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00:00KONFIDENTIAL
00:30Hi again everyone, I'm Gene Okerlund and this is WWE Confidential.
00:48This week, World Wrestling Entertainment was on the receiving end of a stunner, so to speak.
00:54It's no secret that Stone Cold Steve Austin has had issues with certain WWE executives in recent weeks.
01:02This past Monday night, it reached the boiling point.
01:05His actions have left a lot of people scratching their heads, wondering what the heck has happened.
01:11The big question, are Stone Cold Steve Austin's days in the WWE over?
01:17Well, tonight, Vince McMahon and the President of Talent Relations, Jim Ross, will be here to answer that question and others.
01:26But first up, a story about a man very dear to my heart, Bobby the Brain Heenan.
01:33Bobby has been a friend and a colleague of mine for well over 30 years.
01:37He's one of the most recognized names and faces in sports entertainment history.
01:43Andre the Giant, Ric Flair were among the superstars he managed.
01:47Hulk Hogan credited Bobby Heenan as being a key factor in the success of Hulkamania.
01:53Bob Costas often referred to Heenan as the smartest man in all of wrestling.
02:00The weasel nickname came about for his uncanny ability to schmooze or weasel his way out of just about any situation.
02:09Unfortunately for my friend, recently, Bobby found himself in a situation he couldn't talk his way out of.
02:17But you know something?
02:19You'll never be on my show.
02:21You'll never be there and the likes of you won't be there.
02:24It's my show.
02:25Great.
02:26Next week.
02:27Best news I've ever heard.
02:28Enjoy yourself.
02:29Have a nice trip.
02:30I have throat cancer and it goes on my right side to the back of my tongue.
02:36After the doctors told me I had an 80% chance of making it, they were very optimistic.
02:43What good does it do me to feel bad?
02:46I don't want to lay in a box with a carnation on me.
02:49Uh-uh.
02:50No, I don't want to do other things.
02:52And so I just, I did what he told me.
02:56I took my medicine.
02:57I went and had my, my chemo.
02:59I'm on a feeding tube right now.
03:01I still haven't had a solid meal since, um, August or September.
03:11I got a lot of things I don't want to do yet.
03:13I want, I want to enjoy my life.
03:14I want to travel.
03:15I want to do commercials.
03:17I want to write, I got a book coming out.
03:20I got a lot of things I want to do.
03:22I always wanted to do the book.
03:23I just didn't have time.
03:24I was working.
03:25There's a lot of great stories in here, a lot of great pictures of my whole career.
03:28You know, I've been in the, been around the business and in the business since 1961.
03:33I always managed.
03:34I started as a manager.
03:35I just wrestled to make more money.
03:37My style was very simple.
03:39I snuck everything I did and took a lot of bumps to make the people happy.
03:43Palomo winds him up.
03:45Whoa!
03:46Right on top of that top turnbuckle.
03:48At first, I, I patterned myself.
03:50I really admired Buddy Rogers.
03:53And then Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson.
03:57I love him to death.
03:58I love him.
03:59He's a dear friend.
04:01You can't ask for any better guy.
04:03But to be a stand-up person and a man, be honest, Jack Lanza and Gorilla Monsoon.
04:12Bobby Heenan doesn't give out respect just in passing.
04:16I gotta figure he thought as much of Gorilla Monsoon as, as anybody on the planet.
04:20I don't think I ever had more fun than doing prime time with Monsoon.
04:26Worries for humanoids.
04:28Like you white suckers out there that can't make the payment on your 65 Plymouth.
04:32They're gonna repo.
04:33They were just great together.
04:34They were funny to watch.
04:35What do you mean though?
04:36That's probably why they, they had a good relationship together.
04:39Have you gotten a lot of cards and letters?
04:41I was just gonna mention, there's a lot of people concerned about me.
04:43I understand that, well in Beverly Hills I happen to know that my mailman right there is hunchback.
04:47I'm just carrying my mail.
04:48You stopped.
04:49You have a rifle.
04:50Will you stop?
04:51Just wait a minute.
04:52We're on the air here.
04:53Absolutely.
04:54There was a chemistry there, like, greasing and carny.
04:59Bobby Heenan would always come with something that was off the wall.
05:02A statement that you would least expect.
05:04I told him not to touch that midget.
05:07You never touch a midget.
05:08You never know where they've been.
05:11You're disgusting.
05:12You're completely disgusting.
05:14Bobby has the best wit of anybody I've ever met.
05:18He's as good as any standup comic on television.
05:20He's as funny as anybody I've ever heard.
