WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.259 Welcome to the Deep Dive. We're really thrilled 00:00:03.259 --> 00:00:05.000 to have you with us today. We definitely are. 00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.259 For this Deep Dive, we're pulling from a pretty 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:09.400 massive stack of sources. We've got a really 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:12.179 comprehensive Wikipedia article, some historical 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:15.500 accounts, and our own notes to explore the life 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:18.339 and the undeniable aura of a man who completely 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:20.820 blurred the lines between scripted entertainment 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:23.839 and unscripted chaos. Oh, absolutely blurred 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:25.640 them. Yeah. We're talking about professional 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.899 wrestling legend, Sidney Raymond Udy. You probably 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:33.479 know him as Sid Justice, Psycho Sid, or perhaps 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:36.439 most famously, Sid Vicious. A name that just 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:39.740 commands attention. Right. And our mission today 00:00:39.740 --> 00:00:42.079 is to figure out the psychology of a man who 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:44.899 is so incredibly compelling that audiences routinely 00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:47.159 cheered for him when they were explicitly supposed 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:49.799 to boo. And we really want to understand the 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:52.579 intense physical and backstage realities of the 00:00:52.579 --> 00:00:55.229 1990s wrestling boom. If we connect this to the 00:00:55.229 --> 00:00:57.409 bigger picture, Sid's career is a fascinating 00:00:57.409 --> 00:01:00.130 case study in audience psychology. It shows us 00:01:00.130 --> 00:01:03.030 how sheer physical presence and absolute unpredictability 00:01:03.030 --> 00:01:05.709 can completely override carefully laid corporate 00:01:05.709 --> 00:01:08.390 plans. Because he definitely wasn't playing by 00:01:08.390 --> 00:01:11.349 the corporate rules. No, not at all. He wasn't 00:01:11.349 --> 00:01:14.010 just a wrestler executing moves. He was a master 00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:24.489 class in character aura. Very rare skill in that 00:01:24.489 --> 00:01:26.989 era. And to really understand that aura, we have 00:01:26.989 --> 00:01:29.750 to look at the raw physical stats first. I mean, 00:01:29.810 --> 00:01:33.730 Udy was an absolute mountain of a man. A giant. 00:01:33.950 --> 00:01:38.510 6 '9", 317 pounds of pure intimidation. But my 00:01:38.510 --> 00:01:41.049 favorite detail, the thing that immediately sets 00:01:41.049 --> 00:01:43.909 the tone for his whole vibe, is his build hometown. 00:01:44.370 --> 00:01:46.909 Oh, this is the best part. Right. He wasn't announced 00:01:46.909 --> 00:01:49.750 as being from New York or Los Angeles or even... 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:52.260 parts unknown, like so many others, when he walked 00:01:52.260 --> 00:01:54.200 down the aisle, he was billed as being from, 00:01:54.260 --> 00:01:57.620 quote, wherever he damn well pleases. which immediately 00:01:57.620 --> 00:02:00.200 establishes a psychological dominance over the 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:02.739 arena. It tells the audience, without him having 00:02:02.739 --> 00:02:05.120 to speak a single word, that this is a man who 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.859 simply cannot be controlled by the referee, by 00:02:07.859 --> 00:02:10.219 the promotion, or even by the unwritten rules 00:02:10.219 --> 00:02:12.740 of the sport. So how does a guy like this even 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:15.020 find his way into the business? I know he had 00:02:15.020 --> 00:02:17.280 a chance encounter early on with Randy Savage 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.780 and his brother, Lanny Poffo, but what did those 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:23.560 early days actually look like? Well, it started 00:02:23.560 --> 00:02:26.360 with him training under Tojo Yamamoto, and he 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:28.840 actually made his debut back in 1987 wearing 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.520 a mask. A mask. Yeah, he was wrestling in the 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:33.280 Continental Championship wrestling promotion 00:02:33.280 --> 00:02:37.099 under the