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Samuel Fly
  • 2 days ago
Transcript
00:00:00This is it.
00:00:04Look at the referee's not counting.
00:00:11From the outside with the megaphone, he just clobbered in man, it's over.
00:00:17We got new champions, we got new champions.
00:00:21Elizabeth with her arms outstretched, tears flowing down, yeah.
00:00:30Oh, oh no!
00:00:32Bagman did not submit, Arnold Skoller, he was looking at the ring.
00:00:40That's the same as a submission.
00:00:42And the captain, he's got the brain, and Iverslip into the corner upside.
00:00:52Slams, look at this!
00:00:54He's throwing the money out.
00:00:56Oh, look at that, Bobby the Brain, he grabbed the bag with the money.
00:01:00Look at Cardinal!
00:01:02Oh!
00:01:14Hello, everyone.
00:01:16I'm Todd Grisham, and welcome to the world's greatest wrestling managers.
00:01:20In this program, we will pay homage to the brains and beauties behind the brawn.
00:01:24The most famous and infamous managers in wrestling history.
00:01:28The men and women you'll see here are the architects of a superstar's success.
00:01:32The blueprint, if you will, and sometimes the designers of their downfall.
00:01:38Managers build the bodies and minds of their protégés, design their path, and orchestrate their success.
00:01:46Sometimes they even overshadow their own superstars.
00:01:50Say it ain't so.
00:01:51Well, let's take a look at what makes a manager truly great.
00:01:56Managers weren't just a male or female to walk somebody to the ring.
00:02:00Managers were the people to say, my guy's the best guy.
00:02:03I'm gonna put him up against your best guy.
00:02:05We're gonna see who the best is.
00:02:07This man is the bully!
00:02:09Huh.
00:02:10The bully is the greatest wrestler and the toughest man in the World Wrestling Federation!
00:02:16You gotta be willing to do whatever it takes to get your superstar to the top.
00:02:19Santana going for the figure four!
00:02:21Bobby the Brain heated up by the apron!
00:02:23What's foremost in your mind as a manager when you're doing your job is to make sure that your client wins, period.
00:02:33I have committed myself to leading these two men.
00:02:37The most provocative tag team tandem in the history of professional wrestling into regaining what's rightfully there.
00:02:45Effectiveness.
00:02:46A good manager is effective.
00:02:47And to be effective, you gotta be on top.
00:02:50So anytime any one manager stable had gold in it, that means the manager was effective.
00:02:55There have been some dandies.
00:02:58Look at these conspiring minds.
00:03:01Lou Albano, Freddie Blassie, The Wizard.
00:03:04At Madison Square Garden, they are going to eliminate and eradicate!
00:03:10These guys really paved the way for everybody else that's been out there over the past 25 or 30 years.
00:03:15Everybody knows Freddie Blassie knows managing from A to Z.
00:03:19You've got guys, you know, like J.J. Dillon and Jim Cornette.
00:03:22He's my manager!
00:03:24He's my manager!
00:03:26Oliver Hufferdale!
00:03:29Jimmy Hart with his loudspeaker.
00:03:31The hokie-tongue men is the greatest intercontinental champion of all time, Randy Savage!
00:03:36Bobby Heenan.
00:03:37You see a Texas tornado never really does any damage because you can spot one coming a mile away!
00:03:44Sure, they may look ferocious, but all they're really good for is kicking up some dust and maybe turning over a few mobile homes in some hick trailer park!
00:03:55Yeah, Poochie was very good too.
00:03:57You know, the little Japanese guy, you know, who was the sneaky, you know, stabbing the back type.
00:04:02And that was his character and it just worked.
00:04:05I think one of the most underrated managers is Harvey Whippleman.
00:04:09Because you could tell that guy to walk out in front of 20,000 people and I guarantee you he could get everybody's gold.
00:04:16And to introduce his opponent, Dr. Hardy Whippleman!
00:04:29Pauly Dangerously.
00:04:30Hey, hey!
00:04:31I'm talking!
00:04:32I'm talking!
00:04:33The ice!
00:04:34I'm talking!
00:04:35The ice!
00:04:36You know, me being me, the doctor of style, Slick.
00:04:39That's right, blood!
00:04:41Anybody who has a doctorate in style is pretty good with me.
00:04:46And you know, because he knows that the Slickster is the greatest manager in professional wrestling today.
00:04:54They all contributed in so many different ways.
00:04:58A good manager puts the focus on the person he manages, not themself.
00:05:04Well, let me tell you something.
00:05:05Get a look at this man.
00:05:06Look at this body.
00:05:07No, on second thought, don't show him nothing.
00:05:09A great manager makes his talent larger than life.
00:05:13They both stand over six foot seven.
00:05:16Together they weigh over a half a ton.
00:05:19Look at this kimchi.
00:05:20Alu, alu, alu.
00:05:21Goodbye, Abdullah.
00:05:22Kamala.
00:05:23Turn him around, kimchi.
00:05:27Let the people of the world see the giant Ugandan from the northern slopes of Kilimanjaro.
00:05:37The role of a manager is to make the guy that you take under your wing and make him a household name.
00:05:42The Undertaker has been working night and day, night and day, preparing a special casket just for the ultimate warrior.
00:05:55Well, to me, a good manager can make the star he's representing the biggest star possible.
00:06:01You have to be able to have great communication skills and be able to relate to an audience.
00:06:05Well, you know, I'm gonna tell you something, Monsoon.
00:06:07Monsoon.
00:06:08I'm telling all you people, I don't know how to pronounce your name.
00:06:10I'd have to be seven types of a call to give you any information, Gene.
00:06:16You know, gentlemen, I must say this.
00:06:18You must say nothing.
00:06:19You must stand there and shut up.
00:06:22Because I've got a lot to say.
00:06:24He can incite people's emotions.
00:06:26But you wear on the apron.
00:06:27Huh.
00:06:28I can do whatever I want.
00:06:29Making a display of yourself.
00:06:30Probably to bring heat on you, whatever I want.
00:06:33The other aspect about managing, which is sort of the secret to managing, is that you want all of the heat that you, the manager, can generate to go to the person you were managing, not to you.
00:06:44I think the reason Bill Alfonso was paired with Taz was Bill Alfonso had a lot of heat on his own at that time.
00:06:49And trying to turn Taz heel, it gave Taz instant heat immediately.
00:06:53What a good manager knows is how to be at the right place at the right time.
00:07:00And he doesn't get caught tripping, distracting, or passing the knucks.
00:07:05Introducing the fashion plate of the managers, Freddie Blassie.
00:07:10Blassie.
00:07:14Classy Freddie Blassie was to wrestling villains what Babe Ruth was to baseball.
00:07:20I see a wild man here.
00:07:22Freddie was the quintessential heel.
00:07:25He was a bad guy who loved to be hated.
00:07:27I was, without a doubt, the most hated man in wrestling.
00:07:32And I enjoyed it.
00:07:33I remember my dad wrestling Blassie.
00:07:35And Blassie was biting him, and Dad had blood all over, and God, I was just so scared.
00:07:40He would bite his opponents in the head and suck the blood out of their head and spit it back in their face.
00:07:45I think there was literally like 10 people died of a heart attack when they saw all the blood and the violence that Freddie was able to dish out.
00:07:54I really enjoyed not liking him.
00:07:56The ultimate bad guy.
00:07:58Classy Freddie Blassie not only carved a niche for herself inside the square and circle, but Classy Freddie Blassie was probably one of the most feared managers ever to be at ringside.
00:08:15And you knew, no matter who his protege was at that time, you knew that not only you had to deal with him, but always Classy Freddie Blassie on the outside.
00:08:26Ed Blassie is creating pandemonium here in Madison Square Garden.
00:08:31And again, we'll hear more boos from Madison Square Garden.
00:08:34This man would not win a popularity contest here tonight in the Garden.
00:08:38When I would introduce one of his charges, he wouldn't be too happy with the way I presented his charge.
00:08:43And he would come up to me with his cane, and he would poke me with the cane, say, get it right, get it right, you pencil neck geek.
00:08:49I mean, he was cocky.
00:08:50You know, when he'd come out and tell you this, kick your mouth shut.
00:08:53I'm telling you what the business, this is it, this is that.
00:08:56And Freddie Blassie became one of the legends in the business.
00:08:59Here is the fashion plate of wrestling Freddie Blassie, Freddie Blassie.
00:09:05Classy Freddie Blassie.
00:09:07He was also known as the Hollywood fashion plate.
00:09:09Because of his fashion sense, he really stood out, and he was able to talk.
00:09:14He had the gift of gab.
00:09:15People listen when you're a great talker, and people listen when Fred Blassie was talking.
00:09:20They're kind of eternally's pencil neck geeks that keep quiet so they can listen to a couple of intelligent.
00:09:27These are a bunch of people.
00:09:29You put them up.
00:09:30You tell them, jump.
00:09:31They don't even know what you're talking about.
00:09:33They go, ugh.
00:09:34Here's a fella that is so vicious and brutal, even his own mother can't stand him.
00:09:37We don't carry none of that noisy money.
00:09:39Thank you, Mr. Blassie.
00:09:40Talking about that change.
00:09:41We have nothing but that salad money.
00:09:42Brett Blassie, ladies and gentlemen.
00:09:43And as I said before, Bob Backlund, you lead my way.
00:09:46And I guarantee you, you'll become the greatest champion the world has ever known and the richest champion.
00:09:53He tried to place as much emphasis on the individual with whom he was managing as opposed to himself.
00:10:00And that was a big strength as a manager.
00:10:02Nikolai Volkov's reputation has gone all over the world, not just here in the miserable United States, because they don't have no men here in the United States.
00:10:09I had to go to Siberia and find the greatest man in the wrestling profession today, Nikolai Volkov.
00:10:15In 1974, I believe, the time I was, my manager was Freddie Blassie. I was his first protege.
00:10:23And it was great. I love Freddie. I learned lots from him.
00:10:27If you were a young kid starting out, you'd want a guy like Blassie to have experience.
00:10:30You'd want a guy with a track record. A very valuable man like Freddie Blassie.
00:10:34Freddie Blassie was managing Muhammad Ali when he was wrestling Antonio Inoki.
00:10:41You know, I don't know of many other wrestling managers that could have on their resume, I managed Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all time.
00:10:48Without a doubt, at the time, he was probably the best known manager in all of wrestling.
00:10:54We went to Japan. One of the nicest people I've ever met.
00:10:59There's Fred Blassie and Hulk Hogan.
00:11:02When I first started in the WWE, Freddie Blassie was my manager in 1978.
00:11:07Told him what I expected him to do, to walk in the ring, you know, and just kind of semi-glare at the people.
00:11:15I would do all the rest, antagonize them and everything.
00:11:18A few words of advice here by a manager, Fred Blassie.
00:11:22As a manager, Fred Blassie would always push the guy he was managing above and beyond what the guy thought he was capable of.
