All language subtitles for Dark Side Of The Ring s06e04 Adrian Adonis.eng

[Announcer]
Mr. USA!

Tony Atlas!

I had 19-and-a-
half-inch biceps,

and I was 225 pounds
at age 19.

God, he was a Black
Arnold Schwarzenegger.

You have got it.
Look at those arms.

You have got it.

Yeah. I mean, he was
the total package.

I know that I need
to work hard.

I need to train harder.

[Narrator] A bodybuilder
turned wrestler,

Mr. USA,
Tony Atlas,

broke barriers as
one of the first major

Black superstars
in the sport.

You got to keep it.

Getting it is one thing,
but keeping it

all together's a
different thing.

I remember seeing
Black wrestlers

get tarred
and feathered.

A lot of...

questionable
racist behavior.

Tony Atlas made little
Black kids all over the world

feel like, man,
I could do that too.

I am gonna whoop on you
and get paid for it.

There were very few
Black wrestlers.

There was a lot of times in
my wrestling area

where I'm the only
Black guy.

They saw money.
They didn't see color.

Hey, wait a minute!

Holy shit,
look at this guy.

Get out of the way!
Get out of the way!

Climbing the ladder
of success very,

very rapidly in the World
Wrestling Federation.

Rising to heights few
Black wrestlers of his era

had ever reached,

Tony Atlas began to unravel
under the weight of

fame's pressures
and pitfalls.

I got trouble here and
I got trouble there!

And I got trouble
coming your way!

Sex, drugs,
and wrestling.

It was a party every
night at the hotel room.

There were a lot
of temptations,

and there were a lot of
different choices

out there to make.

I never bought drugs
a day in my life.

It was always
given to me.

It was in the dressing room,
for God's sake.

There's a lot of things
about Tony Atlas,

I wonder whether
it's legend or fact.

You know,
is it true or not?

Tony's battle
with addiction

cost him significant
opportunities,

leaving him with no
place to call home.

So, here's a guy
who was making

hundreds of
thousands of dollars,

and he's living
on the street.

It's not how
much you make,

it's how much
you save.

I was some homeless guy that
smelled like something died.

No place to live.
No nothing.

I became suicidal.

I didn't want
to live no more.

I wanted to die.

?

?

[Claps]

[Video] Mr. USA!
Tony Atlas!

And he looks fantastic.

Looks like he was
chiseled from granite.

[Mark] Man,
he was a giant.

What a well put
together human.

[Announcer] His opponent
weighing 320 pounds.

The incredible
Hulk Hogan!

Geez.

[Video] ...unbelievable
size of Hulk Hogan.

Yeah.

Oh, look at that!
Oh, that's nice!

Check that out.

Check it out, girls,
check that out.

Atlas grinding it
out a bit.

They came unglued.

Look at this!
Look at this!

[Cheering]

Hulk Hogan's,
what?

330 pounds
at the time, 6'4".

And press him
over your head.

[Cheering]

Hogan, I can hear him now,
cussing up a storm.

Unbelievable!

Damn... Tony wanted
to press

the biggest guy
in the company,

'cause it was telling
everybody in the audience...

"Look how strong I am."

[Cheering & shouting]

[Match bell ringing]

A main event guy,
Madison Square Garden.

To go to...

you know, living on
a park bench.

Sometimes people have to
go through hitting bottom

before they realize how
good they really had it.

I was born in Virginia.

My mother was a
devoted Christian.

She only been with one
man her whole life.

And that was
my father.

My dad never worked.
My mother worked.

All of her dedication went
directly to raising her kids.

One time, we were
walking down the street,

and this guy slapped
my mother on the butt.

My mom turned
around.

She hit him with one punch
and knocked him out.

Laid him out right there.

My mother said, "I gotta
teach you kids how to

protect yourself 'cause
I ain't always going to

be here for you."

That was something
she said all the time.

Because when
I was young,

you had to know how
to use your hands.

All through life, you go
back to my childhood.

I was in anywhere
between 50 to 100 fights

anywhere in there,
easily.

So I had a
reputation that,

if you fight me today
and I don't win,

you're gonna
see me again tomorrow.

Most of the influence in
the Black neighborhood

when I was a child
was bad influence.

We looked up to
drug dealers.

We looked up to
street fighter.

We walk to school,

and there was a fist fight
every other day.

I didn't care
who you were.

I would fight anybody.

Now, my dad,
he was a gambler,

he liked to
hustle money.

So he took me down to
scrap a corner and wait

for the railroad men
to come in.