name Lord Humongous. Wow. wearing a 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:39.319 mask when you have that kind of expressive intense 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.300 face is almost a disservice so he eventually 00:02:42.300 --> 00:02:45.580 dropped it and adopted the ring name sid vicious 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:48.060 and he borrowed that name directly from the punk 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:50.539 rock bass player of the sex pistols i always 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:53.919 found that crossover so funny a 300 pound southern 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.680 behemoth naming himself after a skinny british 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:59.629 punk rocker What's fascinating here is the subconscious 00:02:59.629 --> 00:03:02.849 signaling of that name choice. By adopting a 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:05.090 punk rock moniker, he was instantly telling the 00:03:05.090 --> 00:03:07.090 audience that he was anti -establishment. Oh, 00:03:07.129 --> 00:03:09.550 that makes a lot of sense. Right. The original 00:03:09.550 --> 00:03:12.330 Sid Vicious was famous for anarchy, rebellion, 00:03:12.569 --> 00:03:14.669 and just a complete disregard for the rules. 00:03:14.909 --> 00:03:17.469 When Udy took that name, he carried that exact 00:03:17.469 --> 00:03:21.189 same chaotic anti -authority energy right into 00:03:21.189 --> 00:03:24.000 the wrestling ring. It perfectly set the tone 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.780 for his entire career and really explains so 00:03:26.780 --> 00:03:28.780 much of the crowd appeal he would eventually 00:03:28.780 --> 00:03:32.939 harness. So by 1989, he signs with WCW, keeping 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:35.060 that Sid Vicious name. He gets paired up with 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:38.280 Dan Spivey to form a tag team called the Skyscrapers. 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:40.620 A very fitting name. Extremely fitting. Yeah. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:43.419 And then a year later, in 1990, he joins the 00:03:43.419 --> 00:03:45.819 legendary Four Horsemen stable alongside Ric 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:48.560 Flair, Arne Anderson, and Barry Windham. But 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.080 the reason they brought him in is just pure 1990s 00:03:51.080 --> 00:03:53.180 wrestling absurdity. It really is. They needed 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:55.639 the muscle to counter a literal movie character. 00:03:55.860 --> 00:03:58.129 They brought him in to fight RoboCop. It perfectly 00:03:58.129 --> 00:04:00.990 encapsulates the era, doesn't it? You have traditional, 00:04:01.090 --> 00:04:03.430 grounded wrestling talent like the Four Horsemen 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:05.550 needing a countermeasure for a comic book -style 00:04:05.550 --> 00:04:08.389 gimmick cross -promotion like RoboCop. And the 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:10.129 only believable answer the bookers could come 00:04:10.129 --> 00:04:13.270 up with was a 317 -pound man named Sid Vicious. 00:04:13.569 --> 00:04:15.129 It's the kind of thing you just can't make up. 00:04:15.509 --> 00:04:17.889 But being the muscle against a cyborg wasn't 00:04:17.889 --> 00:04:21.899 his peak. That brings us to 1991, and he makes 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:24.740 the jump to the WWF. The big leaves. Exactly. 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:27.759 They change his name to Sid Justice. And here's 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:29.860 where it gets really interesting. We need to 00:04:29.860 --> 00:04:32.839 talk about the 1992 Royal Rumble. Oh, absolutely. 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:35.079 This is a pivotal moment in wrestling history. 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:37.899 We are down to the final four in the Rumble match. 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:42.720 It's Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sid, and Hulk Hogan. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:45.180 And at this point in time, Hulk Hogan was the 00:04:45.180 --> 00:04:48.240 undeniable face of the company. He was the hero 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:50.600 everyone was conditioned to unconditionally love 00:04:50.600 --> 00:04:52.620 for the better part of a decade. Right. The script 00:04:52.620 --> 00:04:54.620 is written for Hogan to be the beloved icon. 