00:11:29I mean, many times Fred would say, hit him harder.
00:11:31Come on, Hogan, hang on in the ring.
00:11:33Don't let him pin you, get back up.
00:11:34Come on, hang in there for another ten minutes and we'll get a draw if you can't beat the guy.
00:11:38But don't you quit or I'll kill you.
00:11:39I mean, Freddie was a great inspiration to make you go above and beyond what you thought you could do.
00:11:44The man is without a doubt the greatest wrestler I've ever managed, ever managed.
00:11:49This man, it just goes on and on.
00:11:51He's got the endurance of 40 people, 40 men.
00:11:55I always loved when Freddie was managing the Iron Sheik because Iron Sheik would, like, speak in his native tongue.
00:12:02And he would look at Freddie to speak and Freddie would be like, that's right, belly, belly.
00:12:08And they'd, like, walk off.
00:12:09It was the funniest thing.
00:12:10My manager, God bless him, Mr. Fred Blassie, and other great talker and great advisor.
00:12:17I was his first champion, singer, and tag team, and by the way.
00:12:22And I learned a lot of things from Mr. Fred Blassie, God bless you, so he was one of the best.
00:12:28The man won the world title, and I'm going to have the world tag team champion.
00:12:36I think it was one of the greatest show I've been in for that time.
00:12:39But for a combination, it's not going to be in any other way by them, you know, too.
00:12:42It was an unbelievable good combination.
00:12:44Referee now just admonishing Michael Thunder.
00:12:47Look at this!
00:12:48Oh!
00:12:49He nailed him with a cane!
00:12:51It was a steel cane, if you remember that.
00:12:53He hit the belly so hard that he came on his hand, knocked him out, hit me on the back, too.
00:12:59It almost knocked me out.
00:13:01I'll never forget that.
00:13:02I still can feel it.
00:13:04Your man had a very controversial match.
00:13:07What do you mean controversial?
00:13:09He pinned him right in the center of the ring, didn't he?
00:13:11Did he or didn't I?
00:13:12He's not pinned him for the count of three.
00:13:14Where's that cane of yours?
00:13:15What cane?
00:13:16I didn't have no cane.
00:13:18He was way ahead of his time.
00:13:24And there's so much that you can contribute to today from Freddie Blassie.
00:13:30Give him a big salute and say thank you, Freddie, for paving the road for people like myself,
00:13:37Sergeant Slaughter.
00:13:39A world-class wrestler, a world-class manager, a world-class guy.
00:13:45This is a guy who transcended the wrestling world and spilled over into the mainstream world
00:13:50of entertainment.
00:13:51He's a national treasure, he's a folk hero within our business.
00:13:58An innovator of the wrestling industry, a class factor ever since the word.
00:14:04Freddie was just a whole package, a true legend.
00:14:08Freddie, you brought a lot to us.
00:14:11God bless you.
00:14:12Long live classy Freddie Blassie.
00:14:19It is the manager of champions, the Grand Wizard of wrestling.
00:14:25The Grand Wizard was an extraordinary talent.
00:14:28You know, a consummate professional, very quick-witted.
00:14:32You want us here because you want the epitome of greatness.
00:14:37I'm not even going to disgust myself because everyone knows what a genius I am.
00:14:42The Grand Wizard, sports entertainment, the turbans, the outfits, the personality, the charisma.
00:14:53The Grand Wizard of wrestling, Ernie Roth, God bless him, was just an amazing person.
00:14:58His managerial exploits were certainly tremendous.
00:15:02I remember when he was with Sergeant Slaughter.
00:15:05He took Sergeant Slaughter and they went places.
00:15:08Any time he wants him, let him take off his chicken suit and sign the contract.
00:15:17We're not afraid of him at any time.
00:15:20Right now, where is he?
00:15:22Where is he?
00:15:23Let's go right now.
00:15:25I think the Grand Wizard's impact on guys like Superstar Billy Graham just added to what Superstar was all about.
00:15:35And it was just part of the total package that the Superstar needed at that time.
00:15:40And I think it was a perfect combination.
00:15:43But with Sergeant Slaughter, it was totally different.
00:15:46Sergeant Slaughter was a no-nonsense type of guy.
00:15:50Sergeant Slaughter was one of these in-your-faces, beat-the-holy-crap-out-of-you type guys.
00:15:57The mix with the Grand Wizard, I think, really helped Sarge elevate himself into sports entertainment,
00:16:04where it wasn't just that hard-nosed, grinded-out, beat-you-up type competitor.
00:16:11Ernie Roth, who's my manager, let me know about different opponents.
00:16:16He let me know what their good moves were, what their bad moves were, what to go after if they had an injury.
00:16:23He was a very small man, and he had a big mouth.
00:16:27And he let my opponents know what he didn't like about them, and it was pretty hard to get back at him.
00:16:33Well, if you can hear me over the round of boos here, you're looking at the Grand Wizard of Wrestling.
00:16:40When you see Killer Kowalski, you're seeing the most dangerous wrestler in the world today.
00:16:47Remember that, the most dangerous wrestler in the world today.
00:16:51With all of his attire and the way he walked and the way he talked and everything,
00:16:56the Grand Wizard was very flamboyant.
00:16:58Oh, my goodness, what is that?
00:17:00I mean, the way he looked, everything about him, the clothes that he wore,
00:17:05the way that he moved was all about getting the person he was managing over.
00:17:09He was very, very unique and totally professional.
00:17:13And the Grand Wizard has taken many of men all the way to the top.
00:17:22Here she comes, ladies and gentlemen, here comes Sonny.
00:17:27I first met Sonny when Chris Candido and I worked for Jim Cornette down at Smoky Mountain.
00:17:32God, I mean, she was young. She was probably 19 years old, whatever, 18 years old.
00:17:36And she just had the gleam in her eye that she wanted to be in this industry.
00:17:39She had a magnetism and a charisma.
00:17:42This is what a real woman is supposed to look like.
00:17:45She was one of the first ones to come out, you know, half-naked with her butt and her, you know,
00:17:49things hanging out and all that. It was all good. People were digging it. She looked great. She was lean, sexy, tan.
00:17:55This is Kim. I'm Sonny. We're the body Donna's. Don't forget it.
00:18:02One in terms of central casting, as a cheerleader type person, she was like, that's what you think of.
00:18:08And that's what she was. And it worked.
00:18:10The fact that she's a really hot babe really adds to the entire picture.
00:18:15She was hot. She really was. You know, and she was adding a lot to the body Donna's.
00:18:20I think Sonny was ahead of the game. She was the best-looking, hottest girl next door that there ever was.
00:18:26I was the only one in the history of the World Wrestling Federation to manage three consecutive tag team champions.
00:18:32Sonny, in my mind, was the first real sexy female manager.
00:18:36She was the one who could walk around in a wet t-shirt at ringside,
00:18:39who could really get the fans riled up and who could really distract the opponents.
00:18:51I definitely believe Sonny, being the most downloaded manager, helped women, helped divas, you know, get more attention.
00:18:58She was the one who kind of broke out and started, like, was talking the talk, walking the walk,
00:19:02and she was doing it all out there.
00:19:04You two are fired! Do you hear me? Fired, fired, fired!
00:19:09So the more involved she got in the entire storytelling process,
00:19:13I think that's something that, you know, you see now more and more.
00:19:16No! Look at this! She has been stopped!
00:19:21I think Sonny was more of a showpiece of the manager.
00:19:24But I figured since I've been such a successful wrestling manager for so long,
00:19:27it's time I needed the spotlight all to myself.
00:19:31I think that she got a little bit too much too quick.
00:19:35I signed a really great broadcasting and commentating contract,
00:19:39which made me the co-host of LiveWire and also the full-time color commentator for Shotgun Saturday Night.
00:19:45She got a lot of success real quick because at that time,
00:19:48female managers and females in the industry that were, you know, half-naked,
00:19:53were getting over.
00:19:54Now you see divas everywhere, you know, on the cover of books, magazines, things like that,
00:19:58and Sonny was one of the first ones to help start that.
00:20:01She looked great. She had the whole package, Sonny.
00:20:03Any time she knew that camera was on her, she was ready to work.
00:20:07That's why she was so successful as a manager.
00:20:10Let's hold the ring by his manager, Colonel Jimmy Hart.
00:20:15Send him to Hart Break Hotel, Daddy.
00:20:18Never give a sucker an even break, baby.
00:20:22Oh, this is what they came to see, baby.
00:20:25Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something.
00:20:27We've got a big surprise for you.
00:20:32Now who the sound continues to talk away.
00:20:35Jimmy Hart, he's a smart manager.
00:20:37When I first went up there, the managers were like Fred Blassie, Mr. Fuji.
00:20:47They had a lot of great managers that were up there.
00:20:50But a lot of managers at that particular time would just go to the ring,
00:20:53and they would just take the jackets and then go back.
00:20:56So I remember my first experiences up there.
00:20:58I wanted to stay at ringside.
00:20:59And I remember Mr. Fuji and Fred Blassie got me in the back and said,
00:21:02Jimmy, you know what, we make just as much money going to the ring,
00:21:06taking the jackets back, then we can go ahead and beat the crowd home.
00:21:09I said, but that's okay if you want to do that,
00:21:11but I want to stay at ringside.
00:21:12I want to be with my guys.
00:21:16You know, I just want to be part of this.
00:21:18And that was kind of the philosophy that I brought up to the WWE
00:21:21when I came up there.
00:21:25I always tried to be there for my men.
00:21:27The emphasis needs to be on the talent and not on the manager.
00:21:30You know, I never tried to out-talk anybody.
00:21:32I was always there for moral support for them.
00:21:35I always felt like a manager's job was being at ringside with them,
00:21:39not trying to take away the attention from them,
00:21:42but being there for them if they needed me.
00:21:50Here is the manager of the Mouth of the South, Jimmy Hart.
00:21:54You know, I've managed so many people in the WWE.
00:21:57Managed by the Mouth of the South.
00:21:59Of course, I had King Kong Bundy.
00:22:01Greg the Hammer Valentine.
00:22:05Hulk Hogan.
00:22:06Brutus the Barber Beefcake.
00:22:07The Hurt Foundation.
00:22:09The Nasty Boys.
00:22:10The Hulkie Talks Now.
00:22:12The Fabulous Hugh Joe Brothers.
00:22:16Jock is the Mountie.
00:22:18The Funt Brothers.
00:22:20I had the wrestling referee, Danny Davis.
00:22:23Earth One.
00:22:24Typhoon is a natural disaster.
00:22:26Gosh, there's just been so many of them.
00:22:28The list just goes on and on and on.
00:22:34Oh, I love it antagonizing the crowd.
00:22:36What happened is Vince McMahon came back from Japan and brought this megaphone to me to say,
00:22:41Jimmy, from now on you're going to start carrying this megaphone to the ring.
