A Geek History of Time - Episode 296 - The Fall of the Hitman and the Rise of the Rattlesnake Part VII

Episode Date: December 27, 2024

Item one, get the grocery store. Item two, laundry. Item three, over through capitalism. You know, for somebody who taught Latin, your inability to pronounce French like hurts. Damn. Look at you getting to the end of my stuff. Motherfucker. But seriously, I do think that this bucolic, luxurious live your weird fucking dreams kind of life is something worth noting. Because of course he had. I got into an argument, essentially, with with some folks as to whether or not

punching Nazis is something you should do. And they're like, no, then you're just as bad as the Nazis. I was like, the Nazis committed genocide. I'm talking about breaking noses. Drink scotch and eat strychnine. All right, you can't leave that lying there. Luxury poultry. Yes, yes.

Fancy chickens. Yes, fancy chickens. Pet, pet fancy chickens? Pet fancy chickens. Pet Fancy Chickens? Pet Fancy Chickens. This is a Eek History of Time. Where we connect nursery to the real world. My name is Ed Blaylock. I'm a world history teacher at the middle school level here in Northern California. And last night was our monthly Pathfinder game here in the Blaylock household.

And I'm playing a paladin, course because Gnash and we wound up having an encounter in which I tanked because I'm a paladin that's what we do just like monks open doors and we encountered a hill giant which because I was tanking smacked me for not quite 50% of my hit points over the course of two rounds of combat but while I was tank over the course of two rounds of combat. But while I was tanking, the rest of the group came up like an artillery barrage and took him out. And at the end of the fight, we're having the, okay, here's Tim, I am laying on hands on myself twice to regain X number of hit points and without missing a beat from across the table.

My wife looks at me and says, so you're touching yourself. So you're touching yourself? and I was a cocktail and most of a can of cider in at that point and Without missing a beat I looked right across the table at her and said yeah, and I think of you while I do it To to laughter and groans from our virtual table mates, and then I followed it up with Oh, I don't want anybody else when I take damage I touch myself and you know laughter from everybody at the table and somebody says oh my god they're flirting I said no no no whatever this is this is this. This is something completely different from flirting.

And the only reason I'm able to get away with it is because she's already married to me and I have papers. So do not anybody try this at home. Like, no. So yeah, I, I, I got to have that, that moment at the table. And I thought what with the puns involved, you involved, you'd get a kick out of that. So that's what I have going on. How about you? Well, I'm Damian Harmony.

I'm a US history teacher at the high school level up here in Northern California. And I was walking with my child the other day in a parking lot. And I said some sort of pun, and she just looked at me incredulously, and she said, how are you this obnoxious and still this lovable? Aw. So, yeah. Unlovable.

Yeah, oh, I know, I know. And I told her, my response to her was, the fire that cooks your food will also burn your hand. So. Nice, nice. I like it, good analogy. And then I told her, I said, actually it is about a 10 year expiration date. And she's like, oh, that makes sense.

That's when mom left. I said, yeah. And she's like, and I'm getting tired of it too. And I've been aware of it since I was three. I'm like, yep. There you go yep you know so anyway when last we left I do recall that it was announced that Bret Hart and Steve Austin would have a submission match at WrestleMania. Yes. remember this how Austin had

Several submission moves in his repertoire in their match at Survivor Series, but by this point he turned brawler Yeah, he wasn't he wasn't using him anymore. He might he had gone full Beat him up heel right and Brett Hart's mostly just had the sharpshooter. Like, it submitted everyone, but he didn't have a whole bunch of submission moves. He had a whole bunch of technical moves to take you down and move you around, but he did not have much but the sharpshooter.

And so, you know, it's gonna be kind of a limited match. And they also had asked Ken Shamrock on February 24th, who was just a guest in the crowd at the time, who he thought would win the submission match. And Ken Shamrock, if you recall, had put them both over and he said it's going to be a toss up. Very good stuff. And Shamrock had originally been a wrestler and then turned a shoot fighter actually and he was all over the world as a shoot fighter including leading up to the first UFC bouts. He'd already

done Hank Grace and a few other things throughout the world. And Todd Pettengill, which I was shocked that he still had a job at the time. He then put it to the audience And they cheered Austin and booed the idea of Brett Although to be honest the booing of Brett might have been a reaction to the music of the nation of domination hitting at the same time Okay, all right. So hitting at the same time Okay, all right. So Now I don't remember if I quoted you on what Austin said about it So I'm just gonna re-quote it if I did. He says as far as this submission match, it's a bunch of bull. Bret Hart

He's supposed to be the big technician the sharpshooter big deal I don't know a whole lot of couple submission moves It doesn't matter because I'll beat the hell out of Bret Hart. And as far as Ken Shamrock says on TV the other day, oh I don't know, Bret Hart's the better technician but Stone Cold ain't got no quit in him. Well you hit the nail on the head on the head son because I ain't got no quit in me at all. And you can bet your bottom dollar that Stone Cold ain't gonna look at any ain't gonna look at the referee and say I quit, I submit, I've had too much. There ain't nobody, there ain't gonna look at the refuge referee and say I quit I submit