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:58.660 But Sid eliminates Savage and then he casually 00:04:58.660 --> 00:05:01.220 eliminates Hulk Hogan. Now, according to the 00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:03.420 traditional wrestling playbook, the crowd is 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:05.160 supposed to be furious. They are supposed to 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:07.959 riot. They were supposed to boo Sid out of the 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:09.959 building for tossing out their hero. But they 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:13.279 don't. The crowd erupts. They cheer Sid wildly. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:17.199 Hogan is furious, acting like a sore loser. And 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:19.160 he grabs Sid's arm from the outside, pulling 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:21.300 him over the top rope, which allows Ric Flair 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:24.100 to sneak up, throw Sid out, and win the championship. 00:05:24.649 --> 00:05:26.709 The psychology of the audience in that specific 00:05:26.709 --> 00:05:29.730 moment is incredibly telling. The fans were starting 00:05:29.730 --> 00:05:32.750 to actively reject the traditional white meat 00:05:32.750 --> 00:05:34.889 hero that Hogan represented. He was just getting 00:05:34.889 --> 00:05:37.589 old for them. Exactly. It felt stale. Think about 00:05:37.589 --> 00:05:40.870 the broader culture in 1992. Grunge music is 00:05:40.870 --> 00:05:43.550 taking over. Anti -establishment sentiment is 00:05:43.550 --> 00:05:45.790 rising in mainstream media. And people are getting 00:05:45.790 --> 00:05:48.790 cynical about polished corporate heroes. They 00:05:48.790 --> 00:05:50.410 didn't want the guy telling them to say their 00:05:50.410 --> 00:05:52.310 prayers and take their vitamins anymore. They 00:05:52.310 --> 00:05:54.959 wanted the gritty, unapologetic. rebel. It was 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:57.399 a massive cultural shift happening in real time 00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:00.180 right there in the arena. And the fallout was 00:06:00.180 --> 00:06:04.259 immediate. Sid turns full heel. He main events 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:06.959 WrestleMania VIII against Hulk Hogan, which ends 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:09.899 in a disqualification when Sid's manager, Harvey 00:06:09.899 --> 00:06:13.000 Whippleman and Papa Shango interfere. But shortly 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.300 after that massive WrestleMania main event, Sid 00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:18.959 just abruptly quits the company. Just walks away. 00:06:19.449 --> 00:06:21.370 He was slated to feud with the Ultimate Warrior 00:06:21.370 --> 00:06:25.089 next, but Yudi walked out because the WWF wanted 00:06:25.089 --> 00:06:27.230 the Ultimate Warrior to kick out of his finishing 00:06:27.230 --> 00:06:30.470 maneuver, the Powerbomb. He felt that having 00:06:30.470 --> 00:06:33.089 someone simply kick out of it ruined the move's 00:06:33.089 --> 00:06:35.850 credibility. Walking away from a top -tier spot 00:06:35.850 --> 00:06:37.750 in the biggest wrestling company in the world 00:06:37.750 --> 00:06:40.269 is almost unheard of. But wait, I have to play 00:06:40.269 --> 00:06:42.240 devil's advocate here. Yeah. Isn't wrestling 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:44.980 at its core a cooperative business? You go out 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:46.620 there, you perform the script you were given, 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:48.620 and you make your opponent look good. Wasn't 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:50.620 it incredibly unprofessional for him to just 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:52.740 pack up and quit simply because he didn't want 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:55.000 his move to look weak? From a corporate standpoint, 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.839 absolutely. It's sheer defiance. But from the 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.160 perspective of a performer managing their own 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:02.500 intellectual property, it's actually a masterstroke 00:07:02.500 --> 00:07:05.740 of brand protection. Well, Udy recognized early 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:08.579 on that his entire value as an earner lay in 00:07:08.579 --> 00:07:11.699 his aura of invincibility. The powerbomb wasn't 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:14.060 just a move. It was the definitive period at 00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.600 the end of his sentence. If the ultimate warrior 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:19.899 kicks out of it, the illusion shatters. Sid suddenly 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:22.079 becomes just another guy in trunks who can be 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:24.949 beaten. He was willing to walk away from millions 00:07:24.949 --> 00:07:27.470 of dollars in the short term rather than compromise 00:07:27.470 --> 00:07:30.149 the core identity and lethality of his character, 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:32.209 which he knew would sustain him for decades. 