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00:00I had 19 and a half inch biceps, and I was 225 pounds at age 19.
00:15God, he was a black Arnold Schwarzenegger.
00:18You have got it. Look at the alarm. You have got it.
00:21Yeah, I mean, he was a total package.
00:23I know that I need to work harder. I need to train harder.
00:26A bodybuilder turned wrestler, Mr. USA Tony Atlas broke barriers as one of the first major black superstars in the sport.
00:36You got to keep it. Getting it is one thing, but keeping it all together is a different thing.
00:40I remember seeing black wrestlers get tarred and feathered. A lot of questionable racist behavior.
00:48Tony Atlas made little black kids all over the world feel like, man, I can do that too.
00:53I am going to whoop on you and get paid for it.
00:57There were very few black wrestlers. There was a lot of time I wrestled in an area where I'm the only black guy.
01:02They saw money. They didn't see color.
01:05Hey, wait a minute.
01:06Holy shit. Look at this guy.
01:09Get in the way. Get in the way.
01:11Tony Atlas, Mr. USA, climbing the ladder of success very, very rapidly in the World Wrestling Federation.
01:16Rising to heights few black wrestlers of his era had ever reached, Tony Atlas began to unravel the weight of fame's pressures and pitfalls.
01:26I got trouble here, and I got trouble there, and I got trouble coming your way.
01:31Sex, drugs, and wrestling.
01:33It was a party every night at the hotel room.
01:36There were a lot of temptations, and there were a lot of different choices out there to make.
01:41I never bought drugs a day in my life. It was always given to me. It was in the dressing room, for God's sake.
01:46There's a lot of things about Tony Atlas I wonder. Whether it's legend or fact, is it true or not?
01:53Tony's battle with addiction cost him significant opportunities, leaving him with no place to call home.
02:01Here's a guy that was making hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he's living on the street.
02:05It's not how much you make, it's how much you save.
02:10I was some homeless guy that smelled like something died.
02:12No place to live, no nothing.
02:15I became a suicide. I didn't want to live no more.
02:18I wanted to die.
02:19All right, so we're going to watch this, and you just tell us whatever you think about it, feel about it.
02:37Mr. USA, Tony Atlas.
02:41And he looks fantastic. Looks like he was chiseled from granite.
02:45Man, he was jacked. What a well-put-together human.
02:48His opponent, weighing 320 pounds, the incredible Hulk Hogan.
02:56Unbelievable size of Hulk Hogan.
03:00So you press-slammed Hulk Hogan at Madison Square Garden?
03:03Yeah.
03:04Oh, look at that. Oh, yes, sir.
03:08Check it out. Check it out, bro. Check it out.
03:11And how did the fans react?
03:14Atlas grinding it out of it.
03:16The table and glue.
03:18Hulk Hogan's, what, 330 pounds at a time and 6'4".
03:25And press him over your head.
03:31Hulk Hogan, I can hear him now cussing up a storm.
03:37Damn.
03:38Tony wanted to press the biggest guy in the company
03:41because it was telling everybody in the audience,
03:44look how strong I am.
03:52A main event guy, Madison Square Garden.
03:57To go to, you know, living on a park bench.
04:00Sometimes people have to go through hitting bottom
04:05before they realize how good they really had it.
04:08I was born in Virginia.
04:11My mother was a devoted Christian.
04:15She'd only been with one man her whole life.
04:18And that was my father.
04:20My dad never worked.
04:21My mother worked.
04:22All of her dedication went directly to raising her kids.
04:26One time we were walking down the street and this guy slapped my mother on the butt.
04:31My mom turned around.
04:33She hit him with one punch and knocked him out.
04:35Layed him out right there.
04:37My mother said, I got to teach you kids how to protect yourself
04:40because I ain't always going to be here for you.
04:42That was something she said all the time.
04:44Because when I was young, you had to know how to use your hands.
04:48All through life, like when you go back to my childhood,
04:50I was in anywhere between 50 to 100 fights.
04:53Anywhere in there, easily.
04:54So I had a reputation that if you fight me today and I don't win,
04:58you're going to see me again tomorrow.
05:00Most of the influence in the black neighborhood when I was a child was bad influence.
05:06We looked up to drug dealers.
05:08We looked up to street fighters.
05:10We walked to school.
05:11And there was a fist fight every other day.
05:14I didn't care who you were.
05:15I would fight anybody.
05:17Now, my dad, he was a gambler who liked to hustle money.
05:20So he took me down to Scrapper Corner and wait for the railroad men to come in.
05:25And when they get drunk, he would tell them, I bet you can't whoop that boy there.
05:29I don't fight in these grown men.
05:32And he said, if you lose this fight, boy, you're going to get it worse when you get home.