05:22We never rehearsed.
05:23We never said we gotta do this.
05:25We should do this.
05:26We just did it.
05:27And Vince likes it that way.
05:29So it works.
05:30I met Vince's dad years ago at the Garden.
05:33I was at the Garden in 75.
05:35Just came in town with blackjack just to go to a baseball game.
05:38I went to the Garden.
05:39But when I went to work there and met Vince, a very charming man.
05:44And he made you feel like you found the job you wanted.
05:48You found like you're part of the family.
05:51Vince's production was different.
05:53And he's more demanding.
05:54But it was exciting because it was new and it was different.
05:57And you just, damn it, you just knew it,
05:59that this thing was gonna take off and be the biggest thing there ever was.
06:02Welcome to the greatest sports entertainment spectacular of all time.
06:08Welcome to WrestleMania.
06:11He went right to the Garden.
06:14And boy, when they came out.
06:17Billy Martin and the Rockettes and Liberace and the dancing and the kicking and the introductions.
06:23And when Mr. T came out, I said to myself, this is the greatest thing I've ever seen.
06:29I went to Vince that night.
06:31I had a beer and I said, here's to WrestleMania 2.
06:34He said, what do you mean WrestleMania 2?
06:36It's the WrestleMania 102.
06:39And that's how it started.
06:41But when you work for the WWF, it's a different feeling than if you play for the Toledo Mudhens.
06:48And now you're on the mound to the Yankees and they hand you the ball.
06:51Well, you have two things to do with this ball.
06:53You drop it or you throw it.
06:55So you learn how to play with it.
06:57And the WWF will make you know how to do that.
06:59Because if not, you're back down to minors.
07:02And I don't care what title anybody had in this business.
07:08Nothing meant anything except that WWF title.
07:12Because everybody in the world focused on that.
07:14It was so interesting to see that the number one promotion had a number one talent.
07:19And I was part of it.
07:20Bobby Heenan had so much heat and was so over at one point, he overshadowed his wrestlers.
07:27In 1988, I was elected to be an all-Madden team.
07:32Never played football, never sat on the bench, never guarded the water bucket.
07:36But right there is his manager, Bobby the Brain Heenan.
07:39It's like Joe Montana, Mike Ditka, Tom Landry.
07:42He was very involved.
07:43Always involved in storylines.
07:45Always involved.
07:46Always on the tube every single week.
07:48You never watch WWF at the time programming without seeing Bobby the Brain Heenan.
07:58The show is just different.
07:59We're here making television history right now.
08:02And then these real guests will come on.
08:05I know what you people are thinking right now.
08:07That something's on the stove and you smell bacon cooking.
08:09No, it's just the lights are hot.
08:11They were fine.
08:12They were just fine people.
08:16I think we're ready for that again.
08:19Network.
08:22I had a great, great run at WWF.
08:25My daughter was going to the University of Alabama.
08:27I wanted to be a little closer in the south.
08:29I live in Florida.
08:30Then WCW called and it was a piece of cake.
08:33All I had to do was sit there and just talk.
08:36The production value was poor, but I had insurance.
08:40All the years I've been in this great sport, sometimes you get a gut feeling.
08:43They just didn't know how to produce a wrestling show.
08:46They didn't even know the Bobby Heenan character.
08:47They didn't even know who I was.
08:48They wanted me to be an announcement like Kurt Gowdy.
08:51Could someone please tell us what is going on, please?
08:57I can't help you, Brain.
08:58I'm just like you are.
08:59We both have headaches.
09:00No, you're not like I am.
09:01You don't care.
09:02Yeah, nobody's like us.
09:03You don't care.
09:04I took my check every two and I went home.
09:06That's what I did.
09:08And you lose your juices.
09:12You lose your creative juices.
09:14So I lasted their six years until they went under.
09:17When I left WCW, I called the WWF and they put me on hold.
09:23And my phone bill was over $38,000.
09:26No.
09:29I called and said I was available and they said thank you.
09:32And then when the producers, Kevin Dunn, called and asked me if I would like to go do the
09:37WrestleMania Gimmick Battle Royale with me and Gene, I said I'd love to.
09:42Please welcome Bobby the Brain Heenan.
09:48It's like I've been making porno films and now I'm an MGM.
09:51You walk in and everybody put their hand out.
09:53All the guys I knew, how are you?
09:55How you been?
09:56Glad to see you.
09:57It felt like we had never left.
09:58Is this something mean Gene?
10:00This is incredible.
10:01I love it.
