WWE (WWF) AWA NWA: 1985 NY TV News Clips: WrestleMania 1; Is Wrestling 'Fake'? Verne Gagne 'Exposed'

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A week before the first ever WWF Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC back in 1985, various NY news programs (and Entertainment Tonight) did segments on pro wrestling. Luckily for me (Don Tony), I taped most of them :) This clip is the first of many I'll be uploading.
This one includes the incident where Hulk Hogan cracked open comedian Richard Belzer's head during a TV show appearance. This also includes the very embarassing segment involving Verne Gagne (which Ive talked about many times on our show). I really felt bad for him then when this aired. When you realize that the AWA was on its way out then, this probably felt like rubbing salt on a wound for Verne Gagne.
The clip? Channel 9 news in NY news plays part of a match between Larry Zbyszko vs Bob Backlund. You can clearly hear Zbyszko talking to Backlund about their nex move. Verne Gagne is confronted about it; and millions ended up seeing this. Luckily for me, I taped it :) Enjoy everyone, and leave feedback!
PS: I almost forgot. For those that are aware of Phil Mushnick (NY Post) and his obsession with wanting to shut down WWE, he was doing this back in 1985 too. Yep; over 25 years this guy's been at it against Titan Towers.
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3 фев 2010

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Комментарии : 210

@DonTony Год назад

AFTER KEEPING THIS VIDEO UNLISTED FOR THE LAST FEW YEARS, IVE POSTED IT AGAIN FOR EVERYONE TO ENJOY. IF SEGMENTS LIKE THIS ACROSS THE NATION DIDN'T RUIN WRESTLING IN 1985, THAT 'PLAN B' VIDEO WOULD HAVE DONE ZILCH IN 1979. ENJOY EVERYONE!

@jeremycampbell1035 10 лет назад

I think reporters should be embarrassed that they made such a huge deal out of wrestling being staged. It's like doing a cover story on David Copperfield not really being magic.

@eslubin 12 лет назад

for the record, the AWA's investigation into Zbyszko's match fixing turned up no evidence.

@MattSingh1 3 года назад

🤣

@Batony 10 месяцев назад

😂

@v1per187 14 лет назад

I cant believe how much disrespect wrestling got from the press back in 1985

@pajmf 12 лет назад

I am very surprised at Larry Zbyszko in this clip. I would have thought he would say something like, "Now I am going to apply my most effective move - the 15 minute stall."

@TheBossOfProWrestling 12 лет назад

If Gagne had been a quick thinker he would have said that there were rumors of a payoff or "fixed fight" in that match and then turned it into an angle.

@kingsports1113 3 года назад

He was to bust thinking about killing of wwf wasn't thinking about nothing

@grawakendream8980 4 дня назад

that's a good idea. what he said wasn't out of line with that too. "man oh man". lol

@philaman1972 13 лет назад

Man, it was so much fun to be a 13 year old kid in 1985.

@tonshaad1230 14 лет назад

Wrestling's not a sport? Man no wonder this guy was fired in 1986.

@kingchong1482 10 лет назад

'hulk became a hulk by lifting weights' lol

@salvagemonster3612 3 года назад

Well it wasn’t because he sat around smoked dope and ate twinkies

@randybarnett2308 Год назад

@@salvagemonster3612 no that's Steven Seagal on the twinkies!!!!!

@RG-lr4pk Год назад

@@salvagemonster3612 sleeping, cheese burgers, and M&Ms like Mick Foley

@BernardMarx95 Год назад

@@salvagemonster3612Bunch of dumbasses think that you just take steroids and wake up jacked.

@MikeDest 8 лет назад

Back when reporters really thought they were on to something by letting people know wrestling is "fake"

@K....D.... 2 года назад

That’s cause they knew wrestling was on the up and up and their sports teams werent monopolizing any more

@BudSchnelker 8 лет назад

Larry Zbyszko was not the AWA champion at the time this segment was taped; Rick Martel was.

