WEBVTT FILE

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Downloaded from
YTS.MX

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‐ Ready for another take,
Kerwin?

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‐ We're only halfway through.

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Widen out a little bit

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and go right back
to that extreme closeup.

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Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

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‐ Okay. Kerwin, here.

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‐ Remember what's going on
in the ring.

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‐ [grunting]

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I can smell it!

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It's in the air!

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I feel the cosmic powers
of Mars!

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The clouds of Jupiter!

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The boiling heat of Mercury!

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I can feel it.

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[soft music]

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♪ ♪

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‐ My dad taught my sister
and I a creed,

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and he would make us
write it out.

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Live strong.
Act bold. Be brave.

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‐ History has been made here.

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‐ Nothing's too hard to do.

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‐ Just stop me dead.

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‐ Always believe.

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‐ I walk as the general
of a legion of warriors!

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[cheers and applause]

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‐ Ultimate Warrior was just‐‐
he was a moment in time.

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And the Ultimate Warrior,

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the guy that we grew up
watching,

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the guy that fought Hulk Hogan
and beat him,

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was separate from Jim Hellwig.

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‐ Don't let the tin cup I kick

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hit you in the mouth
and knock your teeth out.

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[laughter]

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‐ The complicated layers
of his own psyche...

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♪ ♪

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Created a man who at times
was very difficult

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to get a grasp on.

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‐ [bleep] me.

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‐ He probably wouldn't
have been driven to be

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The Ultimate Warrior
if he hadn't had,

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like, the pain he experienced
in his early life.

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[shouting]

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‐ You've got to have some kind
of an explanation,

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Ultimate Warrior.

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‐ He might not have gone on

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to be the person
that he was afterwards,

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if it hadn't been
for the disappointment

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he was experiencing while
we were all cheering for him.

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‐ You have seen very
small snippets of the man

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that I‐I knew personally .

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You think of the guy who's,
you know, big and tough.

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But he'd tuck us in at night,
so gently,

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and read us our books.

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And if there was something
really sad or really rough,

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like, he'd leave it out.

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And that was a beautiful thing
for when we were little.

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But there's not
that privilege anymore.

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You have to tell
the full story.

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And with the past seven years
that's gone on,

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there's no more‐‐you
don't want to censor anything.

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Like, this is the story of
The Ultimate Warrior.

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[cheers and applause]

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Read the full book.

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♪ ♪

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[soft music]

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‐ He was skinny.
He was real skinny.

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You know, I had a picture‐‐I
couldn't find it‐‐of him

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in a football outfit.

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Poor‐‐beanpole. Skinny legs.
Cute as a button.

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♪ ♪

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‐ Jim Hellwig was the oldest
of five siblings.

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He has two brothers,
two sisters.

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‐ This is a picture of the four
kids before I had my last one.

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♪ ♪

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‐ Here's the place
that I understood Jim

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to tell me his wife grew up,
in this mobile home.

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And said that he lifted weights
on that front porch

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right there.

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‐ Crawfordsville was, I think,
like 18,000 people.

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Very rural.

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‐ Demographics of this area:
blue‐collar.

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Everybody knows or has an idea
of everybody in the community.

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♪ ♪

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‐ No, I don't think he was
real popular with the girls.

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Deep down, I think he was shy.
Insecure. Insecure. Yes.

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‐ He always worshiped his mom,
for her efforts,

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and was always
very complimentary of his mom,

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and loved her very much.

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‐ His father
departing their family

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was a pivotal moment for him.

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‐ I just think‐‐and it's not
just Jim,

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but all three of my boys‐‐they
had such shame

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that their dad
could leave them.

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He'd come back
and go mushroom hunting.

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He'd come back
and go to ball games.

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And never come to see his kids.

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‐ Jim's dad leaving seems
to have been at least

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a beginning point of
major trust issues in his life.

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‐ He had a lot of insecurities
due to the fact that he was ten

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when his father left.
I think devastated him.

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[tense music]

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I think, if I be honest,
having five kids

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and having to work so much,

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that the kids didn't always get
the reassurance they needed.

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He didn't get all the attention
he needed.

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♪ ♪

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‐ Growing up in a town
like Jim Hellwig did,

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there's sort of the haves
and the have‐nots.

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And when his dad left,

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and wasn't contributing
financially to the family,

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suddenly Jim finds himself
as one of the have‐nots.

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‐ Jim felt that a lot of people
in the community

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looked down on him.
He also very definitively said,

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"I'm going to show
these people.

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I'm going to do something
with my life."

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Which, you think about it,
this is a 17‐year‐old

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who has embraced this

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"I'm going to conquer
the world" attitude

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because of the way he feels

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that the people
of his community

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had rejected him
and his family.

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♪ ♪

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He also then goes searching for
an identity beyond his father,

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and that's what ends up
leading him to sports.

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And Jim ends up
meeting Gary Pate.

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‐ The first time I ever met
Jim would be

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at football practice
back in 1975.

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The first time I ever saw Jim

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was in this classroom
right here.

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All the team members
were sitting in here.

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Well, when you saw
some of these kids,

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those guys were all about 6'2"
and 220 and 225.

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And Jim looked to be about,
at that time,

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5'10" and 125.

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I'm sure he probably
might have weighed more,

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but he didn't look like it.

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As the year went on,
he found out that I would be

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in the weight room
when I had time.

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He'd ask if he could
come in with me, and I'd say,

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"Sure. Yeah.
Come in and lift all you want."

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And we would lift, and he would
be intense about his lifting.

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‐ You have Jim and Gary, who,
for about three years,

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end up lifting together on sort
of a cruddy old lifting machine

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in their high school.

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This is how he learned
to bond with people,

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especially with paternal
figures‐‐working out with them

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and lifting with them.

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By his senior year,

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Jim was utterly fascinated
with bodybuilding,

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and he was constantly
trying to get his hands

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on bodybuilding magazines
and materials.

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He would apparently be looking
at these magazines

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and say things like,

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"I can't wait
till I'm this massive."

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‐ He had the Arnold
Schwarzenegger

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poster in his room, you know.

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He'd have his EZ Curl bar
in there,

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and would be pumping iron

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facing the Arnold
Schwarzenegger poster,

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you know, and, like‐‐you know.

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He knew that he needed
to seek his own ambitions,

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so he wasn't stuck
in that rural area,

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being your own farmer,
working a factory,

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when he didn't have no desire

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to do either one of them
for a living.

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‐ Jim's pursuit of
a bodybuilding career

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seems to have manifested
in the early 1980s.

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But he makes a move
over to Georgia,

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because he feels like there
is a better opportunity

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for the professional
bodybuilding scene.

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During that time in Georgia,

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he meets his future wife,
Shari.

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They get married.

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‐ You know, he gets married
pretty young.

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He goes down to Atlanta
to try to start this career.

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You know, he's sort of going
through the stations of, like,

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what growing up and
entering adulthood looks like.

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‐ And by 1984,
he's made the move

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to definitively try to get
himself into competition shape.

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And he does so
and manages to win

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a pretty significant
competition in 1984.

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He wins Mr. Georgia.

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‐ I knew that it would serve me
well

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to make my body different
from everybody else,

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like a comic book character
just walked off the pages.

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‐ He was dedicated,
and he had a goal

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where he wanted to go
with this lifting.

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‐ He never said, "I'm gonna
be the world champion WWE,

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and I'm gonna pick up Andre
the Giant and body slam him."

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But he did say, "I will,

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one of these days, be a person
that people will remember."

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He said, "I'll guarantee
that people will remember me."

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[dramatic music]

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♪ ♪

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[dramatic music]

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‐ Today, I'm boxing
with my coach.

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I love boxing.
I feel like my dad.

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I feel strong and powerful
when I do it.

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I love the intensity
that comes out.

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The release from it
feels like him.

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I would hear him
screaming out in the gym,

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and I'm like‐‐I'm a little bit
like him when I'm in the gym.

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‐ Coming from my background,

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growing up in a town
of 600 people,

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I stumbled into the weight room
we had at our school.

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Runt of a kid.
Scared of my own shadow.

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And I started gaining weight
really quick.

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And when I started
gaining weight

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and putting size on my body,
I thought to myself,

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"Well, I can change
my life in other ways."

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♪ ♪

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‐ It's something that
I can strive to get better at,

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and I can look back
at my younger self

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and think, like, "Oh, I thought
I was so good back then,"

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and then you climb the wall
and you get better and better.

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♪ ♪

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Well, in terms of becoming
a wrestler, never say never.

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♪ ♪

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‐ So, I scheduled

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an appointment
with the high school counselor.

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15 seconds after I started
telling he what I wanted to do,

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she put her hand up to my face,
about ten inches away from it,

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and she said,
"Put that silly stuff away,

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and let me tell you
what you need to do.

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This summer, you need
to get a job at the factory.

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Do a good job. Come back
and finish your senior year.

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And when you graduate,

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you should be able
to get a full‐time job.

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Now, what else
can I help you with?"

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[tense music]

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♪ ♪

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‐ For any bodybuilder,
when you build your body,

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it's like putting
on your armor.

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You know, you're building
your muscle,

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which is your armor,
to protect yourself

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from who you are,
really, inside.

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You could be this insecure
person, but now you're,

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you know, 240, 250 pounds,
you know, of muscle.

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‐ It totally makes sense

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that someone
without a male role model,

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who's in search of what
masculinity means to them‐‐it

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make sense that they would look
at this world of bodybuilding.

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[upbeat music]

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In the '80s, I mean,
it's kind of hard to imagine,

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if you weren't there,

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but bodybuilding
was a huge deal.

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‐ There was really only
one person

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everyone was talking about,

250
00:12:18.112 --> 00:12:20.198
and that was
Arnold Schwarzenegger.

251
00:12:20.323 --> 00:12:22.367
He was in the moving
"Pumping Iron,"

252
00:12:22.450 --> 00:12:26.329
and those images became iconic.

253
00:12:26.454 --> 00:12:29.290
‐ Arnold Schwarzenegger
becomes a huge star.

254
00:12:29.374 --> 00:12:35.213
I mean, arguably
the biggest star in Hollywood.

255
00:12:35.338 --> 00:12:38.299
‐ How did he get there?
It wasn't just, "Hey,

256
00:12:38.383 --> 00:12:40.677
let me go to acting school
and become this movie star."

257
00:12:40.802 --> 00:12:44.138
It was, oh, he goes to the gym
all the time,

258
00:12:44.222 --> 00:12:47.934
and he never quits.
Jim says, "I can do that."

259
00:12:48.017 --> 00:12:49.477
‐ If you really want
to make it,

260
00:12:49.560 --> 00:12:52.814
you gotta move to California.

261
00:12:52.855 --> 00:12:54.607
‐ Gold's Gym Venice,
in the '80s,

262
00:12:54.691 --> 00:12:57.151
became the mecca.

263
00:12:57.235 --> 00:13:01.114
‐ Gold's Gym became
the standard for anyone

264
00:13:01.197 --> 00:13:03.491
who wanted
to become a bodybuilder.

265
00:13:03.616 --> 00:13:10.748
♪ ♪

266
00:13:17.839 --> 00:13:19.340
‐ I contacted Jim,
and I invited him

267
00:13:19.424 --> 00:13:22.218
out to California to train
for his next contest.

268
00:13:22.302 --> 00:13:25.596
'Cause I thought
he had a lot of potential.

269
00:13:25.680 --> 00:13:28.308
‐ Ed introduced me to Jim,
saying,

270
00:13:28.391 --> 00:13:31.102
"Here's a young guy who's
trying to win the nationals."

271
00:13:31.185 --> 00:13:34.147
‐ My first house in Venice was
just two blocks from the gym,

272
00:13:34.272 --> 00:13:35.982
so the guys would stay
at the house

273
00:13:36.107 --> 00:13:37.317
and they would learn
from each other.

274
00:13:37.400 --> 00:13:39.819
We knew how they trained
or what they ate

275
00:13:39.902 --> 00:13:43.156
or what they took
for supplements.

276
00:13:43.239 --> 00:13:45.575
‐ Ed one day came in
to this gym,

277
00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:49.537
and he wanted me to let this
big dude come in and train.

278
00:13:49.662 --> 00:13:50.955
This guy was a giant, you know.

279
00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:53.124
He wasn't just big,
he was kind of freaky.

280
00:13:53.207 --> 00:13:56.085
He had a freaky build,
a freaky physique.

281
00:13:56.169 --> 00:13:57.879
And when he walked through
the room or through the gym

282
00:13:58.004 --> 00:14:00.423
or anywhere else, people went‐‐

283
00:14:00.506 --> 00:14:03.801
[tense music]

284
00:14:03.843 --> 00:14:05.720
‐ Performance‐enhancing drugs
and steroids

285
00:14:05.845 --> 00:14:07.138
were definitely in fashion

286
00:14:07.221 --> 00:14:08.973
when it came to
the world of bodybuilding.

287
00:14:09.098 --> 00:14:11.809
‐ Steroids were part of
the regiment of what you took

288
00:14:11.851 --> 00:14:14.062
to be a pro bodybuilder.

289
00:14:14.187 --> 00:14:16.189
What it did is it gave you
the ability

290
00:14:16.314 --> 00:14:19.150
to basically be
in an anabolic state.

291
00:14:19.233 --> 00:14:22.987
You can train hours in the gym
and not break down.

292
00:14:23.029 --> 00:14:25.406
But the thing was‐‐is
they were legal back then.

293
00:14:25.490 --> 00:14:28.117
You can actually have access
to go to a pharmacy

294
00:14:28.201 --> 00:14:31.371
and just buy them on your own.

295
00:14:31.496 --> 00:14:33.915
‐ I think, if people were
to open my refrigerator,

296
00:14:33.998 --> 00:14:35.416
they would have
probably been shocked.

297
00:14:35.541 --> 00:14:37.752
You know, most of the steroids
have to be refrigerated,

298
00:14:37.835 --> 00:14:39.962
so some of my family members
would visit,

299
00:14:40.046 --> 00:14:41.672
and so when they pulled
out the fruit door,

300
00:14:41.798 --> 00:14:43.466
they could something
other than fruit.

301
00:14:43.591 --> 00:14:47.970
‐ If I'm gonna take the time
to talk to you about this,

302
00:14:48.054 --> 00:14:51.015
then you need
to get it down right.

303
00:14:51.099 --> 00:14:52.433
So, I got up the courage
one day‐‐I weight

304
00:14:52.517 --> 00:14:53.810
about 175 pounds.

305
00:14:53.935 --> 00:14:55.061
I go up to this guy
as he's leaving the gym,

306
00:14:55.186 --> 00:14:56.687
and I tap him on the shoulder.

307
00:14:56.813 --> 00:14:58.314
I said, "Can I ask you
about ster‐‐"

308
00:14:58.356 --> 00:15:01.359
Before I even got the word
"steroid" out in my mouth,

309
00:15:01.484 --> 00:15:04.153
he turned around.
Guy just towered over me.

310
00:15:04.237 --> 00:15:06.239
He said, "Before I ever heard
about steroids,

311
00:15:06.364 --> 00:15:09.158
I was number three
in the whole world.

312
00:15:09.283 --> 00:15:11.327
But when you get up there
in that upper echelon,

313
00:15:11.411 --> 00:15:13.162
there may be a different
set of rules."

314
00:15:13.287 --> 00:15:15.039
And what he was telling me,
as a young punk kid

315
00:15:15.164 --> 00:15:17.333
of only 18 years old‐‐
he was saying,

316
00:15:17.417 --> 00:15:20.420
"You get there. You do what
it takes to get there.

317
00:15:20.503 --> 00:15:22.922
And then you worry about
making that decision."

318
00:15:23.005 --> 00:15:26.801
I weighed 295 pounds
before I ever touched them.

319
00:15:26.884 --> 00:15:28.386
That's the story
about steroids.

320
00:15:28.511 --> 00:15:33.182
And you better
get that story right.

321
00:15:33.307 --> 00:15:36.561
‐ And the next competitor
is Jim Hellwig.

322
00:15:36.686 --> 00:15:38.312
‐ You know, guys like Jim,

323
00:15:38.396 --> 00:15:40.481
who, you know,
I saw as this big guy,

324
00:15:40.565 --> 00:15:42.775
you would think he would become
a‐‐you know,

325
00:15:42.859 --> 00:15:44.235
a great pro bodybuilder.

326
00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:45.361
‐ [laughs]

327
00:15:45.445 --> 00:15:47.321
Jim's goals back then
was basically,

328
00:15:47.405 --> 00:15:49.949
I think, to make money
and have a great job.

329
00:15:50.032 --> 00:15:52.910
‐ You only made money
when you were a top pro.

330
00:15:53.035 --> 00:15:55.121
But if you didn't place
and win the nationals,

331
00:15:55.204 --> 00:15:57.373
or you didn't win the Mr. USAs,

332
00:15:57.498 --> 00:15:59.167
you really weren't
gonna make money.

333
00:15:59.250 --> 00:16:02.628
‐ On some level, he had to come
to the realization

334
00:16:02.712 --> 00:16:06.174
that just being a great
bodybuilder, in and of itself,

335
00:16:06.299 --> 00:16:09.135
was not going to make him
rich and famous.

336
00:16:09.218 --> 00:16:12.638
‐ I guess his path was
to go more towards

337
00:16:12.763 --> 00:16:14.265
becoming
a professional wrestler,

338
00:16:14.348 --> 00:16:19.812
you know, where he
saw money to be made.

339
00:16:19.896 --> 00:16:21.981
‐ In the early '80s,
wrestling was a big deal.

340
00:16:22.023 --> 00:16:23.983
Was on TV a lot.

341
00:16:24.066 --> 00:16:25.985
The wrestlers would train
at Gold's Gym Venice.

342
00:16:26.110 --> 00:16:28.946
So, we actually formed our own,
then, Gold's Gym team,

343
00:16:29.030 --> 00:16:30.990
which was composed
of two tag teams.

344
00:16:31.115 --> 00:16:32.658
‐ Out of the four, we had,

345
00:16:32.742 --> 00:16:36.120
you know, a big monster
that just disappeared one day.

346
00:16:36.204 --> 00:16:39.165
And I said, "Hey, I remember
meeting this guy, Jim Hellwig.

347
00:16:39.207 --> 00:16:41.042
He just won
a bodybuilding competition.

