Six Feet Under - JBL talks backstage pranks, heel heat & making Undertaker break

8:17Steph McMahon:They would paint the flowers black, man. Did you ever see the people that sent them? No. No. They just sent them...

8:24The Undertaker:I bet they saw him there.

8:25Steph McMahon:I mean, obviously, they were... I would just want to see them. Yeah, they were obviously... I mean, a lot of times there were numbers and stuff, but I don't want to call somebody who's sending me flowers, black flowers on the road. But when they were just normal flowers and Arnie was there and we were on the East Coast, I would always give them to Arnie. And he'd take them home. Of course. Of course he would. Of course he would. Of course he would. And it got to the point where it would be like, hey, kid, there's some flowers in the production office for you, And I was like, they're yours, Arnie.

9:02Steph McMahon:He's like, ah, that's great. Betty loves them.

9:05JBL:I think Arnie's still getting paid off white planes to this day. He probably is still getting a cut.

9:10Steph McMahon:Yeah. Oh, my gosh.

9:11JBL:He and Tim used to, like, go by us. When I was with Wendell, we'd drive 100 miles an hour everywhere. We'd pass them, you know, every time. They'd set the crews, like, three miles over. Me and Wendell would go flying by them. We had to stop off, take a leak, take a leak. We'd go, we'd pass them again. We'd pass them, like, four or five times on the way to Everton. And they'd just be cool. They'd just drive this wave to us.

9:29Steph McMahon:Oh, yeah. They were the best. Oh, man.

9:31JBL:You know, Timmy was the one. He and that hockey goon that was down in Cape Cod, they're the ones that Vince brought in that made sure that people didn't steal from him. Remember, Timmy was the guy that would count the money. Oh, yeah, that's right. They're the ones that made sure, you know, cash business back then that people didn't steal from Vince.

9:47Steph McMahon:Timmy was quite the businessman. Once he figured out y 'all's gig.

9:52JBL:That's right.

9:52Steph McMahon:Oh, my God. When Timmy would need something done at the bar, He would offer up the friendly tap for you guys to come in and shoot a video.

10:02JBL:He had a nanotube television they replaced with a digital television back in the 90s. They even had digital back in the 90s. And he told us, he goes, guys, please break the television and the jukebox. He had a jukebox that didn't even work. He got a new laser jukebox, whatever the hell you called him. And Vince told us, I know I was buying a whole new bar, my God. Because Timmy gave us a list of stuff to break.

10:22The Undertaker:Oh, that's smart.

10:23JBL:We had a guy, we had to break the jukebox, and the guy says, my back's, one of the workers extra says, my back's hurt. Ron goes, yeah, you throw him through the jukebox. Okay, so I threw him through the jukebox. That's how Tim got a new jukebox. Extra had his back hurt. I thought, well, that'll help him probably. I love that, yeah. If nothing else, I'll get Tim the jukebox.

10:43The Undertaker:How much money and stuff do you think y 'all destroyed?

10:45JBL:Oh, my God. Because everything, right? Yeah, the lights, he said, my lights are no good. So at the very end of it, I forgot that I didn't tear down the lights. I just reached up and grabbed the light and tore it down. And he goes, man, thank you for doing that. I need a new light. And he put that on the bill to Vince.

11:01The Undertaker:Oh, that's great.

11:02JBL:Yeah.

11:02The Undertaker:That's great.

11:03JBL:He had the back room back there where him and Arnie used to play cards. Oh, man. Did you ever play gin with Arnie? A little bit, yes. But I was not any good at gin. So I didn't want to embarrass myself. I was good at gin. I was good at gin.

11:14Steph McMahon:Arnie was a tough – man, he was tough to beat. He was – man, what a shark. What a shark he was. I guess all those years with Andre.

11:23JBL:He's like those old guys like Akbar. Akbar never watched the match. Guys come back. How was it? Sounded great. Marty never watched a match.

11:33Steph McMahon:Not one match. No, no. He took care of the gate. Yeah. Took care of the – yeah, and then played card and took money off of the boys. That's right. Oh, my goodness. What was it, 90, what, 96?

11:49JBL:You come in? When did you come in? Yeah, I came in in December of 95 with my tryout match, and then 96 was when I started right before Royal Rumble, I believe, that year. I wasn't in the Rumble, but that was the first year. WrestleMania was the first year when you worked with Diesel. Right. And Sean and Brett worked. Yeah. Then I had you. Oh, my God.

12:08Steph McMahon:What a day I had.

12:09JBL:Oh, my God. It was the worst day ever. What a day I had. Worst day in the history of the world.

12:14Steph McMahon:So I worked with Kevin the day before at Mania.

12:18JBL:And it was a heck of a match. If you ever saw the big cage match, he took power bombs and all kinds of stuff. It was a hell of a match.

12:23Steph McMahon:So he was on his way out, and so I did that. So the next day at TV, which would have been Raw, on my list of matches that day, I had you,

12:39JBL:which he was a little wound up, a little nervous. I've been working in Europe for two years. I've been working in Japan. I finally got my big break. This is my first live match, and I'm with Undertaker. No pressure. Yeah.

12:51Steph McMahon:So I had, and I'll get back to that. But I had, so we had John. I mean, I had John. And then I had a match with Vader. A dark match with Vader, yeah. And then I had a match with Mick, too.

13:04JBL:And Mick debuted during our match at the end of it. Yes. Yeah. So he had all of that within a 24-hour period. He had a cage match with Diesel on the way out. He had a match with me, this kid that nobody wanted to work with.

13:17Steph McMahon:Foley debuts and Vader. It was a rough day. So needless to say, Dutch was with you, right? Yeah. Dutch had got you all wound up. Oh, my God.

13:27JBL:I'm sitting there, and, you know, back to the day when the blue haze would come out, you know, and the lighters would go up, you know, like the old Freebird, Leonard Skinner, you know, not the moonwalking Freebird that we know. He told Glenn Armstrong how to moonwalk, by the way. That's Michael Hayes did. Most people don't know that. But it was so freaking cool to be there in the arena and see that. And I'm sitting there, but I had worked in tents in Europe. It was a great territory with Finley and St. Clair and Schumann and Smeisel. It was great, Klaus Kharoff, great territory, but small. No TV, nothing.

13:59JBL:All of a sudden now I see WrestleMania. I see Shawn rappelling from the ceiling. Next day I'm out there and this blue haze comes up. Undertaker's coming out. I'm sitting there thinking, the f*** am I even here? I belong a lot of places. In this ring is not the place I belong. And I'm sitting there with all this doubt. I'm going, I hope I can get a job in Japan. I'm just thinking, that's all I'm thinking at the time. Is it too late to leverage this contract and go to Japan? And I'm thinking all this in my head, and Dutch looks at me. He just panics. He goes, kid, kid, just be aggressive. Just be aggressive.

14:28JBL:And I'm like, okay, aggressive, aggressive, aggressive. Just be aggressive. Just be aggressive.

14:31Steph McMahon:That might have been the only thing you heard.

14:33JBL:That's all I heard.

14:35Steph McMahon:That bell rung. He come at me like, holy crap. He is just laying into me. And I can't even breathe. And he is all over me. I finally, and trying to move you, trying to move him was like moving angle iron. Oh, I'm 300 pounds. I'm young. He's stiff. And just nervous. And finally, I got in the corner and I was like, John, do I owe you money?

15:07JBL:And he said it just like that. It was so calm. I'm like, I'm fired. I'm fired. I'm going to Japan. And now I'm back in Japan again in my head. I'm like, oh, my God. I was just trying to kind of sell you down. I didn't know what to say. I didn't say anything. You're like, do I? I don't know. No, you don't owe me money. I don't hardly know you. You're beating me like I owe you money.

15:30The Undertaker:That's funny.

15:31Steph McMahon:Oh, my goodness, man. Yeah, that was a hell of a two days. And I was like, what the hell did Dutch tell you?

15:40JBL:That's right. Dutch was panicking as much as I was. because he had just lost it with the Harris boys. The Harris boys were there, and they had just been let go for probably a pretty good reason. And he's thinking he's on his way out, too. I got this kid, and he goes, now this kid, he can just see me, have all the doubt in my mind. And he's like, oh, shit, I'm gone, too. Just be aggressive. Just be aggressive. Not with the franchise, okay? I'm aggressive like with Barry Horowitz. That'd be a lot better.

16:10Steph McMahon:Yeah, it's that I don't know that he was so worried about you He was probably worried about Yeah, he was worried about like, ah, damn it Going back to Puerto Rico

16:18JBL:Exactly Doug was the best, he was talking about time He goes, there's only a couple things you can't do Healing baby face Other than him Other than him

16:29Steph McMahon:You're alright So when I broke in, when I broke in in Memphis Well, I broke in in Dallas Oh, that's right, you rode with him too Is he not the most entertaining guy in the world? And I think, you know what, and it's good that he is because you ain't getting him behind the wheel. No, no, no, no.

16:46JBL:We rode together about two years. He drove about 30 miles in two years. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, he drove one time between somewhere and Yeehaw Junction. And he drove like 40 miles an hour. And he did it so he wouldn't have to drive again. Cars flying by us. Oh, just got to be safe, kid. Dick.

17:02Steph McMahon:He did. That is so funny because he did the exact same thing to me. I'm appreciative I've got a veteran that I'm riding up down the road with I'm sitting under that learning tree and he's a smart dude very smart and very entertaining he was a funny funny guy

17:23JBL:he would just make up stories sometimes just make them up fictitional stories about people and they were so entertaining I'd just sit there and listen to them for hours he was incredibly entertaining

17:34Steph McMahon:but after a while Like that Memphis territory. Like Monday, so we all lived in Nashville. Monday you drive to Memphis, which is 200. You drive to Memphis, you work Mid-South, then you drive back to Nashville because Tuesday you have to go to Louisville, which is another 180 and back. Wednesday you go to Evansville. Thursday house show or a little spot show, Friday a spot show down around Memphis. You do Memphis TV on Saturday morning, then drive back to Nashville for the house show on Saturday night.

18:09JBL:Miserable.

18:10Steph McMahon:Yeah. And I'm doing all the driving. Every bit of it. Every bit of it in my car. My 1988 Ford Escort. Bright red. And finally, I got to the point. I was like, Dutch, are you ever going to offer to drive? and he's like no I'm not a wheel man I'm a co-pilot I'm like well first off will you get your chewing to back off do you have chew and everything finally I browbeat him down or I thought I was browbeat him down to get behind the steering wheel right and he did the exact same thing he got behind the steering wheel and drove 30 40 miles an hour

18:53JBL:interstate 40 right

18:56Steph McMahon:finally I was like You win Pull over I'll drive Point received here I got it

19:04JBL:I was so mad By the time we got To E-Hall Junction He had to call home So he got a little pay phone And I go up behind He got the Zubaz on And I pantsed him Dropped his shorts Cars everywhere And he's got red and white Striped drawers Like tight briefs on And he's got his shirt Tucked in his briefs And his red and white drawer Little hairy legs And his little shoes Down there And I pantsed him And I stepped on his pants Like that where he couldn't get his pants up and he's on the phone and he doesn't want to hang up. He's like sitting there trying to get his pants up.

19:33The Undertaker:That's funny.

19:34JBL:Yeah. You drive 30 miles an hour, I'll get you.