10:02And I hated to leave when it was over that night.
10:04And it was really fun.
10:05It was really fun to be with professional working people and some people that care.
10:11I'm really content and happy with my life.
10:14I really am.
10:15Even though I have this and can't say a whole lot of words.
10:17I'm lucky I've had what I've had.
10:19I wouldn't trade it for anything.
10:22I think this was the single most selfish act.
10:27That Steve Williams, Stone Cold Steve Austin could have ever done in world wrestling entertainment.
10:34How many times on SmackDown have we all heard Kurt Angle gloating about his various accomplishments?
10:43He's an Olympic gold medalist, a former king of the ring.
10:47He's won every title there is in the WWE faster than any man in history.
10:53Yeah.
10:54Yeah.
10:55It's true.
10:56It's true.
10:57But sometimes I wish he'd stick a cork in it.
11:00Strangely enough, the story behind the man so full of bravado is really one of quiet humility
11:06and an absolutely amazing work ethic.
11:21Growing up in Pittsburgh, a lot of people worked as laborers.
11:25A lot of people at the time were laid off.
11:27The one thing we took pride in is our sports.
11:29You know, I remember the Steelers and the Pirates winning, you know, world titles.
11:34I think in the 70s, which I was, you know, between the age of 2 and 12 at the time.
11:40We won four Super Bowls.
11:42We won two World Series titles.
11:44We were always the best in athletics.
11:49When the referee raised my hand at the Olympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta, a lot of people would
11:55think that my first thought was I was elated, you know, excited, overjoyed, overwhelmed,
12:02you know, so happy I couldn't believe it.
12:05But the one thought that went through my head was I was relieved.
12:09It meant everything to me, and I finally accomplished it.
12:13And there I stood on the podium, receiving my gold medal, and I thought, it's over.
12:19I finally did it.
12:21I started crying.
12:22All hell broke loose in this dance.
12:24My mother, I thought she was going to die.
12:26I just remember her holding her face and crying, and I was just hugging her.
12:30I'm going, oh, Jesus, you know.
12:32You know, it was, the whole place went crazy because we had like 300 people from Pittsburgh down there.
12:38I couldn't walk down the steps.
12:40My legs were numb and everything.
12:42And I was so happy for him.
12:44That was the best feeling in my life, I think.
12:47Yep, that was it for him.
12:51He was very lovable.
12:58Everybody liked him.
13:00You know, he always had a smile on his face.
13:03Always excited to see everybody.
13:05Very affectionate.
13:07Didn't like to hurt anybody, you know.
13:09I guess I was a calm kid that never got into trouble.
13:12My brothers wanted me to be a lot tougher, a lot more brutal, and that's what I did.
13:17That's what made me a great athlete.
13:19Him and Eric were so close in age.
13:21And right in this room here, we used to have the Friday night fights.
13:25Where they would put the boxing gloves on.
13:27We used to, they used to go at it.
13:29Oh, my dad used to toughen me up quite a bit.
13:31We used to play this game called machine.
13:33Remember that?
13:34He would be a machine and he'd have a stop button.
13:36And if he started to hurt me too much, I would press the off button and he would stop.
13:40And a couple of times, he'd tie me up in knots.
13:43And he would keep going, telling me the stop button wasn't here or wasn't there.
13:48Until I'd cry and run into you.
13:50My first ever wrestling memory would have to be when I was seven years old.
13:54My first tournament.
13:55I remember walking in and seeing all these other seven year olds.
14:00And sitting down playing with these kids before the tournament started.
14:04Knowing that I was an Angle.
14:06You know, I was Mark and Johnny and David and Eric Angle's little brothers.
14:11So I was going to do some damage.
14:13And my first match, I got pinned.
14:15And I was humiliated.
14:17I learned that if I were to continue on, it's going to be a slow and steady progress.
14:26I never enjoyed the three and a half hours of practice.
14:28Not one minute did I enjoy it.
14:30I looked forward to it because I knew I'd get better.
14:33You could see there was something in that boy that he was going to be great at times.
14:37I told him that as a sophomore, he would be a state champ someday.
14:40Basically, I used to stand right here.
14:42And Mr. Lampernakis would give me half the room.
14:44Have everybody else wrestle.
14:46And he'd have five guys who would head in on me in this WrestleMania.
14:49And I'd kick their butts for the first 15 minutes.
14:52Then I'd get my butt kicked for the last 15 minutes.
14:54You'd take him in a room and some of the torturous things we'd put him through.
14:58And he'd just come back from where he'd never quit.