05:37But I grew quick.
05:38By the time I was 12, I was already over 6 feet at 12.
05:43But I only weighed like 110 pounds.
05:48I was like a stick.
05:51And so one day, I was walking with this girl.
05:53I helped her carry her books.
05:55I liked her.
05:56Really, I liked her shoes.
05:58She had tennis shoes on.
05:59So I hear this voice behind me saying, I'm going to push you.
06:03All of a sudden, I fell head first.
06:05I got the dent in my head right here.
06:10The whole world turned red because all the blood ran down into my face.
06:15My grandmother come running out.
06:17Hold on.
06:18Hold on.
06:19Come here, boy.
06:20She was completely in half.
06:22We had no phone.
06:23She couldn't call the ambulance.
06:25She couldn't call the police.
06:26No way of contacting anybody.
06:28My grandmother said, I want you to pray.
06:32So I got down on my knees.
06:34And this is what I said.
06:35I want to be strong like Samson, built like Hercules, and have a lot of money.
06:41And everything that I asked for in that prayer, God gave to me.
06:46I blew it later, but still, he gave to me.
06:50Do you think that you suffered brain trauma from that incident?
06:53Yeah.
06:54Yeah.
06:55Have you been ever medically diagnosed?
06:57No.
06:58No.
06:59But I do know it was something wrong with me, that I was not like regular kids.
07:04And I think it has something to do with the shoes, the reason I'm so submissive to women
07:09in sneakers and stuff like that, because all that was on at the same time.
07:13I don't understand.
07:14What do you mean?
07:15I buy shoes for the girls to step on them.
07:18Yeah.
07:20Well, they got me into that.
07:22Oh, my goodness.
07:24That one.
07:25Fan one.
07:26Yeah, that's a nice pair of shoes right there.
07:28Now, what makes it good?
07:29Well, if they're family looking, they look like something should be on a woman's feet.
07:34I got stepped on in malls and gyms and houses, hotel, elevator.
07:40I got it done everywhere.
07:41A couple dozen times, I was with him.
07:44I seen him just buy shoes and have him walk on his face and never talk to him again.
07:49I was as shocked as the girl was.
07:51People knew nothing about fetishes.
07:53Fetishes, all this stuff was underground.
07:56So they thought because of my wrestling, they thought it was part of my training.
08:00He'd take girls to matches and have them walk on his face.
08:03I'd give a woman $50 just to step on me.
08:06Plus, I'd buy the shoes for them.
08:07They didn't have to pay for the shoe.
08:09I thought it was a little bit out of the ordinary.
08:12You know, but then, you know, everybody has their little quirks, right?
08:18You know, things that make them feel good.
08:21As Popeye would say, I am what I am.
08:23You know, he's not the only foot guy in the world.
08:26Well, they said, like, I suck toes, which I don't.
08:30They say I like high heels, which I don't.
08:33They say that I whack off, which I don't.
08:37They try to make it into a sexual thing.
08:40What, for me, my shoe feather keeps me calm.
08:44I got more control of it now than I did then.
08:48Get a sniff on it, Tom.
08:49Hey, now we talking.
08:52I was into what's called dominatrix.
08:55So the dominatrix become your master.
08:58You're what you call a slave.
09:00I can't use that term now because I'm black, and black people get mad,
09:03but that's what it was.
09:04So they dominate you.
09:06See, I went to a person one time that explained it to me,
09:09that was into all this psychology stuff,
09:11and I had this rage in me.
09:14You know, ever since I was a kid, I'd fight anybody.
09:17I'd beat up anybody.
09:18I couldn't lift anything.
09:19Nobody could beat me.
09:20So I had to learn more control, so I ended up going to the YMCA.
09:27I've never been to the gym any day in my life.
09:29I was 15 years old when I first started lifting weights.
09:33Hey, hello, welcome.
09:35Come on in, guys.
09:36Well, I know y'all gentlemen noticed I got a lot of stuff spread out here on the table
09:41because these items here are items for before there was a Tony Atlas.
09:48Now, this is Muscle Development magazine.
09:52I never competed in bodybuilding before, but what ended up happening,
09:56I did a 350-pound press at age 19.
10:02That was the beginning of my bodybuilding and powerlifting.
10:15I saw Tony the first time at the YMCA.
10:18My name is David Crockett.
10:20I am part of the Crockett wrestling family that started Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling,
10:26World Championship Wrestling, TBS.
10:29That's us.
10:30In Charlotte, the only place you had to exercise or lift weights was the YMCA.
10:37A lot of the wrestlers, George Scott, Sandy Scott, Johnny Heideman, you name it,
10:42they all were down there working out, and they said,
10:45Hey, we've got this young man that we think we can do something with.
10:50They take me to the office.