00:22:48It was probably one of the best things that anybody could ever happen to me because I think the megaphone was over more than Jimmy Hart.
00:22:53Matter of fact, when I go out and do personal appearances now, all over the country people go,
00:22:57where's the megaphone?
00:22:58Let me see the megaphone.
00:23:01You know, I used to put those batteries in there and antagonize the people so much and they would just, you know,
00:23:05I want to take that megaphone and shove it up your, you know.
00:23:08How many of those in the audience would like to see this megaphone crammed down Jimmy, mouth of the south, heart's mouth?
00:23:17How many of you would like to see it crammed up?
00:23:23I think everybody in the audience could beat me up.
00:23:27I mean, the five year old kids could probably beat me up.
00:23:29So I think that gave me a lot of longevity up there because no matter who I managed,
00:23:34I'd always have the fans that still wanted to come out of the audience and kick Jimmy Hart's butt,
00:23:38because like I said, I weighed 160 pounds and the women thought they could beat me up.
00:23:42I think that gave me a little edge on the other managers.
00:23:47My goal was being very visual.
00:23:50I loved wearing all different outfits, being very colorful.
00:23:59My favorite part was managing.
00:24:01I mean, I love going out in front of the camera.
00:24:03I just love that.
00:24:04I didn't care.
00:24:05You know, I guess a lot of people don't want to get beat and don't want to be humiliated.
00:24:08But man, when they stripped me off and I was running around the ring with underwear, that was fine.
00:24:18When they painted me red and yellow, that was great.
00:24:20I guess it's not bad enough that he's got to beat the life out of Jimmy Hart.
00:24:24Now he's going to spray paint him.
00:24:25When they tarred and feathered me, fantastic, because I learned one thing about being in wrestling.
00:24:30Dude, anything that you can do to stand out.
00:24:33He's going to brand me.
00:24:34We're two other going after Jimmy Hart.
00:24:36Don't do something.
00:24:37You'll be so bad.
00:24:38Oh my goodness.
00:24:40Half the people couldn't tell you what happened on the matches or who won.
00:24:44They remember the things that stand out the most.
00:24:46So I realized in my life, if somebody don't want to be tarred and feathered or beat up or water thrown on them or prank played on them,
00:24:52I'll be the one to do it because I know that's what's going to make people remember Jimmy Hart.
00:25:01Vince McMahon really gave me a chance to be in New York.
00:25:05And if it wasn't for him at that particular time, Jimmy Hart wouldn't be sitting here now.
00:25:10I wouldn't have the things that I've had.
00:25:12I wouldn't be able to walk down memory lane with you with the gold albums and all that.
00:25:15colorful jackets and all the things that I've accomplished and being with some of the biggest names ever in professional wrestling.
00:25:22You've got to always remember one thing.
00:25:24You know, this doesn't last forever.
00:25:26And one day you might be on the outside looking in wishing that you could have one more chance.
00:25:32You know, never look a gift horse in the mouth.
00:25:36And I've always kind of had one motto and it's always been, uh, did I really get paid for doing this?
00:25:50How hard is it?
00:25:51How hard is it?
00:25:52I said tuna.
00:25:53No mayo, Matt.
00:25:54No mayo.
00:25:58Unbelievable, these guys.
00:26:04Oh, hey.
00:26:06Welcome back.
00:26:07Uh, there's no question that Jimmy Hart's megaphone made him heard on the scene loud and clear.
00:26:12But what we're going to see next are a group of managers who made a lot of noise in a different way, so to speak.
00:26:18You see, these managers stood out largely because they satisfied all the senses.
00:26:23They had nice outlines.
00:26:25They used their assets.
00:26:28You're still not getting it, are you?
00:26:30I'm talking about women managers.
00:26:37Whether you're male or female, the job is still the same.
00:26:40The advantages of a female manager are simple.
00:26:42I can, right off the top of my head, I can think of one.
00:26:46Or two.
00:26:48First of all, the audience likes to look at a female manager.
00:26:51Let's be honest, it helps sell tickets.
00:26:53It helps ratings on television.
00:26:55People want to see sexy girls running around ringside.
00:27:00One, two, three, four, one, four.
00:27:06Having a female manager, I think there's a certain advantage because a female can distract in ways that a male can.
00:27:13I do not interfere in the matches.
00:27:15I know I look great, and I might be an interference to some sick individuals out there, but that's not why I'm out there.
00:27:22Gilbert's got Missy's purse.
00:27:24The Gucci bag, and it is Neil Sullivan in the midsection with it.
00:27:27Inside cradle.
00:27:28He almost got him, and he holds it.
00:27:31A female manager can get up on the ring, can distract your opponent.
00:27:34And Tom Pritchard seems to be mesmerized.
00:27:36Look at him.
00:27:37Look at him.
00:27:38And Marlena.
00:27:39Oh, wait.
00:27:41Whoa!
00:27:42Hemsley just kissed Marlena.
00:27:45You usually got a hot girl on the outside.
00:27:47It's a little hard to focus on that big, beefy, 250-pound sweaty guy.
00:27:52I mean, you got this pretty old 5'7", 120-pound female winking at you, flashing a little bit of this.
00:28:00You know, it's a distraction.
00:28:02What is Lito?
00:28:03Is she begging, pleading, or what is she saying?
00:28:06Oh, my gosh!
00:28:07She's flashing!
00:28:08Look out!
00:28:11Watch this.
00:28:12Watch this.
00:28:13Boom!
00:28:15A female can say everything that a male manager can say, even with more vehemence sometimes.
00:28:21And in case you didn't hear it right, this man doesn't have to hide behind anybody's skirt!
00:28:30A female manager is savvy enough to know when to get involved.
00:28:33And when you get involved, I mean, we ain't gonna go out there and beat up girls.
00:28:36Oh, look at this!
00:28:37Double teaming!
00:28:38Watch it!
00:28:45Oh, man!
00:28:46If it were a male manager, you would grab him right by the throat and say, hey, look,
00:28:50you little scrawny, whatever it may be, and I'm gonna take care of you.
00:28:54You know?
00:28:55You can't do that, you know, to a female.
00:28:59Throughout the past, there were called valets.
00:29:02Accompanied by his valet, precious, he is gorgeous, Jimmy Garvin!
00:29:08A lot of them were groundbreaking during their era and during their time period.
00:29:13Some were real-life girlfriends to wrestlers, some were wives, some were just there in a business role.
00:29:19She is absolutely gorgeous, absolutely voluptuous!
00:29:23I think that's the problem as far as Merrill's concerned. He's standing in her shadow!
00:29:27Well, Sable started out obviously working as a manager for Hunter Hearst Helmsley and then moved on with Mark Merrill.
00:29:34And I think Sable really stole the spotlight.
00:29:36And she became a superstar in this industry and she went places that some of the people she managed never went to here in the WWE.
00:29:42I think women like Chyna and Luna changed our industry, but they kind of mirrored a society change.
00:29:50Women being strong and women being athletic and women being powerful and all those things was for the first time ever becoming more and more acceptable.
00:29:58Look at this!
00:29:59Oh!
00:30:00Did you see what Chyna just did to Kim Shamrock?
00:30:03Yes!
00:30:04Chyna gives you meaning to the term feminine protection!
00:30:07They were so dominant and Chyna never had a problem hitting a man or getting involved in the action, much more so than her female counterparts.
00:30:18When Chyna comes out of the ring, you got to be looking at the guy you're fighting and looking at Chyna, because either way you get clothes on from either one of them.
00:30:28I think that really changed and it gave women a feeling of power. It kind of opened up the view of women in our business from being just eye candy valets.
00:30:36to being active sort of participants within what was going on in the ring.
00:30:43They had so much more of a presence. I mean, Chyna had enough of a presence to go from being a manager to being a full-time performer.
00:30:49You know, a full-time wrestler. That's about the utmost respect you can get.
00:30:54And Chyna! Chyna has made history!
00:30:57Oh, I recall a certain manager, yeah, went on to become a six-time women's champion and fared quite well, actually.
00:31:05Kind of made a nice transitional move, I'd say, yeah. Oh, yeah, she was good. She was really good.
00:31:11You know, times have changed, and we're changing with the times.
00:31:15This Melita is vicious. She's fiery wench!
00:31:17And she's sexy, pretty, and all that, but she's a vicious, vicious girl.
00:31:22My career as a manager has been great. I actually started out as a manager for the artist formerly known as Prince Iakea, then I moved on to Queewee, and finally on to my husband, Booker T.
00:31:34Medusa to Miss Elizabeth.
00:31:37Whoa!
00:31:38Now this is smart.
00:31:39She was very easy on the eye.
00:31:41Sometimes I never even knew she was managing somebody. I just was watching Deborah at all times.
00:31:46A lot of girls have made a lot of impact in this business and been a big plus for the industry.
00:31:56Paul Bear is one of the smartest managers in the world!
00:32:00Paul Bear was the most unique manager, you know, we've ever had because he managed the most unique individual in the history of the business.
00:32:09He was Percy Pringle, I think, down in Texas, and had been a manager and a very successful one, you know, for many years.
00:32:16So he knew the art of how to manage.
00:32:20He used to try to be Bobby Hinn. When he was in Texas, he used to go, he bleached his hair and everything. He tried to be Bobby Hinn. He told me that once. I said, don't ever do that. That's not because it'll hurt me, it'll ruin you. Be yourself.
00:32:33Paul is a certified mortician, so it seemed like a natural fit.
00:32:39When we put him with this unique character, you know, he fit right in and could be creepy and eerie and things like that.
00:32:46Welcome! Once again, I welcome you into my parlor!
00:32:56I really feel that Paul Bear had a great deal to do with the success of The Undertaker.
00:33:00It was not just The Undertaker. It was the total package there and the fact that, you know, here was this dead man.
00:33:08And then his sidekick was Paul Bear. I mean, it was just perfect.
00:33:14With the urn, the ashes, the whole total look. And then that creepy voice.
00:33:20Oh, welcome into my undertaker's private workshop.
00:33:26I don't think it would have been nearly as effective if The Undertaker had come right out and just started talking.
00:33:32It was so important for Paul Bear, with that freakishly high-pitched voice of his, to talk for The Undertaker.
00:33:40Oh, my undertaker! Yes, my undertaker has been working night and day on a custom-made coffin for you, Kamala!
00:33:55He loves the business. He loved his role. He loves The Undertaker. It's just worked for him.
00:34:03And this guy is like you see in the movies.
00:34:06Downstairs in the dungeon with the chains and the torch and the light and the hump on your back.
00:34:11He looked the part. It's perfect.
00:34:15Rest in peace.
00:34:21I just think that he was very, very important in that package.
00:34:25And for years and years, it was a very, very successful combination, the two of them.
00:34:30He added a great deal to us. I guess he was probably the most unique manager, you know, in the history of the business.
