Speaker 1: It's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling Podcast with Jack and carn
S e O and JP Sorrow.
Speaker 2: He's a lapsed fan and all my years and wrestling.
Speaker 3: I never seen anything.
Speaker 4: And it's the laps fan man like the one in
the ring. Forget about Sado. He the real king of swing.
Speaker 5: When the bell.
Speaker 4: Goes in the kick like me throwing in the corner,
but gets rash like stick. Even Jerry King gets take
off the crowd nodded in his head like its Steve
low Brown. Would you get low down? We go even
high up? Flipp you on your head, but you know
cool driver, you speak more and Dragon spits fire give
you more shock than when he treats higher drop a
more truth than the.
Speaker 3: Con of sniper unless you with a coconut.
Speaker 4: Roddy Pipper Jack a JP.
Speaker 6: He like j h D drop the cupcakes and gold
the brain Bob means the best podcast. Frost start the
close cloud if you are it's a classic.
Speaker 3: And poles us we ended with it last time in
our tribute to Sid, we have to start with it again.
I'm sorry we have to do this, but we're nothing
if not table setters. Here at the Lapsed Fan Wrestling
Podcast and when we last left Sid, he was taking
to the middle rope at the WCW SIN pay per
view in January two thousand and one to bring an
auspicious end to his second and of course final run
in WCW and really his final run in the national spotlight.
Speaker 4: As a professional wrestler.
Speaker 3: It's the night he snaps his leg in half, and
it's the subject of our latest chapter and our meandering,
yet appropriate tribute to Sid.
Speaker 4: I mean, you gotta understand, if you haven't seen this
horrific footage, it's not like he it's not like he
killed his knee, and like the joint is where he
broke it, like he snapped his bone in half, Like
his shin bone is snapped in half, like it dangles
right like you know, it's one thing again, it's one
thing to like, not that this is good, but to
kind of like break the joint. You know the joint's bad,
but to actually break the bone, to do something where
your bone is splintered off.
Speaker 3: Splintered is the word.
Speaker 4: It's just it's it's it's awful.
Speaker 3: So many jagged edges, oh, I.
Speaker 4: Mean, just I can't even imagine. I don't want to
imagine I don't want to know. I don't want to
know what that feels like.
Speaker 3: Ever, it's it's sad, but it's also it's also very Sid.
And we've talked about it that we're gonna watch it
again because we need to put ourselves in this frame
of mind, because we're about to take the deepest dive
you'll find into the circumstances surrounding this injury that essentially
ended Sid's wrestling career, and and just the follow up
and the aftermath is also as you can imagine boss
as Sid as it gets, I would imagine, So are
you ready and no, So for those at home, we're
toggled to the video, which is available on YouTube. Sid
breaks his leg it starts. This is from the Nitro
after Sin because, as we've pointed out, on the live
pay per view, you don't really see the angle that
illustrates most clearly how bad this injury was. They had
to show an alternate angle that they had but didn't
show in the live broadcast the next night on Moudday Nitro.
So we start with WCW Nitro announcers Tony Shiavanni and
Scott Hudson at the ringside desk explaining that a mystery
partner had just run in to a four way match
for Sid's world title when this went down, and then
we see the injury. So we're going to hit play
at the same time. Here on both sides, give me
one second, three to one play.
Speaker 4: While we were watching the mystery opponent come in.
Speaker 7: Now Sid Vicious up on top a look at this,
Look at.
Speaker 4: The left foot. That is so difficult. No, we've seen
it a hurdle, another angle already, so many still, just
so why do they do that? Why?
Speaker 2: Why?
Speaker 8: Why?
Speaker 7: Obviously the compound fracture of the tibia and the fibula
last night this morning underwent two hours of surgery. He
had a forty three inch centimeter steel rotted sorted.
Speaker 8: Into the bone.
Speaker 4: He is still in Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. You'll be
out the good part of a year a long time.
We certainly wish sambitious. Well, and uh, are they fucking
idiots when they say that, Like do they are? Are
they trying to be like optimistic or something? Because like
you just say, he's done, his career is over.
Speaker 3: Yeah, what makes me a year any more likely than
five years?
Speaker 4: Because like you know, when you see it, I don't know.
I mean, we've certainly heard awful injuries, muscles being ripped off,
the bone, bones being broken, you know, all sorts of shit.
But that's that is a that is a bone destroyed.
That is a bone destroyed.
Speaker 3: It is absolutely one of the worst bone breaks ever
in wrestling. It it really is one of the most
I hesitated, say worst injuries ever in wrestling because people
have died as a result of trumpet suffered in the
rest At.
Speaker 4: Least, I'll tell you this, I'd say maybe worst shown
on television. Yeah, you know, like at least my mainstream
known because I would imagine that there are certainly there
have been deaths, but how many of deaths have been
featured on a television broadcast outside of Owen Hart, Right,
that's true too, And death is and death is a
it's not an injury, you know, that's a whole different thing.
That's true.
Speaker 3: Yeah, if you put in a different category, then this
is certainly one of the most horrific injuries to happen
in a wrestling ring. And I ask you, boss, if
you were sitting on that angle that we just saw
with Sid's foot dangling below the knee, the boot twisted
like a string of spaghetti. Okay, slanted ARCD like a
string of spaghetti. Yes, do you show it on Nitro
the next night? Do you resist the temptation? Or do
you make sure people deal with it and see it?
Speaker 4: I mean, apparently not. Apparently you need to do it.
Apparently the temptation is is is so incredibly palpable that
you must show it. So that's need then, Yes, it's need,
it's it's it's need.
Speaker 3: I wonder if Nitro is winning the ratings war still
in January twenty oh one.
Speaker 4: If they show that, I mean, is that what they
were going for? I really don't know.
Speaker 3: I mean, they have to explain where Sid's going and
why their champion's gone. But it ends in the most
said way possible. It's just so amazing that this guy,
in the calling cards he had in the ring in
terms of his work style, ends up in this position
and this happens, and he would rue the day and
we're going to get into all of it because you
heard me mention that mystery man that ran in.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you have to know who that was.
Speaker 3: It was Animal, right, yes, and whose brother was essentially
running WCW from a booking and finished booking perspective. At
this point in time, the diamals, Yes, hey, what's going on?
He's fucking back and it's all too appropriate in Acid Journey, Johnny,
you gotta finish in mind for tonight before your bro
runs in.
Speaker 5: Well, you know, I was thinking, I was thinking, you know,
I actually, uh, I didn't know how to finish the match.
So I called Vince up in New York. I said, hey,
how'd you finish this match?
Speaker 4: They're like you called who I called? I called the Boss?
Speaker 3: Yeah, well that's k fabe still, Johnny. We still got
a couple of months before we announced that whole back
to back door angling.
Speaker 5: Oh well, you know, I called a friend, a friend
I got working up North, and he said, you know,
he said, you know, I think the best finished, Pal,
the best finish you could come up with is have
Sid jump off the middle rope.
Speaker 3: When you say finished, Johnny, do you mean to the
match or to my career? What precisely?
Speaker 9: Huh?
Speaker 4: I don't. I'm just saying that's what I was.
Speaker 5: That was suggested, and I put it through my you know,
I started putting the gears into play and I said,
all right, the gears said Sid jump it off hoom.
Speaker 3: I win, and for reasons I'm afraid to say, we'll
probably remain a mystery forever. John Laurie Nightis thought the
recipe to set up the run in by the mystery
Man in this match was to have Sid, for essentially
the first time in his life, come off the middle
rope with a kick or a flying knee. Essentially was
his idea of something mega impactful that Sid could do
to Scott Steiner to justify everybody being laid out, something
that would blow Scott Steiner out of the stratasus.
Speaker 4: Stupid fucking move.
Speaker 3: I mean, there is no way that Sid could execute
this that it achieves whatever effect Johnny had in mind.
I keep going back to, you know, maybe in All Japan,
right where they did such a wonderful job getting over
things that are otherwise kind of pedestrian moves like a
Larry in All Japan.
Speaker 4: Is maybe in maybe in No Japan, I think that
this is a good idea.
Speaker 3: Right or they could get over the idea that a
knee could knock you out, whereas an American pro wrestling
a knee knocking you out, especially in two thousand and
one before the rise of UFC and stuff. It's just
a laughing stock joke. Yeah yeah, and over there, you know,
you can build up a flying knee. We saw Ken
to do it, and then we saw Daniel Brian Brian
Danielson adopt the busieau knee. It's the same thing. It's
a running knee of the head and there's no reason
that you're hurt any more than a running kick, but
it does. And that's the only thing I can think of.
Because remember and listeners of our Bash at the Beach
two thousand coverage especially, we'll recall this as well as
some of our coverage at the last Nitro. John Laurynidis
was essentially headed the book because WCW was in such
dire straits. It was such a fucking mess. You had
Russo going home, You had Bischoff with absolutely no interest
in carrying on from there. You had basically a rudderless ships.
So you had Bischoff, who kind of on paper had
some responsibilities to the product. Bring in Johnny lory Nitis
as a finished guy. Bischeff always talked about how he
never really felt great about booking finishes, and Johnny lory
Nitis was well art. It is an assistant Booker to
a giant Baba as somebody that really knew how to
put together a dramatic finish in All Japan at a
time when WCW thought that part of the recipe of
perhaps turning their perception around was to have more clean
and decisive finishes to their matches. Of course a worthy exercise,
but what ends up happening is John Lawrenitis basically ends
up being Bitschoff and Hogan by proxies emissary at these shows,
carrying out their will without them not necessarily having to
be there in person. Remember it, as John Laurynidis was
going back and forth on the phone with Hull Coogan
about the Bash of the Beach two thousand finish with
Vince Russeau as well, Laurie Anditis ends up being the
intermediary between those two, and it's being basically treated as
the boss. He's the guy who kind of chaperones around
ww personnel. On the final nitro when the conquerors show
up and it's Johnny Lori Nitis they turned to to
figure out how everything works, Who's who, what's what, How
we get our way around w CB Television, How the
production meetings run all of that stuff, and in the
table for three they did with Shane and Johnny and
Bruce Prichard, Shane gave Johnny a ton of credits that
basically got him hired because they were impressed with how
how level headed Johnny loriniis was and holding their hand
through everything that had to be done logistically at that
final WCW show. So you got to John Laurynidis, who's like,
he's got a lot of power at this point because
nobody else wants it. Nobody else wants to be the
person everyone turns to to figure out what are we
going to do for a finish on this show, And
so he's basically the person that pushes this and he
would become sort of like the whipping boy for Sid
when he would look back on this fateful and horrible
night for him in subsequent interviews and everything else that's
been said and written about this, this horrendous episode that
brought Sid's in ring career to an end for all
intents and purposes. So this is twenty oh one, and here,
just a little while after the injury, this is Sid
holding court on what had happened. One of the first
times I think he talked about it in a shoot
interview format or a video.
Speaker 9: So Johnny had been asking me to do that Stohn
lauryn eight for some time, and no, they knew I
couldn't even promote Belton, you know. So I said, I
don't feel comfortable even jumping off a rope right now,
even to give an axe handle, and I just don't
want to do it. And so the night of the
pay per view in Indianapolis, he had written into the
script and why it was so important because once I
did that, then they were going to pan back to
the mystery partner, who we know wasn't going to be
on my side.
Speaker 8: We know the finish was his brother.
Speaker 9: And then as they come back, I think at that
point they were supposed to have me down and getting
their heat on me, he was just showed up and
then not saved the day or whatever the case was.
I just, you know, I could have the only thing
I'd say I could have. You know, I even at
one point that evening and said, hey, man, I don't
I want just changes. I don't want to do it,
and yeah, no. For several years, man, it was a
big regret for me. I'm telling you something you're talking
about six fucking years of rehab to get where I'm
at today.
Speaker 8: It never a day of it didn't go back for me.
Speaker 9: I think about Dan wow lot animosity and not towards
Johnny Really to myself, nothing against Johnny. Johnny's not a
genius either, as he got a good mind for the business.
But me jumping off giving Scott skyner Steiners and needed
the head. That's not gonna fucking use my language, not
do anything other than getting hurt. And I wasn't going
to make that big of a deal. That's what you
really bothered me about. The old thing in the hospital
that night. I never saw I never looked at it,
never seen the clip, never want to. Those doctors looked
at me, and I was telling I could tell by
their eyes something was wrong. Even when I went home
and started doing my referral work, I didn't really know
more about this injury to really believe.
Speaker 8: It or not. That horse Barbara, Yes, all right.
Speaker 9: What happens is when you have a compound factor that
far away, there's no muscle tissue. So it's the hardest
way for anything to rehab. And that's why it was
so hard, and that's why it's such a long process.
I was never predicted to walk for run again. Wow,
I'm doing all that now. So that's why I'm a
little biting at the bit now because now I'm ready
and I'm ready to get back and I want to
finish my career.
Speaker 8: Not being carted out on a stretcher.
Speaker 3: Didn't happen, of course, but that would just be the
refrain of his until the day he died, essentially, And
I mean, my god, the part of the leg with
hardly any muscle, oh right through the skin doesn't infuriate
you to hear him talk about how he was reticent
to do it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, I mean he like to me, this is
attitude era one on one. Here is people being forced
to do shit they didn't want to do and tragedy ensuing.
Speaker 3: You do have to wonder if, like Sid's career law reputation,
is someone that could just be a pain in the
ass for the sake of being a pain in the
ass at random intervals, just to see if he could
maybe get a little time off or get a raise.
You do have to wonder if that factored in too,
how hard they pushed back at his resistance to doing
this spot or his stated resistance to doing this spot,
you know, just of course Sid doesn't want to do it,
so you know what, who's the boss. I can see
that kind of coming up and being in the saw.
I don't think anybody would ever admit to that. But
I do wonder if it wasn't Sid, and it was
somebody that didn't have the reputation he did, if they
pushed back against doing this spot, if if it would
have been taken to the mat as aggressively as it was.
Just truly lovely? Though, isn't it that he says it
was in the script.
Speaker 4: And he did he did say that that was pretty great.
Speaker 3: I mean, what did the script say? Was it a
bullet point?
Speaker 4: What did it say? What it did it say? Sid
leaps off with his with one leg extended kind an
attempt to land on on a the other leg and
it bends in half. Well, here in the meeting that
brings us to the main event. And wanted to talk
a little bit about how we should format this, Johnny,
from what I understand, you had an idea where Sid
comes off the rope with a kick. How should we
phrase this so it's clear at all parties on the night.
Speaker 3: What after a great start, a should we phrase it.
I want to be able to, you know, put a
helpful shorthand here so that we remember what it is.
Everyone can tell, even if they can't catch up to
you that night, what it is Sid supposed to do?
Speaker 4: Well?
Speaker 5: I you know again, I was told by my friend
that he needs to jump off the middle rope in
a kick formation and land on one leg.
Speaker 3: So so you want me to actually write in here
he has to land on one leg? Why is that Germanic?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 8: What?
Speaker 4: Why is that? Nessas?
Speaker 3: Can you just can we just write here?
Speaker 4: O't know, but it's just what my guy said.
Speaker 3: Have you ever considered, with all the respect, Johnny, that
this guy whoever it is you might be referring to,
might not have your or Sid's best interest at heart?
Speaker 5: Well, I mean he's always had my best interest, you know,
he's he's probably one of the most brilliant minds in
this business. Okay, and uh and uh, you know he
said he's got it, that said it has to do this,
he has to do it.
Speaker 3: And he said, well, he said, I'm just riding here
in my laptop. He said to Wright that he lands
on one leg.
Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely guaranteed. Fast forward.
Speaker 3: Uh, Eighteen hours later, Sin backstage in Indianapolis. Yes, said,
I don't know what to tell you, man. They just
they really want you to land on one leg. I
don't know why that part of it's so important, but
it's a yeah. They We talked about it really longer
than I expected to.
Speaker 4: At the production media. Let me ask you, if you
look in my eye right now, I'm looking. I want
you to look deep in my eyes right now, I'm
gonna ask you one question, because I'm gonna tell you
right now, I do not I'm number one. I'm not
obligated to jump ever.
Speaker 3: Is that in your contract ever?
Speaker 4: It's in the country I have in my mind.
Speaker 3: Wow, and that's binding.
Speaker 4: What I want. I want to ask you a question now.
You look. It's real simple, It is real simple. Describe
to me right now what it is that they want
me to do.
Speaker 3: Well that they said that you should go to the
middle rope, jump off, hit Scott Steiner with a big kick,
and that's supposed to knock him out. And they were
specific about this in landing. They want you to land
on one leg, not to land in your butt or
flat back or anything like that. They want you to
land on one leg with the other one extended like
a kick line, almost kind of thing.
Speaker 4: Now, once you look at me, didn't the eye? And
will you tell me the god honest truth. I want
you to swear. I want you to swear on the
entire business of Vienna Sausages. Is that in the script?
It's in the script.
Speaker 3: We talked at length and every last word was hashed over,
and what you see there in the script said is
what we came to final wording.
Speaker 4: Now, I don't need to read the script, okay, but
if I'm taking your word that that is what is
in the script, then I'll do it, because this is
a script in business. If it wasn't in the script
and just some loose idea, I wouldn't do it. But
if his or written down in ink unerasable ink, but
I can't change, I can't wide out. Is it tapped out? Yes?
It is shit? He goes shit. I thought I had
an out there. What song did I send you on
your birthday?
Speaker 8: Actually?
Speaker 3: No tapos, no type of the word for word.
Speaker 4: I jump off the middle rope.
Speaker 3: Yes, one leg, Yes, this his makeshare was written in
the top script. Yes, make sure everybody has in sure
sid lands on one leg it's right here.
Speaker 4: I'll do it.
Speaker 3: Who knew all this time that all you had to
do was memorialize a document? Because he's thinking like a lawyer,
you know what I mean. It's like, fuck, if it's
written down, then I can't have my way characterizing it
after the fact, right, which is where I thrive. So
so a sad set state of affairs. And that these
guys who who couldn't, who couldn't draw ten cents if
they were dipped in glue and run through Fort Knox
in two thousand and one are running around writing scripts
for each other and trying to be a fucking professionalized
TV show is utterly hilarious, first of all, and and
just just simp matic of so many things that were
wrong with WCW at the time. I mean, he doesn't,
he doesn't in gene shorts, for Christ's sakes, you know,
the fucking fraud, the indignity of this thing for Sid
that it ends like this, it's just horrible. He mentioned Barbara.
Did you catch that reference there in that clip?
Speaker 4: No? I didn't.
Speaker 3: That's a horse that was running in a high level race.
I don't know a lot about horse racing, but it
was it tragically snapped its leg, and it was like
winning the race and it was supposed to take home
all the gold and whatever the fuck is supposed to be,
like this huge favorite to win the highest stakes horse
race and the leg just snapped, and it was like
a huge tragedy because you know, when that happens to
a horse, you know what you got to do to
the horse. You know, it's not like right, everybody knows
what the inevitability is at that point. There's no way
to really rehab a horse back to health when they
suffer an injury like that, So you're basically watching the
death of the horse. And for Sid, according to what
he said there, until that happened and all the publicity
around it, he never really even bothered to to lean
in and understand the physics of what happened to his
leg on that night, which we'll get into and of
course as much detail as you could hope for here
in our talf tribute to Sid. But needless to say,
it took a lot more than just that comp pound
fracture and trauma to bring Sid to an untimely end.
It would take a cancer and just a whole lot
of other things, because as he referenced there he did
not stop being an absolute workout and rehab maniac when
this happened. There were some dark days, but before you
know it, you better believe Sid was back, you know,
running the bleachers and just he's not there, not the
guy to tell you can't walk again. And we can
say that in his favor. And so there is there
is more to learn about Sid and what happened here
than just, you know, the purient element of looking in
in this grizzly injury. So it's it's a key part
of Sid's story and it's sort of our penultimate stop
on the road to paying appropriate tribute to Sid, who
of course passed away in August of this year due
to complications from cancer.
Speaker 4: At the age of sixty three.
Speaker 3: So before we get to that, we do want to
wish everyone in the Solar system a happy holiday season. Indeed,
I don't think there's any turning back. Now the turkey
has been put away, mostly in the sewage system.
Speaker 4: Or in your belly. There are some leftovers.
Speaker 3: We talked about it for those lucky enough to join
us for the Survivor Series live call that we did
on Patreon.
Speaker 4: We talked a lot about it.
Speaker 3: But for the benefit of those listening here in the
main feed that didn't catch that or don't have access,
it was another successful Thanksgiving around here. In particular, anyone
who follows our ex account knows the boss really hit
home at Home Run the morning after the sandwich lived
up to expectations once again.
Speaker 4: Oh fuck yeah. I mean it was glorious. It was
It went down like a brick as it's supposed to,
and it was just it's what the holidays are all about. Right,
So that's all I can say. Some pushback in the
may some pushback on the Mayo what you always say.
I saw that. Listen a little bit, right, you know,
Mayo whatever. But I stand by the Mayo because it
adds a kind of a savory, kind of counterbalance to
the the cranberry sauce. Yep. And it is fucking money,
that's right. If you if you haven't tried it, you fail.
And you know, if you try it and you don't
like it, you also fail. You're wrong. Yeah, you're wrong, right.
I mean, you've had it. You've had it exactly the
way that I make it.
Speaker 3: I have, and it's scrumptious. I mean, we literally recorded
my moaning the sound of my moaning voice in my
kitchen as it went down, and I won't soon forget it.
And when I make my own I do the same thing.
I apply Mayo, maybe a little more generously even than
you do, because to me, turkey, roast beef, those are
two things that have to be paired with with Mayo.
Speaker 4: Honestly, I agree, I agree. I don't understand sand of
those fucking meats and a sandwich context of course, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah yeah.
Speaker 3: You put gravy on it, which I don't do, which
I think is interesting.
Speaker 4: I think the gravy, the gravy adds again, it adds
a richness to it. And it's I'll tell you, it
really is what what I find to be for me.
What what makes it so incredible is just how the
the tangy sweetness of the cranberry sauce kind of just
blends and creates it just enhances everything everything in there,
you know, like it without the cranberry sauce, that's going
to send gravy and and mao, it would be way
too rich. It would be way too rich, and I'd
want to throw up.
Speaker 3: It doesn't it doesn't work. It's like turkey of course,
is the base of the whole thing. But honestly, cranberry
sauce is the most important ingredient it is.
Speaker 4: It really is. The cranery sauce is what makes it is,
what makes it shine amazing, because it just adds that again,
it just adds us this this brightness to it to
an otherwise a fucking brick of a sandwich. So maybe
I'm listening why it's not like we're eating healthy here.
It's a fucking brick.
Speaker 3: Oh, of course.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you go in like accepting that this is not
a day that you can mark in the column of
extending my life.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, you want you don't let me tell you this.
You don't want to mark this down in your diet journal,
all right? You want to kind of say, oh, you
know what, I forgot to mark everything down. I don't
I remember what I ate that.
Speaker 3: This is a day to be absent minded about those inputs.
Speaker 4: That's right. Yeah.
Speaker 3: You know, maybe for our friends and non Thanksgiving celebrating countries,
they can take this advice up over the holidays, because
there's gonna be a lot of Christmas turkey served. Of course,
I'm sure a little leftovers that.
Speaker 4: Have to be Yeah, listen, you know, listen, here's the thing.
Here's the thing. It's it's highlighted on on on Thanksgiving.
But let me tell you, Yeah, I happen to be
you know, like currently I am in possession of another turkey.
We got our neighbors. So our neighbors got an extra
frozen turkey from their workplace. Yea, And they said, hey,
do you want a turkey. I'm like, yeah, I always
want a turkey. Let's do it. I might as well
fucking collect frozen turkey. All right, gladly, what are you
going to do with it? And I'm gonna wait for
you know what. This is a this is a post
holidays turkey dinner waiting to happen. Love it all right.
This is sometime when you kind of in the really
really shit months of of like mid to late January,
early February, where where the cult where you've completely forgotten
any joy you got from the holidays. That's right, because
you know here, you know, this is the real tragic
thing is that nobody really thinks that about the fact
that Christmas comes at the very beginning of winter. You know,
we all you know your mind goes to the fact that, oh,
you know, we hit December. It's winter. No no, no, no, no,
no no no. Winter starts December twenty first. Remember that.
And then three days later you're celebrating Christmas Eve. All Right,
it's just the very fucking beginning of Christmas and you've
got three months left of fucking winter. Be miserable.
Speaker 3: I mean, one thing that always sticks with me is that,
you know, it's not just that it's that Christmas couldn't
be further away in January exactly. It's not too it's
not coming back for so long that you you almost
feel like, as joyful as it was, you rush to
forget that it was Christmas.
Speaker 8: Yep.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you share that feeling. It's like
it's like I can't no, no, no, like I can't
let the things linger around. How long it's going to
be again until I feel at rest like that? Yep,
until I feel you know, abundance like that.
Speaker 4: And so it's times like that where a frozen turkey
comes in extremely handy.
Speaker 3: Wow, that's going to be a huge January night when
that comes out of the oven. Yep, yep, way what
a way to fight back. Yeah, that's just that's it.
You gotta you have to.
Speaker 4: You have to rage against the dying of the light.
Speaker 3: Otherwise, otherwise you're just gonna suffer. I wonder if you
could do the Thanksgiving sandwich with a goose.
Speaker 4: I don't know, you know, I'm I'm I've I've never
actually had goose before. It's like, it's like muck, I'm not,
I'm not too. Yeah. Like I like duck, I like duck.
I don't love duck.
Speaker 3: And I don't know if I love duck with cranberry sauce.
Speaker 4: Huh.
Speaker 3: And I don't know if I love duck with cranberry sauce.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't know. I've never gone that far. I
don't think I wouldn't, but I'm just saying I haven't it.
Speaker 3: Well, that means the seasons upon us. And if you've
been minding your p's and q's and watching the main feed,
you do know by now that the twenty twenty four
t LF Christmas Show is underway, You motherfucker, you fucking bitch,
It's underway. The unwrapping three, the abundance of the solar
system stuffing our po box to a degree heretofore never
seen and your co chairs are going to systematically go
through the hall, package by parcel by package by parcel
around the fire, and it's going to be just knowing
what's in the can A very special holiday here in
celebration of TLFX. It is a TLFX miss and we
need to once again remind ourselves as much as anybody
else that we have the best listeners in podcasting. And
every year our Christmas Show lays bare the proof points
that anyone who might bock it what I just said
can't really buck anymore after they see the kinds of
creativity and thoughtfulness.