I've had too much there ain't nobody there ain't nobody in wrestling who can make me quit and that's the bottom line the stone cold said so all right and then Vince who was interviewing fed him another line asking why he was so bitter and Austin's response was you treat me like a dog and you expect me to smile. You remind me of a jackass. So he's attacking everybody and anybody. Yeah. Yeah. Now at the next raw, which is March 10th, 1997, they promo that there's going to be

a big steel, the show promo that there's going to be a big steel cage match for the title between Bret Hart and psychoo Sid the following week a Steel cage match is usually done for one of two reasons either to keep the heel from running away in this case Neither man is clearly the heel and neither man is clearly the face or to keep people from interfering Yeah, well we know that's an issue Right don't hold said so repeatedly. Exactly. Right.

So this steel cage, and it's the blue steel cage still. And since Steve Austin proved that he would go into someone's house and get shot at, that's also not going to stop him. This was also the first RAW that opened with the new intro, new new pyro and that intro was absolutely centered on Stone Cold Steve Austin Okay Okay, so now that you've seen it Describe it a bit and see if I was off the mark at all Well, no you were I'll start with that you were not off the mark at all

Air-raid sirens to open, um, booming thudding noises like a, like an artillery bombardment or, or, you know, bombing raid. Cause raw is war and it's the war zone. Yeah. Right. And, um, big pyro, like, like, holy shit level of pyro. Yeah. Gouts of fire.. Yeah, gouts of fire. Yeah, huge gouts of flame.

And like one of the ropes in the ring like in clips of matches of like four or five guys in the ring at once and one of the ropes is on fire. Yeah. And Stone Cold. Clearly, it's him like there's no mistaking who it is even even when it's just the back of his head because you can I mean number his walk the vest that he's that he's got on is distinctive is shaven head and and then you do get glimpses of his of his face a couple of times, um, interspersed with like shots of, of Huey helicopters and, and like combat footage. And, um,

what I found interesting was I, I recognized one of the clips of a barking attack dog behind a chain link fence. Yeah. Being from like the promo or ad or whatever it was that he cut in black and white like yes two episodes ago now yes And I was like that's that's the same dog. Yep. They're there They have they have taken this thing that was part of his His promo and and made it part of the whole show's intro. Yeah, you nailed it.

So that was a note that, I mean, it didn't really take me by surprise because of the rep you gave me for it. But the level to which it is, no, no, this is now Steve Austin's show was still kind of like, oh, wow. All right. They, they had by this time really figured out, uh, who the white hot personality was and, and like, okay, don't we really do have lightning in a bottle with this one?

Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's just so Austin centric. Like, there's other wrestlers, but man, so Austin centric. There's other wrestlers, but man, he is the focus. Now at this particular Raw, JR, Jim Ross had interviewed Ken Shamrock. And Ken Shamrock, again, this master submission expert, the shoot fighter, it's 1997, right? The first UFC, I think, happened in 93 or something.

And it's this kind of, you had, I believe, Fox TV or FX TV was doing the Battle of the Tough Guys or something like that. There was this idea of like, legitimate cage fighting, essentially. And anyway, so he's interviewing Ken Shamrock and that's giving legitimacy to the fight that Austin and Brett are going to have. And Shamrock put over the event and and then they said

that Ken Shamrock is actually going to be the special guest referee for that match. Oh, cool. Yeah. And he said, quote, My thing is is I'm going to be a fair referee. Whether Bret Hart likes it or Stone Cold Steve Austin likes it, it doesn't really matter. It's their problem if they don't. He then put over that he feared nobody and he was willing to be partial or willing to be impartial. And before he got going any further, Austin interrupted him via the Titan Cron.

Yeah. I do want to point out, well, I'll get to it later. So here's what Austin says. You ought to consider it an honor that I don't come down there and stomp your little guts in right now. I don't know what the hell Bret Hart's doing to get all these title shots, but I think it's a complete bunch of BS that he gets a title shot before WrestleMania. title shots, but I think it's a complete bunch of BS that he gets a title shot before WrestleMania. So notice, notice where his focus is. The other guy's getting benefits, not what I want, just that Bret Hart is getting things. And then he said he goes on quote, now the last thing I am is a Bret Hart fan, but I hope to hell he wins against Psycho Sid because that means that title will be on the line at WrestleMania.

And you can sit up there with that stupid look on your face. And even, you know, that the title should be on the waist of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Bret Hart, you could come to the ring at 13 with your little sharpshooter, but I ain't never given up at nothing in my life. And you think I'm gonna start at WrestleMania 13, you got another thing coming. Stone Cold Steve Austin's time has come,

and you don't know what I'm coming with, son. The bottom line is Shamrock, after I get through with making Bret Hart say I quit, I might just as well knock your lights out and sweep the ring with you. All right. So you remember, Undertaker has a guaranteed shot at the title. Well he has a guaranteed match with the champion Sid.

