1
00:00:05,189 --> 00:00:08,150
You're looking
at the nastiest,

2
00:00:08,150 --> 00:00:11,487
devious individual
standing right here.

3
00:00:11,487 --> 00:00:14,573
Terry was a beast.
He was a perfect Goliath.

4
00:00:14,573 --> 00:00:16,408
A prodigy who broke
into the business

5
00:00:16,408 --> 00:00:17,742
before he could drive...

6
00:00:17,742 --> 00:00:20,412
Just drove him
to the mat.

7
00:00:20,412 --> 00:00:23,456
Terry Gordy's skill in the
ring was matched only by

8
00:00:23,456 --> 00:00:25,667
his legendary toughness.

9
00:00:25,667 --> 00:00:29,379
Terry had the ability to make
just about anybody look good

10
00:00:29,379 --> 00:00:32,257
as long as they were
willing to pay the price.

11
00:00:32,257 --> 00:00:35,260
He was 300 pounds and when
he picked you upside down and

12
00:00:35,260 --> 00:00:38,471
dropped you on your head,
you were pretty much done.

13
00:00:38,471 --> 00:00:40,932
Gordy's career
skyrocketed as part of

14
00:00:40,932 --> 00:00:44,394
'The Fabulous Freebirds',
a tag team trio that

15
00:00:44,394 --> 00:00:46,312
revolutionized
the business with their

16
00:00:46,312 --> 00:00:49,106
in-ring theatrics and
total commitment

17
00:00:49,106 --> 00:00:51,024
to their
rock and roll lifestyle.

18
00:00:51,024 --> 00:00:52,443
Once the Jack
started flowin',

19
00:00:52,443 --> 00:00:54,570
the Birds were ready to
party with anyone

20
00:00:54,570 --> 00:00:56,196
or fight anyone.

21
00:00:56,196 --> 00:00:58,532
You're with the
big boys now!

22
00:00:58,532 --> 00:01:01,326
They believed they
are rock stars,

23
00:01:01,326 --> 00:01:03,579
so they act
like rock stars.

24
00:01:03,579 --> 00:01:06,373
Gordy's no holds barred
style would take him

25
00:01:06,373 --> 00:01:09,251
around the world,
but also accelerate

26
00:01:09,251 --> 00:01:11,211
his self-destructive
behaviour.

27
00:01:11,211 --> 00:01:13,714
Terry was his own man.
Terry did his own thing.

28
00:01:13,714 --> 00:01:15,424
The lifestyle
that he led...

29
00:01:15,424 --> 00:01:17,885
he could have died a
hundred different ways.

30
00:01:17,885 --> 00:01:21,262
You can go from being on
top of the world and

31
00:01:21,262 --> 00:01:24,098
have it all taken from
you in a moment.

32
00:01:24,098 --> 00:01:27,185
Until a flight on a routine
trip to Japan would

33
00:01:27,185 --> 00:01:30,897
drastically alter his career,
and the man himself.

34
00:01:30,897 --> 00:01:33,524
Even though he came back,
he didn't come back

35
00:01:33,524 --> 00:01:35,776
as a wrestler, and he didn't
come back as Terry.

36
00:01:35,776 --> 00:01:37,570
He was never the same.

37
00:01:37,570 --> 00:01:40,239
Never even
remotely the same.

38
00:01:40,239 --> 00:01:45,077
♪

39
00:01:45,077 --> 00:01:49,373
♪

40
00:01:49,373 --> 00:01:51,250
Guys, first match,
5 minutes.

41
00:01:51,250 --> 00:01:54,503
My name gets me noticed.
Like, "Oh, another

42
00:01:54,503 --> 00:01:56,630
second gen,
Terry Gordy's daughter."

43
00:01:56,630 --> 00:02:00,383
[Announcer]
Miranda Gordy!

44
00:02:00,383 --> 00:02:02,844
[Cheering]

45
00:02:02,844 --> 00:02:04,429
I am Miranda Gordy,

46
00:02:04,429 --> 00:02:07,307
and Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy
is my father.

47
00:02:07,307 --> 00:02:09,976
[Indistinct chatter]

48
00:02:09,976 --> 00:02:13,563
They expect me to be
just as good as him,

49
00:02:13,563 --> 00:02:16,399
and that's just not the case,
so that's caused a little bit

50
00:02:16,399 --> 00:02:19,778
of pressure on me that I
have got to fill those boots.

51
00:02:19,778 --> 00:02:21,738
♪ [Indistinct commentary] ♪

52
00:02:21,738 --> 00:02:23,740
[Commentary]
What a clothesline!

53
00:02:23,740 --> 00:02:28,369
Those are some
big shoes to fill.

54
00:02:28,369 --> 00:02:29,828
Oh the boot comes off.

55
00:02:29,828 --> 00:02:32,540
Gordy smashing on
Bruiser Brody's head.

56
00:02:32,540 --> 00:02:33,874
My name is Ray Gordy,

57
00:02:33,874 --> 00:02:37,836
and I am son of
Terry 'Bam Bam' Gordy.

58
00:02:37,836 --> 00:02:41,423
People would remember me
as one half of

59
00:02:41,423 --> 00:02:45,386
Jesse and Festus,
and Slam Master J.

60
00:02:45,386 --> 00:02:49,098
The reason I didn't use
my father's name

61
00:02:49,098 --> 00:02:52,226
in WWE is simply because

62
00:02:52,226 --> 00:02:54,353
I didn't feel
that I could live up to it.

63
00:02:54,353 --> 00:02:57,189
Terry Gordy is
fixin' to bust loose.

64
00:02:57,189 --> 00:02:59,440
He told me one time that

65
00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,943
once you learn how
this business works,

66
00:03:01,943 --> 00:03:04,237
you'll never want
to do anything else.

67
00:03:04,237 --> 00:03:06,489
Here's Gordy
from the ropes!

68
00:03:06,489 --> 00:03:07,949
And that was his mindset.

69
00:03:07,949 --> 00:03:11,119
He never seen himself
doing anything else.

70
00:03:11,119 --> 00:03:12,954
[Announcer]
Terry Gordy!

71
00:03:12,954 --> 00:03:16,457
[Cheering]

72
00:03:16,457 --> 00:03:18,501
Born in Rossville,
Georgia,

73
00:03:18,501 --> 00:03:20,587
Terry Gordy is barely
a teenager when

74
00:03:20,587 --> 00:03:22,964
he gets his start in
the wrestling business.

75
00:03:22,964 --> 00:03:26,884
I have some early
stuff of my dad.

76
00:03:26,884 --> 00:03:28,845
That is a report card.

77
00:03:28,845 --> 00:03:30,637
It looks like
a couple of Fs.

78
00:03:30,637 --> 00:03:34,016
Those days he was absent,
he was on the road.

79
00:03:34,016 --> 00:03:35,809
-This picture.
-Yeah.

80
00:03:35,809 --> 00:03:39,438
That is a very
young Terry Gordy.

81
00:03:39,438 --> 00:03:42,691
At 40 pounds,
Terry Meeker!

82
00:03:42,691 --> 00:03:45,444
Because of Terry's
size and his eagerness,

83
00:03:45,444 --> 00:03:47,654
by the time he
was 14 years old,

84
00:03:47,654 --> 00:03:49,990
he was wrestling
on television.

85
00:03:49,990 --> 00:03:51,533
I'm Jim Cornette.

86
00:03:51,533 --> 00:03:53,368
I've been involved in
a variety of ways in

87
00:03:53,368 --> 00:03:56,496
professional wrestling over
the last 40-something years.

88
00:03:56,496 --> 00:03:58,707
I first met Terry,
he was 16 years old.

89
00:03:58,707 --> 00:04:00,250
He was already a
professional wrestler and

90
00:04:00,250 --> 00:04:03,127
had been for a couple of
years at that point.

91
00:04:03,127 --> 00:04:05,546
You could use the
word 'prodigy',

92
00:04:05,546 --> 00:04:07,465
you could use the
word 'natural'.

93
00:04:07,465 --> 00:04:09,425
Whatever it was,
he had it.

94
00:04:09,425 --> 00:04:10,927
He's getting a
couple of licks here.

95
00:04:10,927 --> 00:04:13,429
He was a prodigy,
but that doesn't mean

96
00:04:13,429 --> 00:04:16,849
he didn't work hard and
study the game.

97
00:04:16,849 --> 00:04:19,685
My name is Mick Foley.
I'm a three time

98
00:04:19,685 --> 00:04:22,188
WWE champion
and I am sometimes

99
00:04:22,188 --> 00:04:25,900
known as the
'Hardcore Legend'.

100
00:04:25,900 --> 00:04:29,195
What he lacked in
traditional schooling

101
00:04:29,195 --> 00:04:31,906
he picked up
with an education

102
00:04:31,906 --> 00:04:34,157
on the road,
second to none.

103
00:04:34,157 --> 00:04:36,993
This young lad here is gonna,
I think, become a superstar.

104
00:04:36,993 --> 00:04:38,411
He has all of the makings.

105
00:04:38,411 --> 00:04:40,622
When you started getting
the full Terry Gordy,

106
00:04:40,622 --> 00:04:43,083
not only the physical
aspect, but the verbal...

107
00:04:43,083 --> 00:04:45,001
he was an all
-around performer.

108
00:04:45,001 --> 00:04:47,003
There was almost nobody
that could touch him.

109
00:04:47,003 --> 00:04:49,005
Get your sister,
get your daddy,

110
00:04:49,005 --> 00:04:51,007
get em' all around the TV.

111
00:04:51,007 --> 00:04:53,426
Because you fixin' to
eyewitness something.

112
00:04:53,426 --> 00:04:54,928
When Terry was
in Mississippi,

113
00:04:54,928 --> 00:04:56,888
he met a guy named
Michael Hayes.

114
00:04:56,888 --> 00:04:58,682
[Indistinct shouting]

115
00:04:58,682 --> 00:05:00,100
And there it is,
Michael Hayes.

116
00:05:00,100 --> 00:05:02,185
Michael was a
natural talker.

117
00:05:02,185 --> 00:05:04,896
You hand Michael a microphone
and he could go on forever.

118
00:05:04,896 --> 00:05:07,439
When you wanna talk to a
lady, you say, "Hey baby,

119
00:05:07,439 --> 00:05:09,858
why don't you put on some put
on some Teddy Pendergrass,

120
00:05:09,858 --> 00:05:12,611
close the door, let me
do what I want to do,

121
00:05:12,611 --> 00:05:17,032
'cause all I want do is
what you want me to."

