old rumbles. Yeah, yeah,
they'd be best and it was hell of a way to show old rumbles
to your kids, you know. Yep, when the network first came out.
They still find the match interesting and surprising in a way most I mean
the Royal Rumble. I mean listen, that was the that was the one
match that that that that inaugural Women's Royal Rumble. Watch that over and over
and over again when she was into it. There you go, yep,
yeah, there's something to be said for that. Sure. The Rumble of
as you talked about, every time we do a Rumble show is the show
that people that didn't quite like wrestling in your circle would still come over for
Yeah, and that's a huge accomplishment. Yep. They still find the match
interesting and surprising, he writes, in a way, most of the Royal
Rumble matches have in this manner, passed the test of time. They are
like a good movie you can watch over and over again. It has now
become w t B second biggest event of the year, and I believe it's
going to remain there for ever. I'd say so. I think it's a
fair assessment. I mean, if they fucking stop abusing it, it's the
one thing they need to stop doing. Yep. What's one thing. What's
one thing they need to stop doing. Yeah, there's just one thing that's
most important that they should stop doing that they do every year or most years.
What should it be? It's the Rumbo winner needs to be in the
main event of WrestleMania. Yeah, back to that. That's it. It's
honestly, that's it. Everything else is fine, Like honestly, the way
they do it, I mean, yes, the Pat Patterson booking of them
all was always very, very very It's so well done. It's brilliantly done.
Those especially those like those first five pay per view rumbles, I think
are done so well, Chief's kiss um, you know it's listen, they
start fucking with a formula and that's when it goes to shit. Yep,
that's what happened the first time they fucked with the formula and went to shit.
What do they do that year? Ninety second intervals? Sixty second intervals?
Fucking hell, Get the fuck out of here, Jesus, the hell
is wrong with you guys? You know, I mean, I guess it
could be said that they fucked with the formula year before by having two winners.
But I still, you know, at the time, I love that
rumble, you know, I always thought it was great. I thought it
was a unique one. I hated ninety five. I hated sixty second intervals.
Bullshit. I don't know if you either, stop watch out boss doing
eighty eight rumble. But those were not consistent intervals either. From the very
beginning, I didn't but I could feel it. Yeah, I could feel
it, And that wasn't the plan. But as Bruce Pritchard will explain here,
because he was responsible in part for timing out the show with Dick Ebersol
right next to him at the table near Gorilla, that this is what created
Titan time. This event created what they called Titan time, which means,
you know, we can pretend two minutes past if it feels like now is
the time to send out the next participant, or we can actually wait for
the legit shoot time. And we're looking at the show closely and trying to
make sure they could get it in before the time window elapsed and have enough
time for the Young Stallions tag team match versus the Islanders. They were very
much minding that as they decided how much space. They thought, if we
really went two minutes between every entrance as we advertised, we might not even
fit this all into our broadcast window. So here's Bruce Pritchard on Something to
Wrestle, talking a bit about just becoming acquainted with the Rumble in the position
he found himself in producing the event for USA. I heard you right about
the time that we were talking about doing this live special on USA. Was
the first time I'd ever heard Pat pitch the concept. It was interesting and
it was different. It wasn't the traditional he kept I think what killed not
killed it, because obviously it came to life, but what was killing it
in Vince's head was Pat continuously called it a Battle Royal, and Vince just
didn't feel that an hour long Battle Royal was going to hold the crowd's attention.
He thought, oh god, that'll be boring as hell. But the
way Pat was explaining it, with a new participant coming every two minutes,
He's like, a brand new match starts every two minutes, and then you
get rid of people and there's more people that come in. But the big
pitch that I remember from Pat was that every two minutes you got a brand
new match because you got a brand new guy in the ring. So it's
gonna keep it exciting. It's gonna keep it going, and people are gonna
look be looking back wondering who's next to come out into the thing. So
it sounded good to me. I liked the idea, but I also came
from a place where the twenty two man Battle Royal was a huge event,
and that was something I was pitching. And therebody stu fucking television bananza today.