00:07:32.610 --> 00:07:34.550 That makes a lot of sense when you frame it as 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:36.550 protecting his long term investment in himself. 00:07:37.009 --> 00:07:39.870 There were also other factors like his frustration 00:07:39.870 --> 00:07:42.209 with declining house show gates eating into his 00:07:42.209 --> 00:07:45.269 pay and some disputed claims from the WWF about 00:07:45.269 --> 00:07:47.709 him refusing drug tests, which he always denied. 00:07:47.850 --> 00:07:49.610 Right. There were definitely layers to the exit. 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.680 But protecting the character was clearly paramount. 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:54.920 You'd think walking away from the main event 00:07:54.920 --> 00:07:56.720 of WrestleMania would be the most shocking thing 00:07:56.720 --> 00:08:00.560 he could do. But his return to WCW proved that 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:02.720 the real chaos wasn't always happening in the 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:05.899 rain. It was happening in the hotel bars. Okay, 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:09.120 let's unpack this next chapter. It's 1993, he's 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.019 back in WCW as Sid Vicious, and he is slated 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:14.240 to win the World Heavyweight Championship at 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:16.860 Starrcade. Which sets the stage for one of the 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:19.160 most infamous cautionary tales in the history 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:21.540 of the business. They are on a grueling European 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:25.000 tour. After a show, the locker room is hanging 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:28.379 out at a hotel bar in Blackburn, England. What 00:08:28.379 --> 00:08:30.319 actually went down that night? It was a perfect 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:33.019 storm of exhaustion, alcohol, and professional 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:36.000 tension. Sid was at the bar making disparaging 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.059 remarks about Ric Flair. Arn Anderson, who was 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:40.980 sitting nearby and is one of Flair's closest 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:43.419 real -life friends, took offense. Naturally. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:46.360 A heated argument breaks out. Arn ends up throwing 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:49.000 a beer in Sid's face and threatens him with a 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:52.139 broken glass mug. At that point, security and 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:54.059 other wrestlers manage to break it up and send 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:56.120 everyone back to their respective hotel rooms. 00:08:56.549 --> 00:08:59.230 The situation should have ended there. But Udi 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:02.289 doesn't let it go. No. An enraged Udi stews on 00:09:02.289 --> 00:09:04.970 it, leaves his room, goes down the hall to Arne's 00:09:04.970 --> 00:09:07.350 room, and attacks him with a wooden chair leg 00:09:07.350 --> 00:09:11.789 he had broken off. Arne, defending himself, retaliates 00:09:11.789 --> 00:09:14.529 with a pair of scissors. It's just terrifying. 00:09:14.809 --> 00:09:16.730 The reality of this fight is extraordinarily 00:09:16.730 --> 00:09:20.909 grisly. Sid received four stab wounds in the 00:09:20.909 --> 00:09:23.870 struggle. Arne Anderson received 20 stab wounds 00:09:23.870 --> 00:09:27.070 and lost a pint and a half of blood. If it wasn't 00:09:27.070 --> 00:09:29.509 for another wrestler, Too Cold Scorpio, stepping 00:09:29.509 --> 00:09:31.789 in to physically break it up, the outcome could 00:09:31.789 --> 00:09:34.789 have been fatal. Scorpio is widely credited with 00:09:34.789 --> 00:09:37.429 saving Arne's life that night. It's hard to even 00:09:37.429 --> 00:09:39.210 wrap your head around that happening on a work 00:09:39.210 --> 00:09:42.720 trip. Miraculously, both men survived and fully 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:45.220 recovered. And the