15:00I am the last regional champion, which has been 15 years in the last state champ.
15:05They haven't had one since.
15:07That's the building my dad built.
15:11The glass one.
15:12He was the head crane operator of Mellon Stewart.
15:14He was the head crane operator of that job of building the PPG building.
15:18It's just kind of cool to be able to look at something that my dad built.
15:22The building behind it, you can barely see it.
15:25That's the job he died on.
15:26He took it bad.
15:29My husband was on a life support for two days.
15:33We were just optimistic, you know, thinking he was going to get okay.
15:38But we didn't know what the doctors knew, you know.
15:41When my dad died, something inside of me sparked, you know.
15:45I guess it was a dedication to do something special, not just for myself, but for my dad.
15:51To prove that I could be the very best at the sport that my family took the most pride in.
15:57And that was wrestling.
16:05This right here is one month of the eight years of training I did for the Olympic Games.
16:11I averaged about eight hours a day, every single day.
16:14You know, I was recognized all over the city for finding the steepest hills I could.
16:18I'd go on about a five, six, seven mile run.
16:21And then I'd do hill sprints up Sycamore Avenue.
16:24And some days I would run up 200 yards with a partner on my back and back down.
16:29Try to do about 30 times without stopping.
16:31I'd sprint the whole way up.
16:33Me screaming, you know, sweating veins.
16:36And this hill was like this.
16:38I wanted to do training like this that nobody else was doing in the world.
16:43I worked a total of 253 hours in one month.
16:47It tells me and it tells everyone I know how much time, how much effort I put in to make my dream come true.
16:55The Olympics was what I was meant to do.
17:04But the WWF has been my calling.
17:07It was like the Olympics was going to take me here.
17:11And it's a weird way to get here.
17:13Because if you think about it, there's nobody more legitimate than me.
17:17To be an Olympic gold medalist wrestler and to turn pro wrestler, I wouldn't want it any other way.
17:25It's been the time of my life.
17:27I'm personally hurt.
17:33Steve was a friend of mine.
17:36I have no idea what motivation, what could possibly motivate him just to walk off the job like a child.
17:46No question WWF attitude was personified by the onscreen relationship between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon.
17:55It has often been said in the genre of sports entertainment that art imitates life and vice versa.
18:02In recent weeks, that has been all too true here in world wrestling entertainment.
18:08Two weeks ago, Austin went on the WWE internet program bite this and vetted his frustration.
18:15But it didn't end there.
18:17This past Monday, just hours before Raw was to go on the air live, Austin walked out.
18:24Millions of fans at home and thousands in attendance at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia,
18:30might have thought this was all part of the, quote, show.
18:33But I can assure you, it was not.
18:36Now, as we are about to find out, the Stone Cold Era may be over.
18:41Steve, lay it all on the line here.
18:47Give us the bottom line.
18:48What's your mindset and how you feeling about everything that's going on with the Raw brand?
18:52The bottom line is everything sucks.
18:54I'm not happy with the direction of Stone Cold Steve Austin is going.
18:57I ain't happy with the direction of all companies going.
19:00I think the writing has been pretty substandard.
19:03I'll go on better than that.
19:05It's been piss poor.
19:06I guess if that pisses some people off, then that's just the way it is.
19:09I think it could have been a hell of a lot better creative than it's been going on.
19:12It's pretty .
19:14As a matter of fact, and I ain't been happy with what I've been doing before WrestleMania
19:18or after WrestleMania as we speak presently.
19:20Well, do you feel like there are movements, that there's progress, like things are going to change?
19:24Who knows?
19:25Hell, I'm over here in San Antonio, Texas.
19:28They're up here in Stanford, Connecticut.
19:30And, you know, hell, I'm still happy to be a part of the World Wrestling Federation.
19:35Love my job.
19:36But the bottom line is creative could be a hell of a lot better than it is.
19:40That's Stone Cold, who's, again, like I say, the most demanding, you know, of anyone I've ever worked with.
19:46And sometimes rightfully so.
19:50But at the same time, there's, you know, he's reduced to simply, you know, producing, I suppose, gold albums as opposed to platinum ones at the moment.
20:02Well, I don't know, to take your point of view, you know, whether or not someone gets sour on the creative and then can he take that and turn it into, you know, something better.
20:11I think he can.
20:12I think Austin does have that ability.
20:13At the same time, you know, he needs some decent material to work with, too.
20:17So, it's a combination of things.
20:20It's WWE Raw in Atlanta, Georgia.