And when they'd
get drunk,

he would tell 'em,

"I bet you can't whoop
that boy, there."

I don't fight any
grown men.

And he said, "If you
lose this fight, boy,

you're gonna get it,
get it worse

when you get home."

But I grew quick.
By the time I was 12,

I was already over
six feet, at 12.

But I only weighed
like 110 pounds.

I was like a stick.

And so one day,

I was walking
with this girl.

'Cause I helped her carry
her books, I liked her.

Really,
I liked her shoes.

She had tennis
shoes on.

So, I hear this
voice behind me say,

"I'm gonna push you."
All of a sudden,

I fell head first.
I got the...

the dent in my head,
right here.

The whole world
turned red because

all the blood
ran down to my face.

My grandmother
come running out:

"Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord!
Come here, boy!"

My skull was split
completely in half.

We had no phone.

She couldn't call
the ambulance.

She couldn't
call the police.

No way of
contacting anybody.

My grandmother said,
"I want you to pray."

So, I got down on my knees,
and this is what I said,

"I want to be
strong like Sampson.

Built like Hercules,

and have a lot of money."

And everything that I
asked for in that prayer,

God gave to me.

I blew it later, but still,
he gave to me.

Yeah, yeah.

No, no.

But I do know it was
something wrong with me,

that I was not
like regular kids.

And I think it has something
to do with the shoes,

the reason I'm so submissive
to women in sneakers

and stuff like that.

Because all that was
all at the same time.

I buy shoes for the
girls to step on me.

What they
got me into now?

Oh, my goodness.
Ah, that one.

Found one.

Yeah, that's a nice pair
of shoes right there.

Well, if they're
feminine looking.

They look like
something that

should be on a
woman's feet.

I got stepped on
in malls, in gyms,

in houses,
hotel, elevator.

I got it done
everywhere.

Couple dozen times I was
with him and I seen him

just buy shoes and have 'em
walk on his face,

and never talk
to 'em again.

I was as shocked
as the girl was.

People knew nothing
about fetishes.

Fetish and all this
stuff was underground,

so they thought because
of my wrestling,

they thought it was
part of my training.

He'd see a girl at
the matches and

have 'em walk
on his face.

I'd give a woman $50
just to step on me.

Plus, I buy the
shoes for 'em.

They didn't have to
pay for the shoe.

I thought it was a little bit
out of the ordinary.

You know, it,
you know...

But then, then, you know,
everybody has their little...

quirks, right? You know,
things that...

make them feel good.

As Papaw said,
"I am what I am."

You know,
he's not, he's not

the only
foot guy in the world.

Well, they said, like,
I suck toes, which I don't.

They say I like high heels,
which I don't.

Ah, they said that I
whack off, which I don't.

They try to make it
into a sexual thing.

Well, for me, my shoe fetish
keeps me calm.

I got more control of it
now than I did then.

You sniff on it,
Tony!

Hey,
now we're talking.

I was into what's
called dominatrix.

So, the dominatrix
becomes your master.

You were called a slave.

I can't use that term now
because I'm Black,

and Black people get mad,
but that's what it was.

So,
they dominate you.

See, I went to a person one
time that explained it

to me that was into all
this psychology stuff,

and I had this
rage in me.

You know, ever since
I was a kid.

I'd fight anybody.
I'd beat up anybody.

I could lift anything,
nobody could beat me.

Argh!

So, I had to learn
more control.

So, I ended up
going to the YMCA.

I never been to the
gym a day in my life.

I was 15 years old

when I first started
lifting weights.

[Knocking]

Hey, hello, welcome.
Come on in, guys.

Well, I know y'all gentlemen
notice I got a lot of stuff

spread out here on the table,
because these items here

are items for before

there was a Tony Atlas.

This is Muscle
Development magazine.

I never competed in
body building before,

but what ended up
happening,

I did a 350-pound press

at age 19.

That was the,
the beginning of my

body building and
power lifting.

?

I saw Tony the first time
at the YMCA.

My name is
David Crockett.

I am part of the Crockett
wrestling family

that started...

Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling,

World Championship
Wrestling...

TVS, that's us.

In Charlotte, the only place
you had to exercise

or lift weights
was the YMCA.

A lot of the wrestlers,
George Scott, Sandy Scott,

Johnny Heidman,
you name it,

they all were
down there working out,

and they said, "Hey,
we've got this young man

that we think we can do
something with."

They take me
to the office.