Speaker 4: And I'll tell you I love bragging about it absolutely,
so one of the few things I love bragging about,
like people absolutely you know, I was telling I was
telling family members about it all all throughout Thanksgiving. They're like,
you know, I said, oh, you know, when we have
our you know, what are you guys doing next? You know,
what's what's kind of up on the you know, what
are you what are you guys going to be recording
about are talking about? And I said, well, actually, you
know what we got planing out over the entire month
of December is our Christmas Show. They well, what do
you do What do you mean the whole month of Christmas?
I said, yeah, we we get gifts. What do you
mean you get gifts? Well, people send us presents and
gifts in the mail and we open them on the air,
so to speak. And you know, we put out individual
shows and they're just like, they can't believe that that
people send us gifts, and I'm like, well, because.
Speaker 3: We deserve it, right, Because everything we say, what about
the problem, everything we say about this podcast resonating and
meaning something to people is fucking true. Yes, And if
you can't grasp it, I understand because people don't get wrestling.
But we're over here making sure that folks that are
lost in the wilderness because of the things that a
lifetime of wrestling fandom do to you aren't lost for
very long, and that they have a place to go
and to share and to have joy, and at the
same time not fall in to the incredibly dangerous trap
of turning to the actual entering wrestling product to provide
you joy, but rather sitting at a safe distance from it.
Well at the same time scratching the itch, because if
you don't scratch the itch, it's even worse and that's
what we're doing here, and we're giving voice too well
a lapsed fan. It's what we've been doing for ten
years running now, yep. And yeah, yeah, it always is
a joy to watch people go from really about wrestling
to wow, you make money, to they hit they have
a Christmas show. There are people out Yes, there are
people out there. And just because my friend, you can't
find anybody out there that would pay a dime to
hear you talk, doesn't mean that your CoA chairs have
that problem. Doesn't mean that your co chairs have that
fucking problem. Not this year, not any year, TLFX style.
And yeah, we definitely want to send another round of
hearty thanks in terms of what's to come parcel by parcel,
we hope you join us and that'll brightened your holiday
a little bit because they're very enjoyable. Gifts to a
wrestling fan, to the kind of wrestling fan that would
listen to this show.
Speaker 2: A lap fan.
Speaker 1: Wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that knows the boys need
their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's the Lapsed Fan
Wrestling Podcast with Jack and Carnacio.
Speaker 3: M JP Sorrow keep your ears locked throughout the month
of December. We're going to hang a few more ornaments
on that tree as well, including the conclusion of the
of the Sid Tribute. All kinds of scheming going on
around what's next and under the cinemat. Over at patreon
dot com, Slash The Lapsed Fan, our executive producer Tier
and The Mote Tear both get access to JP's amazing
series about great films and lots of great films that
have wrestling connections. We just wrapped True the Bond Journey
on Black Friday. How poetic was that? Considering as some
folks pointed out that I think that film dropped on
Thanksgiving No Time to Die, well it uh it or
it's played at Thanksgiving huh or it's played at Thanksgiving
all the time? Something about it?
Speaker 4: Well they were know what they were talking about is
that Thanksgiving weekend or something like that they do the BBC.
I guess they do a Bond Marathon or something like that,
and that you know, listen, that is all. That's all serendipity.
You know, it was gonna, like I said, there was
always gonna be a pause in between the main uh uh,
you know Bond series and then the Daniel Craig uh section.
But the the idea that it actually happened to go
around scary movie season and then and then Thanksgiving was
just it just happened to happen to be that way.
So I was glad that it did because I also,
you know that that's the for me too. I actually
always think of of Bond as being, uh, you know,
Bond being in November, because that's when I remember seeing
the Pierce Bras and stuff. You know, it was always
around between November and December. That's when I saw them.
So it always felt like an end of the year,
you know, It's one of those ends of the year franchise.
It's not a summer franchise for me.
Speaker 8: And yeah, I.
Speaker 4: It felt it felt right. It felt right to sign
off on that one. It was wonderful to me.
Speaker 3: As somebody that really hadn't watched a single Bond film
from beginning to end before we started this journey, and
now coming out the other side, I feel so enriched
about such a vital part of the history of cinema.
So many different things you can learn about that, the
turns and culture of the turns and entertainment, the turns
in the movie business just just just a character studies
alone and going from you know, the earliest bonds, you know,
in terms of who got the nod and who was
who is who was occupying the role. I mean to
go as we did, from Connery two more to Brosnan
to a lot in between. Yep, even the laysan By
installation and of course Daniel Craig. It's just it's just
been absolutely fascinating. And I think that that's, uh, that's
some shelf life right there sitting behind the paywall for
those appropriately resourced to indulge. That would be a binge
worthy thing to do over the holiday break and just
take it by, you know, And.
Speaker 4: I would hope so I would hope that that one
would last. That was really a a like a a
something I really wanted to do for a long time,
and I'd held off on on you know. I mean,
Goldfinger has been in on the list obviously since day one,
and I was always itching to do it. But then
when I started to see like, wait a minute, you know,
well wait about this, Peter my Va one, hold on,
Peter my Va is in this one, and then you
know you kind of like start seeing that there are
wrestlers and other ones and then well, how many are
we talking about here? And then you start really digging in,
and who's this pat roach? It just keeps going and
growing and growing and growing, and you know, hopefully, you know,
I know I got some I got some flak for
not doing the entire franchise just because it just doesn't
sit right with me. But you know, now we got
a little you know, when the time comes and we
can have we have five more that are waiting for
us at some point, and we can get all those
together and we can find some sort of of of
of connection. I'm all about it. I want I do
want to close it off. I do want to to
to really put a put a put a real stamp
on it and have every single film.
Speaker 3: Done, done and dusted, and yes, so a lot to
look forward to. We turned the page to Christmas Movie Season,
which is really where it all started, under the cinemat
with Santa with Muscles.
Speaker 4: Sand with Muscles and that whole, that whole first four,
the first four films were all you know, we did
jingle all the way as well, and uh, Santa's Sleigh
and die Hard were our first, uh our inaugural Christmas
movie season and uh, you know we're we're picking it up.
I'm very excited we got. I'm not going to say
what we got, but what we got is going to
be oneer full. Really, Yes, I.
Speaker 3: Mean we've done Home Alone one, We've done Home Alone two.
We've done we have done Home Alone too. Yet well
we did the that's right, we did the radio dram
of it.
Speaker 4: I mean, but it is, you know, it is on
the list. I think we know why.
Speaker 3: Sadly we did, and I did.
Speaker 4: We did.
Speaker 3: It's wonderful life.
Speaker 4: We did.
Speaker 3: And we've done so many Landmark Christmas pictures. We did
the one with the Misz.
Speaker 4: Yes, we two with the Miss. So what awaits us?
I can only begin. I mean I did hint at
it before, and I don't mind hinting out of it again.
So I do Miss. I do miss those really garbage
Miss Christmas movies for ABC Family. And you know, I'm
fortunate we were able to find something else in that vein,
not with the Miz. But I think it's gonna be
equally just fun, bad garbage.
Speaker 3: You can bet it's a movie where a wrestler in
a pea coat takes somebody to look for trees.
Speaker 4: Yeah, at least not in the la landscape that miss
was doing in.
Speaker 3: The spirit of the season. So Christmas movie Season under
the Cinemat another great time to peek under the hood there.
If you've been wondering if now's the time, Now is
the time. I'm even being told and I don't know
a lot about this, that you can even gift Patreon subscriptions. Now,
Patreon doesn't million hfer things every month, so look into that.
Speaker 4: That's cool.
Speaker 3: I'm sure they make it pretty intuitive if that's something
you want to give someone for the holidays. I'm sure
it's like a time limited subscription to our Patreon content.
Of course, executive bdu sercured above get you under the cinemat.
The mote tear, of course, is the exclusive circle for
our rider dies. Those who say, you know what, I'm
going to pay more than I get this is more
than transactional. What's going on here for ten straight years?
They'd be right about that, And as always be salute
the real true core benefactors to the mission, and they've
been in receipt of a NonStop assault of wrestle Mamia
and those who have heard of the TLF Christmas shows thus.
Speaker 4: Far that have been unveiled.
Speaker 3: Know that Mama Sorrow graced us, to say the very least,
with her presence as we opened each and every Christmas
package and offered commentary that even in our wildest dreams.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I mean, I mean, it is. It is truly,
I mean, and the beauty of it is is that
nobody knew when they were writing the shit they were writing,
or gifting the gifts that they were giving, that Mama
Sara would be. I mean, we didn't even really know
that Mama Sara was going to be, you know, in
house at the time. But you get a little you
get a little sneak peak as to what you know,
wrestle Mamia is all about, and in that regards to
you know, coming up, what I like to do in December,
like what I do in the week leading up to WrestleMania,
is I like to do starkate matches with my mom
for the month of December, of course until Christmas. And
by this time, I believe, yes, you they will have
seen an epic starcate encounter where when Hulk Hogan faced
off with Beefcake Butcher.
Speaker 3: Oh that's a fucking top five starkate match, absolutely so
looking look forward to her commentary. There is you reflex
on remembering British beefcake. I'd imagine from your golden days
and uh.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm I you know, it's been a while since
we recorded it, but I would imagine that I talked
about the whole relationship and you know, talked about how
you know, he and Hogan were best friends and how
he turned on him.
Speaker 3: I'm sure you were quick to confirm that he's in
fact still alive, which is one of her favorite questions.
Speaker 4: Oh, it is one of the best questions. And now
is he alive? Is he still alive? Now?
Speaker 3: It depends what depends what you mean, Mom, I mean,
I just saw the dark side on him, and yeah, I.
Speaker 4: Mean he kind of looks it, I suppose, but it's
not a guarantee.
Speaker 3: Truly amazing stuff and the least we can do for
that high level support. And let me just say, in
twenty twenty five, as we enter our second decade, we've
got some ideas for the Moat tier to show are
more appreciation than even we currently do. So this is
probably the time to start seriously considering it, because we've
got some things that we're going to unload.
Speaker 4: I think on folks.
Speaker 3: That is going to create a bit of a frenzy,
bit of a scramble. Let's just say, yep, a bit
of a scarcity value coming your fucking way. That's all
I'm gonna say. What isn't scarce is the true volume
of selection available to lapsed fans this Christmas season, both
in our Pro Wrestling Tea store at Pro Wrestling Te's
dot com Slash the Laps Flan and our laps Fan
store over at Chopped Teas, because we have an abundance
of lapsed schwag to outfit yourself going into twenty twenty five,
to buy for the lapsed fan in your life, to
put on a gift list. If you are that lapsed
fan and we're hearing from wives. We're hearing from wives.
They want cameos, yes they do. They want shirts. They
want it all, they want it all, and I'm here
to give it to them.
Speaker 4: There are there are two lapsed Wife shirts for those
who have the balls to give the give their wife
the gift that they definitely don't want, right you know,
they hate that you listen to our show to begin with,
and they're gonna hate that you bought them a t
shirt that supports it. They're not even funny. Why are
you laughing? Why are you laughing? This isn't funny. That's
the best thing.
Speaker 3: Or like the homie Zach observed when his wife walked
in the room and he asked for a ball water,
You're not always going to get a reaction you hope for, okay, and.
Speaker 4: Actually mostly not going to get a reaction that you
hope for.
Speaker 3: Hey, as a wrestling fan, you're trained to know how
to deal with that, and you know, countenance it, not
let it ruin your day.
Speaker 4: Exactly exactly, you know. And we've got obviously the SID
line is is is just fucking up and roaring about.
Oh yeah, obviously we've got Vienna's, We've Got's softball teams,
we've got udi Mania running wild. We've also got Santa
Monica sid so fucking I'm a fan of that one.
I'm a fan of that one.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 4: And if you if, if if you want to keep
your Carnies Are Forever tour continuing to you can also
get the Carne's Are Forever shirt. We do have some,
you know, some some under the cinemat schwag as well. Also,
you got your Christmas themed ones. You know, you can
go old school if you want, which the Fritz one.
You know, we have the Fritz Santa Claus one. We
got the Bruno Santa Claus one. And then we've also
got the the ones that I've made that are inspired
by classic uh uh you know Christmas movies. We got
the Laps fan in Home Alone style. We've got Laps
fan like Charlie Brown, we got laps fan like Night
remember before Christmas, laps fan like Elf like Christmas story,
die Hard Scrooged, There's a whole fucking you know series
of that, So get to it.
Speaker 3: Well, well they are, I mean, orders are starting to
come in. Shout out to Alexander who sprung for the
Sids Vienna's shirt.
Speaker 4: We appreciate that.
Speaker 3: Always great to see those come across the transom. And
then folks like Paul who's just so you know what,
I'm just gonna go, I'm gonna go core message here.
I'm going to go with you it used to be
better T shirt yep, and a what a shirt to
wear into twenty twenty five. So we've got all kinds
of stuff and if you want to up the game
in terms of above that T shirt level of schwag.
Chop Teas is the store as the unbelievable work that's
being done over there on number half truly humbling, as
we are offering high level premium apparel with lapsed logos
plastered all over it and some original artwork and concepts
that you can't get in progressling tees all available at
chop Teas. Jack's jackets, hoodies, hats, pants, fanny packs.
Speaker 4: I mean, you really want to celebrate fucking TLFX, you go,
you go to chop Teas and you get your fucking
new warl order shirt because that's you know, that's one
that's been denied for forever. But there you can get it.
You can get it. It is there for your consumption.
Speaker 3: That's exactly correct. So Dicky making sure that tlf fans
are appropriately sated over at the chop Tea store. This
holiday season cameo is wide open. Folks are starting to
request things in the holiday spirit. Oh indeed, lovely one
just came across from a wife trying to figure out
what the hell this guy's talking about with Vianna sausages.
Speaker 4: So what a moment that really, that really was just
something so incredible to me when reading that, and it's
like something about Vienna sausages. I don't just say like no,
and you shouldn't understand.
Speaker 3: Can you say things for my husband's birthday?
Speaker 4: Please? Right, just say weird shit that he wants. You know,
I don't know what it is you do. I don't
want to know what it is you do. Just say shit.
Speaker 3: Bless them, yes, bless their pure hearts. If only they
knew the realities we uncover and the conclusions were left
to reach. Ignorance is bliss.
Speaker 4: Okay, indeed, that's what we're.
Speaker 3: Learning I think as the year's turn here at TLFHQ.
And of course, if you have a workout fanatic in
your life, or if in fact you're looking to really
enter a new stage of fitness in the new year,
there is a TLF way, TLF approved way I should
say to do that, and that's with our friends at
Tighten Nutrition, longtime supporters of the show. They offer a
full line of expertly formulated nutritional products to help you
achieve your health and fitness goals. Around this time of you,
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one product that can not only help you burn off
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to substitute your coffee Menlight is also designed to help
you focus, lifting your mood and productivity. Comes in six
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neutral Tritionian dot Net ladies and gentlemen. Use the promo
code lapsed at checkout. You're gonna get ten percent off
your purchase in free shipping. Again, that's tight Nutrition dot Net.
With the discount code lapsed. Tell them TLF sent you
and get one of those big, fat ass protein buckets
under the tree this season. If you're gonna do it,
do it, you know, if you're gonna go there, go
there with TLF. I don't know what the problem is.
I mean, they've been great supporters and always heard great
feedback from Solar System members that have tried the product,
so be the next to step in line. And we
also raise a toast to our friends at Derogebeer for
the great support, particularly during the very successful TLFX Games tournament.
To determine the greatest character in the history of the pod,
of course, that's going to Lapsed Evince. And we'll be
keeping our forensic Garage Beer in mind this holiday season.
Speaker 4: Won't we bust? Absolutely always so much.
Speaker 3: Great stuff, so much stuff to keep track of, and
if you want to get some letters in a Santa's
mail bag, that thing is really filling up. It's been
a while since we've sat down with your missives. Something
tells me that might be an order upon the conclusion
of this SID tribute.
Speaker 4: I would imagine that's ye, that's the case, for sure.
Speaker 3: It's always it's very much in the spirit of the
Christmas unwrapping shows. Also sit down and open some some letters.
So many great Solar System members send letters in fact
with their Christmas packages, and you'll be hearing those yes,
as it unfolds over twenty five days. But the Lapsed
fan at gmail dot com for anything on your mind,
any feedback you may have, particularly as we wrap up
this tribute to Sid. You talked about serendipity, and one
of the things is when a giant like a Terry
Funk or even a Sid dies, there's always wide open space.
In terms of our agenda on the pod. They always
seem to, you know what I mean, pass away in
times like you know what, we can just keep going
until we feel the subject is covered.
Speaker 8: Yep.
Speaker 3: It doesn't happen in the middle of a journey, you know,
which is very very very much to our advantage. And
we'll be going to interesting places, boss, from what I understand.
I saw a tweet from Sean Ross Sap just earlier today.
If you go to Peacock right now and go to
the raw archives, it has been labeled thirty days until expiration.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 3: Wow, I mean what does this mean? I mean, I
guess besides that it used to be better, of course.
Speaker 8: I mean.
Speaker 4: That we're going to have to, uh, you know, fucking
get that Netflix going.
Speaker 3: I mean, what if they don't put all the braws
on Netflix. No one said they will.
Speaker 4: That's true, that is true. No one said they will.
You know that the the archive I would imagine that
then the archive would stay on Pickcock. No so all,
so they're not allowed to have any raw, any any
archival raw on Pickock. That's what that expiration date tells me.
They when they moved NXT to c W off USA network,
they took all of the NXT archive, with the exception
of the pay per views which are on Peacock. But
the shows that run usay, they took that and moved
it over so that it's like CW on demand and
it's not available on Peacock anymore. Wow, what a shit show?
You now? What are we doing? What a bunch of
fucking idiots like you know, this.
Speaker 3: Whole thing started ten years ago when they launched the
network and brought the archives to the table, and all
of a sudden, these podcasts were created to leverage that,
not to mention ours. As they talked about the lapsed
fan We're like, okay, well we'll put a fucking definition
on that, thank you very much. Who's looking for this content?
And I don't think we've asked ourselves over ten years,
because we've had access, do we deserve access to the archives?
I don't think we've spent enough time wondering that.
Speaker 4: Well, I'll tell you what. Maybe you know, do we
deserve access? Maybe not, But I'll tell you what you know.
I'll claim access, yes, all right, and if I need to,
I'll fucking get my own apps.
Speaker 3: I'll claim access is exactly right, not a fucking problem.
Because when you cast is hard, and it's faithfully and
at the high level we have for ten years, you
tend to build up resources, don't you.
Speaker 4: You're damn fucking right.
Speaker 3: You tend to have people who have just as much
on the line as you do as hosts and creators
and perpetuating and seeing this thing through and filling those
gaps and providing that helping hand when those who would
seek to withhold their booty and their treasure seek to
keep things behind their respective ironclad doors, that you know,
all you do is call upon the TLF solar system
to get that much more resourceful. We went through this
when they migrated from the traditional network to Peacock, and
then there were things lost in that battle. There were
things that didn't make it across the transom yep. And
as the network ticks away with just a month left
to exist, you know, goodbye to all of those hidden gems,
goodbye to anything that wasn't transferred from the old network
to Peacock.
Speaker 4: I know, it's so true. I mean, we again, we're fortunate.
Speaker 8: I do have.
Speaker 4: So much from from all these from from from the
previous network that you know, were gifted to us, and
you know, and now that's going away altogether. The whole
fucking thing, you know, the old network is dead. Unbelievable.
Speaker 3: I mean, that's why we did this. That or at
least that's what that was. The missing piece. Yeah, it
was access to that. I was like, Okay, we can
go forever. It's there. It's sitting there, and we didn't
take for granted it would always be there. But it's
kind of like, who the fuck would you know what
I mean. At the time in twenty fourteen, every sort
of brand and league was thinking, we'll create our own
over the top streaming service so our super fans can
have access to everything that doesn't already you know, licensed
elsewhere right here. That's everybody was doing. Remember, it was
a battle to collect as many content hours as you could.
Remember that.
Speaker 4: Yep.
Speaker 3: The streaming services were competing with each other on the
basis of how many hours there were. There were when
Disney made all those acquisitions like twenty centry Fox and
all those assets, it's like, oh, we just added eighty
thousand hours.
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, say two thousand dollars.
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, yes, therefore we are differentiated. And now it's
just like now they're just fucking selling it all piecemeal.
No one gives a fuck. Archives on one streaming service
one year or another of the next completely disappeared, the
next available for three ninety nine to pop next, right whatever. Like,
I don't think it's the worst thing in the world.
If they really meant business and they went all in
on making that vault available and easy to navigate and
easy to find. If you did charge a couple bucks
for each thing, I mean, we wouldn't love it, but
it's the best way for them to see that this
is easy money. This is this stupid model of like
ten dollars for everything. Yeah, it never was going to work,
and I would love for it to have worked. Trust me,
that's a great price point. And the network never changed
its pricing, which is amazing. You know what I mean,
it's not gonna work. So if you have to charge
all the cart whatever, But hopefully the next iteration of
this idea of the wrestling archive is one that actually
proves once and for all to these bottom line miscreants
that this is just the easiest money you can make
in any entertainment vertical that exists, because no one's gonna
buy a single episode of Saturday Night Live, Okay, but
there were hundreds of thousands of people that might rent,
you know, a back because we went to the fucking
video store and we did it for years, and we
did it with Hunger, and this is the closest we
can get to replicating that. Say what you will about
the special interest section, but that was a big fucking section. Yeah,
a big section for a reason, because this is something that,
for whatever reason, people want to rent again and again
and again, and new converts to the sport want to
go back and rent again and again and again to
get to go deeper and deeper, to broaden their knowledge
and see what it used to be.
Speaker 1: Like.
Speaker 3: That's where we're here. So I'm I'm reticent about what's
to come on that front, but I'm hopeful too that
maybe a model will emerge where finally you can be like,
all right, fine, like stop fleeing, stop fucking dangling this
carrot like there's no more concept of a monthly subscription
fee for the whole library, but it will make it
available in some other way and then that'll be like,
all right, well, this is revenue that we'd have to
lose if we took it away. We'll see one can dream.
But over on Patreon we'll be charting the evolution over
to the Netflix because not only we'll be covering the
Saturday night's main event in live call format. But boss,
I think you're up for it, right, we'll do the
first raw on Netflix?
Speaker 4: Why not? Yeah, I'm done with that. You know, see
what's see what's doing over there, See what it tastes like.
Speaker 3: You know, they've been doing two hour raws in this
lame duck period again after so many years of three
hour raws, and it's been lovely. But you better believe
they're going back to three hours on Netflix.
Speaker 4: Because that's that's what everyone wants, a fucking pay per
view every Monday. And guess what happens when RA goes
to three hours in January, SmackDown goes to eight hours,
Smackdow goes to three hours as well. Oh my god,
I mean what the fans don't want it? I don't.
I don't. I mean, listen, you know there was a
time I would have fucking begged for six hours of
wrestling every week. Yep, begged for it. Not now, not anymore,
like not even close market, not even close.
Speaker 3: Say all you will about AW and you know, the
loss of code lost c inpunk. Just what do you
want to point at is things that that shifted their
fortunes around drastically. I'm looking around. I'm like, you know,
is anyone going to talk about the fact that you
can only see two hours of AW every week in
the most successful early years of their existence? Yeah, and
that that was like you had to be there and
that was your diet for the week of AW. And
then they brought a rampage and they brought a collision,
and then they expanded their pay per views from four
to six to I think eight now a year. It's like, yeah, guys,
like that's kind of what happens. Like each show is
going to have less punch if you're not asked to
really savor every calorie because you don't get that much content.
I mean, it's very simple, but you can't. You know,
that's not how TV works. TVC something that catches, and
they just well, let's see how how quickly we can
you basically rape this thing until it's bereft of life.
But we at least can spread that audience out over
as many quarter hours as possible throughout the week and
perhaps justify what we're charging to advertise against that audience. Yeah,
And of course wrestling fans always losing that because then
they're stuck having to watch everything, because you can't have
an opinion about wrestling if you don't watch every last
minute of it.
Speaker 4: Oh, of course not no, no, no, not at all. No, no,
no no.
Speaker 3: And so we wonder why wrestling fans are such fucking
miserable fucks. It's because they have no choice but to
sacrifice thirty hours of their week to wrestling if they
want to talk about it and be fans of it
and not be dunked on all the time.
Speaker 1: It's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that
knows the boys need their candy.
Speaker 2: It's the Lapsed Fan.
Speaker 1: He's an lapsed fan wrestling podcast with Jack and Carnacio
and JP Sooro.
Speaker 3: It's great stuff, is what I'm trying to say. Boss,
It's great stuff.
Speaker 4: And in that Vein.
Speaker 3: We turned back to our friend Sid. He's on the
mend and according to some things he said and shooting interviews.
Even one month after the surgery that he underwent as
a result of his injury at Sin in January of
two thousand and one, he was in the gym on
a walker, doing power cleans on one leg, trying to
get back into shape. Because, as we talked about then,
we've talked about this beyond Sid, haven't we be bigger, faster,
stronger When you get to look like Sid looks you
have no identity if you don't look.
Speaker 8: Like that.
Speaker 4: Exactly, I mean, that's exactly it. I mean, it's a
sad state of affairs, but it's the truth. You know,
you cannot nor will you be able to succeed on
any level if you don't have the look. Yeah, the
look is all The look, is it? The look is
the only thing that makes you matter.
Speaker 3: Well, the only thing you can say that makes you
feel better than the next guy is you get up
at four to go to the gym instead of five.
If you suffer an injury that takes you out of
the gym, stay the fuck away from that guy.
Speaker 4: That's my suggestion. Okay, that's my suggestion.
Speaker 3: The downside is so much more pronounced than the upside
when you go down this path. We've established this over
the years. And for Sid, somebody who, as we've talked about,
prided himself on two a day's in a business where
even one to day is hard to get in from
a gym perspective, but he was just a maniac about
finding gyms in every city he went to, getting the
morning workout and maybe even the afternoon workout in running
like crazy up the bleachers at the local football stadium.