20:25Stone Cold, Steve Austin did not show up.
20:30Austin, for whatever reason, was hell bent on not showing, he got on the plane and went home.
20:38He took his ball and went home.
20:41And obviously, I'm pissed off.
20:43He was the lead performer advertised to be at that event in a major venue, and he didn't fulfill his obligations.
20:52He decided to go home.
20:55And that's wrong.
20:56I had a phone call from JR, who's in charge of talent relations, at about 10 o'clock, 10.30 Sunday night, informing me that Austin was not terribly excited about his, the creative that we had set for him on Monday.
21:14He mentioned on Sunday that, you know, he wanted things change or he wasn't coming to work.
21:19And I said, you know, this is not the way you handle your problems.
21:22It's not the way you do business.
21:23It's not the way we do business.
21:25And so I asked him to talk to Vince.
21:29He said, no.
21:30And I said, I'll come.
21:31And, you know, he just, there was just a lot of aversion there.
21:34He just was very uncomfortable about talking to the owner of the company about his issues.
21:40He has never been in the past until the last few months.
21:44I then immediately caught Austin on the cell phone and told him no matter what hour, you know, it was when he got this message to call me.
21:53So about two o'clock in the morning, he called me.
21:56So that would, that began my Monday.
21:59I went through the entire creative process with him, explained how this was good for him and good for the company.
22:05And he said, all right.
22:07So in any event, not that I needed his approval, but it's always important when you're working with talent for them to buy into what it is you're trying to do.
22:16Because they feel a lot better about it.
22:19They feel a part of the creative process.
22:21And that was what I attempted to do and thought I had done.
22:24When I got to the Phillips Arena in Atlanta on Monday, I was informed that through our travel service that he had made independently made a call and booked himself and his wife flights home.
22:38He tried to do this in a way that no one would even know that he wasn't going to be at the event.
22:44At that point, I started calling him again and left several messages and finally got through to him.
22:49And I think he was boarding the plane because I heard the flight attendants talking with him and how you doing?
22:54And I heard him sitting in a seat.
22:57And so, you know, we had a very frank conversation.
23:00He made a mistake.
23:02He screwed up and he had no business going home.
23:05I did most of talking on that conversation.
23:07The other conversations that he and I have had over these issues the last two or three weeks, he's done most of the talking.
23:14And I had listened long enough.
23:17He had done this once before and both myself and JR and others had the conversation.
23:22You can't ever walk off the job like this.
23:25That's the only unpardonable sin perhaps that there is in our business because fans are expecting to see you.
23:33And when you don't show, it's the worst thing that can happen.
23:37So we had the history of this happening the day after WrestleMania.
23:40I just chalked up the fact that he was burned out.
23:42That's what he said.
23:43I had to take him, you know, for face value.
23:47It's not the stone cold that I know.
23:52And it hurts because he made a big mistake.
23:57No, he didn't admit he made a mistake.
24:00I said it to him more than once.
24:02I told him to get his ass off the airplane and come to work, face the man eye to eye, go into a closed room.
24:11I would be there if I was asked or needed or was wanted and would help expedite a conversation to settle these issues.
24:19And then at the end of that conversation, if we were not able to come to a mutual understanding and clear the air, then he should get his ass home and stay home.
24:31He made the biggest mistake of his professional career.
24:37This is not a publicity stunt.
24:39This is, you know, something that unfortunately is sad.
24:43And that's what we're confronted with.
24:45This is, this is sad.
24:56From a personal standpoint and a business standpoint, I look in the mirror firstly when things like this happen and say, what could I have done, you know, to have changed it?
25:03What could I have done, you know, to not to have this happen?
25:07And I don't know that answer.
25:08I'll accept whatever blame that I can put on myself in terms of lack of communication or whatever.
25:12But when someone won't speak to you, when someone won't come to work and discuss intelligently, you know, how to get out of something, my hands are tied then.
25:23And heretofore, in whatever disagreement he and I ever had, we always sat down and always worked it out.
25:29And we always saw each other's point of view.
25:31And it always worked that way.
25:32But when someone won't sit down with you and they refuse to show up, they've screwed you.
25:38Being senior vice president of talent relations and being Stone Cold's friend was, I guess, theoretically a conflict of interest.
25:44That's my fault.
25:46You know, Vince talked about looking in the mirror.
25:47You know, I got a problem looking in the mirror.
25:49I'm the guy that's responsible for talent.
25:51Me.
25:52If you can't solve a problem, you eliminate it.
25:55Stone Cold eliminated himself from the issue without giving us a chance to solve his problem.
