I tell ya' Phil is a genius. The way he ran his show was superb. He wasn't afraid to ask the questions we wanted answers to and he didn't let guest takeover.
I was on this show, although they've seemed to cut most of me out. We were all sitting in the green room and Phil came in with Vince. Vince said "Hello, gentlemen" and everyone just gave him the evil eye and said nothing. Bruno refused to sit next to Vince, so I sat next to McMahon and we eventually began elbowing each other trying to push each other off of the chairs.
I wouldn't call Owen Hart's death premeditated, but its a fact that Owen Hart has requested for his release so that he could go to WCW, where the rest of the Hart family was going. Vince was pissed off about Owen speaking to Bret, a WCW wrestler. Bret had a deal all set up for Owen to jump over to WCW. Instead, Vince refused to let him go, punished him with the Blue Blazer gimmick, which Owen hated. There was no safety trainer present when Owen was forced to lower him self down to his death.
How the hell did Pat Patterson keep his job let alone his freedom? The fact that he was part of the storyline during wwe's most popular run around 1999 is flat out bullshit. Makes you wonder what type of person would protect a man like that. Oh yeah I know another scumbag that makes a living being a glamorous liar. Makes perfect sense now
Meltzer said that Vince had Dave Schultz bumped off the show and asked for a certain amount of plants in the audience before he'd agree to appear, which explains why Miss Elizabeth is in the crowd.
A friend and I once helped set up a ring (for free tickets and a chance to say hello to some of the stars) when they were doing a house show in Manchester NH - And Patterson did get a bit touchy with one of the ring boys. Jay Strongbow and Tony Garea came out and told him to lay off the kid. Then Patterson was kind of relegated to the locker room and that was pretty much the end of seeing him all evening. Later the allegations came out and I believed them having seen him in action firsthand.
Brody was going to be calling the shots? Ok, I didn't even know he had a lot of stock in the company! You are very knowledgable, thanks for the info! It's a shame that wrestling is like that!
Weekend of champions convention at the LaGuardia Ramada.Terry Funk, Sabu,Jake the Snake Roberts,Bruno,Albano,Konan,Arezzi lost his shirt never recovered from that.
He used to host a wrestling radio show with Vince Russo back in the day but then Russo wanted to work with McMahon and Arezzi didn't so they broke off with one another. Amazed to hear Arezzi is still around, tho not in the biz anymore. I have one of his wrestling conventions from the early 90s on tape.
Ok, let me reiterate and further explain what I meant in my comments that this was all a work. What I meant was, the Donahue show was a work. Everyone was told what to say and when to say it. The first thing you all need to realize about the world of pro wrestling is, EVERYTHING is a work. If it wasnt, Bruno would not EVER be going into the WWE HoF. Everything in the world of pro wrestling is a WORK. From the promoters to the performers to the doctors to the henchmen...........ALL OF IT!!!!
i remember seeing this went it originally aired. this was when all the behind the scenes shit hit the fan. crap like this has always gone on and it always will
Vince is right, if there's a crime YOU CALL THE COPS!!!!!! I love how Superstar itched his nose with his middle finger directly after. As for Vince ignoring drug users... Of course he'd ignore it. Wrestlers are rare when compared to baseball players, or most other sports.
Let's clear some things up: "Superstar Billy Graham was furious at first regarding his release papers because there was a clause in the release that stated he wouldnt be able to use his name in any capacity related to wrestling any longer. What happened was WWE made a mistake in sending him a form letter release, with terms that didnt apply to him." -credit: WrestlingObserver ) Billy only lost his salaried consulting job. I feel less bad for him considering he almost ruined a man's life..