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20:45The Undertaker:Hey, you mentioned Fit or Finley over here. I was just asking him, you weren't on the tour. Do you remember the tour? Well, not the one tour you messed with Hornswoggle or Fit messed with Hornswoggle. Remember when Hornswoggle was doing the gimmick with the tennis balls and he was with Kali? Yeah. Were you not there or were you there?

21:05Steph McMahon:I was probably there.

21:07The Undertaker:So he was doing a bit what? He came from under the ring or something and he started juggling tennis balls and then Kali would throw them into the... What was the deal? Didn't Fit say they were like super expensive?

21:15JBL:He got them from souvenirs from the French Open.

21:18The Undertaker:That's what it was. And they were like$100 each. From the French Open, yes.

21:22JBL:So it gets better. So Hornswoggle's coming out there. You're doing the gimmick, and Collie is looking at him like the Silly Giant. It's a pretty good, funny spot. And then Collie threw him in the crowd. Well, Finley tells him, he goes, those are from the French Open. They're like$100 each. You owe us$300. And Hornswoggle's now starting to panic because he didn't have that kind of money. He'd just start with the company. So next night he does it again. Now Collie's throwing him in the crowd. Hornswoggle's trying to go get him. So by the end of the week, Hornswoggle thinks he's got like a$1 ,000 bill for these tennis balls.

21:51JBL:So he tells Big Show about it. So Big Show goes in there to Finley, and he says, hey, man, this isn't right. And Finley goes, hold on just a minute. He says, let me tell you what's happening. So Big Show comes out, because he went to defend Hornswoggle, comes out and runs into Hornswoggle and goes, nothing I can do about it.

22:13The Undertaker:That was so funny. There was a lot of entertainment.

22:17JBL:I've got the video of him putting the chicken under the ring. Oh, my gosh.

22:20The Undertaker:That was good stuff, too.

22:21JBL:We were going to do an APA skip with us one time, and we couldn't find him. And so we were looking everywhere. Finally, I thought, you know, he's got to be here somewhere, and he just fell asleep.

22:30The Undertaker:He fell asleep everywhere.

22:32Steph McMahon:Yeah, he was good at falling asleep. Yeah.

22:34The Undertaker:He fell asleep under the ring.

22:36Steph McMahon:Oh, I've heard a story with you.

22:38The Undertaker:And Big Show and all these.

22:40Steph McMahon:Big Show. There was monsters. Thousands of pounds. Monsters in the ring. Yeah. And he's under the ring, and it gets time for him to come out. and like everybody's kind of waiting like it's all right it's the spot we've done this spot eight nights in a row where's the heart of tobacco it's like being on a gun range down there it's so loud it's yes you can't yeah it's hard to describe to people who have not ever been under the ring how loud that is yeah and uh fit gets out of the you know he looks under there and all he can see is his little feet standing there, sitting there. Fit thought, oh, my gosh, maybe he hit his head or somebody taking a bump, and he hit his head like he's dead under there.

23:25The Undertaker:For like a split second, then start throwing stuff at him.

23:27Steph McMahon:Yeah, of course. Fit's sympathy is about that long, right? So, yeah, he jerked him up.

23:34The Undertaker:Remember in Puerto Rico when Fit's like kept sending him down the slide?

23:41Steph McMahon:That was at the pool.

23:43The Undertaker:Hornswoggle is a great sport. He did it for our entertainment also. Oh, he was the best. He's the best.

23:48JBL:He was so mad at me for years when I hit him with that trash can at WrestleMania. And now it's like a gift now, GIF, whatever it is. And now he loves it. He thinks it's great. He brought me in. He had his kid hit me with a trash can up in his – get me back, of course. I wouldn't let him hit him. His kid hit me.

24:01Steph McMahon:Did you hit him when you worked in trash can?

24:03JBL:Yeah, that's right. It was at WrestleMania. We're in like Orlando. And I was working with Finley and Hornswoggle's out there doing something. I thought, I'm going to get his little ass. It is not little. Yeah. No, it's not Lil. He got more ass than a donkey for him. It's like he got two beach balls in his back pockets. Boy, he got all kind. Tell him to haul ass, take like eight trips. So I'm sitting there watching him walk around, and I thought, I'm going to get his ass. So I roped over to the trash can, and I threw that trash can at him. And you should have seen it from my point of view. He looked up with his little eyes.

24:35He's just topping him over.

24:36JBL:And I look back, and he goes, that was a great shot. That was a great shot. Of course he did. Thank you. Of course he did. That's all during WrestleMania he's telling me that. Philly, so that's a great shot. You know, at first WrestleMania that he was at, we see me and Bruce Pitcher coming back in the back of a car because it's some appearance or something, and we see Bob Holliday walking across the field, and he's carrying something, like a sack of water, like a sack of potatoes. And we look, and we go, Bruce goes, that's Hornswoggle. I go, it can't be. So we stopped the car. So we stopped the car.

25:05JBL:It was Hornswoggle. And he had gotten drunk at the bar, and Bob's carrying him back to the hotel. Well, Bob is fed up. He sets him up. He goes, I'm sick of him. You can have him. and he walks off. So now Horn's with us. And he's like sitting there. I said, Dylan, I said, have you been drinking? He goes, no. And he falls over.

25:24Steph McMahon:That's just really not that outlandish either. No, it's not. People are probably going to listen to this and they're like, oh, my gosh, they're full of crap. No, not really. No, no.

25:33The Undertaker:Did you ever see him drive? I was terrified the first time I saw him drive. Because he gets that box. But then he like sits up in the seat also. And he has a foot box that he pushes on, then it pushes the pedal, and it's a whole thing. But it's terrifying to watch him. Oh, man. Has Dylan written a book? I'm pretty sure he could write a book.

25:52Steph McMahon:It'd be good. I think he did. I think he did write a book. I actually read that. I'm pretty sure he wrote one. My memory. Yeah.

25:57The Undertaker:Oh, gosh.

25:58Steph McMahon:He's a pretty good interview, too. He's awesome. I love Hornswoggle. He's the absolute best.

26:04The Undertaker:He is. He's hilarious.

26:06JBL:He's funny as he can be, and he doesn't take him.

26:09The Undertaker:He's not offended. That's right. Yes. Yeah. That's the only time I got hurt. I booted him in the face and then tossed him in the ring and talked about his butt. He was so heavy. Oh, he's heavy. That I strained. Like, literally, my neck was jacked up. I was like, dang, Dylan, you're the heaviest person.

26:24Steph McMahon:I think I tore part of my rotator cuff trying to chokeslam him once. Really? Oh, my gosh. He's so heavy. He's so bottom heavy. You chokeslam big show. Yeah, that was easy.

26:38JBL:I had to throw him, give him like we used to call it the fallaway slam, and throw him into the cage with that. I got horns on him. He's supposed to be unconscious. There's a pole in the middle of the cage. All he's screaming is, there's a pole, there's a pole. It's like Hervé Villachay going, the plane, the plane. I'm like, dude, shut up. He's supposed to be out. I know what I'm doing. I promise I've done this before. Not with a little guy, but I've done it before.

27:03The Undertaker:He should have been used to anything working with Fit.

27:06JBL:Oh, man. Fit tortured him. Absolutely tortured him. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. He just loved every bit of it. And all Fit did was torture him.

27:13The Undertaker:The whole time. I know. The whole time.

27:15Steph McMahon:What a gem he is. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my God. The best. Absolute best.

27:20The Undertaker:Fit or Dylan? Both. Huh? Well, actually, both of them. Actually, both of them.

27:23Steph McMahon:Put them together and then go on tour.

27:25The Undertaker:The best.

27:26JBL:It's just amazing. They kept us sane. About a year ago, my tooth fell out. Finley had knocked it out about 30 years ago in Europe. And so we had worked on Peter William, who used to run Germany and didn't run all of it. He ran Hanover, and then they split with Otto running Graz. But there was a big competition between Otto and Peter William, the typical northern-southern gimmick that there is in the States or where else. Otto used to say, oh, those stupid, arrogant, hot Germans, those hot Deutschlanders. I just hate them. And so Otto used to come visit on Wednesdays when it was our worst crowd.

27:59JBL:We had worked there every night, seven days. We had Dom and Tog, Ladies' Night. We had Champions' Night and all that stuff. But Wednesday night was our worst crowd by far. So Otto comes up on Wednesday every time just to rub it in Peter's face that you've got a shitty crowd. So he gets there and they put me and Finley against each other, heel versus heel. First time we'd worked against each other to try to draw a little bit of a crowd. Of course, Finley drew a decent crowd. And Finley knocked out my tooth right at the start of the match. So in the match, he comes up to me and we have a locker there, and he says, everything okay?

28:27JBL:I go, yeah, a dream. Never touch me. And he could tell he's so disappointed. He's like, really? I go, yeah, I didn't feel you. Everybody talks about how stiff you are. I said, I didn't even feel you. He beat the shit out of me. So you can tell he's like mad about it. And he goes, really? I go, yeah. I never tell you. I said, guys, working with Fitz, it's a dream. You guys are going to love this. And now he's really getting mad. I said, thanks, Dave. And he walked out. And I had a sandwich by my locker. And my whole tooth fell out. I said, shit, my tooth fell out. And Finley walked back in the ring.

28:57JBL:I did it! He was so happy. And about a year ago, it fell out again. I sent him a note. He thought it was funny.

29:03Steph McMahon:Of course, he was evil. He is evil. Yeah.

29:06JBL:He's evil. But evil in a good way. He was so freaking good.

29:10Steph McMahon:Yes.

29:10JBL:You know, the two greatest matches I ever saw, I got booked in Europe when Larry Cameron died in the ring in Brayman the year before, and none of the Americans came back. So Otto had to get a whole new crew. And I was the last one hired. And I got hired because Jimmy Suzuki was sitting in his office, and he sees my picture, and he goes, oh, John's a good boy. And Otto goes, oh, I take him. And that's how I got hired. I thought I got hired because he saw my videos and thought I was a great worker. I got hired because Jimmy Suzuki was drinking beer with Otto. Our apple schnapps is what he was drinking.

29:41JBL:Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes, yeah. So they put us in Zeeboden in like this resort town in Austria because Otto wanted to see what he had. And so he wanted to see the Americans work. And so he got us there. And freaking Finley and St. Clair had a match. And to this day, the only match I've ever seen was yours and Sean's that was anything close. So I'm sitting there watching going, I can't do this. That's not the business I'm in. It was that freaking good. I'm sitting there watching that match going, that's one of the greatest things I've ever seen. He's so good. And they did it, you could tell, just to mess with the Americans.

30:14JBL:Just let them know what they were. You're over here in a real territory. These guys can work. You guys better step up your game.

30:21Steph McMahon:Yeah. He's one of the few guys that can do chain wrestling and make it look vicious. and seem vicious and seem like it's not just a dance. Everything makes sense. His whole demeanor and his approach to wrestling, I think, was just fine.

30:45JBL:His own matches with him and Marty Jones over in England were just amazing. And I remember I was sitting there. The day I retired with Ray was the match you had with Shawn. And I remember I sat there to watch your guys' match. I started watching it. It was so damn good. I thought, I've got to watch this match. And I remember sitting there thinking, I've just retired today, and I've just seen the best match I've ever seen. It's a good day to walk out. And I left right after that match. I didn't stay for the rest of the show because I was kind of – I didn't want to retire. I had to retire because of injuries.