There were some mats there,
and I said, you know,

put him through the paces
just to see, you know,

if he knew anything.

Which he didn't.

But he definitely
had potential.

They said, "We're
going to pay you...

$150 a week to train."

We took an
investment in Tony.

Other people,
we did not see it

worth buying stock in them.

So, was there jealousy?
Oh, yes.

And, it was
very hard for him.

Very hard, but he was
like a sponge.

You know,
he... he learned.

Then, George Scott
said, "Well, Tony,

I guess tomorrow we have to
teach you how to work."

I said, "George,
I don't want to work.

I want to be a wrestler."
He said, "No, Tony,

you don't understand."
I said, "I don't want to work!"

I said, "I don't want
to be a worker.

I want to be a wrestler!"

I learned it ain't up to me
to win or lose.

It's up to some promoter.

It, it was hard to swallow,
me being...

for so many years as a
weightlifter or bodybuilder,

I was in legitimate sports.

Now I'm in a sport where
I gotta let people

whoop me that
can't whoop me.

It was the most
disappointing day of my life.

I was 20 years old when
I finished high school.

A lot of kids could not
afford to do senior picture.

So this here became
my senior picture.

And then look
at my arms.

Tony Atlas was one
of the biggest and

one of the strongest.

So I completely
identified with it.

I'm Mark Henry.

Some might say the
strongest man that ever lived.

Oh!

And Tony Atlas
was my manager.

The ever present
Tony Atlas.

Tony was a heavyweight...

that didn't look
like a heavyweight.

You could see every
vein and muscle.

He wasn't just the guy
that had show muscles.

Tony had go muscles.

Down for the champion!

I was a champion
in three sports.

Simultaneous. I was a
champion bodybuilder.

I was a champion
in powerlifting.

I was a champion
in weight lifting.

You know, 22-inch arms.

24-inch waist,
28-inch thighs,

lats, traps,
shoulders.

He was built.

And it just wasn't
cosmetics because

he had the strength
to back it.

Elbows locked
and he did it.

505 pounds!

Hi, I'm Ricky
"The Dragon" Steamboat.

2009 WWE
Hall of Famer.

NWA World Champion.

Weighing 237 pounds!

Ricky Steamboat!

There will only be
one winner.

Thanks for being here.

We have competed
on the same stage,

but I won
Mr. Southern States,

and he won Mr. USA.

[Cheering]

Mr. USA.

[Announcers]
Mr. USA! ...Mr. USA!

Mr. USA!

Tony Atlas!

[Cheering]

My 50 some odd plus years
in this business,

I've seen bodybuilders
come and go.

You're big, you're strong
and all this stuff,

that doesn't make you
a great wrestler.

Hey, I'm Gerald Brisco,
WWE Hall of Famer.

But you might know me
better as Jerry Brisco.

Gerald Brisco!

[Cheering]

Tony was a bodybuilder
that was a wrestler.

Look at the agility of
this man, Tony Atlas.

They wanted me to be
a main event.

They didn't want me
on bottom.

They wanted me
on top because,

you know, back then I had
the best body in wrestling.

The first year of my career,
I was a champion.

With his chiseled physique

and natural talent
in the ring,

Georgia Championship
Wrestling wastes little time

crowning Tony their
television champion.

You know,
when you got this belt,

you gotta keep it.

Yeah, I mean,
big guy.

Good looking.

I mean, he was a
freak of nature.

Hello, my name's
Tommy "Wildfire" Rich,

former NWA World
Heavyweight Champion,

when wrestling
was wrestling.

If you see Tommy,
you're gonna see me!

If you want to fight Tommy,
you gotta fight me!

If you want to make love to
Tommy, you gotta love me too!

A few months, they started
pushing us as a tag team.

Yeah, that's me and
"Wildfire" Tommy Rich.

That's when we was young
whipper snappers right there,

me and Tommy at Georgia
Championship Wrestling.

Black and white...

we fight all night.

And the people just loved it,
I mean, it was, you know...

salt and pepper, and I'm
talking about back in '78,

I think's when I started
in there, it's...

it's the Black and
White thing,

you know,
it was...

it was a different
world back then.

You know, some of them
little towns

didn't like Black
folks there.

Today, it'd be
called racism.

My day...

it was called...

average.

You gotta realize that a
territory only kept

one Black in
every territory.

So, if I walk in the dressing
room and a Black guy's

sitting in that
dressing room,

he was automatically
my enemy.

But that was life
for People of Color.

