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00:00Eddie Gilbert knew what he needed to do to attract attention to himself.
00:12Get that camera up here on me just a second.
00:14He was a sneaky, conniving, dirty backstabber.
00:18He really thought he was hot stuff.
00:21Egotistical, arrogant, conceited, self-confident.
00:24He loved the crowd.
00:26You cowards in Duffin, Alabama!
00:28Eddie himself was the complete opposite of that.
00:32What he loved was creating.
00:35Born into professional wrestling, Eddie Gilbert's vision and ambition had a profound impact on the business he loved.
00:42This is not wrestling, this is a street fight!
00:44He would see the shift before the shift.
00:47Eddie said, this is wrestling, you can do anything.
00:50This is getting out of hand!
00:51Sure enough, Eddie was right, not anything. There's no ECW.
00:54You're a king of Philadelphia!
00:56He would have gone on to be one of the most influential minds in wrestling.
01:02But it didn't happen that way.
01:04A rising star with undeniable charisma, Eddie's demons threatened his career from the start.
01:10I've worked too hard and too long!
01:12Eddie could burn a bridge better than anybody.
01:14He has a history of going to territories and just leaving.
01:18A small thing could set him off.
01:20I have been run out of any wrestling organization I've ever been in!
01:25For Eddie, coping with the chronic pain from a life-threatening injury came at a devastating cost.
01:33Night after night of putting your body through that abuse, I don't think that pain ever left him.
01:40We just want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a real warrior.
01:45You know, Eddie passed away 30 years ago.
01:48And he's still f***ing missed.
01:50But this is a story of what if.
01:54What if this didn't happen?
01:56What if this didn't happen?
01:59What if?
02:00Eddie, we're on.
02:12Eddie!
02:12Oh, oh, okay.
02:14Hello, everyone.
02:15I think what the wrestling business lost was a great worker and a mind that was about a generation ahead of what anybody else's at the time.
02:27But I look at what my brother did and his angles and pushing the limits and the guys that he helped in his short life.
02:37It's you and me, brother!
02:38He lived 32 years.
02:41He done more in that 32 than most people would do in 70.
02:44He made the best out of all of them.
02:47And to me, that's where you tell the character of a person.
02:51I'm Dangerous Doug Gilbert, and I've been in the wrestling business about 36 years.
02:54My brother is hot stuff, Eddie Gilbert.
02:57Tell him hot stuff!
02:59I looked up to Eddie.
03:01I mean, he was an idol of mine also.
03:04He was a fun guy.
03:06I mean, he was my best friend.
03:09Eddie looked out for me, and I was lucky enough to have that.
03:13That's when we was partners in Memphis and everything.
03:15To me, that's really cool.
03:16That's history.
03:17It's like a museum.
03:19His life and obsession was wrestling.
03:22He thought about it all the time.
03:23Let's kick some ass and draw some money.
03:27That was a big one.
03:28When he was a kid, he would make cards out with his friends' names on it.
03:31And I think that's when my dad realized he was actually really serious, serious about the business.
03:37Eddie's father, Tommy Gilbert, was one of the most popular wrestlers in the Tennessee territory
03:41from the late 60s through the early 80s.
03:44Eddie grew up watching that.
03:46And that was what Eddie had his sights set on.
03:48I'm Jim Cornette, and I was friends with Eddie Gilbert even before he began his pro wrestling career.
03:55We started in wrestling in the same way.
03:57Eddie began taking ringside pictures of the matches in Memphis at the Mid-South Coliseum.
04:02And at the same age, I started doing it in Louisville.
04:05And we ran into each other at the matches and just instantly developed a friendship.
04:10Eddie, I think, was 16.
04:12Instead of saying, oh, I'm Tommy Gilbert's son, he would walk in with a tripod.
04:18So that was how he was getting access to the dressing room.
04:22He was slowly, slowly working his way in.
04:25He loved, loved the wrestling business.
04:29My name is Dutch Mantell, commonly called Dirty Dutch.
04:32And I've been in this wrestling business for over 50 years.
04:35And I used to work with Eddie Gilbert.
04:38You better watch your big, fat lip, Gilbert.
04:40He would watch Memphis live television on Saturday morning at 11 o'clock.
04:46He would study how it was produced.
04:48He would study when the commercials came on.
04:50When Eddie turned 18, that's when he started his major league wrestling career
04:56as partners with his father, Tommy.
04:59From Lexington, Tennessee, the Gilberts, Tommy and Eddie.
05:02Tommy and Eddie Gilbert, father and son champions.
05:06My brother was thrilled any time to do anything like this with my dad.
05:10My dad was both of our heroes, and he wanted my dad to be proud of him.
05:14What teamwork by the Gilberts?
05:16I mean, the real idol of my life was my dad.
05:18So I got to have a lot of good matches with him.
05:21I still have him, Tate.
05:22I really enjoy watching back and forth and remember how it looked 10 years ago.
05:26Maybe 12 now.
05:28When he was training Eddie, it was for you to really be, to say that you're great.
05:33You've got to be able to work with any style.
05:35Oh, the bloody Tommy Gilbert in the ring right now.
05:38Tommy Gilbert had been trained by the old timers.
05:40The way that they laid the blows in, you could hear the smack of the meat and the flesh from
05:47the cheap seats in the arena.
05:50Tennessee wrestling is about brawling, fighting, blood and guts, personal issues, hatred, rivalries,
05:58animosity.