122
00:05:17,032 --> 00:05:19,243
[Sighing]

123
00:05:19,243 --> 00:05:22,204
His mama must've
had a hard time with him.

124
00:05:22,204 --> 00:05:24,748
I am Jimmy Jam Garvin,
and I am a member of

125
00:05:24,748 --> 00:05:27,042
'The Fabulous Freebirds',
WWE Hall of Famer,

126
00:05:27,042 --> 00:05:29,128
and it's still not my fault.

127
00:05:29,128 --> 00:05:30,796
It's not my fault!

128
00:05:30,796 --> 00:05:32,005
Michael and Terry,
I mean,

129
00:05:32,005 --> 00:05:33,841
they were just
both live wires.

130
00:05:33,841 --> 00:05:36,427
Terry would almost know
what Michael was thinking,

131
00:05:36,427 --> 00:05:37,886
you know, before Michael
even said it,

132
00:05:37,886 --> 00:05:40,763
and vice versa,
they were just tight.

133
00:05:40,763 --> 00:05:43,474
You've got Michael Hayes
who would come out,

134
00:05:43,474 --> 00:05:45,768
and he would
piss people off.

135
00:05:45,768 --> 00:05:47,770
As always,
a big conflict.

136
00:05:47,770 --> 00:05:49,897
He would talk his self
right into the corner.

137
00:05:49,897 --> 00:05:52,650
But then behind his back,

138
00:05:52,650 --> 00:05:54,402
you've got Terry Gordy.

139
00:05:54,402 --> 00:05:57,405
-Here comes Gordy.
-[Cheering]

140
00:05:57,405 --> 00:06:01,325
As a team, they were
just unmatched.

141
00:06:01,325 --> 00:06:05,079
They just were like...
soul mates,

142
00:06:05,079 --> 00:06:07,206
as far as friends go.

143
00:06:07,206 --> 00:06:09,167
Michael was a big fan,
as every southerner

144
00:06:09,167 --> 00:06:10,792
was in those days
in the 70s,

145
00:06:10,792 --> 00:06:13,628
of the band
Lynyrd Skynyrd.

146
00:06:13,628 --> 00:06:15,380
Michael had the idea,

147
00:06:15,380 --> 00:06:20,510
"What about if we call
ourselves 'The Freebirds'?

148
00:06:20,510 --> 00:06:23,555
Monday night in Memphis
at the Mid-South Coliseum,

149
00:06:23,555 --> 00:06:25,974
I was a photographer
at ringside,

150
00:06:25,974 --> 00:06:28,810
and all of a sudden
over the P.A. system,

151
00:06:28,810 --> 00:06:30,896
here comes 'Freebird."

152
00:06:30,896 --> 00:06:36,234
♪ [Cheering] ♪

153
00:06:36,234 --> 00:06:38,862
And then out comes
Terry and Michael.

154
00:06:38,862 --> 00:06:41,907
The silver robes
flowing everywhere,

155
00:06:41,907 --> 00:06:45,826
and they're doing a
slow motion strut to

156
00:06:45,826 --> 00:06:48,496
match the beat of Freebird.

157
00:06:48,496 --> 00:06:51,248
You hear the music,
and The Fabulous Freebirds-

158
00:06:51,248 --> 00:06:54,585
Terry Gordy and
Michael Hayes.

159
00:06:54,585 --> 00:06:56,545
This was back in the day
where if you went to

160
00:06:56,545 --> 00:06:59,465
an arena event,
the bell rang,

161
00:06:59,465 --> 00:07:00,800
and the wrestlers
walked to the ring,

162
00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:02,802
and they got introduced.
There was no music.

163
00:07:02,802 --> 00:07:05,137
[Cheering]

164
00:07:05,137 --> 00:07:08,808
And I said, "You know, I
think this might catch on."

165
00:07:08,808 --> 00:07:11,352
The Freebirds soon joined
Mid-South Wrestling,

166
00:07:11,352 --> 00:07:13,437
where promoter Bill Watts
pairs them up with

167
00:07:13,437 --> 00:07:17,774
Buddy Roberts, converting
the tag team into a trio.

168
00:07:17,774 --> 00:07:20,360
You've got the
Freebirds' attention,

169
00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:22,946
and that just might
be your downfall!

170
00:07:22,946 --> 00:07:25,782
Buddy was the veteran.
Michael was the promo.

171
00:07:25,782 --> 00:07:27,826
Terry was the
physical enforcer.

172
00:07:27,826 --> 00:07:30,203
Watch that head
bite the dust!

173
00:07:30,203 --> 00:07:32,997
And that three-man
combination made one of the

174
00:07:32,997 --> 00:07:36,209
most legendary tag teams in
the history of wrestling.

175
00:07:36,209 --> 00:07:40,088
Together, they were bigger
than the sum of their parts.

176
00:07:40,088 --> 00:07:42,006
And I think it's important
to point out that this was

177
00:07:42,006 --> 00:07:45,009
not a case of lightning
striking once.

178
00:07:45,009 --> 00:07:48,846
They got over
everywhere they went.

179
00:07:48,846 --> 00:07:50,430
[Chanting] Freebirds!
Freebirds! Freebirds!

180
00:07:50,430 --> 00:07:52,599
You can hear the
crowd very quickly:

181
00:07:52,599 --> 00:07:54,601
"Freebirds!
Freebirds!"

182
00:07:54,601 --> 00:07:57,437
The Fabulous Freebirds,
our winners...

183
00:07:57,437 --> 00:08:00,399
The Fabulous Freebirds got
through with the victory.

184
00:08:00,399 --> 00:08:03,485
Welcome back to the wild
and wonderful Freebirds.

185
00:08:03,485 --> 00:08:06,989
[Cheering]

186
00:08:06,989 --> 00:08:08,824
Ah, and the moonwalk.

187
00:08:08,824 --> 00:08:12,327
Then they had the natural
three-on-three rivalry

188
00:08:12,327 --> 00:08:15,038
with the Von Erich boys
in Dallas.

189
00:08:15,038 --> 00:08:16,790
Deep in the heart
of Texas,

190
00:08:16,790 --> 00:08:18,625
World Class
Championship Wrestling

191
00:08:18,625 --> 00:08:21,419
is dominated by the
three eldest sons of

192
00:08:21,419 --> 00:08:23,254
promoter Fritz Von Erich...

193
00:08:23,254 --> 00:08:25,631
David, Kerry, and Kevin.

194
00:08:25,631 --> 00:08:27,133
This is The Von Erichs!

195
00:08:27,133 --> 00:08:29,385
The Von Erich boys
were already popular,

196
00:08:29,385 --> 00:08:32,013
but the Von Erich boys
had never been tested.

197
00:08:32,013 --> 00:08:33,973
We wanted bad asses,

198
00:08:33,973 --> 00:08:35,516
and that's who the
Freebirds were.

199
00:08:35,516 --> 00:08:39,103
Back breaker across the
knee of Michael Hayes.

200
00:08:39,103 --> 00:08:40,354
I'm Kevin Von Erich,

201
00:08:40,354 --> 00:08:43,941
and for years I battled
the Freebirds.

202
00:08:43,941 --> 00:08:46,527
They were legitimate
rough guys, you know,

203
00:08:46,527 --> 00:08:49,780
and they didn't have any
apologies for anybody.

204
00:08:49,780 --> 00:08:51,698
[Commentary] Oh,
that fella hit the deck.

205
00:08:51,698 --> 00:08:53,575
But we had a
common goal.

206
00:08:53,575 --> 00:08:55,535
We wanted to put the
best wrestling match

207
00:08:55,535 --> 00:08:57,412
we could in that ring.

208
00:08:57,412 --> 00:08:59,956
And so it was just a
marriage made in heaven.

209
00:08:59,956 --> 00:09:03,585
-Here comes Kevin!
-[Cheering]

210
00:09:03,585 --> 00:09:05,712
Wrestling in the mid 80s
in Dallas was

211
00:09:05,712 --> 00:09:07,130
the top of the game.

212
00:09:07,130 --> 00:09:09,007
We were selling out
every venue,

213
00:09:09,007 --> 00:09:11,593
everywhere,
every night.

214
00:09:11,593 --> 00:09:14,554
But the magic really hit
when the Freebirds came.

215
00:09:14,554 --> 00:09:16,848
I'm talking about
them Von Erich's.

216
00:09:16,848 --> 00:09:20,185
They don't stick their nose
in the Freebirds' business.

217
00:09:20,185 --> 00:09:22,437
My name is David Manning.
I was the promoter,

218
00:09:22,437 --> 00:09:23,979
booker,
and referee for

219
00:09:23,979 --> 00:09:25,689
World Class
Championship Wrestling.

220
00:09:25,689 --> 00:09:28,067
The Von Erichs were
like the good cowboy,

221
00:09:28,067 --> 00:09:31,111
and here was three guys
that were

222
00:09:31,111 --> 00:09:33,530
obnoxious, rude
to the fans.

223
00:09:33,530 --> 00:09:36,533
Let me tell you
something, Texas...

224
00:09:36,533 --> 00:09:39,787
there ain't no place that
I would rather be

225
00:09:39,787 --> 00:09:41,872
than in Georgia right now.

226
00:09:41,872 --> 00:09:43,290
Kevin referred
to him as filth.

227
00:09:43,290 --> 00:09:45,751
Michael Hayes is
bringing the flag.

228
00:09:45,751 --> 00:09:47,836
Terry and Michael
come to the ring,

229
00:09:47,836 --> 00:09:50,297
they've got Dixie flyin',
and they're talking

230
00:09:50,297 --> 00:09:52,758
about Texas, and it
just burned me up.

231
00:09:52,758 --> 00:09:54,343
And so I grabbed
the mic and I said,

232
00:09:54,343 --> 00:09:56,135
"You got everyone in the
world thinking this is a war

233
00:09:56,135 --> 00:09:58,388
between Texas and Georgia,
and this is not.

234
00:09:58,388 --> 00:10:01,182
This is a war between
decency and filth."

235
00:10:01,182 --> 00:10:02,725
There was so much love
for the Von Erichs,

236
00:10:02,725 --> 00:10:04,852
but there was total hate

237
00:10:04,852 --> 00:10:06,562
for Michael,
Terry, and Buddy.

238
00:10:06,562 --> 00:10:09,774
Go home Freebirds!
Go home Freebirds!