strangest footnote to all 00:09:45.220 --> 00:09:47.639 of this is that the British Crown Prosecution 00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.360 Service declined to press criminal charges. Because 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:52.240 they were leaving. Exactly. Because both men 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:54.139 were Americans leaving the country shortly anyway, 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:56.419 the authorities essentially washed their hands 00:09:56.419 --> 00:09:58.799 of the situation. This raises an important question 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.860 for you as the listener to consider about the 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:02.860 environment these athletes existed in during 00:10:02.860 --> 00:10:06.529 that era. How does the high pressure... incredibly 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:09.090 physical environment of touring constantly on 00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:11.950 the road, performing violently every single night 00:10:11.950 --> 00:10:15.389 for months on end, blur the lines of real world 00:10:15.389 --> 00:10:18.149 aggression. These performers were in a pressure 00:10:18.149 --> 00:10:20.769 cooker with very little oversight, and sometimes 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:23.330 the adrenaline of the ring spilled directly into 00:10:23.330 --> 00:10:25.149 the hallways. And the professional consequence 00:10:25.149 --> 00:10:28.230 for Sid was massive. He was fired immediately. 00:10:28.289 --> 00:10:30.889 He lost his guaranteed world title run at Starrcade. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:33.580 Everything he had built up for this massive return 00:10:33.580 --> 00:10:37.100 vanished in a single night of real -world violence. 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:39.340 It's a stark reminder that while the outcomes 00:10:39.340 --> 00:10:41.500 of the matches are predetermined, the volatility 00:10:41.500 --> 00:10:43.940 of the men performing them was very, very real. 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:46.559 So Sid disappears from the national spotlight 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:49.580 for a bit. He spends some time in the USWA, feuding 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:51.539 with Jerry Lawler and winning their Unified World 00:10:51.539 --> 00:10:54.299 Heavyweight Championship twice. But in 1995, 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:57.700 he makes his return to the WWF. This time, the 00:10:57.700 --> 00:11:00.620 promotion dubs him Psycho Sid, spelled S -Y -C 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:03.710 -H -O. This iteration of the character was fascinating 00:11:03.710 --> 00:11:07.169 because he leaned so heavily into erratic, unstable 00:11:07.169 --> 00:11:10.029 mannerisms. He wasn't just a physical monster 00:11:10.029 --> 00:11:12.409 anymore, he was psychologically intimidating. 00:11:12.690 --> 00:11:14.809 He had those crazy eyes. Yes. He would do these 00:11:14.809 --> 00:11:17.190 long, contemplative stares into the distance, 00:11:17.330 --> 00:11:19.889 excessive eye blinking, and he had this chilling 00:11:19.889 --> 00:11:22.490 habit of suddenly turning a wide, manic laugh 00:11:22.490 --> 00:11:25.950 into a dead, serious, threatening glare. He initially 00:11:25.950 --> 00:11:28.350 comes in as Shawn Michaels' bodyguard. He eventually 00:11:28.350 --> 00:11:30.809 turns on Michaels, naturally powerbombing him. 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:33.639 three times in a row, he joins Ted DiBiase's 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:36.220 Million Dollar Corporation. Fast forward to the 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:39.659 1996 Survivor Series pay -per -view. Sid is challenging 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:42.120 Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship in Madison 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:44.600 Square Garden. And we see another massive instance 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:46.919 of the crowd completely rebelling against the 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:49.519 script. How did the audience react to what was 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:52.019 supposed to be a deeply villainous moment? It's 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:54.879 the ultimate irony of his career. During the 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:57.320 climax of the match, Sid grabs a heavy television 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:00.250 camera from a ringside operator. Shawn Michaels 00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:03.090 is elderly manager Jose Lothario gets up on the 00:12:03.090 --> 00:12:06.029 ring apron to try and stop him Sid refuses to 00:12:06.029 --> 00:12:08.169 put the camera down and literally strikes this 00:12:08.169 --> 00:12:10.409 elderly man in the chest with it just brutal 00:12:10.409 --> 00:12:14.070 hitting a defenseless older man is by every metric 00:12:14.070 --> 00:12:16.929 of traditional storytelling the ultimate villainous 00:12:16.929 --> 00:12:20.149 act it is designed specifically to make the audience 00:12:20.149 --> 00:12:23.159 despise the bad guy But the audience loved it. 