Drugs were accepted as a lifestyle at one point back i the day. But I've been backstage at Monday Night Raw several times and Vince hires all of the old time wrestlers from a wide array of organizations. I saw Ric Flair, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Michael P.S. Hayes, Dusty Rhodes and others sitting at the same table. I guess he hired them on as writers or even occasional talent but Vince (jr.) is responsible for taking wrestling to another level. Raw and Smackdown are thriving.
if Brody was killed because of self defense, why did Jose Huertas Gonzalez have a big ass hunting knife in the locker room in the first place? Why did Carlos Colon make that knife disappear after Jose slashed Brodys guts open with Brodys intestines ripped out of his body? WWC murdered Brody because he had a lot of stock in the company and nobody wanted Brody calling the shots.
80% of the dead wrestler list had spent a considerable part of their careers under Vince. And of those, 90% did roids, many did recreational drugs too....
For those who may not know, the "friend" Meltzer was talking about at 9:07 was the late Bruiser Brody, but the example is complete BS. The fact that it happened in PR tells you everything you need to know. If it happened in the USA, it would've been a different story. The murder of Brody and what was happening in the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s and 1990s is not even comparable. The irony is that Meltzer comes across as yet another person who doesn't want to "snitch", an apologist.
Damn shame knowing now that SSBG was B.S.ing the whole way........and in the end Vinnie still took him back, embraced him and and let him have the induction celebration he deserved for his services to the business.....Same deal with Bret at present.....nice to see the two of them come back together and forget the ugly past!
@clovisman It was a tough business and he was a business man first and foremost. He took care of himself and his family first. But when he told you he'd do something and do business he would. Frank Goodish was a man's man.
didnt bruno go on larry king and say it was around 1986 or 1987 when mel phillips and the kid in the car occurred? graham says 1982 --- this is important b/c vince sr. died in 1984.
I love how this is in 1992 and 20 years later Vince's WWE is a live and well. None of these steroid users have died yet, heck even Andre the Giant and Texas Tornado was still alive. Now in 2012 so many wrestlers, cause of steroids, are buried deep in the dirt. Bruno (I believe) is still a live in 2012, the Ultimate Warrior is still a live in 2012, and unlike Macho Madness, Hulkamania will never die.
depends on the child, i know when i was 10 years old and if someone of adult age did something inapropriate to me i would try to fight him or tell my parents or someone right away, it all depends on how you're raised and knowing right from wrong
You know, I don't have any respect for Vince, but let's be honest, he makes a good point--if you witness something, you should alert somebody. If you don't, then you're no help to anybody. All these people who say "Well, I saw this happen, I saw that happen, this child was abused, etc", but then why didn't they report it? No disrespect to Superstar Billy Graham, he blew the lid off this stuff, but Vince makes a fair point, if it's that bad, you report it when it happens.
Graham, along with many other wrestlers that blow the whistle, all have one thing in common: They all do it after McMahon has fired them. It screams petty vindictiveness. All of them are willing to keep their mouth shut as long as they're getting a paycheck from Vince.
LOL as for Dave talking about Bruiser Brody's murderer... it was Bruiser Brody! Lots of people wanted him dead including promoters. Chances are if one of the workers ratted out the murder, they'd be dead the next day in Peute Rico.
Mel Phillips and Terry Garvin had to leave the WWF over the ring boy allegations. I think Pat Patterson either left or stepped down but was back quickly.
Superstars no longer bitter with mcmahon anymore i put there differences a side back in 2002 after superstar recover from liver cancer surgey. as for Bruno that man has too much bitterness on mcmahon and won't let ago even refuse to be inducted into the hall of fame.
@SeanMBryans Patterson was known for this type of behavior. Would be interesting to see what kind of heat would come down on all of them if this were to happen today.
Credit to Donahue for talking about this issue early before most in the media. This show was ahead of it's time.
Look at Dave Meltzers hair. You can tell it was the early 90's.
@619 OG So.
I tell ya' Phil is a genius. The way he ran his show was superb. He wasn't afraid to ask the questions we wanted answers to and he didn't let guest takeover.
I was on this show, although they've seemed to cut most of me out. We were all sitting in the green room and Phil came in with Vince. Vince said "Hello, gentlemen" and everyone just gave him the evil eye and said nothing. Bruno refused to sit next to Vince, so I sat next to McMahon and we eventually began elbowing each other trying to push each other off of the chairs.