If they put it on TV again like this, oh yeah, and
arranged the ads such that they could go without interruption, that would be a
huge rating. People would watch a whole hour ye, people would no question
about it, and he mentioned, you know, Bruce provided the color about
how Dick Eversow was just kind of hanging out. He had no official role.
He had his own production company. He had done of course centering against
the main event, and he would work with Vince on different specials. Was
a big part of producing the Slammis for USA Network, but he wasn't working
for USA Network, Dick Eversow that is. And he remembers being there looking
at a card for the show. The whole thing centered around, of course,
the Hulk Andre contract signing with the matches sort of secondary and he said,
you know, the card did suck. It did suck. And he
remembered there being two more matches and dug In having a match and another tag
match. It was all just matches. He likened it, like we said
before, to an MSG show or a Philly show on Prism or something like
that. And that's when the interaction that Pat Patterson talks about apparently happened,
where it was like, well, then give him your idea, because Dick
Eversault didn't didn't love the card at all. So yeah, sixty eight weeks
to put tickets on sale for the show. According to Pritchard's recollection, and
again they were comfortable in Hamilton because they had done TV from the market before,
he said, Dick Eversolt's fascination with the thing basically came down to the
fact that it was something different. Whose next notion and incorporating the clock in
the arena and on the television, and they came up with a list of
names for the match, etc. He doesn't remember it to the other ones
though, and yeah, just fill it with bodies as best they could,
and they did. They did an oral history onww dot com, which is
always a fun feature, asking people what to remember about this initial inaugural royal
rumble. Knowingww dot com is calling, of course, the guys are going
to cook up something to say. Bret Harts was the first entrant. Last
twenty five minutes is mentioned. They know a Doug In and Tito Okay Patterson.
I was working in the office and my job was to be creative,
and I always wanted to do something that's never been done. It's like,
for example, a simple steel cage match. Somebody somehow decided to have a
cage match. Where that started, I have no idea, but somebody came
up with the idea. I started thinking about the Battle Royal. But I
had it in my mind to simply start with two guys and then every two
minutes a new guy comes out. Why would bless his heart? Why would
Pat be into a match that starts with two guys and then every two minutes
another guy comes out. When one guy's eliminated, he's out, and so
on and so forth. And I knew it was going to work. I
could visualize that, I could see it. There was no question. Is
it true? The match was inspired specifically by the annual Well, I think
we have a queue on an opportunity here in Boss. I don't know.
I think we're gonna have to do it that way. I didn't realize this
was back and forth. I thought it was just Patterson offering quotes, Oh,
let's do this for the people, all right, smattering of some some
peripheral participants as well. But this is a perhaps a bit more colorful description
of how the Rumble came to be than what pat necessarily offers in his books.
I'll get WW you can be w dot com. I'll be Patterson from
there. Is it true? The match was inspired specifically by the annual Battle
Royals that used to take place in the San Francisco territory. Well, you
know, Roschil was very good at building about a royal. Once a year
he had about a royal and you could bet on it. Somebody was going
to be carried out on a stretcher, somebody was going to get hurt,
and it was exciting. He'd fly in some stars that were not in the
territory, Dusty Rhodes and the funks. Bringing in stars like that made it
very, very special. But it was just about a royal. Watch every
Royal Rumbel pay per view on WWA network. I got stuck in there,
so did others in ww Share your vision of the Royal rum will match.
I used to talk to Vince about the Rummel idea have you know and call
it by that name, and Vince couldn't visualize that. He'd say, oh
my god, it's too long, My god, all twenty guys, that's
gonna take forever. Why does the concept get from the page to the ring?
You know what brought it to fruition. We're having our meeting with Dick
Ebersol. We had a special editing was the first special live on USA network
and it was a live show from Hamilton, Ontario. So we gave Dick
episode to matches we were going to have in. Dick Ebersol for some reason
didn't feel the card would be that exciting. So we've got to figure out
what to come up with. And Vince turns around and goes, Pat,
why don't you tell Dick Epersol your stupid idea? Oh? So I turned
around and looked at the Vince and I said, well, first of all,
it's not a stupid idea. I describe what the concept would be.