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:26.000 They cheered wildly for Sid and booed the hero, 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:28.480 Shawn Michaels. Sid ends up hitting Michaels 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:30.139 with the camera while the referee is distracted, 00:12:30.419 --> 00:12:32.899 throwing him in the ring, hitting the powerbomb, 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.779 and winning the WWF championship. And the building 00:12:35.779 --> 00:12:37.720 just exploded with joy. He would later win the 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:40.039 championship a second time by beating Bret Hart. 00:12:40.409 --> 00:12:43.909 It shows that by late 1996, the audience's desire 00:12:43.909 --> 00:12:47.309 for chaos and anti -heroes had completely solidified. 00:12:47.509 --> 00:12:49.950 They didn't care about the moral alignment of 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:51.769 the character. They didn't care if he was breaking 00:12:51.769 --> 00:12:54.269 the rules or attacking managers. They just loved 00:12:54.269 --> 00:12:56.429 the sheer destruction Sid brought to the ring. 00:12:56.690 --> 00:12:59.649 The fans were deciding who the stars were, regardless 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:01.629 of what the bookers wrote on the format sheet. 00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:04.139 But the wrestling business takes a toll. And 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:06.500 after some time off for a neck injury and a brief 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:09.600 stint in ECW, we enter the final major chapter 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.299 of his mainstream television career. It's 1999, 00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:16.139 and Sid returns to WCW. He is now calling himself 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:19.059 the Millennium Man. He goes on this massive winning 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:21.159 streak, but not in the traditional way a wrestler 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:24.100 usually builds a streak. No, his streak was hilariously 00:13:24.100 --> 00:13:26.000 padded. He would just walk down to the ring during 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.179 other people's matches, hit them with a powerbomb, 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:30.159 leave, and then claim on the microphone that 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.299 it counted as a victory for his streak. It was 00:13:32.299 --> 00:13:35.379 wonderfully absurd and completely fit the chaotic 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:38.500 nature of WCW at the time. It led to a massive 00:13:38.500 --> 00:13:41.279 feud with Goldberg, including a match at Halloween 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:43.440 Havoc where they were actually fighting backstage 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:46.860 before the bell rang. Sid needed stitches, but 00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:49.279 he refused them, so he wrestled the entire match 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:52.059 bleeding openly and heavily, eventually losing 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:55.240 due to excessive blood loss. He always brought 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:57.639 that visceral intensity. He bounced back, though, 00:13:57.740 --> 00:14:00.340 and in the year 2000... He finally reached the 00:14:00.340 --> 00:14:03.480 mountaintop in WCW, beating Kevin Nash to win 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:06.379 the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. And then 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:08.779 we reach the Sim pay -per -view in January 2001. 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:11.960 This is a moment that forever altered his life, 00:14:12.100 --> 00:14:14.639 and it highlights a very dark, often unspoken 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.860 side of the entertainment business. It's a four 00:14:16.860 --> 00:14:19.559 -corners match for the title against Scott Steiner, 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:22.820 Jeff Jarrett, and Road Warrior Animal. But the 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:24.480 real story is what happened behind the scenes. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.700 WCW executive John Laurinaitis allegedly pressured 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:31.399 Udy to broaden his moveset for the match. He 00:14:31.399 --> 00:14:33.759 suggested Sid try an aerial maneuver, jumping 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:36.240 off the top or middle rope. Which is a huge ass. 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:39.700 Sid objected strongly. He was a 300 -plus pound 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:42.360 man with a history of injuries. He didn't believe 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:44.679 a wrestler of his shape and size should be doing 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:47.149 high -flying moves. The pressure on performers 00:14:47.149 --> 00:14:49.830 to risk their bodies for a pop from the crowd 00:14:49.830 --> 00:14:52.850 or to appease management is immense in this industry. 00:14:52.990 --> 00:14:55.370 When your livelihood, your spot on the card, 00:14:55.470 --> 00:14:57.889 and your contract negotiations depend on management 00:14:57.889 --> 00:15:01.029 viewing you as a team player, saying no to an 00:15:01.029 --> 00:15:03.590 executive is incredibly difficult even for a 00:15:03.590 --> 00:15:06.740 veteran like Sid. So feeling the pressure. Sid 00:15:06.740 --> 00:15:08.600 goes through with it. He jumps from the second 00:15:08.600 --> 00:15:11.019 turnbuckle, attempting a big boot on Scott Steiner. 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:14.159 And he lands with all his massive weight awkwardly 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:16.220 on his left foot while kicking with his right. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:19.899 The result was absolutely horrific. Just devastating 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:22.440 to watch. The tibia and fibula snapped completely 00:15:22.440 --> 00:15:25.200 in half. At least one of the bones broke through 00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:28.480 the skin, and his foot rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise. 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:31.860 It was so graphic and unsettling that television 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:34.659 networks literally refused to replay the footage. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:39.019 He suffered a double compound fracture. The aftermath 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:42.059 required a grueling two -hour surgery where doctors 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:46.100 placed a 17 -inch rod in his leg. He later sued 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:49.120 WCW over the incident, claiming he was coerced 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:50.960 into performing the jump against his explicit 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.799 medical objections, though he ultimately lost 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:56.950 that lawsuit. It's a tragic example of corporate 00:15:56.950 --> 00:15:59.350 demands physically breaking the talent. It put 00:15:59.350 --> 00:16:01.690 him out of action indefinitely. And doctors told 00:16:01.690 --> 00:16:05.009 Udi the grim reality. They told him he would 00:16:05.009 --> 00:16:06.970 never be able to run again. But this is where 00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:09.529 the man behind the monster really shines through. 00:16:09.970 --> 00:16:12.830 Yudi set a stubborn, almost impossible goal for 00:16:12.830 --> 00:16:14.830 himself. He didn't just want to be able to walk 00:16:14.830 --> 00:16:17.789 comfortably. He specifically wanted to run. He 00:16:17.789 --> 00:16:20.190 viewed running as even more important than weightlifting 00:16:20.190 --> 00:16:22.409 or his general physique. He attacked his rehab 00:16:22.409 --> 00:16:24.690 with the same terrifying intensity he brought 00:16:24.690 --> 00:16:26.990 to the ring. He was doing physical therapy three 00:16:26.990 --> 00:16:30.210 to five days a week for over a year. At first, 00:16:30.210 --> 00:16:32.590 he could only get around using a cane. But through 00:16:32.590 --> 00:16:35.509 sheer, grueling, painful effort, he defied the 00:16:35.509 --> 00:16:38.870 medical experts. He walked. Then he ran. It's 00:16:38.870 --> 00:16:40.750 incredible. And against all odds, he actually 00:16:40.750 --> 00:16:42.370 returned to active wrestling on the independent 00:16:42.370 --> 00:16:45.409 circuit, performing from 2004 all the way to 00:16:45.409 --> 00:16:48.929 2017. It speaks volumes about his willpower. 