@justinroark88 9 лет назад

God Piper was the best heel of all time. So believable and intense too.

@johnclark562 7 лет назад

Justin R Absolutely, man!

@BeeBumper 7 лет назад

The funniest story Flair told was when Piper invited a guy with a knife into the ring and surprise was stabbed, when Flair asked "why did you invite him in the ring?" Piper said "gotta make money..."

@BeeBumper 7 лет назад

Yeah but what you're missing is those body shots in their previous fight and this one did more damage to Ali than he ever sustained in his life, he was hospitalized, technically he landed more punches and that is all that counts in the ring but if it were judged by injury or physical damage Ali was owned.

@Koolazzmike 11 лет назад

The press had no right to expose the AWA and Verne gagne like that! He should have sued

@rrt1592 5 лет назад

Mr. T kinda looked like he tried to shoot on Hot Rod. 😂

@JokerXDHaHaHa 10 лет назад

Those reporters with that Zbyszko tape thought they really had something. Some people are really dumb. No shit it's "fake". If it was real, those guys could only wrestle once every 6 months. There would be severe injuries if it was 'real'.

@PastorPeewee20 Год назад

I was 15 back then never missed a day and I am 51 still watching!

@DonTony Год назад

💯

@herczeus9341 10 лет назад

80's wrestling was the best!

@pulsarstargrave256 9 лет назад

I love how Verne tries to couch his answer in partial disbelief, which reminds me of the scene in Casablanca where Claude Rains expresses shock that there is gambling in the club, but doesn't hesitate to collect his winnings! The action maybe "predetermined" but the action itself isn't "fake". Wrestlers have commented that "chops" from Wahoo McDaniel and Ric Flair really hurt them!

@Koolazzmike 11 лет назад

Verne Gagne should have sued the press for exposing them like that! Back in 1985, the business was still not open to the public that it was predetermined!

@kingsports1113 4 года назад

He had wwf n the kid on his mind

@CruiserzProductions 8 лет назад

that piper and mr T brawl was a shoot, Bob Orton and Terry Bollea are working together to break it up ha

@ljh7557 12 лет назад

Thanks for posting this, Don Tony. Never knew that Phil Mushnick had it out for WWE this long.

@cKetchmark 10 лет назад

Nice reporting... Larry Zbyszko says "reverse" not rehearse and Hulk used a front face lock, front chancery on Belzer not a "sleeper hold". I love Verne acting like he has no idea what the calling of spots was.

@spayspay 11 лет назад

The Verne Gagne part was fucking awkward and hilarious. Where's part 2?

@terrybrass 11 лет назад

the wrong Mushnick got eaten by Audrey II in Little Shop Of Horrors.

@CollectingCardboard 5 лет назад

Good save, good find, good share! Appreciated, fellas.

@dmark297 13 лет назад

@7:00 I'm pretty sure Larry said "I'll reverse it"--"rehearse" really makes no sense in that context.

@redrumvasquez2823 5 лет назад

I believe Channel 9 News in NY ran that same clip of Zbysko vs Backlund in the 90s because I remember seeing it on the news. I was too young to have seen this one.

@JMFabiano 11 лет назад

Is this the video you pointed out when you were talking about Bully Ray's challenge?

@7trainQbnyc 2 года назад

Larry, Bob, and Vern just we’re old school wrestlers who weren’t about the rock and roll movement

@1980Triumph 14 лет назад

when he put that reporter in the hold that shit was hilarious

@KaneRobot 11 лет назад

Larry killed the business

@heelbradley7407 7 лет назад

Dammit, Larry!

@billhayes4868 11 лет назад

Thunderlips...in the flesh baby!!!! @ 3:58.

@radiodj1520 13 лет назад

I Believe This Was A Video Clip Of WOR-TV's News 9's Sports Report On Part 1 Of WWF Pre-SNME, And AWA Verne Gagne 'Exposed' In 1985.

@ghostspectre1861 7 лет назад

If this isn't proof enough that wrestling ain't what it used to be, especially in the eyes of the media...