348
00:16:41.125 --> 00:16:43.336
He's huge. We should call him."

349
00:16:43.461 --> 00:16:44.962
‐ When I talked with Jim,
I explained

350
00:16:45.004 --> 00:16:47.381
that we had lost
the big member of our team,

351
00:16:47.465 --> 00:16:50.134
and he'd be perfect for it.
He said, "What does it pay?"

352
00:16:50.176 --> 00:16:52.637
And when I told him $100
a night, he said,

353
00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:55.264
"Well, that's more money
than I'm making now."

354
00:16:55.348 --> 00:16:58.684
‐ We sent out press kits.
We got one phone call back.

355
00:16:58.809 --> 00:17:00.186
It was about three days later,

356
00:17:00.311 --> 00:17:02.146
but we got a phone call back
from Jerry Jarrett.

357
00:17:02.188 --> 00:17:03.439
He said, "Yeah, I'm looking
at a picture,

358
00:17:03.523 --> 00:17:05.149
and I got four guys
in this picture,"

359
00:17:05.233 --> 00:17:07.568
but he says,
"I can only use two of you."

360
00:17:07.652 --> 00:17:09.987
"Well, which two do you want?"
He goes, "I want the two guys

361
00:17:10.112 --> 00:17:12.365
to the far left in this picture
I'm looking at."

362
00:17:12.490 --> 00:17:14.534
So we got in the car,
my '83 T‐bird,

363
00:17:14.659 --> 00:17:15.826
and we left California,

364
00:17:15.952 --> 00:17:17.870
and we drove out
to Nashville, Tennessee.

365
00:17:17.995 --> 00:17:20.414
And that's where it started.

366
00:17:20.540 --> 00:17:22.333
‐ Right now, we would like
to welcome

367
00:17:22.416 --> 00:17:24.752
in a couple of brand new faces
to Championship Wrestling,

368
00:17:24.835 --> 00:17:27.380
a couple of guys you're gonna
get to know and know well, too.

369
00:17:27.505 --> 00:17:29.590
We're talking about
the Freedom Fighters.

370
00:17:29.674 --> 00:17:31.467
Jim Hellwig.
Jim, glad to have you here.

371
00:17:31.551 --> 00:17:32.802
And Steve Borden.

372
00:17:32.885 --> 00:17:34.136
Steve, glad to have
you guys here.

373
00:17:34.262 --> 00:17:35.638
This is your first time
out here.

374
00:17:35.721 --> 00:17:39.433
We want to get
a little background on you.

375
00:17:39.517 --> 00:17:40.685
How about‐‐are you guys
married,

376
00:17:40.810 --> 00:17:42.228
have families, or what?

377
00:17:42.353 --> 00:17:43.688
‐ No, we're single.
We're looking forward

378
00:17:43.813 --> 00:17:45.147
to meeting
all those pretty girls.

379
00:17:45.273 --> 00:17:46.732
‐ You're both single?
‐ Yeah. We're single.

380
00:17:46.816 --> 00:17:47.900
‐ You hear that, girls?
They're both single here.

381
00:17:48.025 --> 00:17:49.193
I want to get that right.

382
00:17:49.277 --> 00:17:51.696
[cheers and applause]

383
00:17:51.821 --> 00:17:55.157
‐ My first reaction was, "Wow."
I saw two good‐looking guys

384
00:17:55.283 --> 00:17:57.159
that were gonna draw the girls
into the matches,

385
00:17:57.243 --> 00:17:58.786
and that's what it was
all about for us back then.

386
00:17:58.869 --> 00:18:01.497
Back in the day, we never told
anybody they were married

387
00:18:01.581 --> 00:18:03.416
or you were engaged
or anything else,

388
00:18:03.541 --> 00:18:05.918
because it would hurt the girls
from coming to the building.

389
00:18:06.002 --> 00:18:09.171
‐ They're young. They still got
a lot to learn in wrestling.

390
00:18:09.255 --> 00:18:12.425
But boy, they sure got
the physical attributes, baby.

391
00:18:12.508 --> 00:18:15.177
‐ There was no sort
of gracefulness.

392
00:18:15.303 --> 00:18:19.015
There was no slow
and poetic storytelling.

393
00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:21.225
It was just boom, energy,
and "I'm coming,

394
00:18:21.309 --> 00:18:23.227
and I'm hitting you as hard
as I can, and I'm leaving."

395
00:18:23.311 --> 00:18:25.479
‐ It doesn't necessarily
connect with the audience.

396
00:18:25.563 --> 00:18:27.773
Like, "Why are we cheering
for these good guys

397
00:18:27.857 --> 00:18:31.235
just beating the snot out
of these much smaller guys?"

398
00:18:31.360 --> 00:18:32.987
And so they had
to make a shift,

399
00:18:33.070 --> 00:18:34.655
because it wasn't working.

400
00:18:34.739 --> 00:18:37.325
‐ Our thought was, "Yeah.
Let's change. Let's go heel.

401
00:18:37.450 --> 00:18:39.493
Let's change our look.
And let's come up

402
00:18:39.577 --> 00:18:41.621
with something real, you know,
kind of freaky looking."

403
00:18:41.704 --> 00:18:43.664
‐ Ladies and gentlemen,
the most awesome tag team

404
00:18:43.748 --> 00:18:46.667
in professional wrestling,
the Blade Runners!

405
00:18:46.751 --> 00:18:47.460
♪ ♪

406
00:18:51.922 --> 00:18:53.132
‐ The greatest,
most [inaudible]

407
00:18:53.215 --> 00:18:55.718
tag team in professional
wrestling today,

408
00:18:55.801 --> 00:18:59.263
the Blade Runners!

409
00:18:59.347 --> 00:19:01.557
‐ Before long, Steve Borden
and Jim Hellwig

410
00:19:01.682 --> 00:19:04.560
were repackaged
into the Blade Runners.

411
00:19:04.685 --> 00:19:05.853
♪ ♪

412
00:19:05.936 --> 00:19:07.313
‐ I think that they realized

413
00:19:07.396 --> 00:19:09.273
that intensity
was what they had to offer.

414
00:19:09.357 --> 00:19:12.985
So the promos that you would
see were just guys working out.

415
00:19:13.069 --> 00:19:14.445
They weren't saying anything.

416
00:19:14.528 --> 00:19:17.239
But it was just,
"We're super intense dudes,

417
00:19:17.365 --> 00:19:19.283
and we can lift
super heavy things.

418
00:19:19.367 --> 00:19:21.160
And sometimes we wear mascara."

419
00:19:21.285 --> 00:19:23.996
[cheers and applause]

420
00:19:24.080 --> 00:19:26.999
‐ Blade Runners. Uh‐oh.

421
00:19:27.083 --> 00:19:29.585
‐ The matches were horrible
with those guys.

422
00:19:29.669 --> 00:19:32.546
And it was one of those
situations where, at the time,

423
00:19:32.672 --> 00:19:35.091
we could have taken them
and maybe spent a lot of time

424
00:19:35.174 --> 00:19:37.134
and, you know,
put them in opening matches

425
00:19:37.218 --> 00:19:39.387
and tried to train them,
but these guys already thought

426
00:19:39.512 --> 00:19:40.971
that they were ready
for the big time,

427
00:19:41.055 --> 00:19:42.515
just because of their look.

428
00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:47.561
‐ As Hellwig and Borden
working on Phil Hickerson,

429
00:19:47.645 --> 00:19:52.400
and now, Buddy Wayne
slugs him with that shoe.

430
00:19:52.525 --> 00:19:54.735
‐ Jill Hellwig has sort of
reached this peak

431
00:19:54.860 --> 00:19:56.487
of physical perfection, right?

432
00:19:56.612 --> 00:20:00.449
He goes to pro wrestling
in search of fame and fortune.

433
00:20:00.533 --> 00:20:03.327
And then he sort of
has to start over, right?

434
00:20:03.411 --> 00:20:04.745
He has to start
paying his dues.

435
00:20:04.870 --> 00:20:06.330
He's not making any money.
He's traveling.

436
00:20:06.414 --> 00:20:07.748
He's on the road all the time.

437
00:20:07.873 --> 00:20:09.709
‐ Ladies and gentlemen,
the most awesome tag team

438
00:20:09.834 --> 00:20:14.296
in professional wrestling,
the Blade Runners!

439
00:20:14.338 --> 00:20:17.675
‐ We were on, you know,
the 4th of July, you know,

440
00:20:17.800 --> 00:20:20.886
matinee show, evening show,
New Year's Eve, New Year's Day,

441
00:20:20.970 --> 00:20:22.138
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day,

442
00:20:22.263 --> 00:20:23.305
Easter Sunday‐‐
it didn't matter,

443
00:20:23.389 --> 00:20:25.474
we were doing two shows a day.

444
00:20:25.558 --> 00:20:30.229
‐ This man is just so powerful.
Punishing kicks.

445
00:20:30.354 --> 00:20:33.357
‐ Things we're so bad,
I was driving used taxi cabs

446
00:20:33.441 --> 00:20:36.068
that had, like, 400,000
or 500,000 miles on them.

447
00:20:36.193 --> 00:20:37.319
It was just incredible.

448
00:20:37.445 --> 00:20:40.865
‐ Nice move by Brett. Dropkick.

449
00:20:40.990 --> 00:20:44.952
‐ He was very much so,
you know,

450
00:20:45.035 --> 00:20:46.704
opiniated kind of a guy.

451
00:20:46.829 --> 00:20:50.791
And, you know‐‐and he was not
shy about sharing his opinion.

452
00:20:50.875 --> 00:20:53.043
Didn't matter
what the topic was, you know?

453
00:20:53.169 --> 00:20:54.920
We actually walked away
at one time.

454
00:20:55.004 --> 00:20:56.964
We walked out on‐‐we
were main event.

455
00:20:57.047 --> 00:20:59.175
And the next day,
I got a phone call.

456
00:20:59.300 --> 00:21:00.718
"You need to come up
to Little Rock tonight.

457
00:21:00.843 --> 00:21:02.470
Bill's holding a couple
of your paychecks.

458
00:21:02.595 --> 00:21:03.929
You'll never get them
unless you come

459
00:21:04.013 --> 00:21:05.639
and put a notice in
and finish out."

460
00:21:05.723 --> 00:21:08.684
So I said okay. You know,
"Let me try to get ahold of Jim

461
00:21:08.809 --> 00:21:10.519
and see if we can
make this happen."

462
00:21:10.644 --> 00:21:13.898
I couldn't get Jim anywhere.
So I went and did the show.

463
00:21:14.023 --> 00:21:15.274
And came back.

464
00:21:15.357 --> 00:21:16.817
And the next day,
Jim was pretty hot.

465
00:21:16.901 --> 00:21:19.361
You know, "What'd you do?
What are you doing?

466
00:21:19.445 --> 00:21:20.821
How could you do that to me?"

467
00:21:20.946 --> 00:21:22.156
I said, "Jim,
what are you talking about?"

468
00:21:22.239 --> 00:21:23.783
He was real pissed.

469
00:21:23.866 --> 00:21:25.701
And that ultimately ended up,
you know,

470
00:21:25.826 --> 00:21:29.789
leading to, you know,
us parting ways as well.

471
00:21:29.872 --> 00:21:32.166
[cheers and applause]

472
00:21:32.291 --> 00:21:33.334
‐ Blade Runners,
no doubt about it,

473
00:21:33.459 --> 00:21:35.252
are big, strong individuals.

474
00:21:35.336 --> 00:21:37.588
But I don't think they've got
what it takes inside.

475
00:21:37.671 --> 00:21:40.925
I'm speaking
of intestinal fortitude.

476
00:21:41.008 --> 00:21:44.428
‐ I think he just wanted
to kind of go off on his own.

477
00:21:44.512 --> 00:21:46.722
And it ended up
he was probably right.

478
00:21:46.847 --> 00:21:49.683
♪ ♪

479
00:21:49.767 --> 00:21:51.685
‐ Hellwig decides
he's going to leave.

480
00:21:51.811 --> 00:21:57.191
And he has an opening with WCCW
over in the Dallas area.

481
00:21:57.316 --> 00:22:00.569
‐ Welcome to World Class
Championship Wrestling,

482
00:22:00.694 --> 00:22:02.822
the Major League
of Professional Wrestling

483
00:22:02.905 --> 00:22:06.325
seen around the world
and across this great nation.

484
00:22:06.408 --> 00:22:11.163
‐ WCCW had really
an international

485
00:22:11.247 --> 00:22:14.583
following of sorts,
because the Von Erichs

486
00:22:14.708 --> 00:22:16.919
were like
a first family of wrestling.

487
00:22:17.002 --> 00:22:19.255
[rock music]

488
00:22:19.338 --> 00:22:20.965
‐ They had an audience
that was very unique

489
00:22:21.048 --> 00:22:22.591
in the history of wrestling,

490
00:22:22.675 --> 00:22:24.885
and a large percentage
of the audience was women,

491
00:22:25.010 --> 00:22:28.138
and it was all about
really good‐looking guys

492
00:22:28.264 --> 00:22:29.306
with great bodies.

493
00:22:29.431 --> 00:22:30.891
So Jim comes in, and I mean,

494
00:22:31.016 --> 00:22:36.105
Jim is, like, perfect
for that specific audience.

495
00:22:36.188 --> 00:22:37.356
[cheers and applause]

496
00:22:37.481 --> 00:22:38.858
‐ I remember the first night,

497
00:22:38.983 --> 00:22:40.901
I drove in there,
they came up to me and said,

498
00:22:40.985 --> 00:22:42.820
"Warrior. He's got
a warrior thing about him,"

499
00:22:42.903 --> 00:22:44.488
or something like that.

500
00:22:44.613 --> 00:22:47.366
Then somebody came in. He had
a little puppy, a new puppy.

501
00:22:47.449 --> 00:22:48.993
And they were asking him
what kind of dog it was.

502
00:22:49.076 --> 00:22:50.661
He says, "A dingo."

503
00:22:50.744 --> 00:22:53.789
And somebody just‐‐you know,
somebody that was, you know,

504
00:22:53.873 --> 00:22:56.750
not quite sober yet, said,
"Dingo‐Dingo Warrior.

505
00:22:56.876 --> 00:22:58.961
That'll work.
We'll do that tonight."

506
00:22:59.086 --> 00:23:01.755
So, that was the beginning
of the Dingo Warrior thing.

507
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:07.094
‐ From Queens, New York,
287 pounds, the Dingo Warrior.

508
00:23:07.177 --> 00:23:08.762
[cheers and applause]

509
00:23:08.846 --> 00:23:11.432
‐ He was billed as being
from Queens, New York.

510
00:23:11.515 --> 00:23:13.100
So, there's no dingoes
in Queens.

511
00:23:13.183 --> 00:23:14.643
Dingoes are Australian.

512
00:23:14.768 --> 00:23:19.690
And the word "dingo" is just
a ridiculous, silly word.

513
00:23:19.815 --> 00:23:23.152
It just sounds hilarious
and not intimidating.

514
00:23:23.277 --> 00:23:25.070
[cheers and applause]

515
00:23:25.195 --> 00:23:30.910
‐ Look at the awesome physical
beauty of the Dingo Warrior.

516
00:23:31.035 --> 00:23:32.578
‐ I'll tell you, Brian,

517
00:23:32.661 --> 00:23:34.747
this crowd's behind him,
too, 100 percent.

518
00:23:34.872 --> 00:23:37.708
‐ So, you bring any freak of
nature you want to World Class,

519
00:23:37.791 --> 00:23:39.335
because believe me, brother,

520
00:23:39.460 --> 00:23:41.921
I've looked in the eyes
of darkness before.

521
00:23:42.004 --> 00:23:44.131
And I'm not scared of it,
and I never will be,

522
00:23:44.256 --> 00:23:46.216
with the warriors
behind my back.

523
00:23:46.342 --> 00:23:49.678
‐ As the Dingo Warrior,
Jim Hellwig

524
00:23:49.803 --> 00:23:54.141
gets a noticeable
following in WCCW.

525
00:23:54.224 --> 00:23:56.018
all: Dingo. Dingo. Dingo.

526
00:23:56.143 --> 00:23:58.896
‐ Listen to the crowd,
wound up for the Dingo man.

527
00:23:58.979 --> 00:24:01.982
all: Dingo. Dingo. Dingo.

528
00:24:02.024 --> 00:24:04.902
‐ It was very obvious to me
that the business‐‐

529
00:24:05.027 --> 00:24:07.529
it was going a direction
where it wasn't so much like

530
00:24:07.655 --> 00:24:09.114
Dick the Bruiser
and the Crusher,

531
00:24:09.198 --> 00:24:11.200
those kind of wrestlers
that I remember as a kid,

532
00:24:11.283 --> 00:24:13.452
growing up with, in Indiana,

533
00:24:13.535 --> 00:24:15.996
and that something different
was going on with it.

534
00:24:16.080 --> 00:24:18.540
You know, I was painting
the logo on my face.

535
00:24:18.666 --> 00:24:19.959
Dingo Warrior, to me,

536
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.961
was the poor version
of the Ultimate Warrior.

537
00:24:22.044 --> 00:24:25.047
I didn't really have much money
to spend on that kind of stuff.

538
00:24:25.172 --> 00:24:26.715
But it just grew, man.

539
00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.926
It really turned into something
really fantastic.

540
00:24:29.009 --> 00:24:31.971
‐ And here's a man
of awesome proportions,

541
00:24:32.054 --> 00:24:34.598
who has to be counted on
to be one of the major

542
00:24:34.682 --> 00:24:37.351
influences in professional
wrestling today.

543
00:24:37.434 --> 00:24:38.769
‐ [inaudible] Dingo!

544
00:24:38.852 --> 00:24:41.772
[tense music]

545
00:24:41.855 --> 00:24:48.320
♪ ♪

546
00:24:48.404 --> 00:24:49.905
‐ So, Jim returns

547
00:24:49.989 --> 00:24:54.451
to the Fountain Central
Ten‐Year Reunion.

548
00:24:54.535 --> 00:24:56.662
He has not only
won Mr. Georgia,

549
00:24:56.745 --> 00:24:58.872
but he has also become
the Dingo Warrior.

550
00:24:58.998 --> 00:25:05.546
He's enormous.
280 pounds, solid muscle.

551
00:25:06.964 --> 00:25:09.508
This was not a coming back
to sort of mend fences

552
00:25:09.633 --> 00:25:11.885
or to connect with people
he didn't connect with.