I got called "nigger" so
many times in professional

wrestling that one time
a guy walked up to me, said,

"Hey Tony," and I didn't
know who he was talking to.

There were very few
wrestlers didn't use

the term "nigger".
Tommy Rich didn't.

It was just in the
world at that time.

It was not- you know,
they all used the term.

They all,
they all did it.

No.

I was making money.

My mom helped me
with this.

She said,
"You pick your battles."

As long as I was
making money...

I didn't care.

I made $100,000
in my first year,

and that was my
smallest year.

I didn't know what it was
like to work your way

from the bottom.

I didn't know what
that was like.

It was given to me
too quickly.

Too much,
too soon.

I was not supposed to been
in that position that soon

because mentally I
was not ready for it.

I gave it away.

Give my friends money.

In fact, when I took
a girl out on a date,

I would take her
shopping first.

I said, "You gotta get
something to wear."

I was like, "Well, you gotta
have a piece of jewelry."

And the boys was
all big spending.

They told me when
I first started,

there's two
ways of being.

Live like a king...

or be rich.
You choose.

I lived like a king.

He'd never seen that
much money before.

And it happens to
a lot of athletes.

They don't know how to
deal with it, and...

they spend it like
it's no tomorrow.

You know,
he goes to the bar,

starts buying drinks.

Man, it's like piranhas
when they come in,

you know, everybody
is his friend now.

He was like Ric Flair
with his money, where he,

he'd make five grand and
the next day he'd be broke.

You find a lot of guys that,
all of a sudden,

start to make it big and the
next thing you know

they're buying
watches and cars.

He went out and bought
1976 Lincoln Continental.

You gotta party
with these big guys,

you gotta spend
the money and...

and unfortunately, the
parasites in our business...

jumped on to Tony, and now
they're becoming

Tony's friends because
he's got all this money,

and he's going
to these bars.

And he's spending
all this money.

"Hey, Tony, buy me
a drink."

You know, "Buy me
dinner tonight.

Let's go out and have
some fun," right?

And, you go to a club, and
the next thing you know,

you got a $300 bar tab,
and guess what?

The friend that was
with you is gone.

The girls would,
would come up to you.

You didn't have
to go to them.

And they said, "You want
to go to the room?"

Most time I would
take three women

up to the room.

Party, drink, smoke.

Every night was an orgy.

I wanted to fit in,
and drugs was in

the dressing room,
for God's sake.

I didn't go out
looking for it.

It was in the
dressing room!

You know, it was pain pill,
Valium, or Xanax, or...

a little coke,
whatever it was.

You know, we all
participated a little bit.

They called our group
"The Bad Boys"

'cause we was in trouble
every week.

I'm Referee Nick Patrick.

You probably remember me
as the NWO ref,

and I also was a
referee for WWE.

Nick Patrick,
for crying out loud!

It was just every week

somebody doing
something stupid.

[Laughing]
Just drinking,

and we had doctors writing
out whatever we wanted,

and smoking and
just snorting,

and whatever.

We were just as wild-
it's a miracle we survived.

But anyway, we got tired
of Tommy never driving,

and just finally said,
"We are not your chauffeur

any longer," which was
a horrible mistake.

I'd been drinking,
and...

I was driving, I just
rented a Lincoln.

Got on the interstate,

went down the road
probably two miles.

We were like really
close back to our hotel.

And...

the car started flipping.

The car flipped upside
down three times.

So, I'm in the car,
unconscious.

I don't know
what's going on.

?

I was almost dead.

An intoxicated journey
down the freeway

ends in disaster,

leaving Tony Atlas and
his fellow wrestlers

wrecked in a
horrifying accident.

The roof of the car was
crushed down on my side,

but I guess it come down
and hit me and drove

my head down
and knocked me out.

And I had a
broken neck.

Tony, you know, I mean,
he was in the hospital

for about 3 or
4 days and...

then come out and
still couldn't wrestle.

It was the business.

We went on as normal.

Nothing,
nothing ever stopped.

I feel bad for Tony.

I wish that he did have
people around him

that was like, "Hey, man,
you had enough.

Come on, go get some rest.
Don't get in the car."

Though he struggles
with life on the road,

Tony shines brighter
than ever in the ring,

stepping into the
spotlight of the famed

World Wrestling Federation.

Tony Atlas!

You've signed to face a
number of individuals,

and I can tell you one thing,
the fans are certainly

delighted about it.

If y'all don't mind,
I'd like to show you all

a few of my sketches.

That is gorgeous.