10:52There were some mats there, and they said, you know, put him through the paces just to see, you know, if he knew anything,
10:59which he didn't, but he definitely had potential.
11:04They said, we're going to pay you $150 a week to trade.
11:10We took an investment in Tony.
11:13Other people, we did not see it worth buying stock in them.
11:18So was there jealousy?
11:20Oh, yes.
11:21And it was very hard for him, very hard, but he was like a sponge, you know, he, he'd learn.
11:28Now, George Scott said, well, Tony, I guess tomorrow we have to teach you how to work.
11:34I said, George, I don't want to work.
11:36I want to be a wrestler.
11:37He said, no, Tony, you don't understand.
11:38I said, I don't want to work.
11:39I said, I don't want to be a worker.
11:41I want to be a wrestler.
11:43I learned it ain't up to me to win or lose.
11:45It's up to some promoter.
11:47It was hard to swallow, me being for so many years as a weight lifter, a bodybuilder.
11:54I was in legitimate sports.
11:56Now I'm in a sport where I got to let people whoop me that can't whoop me.
12:00It was the most disappointing day of my life.
12:11I was 20 years old when I finished high school.
12:13A lot of kids could not afford to do senior pitching.
12:16So this here became my senior pitcher.
12:19And then look at my arms.
12:21Tony Atlas was one of the biggest and one of the strongest.
12:25So I completely identified with it.
12:28I'm Mark Henry.
12:29Some might say the strongest man that ever lived.
12:33And Tony Atlas was my manager.
12:35Ever-present Tony Atlas.
12:38Tony was a heavyweight that didn't look like a heavyweight.
12:43You could see every vein and muscle.
12:46He wasn't just the guy that had show muscles.
12:48Tony had go muscles.
12:50I was a champion in three sports simultaneously.
12:55I was a champion in bodybuilding.
12:57I was a champion in powerlifting.
12:59I was a champion in weightlifting.
13:01You know, 22-inch arms, 24-inch waist, 28-inch thighs, lats, traps, shoulders.
13:10He was built.
13:12And it just wasn't cosmetics because he had the strength to back it.
13:16Elbows locked.
13:17And he did it.
13:18505 pounds.
13:19Hi, I'm Ricky the Dragon Steamboat.
13:212009 WWE Hall of Famer, NWA World Champion.
13:26Weighing 237 pounds, Ricky Steamboat.
13:32There will only be one winner.
13:34Thanks for being here.
13:35So, maybe people don't know this, but at some point you and Tony were both competing in bodybuilding competitions, right?
13:42We have competed on the same stage, but I won Mr. Southern States and he won Mr. USA.
13:50Mr. USA.
13:52Mr. USA.
13:53Mr. USA.
13:54Mr. USA.
13:55Mr. USA.
13:57Tony!
13:58Marcus!
13:59My 50-some-odd-plus years in this business, I've seen bodybuilders come and go.
14:08You're big, you're strong, and all this stuff, that doesn't make you a great wrestler.
14:13Hey, I'm Gerald Briscoe, WWE Hall of Famer, but you might know me better as Jerry Briscoe.
14:20Gerald Briscoe!
14:24Tony was a bodybuilder that was a wrestler.
14:28Look at the agility of this man, Tony Atlas.
14:31They wanted me to be a main event.
14:32They didn't want me on bottom.
14:33They wanted me on top because, you know, by then I had best body in wrestling.
14:38The first year of my career, I was a champion.
14:41With his chiseled physique and natural talent in the ring, Georgia Championship Wrestling
14:46wastes little time crowning Tony their television champion.
14:50You know, when you got this belt, you gotta keep it.
14:55Yeah, I mean, big guy, good-looking.
14:58I mean, he was a freak of nature.
15:02Hello, my name's Tommy Wildfire Rich, former NWA World Heavyweight Champion when wrestling was wrestling.
15:09If you see Tommy, you gonna see me.
15:12If you wanna fight Tommy, you gotta fight me.
15:14If you wanna make love to Tommy, you gotta love me, too.
15:17A few months, they started pushing us as a tag team.
15:20Yeah, that's me and Wildfire Tommy Rich.
15:22That's when we were young whippersnappers right there.
15:25Me and Tommy enjoyed the championship wrestling.
15:28Black and white would fight all night.
15:31And the people just loved it.
15:33I mean, it was, you know, salt and pepper.
15:35And I'm talking about back in 78, I think, is when I started in there.
15:39It's the black and white thing, you know.
15:42It was a different world back then.
15:45And, you know, some of them little towns didn't like black folks there.
15:50Today, it would be called racism.
15:56My day, it was called average.
16:02You gotta realize that the territory only kept one black in every territory.