00:34:37At this time, I would like to introduce the manager, the golden boy, Arnold Scullin!
00:34:56Ladies and gentlemen, give it up, if you would, for a man who had a great deal to do with building the World Wrestling Federation to what it is today, Hall of Famer, Arnold Scullin!
00:35:15The greatest manager of all time was probably Arnold Scullin, because he managed the World Champion, Bob Backlund.
00:35:24He also managed the World Champion, Bruno Sammartino.
00:35:27We had a new guy from Italy, the new guy in the country, Bruno Sammartino.
00:35:33And then Bob Backlund, a young kid, becoming champion, they needed help.
00:35:38Arnold Scullin was one of the best to teach these guys the old school of wrestling.
00:35:44Well, I was more quiet and laid back.
00:35:46These other guys were out there shouting, screaming about their guys, but I didn't have to scream and shout about my guys.
00:35:51They knew what to do, and they performed well. They were champions.
00:35:55You look at his record, pretty unblemished.
00:35:58He had champions for probably over 12, 13 years.
00:36:03Arnold in excellent condition, you know, he trains with Bob Backlund all the time.
00:36:07Right.
00:36:08Oh!
00:36:09Although he doesn't appear in the ring all the time, he's ready to go at any time.
00:36:12Dolan showed Morocco something there.
00:36:15Makes a big difference being a manager if you've had a wrestling career along with it before you become a manager.
00:36:21You've got to be able to wrestle and know what you're doing so you can teach somebody else what to do.
00:36:26And what gets over and what doesn't get over.
00:36:30Over 10,000 matches I've had.
00:36:32That's unbelievable.
00:36:33And you've wrestled in how many decades?
00:36:35Ah, five decades.
00:36:37It wasn't just Bobby Backlund.
00:36:41It was Bobby Backlund and Arnold Scullin.
00:36:44And they were together as a package to make each other bigger. And it worked.
00:36:50Yeah.
00:36:51He's sitting right on that lower back.
00:36:53Is he ever pulling on it?
00:36:54Pull on it!
00:36:55And Backlund's got a bad neck.
00:36:57Pull on it!
00:36:58Oh!
00:36:59Pull out!
00:37:00Backlund did not submit.
00:37:01Arnold Scullin threw something into the ring.
00:37:05If I'm correct, that's the same as a submission.
00:37:07We have a new champion in the World Wrestling Federation.
00:37:10Arnold Scullin, knowing that Bob Backlund did not quit.
00:37:16Threw the towel in.
00:37:17I can't believe it!
00:37:19The referee kept asking Bob, do you want to give up?
00:37:22And he said, no.
00:37:23He wouldn't give it in.
00:37:24I know Bob.
00:37:25He wouldn't quit for anything.
00:37:27So I figured I don't want to see the kid get hurt.
00:37:29So that's when I threw the towel in.
00:37:31It was hard to do.
00:37:32But I'd rather do something like that and see the kid get hurt.
00:37:37Throwing the towel, I don't think, was a controversy.
00:37:40I think, at that time, Arnold Scullin thought he was doing the right thing.
00:37:44He didn't want Backlund to be hurt and his career to be over.
00:37:47So I think he did the right thing.
00:37:50Over the years, Arnie has made the transition from superstar wrestler to superstar manager
00:37:55to gin rummy champion and cribbage champion of the World Wrestling Federation.
00:38:00And now, superstar official.
00:38:03Arnie, with this plaque, it's my privilege to induct you, Arnold Scullin, the Golden Boy,
00:38:09into the World Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame.
00:38:14These baseball players, football players, all looking to go to the Hall of Fame.
00:38:18Same thing with wrestling.
00:38:20And it was good for me because we were the first guys into the Hall of Fame.
00:38:27But what's for you fans, we wouldn't be up here today.
00:38:32I remember Shane introducing me and horsing around with me.
00:38:36He's always kidding with me.
00:38:38I know him since he was a baby.
00:38:40Arnold Scullin is a wonderful human being and the most loyal person I have ever known in my life.
00:38:47You could give him anything in your life and walk away for 20 years and come back and there it is.
00:38:54I'd have to say he was probably the greatest manager of all time in wrestling
00:38:58only because of his knowledge of wrestling along with being a manager.
00:39:03No.
00:39:16If you have the God-given gift of talking, knowing how to get your charge over as a manager,
00:39:21I think the in-ring experience is a perk.
00:39:23It's a blessing.
00:39:24But it's not necessary in an overall perspective.
00:39:26I think it helps.
00:39:31Because you're able to know where to be, when to be there.
00:39:34I definitely think that it helps.
00:39:38You know all the ins and outs of the business.
00:39:41Ring psychology, how to speak in front of the camera, to the crowd.
00:39:46No, it doesn't.
00:39:47That's like saying to be a good coach, you have to be a good player.
00:39:53No, there have been a lot of great coaches that have never played, but they're great coaches.
00:39:57Being a great wrestling manager, you just have to know the ins and outs of the business.
00:40:02It's two different animals.
00:40:06To be a great wrestler, you have to be disciplined.
00:40:09You have to be vicious, reckless.
00:40:11Managers are more calculating.
00:40:13They have to think through things.
00:40:14They have to plot.
00:40:15They have to plan.
00:40:16Because they work with their mind, not their body.
00:40:18It makes a big difference.
00:40:23Taro Skolan had a great wrestling career and became one of the greatest managers of all time.
00:40:29No.
00:40:33I think some of the better managers in the industry are guys who, or gals, who never did wrestle.
00:40:39Even though they had no credibility as a wrestler, but they've been around the industry for a long time.
00:40:43They've been around the industry for so long when they learned how to lead talent to be champions.
00:40:47I think it helps to have a successful career in the ring prior to becoming a manager.
00:40:54You know the psychology of actually being involved in a matchup.
00:40:57You know how to entertain the crowd.
00:40:58You know how to cut a promo.
00:40:59Oh, I definitely do.
00:41:00The people that have been in the ring, that know the moves, just in terms of fundamentals, or the people that can use surprise tactics.
00:41:10I think that means a great deal for a professional wrestler getting that kind of advice from a manager who has been in the ring.
00:41:17Escorted into the ring by manageress Sherry Martell.
00:41:29I got me a manager.
00:41:34That is unbelievably sensational.
00:41:45A great female manager would be Sherry Martell.
00:41:47This lady is the meanest, the roughest, the cutest, the most beautiful.
00:41:52I know you all want me, but you can't have me.
00:41:57Truth be told, I had a little bit of a cross shotter.
00:42:01Carrie Martell, a very beautiful lady, but anything but nice inside that ring.
00:42:08I think the fact that Sherry was a great female wrestler made her that much better as a manager.
00:42:14Boy, you can see right there why she was the women's heavyweight wrestling champion.
00:42:19Well, I think she's got more courage in Rose than the Playboy.
00:42:24What can I say about Sherry Martell?
00:42:26She is not only at the top of her field as the woman's world champion, but she's also a very successful manageress.
00:42:35Her clients, Playboy Buddy Rose and Doug Pretty Boy Summers.
00:42:39And, of course, they are the world tag team champions.
00:42:42The feud between Buddy Rose, Doug Summers, and the Midnight Rockers was the hottest thing that the ABA had, certainly at that time.
00:42:49That's right.
00:42:50Sherry Martell, you stick your nose in our business, you'll end up like Buddy Rose did on TV, having all his clothes taken off.
00:42:55Sherry Martell, what a treat to be for everybody in the Metrodome if you end up the same way.
00:43:00I think it's extremely ironic that Sherry, at a later time, became my manager.
00:43:09She was the nouveau type person in that role, you know, in terms of a woman manager.
00:43:16And, you know, today, I mean, she paved the road for a lot of others to follow.
00:43:20That's about all she's good for, distractions. That's what she is, one humongous distraction.
00:43:27Sherry was probably one of the first. You actually had a woman who was a force.
00:43:31It wasn't just about the way they looked. It wasn't just cosmetics.
00:43:34It was a woman who would come out there, and she would just be as instrumental as their opponent.
00:43:40Sherry Martell definitely influenced me. I watched her with Harlem Heat, and I just thought she was great.
00:43:45She was the ultimate bad girl. I really liked Sherry because she could get in there and mix it up just like the guys could.
00:43:52Would do anything you ask her to do. Sherry, do you mind, you know, passing the Knucks tonight?
00:43:57It could be, you know, it could be hot out there. No problem.
00:44:00Sherry, do you mind, you know, whatever it is you wanted Sherry to do? She was there.
00:44:04Get somebody down there! Here we go! Oh, no!
00:44:08I pulled her in front of the mirror and sacrificed Sherry to take the mirror shot instead of me for Martin.
00:44:15Shawn Michaels pulled his manager in front of him. He pulled Sherry in front of him to take the shot.
00:44:22She's not somebody that is going to back down from anybody or any guy.
00:44:27But she's what you get. If you think that I'm gonna go over there and cower in the corner because I'm a woman, you better think again, pal.
00:44:35She was so good she was almost a threat, not meaning to be, to whoever way she was managing.
00:44:40She's really, really good.
00:44:42You may see the best here.
00:44:44They're talking much, okay?
00:44:46No, they're not.
00:44:47Yes, they are.
00:44:48No, they're not.
00:44:49Yes, they are.
00:44:50No, they're not.
00:44:51Yes, they are.
00:44:52No, they're not.
00:44:53Yes, they are.
00:44:54Get out of here.
00:44:55She got some pretty good heat.
00:44:56She should be known as Scary Sherry.
00:45:02She was a wild woman, a Hellcat.
00:45:05Now we know who's a better woman.
00:45:07I told you she was crazy.
00:45:09Better days are bad!
00:45:13Sherry could scream.
00:45:14Sherry could yell.
00:45:15And even more importantly, she could back it all up.
00:45:18What's in store for you?
00:45:20Take a good look, brother.
00:45:23What is she rambling on?
00:45:25She's been screaming since SummerSlam.
00:45:27She's right up there with the best.
00:45:29I give her a 10, because she can go off.
00:45:34Yeah.
00:45:35She's gonna scream and holler with the best of them.
00:45:37Oh, let me make it sick!
00:45:44The best manager that a guy can have in this industry.
00:45:48Sherry always wanted it to be the best it could be.
00:45:53She's always supportive.
00:45:54She's always there.
00:45:55You can count on her.
00:46:00It was a huge boost for my career to have her in my corner.
00:46:05And now, ladies and gentlemen.
00:46:08He manages millions.
00:46:10He trains champions.
00:46:12And he's your friend and mine, Mr. Jim Cornette.
00:46:17Twin sons of different mothers.
00:46:20Lover boy, Dennis and beautiful Bobby, the Midnight Express.
00:46:24Jim Cornette, one of the best, without question.
00:46:28Great oratory skills.
00:46:30Those men rank right up there with arthritis and polio as one of the three great cripplers.
