411’s Mr. McMahon Episode Two Report: ‘Heat’

–Last time we got the early years of Vince and his rise with Hulk Hogan towards National Expansion. Let’s get to it!

-Run Time: 55:32

-We start with VINCE SINGING STAND BACK AT THE SLAMMYS! AWESOME! That’s a fantastic way to start the opening credit sequence. Look at Hogan on Bass. Eat your heart out Metallica! There was meaning to the song as it was Vince’s warning to all the other promoters.

-Dave Meltzer says 84 and 85 were pivotal in wrestling history as everything was changing. That leads to the birth of Saturday Night’s Main Event. Vince partnered with NBC to do several shows a year to fill in when Saturday Night Live was on a break. Vince notes it was a really big deal and he isn’t lying. For people in my age group, SNME gives up the warm and fuzzies. The first time I ever heard Phil Collins was at the end of an episode of SNME. For reference 1986 is when I started really getting into wrestling as a kid and that’s where I have my earliest memories. The big thing with SNME was WWF was on Network Television. Again, how could any other promotion compete with that?

-With the business booming, more shows were needed and soon wrestlers were working seven nights a week. Jimmy Hart notes it was a hard grind and Bret wanted just a few more days off a year. Meltzer says they could have managed the schedule better and especially in the late 80s when it was a disaster. He continues that the schedule now isn’t that bad and the wrestlers are on guaranteed contracts. They don’t have the pressure to work hurt. In the 80s they had to work to make money, so pain killers were needed.

-Bob Costas brings up the wrestlers were exploited, and they had no union. Bret says they needed a union and that’s what Jesse Ventura was trying to do. Hulk Hogan says Jesse was trying to start a union before WrestleMania 2, and admits he was team Vince and told him Jesse was stirring shit up. Bret says Hogan ratted him out and Atlas and Meltzer jump on that train as well. Vince says the whole thing was a sham and nobody in the locker room would ever get behind Jesse. Atlas says that Vince met with every wrestler and told them they would be fired if they went with Jesse. Meltzer admits most of the wrestlers would never do it and maybe some would walk out, but most would go back and undercut what Jesse was trying to do to get a better spot from Vince. That’s why even today they have no union. Someone is willing to take the spot of someone that wants more or better. Dave says it is even less likely to happen now.

-WrestleMania 2: Vince’s idea to top the first Mania was to have 3 shows from 3 cities in one day. Hogan: “That was a disaster.” Vince couldn’t be in all three places and told Hogan they were never doing that again. The show wasn’t a spectacle like WrestleMania I.

-WrestleMania III: Oh man, are we going to get Dave and Vince arguing over the attendance? Vince knew there was a massive stadium in Michigan and knew of a match that could fill it: Hogan vs. Andre. He admits they had wrestled before, but their plan was to convince their new audience that it never happened. I was 6 and I was one of those that believed it never happened. I have told this story countless times, but I watched the show live from my grandma’s house as she had PPV ability. I was the first grandchild that ever got to eat in her living room. It was spaghetti with salad and bread. There is a picture of me on her chair, feeding my face, while watching the show.

-Vince’s next task was convincing Andre to return to the business. THE PRINCESS BRIDE! Andre had just done the movie and didn’t want to return to wrestling. Vince went to meet Andre while he was filming the movie and pitched the idea of having the back surgery and returning to face Hogan in front of 93,000 people. Andre laughed at first and Vince told him the plan was to make Andre the heel as the world had never seen him like that. Andre finally agreed and got the operation.

-PIPER’S PIT: “I AM HERE FOR ONE REASON. TO CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA.” PIPER: “ARE YOU OR ARE YOU NOT GOING TO FIGHT HIM AT WRESTLEMANIA III, YES OR NO?” HOGAN: “YEEEEESSSSS.” TAKE ALL MY MONEY! Again, just burned in my brain and it still gives me goosebumps and gets my heart pumping.

-Vince: “We sold 93,000 seats.” Meltzer? The Silverdome just looked amazing and it’s still what I think of when I picture a WrestleMania Stadium. SING IT ARETHA! I want to cry seeing these highlights again. I know this documentary is supposed to be serious and that is obviously going to come, but the nostalgia just gets to me. Vince says Hogan and Andre were the ones that drew the house. Vince continues the story of how Andre would never let Hogan know he was going to win the match. Hogan went to Vince and Vince assure him things would be fine. “Andre will do the right thing. Don’t worry.” Hogan: “What does that mean?”