Red Heart has a guaranteed match with Steve Austin. So if Red Heart gets the title, the title match now becomes between Brett and Austin. And Sid and Taker just have a non-title match. And Taker's been wanting the title. The fact is that Shamrock mentioned Brett Hart first, as who may not like him calling things as he sees them. Yeah, I noticed that. Yeah. That's weird. Yeah. And he set a tone about who the real problem was by doing that. Despite Steve being the one who's doing all the extra legal attacks early on and then continuing them after the four-way

pay-per-view. And then Shamrock called out Stone Cold Steve Austin a little bit after that. Austin started to respond, but then he got interrupted by Bret Hart's music, which made Austin leave the camera and start heading down, presumably. So then Bret Hart came down to the ring in person and said, quote, it's nice to the World Wrestling Federation to give me a chance after three weeks to make some kind of comment about what's been going on with me. It was a great feeling to win the World Wrestling Federation belt for the fourth time, incidentally. I mean, seething sarcasm, very petulant sarcasm, right?

Yeah. You know, I haven't gotten to say anything for three weeks. I was the damn champion. Oh yeah, by the way, it felt nice to be the champion for a fucking day. Yeah. And then he says, quote, but I had it ripped off the following night. It doesn't seem to me that anybody in the world wrestling Federation is doing too much about it.

You know, I see people, they hold up signs, they go, Brett Hart's crying again. Well, I'm sorry that I'm crying, but I've had it up to here with the lack of justice. So all I got to say is one thing. I've been screaming at Gorilla Monsoon for so long and crying about everything for so long that he finally has given me a little credit. So I got Psycho Sid in a 15 foot steel, 15 foot high steel cage match for the World Wrestling Federation Championship belt next Monday night. And people can believe whatever they want to believe. And trust me when I say this, Psycho Sid, you're not as good as me. You never were as good as me.

And then next Monday night, you'll be looking at the fifth time World Wrestling Federation champion. I feel sorry for The Undertaker because he's got his hopes up, but it's stone cold Steve Austin who's going to find himself with a lucky break because you will get a title shot at WrestleMania. Ooh, wee. All right. So, I mean, he's putting over the match coming up.

He's putting over WrestleMania. He's putting over multiple matches. He's really over a WrestleMania. He's putting over multiple matches. He's really good at this Nowhere near as electrifying but also the more petulant he is the more ripped off he seems to feel the better his promos get and Then Brett put himself over as an expert on submission wrestling. He said quote So Stone Cold bring everything you've got bring every single thing you've got because nobody wants that fight more than I do And I'll even give you a title shot Bring everything you've got. Bring every single thing you've got because nobody wants that fight more than I do.

And I'll even give you a title shot. But I promise one thing, Stone Cold Steve Austin, you will be sorry that you ever cross my path. You know, I've been screwed in the World Wrestling Federation from everybody from Shawn Michaels to Psycho Sid, Stone Cold Steve Austin. I've been screwed by the referees. I've been screwed by Gorilla Monsoon. I've been screwed by Vince McMahon. That drew a lot of boos. Oh really?

Yeah, he then turned to Ken Shamrock and he said that he respected him. Quote, let me say one thing, Ken Shamrock. I've been screwed by everybody. And if you think for one second, if you wanna screw with me at WrestleMania 13, it will be the biggest mistake that you ever made. I just hope you understand that.

biggest mistake that you ever made. I just hope you understand that. So now both guys in the match are healing against Ken Shamrock, who's going to be a referee. Okay. Shamrock then told him that he was there to referee and that he wasn't there to listen to Brett's problems, which I mean, and again, casting that petulance, right? And then Austin showed up at the top of the ramp and flipped Brett the bird as they went to commercial. So throughout this whole promo, Brett was super petulant and also this setup undertaker for getting screwed if Brett won. So again, a bunch of folks are pushing all around for the title

book, but nobody is actually staying righteous. There are no good guys here. Yeah. So everything that Shawn Michaels had said about the title seems to be coming true. The office brings out the worst in people and that makes for the best competitions. I'm sorry, the title. or am I? Yeah. So what you did there. Yeah. So then on the March 17th, 1997

Raw and again, this is all in the same Raw. Austin showed back up on the Titan Tron as Billy Gunn had just been manhandled and beaten by Ken Shamrock. And he gave another promo attacking Ken Shamrock's credentials as an

overrated street fighter He said that he was gonna make damn sure that Brett won the title in the cage match because he was going to go on and Beat Brett for the world title. So essentially Austin promised Brett a victory via his own interference which Considering how much he's been trying to hurt Brett Hart and keep him away from the title considering how much he's been trying to hurt Bret Hart and keep him away from the title. It's just like this wheels within wheels kind of thing. And again, no faces, just varying degrees

of shitty self-interested heels. And it's barely the beginning of Clinton's second term. It's March of 97. Wow. So the narrative is there. Now on the March 17th, 1997 RAW, several things were happening at once. Because of Gorilla Monsoon's efforts at being fair,

he granted that the steel cage match between Brett and Sid would now be a championship match. He said that he knew the timing stunk, but this would be fair to Brett Hart, who was the four time champion, and had a legit claim at a fair match. Behind the scenes, any time, like the standard thing in wrestling is if you lost a title match you get a rematch because you're still the number one contender. You're the former champion. You're the

most recent former champion. You exchanged places with the the person who challenged you, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah Now monsoon then apologized for how unfair it was to the undertaker He got roundly booed by the audience at this discussion by the way Gorilla and Vince argued about whether or not Brett should Brett actually did get shafted over the last few months But ultimately gorilla said that it was his decision and so so Bret Hart was challenging Psycho Sid for the championship in a steel cage match. Stone Cold and Bret Hart had a submission match set at Mania, which was going to be on March 23rd, so six days away.