553
00:25:12.011 --> 00:25:15.931
His whole take was, if you had
been his friend in his youth,

554
00:25:16.015 --> 00:25:17.891
"Come sit with me.
We're gonna hang out."

555
00:25:17.975 --> 00:25:20.644
And for those people who tried
to be more chummy with him,

556
00:25:20.728 --> 00:25:22.980
that had not given him
the time of day in his youth,

557
00:25:23.063 --> 00:25:24.565
he had no interest.

558
00:25:24.690 --> 00:25:27.985
‐ He won a couple bottles
of champagne for the person

559
00:25:28.068 --> 00:25:29.737
that had changed the most

560
00:25:29.862 --> 00:25:32.406
and the person
that drove the furthest.

561
00:25:32.531 --> 00:25:34.658
And I remember him
opening the champagne

562
00:25:34.742 --> 00:25:36.660
and having us all drink
a little bit of it,

563
00:25:36.785 --> 00:25:41.457
you know, celebrating just our
reunion together as friends.

564
00:25:41.540 --> 00:25:44.376
‐ He didn't forget
where he came from. Okay?

565
00:25:44.501 --> 00:25:46.628
Jim was a loyal friend.

566
00:25:46.754 --> 00:25:50.758
If you hung in there with him,
he hung in there with you.

567
00:25:50.841 --> 00:25:52.885
‐ Now, with a pin. Two. Three.

568
00:25:53.010 --> 00:25:57.806
The Dingo Warrior
subdues Jack Victory.

569
00:25:57.890 --> 00:26:01.101
‐ Jim Hellwig was a remarkably
creative human being.

570
00:26:01.185 --> 00:26:03.812
Part of it is the look,
and I think part of it,

571
00:26:03.896 --> 00:26:08.817
as well, is the fact
that he's just different.

572
00:26:08.901 --> 00:26:11.653
‐ When Vince McMahon sees
Jim Hellwig in 1987,

573
00:26:11.737 --> 00:26:13.822
he sees
the picture‐perfect mold

574
00:26:13.947 --> 00:26:15.616
for what he's
putting out there.

575
00:26:15.699 --> 00:26:17.701
He sees, "There's definitely
something there.

576
00:26:17.826 --> 00:26:19.995
But I'm gonna make
this thing my own."

577
00:26:20.079 --> 00:26:22.623
‐ And look at the power
of the Ultimate Warrior.

578
00:26:26.919 --> 00:26:29.379
[upbeat music]

579
00:26:29.505 --> 00:26:31.090
♪ ♪

580
00:26:31.173 --> 00:26:32.549
‐ In the territory days,

581
00:26:32.674 --> 00:26:35.719
the WWE was just
the New York territory .

582
00:26:35.803 --> 00:26:36.970
‐ The recognized symbol

583
00:26:37.054 --> 00:26:39.181
of excellence
in sports entertainment.

584
00:26:39.264 --> 00:26:40.808
[cheers and applause]

585
00:26:40.933 --> 00:26:44.645
‐ By the time people of my age
bracket were invested,

586
00:26:44.770 --> 00:26:47.940
the WWE had
become the territory.

587
00:26:48.023 --> 00:26:49.733
[dramatic music]

588
00:26:49.858 --> 00:26:53.987
‐ They were hitting cable TV,
being seen all over the world.

589
00:26:54.113 --> 00:26:55.656
♪ ♪

590
00:26:55.739 --> 00:26:57.324
‐ Vince McMahon
is as responsible

591
00:26:57.449 --> 00:26:59.118
for the success of the WWE

592
00:26:59.201 --> 00:27:03.330
as anyone
is for the success of anything.

593
00:27:03.455 --> 00:27:06.333
This is this guy who took
everything his father started

594
00:27:06.458 --> 00:27:09.128
and said, "That's great.
I like what you're doing here.

595
00:27:09.169 --> 00:27:12.089
But what if we took
over the world with it?"

596
00:27:12.172 --> 00:27:16.009
‐ And Dingo is the winner.
‐ So, Jim Hellwig,

597
00:27:16.135 --> 00:27:18.428
as the Dingo Warrior,
is in WCCW,

598
00:27:18.512 --> 00:27:20.764
and Vince McMahon
takes one look at him

599
00:27:20.848 --> 00:27:23.559
and he says, "Okay,
I'll give that guy a shot."

600
00:27:23.684 --> 00:27:27.604
‐ The Ultimate Warrior.

601
00:27:27.688 --> 00:27:31.942
‐ The Ultimate Warrior
was a Vince McMahon creation.

602
00:27:32.025 --> 00:27:36.113
His first attempt
to create a star,

603
00:27:36.196 --> 00:27:39.491
once he already had all
the eyeballs on his company.

604
00:27:39.575 --> 00:27:41.869
‐ He's a strong, powerful man.

605
00:27:41.994 --> 00:27:43.203
‐ There's something Vince
told me at one time,

606
00:27:43.328 --> 00:27:44.830
and I'll always remember this.

607
00:27:44.872 --> 00:27:46.582
But he sat down with me
and he said, "You know,

608
00:27:46.707 --> 00:27:48.292
Jimmy, I'm looking
for my next attraction.

609
00:27:48.375 --> 00:27:49.835
Somebody bigger than life.

610
00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:51.962
Somebody that can walk through
any airport in the world,

611
00:27:52.045 --> 00:27:54.173
and even a casual
wrestling fan would go,

612
00:27:54.298 --> 00:27:56.175
"Oh my God. Look who it is.'"

613
00:27:56.300 --> 00:27:58.468
‐ The power of the warrior
flowing through those veins.

614
00:27:58.552 --> 00:27:59.720
‐ Oh!

615
00:27:59.845 --> 00:28:02.097
‐ Oh! What a clothesline!

616
00:28:02.181 --> 00:28:03.849
‐ He was the only person
that would run‐‐and I mean

617
00:28:03.974 --> 00:28:07.060
top speed‐‐all
the way to the ring.

618
00:28:07.186 --> 00:28:11.732
‐ Introducing first,
weighing 275 pounds,

619
00:28:11.857 --> 00:28:16.153
from parts unknown,
the Ultimate Warrior.

620
00:28:16.195 --> 00:28:17.821
[rock music]

621
00:28:17.905 --> 00:28:20.782
‐ You had the Hulkamania,
with the red and yellow,

622
00:28:20.866 --> 00:28:22.159
the bright colors, the tee,

623
00:28:22.284 --> 00:28:23.827
and all of a sudden
you got a guy come in,

624
00:28:23.911 --> 00:28:26.038
but instead of red and yellow,
he's got neon on.

625
00:28:26.163 --> 00:28:29.208
‐ Look at this.
‐ What a display of strength

626
00:28:29.291 --> 00:28:32.044
as the Warrior has him
high over his head.

627
00:28:32.169 --> 00:28:34.630
‐ Except for Hulk Hogan, he was
the most popular guy they had.

628
00:28:34.713 --> 00:28:36.340
Very quickly.

629
00:28:36.465 --> 00:28:37.674
‐ The audience
would react to him.

630
00:28:37.758 --> 00:28:38.884
They started
reacting very well.

631
00:28:39.009 --> 00:28:40.552
And I thought, "Hmm. Okay then.

632
00:28:40.677 --> 00:28:42.221
Maybe we do have
something here."

633
00:28:42.304 --> 00:28:47.059
‐ What an impressive showing
here by the Ultimate Warrior.

634
00:28:47.184 --> 00:28:49.811
‐ You can see that he's on
a clear trajectory.

635
00:28:49.895 --> 00:28:51.563
That Vince is, like,
writing this script

636
00:28:51.688 --> 00:28:54.816
that will put him following
in the footsteps of Hulk Hogan.

637
00:28:54.942 --> 00:28:56.235
[cheers and applause]

638
00:28:56.318 --> 00:28:57.819
‐ Ladies and gentlemen,

639
00:28:57.903 --> 00:29:03.533
this contest is for the
Intercontinental Championship.

640
00:29:03.659 --> 00:29:05.160
‐ Honky Tonk Man is gonna

641
00:29:05.244 --> 00:29:07.537
defend the Intercontinental
Championship...

642
00:29:07.663 --> 00:29:09.498
‐ Get me somebody out here
to wrestle.

643
00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:10.999
I don't care who it is.

644
00:29:11.083 --> 00:29:14.127
‐ Against an unnamed opponent.

645
00:29:14.211 --> 00:29:16.630
And you're waiting to hear
who it's gonna be.

646
00:29:16.755 --> 00:29:19.216
And that music hits.

647
00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:20.467
[rock music]

648
00:29:20.509 --> 00:29:22.594
‐ Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

649
00:29:22.678 --> 00:29:24.263
Somebody's music.

650
00:29:24.346 --> 00:29:29.142
‐ I mean, as Gorilla Monsoon
says, pandemonium.

651
00:29:29.268 --> 00:29:31.937
‐ Here's is the challenger
[inaudible].

652
00:29:32.020 --> 00:29:34.314
‐ It's the Ultimate Warrior!

653
00:29:34.439 --> 00:29:38.443
[cheers and applause]

654
00:29:38.527 --> 00:29:41.029
This place has gone bananas!

655
00:29:41.154 --> 00:29:44.825
‐ I remember what it felt
like, man.

656
00:29:44.908 --> 00:29:46.994
It was [bleep]
awesome, you know.

657
00:29:47.035 --> 00:29:48.954
It...

658
00:29:49.037 --> 00:29:52.207
‐ Ultimate Warrior exploding
here on Honky Tonk Man.

659
00:29:52.332 --> 00:29:53.792
Beautiful flying tackle.

660
00:29:53.875 --> 00:29:58.171
‐ It was just nonstop energy
for less than 30 seconds,

661
00:29:58.255 --> 00:30:00.090
and there was a new
Intercontinental Champion.

662
00:30:00.173 --> 00:30:01.466
‐ [inaudible] hooks the leg!

663
00:30:01.550 --> 00:30:03.969
‐ That's it!
‐ He's got it!

664
00:30:04.052 --> 00:30:07.139
History has been made here!

665
00:30:07.222 --> 00:30:08.640
‐ Just shocked
the wrestling world.

666
00:30:08.765 --> 00:30:09.933
Nobody expected it, right?

667
00:30:10.017 --> 00:30:11.768
He had the belt
for over a year.

668
00:30:11.852 --> 00:30:12.978
And I think that's
what really gave him

669
00:30:13.061 --> 00:30:14.479
the little rocket
that he needed.

670
00:30:14.604 --> 00:30:16.648
‐ It is unbelievable.

671
00:30:16.732 --> 00:30:20.027
A newly‐crowned
Intercontinental Champion.

672
00:30:20.152 --> 00:30:23.155
‐ It was just another
critical step

673
00:30:23.280 --> 00:30:28.910
in him becoming
the biggest wrestler in WWE.

674
00:30:29.036 --> 00:30:34.499
[indistinct chatter]

675
00:30:34.624 --> 00:30:37.169
‐ There you go.
Thanks a lot, man.

676
00:30:37.294 --> 00:30:42.799
‐ This is WWE
letting the world know

677
00:30:42.841 --> 00:30:44.593
this is the next guy.

678
00:30:44.676 --> 00:30:49.264
This guy that you think might
be a star, he is a superstar.

679
00:30:49.348 --> 00:30:53.393
‐ Please welcome the man known
as the Ultimate Warrior.

680
00:30:53.518 --> 00:30:55.520
[cheers and applause]

681
00:30:55.645 --> 00:30:56.813
‐ I think the Ultimate Warrior

682
00:30:56.897 --> 00:30:58.607
was a great match
for the late '80s,

683
00:30:58.690 --> 00:31:00.233
early '90s.

684
00:31:00.317 --> 00:31:03.362
Everything was about being
as big and strong and bombastic

685
00:31:03.487 --> 00:31:05.155
as a character as possible.

686
00:31:05.197 --> 00:31:07.407
He was a cartoon character
come to life.

687
00:31:07.532 --> 00:31:11.370
So, my earliest memories of the
Ultimate Warrior are of this,

688
00:31:11.495 --> 00:31:15.165
like, mad man covered
in tassels and of a doll

689
00:31:15.248 --> 00:31:18.210
that I wanted to cuddle
and take to bed with me.

690
00:31:18.335 --> 00:31:20.670
♪ ♪

691
00:31:20.796 --> 00:31:25.008
‐ Hey. Yo. Yo.

692
00:31:25.133 --> 00:31:28.804
‐ Now, because he
is successful,

693
00:31:28.929 --> 00:31:32.474
now he's got that target
on his back.

694
00:31:32.599 --> 00:31:34.518
‐ Ah!
‐ Ah. Ah.

695
00:31:34.643 --> 00:31:36.978
‐ "This guy's only been
in the business for five years.

696
00:31:37.062 --> 00:31:39.481
I've been in this business
for 20 years.

697
00:31:39.523 --> 00:31:41.441
What dues did he pay?"

698
00:31:41.525 --> 00:31:43.985
There's all that going on
in the locker room.

699
00:31:44.069 --> 00:31:47.322
I got the sense
that he really was a loner.

700
00:31:47.406 --> 00:31:50.742
‐ Warrior was very much,
at times, an overgrown kid.

701
00:31:50.867 --> 00:31:53.537
Having known a lot
of his personal life,

702
00:31:53.662 --> 00:31:55.539
he never really
got to be a kid.

703
00:31:55.664 --> 00:31:57.374
You know?
Came from a broken home.

704
00:31:57.499 --> 00:31:59.584
Had to grow him
and mature quickly.

705
00:31:59.668 --> 00:32:03.839
So, I do think that the Warrior
character‐‐that's why he fell

706
00:32:03.964 --> 00:32:05.132
in love with it so much,

707
00:32:05.215 --> 00:32:07.217
because it was
an extension of him,

708
00:32:07.342 --> 00:32:09.302
and he got to escape
and do those things

709
00:32:09.386 --> 00:32:12.806
and live probably a lot
of things he never got to do.

710
00:32:12.848 --> 00:32:16.268
‐ The Ultimate Warrior.

711
00:32:16.351 --> 00:32:18.437
If we were in town, I mean,
it only made sense to say,

712
00:32:18.520 --> 00:32:22.023
"Look, you know, come home
and let's have dinner,"

713
00:32:22.149 --> 00:32:23.650
you know,
and my wife would fix dinner.

714
00:32:23.775 --> 00:32:26.862
And it was a breath
of fresh air to have him there.

715
00:32:26.987 --> 00:32:28.864
He was so different, you know,

716
00:32:28.989 --> 00:32:31.324
and he really wanted
that environment.

717
00:32:31.408 --> 00:32:34.286
You could tell he was attracted
to that environment.

718
00:32:38.707 --> 00:32:42.461
‐ There was very few people
that were invited to come over

719
00:32:42.586 --> 00:32:44.421
to my parents' house.

720
00:32:46.506 --> 00:32:48.467
[both laughing]

721
00:32:48.550 --> 00:32:51.261
‐ You know what,
if he was asked, he would have.

722
00:32:51.344 --> 00:32:52.804
He would definitely
do the dishes.

723
00:32:52.888 --> 00:32:55.307
He was just that type of guy.

724
00:32:55.432 --> 00:32:58.185
My dad was a father
figure to many,

725
00:32:58.268 --> 00:33:00.479
and definitely was to Warrior.

726
00:33:00.562 --> 00:33:03.106
I think it was just
that family dynamic

727
00:33:03.190 --> 00:33:06.401
that Jim always
aspired to have.

728
00:33:06.526 --> 00:33:08.487
[cheers and applause]

729
00:33:08.612 --> 00:33:11.490
‐ Coming up from behind.
Look out from behind.

730
00:33:11.615 --> 00:33:14.993
‐ Ah!

731
00:33:15.118 --> 00:33:19.372
‐ They end up having Warrior
feud with Andre the Giant,

732
00:33:19.498 --> 00:33:21.833
who had previously been
the most beloved wrestler

733
00:33:21.958 --> 00:33:24.336
maybe on the planet.

734
00:33:24.461 --> 00:33:29.424
‐ You see the ultimate maniac
has felt these large hands

735
00:33:29.508 --> 00:33:31.176
around his neck.

736
00:33:31.301 --> 00:33:35.472
He is feeling, right now, the
Intercontinental Championship

737
00:33:35.514 --> 00:33:37.807
slipping off his waist.

738
00:33:37.891 --> 00:33:40.810
‐ One of the big values
of Andre the Giant

739
00:33:40.894 --> 00:33:44.856
was that if somebody beats him,
or somebody can slam him,

740
00:33:44.981 --> 00:33:47.442
they're a household name,
and Hulk Hogan

741
00:33:47.526 --> 00:33:49.986
body slamming Andre the Giant
at WrestleMania III

742
00:33:50.111 --> 00:33:53.490
is the thing that set
Hulkamania in motion.

743
00:33:53.573 --> 00:33:58.328
‐ Look at this. He slammed him!
‐ And you, Andre the Giant,

744
00:33:58.370 --> 00:34:00.789
will realize that the power
will become

745
00:34:00.872 --> 00:34:05.669
the Eighth Wonder of the World,
as we eat you alive!

746
00:34:05.794 --> 00:34:09.422
[cheers and applause]

747
00:34:09.506 --> 00:34:12.300
‐ Andre never did anything
he didn't want to do.

748
00:34:12.384 --> 00:34:14.719
It was frightening the first
time he told me to slam him.

749
00:34:14.844 --> 00:34:17.722
[dramatic music]

750
00:34:17.847 --> 00:34:21.726
♪ ♪

751
00:34:21.851 --> 00:34:25.313
I knew what it meant to
the character Ultimate Warrior,

752
00:34:25.397 --> 00:34:27.107
and how much over
that character would be

753
00:34:27.190 --> 00:34:28.942
by being allowed to do that.

754
00:34:29.025 --> 00:34:32.779
‐ Is he gonna pick him up? Wow.

755
00:34:32.862 --> 00:34:35.865
‐ So now, you're able

756
00:34:35.991 --> 00:34:38.034
to really think
of like Ultimate Warrior.

757
00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:39.786
He's on the same level
as Hulk Hogan.

758
00:34:39.869 --> 00:34:42.163
Because up until that moment,
the greatest thing Hulk Hogan

759
00:34:42.289 --> 00:34:44.165
had ever achieved
was beating Andre the Giant.