05:59Hey, you guys save that for the ring.
06:02And Eddie Gilbert fit right into that.
06:04Here comes Eddie.
06:06Look at that.
06:07I just never got that chance, even up to 81, that I could show that I had any kind of character
06:11at all.
06:11So Ricky Morton and I had this chance to go to Tupelo.
06:13And they went into the concession stand of the Tupelo Sports Arena and had a knockdown
06:21drag out brawl involving furniture and concessions and hot dogs and mustard.
06:26Bucci nails with mustard and blood all over it.
06:30It was a very believable fight because I think even the people involved in it believed it.
06:35They were knocking the shit out of each other.
06:37Nita's head busted wide open.
06:39We was just hitting each other in the head with pots and pans and chairs.
06:45Rick Morton hammering with a garbage can top.
06:49I mean, that shit hurts, buddy.
06:51I'm Ricky Morton, one half of the Rock and Roll Express, one of the greatest babyface tag teams
06:58ever.
06:59And I was best friends with Eddie Gilbert.
07:03You see, it was a hardcore match, really.
07:06But at that time, we didn't understand that.
07:08As a matter of fact, that night is where Atsushi Onita got the idea for hardcore wrestling
07:15that he took back to Japan and in the 90s made a fortune with.
07:20It came from that night in Tupelo, Mississippi.
07:23What a ball.
07:25Yeah, keep shooting it.
07:26We're not going to be able to show a lot of it.
07:28Just keep shooting it.
07:30He was always on fire.
07:33Thank you very much.
07:34I'd like to say hello to all my friends and family and everyone out there.
07:36Let's face it, he was a good-looking kid.
07:40My name is Darla Staggs, and I met Eddie Gilbert when he was 17 years old.
07:46We were just good, good friends.
07:48He went on to work for WWE.
07:52It was a dream for him, and it was his road to stardom.
07:56Memphis was great, but WWF, you know, it's Madison Square Garden.
08:05I mean, what are you going to say?
08:06No.
08:07Making his Madison Square Garden debut, Eddie Gilbert.
08:12My brother brought me with him to New York.
08:15I guess I was 12 or 11.
08:17Doug and Eddie were close, very close.
08:20Eddie was 18 years old, and he's hanging out with his 11-year-old brother.
08:25That says something to me.
08:27Being two small-town country boys, seeing him in Madison Square Garden, I was really proud of that.
08:33Eddie wasn't a big guy, and that actually helped him.
08:38Oh, that was beautiful.
08:39He had great timing.
08:42You see, that was Eddie getting his foot through the door.
08:45Right back on his feet with a kickoff.
08:46You see that? You believe it?
08:48Fans are loving that.
08:50En route to a meeting with WWF's patriarch, a tragic series of events is triggered.
08:56Went to my room, got a shower, dripped.
09:01It was already like 12 o'clock, so I was tired, and I started driving.
09:05And all of a sudden, the truck went right on the back of the truck.
09:12We got a phone call at my house.
09:14It was like 1 to 2 in the morning.
09:17And they said, Mr. Gilbert, it's your son, Eddie?
09:20And she said, yes.
09:21And they said, he's been in an accident.
09:22They didn't even know that they could keep him alive.
09:26He's in critical condition, and it broke his neck.
09:29The steering wheel, I think, hit him right here in the solar plexus, like, about over his heart.
09:35They said, he will never wrestle again.
09:37His heart was like jello.
09:39It would never heal.
09:41He wasn't even 22 years old yet.
09:44And suddenly, his career may be over.
09:47That was not acceptable.
09:48It wasn't an option for Eddie.
09:50No matter how catastrophic the injury was, he was going to get back in the ring.
09:55When something like that happens to you, it takes a long, long time to get over that.
10:00It takes years.
10:02Put yourself in that situation.
10:04You're still wanting that opportunity.
10:07So that's why you keep going.
10:10Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back the very popular Eddie Gilbert.
10:16Three months later, I'm able to start back wrestling again.
10:22Such is the tenacity of this young man, Eddie Gilbert, who has made it all the way back.
10:26I can speak for myself.
10:28You know, it was a hard, long road in our business.
10:31Oh, you wonder if blows like that, if it would affect the neck.
10:34Apparently not.
10:35When you have a car wreck and break your neck, they don't send you home with Tylenol Plus.
10:41You understand me?
10:42I'm sure he would be back in the ring if he was not ready.
10:51It takes a tremendous amount of courage for a man that had a broken neck to come back into wrestling.
10:58Eddie came back to wrestling probably too quick, but he wanted to get back before he lost his spot.
11:05They did an angle based on the fact that the fans knew that he'd had a serious neck injury.
11:10And they used the masked superstar to allegedly re-injure the broken neck.
11:17Oh, no!
11:18Oh!
11:18Oh!
11:19Now, there's no need for anything like that.
11:22See those scars there on the throat?
11:24That was from the automobile accident.
11:26And unfortunately, that is where Eddie met Dr. George Zahorian.
11:32I'm presently evaluating Eddie Gilbert following a traumatic accident to the vertebrae of his neck.
11:38Dr. George Zahorian was a doctor in Pennsylvania, was also appointed by the Athletic Commission to be the doctor to give physicals and etc. to all the wrestlers.
11:48Anything that the wrestlers wanted, drugs, substances, whatever that he could prescribe, there was your guy.
11:56Now you've got Eddie Gilbert, who's had a severe neck injury.
12:01What do you think is going to happen?