16:07So, if I walk in a dress room and a black guy is sitting in that dress room, he was ultimately my enemy.
16:13But that was life for people of color.
16:17I got called nigger so many times in professional wrestling that one time a guy walked up and said,
16:22Hey, Tony, I didn't know who he was talking to.
16:24There were very few wrestlers that didn't use the term nigger.
16:27Tommy Rich didn't.
16:29It was just in the world at that time.
16:31It was not, you know, they all used the term.
16:34They all did it.
16:36And you never said stop or...
16:39No.
16:40Why not?
16:41I was making money.
16:43My mom helped me with this.
16:45She said, you pick your battles.
16:47As long as I was making money, I didn't care.
16:51I made $100,000 my first year.
16:53And that was my smallest year.
16:55I didn't know what it was like to work your way from the bottom.
16:58I didn't know what that was like.
16:59It was given to me too quickly.
17:01Too much, too soon.
17:03I was not supposed to be in that position that soon.
17:07Because mentally, I was not ready for it.
17:09What did you start spending the money on?
17:11I gave it away.
17:13I gave my friends money.
17:15In fact, when I took a girl out on a date, I would take her shopping first.
17:20I said, you've got to get something to wear.
17:22I said, well, you've got to have a piece of jewelry.
17:24And the boys was all big spending.
17:27They told me when I first started, there's two ways of being.
17:30Live like a king or be rich.
17:33You choose.
17:34I live like a king.
17:36He'd never seen that much money before.
17:39And it happens to a lot of athletes.
17:41They don't know how to deal with it.
17:43And they spend it like it's no tomorrow.
17:46You know, he goes to the bar, starts buying drinks.
17:49Man, it's like piranhas when they come in.
17:52You know, everybody's his friend then.
17:54He was like a Ric Flair with his money where he'd make five grand and the next day he'd be broke.
18:01You find a lot of guys that all of a sudden start to make a business.
18:05All of a sudden start to make it big and the next thing you know they're buying watches and cars.
18:09He went out and bought 1976 Lincoln Continental.
18:13You got to party with these big guys.
18:15You got to spend the money.
18:17And unfortunately the parasites in our business jumped onto Tony.
18:22And now they're becoming Tony's friends because he's got all this money.
18:26And he's going to these bars.
18:28And he's spending all this money.
18:30Hey Tony, buy me a drink.
18:32You know, buy me dinner tonight.
18:34Let's go out and have some fun, right?
18:36And you go to a club and next thing you know you got a $300 bar tab and guess what?
18:42The friend that was with you is gone.
18:46The girls would come up to you.
18:49You didn't have to go to them.
18:51And they'd say, you want to go to the room?
18:53Most of the time I would take three women up to the room.
18:56Party, drink, smoke.
18:58Every night was an orgy.
19:00I wanted to fit in.
19:01And drugs was in the dressing room for God's sake.
19:04I didn't go out looking for it.
19:06I was in the dressing room.
19:08You know, whether it was a pain pill, Valium or Xanax or a little coke.
19:13Whatever it was, you know, we all participated a little bit.
19:17They called our group the bad boys because we was in trouble every week.
19:21I'm referee Nick Patrick.
19:22You probably remember me as the NWO ref.
19:25I also was a referee for WWE.
19:27Nick Patrick McClane, I'm loud!
19:29We were just, every week, somebody doing something stupid.
19:32Just drinking and we had doctors writing out whatever we wanted.
19:36And smoking and just snorting and whatever.
19:38We were just, it's a miracle we survived.
19:42But anyway, we got tired of Tommy never driving.
19:45And then just finally said, we are not your chauffeur any longer.
19:49Which was a horrible mistake.
19:51I'd been drinking and I was driving.
19:55I just rented Lincoln.
19:57Got on the interstate and went down the road probably two miles.
20:02We were like really close back to our hotel.
20:05And the car started flipping.
20:10The car flipped upside down three times.
20:14So I'm in the car unconscious.
20:17I don't know what's going on.
20:20I was almost dead.
20:25An intoxicated journey down the freeway ends in disaster.
20:32Leaving Tony Atlas and his fellow wrestlers wrecked in a horrifying accident.
20:37The roof of the car was crushed down on my side.
20:40I guess it come down and hit me and drove my head down and knocked me out.
20:43And I had a broken neck.
20:46Tony, you know, I mean, he was in the hospital for about three or four days.
20:50And then come out and still couldn't wrestle.
20:53Was that accident a wake up call for the lifestyle?
20:57It was a business.
20:59We went on as normal.
21:00Nothing ever stopped.
21:02I feel bad for Tony.
21:04I wish that he did have people around him that was like, hey man, you had enough.
21:09Come on, go get some rest.
21:10You don't need to get in the car.
