All language subtitles for 0208 Dark Side of the Ring

In 30 years, I have never seen
more exciting matches.

Down for the count,
one, two, three!

In 1990,
the Universal Wrestling Federation

appeared out of nowhere,

ready to make a major impact
on the wrestling world.

The UWF was a dream.

We have the finest talent
anywhere in the world.

The UWF brought together a roster
of all-time greats and future stars.

It was an ambitious dream
of an outsider,

a man named Herb Abrams.

The purpose is to have
wrestling go back to basics,

the way wrestling used to be.

I really believed that I was stepping
into something new and cutting edge

with Herb Abrams and the UWF.

UWF! Number one, baby!
Number one!

While his lofty vision put the UWF
on a path to success,

Herb's dream became
everyone else's nightmare.

I am going to get you once
and for all!

From the get-go,
the show was a joke.

The money wasn't legit.

Herb had squandered
millions of dollars.

All hell broke loose.

Herb was like a ball of fire,
just looking for oxygen.

SWAT teams are gonna be
knocking down the door here.

I couldn't even fathom it.

I heard that he was covered in
Vaseline and cocaine. It was crazy.

You start at the bottom.
Work your way up.

Herb started at the top
and worked his way down.

Now, for the first time ever,

the true story behind
the monumental downfall

of Herb Abrams.

You can't get any darker
than the story of the UWF

and Herb Abrams. You can't.

By the end of the 1980s, the WWF
dominated professional wrestling.

Powered by the vision and expertise
of Vince McMahon,

no other organization came close
to its mainstream popularity.

But in 1990, an unknown wrestling
fanatic came from out of nowhere

to attempt to slay
the WWF monster.

I mean, I see him so clearly
in my mind, like it was yesterday

and I cannot talk about Herb
without smiling.

I am Mick Foley. I am sometimes
known as The Hardcore Legend.

Look out! All the way to hell! Good
God almighty! They've killed him!

Herb was a little guy
with a big personality.

His enthusiasm was contagious.

I believe I was at one of John
Arezzi's Weekend of Champions.

John was one of the first guys
who put together wrestling weekends.

I'm John Arezzi. I've been in and out
of the pro wrestling business,

really, since the early 1970s.

There was a gentleman looking
to start a wrestling promotion

and he was a little eccentric.

He had really big aspirations.

He wanted to launch
at the Wrestling Fan Convention.

He mentioned money
in the organization.

When he mentioned names,
like Bruno Sammartino,

to me, that was legitimacy.

For most of the 20th century,
Bruno Sammartino was the face

of professional wrestling,
and one of its first true icons.

I called Bruno to verify it. He said
he was getting involved with Herb,

so, I certainly gave him
the time of day

and welcomed him
to my wrestling fan convention.

The Wrestling Fans'
Fantasy Weekend event

is one of the first fan conventions
of its kind and a convenient arena

for Herb to approach talent
looking for new opportunities.

There was a lot of the guys
from the northeast,

the Cactus Jacks, Sunny Beaches

and Herb made a point to introduce
himself to almost everybody there.

He was looking for talent
at the convention. He was recruiting.

My name's Rick Allen,

formerly known as
Sunny Beach in the wrestling world.

He was looking
to do big things and he goes,

"Sunny,
we're gonna make it big one day.

Just be there for the ride."

I didn't aspire to become
a professional wrestler.

He saw something in me
that I didn't even see.

He's a hell of a wrestler, this guy.

The brand name is
"Wild Thing" Stevie Ray.

He said, "Stevie, my boy,
I'm gonna turn you into a big star."

I can't wait to be around this guy.

Herb had never wrestled.

He had never really
experienced anything in the wrestling

other than really being a fan.

My name's B. Brian Blair.
I've been wrestling for a long time.

I knew Herb Abrams
from the very beginning.

He asked me if I wanted
to come work for him.

I thought, well, you know, this is
a great way back to kind of the WWE

without the pressure
of wrestling 67 days in a row

and it was perfect for me.

