Steve was such a great man, he got to be really good friends with my father here in Louisiana. Dad was Steve's realtor, and they started off with a very rocky relationship because Steve was selling a house he wanted WAY too much money for. Dad told him he could basically stick it where the sun doesn't shine when he heard the price Steve wanted to put on it. They argued on the phone for several hours and at the end of it, Steve saw reason and let Dad do his job and the house sold. They became close friends after that, whenever Steve was in town they would go to lunch, and he would drop by to say hello to me and my son as well. He was the nicest guy you could ever meet. Up until the year of his death he called me and my son on our birthdays every year, never missed one. And he called my Dad to check on him every month from Japan, even when Steve's own health was starting to fail he still chekced in on my father. This guy was a champion in and out of the ring, God bless him he's on streets of gold now.
Thank you so much for sharing this story. By it's nature Wrestling seems like a game of egos, and it is heart-warming to hear that sometimes there's a decent soul underneath the performance.
Steve Williams was an absolute legend who should have been a huge name in the US. The biggest issues were that when he was wrestling in the Watts UWF, he was seen mainly as a great tag hand, which carried over into his WCW run. The few times he could establish himself as a top singles guy, it was mostly in promotions that were already on life support. The infamous Brawl For All was merely the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Bart Gunn (Mike Barton) in AJPW would be a very interesting video to do as well. He was there from November 1998 (even before Butterbean) to October 2002. It's sad because like in Dr. Death's case, people think Bart's career ended after the Brawl For All, but Bart continued to have a great career in Japan.
I met Dr Death at an American Gladiators event of all things. Not sure what that was all about, sometime around 1991 in Shreveport, Louisiana. What a great guy, he was so friendly.
He is a legend in this business . I cried when he died and I even tear up now . I just hope he knows how many fans loved/love him still . His matches in Japan are otherworldly . Aliens may find these tapes and pronounce him a fallen deity ! Same as Misawa-San , Vader , Brody and so many others . I hope I see you guys in wrestling Heaven !
Yeah. Outside of that and some WCW for the 90s, that was about it. And other than that, an ECW appearance where he lost to Raven and his long undefeated streak in the States ended. Much like Hansen in a way funnily enough.
He's one of my all time favorites, same as Vader. I loved watching him work. He was horribly misused in the USA but in AJPW he got to show what he was truly capable of being. Otherworldly talent and a true tough guy. Memory eternal.
I loved his work in Mid-South Wrestling and The Universal Wrestling Federation., both as a Singles Wrestler and a Tag Team Wrestler. I thought he and Ted DiBiase were a great Tag Team. When Jim Crockett Promotions bought The UWF, we should have had a storyline building toward UWF Champion Dr. Death Steve Williams vs. NWA World Heavyweight The Nature Boy Ric Flair but we never got that.
Dr. Death is my all-time favorite professional wrestler. This loving tribute put a smile on my face and brought back so many memories. Thank you for doing what you do.
THANK YOU for this video , I always heard about him in the brawl for all etc, never knew how much of a Legend he was , REST IN PEACE , and he is right he will live forever !!!
Sometimes I wonder what Williams’ legacy would be like if Brawl For All never happened. He’d never have gotten injured, he might have gone back to All Japan, he wouldn’t have made into a fool by WCW, etc.
@@chrischar9428 And when he was in the WWF he received a shitton of unnecessary injuries and a blow to his reputation and stature that he never recovered from.
In my opinion 80s and 90s AJPW is some of the best wrestling/storytelling ever. The wrestlers and matches are some of the best ever and i dont know if they'll ever be anymore like it.
Looking at the still image of Kobashi taking the back drop driver looks pretty sick. His neck is bent to the left. He does not even have his chin tucked is, which I believe is what you are supposed to do when taking that sort of move.
Yesterday i was watching the Wrestling With Wregret video about the Brawl For All tournament and the whole idea looked terrible from the beginning. Sadly the King Of The Ring (who could have been the perfect chance to push Dr. Death) happened before his debut on Raw. At least we can make the Steve Williams VS Steve Austin match through WWF Attitude on PSX, N64 and Dreamcast. RIP Dr. Death.
I agree with Dr. Death debuting at King Of The Ring '98, but I think they wanted to push The Rock first, and then Dr. Death afterwards as a heel. So that way, after dealing with Undertaker and Kane, Austin and Rock have a new heel to feud with in Dr. Death.
That year's tournament was a consolation prize to Shamrock. However, I agree It could have been a good way to push Williams, even on a short term. For example, It could have been even better to see both Austin's tag match and a title match with Steve Williams at Fully Loaded.
Wait, he started in 1982 and by 86-87 he was already that good that quick? I never knew this! I always thought he started his pro wrestling career earlier than he did.
One of my friends lives in Steve’s old house in Benton, La. He had these huge boulders shipped here from Japan to just sit in the front yard. They’re still there.
great video. Dr. death was one of my favorites when i was young. I really liked the Varsity Club . I remember when Rick Steiner first became a member, he was gifted the TV title during an interview. Does anyone remember who gave it to him ?