239
00:10:09,774 --> 00:10:11,818
They could get a ton of
heat because of the way

240
00:10:11,818 --> 00:10:15,029
they acted, the things they
said, the things they did.

241
00:10:15,029 --> 00:10:16,739
What about your
friend right here, boy,

242
00:10:16,739 --> 00:10:18,533
what you think
about it?

243
00:10:18,533 --> 00:10:20,326
I didn't want my
dad to get beat up,

244
00:10:20,326 --> 00:10:24,122
but I was still a fan
of the Von Erichs.

245
00:10:24,122 --> 00:10:26,833
And it looks like
a bar room brawl.

246
00:10:26,833 --> 00:10:28,583
Who didn't love
the von Erichs?

247
00:10:28,583 --> 00:10:31,586
[Cheering]

248
00:10:31,586 --> 00:10:34,339
Some of the guys who didn't
like the Von Erichs 'cause

249
00:10:34,339 --> 00:10:36,425
their girlfriends liked them,
and they're saying,

250
00:10:36,425 --> 00:10:39,094
"Well look at the shit kickin',
Jack Daniels drinkin',

251
00:10:39,094 --> 00:10:42,139
flag wavin'
Southern assholes."

252
00:10:42,139 --> 00:10:45,058
So they started getting
in the Freebird camp.

253
00:10:45,058 --> 00:10:47,060
[Cheering] Freebirds!
Freebirds! Freebirds!

254
00:10:47,060 --> 00:10:50,731
I think the Freebirds were
the original cool heels.

255
00:10:50,731 --> 00:10:53,525
Far more often they
were the cooler of

256
00:10:53,525 --> 00:10:56,820
the two teams
in the ring.

257
00:10:56,820 --> 00:11:00,073
For the next two and a half
years in every city in Texas,

258
00:11:00,073 --> 00:11:02,533
it was the Freebirds
against the Von Erichs.

259
00:11:02,533 --> 00:11:04,410
I'm gonna kill him!

260
00:11:04,410 --> 00:11:07,747
[Cheering]

261
00:11:07,747 --> 00:11:10,082
I want Terry Gordy and I just
don't want to just beat him,

262
00:11:10,082 --> 00:11:11,375
I want to hurt him!

263
00:11:11,375 --> 00:11:13,252
And he'll take Terry
across the ring!

264
00:11:13,252 --> 00:11:17,423
They main evented in Texas
Stadium, for God's sake.

265
00:11:17,423 --> 00:11:20,217
It was the most magic
3-on-3 combination.

266
00:11:20,217 --> 00:11:21,886
Perfect time,
perfect place,

267
00:11:21,886 --> 00:11:24,847
perfect set up,
perfect participants.

268
00:11:24,847 --> 00:11:27,892
And they drew nothing
but money for two years.

269
00:11:27,892 --> 00:11:30,102
[Cheering]

270
00:11:30,102 --> 00:11:31,937
What we had created in
the ring was phenomenal,

271
00:11:31,937 --> 00:11:33,146
anybody would
want that.

272
00:11:33,146 --> 00:11:34,939
But then when you
got out of the ring,

273
00:11:34,939 --> 00:11:36,357
you had all the
other problems though

274
00:11:36,357 --> 00:11:37,776
that came
with the Birds.

275
00:11:37,776 --> 00:11:40,028
They were trouble
looking for trouble.

276
00:11:40,028 --> 00:11:41,112
[Shattering]

277
00:11:41,112 --> 00:11:44,115
You know,
they just raised hell.

278
00:11:44,115 --> 00:11:46,284
They'd drink all night,

279
00:11:46,284 --> 00:11:48,745
and then they'd
get in the ring,

280
00:11:48,745 --> 00:11:51,498
and they'd sweat
all that booze out.

281
00:11:51,498 --> 00:11:53,541
They always told me
that the best cure for

282
00:11:53,541 --> 00:11:57,587
a hangover
was wrestling. Yeah.

283
00:11:57,587 --> 00:12:00,548
Terry's temperament
was like, so even...

284
00:12:00,548 --> 00:12:03,301
until he drank.
[Laughing]

285
00:12:03,301 --> 00:12:04,968
My parents were
at a bar and

286
00:12:04,968 --> 00:12:08,055
a man was hitting
on my mom.

287
00:12:08,055 --> 00:12:10,599
My dad became
very enraged,

288
00:12:10,599 --> 00:12:13,977
and there was a bar fight.

289
00:12:13,977 --> 00:12:17,481
The cops went to
restrain my dad,

290
00:12:17,481 --> 00:12:19,441
to calm him down,

291
00:12:19,441 --> 00:12:21,360
which I think
did the opposite.

292
00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,904
[Groaning]

293
00:12:23,904 --> 00:12:27,574
He beat up a cop car

294
00:12:27,574 --> 00:12:30,285
with his hands cuffed
behind his back.

295
00:12:30,285 --> 00:12:32,579
♪

296
00:12:32,579 --> 00:12:34,706
It was like you had taken
a hammer, about this

297
00:12:34,706 --> 00:12:38,084
big around and hit the
hood of the car,

298
00:12:38,084 --> 00:12:42,255
and knocked dents in it
where he had head butted it.

299
00:12:42,255 --> 00:12:44,715
And he was kind
of a big, old spoiled kid.

300
00:12:44,715 --> 00:12:47,885
And you know, that's Terry,
he did stuff like that.

301
00:12:47,885 --> 00:12:50,263
Terry Gordy was not gonna
back up from anybody,

302
00:12:50,263 --> 00:12:51,931
nor was there anybody
walking that was

303
00:12:51,931 --> 00:12:53,891
really gonna
make him back up.

304
00:12:53,891 --> 00:12:55,476
[Glass shattering]

305
00:13:01,065 --> 00:13:03,067
Jeez, I mean, if you
look back at it today

306
00:13:03,067 --> 00:13:05,695
from today's perspective,
it got out of control

307
00:13:05,695 --> 00:13:08,531
at the very beginning.

308
00:13:08,531 --> 00:13:11,032
You know, having people throw
different things at you,

309
00:13:11,032 --> 00:13:13,076
like, "Here, take a shot,
y'all are awesome."

310
00:13:13,076 --> 00:13:14,244
Or, "Here",
you know,

311
00:13:14,244 --> 00:13:16,288
"take this for your pain
so you can sleep."

312
00:13:16,288 --> 00:13:19,374
Or, "Here, take this
so you can stay up and

313
00:13:19,374 --> 00:13:22,127
drive 8 hours to
the next show."

314
00:13:22,127 --> 00:13:26,798
I don't know exactly when
the evolution happened from

315
00:13:26,798 --> 00:13:29,593
smoking marijuana,
drinking booze,

316
00:13:29,593 --> 00:13:31,678
to more of a...

317
00:13:31,678 --> 00:13:34,639
a pill problem.

318
00:13:34,639 --> 00:13:36,766
♪

319
00:13:41,979 --> 00:13:45,149
Despite their wild
reputation, in 1984,

320
00:13:45,149 --> 00:13:47,443
Terry Gordy and
The Fabulous Freebirds

321
00:13:47,443 --> 00:13:49,653
catch the attention
of Vince McMahon and

322
00:13:49,653 --> 00:13:51,447
the World Wrestling
Federation.

323
00:13:51,447 --> 00:13:54,700
Was it a week?
Did they last a week?

324
00:13:54,700 --> 00:13:57,119
They were in the
meeting with Vince,

325
00:13:57,119 --> 00:14:01,373
hung over, still
partially inebriated.

326
00:14:01,373 --> 00:14:03,918
Terry fell asleep...

327
00:14:03,918 --> 00:14:06,170
[Exhaling sharply]

328
00:14:06,170 --> 00:14:09,924
And that didn't get over
with Vince too good.

329
00:14:09,924 --> 00:14:11,926
That was the only time
that The Freebirds

330
00:14:11,926 --> 00:14:14,761
ever worked
for the WWF.

331
00:14:14,761 --> 00:14:17,222
After wrestling a
handful of matches,

332
00:14:17,222 --> 00:14:20,600
The Freebirds flame
out at the WWF.

333
00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:22,769
But Terry has a chance
to take his career

334
00:14:22,769 --> 00:14:24,604
in a new direction.

335
00:14:24,604 --> 00:14:28,816
That is my dad
and Bruiser Brody.

336
00:14:28,816 --> 00:14:31,194
It's in Japan.

337
00:14:31,194 --> 00:14:34,572
My dad got the opportunity
to go work in Japan.

338
00:14:34,572 --> 00:14:37,951
The Japanese wrestling
is very different

339
00:14:37,951 --> 00:14:39,953
from what it is over here.

340
00:14:39,953 --> 00:14:43,414
When you get The Freebirds,
and more glitz and glamor,

341
00:14:43,414 --> 00:14:47,584
they see that, and they're
really not interested.

342
00:14:47,584 --> 00:14:50,254
They were more interested
in Terry Gordy by himself.

343
00:14:50,254 --> 00:14:54,216
Terry Gordy!
[Japanese commentary]

344
00:14:54,216 --> 00:14:56,260
The monster American.

345
00:14:56,260 --> 00:14:59,179
The Abdullah the Butchers,
or the Bruiser Brodys,

346
00:14:59,179 --> 00:15:01,515
or the Stan Hansens,
or Terry Gordy.

347
00:15:01,515 --> 00:15:02,849
Suplex!

348
00:15:02,849 --> 00:15:05,143
These giant guys
that were just crazy,

349
00:15:05,143 --> 00:15:07,521
and beat up everybody
in their path.

350
00:15:07,521 --> 00:15:11,108
They became the darlings of
the Japanese wrestling fan.

351
00:15:11,108 --> 00:15:13,568
And that's the kind of
atmosphere that

352
00:15:13,568 --> 00:15:15,570
Terry could flourish in.

353
00:15:15,570 --> 00:15:17,489
[Japanese commentary]

354
00:15:17,489 --> 00:15:19,323
He loved the hard...

355
00:15:19,323 --> 00:15:20,574
[Japanese commentary]

356
00:15:20,574 --> 00:15:24,078
Physical style
associated with Japan,

357
00:15:24,078 --> 00:15:28,249
and that's why he became
one of the biggest and

358
00:15:28,249 --> 00:15:30,459
best stars to ever
cross the ocean.

359
00:15:30,459 --> 00:15:32,295
[Japanese commentary]

360
00:15:32,295 --> 00:15:33,921
And work there.