With the exhilaration
of an obsessive fan,

Herb officially launches the UWF
at the convention,

with a press conference laying out

his grand plans
for global domination.

It was really designed
to introduce his vision

and announce
some of the performers

that would be associated with him,
but it turned into a circus.

There was an angle between
Dan Spivey and B. Brian Blair.

-Tables were torn, glasses thrown.
-And look at this!

He introduced as his booker
Black Jack Mulligan

who at the time was incarcerated.

He mentioned he was using Bruiser
Brody as one of his top stars,

but Bruiser Brody had been murdered
a year ago.

It was far-fetched, but it wasn't

because the entire wrestling business
is far-fetched.

His belief in his own words made
people around him want to believe

and when he tells you,
"This is going to be

one of the greatest
wrestling promotions,"

I thought this is the man
who's going to mix Hollywood

and sports entertainment in a way
not even Mr. McMahon had done.

Exploding out of the convention,

Herb's pure force of personality

has bought him a roster
of eager wrestlers,

each with the high expectations
of a man who is a complete mystery.

I didn't know a whole lot
about who Herb Abrams was.

I knew that he was a businessman
of some kind.

He was working
with the stock market.

He told me he was in clothing.

I have no idea what Herb Abrams did.
I really don't know.

Herb owned clothing companies
in New York City

called I'm A Big Girl Now.

It was these beautiful dresses
that you wouldn't have thought

would have been
for these oversized women.

My name is Lenny Duge.

I worked at NBC for 24 years

as Head of Post Production
and Quality Control.

I always wanted to get involved
with professional wrestling.

When you're a fan,
you have that deep desire

to want to be on the inside.

Herb Abrams was my best friend.
We were kindred spirits.

Herb was in a pair of jeans,
cowboy boots.

He was going
from the minute I met him.

He let me in so quickly
because he didn't have a me.

He didn't have someone
that could do what I did.

He believed so much in what he was
doing and in what he was selling.

Herb Abrams' greatest dream
comes to life on October 1st 1990,

when the UWF Fury Hour
debuts on cable television.

There's excitement in the air
throughout this crowd.

This is the premiere of the UWF.

We were in Reseda, California.
It was a nice setup.

-It was a small venue, sold out.
-We believed in Herb's vision.

I didn't know where it might take us,
but I resolved to enjoy it.

...between these two guys.
This is Cactus Jack

and I would rather hurt a man
than love a woman.

He had guys
that had recently parted with WWF

and so, they were fresh
and hot on the television.

Herb Abrams had what I thought was
more star power than WWE.

Guys like Paul Orndorff,
who'd drawn a lot of money.

Then he has Steve Dr. Death
Williams. Captain Lou Albano.

Danny Spivey and then Bob Orton.

It brought instant credibility
to the UWF,

having these big names onboard.

It's coming, wrestling fans,
the Orndorff Pile Driver! Boom!

Taking a hands-off approach,

Herb empowers his talent
with creative freedoms

they'd never had before.

It was a lot looser in Herb Abrams'
territory than in Vince's.

You walk liked you did in the army.

I went from feeling
I had handcuffs on

to feeling like I had total freedom.

I thought it was something special
and I'd got in on the ground floor.

I knew that I was heading
for stardom, you know.

I knew that Herb
was gonna give me that big push.

Everybody was happy
and things were good.

With his dream of becoming
a big-time promoter within reach,

Herb seeks to align
with the one man

who can fast track his success
in the wrestling world.

Herb met with Vince McMahon
and said to him,

"You want the East Coast
and the Central and it's all yours.

What about if I promote
the West Coast for you?"

And Vince McMahon blew him off.

Rejected by wrestling's king,
Herb's attitude towards the WWF

evolves into a desire
for utter domination.

In order to compete,
he looks to expand the UWF roster.

Do you think they'd let us?
You shut up! I'm talking!

I am a manger, for God sake!

I am the man
who has to bring them to glory!

I'm Marty Yesberg from Gaffney,
South Carolina.