Great video, and what an incredible wrestler! I know quite a few AJPW matches can be found on RU-vid, but do you have any DVD recommendations? I really want to build up a collection of this 90s stuff. Cheers.
I swear I would cut off a limb just have a company that put on matches as great as AJPW did through the 90s but now days !!! i mean those matches you can watch over and over they were so good .
Yes and a lot of my favorite Wrestlers who worked there are either dead or crippled for life form being dropped on their heads, their necks and spinal columns over and over. I would rather those throws not have resulted in Wrestlers landing on their Heads, Necks and Spinal Columns.
@@JuliusC1973I agree with you and the OP here. Looking back on it, the 90s puroresu reliance on head drop moves is just wince-inducing, especially given what we know about CTE nowadays. But damn- even taking those away, AJPW was still top-notch in those days
2:13 Dr Death was no joke as collegiate wrestling. The guy he's wrestling is 2x Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner. Dr. Death ended up taking 2nd to Bruce Baumgartner in '82 College Wrestling Championship. Another Fun Fact, Bruce Baumgartner would go on to wrestle on the '96 US Olympic Team With Kurt Angle.
YES !!!! I had to comment and thank you before I even watch this ! As a kid in the 80s my mom thought he was hot . She said he looked like the singer from Country/Southern Rock band called Alabama on steroids ! He does kinda resemble him . Speaking of the 80s , I snuck out into the living room to watch UWF at 11 pm were Steve beat Big Bubba for the belt . I was a fan ever since ! Then I saw tapes of him in Japan . Holy shit !
Honestly? I never gave Dr. Death Steve Williams the time of day. Mostly just because he looked like a big beefy 1980s guy left it at that. I'm so glad I was wrong because you have convinced me to go back and watch as many matches of his as I could. Thank you for changing my mind.
Fantastic video. I followed Dr. Death in the early Watts UWF days and thought he was a beast. I remember when Gordy and the Freebirds “broke” his arm. I did not know he and Gordy were such a force as a tag in Japan even though I know both spent quality time over there. The run in the WWF was awful and he deserves so much more. Again, great video!!!! Thoroughly enjoyed it!
It sort of seemed like he was pretty well passed his prime once he was in the WWF. Seeing him amd Bart Gunn in the ring together really showed how old he looked.
Yes! By the time I discovered him for myself, and became a fan, he was already gone. (I live in a part of the world where wrestling isn't popular at all, so I had to wait for the age of the internet to see anything that wasn't WWF/WWE.) Had I known about him as a kid, I would have loved him, and probably my friends too.
@@delbertprince5302 I grew up in Sweden, where we did get WWF in I think the late 80's, on cable. Obviously we didn't get any of the territories (Sweden is waay outside any of them). We got WCW a little later, sometime in the 1990's. I could be wrong, because it didn't get any attention at all, so it's possible it was around earlier in some form.
kinda unrelated, but as much grief as Hogan gets for his "limited" in-ring abilities most people didn't see his matches in Japan. he's a completely different person in japan. its like he brought a whole new playbook. turns out it was the wwf and awa that had him wrestle the way he did in the states, but if you want a pleasant surprise watch some Hogan/Japan matches.
I personally wouldn’t go as far as to call Hogan a terribly good wrestler even in Japan. But even if I did, that’d make my opinion of him worse. Y’know, because it would go to show just how much the Hulkster liked to phone it in when he knew he could depend on star power alone in the states. Sounds to me like a gold-bricking bastard.
Dr. Death would have been a mega star if he was just5 years later. He was a workhorse that actually could kick someone's ass (and clearly looked like it). Basically in the same veign as Brock Lesnar. Not to mention he was on the same roster as Dan Severn, who had a similar problem of being on the tail end of the "Overly character driven" mid 90's when the Attitude Era was just about to break.
Thing is by 2003 especially by the summer/fall in the year, Dr. Death was rather old and started getting sick, and he wasn't a fan of the Ruthless Aggression era in interviews. He didn't like all the sports-entertainment, the Katie Vick kinda stuff, and how there was more talking than wrestling. Doc said he couldn't give a 15 minute monologue or follow a movie script (how the RA era was written). I also talked to Vince Russo and Marc Mero about Dr. Death's career. They both think he should've debuted around 1994, right after losing the Triple Crown and in the WWF "cartoon era" be presented as one of the more serious guys like Sycho Sid and Ahmed Johnson were, feuding with Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart (Doc vs. Bret would be gold), the Kliq guys, an early 3:16 Stone Cold (also gold), etc. Marc Mero thought that was a fun idea. I remember Russo also telling me Doc could've saved some years of his career that way spending less time in Japan, and having enough gas to go through the Attitude Era in the midcard and upper midcard. The way Russo talked to me, he sounded like the type to book Dr. Death vs. Val Venis fighting over a woman or something, beating Goldust or Godfather for the Euro and IC titles, hehe. An occasional spot at the main event like British Bulldog in 1999. Like in Russo's eyes after a mid 1990s main event WWF run, Dr. Death would be kind of guy who ran around the Raw midcard fighting Jeff Jarrett and Val Venis, wrestled Mark Henry, Droz, Oddities Kurrgan, etc. on WWF Heat, and beat literally everyone on WWF Shotgun from Meat down to Chaz. Basically at that point, Russo saw Doc as being "WWF Attitude" career mode (the Sega Dreamcast game). Doc would be above Dan Severn, but below Ken Shamrock. Thing is, Dr. Death is my all-time favorite wrestler, and I still would've enjoyed all that haha.