361
00:15:33,921 --> 00:15:36,674
[Japanese commentary]

362
00:15:36,674 --> 00:15:41,846
It takes a big toll physically,
with the injuries.

363
00:15:41,846 --> 00:15:43,556
Putting your body
through that,

364
00:15:43,556 --> 00:15:46,309
every bump is like
a mild car wreck.

365
00:15:46,309 --> 00:15:49,353
I knew that he was
having knee problems.

366
00:15:49,353 --> 00:15:52,147
One of my big
concerns was

367
00:15:52,147 --> 00:15:55,150
my dad wasn't gonna
blow out his knees.

368
00:15:55,150 --> 00:15:56,735
[Japanese commentary]

369
00:15:56,735 --> 00:15:58,737
He tore both of his ACLs.

370
00:15:58,737 --> 00:16:00,697
[Grunting]

371
00:16:00,697 --> 00:16:03,283
He was going to Japan
six months a year,

372
00:16:03,283 --> 00:16:06,286
working as a main event star
over there at a high level,

373
00:16:06,286 --> 00:16:08,246
with no ACL in
either knee.

374
00:16:08,246 --> 00:16:10,624
He had to have
double knee surgery,

375
00:16:10,624 --> 00:16:13,001
but the doctor told him
he had to

376
00:16:13,001 --> 00:16:14,794
take the weight off.

377
00:16:14,794 --> 00:16:17,339
So he contacted
Richard Simmons.

378
00:16:17,339 --> 00:16:18,465
Yeah!

379
00:16:18,465 --> 00:16:19,924
[Laughing] Right?

380
00:16:19,924 --> 00:16:23,802
This huge 6'5 man,
just, you know,

381
00:16:23,802 --> 00:16:25,888
jazzercise or whatever
Richard Simmons did.

382
00:16:25,888 --> 00:16:28,599
[Laughing] Come on,
Terry, you got this!

383
00:16:28,599 --> 00:16:29,933
Yeah.
[Laughing]

384
00:16:29,933 --> 00:16:32,061
Terry was like
300, 320...

385
00:16:32,061 --> 00:16:35,105
and then he pared down
to like, maybe 265,

386
00:16:35,105 --> 00:16:36,648
something like that.

387
00:16:36,648 --> 00:16:39,777
And you see the more athletic
built up Terry Gordy.

388
00:16:39,777 --> 00:16:43,155
You can absolutely blame
that on Richard Simmons.

389
00:16:43,155 --> 00:16:45,866
Now leaner and more
powerful and working in

390
00:16:45,866 --> 00:16:49,244
a physical style that
plays to his strengths,

391
00:16:49,244 --> 00:16:52,081
Terry's performance in the
ring reaches new heights.

392
00:16:54,916 --> 00:16:57,210
Oh.

393
00:16:57,210 --> 00:16:58,544
Yeah.
In my opinion, that's

394
00:16:58,544 --> 00:17:01,130
one of the top five
matches of all time.

395
00:17:01,130 --> 00:17:03,091
The Japanese crowd...

396
00:17:03,091 --> 00:17:06,135
traditionally, they will
ooh and ah.

397
00:17:06,135 --> 00:17:10,556
This match, they tore
the house down.

398
00:17:10,556 --> 00:17:15,353
[Japanese commentary]

399
00:17:15,353 --> 00:17:18,106
Terry Gordy was a
master of his craft.

400
00:17:18,106 --> 00:17:19,774
People look at him
and they see this

401
00:17:19,774 --> 00:17:22,819
big monster doing all
these power moves.

402
00:17:22,819 --> 00:17:26,656
But if you really watch,
you'll see

403
00:17:26,656 --> 00:17:29,366
the little things that
he done in the ring,

404
00:17:29,366 --> 00:17:31,701
that people just don't do.

405
00:17:31,701 --> 00:17:34,413
Even down to the chin
lock in this match...

406
00:17:34,413 --> 00:17:36,915
he's actually using
his fingers to

407
00:17:36,915 --> 00:17:38,750
try to pry fingers away.

408
00:17:38,750 --> 00:17:41,336
And, this is a work.

409
00:17:41,336 --> 00:17:45,924
But that little bit
just adds so much more.

410
00:17:45,924 --> 00:17:47,926
Terry was a guy who made

411
00:17:47,926 --> 00:17:50,178
everything he did
mean something.

412
00:17:50,178 --> 00:17:51,805
And when he threw
a punch, brother,

413
00:17:51,805 --> 00:17:53,849
it was a thing of beauty.

414
00:17:53,849 --> 00:17:55,392
It was so animated,

415
00:17:55,392 --> 00:17:58,061
it connected,
it looked great.

416
00:17:58,061 --> 00:18:00,813
He was, he was just
simply one of the best.

417
00:18:00,813 --> 00:18:02,690
He was the first American
ever to win the

418
00:18:02,690 --> 00:18:04,191
Triple Crown Championship.

419
00:18:04,191 --> 00:18:08,320
He was the top guy in
Japan at that time.

420
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,156
-[Bell ringing]
-[Crowd cheering]

421
00:18:10,156 --> 00:18:11,532
It's great to be alive and

422
00:18:11,532 --> 00:18:13,993
it's great to be
number one in Japan.

423
00:18:13,993 --> 00:18:17,746
In Japan, Terry starts
working with 'Dr. Death'

424
00:18:17,746 --> 00:18:21,417
Steve Williams in a tag team
known for their brutality,

425
00:18:21,417 --> 00:18:23,461
the 'Miracle
Violence Connection'.

426
00:18:23,461 --> 00:18:24,545
Double clothesline!

427
00:18:24,545 --> 00:18:27,298
If the aliens
landed tomorrow...

428
00:18:27,298 --> 00:18:29,133
[Laughing]

429
00:18:29,133 --> 00:18:31,551
And you had to pick two
human beings to

430
00:18:31,551 --> 00:18:34,387
represent Earth in a
fight to the death.

431
00:18:34,387 --> 00:18:36,264
[Groaning]

432
00:18:36,264 --> 00:18:39,559
Pick Terry Gordy and
'Dr. Death' Steve Williams.

433
00:18:39,559 --> 00:18:41,519
Look at the strength
of Dr. Death.

434
00:18:41,519 --> 00:18:44,772
They brought that Japanese
style over to the U.S.

435
00:18:44,772 --> 00:18:46,733
[Commentary]
In my opinion...

436
00:18:46,733 --> 00:18:48,276
They may be

437
00:18:48,276 --> 00:18:51,362
the best tag team in
the world today.

438
00:18:51,362 --> 00:18:54,491
They're not resting up in
between Japanese tours.

439
00:18:54,491 --> 00:18:56,618
They're taking on these
very physical matches

440
00:18:56,618 --> 00:18:59,412
on a very
regular basis.

441
00:18:59,412 --> 00:19:00,997
[Cheering]

442
00:19:00,997 --> 00:19:02,999
Terry and Doc did a
lot of tours together,

443
00:19:02,999 --> 00:19:05,292
so to keep that
Freebird thing going,

444
00:19:05,292 --> 00:19:08,086
they needed to replace
Terry when he was gone.

445
00:19:08,086 --> 00:19:09,546
And that's what I did.

446
00:19:09,546 --> 00:19:12,049
We're not following no rules
that we don't want to follow.

447
00:19:12,049 --> 00:19:14,009
Terry, when he
wasn't in Japan,

448
00:19:14,009 --> 00:19:15,636
he would join us.

449
00:19:15,636 --> 00:19:17,846
That's a very
heavy schedule.

450
00:19:17,846 --> 00:19:21,350
I honestly believe
that it was too much.

451
00:19:21,350 --> 00:19:23,435
I mean, really it was
just part of life.

452
00:19:23,435 --> 00:19:26,230
Like, he would just be
gone for a long time,

453
00:19:26,230 --> 00:19:29,191
and it was like a,
a treat almost

454
00:19:29,191 --> 00:19:30,817
when he would
be home.

455
00:19:30,817 --> 00:19:33,111
Miranda, smile!

456
00:19:33,111 --> 00:19:35,655
Life at, at one point
was really good.

457
00:19:35,655 --> 00:19:38,282
We did normal
family things.

458
00:19:38,282 --> 00:19:40,451
He took us skating.

459
00:19:40,451 --> 00:19:42,119
He taught me how to
fish and ride a bike...

460
00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:43,579
all the dad stuff.

461
00:19:43,579 --> 00:19:45,498
He did that for
us when he could,

462
00:19:45,498 --> 00:19:49,210
but it just wasn't a lot,
unfortunately.

463
00:19:49,210 --> 00:19:52,880
Yeah, he hated to be separated
from his family, man.

464
00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:54,715
My name is
Richard Aslinger.

465
00:19:54,715 --> 00:19:58,344
I went under the ring name
of Richard Slinger in Japan.

466
00:19:58,344 --> 00:19:59,679
Trained and
lived over there,

467
00:19:59,679 --> 00:20:02,473
and I'm the nephew
of Terry Gordy.

468
00:20:02,473 --> 00:20:06,102
He would talk to me about
being over there in Japan.

469
00:20:06,102 --> 00:20:08,937
He said, "I would go
into a state of deep,

470
00:20:08,937 --> 00:20:11,606
dark and miserable
depression."

471
00:20:11,606 --> 00:20:15,569
I know it wore on him.
He looked tired.

472
00:20:15,569 --> 00:20:19,197
I know he missed being home,
and he missed his own

473
00:20:19,197 --> 00:20:22,284
mom and he missed his kids,
and he missed his wife.

474
00:20:22,284 --> 00:20:25,745
Being on the road
360 days a year,

475
00:20:25,745 --> 00:20:27,872
that wears on you.

476
00:20:27,872 --> 00:20:30,792
You live in hotels,

477
00:20:30,792 --> 00:20:34,212
airplanes, rental cars.

478
00:20:34,212 --> 00:20:37,132
It's just constant go.

479
00:20:37,132 --> 00:20:40,551
Your mind never really
has time to reset,

480
00:20:40,551 --> 00:20:42,177
to relax,
to say,

481
00:20:42,177 --> 00:20:44,930
"Okay, where
am I at in this life"?

482
00:20:44,930 --> 00:20:47,558
A lot of times in those
days, especially the

483
00:20:47,558 --> 00:20:50,769
well-seasoned
travellers to Japan,

484
00:20:50,769 --> 00:20:54,231
they would take
whatever pills that

485
00:20:54,231 --> 00:20:56,734
they took so they
could sleep,

486
00:20:56,734 --> 00:20:59,320
and when they woke up,
they'd be in Japan.