And The Undertaker was guaranteed the championship match in the main event at WrestleMania. So if you're playing along at home, that means that if Sid wins, both matches would go on as advertised but if Bret Hart won we could have seen Bret Hart versus Stone Cold for the title and Undertaker either would have no match or he'd get to face the winner for that match in the main event similar to how they did in WrestleMania 10 Bret was guaranteed to face the champion no matter if it was Yokozuna or Lex Luger in WrestleMania 10

But first he had to wrestle Owen to open the match. So we could have seen a repeat of that kind of booking. But this meant that with the Undertaker's shot at the championship up in the air and with him also saying that he was going to be looking out for number one, that it would be in Taker's best interest to have Sid win. And it was in Austin's best interest to have Brett win. And all of this happened because Stone Cold had originally nailed Brett Hart in his match with Sid the night after the four-way elimination that Brett Hart had won the title in

because Shawn Michaels had lost his smile and forfeited that title. Right. So if Shawn Michaels had kept his smile, the winner of the four-way elimination match would have had the main event match against him at WrestleMania. Okay. But because it turned out otherwise, here we were. Now, Brett had an interview earlier in the night with Kevin Kelly in the ring in response

to the Gorilla Monsoon announcement. He says, quote, I'm appreciative of Gorilla Monsoon of looking a little closer because frankly I don't really care what anybody thinks I won the Royal Rumble I won the final four I'm a four-time world wrestling Federation champion okay yeah all of that's true exactly but can you see how that kind of presents as a heel? A little bit, yeah. Yeah. They're doing a great job of getting him to slowly turn and to surely continue sliding heelward since December. Yeah. Then he says, and I think I deserve a little respect around here.

And then the crowd mixes in some booze and cheers. I know that the Undertaker is not too thrilled about it, but there's kind of a new motto in the World Wrestling Federation. You scratch my back and I'll stab yours. And the Undertaker might not be too thrilled about it, but after I win, and I will win, the World Wrestling Federation Championship belt for a fifth time, the Undertaker need not worry

because I'll give him his shot. Now that's a face thing to say, right? Like that's okay. He's still straddling a line there. He is, and then he, and so he says the face thing and then he says this right after, and he can get in line with the rest of them. Which is that, again, you're like,

oh, you know, there's confidence and then there's, so the thing is, the thing to keep in mind is that the best heels think that they're like, oh, um, you know, there's confidence and then there's So the thing is the thing to keep in mind is that the best heels think that they're right and in many many ways all the facts were on Bret Hart's side and That should have gotten him a ton of sympathy heat and kept him as a baby face But Bret Hart kept complaining throughout it kept him as a baby face, but Bret Hart kept complaining throughout it At the end of each paragraph it feels like like he would say baby face baby face baby face and then end it with heel shit Yeah Honestly, that is the vibe. Yeah, they're masterful because he's not just gone full heel. He thinks he's right

He's got all the facts on his side, but then he hits it with that last little bit. So here he goes on, quote, now after I change the face of WrestleMania 13 and I step in the ring with that lousy stinking hyena Stone Cold Steve Austin, lots of boos for saying that, Stone Cold Steve Austin is in for the worst trashing of his entire life. I'm gonna take all those collected moments of Stone Cold Steve Austin is in for the worst trashing of his entire life. I'm gonna take all those collected moments of Stone Cold Steve Austin, every time he jumped me from behind, every time he stabbed me in the back, every time he's cost me one match after the other. And again, nothing he's saying is

factually incorrect. Right. And yet every time he mentioned something Austin did, the crowd cheers. Wow. And Brett gets more booed. And then he says, quote, he won't be able to scream loud enough the words I give in a submission match. Now, even that is total face territory. And yet he continued, quote, and I just want to say the fact that Ken Shamrock is going to be refereeing this thing. I respect that. I got to respect this guy's reputation.

And I just hope that he calls it down the middle. And I just hope that he gets nice and close so he can hear those magic words. I quit. WrestleMania 13. I will be the fifth time World Wrestling Federation champion tonight and I will be looking at a nice long healthy run. And everybody can get in line because they all get a chance to prove themselves against the excellence of execution the Best there is the best there was and without a shadow of a doubt the best there ever will be thank you very much Now again, that's all face shit except for maybe the part about hoping shamrock will call it down the middle

There's a little bit of shade thrown right there a little bit. Yeah, yeah, but it's all face stuff, right? Yeah, well guess who came out to the crowd for an interview segment, baby facing it up after that Baby facing it up. Mm-hmm Not stone cold baby facing it out Shawn Michaels, mm-hmm Done course nicely done So the crowd loves a fucking comeback, right? Sean thanks everybody for being patient with quote The world's most emotional wrestler because remember Sean owned all that shit, right and he got cheered for it

Brett said the exact same shit was happening and he got booered for it. Brett said the exact same shit was happening, and he got booed for it. So remember, Sean lost his smile. He also had a knee injury that he, that's what it was taking him on and putting him on the shelf, and then, you know, backflips and stuff. So as it turned out, Bill Clinton also had knee issues at that exact same time.