00:46:34And let me tell you this.
00:46:35You people, some of you know me, some of you don't.
00:46:37But on the Super Station, everybody in professional wrestling is gonna get a chance to know me and my men.
00:46:41I come from a family of means.
00:46:43My mother's always seen to it that I got whatever education, whatever business opportunities I wanted.
00:46:47Jim generally had one speed, you know, full blast.
00:46:51Elvis is alive.
00:46:53He was seen at a Burger King in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
00:46:56These guys are on top of things.
00:46:57And right here in the latest issue, right here on the editorial page next to the science column where it says that an expert says dinosaurs honk like Buicks.
00:47:05It says that in a survey taken of the population of Butte, Montana, 95% of the people did not want to see Jim Cornette get put in a straight jacket.
00:47:152% did.
00:47:16And 3% were unavailable for comment.
00:47:18And brother, there you have it.
00:47:20A Jim Cornette, great guy.
00:47:23I mean, absolutely fantastic person.
00:47:26My mother gave me this racket when I won a mixed doubles tournament back home at the club.
00:47:30I could beat John McEnroe in any kind of tennis game.
00:47:32I could beat anybody.
00:47:33I am a professional athlete, a professional quality athlete.
00:47:36That's why I carry a tennis racket.
00:47:38And mother told me to take very good care.
00:47:40Look, Buzz Sawyer knocked a couple of my rhinestones out.
00:47:43And my mother told me to take very good care of this from now on because after all, I am a Cornette.
00:47:48Jimmy knows a lot about this business.
00:47:51Jimmy has a brilliant mind.
00:47:52He's great for storylines.
00:47:54He thinks, I mean, he does things right off the top of his head, which are great things.
00:47:58I think we can safely say that Jim Cornette's physical presence will not have a bearing on this match, Tony.
00:48:07Bobby!
00:48:08Bobby!
00:48:09Bobby!
00:48:10Bobby!
00:48:11He's definitely afraid of heights.
00:48:12Look at him.
00:48:13He looks more helpless than I've ever seen.
00:48:17As you take a look at Cornette rising to the occasion, he is going up high.
00:48:21I always knew he was going to go far in the sport of professional wrestling.
00:48:27He's right in front of Cornette.
00:48:29Look at Cornette with a fingernail, just sticking and jabbing it right into the face of Finley.
00:48:33And he's sure reciting something to him.
00:48:36I'm sure it's not poetry.
00:48:38Playing a mind game with him.
00:48:40Look at Cornette.
00:48:42Jim understood the art of getting heat.
00:48:46He knew exactly how to do that.
00:48:49Have you ever seen three physical specimens like this in your life, huh?
00:48:55Here's Jimmy Cornette.
00:48:56Hello, Buckethead.
00:48:57Brother, let me tell you something right now.
00:48:59The Midnight Express champions of every state, province, country, and continent.
00:49:04The only team ever to hold a U.S. and the world tag team title at the same time.
00:49:08These guys are hot, brother.
00:49:10They're so hot, they're on fire.
00:49:12As a matter of fact, they got a fever.
00:49:13That's how hot they are.
00:49:14They look good.
00:49:15They are good.
00:49:16They wrestle good.
00:49:17Somebody, please hit that guy in the nose.
00:49:20Somebody, please hit him over there.
00:49:22Somebody, please take that weasel and, you know, stuff him in the garbage can.
00:49:26Just shut him up.
00:49:27This one.
00:49:29This is an old time.
00:49:31Pier six brawl.
00:49:32Cornette throwing everything that's not nailed down.
00:49:35Hey, how long you been in professional wrestling?
00:49:37About 15 minutes, huh?
00:49:40You got anything to say to your mother and father watching you at home?
00:49:43This is not going to go very good to board directors, Jimmy, I'll tell you that.
00:49:46You guys are a man of few words.
00:49:48A arg and oof is the only ones I heard.
00:49:50The other unique thing that Jim Cornette had about him, I think, was his look.
00:49:54You know, he looked and, in reality, was a big mama's boy.
00:50:00You know, it was like a big spoiled brat.
00:50:02I promised my mother a long time ago that I was going to carry the Cornette name to the heights of professional wrestling and I was going to make the Midnight Express virtually all over the world recognized as number one.
00:50:14I am still very interested in making my mama proud of me.
00:50:18My mama has three horses running in the Derby this year and she's right now in her private box.
00:50:24She couldn't make it today, but she sent her personal caterer down here.
00:50:28We got the plates.
00:50:29We got the silverware.
00:50:30We got the napkin.
00:50:31You got three fours.
00:50:32You got three spoons.
00:50:33You got three plates.
00:50:34Yeah.
00:50:35Party.
00:50:36Because everybody that contributed to the success of the Midnight Express is invited.
00:50:39Me, Bobby and Stan.
00:50:41Jimmy Cornette had a lot of heat with the people, with the fans back in the Derby's City everyday, but it was great working with him.
00:50:48The people just wanted to see Jim Cornette get what he had coming to him, or at least what they thought he had coming to him.
00:50:54And, you know, that was certainly an attribute that really helped Jim in his career.
00:50:58Did anybody ever wonder why they never heard of Paulie Dangerously until just last year?
00:51:04Well, the answer was revealed in this issue of The Weekly Sun just out this week.
00:51:08It's revealed that wrestling manager Paulie Dangerously is in reality the former Ethel Gold Bomb of Queens, New York,
00:51:15who was the victim, unfortunately, of an accidental sex change operation.
00:51:20But it also says that Dangerously plans to have the procedure reversed.
00:51:24He was always, you know, the flamboyant big mouth.
00:51:27But again, when it came time and at the right time for him to get his rear head kicked, he was one of the best.
00:51:36Oh! Beautiful move by Cornette.
00:51:39Cornette just kicked him in the hand, the powder went right in his face.
00:51:42Here he comes.
00:51:44And he's ripping away.
00:51:46Paulie's down to his BBBs, and he's getting out of here.
00:51:50His interviews and the things that he said, he could do what we always refer to in wrestling as,
00:51:56he could talk people into the arenas.
00:51:58Well, you know something?
00:51:59It's the biggest risk we've ever taken in our career.
00:52:01The biggest match, Chi-Town Rumble.
00:52:03The guy that gets pinned in that six-man tag, brother, is leaving the NWA.
00:52:07And Bobby and Stan have had enough faith in me to make me their partner.
00:52:10And, brother, I ain't gonna let them down.
00:52:12I ain't gonna let you down, Stan.
00:52:13When Jim Cornette went out and talked for his wrestlers, it made the fans want to go buy a ticket to see not only his wrestlers get beat,
00:52:20but to see hopefully the wrestler get their hands on Jim Cornette as well.
00:52:24If people yell at you constantly, you become accustomed to that.
00:52:28So I think that he was pretty much one-dimensional.
00:52:32A good dimension, but one-dimensional.
00:52:34Jim was unquestionably one of the great managers.
00:52:37He would take bumps, you name it.
00:52:39There's nothing he wouldn't do for the business.
00:52:41Jim Cornette's legacy to me is a mama's boy, the tennis racket, the 90-mile-an-hour promos that he did,
00:52:52just the outrageousness of Jim Cornette.
00:52:58Yeah!
00:52:59The Louisville Slugger, Jim Cornette.
00:53:02He hit him out of the park for any superstar he managed.
00:53:06You cannot dispute his success or his notoriety.
00:53:09Cornette possessed a skill that a lot of our great managers had in common.
00:53:13They didn't hesitate to bend the rules.
00:53:15Let's face it, they were masters at the art of cheating.
00:53:20To be a manager, it's so simple.
00:53:24You only have to do a few things.
00:53:26Distract the referee.
00:53:28Techniques that I used to get ahead when I was managing to get my wrestler ahead was just basically distraction.
00:53:35Long is, wait a minute, they double-teamed Rick Steiner from the second row.
00:53:40Can they hold him down?
00:53:41He did!
00:53:42Let's go!
00:53:43If there was a spot that I found there that I could jump up on that apron and draw that referee
00:53:47while my guy was doing whatever he was doing behind his back, then that was my thing.
00:53:51If that's what it took to win, then that's what I'd done.
00:53:53Dillon's up on the apron of the ring!
00:53:55What's gonna happen here?
00:53:56Sucks him up!
00:53:57Oh, a big karate chop!
00:53:58Right across the midsection!
00:53:59Oh, he did!
00:54:00Wait a minute!
00:54:01Here comes...
00:54:02Look out!
00:54:03Bobby DeBrain heated up on the apron!
00:54:04Look at this!
00:54:05He did going into his tights!
00:54:06Santana's gonna hold him!
00:54:07Watch out from behind!
00:54:08Harley Race with the reverse sunset!
00:54:09Shoulder down!
00:54:10Oh, come on!
00:54:11Whatever it takes to win, that's how I roll.
00:54:24You have to be able to trip a guy?
00:54:27Wait a minute!
00:54:28Oh!
00:54:29Slick just grabbing the ankle there on the Junkyard Dog.
00:54:34Referee, I don't believe so.
00:54:35Come on!
00:54:36He did it again!
00:54:37From the outside, Pucci hooked the leg with the cage!
00:54:42If I could trip the guy, or if there was just a spot right there that I had my moment,
00:54:47that I could get in there and just punch him or whatever I had to do.
00:54:50Theodore on again.
00:54:52Here's Theodore.
00:54:53And he lost.
00:54:55Now, that's not gonna put him away, but it's certainly, it's frustrating.
00:55:00Get that camera over me right now, buddy!
00:55:02Don't do it!
00:55:03Right there, JJ!
00:55:04You know, this kind of stuff is uncalled for, you know?
00:55:08Oh, look at Molina again getting involved!
00:55:10And she just yanked Mysterio out of the ring!
00:55:13Did you see that?
00:55:14See what?
00:55:15From the outside, a clobber job with a cane!
00:55:20It looked like you on occasion.
00:55:22You do things like that.
00:55:24Don't deny that you don't.
00:55:25I don't want a hat like that.
00:55:26You do?
00:55:27No, I don't.
00:55:28I don't have a cane either.
00:55:29Turn that camera off!
00:55:30Turn that damn tail off!
00:55:32You have to be able to pass for an object.
00:55:35To pass a foreign object to your wrestler, it takes skill.
00:55:39Number one, when you pass that foreign object, you gotta make sure that the referee doesn't see it.
00:55:43Something happened there.
00:55:45I'm not quite sure what.
00:55:46Sometime, if you're a professional, you can do it while the referee's looking.
00:55:50Pugino up on the air!
00:55:52Oh, the referee never saw that!
00:55:54Stomping away at Sting!
00:55:56The shoe is off!
00:55:57Here comes the shoe!
00:55:58Right across the top of the head!
00:56:01Got a shoe off!
00:56:02Hiding up!
00:56:03What's he gonna do with the shoe?