He was also a big endurance guy too. Of course,
he had all kinds of heart problems. I mean, it's
just so fucking sad when people who just kill themselves
doing what we're told keeps us in shape end of
dropping dead harder than people who don't do shit. And
I know a lot of those people die prematurely as well.
I'm not saying that's there's any kind of secret.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but you know, like it's funny because it's the
extremes are where you're getting yourself into trouble, right and.
Speaker 3: And you're in extreme territory so much faster than you
think these days, because like you show a little bit
of interest in working out, and then the Facebook feed.
Speaker 4: Is like, what the fuck is with you? Let's go harder,
like drink this, ship your brains out.
Speaker 3: You're not lean. If I have to see one more
picture of a guy looking like RFK with white hair
and like a tanned, jacked body, I'm gonna fucking I'm
just gonna throw on the towel.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know you should. I mean, listen, listen. They
probably they probably had their bodies surgically enhanced to look
like that.
Speaker 3: I mean, isn't It's not a red flag by now
as opposed to something worth reaching for.
Speaker 4: I guess not.
Speaker 3: But we're just gonna keep going down this path, even
the even triple H.
Speaker 4: You know, look at that.
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't know whether where the heart at
Tech came from, but I can take a guess. I
can take a guess. Yeah, And he's back, He's back
on the ground, you know what I mean, trying to
flex his biceps as much as he can. It's just
it's just a life you sign up for.
Speaker 4: It's just like exactly.
Speaker 3: And so for sid, if he can't walk, that doesn't
mean he can't fucking rip that upper body you know,
it doesn't mean his one leg, but you could hear
in that interview clip we played kind of the desperation
in his voice to get across the idea that he's
back again, that he's you know, that he's in shape again,
that he's he's you know, but he stopped making it
sadder than it has to be.
Speaker 4: Do you know what I mean? And that's not true.
Actually he's making it sadder than it has to be.
Speaker 3: That's what I'm saying, stop making it sadder that it
has to be.
Speaker 4: Like he said, he stopped making it sadder than it
has like. No, actually he's continuing.
Speaker 3: Continuing to really you know, you know, only able to
put seven pounds of pressure on the leg. Ah huh,
what do you want? I mean, sure, that's normal, and
he's out there just like so mad about that that
he's running into that wall every day, testing that limit
pretty much every day. To hear him put it at
least now, remember he's doing this shoot interview, as he
said there about six years after the injury, so he's
really trying to get the idea out through this shoot
interview that he's available again and able to perform at
a high level, which I don't think is the case, honestly,
because we did see him in a handful of indie
appearances after this injury, and the limitations were I think
very apparent. All the credit in the world to him
to get back into an ability to walk around. But
as we'll talk about later, he got a little bit
more candid as the years went and one of his
feet was like too short, one of his legs was
like too short, and it would just throw everything off.
He just he wasn't gonna be able to work again.
But no, he's going. He's testing the limits right out
of the gate right away. Says, you know, running into
that wall every day, it was tough. I ran through
that wall eventually, and it really got sad for me,
he said. It really got sad for me. Says, I
was running. I got a hellover in Memphis, one hundred
and ten yards up pretty steep angle. I run to
the top of it, I spit and I step on it.
Because to him, when he does that, he's stepping on
somebody who told him he couldn't climb that mountain. That
that's how That's what makes said tick. That's what makes
said tick is thinking of somebody who doubts him or
pisses him off, and carrying forward. So that's what I
think in my mind, that's what makes me get up
that hill another time. And I can run bleachers for
sixty minutes NonStop. I'm in such shape, it's phenomenal. And again,
this is the things he's saying after the injury and
getting back out there. Here's a bit more context and
color around that from the same shoot interview.
Speaker 8: Man, I'm gonna tell you something.
Speaker 4: I had to.
Speaker 9: It really put a strain on everything in my life
because at first I didn't I was hitting the ball,
but it wasn't effectively. I said, Okay, I don't know
what I'm doing. The dogs weren't really giving me a
lot of telling me what was going on either. One
doctor final teming and he said, you're not gonna really
walk again.
Speaker 8: Man.
Speaker 9: From that point on it was it was pretty scary.
So I had to work harder hard I would want.
I'd work out in the morning that I go to
rehab for three and a half to four hours a
day every day.
Speaker 8: For years.
Speaker 9: I did this so depression. I never dealt with depression
before I had to deal with that. You know, I
didn't even know I was dealing with depression. You know,
I never you know, I don't have anything to be
depressed about. It's one of those things you don't even
realize it's hitting it till it's too late. Caused me
a lot of problems.
Speaker 8: With my family. You know.
Speaker 9: I'm just now able to get make up to my
family the things out of the way I was acting.
And I didn't even know why I was acting like that.
I had to go through a you know, anger management
course because I was so angry at the whole world.
I wouldn't blame anybody for anything, but boy, I would
just you know, And I use anger as a tool
for me to to succeed sometimes.
Speaker 8: I whatever's going on, I'm gonna work.
Speaker 9: I'm damn man, I'm gonna work out three times today
and I'm gonna run bleachers twice, so that would push
me and making me do better. This time, anger didn't
work for me. It just made a hole deeper and deeper.
Speaker 3: Wow, Jesus, that'll show him. I work out harder. Oh, fuck, said,
have mercy, Have mercy on us. You're gonna work out harder.
How will we ever get back at you?
Speaker 4: My God?
Speaker 3: That that guy that gut really kind of dark for
a second.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean you look, he's he's, he's, he's he's
a mess. I mean, I'm also, how can you not
be a mess after that? You make a stupid mistake
like that, but like doing a move like that and
all of a sudden, you can't you lose your entire livelihood.
You should be depressed. Yeah, yeah, you have miserable.
Speaker 3: You have excuse to, you know, you definitely have a
license to at that point, for sure, it's like, you know,
you you fucking ruined it. I would, man, there's a
story there. There's a story there. I mean, I've verged
dark side cameras to point their lens here, because let
me tell you, like no one knows really what Sid
was like coming home from that injury and just everything
that he built, his whole, everything he put in his
back was fortified by those legs, you know. Yeah, and
to not have that and the kind of things he
might be making reference to about making family life it
sounds like a hell for a little while, and not
really be able to control it or know exactly why
he was feeling that way. It was classic depression, and
I wonder what it came down to for sid because
you know, for the wrestling fan, he snapped his leg
him and appearenteer there. He showed up in like two
thousand and two and that ill fated Wrestling All Stars
World Wrestling All Stars operation that thought it would kind
of pick up the pieces of WCW, signed some guys
and run some shows out of Australia. They did a
pay per view or two we went nowhere. I think
he showed up as their commissioner once, so he did
see him, but we didn't see him. You know, we
didn't really get to take the measure of if he
was anywhere close to this that we remembered before the injury.
He just pretty much faded. If it seems like you
fell off the face of the earth after this injury
and the subsequent sale of WCW two, right, I mean
that the company disappeared as well, right exactly. Even if
he was ready to come back, we as wrestling fans,
would be none the wiser about his status because there
was no platform for him to come back to because
ww wasn't apparently interested. And if it seems like you
fell off the face of the earth, well it's because
he pretty much did I changed.
Speaker 9: My phone renumber. Wow, I didn't want to hear asked
that story. I didn't want to answer that story. I
don't answered any more questions about that anymore. On the
other hand, have been so many good people that you know, strangers, like,
for instance, when I was going to the dealings, I
knew for instance, I had I could walk get out
of my vehicle, and I could walk so many steps
before I had to sit down. There were people that
were personally parkeding my vehicle for me, opening the doors.
Speaker 8: For me, things like that.
Speaker 9: You know, hey, we're praying for you. I think those
were good things that were good that parts of my
life kept me going. Yeah, the rest of business has
a tendency to ask the single nag in questions if
you're talking to one of the boys, especially to know
how that leg that hadn't happened, why did it happened?
Explaining it time and time again. For three it seemed
like even today, I'm still answering it. But for three
four years, man, it was all day every day.
Speaker 4: He changed his number. YEP, I mean, were you that
many people are calling you? Probably? I mean, I guess maybe,
But what.
Speaker 3: What's his point about that? They're calling to get the
story right as much as they're calling to see how
he's doing, and he could.
Speaker 4: Sense more so probably to get the story right.
Speaker 3: I mean, you've heard this before. Like around then, It's
like I didn't text him back because I got the
sense that he was texting me not because he wanted
to know how I was doing, but because he wanted
to know how I was doing so we could pass
it along, right and be the person in possession of
new information about something that was water cooler talk in
the wrestling business. Definitely definitely the creepiest kind of person
you can run into. That kind of Oh, for sure,
you know what I mean. That's doing reconnaissance for some
secret poison and not actually talking to you but almost
talking through you in a way. And that it got
to the point that he had to change his numbers,
and knowing the business could call him a check in
on him is really I think it's really pointing us
to something about the wrestling business that we've always kind
of circled around, and I think this kind of puts
a finer point on it. It's like, this is a
business where even your friends are kind of just trying
to make currency out of being your friend. M right,
because if I know kind of what's if I knew it,
and I think too, there's probably a degree of like
asking him over and over again what happened because they're
horrified it's going to happen to them. Yes, that's I
don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but
it always drives me pretty crazy in life, where you
get the sense that people are not asking questions because
they're concerned about the episode, that what they're really concerned
about is how can I tell myself that this won't
happen to me. I'm looking for information about this murderer
not because I care about the fact that somebody was killed,
but because I want to tell myself that I can
prevent the circumstances that led to this person being killed.
And the more I find out about it, the better
I can feel about myself. Kind of a selfish mission.
I always got the sense, you know, and whenever you'd
write about someone in the newspaper that went through a
hard time, you know, around the holidays, there'd be a
lot of stories about families that fell upon tough times,
facing foreclosure or whatever the case may be, and you
always found that people pride for details not because they
felt badly and wanted to understand and sympathize and empathize,
but they wanted the details because they wanted to tell
themselves so they couldn't find themselves in that position just
as easily. And it wouldn't surprise me if that was
going through the minds of a lot of the wrestlers
that had SID repeat this injury story over and over
and over again. You know, when in my life, might
I be confronted with a spot that I don't feel
comfortable doing? And what did what did SID not say
that I would have to say to prevent and prevent that?
You know, I have to come away from this story,
and I'm putting words in people's mouths.
Speaker 4: I don't give a fuck.
Speaker 3: I have to come away from this story with something like,
well shit, I mean, if I was SIT, I wouldn't
have done that. If I was SI, I wouldn't have
said that.
Speaker 10: You know.
Speaker 3: In other words, it's almost blaming the victim, right so
that you can feel protected, of course, if ever encountered
by a similar set of circumstances. Of course, all of
this is designed to try to navigate away from the
fact that you know, things don't happen per a prescribed pattern.
Cause and effect is almost impossible to establish in this life,
and you never get the solace you seek when you
pry for details around a tragedy. You never get those.
That's solace because it probably happened to that person for
reasons that you can chalk up to the randomness of
the universe. And that's a deeply unsettling reality. And people
will dig and dig and dig and dig and ask
what abouts, yeah, butts until they feel like there's some
cause and effect that they could prevent themselves from being
a victim to as well in the future. And when
someone gets hurt in the wrestling business, I don't know,
I feel like I've heard this before. I'm struggling to
come up with more examples, because you know, SID is
the topic to shore right now. But where it really
is like they're checking in on me, but they're not
checking in on me, not at all. They're trying to
assuage their own anxiety and make currency out of the
information I may provide to them. So the fact that
the fact that it got to the point and two
I got to think for somebody is work out obsessed
and physique obsessed to Sid. I mean, how much much
it must it fuck with you that the only thing
anybody wants to ask you is how you'll never be
the same again?
Speaker 4: Essentially? Oh, I mean yeah, he's basically being told all
the time that he's just you know, it's you know,
you're never going to be what you were, right, It's
not going to happen, so stop.
Speaker 3: It's you know, when you think about Sid and when
he passed and we thought about a tribute show, it
was like, all right, yeah, the Hogan feud, the funny
shit he said in WCW, you know, bursting onto the
scene in NWA. But you almost forget that, Like the
ending is what's most poignant about the Sid story.
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, it's true.
Speaker 3: It's underplayed because he underplayed it, because he changed his number,
because he wasn't out there doing reams of interviews about
the rehab process. It wasn't documented under wrestling. You know,
if WCW was still in business, I'm sure we would
have gotten vignettes of him recuperating, right, Oh, for sure,
they would have tried to do something that would have
done a sit down at his house or something. They
would have tried to make content out of it, but
the fact that it aligned that it was coincident with
the final circling of the drain of World Championship Wrestling
as a business really put this story even further and deeper,
I think, into the shadows and the recesses of the
wrestling fan's mind. Yes, because back then it was truly
out of sight, out of mind. I mean, honestly, there
was no social media. You couldn't keep people abreast of
how you were doing independent of a platform like a
wrestling television show or doing an interview for a wrestling
website or something like that, thing wrestlers probably you know,
wouldn't do anyway. But you know, there was no way
to keep people abreast of how you were doing if
you were still alive, you know, if you couldn't walk
still or did your leg ever recover, No idea, Nope,
Sid just scouries into the corner and again changing his
number and going into a depression and becoming very difficult
to deal with on the home front. It's years that
it's years that are really cruel for a guy who
mastered this character of being this complete separated from reality guy. Right, Yeah,
that he's got the ultimate reality check he does in
the form of immobility and inability to be the only
thing that ever paid the bills for him. Really, I
mean that's not true. I mean, you know, he found
ways in agriculture to pay the bill, but I mean
pay the bills that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, But I mean, look, you're not making that much
money compared to wrestling, right, And he was always very
comfortable with that. At least he's represented it. But he
had a funny way of showing it because he would
go back to the negotiating table every chance he got
try to get a little more. So for someone that
was perfectly happy with the farm boy lifestyle, he certainly
minded his p's and q's from a fucking W two
perspective or ten ninety nine perspective.
Speaker 3: I think I should say, as we've documented and talked about,
so there it goes sid oft into the shadows. Well,
we hear from him again, we're not sure it was.
There were some indignities here, and you start to sense
in little drips and drabs that he didn't just chalk
this up to dark fate, that he's starting to feel
a little, a little kind of pissed off about being
put in this position in the first place. Here's a
clip from a podcast that he did about the injury,
and he remembers one thing in particular that was an
indignity about the immediate aftermath of this injury in Indianapolis.
Speaker 11: To be honest with you, Luke, I was just I
was thinking about that a little bit today. You never
recovered for something like that, first of all, and how
they treated me was pretty not that well. Meaning to
get from the hospital to the airport, if my wife
hadn't have been there, I wouldn't have made it, and
so they left me and her to do it by ourselves.
She can't push me up a hill in a wheelchair.
We struggled getting the airport at a nacy little airport
airport at Indianapolis, And so that would be the answer
to that. They didn't treat me very well on that deal. Now,
as far as how it affected me to my life
is it's the effect they ever joined my body from
my shoulders being on that walker for so long, and
the crutches.
Speaker 8: And.
Speaker 11: Now that i'm you know this left leg where I
broke it, now my right knee I need knee replacement.
I'm fighting against that actually is doing much better, however,
But again it's just it's just it's just a domino effect.
This made that ankle now starting to work itself to
my hips and not bad, you know, but I can
feel it, you know, so you never the answer is
you never recovered.
Speaker 8: Something like that loop.
Speaker 11: That's probably to sleep. They put horses asleep because the
break is so far down from my heart. It can
never men. I don't know why.
Speaker 8: The doctor's never really.
Speaker 11: Excited to me that I pretty much lost lost my
left calf over the years. I can't extends. I can't
walk on my left hill if you ever tried that.
I can walk on my right hill with my foot
off the ground, but not my left. So I got
really just used in one leg.
Speaker 3: Ended up on one legged man. And he walked around
and did some wrestling, but he was a one legged man.
And and that's an interview that he did well after
there was any pretense of him getting back into a
high earning position in the wrestling business. That was him
years and years, I think twenty twenty one. Actually talking
about the final analysis, if you will, about the injury
told you don't even think about, like you said, the
crutches and the walker and what that does to your shoulders,
right to carry all that weight just on shoulders that
was that was never accustomed to carrying it before. I'd
imagine all kinds of muscles and joints get strained like
they've never experienced before as you try to rehab something
like that, And even when the leg gets a bit better,
all of a sudden you're dealing with a knee replacement
in the other knee, or you're dealing with a shoulder
issue or a hip issue.
Speaker 4: Right, man fell apart.
Speaker 3: Jesus, the man fell apart physically and mentally as a
result of what happened at Sin two thousand and one.
And it's crazy that this is kind of where that
story ends, right, you know that there's nothing more to it.
I mean, you would expect more from this story, but no.
I mean I listened to the shoot interview that he did,
one of them with Hannibal, and he was asked, you know,
if there was like a detail effect from this, and
here's what he said.
Speaker 12: Was there ever any legal situation with WCW over them
asking me to do a movie we're comfortable with?
Speaker 8: No?
Speaker 3: Come now, the plaintiff Sydney Rudy and pursu into OCGA
nine to eleven fifteen A files this amended complaint and
further shows the court as follows. No legal Rammit, give
me a fucking break, sid Have we not learned anything
about sid Udy?
Speaker 8: Oh?
Speaker 3: Did he not go down to the Fulton County Courthouse
and seek redressed from the legal system for what happened
to him at SIN two thousand and one? Here got
Jimmer and are we uniquely positioned as the podcast to
bring it to you?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 3: We fucking are. Did this take three four years after
the injury to resolve? Yes, it did, Boss. You see
in your possession, Oh boy, series of documents, oh boy,
pulled and called from your co chairman. Of course, enjoying
the resources we do from the support of the TLF
Solar system, we're able to go the extra mile and
pull some court filing to bring you the full story.
Things that a lot of details I'm sure that to
this point have never been made public. There's a bit
out there about this because he did appeal it, and
those appealed decisions are pretty well circulated and easy to google,
which is also the case for example, in the Russo
versus Hogan w W Bashett's Beach Case. But as anybody
who listened to those shows will tell you that that
appeal decision does not tell you anywhere close to the
full story. You got to go a bit deeper and
pull some more files than that. And so he fucking
did it, because I don't know if you think this
is a game by now, I don't know if you've
got the memo, but it's not. In the Superior Court
of Fulton County, State of Georgia, Sydney rud plaintiff versus
Universal Wrestling Corporation Incorporated Formerly known as World Championship Wrestling, Inc.
Turner Sports, Inc. And Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated. And who
else is a defendant boss named Johnny Laurenidis and parties
X Y and Z. If you have in front of
you what parties X Y and Z mean, Well, we'll
get to it. It's I think it's people he doesn't
really quite know to identify yet. And sid leg complaint
is that what you have?
Speaker 4: I have?
Speaker 3: Yes, Okay, So we're gonna turned it over to sid
Udy himself, and what I understand has been prepared to
deliver a dramatic reading Uh, this is basically the first
shot across the bow. The lawsuit filed. It's February fifth,
two thousand and three. And Sid has been going through
all the rehab that we've heard him talk about. Sid's
been boiling and simmering with tension about how this whole
thing went down. And Uh, if my math is right,
his WCW contract is about to expire.
Speaker 4: Or it already has. Those checks have stopped coming. I
think two.
Speaker 3: Yeah, most people rather yeah, most people seem to say
that their deals ran through twenty two, that the latest
we know his, though we do know his, we do
know his.
Speaker 4: Yeah, what am I saying? And there was twenty o two?
You're right? I think it was two thousand and two. Yep.
Speaker 3: So all of a sudden, the check star stop rolling,
and it's time to see if we can't get a
little more, because God damn it, I'm in this position
because of World Championship Wrestling and johny Lorinitis's negligence, and
I'm gonna find an attorney.
Speaker 4: Who agreed to this on my own. This was not
my decision.
Speaker 3: As he points to the leg and as he points
to the courthouse, boss, please let us hear the case
is laid out by mister.
Speaker 4: Udy starting from second amended complaint. That's exactly correct. Second
amended complaint comes. Now the plaintiff, Sydney Rudy and pursued
OCGA nine eleven fifteen A files this amended complaint and
further shows the court as follows jurisdiction and venue number one.
Plaintiff Sydney Ruty, Mister Beauty is a resident of the
state of Arkansas. Mister Beauty entered into contracts with one
or more of defend in the state of Georgia as
a professional wrestler defendant. Universal Wrestling Corporation Incorporated UWC, a
Georgia corporation, was formerly known as World Championship Wrestling Incorporated,
a Georgia Corporation. UWC's address is seventy five Rockerfeller Plaza,
New York.
Speaker 3: You fucking really, I guess so. I mean, we've talked
about this on Bash of the Beach. When ww folded,
they created this entity UWC to handle all the winding
down business matters of the company. Interestingly, UWC was also
the name given to the transition company when Crocketts held
to Turner in eighty eight. But yeah, they just incorporated
it in New York, right, I think the Turner offices
were essentially located at the time.
Speaker 4: Like how did they do that? So it's just very weird, Like,
I mean, I know that, but like, how did so?
So w CW was owned WWE at this point.
Speaker 3: Right, so they couldn't call it WCW anymore because that
had been sold. They had to create a new company
that could absorb all of the obligations and paperwork that
WWE didn't want, WOW didn't take with them and call
that the assets and liabilities of a Universal Wrestling Corporation.
Speaker 4: That's wild. UWC can be served through its registered agent,
CT Corporation System, twelve oh one Peachtree Street, Northeast Atlanta, Georgia,
three zero three sixty one. UWC is subject to the
jurisdiction of this court defendant Turner Sports Incorporated. TSI, Well,
why do they have to put I guess just for
the sake of ease of having the right?
Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4: Is a Georgia corporation may be served through its registered
agent in Georgia. CT Corporation System twelve o one on
PHG Street, Northeast Atlanta, Georgia, three zero three six y one.
TSI's address is seventy five Rockefeller Plaza, J. Cannon, New York,
New York, one double O one nine. TSI is subject
to the jurisdiction of this court. Defendant Turner Entertainment Group
Incorporated TEG is a Georgia corporation and may be served
through its registered agent and Georgia CT Corporation System twelve
oh one Pachtree Street at Atlanta, Georgia, three zero three
sixty one. TG's address is seventy five Rockefeller Plaza, J. Cannon,
New York, New York, one double oh one nine. TG
is subject to the jurisdiction of this court.
Speaker 3: Said, are you subject to the jurisdiction of this court?
Speaker 4: I'm not subjected to anything. My jurisdiction is where I
say it is.
Speaker 3: There's another T shirt. SID is very concerned with jurisdiction
in this Uh.
Speaker 4: Oh, your damn fucking writing.
Speaker 3: Post wrestling career days.
Speaker 4: You don't need to worry about my jurisdiction, right My
jurisdiction is where I see fit. Defendant Johnny laurinidis mister
Laura notiis Johnny and mister Lauren IIDs Okay, can you
call me that? Call me mister Laurenidis huh No, but
I will call you what does it say next, Johnny
Ace or mister Ace?
Speaker 3: I mean only in wrestling when you name a defendant
and official court papers, do you have to include his
k FA name with the mister in front of it?
Speaker 4: Because I mean that's the best part. Like you could
call you know, mister so excuse me, mister Ace. Yeah,
he would answer to it. That's the point, of course.
That's exactly it.
Speaker 3: Like if you're gonna sue Shawn Michaels, are you really
just gonna call him mister Hickenbottom throughout the entirety of
the doctor Michaels. It's a fake name pulled out of
the fucking sky.
Speaker 4: How about how about mister Heartbreak?
Speaker 3: Oh jeez, how about sham Michaels.
Speaker 4: Shaw Michaels is a resident of Florida and maybe served
personally through his attorneys James A. Lambert and Joel P.
Howell Troutman Sanders, LLP. Six hundred p Stree Street, Northeast
Bank of America, Plaza Sweet fifty two hundred, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia,
three zero three zero eight then you is proper in
this court. I feel good I've secured Troutman Sanders or
Sawders out Sanders. You know what, I'm gonna tell you something,
Johnny Ace, I went fishing for trout Man. I got
that right this.
Speaker 3: Oh by the way, as we read through this, I
do want to remind you that this was his answer
to the question, was.
Speaker 12: There ever any legal situation with WCW over them asking
me to do a movie where comfortable with No.
Speaker 4: We can hardly even see him fucking say it too,
m fucking liar? Why lie about that?
Speaker 3: That's just a big demerit in my mind? Man, when
you can look it up on the public record like.
Speaker 4: That, Like, what's the point of hiding that? Like, I mean,
are you dumb about court records?
Speaker 3: Like that tells me he didn't get the resolution he
was looking for. If he got the resolution, he was
not thought he deserved. You better believe That's the first
thing he would say every time he told this story.
Speaker 4: Venue is proper in this court? What does that mean?
Venue is proper?
Speaker 3: That just beings Like remember how Vince failed on venue
the case against him because he wasn't in New York.
So you know, don't try to argue that I'm not
in the right court filing this even though w CW
doesn't exist anymore and isn't based in Georgia.
Speaker 4: Got Jim statement of the facts. W CW entered into
contracts and agreements for services of mister Udi as a
professional wrestler.
Speaker 3: I'm surprised he stipulated to that. It took a long
time to get that first line out of him.
Speaker 4: Yeah, right, I don't o't an's contral. What is this? Then, said?
Speaker 3: Do you tell me I'm trying to write a brief
here for.
Speaker 4: Your interesting right, there's a piece of paper. Yeah, and
you signed it? You signed it? What you signed it? Well?
Why do we have so much trouble with the basic
first line of this thing. I'm gonna tell you right now,
you look at my eyes, right now, exactly, I'm gonna
tell you some real simple I signed a piece of
paper that's hot. Well, yes, it's called the contract. Uh uh,
all it is is a dead tree. Wow, there's nothing
legal or obligatory on that paper.
Speaker 3: Let me ask you, what could you have signed besides
a piece of paper that would be binding.
Speaker 4: Listen, when I signed something that is binding, I sign
it with my blood. I see, I will pierce open
my skin, I may son, I will pour hot on
a piece of something.
Speaker 3: Right, that's when you know I've stipulated to terms. As
for now, I'm will to sign this contract with your blood, counselor.
Speaker 4: I'm willing to sign anything with your blood. I'm allowing
your blood to pour.
Speaker 3: Here's the thing is, if if you once said to
sign something in blood, the trouble is you gotta hire
a surgeon and anestesiologist.