-Hogan vs. Andre: Hogan was amazed at the size of the crowd and figured out this would be the easiest thing he ever did or it would be a disaster. Hogan realized how bad Andre’s back was, and tried to keep him the near the ropes. Andre yelled “slam,” and it shocked Hogan. He says he didn’t know he was winning until Andre didn’t kick out. Hogan has always put Andre over huge for what he did for him that night. Vince: “That probably is the greatest attraction we ever had.” There you go for the crazy people out there that think we are over inflating the importance and significance of Hogan/Andre.

-Meltzer says the story was Andre passing the torch, but Hogan was already a bigger star than Andre heading into that match. It is true and just to mention it here, but someone posted on Twitter that was the last time Hogan successfully defended The WWF Title on PPV. It sounds crazy but it’s true. Meltzer debunks all the lies: Andre’s first loss, Andre being slammed for the first time, and yes, the attendance. “They have said 93,000 so many times they probably believe it by now.” There’s our Meltzer! Hogan doesn’t just say 93,000, but the exact total announced of 93,173. Prichard and Vince both mention 93,000. Meltzer: “It was actually 78,000 in the building.” I still think it was more, but it’s nearly 40 years later and people still argue. Shoemaker isn’t sure why this has been a big mystery and thinks the truth is somewhere in the middle. That’s what I think as well!

-Hogan says Mania III changed the business and launched him into Superstar status. Atlas says Hogan may have been the most popular person in the world at one time. We see the cartoon as Costas says that Hogan had broken through. Stephanie says as a kid she felt resentment that her dad never got the credit for creating all of it. Of course she did! Atlas says that every word out of Hogan’s mouth was what Vince wanted him to say. Hogan says the same because everything Vince came up with turned to gold.

-HULK HOGAN WORK OUT SET! Yes, I had that as a kid and yes, I also called the Hulk Hogan hotline [phone]-HULK). Hogan Vitamins: had those too!

-Hogan would be out doing the shows and drawing the money, while Vince was in the office working around the clock to keep things moving. Hogan told Vince he wanted to do movies, and Vince was worried he would lose Hogan to Hollywood. Vince pitched the idea of making their own movie for Hogan to try. Vince admits he knew nothing about making a movie, but they went to write one together. There have been rumors they went to a cabin in the woods with all the cocaine and spit out what became No Holds Barred. Yes, I went to the theater to see it as well. Hogan says they spent 2.5 days in a hotel room and didn’t know what they were doing but had fun.

-No Holds Barred: Prichard says it wasn’t the worst movie, but it wasn’t great. THEY SHOW THE DOOKIE LINE! We also see Hogan’s acting chops as he cries. Vince thought the movie would make all the money and that didn’t happen. Well, my mom paid for me to go!

-Prichard is asked when he felt Hogan had started to fade and he mentions WrestleMania VI. I just reviewed that show last week and you can find it here. Also, Hogan was still the biggest star they had and his reaction was bigger than Warrior’s. Vince says Hogan’s star may have been fading a little bit, so they wanted to put Hogan on the bench for a while. Yeah, how did that work out? Hogan says Warrior was built better than him, and had brighter colors. Hogan says the problem was Warrior didn’t have the love for the business, but he did for Warrior what Andre did for him and passed the torch. Match is still amazing and gave us everything we wanted. I ran home and cried after Hogan lost. Prichard admits that Warrior wasn’t as popular as Hogan and he wasn’t everything they wanted him to be. They had to pivot and go back to Hulk.

-Their idea was to turn Sgt. Slaughter heel and make him an Iraqi Sympathizer. For Vince it was a way to capitalize on what was happening in the world and get heat. Yeah, they got some heat! Vince says the story was working really well, and then the real world ruined things as Iraq invaded Kuwait. Americans were fighting over seas now and people didn’t want to see it being turned into a wrestling story. Hogan says Slaughter and his family were getting death threats and he felt the whole thing was a risky move. Vince says they backed off the story a little bit, but still had the match. Nothing on the “bomb” threat that forced them to a much smaller arena. Vince: “at the end of the day, the American won.”

-Prichard says the audience was sick of Hogan in that role as the American Hero. There were also whispers about a doctor prescribing steroids to wrestlers. That was Dr. George Zahorian, and Vince says he was appointed by the PA State Athletic Commission to cover WWF shows. They had no voice in who was appointed. He was in the locker room with the boys and started selling steroids to them. Hogan says it became part of the norm as everyone in sports and Hollywood were taking them to become larger than life. They show Drago getting injected with roids in Rocky IV. Always The Russians!

-Bret Hart says Dr. would check everyone before the match and then ask what they needed. Vince says it was not illegal to sell steroids and says he bought some, but it was illegal to prescibe them and then sell them. Prichard mentions they were legal and it became illegal (if not used for the intended purpose) as a Class III Substance when Reagan started his crack down on drugs. Zahorian was arrested and it came at a bad time as Vince had started the WBF (World Bodybuilding Federation).