Weird. Yeah yeah it is anyway as it turned out Shawn Michaels was back because his knee didn't require surgery after all just rehab You know okay, so so kayfabe uh-abe kfabe is kfabe yeah, obviously But like behind the scenes. Oh you remember what undertaker said oh, yeah No, I believe that little motherfucker when I see the scar Yeah, and and and like all of those guys knowing yes We've just been we've just been proven right like yes, we knew this was bullshit. We said this was bullshit Yes, and now here here fuck faces coming back

You know baby-facing like crazy to the crowd Like like how could you not hate this man like everybody did like on a professional level yes I and reportedly everybody fucking did I What a prick yes and again, you know Brett in his memoir said that like Sean did this Only after he found out that you know Brett's plan for I'm gonna win the title back at mania And then we'll have a rubber match rubber match I'll put him over for good After he found that out then the wheels seemed to stop to start turning in Shawn's mind and again

Shawn ref forfeited the title in February fucking all of the mania plans because remember Brett had Brett had won the Royal Rumble and then like Stone Cold had beaten him So you got that issue and then it was like, okay, well, there's a fatal four way now to see who the number one contender is and Brett's supposed to win that. And then he's going to be, you know, he's going to face Sean at Mania and Sean's like, yeah, fuck it. I'm going home. Like. Yeah. Speaking of petulance, like,

Oh, a hundred percent. Like, holy Christmas man. It's wild how admittedly even by Sean, what a shitty person he was at that time in the ring. He was a dream to work with said everybody out of the ring. Nobody wanted to talk to him. He was a dream to work with said everybody out of the ring Nobody wanted to talk to him like it just Jesus Christ So wow yeah now a steel cage match means that you can only win by getting out of the cage before the other guy does

That's that's how it was supposed to be first one whose feet touched the ground They win the steel cage match. That's the point of it. Okay. Now, they've been modifying steel cage matches for a while. Okay. There was, so you could win by submitting the guy in the middle of the ring, you could win by pinning the guy, or you could win by escaping.

Like, what they realized was, later, and that's after this, this is long after this, but what they realized was the steel cage match is incredibly like spectacular, but also very limiting as a story because everybody's trying to just get out. Right. You got to beat the shit out of the other guy so that you can get out. Okay. Okay. All right.

Fair. Yeah. But there's only one kind of finish whereas in in a wrestling match There's four kinds of finish. Normally, there's countout disqualification submission or pinfall right so anyway, um, so Brett came out first because he's not the champion and and the pop for him was much less than it used to be and

Vince actually said that Brett had to filibuster monsoon and Politic his way out to a championship match Okay, so just all like, you know Jim Ross has often said that the the guys who are wrestling in the ring They're the ones making the music. I just provide the lyrics So if that like that, like that. That's a good analogy. That's cool. All right. So the lyrics here are saying that that Brett is politicking and Brett is filibustering again

Just keeping in mind. This is March of 97. Yeah. Yeah. Okay Yeah, so it was actually a really good match. Brett did a really good job making Sid look strong and Brett looked more and more crafty the whole time, right? So Sid is super big super over and super strong. So Brett has to beat him by outsmarting him and Okay, do that, right? So Sid was heading to the open door and then Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and shut the door in his face Sid then went back in and power-bombed Brett and was looking to escape by going over the top of the of the cage Stone Cold Steve Austin climbed up and beat Sid back into the ring now at this point whose title shot is Going out the window if Austin gets his way.

So the Undertaker comes out and Yank Stone Cold down from attacking Sid. So Brett then took advantage of all this attention on the opposite corner of the ring from the door. And he went over to leave through the other door unencumbered. And Undertaker saw what was happening and came running around or walking with determined purpose rather, and slammed the door in Brett's face. Okay. Now, when that happened and with Austin down on the opposite side, Sid was able

to climb out and land on the floor, keeping the championship via Steel Cage victory. And that was it. out and land on the floor keeping the championship via steel cage victory. Fuck me. And that was it. That was the final straw in terms of the majority of the audience. That Brett was screwed yet again, that the match wasn't along with the customs of fairness,

none of it mattered. What mattered was the result and how he responded to it. So Brett could be 100% right that he got screwed here and he be 100% right that he got screwed here, and he was 100% right that he got screwed here. Yeah. And yet how he responds to it, his response to it, instead of stoically accepting it, or ultimately instead of winning, right?