Yeah,
I'm working on that.

His arms are almost
as big as yours, Tony.

I believe so.
[Laughing]

If there was ever a talent
that was built for New York,

it was Tony Atlas.

Take a look at that!

Tony wasn't getting
booked mid-card.

Tony was getting
booked main event.

[Cheering]

You know,
and when they did...

what happened, man, the
business started exploding.

But the chant and
reaction that Tony

was getting was
second to none.

Tony Atlas, undefeated in the
World Wrestling Federation.

As one of the WWF's
biggest stars...

Tony joins forces
with future

Hall of Famer
Rocky Johnson...

to form a history
making tag team.

It was brand new
where...

you had two
African-Americans...

getting that rocket ship
attached to

both of these
young men.

Rocky was already
the established star,

and Tony was still the
up-and-coming star,

and the two of 'em together
with the power and the look

that they had, it was
magic for both of them.

You see,
back then,

all this stuff was new
for Black athletes.

-[Cheering]
-I can't believe it!

We've got
new champions!

We are the first
Black tag team

champions of
the world, ever!

[Cheering]

Now that was great.

My problem was me and
Rocky didn't get along

because Rocky was
a top wrestler.

I was a top wrestler.

I'm the only one
can take his spot.

Tony, I'm sure
you're so happy.

You got tears
in your eyes.

It wasn't that he hated me
or disliked me.

As you know,
Rocky's older than me,

and this was
Rocky's first break...

in the WWF.

Think about it.
I made, in one week,

what took Rocky Johnson
ten years to make.

There was a lot of
jealousy came into play,

and so after a while it
started souring,

and it turned into a
bitter relationship,

and that's sad because those
two guys in the beginning,

they were equal and, and
then all of a sudden...

Rocky noticed that Tony was
getting the bigger push.

You did it, Tony!
You did it, Tony!

Rocky Johnson tried to get me
fired thousands of times.

They were kind of
toxic together.

You know,
Rocky would play Tony,

and get him in trouble.

They would have very
vocal arguments in the

dressing room to the point
where you'd get a

little concerned, how far
is this gonna go?

And a lot of times, you had
a road agent stepping in

to kind of, kind of
calm 'em down.

And then they'd go out
and they'd have one of

the best matches
you ever seen.

[Indistinct commentary]

What was really concerning
was when it would follow over.

I mean, you want to clear
a bar out in a hurry,

you get these two gigantic
men arguing with each other,

cussing each other out.

You're gonna clear
a spot for 'em.

The new World's
Tag Team Champions,

Rocky Johnson
and Tony Atlas!

But here's the kick
in the britches.

After we won the belt,
they did very little with us.

Look at this!

Five months later...

we lost the belt.

God, it's history!

I didn't know we was
gonna lose that night.

Vince never told me
nothing about it.

Ole Anderson.
Ole just tell me,

"The world is not ready
for a Black champion."

I think Tony dealt
with a lot of racism,

not only through the fans,

but backstage too
with the guys.

The foundation of the
business was owned by Whites.

You know, like, you,

your representation
was based off biases,

and some of 'em
were based off ignorance.

You had guys that was
member of the KKK,

like Dick Murdoch.
He'd open his bag

and you'd see a KKK
frickin' suit in his bag.

I didn't know this then.

Well, one time Dick Murdoch
was in the dressing room...

and he was giving
out these fliers.

And he said, "Tony,
I got some friends that

want to meet ya."

I said, "Oh, thank you,
Mr. Murdoch."

I'm trying to be respectful.
So, I said, "Yeah,"

I said, "Can Tommy go?"
"Oh, yeah, Tommy can go."

So we pulled up
into this dirt road.

And up on the hill is
a guy in the hood,

the Klan outfit,
with a shotgun.

Tommy said,
"Get down, T!"

?

People don't
realize this, but...

I have trouble
with reading.

What I got, dyslexia or
whatever you call it.

My mother said I was
a slow learner.

And she said,
it happened ever since

I got brain damage
as a kid.

So, anyway, Dick Murdoch
gave me this flier.

So me and Tommy,
we're driving and,

Tommy had not looked
at the paper yet.

Said, "Let me see that there
flier you got there, Tony."

"Hot damn, T!
This is for the KKK!"

So I laid down
in the seat,

Tommy spun the
car around.

I said,
"You're shitting me?"

He goes, "Ah!
They're Ku Klux Klan!

Didn't you read
the thing, T?"

I said, "I looked at it."
"Hot damn,

Murdoch just started
a damn Klan meeting!"