Wait whattttttttt???????
Man, Meltzer looked like an 80's soap star with that mullet. I love the Observer though
9:12....Bruiser Brody's murder
I wouldn't call Owen Hart's death premeditated, but its a fact that Owen Hart has requested for his release so that he could go to WCW, where the rest of the Hart family was going. Vince was pissed off about Owen speaking to Bret, a WCW wrestler. Bret had a deal all set up for Owen to jump over to WCW. Instead, Vince refused to let him go, punished him with the Blue Blazer gimmick, which Owen hated. There was no safety trainer present when Owen was forced to lower him self down to his death.
How the hell did Pat Patterson keep his job let alone his freedom? The fact that he was part of the storyline during wwe's most popular run around 1999 is flat out bullshit. Makes you wonder what type of person would protect a man like that. Oh yeah I know another scumbag that makes a living being a glamorous liar. Makes perfect sense now
Pat Patterson is the Jerry Sandusky of pro wrestling.
This is awesome, Bruno, Superstar and Vince in the same room on tv and at the point they all hate each other.
Holy crap Vince looks pissed
awesome, thanks Review-A-Wai for bringing this up :)
Meltzer said that Vince had Dave Schultz bumped off the show and asked for a certain amount of plants in the audience before he'd agree to appear, which explains why Miss Elizabeth is in the crowd.
WOW, Vince doesn't want you to see this one, hell, he prob don't even rember it!
funny that bruno sammartino is on wwe's hall of fame
A friend and I once helped set up a ring (for free tickets and a chance to say hello to some of the stars) when they were doing a house show in Manchester NH - And Patterson did get a bit touchy with one of the ring boys. Jay Strongbow and Tony Garea came out and told him to lay off the kid. Then Patterson was kind of relegated to the locker room and that was pretty much the end of seeing him all evening. Later the allegations came out and I believed them having seen him in action firsthand.
vinces look on his face 3:57 on the car incident priceless
Brody was going to be calling the shots? Ok, I didn't even know he had a lot of stock in the company!
You are very knowledgable, thanks for the info!
It's a shame that wrestling is like that!
Weekend of champions convention at the LaGuardia Ramada.Terry Funk, Sabu,Jake the Snake Roberts,Bruno,Albano,Konan,Arezzi lost his shirt never recovered from that.
Someone else had this up a while back, or maybe still does. This isn't part 1 btw. Anyway I'm digging Meltzers hair, what a cool cat.
He used to host a wrestling radio show with Vince Russo back in the day but then Russo wanted to work with McMahon and Arezzi didn't so they broke off with one another. Amazed to hear Arezzi is still around, tho not in the biz anymore. I have one of his wrestling conventions from the early 90s on tape.
Bruno is now in the WWE Hall of Fame!
Ok, let me reiterate and further explain what I meant in my comments that this was all a work. What I meant was, the Donahue show was a work. Everyone was told what to say and when to say it. The first thing you all need to realize about the world of pro wrestling is, EVERYTHING is a work. If it wasnt, Bruno would not EVER be going into the WWE HoF. Everything in the world of pro wrestling is a WORK. From the promoters to the performers to the doctors to the henchmen...........ALL OF IT!!!!
RIP Phil Donahue 2024-08-18
i remember seeing this went it originally aired. this was when all the behind the scenes shit hit the fan. crap like this has always gone on and it always will
good stuff, looking forward to the rest
Check out Tony Atlas interview on you tube (just type in Tony Atlas) He was at the Brody stabbing. Very interesting what he says!
Wow Dave's hair. I can't believe there was a time when talk show hosts wore suits.
Vince is right, if there's a crime YOU CALL THE COPS!!!!!! I love how Superstar itched his nose with his middle finger directly after.
As for Vince ignoring drug users... Of course he'd ignore it. Wrestlers are rare when compared to baseball players, or most other sports.