31:11JBL:But that was the first match I'd seen since that one with St. Clair and Finley that I thought that's the greatest thing. Wow. I appreciate that. That's what this business is all about. It's just when you see something like that, it's just, man, it's just something different. Yeah. It's like watching Jordan play or something, watching Brady make a comeback or something. There's just something different when you see stuff like that.

31:31The Undertaker:And Fitz's mind is just so good, too. He single-handedly revived the whole women's division. He's the only one that single-handedly fought for us week after week after week and let us do things. And just the way that his mind works and puts things together, golly.

31:44JBL:He was probably, people ask the best for us, that's subjective. You don't know. Great is great. And when you talk about great wrestlers, it's not like you're talking about one's great and one's not good. One's great and one may be great-er. Yeah. You know, and I've always thought Finley was, I think, the best I've ever seen. He's so good. Best heel I've ever seen. Best mind I've ever seen. He was that good.

32:02The Undertaker:I wish people could have seen him in Europe when he was drawing crowds night after night

32:06JBL:in the same arena. He got heat like you wouldn't freaking believe.

32:09The Undertaker:Oh, yeah.

32:10JBL:He had so much heat. I was working with Luke Poirier one night. Rambo. Remember Rambo? Mm-hmm. Big guy came in with the great big arms. I forgot what he was with the Truth Commission. I don't know why. He was a terrific worker. Anyway, we're working in Vienna. last match, got a bunch of heat, and the security wouldn't help me. So now I realize I can't get back to the dressing room. So they auto-sends all the heels to come get me. Well, I don't know this, but somebody behind me has pulled a butterfly knife, and he's about to stab me in the back, and I don't see it. I don't see any of it. And Finley sees it, and he goes chasing after the guy.

32:42JBL:Finley had so much heat. The guy was going to stab me. He throws the knife down, runs and jumps over a fence, and runs off in the city. I don't know that I blame him.

32:52Steph McMahon:He had a fatal weapon.

32:54The Undertaker:His reputation proceeds to do.

32:55Steph McMahon:Yeah, but if that weapon doesn't work, then he's in trouble.

32:59JBL:It's going to be a long night. I'm like, Finn, you're the only guy I know to come save me, and you get more heat than me. You bastard. Stay in the dressing room. Let me get stabbed. I had heat.

33:07The Undertaker:The whole tour, which I think you weren't on when Big Show and Kali fought. No, I missed the whole thing, unfortunately. But the whole Giant Envy tour, I'm sure somebody egged it on, but it ended up with them fighting in the locker room, Big Show and Kali. Why did you look at me? I don't know who it was, but you were there. You were there, so you're a witness to all this. I wasn't there. Ended with them fighting. Wasn't even there. Wasn't even there. They fight. They do whatever. He's giving them grief, talking about how Khali ended up on top and all this stuff. And on the bus, the guys keep it up.

33:39The Undertaker:Oh, he didn't even get a shot in, blah, blah, blah. And Khali doesn't skip a beat. He goes, only thing that soars is my mouth because, was it Finn or Regal? Regal. Regal. Rego comes in in a towel and fish hooks Khali. And of course, Fitz in there too. Privy to it all about the, you know, do whatever needs to be done. Oh man. Those two. Yeah, they're tough.

34:01Steph McMahon:I've never, I finally, we just talked about this in a recent episode about that fight. Yeah. It was, you know, it was all over the chop, right? The Khali started doing Big Show's chop and they watched each other on the monitor and Big Show would flip out and then people, the people, the people backstage would start poking the bear. That always bothered me when you guys would do that kind of stuff. I thought it was terrible that people would stir. I don't rib. I thought it was terrible that people would stir people up like that.

34:34JBL:You get a bad rep. I don't know why. It was horrible. It was terrible.

34:38The Undertaker:Yeah. I mean, we talked about that one, but did you talk about the Shrek stuff that maybe, I don't know, but those people in the back may have.

34:47JBL:Yeah, that was a travesty is what that was. That was terrible.

34:51The Undertaker:Right?

34:51JBL:Yeah.

34:52The Undertaker:I know. I felt bad.

34:53JBL:I mean, here you have this green monster, and people would compare that to Big Show for some reason. Did David find out who did that? I don't think so. It's still a mystery. We got Fuji Investigations. It's still from beyond. Fuji's the only guy I was scared of. He was the only guy I've ever been really scared of. I would sit there, and he'd talk to me, and I'm just looking at him like, Is he doing something to me? I was scared to death of him.

35:17Steph McMahon:And there was a good chance he was. Yes.

35:20JBL:Yes. We'll get back to the Shrek thing, but Fuji, man, holy mo.

35:27Steph McMahon:He was scared. I was scared of him. Okay. You remember the jet port in Newark? Yeah. Oh, my gosh.

35:32JBL:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

35:34Steph McMahon:All the boys would end up in the bar there at the jet port. Yeah. And, man, if somebody crossed him or got on his bad side, like I'm trying to think. Oh, my gosh. It was – I can't think of the name. It wasn't the body donnas. It was – gosh, I can't think of their name right now to save my life. I'm horrible with names. But anyway, someone had said something to Fuji. One of these guys had said something to Fuji.

36:08Steph McMahon:and I'm just sitting at, I'm at the end of the bar and Fuji and I are talking and one of these guys comes up and Fuji kind of, boy son, he's like, boy son, watch this. So he starts talking to the guy, he starts putting his match over and Fuji's like pissed at this guy, he's putting the match over and just, oh, you know, and the guy's just sucking it up. Like he's getting like, yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you. Yeah, we really, you know, yeah, we've really been doing it. The whole time, Fuji's just pissing all over his leg. He just, he'd put him over. He'd been putting him over. Oh, my God.

36:46Steph McMahon:Oh, my God. The whole time he's doing it, he's just pissing on him.

36:50JBL:What? Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

36:54Steph McMahon:Yeah, he was, yeah, Fuji was not to be messed with. But you could guarantee that whatever – nobody didn't rib somebody. You never ribbed Fuji because whatever it was – Oh, yeah, yeah.

37:08JBL:I was scared to death of him.

37:09Steph McMahon:Oh, yeah. It was going to come back tenfold. Yeah. All right, John. I could do this all day, but we've got a new segment.

37:18JBL:Yep. And 2K26, the game's got over 400 characters in it.

37:25Steph McMahon:wrestlers from the past, wrestlers from the present. Here it is. Our fans, they love to matchmake, right? They like to have fantasy bookings. You got 2K26. Your character's in the game, obviously. Who are you booking yourself with?

37:45JBL:Oh, man. Give me one more match with Viva La Raza. Just one more match. Just one more match with Eddie. And give Ron in my corner.

37:54Steph McMahon:Ron in your corner.

37:55JBL:against Eddie.

37:56Steph McMahon:Yeah, man. I'd pay money to see that. I'd pay money for that. I'd pay money to see that. I'd pay good money. One more time out there.

38:00JBL:Viva la Risa. That would be awesome. Straight up?

38:03Steph McMahon:No DQ? Straight up?

38:05JBL:Oh, my God. No DQ? Absolutely not, because I want Eddie to be as creative as possible. I want no DQ, no rules, no nothing. Ron can get involved. Ron can do commentary on it. Whatever Ron wants to do. Ron does whatever he wants to do. Ron can do whatever he wants to do anyway.

38:17Steph McMahon:The captain.

38:18JBL:That's right.

38:19Steph McMahon:All right. JBL versus Eddie Guerrero. Straight up with Ron Simmons on commentary. That's right.

38:25JBL:Who goes over? Viva La Raza, Eddie Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero not only made me, Eddie Guerrero gave me the angle that not only made me, but took the title off himself. So my whole career I owe to Eddie. So I'm putting that man over. Yes.

38:41Steph McMahon:Missy, man. What an amazing performer.

38:46JBL:We had a press conference. Somebody had used a bad term or something, and I wasn't even, like Davey Boyd, I wasn't even there. I really wasn't. I wasn't there. but I had such a bad reputation that Vince called everybody in for the press conference. And I literally was not at the press conference. And so they called me in there. So Vince is cutting his promo on guys, but this is their importance. Now Ross, he's cutting the whole promo on me. And I literally was not even there. And I'm like, how do I get in trouble when I'm not even, I'm not even there.

39:14Steph McMahon:That's when you're good. That's when you know you're good.

39:17JBL:So I finally, I said, Hey, I said, I wasn't even there. And Vince, without missing a beat, He goes, I'm still living down that shit you did in Germany. Don't talk to me about not being there. How did that happen? How did that happen? How did all these guys just get off?

39:32The Undertaker:Oh, that's funny.

39:34Steph McMahon:Yeah, man. You get a reputation sometimes.

39:37JBL:It's hard to beat it. The best was in the ring. We can talk about all that led up to it. The best was in the ring with Big Show. And I'm out there with Kurt Angle. And we had tortured Big Show that whole tour. And thank God he's a friendly guy.

39:50The Undertaker:We, as in like Kurt and other people. Like the team.

39:52JBL:I'll just say me because I'm not going to say me. I torture him. I'm so against stooching anybody. Anyway, I torture him the whole tour.

40:04Steph McMahon:I think I heard something about this story.

40:07The Undertaker:Does anybody else?

40:08Steph McMahon:I think I might have heard something. I don't know.

40:10The Undertaker:Anybody else want to take accountability?

40:11Steph McMahon:I don't know. But I think I heard something once.

40:18JBL:Oh, my God. It started in Belfast, Ireland. Or Ireland, wherever it was.

40:21Steph McMahon:I think I heard that.

40:24JBL:Somehow somebody got a Shrek card, and a fan went up to Big Show to get it signed, and he was not very happy about it. And he thought that I was part of the group that sent it. Right, right, right. And I won't say who else was in the group. He thought I was part of the group. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and then there were some more Shrek-ish things that had happened. Shrek-ish. And then all of a sudden, I'm in the ring with Kurt Angle, and we're in Germany, I think we were, and Big Show's coming out, and here comes the Big Jack, and everybody's happy. Big Giant, look how Big Giant is. I said, hey now, you're an all-star.

40:56JBL:Kurt Angle says, what is that? I said, that's Shrek's theme music. Kurt goes, he's going to kill us. Here's the gold medalist saying, he's going to kill us. Big Show turned red. The whole, I mean, like red. His blood pressure had to be like 4 ,000 over 3 ,000. He turned red like a giant tomato. He starts sprinting toward the ring. and I said, don't worry, Kurt. I'll take blame for it. I did it. And then when he got in the ring, I said, I swear Kurt did it. I had nothing to do with it. I jumped out of the ring. It's a big show. And he finally gets me in the corner. I go, go ahead and chop me a big ogre.

41:31JBL:He hit me so hard. He hit me so hard. I thought he broke my ankles. He hit me in the chest and I thought he broke my ankles. He has crumpled me. He's hurt me. Just let me go for a minute and I will assess the damage because I am structurally not safe right now. You have hurt me. But here's the problem. I'm in the ring. Now, there's no way I can control the music. I don't have a remote. I may have been in on it.

41:56The Undertaker:But you did not tell the sound guy to press press. I didn't push the button. Was Fit there?

42:01Steph McMahon:No, I don't think Fit was there. Fit wasn't there. Wow, look at the time. Boy, I'm there.