And Dick Ebersow what crazy. He loved it. He said that would be
so great for live tell ovision. Every two minutes, another wrestler comes running
in. You don't know who's who it is until you hear the buzzer.
So Vince went, you're on your own. You're gonna have to do it
yourself. You're gonna have to produce it. Holy Crow sounded good in my
head, but to put it together it was another story. Oh you know,
so many moving parts involved. Yeah, how does the process of actually
executing the first rule wrol match go? Oh my god? It was crazy.
Actually, I probabused the first royal rumbo of the morning of the morning
of I was going crazy because for some reason I thought I was going to
sit down with Vince and put together another and all that, and then he
got so busy tied up and vinceys to me a day or two before,
did you get your Battle Royal producer? I said no, I had to
produce it that morning, going nuts, but I did it. Did you
always want to do something that's nerved him before? Oh that's that thing?
Uh? You know what was the reaction from the wrestlers upon hearing about the
much format. The funny thing is when the boys found out, they what
the hell is this? Someone sounded good sometime the metch was going to take
a long time. I said, yeah, but it's the first time and
we're going to do it. I think any time when seconding new like that
comes out, people wonder. They used to do Battle Royals one way in
w WA at the time, So when they come back and change the whole
format, I think everyone wondered if it would get over the extended hands.
I don't think any one knew how big it would become. The boys were
excited, but they were trying to figure out, asking different questions what number
am I? And all that stuff. As far as the entrance goes,
and who is going to be next? I told her not to ask me
too many questions and just listen and what it's your turn to go out there.
That's it, Jake Roberts, I knew it would work. Yeah.
Yeah. Bumping people in one after the other just creates excitement. If you
put a fresh guy in every minute or so, it becomes here comes this
guy, who isn't Who isn't. This is the anticipation thing, and the
fans are hoping that the next guy to come out help their guy to win
it. It's all about the fans. It was tough on the damn athletes
though, it really was. Did you think that the Royal Room will match
would provide a lot of creative opportunities for story chilling? Absolutely? Over time
the boys got more and more creative. When you first started, you were
just happy to get it done and that it worked out well. There's so
many guys in the ring, and there are big men moving around. Choice
are always an issue. No one wants anyone else falling on the back of
his legs. It's tough out there, and you're a young guy in these
matches. You want to go in there and do a bunch of stuff,
and it doesn't take long for one of the veterans to make you realize,
whatever you do, you have to be aware of your surroundings. You.
You can't just be thinking about yourself. I was just thinking about how I
was going to survive this thing and reduce the chance of injury and stuff like
that. Harley Race, a lot of the younger ones that were just there
for the sake of being there. We're all hyper and jumping around that Harley
Race is sitting still. You just find a way to keep yourself out on
that part of it, and hopefully you're still there at the end. Red
Heart became a challenge to keep the fire going. It's like having a fire
on a branch in the ring, and you have to keep passing it round
and keep it lit all the time. And you have to keep that fire
going throughout the entire match. Oh God, sometimes you bounced from one opponent
to the next trying to light that fire again. For me, I found
that much action that was going on, I could spark something in the corner
that would steal all the attention from everyone else and make people watch me.
Thanks. Oh my God, such a bitch. I had an ability to
not exactly steal the show, but make people watch the flare up I had
going with somebody in the corner. Then I would move on to somebody else
and start kicking something else on the other side of the ring. Watch every
row rum a pay per view one w W eating Network. It one was
an immediate reaction to the first floor rule match. Did you know as soon
as the match began that you had something special? Oh? Yeah, I
found it would out a doubt. I didn't know what to expect at first,
and we had the first two guys in the ring, and then the
buzzer hit and here comes another one, and after three or four guys went
in, I knew we had something. It was so good. I didn't
think it was going to be that good. Hill Billy Jim, go ahead,
Boss Loan, I don't even like him picturing picture sounds Loan me.