And back in the '80s,
I was branded The Colonel

by Jimmy
"The Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant.

In the dressing room, we kept hearing
about this mark out in California,

who had tons of money

and was putting together
a TV show called The UWF.

He flew us all out to California.

He set me up in
this two-bedroom estate hotel,

Beverly Hills.

It was all that and a bag of chips
and we wasn't working for him.

Understand, we was just going
to meet him. You know, I'm like, wow.

That night, he knocks on the door

and he has two high-end call girls.

We're not talking about South
Carolina snaggletooth call girls.

We're talking about
Hollywood honeys.

He brings these girls into my suite
that I thought was my suite.

I'm drooling all over myself
'cause I'm thinking,

I don't even get to see women
like this much less, you know,

have this delivered to my room.

And in the process,
he broke out a little mirror.

And he had his nose candy with him.

The only thing I can think of is,
you know,

SWAT teams will be knock
down the door here in a minute

and we got two high-price hookers
and cocaine everywhere.

I didn't know how to get out.
I truly wanted out of that room.

I'm in California. I'm on his dime.

I can't call the police.
Hell, the room's in my name!

So, I kind of just sat over
in the corner

and, you know, I mean, it was like
a live pornography session

and it was a very long night.

This is my pride and joy.

This is the original
Television Championship belt

for Sports Channel.
It says UWF on both sides

and when you hold it like this,
it was, fuck you to Vince McMahon,

that's what the FU was standing for.

When he would hold it up,
Herb would hold it up,

he knew that he was telling
Vince McMahon to have himself.

Herb's vision for the UWF
was to put the WWF out of business.

I mean, he was that cocky.

Herb was doing everything in power
to intentionally needle McMahon

and to piss him off.

He wanted to squash Vince.

He wouldn't even be happy
with peaceful coexistence.

I think he just wanted
to put the guy down.

With rival WWF far out of view,
Herb Abrams takes the opportunity

to launch his first attack,

bringing in one of Vince McMahon's
most prized attractions.

Herb calls me and he's so excited.
He goes,

"Lenny, get here as fast as you can.

I'm not gonna tell you who's sitting
here, but this is the best thing."

Now, when I came out here before,
I said I had a surprise.

Something special.

Something that only Universal
Wrestling Federation can handle.

The 12th wonder of the world,
here he is, Andre the Giant!

Yes, this is true.
Andre the Giant has signed

a long-term contract with
the Universal Wrestling Federation.

He's not in his prime anymore,
as everybody knows.

-He will be wrestling, John.
-He will be wrestling?

They had Andre the Giant.

Andre the Giant had come in.

It was just colossal
to have him walk down to the ring.

Even though we maybe had
200, 300 people in the audience,

they were all standing
and they knew that we had it.

Right now I want to ask you one
thing. What does UWF mean?

And after Andre made
that appearance for UWF,

Vince McMahon called him
and brought him back.

The 8th wonder of the world.
Andre the Giant!

This is going to be
very, very interesting.

The embarrassment
of losing Andre the Giant

is an enormous blow
to Herb's plan for dominance.

Without McMahon's riches,
Herb responds

by throwing every gimmick in the
book to gain the attention of fans.

Herb would think of things on
the fly, change things on the fly.

Ladies and gentlemen,
this is a disgrace!

I'm reversing the decision!

As long as it entertained Herb,
he thought it entertained the world.

The Viking is back. I'm gonna hurt
every pencil-neck every pipsqueak.

I want a cage match!

Give me a strap match!
No holds barred.

I don't think he had the knowledge
to really take it to the next level.

He went for a southside flip
and he missed.

If you don't understand the
psychology and how each guy works,

what their strengths
and weaknesses are,

how to put them together,
who they worked best with,

then you are never going to
be successful.

Running out of ideas,

Herb turns to yet another
new strategy to invigorate the UWF.

-What made you come to this...
-Who is this Smurf asking questions?

I beg your pardon! I beg your pardon!

I said, who is this Smurf
asking questions?

It's interesting what happens
to a promotion

when the boss becomes
the star of the show.