42:08The Undertaker:You get a bad rate. Okay.

42:10Steph McMahon:Okay. All right. So the way I heard it. Okay. So I was there.

42:17The Undertaker:Okay.

42:17Steph McMahon:Okay. I was there.

42:18The Undertaker:Step one, admitting.

42:22Steph McMahon:Yeah. And I don't know. Somebody kind of maybe warned me that something was going to happen with the music.

42:32The Undertaker:Okay. So this particular venue, you could curtain part of it off.

42:37Steph McMahon:They'd had this huge, like, velvet. I mean, it had to have been 50 feet high, it seemed. this big velvet curtain that backstage was cut off with. And I'd heard like this was going to happen, right? So I had got to the end of this curtain and kind of wrapped myself in the curtain so I could peek out and not be seen from backstage or I couldn't be seen from the audience, right?

43:07JBL:Now understand what this is going on. Here's one of the biggest characters of the 90s and 2000s. He's about seven foot tall and he's wrapped in a curtain back in time. Yeah, peeking out. Giggling.

43:18Steph McMahon:Giggling like a little girl.

43:19JBL:Yeah.

43:20Steph McMahon:And so I have the vantage point. I can see you and Kurt. I can see you in the ring. And I can see, I can't understand what, I mean, obviously I can't hear what you're saying, but I can tell by you how animated you are to Kurt. And I'm looking back and it was a big house too. It was a big house. There were a lot of people there. And I'm watching and I'm looking back at Show. Show is warming up and he's shadow boxing.

43:51JBL:He has no idea. He has no idea. He's the only one serious in this whole match.

43:56Steph McMahon:This is the main event that night. That's right. It's the main event.

43:58JBL:He's the only one serious.

44:00Steph McMahon:Oh, man. And then it goes. So I don't remember who his partner was. It may have been a triple threat. It may have been. I don't remember his tag. It may have been, but all of a sudden his music starts.

44:16Steph McMahon:Well, hey now, are you an all-star? Get your game. And oh my goodness, he flipped his lid. Absolutely. This is backstage. This is backstage. He flips his lid and like, this is bullshit. This is so unprofessional. And I'm the only one getting the blame. The only one. That's messed up. I mean, John, you really need to think about some of the things you do.

44:48JBL:That's right.

44:48Steph McMahon:And then he gets so worked up and no one is really acknowledging him backstage that he jerks that curtain open and he starts, like you said, he was in a full sprint. Dead sprint.

45:00JBL:Seven foot 500 coming full steam ahead. He's going to kill us. He's absolutely going to kill us. He's going to kill us.

45:07The Undertaker:Did you have the rep when you were Bradshaw or was it when you transitioned to JBL?

45:10JBL:I'm not sure when it happened. I mean, did it just come with you or did it? I don't know. It just happened somewhere along the years. I don't know.

45:18The Undertaker:Probably the influence is like around you, you know, like perception is reality, that whole shtick.

45:22JBL:But then at the end of the tour, he's sitting there on the plane. Big show is. Big show. He's sitting on the plane. He's right by Taker. And he's talking to Taker and he's just ranting. I mean, just ranting about me. And he's going to kill me. And thank God he's a friendly Jack. I told him one day, I said, if you beat me up, don't eat me. I said, seriously, don't eat me. He was about to beat me up one day. I said, don't eat me. I said, if you do that, that would be so embarrassing to be eaten by another human being. I said, I could not live that down. Getting beaten up by a giant, I could live that down.

45:50JBL:You'd be eaten, you wouldn't know. But if you ate me, that would be really bad. So he's telling Taker, he goes, look, I know it's John. I know it's John, but I've had it with him. I've just had it with him. And Taker's sitting beside him going, yeah, I don't blame you. I don't blame you at all. He's just too much. Now, Taker knows what's coming. He knows what's coming. So the flight attendant says, sir, would you like this for the trip? He goes, not right now. He goes, look, I'm a giant. I'm really – and Taker's like, you're a giant. You're right. He does not need to mess with you. That's no respect for giants.

46:16JBL:Look at the back of the plane watching this shit. He's throwing me under the bus. There's one aisle here. He's going to come back here, and he's going to freaking eat me. So the flight attendant says, sir, would you like this? And he goes, no, not right now. And he goes, I'm telling you, one more time. He goes, I'm going to punch John. And Taker goes, I don't blame you. I just punch him. I was just punching him. I just don't blame him. Finally, the flight attendant goes, sir, are you sure you don't want this? He goes, what? And he grabs it, and it's a Shrek fun book. When I'm sitting there, I'm thinking, we got one aisle.

46:44JBL:We got one aisle. There's no escape. I'm like, can I hide in the lavatory and barricade myself in for like 13 hours for the flight? Oh, God. And he looks at it, and he starts crumbling it up like this, his big, giant hands. And finally, he looks over at it and goes, that's kind of funny.

46:58Steph McMahon:Thank God. I'll never forget, because that tour, that went on for days and days and days. It escalated daily.

47:08JBL:We told people the very condensed version. That is a very reader's digest version of it.

47:13Steph McMahon:But I'll never forget getting through immigration and walking through the airport, going to the gate. And I remember going in this store, and none of it was in English. I don't remember where we were at, but it was in a different language. But I was just looking around, trying to find something to entertain myself with, and there it was, right on the counter. It was this Shrek fun kit. There were puzzles.

47:44JBL:Oh, my God.

47:45Steph McMahon:There were puzzles. Oh, my God. And word stories came from these different things. And I saw it, and I was like, it was like, oh. The holy grail. I was laughing. I was laughing. I was already laughing as I was giving it to this lady to check out because I, oh my gosh, I was like, this is so perfect. This is going to be the icing on the cake right here. Oh my goodness. And the flight attendant was amazing. She was awesome. She was awesome. Because she just, she wasn't overly pushy. Yeah. That's right. Because he wasn't even looking. Like she was right here with the thing in her hand and he wasn't even acknowledging her.

48:26Steph McMahon:Other than like, no, I'll get him right now. And then she would go away, and a few poor people would come on the plane, and then she would come back.

48:33JBL:He's just stirring show up more and more. That's messed up. I don't blame you. I'd punch him. I'm going to look at the back of my watch and all this, but oh, my God. Like, if this were somebody else, it would be really good. It's me, so there's a good chance something really bad happens to me. But it's going to be worth every bit of it. It'll be worth the story, right? It's worth the story. Even if he eats me, it's worth the story. Oh, golly.

48:55Steph McMahon:Oh, goodness gracious, man.

48:57JBL:He one time, he had a bunch of donuts that he hid back in Magic in the prop department. We called Magic prop department. And he was supposed to be on a diet. Brock Lesnar went back there and took a bite out of each donut. So Big Show goes back there. He's trying to sneak back there. He's like 500 pounds. He's sneaking back there. He's sneaking back there. And he's getting in there. And he gets the donuts. And he sees that there's a bite out of each one. And it turns into something out of Jurassic Park. Like, ooooh. And donuts go everywhere. He was so mad And like Bright did it Bright did it Bright did it Oh my gosh Remember when we guessed his weight

49:33The Undertaker:Wait what Vince wanted to weigh people

49:37JBL:And I think it was a rib on show In Paul Bear I think I don't know what it was

49:40Steph McMahon:Oh it could have very well been

49:41JBL:He wanted to weigh him He had to take him down to a grain scale or something We all had to weigh in

49:46Steph McMahon:That's right We all had to weigh in

49:47JBL:To make the rib work Everybody wanted to guess big shows weight. So he put like$10 down to see who would do it. But Jeff Hardy guessed like 2 ,769 pounds. Big Show found the list. He got mad about it. That ain't funny. That's not funny. 2 ,700 pounds.

50:08The Undertaker:Oh, wow. I won the prize.

50:11JBL:It was like 630 bucks and I took everybody to Inca Hoots in St. Louis and I put all the money on the bar and I said we drink until the night's over. And Big Show showed up. Good sport. That night, Tim White The police come up to me and goes, would you come get your referee off our squad car? Tim White had passed out like in a crucifix on the police car.

50:29The Undertaker:Wait, how does that even happen?

50:30JBL:He passed out on the police car in the parking lot.

50:34The Undertaker:So many questions.

50:35JBL:And the police came to me and says, could you get your drunk referee off my car? We will. Thank you for not arresting you. Thank you, sir. Yes, sir. You got to go, Tim.

50:44Steph McMahon:Sorry, but you got to go. Tim was a trooper, man. He hung in there until the very end.

50:51The Undertaker:Handsome. Called him handsome.

50:54Steph McMahon:Oh, handsome.

50:57JBL:You know, you got Michael Hayes coming up. I do. The best story. We have so many stories. Michael's crazy. He's actually bad. He's crazy. Certifiable nuts. Legit. He's just a genius. He's just a genius. That's why they kept him for so many years. So we didn't have any money back then. Everybody thought we did because we were on TV. Right. But back in, you know, 95, 96, we weren't making hardly any money. So we have a, we got a Doral Sergeant Slaughter put on a golf tournament in Doral. And so we're sitting there at Jermaine Jackson was there. Buster Douglas. It was pretty cool. I meet all these celebrities.

51:30JBL:So we're sitting there one night. We drink till about five or six o 'clock in the morning. And Michael's Hayes, his wife was there and Michael goes to the bathroom. And I said, Hey, are you guys right next to me and run 28? She goes, no, no, no. We're in two 32. I go, Oh, okay. Well now I got his room number. Well done. Yeah. Well played. So the bill comes and it's huge. and I'm like Elon Musk. I go, I got it. Over here. Over here. Over here. I'm like, I got it. And Taker, so nice, he goes, hey, John, let me get that. I go, I got it. I got it. I got it. Making a big deal out of you. I got it. I got it.

52:01JBL:Well, it's 20 % of 1 ,500. I'm just like sitting here just adding stuff up, you know, being like a massive tip. And so Taker says, hey, John, let me get that. And I go, I got it. I got it. I got it. So then he says, let me get a half of it at least. And I said, I got it. I got it. Don't worry about it.

52:19JBL:And so as we're leaving, Taker says, hey, man, listen, I'm not trying to embarrass you. It was really cool. He goes, I'm doing okay. You're new here. Why don't you let me pay for this? And we'll call it even. Buy something down the road. And I said, Mark, I signed it to Michael Hayes' room. That's the best thing I've ever heard. He won't be over. You won't be over right there. Yeah. So we're just dying to happen. So we basically go straight to the T. So we're sitting out there with all these guys who've been asleep all night. They're celebrities and stuff. Right. Well, all of a sudden, here comes Michael Hayes and his zoo boss and his hair out.

52:51JBL:He's found out about this bill, and he's cut the damnedest promo. You think you can f*** with a free bird? Don't nobody f*** with a free bird. I got more sharing time than you get a ring time, Bradshaw. I'm going to whoop you. Oh, my God. I got to fight Michael. Oh, jeez. I don't want to fight Michael. Michael drives up on the tee, and he slams on the brakes. I think he's going to get out and punch me. But when he slams on the brakes, there's dew on the grass, and he slides right across the tee, right down the hill and right in the lake.

53:14Steph McMahon:This is Doral.

53:15JBL:This is Doral. One of the nicest courses in the world. He drives a golf cart in the lake. Oh. Everybody's like, this is the greatest stunt we've ever seen. We don't appreciate all the bad language, but this is pretty cool.