Speaker 4: Oh God, this suit arises out of defendant's wrongful termination
and breach of that contract. In connection with the wrongful termination,
defendants falsely asserted that mister Beauty was incapacitated, even though
defendants had no intention of utilizing mister Beauty services, and
even though mister Beauty was not in fact incapacitation.
Speaker 3: So he goes from saying I had to change my
number and shut the world out and couldn't move, couldn't
do anything too, I was not incapacitated in court filings.
Speaker 4: I'm gonna tell you right now, I did break my leg,
but my capacitation was one hundred percent affirmative. Well Man
said it. Whatever it meant, I don't know, but he
said it my capacitation. That's fucking go. Boss. Defendance a
sort of reason for wrongful termination was and is a
mere pred He likes that one further defendants caused such
a legend in capacity and then wrongfully terminated these services.
Defendis true reason for termination is his desire to avoid
paying the compensation there is under the various contracts and
agreements for mister Uty services.
Speaker 3: He didn't terminate me because I'm incapacitated. You terminated me
so you didn't have to pay me when I'm mode.
If you pay me when I'm mode, I will gladly
stipulate to being incapacitated.
Speaker 4: Okay uh. Mister Uty has performed in professional wrestling Area
TYPO for fifteen years. Mister UTI's wrestle under the stage
names of Lord Humongous, Sid Justice, and Sid Vicious. Mister
Uti developed a degree of notoriety for his skills and characters.
Speaker 3: That's one way to summarize his career. Mister Uti developed
a degree of notoriety, a.
Speaker 4: Notoriety of his skills.
Speaker 3: It's just so funny when this has to translate into
legal ease. You know, yeah, when you actually have to
talk about this shit legitimately. It's it's like you, you know,
you just you're just fucking it's just fucking failure.
Speaker 4: I can't wait.
Speaker 3: Yeah, right for the judge to say something about how
it's not even real you know.
Speaker 4: Yeah yeah. During this this agreement, mister U, you performed
well okay, and always exhibit a great work ethic and
one above and beyond others. He maintained his character and
physicality for the betterment of himself and defendants. Attaining his physicality,
maintaining his character and physicality a great work ethic when
above and beyond others, I did it better than Hulk Hogan,
a big movie star himself. Why why are you not
paying me? It's because I'm not a big movie star.
Why you're not recognizing me in court is because I'm
not a big movie star.
Speaker 3: Mister, mister Judy, please sit down. Order in the court.
He's just shouting it across the court room.
Speaker 4: There's no one there.
Speaker 3: It's like a civil court.
Speaker 4: And his best done, mister Judy. Please, mister who are
you talking? Mister who what? Sir? You're looking in the
back of the court. Is there somebody there that I mean,
there's nobody here, sir, that's good and we're live pal
right as well.
Speaker 3: That's one we haven't tried yet. The well meaning judge,
you know what I mean, the one who really wants
to understand these guys.
Speaker 4: And mister, I'm just trying to understand what is going on, okay,
and you just keep sir, you keep your shut I
couldn't believe he said that to that man. That judge
is sweet as a Georgia peach. I'm listening. I'll tell
you what. I'm not gonna hold you in contempt, even
though you just said he told me to shut up.
I'm just trying to understand. I can't he said, believe
he said that about Judge Anderson. He's a sweet as
the Georgia pa and he went out there and said
shut up right to the man's face. I couldn't believe it.
So I just want to look, Okay, we're just trying
to understand each other. You don't understand anything. You know why,
because it's because I'm a big movie star. I don't know.
To hear a big movie star or not, I don't know.
I mean, isn't wrestling kind of like acting? I mean,
what you do is performance hard, is it not? Listen,
I appreciate that, please, I just want to understand what
it is. You just look me deadney eye. He's some
bid I'm looking you dead in the high. He is
so easily intimidated, this judge, it's incredible, the absolut opposite
of Jacob Mischler, exactly. He just wants to fucking he
wants to get to the bottom of this. He sympathizes, right.
Speaker 3: He feels badly that Sid can't like represent himself appropriately
and can't tell his lawyers what he really thinks.
Speaker 4: You know, I listen, listen, I've had these kind of
things happen. All right. I'm on your side, mister Udie.
You don't even know what a side is. I'm gonna
look at you right now. I'm like Dusty Rhodes. You
look me dead in the eye, and what hit you
in the head? Like a shoot because you the court
officer puts his hand on his gun when he says that, well,
we'll got going on here, this guy on the shoot somebody.
Speaker 3: I would just recommend, sir, you watch the rhetoric.
Speaker 4: Okay, in this cart, we'll say, mister, you all sit
your ass down because I look I don't know what
you got just waving him off in the head. We
do not allow that, officer.
Speaker 3: It's really fine. The judge is waving him off.
Speaker 4: Just just calm down. Herman. Herman. Herman's ready to come
up off the hip. He's been waiting for this day,
your honor. I'm just on him to say we don't
allow people shoot themselves in court, or.
Speaker 3: Shoot their own angles for that matter, using the judicial
process to cut a promo.
Speaker 4: Misters mister Ughten's I need you to sit down.
Speaker 3: Mister Huts. I grew up on Georgia tampship wrestling, and
I know what you're doing.
Speaker 4: I know what you do for a living. A big fan.
I'm with a hand on his gun. He's saying there,
like I don't want to have to take drastic action.
He says, I'm a big fan. Oh great maniacal courtroom.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean he's here, he's filing it's sid filing
a complaint and he can't work out anymore. What do
you think is going to happen? And you're not going
to pay him three hundred percent of his paycheck. I
love the idea of just this you know this tall
but like you know old bellied. Uh a bailiff.
Speaker 4: You know, fucking you know, this guy's fucking hand you know,
you know, fucking buzz cut and a big bushy mustache
hand on his fucking the fucking gun in his hip.
All right, But here they just you know, maintain.
Speaker 3: Order, the honor the plaintiffs that hit in the head
like a shot. I don't know how much you want
me to interpret that.
Speaker 4: No, sir, I just don't want you to get hit
in the head with the shot. I don't want anyone
get shot in my courtroom, my.
Speaker 3: Courtroom, court officer. Really, the judge just my chopped liver.
Speaker 4: Here, her did you say my court room? Herman, herman?
Please let me can I just please please? All right?
We got this under control, all right, Judge Barnett. We
are in Atlanta.
Speaker 10: Oh god.
Speaker 8: Uh.
Speaker 4: W c W was a company that was engaged in
the professional wrestling business. W CW was and is a
quote division of Turner Sports. I like that it is
in quotes as a division of Turner Sports.
Speaker 3: Well, they're quoting documents directly when they do that.
Speaker 4: Sure, well, I'm saying it's a quote as should Turner
Entertainment Turner Sports.
Speaker 3: Well, was it at the time this happened, it was well,
I know, I'm just saying, so that's an error.
Speaker 4: Quote under sports. It's quoted sports. Yes, okay, it's a sport.
Speaker 3: Yeah, before you disbelieve us, we got to put that
in quotes exactly.
Speaker 4: Because defendants have entered into contracts or agreements with a
number of individuals for their services as professional wrestlers with WCW,
including mister Udy. Under many of these contracts, WCW is
required to pay the agreed upon compensation for the professional
wrestler services, regardless of whether or not defendants elect to
actually use the services and any of it's wrestling.
Speaker 3: They're gonna tell me you can't use my services without
inquiring a prowardly as to whether those services are duly available.
Speaker 4: You're just going to assume that right now that w
CW is required to pay whether or not my services
have been used or remain unused or partially used.
Speaker 3: You have left my services unused, but you will not
leave my paycheck undistributed.
Speaker 4: Let me tell you something right now, w CW. You
have you have left my my services unused, but my wallet,
my wallet will not remain unopened.
Speaker 3: He's talking like geni angle. He's talking like basically a secretary.
Speaker 4: You know, I can't do I don't know what you
want from me. I just work the desk.
Speaker 13: Shut up.
Speaker 4: Ww entered into an independent contract agreement with mister ud
Damn right fuck yeah, shit then right independent contract shit
fuck it mister u d as of June nine nine
here and referred to you as the agreement. The agreement,
among other things, sets forth compensation the w CW agrees
to pay for mister Udi services.
Speaker 3: And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we have a
copy of Sid's WCW contract. Indeed, it had to be
filed in accordance with this lawsuit.
Speaker 4: Of course, the agreement provides for a three year term
commenced in June ninth, ninety nine and extending to June eighth,
two thousand and two. Here it is there. It is
right there. On the agreement, the parties agree that mister
Uti will be paid a total paid for a total
of twenty four pay per view events for w CW,
to consist of eight pay per view events for each
of the three years the agreement. The compensation for each
pay per view was an escalating figure for each year
of the contract. We recall reading through the yes, the
parties also agreed that mister Uty would perform other services
for w CW a certain number of other non pay
per view events, but the agreement specifies that the quote
other non pay per view events shall not shall be
non wrestling appearances unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties. Accordingly,
under the agreement, mister Uti is not required d wrestle
d wrestle at more than eight events per year. Wow,
you imagine?
Speaker 3: So so wait, so like he didn't so he had
to wrestle eight times a year at a minimum. Yeah,
I mean that's that's like everything above the eight has
like different things that kick in. Now the contract basically
just sets the terms for those eight. It's kind of a.
Speaker 4: It's unbelievable, like he has promised, but then anything above that,
that's unbelievable.
Speaker 3: Right, So like this contract really just really just establishes
like that you owe us eight pay per view matches,
and anything above that is an option in the contract
with its own compensation schedule and terms.
Speaker 4: But it is what do you they wanted to bring
me in for just pay per views and TV tapings
at first? Yea, I don't understand, brother, how come I'm
ill eight? Why don't I don't? I don't want to
wrestle a times dude? Can I uh? Could I have twelve? Well,
I don't want to wrestle at all, dude, to get
paid for it. I want to get paid for exactly.
I mean, well, I mean, how come you go to
get to the rest LA Times Favored nations?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 4: What favored?
Speaker 9: What?
Speaker 4: Who's favored?
Speaker 8: Who?
Speaker 4: Dude's favorite? Right favorite Hogan favorite Hogan contract?
Speaker 3: Brother, my service is making unused, but my funds won't
go undispersed.
Speaker 4: Ah, However, the agreement specifies to defend no just accordingly
under the greem, mister U is not right anymore anything.
Under the agreemp, mister Udi was not required to wrestle
any of their promotion. Was not required to wrestle at
any other events promoted by WSW. Was not required at
any other events pro by WSW, including Natro, Thunder or
non televised house shows. Brother, what I do? Why do
I go russell Nitro?
Speaker 8: Dude?
Speaker 4: What's so?
Speaker 8: Said?
Speaker 4: Brother said?
Speaker 3: I remember your second ww run so fondly, would you
care to characterize what your contract called for in those years?
Speaker 4: Sure? At that time.
Speaker 3: Mister Udi quote was not required to wrestle at any
other events promoted by w CW, including Nitro Thunder or
non televised out shows. He was not required, He was
not obligated. We called it.
Speaker 4: He only had to wrestle. He was only required to
wrestle eight times, and anything else will cost you. I mean,
think about that, think about that really long and hard.
Speaker 3: And those eight are pay per views, which have it
the whole, you know, split of revenue and everything, big paydays.
Speaker 4: It's not like those eight not have to fucking wrestle. Ever,
Jesus on the agreement, defendants are not obligated utilized services. However,
the agreement specifies if defendants are required to pay the
compensation set forth in the agreement, even if WWTS not
to use mister huty services.
Speaker 3: So strange, it's like it's you said right there that
the contract doesn't guarantee you anything but eight matches. Yet
you're saying they have to pay you if they don't
use your services, right, I guess he means, you know,
if you book me on six pay per views, you've
got to pay me for eight. Book me on two,
got to pay me for eight. Book me on one,
got to pay me for eight. Book me onzero zero.
Speaker 4: You gotta pay me for eight. Under the agreement, mister
Uti was required to follow the direction of defendants and
their employees that that had to be put in their city.
I gotta you get a fucking all. Right, listen, you
gotta follow what I fucking say. All these are my directions.
I'm an employee of defendant. Even before he files, the
Los City calls himself, Yeah, I know what the fuck
is going to happen. You know, listen, I'm an employee
of defendant, and therefore you're required to follow my directions.
You know my directions say turn left on the fucking
ninety five. Yeah. It wouldn't be the.
Speaker 3: First to follow Kev's directions, as anyone who's ever written
with them can attest, yeap.
Speaker 4: Under the agreement, mister Uti was required to perform services
only for w CW. The agreement including an optional workers
compensation assurance programs and insurance policy.
Speaker 3: Because it's a workman's comp claim.
Speaker 4: Really, yeah right? Insurance policy was that Rick rud.
Speaker 3: No, but he availed himself of the policy.
Speaker 4: This insurance policy and or workers' compensation insurance program was
supposed to pay in the event that mister Ute was injured.
Upon information and belief, Defendants were the named insured under
the policy and received payment as a result of mister
Utie's injuries. Further, the amount of policies was and or
is the same as the value of mister Utie's agreement.
Defendants promoted and produced a variety of wrestling events. These
events included weekly live television shows and weekly tape television shows.
Speaker 3: To that last point, we'll get more into it, but
it's worth pausing quickly to establish that. You know, when
a company buys workers' comp insurance or whatever the case
may be, insurance like he's talking about here, this insurance policy,
WW gets paid for the fact that SID isn't out
there producing revenue for them. You know, that's what the
insurance policy is there for. If one of our key
talents goes down, you will pay us money. And so
you better believe that that doesn't sit well with SID. Now,
as we'll get to that doesn't necessarily mean that SID
didn't get any money too as a result of this program.
But WCW gets an insurance payout when a guy goes
down with an injury like this, let's.
Speaker 4: Just not forget that.
Speaker 3: It's just kind of weird.
Speaker 4: I mean, it's very weird. It's very, very weird. These
events included frequent non televised arenas shows referred to as
house shows.
Speaker 3: These are the events that Defendant's promoted and produced, which
apparently has to be stipulated.
Speaker 4: I mean, but the events that he didn't have to
wrestle at or participates. I don't really know why this
is in there. Honestly, Defenders promoter and produced a monthly
pay per view telecast. These events are broadcast through cable
and satellite transmission across the United States. These shows require
the audience to pay for the ability to view the event.
Right an early part of two thousand, mister Yudi was
the champion of WCW.
Speaker 3: There comes the chronology.
Speaker 4: Mister Eric Bischoff was the president w CW. Mister Bischoff
was also the president of Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated. Mister
Vince Russo was vice president w CW and was in
charge of the development of the shows. During this time,
mister Yudi was injured. Mister Bischoff mister Russo agreed that
mister Udi would not have to perform any physical acts
in his next few appearances because of his injuries. They
insisted that he make appearances even when mister Yudie should
have been attempted to heal himself and attend physical therapy
for the benefit of defendants.
Speaker 3: Now, this is a reference to This is the reference
to that time period where Russo and Bischoff came in.
Remember bush Off made the scissors joke on that Nitro. Yeah,
so he's referencing that time period him with them being
he's not talking about the leg injury. He's talking about
injuries back in two thousand when he was champion on
one occasion.
Speaker 4: Once occasion, brother, That's what it says. By the way,
what once occasion?
Speaker 9: Brother?
Speaker 4: They're in to rush to file? What do you want?
Speaker 8: What?
Speaker 4: Who's Russian dude?
Speaker 8: Right?
Speaker 4: Nick Volkoff?
Speaker 3: He would be one example. I guess I was gonna
say Nikita cole Off, But that's fine. Who's Russian dude? Interestingly, No,
he's not. He's polish.
Speaker 4: I think polish. What polished dude?
Speaker 8: Right?
Speaker 4: Polished? Who's he polishing? Off? Brother? Exactly? What Patterson? What
did you are? You did?
Speaker 3: Sid file?
Speaker 4: Who's falling for Sid?
Speaker 5: Brother?
Speaker 3: You call the clerk's office.
Speaker 4: Dude, you talked dude. Anyone called clerk, dude, the clerk
has to call Hogan. He he pays him off on
the back end. So what do you know about the
SID filing, dude? And when come in today? Brother? What's
the deal? Brother? Andyone come in in file? Toldy that
I should know about it. Brother. I just want to know, dude,
if sid's coming in, brother, is he trying to get
whold Cogan? And what's he filing for?
Speaker 3: Hogan puts someone in the Fulton County Courthouse just to
read every wrestling filing to see if it mentions his name,
even it has nothing.
Speaker 4: To do with him. I mean, is he trying to
get my contract? Dude?
Speaker 3: Years after the company closed?
Speaker 4: What's he listen?
Speaker 8: Listen?
Speaker 4: Hogan has has an insider in every fucking courthouse in America.
Speaker 3: I think by the way, I don't want this to
go out remarked upon. I think the quote was, does
he want my contract?
Speaker 5: Dude?
Speaker 4: Me like a copy of it, maybe if it helps
the case. What do you why do you want my contract?
Why my contract? What's the after dude? What's you want dude?
M what's the scuttle butt? Dude, what's what are you hearing? Exactly?
Speaker 3: What's around the corner? I know what's on the paper, brother,
but what's the dizzil?
Speaker 4: That's what I want to want. I want to know
what he I want to know what's in the fissile,
asked the big man upstairs. Brother, If you don't know
what I'm talking about, Oh, the big man upstairs? You
mean the clerk of courts. Yeah, he's on the sixth
law mother, the superior judge. What's brother? Who's the judge superior?
Speaker 3: I rather adore that we get into the sid legal stuff,
and like a sentinel, Hogan rises up in the night
for a full accounting, like why does this have anything
to do with him?
Speaker 4: Honestly?
Speaker 3: And I know he up at times to make no sense,
but it's for a one off. He is intimately involved somehow.
This stuff we're reading has just as much to do
at this point with Hull Cogan as it does.
Speaker 4: Listen and thinking about this. Okay, in the middle of
the night, he gets you know, he's waiting up in
his house all right, down in Tampa. All right, he's sittings,
He's sitting by the by the door, and at like
one in the morning, A car, A car pulls up,
all right, and he hands off an envelope and it's
this whole fucking yes uh complaint. And Hogan is just
sitting there, you know, he's got fucking reading glasses down
on his nose, all right, and he's just going to
skimming through every single one like you would do. So
we're talking. We're a Georgia Cord brother jurisdiction? Brother? Does
he a venue? Dude? Do I want to? Does he
sell out a venue? What a venue?
Speaker 8: Do?
Speaker 4: But he's selling out? Brother? We can he sell out
this court? Dude? Is he selling out the court room?
We gotta talk about that. Can we get numbers? Can
we get Are we talking like Tokyo? Do numbers?
Speaker 8: Brother?
Speaker 2: Like?
Speaker 4: What what venue? Dude? I've never heard of this venue?
Speaker 8: Bro?
Speaker 3: See what's the u w C?
Speaker 4: What's the u w C?
Speaker 8: Dude?
Speaker 4: What's up with that? Brow promote promotion?
Speaker 8: Dude?
Speaker 4: Do I have to be worried? Are we talking about?
Are we talking?
Speaker 3: It's don't worry, Terry. It stands for you wouldn't care.
It's fine.
Speaker 4: What do you mean I wouldn't care? What's that mean?
Speaker 9: Like?
Speaker 4: I want to what does that mean? What do you
mean is there talking to you? How do you know
what it is? Before? I who are you talking to?
Speaker 3: His own lawyers? The guys he that guy, the guys
who faithfully wake up at two thirty in the morning
when he has a panic attack over some like file
like listening to.
Speaker 4: Has nothing to do with them, like state you know
the next state up? Okay, Like you're not even fucking close.
They're listening to him, accuse them of knowing something about
the UWSC looking over his fucking spectacles too, Like you
know what's the.
Speaker 1: Lap ball wrestling podcast? The wrestling podcast that knows the
boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan. He's a
lapsed fan wrestling podcast with Jack and Carnacio and Jpro.
Speaker 4: Imagine Hulkogan looking over spectacles. Oh that's money. I mean
we learned in T n H.
Speaker 3: Like Hulk reaches the stage of his life where he's
obsessed with lawyers, yes, courts, and obsessed his life.
Speaker 4: Half of his life is in the court room, it
really is.
Speaker 3: That's where hide the Ball comes from and all that nonsense.
Speaker 4: Yeah, playing hide the ball, dude, Like, and I gotta
ask this question, who's he's playing who's he hiding the
ball from from Ulk Cogan? Right? Is this a and
Yang situation? You're talking about? What we're gonna tell the
King and the Yang?
Speaker 13: Dude?
Speaker 4: We got dallast thing back in. We got with some brother.
I think we got what we gotta do. Dude. We
gotta go up to Georgia. We go to this court
and we got Dallas thing in you. When do you
want to go, Terry? It's three in the morning. I
want to go right now. By the time we get there,
you fucking I'll tell you what you drive. I'm going
to sleep. Stop it. Showings have a bite, you know, brother?
You know see what stinners up to see if he
knows anything chicking on him anyway? Brother, Brother, I I'm
telling you, dude, I think he's following something too. Dude.
I don't know what's up with him. Brother. We got
to keep that ship on level. Did Steiner file, Dude?
What do you know about Steiner? Did he file? What
episode was it? What do you know about Steiner? Did
he file?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 3: No, he hasn't filed yet. Terry isn't filed yet. How
do you know that's my court contacts? Tell me you
pay me to keep them, keep me abreast.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but I'm talking about minute to minute. What do
you know now exactly? Like maybe filed, maybe fouled right now.
Speaker 3: It's three thirty in the morning, Terry, I'm.
Speaker 4: Gonna tell you something, dude. It's eight am somewhere.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but not where he would file. He lives in Georgia.
Speaker 4: How do you know, dude? Do you know where he's
out right now? Brother?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean you know, even if he's on the
West coast, it's like.
Speaker 4: Well, you followed his GPS I put in his car.
Excuse me, you know, I.
Speaker 3: Don't tell me about that.
Speaker 4: I'd rather not know. That's exculpatory. You're talking about scalp dude.
Uhers moving, brother, the GPS stunners moving. Dude, when you
go to the courthouse, he's watching like a DoorDash driver.
He's watching it move. Look, Stanner's on them. We got
a fall Steiner. Dude. Look sids on the move, Dude,
we got every sits on the move. Look, even Bishoff's
on the move. Due Look, I can see him. He's
not at his house. And Cody, he's on the road,
Brother to the grocery store. But Hogan's more they're going
to a courthouse. The file file what something that has
nothing to.
Speaker 1: Do with him.
Speaker 4: He's not gonna be like, he's not gonna be the defendant,
but it has ramifications. Does he want my contract? Dude?
Did Scott file? Now? Listen, where are we at? Brother?
Speaker 3: The inappropriate reset? I love that, you know, like to
come back to come back to the north Star out
of nowhere. Eric gets back from you know, his his
jaunt into town to pick up pickles and fucking the mail,
and he comes back in.
Speaker 4: Throws his keys on the door and it's like the
phone rings.
Speaker 3: Fis shops back brother, you just get back dude, Yeah,
Terry Is it was more traffic than usual this time
of year in Cody.
Speaker 4: Why are you driving at six a m. Brother?
Speaker 3: Well, you know it's I want to get the early
bird special and some.
Speaker 4: Things special for what filing?
Speaker 3: Well, they opened this fish market, it's really great.
Speaker 4: Are you filing complaints in court? Dude? What are you filing?
Speaker 7: Brother?
Speaker 4: Huh? Why are you kidding up so early? Are you
filing complaints in court?
Speaker 5: Dude?
Speaker 8: Terry?
Speaker 3: The course aren't open at six in the morning. What
are you talking about? How do you know exactly you
work for the course. Now, how do you know that exactly?
Speaker 4: That's kind of it's kind of suspicious, brother, that you
know exactly what time they open, almost like you're waiting
for them. Are you a clerk now, dude? For the court?
M I don't hear you Answerry, I don't know. I
don't have time for this right now. What's I just
got these fresh eggs? I need to make you got
fresh eggs, dude? That we call them this thing? Now, brother,
you kind of call them this thing now? You call
them me every time you file a lawsuit. Dude, it's
kind of you're talking about fresh eggs. There's operation fresh eggs, Dude,
there's this double oh seven's in vall? Brother? What double
O fresh egg what's the diz? Dude? Exactly?
Speaker 3: I know, and you know something's up. Brother, It's only
a matter of time before I find out. Might as
well tell me now.
Speaker 4: I don't have to remind you, brother. I got people
in Cody, all right. If you filed something, dude, I'm
gonna know about it. I got my man, I got
my girl Georgia and Cody Brother up, my dude, Cody
in Georgia. I want to tell your brother, Cody on
the roads, dude, right, Cody's on the roads. Brother.
Speaker 3: So so I'll let you get back to your breakfast. Brother,
say hi to Lourie for me. But let me ask
you one question, dude, did you file? Are you gonna file?
Speaker 4: But do you plant hot the ball?
Speaker 3: I love I love everything about it. But I love
how he thinks if he figures out these legal terms
that it's going to corner the guy like if hesas
hide the ball, the guy somehow is now like boxed
in and can't can't lie, can't lie? Now, how do
you know what time the court opened?
Speaker 4: That's great?
Speaker 3: The court is numbled to nine. Well, yeah, that's why
I it was a test, brother, to see if you
knew what time the court's opening. And I think it's
very interesting that you know, brother, how many loss would
you get going now, dude? Exactly any amount all covid.
Speaker 4: I mentioned at all? Dude, I mean even by just
not named dude, by passing enough circumstance, brother, is he
evident circumstantial? Easy? Or are we talking something more? I mean,
I mean, what do we what are we filing about?
What's the file?
Speaker 3: He hasn't done it said, he's not going to do it,
says there's nothing to file, and he gets to the
and Terry somehow gets to the point of what's in
the file, like, what are you going to file? It's like,
I just told you I'm not going to file anything.
Speaker 4: Did you not hear that? I don't know what you're
talking about. It I heard, dude, was somebody claiming something
that isn't true. I heard of someone who knows what
time the cord's opening and Cody. What I heard is,
I know a guy who's been driving around Cody Wyoming
Brother and fucking darkness and saying he knows exactly when
the courts are opened. Yet he's in the dark. I
just picture he's had lights bursted through the the pre dawn.