00:56:04The best thing I think a manager could use would be brass knuckles.
00:56:08Brass knuckles are easy to hide.
00:56:10You can put them in your pocket and you can actually stick your hand in your pocket and
00:56:13put them on.
00:56:14Pugino going up to the top!
00:56:15Brass knuckles!
00:56:16He's got brass knuckles!
00:56:17He's got something!
00:56:18Yes!
00:56:19Oh!
00:56:20He nailed the big guy right away!
00:56:21The referee and Andre both go down!
00:56:22If you hit a guy with some brass knuckles, you're gonna knock him out.
00:56:25So there's no doubt that your guy's gonna win.
00:56:27He just passed something a few moments ago to the natural butch read and he just used it
00:56:32on the junkyard dog.
00:56:33Those brass knuckles, you hit a guy with that, that's it.
00:56:40You have to be able to do all of these three things without letting the referee see it.
00:56:45And every time your guy gets a 1-2-3, if you cause him to get the 1-2-3, if you've done
00:56:50something on the outside to make that win, then you're happy as s***.
00:56:54I can't believe it, Paul E Dangerously!
00:57:00I don't know how you did it!
00:57:02Your men are the tag team champions of the world!
00:57:05For those of you who are too ignorant to know, my name is Paul E Dangerously!
00:57:12The best manager of all time, in my personal opinion, is Paul Heyman.
00:57:17He had everything.
00:57:18He could talk.
00:57:19He was exciting to watch.
00:57:21And he knew what it took to bring out those strengths of every person that he ever worked
00:57:26with.
00:57:27The Midnight Express!
00:57:29The Dangerous Alliance and their manager, Paul E Dangerously, make a very auspicious debut
00:57:37here at the AWA!
00:57:39There was two Paul Heymans.
00:57:40There was Paul E Dangerously, and then there was Paul Heyman once he came to WWE.
00:57:46I always loved Paul E Dangerously.
00:57:48I thought it was great for the cell phone.
00:57:49Back then he was using a cell phone that was the size of, you know, your camera.
00:57:52When I'm in the shower, I have this with me!
00:57:55When I'm in bed, I have this with me!
00:57:57And when I'm out at the ring most of the time, I'm gonna have this with me, because I'm
00:58:01always keeping in touch.
00:58:02I'm always listening.
00:58:03I'm always negotiating.
00:58:04I'm always trying to get contracts from my men.
00:58:06He knew what it took to make the people really upset, to make the people really mad, make
00:58:11the people really want to see him get his butt kicked out there.
00:58:16I'm going to show you what professional wrestling is all about.
00:58:19That's marvelous.
00:58:20We're happy to hear that.
00:58:21I remember early in his career, he always had the cell phone in his ear.
00:58:24Look at this.
00:58:25On the phone again.
00:58:26Who do you suppose he's talking to, Rod?
00:58:28Well, whoever it is, it doesn't seem to be too happy about it all.
00:58:32Whether it is Stanley Blackburn or...
00:58:34Well, I don't know.
00:58:35Unless he's talking to himself, which I think maybe he is.
00:58:38It even made me mad at times, you know, I'm thinking, you know, what's he doing with
00:58:42a cell phone out at ringside?
00:58:44Whether you like the Midnight Expresser or not, they have some very, very impressive
00:58:48numbers inside the squared ring.
00:58:50That they do, Rod, and they are good.
00:58:52And, of course, managed by Paul E. Dangerously.
00:58:55Paul had that arrogance, just a natural cockiness about him.
00:59:00I took your man right here.
00:59:02I took the name of your tag team.
00:59:04I took your spot.
00:59:06I took your position.
00:59:08I took your gimmick.
00:59:09And so help me, you know what, Jim Cornette.
00:59:12On February 20th, my man, I'm gonna take your job.
00:59:16Just little things that he would do that made the fans just instantly dislike him.
00:59:21Paul E. Dangerously!
00:59:25The most memorable manager in ECW would have to be the boss himself, Paul Heyman.
00:59:31And there is the psycho yuppie himself.
00:59:35Paul E. Dangerously!
00:59:37Looking as dapper as I've seen him in years!
00:59:40He was the original manager of 9-1-1, who was the innovator of Chokeslam.
00:59:44He looks more dangerous than 9-1-1 this week.
00:59:48Maybe not.
00:59:49And then, of course, Paul managing Sabu.
00:59:52And Paul doing a talking for Sabu because Sabu's whole gimmick was he doesn't speak.
00:59:56Tonight, in this ring, we give to you the return of Sabu!
01:00:04By the time he got to WWE, they really had to make him Paul Heyman because he was more famous as the owner of ECW than he was for the goofy 80s yuppie.
01:00:16You know, one thing about Heyman, he's ahead of the curve sometimes, you gotta give the devil his due.
01:00:20He had a tremendously successful career.
01:00:22He managed as champion Big Show, Brock Lesnar, and Kurt Ang.
01:00:27Paul Heyman is a manager, tremendous talent.
01:00:31From a psychological standpoint, sometimes on a different plane than the audience.
01:00:37Even today, you could put him back on television and you could go places where I dare say no manager's ever been before.
01:00:46That's how talented he can be.
01:00:49May I introduce the manager, Captain Lewis Albano.
01:01:03There's no doubt that when you meet Captain Lou, you have an indelible mark on you.
01:01:09He's just another very colorful character.
01:01:12Captain is sharp.
01:01:13The captain's where it's at.
01:01:14He'd throw people off just right out of the gate on look so long.
01:01:17My look.
01:01:19Ha, boy.
01:01:20Lou Albano had one of the most interesting looks ever in probably the history of the WWE.
01:01:24I had earrings shooting through here.
01:01:27Things in my nose.
01:01:28Oh boy, I had to be a nut.
01:01:31You knew that.
01:01:32If you were looking at Captain Lou Albano and you saw a guy with rubber bands coming out of his cheeks,
01:01:37rings coming out of his nose and eyebrows, what the hell would you think?
01:01:41Albano, disgusts me.
01:01:43When I look at him, he just disgusts me.
01:01:46What he could see in me, I'm not a handsome guy.
01:01:49So a guy looks at me and he looks at the beard and he looks at my face.
01:01:52And he looks at me and I say, holy word, this guy could stop a clock.
01:01:55And believe me, when I talk about ugly, want to look at his face with over 700 stitches,
01:01:59you know I wrote the book on ugliness.
01:02:01And finally I got into it and I said, hey, let's capitalize on what I'm doing.
01:02:04I said, I'm not a good looking guy.
01:02:06I said, I'm not going to go out and want to go, but I'll do my best and I'll do the best I can.
01:02:10I mean hair out to here, sloppy beard.
01:02:12What is that thing he has dangling from his forehead?
01:02:15Who knows?
01:02:16I try to think sometimes if there was ever anyone else that had a safety pin sticking out of their cheek with rubber bands attached to it.
01:02:24You can't dress you up either. Take him out, but Lou's Lou.
01:02:27What a peculiar person.
01:02:29Captain Lou was just, I mean, he was truly a sight to behold.
01:02:33And you looked, you know, you looked forward to seeing what he was going to look like next.
01:02:37He's suddenly a bizarre character.
01:02:40And my wife would look at people, will you please, you look ridiculous.
01:02:44Captain Lou raising the iron of the fans here.
01:02:47Get a haircut, shave, look, are you kidding? You're killing the whole gimmick.
01:02:53You all know about the tremendous managerial exploits of my man, Captain Lou Albano.
01:02:59Albano with a cheap shot.
01:03:02Well, you just know he'd get in a lick or two.
01:03:04A manager highlights the wrestler.
01:03:07He looks to basically better his man.
01:03:11You cannot believe you stuck your nose in the ring.
01:03:14He's a good manager, he's a good thinker, a good talker.
01:03:18He really became a star once he was able to talk and once he became a manager.
01:03:24And as such, you know, it's like it's easy then to draw attention to yourself.
01:03:30You know, it's more difficult to brush up against the person you're managing and let them take it.
01:03:37When I took these belts, when I took these belts, when my champions won these belts.
01:03:41I think Lou Albano sometimes, as good as he was, could get a little carried away.
01:03:46You Jimmy Snooker! You Jimmy Snooker! You Jimmy Snooker! You!
01:03:54Captain Lou Albano as a manager was absolutely outrageous.
01:03:58Always with the flamboyant, crazy-looking, Hawaiian-looking shirts.
01:04:01I just got used to, you know, like the Jimmy Snookers and that way and Offer and Seeker.
01:04:06They just seem to be the island guys.
01:04:08And we managed like 18 tag team champions.
01:04:11Captain Lou, the guiding light, led some 16 different teams to the world championship.
01:04:17New tag team champions of the world, the British Bulldogs, Davey Boy Smith, the dynamite kid, and their manager, Captain Lou.
01:04:24You've done it again, another world championship.
01:04:26Well, thank you very much, Mean Gene, but I don't, you don't have to praise me so much. That's not important.
01:04:30He brought up a lot of prominent tag teams and certainly individual stars.
01:04:35He's managed many, many superstars and not only managed them, accented them in a positive way.
01:04:41I mean, to be managed by Lou Albano was a great thing.
01:04:44A couple of times I got a name for manager of the year.
01:04:47Grillo Monsoon here in the locker room with, undoubtedly in my opinion, Lou, the greatest manager of all time in professional wrestling.
01:04:52Well, you know, Mr. Monsoon, I don't know about being the greatest of all time, but I do want to say this.
01:04:57The people out there, the fans and the many wonderful wrestlers and great wrestlers that I've handled,
01:05:01that perhaps have made me, let's say, be at least a good manager.
01:05:04I felt it was the talent that helped us become the manager of the year and so forth.
01:05:09It wasn't myself personally, but it was because of what they, we did, what they've accomplished.
01:05:15I think Captain Lou was such a larger than life character and his charisma.
01:05:20He just, he outshined a lot of the guys he managed.
01:05:23He was somebody that everybody wanted to love after hating him for so many years.
01:05:27He parlayed that into a lot of entities, you know, with other, other parties outside enterprises such as movies, television shows.
01:05:34He really struck while the iron was hot.
01:05:37Captain Lou Albano, that's that crazy guy from television.
01:05:40He's a nut.
01:05:41He said, he was, so they said, boom.
01:05:44I found Red White 2 and went along with it.
01:05:47And that also had an opening for the movies and stuff like that.
01:05:50It's the Super Mario Brothers Super Show.
01:05:53Captain Lou and Cyndi Lauper and that whole deal, that was all part of the original WrestleMania.
01:06:00So, you know, he had a big impact.
01:06:02I remember at WrestleMania 1 being told by Joe Piscopo personally and Danny DeVito
01:06:07that Lou Albano was the funniest guy they have ever met in their life.
01:06:12Captain Lou Albano, when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, was a great, great decision by WWE.