@eslubin 13 лет назад

Verne wasn't exposed. He rolled with it

@SuperDeluxe80 10 лет назад

mr.T and hulk are the best dressed of all time.

@spaceace1006 Год назад

Back in the 80s we had 3 big Organizations! NWA, AWA and WWF! By the mid 80s, the WWF had zoomed past the other 2 in popularity and revenue generation! By 1992, the AWA was no more! By 2001, the NWA (Re-branded as WCW) was bought out by the WWF! Of course, the WWF had to re-brand to WWE because of a patent dispute with the World Wildlife Fund.

@rustyweeks7259 9 лет назад

Half a million dollars in what, '84? He was on the road 300 + days a year. These guy work like crazy, why do you think that they die so young? It's hard on the body to be slammed onto the mat, jump off the rope, and do all the stuff they did even back then. Yeah, the matches are staged, but a lazy person could not keep the physique that Hulkster had. Not only that, but it is brutally physical.

@BeeBumper 7 лет назад

Yeah that isn't including merchandising, double or triple that amount.

@jasonbouchard9133 Год назад

For as wild as things were back then I can't see ufc getting a pass to be on television

@vetmar41 12 лет назад

What happened to part 2?

@seeehorn 12 лет назад

How was this news station able to get clear audio of Larry Zbysko and Bob Backlund giving out instructions during a match? Did someone who works for the AWA snitch in order to embarrass Verne Gagne? Even today, after Vince told everyone wrestling is entertainment, I don't know if you could get clear audio of wrestlers calling spots Did the reporter Craig Worth sue Buddy Roberts? I've never heard any talk about that incident, it's looked to be just as bad as Dr.D/John Stossel and Hogan/Belser

@cbp2106 5 лет назад

That was actually a wwe match. Back from late 70-early 80's.

@Rightsideup 14 лет назад

where's Pt. 2?

@BOBBYSOX86 2 года назад

Did Verne ever ask Larry what he meant by what he was saying in the ring? I've been dying to know that answer for years!

@Gamebox27 12 лет назад

Irv Mushnick: Reporter with a seeming grudge against Vince. Phil Mushnick: Reporter with a seeming grudge against Vince. Vince McMahon (Jr and Sr): Destroyed Sam Muchnick's NWA in the early 80s (not counting JCP, which Crockett basically mismanaged.) I know Irv is related to Sam, but Phil spells it differently and no direct relation can be found. Still he seems suspicious.

@SteveHolsten 9 лет назад

Back in the day in Memphis Saturday Morning Wrestling 80 to 90% of the city's citizens were tuned in watching Jerry Lawler, Jackie Fargo. Lance Russell & Dave Brown were the announcers.

@maredes 13 лет назад

How times change...

@C0wboyzfan4life 4 года назад

Dt brought me here love you man

@markdp1983 5 лет назад

He should have DDT'd Beltzer into the concrete floor.

@n0gginb0nker87 13 лет назад

Thanks for uploading this. Man what a throwback. 80s wrestling was the best IMO. Back then wrestlers actually wrestled, unlike today it's all one big soap opera with tits and ass. As for the real and fake discussion, I like what Kevin Nash said in an interview. "Back in the 80s everyone thought it was REAL even though no one really got hurt. Now days everyone thinks its totally fake, even though people are breaking bones and really getting hurt."

@fatboymatt 14 лет назад

6:08 JASON VORHEES!?!?!?!?!

@VBaskin2010 5 лет назад

So where's part 2?

@dm95422 13 лет назад

Where's part 2 ??

@pre-jordanbasketballfan7429 10 лет назад

I cant believe they sue after the asked for it. Than again you can't be to smart to ask 300+ pound men to grapple you. Even though what they do in the ring is fake they can hurt you bad

@sayitIT 10 лет назад

it was kind of strange seeing Mr. T tackle Piper after Lauper smacked him because I'm not sure if they were acting or not. I remember Piper saying in his Documentary that him and Mr. T actually didnt like one another.