You know, you know you can you can see you
can see the lights, you know, from down the hill,
this conical shape.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Oh that's oh my god. It's like the road that
John Candy and Steve Martin around in Kansas where the
thing blows up. Why are you driving around the darkness?
You can only mean one thing. You're gonna drive around
for three hours so the courthouse open so you can file.
Oh that's so funny. Oh my god, Oh my god,
oh the darkness. Drive around, driving around the dark dude
all hours of the morning.
Speaker 8: Brother.
Speaker 3: Well, that said, let's get to the point of the
sit complaint of Mentionetogin.
Speaker 4: On once occasion, mister Udy appeared in an event and
the agents demanded that mister Yudi fall through a table
and loose the match. Read that again, please. On once occasion,
when mister Yudy appeared in an event, the agents demanded
that mister Yudi fall to a table and lose the match.
Speaker 3: This is okay, so he's referencing. You know, the Brusso
Bischoff era is short lived. As it was, there were
a lot of people going through tables for no reason. Man,
they were doing shit every ten seconds.
Speaker 4: That was wild.
Speaker 3: So apparently at a time that he had told both
of them, they had told him that he would have
to perform any physical acts because of his injuries. They
insisted he make appearances, even though Sid claims he should
have been a healing at the time. And he shows
up on one occasion and they asked him to go.
Speaker 4: Through a table.
Speaker 8: That's wild.
Speaker 4: Do you remember that at all?
Speaker 3: Well, he wrestled Sting on that April tenth nitro and
then that was it. And I don't think he went
through table in that match. Maybe he did, maybe he
did put maybe someone did run out and put him
through the table to explain his absence, not that I
think about it, but whatever.
Speaker 4: Fucking weird, mister Bischoff. Mister Russo promised that if mister
Yudi did this for both the live shows, both live shows,
that he would not have to perform for the next
pay perview, but he would receive his full pay fifty
thousand dollars for that pay per view.
Speaker 3: Agree, you'll pay the guy to not work the pay
per view if he'll just you know, do something at
a nitro Like what kind of you got to negotiate that?
That's like chicken shit, you know, that's WCW to me, right,
exactly every little thing you have to do, like has
four or five contractual ramifications.
Speaker 4: Oh, mister Bischoff. Mister Russo promised that mister Uti would
be giving time to heal and a complete physical therapy.
Mister Yuti reluctantly agreed, especially since he was he's going
to finally get time to heal and recuperate from his
injuries and curred for the benefit of defendants.
Speaker 3: They were incurred for the benefit of the plaintiff by
the way they were. They were incurred in.
Speaker 4: The listen, my injuries were incurred and they benefited you
and your benefit.
Speaker 3: O me, even though I got paid, that's fine.
Speaker 4: Instead of abiden by agreement, defendant's cut mister Yu's paying
half while he was undergoing physical theory. Oh you don't
do that.
Speaker 3: Don't bring that Brad Siegel cost cutting to Sid's contract.
No thanks, cut his pay in half while they sent
him home, telling him he'd be if he'd be taken
care of, Brad. Brad, Come on, folks, Diana Myers can
write you a letter, but that doesn't mean it's it's
gonna hold up.
Speaker 4: Mister U was constantly required to make promotional appearances, even
though he was termed disabled and receiving one half his pay.
These appearances included a ten day appearance in Australia and
Los Angeles, California, from which he was hospitalized upon his
return home. Now, La, would that be the premiere of
fucking Ready to Run? I bet it would be. Didn't
he have some like minor me? He wrestles in You
know that's got to be it just a big thing.
Mister Udy was even forced to do live television performances
when he had been promised that there would be nothing physical,
merely merely an appearance each time the quote booker whose
employee of or Asian Defendants had a physical incident occur.
These physical incidents prolonged mister Udie's recovery from his injuries.
Defendants employees and agents told mister Udi that his appearances
were necessary for the survival of the company whose ratings
were low. In December two thousand, Defendants promised mister Udy
that he would be the main event on pay per view,
the entire storyline built around him.
Speaker 3: Of course, Starcating and Scott Steiner.
Speaker 4: Yeah, mister Terry Taylor, who's employed by or and Or
worked for Defendants as an agent. He told mister Udi
to get an early release from anyone to do his
pay per view. Mister Taylor and others who were employed
or buy or acting on behalf def informasiter uti at
the company was depending on him to performed his pay
per views to raise ratings. Let we go again, because
this is a great track record to this point, right right,
Mister Yu discussed his problems fifty thousand dollars for the
earlier pay per view with Miss Diana Myers, an employee
of Defense. Miss Myers promised that if mister uti was
released to work, he'd received his full compensation, including fifty
thousand dollars. On December first, two thousand, mister Utie's physician
released him to work. On December fifty, two thousand, Ms
Myers's counsel for ww a division of Turner Sports and
a Time Warner company, restored mister Utie's compensation by written correspondence. However,
that promise fifty thousand dollars was still not paid.
Speaker 3: Another Russo promise in one ear out the other.
Speaker 4: That's crazy. I mean, yeah, well that's a that's a
that's a that's a kind of a massive financial commitment
that they're not paying.
Speaker 3: We'll pay you, yeah, we'll pay you what you would
what you'd make if you work the pay per view,
even though you won't as compensation to get you to
agree to do this table spot or whatever we need
to do to get you written out, and then we'll
send you home. And not only will we not pay
you the fifty grand, we'll cut your pan half as well.
Speaker 4: Right, mister Johnny Ace was a booker for defendants. He
was employed by one or all of defendants? Okay, how
was he employed by one defendant or all?
Speaker 3: Well, there's more than just UWC. That's that's sued here.
It's also him, which would be weird. Yeah, and then
the X Y Z factor we talked about, or here
we go.
Speaker 4: Mister Ace, oh my God, constantly insisted that mister Yudi
leaped from the top ropes of the ring and the
land of his opponents. Mister Yudy refused to perform this move,
stating that he had ring rust e g was not
yet accustomed to being back in the wrestling ring, and
that he did not think that a man of his
size should perform such a stunt. Mister Ace continued to insist,
even though mister Udy had not completely healed from his
prior injury and was forced to get an early release
from the hospital. Mister Udy did not agree jumping from
the ropes surrounding the ring was particularly safe in light
of his size six feet nine inches and weight two
hundred and ninety five pounds. On January fourteenth, two thousand
and one, mister Uti was to perform at a pay
per view in Indianapolis, mister Race. Mister Race handed mister
Udias script. Well, there it is, get giving away the
whole business. This script finished with mister Udy leaping from
the top ropes onto his opponent. Mister Udi tried to
refuse to perform this move. Mister Race and others who
are employees and agents and defendants instance that mister Uti
performed this move, citing his contract and his duty to
help the company which needed better ratings. Mister Uedi reluctantly
performed the move and suffered a double compound fracture of
his left leg. Mister Udy's leg bones protruded through the
skill and his boots. On nationally broadcast television, mister mister
Udy was a horrific agony, lying on his back on
the stage. The stage, the stage, okay, because we're circus
animals performing an act.
Speaker 3: That wasn't in the complaint by the one.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi was immediately transported Methodist Hospital for emergency surgery.
Mister Ace came to the hospital to visit mister Udi
and apologize, repeatedly stating that he was sorry that he
forced mister Usi to performed the move while mister Uti
was recovering in the hospital. Defense broadcast of the incident
repeatedly on the live show.
Speaker 3: And this is where the replay that we started this
show talking about becomes an issue in a court of law.
Speaker 4: Yep, Defenders were taking advantage of mister Utie's horrific injury
to gain ratings. Defendants succeeded and received high ratings for
the live show. Okay, let's dile it into that one,
go ahead. These ratings translated into higher earnings for defendants
for these lives, for these shows. Oh they didn't, Oh
they did. They got higher earnings, high ratings. And I
didn't get ship high.
Speaker 3: Earnings, higher earnings.
Speaker 4: You hear that, judge, Listen, I heard it. I heard.
I'm mister Udi. I am all for you getting hired. Earnings?
Speaker 8: What it is?
Speaker 4: Hired? He's get hired? He earned they all right? Did
he earn?
Speaker 8: Did he?
Speaker 4: Listen? Did he get earnings? For breaking his leg? On
national television and asked the question, counselor did did did
he get earnings? Did did he earn it?
Speaker 3: Did you earn as a result of this?
Speaker 4: Did he get earned? Did he earn? Anybody doesn't that
to take a carry? And everybody know if he earned
not take a car or something like that. Now didn't
that undertaker guy? Didn't he carry and earn? Is that
what you're talking about? Earnings?
Speaker 8: Right?
Speaker 4: Earnings then earned with dings in it?
Speaker 8: Right?
Speaker 4: Ring dings? What is the following? In defendis brought Inductory Andrews,
one of mister Judy's physicians to appear in w W
even though mister Judy never saw doctor's respect to his
leg injury. Say that again, even though mister Yudie never
saw doctor and Andrews with respect to his leg injury. Okay, so,
but was MISTERI was doctor Andrews a fucking just regular physician,
Like why would he see him? Isn't he a surgeon?
Speaker 3: He's a surgeon, Yeah, but he might. I'm obviously he's
gonna need surgery.
Speaker 4: So right, but but he but he never saw doctor
Andaws with respect to his leg injury.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so right, So they're putting. So they're putting. So
doctor Andrews on television to talk about an injury like.
Speaker 4: This, But why is he? I mean, it just seems
weird to like that he's a regular physician he's one
of mister Udy's physicians. That seems weird to me, Like, like,
what what else would he do besides performed surgery on you.
Speaker 8: I don't know.
Speaker 4: Maybe he can consult you about surgery.
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, maybe he consulted sit on another surgery.
Speaker 4: I guess. But again, I wouldn't. I would not consider
a surgeon who I only talked to on for specific
reasons my physician would be considered one of my physicians.
That's a good point, YEP, that seems weird to me, Like,
I mean, because I mean, I wouldn't consider him to
be a physician. I mean, I know, maybe that's maybe
that's a much broader term that incorporates surgeons as well. Yeah,
but like I don't think of a physician as being
as being a surgeon.
Speaker 3: I get your point. I wonder if that's a confusion
of terms. I just think it's fascinating that he's making
such a big deal out of the fact that they
replayed this on Nitro and made a segment out of
it and had doctor James Andrews way. And that's like
wrestling one oh one when a guy gets injured because you.
Speaker 4: Know why, because he technically made an appearance on the
show and they're not fucking trank.
Speaker 3: Well, he's definitely that's why he's definitely needing to prove
it's becoming clear already. He's definitely needing to prove that
WCW made more money than they shared with him off
of his injury, like right, right exactly, They found ways
to enhance their show with his misfortune and then still
cut his pay in half.
Speaker 4: You know, uh as defendants had agreed had doctor Andrews
describe the injury in graphic detail, show X rays and
explain the surgery and recovery. And once again, defendants were
trying to increase their ratings by taking advantage of mister
Utie's injury and misery us after the injury, defends wrongfully
cut mister Utie's pay in half again while he was
recovering from his injuries sustained because of the insistence of
one of its employees, Defendants cut mister Yu's pay even
though they were they were profiting from the horrible injury
that mister Uti suffered on their behalf and at their insistence.
On February nineteen, two thousand and one, mister Huty received
a letter from you Benefit Consultants. This company allegedly provided
disability payments with mister Uti. However, upon information belief this
company had an insurance policy which listed defendants as the
beneficiary in the event, and that mister Uti was injured,
the benefit was the full value mister Utie's contract. Mister
EU completed the disability forms and sent them to US
Benefit Consultants. Mister Udi did not receive payment from US
Benefit Consultants or the insurance so he got no payment
from the benefit consultant. That's interesting.
Speaker 3: Wow, And he's saying the so WCW basically got an
insurance payment in the amount of what they would have
paid SID in the contract if he was working the
whole time, right, So they're made whole for the fact
they can't use SID. So that's a hell of a
thing to hang your hat on. Like, you guys already
made back all the money you would have lost if
I was working for you, right, So what the fuck?
Speaker 4: Right On Marsh one nine, two thousand and one, MS
Myers ww A division and Turner Entertainment and Tom Warner
Company terminated mister u contract. This termination was improper and
embrace the agreement. MS Myers indicated over telephone and in
her letter that mister Uti should contact the company that
purchases WW to get another contract. Defense had terminated mister
Uti because of the injury that they calls.
Speaker 3: This is around the same time, folks from our last
Nitro coverage, Folks our Greed coverage, pardon me our Greed coverage.
More particularly and the bachel of the Beach coverage will
recall that Myers is also hard at work, along with
Brad Siegel, trying to you know, withhold guaranteed pay per
view payments from hul Cogan in these daring days by
inviting him to appear at Greed knowing he wouldn't, so
that they could cite that as basically, you know, a
breach of the contract that means they don't have to
pay him those those pay per view sums whether or
not he appears. So they're playing all kinds of games
in the winding feature.
Speaker 4: Of feature player. Bro, No, no question, dude, I'm not
in my featured master to you. I can turn this
down and you still got paid, brother.
Speaker 3: Zactly you know, cash those checks, dude, Given though the
contract isn't valid, as I argue in my lawsuit, I'm
going to cash the checks. Brother, there should have been more.
Speaker 4: I listened to it. I get your money comes in, brother,
I cast those checks. Dude, I don't know what you
want from those checks.
Speaker 3: And then claim after the fact that I'm not a
title to him.
Speaker 4: Brother, cut checks, cash checks? Dude? What's going on that?
Speaker 3: His hustle?
Speaker 4: Brother? I mean, look, life's a game, dude. You know
we're talking about playing the gizzam Dude. What's it is? Exactly?
Mister Yedy is currently not employed as a professional wrestler.
Mister ud has gone through extensive rehabilitation. The recovery process
has been long and extremely painful. How about that? Major
changes at WCW.
Speaker 3: Think about this, okay, think about the state of affairs
irrespective of the fact that WW moved in and bought
the company SID on January fourteenth of twenty oh one.
So firstkn the injury we just saw yep, March. First,
they terminate his contract.
Speaker 4: What's the problem. Huh, what's the problem? Don't say the's
a problem. I'm just staying in facts. It's normal procedure.
You know, you know, he's not he's not coming to
work for I'm not able to perform right, very simple.
You know, if you just if you just fucking know,
showed at your office for two months, you'd be fucking fine.
Is real simple? And I see what you do understand
is what is real simple?
Speaker 3: You don't know what simple is.
Speaker 4: You don't even understand what simple is. You don't even
understand how stupid I am?
Speaker 3: All right, stop quoting from the promo and the outsiders.
Speaker 4: All mister d has remained ready to perform one of
the agreement is requested. W W went through Signify you
Can changes during the early part of the year two thousand.
WW change it's man operating management on at least two occasions.
In two thousand, there were numerous press reports a ww's
parent corporation, Time Warner Incorporated, embarked on a program of
reducing or eliminating wsw's contractual obligations as a prelude to
Time Warner's merger with America Online Incorporated. Burners Wrestling tenure
with defendants. Mister Udi received paychecks issued by defendant Turner
Sports Incorporated that showed WSW as an affiliated entity. Mister
Udi received correspondence from WW on stationary letterhead which specifically
represented the WW as a division of Turner Sports staying
World Championship Wrestling a division of Turner Sports. Defendant Turner
Sports Incorporated, and WSW share the same business address, one
CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
Speaker 3: Okay, we get it.
Speaker 4: Said defendants Turner Sports and Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated dominated
and controlled the business activities at w CW. Dominated.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I wonder if everyone would agree with that characterization.
Speaker 4: Defense Turner Sports Incorporated and Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated, as
executives managed and operated the business and w CW and
paid wrestler salaries. Defending Turner Sports Incorporated and defendant Turner
Sports Entertainment. So now there's Turner Sports Entertainment Group. Yeah,
look at that. That's a new one. That's a fucking
just w that's hilarious. So I thought I was Turner Wrestling, Right,
you wrest youre in the wrestling business. Now you're an
entertainment business. You gotta make up your mind. Theodore. That's
a shot, Theodore Turner, THEO. Right, every gonna call you Theopal. Well,
I just did.
Speaker 3: I think it'll stick?
Speaker 4: TURNI Sports Entertainment Group Incorporated had their employees direct the
activities of WW have their employees direct to the activities
of WSW. Ww's division Turner Sports and a Turner Entertainment
acted as defendant. Turner Sports Incorporated and Turner Entertainment Group
Incorporators agent in connection with the operation of the business.
As such, defendise, Turner Sports Incorporated and Turner Entertainment Group
are vicariously liable for the connacht WSW defense. Turner Sports
Incorporated Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated in WSW acted as joint
ventures in the business operation of w CW as a
wrestling enterprise. WW was the altar group alter ego of
definis Turner Sports Incorporated and Turner Entertainment CREEP Incorporated. Definished
Turner Sports Incorporated and Turningtainment were have commingled, co mingled
their assets with those WSW, have controlled the business WSW
advance and further their own business purposes, and have abused
and disregard to the corporate form and therefore the corporate
veil should be pierced.
Speaker 3: Yes, in other words, and they're trying to go after
Turner instead of WCW. They're trying to you know what
I mean, claim make a claim against Turner and get
that money. Instead of w W which is now out
of business. So they're going out of their way to
like say, there's there's no difference. So you can't just
like isolate over here and say, well, WW has no
money to pay you a settlement, you know, but if
you make it about Turner, then you get accessed all
that money, right settlement.
Speaker 4: Well, I thought I thought too that it was the
Turner was paying the money anyway, not WW.
Speaker 3: Well when WW was running, yes, but thus I forget
this is filed two years after WW he closes. So
there's this uwc nity that I'm sure Turner slash AOL
would be very eager to argue, are the only books
that you can go after to settle a lawsuit? And
he's like, no, sir, that's my guess as to why
he's going through such painstaking stipulation of facts connecting Turner
to w like there's any controversy about that at all.
Speaker 4: Right, Recently, defendant Turner Entertainment, Greeve and or AOW AOL
Time Warner sold WSW World Wrestling Entertainment. In this transaction,
certain assets were sold WWE, including but not limited to,
the right to use the name WW. However, the contracts
certain wrestlers were not similarly transferred. W uses the name
w CW, but not its employees, equipment, etc. WCW does
not perform shows, but it has changed his name to
leave Universal Wrestling Company, Incorporated, Georgia Corporation. Upon information, believe
this corporation merely exists for the benefit of the remaining liabilities. WW.
We're fourteen pages in count one right.
Speaker 3: Now, it's gonna start talking about what they did wrong.
Speaker 4: Mister Udy adopts re alleges and incorporates hearing and above
by reference all allegations containing paragraphs one through sixty six
and the amending complaint fully and completely as if set
forth here in. Mister Uti had entered into various oral, written, express,
and implied agreements with defendants, including but not limited to
oral promise to pay mister Udy for a pay per
view event in April two thousand and the agreement.
Speaker 3: One of those oral promises from the Russo Bischoff regime.
Speaker 4: YEP, Defense breached the terms of the agreement by, among
other things, improperly reducing mister UTI's pay, failing to pay
mister Judy, reducing mister Uty's pay when he was still
performing for defendance benefit and terminated his agreement. Mister Uy's
contract provided that wrestler should be paid for a minimum
eight pay perview events per contractual year. This guaranteed compensation
is in addition to mister Hudy's regular salary. Mister Uty
was only paid in full for two pay perviews during
two year two of his agreement. He was paid one
half his pay per view guarantee compensation at one hundred
and thirty seven thousand, five hundred dollars. These just admit
own mister Uty this guaranteed compensation.
Speaker 3: Defendants owing mister Udy this guaranteed.
Speaker 4: Company defensive breach their agreement by Faund to pay this
amount for year two, which is one hundred and thirty
five thousand, five hundred dollars. Defendants, by and through mister
Eric Bischoff, mister Vince Russo and mister Yuty agreed that
mister Uty would be paid fifty thousand dollars for an
extra pay per view event that mister Uty would not
appeal I have to appear at. He would be paid
for an extra pay per view event that he would
not have to appear at. Sounds great disagreement was further ratified.
But I mean, who fuck agrees to that.
Speaker 3: Well, they're trying to get him to do something, and
if they offerm fifty grand to do nothing, maybe he'll
do it.
Speaker 4: No sense.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, let's not forget a huge part of
Russo's psychology was always clear out the old guys, you know,
the old god there were the big earners. In the beginning,
as he's trying to run Hogan out, you know, in
the first the first time he got the book, he
did Hogan lay down for Sting right away and flare
eggsit the picture is kind of like this thing of like,
you know, let's let's have these huge earners exit the
picture until we can weave them back in in a
company that I can remake in my image while they're gone,
you know, without their interference.
Speaker 4: Like it's like, but you're going to pay them, Like
you're you're spending money for nothing?
Speaker 3: What would Yeah, Well there you go. That's WCW for you,
that's WW for you. You know, yeah, yeah, I'm sure
in their mind they're doing it for something. They're they're
doing what it takes to get him to agree to,
you know, actually strengthen somebody on the way out as
the outgoing world champion instead of just disappearing without a
scratch on him.
Speaker 4: Yeah, Jesus.
Speaker 3: Thing is the creative that came up with was so
ineffective that whatever they thought they got out of sid
doing that, no one remembers to this day what he did.
Speaker 4: No one even can remember. Mister Yuti was not paid
anything in year three of his agreement because the agreement
was unlawfully and improperly terminated by Defenise. Defendise have breached
their agreement by failing to pay this one million, three
hundred and eighty thousand dollars in compensation. Defendants improperly and
in breaches of the agreement with mister Uti, reduced his
pay during year two of this agreement. By all these acts,
defendants breached their duties of good faith and fair dealing.
As direct and in approximate result of defendants acts, mister
Uty has suffered harm, including the loss was pay under
the agreement, loss of endorsements, okay, and status as a performer. Actually,
when you're out of when you're at a commission, usually
your status grows.
Speaker 3: Right, that's kind of a specious thing. I've lost my
status as a performer.
Speaker 4: Yeah, miss okay, whenever you say pal. Mister Ute is
entitled to damages for the breaches of the agreements, including
but not limited to you, payment for the other half
of his guaranteed pay per view events for two thousand
and two thousand and one at one hundred and thirty
five five hundred dollars per event, this full value of
remainder of the agreement from June first, two thousand and
one until July one, two thousand and two, repayment of
improperty or improperly reduced salary unturned in the term of
his agreement, payment for the fifty thousand dollars pay per
view promised by mister Bischoff, mister Russo and Ms Myers
uh an officer and employees in WW. In definis, and
such other damages resulting from defendant's breaches.
Speaker 3: We do remember that those the contract that sid signed
was backloaded, so the biggest earning year was the last
year of the contract, right, which fucked them in so
many ways in WW because when these contracts would reach
their final years, they couldn't afford any of them because
revenue had taken such a big hit. But Britain and
none of them. You know what I mean, many of them.
And here he's saying June one, twenty oh one to
July one, twenty oh two, we would have been entitled
to one point thirty eight million dollars that they did
not pay because they terminated the contract in March. But
that's that's a big chunk. That's a lot to count on.
You're looking at that contract thinking, oh, man, I got
my biggest year coming up. Yeah, right, ever happens, and
it never happens in part because you jumped off the
fucking rope because they made you do it. That's annoying
as fuck. That must piss him off.
Speaker 4: Oh, I'm sure it does.
Speaker 3: They probably would have moved to terminate his contract anyway,
but they pulled a game like they did with Hogan
where he didn't show for something or something make it.
You know, they had a lot of games, but the
fact that he was home injured really increased the menu
of games they could play on this guy.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so it seems like count to breach of fidu
if what is it deduciary brother, fiduciary bro who breach
of fiduciary duty. Mister uty adopts real edges and incorporates
hearing and above Bob reference all allegations containing paragraphs one
through seventy six of the Amended Complaint fully and completely
as if set forth hearing. Mister Uti was an independent
contractor by defendants and provides skills and services for which
defendants received financial benefits. Mister Uti was convinced to perform
acts which were injurious and dangerous to him for the
benefit of the company and to drive up ratings. I
drove ratings.
Speaker 3: Gott it, I gave up even looking it up. I mean,
the WCW ratings in two thousand and one were so
fucking laughable that for him to suggest for a second,
oh yeah, for a second that the twenty second clip
they played of him breaking his leg made any difference
and drived in.
Speaker 4: I mean even I mean even so, like you know,
you know, driving up ratings for WCW in two thousand,
thousand and one is not something to brag about. It
definitely not. You know, mister Uti performed acts for the
benefit of at defendis assistance, including but not limited to
making appearances, performing while injured in other acts, sexual acts
at defendance assistance, and for the express benefit defendants mister
Uti performed a leave from the top ropes of the ring,
resulting in both of the bones in his leg breaking
being broken.
Speaker 3: Well I'm reading here. TSN actually in Canada decided not
to show the injury, edited it off the Canadian version
of Nitro.
Speaker 4: That's smart. Yeah. When mister Uti was severely injured on
the pay per view as a result, Defendance X defendants
improperly and then bad faith reduced mister Udie's pay and
then terminate his contract. Defendants capitalized on the nature and
the severity of mister Utie's injuries incurred as a result
Defendance misconduct and replayed the incident of live television on
live Television repeatedly used it as a focal point for
the for the following week's show by having mister Udie's
physicians show X rays of mister Udie's leg, describing the
nature an extent, an extent of the nature and the
surgery necessary for boats or such an injury, and otherwise
advertised in promoting the injury. This promotion resulted in higher
ratings and income for defendants. Defense would retain the benefits
of this incident, even though defendants had cut mister Ute's
pay and then terminate his contracts shortly thereafter. As mister
UTI's contractor employer, performance league, Performance League, and or as
the prime beneficiary of mister Utie's labors, Defendants owed duties
to mister Uti, including fiduciary duties, duties of good faith
and fair dealing. As a result of defendants misconduct, mister
Uty has suffered damages, including, but not limited to, the
loss of his agreement and defenance with defancy yeah well
with defendants, the loss of income associated with his performance,
the loss of future revenue from his performance, and other damages.
Defenders contact was grossly intentional, negligent, reckless, willful, wanton, malicious, oppressive,
and or unmindful of their duty and obligations to plaintiffs,
and or exhibited that uh that entire, that entire want
want of care like lacking care. I see that entire
want of care, which would raise the presumption the presumption
of conscious and indifference to consequences, so as to warrant
the imposition of punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish,
penalized and or deter defendants from similar conduct in the future.