01:06:18He said, Captain Lou, inducted into the Hall of Fame.
01:06:21I said, well, you've got to be kidding.
01:06:23I didn't expect it because I forget.
01:06:25I said, well, no, no, you're going in.
01:06:27I said, okay, that's okay with me.
01:06:29And, of course, Lou is a wonderful human being and has a heart of gold.
01:06:34Now, I'd like to be actually remembered as a guy that was full of fun,
01:06:40with a business that I loved, professional wrestling.
01:06:44I'm working for a great promoter, Vince McMahon Sr.
01:06:47And I really am pleased and happy that I'm here.
01:06:51And thank the good Lord Jesus I'm around.
01:06:53I thought it was a great way to live.
01:06:56And, hey, it was my life.
01:06:58Fifty-four years of doing it.
01:07:00So I said, that's, I'd be glad to do it all over again.
01:07:04Let's put it that way.
01:07:08I'm not a wrestler!
01:07:09No!
01:07:10The battle of the managers.
01:07:12These men perhaps more suited for a debate rather than an athletic contest.
01:07:18The managers that didn't actually wrestle but got into the ring at some point.
01:07:22Those were always exciting to watch because you always hated those guys.
01:07:28Probably one of the most unathletic men I've ever been around.
01:07:31The biggest muscle is his lips.
01:07:33You hit the back, too, to see that.
01:07:35Just looking at it on paper is entertaining.
01:07:38Habanos on Queer Street right now in a lot of trouble.
01:07:43Begging for mercy.
01:07:44They didn't know what they were doing.
01:07:46They usually got their ass kicked.
01:07:47So people like that.
01:07:49The brain in trouble.
01:07:51Malomo winds him up.
01:07:53Whoa!
01:07:54Right on top of that top turnbuckle.
01:07:56And he went down hard.
01:07:58And he's pegging off.
01:07:59Usually the manager, if he does his role well, will be running scared.
01:08:04Paul leads down to his BBDs.
01:08:07And he's getting out of here.
01:08:09This is the guy who you want to shut up.
01:08:12But never have a chance to because he never wrestles ever.
01:08:15When you see him in a match, regardless of the stipulations or whatever,
01:08:19it's a chance to finally shut that son of a bitch up.
01:08:22For a long time, Paul Heyman has sent athletes into battle.
01:08:26But tonight, Heyman finds himself in a uncomfortable, the unfamiliar role as competitor.
01:08:33Jimmy Cornette was actually involved in a scaffold match with the Midnight Express and the Road Warriors.
01:08:43Jimmy actually went up on the scaffold.
01:08:45Cornette's going up!
01:08:47Jimmy Cornette is deathly afraid of heights.
01:08:50And when I was up there, I was just thinking, this can end well.
01:08:55But at least a lot of people are going to see it.
01:08:57Cornette went and fell and blew out both knees.
01:09:01But when I flew backwards, the thing that saved me was the back of my head hit Bubba's knee.
01:09:08And it knocked me out for about 10 seconds or so so that I didn't feel the pain of my leg having bent completely sideways in a 45 degree angle.
01:09:17The most memorable manager activity match was the Bobby Heenan weasel suit.
01:09:26The weasel suit.
01:09:28That was a classic.
01:09:30I remember Bobby Heenan wrestling in weasel suit matches against Greg Gagne.
01:09:34He lost the match.
01:09:35He was put to sleep with the famous Gagne sleeper.
01:09:39It was absolutely hilarious.
01:09:41Well, the winner is Greg Gagne.
01:09:43Bobby the Brain has been officially weaselized.
01:09:47Weaselized.
01:09:48I had a lot more before I had the ultimate fool put me in.
01:09:53As a kid, man, this was the coolest thing to see.
01:09:56He had a match with one of the baddest dudes on the planet.
01:09:58That match was about manager finally hitting his butt kicked.
01:10:02You were just hung on seeing Bobby Heenan in that weasel suit.
01:10:14That was a pretty crazy moment.
01:10:17Of all things, Beulah McGillicuddy versus Bill Alfonso.
01:10:22You're watching the most extreme mixed tag team match up in the history of professional wrestling.
01:10:29Just watching Beulah carry through that, despite the fact of being a woman and not having a lot of wrestling experience,
01:10:35I remember watching and going, wow, you know, that was, it was inspiring.
01:10:42I actually remember one match that involved two managers wrestling.
01:10:47Downtown Bruno, who was known obviously as Bruno or Harvey Whippleman,
01:10:51actually took on the cat who was a manager in her own right in the WWE in a snow bunny match.
01:10:57And Bruno actually won the WWE Women's Championship.
01:11:00It was one of the greatest matches of all time.
01:11:02Hey, wait a minute.
01:11:03We got a new women's champion.
01:11:05And I had the absolute privilege to interview the new women's champion.
01:11:09Tell us a little bit about yourself.
01:11:10I mean, where are you from?
01:11:11What do you do?
01:11:12I'm from Wiles, Mississippi.
01:11:14Wait a minute.
01:11:15Wait a minute.
01:11:16What?
01:11:17You're not Herbina.
01:11:18I know your voice.
01:11:19You're Harvey Whippleman.
01:11:20You're Harvey Whippleman.
01:11:21It was probably the greatest interview I've ever had in my career.
01:11:25And beside wrestling, I mean, I've interviewed presidents.
01:11:27I've interviewed prime ministers.
01:11:29I've interviewed people all over the world when I was in the news business.
01:11:32The most important interview that I've ever had in my career was the one with Bruno,
01:11:36the new women's champion.
01:11:37Lou Albano versus Snuka was in Madison Square Garden was a match I'll never forget.
01:11:45Lou Albano, many would say, in serious trouble here because this could very well be the last
01:11:51match of Lou Albano's wrestling career.
01:11:54Referee is gonna have to stop this real soon.
01:11:58You can get away with doing a lot of things to managers that you can't really do to wrestlers
01:12:03because you'd make them look really foolish, but there's no limits with managers.
01:12:09Bob, I don't think this match is gonna last real long.
01:12:12I haven't seen a wrestling hold yet.
01:12:14The only good news is that Paul Bearer's wearing black pants because they'll never know
01:12:18just how scared he really is.
01:12:20No one can step into a wrestling ring and do what we do.
01:12:24Managers, just because they're managers and they think that by being ringside and shouting
01:12:30a few instructions and a little bit of encouragement that they just pick up this business by osmosis.
01:12:36It's not that easy.
01:12:37If it was, everybody would be doing it because it's the best way in the world to make a living.
01:12:42Paul Lee with a somewhat feminine right hand.
01:12:46None of those manager matches are like classic, you know, matches.
01:12:50None of them are four-star matches. They're not supposed to be.
01:12:53Not much of a match. I didn't figure to be.
01:12:57But you go home that night as a member of the audience and you feel good because
01:13:01the guy that you thought was gonna get beat up got beat up for good reason.
01:13:06And you feel better about it.
01:13:09The first lady of the World Wrestling Federation, Miss Elizabeth.
01:13:17Here she comes in all her glory, Miss Elizabeth, and listen to the fans.
01:13:23Miss Elizabeth, a tremendous for the crowd for Elizabeth.
01:13:30Liz is different than every other manager in her day because she was the first.
01:13:35Elizabeth was one of the first female managers.
01:13:38I think she brought a different respect as far as managers go.
01:13:43She never got involved in the matches.
01:13:45The other managers were loud and they would yell and scream and a lot of times get involved physically.
01:13:50Physicality-wise, she didn't do much like some of the women wrestlers or the other women managers like Sherri Martell.
01:13:57Liz was never devious. She was never cunning. She was never sly.
01:14:01She didn't have a lot to say.
01:14:03And so much of what she said was really in her eyes and the way she conducted herself as a professional.
01:14:10She had a presence. When she did something, when she interfered in a match or when she got involved and did something very small, it really meant something.
01:14:18Elizabeth inside!
01:14:21She couldn't take it anymore!
01:14:25I can't believe this!
01:14:29Liz didn't have to do a lot to command attention.
01:14:32Liz could just walk out and just stop everybody in their tracks just by her sheer beauty.
01:14:36I remember watching her when I was growing up when I was in college and she was the epitome of beauty.
01:14:41My goodness! Feast your eyes on Elizabeth! Beauty personified!
01:14:48In that era of our business, she was a pioneer.
01:14:53She was the first lady of the World Wrestling Federation.
01:14:56You would consider her the ultimate female manager.
01:14:59She was the exact opposite of what the managers back then were. And that's one reason, other than her beauty, why she excelled so well.
01:15:07The hottest piece of property in the World Wrestling Federation in the entire wrestling world!
01:15:12She had this quality that made you as the viewer want to empathize with her. I mean, little girls wanted to grow up and be like Miss Elizabeth.
01:15:20To a degree, I somewhat idolized her. Elizabeth wasn't your traditional rawr, you know, wrestling ballet. Elizabeth was a lady.
01:15:29She wasn't a bimbo. She didn't have a dress up to here. She didn't shoe gun. She was a lady.
01:15:35This is one of the classiest ladies in all the world!
01:15:40She embodied probably what I wanted to embody when I first came to this company.
01:15:45She was elegant. She was classy. When she came to the ring, she wore sequined gowns. She was always sweet and supportive of her man.
01:15:53She is a lady that stands behind her man!
01:15:57When she got herself associated with Randy Savage, that was a team that was unparalleled. It was groundbreaking.
01:16:03Here you have the power of the macho man combined with the beauty and the brains of Elizabeth.
01:16:09For so many years, Elizabeth and Randy were not able to let the world know because of their characters that they were married.
01:16:17And the fact that they got married in public on a pay-per-view, that was a special memory. I know that was a very special day for her and it was a special day for Randy.
01:16:26Now I, in accordance with the authority vested in me, by the laws of the state of New York, pronounce that you are husband and wife.
01:16:36It really touched a lot of people sentimentally.
01:16:42As a little girl, you know, watching this romance unfold on wrestling was the greatest thing in the world for me.
01:16:48You could call that the wedding heard around the world.
01:16:52I think Elizabeth was special to the fans because they can relate to her and they can relate to her situation as being married to Randy Savage at the time.
01:17:03Macho Man and Elizabeth worked really well because they were married.
01:17:06So the emotion was real, the feeling was real, everything, the excitement, the disappointment, all of it was real because when you work together as a team, as partner, as husband and wife,
01:17:16it just brings so much more to the table.
01:17:19For every good man, there's a good woman behind them and Miss Elizabeth was one of the greatest.
01:17:25She was the nicest, sweetest person you would ever want to meet.
01:17:31She was a very radiant woman who exuded personality.
01:17:36She was nice to everybody and a very caring person.
01:17:40Very charismatic, petite woman who could capture your heart.
01:17:46She had certain qualities that we have never seen before and no doubt never will again.
01:17:50She was a very, very unique and very special human being.