All. After we did the first one, I knew it was going to
keep going going on. Of course, everything WW was doing was pretty much
landmark stuff, innovative from count of groundbreaking, and everything was working in our
direction, and everything was in our favor. Wrestling was on fire and the
Royal rumb Along Wrestleman. It was just a perfect fit, and all the
boys in the show knew that it was something that was going to be going
on every year after that. Still, I guess, yeah, Rob,
thirty minutes after the opening bell, No, no, this is aw dot
com there Yeah, roughly a thirty three minutes after the opening bell? Okay
here? Oh sorry? Were there any lessons you know you took away from
that first rumble as soon as it ended. Were you trying to think of
ways to make it even bigger and better? Vince came up with that idea
to make it bigger and include thirty superstars. Set out to myself, what
a crap, it's going to be even longer now without those guys in there.
And I wasn't too sure if it was too long, if I'd take
too much time. But if you have the right talent, it doesn't matter.
You can go an hour and a half if you wanted to. We
had a good talent, so it worked out very well. As long as
the fans love it, that thought, it matters. You know, all
the big match types have been invested with nine ninety eight. Hell on a
cell Nation Chamber, Your TILC matches. You was about the rumble that's enabled
it to stand the test of time. What makes the right rumble exciting is
the surprises. Who's next, who's going to be eliminated. It's really exciting.
The buzzer goes and it's like, wow, this guy's in now.
And a lot of times we have guys who have left a business and we
bring them back for one night and things like that. There's always going on,
always action going on in the ring, and it's a long match.
It's over an hour, you know, for one match one hour. A
lot of fun, hard differing together, but it's a lot of fun.
The beauty of the rumble is that every couple of minutes another guy comes out
and just seeing what kind of difference it makes. When you're having a royal
rumble and all of a sudden they send out Bob Blackland. He's a whole
different type of wrestler than the one two three kid around or the giant.
It changes the complexity the entire match. Everyone knows that if Andre is waking
up, everyone's intent is going to go up. It's a whole different mentality.
You're looking back over your main creative contributions. You are just inventing the
Royal Rumble match, Rang I'm very proud of it, no question, but
it doesn't blow up my head like oh men, I created the Royal Rumble.
I was never looking for Dad. I was just looking to be creative
and do something different, and I'm glad I did. I'm happy I did
it to fans love it. The boys love it. I love it,
Vince loves it. That's part of the job to be created. When something's
good, it lasts forever. I'm proud of it, but I don't brag
about it. Who invented it doesn't matter. As long as the fans love
it, that's all that matters. Yeah. Yeah. He would go on
to hope and lobby for a a Pat Patterson Memorial Cup trophy to be awarded
to the Royal Rumble winner every year. Wow, and they did not do
that. Yeah, sorry, sorry, Pat. I don't know why you
think you deserve that, but it's not gonna happen. Yeah, I'm not
going to do that. Pell don't think that there's a thing that I'm interested
in. I'm going to give a trophy to somebody for helping us become better
acquainted with the notion of tightened time, right, Bruce, I mean,
I don't think that we really felt that it was a home run. Quite
frankly, that day, we thought it was good, it was interesting,
but we were trying to pick it apart and think about how can we make
this better. One of the things that came out of it was the phrase
tightened time, and that was from Dick and I as we got into it
and we realized where we were in the show. The Dino Bravo weightlifting thing
had gone long, and some other things had happened on the show that the
timing was off, and that was all my fault because I was a little
overwhelmed with my first live show. That Dick sat next to me at Gorilla
and we started fudging the times and instead of going every two minutes, some
guys would get him in to have some guys would get a minute, and
we would just send them when we needed to send them when it was right
for the match. So we learned that as we went along that o,
man, it's two minutes going to be too long for this thing, and
nobody's really nobody's sitting there with a stopwatch, which I'm sure there were people
that were sitting there with a stopwatch. But we just started sending people and
that's where we coined the phrase Titan time. We'll send it when we're ready.