26:00He took himself out of the game.
26:02Vince McMahon didn't.
26:03J.R. didn't.
26:05Jim Ross didn't.
26:07Steve Williams took Stone Cold and put him in San Antonio.
26:11And so I'm, you know, I'm taking, I'm going to take a lot of responsibility for this deal.
26:17And there's going to be a lot of things written.
26:19You know, half the crap you read is wrong.
26:21You know, didn't want to do this, didn't want to do that.
26:24You know, people with active imaginations are trying to stir crap.
26:27The bottom line is, he's got some issues that maybe someday will be revealed.
26:32Maybe someday will really be explored by the public.
26:36Because that's what the public wants.
26:39That's why I'm doing this interview now.
26:41They want to know.
26:42And quite frankly, this company wouldn't be here today or where it is today without our fans.
26:47And on that night, there were kids in Stone Cold shirts.
26:51There were people there that had posters.
26:53Those fans had made him a very, very wealthy man.
26:58You know, when you have an investment like we made in Stone Cold and Steve Austin,
27:02it was a tremendous investment, hours and hours of hard work, you know, on his part as well as ours.
27:09I don't know.
27:10You can't calculate, really, you know, the loss of this investment for the long term.
27:16Ten years from now, Austin would not have been in the ring.
27:18But ten years from now, Stone Cold Steve Austin, as a part of World Wrestling Entertainment,
27:22would have been making speeches, personal appearances and things of that nature.
27:26It would always be Stone Cold Steve Austin.
27:28And so the investment that we've made is just he just took it and flushed it down the toilet.
27:36This is a very unique business.
27:38I think that maybe sometimes the things that go on behind the scenes are more intriguing
27:43and more thought provoking than what we broadcast.
27:49I don't know what his problems are.
27:52I don't know why that someone that could be the biggest name in the history of sports entertainment say,
27:58I'm not going to come to work.
28:00I'm going to turn my back on the people that have helped me because I'm pissed off,
28:05because I'm unhappy, because I just can't take it anymore.
28:09And I'm not big on psychologists and getting on the couch time and I've got to have a sabbatical
28:13and I've got to have quiet time and all that bullshit.
28:15You know, a man's a man and he's always been a man's man.
28:21He was the first man in the building.
28:23He was the last man to leave.
28:25And why all of a sudden we can't be trusted.
28:29And the people that have spent hours and hours with him on a lot of tough situations, let me tell you,
28:34a lot of tough personal situations, we're not trustworthy now.
28:40I'm going to go home.
28:42And I'm very disappointed.
28:44I'm damn sure disappointed.
28:46He's been in my home many, many times.
28:49I've been in his home many times.
28:51I was the only person this company invited to his wedding.
28:54I felt that to be a very big privilege.
28:56I felt honored to be there and would do it again.
28:59But, you know, we've got to reevaluate where we are as human beings,
29:04as Jim Ross and Steve Williams.
29:07Not good old JR with a black hat, which I'm not wearing today because I'm not good old JR.
29:13And Steve Williams, my friend, that's been affected.
29:18And I'd like to see it someday put back to where it was.
29:22But I don't know in God's name how that's going to happen because I don't know when I'm going to see him.
29:26I don't know when he's going to want to communicate.
29:28And I don't know what's wrong with him.
29:30I don't know how you could just turn your back and go home.
29:34I couldn't do it.
29:36I wouldn't do it.
29:37I don't care how bad things are.
29:39We've all done things here that we're uncomfortable doing.
29:42I've had pig poured all over me in a pig pen.
29:45I've kissed Mr. McMahon's ass.
29:47I've been beat up by a woman.
29:49I've had a lot of things happen here.
29:51But it's because we're trying to entertain people.
29:53Because it was a thing that we all believed was a thing to do in that program.
29:57And we did it because it was a team effort.
30:00You win here as a team and you lose here as a team.
30:02But you don't just turn your back and say, I'm not going to do this.
30:05I'm going home.
30:06So maybe someday the real story is going to come out as to why he made this decision.
30:12Only he knows.
30:14I don't know.
30:15I'm personally hurt.
30:17Steve was a friend of mine.
30:21I have no idea what motivation, what could possibly motivate him just to walk off the job like a child and take his ball and go home.
30:28Yeah, I'm angry about it.
30:30At the same time, from a professional level, I always feel that, you know, that I have failed when something like this happens.
30:38Because I always thought that I went the extra mile for Stone Cold, you know, more than anyone perhaps I've ever worked with.