12:03He was in a lot of pain from the wreck, but if the doctor was prescribed or something, he would definitely take it.
12:09When he was doing it to be able to work, I guess that was our justification.
12:15Eddie!
12:16Eddie!
12:17As Eddie steps back into the ring, the WWF charts a new direction, jeopardizing his climb to the top.
12:24The WWF at the time was like superheroes.
12:27That was the Hulk Hogan starting there.
12:29Everybody that was up there got bigger.
12:31Oh, look at that!
12:32I didn't want to go that bodybuilder path, and Eddie didn't want to either.
12:37Now, we might have did a little something to tone you up, but you get caught up in that circus act.
12:46I think Eddie thought that some of the stuff they do in WWE was too much show business and not enough realism.
12:52I knew that meant that I was probably going to be probably buried, and I thought to be the best career move was to leave and go back home to Memphis to be a heel,
13:03because I knew that when I started a business, that's all I wanted to be, and I thought that was my calling.
13:09Returning to the Southern Territories, Eddie reinvents himself as a villain and creates his most iconic persona.
13:17What's that, Eddie Gilbert!
13:20Eddie knew that in the 80s, the people expected more excitement, more action, more life, more talking.
13:29I am the greatest wrestler, the prettiest face, and the greatest set of brains of professional wrestling.
13:33He had the flashy sequined jacket, frosted the hair blonde, and he was wearing sunglasses.
13:40Now, he's this guy that looked like he just stepped off this new thing called MTV.
13:44A cocky heel that really thought he was hot stuff and was better than everybody else.
13:52Listen to me, boy, when I'm talking to you!
13:54He came up with a patter and a style that was all of his own.
13:58Heaven won't take me, and hell's afraid I'll take over!
14:02My grandmother said to me, he's so mean and dirty, I just hate him.
14:07If you hate him, that means he's doing his job well.
14:11But you know what?
14:12He's still the same sweet guy that he's always been.
14:15No, he's not either!
14:16It was an amalgamation of all of the heels that Eddie had watched over the years, and it worked.
14:24One of his idols was Jerry the King Lawler.
14:27Who's the greatest wrestler in the world, and why am I?
14:29He was the undisputed king of Memphis wrestling.
14:32Lawler from the top rope, he gets it!
14:34I am in rare form, and I guess you saw it right there, didn't you?
14:37The first chance he got, he went to wrestle Jerry Lawler.
14:40Lawler, I want to tell you some brothers, you're not hungry anymore.
14:43I am.
14:44He ultimately wanted to follow in Jerry Lawler's footsteps as the king of Memphis wrestling.
14:51Jerry Lawler, look what you've done to me!
14:54When opportunity comes, you've got to chase your dream.
14:57Stop, Eddie Gilbert!
14:58You're going to be real hot, brother!
15:01Eddie had that in his mind, he knew that.
15:05That's why he was successful down south.
15:07Already a star in Memphis, Eddie gets his first shot at fulfilling his dream of becoming
15:12a company's Booker in Louisiana, working for Bill Watts Mid-South Wrestling.
15:17The Booker is basically the matchmaker, even from the time he was a teenager, Eddie already
15:22had that in his sights.
15:23I knew it was 17, and no one was going to listen to me, so I had to wait until I was 25, which
15:28was, I was still one of the youngest, ever to get a chance.
15:32That's Eddie Gilbert doing out there.
15:33They're getting ready to find out, I think, yeah.
15:35Wrestling is more than just doing the moves.
15:38Wrestling is telling a story.
15:39I really think I need to set the record straight because I am not a communist, ladies and gentlemen.
15:43And Eddie, Eddie was very good at that.
15:46You can do whatever you want to with this flag.
15:47I'd like to give it to you, Mr. Vernon.
15:51Everybody loved Bill Watts.
15:53He's in the big cowboy babyface down there.
15:55And everybody thought Eddie was going to do something tricky or low down.
16:00Hold on!
16:01That's the Colops.
16:02The Colops!
16:03The Colops!
16:04And they've got locks down!
16:05They've got that chain!
16:07When a great heel has a great babyface, they can tell a story that's unbelievable.
16:12But they put the flag over the cowboy!
16:14Look at that!
16:14Look at that!
16:15The fans are getting out of their seats!
16:17This place is mayhem!
16:19You've really got to work to get that feeling when you walk out that the people hate you.
16:22What does the people want to pay to see?
16:24They want to pay because they don't like you.
16:28And they want to see the good guy eat the crap out of you.
16:31A little bit too cocky there!
16:33If you had heat like that, you was usually drawing good money.
16:37Listen to this crowd!
16:38They love it!
16:39Eddie had some great guys there that went on to be superstars like Steve.
16:45Rick Steiner was there.
16:47Ultimate Warrior.
16:48Dr. Death's Steve Williams.
16:50All these guys were there under the guidance of Eddie Gilbert.
16:54In his mind, he said, where can I take this guy?
16:57Who can I book this guy with?
16:59Because his mind never stopped.
17:01Bill Watts sold the company to Jim Crockett Promotions, and about a year and a half later,
17:20Crockett Promotions had sold to Turner Broadcasting.
17:23With that kind of personal, I love the UWF.
17:25I hated seeing the people who had jobs that did, and I never forgot it when we got to WCW.
17:32Eddie's booking success lands him on WCW's creative team, trading sole control for a seat on a committee.