Yeah. Brett Hart complained loudly. He sat in the ring dejected throughout the breakdown of the steel cage. Vince gets a microphone and goes into the ring to interview Brett, and here's what went down. Vince McMahon said, quote, Brett Hart, you've got to be terribly frustrated, extremely frustrated about what just happened. Brett took the mic and then shoved Vince to the ground. Vince had told Brett to go off. Like behind the scenes, Vince told Brett

just fucking go off. Swear and we will censor it on TV. But the audience will hear it. And so Brett grabs the mic shoves Vince shows he's very powerful and says, frustrated isn't the goddamn word for it. This is bullshit. You screwed me. Everybody screwed me. And nobody does a goddamn thing about it. This is bullshit. You screwed me, everybody screwed me, and nobody does a goddamn thing about it. Nobody in the building cares, nobody in the dressing room cares, so much goddamn injustice around here. I've had it up to here. Everybody knows it. I know it. Everybody knows it. I should be the World Wrestling Federation champion. Everybody just keeps turning a blind eye. You keep

turning a blind eye to it. I got that Gorilla Monsoon, he turns a blind eye. You keep turning a blind eye to it. I got that gorilla monsoon He turns a blind eye to it Everybody in that goddamn dressing room knows that I'm the best there is the best there was and the best there ever will be And if you don't like it tough shit and that last line he delivered to the audience Wow Now the audience this whole time fully behind him The audience this whole time, fully behind him. Well, yeah, because this is the way to get audience pop nowadays.

There you go. Grievance, frustration, that is what's playing to a 1997 audience. That's what is playing culturally. Yeah. Grievance and frustration. And then Steve Austin came out, quote, conspiracy my ass, Brett. All you want to do any time you go out in the ring is cry like a baby. I tried to go out there and help you and you threw it all away because you are a loser.

It could have been you and me for the championship at WrestleMania, but you blew the whole damn thing because you are a loser. At WrestleMania, you will quit. And one of these days, well, it's about you, it's you and me for the title. You're looking at the next champ and there ain't nothing you can do about it. Now he's on the Titan Tron. Brett then says, you know what? They call you Stone Cold because your stones are so cold. You're stone. You won't come. You will come out here and step in the ring with me. You always going to jump me from behind. You don't got the guts to come out here. Come on.

Everybody knows it. Well, there's psycho Sid. If you think for one second that that belt belongs to you, you are wrong. This is my belt and you know it. I know it and everybody in this building knows it. And then Sid came out and Sid was masterful at saying the dumbest fucking things on camera and He comes out and shouts, I don't know shit cry, baby A couple years later

He would yell at Kevin Nash and Scott Hall and WCW and he would talk about and I have twice the manpower as you and Half the brains and like they couldn't keep a straight face So there's it there is a talent all its own. Oh my god. It was so fun. Like like that's that's that's that's the closest I've ever heard to a wrestler saying good night Gracie. Right right.

No the genius in delivery there. Oh I don't know. Shit crybaby. Do you? Like. That is not the own that you think it is. Well, you got, okay, so when I was young and my mom was yelling at me,

dressing me up and down for something or other is probably yelling over batteries At one point she's like, you know, she said to me she's like and you always contradict me and I looked at her I'm like, what do I say to that? Yeah, if I say no, I proved it if I say yes, I do I'm admitting to like you got me a box Yeah, you got you got no win. Yeah, yeah, you know and then there was another time where she straight up She's like you son of a bitch and and I'm like I'm not gonna argue I don't know shit How to respond to that you win again

Crafty crafty thing you you go you clever son of a bitch like so now Sid is in the aisle walking up with the title before he turns around with I don't know shit cry, baby Austin's on the titan tron brett's in. That's being broken down, right? Right cages being now Brett and and Sid are getting ready to go at it. But before they can Guess who comes back down? Undertaker. Yes, you could book this shit Undertaker came back down. I'm learning. I'm learning the rhythms. I'm figuring out really are So then Brett came down or so so he comes down and then Brett saw this and

dove through the ropes at the Undertaker on the floor and started punching him because Undertaker slammed the door in his head and cost him the title. Then Steve Austin came down and start beating up on Brett and then Undertaker went into the ring to fight Sid. And then the four of them just, the four guys in the biggest matches at Mania were going at it in the episode right before Mania. Beautiful brooking, right? Yeah, yeah. This is getting everybody salivating. Yes. Yeah.

Now it was going back and forth action, but every time the camera turned to Austin and Brett, it was when Austin was getting the upper hand. Undertaker, meanwhile, was just waylaying ref after ref after ref. So then as Brett Hart is like going after Austin some more, he punches Pat Patterson up on the ramp who's trying to stop him. Now, Pat Patterson is an official backstage, et cetera, a legend, and Vince McMahon called it out and just goes ballistic. He said, he just hit Hall of Famer Pat Patterson,

that dirty rotten son of a, that dirty rotten, and then Brett went back to hit Austin and beat him down, and then Taker and Sid had each other in chokeholds in the ring, and then, and then Austin punched Pat Patterson sent him flying. Okay. And nobody said anything.

Wow. And then guess who comes out at the top of the ramp to a huge pop as Austin and Brett were fighting on the floor. Sean fucking Michaels. Yeah. And he walked into the ring just as Undertaker and Sid fighting on the floor. Sean fucking Michaels. Yeah. And he walked into the ring just as Undertaker and Sid fought to the floor. And then he went and grabbed a chair and did nothing with it. And this was what was leading up to WrestleMania.