30:46I always thought that I've been over backwards for him.
30:51And this hurts.
30:53But he did what he did, knowing the consequences.
30:58And this is not a publicity stunt.
31:00This is, you know, something that unfortunately is sad.
31:04And that's what we're confronted with.
31:06This is sad.
31:08And just walking off, he spits in the face of everyone who ever supported him, spits in the face of everyone in this organization who helped him become the talent that he is.
31:19It's sad.
31:23When we return, is Stone Cold Steve Austin gone for good?
31:28The door is not open for him to return.
31:31And I'll tell you why.
31:33Whenever there's hardship, whenever something occurs in life you don't expect, those who are the survivors try to take something negative and turn it into something positive.
31:52That's what we've always done here in World Wrestling Entertainment, where there's an opportunity like there is now.
31:58Austin was a huge superstar.
32:01As such, he meant so much to our company, yet without him here, notwithstanding the devastating effect on our company, it makes room for other stars now to go to the top.
32:11It's time now for the players to play.
32:14We're going to find out who are going to be main event level stars.
32:19I believe we have a lot of potentially great ones.
32:24And we have some established stars that need to get back at the top of their game, too.
32:29But it's going to create opportunity.
32:32And I think that the benefactors of it will be our fans because they're going to see new situations, new rivalries, new stars given opportunities to live their dream just exactly like Stone Cold Steve Austin lived his dream in this company.
32:52I think the WWE is going to be just fine.
32:56I hope Steve Williams is going to be just fine.
32:59The door is not open for him to return.
33:04And I'll tell you why.
33:06Because, again, I have a responsibility to our stockholders, a responsibility to our fans.
33:12And I, too, have to look in the mirror.
33:14And when someone walks out on you without even telling you, as he did the day after WrestleMania, and I chalked that up to burnout, and then all of a sudden they do it again.
33:23And especially when I talk to that person that same day, the morning of that same day, and they intentionally walk out with not informing you or anybody else in the organization that they're not going to be there.
33:34Then, as a businessman, how could I trust that person to come back and build him up again and then, what, just so we can walk out for the third time?
33:45So I never say never in this business, but I don't know how I could do business with you.
33:51I just don't know how everybody could trust him because what's going to happen the next bump in the road?
33:56You know, you're going to go home again?
33:59And I think that goes for anybody on our roster.
34:04If you don't want to be a part of the team and take this company to the promised land, you should take your ass home.
34:11Don't waste anybody's time.
34:14Pack your bag and go.
34:16But be professional enough to do it the right way.
34:20I got kicked in the guts.
34:24I was sick all day Monday.
34:26I was physically ill.
34:28You're damn right.
34:31Hell, to me, it was John Wayne.
34:35He never retreated.
34:38He broke his damn neck and fought back to come back and be the top guy here.
34:45That's guts, conviction, belief in what he does for a living.
34:50He's gone through a horrendous divorce, injuries, personal problems in that regard, and came back and pulled the wagon.
35:00Then all of a sudden, the wagon got too heavy in his mind's eye, and he went home.
35:07It's like, it'd be like John Wayne becoming a coward in a big fight.
35:14He never saw it happen.
35:16He'd never see it coming.
35:18And I didn't see this coming.
35:20And it hurt me.
35:22So, you know, most people probably won't keep it down about that, because I'll be back on TV Monday night, kicking ass, because I love my job.
35:29We're there without Stone Cold.
35:31Would it be better if he was there?
35:32Yes.
35:33Stone Cold ain't going to be on Raw Monday night.
35:35Stone Cold ain't going to be on Raw again, as far as I know.
35:39When we return, we'll see the brain in his prime.
35:45How long have you been married, sir?
35:4621 years.
35:47You realize on your wedding night, if you'd have killed her, you'd be out now?
35:52And now, the WWE Rewind is brought to you by Snickers Cruncher.
35:57Hungry? Crunch this.
35:59Our car is dead in the water, and here I am in the middle of the night.
36:03It's cold.
36:04I'm freezing.
36:05I'm hungry.
36:06I'm trying to hitch a ride.
36:07Stop it.
36:08Stop it.
36:09Stop it.
36:10Stop it.
36:11Stop it.
36:12Stop it.
36:13Pull.
36:14Hey!
36:15Hey, look at that!
36:16Oakland!
36:17Oakland!
36:18By the way, a very quick programming note.
36:21Tonight, right here on USA, it's the March to WrestleMania.
36:24That's coming up tonight, right here.
36:27Come on, Heenan.