Count three unjust enrichment mister Udi adopts real legs and
prates hearing and above all references by reference all allegations
containing paragraphs one through eighty five of the Amended Complaint
fully and completely as if set forth hearing. Defendants had
an insurance policy cover mister Uti upon information and belief.
This policy cover the full value of mister Utiy's agreement.
Defendants capitalize on the name made you're on severity of
mister Udie's injuries incurred as a result defenders misconduct and
replayed the incident on live television repeatedly used it as
a focal point for the following shows by having mister
Udie's physicians show X rays of mister Udie's leg, describing
the nature and extent of the injury and the surgery
necessary for such injury, and otherwise advertising promoting the injury.
The promotion resulted in higher ratings and income for defenise
defendants that retained the benefits of this incident, even though
defendants had cut mister Yute's pay and then terminated his
show shortly thereafter. Upon mister Ute's injury, which was caused
by the misconduct of defense, Defendants retained the proceeds of
the insurance policy and profited from the higher earning ratings
from the severity of mister Ute's injury, and we're thereby
unjust and riched. The ill gotten proceeds, including but not
limited to the insurance proceeds and the proceeds from the
raised ratings, should be disgorged and given. Mister Yudi. Yes,
countiforn neligence, Mister Udi adopts real legs and incorporates here
in and above by reference all allegations contained in Paragraphs
one through ninety one of the amending complaint fully and completely,
as if set forth Herein's contractor employer performed league and
or as the prime beneficiary of mister Uty's labors. Defendants
owed duties to mister Uty. Defendse breeched their duty to
the mister Uti by insisting that he performed while he
was injured and performed moved from the top rope, which
resulted in serious and permanent damage to mister Uty. As
a result of definite misconduct, mister Uty has suffered damages,
including but not limited to the loss of his agreement
with definance, the loss of income associated with his performance,
the rest of the cabin the rest performance is the
loss of future revenue and from his performances and other damages.
Defendant conduct was grossly intentional, negligent, reckless, willful, wanton, malicious, oppressive,
and or unmindful of their duty and allegations to plaintiffs,
and or exhibited that entire want of care. Exhibited that
entire want of care which would raise the presumption of
conscious indifference to consequences so as to warrant the imposition
of punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish, penalize,
and or detrue defendance from similar cons in the future.
Speaker 3: Whether the ww had, if nothing else, conscious indifference to consequences.
Speaker 4: Indeed, well, that makes sense obviously Count five. It is
an eligent infliction of emotional distress. Mister Udi adobts realegenes
incorporates herein above and by reference all allegations containing paragraphs
one through ninety six of the many complaints fully incompletely,
as if set forth arian By insisting that mister Udi
perform a wrestling move that required him to leave from
the top rope, mister Lawernitis forced mister Judi to suffer
a physical impact which resulted in a physical harm to
mister Udy, Mister Utie's physical injury has caused him into
much mental UH suffering and emotional distress, for which he
is entitled to recover in an amount to be determined
a trial. Defenders conduct was grossly intentional, negligent, reckless, willful, wanton, malicious, oppressive,
UH and or unmindful of their duty and obligations to plaintiffs,
and or exhibited that entire want of phraise the presumption,
raise the presumption of conscious indifference to consequce once so
as to warrant the UH imposition of punity of damages
an amount to an amount of sufficient to punish, penalize,
and in order to tur defendance from similar conducts conduct
in the future. Count six negligent retention. Mister Udy adopts
religions incorporates here and above all and by reference, all
allegations contained in paragraphs Once you one hundred of the
many complaint fully and completely as if set forth here
in uw ct S I and TG no knew or
should have known of mister Lauria's propensity to engage in
the conduct for which mister from which resulted in mister
Utie's injury.
Speaker 3: They should have known that mister Laurenidis would insist on
him doing the move.
Speaker 4: Yeah. Course. The claim is that u w C, TSI
and TZ breached their duty to mister Udi by retaining
mister Laurinitis as an employee while knowing he had the
propensity to engage in the conduct which resulted in mister
Udie's injury. UWC, TSI and TG's breach caused damage to
mister Udi and amount to be determined a trial. UH
defend conduct was grossly intentional. That one.
Speaker 3: It's the same thing again about want of care, okay.
Speaker 4: Count seven tortious interference with contractual relations. Mister Udi adops
real edges incorporates here in above and all and by
reference all allegations contained in paragraphs one through one oh
five and the amended complaint fully and completely as have
set forth here in. Mister Udi and w CW had
a valid contract for wrestling services. Mister Laurenitis was not
a party to the contract between mister Udi and w
C don' Mister laurenaiis acted intentionally and without privilege or
justification when he when he induced mister Beauty to engage
in conduct resulting in his ability to continue business relations
with w c W. As a result of mister Laurenius's misconduct,
Mister uty sud subverb damages including but not limited to,
the loss of his agreement with the defense, the loss
of becoming, a loss of income associated with his performance,
the loss of future revenue from his performances, and other damages.
Speaker 3: And this is the want of care again counting. He
seeks attorney's fees, which is, you know, basic defenders have
acted in bad faith, been stubbornly litigious, and have caused
mister Beauty unnecessary trouble and expense. Oh my god, stubbornly litigious. Okay,
that's uh, that's a rich coming from sid.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Right now he gets sued. He doesn't sue as much,
so it requires reasonable attorney's fees and that the court
grant him judgment against defendants as follows process be issued
and served as provided by law. Okay, the court received
judgment in an amount to be determined at trial. So
he doesn't name how much he thinks he's entitled to.
He wants to lead right to a jury. He wants
a judgment in the amount to be determined a trial
by the finer. A fact against defendant jointly and severally
for general special Okay, this is all the stuff he's
basically requiring to get paid for, in addition to whatever
judgment that he would get the cost associated with litigation
attorney's fees of course he once covered, and that there
be no limitation to the punitive damages or trouble damages
that he could be in receipt of, and that the
Court grants such other and further relief as it deems
just and proper respectfully submitted this fifth day of February
two thousand and three. So I guess he wasn't lying
when he said this.
Speaker 12: Was there ever any legal situation with w c W
over them asking me to do a movie?
Speaker 4: We're comfortable with no.
Speaker 3: So those are the claims of one SID, all of
the the allegations there around breach of contract, around all
of this business about cutting his deal in half and
icing him. Yep uh, that's that's the ways in which
SID is aggrieved. And we're accustomed by this point to
to processing various grievances that SID may have it at
a given point in time. So we've got what was it,
breach of contract? It was a laundry list, but count
one breach of contract. He's claiming breach of fiduciary duty,
which is a money one.
Speaker 4: We have.
Speaker 3: Unjust and Richmond negligence, negligent and infliction of emotional distress,
negligent retention, tortious interference with contractual relation.
Speaker 4: Tortous interference is one of my favorite fucking it's one
of my favorite kinds things ever.
Speaker 3: One of my favorite kinds of interference.
Speaker 4: Really. Yes, absolutely outside of interference, we have torchus interference.
Speaker 3: They should use it more in wrestling finishes. And he's
looking for attorney's fees as well.
Speaker 4: So that's what you know.
Speaker 3: Sid is claiming in a court of law the ways
in which his rights have been violated as a result
of what happened at Sin and his leg break. So
now comes Universal Wrestling Corporation, that is to say, the
former World Championship Wrestling. They offer their defense in Fulton
County Court in Georgia, and they're going to go basically
line by line on the things cit Is alleged. God,
have we get a perspective of where the erstwhile World
Championship Wrestling is coming from again? Two years after shutting
its doors, they're still dealing with this. This is actually
stamped to April twenty oh two, so just about a
year after close using they're still dealing with cases like
this and Boss, I wish you could put your WCW
lawyer hat on, get your nick Lambro swarmed up and
deliver us. The response of Universal Wrestling.
Speaker 4: Corporation Answer, Universal Wrestling Corporation, Turner Sports Incorporated, and Turner
Entertainment Group Incorporated. Yes, defendants, Universal Wrestling Corporation, UWC, Turner
Sports Incorporated, Turner Sports, and Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated, TEG
collect Louisa, referred to as defendants hereby answer Plaintiff's complaint
as follows. First, Defense Defendants respond to the individually numbered
paragraphs and plaintiffs complaint the complaint as follows. Defendants are
without knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as
to the truth of the allegations contained in the first
sentence of paragraph one complaint. In response the allegations contained
in the second sentence of paragraph one of the complaints,
defendants admit that plaintiff had entered into contracts with defendant
Universal Wrestling Corporation formerly known as World Championship Wrestling Incorporated, WCW.
Now paragraph one.
Speaker 3: Of the complaints that they have insufficient information to form
a belief of You know what, Paragraph one says that
he lives in Arkansas. I'm sorry, we just we cannot
confirm that he ever resided in Arkansas. That is just
something that we don't have evidence of, Nor do we
desire evidence of that. Yeah, nor are we doing a
single thing to seek said evidence.
Speaker 4: You know, I don't need to know if he came
from Arkansas and already reside in Arkansas. What I need
to tell you is that we don't know, We cannot know.
We do not have sufficient information or evidence to form
a belief that he has ever resided in Arkansas.
Speaker 3: Your honor, I don't know, and I wouldn't want to
know as a wise man.
Speaker 4: Let me just say, your honor, we don't know if
it's if he's been telling the truth about Arkansas. So therefore,
how can we tell, well, how can we be sure
he's told the truth about anything? And with that, I
submit my motion to dismiss, and with that we rest
our case. So yeah, that's that's where we're at. It's hilarious.
Speaker 3: So they're defending that he entered into contracts that's big
of them.
Speaker 4: We do. We do admit that you know he had
entered into contracts with defendant Universal Wrestling Corporation formerly known
as World Championship Wrestling Corporate at the WCW to perform
services as a professional wrestler. Defendants deny the remaining allegations
contained in the second sentence a paragraph one of the
complaints and response the allegation is contained in the first
sentence of paragraph two of the complaint. Defendants admit that
defendant Universal Wrestling Corporation is a Georgia corporation formerly known
as World Championship Wrestling Corporated. Defendants admit the allegations contained
to the third sentence paragraph two the complaint. Defendants deny
the allegations contained in the second and fourth sentences a
paragraph to the complaint, except that they admit that such
allegations purport to state that UWC is subject to the
jurisdiction of this Court in this action. Defendants admit the
allegations contained in the first sentence paragraph.
Speaker 3: Three goes on link jump up to twelve. Please to twelve, okay.
Speaker 4: In response to the allegations a paragraph twelve the complaint,
defendants admit that for a certain period prior to March
one in nine, two thousand and one, ww was engaged
in the business.
Speaker 3: This has to a lawyer was paid to write that sentence.
I want you to finish it and then read it again.
Speaker 4: Please, was engaged in the business of professional wrestling. In
response the allegation the paragraph twelve of the complaint, defendants
admit that for a certain period prior to March twenty nine,
two thousand and one, WCW was engaged in the business
a professional.
Speaker 3: Wrestling And just to further drive it home, jumped forward
too point twenty three, Please.
Speaker 4: For a period prior how about fucking thirty years prior
for thirty years for a certain period prior to March
twenty nine, two thousand and one. Believable? Twenty what now?
Twenty three? Twenty three. In response the allegations contained and
paragraph twenty three of the complaint, defendants admit that WCW did,
for a certain period prior to March twenty nine, two
thousand and one, promote and produce wrestling events. You've got
to be shitting me, including various times, weekly lab television
shows and weekly tape television shows. Period of time.
Speaker 3: Please this one's a little more.
Speaker 4: It goes on in time time. In response to the
allegations containing paragraph thirty one on the complaint, defendant state that,
at all times relevant to Plaintiff's complaint, w CW and
its employees abided by the written terms of the agreement
governing plaintiff's pay.
Speaker 3: They are saying, we, you know, we follow the letter
of the contract. And whatever it is we did with
sidspe you.
Speaker 4: Know, we we all bid it. We you know, the
employees of WWT abided by the of the agreement in
governing plaintiffs pay. By way of further response, defendant state
that at all times relevant to Plaintiff's complaint, w CW
and its employees respected and abided by the work restrictions
and recovery requirements placed on plaintiffs by his medical doctors.
Except as specifically stated herein, Defendants are without knowledge or
information sufficient to formal belief as of the truth the
allegations contained and paragraph thirty one of the complaint, because
the allegations do not enter alia, refer to a specific
time period, nor do they refer to specific LEA number
forty say about that.
Speaker 3: I say, please jump to number forty two please as
you continue to pass on tremain points.
Speaker 4: And response to the allegations contain a paragraph forty two
of the complaint. Defendants admit the plane if performed at
the January fourteenth, two thousand and one pay per view
in Indianapolis. In response to the allegations regarding the content
of the script for the event, Defendants state that the
script is a written document that speaks for itself.
Speaker 3: As to.
Speaker 4: As the content and legal effect, and defendants deny any
allegations inconsistent with or contrary to the script, except the
specifically stated herein. Defendants deny the allegations contain a paragraph
to the complaint, plain.
Speaker 3: And simple, Absolutely, that's the way we roll. How about
forty seven as it regards playing the tape of the injury.
Speaker 4: And response to the allegations contained in the first sentence
of paragraph forty seven the complaint defend and state that
the tape of the live show is a recorded document
that speaks for itself as to content and legal effect,
and defenders deny any allegations inconsistent with or contrary to
that recording. Defendants deny the remaining allegations contained in paragraph
forty seven of the complaint. What say you judge a
country lawyar?
Speaker 8: What was that?
Speaker 3: A country lawyer? Sounds a lot like liar, doesn't it?
Speaker 4: Oh my god?
Speaker 3: So they go point by point after everything Sid said,
and you know, only grant things that are like dates
and everything else. They yeah, right right, deny de I deny.
Speaker 4: You know where were that? Knowledge? All right? Or information
is sufficient to form belief. One can just imagine, you know, well.
Speaker 8: Let me tell you.
Speaker 4: I'll just say this. You know, you know, your honor.
The thing about professional wrestling is you just don't know
all right. Now, listen, I've watched the shows. I've seen
a professional wrestling done in many different kinds of you know,
we just don't know, right, We don't know what is
real what is not real. We know that there are
scripts that determine the outcomes of the matches and that
kind of dictate certain events happening. But did Sid break
his leg?
Speaker 8: We do not know.
Speaker 3: He appeared to you know, your honor. But a lot
of things are what they appear in this world are professional.
Speaker 4: Now, I mean, we're listen, your honor. We live in
the age of computer generated imagery. Oh my god, he's
not going all right? And Look, I'm just saying, you know,
you know, we are without knowledge or or information sufficient
form of belief as to the truth of the breakage
of sid Uty's leg We don't know, we don't know.
Speaker 3: So ww Filesy's response going through each point they want
to make about what fact should be stipulated to. And
if you think sid Folks is going to go quietly
without denying these denials, then you haven't been paying very
close attention to this tribute.
Speaker 4: Oh I like this one number sixty five here though,
by the way, defense and now the allegations contained a
paragraph sixty five the complaint, except that they admit that
WCW sold certain of its assets the WWFE in mark
two thousand and one. We admit that.
Speaker 3: And look, and we're it's big of us to do that,
because we could drag this thing out all day on
the finer points of that statement.
Speaker 4: I don't mind going and listen, I go a word
by word deny the allegations contained in word one of
paragraph seventy two of the complaints.
Speaker 3: More than anything, we're interested in your honor, in efficient
administration of justice in this court and not doing anything
to impede the proper pace of progress for the docket.
And so we're not going to drill down and dig
our heels in on points like that, although we're well
with then our rights to do it, as I'm sure
your honor will appreciate, however, because we're just so interested
in justice being served here and vicious being served.
Speaker 4: Here and psycho being served. Yeah, I think you say
that again. So yes, this is and I just want
to say, also your in response the allegations contained in
paragraph nine, if I have defendants admit that plaintiff seeks
the damages, stated deny that they have engaged any wrongdoing,
of course, I mean, Jesus, we do. We admit he
is seeking damages, he is bringing up a lawsuit.
Speaker 3: We're not too We're not you know, too proud of
ourselves to admit that. I that if they just said,
like like a like a number sixty eight defendant admits wrongdoing,
just put it in there since anyone noticed.
Speaker 2: Of you.
Speaker 4: First, we admit breach a contracts, but we deny that
the breach of contract had any sufficient evidence and information
that provide possible, you know, said breach is a proper
propriet what in your honor?
Speaker 3: It may surprise you to learn that the defense is
not interested in contesting the claims of mister Udy, that,
in fact, it was written into the script that he
take off that metal rope, and that he did, and
that he was you know, ordered to do it over
and above his his objections. We're not We're not going
to dispute that. We will admit that as a fact,
that he was pushed and pressured into doing it. I
guess the question, then, your honor becomes, so what right
what of it as it regards our case?
Speaker 4: You know, we you know, we we deny the allegations
contained in the paragraphs such and such, But I do
want to say we do admit that, said you, he
volunteered to break his own leg I ask you, and
I asked you.
Speaker 3: I put it that way, your honor, after just saying
that we pressured him to do it, so to have
you consider, I think what will come to be the
most important question in this case. In a world where
nothing is real, what is the difference between us forcing
him to do it and him unteering to do it?
Speaker 4: In a world where nothing is real? Can we determine
what is fake? Right?
Speaker 1: The Lawn Wrestling Podcast, The wrestling podcast that knows the
boys need their candy.
Speaker 2: It's the lapsed fan. He's the lapsed Fan.
Speaker 1: Wrestling podcast with Jack and Carno and JP Soro.
Speaker 3: Have you ever heard the Toronto cell Your honor?
Speaker 8: Now?
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's on the floors late snapped and half yes, yes, yes,
yes I have And I'm going to put you in
one in a second. That was good.
Speaker 3: And sure his leg appears to be dangling there on
the canvas, But these guys are especially good at making
you believe that they're really hurt, you know.
Speaker 4: I mean I could come in here and tell you
that I've broken my arm and that I've been stabbed
five times, and you know what, chances are you wouldn't
believe it. But if Sid came in here and told
you the same thing, I think you would. I think
you would believe it. Whether or not it happened, is imitated.
Speaker 3: So I guess the most important point is when Sid
wants to claim unjustin Richmond because World Champed Wrestling was
capitalizing from a ratings perspective by showing the recorded videotape
of him snapping his leg in half. You have to
put yourself your honor, I would suggest, in the seat
of the wrestling fan, the consumer that allegedly is enriching
World Championship Wrestling by viewing this tape the night after
the injury, and ask yourself, what is there a chance
in hell, your honor, part of my language, that that
fan thinks that injury is real.
Speaker 4: I mean, listen, I'm just going to say this right
and you know, your honor, we have we have seen
a multitude of different, you know, different sort of wrestling
events over the years, you know, especially in the last
I'm going to say five, five to ten years. You know,
we've seen an increase of violence in the in the
in the entertainment world of professional wrestling. And I'm just
going to say, you know, you got guys who jump
off twenty foot high cages and go through table. Have
you seen that clip before? You've seen that footage that man,
that ugly man with the mask and he's wearing the
shirt and he gets.
Speaker 3: Tossed off the case counselor and he's wearing a shoe, and.
Speaker 4: You know what, he didn't break a bone in his body.
Now you're going to tell me that a man who
was tossed twenty feet down and didn't break a bone
in his body, and then you have Sid who's jumping
two feet off the ground and he breaks his leg.
Speaker 3: Come on, I respectfully submit, I mean, your honor.
Speaker 4: They know how to fall. I mean, let me tell you,
I know for a fact, and I've been that. They
learn how to fall right. They are trained to fall
right up the road here in Smyrna.
Speaker 3: They got a big old power plant facility they call it,
and those guys go in there and they train to
pretend to get hurt.
Speaker 4: It's right. So I ask you, your honor, what is believability?
What is truth? Right? What is honor? And what the
fuck are we doing here?
Speaker 3: He's playing into the judge and not wanting to deal
with wrestling. I believe he said, among other things. I
believe he said, and correct me if I'm wrong, Boss
to the judge in this case, what is honor?
Speaker 4: I mean, isn't that?
Speaker 3: Isn't that where this all starts litigating Sid's injury?
Speaker 8: Yes?
Speaker 4: It does. What is honor right?
Speaker 3: We can agree on that. We're getting nowhere. So again,
if you don't think Sid's going to come back on
those point for points with his own point for points,
you have n't been paying attention exactly. I'll ask you
to pull up the twenty oh two document that ends
in response. So what this is, yes, is Sid coming
back and responding to every single denial the w cd
we made about the many claims he laid out in
his initial complaint.
Speaker 4: Comes now, okay, comes now playing if Sydney Rudy here
after mister g or plaintiff and Files' response to defending
statement of the theories of recovery? What is a fucking college.
Speaker 3: Class that had been a good name for him in
Spivey's tag team theories of recovery.
Speaker 4: And the unispeeded material facts showing the course follows theories
of recovery. Plaineiffs preacher contract claims fail as a matter
of law because WCW's termination of the independent contractor agreement
the quote agreement complied with the clear, unambiguous terms of
the agreement.
Speaker 3: That is a said characterizing WCW's claimed that they were legit.
So each one of these is going to start with
him repeating what WCW is claiming and then adding his response,
which is yes, you can tell when Sid's response starts
when you're heard the word denied.
Speaker 4: Yeah, right, exactly defend his contact rendered mister Yudie's performance
of his contractual obligations impossible. Plaint's breach of contract claims
fail as a matter of law because each of WCW's
reductions of planets pay complied with the clear on ambiguous
terms of the agreement. Denied yes defendant his conduct rendered
mister Yudie's performance of his contractual obligations impossible.
Speaker 3: You made it impossible for me to perform my contractual obligations.
Speaker 4: That's what he is saying. Here's the thing. You want
me to be obligated. I don't accept obligation, but I'll
tell you what you denied me obligation.
Speaker 3: How can I perform these obligations if you make performing.
Speaker 4: The denied me obligatory duties.
Speaker 3: You denied obligation, denied me the ability to oblige.
Speaker 4: You denied me the ability to oblige or to not oblige.
Plaine's breach of contract fails as a matter of law
because WSW complied with the clear on ambiguous terms of
the agreement outlining its obligations to pay plaintiff for pay
per view advance. Denied defenders contract rendered mister Yudi's performance
of his contractual obligations impossible.
Speaker 3: I'm smelling a denied T shirt in the cy.
Speaker 4: You think so. Plaine's breach of contract claims fail as
a matter of law because the terms the agreement could
not orally be amended denied. The agreement was not required
to be amended. It's specifically provided for further pay per
views BIS language.
Speaker 3: So he's saying, I don't know what he's saying. It
doesn't matter that Russo and Bischoff verbal. He told him
we'll pay you for a pay per view. You don't
have to work because the contract laid out consideration for
what happened if they were to add a pay per
view to the talents and the minimum guarantee.
Speaker 4: Plainiffs claims for breach of figuciary duty, unjust enrichment, negligence,
negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent retention, and tortious interference
with contractual relations fail as a matter of law because
the plantif agreed to accept workers' compensation coverage as his
sole and exclusive remedy against WCW, including its affiliates, employees,
and agents, and for any and all injuries sustained during
the term of the green.
Speaker 3: Is failure to agree to accept workers Okay, so they're saying,
if you get workers comp you agree in exchange that
that is all you can seek from us. If you
get injured on the job, you can't then sue us
for more money stemming from that injury. That's what they're
trying to say. And I wonder if SID would agree
with that.
Speaker 4: Boss did not. Misteries claims fall with an exception community
under the gw c A.
Speaker 3: W c A is the Georgia Workers Compensation Association, which
is now not a union of professional wrestlers.
Speaker 4: I mean, listen, listen, I mean the fact that it's
called the Workers comp Okay, oh my god, amazing. I mean,
for what it's worth.
Speaker 3: G w c A is also Georgia Wrestling Coaches Association.
Speaker 4: That's no coincidence, as it also could be the Joy
Your Wrestling Championships as well. I guess that'd be the
governing board of Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Wrestling Championship Asociations.
Speaker 3: But what he's saying is that there's an exception under
the state law that governs governs workers Camp that allows
him to sue for more money even if that clause exists.
Speaker 4: Is to be sick. I can sue if I want to.
I will take your fucking money because I am it.
Speaker 3: The g w c A sid's favorite law.
Speaker 4: Another word something right now, you look at me dead
in the eye. I going to you some real simple
you'll fuck with me? You you'll fuck with the gw.
Speaker 8: C A.
Speaker 4: Sid's promotion.
Speaker 3: The gw that's money.
Speaker 4: People have no idea.
Speaker 3: And he's saying that there's you know that an employer.
You know they can claim immunity under workers comp per
the state law, but there are exceptions to that immunity,
and that what happened to him falls under one of
those exceptions. So WCW can't cite immunity under the state
law to further.
Speaker 4: Playing claim for breach of fijiercia duty. That's how we'd
say it.
Speaker 3: So I'm not going to correct you.
Speaker 4: Unjustin Richmond, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligy, retention
and tortures interference with contractual relations are barred by statutory
provisions of the Georgia Workers' Compensation Act. Denied. What do
you know, take another shot? If you're playing along at home,
mister yes, claims fault within an exception to immunity under
w E G W G or GCA. Plaintiff's claim for
unjust in Richmond fails as a matter of law because
a valid contract existed between plaintiff and WCW denied.
Speaker 3: Do you think he agrees that a valid contract existed
between plaintiff and WCW. If I know, Sid, that is
a non starter.
Speaker 4: Now, I don't mind telling you something right now. Then
when it comes to valid contractual obligations, SID is not
obligated to abide. I guess he's not. The dude. Defense
were unjustly enriched by continuous television replay of mister Yudi's
injury denied. Plainiff claim for unjust in Richmond fails as
a matter of law because the undisputed facts show that
defendants were not und just The and rich as a
result of plaintiff's injury denied defendants were unjustly enriched by
continuous television replays of mister UD's injury and use of
the leg breaker storyline. The leg breaker storyline, Yes, indeed,
whoa brother? What here was leg breaker? What's going on? Dude?
They would go on take breaker claim breaking? You're breaking
Hulk Hogan's leg. No, I got leg drop, dude, whose
leg matters more?