@BeeBumper 7 лет назад

It was staged, he didn't like him, but he never let his feelings interfere with a good angle and a great payoff.

@topherd1011 10 лет назад

wheres part two?

@rockvilleraven 10 лет назад

Wrestling is just athletic or sports entertainment. Even in the 80s, the then WWF used to say "The following is a presentation of the World Wrestling Federation, the leader in sports entertainment" before one of their shows came on the air.

@Yoni123 11 лет назад

6:50 thats the BEAUTY of the art of pro wrestling. a great ring general calling the match to excite the crowd. some people just dont get it.

@robertdesantis729 Год назад

How ironic - the news was so worried about wrestling being fake - and it was the news that was fake all along

@DonTony Год назад

So on point.

@JohnWicksmagazine Месяц назад

Nobody’s gonna talk about how hulk put that dude to sleep and just let him drop on the back of his head like that? That was the most f**ked up thing I think I’ve ever seen a wrestler do to someone. Much less to a fan… what a prick

@yardlet6 12 лет назад

That would be interesting to Paul Heyman,Goldberg,Dean Malenko,Scott Levy and Matt Bloom.

@markdp1983 5 лет назад

This dweeb should have interviewed David Schulz, on it being real.

@eslubin 14 лет назад

Zbyszko was obviously trying to bribe Backlund in the ring, like Ferguson and Mercer. I wonder what Zbyszko said to Verne later. He should have been stripped as champ but he was wrestling another promotion's wrestler so there may have been nothing Gagne could do about it

@Jonwood74 Год назад

You should have seen his other report, revealing that Tom & Jerry was, in fact, not a documentary about the sadistic exploits of a technicolor Cat & Mouse....

@strangedude2112 14 лет назад

Man, Vince is really sticking to his story about Sports Entertainment and Americana.

@buddyholland796 4 года назад

The outcome being predetermined is COMPLETELY different than being fake. Especially back then because they would lay it into you pretty hard. If any of these so called "fake" cryers didn't think so; then put your money where your mouth is and get in the ring with any of these old school guys back then

@seanwebb605 8 лет назад

It was all just so ridiculous.

@davecarveswood2645 7 лет назад

Exposing the business huh? This "reporter" is lucky Harley Race or David Shultz didn't get a hold of him. And I remember thinking that Cowboy Bob looked a little skinny to be Piper's bodyguard when I was a kid. Compared to Hogan or Superfly...

@jeffflair 8 лет назад

look back in 1988 i trained 4 9 months 2 be a pro wrestler, lol.....far worst that playing football.....these guys are the greatest athletes in sports......the training is hard that's 2 prevent u from getting hurt......2 make sure your in shape all the boyz will tell u so u what 2 be a wrestler......the first thing is 'GET IN SHAPE' they all will tell u this.....the pain, the injuries, the stiffness all is real. it take a very special person 2 do this line of work........

@markjabroni7795 7 лет назад

"Hulk became a Hulk by lifting weights" (and taking some steroids... shit, I meant vitamins. Sorry)

@TheItalodancers 13 лет назад

5:36 is real ???

@DiscoverPhilSmith 11 лет назад

"...wrestling arouses audiences..." Nah, that's only when the Divas are on.

@RW2996 7 лет назад

Its kind of hilarious that a serious reporter is trying hard to convince people that wrestling is fake.

@guspappas1 12 лет назад

is Phil Mushnik related to the former NWA promoter Sam Mushnik? Sam Mushnik was in the territory days way back in the 50's 60's and 70's.

@CARTOONIVERSE1 6 лет назад

Even NOW people still want to have this stupid debate. Wrestlers are PROFESSIONAL STUNT MEN & should be compensated well for it. Fake or real is a dumb argument to have in the first place.

@omyswiftlourido4161 4 года назад

The figure 4 by FABULOUS Freebird Buddy ROBERT'S first time seeing that it was epic....Rip Buddy ROBERT'S and Bam Bam Terry Gordy

@briancalifornia1 9 лет назад

Wrestling Is scripted and predetermined but the high risk moves and hits are real a lot of wrestlers take a lot of beatings over their careers. People have problem Just like violent movies are bad for children nobody talks about that.