OK. Yeah. And now there was this incredible promo about Brett and Austin's feud at WrestleMania in advance of of their match. Okay, okay so I'm gonna put that in the chat and let you watch that okay, just hit there and So their promos are just fucking amazing now I What are your reactions before I zoom in? I'm gonna I before I zoom in? I'm gonna zoom in on like the last five, 10 seconds of it,

but what are your reactions to it as a promo? The stentorian is the word that comes to mind, but that's not quite the, I know that doesn't quite fit what I'm looking for, but the tone of the narration in it is reminiscent of like, it makes me think of old NFL films. Yes. You know, there's, there's this, this gravitas maybe is what I'm looking for. There's, there's this real seriousness. Um, and laying out really pretty starkly the yellow

Actually, everything he's saying is correct. You have been screwed over and And still managing to to play clips of him Responding to it by that that sound as we've said so many times petulant Yeah, and you know and like every visual that you have is him getting hurt him getting hit Yeah, it's never him like there might be a couple times where he's clotheslining Austin or something like that There's there's one really good shot of him giving a roundhouse to the side to the side of Steve Austin's head Yeah, there's another really good punch there, but otherwise it's him. Yeah, it's him.

It's him taking a beating. Yeah, it's him in the role of Southern protagonist. Well done. In the bloodletting and the sacrifice of the sacrificial champion role out of that particular chaotauqua kind of situation. So yeah, he's the sacrifice. Like I said, It's his suffering. Yeah, yeah, his suffering is paramount.

And his, they talk about... Yeah, because of his petulance, it invalidates it almost. Yeah, it undercuts it in a way, because he's not suffering stoically. Right. Um, he's giving voice to how badly he's being screwed. And, and, and then, and then the, the portrayal of Austin is as this, as this as this monster? as as this

Implacable immovable object in in that you can't get away from right you know So yeah, it's it's it's a masterful piece of Propaganda mm-hmm, and it makes me really want to like find the fucking match because I watch that and I'm like, well now, now, now I want to see, I want to see this. Yeah. Oh, it's an amazing match. Which I mean is the whole point, but you know, it's really masterfully done. Yeah. So I want to just focus on the final few seconds and the the audio and he says now the finger is pointed at you you're the one who's changed they say your ego is your enemy

and then a few seconds later but what if Austin wins what becomes a Brett the hitman heart then so this is like an existential threat to him. Yeah. Right? Yeah. So, oh yeah, go on, go on. Well, the line that, you say that, and the line that immediately jumps into my head out of it is a man who spits on all of your accomplishments. Is like, this is the guy. Right.

You know, the level of complete invalidation. Yeah, like everything, because in the beginning it says you fought really hard to rise up to the ranks of the highest whatever. Like all of your work doesn't mean shit if this guy beats you. Yeah. And remember, Austin has not won a match against Brett.

Yeah. Yeah, and remember Austin has not won a match against Brett Yeah right has actually won I Think two matches against him I mean, yeah I I guess you could say that Austin did win a match against him with the Royal Rumble because he eliminated Bret Hart and he Went on to win the Royal Rumble true, but that's some cheaty shit, too. Yeah. Yeah shady ass. Yeah Yeah, so then WrestleMania 13 happened, right? And the rules were 100% in Bret's favor.

It was a submission match. Steve had screwed Bret out of the title after only one night of holding it for the fourth time. And then the Undertaker screwed him out of a shot at it six days prior to Mania. Shamrock was the ref and was well known for being one of the best at the sport that's outlawed at a bunch of states at that point.

You might remember that John McCain famously called it human cock fighting. Yeah, I do remember that. And as Senator, he had written a letter to all 50 governors pressuring them to outlaw it in their states. Quote, to hit a man when he's down is un-American, said John McCain. Which, OK, cool.

Interestingly, John McCain loved attending boxing matches and was even present at the match where Jimmy Garcia received so much damage that he died 13, 13 days after being stretchered out of the ring. Yeah, but none of those hits were delivered after he'd fallen. Right. It's an important distinction.

Evidently, it's really important. You know, yeah. Which, it's a distinction without a difference. It's a distinction. Well, I'm sorry, but it's a distinction with a huge difference. Like, you know, I don't stand for Joe Rogan at all, and I don't really stand for Dana White at all either.

But MMA is so much safer than boxing because there is no standing eight count. If you if you're looking soupy, you're done. The ref calls it you're fucking done. And the refs that don't call it get massive censure um Yeah, well because and yeah, you know the the how to put this the the Extremity of the violence of an individual hit mm-hmm in MMA mm-hmm is

higher Yeah individual hit mm-hmm in MMA mm-hmm is higher Yeah So so that kind of We're gonna be really conservative in the way we judge this Right is is the way of dealing with the fact that you've got people potentially delivering roundhouse kicks to the side of somebody's fucking head right You know which like if you solidly land one of those, that is like, no, no, your bell is wrong. There's no, you're done.