Welcome back to another night
of The Fury Hour.

I'm Herb Abrams.
We've got a powerful show...

He was writing the checks,
so Herb could do anything.

It was Herb's world
and we were living in it.

You think about it!
You think about it!

You're the one that wanted it
and now you've got it!

All I saw was money, TV.

I was open to anything
to get the exposure that I was after.

He saw a way to get heat
and actually be on camera

and have a feud between The Colonel
and the owner of the organization.

What's Herb doing?
Herb took him down!

Herb Abrams may have
a new career, folks!

As long as he was part of it,
he would keep me around.

Herb Abrams hit him on the head
with that cane and another one!

Colonel, no one has ever done
something like this to me!

I am going to get you,
once and for all!

Herb attempts
to get one over McMahon

by emulating one of WWF's most
lucrative ventures, merchandizing.

Everybody's buzzing over
the UWF merchandise!

Call the UWF PowerLine now.

Introducing
the UWF Superstars cookies.

We've got the
Steve Ray "Wild Thing" cookie.

The Steve Williams cookie.
And coming soon, the Herbie cookie.

Herbie cookies. Herbie! Let me repeat
that for you, Herbie cookies.

He also wanted the ice cream bar,
but the cookies, they were great.

Now, let's not forget the B. Brian
Blair cookie. It's honey-flavored.

Herb's in desperate need
of a power play

when his television contract
starts slipping away.

The battle crowning the Sports
Channel Television Champion!

Pay Per View. $14.95.
The UWF Beach Brawl.

Call your cable operator today!

When Herb was putting out
a pay-per-view,

it seemed like
a breakthrough moment.

It was proven by the WWF.
It was proven by WCW.

The majority of their income was
through their pay-per-view events.

Herb stepping into that arena, maybe
he was expecting to roll the dice,

get lucky
and then finance the whole operation.

High expectations for
the UWF's inaugural pay-per-view

weigh heavily on Herb.

Instead of holding the Beach Brawl
in a largely-populated area,

Herb lands on Palmetto, Florida,

over an hour away
from the closest major city.

Palmetto Manatee Civic Center
was a nice venue.

WWF does TV tapings out of there.

That's why Herb picked that place.

Herb said he had every newspaper.
He had every radio station.

Everyone was gonna give it a push.

We're real excited
about the Beach Brawl

and I would highly suggest
that people call

to secure Beach Brawl
right in their living room

because it will be just that,
a brawl at the beach.

Hopefully, millions of fans
watch the show.

I go and I look at this building
and I know

there's no way in hell
we can sell this building out.

Building was a mince.

Building was bigger than any building
I had ever seen in my entire life.

And I knew damn well that
we didn't sell this building out.

Somebody screwed up.

With the UWF's first pay-per-view
event just days away,

promoter Herb Abrams indulges
in Florida's nightlife scene,

letting it get the better of him.

People that work hard, play hard.
That was Herb Abrams.

What was his drug of choice,
would you say?

Obviously, it was cocaine.

There were more drugs
back in the late '80s, early '90s

than in the history of pro wrestling.

There was just debauchery.

They stayed up around the clock,
partying.

It was like one big party
for some of the guys.

When I got to Florida, he was in his
hotel room and he had been partying.

I found Herb to be in really,
really bad shape and I said to him,

"Straighten yourself out. We've got
this goddamn pay-per-view to do.

You're gonna kill yourself
the way you're doing this."

"You know, Len,
it's the stress I'm under."

I said,
"When we're finished with this,

we got to get you into the rehab.

If you don't go into rehab,
I can't do this with you."

Herb's distractions from
the Beach Brawl comes to a head

as he arrives to find thousands
of empty seats at the arena.

They had to cut the auditorium lights
down to do the TV show,

so nobody'd know
there was nobody there.

That's pay-per-view.
That was a paid-per-view.

When I saw small the audience was,
I said to Herb, "How can this be?"

And he said,
"Somebody screwed up."