@robertdesantis729 Год назад

Yeah Phil Mushnick - people would rather hear about the local little league game instead of Hogan vs Piper

@kingsports1113 4 года назад

Verne gagne was having a bad era after hulk Hogan left he did the kliq before wwf 1995 lol

@salvagemonster3612 3 года назад

Old Phil sounds like he was jealous of the RING BOYS

@ElRodriguez4life 10 лет назад

I agree that although Lauper and Mr. T helped wrestling to become main stream again, Mr. T was a total mark for himself and thought he was bigger than wrestling. Cindy Lauper was the one who busted her ass to promote wrestling and from Piper's book she was underpaid.

@FerretJohn 11 лет назад

In 1985 yes, in 1990 he was making a whole lot more.

@tomvb44 10 лет назад

AWA/ Verne Gagne exposed? Right. It was all about that scheister Verne Gagne. Sure.

@nicholaskemmerle 11 лет назад

It So Weird To Me That People Back Then Had Such A Passion To Show Wrestling Was Fake Or That its Violent if you Dont Like It Change The Channel!

@Inediblehulk 13 лет назад

Ha! Buddy thinks wrestling is at its peak. Hulk Hogan is only making 500k a year, and TV wrestling is only winning in Saturday morning slots. His crystal ball sucks!

@Nowitsfound Год назад

I don't get these reporters fascination back then with wanting to expose wrestling.. it was like they had a vendetta or something.. why?

@batlizard37 10 лет назад

that wasn't a reporter that's munch form law and order, he was originally a comedian, and was hosting that show, I think he got three million dollars off of Hogan for that

@Hulk2k6 13 лет назад

@v1per187 Stuff the press. Wrestling was growing bigger and bigger and they simply could NOT handle it. Mania was a success, SNME drew good ratings. 1985 was a banner year for the WWF.

@FerretJohn 11 лет назад

Not as many as you think. It's the bad news that always makes the news, the guys with the drug and health problems, the ones who died, they get all the attention. The vast majority with stable families, who retired healthy and moved on to normal everyday lives, those stories are boring and you never hear about them.

@ehcmier 14 лет назад

@gorgoism Just because every single one of these people could each kick my ass and cripple me for life doesn't mean they aren't acting out a staged sequence of events for the most part. Accidents happen, surprise changes are made. Just because a wrestler actually bleeds, actually breaks bones, actually destroys their bodies for your entertainment, money, and attention, and fandom, it doesn't mean the show is not a show.

@BudSchnelker 8 лет назад

Wow, did you see all those books behind Dr. Gould? Why, he must be one of them super smart fellers! Actually, when a guy describes the subjects of his study as "subhuman", you can be quite sure that he's devoid of all objectivity and that his study is little more than psuedo-science and junk sociology (but I repeat myself). "Some people watched something and felt... something." Thanks for making the world a better place, doctor.

@stuggim 13 лет назад

Kamala??? didn't know he's been there that early?

@ozzymorrison8628 6 лет назад

3:17 Mr wonderful with stiff shots to that BUM mr T

@MichaelSimmons. 6 лет назад

Pro wrestling is not fake, it's scripted. There's a difference. Belzer, and that moron in the figure four leg lock, got exactly what they asked for, then cried about it.

@thedukeofaaron 3 года назад

Vince HAPPILY paid Hogans legal fees for knocking out Belzer. The idiot had it coming.

@ehcmier 14 лет назад

@gorgoism I can't believe that people STILL think the ACTUAL throwing, slamming, busting open, cracking, shattering, and athleticism of wrestling--the REAL part of it- makes the pre-planned outcomes, choreography, speeches made, many of the rivalries, the characters and personality traits, the acrobatic moves, the stomping for sound effects... ALL REAL! NOT AN ACT AT ALL!