21:12Though he struggles with life on the road, Tony shines brighter than ever in the ring.
21:17Stepping into the spotlight of the famed World Wrestling Federation.
21:22Tony Atlin!
21:24You signed to face a number of individuals.
21:28And I can tell you one thing, the fans certainly delighted about it.
21:30If y'all don't mind, I'd like to show y'all a few of my sketches.
21:33That's gorgeous.
21:34Yeah, I'm working on that.
21:36His arms are almost as big as yours, Tony.
21:39I believe so.
21:41If there was ever a talent that was built for New York, it was Tony Atlin.
21:47Take a look at that.
21:49Tony wasn't getting booked mid-card.
21:52Tony was getting booked main event.
21:58You know, and when they did, what happened, man, the business started exploding.
22:03And the chance and reaction that Tony was getting was second to none.
22:07Tony Atlin, undefeated in the World Wrestling Federation.
22:12As one of the WWF's biggest stars, Tony joins forces with future Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson
22:20to form a history-making tag team.
22:23It was brand new where you had two African Americans getting that rocket ship attached to both of these young men.
22:33Rocky was already the established star, and Tony was still the up-and-coming star.
22:39The two of them together with the power and the look that they had, it was magic for both of them.
22:45You see, back then, all this stuff was new for black athletes.
22:50Watch out for them!
22:52He's our new champion!
22:54We are the first black tag team champions of the world ever!
22:58Now that was great.
23:01My problem was me and Rocket didn't get along because Rocket was a top wrestler.
23:06I was a top wrestler.
23:08I'm the only one who could take his spot.
23:10Tony, I'm sure you're so happy.
23:12You've got tears in your eyes.
23:13It wasn't that he hated me or disliked me.
23:17As you know, Rocket's older than me.
23:19And this was Rocket's first break in the WWF.
23:24Think about it.
23:25I made in one week what took Rocket Johnson 10 years to make.
23:30There was a lot of jealousy that came into play with that.
23:33So after a while, it started souring, and it turned into a bitter relationship.
23:38And that's sad because those two guys in the beginning, they were equal.
23:42And then all of a sudden, Rocky noticed that Tony was getting the bigger push.
23:47You did it, Tony! You did it, Tony!
23:50Rocky Johnson tried to get me fired thousands of times.
23:53They were kind of toxic together.
23:56You know, Rocky would play Tony and get him in trouble.
24:01They would have very vocal arguments in the dressing room,
24:04to the point where you'd get a little concerned, how far is this going to go?
24:08And a lot of times you had road agents stepping in to kind of calm them down.
24:13Then they'd go out and they'd have one of the best matches you've ever seen.
24:16Trouble Piper now, just coming back!
24:19What was really concerning was one that would follow over.
24:22I mean, you want to clear a bar out in a hurry.
24:25You get these two gigantic men arguing with each other, cussing each other out.
24:29You're going to clear a spot for them.
24:32The new World Stag Team champion, Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas!
24:37But here's the kick in the britching.
24:39After we won the belt, they did very little with us.
24:42Look at that!
24:43Five months later, we lost the belt.
24:46Down and get three!
24:48I didn't know we were going to lose that night.
24:50Vince never told me nothing about it.
24:52Only Anderson.
24:53Only do you say that the world is not ready for a black champion.
24:58I think Tony dealt with a lot of racism, not only through the fans, but backstage too, with the guys.
25:07The foundation of the business was owned by whites.
25:10You know, like your representation was based off biases and some of them were based off ignorance.
25:18You had guys that was mumming the KKK like Dick Murdoch.
25:22He opened his bag and said, KKK freaking suit in his bag.
25:26I didn't know this then.
25:28Well, one time, Dick Murdoch was in a dress room.
25:31And he was getting by these flowers.
25:33And they said, Tony, I got some friends that want to meet you.
25:36I said, oh, thank you, Mr. Murdoch.
25:38You know, I'm trying to be respectful.
25:40So I said, yeah.
25:42I said, can Tommy go?
25:43Oh yeah, Tommy go.
25:45So we pulled up into this dirt road.
25:48And up on the hill was this guy in the hood, the clang outfit, with a shotgun.
25:53Tommy said, get down, T!
25:55Tommy!
26:05People don't realize this, but I have trouble with reading.
26:08When I got dyslexia, whatever you call it.
26:11My mother said I was a slow learner.
26:14And she said it happened every day.
26:15I got brain damage as a kid.
26:18So anyway, Dick Murdoch gave me this flower.
26:21So me and Tommy, we driving.
26:23And Tommy had not looked at the paper yet.
26:26He said, let me see that down flyer you got there, Tony.
26:30Hot damn T, this is for the KKK!
26:34So I lay down in the seat.
26:36Tommy's on the car around him.
