Dark Side of the Ring - David Schultz and The Slap Heard Round the World FULL RECAP
Dr. D David Schultz was a journeyman superstar heel with an amazing appeal and a ton of potential who was set to become one of the industry’s greatest superstars until an incident backstage at Madison Square Garden with 20/20 reporter John Stossel would essentially derail his entire career in an instant. The newest episode of Dark Side Of The Ring looks back at this legendary moment and the fall out from it.
Once again the episode is narrated by Le Champion Chris Jericho.
Interview subjects include Jim Cornette, Dr. D David Schultz himself, John Stossel, Eddy Mansfield and audio of a Hulk Hogan interview on the Steve Austin Show in 2019.
The episode starts with a beginner’s course on Kayfabe, the special code between those in the business protecting all of its secrets.
David Schultz begins explaining how he first entered the business in the early ‘70s.
Schultz was trained by Herb Welch, a Southern wrestling legend who had been working since the early days of the business becoming organized.
According to Cornette, Welch’s method of training was to take his students into his barn and just beat the piss out of them.
Cornette reveals that apparently Welch would go near the barn, take a “giant dump” then smear it all into his armpit and then go lock up with a student and grab a tight headlock spreading it all over his student’s head and face.
It took a few months of training before Welch smartened up Schultz that the business was a work, instituting a deep love of kayfabe in him.
Talk moves to Schultz first meeting and becoming friends in real life, and a natural adversary in the ring, with Hulk Hogan.
When Vince brought Hogan into the WWF in 1983, he would then bring Schultz in to be Hogan’s adversary as their chemistry had already been proven on the independent circuits.
Early promos were shown of Schultz in his home with his wife and kids, firing guns off in the home and talking down to his family.
Schultz talks about the police coming to the WWF as they wanted to arrest Schultz for familial abuse due to the promos, even though everyone involved was just actors. This was used to show how good of a heel Schultz was at that time.
Talk moves to John Stossel and his rise on ABC’s 20/20 news program as an investigative reporter.
Stossel reveals he was a fan as a kid but felt it had become too cartoony.
He was also an amateur wrestler in high school and resented that everyone lumped that in with being fake like pro wrestling.
Cornette reveals that a New York expose done in the 1930s actually killed the business in that area for a good 15 years.
Stossel indicates that a report done at the time that roughly 1/3rd of fans truly believed pro wrestling was real.
Stossel says that for them to do a proper expose they would need someone in the business to show them the tricks of the trade. Enter Eddy Mansfield.
Clips of Eddy Mansfield’s early wrestling career are shown as he discusses his time in the business.
Mansfield became disillusioned with the payoffs he was receiving and the fact that the boys were not treated fairly by the promoters, citing lack of health insurance, etc.
When Mansfield refused to kickback 20% of his payoffs to the promoter, his bookings tapered off and he told them he would reveal the secrets of the business.
Footage of Stossel and Mansfield in the ring showing how the bumps were taken.
Cornette discusses Mansfield showing how the blades were made and the blading was done as the most egregious thing done by Mansfield.
Mansfield still contends he wasn’t trying to hurt the business but make it better by revealing how callous the promoters and bookers could be, trying to make it better for the boys.
Both Schultz and Cornette bury Mansfield as a never-was who just wanted fame.
Schultz talks about Vince approaching him before the interview with Stossel, telling him to stay in character and to defend the business, putting Stossel on blast.
Stossel recalls interviewing the Iron Sheik (ohhh Bubba) and then Schultz being brought to him and his crew.
They show clips from the interview, with Stossel getting slapped as soon as he calls it fake.
When Stossel got back up Schultz slapped him back down a second time.
Schultz didn’t think anything of it at the time.
Schultz would go out to the ring where he had a match with Japanese legend Antonio Inoki.
Upon returning to the back, Vince advised him that Stossel was thinking of pressing charges and to go right back to the hotel.
The next day, Vince told Schultz that he was being fined by the New York State Athletic Commission and Vince would pay that and send him to Japan until it all blew over.
8 weeks later, the expose would air on ABC, causing mass anger and rage amongst the wrestling community.
Mansfield claims he received death threats, with people trying to place cocaine on him to have him arrested.
Mansfield had to move to New York and had four FBI agents protecting him for the flight.
Mansfield says he should have just left the territory and left it at that, but he is still glad he got out of the business.
Meanwhile, Schultz is in Japan hoping for everything to blow over but the controversy would follow.
The bookers in Japan wanted him to slap another reporter, but he refused until it was made a part of the show and the script, which it was.
The news would light up about Dr. D coming to Japan and beating up another reporter.
Over 1,000 people called in to check on John Stossel’s condition after the attacks.
Stossel would sue for the WWF for damages.
Schultz had gone to Stossel’s lawyer before the lawsuit was filed explaining the situation which led to Schultz not being included in the lawsuit against the WWF.
When Schultz met with McMahon, he was asked to sign a letter stating that his actions were of his own volition, which he refuses.
Stossel claims they sent him to a doctor who didn’t even examine him.
The lawsuit would eventually be settled for $280,000.
The discussion moves to the creation of WrestleMania in 1985, following the dissipation of the controversy of the Schultz situation.
Schultz discusses his anger at Mr. T getting put into the main event of the big show and getting paid more than all of the boys.
At a show in Los Angeles, Schultz was in the hallway having a discussion with Mr. T.
Chief Jay Strongbow, one of the lead agents at the time told Schultz that Vince said if he was bothering Mr. T to fire him.
Schultz told Strongbow to fire him, so he did.
After this incident, Schultz went down to the ring to watch a match and the cops had been called and arrested Schultz and took him away after pointing guns at his head.
When Schultz spoke to Vince, McMahon told him he would have to check with Strongbow in regard to what happened and get back to him.
Schultz’s lawyer sent a letter to WWF stating he was ready to return to work, but they were advised that he would never work with them again.
Audio of Hulk Hogan on the Steve Austin Show in 2019 is played, with Hogan recalling that Schultz rolled out of the ring and slapped Mr. T in the face, leading to his demise in the wrestling business.
Schultz and Cornette discuss the fallout from Hogan putting comedian Richard Belzer in a headlock sleeper and dropping him on the ground resulting in him cracking his head.
Schultz discusses how Hulk Hogan and him were very close friends and when everything happened Hogan essentially disowned him.
The discussion turns to Schultz essentially being blackballed from the industry until he left the business and became a bounty hunter.
Schultz discusses how his work in the wrestling industry helped make his work as a bounty hunter much easier and he became one of the most revered bounty hunters in the country.
He discusses finding two girls who had been kidnapped and had been missing for several years despite the FBI never finding them.
The discussion moves to Vince McMahon revealing that professional wrestling was entertainment to remove taxes from state athletic commissions.
Cornette believes that Schultz eventually would have blown up about the way the industry was moving as he was too legit of a tough guy.
In comparison to the much more tragic stories covered in Season Two, The Slap Heard Round The World is a much lighter piece, but still a great and informative look at when Kayfabe was alive and well.