But it wasn't something we look back on that night and go, oh
my god, that was the greatest match ever. It was like, that
worked pretty good, but there's got to be a way to tweak it,
maybe make it better. Does this match you're feeling after watching this Rumble show
that this is kind of like a dud? No, not at all.
No, I'm surprised to hear this commentary. Yeah, yeah, No,
I mean I think it looks spectacular, really registered with me, a really
hit. Yeah, I think it's exciting. I think it's a it's a
it's it's something different, and yeah, I don't know what. I'm surprised
that it came across that so kind of nonchalant in the back, like,
Okay, that happened, we'll move on. It just seemed like so many
of the logistics of producing the show preoccupied them that they didn't actually realize why
you were putting out there. Pritchard would also add that he felt that Dick
Ebersol felt that the Rumble saved the show overall, which I have to say,
if there wasn't a rumble match on this, it would be a kind
of a week television, Oh for sure. I mean, you know,
I mean, yes, the the the contract sighting is exciting at all.
It has its moments, but you know, you can't, you really can't.
It's hard to build a show like this, which is basically a pay
per view, and like you said on free TV, around a non wrestling
moment, right around Hope getting his head banged into a table, and that's
right about the end of it. He remembers Patterson having getting all the guys
in a room and giving them detailed notes of who's in and who's out and
when, and making copies and everyone had the whole match laid out for them
on paper, which, to Pritchard's memory, was not really something they ever
quite did before. This may have been a first where they're handing around sheets
of paper to talent to explain how a match is going to go. I
mean, it makes sense, though, I mean, it's probably probably one
of the more complex matches that you can do. Had to hear pat tell
it. He really was flying by the seat of his pants. Communicating these
directions because he expected Vince to take the brains on producing the match and realized
with just a day to spare that that wasn't gonna happen. The only thing,
Patterson pardoned me, the only thing Pritchard recalls walking through was the Andre
Hogan contract signing bit they got up in the ring before the show started,
and who's going to sit on which side of the table, And definitely that
was Vince's baby on the whole thing. That's what he cared the most about.
Meanwhile, Pritchard's writing the matches out who would go where, slotting in
commercials and teases, and Vince was the one that laid out Andre Hogan.
Vince in particular, he said, and wanted Andre to slam Hogan's head into
the table. That was the most That was the most detail they got into
as far as what they wanted from the segment, he said. Despite having
timing shows forever for Paul Bosh and others, it was kind of an overwhelming
task this rumble, he said. The philosophy of Dick Ebersol was get all
your best out, get all your best stuff out early, and you can
end with stuff that's not so important because at that point and a time slot
like this, you're fighting sleep. That was Dick Ebersol's big enemy was sleep
after you know, midnight on NSNL or whatever shows he was producing, and
he was given an order by Vince was pretty shared. No matter how much
time was at the end, that was how much time the tag match was
going to have. So this young Stallion's Islanders match is constricted or not depending
on it. And they got a lot of time as it turns out.
I mean they kind of felt like they were rushed because they did a whole
lot of other shit. I think the popular memory kind of forgets that they
did a lot of like recapping of the rumble right there was there was a
lot of dead time too, but definitely thinks it should have been a one
fall squash. I don't know why this match was two out of three falls.
I don't know either. I don't know either. And also like yeah,
it was I don't know what the fuck they were talking about with having
with going along. I mean they had so much time at the end of
that show. Yeah, and a new challenge too. The first time they
were trying to communicate to people in the body of the rumble match, who's
supposed to go out? When? How do you get messages to the ring?