He tried to keep upbeat.
He did the ring announcing

but I think that hurt him.

Brian, I'm gonna go with the Doc.

Herb Abrams going with
Steve "Dr. Death" Williams.

He was running in and out
of the bathroom,

so, obviously,
he was doing a lot of cocaine.

It was the worst pay-per-view,
I think, in history.

He got like a 0.01,
you know, buy rate.

That equates to maybe 100...
It's either 100 or 1,000 people.

It was a financial loss, a tremendous
financial loss. Nobody was happy.

All the guys were talking, you know,
between themselves.

They thought it might be
the end of the promotion.

I was a glass-half-full guy.
I saw those empty seats

and thought that it was a way
to do cool stuff.

It was really clear
that most of his best intentions

were not going to come to fruition.

With the event of financial disaster
and checks for the talent

starting to bounce, UWF wrestlers
confront Herb face-to-face.

I go knock on his hotel door,
so I can get my money.

And the door opens
and there's these two naked girls.

So, not like I hadn't seen
a naked girl before,

but this was a little unusual

and then I see Herb on the bed.
He's naked and he's laughing.

I look over and he's got two big
piles of cocaine on each night stand.

It's forever etched in my mind.

So he tells those girls to leave
and as they're getting dressed,

Herb writes 'em a check
for $2,000 each.

I thought, golly, $2,000.
You know, this guy's crazy.

Blowing money on cocaine
and hookers.

I mean, how long is this promotion
gonna last?

I had a guy tell me one day,
"You know this is a runaway train?"

I said,
"No, bro, this is a train wreck

and all they're trying to do now is
figure out if there's any survivors."

Herb Abrams' connections in
the wrestling world start to dry up.

Many of the wrestlers stiffed on pay
are refusing to work

while Herb's vices are taking hold.

I kept in contact with Herb
even when I did not work for Herb.

You could see
the wear and tear on his face.

Between the drugs
and the failing promotion,

it was really taking a toll on Herb.

I don't think he was keeping up
with money.

I don't think it mattered to him,
as long as the party continues.

In Spartanburg, South Carolina,
he pulled a fast one.

So, the day of the show arrives.

TV crew gets there about
twelve o'clock. Herb's there.

And they said, "We need to get
a check from you for tonight's show."

Herb says, "Let me get everything
set up and I'll cut you a check."

So, we get up to about 4:30.

TV crew came back and said,
"Mr. Abrams,

if you don't give us some money,
we're packing up and leaving."

Herb says,
"Okay. Let's go up to the office."

They call Herb's bank,

"Mr. Abrams has multi-millions
of dollars in this bank account."

Confirms it.

TV crews look at each other.
They said,

"You definitely got the money."

He had two bank accounts.
He had one that was filthy rich

and then he had
the other bank account

that he cut his check on
that had no money in it.

Herb worked something out
where they accepted a check.

And I told them,
"Don't accept a check

if you don't want to."
And they accepted a check.

All hell broke loose.

Some of the guys
that had worked that show

threatened to throw Herb
off the fifth-floor balcony

and that's when reality hit me
upside the head. I was hiding out.

I had people calling my phone.
I mean, they were wanting to kill me

for being associated
with the company.

As UWF leader, Herb Abrams,
is now forced

to promote shows in smaller towns,

his party lifestyle
grows more intense

and his grasp on reality
begins to slip.

He would get in this paranoia state
where he would swear

that there was someone with a bug
in his hotel room.

I seen him paranoid several times
and I'd ask, "What's wrong?"

He'd like to look around
and say, "I think they're outside."

I said, "Who?"
He goes, "They're watching us."

He would never tell me who it was.

I don't know who
he felt recorded him,

whether it be the police, or hookers,
whether it be the pimps.

I'm thinking, no one's spying on you,
Herb. It's the drugs talking.

He would go through the furniture
and look for microphones or cameras.

He'd tear the furniture to bits.

For some reason,
he had a fascination with cushions.

If there was a zipper,
he'd open them up

and he'd just start ripping
through them.