53:27The Undertaker:That's hilarious.

53:28JBL:And I said, what do you want to do? I said, tee off before he gets out. He's going to be mad. He's going to be mad.

53:36The Undertaker:I wish I could have seen that. Oh, my goodness. Okay, that's good stuff.

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54:18Steph McMahon:They're really light, and the ear hook part rotates, so they actually stay in. I've worn them at the gym, on walks, doing stuff around the house. They don't fall out, and they don't get uncomfortable. With 36 hours of battery life, I charge them maybe once a week. Honestly, they just become part of my daily routine. And right now is the perfect time to grab them because they're 15 % off. The essential open earbuds are here to help you go for gold. Go to buyraycon.com slash six feet open to get 15 % off. Thanks Raycon for sponsoring. You, my friend. Everybody talks about me and trying to get me to break character.

55:05Steph McMahon:And Vince did it with trying to get me to do the spinner room and book and all that. And you, you, my friend, are the absolute closest that anyone has ever gotten me to break.

55:21JBL:If I hadn't popped myself, I think I would have had you. I really do. I was so proud of myself. You got to understand what a complete involvement the whole company had every freaking Monday or Tuesday whenever we taped SmackDown. Kevin Dunn would call me the truck, John, try this. And all it is is about the dark match, about me saying something to Taker. I would get out there on the microphone to finish the show. They wanted Taker at the end to keep people for the TV show in case the last match was not like a main event type match. You put Taker out there at last to do the show, and he'd end up chokeslamming me.

55:53JBL:I'd cut a promo, and he'd chokeslam me. And every day, guys would be calling me to the TV truck. Kevin wants to see you. And Kevin would go, got something for you. And he would give me something to say to Mark. And Vince would call me to his office. Got something for you. And now when Mark gets in there, this is all about this. Just a rip. It's like a company-wide initiative. It's a hit. It's a week to week, continual hit. They tried to get me to break. And he had where his motorhome broke down. It was like 148 degrees or something in Texas. And he talked to the story about it. He looked back and his dog was sitting there on the thing about to die.

56:33JBL:And so I told him, I said, you know, you got to turn that frown upside down. You need to take a vacation. He didn't get you a motorhome and a dog. And he started to smirk. And I had him. I freaking had him. And I started laughing myself. And next thing you know, I'm upside down. I'm getting choked, slammed, or tombstone. You did too, brother.

56:50Steph McMahon:Because it came out of that. That was a big. So this RV, it was not an RV. It was a bus. It was a bus. And there was this whole story behind this thing, right? It was like a lemon. It had been wrecked. and rebuilt and all of this thing, and I didn't know any of it. And I was going to take the bus. I'm living here in Texas, and I was going to go to Florida. I was going to take the bus and go to play golf with Brian Adams. And I'd had the thing for like five months, and, of course, we're always on the road. I never got a chance to break it out, right? So I finally get some days off. I'm going to drive to Florida.

57:33Steph McMahon:That sounded like a great idea in this giant bus. And it was hot, middle of summer. Yeah. Is that 100 plus degrees? Oh, yeah. It was misery. Yeah. Right? Again, the dog is about to, like, I'm surprised the SPCA didn't get word of this and say that I was, you know, I was miserapida. But anyway, so this thing, I ended up suing. I ended up suing the company that sold me. Yeah, it was a limit. It had been wrecked, and they didn't tell me all the, none of the serial numbers of. True matchup? tremendous yeah it was a huge i mean this was a huge ordeal i i ended up yeah i had to have a lawyer here in town sue him and i went through this whole deal and i was just like i mean it was like i was on my days off i was having to come and deal with all this crap and it just so happened i told the wrong you had me man because that hit me so it was so out of left field and so unexpected because I knew something.

58:37Steph McMahon:I always know something's coming.

58:38JBL:Oh, yeah, because every week I had something. The whole company was giving me feedback. They're feeding me. Vince called me in. He goes, God damn it, you had him. You had him. I'm like, no, but I popped myself.

58:49Steph McMahon:You popped yourself.

58:51JBL:It ain't been for that I had him. Oh, man.

58:54Steph McMahon:I think I actually, I think I had bit my lip. Yeah, you were smirking.

58:59JBL:I was so happy with myself that I couldn't follow up. If I could have followed up, I had him. I absolutely had him. And I just popped myself because I'm so freaking immature. And I just started laughing at myself. Next thing you know, I'm upside down going, damn it, I had him. I had him.

59:13Steph McMahon:I had you up for the tombstone. I could hear, I had you. I was so proud of myself.

59:20JBL:Vince gave me a standing ovation. Kevin called me. He goes, that was awesome. Just awesome.

59:25Steph McMahon:And that went on. That promo, I bet that went 30 minutes or close to it. Yeah.

59:30JBL:Oh, yeah. I would give him a count of three to leave the ring. and I won two two and a half two and three quarters I'd do this for 30 minutes

59:42Steph McMahon:I'm just talking about the part about the bus it just went on and on and I was just like oh this mother I was so good I was so proud of myself you had me

59:57The Undertaker:that's funny

59:58Steph McMahon:and there was no way out because I couldn't I had the microphone, and if I didn't get close to him,

1:00:04JBL:I don't get chokeslammed. So I control the contact. You're in complete control. So I'm staying away from him because I know I got him. All he wants to do is pick me up and goozle me. That's all he wants to do. I'm like, no, I got my shot here. This is my chance. I am 0 for 2 ,000 in matches against you. I'm getting this. This is my legacy. I'm going down with this one.

1:00:25The Undertaker:That's funny.

1:00:26JBL:Teddy Long used to be our driver. Teddy's the best. I love Teddy.

1:00:32The Undertaker:Teddy is the best. Oh, my God. I'll also never forget the first time Teddy came out. He was doing a storyline. He had to come out in boxer shorts. I think it was like a love storyline. And his legs were the skinniest things I've ever seen in my entire life.

1:00:46Steph McMahon:It looked like he was walking on pool cues.

1:00:48The Undertaker:Oh, I love him. Yes.

1:00:50Steph McMahon:Oh, my God.

1:00:51JBL:We're up in a snowstorm up in Massachusetts. And I said, Teddy, pull over. I got to take a leak. He goes, again? I said, we're driving 50 miles an hour down the turnpike. There's a snowstorm. We're never going to make it anyway. Guys, we're never going to make it. If you guys always got to stop, I said, Teddy, I got to go. Pull over. So he pulls over. I get out. Ron gets out. I get back in. Teddy drives off. And I said, I'm looking at Teddy. And he goes, what? Now he's fed up with us, you know, because me and Ron are drunk, being obnoxious. And he goes, what? I said, that's not funny. He said, what's not funny?

1:01:23JBL:I said, leaving Ron on the side of the road. He goes, I didn't leave Ron. He goes, where's Ron? I said, you left him in a snowstorm on the side of the road. by the freaking turnpike. We know in a turnpike, you can't just turn around. You can either back up or go for miles. So we don't know how far the next one is. We're in a snowstorm. So Teddy backs up on his turnpike to where Ron is. We get back to Ron and he's standing there with his hand on his head. He's got snow built up on his head and on his shoulder. He's been there so long. And I'm like, oh my God. Oh my God. I'm going to witness a murder.

1:01:52JBL:This is bad. This is really bad. And Teddy stops about five feet from him. He goes, tell him I did not do this on purpose. So I roll down the window and snow's just blowing in. I said, he's been laughing about leaving you. Oh, no. Ron gets in the car and he's just sitting there. And Teddy is scared to death, as he should be. As he should be. As he should be. And finally, I said, guys, listen, let's just get this over with. How about we just pull over and you guys just fight? Like that? Teddy goes, would you shut up? We get to the hotel. Teddy never valet parks nothing because he's so cheap.

1:02:23The Undertaker:Yeah.

1:02:23JBL:And so we get to the hotel. He throws the keys to the valet and checks in before we even get out of the car. He's out. He's going. And Ron's still back there. He hadn't said a word. I said, Ron, you know that he didn't leave you on purpose. Ron goes, you know, it was cold. Yeah.

1:02:39Steph McMahon:Oh, my gosh. You and Ron got together as the acolytes? As the acolytes first. Yeah, right. Yeah. Which I never knew exactly what we were.

1:02:47JBL:But, yeah, that's what. Yeah.

1:02:50Steph McMahon:Is everybody that I didn't want to work against?

1:02:53JBL:That's exactly what it was. that's exactly what it was I heard some guys came down from somewhere and I don't know where but I won't say they asked me and Ron to work with them and they said just to see how they were because they had to work with Glenn and take her next and take her calls and he goes what do you think I said oh it's not good

1:03:15Steph McMahon:it wasn't it was bad yeah you guys that was quite the tag team there for a while. Y 'all over the... What's the word I'm looking for here?

1:03:34Steph McMahon:Let me think how I'm going to put this.

1:03:43Steph McMahon:Attitude adjusters?

1:03:47JBL:Ron was so funny. Because Ron would talk over a match. I go, Ron, you're scaring guys to death. And Ron didn't mean to. But he would like, yeah, now he got that James Earl Jones voice. Plus he's freaking huge, but he's got that deep voice. Yeah, you know, when you come in now, I'm going to knock the shit out of you. And then he'd go, now John's going to knock the shit out of you. And these guys would be just looking at him like, oh, my God. I go, Ron, you're scaring these guys. He goes, why is that? I don't know. That's great.

1:04:11Steph McMahon:Ron's the only person I know that could scare you, like saying ABCs to you. A, B, oh, he's going to kill me. He's going to kill me. When I started in the WCW, I just got there. I hadn't had my first match yet. And I was in town. And I went to the – there was a Skulls Gym. We're at the hotel where we stayed. And I was in there working out. Nobody else is in there really. And Ron walks in. It was what, 89? It was 90, right? No, 89? It was 89, I guess. and like I'm way, way down, but I mean, you know who Ron Simmons is, right? Yeah. You just know who he is. He had jeans, cowboy boots, and a newspaper.

1:05:01The Undertaker:In the gym.

1:05:02Steph McMahon:In the gym. That's how he came into the gym. So now I'm waiting. Like I'm going to wait. Like I don't want to interrupt. You know, this is that real old school mentality when you're a young guy and you don't want to mess, you know. So I'm just going to wait for my opportunity to go introduce myself to Ron Simmons. So Ron comes in. He sits down on the edge of the bench. First, he loads it up to 315. He loads it up to 315, and then he sits on the end of the bench. He opens up his newspaper.

1:05:36And I'm like, should I go?

1:05:40Steph McMahon:He's reading. You know, I'm thinking of every possible reason why I should and why I shouldn't. Closes his newspaper up. He folds it. He puts it down on the end of the bench. Sets on the bench. He does about 15 reps with 315. And you know the kind of reps where the weights are clanging?

1:06:01JBL:Yeah, where they clank and they move. They move, yeah.

1:06:03Steph McMahon:So they're all like that, right? He pops out 15. Sets back up on the end of the bench. He picks his newspaper up, reads it a little bit longer, folds it up. He puts it down, lays back down, racks out another 15. And I'm like, that's the most impressive thing I've ever seen in my life. And I said, I've got to go introduce myself. So he racks it, sets up, grabs his newspaper, puts his newspaper under his arm, and walks out of the gym before I could ever get there to say.