01:17:53From Beverly Hills, California, Bobby the Brain Heenan!
01:18:08A lot of people think I started as a wrestler, but I didn't.
01:18:13I started as a manager.
01:18:15I was living in Indianapolis.
01:18:17I was working for the Indianapolis Coliseum and I got to know some of the wrestlers and some of the promoter there.
01:18:24And they gave me a job just carrying jackets back to the ring.
01:18:27I did everything to be around the business.
01:18:30And in 65, I started managing.
01:18:33See, when I first went to Minneapolis, they called me Green Boy Bobby Heenan.
01:18:37I said the promoter, Wally Carver, I just don't like the name.
01:18:39There's a million gorgeous guys in the business.
01:18:41It's not original.
01:18:42Ray Stevens says, you're the brain.
01:18:44Think of something.
01:18:45And Wally says, that's it.
01:18:46You're the brain.
01:18:47Everybody knows I'm gorgeous, pretty, beautiful, whatever you want to call me.
01:18:50But now I have a brain.
01:18:52A brain nobody's ever talked about before.
01:18:54You can refer to me from now on as Bobby, the brilliant one, Heenan.
01:18:58So that's how I got to be the brain.
01:19:03There was nobody for me to learn managing from in the AWA.
01:19:06Because there were no managers there.
01:19:07I was the one they had there at the time.
01:19:09But the talent was so good that it was so simple to learn how to manage them.
01:19:13Because you didn't really have to do anything.
01:19:16They were great, skilled athletes.
01:19:18We want to introduce today, as our new manager, none other than the intelligent, brain-worthy Bobby Heenan.
01:19:25Bobby, it's so good to have you on our team.
01:19:28Some people call them my stable of champions.
01:19:30I would say the stable was a place where it was a bunch of big, fly-infested horses.
01:19:35So from now on, when you see Bockwinkle, you see Stevens, you see Heenan.
01:19:39When you see Heenan, you're going to see Bockwinkle and Stevens.
01:19:42So I called it my family.
01:19:44Because that's when Charles Manson had his family.
01:19:47So I figured everybody was talking about the Manson family, the Heenan family.
01:19:51I thought I had a good son.
01:19:53He was that good.
01:19:54I'm lucky I just got to be there.
01:19:56And I'd been in AWA for quite some time.
01:20:01And everything was getting a little stale to me.
01:20:03I could see that in the direction that the World Wrestling Federation was going at that time,
01:20:08that you weren't going to stop it.
01:20:10They were just going to pick a momentum and gather bodies and people, fans, wrestlers, referees,
01:20:15anything they cared, announcers, and it was going to be engulfed by it.
01:20:18You knew once something big was going to happen, that Bobby Heenan was going to be a part of it.
01:20:25So I saw Vince just thinking what it was.
01:20:27And I made a call.
01:20:28I called Hogan.
01:20:29You should call Vince tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock.
01:20:32So I called Vince the next day and we talked.
01:20:35And here I am in his funny suit.
01:20:38And they asked me if I'd mind managing John Studd.
01:20:44I said, no, I've known John from the AWA.
01:20:47It'd be my privilege to.
01:20:49So that's how I started with Studd.
01:20:51My name is Bobby the Brain Heenan.
01:20:53I have outsmarted everybody in professional wrestling, every manager in professional wrestling,
01:20:57because in a very short time I'm going to be stepping in the ring with this man here,
01:21:01a good friend of mine, Big John Studd.
01:21:03When they came in, if they were a top caliber athlete, a top caliber talent,
01:21:08you can bet they were in the Bobby Heenan family.
01:21:10This man strategically put together the greatest stable in wrestling history.
01:21:14In my corner, I will be the greatest manager of all time, Bobby the Brain Heenan.
01:21:25They said Bobby Heenan is not going to be your manager.
01:21:28I felt like I hit the lottery.
01:21:29I would like to introduce my new manager, the perfect manager, Bobby the Brain Heenan.
01:21:42I rubbed Kurt Henney.
01:21:44He had talent, he laughed.
01:21:46I rubbed him into it.
01:21:47You could just do anything to him.
01:21:48Pull ribs at him all day long.
01:21:50He'd make you laugh.
01:21:51How do we race?
01:21:52I had a ball with.
01:21:53Ric Flair.
01:21:54I had a ball with Ric Flair.
01:21:56They were every point of our business.
01:21:58The greatest mind in this sport made the phone call.
01:22:04And I said, Brain, if you got the money, honey, I got the time.
01:22:11The Heenan family, I grew up on Bobby the Brain Heenan.
01:22:14He was the manager of basically all the bad guys at that time.
01:22:18You know, it's like you said, the Heenan family, you don't mess with us.
01:22:22The guys he manages, it's like a who's who of professional wrestling.
01:22:25I got the Islanders.
01:22:26I got Ravish and Rick Rude.
01:22:28I got the King.
01:22:29I got Hercules.
01:22:30I give you, I'm Brian the Jacks.
01:22:34When you put me with him, it's just an added crouton on the salad that works.
01:22:38I'm the head of the family.
01:22:40You listen to me, you go to the top.
01:22:43You don't listen to me, you're never heard from again.
01:22:46I don't think I ever made anybody.
01:22:48I'm just lucky to be there.
01:22:50I made myself and they made themselves and we worked together.
01:22:55You see, I don't care how small you are.
01:22:58I don't care how big you are.
01:22:59If you don't have any brains, you're lost.
01:23:02Bobby the Brain Heenan, the smartest and most despised man in wrestling.
01:23:05He was the type of guy you just want to grab him and choke him and you just want to beat him up.
01:23:10I will single-handedly take them apart piece by piece.
01:23:14Are you serious?
01:23:16Bobby was one of those guys that you see in the schoolyard.
01:23:19Come on, let's put him up.
01:23:20You're not going to get me upset.
01:23:21Don't jump.
01:23:22It's a long way down.
01:23:23Put him up.
01:23:24Don't cry, Bobby.
01:23:26I'm not grounded on my case.
01:23:28I'll knock you out, you miserable.
01:23:30Bobby would assemble his little group.
01:23:31They'd go out and they'd cause trouble.
01:23:33Bobby would filter back into the background.
01:23:36He'd hide.
01:23:37If somebody could have got their hands on him, man, they would have just broke him in two.
01:23:41But they could never get their hands on him much.
01:23:43His wrestler always protected him and Bobby could run.
01:23:45He knew how to stay out of the way.
01:23:46Our game plan is...
01:23:47I know you're going to run a lot.
01:23:49You run a lot.
01:23:50You inferring that I would not stay in the ring?
01:23:53I am inferring that, yes.
01:23:54Bobby Heenan can always talk a good talk.
01:23:57But once that talent that he's talking to stands up to him, he becomes a weasel.
01:24:02And the chant is on.
01:24:06Weasel!
01:24:07Weasel!
01:24:08Weasel!
01:24:09Weasel!
01:24:10I'm not a weasel.
01:24:11Your hair's in the same way.
01:24:12My hair is wavy.
01:24:14That's a straight-haired weasel.
01:24:15They had a thing they used to call him the weasel.
01:24:18And Bobby knew that.
01:24:19Bobby knew people would enjoy calling him that.
01:24:21And anything that Bobby could do to get that weasel out of him, man, he would do it.
01:24:25Watch this!
01:24:26Watch this!
01:24:27Watch this!
01:24:28Oh!
01:24:29Look out!
01:24:30Come on!
01:24:31You're such a weasel, man!
01:24:33I'm going to get rid of Bobby Heenan because he's a goldbricker and he's been wearing this
01:24:37thing for so long.
01:24:39I cheat.
01:24:40I trip.
01:24:41I distract.
01:24:42I pass foreign objects.
01:24:43I do everything and then I write about it.
01:24:44I don't have fur on my body.
01:24:46I do not have a tail.
01:24:47But he has a tail, right?
01:24:49Take a look, kid.
01:24:50You see a tail on me?
01:24:51Do you see any whiskers?
01:24:52You see any nose in here that looks like a weasel's nose?
01:24:55Then I would tell the people, don't call me that.
01:24:58I don't have fur, paws or a tail.
01:24:59I'm a human being.
01:25:00The suit has claws and everything.
01:25:02This is very much a replica of a weasel.
01:25:07Well, what is a weasel?
01:25:09I bet he could slither.
01:25:10He could get in and out of a chicken coop so fast.
01:25:13It's an animal that sneaks into the chicken coop at night and gets what he wants and he
01:25:17does it in the dark, he does it behind somebody's back.
01:25:20No good person.
01:25:21It's me.
01:25:22Oh, wait a minute!
01:25:23Oh, wait a minute!
01:25:24Oh, look at this!
01:25:25I guess because of who I was in the Wrestling Federation, as a manager and as a commentator,
01:25:43having the Bobby Hena show and the things we did in primetime amongst you and I, I think
01:25:48I was a level above some of the other managers.
01:25:50Look at this!
01:25:52It may have been an act of respect to me.
01:26:04Oh, no!
01:26:05Oh, no!
01:26:06Oh, no!
01:26:07Oh, no!
01:26:08That was it.
01:26:10I appreciate that.
01:26:11That was very nice.
01:26:12I'd rather have 50 bucks than a six pack, but do what you want.
01:26:15He could entertain you and at the same time get heat and that is a science.
01:26:21That's, more I should say, it's an art.
01:26:23I want people to remember that when they went and paid their money to see Bobby Hena,
01:26:28he never shortchanged them.
01:26:30They got their money's worth.
01:26:31He's just a consummate professional.
01:26:33Like me or dislike me, that's okay.
01:26:36I like you for showing up.
01:26:38He had it all.
01:26:39Bobby absolutely had it all.
01:26:42In my book, the greatest of all time.
01:26:48So there you have it.
01:26:50You've seen the qualities a person must possess to be a successful manager.
01:26:54Brains, beauty, business acumen, ruthlessness.
01:26:59These master manipulators will go down in history as the world's greatest managers.
01:27:04Which reminds me, I've got to call my manager.
01:27:07Now you can see a master at work, huh?
01:27:09Got him on speed dial, huh?
01:27:12Yeah.
01:27:13Hey, sweetheart.
01:27:15Can I speak to Mr. McGuire, please?
01:27:17It's T-Bone.
01:27:19Todd Grisham.
01:27:20Yeah, worked for WWE.
01:27:22Grisham.
01:27:26Grisham.
01:27:27G-R-I-S-H-A-M.
01:27:29What do you mean he doesn't want to talk to me?
01:27:32I'm his number one client.
01:27:35This is ridiculous.
01:27:36Don't you hang up on me.
01:27:37Do not hang up on me.
01:27:39Hello?
01:28:02What do you mean he is?
01:28:03That's what I've said.
01:28:04estenic value £4000, right?
01:28:07That would be nice to talk to you.
01:28:08What do you think?

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