17:39Weighing in to 220 pounds, Eddie Hot Stuff Gilbert!
17:44One of the worst things to be is be on a friggin' booking committee, because you have no control.
17:51And that's when Ric Flair got involved.
17:55Flair was the top star for world championship wrestling, and he demanded to be made the booker.
18:03Ric Flair made the power play to get the booking job, got it, and it was real appreciate their attention.
18:08I felt like it was being real, real, real kind of a little busy.
18:11Ric Flair didn't know that much about Tennessee wrestling.
18:13Ric Flair didn't know that much about Eddie Gilbert.
18:16He wanted people to carry out what he was asking them to do.
18:19They go to Memphis one night.
18:22Eddie Gilbert is booked to wrestle against Ron Simmons.
18:25So Flair sends the finish.
18:27Ron Simmons beat Eddie Gilbert.
18:29There must be some mistake.
18:30This is Memphis.
18:32You can't beat me in a preliminary match in Memphis.
18:35So Eddie changed the finish.
18:36Within a week, I got a phone call from Ric Flair.
18:43So he changed the finish.
18:45Who the f*** is this guy?
18:47I'm going to have to move him out.
18:50And that's when he told me, I'm fixing to have an opening on the creative team.
18:55Would you like to fill it?
18:56I had had aspirations of one day being a booker, but here was an opportunity right in front
19:03of me to start doing what I'd always wanted to do.
19:06But it was at the expense of Eddie losing the chance to do what he wanted to do.
19:10After overriding Ric Flair's planned finish to a match, Eddie is dismissed from the creative
19:21committee, his spot taken by a childhood friend.
19:26Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Cornette will have a lot to say.
19:28We never had a face-to-face disagreement.
19:32However, Eddie told the story that, well, I showed up at the booking meeting and there
19:38was Jim Cornette sitting in my chair.
19:41Actually, no.
19:43Eddie never came in to see me there because he already knew he was done, regardless of
19:47whether I got the job or not.
19:49But I've heard it said by people close to him that that demotion pretty much broke his heart.
19:55I just wanted to get out.
19:56Jim Cornette let me out on a contract and I came back in November since 1990.
20:00That's when I got my first full-time booking job in Memphis.
20:04Hot stuff, Eddie Gilbert.
20:06Surprise, surprise, surprise.
20:07What a surprise.
20:08Yes, indeed.
20:10Returning to his home territory in Memphis, Eddie solidifies his legacy as an innovator,
20:16pushing the boundaries between reality and fiction even further.
20:20He knew the fans were getting smarter and he was trying to do cutting-edge stuff.
20:26But, uh, hey.
20:28And the Lawler was shooting at an angle.
20:30Jerry Jarrett said, well, what have y'all not done to him?
20:33Eddie said, well, I hadn't run over him.
20:36Wait a minute.
20:37Eddie, you gonna do what?
20:38Now, you may think I'm crazy.
20:40If I came at you with a car, do you think you could jump and tie him in all the way?
20:44It looks good.
20:45It looks good.
20:46Lawler says, man, I love it.
20:48Dang, he actually wants to do this.
20:50The only problem was we was going way too fast.
20:54Hey, look out.
20:56Whoa.
20:57Oh, holy shit.
20:58Excuse my language.
21:00And what I said to Doug is, do you think he's okay?
21:02Thank goodness.
21:03No.
21:04I don't think he's okay.
21:05Calling for some help from there.
21:07Well, there's Jerry Calhoun.
21:08The fans at home called the police department and said they had a hit and run.
21:14They was going to arrest us.
21:15So Lawler had to come out and actually tell the police it's not their fault.
21:21And I even said, even if I had to go to jail for a week, if you didn't get a wrestling all
21:24over, you had to just about do any expense to your business.
21:27People hated us for that.
21:29And I mean, we wanted them not to like us.
21:31But that goes into where you're getting to the point where it's almost went too far one
21:36night, me and Eddie, we went to get in the car and I heard Eddie say, hurry up, a guy's
21:40coming with a knife.
21:41What?
21:42He had a butcher knife and he's running.
21:45And so I started trying to get the key in the car and I heard Eddie say, hurry up, hurry
21:49up.
21:50And he got right almost to Eddie.
21:52There was cops at the fence and a police officer saw that.
21:56He got them before they got to us.
22:00Here's the thing, and a lot of people don't understand this.
22:03Look at your TV today and then go back and see what we did.
22:07He was ahead of his time for so many years.
22:10Oh, come on!
22:11And it was stuff that he thought about all the time.
22:14Rotten, despicable, devious mind.
22:15He's a perfectionist at work and he was a perfectionist at booking.
22:19And a lot of people will say, well, that's why you wind up with burnout.
22:25I don't think he was the booker at one spot more than six months at any, anywhere.
22:31Most of the time that I was successful, I didn't really know what I was.
22:34We saw Memphis jump back up again, so went to Alabama, changed everything.
22:38But there's always those few that think they can do the job a little bit better.
22:43That power stroke goes on for day one and the booker takes over.
22:46And then after a while, he's frustrating.
22:48And it's not worth it.
22:50Yeah, I'm sorry.
22:51Yeah.
22:52As Eddie bounces from promotion to promotion, he enters a romantic relationship with WCW star Missy Hyatt.
23:03Meow.
23:05Missy Hyatt was one of the first women in wrestling that was both attractive and used as the valet slash manager slash confidant of many of the top heels.
23:16And then, of course, we got adorable Eddie Gilbert.