487
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:03,032
The drugs can be seen
as a necessary evil.

488
00:21:03,032 --> 00:21:05,993
When you're going from
time zone to time zone,

489
00:21:05,993 --> 00:21:09,371
when you're expected to be at
your best on a nightly basis,

490
00:21:09,371 --> 00:21:11,290
when you feel far
from your best,

491
00:21:11,290 --> 00:21:13,124
when you're worn down...

492
00:21:13,124 --> 00:21:16,878
and it is a very
short step from

493
00:21:16,878 --> 00:21:21,341
use as needed
to use as liked.

494
00:21:21,341 --> 00:21:23,551
♪

495
00:21:23,551 --> 00:21:25,428
While on a tour
with Steve Williams,

496
00:21:25,428 --> 00:21:29,098
Terry suffers his
first serious overdose.

497
00:21:29,098 --> 00:21:32,268
First time he
dropped on me,

498
00:21:32,268 --> 00:21:34,896
accumulated
too many pills.

499
00:21:34,896 --> 00:21:37,023
It was Halcion.

500
00:21:37,023 --> 00:21:38,733
We went out that night
and he just dropped,

501
00:21:38,733 --> 00:21:40,234
and I did CPR,

502
00:21:40,234 --> 00:21:42,236
and an ambulance
took him.

503
00:21:42,236 --> 00:21:43,488
He was in the hospital,

504
00:21:43,488 --> 00:21:44,988
he didn't remember
what happened.

505
00:21:44,988 --> 00:21:46,823
When they brought me in

506
00:21:46,823 --> 00:21:48,742
I had to refreshen
his mind and

507
00:21:48,742 --> 00:21:50,744
tell him what he'd done
and this and that...

508
00:21:50,744 --> 00:21:52,913
I tried to straighten
him up from there,

509
00:21:52,913 --> 00:21:56,416
but Terry Gordy had
a problem with drugs.

510
00:21:56,416 --> 00:21:58,794
There's gonna be a time
where your body tells you,

511
00:21:58,794 --> 00:22:03,632
or your mind tells you,
that you need to stop.

512
00:22:03,632 --> 00:22:07,302
And I really believe that
during that time

513
00:22:07,302 --> 00:22:10,097
my dad was at
that point.

514
00:22:10,097 --> 00:22:12,599
It's a tough business,
you know,

515
00:22:12,599 --> 00:22:15,310
it's a heartless business.

516
00:22:15,310 --> 00:22:18,896
Set to return to Japan,
Terry boards a flight

517
00:22:18,896 --> 00:22:21,482
that will change his
life forever.

518
00:22:21,482 --> 00:22:25,277
Terry accumulated
so many pills that

519
00:22:25,277 --> 00:22:29,448
I'm having to push him
with a wheelchair.

520
00:22:29,448 --> 00:22:32,493
He's out, you know,
he's out, so...

521
00:22:32,493 --> 00:22:35,079
30 minutes before
the plane lands,

522
00:22:35,079 --> 00:22:38,874
I look at him and he's,
he's dying on me.

523
00:22:44,046 --> 00:22:46,716
Before a flight to Japan,
Terry Gordy consumes

524
00:22:46,716 --> 00:22:49,342
an excessive amount
of muscle relaxers.

525
00:22:49,342 --> 00:22:51,010
"Dr. Death" Steve Williams

526
00:22:51,010 --> 00:22:54,013
notices Terry has
stopped breathing.

527
00:22:54,013 --> 00:22:55,473
He's dying on me.

528
00:22:55,473 --> 00:22:56,975
I mean, he's turning blue
and he- [gasping]

529
00:22:56,975 --> 00:23:00,437
he's sucking
barely any air.

530
00:23:00,437 --> 00:23:03,857
Like he was about to
swallow his tongue and...

531
00:23:03,857 --> 00:23:05,900
I used to be able to
knock him back loose

532
00:23:05,900 --> 00:23:08,611
if I slapped him a couple
of times in the face,

533
00:23:08,611 --> 00:23:10,030
it would kick him
out of it, you know,

534
00:23:10,030 --> 00:23:11,865
just like if you put
somebody in a sleeper

535
00:23:11,865 --> 00:23:12,866
if you hit them
in the back,

536
00:23:12,866 --> 00:23:14,576
it'll knock them
back out of it.

537
00:23:14,576 --> 00:23:16,161
Well...

538
00:23:16,161 --> 00:23:20,123
I did it and he wouldn't
come back alive.

539
00:23:20,123 --> 00:23:23,751
So right then I
knew he was dying.

540
00:23:23,751 --> 00:23:25,252
Stewardess got up, man,

541
00:23:25,252 --> 00:23:28,172
and they was all
freakin' out.

542
00:23:28,172 --> 00:23:32,134
And, I was giving him
CPR to keep him alive,

543
00:23:32,134 --> 00:23:34,428
to keep that heart going.

544
00:23:34,428 --> 00:23:35,846
As soon as we landed,

545
00:23:35,846 --> 00:23:38,474
the ambulance
was right there.

546
00:23:38,474 --> 00:23:41,393
I had to get him
off the plane,

547
00:23:41,393 --> 00:23:44,229
get him in an ambulance and
get him to the hospital.

548
00:23:44,229 --> 00:23:47,983
They just started
emergency procedures and...

549
00:23:47,983 --> 00:23:49,818
what little bit of
Japanese I spoke,

550
00:23:49,818 --> 00:23:51,320
and what little bit
of English they spoke,

551
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:55,448
we were able to communicate
about Terry's condition.

552
00:23:55,448 --> 00:23:57,074
Biggest fear is that I
might be losing

553
00:23:57,074 --> 00:24:01,037
my uncle Terry in there.

554
00:24:01,037 --> 00:24:05,792
He was in a coma for
a couple of days.

555
00:24:05,792 --> 00:24:07,460
I remember being right
there behind the...

556
00:24:07,460 --> 00:24:08,920
pretty much
the whole time,

557
00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,339
camping out
beside his bed.

558
00:24:11,339 --> 00:24:14,091
When he woke up,
he started calling my name,

559
00:24:14,091 --> 00:24:15,426
"Richard! Richard"!

560
00:24:15,426 --> 00:24:17,220
You know, and I'm like,
"Yeah, I'm here.

561
00:24:17,220 --> 00:24:20,181
I'm here, I'm here."

562
00:24:20,181 --> 00:24:22,934
Eventually, he was able to
be maneuvered with

563
00:24:22,934 --> 00:24:24,852
between me and the nurse
into a wheelchair

564
00:24:24,852 --> 00:24:26,978
to go to the shower.

565
00:24:26,978 --> 00:24:29,606
♪

566
00:24:29,606 --> 00:24:33,360
You know, maybe a little
bit of cold water...

567
00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:38,114
he might show that he
still has the feeling,

568
00:24:38,114 --> 00:24:40,242
and he did.

569
00:24:40,242 --> 00:24:41,493
His face grimaced
a little bit

570
00:24:41,493 --> 00:24:44,162
whenever I sprayed him
with cold water.

571
00:24:44,162 --> 00:24:45,705
And I was like, you know,
we might have

572
00:24:45,705 --> 00:24:49,125
some luck here getting him
back to normal.

573
00:24:49,125 --> 00:24:51,127
They called
my stepmother,

574
00:24:51,127 --> 00:24:54,673
and she flew over
to be with him.

575
00:24:54,673 --> 00:24:57,217
And she got him home and

576
00:24:57,217 --> 00:24:59,844
my mother was
there to greet him,

577
00:24:59,844 --> 00:25:02,555
and she said that was
a heartbreaker to see him

578
00:25:02,555 --> 00:25:07,101
coming off the airplane
in a wheelchair.

579
00:25:07,101 --> 00:25:09,979
He couldn't really carry on
that much of

580
00:25:09,979 --> 00:25:13,649
a conversation,
he was very quiet.

581
00:25:13,649 --> 00:25:17,069
Um...

582
00:25:17,069 --> 00:25:19,405
There was an
obvious difference.

583
00:25:19,405 --> 00:25:21,824
He had lost

584
00:25:21,824 --> 00:25:25,536
a lot of his motor skills.

585
00:25:25,536 --> 00:25:29,789
He was very
slow to react.

586
00:25:29,789 --> 00:25:32,458
He had to relearn
a lot of things.

587
00:25:32,458 --> 00:25:36,754
He had some
permanent

588
00:25:36,754 --> 00:25:40,550
physical and mental
damage from that.

589
00:25:40,550 --> 00:25:43,386
He wasn't the same
person anymore.

590
00:25:43,386 --> 00:25:44,971
Whatever happened...

591
00:25:44,971 --> 00:25:46,347
oxygen to the brain,

592
00:25:46,347 --> 00:25:47,807
he was unconscious
too long,

593
00:25:47,807 --> 00:25:50,101
whatever all that
medical hoo-ha is,

594
00:25:50,101 --> 00:25:53,313
it erased something
in his brain.

595
00:25:53,313 --> 00:25:55,607
There's this
local promoter.

596
00:25:55,607 --> 00:25:58,026
He was kind enough
to give us the key,

597
00:25:58,026 --> 00:26:01,112
and we was training within
a couple of weeks of,

598
00:26:01,112 --> 00:26:04,072
of me coming back
from that tour.

599
00:26:04,072 --> 00:26:07,200
Ironic, you know,
somebody's training me...

600
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,329
here I am, I'm teaching
my uncle, you know,

601
00:26:10,329 --> 00:26:13,582
"This is how it goes,
remember? Remember"?

602
00:26:13,582 --> 00:26:16,585
There was progress and

603
00:26:16,585 --> 00:26:20,213
we were all hoping
that he would

604
00:26:20,213 --> 00:26:25,552
just miraculously kick
out at some point,

605
00:26:25,552 --> 00:26:27,095
and it would all
come back to him,

606
00:26:27,095 --> 00:26:29,348
and he would be
Terry Gordy again.

607
00:26:29,348 --> 00:26:31,725
♪

608
00:26:31,725 --> 00:26:34,061
During the last year of
Smoky Mountain Wrestling,

609
00:26:34,061 --> 00:26:35,728
we heard that he had
started wrestling in

610
00:26:35,728 --> 00:26:38,981
little independent shows,
and I said,

611
00:26:38,981 --> 00:26:42,318
"If Terry is anywhere back,

612
00:26:42,318 --> 00:26:44,403
anywhere near what he
needs to be, my god,

613
00:26:44,403 --> 00:26:46,864
if we could get him up
here that'd be great."