This is before referees had earpieces, right, and they were not accustomed
to doing this in a way that you know, it's one thing in a
television taping to send word down through a cameraman or something. But here,
according to Pritchard, what they worked out was pretty much, you know,
the guy who was going down to the ring to get in was to communicate
an instruction to somebody about when to go out. And they also had referees
around ringside to send reminders too at key moments. But the way he put
it is that they forgot to eliminate Brett Hart. He was saying for years
that Pritchard was that Brook Martel was in the first rumble, and he was
a guy that lasted very long, but not because that was by design,
but rather because there was a miscommunication from the person who was supposed to say,
now is the time to get this guy out, or they forgot to
check that box and eliminate that guy from the rumble when they were supposed to,
you know, sort of lost in the muck of everything that's going on.
And then during the nineteen eighty eight something to Russell, he has this
moment of like, oh my god, I've been saying it's been Rick Martell.
I meant it was Brett Hart now that I watched the match, So
how his Brett might be for this performance, And as much as Jesse Ventura
might put him over, and as much as that creates the boiler plate for
a classic Rumble story of the guy who lasts a long time, it was
not by design according to Pritchard, of course, never oversight. So that's
fucking hilarious. And of course the backdrop to all this is the big angle
for the big match between Hogan and Andre Teddy Biassi preparing to buy the championship.
And you know, just as much as the Rumble match, as we've
talked about, that whole thing is very much part of the thrust of what
we're about to witness in taking in the nineteen eighty eight World Rumble. Yep,
And I can feel I can feel it, Boss, There's an intensity
these two get across. And oh, for sure, the whole the whole
fucking contract signing with Andre just just kind of staring like in how he stalls
inside. It's it's great stuff. It's really it's so subtle. It's so
subtle, but it's brilliantly done, really is. And DBAs he was still
a hot character. He had just kind of you know, had his big
coming out party in eighty seven um to WWF and they'd done a bunch of
vignettes, but like what he was actually going to do and if he was
if he was going to involve himself in the the world title picture was not
quite clear right and here it is abundantly clear. What what's going to happen
now? As fans are asked on an edition of Primetime Wrestling leading into the
Royal Rumble what they think about the Million Dollar Man's overtures to Hull Coke and
to sell the world title, and what they think about um position Hule Coke
and find himself in heading into this contract. I'm glad he didn't sell out
and I want to hope to rip him up. I think the Holster did
that right thing. He wouldn't let us fans down. Anyone that knows the
Hawkster knows that he does not have a price for the million Dollar Man.
I think Hawk is number one and I don't think he'll ever let up to
the million dollar man. Well, I think he's right. Why should he
sell his belt? He's well earned it and I think he'll probably hold it.
Hulk is definitely a true American, and I know that he'd never succumbed
to Ted Debios and his money because Holks, the Hulks, Wholka maniacs out
there. I mean more to Haulk than any monetary value at all. I
think that he should reject that the money's not worth the felts, not worth
any amount of money like that. It should be able to win it,
not be able to just buy it. I'm very heavy at hawk hold and
didn't take the money from Ted DBIASI way to go howk oh Man lost innocence.
Maybe Holk should have taken the money. He'd been set for life,
don't forget the world champ gets all the creature comforts. But after a divorce
settlement and the accident and some back surgeries, he probably could have used the
money. Huhe two should have went three two one, because we've reached that
point where we're going to take a pause and we're going to prepare ourselves for
the latest deep dive from the last man. We're going all the way back
thirty five years ago to the creation of the Royal Rumble as a live television
event. It's nineteen eighty eight, January twenty fourth, Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada. It's yours the co chairman, going deep on a historical show.
It's that fucking But before we go, we have a death toll. Yes
we too. We have sixteen d which the all things considered, you know,
given that there's a twenty man royal Royal true, you don't think yeah
awful. But Gene Oakland, oh sure, Howard Finkel, Jack Toney,
Joey Morella, Butch Read, Jim Nidheart, Harley Race, Nikolai Volkoff,
Ron Baths, Frenchie Martin, Dino Bravo, the Junkyard Dog, Rick Rude,
the Ultimate Warrior, Bobby Heenan and Andre the Giant. Rest in peace,
all and wish us luck as we deep dive the very first televised Royal
Rumble. On the other side of this break,