-Vince says it was not a good time, as all bodybuilders did was take steroids, so he decided to fold the WBF. He was getting all kinds of heat and felt like he was getting hit from all sides. Zahorian testified he treated Hogan for a serious steroid abuse problem. Vince was pressured into steroid testing and he went on the air saying the WWF would be drug free. He admitted to taking steroids at one time and promised WWF would be the standard for drug free and for drug testing. That same day Hogan appeared on Arsenio Hall. Vince told Hogan to come clean, but Hogan denied and said he only took steroids three times. Everyone came out of the woodwork to shoot down Hogan’s claims and you had Billy Graham and David Schultz telling the news they each shot Hogan up personally with steroids. Hogan admits to self destructing himself and he should have listened to Vince. Vince says you need to tell the truth and just take what comes with it. Huh!

-Phil Mushnick, columist for NY Post, is up next and I don’t like this man either. Prichard wants to be nice, but says there is nothing nice to say about him. Vince says Phil was digging for everything he could and has a vendetta to this day against him and wrestling. “I don’t know why.” Phil: “Because he is a dirt bag.” Meltzer says Phil is the one guy that wrote strongly against Vince. “Stronger than I would write.” Phil says when he started writing his stories he received letters that he didn’t know half of it. He returned calls and it was mind blowing what he was hearing. Shoemaker says pulling back the curtain on pro-wrestling would be shocking to people. Dark Side of The Ring has made a living of doing that.

-Tony Atlas says they would come off as some of the worst human beings on the face of the Earth. He admits they abused the hell out of women as they were toys to them. Jimmy Snuka! Meltzer takes us back to 1983 where something happened in a hotel in Allentown between Snuka and his girlfriend. She hit her head and died and the person who investigated felt it was homicide, but not charges were filed and people think to this day, Vince had a hand in getting Snuka out of trouble. Dark Side did that story and my review is here.

-Phil was the first to bring out the darker side of wrestling and he broke the ring boy scandal. Mel Phillips would bring underage ring boys to the show and they would be sexually harassed. Bret says Mel Phillips was a total pedophile, who wouldn’t hire ring crew unless they would do sexual favors. Phil learned it involved Terry Garvin (executive in Connecticut) and Pat Patterson. Prichard says the business was homophobic and Pat was openly guy, but became a top guy everywhere he went.

-News footage of Tom Cole saying Pat Patterson would pat him on the butt and grab his testicles. Garvin offered him cocaine and propositioned him as well. He refused to have sex and was let go from the company at sixteen. Phil says at best Vince was guilty of rank neglect. Vince says Phil didn’t care who he hurt on either side. Phil: “These were real kids being abused on Vince’s watch.” Bret thinks something may have happened, but doesn’t know how you can prove it. Vince settled and Mel Phillips and Garvin were let go. Melzter says Patterson resigned, but he had a conversation with Vince and he told Dave that one of the three was innocent. That was Pat and Dave asked why he resigned then. Vince said the business was all about gay witch hunts, so Pat had to leave. Dave notes most people in wrestling who were around believe Pat never acted unprofessionally. Prichard says he doesn’t believe the allegations against Pat, but the others “no comment.”

-Atlas says they all knew Pat was doing this stuff and alleges Pat would grab his pecker. The producer asked why they never complained. Atlas: “To who? He is the booker and #2 in the company.” The producer shoots back “Vince,” and Atlas nearly chokes laughing. “He needed Pat more than he needed me.” Dave says Pat was Vince’s right hand man in the company and calls him a savant. Atlas doesn’t think Vince protected Pat, but was protecting the business.

-The reaction from legitimate media was dismissive and the only ones that jumped on the scandals were shows like Donahue. Vince says he is one of the few people who enjoys confrontation. Vince went on the show and stood up for himself. He doesn’t know if it was a good or bad decision but he did it. We also get footage from the show where Dave was sitting on a panel right next to Vince. There’s a picture and look at that lettuce on Dave’s head!

-Prichard notes Vince was getting frustrated as this was something he couldn’t control. That had to be the biggest thing for Vince as he is a known control freak. Jimmy Hart is asked about the various backstage relationships, but he wants to be cautious as he doesn’t know what they want out in the open. Bret gives no fucks though and brings up Rita Marie, who was the first female referee. Vince says he was accused of alleged rape that never happened. Rita goes on Geraldo and details what Vince did to her and it sounds like what we have heard with the current situation. She said that she had to satisfy Vince to keep her million dollar contract. Vince claims it was consensual, so he is admitting to adultery. He says once you are accused of rape, you are a rapist. He said if it was rape, the statute of limitations had run out. Holy crap! Vince sued her and Geraldo and the public turned on her as a gold digger. Phil says the public didn’t want to know and the major papers ran away from it as they just saw it as “rasslin.” Phil would not let it go.