36:28Bobby!
36:29I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
36:30This guy's driving me nuts.
36:32Bobby Heenan, I've got the tip that there's another way we can get into the meeting that's going
36:37with Jack Cunningham and all of the officials.
36:38If you get me into this, I'll do anything for you.
36:40You're kidding.
36:41I'll behave.
36:42I promise you.
36:43I'll never do anything wrong.
36:44You promise me that.
36:45My word.
36:46I like that.
36:47Your word is as good as gold.
36:48There he is!
36:49Hold on a second.
36:51This is it.
36:52The executive offices.
36:53You found this while you were away from me?
36:55I found this while I was away from you?
36:56Now, I'll tell you what.
36:57You go ahead, you go in, and I'll guard here so nobody find out what you got.
37:00You're going to keep book out?
37:01I will.
37:02I get the credit for all this.
37:03Yeah.
37:04Hello?
37:05It should be pretty good.
37:06I'm sorry.
37:07No, wait a minute.
37:08I'm sorry.
37:09Just what I thought.
37:10I'm real sorry.
37:11Folks, we'll see you next week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada for another edition
37:23of All American Wrestling.
37:24I'm sorry.
37:25So long, everybody.
37:26Ow!
37:27Get your hands off me.
37:31Believe me, that was one of the few times that I got the better of the brain.
37:35What can I say?
37:36He was the best.
37:37There was nobody that was any better at telling a story in an entertaining way.
37:42Bobby had the uncanny ability to make you angry and make you laugh your ass off all
37:48at the same time.
37:49Bobby was pure genius.
37:57What are you doing?
37:58You still working here?
37:59You're fired.
38:00You like rice?
38:01Weasel!
38:08Weasel!
38:09Oh, yes!
38:10Ha!
38:11I love it!
38:12I'm not a weasel!
38:19Come on, stupid.
38:20Keep up.
38:21Come on, Matilda.
38:22Try to catch me, you miserable mutt.
38:23Come on, Matilda.
38:24Come on.
38:25Come on.
38:29Where's the thing that shows how far you went here?
38:32That's broke, don't worry about it.
38:33I'm keeping it in my mind.
38:34So far, it says you haven't gone anywhere.
38:35I got it right here.
38:36Weasel!
38:37Wiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel.
38:43Bobby was so red hot as a manager, all he had to do was one weasel chant, turn his head, and the place erupted.
38:50Wiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel, weiesel.
38:54It was so fitting because he had a character where he would talk tough, but when confronted individually, he was a coward, he was a weasel.
39:01And it's pajama time. He may not want to wake up to see this.
39:06I don't have fur on my body. I do not have a tail.
39:10They hated him and booed him,
39:11but yet they enjoyed when he came out
39:14because he was entertaining. He was very animated.
39:16The suit has claws and everything.
39:18This is very much a replica of a weasel.
39:22I was laughing so much to watch Bobby heaving,
39:25tripping and falling down and not knowing where he was going,
39:28it was just a riot to see him.
39:30T wasting his tail.
39:33Oh, look at him, look!
39:35He was the ultimate bad guy,
39:37and the people just loved to hate him.
39:45How long have you been married, sir?
39:4721 years.
39:48Do you realize, on your wedding night,
39:49if you'd have killed her, you'd be out now?
39:51Nice.
39:53Come on, bar, a little harder.
39:55Come on, kick it in high gear.
39:57All right.
39:59Let me back off a little bit.
40:03Action!
40:05Whoa!
40:07Whoa, whoa, whoa!
40:09Whoa! Cut, cut, cut!
40:11I'm lucky. I'm lucky I've had what I've had.
40:13I'm lucky I've gotten to go all over the world.
40:15I've been on a bus, I've been on a boat,
40:17I've been on a camel backwards.
40:19How many people get to do the things I've done?
40:21If you happen to catch Bobby Heenan,
40:23he made you laugh.
40:25See? He's hogging the whole thing.
40:27I can't operate with this guy.
40:29If laughter is the best medicine,
40:33then I'd have to believe that Bobby's going to be just fine.
40:36I'd like to remind everyone that Bobby's book,
40:39Bobby the Brain, Wrestling's Bad Boy Tells All,
40:42will be out this coming September.
40:44That has got to be a must read.
40:46That's it for this week.
40:48Next week, we're going to get up close and personal
40:51with Stacy Keebler.
40:53I think I'm going to handle that assignment myself.
40:56In the meantime, this is Gene Okerlund saying goodnight,
40:59and remember, it's confidential!