NWO Japan is sadly New Japan (NJPW), and they never wrestled in All Japan (AJPW). Anything involving NJPW is an instant copyright takedown strike, even if it's a retrospective. So sadly, we won't get a Scott Norton video either.
@@albalog2449 Yea I knew all of that except the automatic copyright strike. That sucks because I am dying for a nwo japan video. People don't realize it ran till 2001 and ended with chono vs muta if i recall
@@charismatic9904The Keiji Muto (Great Muta) Documentary by Wrestling Colin. Watched it last night. It's about his whole career, but it does cover nwo japan
I’unno, Walter/Gunther has always been a giant, awkward baby man who could cave your chest in with his chops. And even now, when he’s in considerably more toned shape, he still has that dangerous, movie monster edge to him.
I've always felt like Steve Williams was the son Bill Watts wished he had. He followed in his adopted father's footsteps exactly--both were two sport stars at Oklahoma
DR.DEATH when he fought in WWF in BRAWL FOR ALL he didnt do stand up now MMA plus he pulled his hamstring and I think was already sick but didn't know it yet plus put a young DR.DEATH in the fight might end different
Dr. Death didn't get sick with throat cancer until mid-to-late 2003. That was around the time that I sensed something was off, where he got gassed pretty fast against Kensuke Sasaki (a bad match), when at the beginning of 2003 he was the same as usual. March 2004 was when he got diagnosed, and the tumor was inside him since September 2003.
@@albalog2449 he found out but, he was already showing signs you loose weight strength and you feel it but think age ,and he took supplements so it didn't help but and young healthy Dr death wouldve wonit in his prime.
Getting off with a mere years suspension from you job, instead going to prison for what I assume would've been a thousand years, after taking drugs into Japan. I do hope Steve grasped just how good of an outcome _that_ was!
1 of the absolute worst ideas in wrestling history. Signaling out the BFA being "real" while the rest of the show isn't was idiotic. They want you to believe the working matches are real then in the middle of the show throw in a shoot match it really shines a light on the 1 thing pro wrestling is based on, making everything seem real. You can't have both and expect people to believe both. 1 of them has to be "fake" and it's your main product. Plus all the injuries the guys suffered. Not pushing the guy who won it at all didn't help either. Dumb every way around on every level
Would've been nice if Bradshaw's career was ruined instead of Steve Williams & Bart Gunn. Bradshaw gets Acolytes & Championship runs. Then an unsavory rep as a notorious bully gets fairly reasonable attention - that "kinda" eventually goes away. Figures.
I don't know, that homocide back drop didn't seem safe at all. Awesome looking finisher for the time but yeah, if I were an opponent I wouldn't want him to do it to me. I remember Dr. Death from UWF. I always thought he was impressive and wondered why he never got his due.
It should be noted that the only person behind the scenes that has said Steve Williams was supposed to wrestle Stone Cold is Steve Williams himself. That was never "The Plan", especially back when TV was being written on the fly, and when Williams was essentially at the same level as Big Boss Man. Funny enough, while Bart Gunns WM15 match could be seen as punishment, WWF actually allowed him to be under contract with AJPW at the same time. It certainly didn't do him any favors, though I'm sure most thought he would've lasted longer, but it was actually WWF's way of giving him a WrestleMania payday despite his contract being up.
Jim Ross, Bruce Prichard, Marc Mero (who I talk to), Bart Gunn, and even Stone Cold himself also said that was "The Plan". Russo was the last one to get wind of it and the idea was talked about behind his back. There was a podcast one time a long time ago where Stone Cold talked about it for a couple minutes, saying he was disappointed that Doc got hurt the way he did. Paraphrasing, he said, "We were great friends back in the day and knew each other all the way back from WCW in 1992, and if you haven't seen Doc's Japan stuff, his matches against Kenta Kobashi in 1993 were legendary. They wanted to put Doc up against me and it's sad he didn't get that because he was of the few genuine good dudes in the business. Doc would've had enough gas to make it through that era, but I was going through hurt like he was as well, but with my neck. Good guy gone way too soon". It was going to happen regardless because Dr. Death was friends with Stone Cold, and there's pictures of them joking around at a convention in the mid 2000s (when Doc had his voicebox). Think of how Hulk Hogan helped his friends get into top spots in WCW.
@@albalog2449 I've listened to several of their podcasts as well, and a "They'll wrestle each other down the road at some point" isn't exactly much of a plan. I have no doubt they'd probably wrestle each other, but I don't think it would've been all that different than Austin wrestling Big Boss Man or any of his other friends.