00:16:49.370 --> 00:16:52.230 The character of Sid Vicious was an unstoppable, 00:16:52.669 --> 00:16:56.269 unfeeling monster. But Sidney Udy, the man, possessed 00:16:56.269 --> 00:16:59.570 a very real, very human resilience. And when 00:16:59.570 --> 00:17:02.279 you dig into his life outside the ring. There 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:05.180 are so many quirky, deeply human elements to 00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:08.250 him. For instance, he absolutely loved softball. 00:17:08.509 --> 00:17:10.769 He was notorious for playing in softball leagues 00:17:10.769 --> 00:17:13.250 during his time off in the late 90s, sometimes 00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:15.630 supposedly even prioritizing it over wrestling 00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:17.849 dates. That's dedication to the game. He had 00:17:17.849 --> 00:17:20.150 a brief run -in with the law in 2011. He was 00:17:20.150 --> 00:17:21.950 pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, which 00:17:21.950 --> 00:17:23.750 led to minor charges for misdemeanor marijuana 00:17:23.750 --> 00:17:26.369 possession and driving without a license. He 00:17:26.369 --> 00:17:28.250 even starred in a few indie horror movies like 00:17:28.250 --> 00:17:30.349 River of Darkness and Death from Above, acting 00:17:30.349 --> 00:17:33.720 alongside other wrestlers. And in 2012, he appeared 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:36.380 on the CBS reality show Big Brother simply because 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:39.079 his son Frank was a contestant. It shows a totally 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:41.200 different side to him. Seeing this terrifying 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:43.900 wrestling villain acting as a dedicated, nervous 00:17:43.900 --> 00:17:46.339 father supporting his son on national television 00:17:46.339 --> 00:17:49.480 is so far removed from the psycho Sid persona 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:51.559 we've been discussing. Sadly, Yugi passed away 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:55.380 on August 26, 2024, at the age of 63. He had 00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:57.779 been battling cancer, specifically non -Hodgkin's 00:17:57.779 --> 00:18:00.200 lymphoma, while also dealing with congestive 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:02.289 heart failure. But his impact on the business 00:18:02.289 --> 00:18:05.349 was immediately clear. That very night on WWE 00:18:05.349 --> 00:18:08.410 live television, superstar Damian Priest paid 00:18:08.410 --> 00:18:10.809 tribute to him by performing Sid's trademark 00:18:10.809 --> 00:18:13.470 chokeslam and powerbomb in the middle of a match. 00:18:13.789 --> 00:18:15.930 So what does this all mean? It means his legacy 00:18:15.930 --> 00:18:18.430 is permanently etched into the industry. You 00:18:18.430 --> 00:18:20.890 cannot tell the story of 1990s professional wrestling 00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:23.049 without talking about the impact of Sid. We've 00:18:23.049 --> 00:18:24.930 just tracked the journey of a man whose physical 00:18:24.930 --> 00:18:28.130 presence was so massive, so undeniable, that 00:18:28.130 --> 00:18:30.170 he could alter the trajectory of the entire wrestling 00:18:30.170 --> 00:18:33.930 industry. A man who survived a brutal real -life 00:18:33.930 --> 00:18:36.470 backstage stabbing, who walked away from the 00:18:36.470 --> 00:18:38.750 main event of WrestleMania to protect his brand, 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:42.970 and who overcame a gruesome nationally televised 00:18:42.970 --> 00:18:45.609 injury that was supposed to end his mobility 00:18:45.609 --> 00:18:48.950 forever. All just to prove to himself and the 00:18:48.950 --> 00:18:52.069 doctors that he could run again. And as we wrap 00:18:52.069 --> 00:18:54.250 up today, I want to leave you with a final thought 00:18:54.250 --> 00:18:57.369 to mull over. Think about the times in your own 00:18:57.369 --> 00:18:59.390 life or career when you've encountered someone 00:18:59.390 --> 00:19:01.910 who simply refused to conform to the script they 00:19:01.910 --> 00:19:04.369 were handed. We often say we want heroes who 00:19:04.369 --> 00:19:06.230 play by the rules, who do exactly what they are 00:19:06.230 --> 00:19:09.210 told. But Sid's career proves that we are magnetically 00:19:09.210 --> 00:19:11.869 drawn to the chaos of those who don't. Are we 00:19:11.869 --> 00:19:13.650 cheering for the villain or are we really just 00:19:13.650 --> 00:19:15.710 cheering for the freedom of a man who lives and 00:19:15.710 --> 00:19:18.549 works wherever he damn well pleases? That is 00:19:18.549 --> 00:19:20.529 a fascinating question to chew on. Thank you 00:19:20.529 --> 00:19:22.910 so much for joining us on this deep dive. We'll 00:19:22.910 --> 00:19:23.529 catch you next time.