760
00:34:44.291 --> 00:34:46.793
Well now, Ultimate Warrior's
beaten Andre the Giant.

761
00:34:46.876 --> 00:34:51.131
"You slammed Andre.
I slammed Andre."

762
00:34:51.256 --> 00:34:53.967
‐ You can beat everybody else
on the roster.

763
00:34:54.092 --> 00:34:56.428
But after you slam
Andre the Giant,

764
00:34:56.511 --> 00:34:58.054
there's only one place
left to go,

765
00:34:58.138 --> 00:35:00.140
and that's Hulk Hogan.

766
00:35:00.265 --> 00:35:03.560
[indistinct shouting]

767
00:35:03.685 --> 00:35:05.687
♪ ♪

768
00:35:09.941 --> 00:35:13.570
[birds chirping]

769
00:35:16.072 --> 00:35:18.825
‐ There, you didn't cry
for Santa.

770
00:35:18.950 --> 00:35:20.327
You were too little.

771
00:35:20.452 --> 00:35:23.747
It's been seven years
since we lost Warrior,

772
00:35:23.872 --> 00:35:27.167
and now we're actually able
to look at the memories

773
00:35:27.250 --> 00:35:30.629
and enjoy them
and revel in them and laugh.

774
00:35:30.670 --> 00:35:33.340
Warrior's role at Christmastime
was, like,

775
00:35:33.465 --> 00:35:35.842
the biggest elf
you've ever met.

776
00:35:35.925 --> 00:35:37.177
And he'd negotiate.

777
00:35:37.302 --> 00:35:38.762
‐ Negotiate‐‐
he would negotiate.

778
00:35:38.845 --> 00:35:40.472
‐ There was a lot
of negotiation on Christmas.

779
00:35:40.597 --> 00:35:42.599
‐ Absolutely.
‐ About what you guys deserved.

780
00:35:42.682 --> 00:35:43.683
‐ Yes.
‐ Yeah.

781
00:35:43.767 --> 00:35:45.477
‐ Every morning, on Christmas,

782
00:35:45.602 --> 00:35:46.978
we'd wake up with a note about
what we should improve on...

783
00:35:47.062 --> 00:35:48.063
‐ Yeah.

784
00:35:48.188 --> 00:35:49.356
‐ For the next year.
‐ Yep.

785
00:35:49.481 --> 00:35:50.732
‐ 'Cause next year,
it might be coal.

786
00:35:50.815 --> 00:35:51.775
‐ And it was detailed.

787
00:35:51.858 --> 00:35:53.652
‐ It was scary.

788
00:35:53.777 --> 00:35:55.320
But then you had to get over it
and you'd get presents.

789
00:35:55.403 --> 00:35:56.988
‐ Like, "Wait, this is
Dad's handwriting."

790
00:35:57.072 --> 00:35:59.407
[laughter]

791
00:35:59.491 --> 00:36:04.663
‐ For me and the girls, it's
about his legacy as a father.

792
00:36:04.788 --> 00:36:08.249
But for millions of fans,
it will always be about

793
00:36:08.375 --> 00:36:11.211
what he did in the ring
with Hulk Hogan.

794
00:36:11.336 --> 00:36:14.422
I think it's pretty incredible
to imagine he only had

795
00:36:14.506 --> 00:36:17.133
five years in the business,
and he was tasked

796
00:36:17.217 --> 00:36:22.472
with the job of replacing
a veritable legend.

797
00:36:22.597 --> 00:36:25.767
‐ Hulk Hogan in the '80s
literally was wrestling.

798
00:36:25.850 --> 00:36:27.686
[rock music]

799
00:36:27.811 --> 00:36:29.604
‐ And just remember,
Hulkamania is running wild.

800
00:36:29.688 --> 00:36:32.649
‐ Crazy. Thank you, Hulk.

801
00:36:32.774 --> 00:36:36.486
‐ He ushered in a new,
larger‐than‐life,

802
00:36:36.528 --> 00:36:41.116
almost cartoonish era
of professional wrestling.

803
00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:43.326
‐ Hulk Hogan,
over the six years

804
00:36:43.410 --> 00:36:45.704
leading to WrestleMania VI,

805
00:36:45.829 --> 00:36:48.832
had turned Hulkamania
into a phenomenal.

806
00:36:48.915 --> 00:36:52.669
♪ ♪

807
00:36:52.794 --> 00:36:54.587
‐ Remember what's going on
in the ring.

808
00:36:54.671 --> 00:36:57.382
Hulk is posing.
We're in the celebration mood.

809
00:36:57.507 --> 00:36:59.050
We want the opposite of that.

810
00:36:59.134 --> 00:37:00.635
‐ Okay.
‐ Okay?

811
00:37:00.719 --> 00:37:02.470
Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate
Warrior‐‐at the time,

812
00:37:02.512 --> 00:37:05.473
they're you're
top good guys in the WWE.

813
00:37:05.598 --> 00:37:08.476
So, when they start to flirt
with this idea

814
00:37:08.560 --> 00:37:10.019
that there may be
some animosity

815
00:37:10.103 --> 00:37:12.313
between Hulk Hogan
and the Ultimate Warrior,

816
00:37:12.397 --> 00:37:15.316
you're going, "Wait a minute."

817
00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:19.446
‐ Bollea and Hellwig had
a rivalry with one another,

818
00:37:19.529 --> 00:37:22.824
and they had
a mutual professional jealousy.

819
00:37:22.907 --> 00:37:24.325
Which made sense.

820
00:37:24.451 --> 00:37:27.328
[cheers and applause]

821
00:37:27.454 --> 00:37:29.831
‐ How could there not be
professional envy

822
00:37:29.956 --> 00:37:33.710
and jealousy between Hulk Hogan
and the Ultimate Warrior?

823
00:37:33.835 --> 00:37:36.588
‐ Another elbow
into the Hulkster's chest.

824
00:37:36.671 --> 00:37:41.176
‐ Ultimate Warrior was designed
to replace Hulk Hogan.

825
00:37:41.301 --> 00:37:43.595
How could Hulk Hogan
not resent that?

826
00:37:43.678 --> 00:37:46.097
‐ [inaudible]
the Ultimate Warrior

827
00:37:46.181 --> 00:37:50.769
[inaudible].

828
00:37:50.852 --> 00:37:54.481
‐ I don't understand
the Warrior's thinking on this.

829
00:37:54.606 --> 00:37:58.359
Why should he run
to the ring and save Hogan?

830
00:37:58.443 --> 00:38:01.070
‐ How could Warrior not resent
Hulk Hogan?

831
00:38:01.196 --> 00:38:02.655
If you're gonna compete
with somebody

832
00:38:02.739 --> 00:38:05.074
for the number one spot,
by design, you have to think,

833
00:38:05.200 --> 00:38:07.035
"Here's why I'm better
than that person."

834
00:38:07.160 --> 00:38:10.205
‐ Wait a minute. Clothesline.
Here it comes from behind.

835
00:38:10.330 --> 00:38:12.332
He stopped.
Wait. What's going on?

836
00:38:12.415 --> 00:38:15.126
‐ Very nature of that
competition between the two

837
00:38:15.168 --> 00:38:17.504
is going to breed envy

838
00:38:17.629 --> 00:38:19.547
and jealousy
between the two of them.

839
00:38:19.672 --> 00:38:22.509
‐ Both champions, Hulk Hogan
and the Ultimate Warrior,

840
00:38:22.634 --> 00:38:24.385
want to be sure
the other is healthy

841
00:38:24.469 --> 00:38:26.429
for Sunday afternoon, April 1.

842
00:38:26.513 --> 00:38:28.515
The World Wrestling
Entertainment champion

843
00:38:28.640 --> 00:38:31.643
against the
Intercontinental Champion.

844
00:38:31.768 --> 00:38:33.978
‐ This was a big topic
of conversation

845
00:38:34.103 --> 00:38:35.814
among 11‐year‐olds:

846
00:38:35.939 --> 00:38:38.608
who's gonna win,
Ultimate Warrior or Hulk Hogan?

847
00:38:38.691 --> 00:38:41.611
I mean, for us, this was, like,
you know, Magic versus Bird.

848
00:38:41.694 --> 00:38:44.155
‐ At the end of WrestleMania,
it'll be the Hulkster.

849
00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:46.825
In God, they still trust.

850
00:38:53.331 --> 00:38:56.459
‐ Look into my eyes,
Hulk Hogan.

851
00:38:56.543 --> 00:39:00.755
You see nothingness.

852
00:39:10.056 --> 00:39:12.475
‐ Warrior not only has to step
into the ring with Hogan,

853
00:39:12.517 --> 00:39:14.644
has to carry the main event
with Hogan,

854
00:39:14.769 --> 00:39:19.399
has to live up to the box
office expectations with Hogan.

855
00:39:19.524 --> 00:39:22.652
Is he gonna beat Hogan?

856
00:39:22.735 --> 00:39:28.616
The pressure on Warrior
to deliver‐‐it's mind‐boggling

857
00:39:28.700 --> 00:39:31.870
to think
that pressure didn't crush him.

858
00:39:31.995 --> 00:39:36.833
‐ The Ultimate Warrior!

859
00:39:36.958 --> 00:39:39.586
‐ Listen to the ovation
[inaudible]

860
00:39:39.669 --> 00:39:44.716
for the Ultimate Warrior!
Here he comes! He's running.

861
00:39:44.841 --> 00:39:48.887
‐ You can't build to a match
like this

862
00:39:49.012 --> 00:39:50.638
and then go for five minutes.

863
00:39:50.680 --> 00:39:52.765
So this became a test of,
"Okay, now that

864
00:39:52.849 --> 00:39:57.604
we've got Hulk Hogan and
the Ultimate Warrior together,

865
00:39:57.687 --> 00:40:00.815
can we have these go do
a 25‐minute match?

866
00:40:00.857 --> 00:40:04.819
Can we do a match where
a real story is being told?"

867
00:40:04.903 --> 00:40:07.071
‐ You can be the adrenaline
is already flowing...

868
00:40:07.196 --> 00:40:09.490
‐ And here we go [inaudible].

869
00:40:09.616 --> 00:40:12.660
‐ In those bodies.

870
00:40:12.785 --> 00:40:15.580
It's deafening
here in the Skydome.

871
00:40:15.705 --> 00:40:17.665
‐ Warrior learned
a lot from Hulk.

872
00:40:17.749 --> 00:40:19.500
But there's always
that little piece‐‐you

873
00:40:19.626 --> 00:40:23.755
want to be the top dog.
And Warrior was hungry for it.

874
00:40:23.838 --> 00:40:27.884
‐ Look at that!
A slam by the Warrior!

875
00:40:28.009 --> 00:40:29.135
‐ They both get
their time to shine.

876
00:40:29.218 --> 00:40:30.637
‐ Unbelievable!

877
00:40:30.762 --> 00:40:32.805
Hogan has never had
anyone do that!

878
00:40:32.931 --> 00:40:35.183
‐ And they both get that moment
where, as a fan, you're like,

879
00:40:35.308 --> 00:40:37.852
"Well, this is the moment
where Hulk wins."

880
00:40:37.977 --> 00:40:40.313
‐ Got him with the [inaudible].
‐ Oh, [inaudible].

881
00:40:40.355 --> 00:40:42.482
‐ That moment that
we've all seen before.

882
00:40:42.523 --> 00:40:45.860
Hulk Hogan
is hitting the ropes.

883
00:40:45.985 --> 00:40:47.403
He's dropping a leg.

884
00:40:47.528 --> 00:40:49.656
‐ Here it is.
‐ Oh!

885
00:40:49.781 --> 00:40:52.450
He moved out of the way!
Look out [inaudible].

886
00:40:52.533 --> 00:40:54.243
‐ Two.
‐ It's over!

887
00:40:54.369 --> 00:41:01.042
‐ It's over!
‐ Unbelievable!

888
00:41:01.167 --> 00:41:04.003
‐ The Warrior has
won the title!

889
00:41:04.128 --> 00:41:07.924
‐ Hulk Hogan was still hot
[inaudible]. Okay?

890
00:41:08.007 --> 00:41:09.926
When he takes that Warrior pin
right in the middle fill out

891
00:41:10.009 --> 00:41:12.136
the ring‐‐no funny
business‐‐and loses,

892
00:41:12.178 --> 00:41:18.601
outright, to the Warrior,
and makes Warrior king‐‐this

893
00:41:18.685 --> 00:41:21.312
is not the same
as doing that for someone

894
00:41:21.396 --> 00:41:23.982
when you are clearly
on the way down.

895
00:41:24.107 --> 00:41:25.775
‐ Oh, look at this!

896
00:41:25.858 --> 00:41:29.988
Hulk presented the belt and
raised the hand of the Warrior!

897
00:41:30.071 --> 00:41:36.160
‐ That was both Hogan and the
company anointing somebody new.

898
00:41:36.285 --> 00:41:40.581
And it was a major deal
to be able to beat Hulk Hogan.

899
00:41:40.707 --> 00:41:43.126
[cheers and applause]

900
00:41:43.209 --> 00:41:45.712
‐ I think Jim was idolized.

901
00:41:45.837 --> 00:41:50.717
That filled something up
inside of him that he needed.

902
00:41:50.842 --> 00:41:54.012
‐ Other people, you know,
that have said,

903
00:41:54.095 --> 00:41:56.973
you know, Warrior
never respected the business,

904
00:41:57.056 --> 00:41:58.516
you know, he just wanted
to get in, make a paycheck,

905
00:41:58.641 --> 00:42:02.270
get out‐‐that was not true.

906
00:42:02.353 --> 00:42:03.479
Warrior came back
to the curtain

907
00:42:03.604 --> 00:42:05.064
after that match with Hogan,

908
00:42:05.148 --> 00:42:08.943
and completely broke down,
you know, emotionally.

909
00:42:09.027 --> 00:42:12.447
He was finally at the
very pinnacle of the business

910
00:42:12.530 --> 00:42:16.034
that he worked
so hard to get to.

911
00:42:16.159 --> 00:42:19.954
‐ The fact that I took the belt
from Hulk

912
00:42:20.038 --> 00:42:21.205
in the way that I did,

913
00:42:21.330 --> 00:42:24.208
with the clean finish‐‐I mean,

914
00:42:24.333 --> 00:42:28.796
the weight of that‐‐you know,

915
00:42:28.838 --> 00:42:30.882
that saying about
"It's not the designation.

916
00:42:31.007 --> 00:42:33.634
It's the journey"‐‐it's true
for me.

917
00:42:33.760 --> 00:42:36.137
I was so emotional
after it happened,

918
00:42:36.262 --> 00:42:38.973
but within a day or two,
I was thinking, "What's next?"

919
00:42:39.015 --> 00:42:42.268
[cheers and applause]

920
00:42:47.023 --> 00:42:48.483
‐ At WrestleMania, Warrior,
you lived up

921
00:42:48.608 --> 00:42:50.234
the ultimate challenge,
and then some.

922
00:42:50.318 --> 00:42:52.820
But now, you face a challenge
of a different kind.

923
00:42:52.904 --> 00:42:57.158
‐ The Ultimate Warrior title
reign as World Champion

924
00:42:57.283 --> 00:43:00.912
was in some ways actually
the beginning of the end.

925
00:43:01.037 --> 00:43:04.582
‐ I can feel it!

926
00:43:04.707 --> 00:43:09.962
I can feel
that I have been chosen.

927
00:43:10.046 --> 00:43:12.465
‐ He was pure kinetic energy,
right?

928
00:43:12.590 --> 00:43:15.426
And the story that they told
was a missile

929
00:43:15.510 --> 00:43:17.136
being shot into space.

930
00:43:17.261 --> 00:43:20.139
The climb is exhilarating.

931
00:43:20.264 --> 00:43:22.975
But once you get there,
the story just sort of fizzles.

932
00:43:23.059 --> 00:43:25.186
‐ They didn't set up
the right guys for him.

933
00:43:25.311 --> 00:43:27.647
And it did not get him off
on the right foot.

934
00:43:27.772 --> 00:43:29.649
The first thing they do
is they brought in Rick Rude.

935
00:43:29.690 --> 00:43:31.025
He was a retread.

936
00:43:31.109 --> 00:43:32.985
Warrior had already
beaten him before.

937
00:43:33.111 --> 00:43:35.154
‐ He had matches
with the Undertaker.

938
00:43:35.238 --> 00:43:37.990
‐ You're scared,
and you're going to be scared.

939
00:43:38.074 --> 00:43:41.744
‐ Wait a minute.
‐ Not in there.

940
00:43:41.869 --> 00:43:43.329
Not in‐‐not in a casket.

941
00:43:43.454 --> 00:43:47.083
‐ And it ends up going into
Jake the Snake Roberts.

942
00:43:47.208 --> 00:43:49.293
‐ Huh? What do you think
about that, Warrior?

943
00:43:49.418 --> 00:43:52.296
Just a few friends
of mine, huh?

944
00:43:52.338 --> 00:43:54.799
‐ What if I tap the plexiglass?
‐ Here comes a strike.

945
00:43:54.841 --> 00:43:56.676
Here it comes. [inaudible].

946
00:44:00.847 --> 00:44:03.015
‐ Warrior's walking around
in that locker room

947
00:44:03.141 --> 00:44:04.600
with eyes
in the back of his head.

948
00:44:04.684 --> 00:44:07.687
You got guys
that are jealous of him.

949
00:44:07.812 --> 00:44:10.898
In front of the cameras,
in front of the fans,

950
00:44:10.982 --> 00:44:14.193
that was Warrior's safe haven.
That was never the issue.

951
00:44:14.318 --> 00:44:18.906
But when he had to walk back
into that locker room,

952
00:44:19.031 --> 00:44:21.826
he knew exactly
what he was dealing with.

953
00:44:21.951 --> 00:44:23.494
That's where the pressure came.

954
00:44:23.578 --> 00:44:24.537
‐ Hang on. Hang on.
‐ Keep your attention.

955
00:44:24.620 --> 00:44:26.080
Keep his attention.

956
00:44:26.205 --> 00:44:28.040
‐ Keep his attention.
Here we go. We see him now.

957
00:44:28.166 --> 00:44:30.126
‐ I don't think you really know
if somebody's up to the job

958
00:44:30.251 --> 00:44:31.627
until they get there, right?