26:38Oh, you should be.
26:39He said, ah, that clue clunk clang.
26:41Didn't you read the 13?
26:43I looked at him.
26:44He's hot damn Murdoch.
26:45He's showing the damn clang meat.
26:47So we get by the dressing room and the guys are having a blast.
26:52And we didn't really think you would go.
26:54Yeah.
26:55He was definitely taking advantage of.
26:57Tony never looked for the bad in someone.
27:00You know, even after the first couple of stabs in his back.
27:04Didn't quite understand it.
27:05Maybe didn't quite feel it.
27:07But then, you know, you get stuck enough times, you go, what in the hell is going on here?
27:12Years of racism, exploitation, and locker room jealousy pushed Tony to numb the pain with his vices.
27:22He told me he would go do drugs.
27:24Or he would go get so sloppy drunk that he couldn't even think about nothing but him being intoxicated.
27:33That's a horrible existence.
27:35Then I started going to the locker room to intimidate.
27:39And that's where everything started spiraling down.
27:43And the success and the money and the fame started going to my head.
27:48I had a Colt .357 Magnet.
27:52And I started shooting at the ceiling with it.
27:56I destroyed my own career by wanting revenge.
27:59I figured I would hurt others as much as I was hurt when I was a kid.
28:03He became a different person.
28:05He was not Tony Atlas then.
28:07Not the Tony Atlas I first saw at the YMCA.
28:11He's gonna be in trouble now.
28:13All these wrestlers that he's beating.
28:16He's on top of the world and self-destructs.
28:20I mean, it was like sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
28:23But it's sex, drugs, and wrestling.
28:25Of course, back then we was all doing it.
28:27I was stupid.
28:29Even though I had all this fame and everything, I was not a happy person.
28:34I walked out over a pair of shoes.
28:37I threw away the championship for a pair of sneakers.
28:40What do you mean?
28:41Well, one day I'm at the airport and this girl was telling me she can't wait to see me.
28:45She got some new shoes.
28:46She said, I'm gonna walk all over you.
28:48I said, shit.
28:50I could go do this and come back to wrestling.
28:54And Chief J Strongboat tried to save me.
28:57He said, this match is gonna be one of the most important matches of your life.
29:01I said, oh, and I'm going to L.A. to be my girl.
29:04Wait, hold on a second.
29:05You would have had an opportunity to become the first black world champion, but instead
29:11you decided to get on a plane to go get walked on?
29:14Yeah.
29:15I had to lose everything to learn to appreciate what I had.
29:21What?
29:22What the hell's going on?
29:24Merry Christmas.
29:27If you miss one show and you got a good excuse, that's one thing.
29:30But if you start missing one here and there and here and there, you lose your dependability.
29:36And that's what they do.
29:37They depend on us to do what we're supposed to do.
29:41I can't think of nothing worse.
29:44Everybody there that paid money because, oh, I want to see Tony Atlas.
29:49Now look at that.
29:50Yes, sir.
29:51And then you go, I ain't coming.
29:55Come on, man.
29:56You can't do that.
29:58When I came back, Vince let me go.
30:01I was fired.
30:03He told me himself, I have to make an example out of you.
30:08In fact, it was a compliment in a way.
30:11See, all the wrestlers were screwing up.
30:13He said, I have to make an example out of you.
30:16Because if I fired Tony Atlas, then anybody would know I would fire anyone.
30:21Think about it.
30:22You taking out your biggest star you got on your car on your roster.
30:26That says a lot about the promoter because he's sacrificing crowds and houses to try to bring you back to reality.
30:33You know, sometimes you got to be protected from yourself.
30:36Tony's addiction and release from the WWF land him in a small New England based promotion under the control of promoter Mario Savoldi.
30:48Mario told me, I know you're usually making more money, but I could guarantee you $50,000 to $75,000 a year.
30:57He said, it's not much, but here in Maine is Liverpool.
31:01Then all of a sudden, Mario would book a show on a Saturday.
31:06Vince would book a show in Maine on a Friday, trying to put Mario on a business.
31:12Mario would tend to decide to drop, drop, drop, drop, drop.
31:16All of a sudden, I had no money, no place to go.
31:19I became homeless.
31:21I lost everything.
31:22I'm not very well educated.
31:24The only way that I knew how to make a living was in that rank.
31:29I don't come to the park no more 20 years since I've been in this park.
31:34This here was my home right here.
31:37It's where I slept.
31:41I was here for a year and a half almost.
31:47The same people that give you something, they can also take it away.
31:52And you could lose everything you ever owned in a matter of suckers.
31:57I got in fights down here on Knock Street.
32:02He said that once he woke up and had rolled off a bench.
32:07He said, Mark, I woke up and I was laying in a mud puddle.