614
00:26:46,864 --> 00:26:49,700
So I made the arrangements
to have him come in.

615
00:26:49,700 --> 00:26:51,869
I have added
another member

616
00:26:51,869 --> 00:26:55,206
to Cornette Militia!
[Laughing]

617
00:26:55,206 --> 00:26:56,874
Terry Gordy!

618
00:26:56,874 --> 00:26:58,793
Everybody in the locker room
in Smoky Mountain

619
00:26:58,793 --> 00:27:00,878
had known him for
years and liked him,

620
00:27:00,878 --> 00:27:02,505
and was wanting
to help...

621
00:27:02,505 --> 00:27:04,757
but, there were-

622
00:27:04,757 --> 00:27:06,925
he couldn't do
a promo anymore.

623
00:27:06,925 --> 00:27:09,219
And I'm coming
to show you, boy,

624
00:27:09,219 --> 00:27:12,222
that I'm gonna take that
title and I'm gonna take it,

625
00:27:12,222 --> 00:27:14,849
and ain't nothing you
or your old lady

626
00:27:14,849 --> 00:27:16,559
can do about it.

627
00:27:16,559 --> 00:27:19,229
And we kept thinking
it'll come back to him,

628
00:27:19,229 --> 00:27:21,272
or he's taking steps,

629
00:27:21,272 --> 00:27:23,358
but he'd just
walk up to you,

630
00:27:23,358 --> 00:27:25,568
and he'd just stand there.
Then you'd look,

631
00:27:25,568 --> 00:27:27,570
"Oh, oh Terry, do you
need something"?

632
00:27:27,570 --> 00:27:30,240
"Yeah, uh, Jim,

633
00:27:30,240 --> 00:27:32,742
I was just wondering
if you'd like me to

634
00:27:32,742 --> 00:27:35,328
do the Powerbomb."

635
00:27:35,328 --> 00:27:38,081
"Yes, Terry, if you'd
like to, please."

636
00:27:38,081 --> 00:27:39,623
And there is Gordy,

637
00:27:39,623 --> 00:27:41,458
sets him up for
that Powerbomb.

638
00:27:41,458 --> 00:27:44,545
Because he had been such
a great wrestler and

639
00:27:44,545 --> 00:27:47,464
he could still
do these moves...

640
00:27:47,464 --> 00:27:48,882
[Bang!]

641
00:27:48,882 --> 00:27:51,385
And it was the
same frame.

642
00:27:51,385 --> 00:27:55,472
But there wasn't
any life in it.

643
00:27:55,472 --> 00:27:58,058
There, he was going
through the motions,

644
00:27:58,058 --> 00:28:02,146
but the face, the
expression, the intent...

645
00:28:02,146 --> 00:28:04,940
everything that makes
you a personality,

646
00:28:04,940 --> 00:28:07,443
it just was gone.

647
00:28:07,443 --> 00:28:10,987
Because he wasn't
there anymore.

648
00:28:10,987 --> 00:28:12,613
That was gone.

649
00:28:12,613 --> 00:28:14,866
Despite a challenging
rehabilitation,

650
00:28:14,866 --> 00:28:17,869
Terry stages a comeback,
culminating in a legendary

651
00:28:17,869 --> 00:28:21,748
match against Cactus Jack at
IWA's now infamous

652
00:28:21,748 --> 00:28:23,916
King of the Death
Match tournament.

653
00:28:23,916 --> 00:28:26,252
You become the king of
the test match by

654
00:28:26,252 --> 00:28:27,920
kicking out of
all the moves.

655
00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:32,175
Terry and I were going to
face in the first round of

656
00:28:32,175 --> 00:28:33,384
what was known at
the time as the

657
00:28:33,384 --> 00:28:35,928
'Kawasaki Dream
Match Tournament'.

658
00:28:35,928 --> 00:28:37,597
It's gone down in
lore as being the

659
00:28:37,597 --> 00:28:39,557
'King of the Death
Match Tournament.'

660
00:28:39,557 --> 00:28:42,310
Three, two, one.

661
00:28:42,310 --> 00:28:44,853
[Cheering]

662
00:28:44,853 --> 00:28:48,148
One of the holes in his game
since the accident on the

663
00:28:48,148 --> 00:28:50,901
plane was the punches
were no longer there.

664
00:28:50,901 --> 00:28:54,363
And out of concern for his
reputation I said,

665
00:28:54,363 --> 00:28:56,823
"Terry," I said, "You're a
legend here."

666
00:28:56,823 --> 00:28:59,367
I said, "You got to really
bring those punches."

667
00:28:59,367 --> 00:29:00,827
[Grunting]

668
00:29:00,827 --> 00:29:01,912
To his credit,
I didn't have to tell him

669
00:29:01,912 --> 00:29:03,372
that more than once.

670
00:29:03,372 --> 00:29:06,208
[Grunting]

671
00:29:06,208 --> 00:29:09,336
I've read letters that said
Terry Gordy was the

672
00:29:09,336 --> 00:29:11,296
King of the Death Match,

673
00:29:11,296 --> 00:29:13,882
and all that happened
after the accident.

674
00:29:13,882 --> 00:29:15,883
So, I can only imagine

675
00:29:15,883 --> 00:29:18,511
full Terry Gordy

676
00:29:18,511 --> 00:29:20,679
having a death match.

677
00:29:20,679 --> 00:29:22,598
♪

678
00:29:22,598 --> 00:29:25,476
We did pretty good.

679
00:29:25,476 --> 00:29:27,561
And it resulted in what
may have been the

680
00:29:27,561 --> 00:29:31,232
greatest post-match
interview of Terry's career.

681
00:29:31,232 --> 00:29:34,402
Shit,
what the ----...

682
00:29:34,402 --> 00:29:36,487
Mother ----er.

683
00:29:36,487 --> 00:29:38,197
----!

684
00:29:38,197 --> 00:29:40,991
I felt like maybe we pushed
the hands of time back

685
00:29:40,991 --> 00:29:42,785
just a little bit.

686
00:29:42,785 --> 00:29:45,287
[Gasping]
Oh!

687
00:29:45,287 --> 00:29:47,413
But it was not
meant to be.

688
00:29:53,503 --> 00:29:55,130
Despite an impressive
performance at

689
00:29:55,130 --> 00:29:57,257
King of the Death Match,
it's clear that

690
00:29:57,257 --> 00:30:01,010
Terry Gordy's overdose
has changed him.

691
00:30:01,010 --> 00:30:03,388
I think that he continued

692
00:30:03,388 --> 00:30:05,723
to wrestle after
the accident

693
00:30:05,723 --> 00:30:07,725
is because that's
all he knew.

694
00:30:07,725 --> 00:30:09,811
That's all he ever did.

695
00:30:09,811 --> 00:30:12,230
He wasn't a cashier for
a grocery store and then

696
00:30:12,230 --> 00:30:15,150
started wrestling,
like, he wrestled.

697
00:30:15,150 --> 00:30:17,986
There were a lot of people
rooting for my dad.

698
00:30:17,986 --> 00:30:19,903
Terry 'Bamm Bamm' Gordy

699
00:30:19,903 --> 00:30:21,697
who has been
pronounced clinically

700
00:30:21,697 --> 00:30:26,326
dead twice, is making
a comeback!

701
00:30:26,326 --> 00:30:29,121
He could work
through a match...

702
00:30:29,121 --> 00:30:32,040
it just wasn't
the same.

703
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,793
I'm sure that was the hope
that maybe if they just

704
00:30:34,793 --> 00:30:38,797
kept at it, that he would
eventually come to it.

705
00:30:38,797 --> 00:30:42,009
But, it just,
it was never there.

706
00:30:42,009 --> 00:30:44,595
You can see it even in
pictures, in his eyes,

707
00:30:44,595 --> 00:30:46,263
he was full of life.

708
00:30:46,263 --> 00:30:49,766
And then you look at
pictures after the coma and

709
00:30:49,766 --> 00:30:52,185
he looks like a deer
in headlights.

710
00:30:52,185 --> 00:30:54,270
Terry Gordy, probably one
of the greatest tag team

711
00:30:54,270 --> 00:30:56,856
wrestlers of all time, and
of course, a legendary heel,

712
00:30:56,856 --> 00:30:58,816
and the member of the
'Fabulous Freebird' group,

713
00:30:58,816 --> 00:31:00,985
probably the greatest
heel trio in the business.

714
00:31:00,985 --> 00:31:04,280
In 1998, Terry agrees
to film an interview

715
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:05,865
out of character.

716
00:31:05,865 --> 00:31:07,867
And for the first time,
fans at home

717
00:31:07,867 --> 00:31:09,410
are able to see
for themselves

718
00:31:09,410 --> 00:31:12,872
the change in
his cognitive capabilities.

719
00:31:12,872 --> 00:31:15,791
I've seen parts of
the shoot interview.

720
00:31:15,791 --> 00:31:18,628
The emotions when
I first saw that,

721
00:31:18,628 --> 00:31:22,798
I was enraged, um,

722
00:31:22,798 --> 00:31:24,424
a little embarrassed.

723
00:31:27,802 --> 00:31:29,638
Yeah, man,
there's a bunch...

724
00:31:29,638 --> 00:31:31,556
[Laughing]

725
00:31:37,979 --> 00:31:39,439
I don't know.

726
00:31:39,439 --> 00:31:41,024
Seeing your dad
like that,

727
00:31:41,024 --> 00:31:44,152
he couldn't remember a lot
of stuff from the past.

728
00:31:44,152 --> 00:31:47,113
The coma took a lot of
his memories away.

729
00:31:47,113 --> 00:31:48,657
But in that they're just
hounding him for

730
00:31:48,657 --> 00:31:52,244
all these questions,
and as his daughter,

731
00:31:52,244 --> 00:31:53,995
you just want them
to leave him alone.

732
00:32:00,793 --> 00:32:03,420
Oh yeah.
Yeah I think so.

733
00:32:03,420 --> 00:32:06,674
♪

734
00:32:06,674 --> 00:32:10,010
As Terry attempts to get
back into the spotlight,

735
00:32:10,010 --> 00:32:13,138
his long-time friend,
'Freebird' Michael Hayes

736
00:32:13,138 --> 00:32:16,267
convinces the WWF to add
Terry to their roster.