959
00:44:31.711 --> 00:44:33.713
I don't know what expectations
Vince had set,

960
00:44:33.838 --> 00:44:36.090
and what the Ultimate Warrior
wasn't living up to.

961
00:44:36.174 --> 00:44:37.842
Something had to be
telling Vince McMahon

962
00:44:37.967 --> 00:44:41.053
that this project
wasn't succeeding to the degree

963
00:44:41.179 --> 00:44:42.513
that he had hoped
that it would.

964
00:44:42.597 --> 00:44:45.975
[cheers and applause]

965
00:44:46.058 --> 00:44:49.395
‐ With the scepter
right between the eyes!

966
00:44:49.520 --> 00:44:50.646
‐ Come on!

967
00:44:50.771 --> 00:44:52.607
‐ Everyone in the entire
building saw

968
00:44:52.690 --> 00:44:54.609
what the Macho King did.

969
00:44:54.692 --> 00:44:56.194
‐ Immediately, it was like,

970
00:44:56.277 --> 00:44:58.571
okay the decision is to get
the belt back on Hogan,

971
00:44:58.654 --> 00:44:59.697
because Warrior didn't
draw good enough.

972
00:44:59.822 --> 00:45:01.073
But at the time, I‐‐you know,

973
00:45:01.199 --> 00:45:03.159
I think everybody figured
that Warrior

974
00:45:03.201 --> 00:45:04.952
was gonna be champion
for three or four years,

975
00:45:05.036 --> 00:45:06.662
and it was, you know,
less than a full year

976
00:45:06.746 --> 00:45:08.080
before they took it away
from him.

977
00:45:08.206 --> 00:45:13.544
[crowd chanting]

978
00:45:13.669 --> 00:45:17.798
‐ Warrior is not going
to fall into line.

979
00:45:17.882 --> 00:45:21.677
This is not somebody
you are going to control,

980
00:45:21.761 --> 00:45:23.221
and they have to know this.

981
00:45:23.304 --> 00:45:27.433
‐ Jim Hellwig went to the beat
of his own drum.

982
00:45:27.516 --> 00:45:29.310
Whatever that beat
was telling him,

983
00:45:29.393 --> 00:45:33.648
whether it was good for him
or detrimental to him,

984
00:45:33.731 --> 00:45:36.567
he went and walked
to the beat of his own drum.

985
00:45:36.692 --> 00:45:37.818
‐ There were times where,

986
00:45:37.944 --> 00:45:40.988
you know,
he was completely isolated.

987
00:45:41.072 --> 00:45:43.866
Sometimes he was
just really on edge.

988
00:45:43.950 --> 00:45:45.952
‐ So, there's a story
that a kid approaches

989
00:45:46.035 --> 00:45:48.496
Ultimate Warrior in an airport,
as most people do.

990
00:45:48.579 --> 00:45:50.039
You know,
that's half the reason

991
00:45:50.164 --> 00:45:51.958
Vince grabs these guys,
is 'cause when they walk

992
00:45:52.041 --> 00:45:53.960
through an airport,
you can't look away from him.

993
00:45:54.043 --> 00:45:55.461
‐ He's got his sunglasses on,

994
00:45:55.503 --> 00:45:57.213
and this little kid
comes up to him,

995
00:45:57.338 --> 00:46:00.633
and he asks, you know,
if he's the Ultimate Warrior.

996
00:46:00.716 --> 00:46:03.719
And, like, he snaps
on this little kid.

997
00:46:03.844 --> 00:46:07.056
I was like, "Whoa."

998
00:46:07.181 --> 00:46:10.309
‐ This kid's parents were
pretty connected to the WWE.

999
00:46:10.393 --> 00:46:14.021
That posed a problem for Jim
when Vince heard about this.

1000
00:46:14.146 --> 00:46:18.359
So, Vince is so upset that
he makes Jim actually record

1001
00:46:18.442 --> 00:46:20.403
a video apology to the kid.

1002
00:46:20.528 --> 00:46:22.488
‐ It's Vince Apology.

1003
00:46:26.659 --> 00:46:28.494
‐ What‐‐I mean,
I'm humbly apologizing,

1004
00:46:28.536 --> 00:46:30.454
but I'm not saying what
I'm humbly apologizing for.

1005
00:46:30.538 --> 00:46:31.914
‐ That's right.
‐ We know what

1006
00:46:31.998 --> 00:46:34.333
the gimmick's for,
but I mean, what's it for?

1007
00:46:34.458 --> 00:46:37.461
‐ In three, two...

1008
00:46:37.503 --> 00:46:40.923
‐ I understand that there
comes times in everyone's life

1009
00:46:41.007 --> 00:46:43.467
when they may regret
certain things‐‐[bleep].

1010
00:46:43.509 --> 00:46:45.678
Regret certain things that
they should‐‐this [bleep]‐‐

1011
00:46:45.803 --> 00:46:47.972
Yeah, I know. I don't know
what the [bleep] to say.

1012
00:46:48.055 --> 00:46:49.974
I didn't say nothing
to the goddamn kid.

1013
00:46:50.099 --> 00:46:51.726
‐ Well, no you don't,

1014
00:46:51.851 --> 00:46:53.644
because I'm [bleep] making
a videotape to some kid

1015
00:46:53.728 --> 00:46:55.855
about an apology.

1016
00:47:00.860 --> 00:47:02.611
‐ I'm working here.
There's two matches left.

1017
00:47:02.695 --> 00:47:04.488
I'm [bleep] working here,
making an apology for something

1018
00:47:04.572 --> 00:47:06.157
I didn't [bleep] do.

1019
00:47:06.240 --> 00:47:07.825
This guy's really‐‐whatever
I should have‐‐whatever

1020
00:47:07.950 --> 00:47:09.869
I‐‐supposed
to have said to the guy,

1021
00:47:09.994 --> 00:47:11.829
I wish I had said to the guy.

1022
00:47:11.912 --> 00:47:15.499
‐ Me too.
‐ Three. Two.

1023
00:47:15.624 --> 00:47:20.129
‐ There shall never come a time
that any one of the WWF‐‐

1024
00:47:20.212 --> 00:47:22.006
[sighs] Go again.

1025
00:47:22.131 --> 00:47:24.842
That I shall take revenge
upon that person,

1026
00:47:24.925 --> 00:47:27.511
and vanquish them
from this universe.

1027
00:47:27.595 --> 00:47:32.058
And you‐‐[bleep]. Me. [sighs]

1028
00:47:32.183 --> 00:47:35.561
No one that walks within
the World Wrestling Federation

1029
00:47:35.644 --> 00:47:38.856
shall ever‐‐never offend you

1030
00:47:38.939 --> 00:47:44.820
without answering to the power
of the Ultimate Warrior.

1031
00:47:49.033 --> 00:47:50.409
‐ But then the very next day,

1032
00:47:50.493 --> 00:47:53.412
he sits down,
and he writes Vince a letter.

1033
00:47:53.537 --> 00:47:55.873
♪ ♪

1034
00:47:55.998 --> 00:48:00.378
‐ It's as if years
of frustration and anger

1035
00:48:00.503 --> 00:48:03.339
have just boiled over,
and he can't take it anymore.

1036
00:48:08.177 --> 00:48:12.681
‐ 1991 was a definitive moment
in Jim Hellwig's life.

1037
00:48:12.807 --> 00:48:14.517
[solemn music]

1038
00:48:14.642 --> 00:48:19.814
Around January of 1991, he and
his wife filed divorce papers.

1039
00:48:19.897 --> 00:48:22.983
At the same time,
the WWE decided

1040
00:48:23.067 --> 00:48:25.486
that they were going to go
in a different direction.

1041
00:48:25.569 --> 00:48:29.198
And so that same month that
he's filing divorce papers,

1042
00:48:29.281 --> 00:48:32.076
he also loses
his status as champion.

1043
00:48:32.201 --> 00:48:33.828
[cheers and applause]

1044
00:48:33.911 --> 00:48:36.914
‐ Where's he going?

1045
00:48:37.039 --> 00:48:39.041
‐ Going through the divorce,
needing the money,

1046
00:48:39.125 --> 00:48:40.960
all of those things
sort of worked together

1047
00:48:41.043 --> 00:48:43.796
to reignite some of
that financial anxiety

1048
00:48:43.879 --> 00:48:45.339
that he had as a child.

1049
00:48:45.464 --> 00:48:48.926
A lot of the scars throughout
Jim Hellwig's life

1050
00:48:49.009 --> 00:48:50.970
are definitely, like,
coming to the surface now.

1051
00:48:51.053 --> 00:48:56.517
‐ The Ultimate Warrior!

1052
00:48:56.642 --> 00:48:58.102
‐ You realize that, sure,

1053
00:48:58.185 --> 00:49:00.104
Ultimate Warrior looked like
he had never been better,

1054
00:49:00.187 --> 00:49:02.731
but Jim is going through
a divorce,

1055
00:49:02.857 --> 00:49:05.192
and Jim is having arguments
with Vince,

1056
00:49:05.276 --> 00:49:07.236
and he's blowing up on fans
at the airport.

1057
00:49:07.361 --> 00:49:09.905
And you realize that
there's more to it than that.

1058
00:49:10.030 --> 00:49:11.824
‐ Ultimate Warrior seemed like
he was just sort of

1059
00:49:11.907 --> 00:49:13.242
at his wit's end
with Vince, right?

1060
00:49:13.367 --> 00:49:14.785
He's, like,
"I've tried to talk to you.

1061
00:49:14.869 --> 00:49:16.328
I've tried to bring
this stuff up.

1062
00:49:16.412 --> 00:49:19.415
Let me try something else.
I'm gonna write a letter."

1063
00:49:19.540 --> 00:49:22.460
"Vince, writing this
is a different approach.

1064
00:49:22.543 --> 00:49:26.046
I have been, from day one,
different from the others.

1065
00:49:26.130 --> 00:49:29.008
I have sacrificed myself enough
both in personal life

1066
00:49:29.133 --> 00:49:31.969
and physical well‐being."

1067
00:49:32.052 --> 00:49:35.055
‐ What Hellwig says
to McMahon is,

1068
00:49:35.181 --> 00:49:39.852
"I know what Hogan has gotten,
and that's what I want."

1069
00:49:39.977 --> 00:49:41.979
‐ "I have sacrificed more
than $500,000,

1070
00:49:42.021 --> 00:49:43.981
more than a million dollars,
even,

1071
00:49:44.064 --> 00:49:46.066
in monies that I should
have been paid to me

1072
00:49:46.192 --> 00:49:49.403
in receiving
equal treatment as Hulk."

1073
00:49:49.528 --> 00:49:51.697
‐ And he proceeds to give
a list of demands

1074
00:49:51.822 --> 00:49:54.158
about the things that he wants,

1075
00:49:54.200 --> 00:49:57.328
about equal pay for Hogan,
equal royalties for Hogan.

1076
00:49:57.453 --> 00:50:02.166
He wants all of the same
benefits that Hulk Hogan gets.

1077
00:50:02.249 --> 00:50:05.586
‐ "The videotaped apology
was the icing on the cake.

1078
00:50:05.669 --> 00:50:08.130
You see it as a business,
so whether I like it or not,

1079
00:50:08.255 --> 00:50:10.090
I must do the same.

1080
00:50:10.174 --> 00:50:13.010
Whatever your decision,
I can and will live with it.

1081
00:50:13.135 --> 00:50:17.389
Till then, I remain at home
with one who cares."

1082
00:50:17.515 --> 00:50:20.226
‐ Hellwig appears to be saying
to Vince,

1083
00:50:20.351 --> 00:50:21.894
"I'm not going to show up

1084
00:50:22.019 --> 00:50:24.647
until you meet these demands."

1085
00:50:24.772 --> 00:50:26.273
That's a cardinal sin

1086
00:50:26.357 --> 00:50:29.944
in the world
of professional wrestling.

1087
00:50:30.027 --> 00:50:33.822
‐ WWE have not only,
in the micro‐sense,

1088
00:50:33.948 --> 00:50:36.450
spent all this time
marketing SummerSlam,

1089
00:50:36.534 --> 00:50:38.494
but in the macro‐sense,
all this time,

1090
00:50:38.577 --> 00:50:40.579
marketing
the Ultimate Warrior character.

1091
00:50:40.704 --> 00:50:41.997
Like, they can't just say,
"All right, we'll go home.

1092
00:50:42.081 --> 00:50:44.124
We'll just do it without you."

1093
00:50:44.208 --> 00:50:46.126
‐ No one would take kindly
to that.

1094
00:50:46.252 --> 00:50:48.671
But of all the people
in the world

1095
00:50:48.754 --> 00:50:53.133
who would not take kindly
to essentially being bullied,

1096
00:50:53.217 --> 00:50:56.387
it would be Vince McMahon.

1097
00:50:56.512 --> 00:50:58.722
‐ When I get this letter,
it's‐it's a shock.

1098
00:50:58.847 --> 00:51:00.724
It's like, oh.
It's a kick in the guts.

1099
00:51:00.849 --> 00:51:04.019
Felt like I was burned,
to so speak.

1100
00:51:04.103 --> 00:51:05.896
I told Jim
we would work it out,

1101
00:51:06.021 --> 00:51:07.565
indicating
that we might do this deal

1102
00:51:07.690 --> 00:51:08.899
that he was looking for.

1103
00:51:09.024 --> 00:51:10.442
"Oh, okay.
We'll talk at the Garden."

1104
00:51:10.526 --> 00:51:13.320
And I couldn't wait
to fire him.

1105
00:51:13.404 --> 00:51:16.740
‐ What an ovation
for the Ultimate Warrior!

1106
00:51:16.865 --> 00:51:18.200
Is he ready? Yes.

1107
00:51:18.325 --> 00:51:21.287
‐ Yes, but can he be trusted?

1108
00:51:21.370 --> 00:51:24.623
‐ Vince McMahon came into
my locker room, and he said,

1109
00:51:24.707 --> 00:51:29.628
"Well, the Ultimate Warrior
is holding me up for $500,000,

1110
00:51:29.670 --> 00:51:33.090
and he wants to be paid
before he wrestles."

1111
00:51:33.173 --> 00:51:35.301
[cheers and applause]

1112
00:51:35.384 --> 00:51:39.179
Then, through the locker
room door comes Hulk Hogan,

1113
00:51:39.305 --> 00:51:42.516
and he said, "Sarge, you throw
the Warrior out on the floor,

1114
00:51:42.641 --> 00:51:44.893
and I'll come into the ring,
and I'll jump on you,

1115
00:51:45.019 --> 00:51:47.271
and you and I
will head off to the corner.

1116
00:51:47.354 --> 00:51:50.232
And while we're doing
that cheeky, you jump down,

1117
00:51:50.357 --> 00:51:52.443
and you break his leg."

1118
00:51:52.526 --> 00:51:55.946
And Vince went, "No. Whoa.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

1119
00:51:56.030 --> 00:51:59.158
I don't need a lawsuit
on top of all this."

1120
00:51:59.241 --> 00:52:02.161
‐ There's a spot at the end
of the match

1121
00:52:02.244 --> 00:52:06.874
where Hellwig grabs a chair
and chases Mustafa

1122
00:52:06.999 --> 00:52:10.502
and Adnan out of the ring
and backstage.

1123
00:52:10.628 --> 00:52:16.467
‐ Warrior's got a chair.
‐ As he comes back through,

1124
00:52:16.550 --> 00:52:18.886
he's told,
"Vince wants to see you,"

1125
00:52:19.011 --> 00:52:23.432
at which point Vince gives him
a several‐page letter,

1126
00:52:23.515 --> 00:52:29.313
talking about how Hulk Hogan
is a living legend.

1127
00:52:29.396 --> 00:52:33.025
"He is more popular than you,
has more years in the ring

1128
00:52:33.150 --> 00:52:35.152
than you,
is in greater demand than you."

1129
00:52:35.194 --> 00:52:37.529
And then he hits Jim
very personally.

1130
00:52:37.655 --> 00:52:39.907
He says, "You have become
a living legend

1131
00:52:40.032 --> 00:52:44.411
in your own mind."
Probably everything

1132
00:52:44.495 --> 00:52:47.998
that Jim Hellwig
would not have wanted to hear.

1133
00:52:48.123 --> 00:52:51.126
He then details
the fact that‐‐"Jim,

1134
00:52:51.210 --> 00:52:56.048
you are suspended
for no fewer than 90 days."

1135
00:52:56.173 --> 00:52:59.301
‐ I think that Vince wrote
something that cutting

1136
00:52:59.385 --> 00:53:02.137
because I think
Vince felt insulted.

1137
00:53:02.221 --> 00:53:05.140
‐ It was so, you know,
outrageous‐‐

1138
00:53:05.224 --> 00:53:07.851
the demand was,
and just so far overreached,

1139
00:53:07.976 --> 00:53:13.565
it told me, obviously,
he really didn't understand.

1140
00:53:13.691 --> 00:53:16.694
Often, our performers will
start believing in themselves

1141
00:53:16.819 --> 00:53:18.153
more than they should,

1142
00:53:18.237 --> 00:53:19.822
and just can't
separate Jim Hellwig

1143
00:53:19.905 --> 00:53:21.240
from the Ultimate Warrior,

1144
00:53:21.365 --> 00:53:24.368
and that happens
to a lot of our performers.

1145
00:53:24.493 --> 00:53:27.329
‐ A lot of superstars
want his approval,

1146
00:53:27.454 --> 00:53:30.999
and they want to please him,
and they want to be his guy,

1147
00:53:31.125 --> 00:53:34.670
the way you want your father
to accept you.

1148
00:53:34.795 --> 00:53:37.506
‐ That's what I feel, I guess,
with Vince McMahon.

1149
00:53:37.631 --> 00:53:40.592
It's like, when he tells you
you did a good job,

1150
00:53:40.676 --> 00:53:44.304
it's the greatest feeling
in the world.

1151
00:53:44.388 --> 00:53:46.724
‐ Jim and I had this unusual
relationship,

1152
00:53:46.849 --> 00:53:48.267
you know, personally.

1153
00:53:48.350 --> 00:53:50.060
And we both were on
the same wavelength.

1154
00:53:50.144 --> 00:53:51.937
He was nuts,
and I was at the time.

1155
00:53:52.020 --> 00:53:56.358
I'm not now. But there was
this great relationship we had.