1:06:44Steph McMahon:What did I just witness here?

1:06:46JBL:I used to see it all the time. Oh, my gosh. It was the craziest thing I've ever seen. He'd go to the gym, he'd do a couple sets of bench press, and he'd go, you about ready? Ron, I've got to work out hard to look this bad. I really need to be in here a while. You don't have to be.

1:06:58Steph McMahon:Oh, man. Yeah, it's one of those moments where you're like, I don't know that I belong here. is that the standard athlete that's right if that's the standard athlete

1:07:08JBL:I'm not I'm not

1:07:09Steph McMahon:I'm not I'm not

1:07:11JBL:I probably should be working somewhere else

1:07:12Steph McMahon:I might need to pick up a basketball again because I don't know this wrestling thing is going to work out if that's if that's the standard wow man he was so impressive he still had a rep

1:07:22The Undertaker:at Florida State when I went like in the gym oh yeah like people still talked about him which is wow we went out at Florida State

1:07:28JBL:it was still the biggest ovation I've ever heard to this day oh yeah we were out of Tallahassee and he walked out I've never heard anything like that. In my life, I've never heard anything like that. Oh, yeah. The place went nuts for Ron Simmons.

1:07:39The Undertaker:Absolute legend, yeah.

1:07:40Steph McMahon:And you know what else about Ron? If you're going to get married, make him your best man and let him speak. Oh, my God. Unbelievable. Holy hell. Oh, my God. Dude. Unreal. Your wedding. Yeah. Ron's the best man, and he cuts the speech of all speeches.

1:08:02JBL:It was unreal. He got a standing ovation. Oh, my God.

1:08:04Steph McMahon:It was amazing.

1:08:06JBL:And I had to give a speech afterwards. I'm like, I can't follow that. I'm like, that was the wildest thing I've ever seen.

1:08:12Steph McMahon:Oh, it was so incredible.

1:08:13JBL:Yeah, it was absolutely insane.

1:08:15Steph McMahon:Yeah, I remember looking at Eddie. Eddie was there. I was like, oh, shit.

1:08:22JBL:Yeah.

1:08:23Steph McMahon:I was like, did he have somebody write that for you? Right. Oh, my goodness.

1:08:27JBL:Yeah, this got up, and it was ungodly how good it was. 21 years ago today. Oh, really? Yeah, 21 years ago. Why are you here? I don't know. Dang, man. Well, congratulations. Happy anniversary. Wow. It was the most incredible speech I'd ever heard. It was unreal. And I'm talking, God almighty, I've got to follow that.

1:08:44The Undertaker:At my own wedding.

1:08:46Steph McMahon:It's kind of bittersweet. Like, dang, man, that's my guy right there. That's my boy. He just screwed me over. That's my guy right there. Oh, shit. I got to follow. And then the shit you've got written on a napkin is like, oh, damn. You know what?

1:08:58JBL:I don't need that stuff. Yeah, he was just unbelievable. Everything he did was just unbelievable. Just a freaking walking man.

1:09:07Steph McMahon:Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I remember Ahmed. Oh, my gosh. Ahmed cutting a promo on somebody in the dressing room once. Maybe it had been D-Lo. I don't know. I remember Ron having this puzzled look on his face. Somebody asking Ron, what did he just say? Ron goes, you know I.

1:09:32JBL:Yes, I know what you're saying. Oh, my God, yes.

1:09:36Steph McMahon:I speak Ebonics, and I don't have a clue what that man just said.

1:09:39JBL:That's the funniest line ever. Oh, my God. You know the reason now I do appearances? I've been doing appearances this weekend in Houston. One reason this all worked out really well to come down here is because of Ron. Oh, man. I won't do anything without Ron. People call me and say, you want to do an appearance? No, I'm not going to get on a plane. Ron's there. Okay, all right. All right, I'll go. Yeah, I'll go. Yeah, I'll go. one night, and I got into a fight in the corner. What? Believe it or not, yeah. And when I did, the guys pulled out a bunch of knives and had me backed up against the wall, and I thought, shit, I'm going to die in Canada, of all places.

1:10:13JBL:Like, dying in Oklahoma. You know, I signed Briscoe up for a retirement home in Texas one time. It took months to get out of it. They'd call me, they'd go, your uncle keeps cussing at us, he uses really bad language. It's just because he's nervous about retiring. He's excited about this. Just keep calling him. He's going to love it. One time we're in Oklahoma and me and Barry Windham, we take the day off and we're driving all over Oklahoma. So we go to Blackwell, we go to Stillwater, we go to Oklahoma City Limit sign. Before cell phone cameras, we got a Polaroid camera. We're taking a picture of me pissing on like the City Limit sign of Briscoe and Stillwater and Blackwell.

1:10:49JBL:So I'm in the middle of the country and Barry Windham's behind me with this Polaroid camera and he's taking this Polaroid. I'm sitting there pissing on the Blackwell City Limit sign and the Sheik passes by. Of all people, we're in the middle of the country. I have no idea what he's doing out in the road. I don't know what he's probably doing, but I don't know why he's there. And he goes, Sheik thought my name was Brad Shaw. Two names. Brad Shaw. Two names, yes. So he sees me and he goes, ah, Mr. Shaw. He says, is everything okay? And I said, I look around, it's a freaking Iron Sheik. I said, well, yeah, Mr.

1:11:19JBL:Sheik, I'm just pissing on Briscoe's hometown. And he goes, ah, Brad, you're such a fine boy. And he drove off. Random. Random, like crazy. he met my dad one time he was Mr. Shaw your boy Brad such a fine boy and my dad I have no idea I have no idea that's funny so we put all these pictures up in catering I took a picture of a toilet bowl and I put Briscoe Family Reunion over it and I put all the pictures of me pissing on like this Blackwell Steelwater Oklahoma State sign all that stuff I was so proud of myself as I'm sitting there in catering waiting on Briscoe I know what's going to happen he's going to stretch me again but in walks Jack Briscoe and Danny Hodge and I'm like I'm dead I'm actually dead they're going to Kill me, of all people, because I know what Jerry's going to do to me.

1:12:01JBL:I don't know what his brother Jack might do to me, and I'm scared to death of Danny Hodge. And so I'm sitting there going, oh, shit. And they're sitting there looking at the pictures, and you could tell they're like, what? What is this? This is not funny. So I'm trying to sneak out the door and get out the side because the only door is where they're at, and I get there, freaking Hodge grabs me. Oh, my God. I couldn't work out for like three months. Oh, my gosh. I thought he broke my arm.

1:12:25Steph McMahon:So Danny Hodge had like double ligaments. Like he could take a pair of pliers and squeeze and break them. Snap them. Snap them. Like in apples and stuff like all that stuff. Like it was.

1:12:39JBL:He could take a steel belted tire and squeeze it. Oh yeah. Hodge was, Hodge was legendary and he, boy, he got me. Wow. You think you're funny? I go, can I apologize? Can I just apologize at some point? I'm sorry about you. You're from Oklahoma and Oklahoma sucks, but that's probably not what I should say. but yeah so I anyway these guys pull this knife on me and I'm back up against the wall and I'm like shit I'm gonna die up here in Canada and I go this doesn't end well and I see Ron on the other side of the bar and he is like a freaking Avenger he comes running I mean running across the bar to save me and I've got like knives all up this last thing you want is like last thing you want to be on my side of the fight my side of the fight is gonna lose badly yeah bad Ron is coming to my side of the fight and right before he gets there he grabs a beer bottle off the table he cuts a promo to this day, the greatest promo I've ever heard in my life.

1:13:26JBL:And he ends it with, I'm going to hit the first white mother f***er that moves. And I thought, yeah, hell yeah. And I thought, I'm the only white mother f***er. And I thought, why would he hit me? And I'm sitting there trying to debate this, and Ron looks around and he goes, not you. It was like an APA skit, like, not you. And these guys look at us like, these guys are crazy. Yeah, they're nuts. The guy goes, just get them out of here. So we got out of there.

1:13:52Steph McMahon:my goodness man

1:13:55JBL:oh I love it yeah Ron in a promo he didn't want to follow him with anything nothing he was too good everything he did

1:14:03The Undertaker:yeah I loved watching y 'all

1:14:06Steph McMahon:wow I guess it had been kind of bittersweet when y 'all split up oh I hated it absolutely hated it

1:14:13JBL:I mean it worked out okay yeah it worked out well and I knew what they had planned and so did Ron and that's why he gave me so much heat You know, that's why he didn't do a match or anything. Ron, you know, I retired pretty much the same age Ron did, you know, five or six years later. You know, Ron was beat up from lifting so heavy, playing football, and all the, you know, physical wrestling he had done for so long. And he was getting ready to retire. So that's why Ron, but he wanted to throw me the bone, and that's what he did. You know, set me up to have a good chance of success, which, you know, fortunately I got the right guy with Eddie Guerrero.

1:14:44JBL:Right. And, you know, it worked out for me. But Ron's the one that set all that up. He gave me all that heat, you know. Yeah. And we knew the best way to do it was to turn like that, you know, without, you know, just like the overt bad guy turn, you know, a different way. Like I'm taking the opportunity and I'm really being a dick about it. Right. And turning on my best friend, which people knew was my best friend. And then Ron just disappeared and didn't come back around. You know, that was part of the plan too. You know, like, you know, that's the guy who got rid of his best friend. He's not with us anymore because of him.

1:15:15JBL:Yeah. You know, and so, yeah, but it was, I'd have been fine if I'd have been APA my whole career. You know, I think that much of Ron. Yeah.

1:15:22Steph McMahon:Yeah. But.

1:15:24JBL:I'm glad I got, I'm really happy I got the run.

1:15:26Steph McMahon:Yeah. It's amazing. And I, and I use you a lot of times as an example when I talk to people about never being content. And because you, your run, you're, I mean, obviously your big singles run came late. And then what, you're what, how many years in the business? Oh, man.

1:15:42JBL:Yeah. Really at the end of my career. I was, at the time I was one of the oldest champions. You know, now the age has gotten crept up older and people are, you know, because of nutrition and workouts and things, people are wrestling a lot longer. Back then they weren't. It wasn't that long ago, but they weren't.

1:15:54Steph McMahon:Yeah, it was – to watch the spectrum of your career has been really amazing. And I think probably you're one of the most underrated heels. Thank you. That's very kind. No, the underrated heels of all these generations. I mean, you were so good when you got that opportunity. And that JBL thing was – I know I enjoyed working with you.

1:16:20JBL:I had so much fun. I had so much fun. You and I worked so many times together because you were a top baby face. So you closed so many shows and I got to be out there with you. But it was so fun just to be out there. I got to work with Hall of Famer after Hall of Famer. I got to work with Eddie. I got to work with Booker. I worked with Kurt. I worked on Big Show. I worked with you. I mean, I just – I got to work – the guys I worked with were just incredible. that uh and you know when i first did the thing with eddie vince called me said hey you want to do this jbl character and i saw it kind of as a jr ewing type character you know that's how i saw it i've heard vince ask about that he doesn't see it like that at all and i don't know what he ever saw it as i never asked him but he didn't see it that way and i'm not sure what he saw it as but when i first started doing it it wasn't working and we weren't selling tickets at the Staples Center.