737
00:32:16,267 --> 00:32:19,270
♪

738
00:32:19,270 --> 00:32:22,481
Vince put him under a
hood as The Executioner.

739
00:32:22,481 --> 00:32:24,233
Of course, when I was
a kid, I'm like

740
00:32:24,233 --> 00:32:25,859
oh, why would
they do that?

741
00:32:25,859 --> 00:32:27,861
And really it was
to protect him,

742
00:32:27,861 --> 00:32:29,779
and I'm glad they did.

743
00:32:29,779 --> 00:32:32,365
It was a good
respect move

744
00:32:32,365 --> 00:32:34,617
on the part of WWE.

745
00:32:34,617 --> 00:32:37,203
They didn't want to

746
00:32:37,203 --> 00:32:40,122
destroy Terry Gordy

747
00:32:40,122 --> 00:32:44,294
by putting him
on TV as Terry Gordy,

748
00:32:44,294 --> 00:32:48,339
and him not being
Terry Gordy.

749
00:32:48,339 --> 00:32:50,717
Michael Hayes was able to
get him in with Terry

750
00:32:50,717 --> 00:32:54,137
as a menacing,
foreboding Executioner

751
00:32:54,137 --> 00:32:56,389
with me and Paul Bearer.

752
00:32:56,389 --> 00:32:59,267
We became kind of
like a faction.

753
00:32:59,267 --> 00:33:01,977
As soon as Mankind,
is buried alive,

754
00:33:01,977 --> 00:33:03,770
the Undertaker.

755
00:33:03,770 --> 00:33:06,523
His head will be
raised by the official.

756
00:33:06,523 --> 00:33:08,317
Then the
Executioner came...

757
00:33:08,317 --> 00:33:10,694
friend in need,
a friend indeed.

758
00:33:10,694 --> 00:33:14,489
-[Cheering]
-Oh no!

759
00:33:14,489 --> 00:33:17,909
Part of what made Terry's
character so intriguing

760
00:33:17,909 --> 00:33:20,662
is that he was like
a man child.

761
00:33:20,662 --> 00:33:23,623
He breaks in at
age 14 years old.

762
00:33:23,623 --> 00:33:26,918
He's a child among men,
but at the same time,

763
00:33:26,918 --> 00:33:29,212
he's a man among men.

764
00:33:29,212 --> 00:33:30,714
When he gets to WWE,

765
00:33:30,714 --> 00:33:34,008
there's still the
ways of a child,

766
00:33:34,008 --> 00:33:37,511
and that's not the way to
succeed in a main event

767
00:33:37,511 --> 00:33:39,221
with the Undertaker.

768
00:33:39,221 --> 00:33:41,098
Off the ropes, scoops him up,
what's he gonna do with him?

769
00:33:41,098 --> 00:33:42,141
Slams him down.

770
00:33:42,141 --> 00:33:45,561
It was pretty sad, man,
pretty sad to watch.

771
00:33:45,561 --> 00:33:49,565
My Uncle Terry,
he was once at his prime,

772
00:33:49,565 --> 00:33:52,651
and from doing that,
to, you know,

773
00:33:52,651 --> 00:33:54,403
not hitting on
all cylinders,

774
00:33:54,403 --> 00:33:57,323
you know,
it was pretty sad.

775
00:33:57,323 --> 00:33:59,200
And I'm sure all the people
that looked up to him and

776
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:03,454
that he helped along the way
in his career were just...

777
00:34:03,454 --> 00:34:05,538
I don't know how else to
describe it but heartbreaking.

778
00:34:05,538 --> 00:34:08,416
Just looking at someone that

779
00:34:08,416 --> 00:34:11,753
is like a superhero to you,
and just seeing...

780
00:34:11,753 --> 00:34:13,463
I don't want to
say helpless, but,

781
00:34:13,463 --> 00:34:15,298
he wasn't the
same person.

782
00:34:15,298 --> 00:34:17,092
[Cheering]

783
00:34:17,092 --> 00:34:20,387
And Undertaker had
to say, "It won't work."

784
00:34:20,387 --> 00:34:24,432
And the Executioner
has been executed.

785
00:34:24,432 --> 00:34:26,601
Everybody loved him,
but you know,

786
00:34:26,601 --> 00:34:28,937
he wasn't
there anymore.

787
00:34:28,937 --> 00:34:33,108
It's also a bit sad to
overhear a conversation

788
00:34:33,108 --> 00:34:36,069
he had with a woman
on an airplane,

789
00:34:36,069 --> 00:34:38,946
where she goes to take
some medication,

790
00:34:38,946 --> 00:34:43,200
and he goes,
"Got any extras"?

791
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:45,494
She gave him a
couple pills.

792
00:34:45,494 --> 00:34:49,123
So, he was at a point where
he was taking anything,

793
00:34:49,123 --> 00:34:51,291
regardless of whether...

794
00:34:51,291 --> 00:34:54,711
he knew
what it was.

795
00:34:54,711 --> 00:34:57,047
We would be worried because
he would go from being

796
00:34:57,047 --> 00:35:00,676
completely coherent to
obviously under the influence

797
00:35:00,676 --> 00:35:03,679
of something seemingly
within minutes.

798
00:35:03,679 --> 00:35:06,140
♪

799
00:35:06,140 --> 00:35:12,103
And so he had reached a
pretty dangerous point.

800
00:35:12,103 --> 00:35:15,356
I, it's hard for me
to say because

801
00:35:15,356 --> 00:35:17,316
I looked up to him
and I will

802
00:35:17,316 --> 00:35:20,778
always appreciate
the kindness he showed me

803
00:35:20,778 --> 00:35:23,322
when he was on
top of the world,

804
00:35:23,322 --> 00:35:26,659
and I was breaking in.
But, you know, we're,

805
00:35:26,659 --> 00:35:30,204
we gotta be adults
out there on the road.

806
00:35:30,204 --> 00:35:31,414
We look out for each other,

807
00:35:31,414 --> 00:35:34,792
but you also have to
look out for yourself.

808
00:35:34,792 --> 00:35:38,045
We would have to,
on a few occasions,

809
00:35:38,045 --> 00:35:41,631
try to track him down when he
was not in his hotel room.

810
00:35:41,631 --> 00:35:44,593
I think it was about the third
time that Paul Bearer and I

811
00:35:44,593 --> 00:35:49,139
were searching the roads
and making drives and

812
00:35:49,139 --> 00:35:51,600
calling his name.

813
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:53,727
We realized that this,

814
00:35:53,727 --> 00:35:57,439
this was not going to be
a long-term team.

815
00:35:57,439 --> 00:35:59,816
[Rain pattering]

816
00:36:04,779 --> 00:36:07,282
When Terry's short-lived
stint in the WWF

817
00:36:07,282 --> 00:36:08,658
comes to an end,

818
00:36:08,658 --> 00:36:11,495
he finds himself
back on the indie circuit.

819
00:36:11,495 --> 00:36:14,497
It's hard to grasp as a kid

820
00:36:14,497 --> 00:36:16,707
what that was to
see the downfall

821
00:36:16,707 --> 00:36:19,668
of him being on top,
to, to doing

822
00:36:19,668 --> 00:36:22,046
little independent
shows around

823
00:36:22,046 --> 00:36:23,839
Tennessee and Georgia.

824
00:36:23,839 --> 00:36:25,966
I was at
those indie shows.

825
00:36:25,966 --> 00:36:28,177
As a kid it was fun,

826
00:36:28,177 --> 00:36:33,140
but looking back
at that, um...

827
00:36:33,140 --> 00:36:34,308
it's really sad.

828
00:36:34,308 --> 00:36:37,770
I think the last time I
saw Terry was at

829
00:36:37,770 --> 00:36:39,897
an independent
wrestling show.

830
00:36:39,897 --> 00:36:41,815
During intermission,
Terry's daughter was

831
00:36:41,815 --> 00:36:47,111
taking polaroids of Terry
and the fans in the ring,

832
00:36:47,111 --> 00:36:49,739
and there were only
about two people

833
00:36:49,739 --> 00:36:52,659
who made that trip
into the ring.

834
00:36:52,659 --> 00:36:57,205
Seeing literal minutes go
by with no one on that line,

835
00:36:57,205 --> 00:36:59,123
no one getting
into the ring,

836
00:36:59,123 --> 00:37:02,627
just struck me as being
extraordinarily sad.

837
00:37:02,627 --> 00:37:04,629
And I'm over in a different
part of the building

838
00:37:04,629 --> 00:37:07,590
at a table, and I'm signing
autographs, feeling guilty,

839
00:37:07,590 --> 00:37:10,677
saying, "They should
be on that line.

840
00:37:10,677 --> 00:37:12,470
That's the line
they should be.

841
00:37:12,470 --> 00:37:15,223
There's the real superstar."

842
00:37:15,223 --> 00:37:17,392
There was part
of me that wanted to

843
00:37:17,392 --> 00:37:18,809
get out
there in the ring,

844
00:37:18,809 --> 00:37:21,228
grab that microphone and

845
00:37:21,228 --> 00:37:23,814
start yelling at people,

846
00:37:23,814 --> 00:37:25,774
trying to knock some
sense into them.

847
00:37:25,774 --> 00:37:28,235
"Don't you understand
this is a legend!

848
00:37:28,235 --> 00:37:30,571
He's here in your midst
and you can see him,

849
00:37:30,571 --> 00:37:32,489
you can get a photo
taken with him."

850
00:37:32,489 --> 00:37:36,159
And times had changed.

851
00:37:36,159 --> 00:37:38,829
♪

852
00:37:38,829 --> 00:37:41,999
As his wrestling
career winds down,

853
00:37:41,999 --> 00:37:44,376
Terry redirects
his focus and

854
00:37:44,376 --> 00:37:48,338
embraces what
matters to him most.

855
00:37:48,338 --> 00:37:50,631
During this time,

856
00:37:50,631 --> 00:37:53,217
he was home.

857
00:37:53,217 --> 00:37:56,053
I got to see my dad

858
00:37:56,053 --> 00:37:59,724
more than I had
ever seen him

859
00:37:59,724 --> 00:38:03,227
in my entire life.

860
00:38:03,227 --> 00:38:05,521
I look back on that and

861
00:38:05,521 --> 00:38:09,108
as rough of a
time as that was

862
00:38:09,108 --> 00:38:13,654
for him and our family,

863
00:38:13,654 --> 00:38:15,531
it was the time of my life

864
00:38:15,531 --> 00:38:19,827
where I got to know
my dad and

865
00:38:19,827 --> 00:38:23,622
become really great
friends with him.