1156
00:53:56.442 --> 00:53:58.944
No one really knew that.

1157
00:53:59.027 --> 00:54:01.530
‐ I'm sure he was out there
looking for acceptance.

1158
00:54:01.655 --> 00:54:03.323
And he might have looked at him

1159
00:54:03.449 --> 00:54:06.326
as a mother
and a father figure.

1160
00:54:06.410 --> 00:54:08.579
And there's nothing
wrong with that.

1161
00:54:13.625 --> 00:54:18.797
‐ Not as a son.
I have only one son.

1162
00:54:18.881 --> 00:54:20.716
You know, I can see how someone
would look at me

1163
00:54:20.841 --> 00:54:22.843
as a father figure.

1164
00:54:22.926 --> 00:54:25.262
But I don't look
at him as a son.

1165
00:54:25.345 --> 00:54:27.765
You know, I've never done that,
you know.

1166
00:54:27.848 --> 00:54:30.976
But I've looked at him
as a relationship that would be

1167
00:54:31.059 --> 00:54:36.231
sort of mirroring somewhat,
you know, of father‐son.

1168
00:54:36.356 --> 00:54:38.859
‐ If you look at somebody
like the Warrior,

1169
00:54:38.984 --> 00:54:41.236
that maybe was missing
some male role models early

1170
00:54:41.320 --> 00:54:43.113
in his life,
I think Vince McMahon

1171
00:54:43.197 --> 00:54:45.908
could have easily filled
that role for him.

1172
00:54:46.033 --> 00:54:49.536
And I don't know if Vince
realized when he wrote that

1173
00:54:49.620 --> 00:54:52.915
that the Ultimate Warrior
would not take that

1174
00:54:53.040 --> 00:54:56.376
as his boss being mad at him.

1175
00:54:56.460 --> 00:54:59.463
He may take that
as a paternal figure

1176
00:54:59.588 --> 00:55:03.383
being disappointed in him.

1177
00:55:03.509 --> 00:55:07.471
Your boss being mad at you,
you get over.

1178
00:55:07.513 --> 00:55:10.140
Somebody that you look
at like a father saying,

1179
00:55:10.224 --> 00:55:13.185
"I like him more than
I like you,"

1180
00:55:13.310 --> 00:55:15.604
you don't get over that.

1181
00:55:15.687 --> 00:55:17.397
♪ ♪

1182
00:55:21.902 --> 00:55:23.153
‐ Good morning, guys.
‐ The entire world of wrestling

1183
00:55:23.195 --> 00:55:24.738
changed in 1992.

1184
00:55:24.863 --> 00:55:26.657
‐ The federal government
has leveled charges

1185
00:55:26.740 --> 00:55:30.327
against the leader
of the WWF, Vince McMahon.

1186
00:55:30.369 --> 00:55:32.579
‐ Steroid use,
steroid distribution

1187
00:55:32.704 --> 00:55:35.374
is now deemed not only illegal,

1188
00:55:35.499 --> 00:55:39.711
but is being presented
as inauthentic and immoral.

1189
00:55:39.795 --> 00:55:42.923
‐ A hulk of a hero named Hogan
is the biggest

1190
00:55:43.006 --> 00:55:44.925
to take a fall.

1191
00:55:45.008 --> 00:55:47.135
‐ First queue up.

1192
00:55:47.261 --> 00:55:49.221
This is take one.

1193
00:55:49.304 --> 00:55:50.806
‐ It makes a certain
sort of sense that,

1194
00:55:50.889 --> 00:55:53.183
when Hulk Hogan
has to take some time off,

1195
00:55:53.308 --> 00:55:56.311
you go back in the well
and find the guy

1196
00:55:56.436 --> 00:55:57.896
who used to be the next
Hulk Hogan.

1197
00:55:58.021 --> 00:55:59.147
‐ There have been those

1198
00:55:59.273 --> 00:56:01.567
that have sit
upon many a throne

1199
00:56:01.692 --> 00:56:06.488
and promised to rule the entire
universe, the entire world.

1200
00:56:06.613 --> 00:56:10.701
‐ McMahon decides to bring
the Ultimate Warrior

1201
00:56:10.826 --> 00:56:12.995
back into the WWE,

1202
00:56:13.120 --> 00:56:18.125
and they begin the process
of trying to mend the fences.

1203
00:56:18.208 --> 00:56:22.421
‐ Look at this!
Hulk, Hulk, Hulk!

1204
00:56:22.504 --> 00:56:25.716
The insane Sid Justice‐‐
Hulkamania

1205
00:56:25.841 --> 00:56:28.510
could all end here today
in the Hoosier Dome.

1206
00:56:28.594 --> 00:56:29.928
‐ And when that music hit...

1207
00:56:30.012 --> 00:56:32.014
‐ He don't have a friend left.

1208
00:56:32.139 --> 00:56:33.807
‐ Wait a minute!

1209
00:56:33.932 --> 00:56:35.642
‐ You could hear that stadium
full of people

1210
00:56:35.726 --> 00:56:38.020
going forward nuts for it;
they couldn't believe it.

1211
00:56:38.145 --> 00:56:40.314
‐ Can you believe this?

1212
00:56:40.397 --> 00:56:45.527
The Ultimate Warrior
has [inaudible].

1213
00:56:45.652 --> 00:56:47.029
‐ It was still a moment,
and you were still, like,

1214
00:56:47.154 --> 00:56:48.405
"Oh my God, Warrior's back."

1215
00:56:48.530 --> 00:56:52.618
[cheers and applause]

1216
00:56:52.701 --> 00:56:54.244
But when he comes back,

1217
00:56:54.369 --> 00:56:56.413
right in the midst
of the steroid scandal,

1218
00:56:56.496 --> 00:56:58.832
he looks noticeably smaller.
He's still jacked.

1219
00:56:58.957 --> 00:57:01.460
I mean, he's still‐‐by normal
standards, he's still‐‐like,

1220
00:57:01.585 --> 00:57:04.212
I'm never gonna get a body
like 1992 Ultimate Warrior.

1221
00:57:04.296 --> 00:57:06.548
But he‐‐1992 Ultimate Warrior

1222
00:57:06.673 --> 00:57:09.051
does not have a body
like 1990 Ultimate Warrior.

1223
00:57:09.176 --> 00:57:12.095
[tense music]

1224
00:57:12.179 --> 00:57:14.556
‐ He had not been quite
as dedicated, as he was,

1225
00:57:14.681 --> 00:57:16.475
to the gym,
probably because he's coping

1226
00:57:16.558 --> 00:57:18.560
with an extraordinary amount
of loss,

1227
00:57:18.644 --> 00:57:21.271
and going through a divorce.

1228
00:57:21.355 --> 00:57:26.652
‐ Ahh!

1229
00:57:29.696 --> 00:57:31.198
And I remember thinking,
"Man, you gotta get

1230
00:57:31.323 --> 00:57:33.075
your [bleep]
together real quick here."

1231
00:57:33.200 --> 00:57:36.828
[cheers and applause]

1232
00:57:36.912 --> 00:57:40.999
♪ ♪

1233
00:57:41.083 --> 00:57:46.505
Ahh!

1234
00:57:48.840 --> 00:57:50.300
‐ Okay.

1235
00:57:50.425 --> 00:57:53.387
‐ In 1992, a package
is intercepted addressed

1236
00:57:53.512 --> 00:57:56.056
to the Ultimate Warrior's
driver,

1237
00:57:56.181 --> 00:58:00.435
and it contains HGH,
human growth hormone.

1238
00:58:00.519 --> 00:58:05.649
‐ Explosiveness that can never,
ever be recreated.

1239
00:58:05.732 --> 00:58:10.529
A chemical combustion that
forms a bond forever and ever.

1240
00:58:11.863 --> 00:58:13.532
‐ Yep. Hellwig did fail tests.

1241
00:58:13.657 --> 00:58:17.244
And Hellwig also admitted
to it, to taking steroids.

1242
00:58:17.369 --> 00:58:19.371
♪ ♪

1243
00:58:19.496 --> 00:58:22.749
I think it was, more than
anything, in his head,

1244
00:58:22.874 --> 00:58:25.794
that "If I don't have this,
I'll never be the same guy."

1245
00:58:25.919 --> 00:58:28.797
♪ ♪

1246
00:58:28.922 --> 00:58:30.340
‐ Every time he takes
a drug test,

1247
00:58:30.424 --> 00:58:33.051
he has to list
the kinds of medications

1248
00:58:33.176 --> 00:58:34.803
that he's taking already.

1249
00:58:34.928 --> 00:58:37.472
And at the beginning
of this process,

1250
00:58:37.597 --> 00:58:43.395
in May, he writes Motrin.
Pretty simple.

1251
00:58:43.520 --> 00:58:47.315
The next test, it's Tylenol
with codeine and a nasal spray.

1252
00:58:47.441 --> 00:58:49.943
By the time we get
to late October,

1253
00:58:50.027 --> 00:58:53.530
he's taking multiple medicines
for anxiety,

1254
00:58:53.655 --> 00:58:56.324
for depression, for insomnia.

1255
00:58:56.408 --> 00:59:01.288
♪ ♪

1256
00:59:01.371 --> 00:59:04.124
[upbeat rock music]

1257
00:59:04.207 --> 00:59:09.671
♪ ♪

1258
00:59:09.796 --> 00:59:15.302
‐ Slam, jam,
the Ultimate Warrior.

1259
00:59:15.427 --> 00:59:20.557
‐ In November of that year,
the WWE will fire him again,

1260
00:59:20.682 --> 00:59:23.977
on the grounds that he has
violated the drug policy.

1261
00:59:24.061 --> 00:59:25.479
♪ ♪

1262
00:59:25.604 --> 00:59:27.314
‐ [bleep], I don't know.

1263
00:59:27.439 --> 00:59:29.274
It just sort of unraveled,
in a way,

1264
00:59:29.357 --> 00:59:31.485
where I remember having
a conversation with Vince,

1265
00:59:31.568 --> 00:59:32.819
and he was afraid
of certain things

1266
00:59:32.903 --> 00:59:34.654
that were gonna happen to him.

1267
00:59:34.780 --> 00:59:38.116
It just got so bad that
he needed a couple scapegoats.

1268
00:59:38.200 --> 00:59:40.327
‐ Was it implied that you
should use steroids

1269
00:59:40.410 --> 00:59:41.745
to make yourself‐‐
‐ No. Never to me.

1270
00:59:41.828 --> 00:59:43.497
I think the whole
thing is weak.

1271
00:59:43.622 --> 00:59:46.166
‐ It was a bad optic
to have huge,

1272
00:59:46.249 --> 00:59:48.668
muscle‐bound guys on top,

1273
00:59:48.794 --> 00:59:52.089
as you're fighting off these
accusations of steroid use.

1274
00:59:52.172 --> 00:59:54.424
People like Hulk Hogan
and the Ultimate Warrior

1275
00:59:54.508 --> 00:59:56.718
faded to the background.

1276
00:59:56.843 --> 00:59:59.221
And Bret Hart
and Shawn Michaels

1277
00:59:59.304 --> 01:00:01.973
and other guys sort of stepped
into the spotlight,

1278
01:00:02.057 --> 01:00:05.811
because their look
didn't sort of remind people

1279
01:00:05.936 --> 01:00:09.022
of what was going on
behind the scenes.

1280
01:00:09.106 --> 01:00:11.733
‐ He arrives
in Scottsdale, Arizona.

1281
01:00:11.858 --> 01:00:15.987
Hellwig will legally change
his name to Warrior.

1282
01:00:16.071 --> 01:00:17.489
‐ He lived the
Ultimate Warrior,

1283
01:00:17.531 --> 01:00:18.949
he breathed
the Ultimate Warrior,

1284
01:00:19.032 --> 01:00:21.743
so he believed
he owned Ultimate Warrior.

1285
01:00:21.868 --> 01:00:24.955
So, all you can really do
is try to come up with ways

1286
01:00:25.038 --> 01:00:27.332
to stick it
to your former employer.

1287
01:00:27.415 --> 01:00:29.709
‐ [inaudible]
the mad man's back.

1288
01:00:29.835 --> 01:00:32.254
I'm the Warrior.
You know who I am.

1289
01:00:32.337 --> 01:00:33.839
The rumor has it,

1290
01:00:33.964 --> 01:00:37.134
you think you've got what
it takes to be a pro wrestler.

1291
01:00:37.217 --> 01:00:38.635
‐ He launched a gym

1292
01:00:38.718 --> 01:00:41.680
and wrestling school
called Warrior University.

1293
01:00:41.805 --> 01:00:44.933
‐ Warrior University.

1294
01:00:45.016 --> 01:00:47.561
‐ He wanted to do
workout videos

1295
01:00:47.686 --> 01:00:50.981
and Warrior workout kits.

1296
01:00:51.064 --> 01:00:54.734
‐ And I saw a new gym
was coming to town,

1297
01:00:54.860 --> 01:00:58.071
and it was owned
by the Ultimate Warrior.

1298
01:00:58.196 --> 01:01:00.907
I had a pink résumé
before Elle Woods ever did.

1299
01:01:01.032 --> 01:01:04.786
And when I walked in the door,
all I could see

1300
01:01:04.870 --> 01:01:10.208
was the eyeline
to this huge, giant man.

1301
01:01:10.333 --> 01:01:11.793
And I walked with purpose,
straight up to him,

1302
01:01:11.835 --> 01:01:14.462
and put the resume down,
and I said,

1303
01:01:14.588 --> 01:01:15.881
"I need to run
your aerobics program."

1304
01:01:16.006 --> 01:01:17.883
And he said,
"You need to marry me."

1305
01:01:17.966 --> 01:01:20.385
And I said,
"I won't even date you."

1306
01:01:20.468 --> 01:01:23.221
[soft music]

1307
01:01:23.346 --> 01:01:25.932
And that man followed me
around like a puppy,

1308
01:01:26.016 --> 01:01:28.476
until I finally broke down
and I dated him,

1309
01:01:28.602 --> 01:01:30.270
and then, you know,
I married him.

1310
01:01:30.353 --> 01:01:33.315
So it worked out okay.

1311
01:01:33.440 --> 01:01:37.235
I had my own demons that‐‐from
a difficult childhood.

1312
01:01:37.360 --> 01:01:39.821
And so my husband used
to always say to me,

1313
01:01:39.905 --> 01:01:43.825
like, "You tamed the beast."

1314
01:01:43.950 --> 01:01:45.952
I met my counterpart
and met the person

1315
01:01:46.036 --> 01:01:47.829
that I was able to do that for,

1316
01:01:47.913 --> 01:01:49.581
and he was able
to do it for me.

1317
01:01:49.706 --> 01:01:53.460
‐ Ah!
‐ Ultimate Warrior!

1318
01:01:53.543 --> 01:01:57.172
‐ Warrior.
‐ Warrior!

1319
01:01:57.297 --> 01:02:02.552
[cheers and applause]

1320
01:02:02.636 --> 01:02:03.803
‐ I look back at the innocence

1321
01:02:03.887 --> 01:02:05.847
of who we were
when we first met,

1322
01:02:05.972 --> 01:02:11.269
and what my husband really
wanted was to be successful.

1323
01:02:12.520 --> 01:02:13.855
‐ 6:30.
6:30.

1324
01:02:13.980 --> 01:02:15.857
‐ 6:30 in the morning?

1325
01:02:15.941 --> 01:02:18.068
‐ Where are the pens?

1326
01:02:18.193 --> 01:02:19.945
‐ Right there.

1327
01:02:20.028 --> 01:02:22.489
‐ What's up, buddy?
How you doing?

1328
01:02:22.572 --> 01:02:25.700
‐ He had all these goals
and aspirations.

1329
01:02:25.825 --> 01:02:29.162
And what success was

1330
01:02:29.287 --> 01:02:32.749
was, in his mind,
what Vince McMahon had created.

1331
01:02:32.874 --> 01:02:35.126
[indistinct chatter]

1332
01:02:35.168 --> 01:02:36.836
‐ He wanted to make
the Ultimate Warrior

1333
01:02:36.962 --> 01:02:39.714
into a full‐blown
comic book venture,

1334
01:02:39.839 --> 01:02:42.884
to launch
the Warrior mainstream.

1335
01:02:42.968 --> 01:02:47.472
But he seems to realize
that it's not going to happen

1336
01:02:47.597 --> 01:02:49.057
without a bigger platform.

1337
01:02:49.182 --> 01:02:52.686
And because of that,
once again,

1338
01:02:52.811 --> 01:02:55.063
Vince McMahon and Jim Hellwig

1339
01:02:55.188 --> 01:02:57.107
somehow find their way
back to one another.

1340
01:02:57.190 --> 01:03:00.068
[rock music]

1341
01:03:00.193 --> 01:03:02.904
♪ ♪

1342
01:03:03.029 --> 01:03:05.448
‐ When you look back now,

1343
01:03:05.532 --> 01:03:08.034
the Warrior's career
is sort of more about, like,

1344
01:03:08.159 --> 01:03:10.787
returns than it is
about the matches.

1345
01:03:10.870 --> 01:03:14.499
[cheers and applause]

1346
01:03:14.624 --> 01:03:16.293
♪ ♪

1347
01:03:16.376 --> 01:03:21.047
‐ Around June of 1996,
Hellwig's father, Thomas, dies.

1348
01:03:21.131 --> 01:03:25.010
The two had not had
much of a relationship at all.

1349
01:03:25.093 --> 01:03:29.472
But it seems to have
hit him hard.

1350
01:03:29.556 --> 01:03:33.435
In this period of time,
he doesn't attend a few shows.

1351
01:03:33.518 --> 01:03:39.482
But of course, with the WWE,
you don't miss shows.

1352
01:03:39.566 --> 01:03:42.652
‐ As I recall, he had not seen
his dad in over ten years,

1353
01:03:42.736 --> 01:03:44.571
and could care less about him.

1354
01:03:44.654 --> 01:03:46.573
And that was, like,
"Wait a minute.

1355
01:03:46.656 --> 01:03:48.992
You're gonna use this
as an excuse?"

1356
01:03:49.117 --> 01:03:51.119
That's the straw that breaks
the camel's back with me.

1357
01:03:51.202 --> 01:03:54.331
I can't deal
with anybody like that.

1358
01:03:54.372 --> 01:03:56.499
He was terminated.