Let's clear some things up:
"Superstar Billy Graham was furious at first regarding his release papers because there was a clause in the release that stated he wouldnt be able to use his name in any capacity related to wrestling any longer. What happened was WWE made a mistake in sending him a form letter release, with terms that didnt apply to him." -credit: WrestlingObserver )
Billy only lost his salaried consulting job. I feel less bad for him considering he almost ruined a man's life..
This video is really interesting, I've only realised I've never seen Vince act like this out of character.
business in front and partyin in the back..lmao
Drugs were accepted as a lifestyle at one point back i the day. But I've been backstage at Monday Night Raw several times and Vince hires all of the old time wrestlers from a wide array of organizations. I saw Ric Flair, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Sgt. Slaughter, Michael P.S. Hayes, Dusty Rhodes and others sitting at the same table. I guess he hired them on as writers or even occasional talent but Vince (jr.) is responsible for taking wrestling to another level. Raw and Smackdown are thriving.
lol Billy Graham stumbled over his words so much
I was on this show and was the first one out with Vince McMahon. "Somehow" that's cuit out. I kept getting cut off by Phil too.
Its funny they blame vince like he is their father or something
ben martz Vince McMahon has got to look out for his talent.
lmao that was the first thing that came to my mind lol
Meltzer blew the whistle on all this and i follow the steroids trail via his wrtings, and i remeber this as a kid.
JON
Superstar Billy Graham throws Vince under the bus....flash forward, He's now in the Hall of Fame in the WWF. Strange.
yooo respect for that black dude in the crown wearing that oooold school malcolm X hat LOL
vince mcmahon's greed and ego will be his downfall
Barbiturates lol. That’s sooooooo old school. I don’t even think barbiturates are produced anymore.
Superstar Billy Graham was Vince's Favourite wrestler
karma will catch up with Vince eventually. It always does.
what would the response be if I tried to "send off" for a pair of tickets to the Donahue show?
if Brody was killed because of self defense, why did Jose Huertas Gonzalez have a big ass hunting knife in the locker room in the first place? Why did Carlos Colon make that knife disappear after Jose slashed Brodys guts open with Brodys intestines ripped out of his body? WWC murdered Brody because he had a lot of stock in the company and nobody wanted Brody calling the shots.
Holy Crap Bruno Sammartino Billy Graham Vince Machon and Leslie Neilson wow this is great
Pat Patterson is code for Sandusky! lol
that guy next to dave meltzer looks like Kenny Bolin
cool story bro, need more caps
Vince McMahon was in character even on this serious show.
RIP Super Star Billy Graham
Vince gave him all copyrights back to the name as they realiezed that they do not own the name of Billy Graham Superstar Billy Graham or Wayne Coleman
He's from the country just south of Austria, so he's not far off.
Notice how Phil finishes people's sentences and talks over people?
Gotta hand it to Vince. For all these years of slander and accusations, whether true or not, he held his own and protected his baby the WWE.
Chris Benoit will be on Oprah next week!
patterson.........i used to look up to that guy
Wai ting brought me
Did anyone else mention that Dave Meltzer looks just like Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer? (I'm too lazy to scroll through all the comments....)
80% of the dead wrestler list had spent a considerable part of their careers under Vince. And of those, 90% did roids, many did recreational drugs too....
Pat Patterson ....damn
For those who may not know, the "friend" Meltzer was talking about at 9:07 was the late Bruiser Brody, but the example is complete BS. The fact that it happened in PR tells you everything you need to know. If it happened in the USA, it would've been a different story. The murder of Brody and what was happening in the World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s and 1990s is not even comparable. The irony is that Meltzer comes across as yet another person who doesn't want to "snitch", an apologist.
Graham isn't lying about the ring boys... It's common knowledge.
Vince is going head to head with a dude about him protecting a child molester and he still refers to him as "Superstar". Genius.