He ripped them out and when it was
ripped out, he'd go to the next one.

All the feathers were all over
the room. He wanted everything.

That paranoia thing,

it concerned me because there was
some truth behind some of that.

He would go over to the door
and the peephole.

He would look through
the peephole like this right here.

Now, you got to understand,
here's this five-foot tall,

little naked Jewish fella
with cowboy boots.

One thing he didn't take off
was his cowboy boots.

And he's going, "Shh. Shh."

I said, "What's wrong, Herb?"
"They're coming. They're coming.

You can hear them.
They're coming. Shh."

What are you thinking
around this time?

Yeah, they're probably coming.

Herb's problems escalate further

when he tries to put one over
on the wrong people.

Here he is. He's with this girl
who he's supposed to pay up.

He's doing this
I'll-give-you-a-check thing.

No, you're supposed to give me cash.
She's not falling for it. Boom!

Door breaks down.
Thugs there. Herb's eyes pop out.

He goes and throws himself
through a window.

I get a phone call from him
in California,

running through
a neighborhood naked

and he's like, "What do I do?

And I said,
"Make yourself visible. I don't care.

Make people see you.
Get arrested. Go to jail."

That probably wouldn't
have been a smart thing.

She probably had contacts in
there as well, but anyway...

Herb's excessive lifestyle
has finally reached its limit

and his activities
in wrestling cease.

Any comeback for the UWF
seems near impossible.

Meanwhile,
his old rival Vince McMahon

stages
one of his flamboyant events yet.

The spectacle of WrestleMania IX
shows Las Vegas casinos

that wrestling can be a huge draw.

For Herb, it opens the door
to a golden opportunity

in the city of second chances,

his first event in over a year,
the Black Jack Brawl.

What better way to showcase
your product

than in one of the preeminent
locations in Las Vegas,

or in the world for that matter?

For Herb to pull off the MGM grand,
it's a wager city, a betting city.

So, obviously,
he got somebody to take the bet.

That was his deal.
That's what he did.

He would go for the biggest freaking
bite he could get and he'd take it.

He was spending
an enormous amount of money

on the talent
he was bringing in for it.

It was a loaded show with big names
and it just seemed like a party.

The night before the show, Herb
brings me up to his penthouse suite.

When I saw the suite, I believed
that MGM was gonna be packed.

I was thinking
17,000 people packed to the rafters.

I mean,
this overlooked the whole city.

And Herb goes,
"Wait until you see this.

People are going to lose
their minds."

He proceeds to pull out a pair
of yellow ostrich-skin cowboy boots

that have UWF
burnished into the leather.

The fact that he thought
people would lose their minds

over a pair of cowboy boots was
an indicator that there were issues.

Making their way into
the luxurious MGM Grand,

UWF talent discover once again

that Herb's reach
is leagues beyond his grasp.

It was a gorgeous arena. That night,
it was a gorgeous, empty arena.

It was sad to wrestle in front
of a couple hundred people again.

My first match was in Clarksburg,
West Virginia and we had 300 people,

but we were at
the Clarksburg Armory.

He didn't seem bothered
by what was going on,

almost like it was part
of the grand plan.

Like those 300 people are gonna be
checking out my ostrich skin boots.

He was a bundle of energy
running about.

He was involved in everything.

It really was an embarrassment

and, you know, he was really
outrageous during that show.

He might have been coked up
throughout that entire show.

He takes the microphone
and he screams into it,

"Let's hear it for the Jews!"

I mean, in front of the crowd.
It was kind of hilarious. It was sad.

All in the same way.
It was kind of weird.

He was acting very strangely.
His mannerisms were different.

The showdown will take place!

Steve "Dr. Death" Williams
puts the title on the line

against "Malicious" Sid Vicious!

I'm happy to have you as champion,
but I'm glad you got busted up.

Herb's not making
many friends tonight.

He was twitching and jumping and
such, so they all knew he was high.

On that night, I had a chance
to wrestle my idol, Jimmy Snuka.

