David Schultz Says He Slapped Reporter Because Of Vince McMahon, What Caused Rift With Hulk Hogan
Today The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling is joined by one of the most polarizing figures to ever grace a pro wrestling ring as the original badass "Dr. D" David Schultz joined the show. Dr. D returns from a near 25 year exile from pro wrestling to promote his new book "Don't Call Me Fake: The Real Story of Dr. D David Schultz". Of course Dr. D pulls no punches and is in his classic form as he shoots on Vince McMahon, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan and of course the infamous 1985 20/20 expose where he slapped reporter John Stossel resulting in his firing from the WWF. The full episode can be downloaded at this link.
Getting the chance to write this book and tell his story:
"I tried to do a book several years ago and Vince McMahon jumped all over it and told all the writers, production companies and all that if you do his book you will never do another book for me. He does do wrestling books (not that they are true wrestling books) but he does do wrestling books. This book is absolutely true. I had to leave a lot of things out of it that if I had put McMahon's name and other scrupulous characters in there and their habits and the things that they do it would be stopped again. So we kept them out of it basically and didn't want to talk about them because we figured there is enough stuff there to do another book if we decide to do it."
The infamous 20/20 Incident with John Stossel:
"I did what I was told to do. Vince McMahon told me to blast him and tear his ass up and to stay in character and be Dr. D. When I went out that door I did not know who John Stossel was. I made John Stossel (because) nobody knew who John Stossel was and after that night and that TV show and after all the whining and crying this guy did, crying like a baby he goes on Barbara Walters saying he (Schultz) beat me up. But John Stossel last year on a TV show said his injuries were neurosomatic. That means that after he got his money he didn't hurt anymore.
"On his deposition he said he had permanent ear damage and the doctors at Madison Square Garden didn't see damage on his ears at all. I didn't touch his ears and if you slow down the tapes you will see that I did not touch his ears. He complained and whined and went to his brother and his brother was one of the doctors that checked him and his brother said he had permanent ear damage and he will always have it. Do you think that your brother is going to lie for you? I do. So the commission doctors didn't know what they were talking about when they said he had no damage? People just haven't read the whole story and they haven't dug deep enough. Vince McMahon paid him $425,000 without asking me anything, without going to court and John Stossel never sued me. That is a misconception because I was never arrested for anything or was charged with anything, Vince McMahon was. Vince McMahon than comes back and sues me for the $425,000 he gave this little wimp and now I have to fight Vince McMahon who is a well known billionaire and I just want to tell everybody out there..do not fight a billionaire unless you are a billionaire."
Would he have taken Roddy Piper's place opposing Hulk Hogan had he stayed in the WWF because of his friendship with the Hulkster:
"Hogan and me was a good team. Now Piper, you take a man and put him on TV and give him 15-20 minuets a day to talk and everybody sees him on TV people are going to like him. As far as I'm concerned Roddy Piper was not a wrestler. He wasn't even a good worker as far as I'm concerned. If he had to go out and work his way to the top and not have good friends like Jim Barnett and different people that he worked with or for and McMahon, McMahon liked the boy a lot. But he was okay with me and I'm not saying he wasn't a nice guy he just wasn't a tough guy and he didn't know how to wrestle and he didn't know how to fight but he could entertain you with his mouth because they gave him 20 minuets a day on TV and if you are seen 20 minuets a day just about every time the TV comes on with wrestling you become a top guy."
"I got on a top spot because of what I could do and what I said and what I talked about and how I did what I said I was going to do. As far as Hogan, like I've said we were good friends and Vince told him you either pick David or me and of course he went with him and he never spoke to me after that and I haven't talked to him since then. He did his own thing with Vince and Vince told him don't talk to nobody and they had him in separate dressing rooms. The guy couldn't even dress in the same dressing room as other wrestlers. Vince didn't want him to associate with nobody so I don't know what the cause of that was but I guess it worked and he made a lot of money, had a lot of enemies, didn't make many friends I don't think but everybody wanted to be around him because of who he was."
History with Hulk Hogan:
"Hogan knew that I could beat him anytime I got ready in a match but that wasn't in the plans. We were working up to a main event and Hogan got all scared and worried. But me and Terry were really close friends because he didn't have a place to stay when he started and when he came to Florida I met him there and he was just staying in his van. So we took him into the house and he stayed with me and my wife in our house because the guy was green (and) I liked the guy and he was a good guy. He started me working out in the gym a little more and we really got a long and worked hard and we had some good matches because of that. Finally when we were with Vince I heard that he was telling Vince that he was really scared of David Schultz and said I'm afraid that he is going to beat me all over the ring one of these live TV wrestling shows. Of course Vince didn't like to hear that because when I'd go out there I'd make Terry work and I wouldn't let him stand around and show his muscles, I really made him work. I wasn't the kind of guy that threw a punch and missed by six inches and the guy fell down. I figured if you couldn't take a punch and didn't know how to get out of a hold he should get out of the ring."
Being a true heel:
"When I got through (wrestling) I would get to the dressing, grab a shower and go out the backdoor if there was a backdoor and leave. I didn't sit around and talk to fans and sign autographs for little arena rats and different ones out there I didn't do that. When I'd come in I would stay in the dressing room until my match and then I'd go the ring and that is when they'd see me. Some buildings you can't get out without going through the crowd. When I left everybody hated me. The police hated me, the security guards hated me and I could care less because the next time I'd come back they would buy a ticket just to watch me get beat or think they are going to see me get beat. I always had that philosophy in mind that everybody should hate me at these matches. The promoters, the ring attendants, the people who own the building the guys working the TV whatever I didn't care who they were if they came in the dressing room and they didn't have a license for that state I'd run them out of the dressing room."
"I never missed a wrestling match in my whole career, I never was late for one and I did my job of what I was supposed to do. I always did what the promoter asked me to do and I guess that was my downfall doing what Vince told me to do but still I have a 100% record doing what promoters told me to do. After I look back I wish that I wouldn't have done half of what the promoters told me to do and that's got nothing to do with Vince. I'm talking about the promises and the guarantees and OH MY GOD these guys can lie. That is what you are there for to get to the top because you are not there to stay in the bottom match all the time. You want to be in a top spot."
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