I love how Billy Gram blames anyone & everyone else for his problems, addictions and troubles. Typical addict behavior.
vince looked SOO pissed while SSBG was talking shit... I believe after this show vince made the decision not to do anymore tv interviews.
guess what i just wrote to DONAHUE TICKETS
Damn shame knowing now that SSBG was B.S.ing the whole way........and in the end Vinnie still took him back, embraced him and and let him have the induction celebration he deserved for his services to the business.....Same deal with Bret at present.....nice to see the two of them come back together and forget the ugly past!
@clovisman It was a tough business and he was a business man first and foremost. He took care of himself and his family first. But when he told you he'd do something and do business he would. Frank Goodish was a man's man.
I agree about Patterson, but why Michaels?
didnt bruno go on larry king and say it was around 1986 or 1987 when mel phillips and the kid in the car occurred? graham says 1982 --- this is important b/c vince sr. died in 1984.
I love how this is in 1992 and 20 years later Vince's WWE is a live and well. None of these steroid users have died yet, heck even Andre the Giant and Texas Tornado was still alive. Now in 2012 so many wrestlers, cause of steroids, are buried deep in the dirt. Bruno (I believe) is still a live in 2012, the Ultimate Warrior is still a live in 2012, and unlike Macho Madness, Hulkamania will never die.
Now they’re dead minus hogan
Man look at Bruno's califlower ears.
Do you have the full show?
Was this the last time Bruno and Vince were in the same room together?
No they met before Bruno died he was inducted into the Hall Of Fame
Is it just me or does Donahue look a lot like Phil Hartman??? LOL
It's just you
depends on the child, i know when i was 10 years old and if someone of adult age did something inapropriate to me i would try to fight him or tell my parents or someone right away, it all depends on how you're raised and knowing right from wrong
That's not Dave Meltzer. That's Paul Diamond.
You know, I don't have any respect for Vince, but let's be honest, he makes a good point--if you witness something, you should alert somebody. If you don't, then you're no help to anybody. All these people who say "Well, I saw this happen, I saw that happen, this child was abused, etc", but then why didn't they report it? No disrespect to Superstar Billy Graham, he blew the lid off this stuff, but Vince makes a fair point, if it's that bad, you report it when it happens.
Graham lied(he said so himself) and Meltzer had some JACKED UP hair.
Also during the mid 80's to early 90's Rampant Mullet Abuse & Usage
Bruno and Savage's omission from the WWE HoF totally kills its credibility.
Vince stare.
lol meltzer looks like a young raven
Graham, along with many other wrestlers that blow the whistle, all have one thing in common: They all do it after McMahon has fired them. It screams petty vindictiveness. All of them are willing to keep their mouth shut as long as they're getting a paycheck from Vince.
Bruno Sammartino = A Wrestling God
And 15 years on, after Vince allowed drug abuse to continue, 100+ of his wrestlers have died prematurely.
I sent my postcard though I am still waiting for tickets!!! Talk about slow
LOL as for Dave talking about Bruiser Brody's murderer... it was Bruiser Brody! Lots of people wanted him dead including promoters. Chances are if one of the workers ratted out the murder, they'd be dead the next day in Peute Rico.
Mel Phillips and Terry Garvin had to leave the WWF over the ring boy allegations. I think Pat Patterson either left or stepped down but was back quickly.
Superstars no longer bitter with mcmahon anymore i put there differences a side back in 2002 after superstar recover from liver cancer surgey. as for Bruno that man has too much bitterness on mcmahon and won't let ago even refuse to be inducted into the hall of fame.
Vince hasn't aged a day since lol
wow this sounds like the penn state scandle and even vinnie mac said if i saw something like that i would immedietly allert the authorities
This whole scandal is the best thing that ever happened to the WWF.
@SeanMBryans Patterson was known for this type of behavior. Would be interesting to see what kind of heat would come down on all of them if this were to happen today.
funny how much everyone liked wrestling back then .. now it's not even the same .. people don't like it near as much since this
larry king episode, also seemed to me like the host was being biased favoring vince instead of being a neutral
RIP Bruiser Brody.
Vince MacMahon looks like Al Bundy.....
A younger version of Ed O'Neill