-More trouble as the Federal Government comes for Vince about the steroids and Vince blames Phil. Phil says he was a FBI informant as they would read what he wrote and act on it. The indictments came and were only on the steroid charges and didn’t look into the ring boy or Rita scandals. Vince entered a plea of not guilty. Dark Side covered this as well and my review is here.

-Vince says The Federal Government can be the biggest bullies as they have unlimited resources. They make people cop to a plea, but Vince said “fuck yourself,” as he wasn’t guilty of anything. Vince gets neck surgery before the trial and has to sport a brace. Dave doesn’t think it was a needed surgery at that minute, but it gave Vince some sympathy. Vince says that was not the case, but Shoemaker brings up how heels would wear braces to get the crowd to boo them.

-Hogan brings up that fans started to turn on him and he didn’t feel like he was in control of the crowds anymore. He told Vince it was time for him to go and that’s why Hogan had his “last” match at WrestleMania VIII. Bret says people don’t understand how dire the situation was and it was a perfect time for the competition to pounce.

-Ted Turner was one of the pioneers of Cable Television and was one the first to broadcast pro-wrestling nationwide. Eric Bischoff says they were #2 in wrestling behind WWF, but they may as well been #202 because that’s how wide the gap was. Eric says before he was hired, WCW as doing a cheap version of what WWF was doing. Eric was following the steroid trials and was aware that Hogan had left WWF. Well, we kind of jumped ahead a year and a half, but I guess we don’t need to cover Hogan’s brief return in 1993.

-Eric approached Hulk Hogan while he was filming Thunder in Paradise. Hogan missed wrestling and the acting wasn’t working. Hogan wanted to get back in the ring, but had two young kids at home and didn’t want to work 300 days. Turner was cool with that and they offered Hogan a guaranteed contract with a lot less dates. Hey, I don’t blame Hogan as if they are offering that sweet of a deal you have to take it. I am a person that also never blames an athlete for getting everything they can as people are making billions off of them.

-Hogan says he told Vince he would never run against him. Vince gave him his release as he believed Hogan, but then he popped up in WCW. Vince said it broke his heart. Shane calls it a slap in the face and he views it as such even to this day. Prichard says Hogan was offered a better deal and there was also the trial hanging over WWF, which left people questioning if Vince or the WWF would even be there.

-The Government wanted Hogan to be their star witness and he was told if he didn’t go along they would turn their attention to him and he was looking at seventeen years. Meltzer kind of backs this up as he says Hogan didn’t want to testify against Vince, but the Government made him. They had something on Hogan, but they wanted Vince. The conviction rate in those cases were high, so everyone thought Vince was screwed. Dave was there for the entire thing and could tell Vince was worried. Vince says he believes in the law of the jungle. Hogan finishes the episode by noting he was granted immunity and knew what he was going to say.

-“In 1994, Vince McMahon withdrew his defamation lawsuit against Rita Chatterton and Geraldo Rivera.”

-“In 2023, during a temporary lift of statute of limitations for alleged victims of sexual offense in New York State, McMahon paid a million-dollar settlement to Chatterton.”

-“McMahon continues to deny any wrong doing.”

-Credits.

-The nostalgia was fun to start with SNME and WrestleMania III, but then we got the scandals. Before getting to those, props to them for diving into the WrestleMania III attendance debate since they had Meltzer and Vince both there. Obviously it’s trivial in the grand scheme of what this series is showing, but it provides for some levity. Also, I wasn’t expecting Shane and Stephanie to have grudges against Hogan for his success and for leaving for a better deal. Maybe I should have. Now, it it quite amazing all the stuff thrown at Vince that didn’t stick and as Dave noted, the real news didn’t seem to care as it was just “rasslin.” The other side is that Vince is telling the truth and people were just trying to get money from him, and sadly that does happen, which doesn’t help people who truly were victims. For us hardcore fans, none of this is really new, but I wonder what someone who barely knows anything about wrestling thinks of what they have seen so far. My mother knows of wrestling because of me and I wonder what she would think. There’s no chance I have of convincing my wife to watch this to get her thoughts. We are also seeing some talking heads getting gun shy about spilling the beans and then you have Bret and Tony Atlas coming out with both barrels. Atlas seems like he may have more of an ax to grind so far and Bret is just Bret, so to me he comes off more believable, but I also still have the image of Atlas hiding money from himself when he was on MTV: True Life. I love documentaries and wrestling, so this has been right in my wheelhouse. Four more to go! Thanks for reading!