866
00:38:23,622 --> 00:38:27,125
We would see each
other every single weekend.

867
00:38:27,125 --> 00:38:30,545
I'd go pick him up,
I'd take him to the gym,

868
00:38:30,545 --> 00:38:34,299
we'd work out,
I'd take him home.

869
00:38:34,299 --> 00:38:38,178
It was probably the
best years of my life

870
00:38:38,178 --> 00:38:40,138
getting to hang
out with my dad and

871
00:38:40,138 --> 00:38:41,640
really getting to
talk to him

872
00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:44,893
and getting to know the
person that he really was.

873
00:38:44,893 --> 00:38:49,147
I'm really thankful for
that time that

874
00:38:49,147 --> 00:38:52,275
he wasn't on the road,
that he was at home,

875
00:38:52,275 --> 00:38:55,611
because, yeah,
we became best friends.

876
00:38:55,611 --> 00:38:57,821
We really did.

877
00:38:57,821 --> 00:38:59,156
Do you have anything you
wanna say to your fans

878
00:38:59,156 --> 00:39:01,033
out there that are
watching this video?

879
00:39:01,033 --> 00:39:04,328
I am just uh, I'm really,
really sorry,

880
00:39:04,328 --> 00:39:08,916
you know that, uh...

881
00:39:08,916 --> 00:39:12,419
I, I don't know.

882
00:39:12,419 --> 00:39:13,879
[Off-screen]
Sorry about...?

883
00:39:13,879 --> 00:39:15,964
I'm sorry about going
to Japan, you know,

884
00:39:15,964 --> 00:39:19,718
and OD-ing and stuff,
you know.

885
00:39:19,718 --> 00:39:22,888
He was actually
doing a show and

886
00:39:22,888 --> 00:39:28,059
he asked me to
go do the show with him,

887
00:39:28,059 --> 00:39:33,648
and we were actually
going to tag that night,

888
00:39:33,648 --> 00:39:37,985
and I couldn't go.

889
00:39:37,985 --> 00:39:41,406
Next day I get a call
from my cousin Richard.

890
00:39:41,406 --> 00:39:43,491
♪

891
00:39:43,491 --> 00:39:47,078
And his exact
words were,

892
00:39:47,078 --> 00:39:50,248
"Ray, get down on
your knees and

893
00:39:50,248 --> 00:39:52,250
start praying

894
00:39:52,250 --> 00:39:54,585
because your dad
is on this mountain

895
00:39:54,585 --> 00:39:56,587
and he stopped breathing."

896
00:39:56,587 --> 00:39:59,172
♪

897
00:40:08,181 --> 00:40:11,601
After wrestling an indie
match the previous night,

898
00:40:11,601 --> 00:40:14,104
Terry is found
unresponsive at his home

899
00:40:14,104 --> 00:40:16,773
in Soddy-Daisy,
Tennessee.

900
00:40:16,773 --> 00:40:18,358
I got in a car as
soon as I could and

901
00:40:18,358 --> 00:40:21,778
traveled to his home.

902
00:40:21,778 --> 00:40:24,614
I was there before
emergency services.

903
00:40:24,614 --> 00:40:26,491
It was one of the boys that
stayed with Terry

904
00:40:26,491 --> 00:40:28,493
the night before,
he was doing the CPR,

905
00:40:28,493 --> 00:40:30,412
and while he was doing
chest compressions,

906
00:40:30,412 --> 00:40:33,956
I was, I still hate
knowing this,

907
00:40:33,956 --> 00:40:35,499
but Terry was
already gone,

908
00:40:35,499 --> 00:40:37,585
and I was trying to bring
him back by, you know,

909
00:40:37,585 --> 00:40:39,545
slapping him in the face
because I remember

910
00:40:39,545 --> 00:40:42,631
Doc telling me that's what
he did to bring him back

911
00:40:42,631 --> 00:40:43,841
and I thought,
you know,

912
00:40:43,841 --> 00:40:47,344
maybe this is one last
thing I can resort to, to,

913
00:40:47,344 --> 00:40:50,765
you know,
bring Terry back.

914
00:40:50,765 --> 00:40:55,060
There was a police officer
standing in front of the door,

915
00:40:55,060 --> 00:40:58,147
guarding the door and
wouldn't let anybody in.

916
00:40:58,147 --> 00:41:00,065
I put my hands on the police
officer and told him

917
00:41:00,065 --> 00:41:01,776
he was gonna let me
in that door.

918
00:41:01,776 --> 00:41:03,527
And that's when Richard
grabbed me and

919
00:41:03,527 --> 00:41:06,946
told me that he was gone.

920
00:41:06,946 --> 00:41:08,907
My mom knew that there
was an emergency and

921
00:41:08,907 --> 00:41:12,452
they said to get to my
granny's quickly,

922
00:41:12,452 --> 00:41:17,457
and I just hear my mom
scream, "No"!

923
00:41:17,457 --> 00:41:19,626
She had to tell us
that he had passed.

924
00:41:19,626 --> 00:41:21,586
♪

925
00:41:21,586 --> 00:41:24,422
On July 16th, 2001,

926
00:41:24,422 --> 00:41:26,508
Terry Gordy dies
of congestive

927
00:41:26,508 --> 00:41:29,511
heart failure caused
by a blood clot.

928
00:41:29,511 --> 00:41:32,013
He is only 40 years old.

929
00:41:32,013 --> 00:41:34,849
♪

930
00:41:34,849 --> 00:41:38,685
Of all the stuff
that my dad did,

931
00:41:38,685 --> 00:41:41,647
and the lifestyle
that he led,

932
00:41:41,647 --> 00:41:44,566
and all the partying
that he did,

933
00:41:44,566 --> 00:41:47,778
it's amazing that
it wasn't an OD.

934
00:41:47,778 --> 00:41:50,989
It wasn't anything
like that.

935
00:41:50,989 --> 00:41:52,491
Maybe his legacy is,

936
00:41:52,491 --> 00:41:54,493
you can't push
yourself too hard.

937
00:41:54,493 --> 00:41:56,620
You can't take shit you're
not supposed to take.

938
00:41:56,620 --> 00:41:58,622
You can't do shit you're
not supposed to do,

939
00:41:58,622 --> 00:42:01,291
over and over on
a regular basis.

940
00:42:01,291 --> 00:42:03,669
Woah, that's cold.

941
00:42:03,669 --> 00:42:06,171
If you sat Terry down, if he
was here right now, I said,

942
00:42:06,171 --> 00:42:09,257
"Hey, Terry, do you think
maybe if we tell this story,

943
00:42:09,257 --> 00:42:12,093
it'll make some of the other
guys stay away from it?"

944
00:42:12,093 --> 00:42:14,720
He probably would say,
"Yeah, go ahead and tell it."

945
00:42:14,720 --> 00:42:16,389
He wouldn't be worried about
whether he looked good

946
00:42:16,389 --> 00:42:18,808
or not, but if he could
help somebody else.

947
00:42:18,808 --> 00:42:20,643
[Cheering]

948
00:42:20,643 --> 00:42:22,854
You know, it's just
such a tragedy.

949
00:42:22,854 --> 00:42:25,481
I mean, the wrestling
lost not only

950
00:42:25,481 --> 00:42:27,024
one of the best
workers ever.

951
00:42:27,024 --> 00:42:28,109
Oh!

952
00:42:28,109 --> 00:42:30,653
But he was a good guy.

953
00:42:30,653 --> 00:42:33,155
Why did Terry Gordy touch
so many people's lives?

954
00:42:33,155 --> 00:42:35,074
Well, with the wrestling
fans, it was easy,

955
00:42:35,074 --> 00:42:36,450
'cause he was great.

956
00:42:36,450 --> 00:42:38,911
He was great at what he did,
he was exciting to watch.

957
00:42:38,911 --> 00:42:40,079
[Cheering]

958
00:42:40,079 --> 00:42:42,080
If you like wrestling,
he did it better than

959
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:43,748
almost anybody
else in it.

960
00:42:43,748 --> 00:42:45,917
I'm not claiming to be

961
00:42:45,917 --> 00:42:48,628
the best wrestler
in the world,

962
00:42:48,628 --> 00:42:51,131
but you know something,
world champion?

963
00:42:51,131 --> 00:42:53,049
This right here
is about to-

964
00:42:53,049 --> 00:42:55,218
-Agh!
-[Screaming & cheering]

965
00:42:55,218 --> 00:42:58,054
Terry Gordy is a surprise!

966
00:42:58,054 --> 00:42:59,931
He will never be forgotten.

967
00:42:59,931 --> 00:43:03,935
He contributed so
much to this business.

968
00:43:03,935 --> 00:43:06,438
More than people realize.

969
00:43:06,438 --> 00:43:08,106
Gordy putting on
a clinic here.

970
00:43:08,106 --> 00:43:11,192
[Screaming & cheering]

971
00:43:11,192 --> 00:43:14,612
One, two, three.

972
00:43:14,612 --> 00:43:17,239
What I've gotten most
out of wrestling is

973
00:43:17,239 --> 00:43:20,868
how much people just
really love my dad.

974
00:43:20,868 --> 00:43:22,995
So if I walk away
with just that,

975
00:43:22,995 --> 00:43:26,624
it's been a very
healing experience.

976
00:43:26,624 --> 00:43:28,208
But his influence
can be seen

977
00:43:28,208 --> 00:43:31,962
almost every week
on television.

978
00:43:31,962 --> 00:43:34,423
Whether it's the
hyper realistic but

979
00:43:34,423 --> 00:43:37,718
theatrically enjoyable
punches he threw.

980
00:43:37,718 --> 00:43:39,261
This turned
into a total brawl!

981
00:43:39,261 --> 00:43:41,305
Or somebody winding up
a clothesline

982
00:43:41,305 --> 00:43:42,890
before throwing it hard.

983
00:43:42,890 --> 00:43:44,391
[Thudding]

984
00:43:44,391 --> 00:43:48,144
Any time you see any
variation of a Powerbomb,

985
00:43:48,144 --> 00:43:50,063
that's Terry Gordy.

986
00:43:50,063 --> 00:43:52,398
Don't it feel good
sitting up here?

987
00:43:52,398 --> 00:43:54,192
I mean, up at top.

988
00:43:54,192 --> 00:43:56,861
Looking down at everything?
Don't it feel good?

989
00:43:56,861 --> 00:44:01,741
♪