32:12You make hundreds of thousands of dollars like you're making a million dollars back in the 70s and 80s, you know?
32:23And I went from that life to living on Knock Street and eating out of a dumpster.
32:29Here I am standing on the frickin' corner and everybody knows me.
32:33That's what made it so hard.
32:34See, I was poor before, but nobody knew me.
32:38But to be poor and famous, I was more hooked on cocaine here in Maine than I have been in my whole life.
32:46I became a suicidal.
32:48I tried to die by police shooting.
32:50I used to go to police station to try to get them to come out of the parking lot to shoot me.
32:54I used to walk in front of cars and everything trying to die.
32:58Though he's ready to give up, a local woman comes to Tony's aid, saving him from his darkest struggles.
33:07Monica was walking right down this street here.
33:10She said, what you doing here?
33:12I said, I sleep here.
33:13She said, you can't stay here.
33:15It's 20 below zero.
33:16She said, you will freeze to death.
33:18I said, I don't give a .
33:20I want to die.
33:21So she left.
33:22Next day, she came back to check on me again.
33:25I cursed her out again.
33:27Fatty got so daggum cold, and my legs went numb.
33:32Monica called the ambulance.
33:34And they're trying to ask Monica all these questions about me.
33:37Monica can't tell him nothing.
33:39She don't even know my name.
33:42I went into a coma.
33:43That picture there, this is when I first met my wife Monica.
33:57That's when we first met.
33:59I didn't have a pot to piss in and I wanted to throw it out of.
34:03I had nothing to eat.
34:05All I had were the clothes on my back.
34:07And my trophy.
34:08That's all I had.
34:10I had nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing.
34:14And this woman took me in.
34:16She said, if you need a place to stay, you can stay with me.
34:20You understand?
34:21She took me home to her house.
34:24So I started going back to the gym, working out.
34:27I got a little pot-tanned job here.
34:29I work as a bouncer to pay the rent.
34:32All of a sudden, Vince saw me a contract.
34:34With Mario Savoldi's promotion struggling, Vince McMahon reaches out, offering Tony another
34:41opportunity for glory.
34:43Monica started crying.
34:45She said, now that you're back doing what you do, I'll probably never see you again.
34:50And I said, Monica, yes you will.
34:54I bought these cheap rings.
34:58I bought these rings, this ring right here.
35:00I still got it.
35:01And I said, Monica, now we are married.
35:05For Vince to do that, that's a good, you know, because it's easy for him to just say,
35:09get the hell on.
35:10And then, of course, I'm sure Tony had enough time to know that he'd done wrong and loved
35:16the opportunity to get to come back.
35:19He said, well, that's Burry the Hatchet.
35:22He said, I got a great idea for you.
35:24What have we got here?
35:25Take a look at this with Yosama Simba.
35:28Saba Simba.
35:29Proud of his heritage indeed.
35:31We have not seen this man for years and legally changing his name to Saba Simba.
35:36Now here's the kick in the teeth.
35:38My first night at Saba Simba, Ronnie Piper said this.
35:42That's Tony Atlas.
35:44That ain't no Saba Simba.
35:46That's Tony Atlas.
35:47Piper's right.
35:48You know, everybody, he says, everybody knows that's Tony Atlas.
35:53I thought it was Lowe.
35:55And he ain't the only one.
35:57There's a lot of people that have played roles and characters that they felt like were belittling.
36:04Tony Atlas was a respected superstar.
36:07All of a sudden he said, who?
36:12Vince, what were you thinking?
36:17Why would Vince have me to come out and do a gimmick and then tell people who I am?
36:22I couldn't understand why he did that.
36:23Why walk around looking like that?
36:25You look like a fool.
36:26I think it was a way of making fun of him.
36:33And what was it just because?
36:36It's because Vince can.
36:39You know?
36:41I think Ricky the Dragon's Steamboat worked great.
36:44But then when they turned me into the costume-wearing, fire-breathing dragon, it was more like a caricature.
36:51And of course with Tony, the same thing.
36:53Look at Atlas, wow!
36:55Just 180 degree turn.
36:57If that was the intent, then it was a success.
37:01Because that was embarrassing.
37:05Oh, God.
37:07Salva, give me a break.
37:10My third grade son at that time could promote a better idea than that.
37:15So how did you feel about the gimmicks?
37:17I think I'm rapping from Salva Simba.
37:22I was eating out of dumpster, sleeping on a park bench.
37:26And you're going to ask me how you like the gimmick.
37:28Brother, he could have put me in a freaking pink gorilla suit at that time.
37:33I would have loved it.
37:35Tony's return to the WWF doesn't last long.
37:39And despite stints and other promotions, he never regains his former glory.