1:17:04JBL:And that's when Chavo, Eddie's brother, not his nephew, came up with the idea of the heart attack angle with his mother, you know, in El Paso. And I knew that if we could pull that off, that that was going to be it. And you talk about heat, man.

1:17:22Steph McMahon:Especially for the time period. Yeah. Like we're not in that, that era where there were a lot of jumpers anymore. That's right. People really, I mean, yeah, you could get booed, but to get that kind of heat, Yeah. That was,

1:17:37JBL:I had to have a police escort out of town. They took me all the way to the edge of the city limits and told me, do not come back. We think you will be killed.

1:17:44Steph McMahon:Yeah.

1:17:44JBL:Killed. I mean, the police took me to the edge of town. You know, some of the times it's funny when I hear people talk about getting heat now, you know, no offense, but, No, that was heat. What year is that? That's 2000, 2003 or four. I think it's four

1:17:56The Undertaker:and only because I came in for and I remember you going from Bradshaw to the JBL character.

1:18:02JBL:When his mom went down, I wish I had that surround sound in one of these great theaters where you had the whole picture around you because I wish people could feel what I felt. Yeah. Because we did the angle where Eddie had beat me in the match and they're going to honor Gory Guerrero. He was a legend there in El Paso. And Miss Guerrero comes out, they're all chanting, Gory, Gory. And I come out, the bad guy, and hit Eddie over the head with the belt or something. Then I grab the mother, but what I do is I put my hand on her shoulder so she can take a bump. It looks like I'm manhandling her, but that's Miss Guerrero.

1:18:34JBL:There's like five Guerrero brothers in the back. I'm going to make sure Miss Guerrero is safe. So I put my hand on her shoulder. She grabs my hand. That way I can guide her down. But it looks like I'm manhandling her. When she goes down, that whole place got deathly silent. I mean, deathly silent. Eddie's on the ground, and he goes, Essay, you better get the **** out of here. And I'm sitting there, and I'm arms leaked from his mom, and I thought, this woman's had a heart attack. I mean, she was like, there's not a gorilla that can't work.

1:19:01Steph McMahon:Right.

1:19:01JBL:And I'm sitting there, and the security, we had extra state troopers. We had cops. We had all kinds of people around the arena. We had to get it filmed, though. They're going, John, get out of here. This place is about to riot. But we got to get it on camera. True professional. There's no sense of any of it if you don't get it on camera. If you don't have footage. You got to get it on camera. And I'm sitting there thinking, if I live through this, I'm the hottest hill in the world. That's literally what I'm thinking. And you were. All because of Eddie. And when I got to the back, that place was bubbling.

1:19:31JBL:If I'd have stayed there another minute, that place would have absolutely 100 % rioted. And they got me police escorted straight out of the parking lot, straight to the city limit sign. They made me drive all the way to Odessa to fly out. They wouldn't even let me stay in El Paso. Years later, before Eddie passed away, it wasn't a year or two later, they were in El Paso. They wouldn't book me there because they thought it wasn't safe for me to go. back to the town. It was so bad. So I'm sitting there and the video hadn't come out yet. And when it came out, everything changed. We were in San Bernardino and I was walking to the ring and a fan jumped the rail as soon as I walked out.

1:20:07JBL:And I thought, God, we got him. We got him. We got him. God, we got him. And Eddie was in the ring and goes, good heat, S.A. Good heat. And little Hebner's the one that got him. That boy turned into Pat McAfee and almost punted that guy's head off.

1:20:17The Undertaker:Oh my God.

1:20:18JBL:You want to be out there and you'll be safe. Get a Hebner in the ring with you. Yeah. Them boys will fight. They will fight till the end. It's funny because I was out there with Eddie, and Eddie goes, that motherfucker messing up our match. I go, Eddie, people aren't going to understand the baby face beating up the fan. Let me get him. Okay? And Eddie goes, I'm going to kill him. I go, Eddie, seriously, let me get him. They're not going to understand. This place is 100 % Latino. They're all here to see you. If you beat up the Latino, it's going to kind of send things. Kill the mood a little bit here.

1:20:47JBL:Kill the mood just a little bit. And then by the time I turned around, Hebner had punted this guy's head off. I mean, just absolutely. That's funny. So then this is the best part. I got the microphone. I said, there ain't no security out here. Any other of you Mexicans want to jump that rail? Just come on over. I'll punt every one of you. It takes me five minutes. Oh, no. And Hebner looked at me. He goes, we're the only white guys in here. Would you shut the fuck up? And then he's going, good heat essay, good heat essay. Security comes running back, like sprinting back. Like, oh, my God, he's done it again.

1:21:16Steph McMahon:Like, we're going to save him. I'm like, what are you doing? Oh, man. Yeah. That kind of heat. I don't know. Oh, man.

1:21:23The Undertaker:Were you nervous doing that with Ms. Guerrero? Because, I mean, you have to know a little bit, like, this is going to be.

1:21:29JBL:No, I wasn't. You know, she was so good. And she had obviously been in the business her whole life.

1:21:32The Undertaker:Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:21:33JBL:And I knew I could take care of her because I knew how I was going to grab her. I knew she was going to have a palm arm. But once she grabbed my wrist, I knew she was safe.

1:21:39The Undertaker:Right.

1:21:40JBL:And I knew I could guide her down. You know, she said something. I was going to make sure she wasn't going to be hurt.

1:21:43The Undertaker:Right.

1:21:44JBL:And I thought she'd be fine.

1:21:46The Undertaker:Yeah. Not in that regard. just it being the Guerrero's. I figured, yeah, not in that regard. 1 ,000 % had no doubt about that. But just like if Chavo was there, I'm sure he's instigating something.

1:21:56JBL:Oh, my God. This is the best story. This is the best story. Oh, my God. So we're backstage. That's what I'm saying. We're backstage when they're pitching this, okay? So Chavo's pitching this, and I think Chavo did the same type thing with Roddy Piper back in the Coliseum with Gordy Guerrero and a donkey back in like 75. They brought a donkey out, and he's going to apologize to the Guerrero family. He brought a donkey out.

1:22:16Steph McMahon:Oh, nice.

1:22:16JBL:He didn't tell Chavo he was bringing a donkey. I thought he was going to fight backstage about it. Anyway, they were selling out arena after arena. And I think that's where Chavo got the idea. I really think that's where it came from. But Chavo's pitching the idea to me. And I don't know if this was Eddie's idea or Chavo's idea, but Chavo's the one pitching the idea to me backstage about this angle with his mom and all this stuff with the heart attack angle and stuff. And so he goes, hey, and then maybe mom can take a bump. And Eddie goes, Chavo, our mom's 70-something years old. She's not taking a bump.

1:22:45JBL:and now Chavo knows he has him. They've been fighting since they were kids. And he goes, no, no, but he goes, Big John knows how to work, man. He can just hit her with a little clothesline or something. And Eddie, he knows Chavo's working, but he goes, Chavo, our mom is not taking a bump. John's not touching him. He goes, how about just a boot, a big boot? And she can get her hand up. And he goes, Chavo, shut up. It's not funny. And he goes, okay, look, he'll take her down, maybe just a little punch. She gets a little color. and now Eddie gets up to fight he gets up to fight his brother I'm backstage with two Guerreros about to be in a brother fight like a Thanksgiving Day freaking fight and I'm like what do I do now I know they're going to both turn on me at some point I know they are and I'm like what guys please don't do this

1:23:33The Undertaker:that's classic

1:23:34JBL:but yeah that was Chavo he had Eddie hook line and sinker and Eddie stood up to fight him and I'm the only one back there you gotta be kidding me I was like one time I was riding with Dick Murdoch And he was pitching Black Bart on the nipples And he kept just Pinching and pinching And driving down the road And he kept singing Take Me Drunk I'm Home Which was a song He said him and Dusty wrote It was the worst song He ever heard And he was singing This damn thing And Bart's going Bart finally says Alright He goes Let me tell you something Murdoch And he goes We're buddies He goes But You find a patch of green grass And I'm going to teach you a lesson And Dick Murdoch says You want to fight me You fat And Bart goes Dickie That's what I said He said, we're going to fight.

1:24:13JBL:Then we're going to shake hands. But we're going to fight first. So Dick says, you want me to pull over? Bart goes, Dickie, that's what I just said. You find a patch of green grass, and we're going to fight. So Dick pulls over, and I'm in the backseat. I just started in the business. I'm like, what do I do now? I've got these two legends. They're huge. But what do I do? Do I break it up? Do I pick a side? I'm like, what do I do? So he pulls over. Bart gets out. Dick drives off and leaves him. I'm like, what the?

1:24:41Steph McMahon:Oh, God.

1:24:41JBL:And I'm in the back seat, and Dick didn't say another word. He just kept singing, Take Me Drunk, I'm Home.

1:24:45The Undertaker:Ah.

1:24:46Steph McMahon:Jeez.

1:24:47The Undertaker:That's so funny.

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1:25:34JBL:Yeah, so we're talking about Eddie Guerrero, You know, Eddie, there's only certain guys that are just different. Shawn Michaels was like that. Kurt Angle was like that. Eddie Guerrero was like that. He walked out there. He's like, I always say it was like a live wire that wasn't grounded. You know, just electricity just shot in the crowd. Eddie couldn't put a match together backstage to save his life. You know, that wasn't because he wasn't smart. He felt things. He just got out there and did things. It was unbelievable. The match we had, it was so bloody in the Staples Center. Pat came and gave us the whole match.

1:26:06JBL:And I could tell Eddie didn't like it. And I said, Eddie, what's wrong? He goes, I don't like it. And I said, which part of it? He goes, none of it. And so I went to Pat, and I said, Pat, we got an issue. I said, Eddie doesn't like it. He said, which part? I said, none of it. He goes, guys, if you make it or don't make it, it's on you. He said, so if you guys think you can go out there and do a match, do it. We went out there with no match planned, not even the finish. We knew we were going to do a DQ, and we knew about the time limit, but that's all we had. That was 100 % feel with Eddie.

1:26:38Steph McMahon:That's amazing, and that is such a lost art. Yeah. It really is a lost art. But that kind of made me all warm and fuzzy inside just hearing that.

1:26:48JBL:He told one time, he goes, give me a backdrop on the table. We're in the ring. And I'm like, what are you talking? What are you talking about? Anyway, we do a spot. We end up something. He's going to turn poles. I'm back there. I'm by the table. I go, I guess this is a spot. Yeah, here we go. The backdrop goes to the table. But he called it four minutes ahead of time.

1:27:05Steph McMahon:Yeah.

1:27:05JBL:You know, just one of those things. We had a match one time, and you were on ahead of us in like a house show type match. You know, whether you're on like, it was Eddie had the title or I had the title, so the title was on last, and you were on right before us or like before intermission. And I remember watching the match, just like sitting there going, oh, you got to be kidding me. You went out there and just tore the freaking place down. And it was like, it was like Jerry Lee Lewis. You want to follow the killer? You better get a pine box. And I'm like, damn it, man. You know, one of those things where, you know, you're going early.

1:27:36JBL:leave something they can't follow. And I'm sitting there watching. I go, man, how are we going to follow this? And I panicked. And I was sitting there going, shit. And the place was going nuts for you guys. I can remember who you were working with. And anyway, I get out there with Eddie. And we had a really cool spot. We did a tackle drop down, double arm drag. And the second arm drag, he was so much torque, he would throw me completely out of the ring, slide out of the ring. He'd come over the top rope with like a tope or something. It was a really cool spot. So we got out there. I said, let's do that arm drag spot.