And when Jimmy Snuka and I
start heading into the stands,

you know, 16,700 empty seats,
I remember Brian Blair going,

"What are you doing?"

I said, "It's Herb's show.
We can do whatever we want."

They're way up there!

Ladies and gentlemen,
we have a double disqualification!

The downside is
that check did not clear.

He wrote me a check. It bounced.

It was a failure
and, you know, that's got to hurt.

He had the weight of the world
on his shoulder.

I would never have wanted to be
Herb Abrams in his position.

When he came back,
he told me how successful it was.

"I had the MGM, Len."
"Yeah, you drew 200 people

and it was a total clusterfuck."

And he says,
"Yeah, but I had the MGM."

Emotionally and physically defeated
by his failure in Las Vegas,

Herb's dreams of a wrestling triumph
may finally be over.

The lifestyle took a toll on Herb.

He didn't have the spunk
that he had, that electricity,

constant, constant spark
that made the room glow.

You know, it was like
he aged ten years in two years.

It was such a big deal
that he left LA for good.

He came back to New York.

I thought
he was really cleaning himself up.

So, I get a phone call from Herb
and he goes,

"Len, big things are happening."

I go,
"Are you sure you're straight?"

He goes,
"Len, I'm perfectly straight."

On July 17th 1996,

a longtime friend visits Herb
at his office in New York City.

This is the last-known recording
of Herb Abrams.

Hey! Kirby!

-You want to look around here first?
-Yeah.

You know, I can't keep
the house together myself

'cause it's just too much work.

-Are you happy?
-Very happy. I've never been happier.

-Okay.
-Never been happier.

Can we film this,
or is this supposed to be...?

Well, you need to get a release
from me.

Herb appears to have turned
a corner on his sobriety,

but his friends are left in the dark
as he suddenly disappears.

'96, when I was working in
the offices with him,

sometimes,
he'd come in all hung over.

Sometimes he wouldn't come in.

Sometimes you wouldn't see him
for a couple days.

So, that was just Herb being Herb.

I was working at NBC.
I got a call from Stacy, my wife.

She said,
"Lenny, I have some really bad news.

Sunny Beach called
and Herb's passed away.

Herb's dead.
Sunny's crying on the phone."

So, I call Sunny Beach and I go,
"What is going on?"

Nobody knew what happened

and then his mother called me up
and it was just a blur after that.

I must have cried for like two hours.

And it was just the hardest thing
to call those men

and then to hear them all
start to cry.

These super gargantuan, strong men
that you saw fly across the ring,

all cry over Herb dying
and me not being able to almost talk.

On July 23rd 1996,

officers respond to an unbelievable
scene at the office of Herb Abrams.

Details are sparse and those closest
to Herb would hear varying accounts

of the disturbing events
as they unfolded.

It was like how someone would say
if they walked into his hotel room

and saw him, you know, naked.
That's a real shock to some people.

To me, that was part of his process
of what he was going through.

The night that he passed away,
he was partying.

He had a couple of escorts with him.

When I heard that he had done so
much cocaine that he was whacked

and he'd found a baseball bat
and started tearing up

the room that he was in
and just went absolutely berserk.

I heard that he was covered in
either oil or Vaseline and cocaine.

It was crazy and he was chasing
hookers with this baseball bat.

Somebody told me
escorts tried to rob him.

That's why he grabbed the bat.
That's a sight to see.

I call Sunny Beach and I go,
"What is going on?"

And he says, "Exactly what it says
in the tabloids,

that Herb was running around naked,

smashing a baseball bat on the walls
in the office,

chasing a couple of hookers
with coke all over his body."

He had baby oil all over him.

I heard somebody called
the police on him.

There was rumors he got sodomized
by police with their batons.

I heard that and I'm going,
"What the hell?"

I guess one of the girls ran out
and shut the door.

I think he ran into it
and that's how he passed away.

When the police showed up, I heard
he had a massive coronary and died.

And what I'm told is that
he took his clothes off in the jail

and he had a seizure
and it killed him.