37:45But in 2006, Tony is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, giving him one last moment in the spotlight.
37:55And of course, this is my Hall of Fame introduction here, WWE Hall of Famer.
38:00I'd like to thank the wrestling fans.
38:04Tony was a role model for a little black kid that watched wrestling and had somebody that identified and looked like him.
38:15And I requested Tony as my manager.
38:19I wanted Tony.
38:21Yes, sir.
38:22I heard you need to do that for a payday.
38:24Next I know, they're telling me I'm going to manage Mark Henry.
38:30Over 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.
38:43It was just a childhood dream.
38:46I wanted to be in the same room with Tony Atlas.
38:50And Tony and I would go to the gym.
38:54He used to amuse him with the stuff that I could do.
38:57And I got in really good shape, though, riding with Tony.
39:00Tony Atlas and the world's strong.
39:03And then I went into a different level of, you know, Hall of Fame stuff.
39:08Somebody call the police.
39:10That was awesome.
39:11So how and when did Vince fire you for good?
39:14The last time I worked for him, I was with Mark Henry.
39:16While the Tony Atlas is rolling into the fabric of our craft, I had to catch a flight.
39:21That red eye, leave out at like 12, 30 or something out of Las Vegas.
39:24Vince said, Tony, you're just as much a part of this company as anybody here.
39:30I get home, I get a phone call, we have to terminate your contract.
39:34I just talked to him yesterday.
39:35That's Vince.
39:36What come out of Vince's mouth?
39:37Don't trust him.
39:38Are you ready?
39:39One more.
39:40Years after his historic time in WWE, Tony Atlas keeps his legacy alive, offering fans another glimpse of Mr. USA.
39:59Mr. USA, Tony Atlas.
40:00The legend of Tony Atlas won't die.
40:09Because it still lives because people see him.
40:12They go to autograph signings.
40:14So he'll go up and say hi and hug people.
40:17I was in Boston a couple of years back, and I'm doing meet and greets, you know, and Tony's there.
40:23All of a sudden, I see Tony take off his jacket.
40:26Then all of a sudden, I see Tony bending over, lacing up a pair of boots.
40:31Holy cow.
40:33And I said, Tony, what the hell are you doing?
40:36Briscoe, I'm working tonight.
40:39Man got to make a living.
40:42I'm not financially secure.
40:45I'm not that well educated.
40:47The only thing I got left is my health and strength.
40:51I met three women in my whole life that cared about me.
40:54Three.
40:55My mother, my grandmother, and my wife Monica.
41:00Well, right now, when people say, how is she doing?
41:03Not good.
41:04In 2019, my wife Monica had a stroke, and she's been hospitalized since.
41:11This is my home away from home.
41:14My wife is here.
41:16If I'm not at the gym, I'm here.
41:18I thought I lost my wife.
41:20I sure did.
41:23This is my wife Monica.
41:25Yeah, come on, baby.
41:27Well, this is the woman that found me in the park, and she took me in, went through hell and high water with me.
41:34Say hi, baby.
41:35Hi, baby.
41:36So how's your day going, baby?
41:37Compassion is the biggest thing.
41:38When somebody is bedridden sick, he have to cook for her and clean for her and bathe her.
41:55I got my little kit here.
41:58This is my Monica kit.
42:00It's a special person that does that.
42:04I wash her face.
42:06I put chopstick on her, and then I help her to go to bed.
42:12I could never do enough for this woman.
42:17Like I said, I would not be here right now if it wasn't for Monica.
42:24I'm sure Tony has reflected back to those days with Rocky Johnson and Madison Greergaard getting those $5,000 or nine payoffs.
42:32And I'm sure he reflects back at being homeless after having all that money and having nothing that's not in place where you could lay your head.
42:41But you can't do it all over again.
42:44I'm going to say this.
42:45Tony had his moments in the business, and those are the moments that he should be recognized for.
42:50No, this can't be done.
42:52Mr. USA clears the ring.
42:54The winner, Tony .
42:56If I had been a little bit more humble, I would have been the first black world champion.
43:01But I'm more happy now with no career, no money.
43:06And I was a miserable when I had all that money and glory.
43:10I was not happy.
43:11The only thing that made me happy was getting some girl to stomp on my face.
43:15Other than that, the moral story is it's never too late to say I'm sorry.
43:21You're very stiff.
43:23It's never too late to wash all the mud off and act like you got some damn sense.
43:29Because other people are dependent on you too.
43:34And I do this every day.
43:36And you're willing to live for them rather than die for them.
43:42You getting prettier?
43:43From you?
43:44Yeah.
43:45Yeah.
43:46shit.
43:47You getting prettier.
43:48From you?
43:49From you?
43:50Yeah.
43:51Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.