23:20And then Eddie and Missy became a couple in real life.
23:23After he got off the booking committee in WCW, I bought him a boat, hoping that, you know, maybe he could go fishing and relax.
23:31He took it out maybe twice.
23:33He didn't have a hobby.
23:34His hobby and his work and everything was wrestling.
23:37I remember my dad looking at his own room.
23:40Good luck.
23:41How long did he last?
23:43The whole marriage and everything, maybe a year and a half or something like that.
23:46I hate you and I hate everybody.
23:49He liked beautiful ladies.
23:51From Milan, Italy, the AWA Ladies World Champion.
23:58I got the opportunity to be in the ring with Eddie.
24:02And that's when everything started between him and I.
24:06Hi, I'm Medusa, M-A-D-U-S-A.
24:08I'm Made in the USA, baby, and I've been in this business over 40 years.
24:13And I was married to Eddie Gilbert.
24:16It was Eddie and myself against Mick Foley and Luna Vachon.
24:23Right then and there, I'm like, God, there's something about this guy and his cockiness.
24:29We just hit it off.
24:31One thing led to another, and he's like, do you want to get married?
24:35And I'm like, what?
24:36What?
24:38Yeah, let's just do it.
24:39And we did.
24:41His family was so loving and so open to me.
24:46What do you got there?
24:47Oh, do you know how to do that?
24:49Not at all.
24:50And I felt welcomed.
24:52His dad.
24:53What?
24:55There's more action going on over there.
24:57You know, you're the only one that's opening up.
24:58And his mom was his world, and little Dougie at the time.
25:03What did you do over here yesterday?
25:05My neighbor or two got me.
25:07Oh, he loved his family.
25:10Goals, Ralph Henry book.
25:12They got all the shirts.
25:13It was healthy.
25:15That's how I felt.
25:16I owe you a leader.
25:18My marriage overall was wonderful from the beginning.
25:22And towards the end, I knew it wasn't the Eddie that I grew to love and was in love with.
25:29If it was because of the pain of the business physically and his choices to get rid of the pain,
25:36then, you know, that's what he did.
25:38And it just changed him.
25:39I just got done making dinner.
25:43We sat down to eat, and he fell asleep at the dinner table and his food.
25:49I did see him fall asleep at the table one time.
25:53I mean, I tried to talk to him about it.
25:56He kind of shut it down like it's none of your business, and it wasn't my business.
26:02I didn't really see too much wrong with it, which I look at it today,
26:05and I can see that maybe it was a little bit wrong.
26:09But now, I see so much other stuff so much worse than anything that was going on with Eddie.
26:16So I guess I just took that as everything was kind of normal.
26:21It wasn't just being a rock star that caused him to do this.
26:26It was trying to overcome serious injuries to get back in the ring.
26:31The pills taken over Eddie.
26:33That wasn't who Eddie was, though.
26:35He wanted to get better.
26:41It just didn't happen.
26:43Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert.
26:50They probably know what physical punishment they're both going to endure.
26:54Eddie and I had the best feud of the independent scene.
26:59Oh, almost ripped his head off of him.
27:01The bulls and maxes of Cactus were to sell and ever get.
27:03To make this legal, we have to hurt each other.
27:06We knew that we couldn't go out there and do any less.
27:10It would take too much pride in what we do.
27:12What he loved was bringing excitement to the television screen.
27:17They just lay our bodies on line for each other.
27:19Cactus, the barbed wire around his face.
27:21Got to stop this match right now.
27:23Stop it now.
27:24Our business brings with it constant pain.
27:30I did not know that he was having trouble with pills.
27:34Eddie was part of an era where not as much was known about pain medication.
27:39It wasn't really frowned upon at that time, but it's easy to abuse.
27:43He would say he was in pain, but I never knew the severity.
27:52He kept everything so inside.
27:58The hardest thing he did was sign those divorce papers.
28:01He told me straight out, I need to fix this.
28:04I need to get myself better.
28:07And it was Eddie's choice.
28:11I guess what I told myself at that time,
28:14the only thing I could say is that I found my way to say okay and let go.
28:21She's a really good person.
28:24I think she deserves getting out of business when she can.
28:28At that time, you know, the early 90s,
28:31a lot of things were falling apart for Eddie.
28:34Almost all the territories had gone out of business.
28:37So at that point, he really didn't have a lot of options
28:40of the old-fashioned territories' places to go anymore.
28:44Here we are at the ECW Arena in the heart of South Philadelphia.
28:47It's June 19th.
28:48Facing setbacks in his personal and professional life,
28:52Eddie Gilbert moves to Philadelphia,
28:54betting on a new promotion led by a virtual unknown in the business.
28:59We're ready to go.
29:00Tonight's the night.
29:01I grew up watching the WWWF,
29:04and there was something called believability.
29:06What happened was, as time went on,
29:09it became a cartoon.
29:10Hi, my name is Todd Gordon,
29:12and I am the founder and originator
29:13of Extreme Championship Wrestling, ECW.
29:18I worked side-by-side with Eddie Gilbert
29:20to get this promotion off the ground.
29:22Jimmy Stuck on the top, I believe all!
29:23I just wanted to see something that I would enjoy
29:25so that I could believe it.
29:26This is getting out of hand, fellas!
29:28My goal was to put on a believable, hard-hitting product.
29:31A great night, and it's going to get even better
29:33as we go on week to week.
29:35Stick with it, Jay Sully.