Nobody knew if he was robbed,
or beat up with a baseball bat.

There was all kinds of stories going
around. Nobody knew the true story.

Still, we don't know. I wasn't there.
Never believe everything you hear.

Chasing hookers around
and, you know,

all greased up
and died in the back of a police car.

The one thing I know is that
Herb Abrams left this world

doing what he loved...
cocaine and hookers.

The wild
and conflicting circumstances

surrounding Herb Abrams' death
overshadow his already extreme life

and reach urban legend status
within the wrestling world.

It kind of became folklore.

Everywhere we go,
you get a Herb story

and some are better than others.
Some are true.

Some you don't know what to believe.

When they told me he died,

I said, "No, he's faked his death.
He's left. He's left the country."

And I hate to talk ill of the dead
if he's dead

but I had a promotion that was down
in Union, South Carolina

that ran under UWF

and this promoter swore to me
that the night of his show,

this little fella...

came to the show
in blue jeans and cowboy boots

and asked him what the name
of the organization was.

And he swore.

He said, "I'm telling you. That Herb
Abrams showed up at my show."

Because it said UWF,
this person gave them the riot act

that he would sue them

and it was as if
Herb was legitimately alive.

And I said to Marty, "Herb's dead."

I question.

Herb Abrams couldn't keep quiet
for 30 years.

Maybe he went under
witness protect... I don't know.

He would find a way to resurface.

No. I find it completely unfeasible
that Herb Abrams is alive

and not seeking
the limelight somewhere.

I know that if he was still alive,
he would have come and found me.

He would have let me know
that he was alive.

He would have done everything he
could to send a message somehow.

He wouldn't have stayed away
30 years.

He wouldn't have stayed away
30 years.

Herb, we miss you.
Wish you were still here with us.

You know,
could have been a great thing.

What's that?

You know, the UWF
and just what he was doing

if he would have had a little more
backing, a little more support,

I think it could have went
a long way.

And now I'm visiting Herb
in a cemetery.

"We deal, we cope and we go on."

I actually inherited Herb's dog
after he passed away.

-What was the dog's name?
-Cokey.

It was snow white the dog
and it was laying in the coke.

Herb called it Cokey.

Herb loved that dog to death.

Herb's style was always

to be a generous guy,
picked up the tab for everything.

But again that's easy to do
with other people's money.

If it was his hard-earned money,
he would still do the same.

He always tried to prove himself,
always wanted to be liked,

or always wanted to be somebody
to be respected.

But we all respected him
and liked him.

How did you feel after he passed?

It was a loss of someone who...

someone who believed in me.

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And...

I have to say
that he truly brought life.

He brought it out of me.

Without their falling leader,
the UWF faded out of existence

and into the memories of those
who fought to bring it to the top.

Herb should be remembered
as a person who tried

to do something special
in wrestling.

I think Herb Abrams
is this bizarre character

who wanted to become a major player
in the pro wrestling business

and he was never able to succeed
because he got in his own way,

from his personal demons
to the way he ran his business.

The worst thing that Herb Abrams did,

whether you hear
he was involved with hookers,

or coke,
or this, or not paying people,

the worst thing
that Herb ever did to me was die.

It's haunted me for
the entire time of these 30 years.

The only reason
that I've ever talked about...

It's the first time I've ever let
the secret of the UWF out.

And you have it, the best
that I could give it to you today.

He had the enthusiasm and I think the
courage to try to live out his dream.

He was such a diehard fan.
That was his downfall.

He would love the negative that's on
the internet. He would love it all.

-Why is that?
-Because he was Herb Abrams.

He was a thing unto himself.

I believe
this is the way Herb would want it.

Like maybe he got in death
what he didn't have in life

and that is he became a legend.

Last question. If he was alive today,
what do you think he'd be doing?

Time.

Yeah, there's no way
Herb's gonna keep his taxes.

I just think he'd be behind bars.

He would have hurt no one except
himself and I'd be visiting him

and we'd be toasting with a glass
of milk and Herbie cookies.

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