So, we get back to the
dressing room,

and the guys are having
a laugh, they said,

"We didn't really
think you would go."

Yeah, he was definitely
taken advantage of.

Tony never looked for
the bad in someone.

You know, even after the
first couple of stabs

in his back, didn't quite
understand it.

Maybe didn't
quite feel it.

But then, you know, you get
stuck enough times,

you go, "What in the hell
is going on here?"

Years of racism,
exploitation,

and locker room
jealousy...

pushed Tony to numb the
pain with his vices.

He told me he would
go do drugs,

or he would go get
so sloppy drunk that

he couldn't even think
about nothing but...

him being
intoxicated.

That's a horrible
existence.

Then I started going into the
locker room to intimidate.

And that's when everything
started spiraling down,

and the success,
and the money,

and the fame started
going to my head.

I had a Colt 357 Magnum.

And I started shooting
at the ceiling with it.

[Gunshot]

I destroyed my own career
by wanting revenge.

I figured I would hurt
others as much as

I was hurt when
I was a kid.

[David] He became a
different person.

He was not
Tony Atlas then.

Not the Tony Atlas I
first saw at the YMCA.

He's gonna be
in trouble now!

All these wrestlers
that he's beating...

he's on top of the world
and self-destructs.

I mean, it was like sex,
drugs, and rock 'n' roll,

but it's sex, drugs
and wrestling.

Of course, back then
we was all doing it.

[Tony] I was stupid.

Even though I had all
this fame and everything,

I was not a
happy person.

I walked out over
a pair of shoes.

I threw away the championship
for a pair of sneakers.

Well, one day I'm
at the airport,

and this girl was telling me
she can't wait to see me.

She got some
new shoes.

She said, "I'm going to
walk all over you."

I said, shit...

I could go do this and

come back for the wrestling.

And Chief Jay Strongbow
tried to save me.

He said, "This match is
going to be one of the

most important matches
of your life."

I said,
"Oh, -- it.

I'm going to LA to be
with my girl."

Yeah.

I had to lose everything

to learn to appreciate
what I had.

What? What the
hell's going on?

Merry Christmas!

If you miss one show and
you got a good excuse,

that's one thing.

But if you start missing
one here and there,

and here and there,
you lose your dependability,

and then,
that's what they do,

they depend on us to do
what we're supposed to do.

I can't think of
nothing worse.

Everybody there that
paid money because,

"Oh, I want to
see Tony Atlas."

[Commentary]
Now look at that.

Yes, sir.

And then you go,
"I ain't coming."

Come on, man,
you can't do that.

[Tony] When I came back,
Vince let me go.

I was fired.
He told me himself:

"I have to make an
example out of you."

In fact, it was
a compliment in a way.

See, all the wrestlers
were screwing up.

He said, "I have to make an
example out of you

because if I fire Tony
Atlas, then everybody

will know I will
fire anyone."

Think about it.

You're taking out your
biggest star you got

on your card,
on you roster.

That says a lot about
a promoter because

he's sacrificing crowds
and houses to try to

bring you back
to reality.

You know, sometimes you gotta
be protected from yourself.

?

Tony's addiction and
release from the WWF

land him in a small New
England based promotion

under the control of
promoter Mario Savaldi.

Mario told me, "I know you're
used to making more money,

but I could guarantee you

50 to 75,000 a year."

He said, "It's not much,

but here in Maine,
it's liveable."

Then, all of a sudden,
Mario would

book a show on
the Saturday.

Vince would book a show
in Maine on a Friday,

trying to put Mario
out of business.

Mario's attendance started to
drop, drop, drop, drop, drop.

All of a sudden, I had no
money and no place to go.

I became homeless.

I lost everything.
I'm not very well educated.

The only way that I knew
how to make a living...

was in that ring.

I don't come to
the park no more.

Twenty years since
I been to this park.

This here was my home,
right here.

It's where I slept.

I was here for a year
and a half almost.

The same people that
give you something,

they can also
take it away.

And, and you could lose
everything you ever owned

in about a second.

Got in fights.

Down here on
Knock Street.

[Mark] He said that once,
he woke up

and rolled off a bench.

He said, "Mark, I woke up
and I was laying in

a mud puddle."

Man...

Making hundreds of
thousands of dollars,

like you're making
$1 million back in,

back in the 70s
and 80s, you know.

And I went from
that life...

to living on Knock Street,
and eating out of a dumpster.