29:36You know, Philadelphia,
29:38they are the meanest people I ever seen.
29:42These people don't even like ice cream.
29:45I'm not bullshitting you.
29:47So when you bring that part of Eddie Benahill to them,
29:50well, then you just eat that shit right up.
29:53Eddie brought in a lot of big names
29:55and put together the matches.
29:56He was very good at it.
29:57I'm coming for you, Eddie Gilbert.
29:59He wanted to be the king of Philadelphia
30:01as Jerry was the king of Memphis.
30:03Yes, me!
30:04Hot stuff, Eddie Gilbert, the king of Philadelphia!
30:07We were doing that kind of hardcore stuff.
30:09He took it to another level.
30:12Oh, my heart!
30:13Somebody called me!
30:14Eddie would say,
30:15this is wrestling.
30:16You can do anything.
30:18I carried that over years later.
30:20So when Sam came out smoking a cigarette,
30:22what are you, crazy?
30:23You can't do that.
30:25Who says you can?
30:26We did it.
30:29He became an icon.
30:30That was Eddie.
30:31Eddie gave us that ground floor to build on.
30:34Without Eddie, there's no ground floor.
30:36Without Eddie, there's no ECW, really.
30:40The king.
30:41Hot stuff.
30:43Eddie Gilbert.
30:44Eddie brings ECW to new heights,
30:47but it's his friend Paul Heyman
30:48who will have the biggest impact on wrestling's future.
30:51Ladies and gentlemen,
30:54or you people of Philadelphia.
30:57Today, Paul Heyman is the most brilliant manager
31:00on the professional wrestling scene.
31:02In those days,
31:03Paul Heyman always wanted to be the booker.
31:06So he started shadowing Eddie Gilbert.
31:09Paul was a photographer,
31:10did interviews with me when he was like 13,
31:12when I was in WWE.
31:13Paul is like me a lot of times.
31:15He will say things that maybe he should,
31:18but that he does.
31:19That's enough.
31:20Back then,
31:21Eddie Gilbert and I were thick as thieves.
31:23He was my brother.
31:25He was my mentor.
31:26He was my best friend.
31:28And he was so magnificent as a booker.
31:33They were together in Alabama.
31:35They were together in Georgia.
31:36They were everywhere.
31:37It was a good combination.
31:38It worked.
31:39It was probably six, seven months in
31:41when all of a sudden it was,
31:44you know,
31:44where's Eddie?
31:46It was 2 o'clock
31:47and he was rolling around 3 through 30.
31:49He wasn't kidding around and carrying on.
31:52It's a different change in his whole demeanor.
31:54I wasn't that familiar with
31:58what drugs,
32:00painkillers,
32:01the effect they had on people's personalities.
32:03You get in the ring with anybody
32:05and if he wasn't bleeding,
32:06his opponent was.
32:08Those things don't just end when the show ends.
32:11They all turn to painkillers for that.
32:13It is very easy to fall into that trap.
32:16He had lost that
32:17joe de vie.
32:18He had lost that fun side.
32:20This was not the same Eddie
32:22that had contributed so much to the business.
32:25So,
32:26it was falling apart for Eddie.
32:28Bad.
32:29As Eddie spirals into addiction,
32:32Paul Heyman pushes forward
32:34with plans to take ECW National.
32:37Paul was working with Jim Crockett
32:39and he was very excited about it.
32:41Eddie thought that
32:42me, Paul, and Crockett
32:44were going to go off
32:44and leave him in the lurch.
32:46At this point,
32:46he was really in the depth of his
32:48despair,
32:50paranoia.
32:51And he said,
32:51yeah,
32:52guess what?
32:53We quit.
32:54We'd be,
32:55you know,
32:56we had a huge show coming up.
32:57Ultra Clash is our
32:58big, big, big event.
33:00It's going to be the biggest,
33:01hottest show
33:02in the history of Philadelphia wrestling.
33:03That's right.
33:04Even though he's going to still be on the show.
33:05But it didn't matter.
33:07Sometimes you're that high
33:08or that buzzed.
33:09You think reality is
33:11completely different
33:11than what reality is.
33:13And he had his own reality
33:14at that point.
33:14Welcome to a very special
33:21Ultra Clash preview edition
33:23of Eastern Championship Wrestling.
33:25Fearing that he's losing control
33:27of ECW,
33:28Eddie Gilbert storms out
33:30of the company
33:30just days before a major show.
33:32Two days later,
33:33Eddie called me up
33:34and he said,
33:35hey boss,
33:36I'm sorry.
33:36I'm being stupid.
33:38So I'll be there Saturday night.
33:40I had to tell him, Eddie.
33:42At Ultra Clash,
33:43there will be
33:44a major change.
33:46That's correct.
33:47You quit five days
33:48before the show.
33:49I had to do something.
33:50I had to replace you.
33:51That man who will be the partner
33:52on September the 18th
33:54with Abdul the Butcher
33:55is none other than
33:56Kevin Sullivan.
33:59He said, okay.
34:00Can I come to the show
34:01Saturday night anyway
34:03and say goodbye to everybody?
34:05I said, sure.
34:07He told me he was going to come
34:08and cut a promo
34:09which nobody else knew that.
34:11What's this?
34:13That's hot stuff,
34:14Eddie Gilbert.
34:15What's he doing here?
34:16He's not scheduled to wrestle.