1359
01:03:56.624 --> 01:03:58.335
[cheers and applause]

1360
01:03:58.418 --> 01:04:01.546
‐ The audience that
was 5, 10, 15 years old

1361
01:04:01.671 --> 01:04:05.842
when Warrior was at his hottest
had moved on to be obsessed

1362
01:04:05.925 --> 01:04:09.387
with other things
besides the Ultimate Warrior.

1363
01:04:09.512 --> 01:04:15.268
So, when that love and
that adulation wasn't there,

1364
01:04:15.352 --> 01:04:18.271
he went back to being
an 11‐year‐old boy

1365
01:04:18.355 --> 01:04:21.441
in the trailer in Indiana,
whose father just left him.

1366
01:04:21.524 --> 01:04:23.276
[solemn music]

1367
01:04:23.360 --> 01:04:27.572
‐ He starts traveling around
to college campuses.

1368
01:04:27.697 --> 01:04:30.700
One that really stood out‐‐
it made major headlines

1369
01:04:30.825 --> 01:04:32.994
at the time‐‐was a speech

1370
01:04:33.078 --> 01:04:37.832
he gave at the University
of Connecticut.

1371
01:04:47.509 --> 01:04:53.098
‐ I knew something was wrong.
‐ Hey, guys. How you doing?

1372
01:04:53.181 --> 01:04:56.726
‐ And I said,
"What did you say?"

1373
01:04:56.851 --> 01:04:59.104
"We'll talk when you get home."

1374
01:05:03.566 --> 01:05:04.859
[indistinct chatter]

1375
01:05:04.984 --> 01:05:06.069
‐ You know, young kids,

1376
01:05:06.194 --> 01:05:07.737
they get
their philosophy of life

1377
01:05:07.821 --> 01:05:10.448
from people that
are older than them.

1378
01:05:10.532 --> 01:05:13.326
And today, that's just
not happening in any place.

1379
01:05:13.410 --> 01:05:16.204
‐ He's accepted the fact
that the Ultimate Warrior

1380
01:05:16.329 --> 01:05:18.415
is not going to be mainstream.

1381
01:05:18.540 --> 01:05:22.210
But it's almost like he needed
something to fill the void.

1382
01:05:34.222 --> 01:05:39.727
‐ He finds this new identity
in conservative ideology.

1383
01:05:39.853 --> 01:05:43.523
And he becomes
a conservative blogger.

1384
01:05:43.648 --> 01:05:47.527
‐ I would argue,
for the Warrior, in his career,

1385
01:05:47.610 --> 01:05:49.487
his persona, his business,

1386
01:05:49.571 --> 01:05:53.575
it was not good that we got
to see behind the curtain.

1387
01:05:53.700 --> 01:05:55.952
Every few weeks or whatever
is like another thing

1388
01:05:56.035 --> 01:06:00.331
that Warrior is saying
that is offensive.

1389
01:06:00.457 --> 01:06:04.544
♪ ♪

1390
01:06:09.299 --> 01:06:12.302
‐ Most people think I'm
heavy metal or something.

1391
01:06:12.427 --> 01:06:18.892
On the radio, typically,
I do talk radio.

1392
01:06:19.017 --> 01:06:20.602
And that's it.

1393
01:06:20.685 --> 01:06:24.439
‐ Turning on talk radio was
a really big thing at the time.

1394
01:06:24.522 --> 01:06:28.234
And, you know something, Rush
Limbaugh is a great showman.

1395
01:06:28.359 --> 01:06:31.821
So my husband's like,
"Kindreds‐‐we get each other.

1396
01:06:31.946 --> 01:06:34.657
You know"‐‐so, like,

1397
01:06:34.741 --> 01:06:38.369
the talk radio thing became
a big thing in our house.

1398
01:06:38.453 --> 01:06:43.208
And, you know, certain news
channels on all the time.

1399
01:06:43.333 --> 01:06:47.921
I think he was just looking
for a new brotherhood.

1400
01:06:48.004 --> 01:06:49.464
‐ It's never been the vision

1401
01:06:49.589 --> 01:06:51.090
that people have
in their heads‐‐is that

1402
01:06:51.174 --> 01:06:53.218
it's just Ultimate Warrior
as an identity,

1403
01:06:53.343 --> 01:06:55.386
a painted face pro wrestler
with strings

1404
01:06:55.512 --> 01:06:57.847
around his arms
and colorful characters

1405
01:06:57.972 --> 01:07:00.558
and a physique
and the body and stuff.

1406
01:07:00.683 --> 01:07:04.437
It's about‐‐it represents more,
on a fundamental level,

1407
01:07:04.521 --> 01:07:07.815
something or somebody
that's willing to stand up

1408
01:07:07.941 --> 01:07:13.571
and fight for what they believe
in, even if they die doing so.

1409
01:07:13.696 --> 01:07:17.158
‐ And when he came back
from that speech,

1410
01:07:17.242 --> 01:07:23.081
I knew something was wrong.
And I said, "What did you say?"

1411
01:07:23.206 --> 01:07:25.833
‐ Now, I'm conservative.

1412
01:07:25.959 --> 01:07:28.753
Liberals believe
in a utopian society,

1413
01:07:28.836 --> 01:07:31.256
where everything is equal.

1414
01:07:31.339 --> 01:07:34.551
That Kwanzaa
is just as legitimate

1415
01:07:34.676 --> 01:07:36.719
as Santa Claus and Christmas.

1416
01:07:36.844 --> 01:07:40.014
[audience exclaiming]

1417
01:07:40.098 --> 01:07:41.599
That a terrorist‐‐
that a terrorist

1418
01:07:41.683 --> 01:07:43.184
is just as legitimate

1419
01:07:43.268 --> 01:07:46.479
as what of this country's
revolution freedom fighters.

1420
01:07:51.234 --> 01:07:53.611
‐ How are they not?
‐ That the anarchists‐‐

1421
01:07:57.448 --> 01:07:59.325
[laughter]

1422
01:07:59.409 --> 01:08:01.160
‐ What's wrong
with homosexuality?

1423
01:08:01.286 --> 01:08:02.537
‐ What are you talking about?

1424
01:08:02.662 --> 01:08:04.414
‐ And from this moment,

1425
01:08:04.539 --> 01:08:07.959
the speech has just become
a straight dogfight.

1426
01:08:08.084 --> 01:08:10.295
‐ [bleep] you. No. No.

1427
01:08:10.378 --> 01:08:14.465
Apologize for that right now,
you [bleep] piece of [bleep].

1428
01:08:14.549 --> 01:08:16.634
No. Apologize.

1429
01:08:16.759 --> 01:08:20.096
‐ As an Ultimate Warrior fan,
you're like, "Bro, like,

1430
01:08:20.179 --> 01:08:22.390
I didn't‐I didn't
sign up for that.

1431
01:08:22.515 --> 01:08:25.226
Like, you're starting
to make me think

1432
01:08:25.351 --> 01:08:26.769
that the Warrior
might believe in some stuff

1433
01:08:26.853 --> 01:08:30.481
that I don't necessarily
believe in."

1434
01:08:30.565 --> 01:08:33.067
‐ There's all people of all
different type of races

1435
01:08:33.192 --> 01:08:34.652
and colors that look up to you,

1436
01:08:34.736 --> 01:08:37.447
because I‐‐you know, I grew up,
and my dad wasn't there.

1437
01:08:37.530 --> 01:08:40.783
Well, the Warrior's telling me,
"Just don't worry about things.

1438
01:08:40.867 --> 01:08:45.246
Just be that little Warrior
that you are inside."

1439
01:08:45.371 --> 01:08:49.542
So, when you are acting
that way and you believe

1440
01:08:49.626 --> 01:08:51.961
that in your heart,
it can do a lot of damage

1441
01:08:52.045 --> 01:08:54.297
to those people
that looked up for you.

1442
01:08:54.422 --> 01:08:56.341
‐ Has anything like UConn
ever happened before?

1443
01:08:56.466 --> 01:09:00.303
‐ No. Mm‐mm.

1444
01:09:00.428 --> 01:09:04.307
‐ I was really disappointed.
I was really disappointed.

1445
01:09:04.432 --> 01:09:06.184
And I let him know that.

1446
01:09:06.309 --> 01:09:12.482
And he knew it was different,
and he knew he'd messed up.

1447
01:09:12.565 --> 01:09:15.151
And I don't even think‐‐
he didn't understand

1448
01:09:15.276 --> 01:09:19.781
the breadth of it
until later on.

1449
01:09:19.864 --> 01:09:21.658
But he knew it was bad.

1450
01:09:21.783 --> 01:09:25.036
‐ "The Self‐Destruction
of the Ultimate Warrior."

1451
01:09:25.161 --> 01:09:27.372
‐ So, WWE puts out this DVD,

1452
01:09:27.497 --> 01:09:30.166
"The Self‐Destruction
of the Ultimate Warrior."

1453
01:09:30.291 --> 01:09:33.961
And this, I think, was kind of
a self‐serving mission.

1454
01:09:34.087 --> 01:09:35.463
"We're done making money off
this guy,

1455
01:09:35.546 --> 01:09:36.756
or from this guy,

1456
01:09:36.839 --> 01:09:39.092
and he's off hurting himself,
his own brand,

1457
01:09:39.175 --> 01:09:40.510
and by extension, our brand.

1458
01:09:40.635 --> 01:09:43.513
If we can limit
his importance in our legacy,

1459
01:09:43.638 --> 01:09:45.181
that's a win for us.

1460
01:09:45.306 --> 01:09:47.642
If we can charge $30 for it
and put a cool title on it,

1461
01:09:47.725 --> 01:09:49.310
and essentially, you know,
make as much money

1462
01:09:49.394 --> 01:09:51.521
as we would off of
a WrestleMania, off of Jim,

1463
01:09:51.646 --> 01:09:54.273
without even having
his consent, even better."

1464
01:09:54.357 --> 01:09:56.818
‐ And Vince wants these to kind

1465
01:09:56.943 --> 01:09:58.069
of be a shoot deals, right?

1466
01:09:58.152 --> 01:09:59.821
‐ Yeah, he really does.

1467
01:09:59.946 --> 01:10:00.822
He wants to tell the truth.

1468
01:10:00.947 --> 01:10:02.657
He wants everybody to know.

1469
01:10:02.740 --> 01:10:03.658
‐ A little controversy?

1470
01:10:03.700 --> 01:10:08.329
[dramatic music]

1471
01:10:08.413 --> 01:10:10.498
‐ "Self‐Destruction
of Ultimate Warrior"

1472
01:10:10.623 --> 01:10:12.959
was not so much a documentary.

1473
01:10:13.042 --> 01:10:16.254
It was more of a hit piece.

1474
01:10:16.337 --> 01:10:17.964
You watched it and thought,

1475
01:10:18.005 --> 01:10:19.549
at the very least,

1476
01:10:19.674 --> 01:10:22.385
this guy is not beloved
by his peers.

1477
01:10:22.510 --> 01:10:24.053
‐ I don't know that he was
really born

1478
01:10:24.178 --> 01:10:25.471
to be in this business.

1479
01:10:25.555 --> 01:10:28.599
‐ To me, the man had no idea
about wrestling.

1480
01:10:28.683 --> 01:10:32.979
‐ Do I think Ultimate Warrior
was merely a flash in the pan?

1481
01:10:33.104 --> 01:10:34.689
Enough said.

1482
01:10:34.814 --> 01:10:37.859
‐ I knew, when the Ultimate
Warrior won the match,

1483
01:10:37.984 --> 01:10:41.279
and 68,000 people watched me
leave the building

1484
01:10:41.362 --> 01:10:44.157
instead of watching
the new champ in the ring‐‐

1485
01:10:44.240 --> 01:10:48.786
I knew that‐‐okay, you know.

1486
01:10:48.870 --> 01:10:51.164
I don't want to be the one
to say "I told you so."

1487
01:10:51.205 --> 01:10:56.210
‐ I never watched that DVD.

1488
01:10:56.294 --> 01:10:58.838
People would not be alive
if I had watched that DVD.

1489
01:10:58.963 --> 01:11:02.091
My husband wanted to watch it,
and I said, "You shouldn't."

1490
01:11:02.175 --> 01:11:05.678
‐ He has‐‐doesn't trust
anyone in life.

1491
01:11:05.803 --> 01:11:09.432
And look, if you don't enjoy
coming to work,

1492
01:11:09.515 --> 01:11:11.100
and then you're gonna‐‐bound
to self‐destruct

1493
01:11:11.184 --> 01:11:12.810
somewhere along the line.

1494
01:11:12.894 --> 01:11:15.813
[solemn music]

1495
01:11:15.897 --> 01:11:18.107
♪ ♪

1496
01:11:18.191 --> 01:11:23.780
‐ He watched that DVD,
and that‐that broke

1497
01:11:23.863 --> 01:11:27.533
a part of my husband
that I was never able to fix.

1498
01:11:27.617 --> 01:11:33.372
‐ Nobody is gonna hand you

1499
01:11:33.498 --> 01:11:35.666
the fulfillment of the dream
you have in your mind

1500
01:11:35.750 --> 01:11:39.045
about a great live
you want to [bleep] live.

1501
01:11:39.170 --> 01:11:40.379
‐ In later years, it's almost

1502
01:11:40.505 --> 01:11:42.507
as if he will be
frustrated with himself.

1503
01:11:42.632 --> 01:11:45.092
But he will project out on
to others the frustration

1504
01:11:45.176 --> 01:11:47.053
he feels with his own life.

1505
01:11:47.136 --> 01:11:49.388
‐ I think you're [bleep]
pathetic.

1506
01:11:49.514 --> 01:11:55.645
Don't fail. Take back yourself.

1507
01:11:55.728 --> 01:11:58.981
And don't take any backtalk
from yourself.

1508
01:11:59.065 --> 01:12:04.153
‐ I think he was trying to
reinvigorate his own identity,

1509
01:12:04.237 --> 01:12:07.323
because when we fall
down a hole,

1510
01:12:07.406 --> 01:12:09.826
nobody can really
get you back out.

1511
01:12:09.909 --> 01:12:12.954
You have to climb,
rung by rung, yourself.

1512
01:12:13.037 --> 01:12:15.164
And he did that.

1513
01:12:15.248 --> 01:12:18.793
♪ ♪

1514
01:12:18.876 --> 01:12:22.171
That's so inspiring,
because he wasn't perfect.

1515
01:12:22.296 --> 01:12:24.298
Other people in the world
aren't perfect.

1516
01:12:24.382 --> 01:12:26.509
We all mess up.

1517
01:12:26.634 --> 01:12:28.803
And sometimes we're ignorant.

1518
01:12:28.886 --> 01:12:31.639
But it's ignorance is educable,
and we can change,

1519
01:12:31.722 --> 01:12:34.725
and we can grow,
and we can evolve.

1520
01:12:34.851 --> 01:12:40.481
♪ ♪

1521
01:12:40.523 --> 01:12:42.817
‐ I was very oblivious
to his life

1522
01:12:42.900 --> 01:12:44.318
before he was a father.

1523
01:12:44.402 --> 01:12:46.654
He was my dad.
I was daddy's little girl.

1524
01:12:46.779 --> 01:12:51.117
And he doted on my sister and I
like any other dad that I knew.

1525
01:12:51.200 --> 01:12:52.827
♪ ♪

1526
01:12:52.910 --> 01:12:55.454
‐ He was so gentle
with his Warrior babies.

1527
01:12:55.538 --> 01:12:57.498
That's what he'd call us.

1528
01:12:57.582 --> 01:12:59.250
I know that his father wasn't

1529
01:12:59.375 --> 01:13:00.710
incredibly involved
in his life,

1530
01:13:00.835 --> 01:13:03.254
and so he didn't really
have that figure there.

1531
01:13:03.337 --> 01:13:06.340
But you don't necessarily need
a role model

1532
01:13:06.465 --> 01:13:09.886
to become the man
you want to become.

1533
01:13:09.969 --> 01:13:14.640
‐ Very few people can overcome
what they lived through

1534
01:13:14.765 --> 01:13:19.645
and not feel victimized by it,
but instead chart a new course.

1535
01:13:19.729 --> 01:13:21.480
And that's what we did
with our family.

1536
01:13:21.606 --> 01:13:24.984
We charted a new course.

1537
01:13:25.109 --> 01:13:28.321
‐ What you saw in his character
used to translate

1538
01:13:28.446 --> 01:13:29.864
a lot into his workouts.

1539
01:13:29.989 --> 01:13:32.325
But, you know,
most of the time here,

1540
01:13:32.450 --> 01:13:35.536
we got to know
a different character.

1541
01:13:35.661 --> 01:13:37.330
We got to know Warrior.

1542
01:13:37.455 --> 01:13:41.167
And Warrior was a complete
different personality.

1543
01:13:41.292 --> 01:13:45.630
He made everybody feel special.
He made me feel special.

1544
01:13:45.755 --> 01:13:48.716
‐ I think that Warrior found
himself in Santa Fe.

1545
01:13:48.841 --> 01:13:52.887
I think he found a calmer
setting for him

1546
01:13:53.012 --> 01:13:55.389
to really think, to paint.

1547
01:13:55.514 --> 01:13:57.892
‐ Art became a really big part
of his life.

1548
01:13:58.017 --> 01:14:00.353
When he wasn't putting
on his face paint every day,

1549
01:14:00.478 --> 01:14:02.188
you know, the face paint

1550
01:14:02.313 --> 01:14:05.024
became the paint
on the canvas instead.

1551
01:14:05.149 --> 01:14:08.069
[soft music]

1552
01:14:08.194 --> 01:14:14.200
♪ ♪

1553
01:14:14.325 --> 01:14:16.535
‐ He had his daughters.
He had Dana.

1554
01:14:16.661 --> 01:14:20.414
‐ Oh my gosh,
it's so good to see you.

1555
01:14:20.539 --> 01:14:24.669
‐ You're our first hug
since all this started.

1556
01:14:24.794 --> 01:14:27.630
‐ Our friendship was about
just enjoying life.

1557
01:14:27.755 --> 01:14:31.467
Have fun. You are who you are.

1558
01:14:31.592 --> 01:14:36.222
‐ I think that my husband
needed hypermasculinity

1559
01:14:36.347 --> 01:14:37.974
in order to feel safe.