Here I am standing on
the frickin' corner,

and everybody
knows me!

That's what made it so hard.
See, I was poor before,

but nobody knew me.

But to be poor
and famous...

I was more hooked on cocaine
here in Maine than

I ever been in
my whole life.

I became suicidal.

I tried to be, I tried to
die by police shooting.

I used to go to the police
station to try to get them to

come in the parking lot
to shoot me.

I used to walk in front
of cars and everything,

trying to die.

Though he's ready
to give up,

a local woman
comes to Tony's aid,

saving him from
his darkest struggles.

Monica was walking right
down this street here.

She said, "What are you
doing here?"

I said, "I sleep here."

She said, "You can't stay here.
It's twenty below zero."

She said, "You will
freeze to death."

I said, "I don't give a --.
I want to die."

So she left.

Next day she came back
to check on me again.

I'd curse
her out again.

It finally got
so damn cold,

and my legs went numb.

Monica called
the ambulance.

And they're trying
to ask Monica

all these questions
about me.

Monica can't
tell 'em nothing.

She don't even
know my name.

I went into a coma.

That picture there,
this was when

I first met my wife,
Monica.

That's when
we first met.

I didn't have a
pot to piss in,

or a window
to throw it out of.

I had nothing to eat.

All I had were the
clothes on my back.

And, my trophy.

That's,
that's all I had.

I had nothing, nothing,
nothing, nothing, nothing.

And this woman took
me in. She said,

"If you need a place to stay,
you can stay with me."

Do you understand?

She took me home
to her house.

So, I started going back
to the gym, working out.

I got a little
part-time job here.

I worked as a bouncer,
ah, to pay the rent.

All of a sudden,
Vince sent me a contract.

With Mario Savaldi's
promotion struggling,

Vince McMahon
reaches out,

offering Tony another
opportunity for glory.

Monica started crying.

She said, "Now that you're
back doing what you do,

I'll probably never
see you again."

And I said,
"Monica, yes, you will."

I bought
these cheap rings...

I bought these rings,
this ring right here,

I still got it.

And I said, "Monica,
now we are married."

For Vince to do that,
that's- you know,

'cause it's easy
for him to just say,

"Get the hell on."

And then, of course,
I'm sure Tony

had enough time to know
that he'd done wrong

and love the opportunity
to get to come back.

He said, "Well, let's bury
the hatchet."

He said, "I got a
great idea for you."

[Commentary]
What have we got here?

Take a look at this,
would you? Saba Simba!

Proud of his heritage,
indeed.

We haven't seen
this man for years,

and legally changing
his name to Saba Simba.

Now here's the
kick in the teeth.

My first night as
Saba Simba,

Roddy Piper says this.

[Roddy]
That's Tony Atlas!

That ain't no
Saba Simba!

That's Tony Atlas!

Piper's right, you know.

Everybody, says, "Everybody
knows that's Tony Atlas."

I thought it was low.

And,
he ain't the only one.

There's a lot of people
that have played roles and

characters that
they felt like

were belittling.

Tony Atlas was a
respected superstar.

?

All of a sudden,
he's a...

Who?
[Laughing]

Vince,
what were you thinking?

Why would Vince have me
come out and do a gimmick,

and then tell people
who I am?

I couldn't understand
why he did that.

Why walk around
looking like that?

You look like a fool?

[Bell ringing]

Who's he trying to fool?

I think it was a way
of making fun of him.

It's because,
it's because Vince can.

You know?

I think Ricky "The Dragon"
Steamboat worked great.

But then when they
turned me into the

costume wearing,
fire breathing dragon,

and it was more like
a caricature.

And of course, with Tony,
the same thing.

[Commentary]
Look at Atlas, wow!

[Ricky]
Just 180 degree turn.

If that was the intent,

then it was a
success because...

[Laughing]
That was embarrassing.

[Gerald]
Oh, God, ugh.

Saba Simba.
Give me a break.

My third-grade son at
that time could have

promoted a better
idea than that.

[Laughing]

I mean, right before
Saba Simba,

I was eating out
of a dumpster,

sleeping on a park bench,
and you're gonna ask me,

"How did you like the
gimmick?" Brother, I-

he could've put me in a
frickin' pink gorilla suit

at that time.
I would 'a loved it.

Tony's return to the
WWF doesn't last long,

and despite stints in
other promotions...

he never regains
his former glory.

But in 2006, Tony
is inducted into

the WWE Hall of Fame,

giving him one last
moment in the spotlight.