34:17He told the people
34:18that he wanted to thank them
34:20for coming out
34:21and supporting ECW
34:22and supporting him
34:23and everything.
34:24And all of a sudden,
34:25they started hollering
34:26in the back,
34:27cut the mic,
34:27cut the mic,
34:28cut the mic.
34:30Paul lost it in the locker room.
34:32He said,
34:32he tried to screw me
34:34but it was just a long goodbye.
34:35Why would you want to
34:36cut the mic
34:37on a guy that's just
34:38telling the people
34:39thanks for supporting
34:40the company and him
34:41and that's what
34:42kind of pissed me off.
34:44So there was a bat there
34:46so I thought
34:47I'd tell them
34:48what I had to say.
34:52I just swung the bat
34:53and I hid everything
34:54in there and broke it.
34:56A couple people come up
34:57that was my friends
34:58and said,
34:59man, everything okay?
35:00I said,
35:01man, everything's fine.
35:03He left
35:05and Paul and Eddie
35:07really never spoke again
35:08after that.
35:09That was the end
35:09of the relationship.
35:10They were best friends.
35:12Made no sense.
35:14It was,
35:15I think,
35:16in the end,
35:17Holly learned too well.
35:21Holly was definitely.
35:22Oh my goodness,
35:24it's Eddie Gilbert.
35:25After Eddie Gilbert's
35:27departure,
35:28Paul Heyman propels
35:29ECW to heights
35:30few wrestling companies
35:31will ever reach.
35:33This is wrestling
35:34the way it's gonna be
35:35and the way we know
35:37that you like it.
35:38Rebranding
35:39Eastern Championship Wrestling
35:40into the iconic
35:42Extreme Championship Wrestling.
35:46With nothing left to lose,
35:48Eddie taps into his fan base,
35:50once again setting a trend
35:52that will influence the future.
35:54Eddie wanted recognition.
35:56He wanted to be able
35:57to plead his case.
35:59Eddie had been
36:00especially popular
36:01with the hardcore
36:03smart fans,
36:04the ones that knew
36:05the behind the scenes,
36:06the ones that knew
36:06how everything worked.
36:08A lot of the stuff
36:08is gonna be out of order
36:10and stuff because
36:10it's later on.
36:11One of them
36:12basically sat Eddie
36:13down in a hotel room
36:15and shot the first
36:16shoot interview.
36:19First off,
36:20why don't you give a...
36:21Where one of the
36:21personalities involved
36:23in wrestling
36:23sat there
36:24and told inside stories
36:26of how it was done.
36:27I did a few angles
36:28with John.
36:29I'd like to tell you about it.
36:30In those days,
36:30believability in the ring
36:32was the most important.
36:33If the people know
36:34how they're being tricked,
36:36it'll kill the business.
36:38It got some people
36:39raising their eyes
36:40at, you know,
36:41Eddie Gilbert did that.
36:43What's been your
36:43relationship with Waller?
36:45Yeah, I think,
36:45I think it's kind of,
36:46I think probably
36:47best described it as well.
36:48Okay.
36:49It was about time
36:50that he did
36:50because everybody out there
36:52thought,
36:53they know everything
36:54about our business
36:54and they don't.
36:56When he saw an opportunity,
36:57he took advantage of it
36:58before anybody else.
37:00About 10 years
37:01after he done it,
37:02everybody and their brother
37:04started doing it.
37:05Laid the Russian flag
37:07on Bill Watts.
37:08Eddie hated Kevin Sullivan.
37:09Bravo.
37:10Marker.
37:11Eddie was the first one
37:13in the business
37:13to recognize that.
37:15But this was 1994.
37:18People in the business
37:19didn't do that.
37:20But that was all
37:21that Eddie had left.
37:22The smart fans
37:23loved his booking.
37:24But the upper echelon
37:26in the major companies,
37:27they didn't really
37:28know or care.
37:33I was running
37:34Smoky Mountain Wrestling
37:35out of Knoxville, Tennessee.
37:36...backed hour
37:37of Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
37:38I called Eddie.
37:40I said,
37:41Eddie,
37:41you've got a great mind.
37:44Let's see if we can
37:44put this thing together.
37:46I can't believe
37:46what I'm seeing here.
37:48Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert
37:49is here and
37:50what are you doing
37:52here in Smoky Mountain Wrestling?
37:53I didn't know
37:53you were going to be here.
37:55Well...
37:55He came to the TV taping.
37:57Just to be honest,
37:58I didn't really know
37:59I was going to be here either.
38:00But...
38:00Came out and had a match
38:02with Ricky Morton.
38:03Reversal of the Irish whip.
38:05And he brought him out
38:06He looked great.
38:07He was ready to go.
38:10And he told me,
38:11we're going to shoot
38:11this angle tonight.
38:13We'll be right here next week.
38:14Show us what you got.
38:15Hot Stuff.
38:16Maybe we won't go through
38:17with it because I have
38:19an opportunity in Puerto Rico
38:22to do what I love.
38:25And that's booking.
38:26I was proud for him.
38:28And I said,
38:29go for it.
38:30If you don't come back,
38:31I'll cover it up.
38:33And bless my heart,
38:34he never came back.
38:35After that first TV taping,
38:38I never saw
38:38Eddie Gilbert again.
38:40He was dead
38:41three months later.
38:48Looking to make
38:49a fresh start
38:50and leave his demons behind,
38:52Eddie Gilbert heads to work
38:53in Puerto Rico.
38:55He looked at it
38:56as a great opportunity
38:57to turn it around.