1560
01:14:38.057 --> 01:14:41.727
But, with the friends that he
made in our town of Santa Fe,

1561
01:14:41.852 --> 01:14:45.314
he was able to experience
grown, adult men,

1562
01:14:45.398 --> 01:14:47.817
who had no vendetta
against him.

1563
01:14:47.942 --> 01:14:51.654
And so I think when my husband
was finally ready to be

1564
01:14:51.696 --> 01:14:54.740
inducted in the Hall of Fame,
he was becoming somebody

1565
01:14:54.865 --> 01:14:58.285
that was actually worthy
of that honor in his own mind,

1566
01:14:58.369 --> 01:14:59.954
but also for the fans.

1567
01:15:00.037 --> 01:15:03.416
♪ ♪

1568
01:15:03.541 --> 01:15:05.459
‐ Ladies and gentlemen,
accompanied to the ring

1569
01:15:05.543 --> 01:15:09.213
by two yeah ladies
who are special in his life,

1570
01:15:09.338 --> 01:15:12.299
may I present: Warrior.

1571
01:15:12.425 --> 01:15:15.636
[cheers and applause]

1572
01:15:15.720 --> 01:15:19.056
♪ ♪

1573
01:15:23.144 --> 01:15:25.813
[soft music]

1574
01:15:25.896 --> 01:15:29.233
♪ ♪

1575
01:15:29.358 --> 01:15:31.068
‐ For several years,

1576
01:15:31.152 --> 01:15:36.741
the WWE had tried
to find ways of getting Warrior

1577
01:15:36.866 --> 01:15:42.496
into the Hall of Fame,
and he had repeatedly said no.

1578
01:15:42.621 --> 01:15:45.249
‐ This particular year,
for whatever reason,

1579
01:15:45.374 --> 01:15:48.461
Warrior was able to trust.

1580
01:15:48.544 --> 01:15:51.964
And I said, "I apologize
for anything I've ever said,

1581
01:15:52.006 --> 01:15:53.674
anything I've ever done.

1582
01:15:53.758 --> 01:15:56.927
That was then. Let's just bury
the hatchet and move on."

1583
01:15:57.011 --> 01:16:00.556
‐ I just can't believe it's
been as long as it has been.

1584
01:16:00.681 --> 01:16:03.225
‐ He enters into an agreement
with the WWE

1585
01:16:03.309 --> 01:16:05.936
to become an ambassador
for a period of several years.

1586
01:16:06.020 --> 01:16:08.647
‐ Obviously, there
was some tension

1587
01:16:08.773 --> 01:16:11.108
with the relationship with WWE
through the years, you know.

1588
01:16:11.192 --> 01:16:13.069
I mean, what does it mean
to kind of be back

1589
01:16:13.194 --> 01:16:17.740
into the fold
and kind of repair those?

1590
01:16:17.823 --> 01:16:24.205
‐ Well, it means a‐‐well,
it means a lot.

1591
01:16:24.330 --> 01:16:27.166
You know, it was purposeful
that they put the DVD out.

1592
01:16:27.249 --> 01:16:32.379
It hurt my feelings a lot, man.
It hurt me that they did that.

1593
01:16:32.505 --> 01:16:37.301
♪ ♪

1594
01:16:37.426 --> 01:16:41.305
You know, I have a lot
of emotion about coming back.

1595
01:16:41.388 --> 01:16:44.141
‐ It's well‐known
that the Hellwig men

1596
01:16:44.266 --> 01:16:45.893
had a short life span.

1597
01:16:46.018 --> 01:16:48.646
His grandfather died
in his 50s.

1598
01:16:48.729 --> 01:16:51.273
His father died in his 50s.

1599
01:16:51.357 --> 01:16:56.028
And knowing that most of the
Hellwig boys died a young age

1600
01:16:56.112 --> 01:16:59.824
definitely has to color
how you live your life.

1601
01:16:59.949 --> 01:17:03.619
You either face it
or you live in fear of it.

1602
01:17:03.702 --> 01:17:08.749
‐ Great. Get that down...
[indistinct]

1603
01:17:08.874 --> 01:17:12.962
‐ I think it was calculated,
on his part, because he knew

1604
01:17:13.045 --> 01:17:17.967
that by reigniting
this relationship with the WWE,

1605
01:17:18.092 --> 01:17:21.720
he can be the man that
his father never was for him.

1606
01:17:21.846 --> 01:17:26.517
This was his moment
to set aside the hurt,

1607
01:17:26.600 --> 01:17:28.686
the ego, the pride,

1608
01:17:28.811 --> 01:17:32.898
all of the things that had
kept him estranged, and to say,

1609
01:17:33.023 --> 01:17:35.901
"I'm going to do this
for my family."

1610
01:17:36.026 --> 01:17:38.487
♪ ♪

1611
01:17:38.612 --> 01:17:39.905
‐ You built a brand.

1612
01:17:40.030 --> 01:17:42.741
These are the graphics
that support the brand.

1613
01:17:42.867 --> 01:17:46.954
‐ There are few legitimately
tough guys in our business.

1614
01:17:47.037 --> 01:17:49.957
Most of us aren't.
So we get to go out there

1615
01:17:50.040 --> 01:17:52.877
and we get to act
like tough guys.

1616
01:17:53.002 --> 01:17:55.921
And people look to you,
and you're larger than life.

1617
01:17:56.005 --> 01:17:57.923
There's responsibility
that comes with that.

1618
01:17:58.007 --> 01:18:01.302
Responsibility is that,
if you get to do that,

1619
01:18:01.427 --> 01:18:03.304
you get that opportunity
to do that,

1620
01:18:03.387 --> 01:18:05.806
then you should be able
to go out in the real world

1621
01:18:05.848 --> 01:18:09.101
and handle
a simple thing like life.

1622
01:18:25.201 --> 01:18:26.785
‐ Yeah.

1623
01:18:30.998 --> 01:18:33.500
‐ Really want you to know
I've been dying to see you.

1624
01:18:33.584 --> 01:18:37.838
I really do. I really do.
No matter what.

1625
01:18:37.922 --> 01:18:41.175
‐ I think he was just really
excited to go home.

1626
01:18:41.300 --> 01:18:45.346
And absolutely, he wanted
that reconciliation with Vince,

1627
01:18:45.471 --> 01:18:47.640
because Vince mattered to him.

1628
01:18:47.765 --> 01:18:50.267
But he also wanted
to show Vince,

1629
01:18:50.351 --> 01:18:54.813
"I have family now, too.
And now you're part of it.

1630
01:18:54.897 --> 01:18:58.275
I don't need you
to be all of it."

1631
01:18:58.359 --> 01:19:01.737
‐ Ladies and gentlemen,
accompanied to the ring

1632
01:19:01.862 --> 01:19:04.740
by two young ladies
who are so special in his life,

1633
01:19:04.865 --> 01:19:07.868
may I present: Warrior.

1634
01:19:07.952 --> 01:19:11.622
[cheers and applause]

1635
01:19:11.705 --> 01:19:14.583
[soft music]

1636
01:19:14.708 --> 01:19:19.922
♪ ♪

1637
01:19:20.005 --> 01:19:23.509
‐ In 1991,
Vince wrote me a letter.

1638
01:19:23.634 --> 01:19:27.805
He said, "You think you're
a legend in your own mind."

1639
01:19:27.888 --> 01:19:30.099
But I didn't think
that I was a legend in my mind.

1640
01:19:30.182 --> 01:19:32.017
But I will tell you this,
Vince,

1641
01:19:32.101 --> 01:19:35.062
the Ultimate Warrior
is a legend today,

1642
01:19:35.187 --> 01:19:38.023
and he will continue
to run into the hearts

1643
01:19:38.148 --> 01:19:42.194
and minds of fans
throughout generations to come.

1644
01:19:42.319 --> 01:19:43.654
And I'm proud of that.

1645
01:19:43.737 --> 01:19:45.614
I'm proud of you
for supporting me

1646
01:19:45.698 --> 01:19:47.491
and fighting
for the Ultimate Warrior

1647
01:19:47.616 --> 01:19:49.451
to be inducted
into the Hall of Fame.

1648
01:19:49.535 --> 01:19:52.955
[cheers and applause]

1649
01:19:53.038 --> 01:19:55.624
♪ ♪

1650
01:19:55.708 --> 01:19:57.418
‐ Regardless of personal stuff,

1651
01:19:57.501 --> 01:19:59.169
regardless of what you see
on the internet of anything,

1652
01:19:59.253 --> 01:20:00.963
just, like,
we're now all grownups.

1653
01:20:01.088 --> 01:20:03.299
We're nostalgically
looking at this guy like, "Yes.

1654
01:20:03.382 --> 01:20:05.759
This is‐‐when I was six,
this is the guy I was watching.

1655
01:20:05.843 --> 01:20:08.304
I'm so happy he's back."

1656
01:20:08.387 --> 01:20:10.889
‐ From the moment he ran on
to WWE television

1657
01:20:11.015 --> 01:20:13.809
till he, you know,
took the belt from Hogan,

1658
01:20:13.934 --> 01:20:16.020
hold that up against
any wrestler

1659
01:20:16.145 --> 01:20:17.438
in the history of wrestling.

1660
01:20:17.521 --> 01:20:19.189
That's what
we were celebrating.

1661
01:20:19.273 --> 01:20:21.859
I mean, I was there on Monday
Night Raw, when he came out.

1662
01:20:21.984 --> 01:20:25.487
And I've never been in a crowd
that felt like that.

1663
01:20:25.571 --> 01:20:27.948
♪ ♪

1664
01:20:28.032 --> 01:20:30.951
‐ There you go.
There's the Warrior.

1665
01:20:31.035 --> 01:20:35.247
[cheers and applause]

1666
01:20:35.331 --> 01:20:40.252
all: Warrior! Warrior! Warrior!
Warrior! Warrior!

1667
01:20:40.336 --> 01:20:41.920
‐ This is gonna be great.

1668
01:20:42.004 --> 01:20:47.634
[cheers and applause]

1669
01:20:47.760 --> 01:20:50.387
‐ Every man's heart one day

1670
01:20:50.471 --> 01:20:52.556
beats its final beat.

1671
01:20:52.639 --> 01:20:55.059
His lungs breathe
their final breath.

1672
01:20:55.184 --> 01:20:57.895
And if what that man
did in his life

1673
01:20:58.020 --> 01:21:00.981
makes the blood pulse
through the body of others,

1674
01:21:01.065 --> 01:21:03.776
it makes them believe deeper

1675
01:21:03.859 --> 01:21:06.320
in something than larger
than life,

1676
01:21:06.445 --> 01:21:11.825
then his essence, his spirit,
will be immortalized.

1677
01:21:11.909 --> 01:21:14.328
You. You. You.

1678
01:21:14.411 --> 01:21:19.041
You are the legend‐makers
of Ultimate Warrior.

1679
01:21:19.166 --> 01:21:21.126
[cheers and applause]

1680
01:21:21.210 --> 01:21:26.632
‐ Finally, Jim had understood
how it all worked then.

1681
01:21:26.673 --> 01:21:28.926
And that may be,
as far as I know,

1682
01:21:29.009 --> 01:21:31.720
about the only time he's ever
been peace with himself.

1683
01:21:31.845 --> 01:21:33.680
He so appreciated the honor,
and what have you.

1684
01:21:33.806 --> 01:21:35.599
And unfortunately, uh...

1685
01:21:35.682 --> 01:21:38.727
[solemn music]

1686
01:21:38.852 --> 01:21:40.646
A couple days later, he died.

1687
01:21:40.771 --> 01:21:47.945
♪ ♪

1688
01:21:52.866 --> 01:21:55.619
‐ Just, everything
felt so good.

1689
01:21:55.702 --> 01:21:58.956
My kids are so proud
of their dad.

1690
01:21:59.039 --> 01:22:02.876
We were gonna go to Arizona
and have spring break.

1691
01:22:03.001 --> 01:22:05.796
And we got on a plane
to go to Phoenix,

1692
01:22:05.921 --> 01:22:10.134
and we get to the hotel,
and he said,

1693
01:22:10.259 --> 01:22:12.177
"I don't‐I don't
feel‐I don't feel good."

1694
01:22:12.261 --> 01:22:13.804
I said, "I know, babe.
Neither do I.

1695
01:22:13.929 --> 01:22:15.806
Like, it's been
a‐‐this is hectic.

1696
01:22:15.931 --> 01:22:17.808
It's gonna be fine.
You just rest.

1697
01:22:17.933 --> 01:22:19.393
What do you need?
I'll go get it for you?"

1698
01:22:19.518 --> 01:22:21.562
Like, he's like, "No.
I don't feel good."

1699
01:22:21.687 --> 01:22:23.897
And he said, "I think I need
to go to the hospital."

1700
01:22:23.981 --> 01:22:28.610
And that's where I was like,
"Oh no."

1701
01:22:28.694 --> 01:22:31.196
♪ ♪

1702
01:22:31.280 --> 01:22:33.198
And I didn't‐‐I didn't want
the girls to come,

1703
01:22:33.323 --> 01:22:36.076
'cause I didn't want them
to be scared.

1704
01:22:36.201 --> 01:22:38.495
So, they were old enough
to lock the door.

1705
01:22:38.579 --> 01:22:42.833
♪ ♪

1706
01:22:42.916 --> 01:22:47.129
It was one second before
we were out the door.

1707
01:22:47.254 --> 01:22:48.630
♪ ♪

1708
01:22:48.714 --> 01:22:51.425
And he just...

1709
01:22:51.508 --> 01:22:52.509
[sighs]

1710
01:22:52.634 --> 01:22:57.556
Like‐‐like an oak tree.

1711
01:22:57.639 --> 01:22:59.641
[somber music]

1712
01:22:59.725 --> 01:23:01.894
And I couldn't catch him.

1713
01:23:02.019 --> 01:23:04.521
♪ ♪

1714
01:23:04.646 --> 01:23:08.150
So, we get to the hospital,
and they wheel him back there.

1715
01:23:08.275 --> 01:23:11.820
And they said,
"He didn't make it."

1716
01:23:11.945 --> 01:23:16.408
♪ ♪

1717
01:23:16.533 --> 01:23:21.246
And I also knew, like, I was
gonna have to tell my kids.

1718
01:23:21.330 --> 01:23:24.500
And I left them at the hotel,

1719
01:23:24.625 --> 01:23:28.170
at the last‐‐thinking
I was protecting them.

1720
01:23:28.295 --> 01:23:32.299
But then, did I rob them of
the last moment with their dad?

1721
01:23:32.382 --> 01:23:36.261
[sobbing]

1722
01:23:36.345 --> 01:23:43.268
♪ ♪

1723
01:23:45.187 --> 01:23:49.483
‐ What he built at home
was far greater

1724
01:23:49.566 --> 01:23:52.903
than anything
the Ultimate Warrior

1725
01:23:53.028 --> 01:23:57.908
achieved in front
of the television cameras.

1726
01:23:57.991 --> 01:23:59.993
That's the tragedy
of the man's life.

1727
01:24:00.077 --> 01:24:02.371
When he finally found the love

1728
01:24:02.496 --> 01:24:05.332
that he couldn't find
as a child,

1729
01:24:05.457 --> 01:24:08.585
and he had nothing
left to hate,

1730
01:24:08.669 --> 01:24:12.589
that's when his heart gave up.

1731
01:24:12.673 --> 01:24:13.840
‐ You know, I mean,
I can remember back

1732
01:24:13.966 --> 01:24:15.717
when I was a young kid,

1733
01:24:15.801 --> 01:24:17.427
being the kid in the wrong
place at the wrong time,

1734
01:24:17.511 --> 01:24:19.972
my dad leaving when I was 12,
13 years old,

1735
01:24:20.055 --> 01:24:21.640
having self‐doubts
about myself,

1736
01:24:21.765 --> 01:24:23.475
like any young kid does.

1737
01:24:23.600 --> 01:24:29.022
You create your own sort
of fantasy‐‐protector,

1738
01:24:29.106 --> 01:24:30.649
in a sense, you know?

1739
01:24:30.732 --> 01:24:32.484
The thing that you connect with
to make you strong,

1740
01:24:32.609 --> 01:24:38.657
to‐to get you through
the self‐doubts that you have.

1741
01:24:38.740 --> 01:24:42.494
‐ His daughters are definitely
his lasting legacy.

1742
01:24:42.536 --> 01:24:45.831
He was never more proud
of anything in his life

1743
01:24:45.914 --> 01:24:47.958
than his girls.

1744
01:24:48.041 --> 01:24:50.252
And he wanted
both of them‐‐which they do‐‐

1745
01:24:50.335 --> 01:24:52.963
to have that warrior spirit.

1746
01:24:53.046 --> 01:24:56.258
‐ There's nothing simple
about Jim Hellwig.

1747
01:24:56.341 --> 01:24:59.469
He was a flawed
and complicated human being,

1748
01:24:59.553 --> 01:25:02.389
who made some serious
mistakes in his life.

1749
01:25:02.514 --> 01:25:04.600
♪ ♪

1750
01:25:04.683 --> 01:25:07.352
But it's a human story.

1751
01:25:07.477 --> 01:25:08.979
‐ Having done Ultimate Warrior

1752
01:25:09.104 --> 01:25:11.189
as a sports entertainment
identity,

1753
01:25:11.315 --> 01:25:14.109
why I think the way I do,
it's built into us.

1754
01:25:14.192 --> 01:25:16.194
It's a part of our nature.

1755
01:25:16.320 --> 01:25:20.824
It's a part of our human nature
to grow.

1756
01:25:20.949 --> 01:25:22.826
[soft music]

1757
01:25:22.951 --> 01:25:24.953
‐ I think redemption
is a heavy burden

1758
01:25:25.037 --> 01:25:27.331
to place
on any one human being,

1759
01:25:27.456 --> 01:25:29.625
because we're all on a journey
to find out

1760
01:25:29.708 --> 01:25:34.129
who it is that we are.

1761
01:25:34.171 --> 01:25:36.548
I don't believe
that my husband's story

1762
01:25:36.632 --> 01:25:39.551
ends with his passing.

1763
01:25:39.676 --> 01:25:43.472
I believe that that spirit
of the warrior lives on

1764
01:25:43.597 --> 01:25:48.310
in each and every one of us
who decides to do better.

1765
01:25:48.435 --> 01:25:51.438
♪ ♪