Well, and of course,

this is my Hall of Fame
introduction here.

WWE Hall of Famer.

I'd like to thank...

the wrestling fans.

[Cheering]

[Mark]
Tony was a...

role model for a
little Black kid

that watched wrestling

and had somebody to identify
and looked like him.

And I requested Tony
as my manager.

I wanted Tony.

Yes, sir.

I heard you need to do
that for a payday?

Next I know...

They're telling me I'm
gonna manage Mark Henry.

Over 15 years
after leaving WWE,

Tony's new role as a mentor
sees him guiding

Mark Henry on the road...

hoping he won't repeat
Tony's mistakes.

It was just a
childhood dream.

Wanting to be in
the same room...

with Tony Atlas.

And, Tony and I would
go to the gym.

He-
it used to amuse him,

the stuff
that I could do.

And I got in really good shape
though riding with Tony.

Tony Atlas...

and the world's
strongest man!

And then I went into a
different level of,

you know,
Hall of Pain stuff.

Somebody call the police!

That was awesome.

The last time I worked
for him with Mark Henry.

Tony Atlas is woven into
the fabric of our craft.

I had to catch a flight.

That red eye,
leave at like 12:30

or something
out of Las Vegas.

Vince said, "Tony, you're
just as much a part of this

company as anybody here."
I get home,

I get a phone call: "We have
to terminate your contract."

I said, "What did- I just
talked to him yesterday!"

That's Vince.

What comes out of
Vince's mouth,

don't trust it.

Are you ready?
One more.

Years after his
historic time in WWE,

Tony Atlas keeps
his legacy alive,

offering fans another
glimpse of Mr. USA.

Mr. USA,
Tony Atlas!

The legend of
Tony Atlas won't die...

because it still lives,
because people see him,

they go to
autograph signings.

So, he'll go up and
say hi and hug people.

[Gerald] I was in Boston a
couple of years back,

and I'm doing meet
and greets, you know,

and Tony's there.

All of a sudden I see
Tony take off his jacket.

Then all of a sudden,
I see Tony bending over.

Lacing up a pair of boots.

Holy cow.

And I said, "Tony, what the
hell are you doing?"

"Brisco, I'm
working tonight."

Man gotta make a living.

I'm not financially secure.

I'm not that well educated.

The only thing I got left
is my health and strength.

I met three women
in my whole life

that cared about me.
Three.

My mother,
my grandmother,

and my wife,
Monica.

Well, right now,
when people say,

"How's she doing?"
Not good.

2019, my wife
Monica had a stroke.

And, she's been
hospitalized since.

This is my home
away from home.

My wife is here.

If I'm not at the gym,
I'm here.

I thought I lost my wife,
I sure did.

?

This is my wife,
Monica.

Yeah,
come on, baby.

Well, this is the woman
that found me in the park.

She took me in.

Went through hell and
high water with me.

Say hi, baby.

-Hi, baby.
-[Laughing]

So how
your day going, baby?

Compassion is the
biggest thing.

When somebody is
bedridden, sick,

he have to cook for her,
and clean for her,

and bathe her,
and...

I got my little kit here.
This is my Monica kit.

...it's a special person
that does that.

I wash her face.

I put chapstick on her.

And then I, I help her to,
to go to bed.

I could never do enough

for this woman.

Like I said, I would not
be here right now

if it wasn't for Monica.

I'm sure Tony has reflected
back to those days with

Rocky Johnson,
Madison Square Gardens.

Getting those $5000
a night payoffs.

And then I'm sure he
reflects back at

being homeless
after having all that money,

and having nothing,

not even a place where
you can lay your head.

But you can't do it
all over again.

[Ricky]
I'm gonna say this.

Tony had his moments
in the business.

And those are the
moments that

he should be
recognized for.

No, this can't be done!
Mr. USA clears the ring!

The winner,
Tony Atlas!

[Tony] If I had been a little
bit more humble,

I would've been the first
Black world champion.

But I'm more happy now
with no career, no money.

I was a miserable --
when I had

all that money and glory.
I was not happy.

The only thing that made me
happy was getting

some girl to
stomp on my face.

Other than that...

[Mark] The moral of the story
is it's never too late

to say I'm sorry.

[Tony]
You're very stiff.

It's never too late to wash
all the mud off and

act like you got
some damn sense.

Because other people
are depending on you to.

[Tony]
I do this every day.

[Mark] And you're willing
to live for them

rather than die for them.

?

-You're getting prettier.
-So are you.

[Laughing]

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