38:59Carlos Colon
39:00had offered him a deal.
39:02Carlos was wanting
39:03somebody with different ideas,
39:04something fresh.
39:06He was real excited.
39:12This is the briefcase
39:13that my brother
39:14carried around
39:15all the way
39:16to his Puerto Rico days.
39:18February 18, 95.
39:22Eddie Gilbert
39:22versus Ted the Bear.
39:24So that's the bear
39:25that my brother wrestled.
39:27I'm going against
39:27a bear.
39:28I'm going against
39:29a bear.
39:31You ought to make
39:32a bear.
39:32I can't go against
39:33a bear, no!
39:34He was trying to get it
39:35popped again
39:36and where everybody
39:36could make money
39:37and everybody
39:37would be happy.
39:39He asked me,
39:40he said,
39:40you want to come?
39:41I said,
39:42give me a minute
39:43to think on it
39:43and I'm sure
39:44it won't be too long.
39:46But
39:47it would be
39:49the last territory
39:51that he ever booked.
39:54The next day,
39:56somebody called
39:58and told me,
39:59they found your brother
40:00in his apartment
40:02laying across the bed
40:04with earphones on
40:05and music
40:06just laying back
40:07like he'd laid back
40:09to go to sleep
40:09and rest.
40:10Really peaceful.
40:12Weeks after arriving
40:15in Puerto Rico,
40:16tragic news
40:17arrives back home.
40:19The wrestling world
40:19was saddened
40:20by the death
40:21this past week
40:21of Eddie Gilbert.
40:23We were notified
40:23that on February 18th
40:25in San Juan,
40:26Puerto Rico,
40:27Eddie had passed away
40:28of apparent heart failure.
40:30When you know somebody
40:31in his early 30s,
40:33the first thing
40:34you're going to think
40:35is,
40:35was it drugs?
40:36Especially in Puerto Rico.
40:38In Puerto Rico,
40:39you don't have to have
40:40a script
40:41to do nothing.
40:42All you have to do
40:43is walk into the drugstore,
40:45get anything you want.
40:47So the first thing
40:48they don't say,
40:49oh, you know what
40:50he was doing?
40:51Well, no,
40:52you don't know
40:52what he was doing.
40:53Of course,
40:54there's speculation
40:55on drugs,
40:56ODing,
40:57but he had a bad heart too.
40:59And they list
41:00the cause of death
41:00as the heart attack.
41:02Anybody could have
41:02made up anything
41:03and it spreads
41:04like it's gospel
41:05through the entire industry.
41:06But I really learned
41:07to take everything
41:08I hear like that
41:09with a grain of salt.
41:10I'm there
41:11to protect Eddie first
41:12before I start
41:14believing rumors
41:14and speculations.
41:16We ain't going to say
41:17we was choir boys.
41:18We probably did
41:19some things
41:19we shouldn't have done.
41:21But I'm not
41:22making an excuse,
41:23I'm just telling you.
41:25He had the car wreck.
41:26Half of his heart,
41:27it would never work
41:28again.
41:30And if it wasn't
41:31working right,
41:32it had to have
41:32a strain on it.
41:33And that never quit
41:34until he passed away.
41:37If Eddie was still alive,
41:40he'd be one month older
41:42than I am
41:42sitting here right now.
41:49We kept in contact.
41:50We wrote letters
41:51to each other.
41:53And this one here
41:53that I kept
41:54was probably
41:55one of the end ones.
41:58He starts off
41:59with Deborah Ann.
42:00Deborah,
42:04you have
42:04been
42:05a terrific friend,
42:08lover,
42:09companion,
42:10and most of all,
42:12best and wonderful wife.
42:14I just wish
42:15I had realized
42:16that before
42:18it got too
42:19out of hand.
42:21I have nothing
42:22but the most respect
42:23for you as a person.
42:25And your abilities
42:26in the ring
42:26and also in the...
42:27If you need someone
42:33to talk to
42:34at any time,
42:35night or day,
42:36please don't hesitate
42:37to give me a call.
42:40I mean that.
42:42And that was
42:43one of the last letters
42:44that I received
42:46from Eddie.
42:47He was a good person.
42:51He met well.
42:54You know,
42:54Eddie passed away
42:5530 years ago.
42:56and he's still down.
42:58He's one of the best.
43:01And he died
43:02loving what he did.
43:07So when you step
43:08in that ring,
43:09it's like we're
43:10on Broadway
43:10and we can give you
43:13part of our soul.
43:15He gave his heart
43:16and soul to you,
43:17people.
43:19Remember him
43:20for that.
43:22Eddie never really
43:23wanted much
43:24in return.
43:25He just wanted
43:26this business.
43:28I was born
43:29to be the king.
43:32This year,
43:32it would be
43:3330 years
43:34since my brother's
43:35passing.
43:36I wish he could
43:37be here
43:37and I love him.
43:39And, uh,
43:40I know how
43:43really proud
43:44he was
43:44of me
43:45and
43:45he had a huge heart.
43:47he'd done
43:50what he loved
43:51to the last
43:53day of his life.
43:53He'd done
43:54what he loved
43:55to the last day
43:56of his life.
43:57he'd done
43:59with me.
44:00He'd done
44:02what he loved
44:02to the last day
44:03and he'd like
44:04to watch
44:04and unless
44:05he would
44:06go to
44:06the last
44:06day of the
44:07day of the
44:07time.