Speaker 3: I'm a little sick of people twisting my leg At
this point, brother, I might as well broke.
Speaker 4: I'm probably understanding exactly why I'm getting sued, right, that's
a great question. Why am I getting sued by Sid? Brother?
Speaker 3: If you're curious, the leg breaker storyline was basically they
did this like really ham fisted thing where Scott Steiner
after Sinn would claim that somehow he was responsible for
breaking Sid's leg in the match, which is hilarious because
it doesn't do.
Speaker 4: When he fucking like uh uh, get it all, like
ready to go, and then he jumped.
Speaker 3: Right, I guess somehow when Sid kicked him, the power
of Scott Steiner exploded on his leg and shattered his bones.
Speaker 4: I don't know. Ridiculous plainest claims for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence,
negligien and fiction of emotional distress, negligent retention, tortures, interference
with contractual relations all fail as a matter of law
because they are precluded by a doctrine of assumption of risk.
Speaker 3: Can we try something, bosses?
Speaker 4: We go through this? When? When?
Speaker 3: When you read the part where SID is characterizing w
CW's position on the matter. Yes, this is a challenge.
I don't think I've ever asked you to do this before.
Can you do SID making fun of w CW's lawyer.
Speaker 4: In that god like you know?
Speaker 3: And then the denied is in Sid's voice, So people
can more clearly delineate at home.
Speaker 13: All right, let me do plain is claim for breach
of fiduciary deity, negligence, negligent and infliction of emotional distress,
negligent retention, tortures, interference with contractual relations all fail as
a matter of law because they're precluded by the doctrine
of the assumption of risk.
Speaker 4: Did not Yes, mister Uty's claims are not subject to
the assumption of risk doctrine d towsw's will for action. Wow. Moreover,
mister Uti did not assume that his leg would be
broken in half destructions of defendants. Can I ask you
to read that again? Please? Yes? Indeed, moreover, mister Uty
did not assume that his leg would be broken in
half as a result of the instructions by defendants.
Speaker 3: So like, don't come in, don't come and claim that
the doctrine of assumption of risk that's contained in the
document in the law covers this.
Speaker 6: Because now I don't know which doctrine you're talking about.
But I talk to doctor Drews.
Speaker 3: I know I assume risk when I go out there
every night. I know I assume risk, and I know
the contract says I assume risk. But I ask you, this,
does the risk conclude snapping my leg in half?
Speaker 4: I assume risk. I assume all sorts of things when
I go out there in the ring, But I do
not assume to know the future.
Speaker 3: Right, And that's what you're claiming that that's among the
risks I assume.
Speaker 4: So I do not assume that I will come back dead.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's now we're falling into the own heart lawsuit territory.
Speaker 4: Unable to contribute and support my family right, unable to
go to sporting events in order to talk down to
my dumb ass son. What do you think I assume?
Speaker 3: Do you think I Do you think I assume the
risk of a garage full of viennas?
Speaker 4: You think I go home assuming that Frank hasn't delivered
the venus to the cathedral, He.
Speaker 11: Said, my church to Casey Vienna sausages and I sent
him an autograph picture picture.
Speaker 4: Yeah, someone was very e T C H E R.
Speaker 3: Somebody pointing that out on Patreon, and it's very clear,
it's very keen of an observation. I'll tell you what
I'll I'll jump in here as i'll read ww's position
could be funny, I have said response to a different voice,
all right, number ten here. Plaintiff's claim for breach of
fiduciary duty fails as a matter of law because the
record is undisputed that no fiduciary relationship existed between plaintiff
and any defendant.
Speaker 10: Good a confidential relationship existed between WCW and mister duty,
and therefore w CW oed mystery fier duties.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff's claims for negligence fails as a matter of law
because none of the defendants owed any legal duty to
the plaintiff.
Speaker 4: Dend w c W had a legal duty to maintain
a safe work environment.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff's claims for negligence fails as a matter of law
because plaintiff cannot establish that any defendant breached any duty
owed to plaintiff, or that any alleged breach by any
defendant proximately caused plaintiff's injury denied.
Speaker 4: W c W had a legal duty to maintain a
safe work environment, and a breach of this duty caused
mister beauty damage.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff's claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress fails as
a matter of law because Plaintiff's injuries were not caused
by a negligent act of any defendant.
Speaker 4: Denied, Mister Ute's injury was caused b the negligent acts
of w CW's agents.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff's claim for negligent retention fails as a matter of
law because defendant Laurionitis had no propensity to engage in
dangerous or tortious conduct.
Speaker 11: To god.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff's claim for negligent retention fails as a matter of
law because neither WCWTSI nor teg knew that defendant Laurionitis
had any alleged dangerous propensity. Plaintiff's claims for tortious interference
with contractual relations fails as a matter of law because
defendant Lauranitis did not intend to injure plaintiff or plaintiff's
relationship with WCW. Plaintiff's claims for tortious interference with contractual
relations fails as a matter of law because neither defendant
Laurionitis not any other defendant induced a third party not
to enter or contecty business relationship.
Speaker 4: With no what I do? You know what I can
tell you right now. I wish not induced. I wash
not induced by either defendant.
Speaker 3: I was not john naturally.
Speaker 4: I was not induced. I gave birth to Tyrrell and
not on a natural basis. Third month, third party, third year.
Were you a C section baby?
Speaker 3: No, I was delivered on a natural basis, in while
Jesse was delivered on army basis.
Speaker 4: He toured army basis, all right.
Speaker 3: In a related note, that one's denied too, if you're
wondering denied, Plaintiff's claim for tortous interference with contractual relations
fails as a matter of law because defendant Lorinitis was
not a stranger to the contract quote unquote between plaintiff
and WCW. Batiff's claims against defendant Lorinitis for alleged breach
of fiduciary duty, negligence, negligent and infliction of emotional distress
and tortuous interference with contractual relations are barred by the
two years statute of limitations set forth in the OCGA.
Speaker 4: Tonight, the minute complaint relates back to the original complaint,
which was filed within the statutory period.
Speaker 3: All right, fine, how about we state undisputed material facts?
How about number one? Plaintiff, Sidney r Uti, is a
professional wrestler who is professionally known as Sid Vicious. Admitting
defendant Johnny Lorinidis is a former employee of WCW. Admitted
at all times relevant to Plaintiff's claims, Laurionidis worked with
WCW's wrestlers and agents to plan and coordinate the moves
of WCW's wrestlers in matches.
Speaker 4: Admitted honor.
Speaker 3: About June ninth, nineteen ninety nine, WCWAN plaintiff entered into
an agreement entitled Independent Contractor Agreement.
Speaker 4: Admitted.
Speaker 3: Under the terms of the agreement, Plaintiff expressly agreed that
he would perform the services agreed to as an independent contractor.
Speaker 4: Admitting the agreement speaks for itself.
Speaker 3: The term of the agreement was for three years, unless
earlier terminated. In accordance with the terms of the contract,
the term was divided into consecutive one year periods.
Speaker 4: Admitted the agreement speaks for itself.
Speaker 3: The agreement expressly provided the WCW had the right to
terminate the agreement at the end of any one year
period for any reason. Let me read you the excerpt
from the agreement. During any one year period, WCW may
terminate this agreement with or without cause, after giving wrestler
at least three months prior notice of such termination. Any
such termination shall be effective at the end of the
then current one year period.
Speaker 4: Admitted the agreement speaks for self.
Speaker 3: Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Plaintiff's compensation under the agreement
was set forth an Exhibit A to the agreement.
Speaker 4: Admitted the agreement speaks fortune.
Speaker 3: In addition to plaintiff's salary amounts, Exhibit A provided the
WCW would pay plaintiff a bonus each time he appeared
and performed on air at any WCW pay per view event.
Speaker 4: Admitted, agreement speaks for self.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff's pay per view bonus was fifty thousand dollars per
pay per view event for the first year of the
agreement and fifty five thousand dollars per pay per view
event for the second year of the agreement.
Speaker 4: Admitted agreement speaks.
Speaker 3: For self admitted a exhibit A to the agreement there
was a slip of the tongue. Admitted A admitted exhibit
A to the agreement also provided that plaintiff would be
paid for a minimum of eight pay per view events
per contractual year.
Speaker 4: Admitted agreement speaks for self.
Speaker 3: Under the terms of the agreement, if plaintiff became incapacitated
such that he was unable to perform all of the
physical requirements of a professional wrestler, he would continue to
receive his full compensation for the first cumulative thirty calendar
days of incapacity per contract year.
Speaker 4: Admitted agreement. Space Force agreement.
Speaker 3: Further provides if wrestler remains incapacitated after the initial thirty
day incapacity period, whether consecutive or not, w UCW shall
have the option at any point during which wrestler thereafter
remains incapacitated to terminate this agreement without further obligation.
Speaker 4: Admitted the agreement speaks.
Speaker 3: Forselfs If plaintiff remained incapacitated after the initial thirty day
in capacity period, in WCW elected not to terminate the agreement,
WCW agreed to the following pay schedule. Here it is
unless and until WCW shall exercise such right to terminate
this agreement on the basis of incapacity. WCW sshall A
continue to pay wrestler under this agreement at the rate
of one third, that is, thirty three point three percent
of the compensation otherwise payable here under. Or B utilize
wrestler for non wrestling services and pay wrestler at the
rate of one half fifty percent of the compensation otherwise
payable here under. Wrestler's ability to perform non wrestling services
shall be determined by WCW. While wrestler is being paid
pursuant to either A or B, all other terms of
this agreement shall remain in full force.
Speaker 4: Agreement speaks for self.
Speaker 3: Under the terms of the agreement, Plane INVOLVESO agreed to
accept workers compensation benefits as his sole and exclusive remedy
against WCW for any and all injuries he sustained during
the term of the agreement. Quote. Wrestler acknowledges his present
eligibility for workers compensation through WCW for so long as
WCW maintains workers compensation coverage wrestler agrees to accept the
benefits provided by said workers compensation coverage as his sole
and exclusive remedy against WCW, including its parent affiliates, employees,
and agents, for any and all injuries sustained during the term,
provided said coverage is maintained by WCW. That is an
effect with respect to such injury.
Speaker 4: I mean the agreement speaks for self.
Speaker 3: The agreement provided that it could not be orally modified.
Speaker 4: Quote.
Speaker 3: No waiver, termination or discharge of this agreement, or any
of the terms or provision thereof, shall be binding upon
either party here too. Unless confirmed in writing, this agreement
may not be modified or amended except by a writing
executed by both parties.
Speaker 4: Admitted that Greenman speaks for sale.
Speaker 3: During this period June ninth, nineteen ninety nine through March eighteenth,
two thousand, plaintiff performed as a professional wrestler for WCW,
and WCW paid him the full compensation set forth in
the agreement. Admitted admitted he thought her about March nineteenth,
two thousand, plaintiffs strained the rotator cuff and his shoulder
during a pay per view match in Miami, Florida.
Speaker 4: That's new admitted, mister U suffered a shoulder injury as
a result of WCW's actions. Did you have to add
that at the end, sir? Could you just admit it?
Tell I admit that they denied me. They admit they
denied me.
Speaker 3: Health wrongfully, right wrongfully denied me health. During the period
March nineteenth, two thousand April tenth, two thousand, w CW
paid plaintiff one hundred percent of the compensation payable to
him under the agreement. During an April tenth, two thousand
performance at a wrestling event in Denver, Colorado, plaintiff injured
his neck and back when he allowed his opponent to
throw him through a table at the conclusion of the performance.
Allowed allowed, Oh yes, yeah, we didn't want to. We
wouldn't want to indicate for a second that it's real.
Speaker 4: In this filing, mister Udy admitss it he suffered an injury,
but he was forced to wrestle by w CW's agents and.
Speaker 3: Shun now about that. I admit I suffered an injury,
but I was forced to wrestle.
Speaker 4: It's so funny.
Speaker 3: Anytime Sid complains about an injury, just know that he's
more than willing to wrestle hurt, but he's not above
saying you made me wrestle when I was hurt.
Speaker 4: After Yeah, right, listen, listen, he'll do it. And then
if anything bad happens and you fuck him over in
any way or he thinks you fucked him over, you
know it's your fault.
Speaker 3: And as a result of this April ten, two thousand
and shoulder injury, plaintiff became incapacitated and wasn't able to
perform any wrestling services for WCW.
Speaker 4: Admitted mister gud suffered his shoulder injury at the insistence
of ww's agents.
Speaker 3: Okay, he said he suffered the shoulder injury at the
insistence of ww's agents, who I guess stood around and said,
suffer a shoulder injury, sir.
Speaker 4: Now I went back there and they say, you know
what if you get out, if you walk out of
that arena and you don't have a shoulder injury, you're
fucking fined.
Speaker 3: I want to see a shoulder injured now.
Speaker 5: Now, you got to injury that fucking shoulder. Waiting, pal,
I'm still waiting for you to injury yourself.
Speaker 4: I'll get it.
Speaker 3: Trust me, it's hot it's an hour day or later,
but I'm gonna get you injured sid. WCW continued to
pay plaintiff one hundred percent of his compensation for the
first thirty calendar days that plaintiff was incapacitated as a
result of the shoulder entry he suffered during the Denver
pay per view. It wasn't a pay per view, but
SID nonetheless at or in the period May eleventh, two
thousand through June eighth, two thousand, WCW used plaintiff for
non wrestling services and paid him at the contractually agreed
upon fifty percent of the compensation payable to him under
the agreement.
Speaker 4: Mister Edi missed the pay was wrongfully reduced to fifty
during this time What does he admit again? Mister Yudi
admits that his pay was wrongfully reduced to fifty percent
during this time.
Speaker 3: Period in accordance with paragraphs fully reduced. You're cutting out
over and over again.
Speaker 4: Oh, wrongfully reduced.
Speaker 3: In accordance with paragraph eight of the agreement. During the
period June ninth, two thousand through July eighth, two thousand,
WCW paid plaintiff one of the compensation payable to him
under the agreement. During the period June ninth, two thousand
through July eight, two thousand, w wu's plaintiff for non
wrestling services only.
Speaker 8: Did not.
Speaker 4: Mister Yu's pay was wrongfully reduced to fifty percent during
this period time period.
Speaker 3: In December of two thousand, plaintiff's doctor cleared him to
resume full wrestling services.
Speaker 4: Admitted okay.
Speaker 3: In December two thousand, plaintiff resumed full wrestling services under
the agreement and his salary was fully restored.
Speaker 4: Admitted.
Speaker 3: On January fourteen, two thousand and one, plaintiff performed a
pay per view performance in Indianapolis, Indiana. Admitted, in preparing
for the January fourteen, two thousand and one performance of Laurentidis,
plaintiff voluntarily agreed to perform a move that required him
to jump off the second rope surrounding the wrestling ring
and kick one of his opponents in the face.
Speaker 4: Mister Uty admits that he was forced to perform move
by wsw's agent, including by not limited to mister Lauraidis.
Speaker 3: When plaintiff performed the move during the match on January fourteen,
two thousand and one, plaintiff did not kick his opponent
and plaintiff landed on the canvas on his left leg.
Speaker 4: Mister Udy admits he performed move and that mister Steiner
was not where he was supposed to be. Mister udi
ad missed it. He fell on his left heel.
Speaker 3: So this is this is indicating the WW is prepared
to argue boss that yes, we had him do the move,
but it's his fault that he landed on his leg,
not ours.
Speaker 4: Well, I mean, well, hold on, but it says up
there that he voluntarily did it. He voluntarily agreed to
perform the move, right, And then he's saying he's forced
to perform the move and it's.
Speaker 3: Not our fault that said that Scott Steiner was out
of position, because if Scott Steiner was standing where he
was supposed to stand, then said wouldn't have suffered this
injury performing the move that we demanded he'd perform, right,
I mean, why is everybody c WCW's perspective in all
this right amazing? Okay, Yeah, and mister Steiner was not
really needed to be. As a result of the fall,
plaintiff suffered a double compound fracture of his left leg,
admitting this injury occurred incurred by plaintiff at the general
pay per view render him makapacitated and unable to wrestle.
Speaker 4: Mister Edia admits and leg injury made it impossible for
him to wrestle professionally, and that WCW deemed him incapacitive.
Speaker 3: I could not wrestle professionally, but I will not accept
that that means I was incapacitated. As the result of
plaintiff's incapacity, WCW reduced Plaintiff's compensation to fifty percent of
the compensation payable to him under the agreement as of
January fifteen, two thousand and one.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits that his pay was wrongfully reduced to
fifty percent the day after he performed the move at
the behest of w CW.
Speaker 3: On March first, two thousand and one, Diana Meyers, ww's
director of Legal and Business Affairs spoke with plaintiff on
the phone and informed him that WCW was exercising its
options under section eight B of the agreement to terminate
plaintiff's contract effective June eight, two thousand and one. Admitted
on March first, two thousand and one, Miss Meyers sent
to plaintiff via federal express written confirmation that WW was
exercising its option under Section eight B of the agreement
to terminate plaintiff's contract at maww's contermination was effective as
of June eighth, two thousand and one, more than three
months after the date of the written notice, and at
the end of the second year of the agreement.
Speaker 4: At may to receive no wait no wait. So if
it's effective after the company goes under, is it still
an effect? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I mean because UWC is formed to continue the business
affairs of WCW. So yeah, any contracts WW doesn't buy
remain on the books of UWC, and it's up to
them to deal with and resolve one way or the other.
Speaker 4: I see.
Speaker 3: Plantiff received three fifty five thousand dollars pay per view
payments during the second year of the agreement admitted honor.
About May eighteen, two thousand and one, plaintiff received in
cash to check from WCW oh the old the Hogan
oh Boy thing guilt for cashing checks. Plaintiff received in
cash to check from WCW for one hundred and thirty seven,
five hundred dollars, which represented payment for his remaining five
pay per views of the second year of the agreement
at fifty percent of the compensation payable under the agreement.
Speaker 4: Mister U admits he received and posited the check for
one hundred and thirty seven five hundred dollars, representing fifty
percent of his pay per view money for year two.
Mister E also admits that he is entitled to the
remaining fifty percent.
Speaker 3: Your goddamn right, he is, buddy, I did god cash
that check should have been more. WCW maintained workers compensation
coverage for plaintiff during the entire term of the agreement.
Speaker 4: Mister Ugi does not have sufficient knowledge to admit or
deny that WSW maintained workers' compensation insurance for the duration
of the agreement. That's fair.
Speaker 3: I suppose ww's workers compensation insure provided and plaintiff accepted
medical benefits for plaintiff's January fourteenth, two thousand and one
injury to his lege.
Speaker 4: Mister U admits that ww's insurance paid for the medical treatment.
Speaker 3: Right, So we got that WW paid for the medical treatment.
That's I mean, that's bare minimum. I'm not saying they
deserve a pat on the back for that, but said
has to be careful going out. They're claiming he's owed
all this money because of the damage he suffered, because
they The fact is they paid for the injury. They
paid for him to rehabit and get it fixed. Ww's
Workers Compensation Insurre has paid for all.
Speaker 4: Well, you know, they also paid for the injury to happen.
Oh shit, what are you suggesting, mister Udy. I'm suggesting
that they go out there. They paid perview, they sell
paid perviews, and they say, you know what, Sid, We're
gonna put a hit on your fucking life, and it's
gonna hit you in the head like a shot. It's
gonna hit you in the leg like a shot.
Speaker 3: Yes, I mean, everyone's out here talking about who paid
for the damages. You know who paid for the damages?
Speaker 4: Sid paid, that's right, and he paid the pop. He
paid the ultimate price.
Speaker 3: Really paid the price here exactly. Ww's Workers Competation Insure
has paid for all of the treatment plaintiff has received
for his leg injury since January fourteenth, two thousand and one,
including plaintiff surgery.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits ww's insurance paid for his medical treatment.
Speaker 3: Ww's Worker's Compensation Insurer continues to pay for the rehabilitation
of and physical therapy of plaintiff's leg.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits that ww's insurance paid for his medical treatment.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff has not paid for any of the medical treatment,
services or rehabilitation for his leg injury.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits the w CW's insurance paid for his
medical treatment.
Speaker 3: A valid contract existed between plaintiff and WCW that governed
the compensation the WCW was to pay plaintiff for his
professional wrestling services.
Speaker 4: Admitted the agreement speaks for sale.
Speaker 3: W W carriac to professional Athletes insurance policy issued by Lloyd's.
Speaker 4: Heyes, of course, mister unimits a WW agents informed him
that a disability policy had been taken out for him.
Speaker 3: Plaintiff was one of many ww wrestlers named in the
Lloyd's policy.
Speaker 4: Does not have sufficient information to admit or deny statement
forty five. That's a T shirt.
Speaker 3: Mister Ud does not have sufficient information to admit or
deny statement forty five. Under the terms of the Lloyd's policy,
WCW was entitled to receive partial reimbursement for payments made
by WCW to plaintiff during any period that plaintiff was
incapacitated under the terms of the agreement.
Speaker 4: Mister Ug does not have sufficient information to admit or
deny statement for six.
Speaker 3: Lloyd's policy did not provide for any reimbursement to WCW
during the first one hundred twenty days of any period
in which plaintiff was incapacitated.
Speaker 4: Mister Ug does not have sufficient information to admit or
deny statement forty seven.
Speaker 3: During the period June ninth, nineteen ninety nine through July eight,
two thousand, plaintiff was paid ten pay per view bonuses
in the amount of fifty thousand dollars each May. Plaintiff
is an experienced wrestler with almost twenty years in the business.
At message January fourteen, two thousand and one, Plaintiff was
well aware of the AUV and inherent dangers of wrestling professionally.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits that he was aware that injuries occurred
in wrestling, but his injury was not a foreseeable one.
Speaker 3: Plaintive voluntarily agreed to perform the move that ultimately resulted
in the January fourteenth, two thousand and one injury to
his leg.
Speaker 4: Mister Udia missed the ww's agents forced him to perform
move that resulted in his injury.
Speaker 3: Plant to voluntarily agreed to perform the move that ultimately
resulted in the January fourteen, two thousand and one injury
to his leg, even though he appreciated the specific danger
involved in jumping off the wrestling ring ropes and attempting
to kick an opponent in the face.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits that he agreed to perform the move,
but that he did not appreciate the danger of the
move or foresee the injury that occurred.
Speaker 3: The agreement provided and whose fault is that, sir? Pardon me, geeh,
I'm sorry, I had to let that out.
Speaker 4: The agreement.
Speaker 3: The agreement provider that plaintiff would develop his own individual
wrestling style and persona with advice for WCW.
Speaker 4: Mister Udi admits, I think agreement speaks for saving.
Speaker 3: Agreement provided the WCW and plaintiff agreed to act quote
in their own separate capacities and not as agents, employees, partners,
joined venturers, or associates of one another end quote.
Speaker 4: Mister Uti admits, I think greement speaks for excess.
Speaker 3: C W and plaintiff agreed that the agreement was the
quote product of arm's length negotiations between plaintiff and WCW
end quote, and that plaintiff quote had the opportunity to
seek and obtain consultation and connection with the negotiation and
execution of the agreement end quote.
Speaker 4: Mister Uni A. Mints. I think greement speaks for.
Speaker 3: Excels respectfully submitted on this twenty seventh day of January
two thousand and four, Council for plaintiff. So that is
basically and directly the series of claims that ww's making
to counter sit is that he went in and did
this move with full cognizance of the risks involved, and
it almost doesn't matter if he was forced to do it.
He nonetheless did it under an agreement and a contractual
structure where he assumed all of these risks and had
a lot of experience in the business. Can claim he
didn't know that that kind of an injury was possible,
but just because he it didn't occur to him that
that was the risk he was taken by doing the
move doesn't make a WCW's fault that it occurred. And
I don't know it sounds it sounds like a strained
series of excuses to me on which end a WWS end,
you know, because that works. It comes down to that
word force, doesn't it.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean that's I mean, I mean, really, what
do you It's it's a hard it's that's a hard
thing to to kind of prove. Really it is what
is forced? What is volunteer? What is a voluntary move? Right?
Speaker 3: Because they are also w WS with then the rights
to say that ultimately Sid agreed to do it, that
is true.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: It's not like he parted the curtain saying fuck you,
I'm not going to do this, and you know that
somehow it ended up happening anyway. It's like eventually he
went through the curtain and WCW was confident that he
agreed to do the move, even if he had an
initial But again, it's got a factor in. You got
a factor in that Sid is Sid, and that of
course he's got a problem with it. You know, that's
just part of doing business with Sid, right, Right, He's
always going to have a problem with it. Right, This
is a guy who suffers a heart attack and goes
back to the hotel. According to Harvey Whippleman, when we
go try to find it, right, So you know, there's
all kinds of things like this with him. So this
all goes to the court system there in Georgia and
Sid gets denied on the breach of contract claim by
the local judge. But wow, he does get upheld on
the violation of an oral contract and unjustin Richmond. So
apparently the judge thinks there's something to the idea that
WCW went a little too far, in arguably trying to
monetize this injury by making a storyline out of it,
replaying in a nitro and everything. So as specious as
that argument seemed to be when we first read through
Sid's arguments, that was the one that did sync in
with the judge as something that was worthy of further
inquiry and perhaps should go to trial. And so of
course Sid, having been denied the breach of contract claim,
which is probably where most of the money is, he
appeals decision as superior court and that sends it up
to the state appeals court. The same thing happened in
the Vince Russou Hull Cogan lawsuit, where remember he got
half of what he wanted and half of not what
he wanted, right, you know, there was this claim of
defamation of character, and there was this claim of breach
of contract, and so it got very confusing because did
Hogan win or did he not win? It's like, well
it both of course, right.
Speaker 4: Of course, listen, he'll he'll, he'll do the job as
well as he wins in the end.