1:28:02JBL:I got him in a headlock. He goes, no, no. I said, just sit here. And I said, okay. So I sat there for a little while. The people you could feel are buzzing still for your match. And I said, Eddie, let's do the arm drag spot. He goes, no, no, Essay, sit here. I said, okay, Eddie. So I'm sitting there, and now the people are starting to let them down. They're buzzing, but they're coming down a little bit. And I go, Eddie. He goes, Essay, sit here. And I thought, yeah, exactly. We're going to bore them. We're going to bring them down. We've got to go over half an hour. that we can't keep them up here for half an hour.

1:28:37JBL:So I sat there in a headlock. People started getting bored. You could see them kind of start talking to each other. So first thing I did, a tackle, got the headlock, took them over. Now I'm on the ground. Now it's really boring. And the people are just coming down. Finally, when they start kind of talking to each other, you could tell that they had come completely down. We had lost them. And I said, all right, Essay, let's go to work. He says, let's leave them on their feet.

1:29:01Steph McMahon:Yeah, man.

1:29:01JBL:And we did the arm brags. probably did stuff the place went nuts and by the end of it we've gotten them all back and put them all on their feet at the end and but it's just a matter of being out there with a guy like eddie

1:29:12Steph McMahon:there's about there's probably i don't know there's even a handful of guys that have that that that mindset and the ability and the trust in what they the trust the trust in what they're doing to be able to do that because your instincts and everything are to tell you let's go let's go let's go let's try to keep them up there yeah and the instinct is we're gonna go out there we're

1:29:36JBL:gonna keep them up here let's go blood and guts let's go wild west and that's the first thing i thought of let's go wild west and then when he said that to me i panicked yeah and it occurred to me of course we got to bring them down we brought them down then we started building them back up and we got them at the end yeah right where we wanted them you know and it's just being out there with a guy like that it's just there's nothing like it you know getting to work with hall of famer after hall of famer it's just being out there you know you and i worked together I don't know, 100 or more matches probably.

1:30:01JBL:And every match was different. We didn't call nothing in the back. It was just let's get out there and feel what the people are buying because every show was different. And you think that you're in Detroit one afternoon and you're in Pittsburgh that night that it's going to be similar. But it can be completely different. What they're buying in the afternoon, they're not buying in the night a few hundred miles apart. It's cool to be out there with guys that know how to work.

1:30:26Steph McMahon:Yes. Yeah, absolutely. And Eddie could flat get it. He was so forward thinking.

1:30:34JBL:Yeah.

1:30:35Steph McMahon:I remember once I was a – Eddie was the baby face. And I only got to work with him a few times in like live events, which is where you have fun and you do a lot of things. Eddie was the baby face. And I think I was doing the American Badass kind of heel aspect of it. And like he was the only guy like – as a baby face, you know, maybe he never wants to take a step back, right? Right. I bounced Eddie around a couple of times, and he powdered out of the ring like a heel would do. Yeah. And it was just so – it was such a little thing, but it was so good because it made so much sense. Yeah. Like he had to regroup because I was obviously twice the size of Eddie.

1:31:17Steph McMahon:Yeah. And just to him to slide out on the floor and to put his hands on his hips like he would do and look at the crowd and like – it was man it was such I know it sounds like such a little thing but it meant so much and it's so it just kind of echoed what a talent Eddie was

1:31:39JBL:when we did the cage match we were in Providence and we were about to go on an international tour and he was going to do the splash off the top and he had a crash pad he'd never done it before and he missed by about 3 or 4 feet and he goes I'm good I go I'm not you would have just killed me he goes no i say he goes i can do it live i go eddie you would have killed me and he goes i can do it live i go okay so i'm sitting there waiting on eddie i'm like oh this could be bad and he hit it perfect i mean just perfect yeah yeah i want to tell you one more story i saw a picture of heiden rack recently and on the internet somewhere and so okay so i gotta tell you we're in i think it was orlando you know but it could have been like Mogadishu.

1:32:20JBL:Who knows what town it is? Who knows what town it is? We were like, oh, it's Orlando. And no, you were in Sacramento. Oh, yeah, you're right. One time we were in Sacramento or somewhere, and Teddy Long says, you will not insult these people of Bakersfield. I'm like, Teddy, we're in Sacramento. He goes, you will not insult these people of Bakersfield. He said it again. They all look alike to me, too. They finally booed me. He goes, thank you for doing that. But we're somewhere, and Heidenreich is late for the show. I think Arne Anderson was the agent but you told me stand by the door and when Heidenreich comes in I want you to evaluate him and see what kind of mental mindset he's in and I'm like I'm like Sigmund Freud I'm not qualified to do this shit I'm evaluating Heidenreich so I'm standing by the door like how do you evaluate a guy?

1:33:12JBL:I don't know how to evaluate a guy so I'm sitting there waiting so all of a sudden Taker goes in the ring He's out there resident. So he says, if you don't, if he's not in the right mental mindset, you come out. I said, okay, okay, okay. So I'm sitting there. I'm like, oh, my God, the responsibility I got. I can screw this up really bad. What if he goes out on his own? I'm thinking of all these crazy things. Heidrat comes flying up in the parking lot. You're like, Bret Hart used to be always late. Pulled up in there. And so here he comes, and I said, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. And so I'm trying to evaluate him.

1:33:39JBL:I'm like, look at him. I'm trying to evaluate him. So I said, how you doing? And he goes, I'm sorry, I'm late. I'm sorry, I'm late. I had trouble problems. I said, I don't want excuses. A little frazzled. I said, how are you? Are everything okay? And he's like, yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. I said, he goes, what am I doing? I said, well, I'm not sure yet. Give me another minute. So I'm sitting there looking at him, seeing if I can see the back of his head or not. And I'm sitting there looking at him, and I said, is everything okay? Everything's fine at home? And I'm trying to evaluate him. I psych-evaluate him.

1:34:07JBL:And he goes, yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I just got lost. What am I doing? He's like, calm. I said, okay, here's what you're doing. I said, you're going out there with Taker in the last match. Taker's going to beat you up and put you in a casket. And I said, Orlando Jordan's out there. Both of you may be in the casket. He goes, okay, okay. Then he goes, I'm sorry, I'm late. I'm just out there. I go, oh, shit. I said, wait a minute. It just changed. It just changed. And he goes, what changed? I said, it just changed. I said, it just changed. You're staying here. You don't have any heat, but I'm going to take your place.

1:34:42JBL:Okay? I said, stay right here. Do not go near the ring. So anyway, he's like, oh, you've got to go out there. I'm thinking, do I tie him up? What do I do now? How do I restrain this guy? He's a big guy. So finally, I talked to him off the ledge, and I got in there. So I go in the ring, and Taker says, so I take it. He's not in a good mental place. You guessed right. So Taker chokes, slams me, puts me in the casket with Orlando, but he puts me like this in the casket. Oh, that's just messed up. So now I'm sitting there, this man's crotch in my face, and I'm in a casket. I'm not even supposed to be in the match and they ribbed me and locked me in the casket.

1:35:16JBL:So I'm like, this ain't funny. I'm the psyche valve. I'm the counselor. You gave me one job.

1:35:22The Undertaker:I did it. I did it well. I'm like Julie in the lab boat.

1:35:24JBL:I'm the cruise director here and you guys are with me. That's messed up, man. And we're backstage and I can hear everybody talking. What, somebody let us out of here. This isn't funny at this point.

1:35:34Steph McMahon:Those locks on caskets get stuck sometimes. If you don't have the right key.

1:35:41JBL:I knew every time that I got in that casket that there's a good chance I'm not getting out for a while. I just knew it. I'm going to be in here for a while. Good chance I'm going to be in here tomorrow. You told me one time you slept in a casket and woke up and there were people around you.

1:35:53The Undertaker:He was napping backstage.

1:35:57Steph McMahon:Sometimes the nights before were a little long.

1:36:00The Undertaker:You get to TV all day, you're not going to do anything for hours.

1:36:04Steph McMahon:Quiet spot. Dark and cool.

1:36:06The Undertaker:I got to say, when I came in, it was still a little hairy. There was still, you know, there was a ribbon and there was some intimidation factors or whatever. And there were a few people that I loved, that they loved me from the get-go, Bob Hawley being one. And Heidenreich being another. I loved Heidenreich. Heidenreich was a good guy. He was a great guy. He's a really good guy. And then you would see that side, though, and you're like, dang, I'm glad he liked me.

1:36:27JBL:He had some issues, but he's a little high-strung.

1:36:31The Undertaker:He used to travel with this stuffed animal, Pet Monkey, and he would just set it on his shoulder like in the plane. You have this huge guy, and he just had this Pet Monkey. and he would caress it and he would talk to it every once in a while and it just stayed there the whole flight. Which sums up Heidenreich.

1:36:46JBL:That was after my psyche, Val. That was after, yes. You didn't get to it. I was there when Nathan Jones walked out in Perth. Just walked out. He was going over in his hometown and got his bag and left.

1:37:00JBL:Didn't y 'all fly from Russia? Yeah, we had that terrible, people talk about that Russia trip and Flair was sitting there kind of close to me He goes, man, that's the worst plane flight I've ever been on. I said, what did you just say? He crashed. He was in two plane crashes. And that's the worst one he's been on. We're dead. We went to Seoul. We went to Singapore. Then we went to Perth. It was a terrible trip. We're going to fly in like eight or nine hours every day. We almost had the plane crash in Russia. And that last leg, Nathan Jones is sitting there just kind of rocking. And I thought, man, this guy's right on the ledge.

1:37:33JBL:And sure enough, we got to Perth, his hometown, on the other side of Australia and he got his bag right before his match and just walked out. Just walked out. Never saw him again. Dean Malenka was there. He goes, what happened? I said, I think he quit.

1:37:47The Undertaker:Not sure, but...

1:37:48JBL:He got his bag. It didn't say a word. Just walked out. We never saw him again.

1:37:51Steph McMahon:He must have got the call to go do Troy.

1:37:53JBL:That's right. He got the call to go do Troy. He had more movies.

1:37:59The Undertaker:Oh, yeah, yeah.

1:38:01Steph McMahon:We had a little fun with that one, too, right?

1:38:03JBL:Oh, my God. Big show. Big Show. Big Show. He made millions of dollars in Troy. Big Show. He's a real giant. He's a real giant. He's like a giant in movies. He must be the giant. Right, right. Yeah, he's the giant. The giant.

1:38:14Steph McMahon:Oh, God.

1:38:14JBL:Yeah.

1:38:15Steph McMahon:That's all it took. Yeah. Well, man, I could do this all day. Hey, will you come back, though? We only scratched the surface.

1:38:23JBL:I'd be happy to.

1:38:24Steph McMahon:Yeah. We told a lot of lies. We did. We did. We did.

1:38:29JBL:We did.

1:38:30Steph McMahon:We did. I'd love to have you come back for a part two, man. I'd love to come back. Yes, thank you. That'd be awesome. And I would definitely come see you and Mr. Briscoe.

1:38:38JBL:Please do. Mr. Briscoe told me not to leave without making sure you guys are going to do our podcast. Oh, yeah.

1:38:42Steph McMahon:Well, that's a done deal, man. All right. Thanks, John.