Speaker 3: So SID appeals to the state Appeals Court contends that
the trial court at local court we've been talking about,
made an error and granting some rejudgment for WCW on
claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence
and all the rest. And he contends that the error,
the error came when they found that WW did not
improperly reduce his pay. That's what he really wants. He
wants that fifty to be one percent. He thinks he
can get that money out of them, of course, and
that of course, he also claims the improperly terminated his
contra as a result. Well, whereas WCW responded that all
the actions were allowed under UT's contract. So he actually
has two separate appeal cases to the state. Wwpls their
own denial too. It's not just said that appeals WW
denies the part they lost as well under breach of
an oral agreement and unjust and Richmond and so Finally,
the appeals court affirms the order that WW one and
denies sid's attempt to win the other fifty percent. Here
is an excerpt from the state appeals court decision here
that kind of brought this thing to an end, or
all just about brought to an end. After Uty's disabling
lake fractures, WCW did not terminate him after thirty days,
but instead paid him fifty percent of his base pay
and what he would have earned for five pay per
view events, and eventually terminated him in ninety days.
Speaker 4: Notice.
Speaker 3: Uty argues that a jury question exists, that is to say,
this should go to trial and a jury should decide.
A jury question exists as to whether he is entitled
to the other fifty percent because he contends that he
was coerced into performing the wrestling move that ended his career.
In other words, yeah, I might be incapacitated, and that
might entitally, you'd only pay me half. But if I
get incapacitated because you forced me to do something that
shouldn't count, Yeah, that shouldn't count. You shouldn't be able
to pay me less because you forced me to do
a move that broke my leg in half. WW responds
that it complied with the contract terms, that Udi voluntarily
chose to perform the maneuver knowing the danger involved, and
that it did not coerce ud. Udy testified on deposition
that he told Laurionidis, the WW employee who blocked the
moves for the January fourteen, two thousand and one event,
I think he's by blocked. I think they mean scripted it,
that he did not want to perform the final move
in which he was to jump from the second rope
and land and his opponent. He testified that he said
he was just not a rope guy.
Speaker 4: That's a shirt, just not a rope guy. I'm just
not a rope guy.
Speaker 3: Being a big man, he was concerned about getting his
timing right so he did not kick his opponent in
the face, having just returned to the ring after shoulder
surgery the year before. But Judy said Lauren Attis kept
telling him he needed to do the move. Eventually, he
handed him a written script and told Judy that if
you took the move out, Lauren Aidis would have to
redraft the script. God forbid, perish the thought Johnny, Oh
my god, I find a copy. You have to find
a kinkosh would be a nightmare. Sid, What am I
supposed to do? The script you want to read? Draft
is the ten fucking commanderies.
Speaker 4: Cross it out?
Speaker 3: What the fuck you have to rewrite the script?
Speaker 2: Cross it out?
Speaker 4: I can't rewrite.
Speaker 5: I can't rewrite the script, said, I don't have a sharply,
Sid said, my guy up in North.
Speaker 4: He said he can't do it.
Speaker 3: My guy up and North. That's fucking great. I never
thought of that angle to it.
Speaker 4: Have to draft the script.
Speaker 3: Then, Udy admitted that he agreed to perform the move,
thinking he needed to prove himself to the company's new
owners because he had been able to work for some
time due to previous injuries. That's interesting that went through
Sid's mind. You know, we're about to undergo an ownership
change that definitely was in the air in January.
Speaker 4: People.
Speaker 3: Of course, a bishoff in few and all that stuff
is already well in motion, Sid says. The law says
if the non performance is caused by the opposite party's action,
it doesn't count. So if I can't perform because something
you did to me, not something I did you know
that that should invalidate your ability to pay me half.
But the judge otimately says, now there's a ninjury clause
in there, so you don't get to stand. You don't
have a le like to stand on. Of course, because
UDI granted WW the right to tape the wrestling match,
the judge determines, and to use and exhibit any part
of the match, he cannot claim that WW was unjustly
enriched by doing so. Under the policy terms the judge
included WCW not UDI was entitled to receive partial reimbursement
for payments made by WCW to any of the wrestler's names.
In other words, h Lloyd's repaid WCW for some of
the benefits that it paid to UD. WCW was not
enriched by the policy, just partially reimbursed. Boss got that
sid WW was not enringed here. They weren't even made whole,
of course not and also the judge includes. Finally, WW
contends that the trial court errred in denying it some
rejudgment on Utie's claim that WCW breached its oral agreement
to pay him for a pay per view event in
which he did not appear because the agreement provided that
any modification had to be in writing. Uti responds that
he relied on this payment promise to his detriment, agreeing
to fight before his doctor had cleared him medically following
his shoulder surgery. His reliance was reasonable, he contends, because
he had previously worked for WCW with no contract and
had been paid.
Speaker 4: Your honor, I'm with him. I right to expect that.
Speaker 3: Things that are promised to me will be delivered even
if they're not in writing, because most of the money
I've made from this fucking company was without a contract
on the table. Based on the party's deposition testimony, the
judge concludes, we agreed that the trial court that with
the trial court that a genuine issue of material facts
exists for the jury to decide on this issue. So
it may have been too sweeping in my conclusion.
Speaker 8: There.
Speaker 3: While the judge doesn't uphold the thing SID really cares about,
he does say that a jury ought to decide if
if SID was denied an oral agreement payment. Remember they
said they would pay him for a pay per view
if he did what they had to go to the
table or whatever. So the judge keeps alive that little
small smidgeon of things, But that just means it gets
kicked back to the local court and they've got to
figure it all out. So after the Peers Court rules
as outlined above, on July twelve, two thousand and five,
a settlement is reached, ladies and gentlemen between sid UNI
and the Universal Wrestling Corporation.
Speaker 4: So that's what happens.
Speaker 3: It goes all the way appeal. The judge keeps one
little piece of it alive. Let's negotiate that no one
wants to go to trial here Sid Jesus and I
don't know who's to say what Sid got paid for
this settlement, but he did get paid at the end,
just for a small smidgeon of the full menu of
things he tried to claim against World Championship Wrestling. I'm
sure he didn't end up with anything close to the
other fifty percent of pay that he thought he wasn't
touch Oh, I'm sure not. But yeah, the final settlement
order is answered. And so you got to think about
this injury happens in two thousand and one, and it
doesn't get settled in the courts until my god, two
thousand and five four years after the company folds.
Speaker 4: Wow, still going on? You old? That's absurd. I mean,
is there still a Universal like? I mean, I imagine
that there's nothing now. But how long did that did
that company last?
Speaker 8: It?
Speaker 4: Probably Universal Wrestling.
Speaker 3: Unless all of its liabilities have been disgorged. Like in
other words, if nobody else has a claim on them
for money, ode they still exist, you know, but I
don't know if they've dissolved or not.
Speaker 4: That's a great question.
Speaker 3: I haven't heard about them in an awful long time.
But this this was a huge thing because so many
of these wrestlers, as we know, WWF didn't pick up
their contract and so they're still going to get paid
even though ww doesn't exist, and it's this new UWC
that they have to rely on. That's what's on the checks,
and that's where they have to go when they try
to make last minute claims for even more money, because
at that point, what's to lose. I mean, you're going
to get paid. There's no way to punish you from
booking because the company doesn't exist anymore. So let's just
just try a few lawsuits see if we can get
a few more bucks out of this. The skeleton that's
left of what was WCW.
Speaker 8: So.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the final settlement settlement order is issued is mentioned
in two thousand and five. It reads, the Court having
been advised by counsel for the plaintiff that is counseled
for SID and the defendant, that the above styled action
has been settled. It is hereby ordered that this action
shall stand dismissed within thirty days from this date, unless
either party, upon good cause shown, moves before said date
that this action should not be dismissed and should be
allowed to proceed upon such basis as it be shown
in said motion, as ordered by this Court, so ordered
this twelfth day of July two thousand and five. So
that must be the end of it, right, I imagine not?
I mean wanting to get an insurance company involved. They're
They're fine to just sit in the balcony, in the
catbird seed or in the cheap seats and watch their
business be characterized and watch their exposure be decided by
two third parties. Right that they wouldn't want to sue themselves,
would they?
Speaker 9: Oh?
Speaker 3: Boy, I invite you to pull up sid leg TIG Insurance,
because you better believe that after all this shit went down,
that ww's insurance company is going to sue wcw over
all of this is going to sow why we're going
to find out. That's what we're here to do is
answer questions. They want declaratory judgment. This is the TIG
Insurance Company filing in federal court against UWC World Championhipressing
Turner Sports, Johnny Lori Niitis. And here's the thing, they're
also suing SID. SID goes from suing all these people
to being sued alongside them by the insurance company. Because this,
my friends, is the United States of America's right and
this one is a duce.
Speaker 4: We just won't let this stand.
Speaker 3: We're going to characterize now for you the claims made
by the insurance company and why they feel they have say.
Speaker 1: Here, give the Lapstan Wrestling podcast, the wrestling podcast that
knows the boys need their candy. It's the Lapsed Fan.
He's the Lapsed Fan Wrestling podcast with Jack and Carnacio
m JP.
Speaker 4: Soro complaint for declaratory judgment comes now. Plaintiff TIG Insurance
Company and files this complaint for declaratory judgment, showing the
court as follows parties. Yes, I do love your insurance
voice great call TIG Plaintiff Hearin is incorporated under the
laws of California, with its principal place of business in Texas.
Universal Wrestling Corporation Incorporated UWC, a defendant here in was
formerly known as World Championship Wrestling Incorporated at WCW UWC
is incorporated under the laws of Georgia, with its principal
place of business in New York. UWC has designated the
designated A corporate System twelve oh one Peachtree Street, North,
Northeast Atlanta, Georgia three three six one as its registered
agent for service of process. Turner Sports Incorporated, a defendant
here in, is incorporated under the laws of Georgia, with
its principal place of business in New York. Turner Sports
Incorporated has designated CT Corporation System twelve oh one Peachtree Street, Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia,
three oh three six one as its registered agent for
service of process. Turner Entertainment in Corporate. Turner Entertainment Group, Incorporated,
a defendant here in is incorporated under the laws of Georgia,
with its principal place of business in New York. Turner
Entertainment Group, Incorporated has designated CT Corporation System twelve oh
one Peachtree Street, Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia, three zero three sixty
one as its registered agent for service of process. Sydney
r Udy, a defendant here, is a resident of Arkansas
and entered into a contract with WCW in the state
of Georgia. He has filed a lawsuit arising from that
contract in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia. Johnny Laurnitis,
a defendants herein is a resident of Florida and seeks
coverage under a TIG policy delivered in Georgia for uty's
lawsuit presently pending in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia.
Speaker 3: So if you heard that right, they're saying that Johnny
Ace turned around and sought coverage from the insurance company
for any damages he suffered as a result of sid
lawsuit against him, fucking claiming. You know, he was working
as an agent of w W, which was insurance.
Speaker 4: Don't doing what I can? I needed, I had coverage,
you can somebody cover it.
Speaker 8: Cover me.
Speaker 4: Who's gonna provide coverage? I can kick out it too, brother.
I'll cover you, dude.
Speaker 3: Brother, you do some help, dude, for hul Hogan can help.
Speaker 4: Haul Hogan can help. Once you go, lay down, dude,
you know. Cop your shoulders down, brother, close your eyes.
Whole commedia to do his business.
Speaker 3: Dude, it washes over you like a spirit.
Speaker 4: Jurisdiction and venue. This is a complete diversity of citizenship
between plaintive and defendants. The amount and controversy exceeds seventy
five thousand dollars. This Court is subject matter jurisdiction over
this action pursuing to twenty eight USC. Blah blah blah
blah blah Venue or the over this action is proper
in this court. Pursuing to USC blah blah blah blah blah,
Defendants are subject to the personal jurisdiction of this Court.
There is an actual controversy with respect to an insurance
contract delivered in Georgia for a lawsuit, depending on or
just such that this Court could declare the rights and
legal obligations of the parties. Pursued two twenty at USC.
Blah blah blah blah blah. Relationship between UD and WCW
UDI provided wrestling services pursuing to a written contract with WCW,
a true and complete copy of which is attached here
too as exhibit a employment agreement. Under the terms of
UT's employment agreement, WCW arranged his performances and appearances, including
his transportation to and from WCW scheduled events, and had
authority to approve his wardrobe, props and makeup. WCW also
owned all rights to UD's quote, name, image, likeness, character,
costume props, ring name, voice, logo, service marks, trademarks, trade names, signature, gimmicks, routines,
themes and character caricatures spelled in caricatures, which is cherricatures
spelled chercatures, and any and.
Speaker 3: Uh huh indeed you misspelled in the contract?
Speaker 4: Yeah, and any and all other distinctive and identifying indicia
as used by or associated with UD. WCW advised Udy
on developing his wrestling style and prepared scripts for his
wrestling matches that specified with the maneuvers the wrestlers were
to use and determine the final outcome of the matches.
Do y'all get that? Everyone get that, all the newspapers
get that.
Speaker 3: I mean, this is an explosive ring we're putting in here, folks.
Speaker 5: All right, they write scripts, they prepare them, all right,
they prepare move for move maneuvers.
Speaker 4: I'm fucking writing this, shiit.
Speaker 6: See, this is what I'm talking about, right, That's what
I'm fucking talking about. I'm going to court with these motherfuckers.
Speaker 4: In the courtroom writing every word down feverishly.
Speaker 3: And it's according to me as we go through this,
Like you know, we always hear about the scripts and
stuff and the TV writers, but what they were is
basically promo verbiage. They would describe the scenes of the
vignettes and stuff, but when it came to the matches,
everything I've ever seen has been very bare bones when
it comes to describing the actual things that happen in
the ring. It's up to the guys if they want
to to plan it out and remove. In a lot
of cases that they're headed to finish, of course, and
I guess in this case it was the finish, so
it probably it clearly was written down. But what a
way to bite them in the ass, because usually I
know these things aren't written down, and then you don't
have this whole basis to claim after the fact that
you know.
Speaker 4: Well, you know we have proof of such. We have
a script right here, move one locker right, hold for
about three seconds. Mister Udy then pushes mister Steiner to
the ground. Five seconds later. You've been to the second.
They worked to the second.
Speaker 3: Have you been reading ddp's notes. App again, breather for
five minutes.
Speaker 4: That's right, yet take a powder yet. UTI and WCW
agreed that the terms of the employment agreement would be
construed pursuing to Georgia law, and that any disputes would
be resolved in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Georgia. UD and WCW further agreed Udy
was eligible for workers compensation benefits and that ud would
accept such benefits as his quote, sole and exclusive remedy
for all injuries sustained during the term of the employment
agreement under the terms of the employment agreement as construed
by Georgia law, and his performance of services thereunder. Udy
was an employee of WCW underlying lawsuit. On January fourteen,
two thousand and one, Udy injured his left leg during
a WCW wrestling match while performing a maneuver scripted by WCW.
I love scripted maneuvers, attorney. Was the move scripted or
was it not? Your honor?
Speaker 3: The move was in fact scripted.
Speaker 4: Hey, I got It's in the script.
Speaker 3: A hush comes over the deer, hush comes over the courthouse.
Speaker 4: I put it in scripted. Roof, what sir Laurie nightis?
Please sit down? I just put it in confusion. He's
got he gets it.
Speaker 3: For some reason, this is to yell over people, you know,
for some reason, there's like a crowd that's preventing him
from being heard.
Speaker 4: I did what I had to do, Like it's a murder.
You write things down, you let him know. Oh shit,
I did what I had to do. You write things down,
you let him know. And he's saying these things while
being dragged out of the courtroom by a court officer.
Get him out of hat. What a fucking zany fucking
circus this is I wrote into the script, but I
wrote it on the author wrote it. I did what
I had to do. You would do this, sign the
scriptwriter Minova would do the same thing if you were
in my shoes. You don't do the same thing. You
kind of write the move though always nobody knows what's
going on? Oh, because Udi sustained his leg injury during
the course of the employee of his employment by WCW.
He received workers compensation benefits for his leg injury from
a TIG workers compensation policy issued to w CW.
Speaker 3: So here's TIG, the workers compensation company that's paid out
on the policy. They want to sue.
Speaker 4: See, the problem is we didn't understand the term workers
right exactly. We have a different definition of the term
worker when it comes to workers compensation, a different sort
of compensation when it comes to fake athlete.
Speaker 3: You can understand our confusion. When the customer told us
that mister Uty suffered the injury while working.
Speaker 4: While on the job, what they didn't say was that
he was doing the job, which is a very different polity.
Speaker 3: He was working, all right, now that we know what
that means in the parlance of the industry.
Speaker 4: Mm hmm. Beauty nevertheless filed a lawsuit in the Superior
Court of Fulton County against WCW, Turner Sports Incorporated, and
Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated, seeking to recover under common law
theories for injuries he allegedly received. He allegedly received shit,
allegedly received on January fourteenth, two thousand and one. Receive
you guys paid the workers' comp claim like you guys
determined to he actually received the injury, I would imagine.
You know, sometimes we do admit that we don't always
go line by line and read the fine print when
it comes to our policies. We just shell out the money. Okay, Well,
at least you're honest about it. True. An accurate copy
of the initial complaint bearing civil action number zero two
CV for eight five one three is a tacked tier too,
as exhibit B. At the time of Utie's injury, WCW
was a division of Turner Sports Incorporated, which was a
division of Turner Entertainment Group Incorporated, Turner Sports under turn Entertainment,
Which is it entertainment or sports?
Speaker 3: Your honor, what do we have here? We we respectively,
we respectfully submit that a jury should.
Speaker 4: Decide we we we respect we respectfully submit that there
is a confident of interest between these two organizations, and
we believe that a determination with a trial by jury
be the only way that we can finally know the truth.
Speaker 3: And much like Boss Professional Wrestling, and much like mister
Uty in this case, your honor, we respectfully submit to
the Gripler crosspace.
Speaker 4: On information and belief. UD filed an amended complaint in
February third, two thousand and three. The amended complaint was
not tendered to TIG for coverage. UD filed a second
amended complaint on February sixth, two thousand and three, which
added more claims and included Johnny and Laurinidis aka Johnny
Ace as a defendant. A true and complete copy of
the second amended complaint is attached here too as exhibit C.
Lauriniitis was an employee of WCW at the time of
UD's injury tig's coverage decisions. WCW tendered the initial complaint
to TIG for coverage pursuing to a commercial General Liability
policy issued for the period April one, two thousand to
April one, two thousand and one, bearing policy number TCT
seven zero zero zero three seven nine six four seven
nine nine zero two CGL.
Speaker 3: Policy habit of everyone who always wanted to know what
exact policy numbered WCW care for its commercial General Liability insurance.
Speaker 4: There it is there, It is right there. A true
and complete copy of the CGL policy is attached here.
Too as Exhibit D. TIG reviewed UD's initial complaint and
denied coverage under the CGL policy because UD was not
seeking damages covered by its turn.
Speaker 3: Initially denied coverage to SID to ww A true and well,
it says beauty Yeah, denied utynie uty that's true, then
denied UTY.
Speaker 4: A true and accurate copy of the denial of coverage
letter is attached here too as Exhibit E. Subsequent to
its denial of coverage for the claims asserted in the
initial complaint, UD's second amended complaint was tendered to TIG
for coverage by both WCW and Laurentiis. TIG reviewed the
allegations of the second amended complaint and agreed to defend
pursuant to a reservation of rights agreement. A true and
complete copy of the reservation of rights letter is attached
here too as Exhibit F. We have unlimited exhibits, your honor.
We plan to exhibit everything exhibitionists.
Speaker 9: We are.
Speaker 4: We are an exhibitious insurance company pertinent policy provisions under
section one coverages of the Commercial General Liability Coverage Form
the CGL form of the policy, TIG agree to pay
quote those sums that the insured becomes legally obligated to
pay as damages because of bodily injury or property damage
to which this insurance applies. However, TIG will have no
duty to defend the insured against any suit seeking damages
for bodily injury or property damage to which this insurance
does not apply and quote. Under section one of the
CGL form, quote this insurance applies to bodily injury and
property damage only if the boss injury or property damage
is caused by an occurrence that takes place in the
coverage territory well is that Minnesota, or is that Georgia territory,
and the bodily injury or property damage occurs during the
policy period. Under the CGL forms, Commercial General Liability Broadened
Coverage Endorsement, quote, bodily injury is defined as quote bodily
injury that's great sickness, sickness or disease sustained by a person.
This includes mental anguish, mental injury, shock, fright, humiliation, emotional distress,
or death resulting from bodily injury, sickness or disease. Under
section five of the CGL form, quote occurrence unquote is
defined as quote an accident, including continuous or repeated exposure
to substantially the same general harmful conditions unquote. Section one
of the CGL four excludes coverage for quote bodily injury
to quote an employee of the insured arising out of
and in the course of a employment by the insured,
or b performing duties related to the conduct of the
insured's business. Get that at all?
Speaker 3: I mean, basically, I don't understand how bodily injury doesn't
apply if it suffered in the course of the employment
of the by the insured. I don' don't understand at all.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's very sure rising out of an incurse of
employment by the insured.
Speaker 3: I mean, maybe it'll make more sense as we go,
make it make sense. This next one is money in
the bank.
Speaker 4: Under section five of the CGL form quote employee includes
a least worker. Employee does not include a temporary worker.
Speaker 3: We're not going to say that this does not cover
an injury to sid because he was an independent contractor,
are we We are not going to.
Speaker 4: Quote, you know, he is not technically an employee of
oh organization. He is a private contractor, and we do
not cover private contractors. One more for the boys. Mm hmm.
Under section two of the CGL form, quote, WCW's employees
other than WCW's executive officers are insured, but only for
acts within the scope of their employment by WCW or
while performing duties related to the conduct of WCW's business. Unquote.
Under section two of the CGL form, employees are not
insured for a quote bodily injury to a co employee
while that co employee is either in the course of
his or her employment or performing duties related to the
conduct of WCW's business. That means god n So wait,
wait a minute. Employees are not insured for bottling injury
to a co employee, So I mean that could be
so if I don't understand.
Speaker 3: I know I don't either, So I don't know what
a call employee is. Notice employee and co is in parentheses.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well the quotes you mean. But yeah, it's very weird,
like why.
Speaker 3: It's almost what is that it's in there? Not if
I'm trying to read this. Employees at WW you can't
claim an insurance, can't go for insurance money if they
cause injury to another employee.
Speaker 4: But that's the whole business. The whole business is, you know,
potentially causing injury to another employee. It's pretty amazing under
an employment related this, I mean, this just sounds like
a shitty policy. It's like, why would you, why would
you choose this policy?
Speaker 5: You know?
Speaker 3: And to be shocked at how like impossible it is
to find a policy without language.
Speaker 4: No, I listen, I'm mad, I I imagine that, you know. Listen, listen.
Insurance companies don't want to pay out? God, I understand. God?
Do they not want to pay out under an employment
related practices exclusion endorsement to the CGO policy. The policy
does not apply to quote personal and advertising injury to
one a person arising out of any a refusal to
employ that person, termination of that person's employment, or see
employment related practices policies, acts, or omissions such as coercion, demotion, evaluation, reassignment, discipline, defamation, harassment,
humiliation or discrimination directed at that person unquote. So that's
all wrestling right there. Coercion, demotion, Yeah, this is not
the business information harassment. This is not a good policy.
Relief sought based on all the terms, conditions, and exclusions
in the policy, whether expressly mentioned or identified in this
complaint or not. As well, as under relevant legal principles
and public policy concerns. TIG seeks a declaration as to
its obligation to defend and or indemnify UWC. Turner, Sports,
Turner Entertainment Group and Lauren Eidis for the claims asserted
in the underlying lawsuit. Wherefore, the plaintive TIG Insurance Company
praise that the Court a declare that TIG Insurance Company
has no duty to defend or indemnify the claims made
in the underlying underlying lawsuit and b award such other
and further relief as the Court shall deem just and
proper respectfully respectfully submitted Freeman Mathis and Gary L. LP
by Philip W. Savereigns.
Speaker 3: So basically, Georgia Barr Number six six case, you're wondering
great stuff. So I mean, if so, basically they want
the court to tell them we actually obligated to defend
WCW in this lawsuit, Like, are we obligated to basically
cover the cost of defending this lawsuit against file by
sid And they're suing WCW to get that decision. It's
just it's such a nightmare and it involves so much foolishness.
It's even hard to tell how this resolves. It carries
through the court system for a little while. After that,
that complaint was filed with sid ud among the defendants
as well as Laurianidis. On July twenty four, two thousand
and three, it was it was filed and a judgment
was entered a year later, July thirtieth, two thousand and
flour four in favor of WSW against the plaintiff for
costs of this action. So basically, if I'm reading this correctly,
there was a decision that WCW basically can seek costs
to defend this lawsuit from the insurance company. And it's
it's amazing that there's more or disputes to come and
more issues to be hashed out. So it wasn't just
Sid's leg that suffered complications as a result of what
happened in two thousand and one. Who knows how much
he got, We know how much he wanted to get
and didn't get. But again, just another example, boss, just
another exhibit, if to use the parlance that we've been
using here in this episode, another exhibit of Sid coming
in and being given the ball at the top of
the card when everything's coming to a fucking screeching halt,
or everything is already bombed out. It's like, what future
is there here? You know, as he's out here. It's
so poetic. I think that Sid suffers this debilitating career
ending injury performing for a company that had absolutely no
traction in no future, because that's the circumstances where Sid
has always thrived. Yep, that's the circumstances where his phone
rings loudest, where the contractual offers are our richest, is
when a company is on the skids, When the company
that he's going to is losing significant amount of momentum
and doesn't quite know where to look and for some
reason for all the well, you know, some reason, for
all the reasons we've documented thus far in our tribute
to Sid. We know the qualities that he had that
caused promoter after promoter to look to him for some
reason when they needed to pick up that bat phone
and figure out a way to stem the bleeding. But
they did, you know, it ended up costing them in
so many ways. And it's just it's just hilarious that
ultimately Sid seeking to hang his hat on the idea
that he can come into a territory and move business.
Ended up being a point in his lawsuit that you
know what, you were unjustly enriched by what I brought
to the table. You were unjustly enriched by the magnetism
of my name, translating into ratings for a video of
my career ending being broadcast on national television. It's about
as Sid as it gets. And we must now reach
our final leg of the journey. And I use that
not as a pun whatsoever, because we've already got a
glimpse of it.
Speaker 4: We've got to of it.
Speaker 3: It was a difficult other half of life for one
sid Uty after this injury at sin and after all
the lead ramifications were figured out and sussed out. And
when we're with you next time. In the TLF Tribute
to sid we take you all the way from rehabbing
the leg to entering the grave. We'll see you next time.
Preceeding announcement as a
Speaker 1: T J to Santus production, its contents is intended for
private use only.