Like you might be standing up. You might be going, but like, no, no, man, they're not going to say, okay, let's give you an eight count to stand there and then keep at it. Yeah. Like boxing, they do that all the time. You know, you get hit in the face once. All right. You know, okay, shake it it. Yeah, like boxing they do that all the way, you know, you get hit in the face once All right, you know, okay shake it off then, you know, the issue in boxing is you get hit in the face, you know ten times in a row You know, that's that's where You know each individual one of those hits is less devastating than the single shot

so the culture in boxing is, is, has been traditionally built around ideas like a standing eight count, if that makes sense. And like, and I'm not trying to defend it, but that's, that's, I think that is the way that somebody like John McCain could have, you know, had that internal, like his look at it was, oh my God, they're kicking each other inside of the fucking head. That's like, you can kill a man doing that. Well, and you're getting on top of a guy

and wailing on his face, right? Yeah. But the thing is, once you weld on his face to the point where his arms drop, the ref dives on you to stop it. Whereas in boxing, it's only once you go down that the ref steps in on you. Yeah to stop it. Yeah, whereas in boxing It's only once you go down that the ref steps in really. Yeah, you know If you get into a clinch and you hold a clinch too long

Right if you or if you go down right the ref steps in yeah Otherwise if for whatever reason yeah If you're unlucky enough to to remain on your feet through the savage beating that you're receiving Yeah, yeah so McCain despite being at a match where a man took so much damage. He died two weeks later He focused on MMA and Ken Shamrock had been there for the very first UFC bout and and he had done all sorts of MMA all around the world in different organizations. So by adding Ken Shamrock to the mix,

this gives the feud even more of an off the rails vibe than it already had. You'd mentioned that the ring rope was on fire in the promo. This is doing that, right? Yeah, yeah. And even more importantly, like you wanna show the brutality that's gonna go on this match,

have a human cockfighter in there to determine the victor and show just how far from righteous Bret Hart has fallen. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. And if Bret Hart was to win this, he'd have to go to a very dark and brutal place that he'd previously not allowed himself to go. And for Austin to win the match, he'd have to continue to be the brutal man that he'd always been.

So for Austin, it's not a change. Brett had to change to make sure he didn't lose to Austin. And that Austin, for Austin, the stakes are lower. Yes. For for heart, the stakes are not only, um, how, how, how to put this, that they're not only high because of, you know, what hap, what are you going to do if you lose, but they're high because if you win, there is a there is the stakes are high for your for your identity. Yes. There is there's there's there's also a level of character

existentialism. Yeah. Like, like you said, I just made up. But there you go. But it's there. I mean, yeah, it's it's Yeah, Brett is gonna have to change in order to survive Austin is not gonna have to change at all So so based on what we've seen though Mm-hmm is it that he's going to have to change or is it that he's going to have to? Embrace the change that has already happened to him? Well, and that is the masterful turn that Brett has been doing.

He has been making this change a gradual thing, and this will be the capstone of it. This is the event horizon. Yes. Okay. So it's kind of like, like, in many ways, if he loses It's death for his character if he wins

It's death for the face version of his character, right? So again go back to there's no fucking good guys in this right nobody walks away clean, right? There's bad guys that you you know this honestly this feels like that episode Where Cisco is talking to his log the whole time about killing the Romulan ambassador, right? You know and all it took was the self-respect of one captain. You know it's like that kind of yeah so and and this is the lead log right and This is such an ending such an ending that episode. Oh my god Anyway, sorry

And this has been the kind of narrative that in a lot of ways has been driving the whole feud and it had been driving a lot of the prayer Presidential narrative it went from Clinton's ideas will never work to Clinton's wife is a shrew to Clinton doesn't deserve the presidency, to Clinton is a usurper and we need to take all necessary steps to wrest the White House back from the Democrats to look at how he lies to stay in power, to he should resign.

And the whole while, the ones who were driving the narrative were the same culture warriors from 92 onward. They didn't change. They only kept up the narrative that Clinton was changing So that their methods would be validated because it was now about defeating the evil that was Bill Clinton Not about whose policy is better for the country Yeah Now Austin cut a promo ahead of WrestleMania and it ended with this phrase quote I ain't bringing a condom to the ring. I'm bringing a hell of a can of whoop ass

Okay, yeah, it didn't matter a lick what any issue was Austin wanted to hurt Bret Hart and at this point Bret Hart wanted to destroy Steve Austin. There was no championship involved. It was a grudge match of the highest caliber. Okay. Yeah. Now, interestingly, according to Bret Hart, Stone Cold wasn't actually told that Bret was turning full heel after this until the day of WrestleMania. Oh, really? Yeah. Oh Really? Yeah now it always stuns me to find out that like

They don't know the ending until they get their kind of shit because I'm looking at it historically like of course it led here But because because that's that's presentism. Yes, like, you know, we know how it turned out So obviously that ending was inevitable right, right, you know, we have to wind up out. So obviously that ending was inevitable. Right. Right. You know, we have to wind up with the Church of England because Obvi. Right. You know.

But it's also like, you know, there's so much unsureity and there's so much reacting to what the audience is needing and to what, you know, the promoter wants and stuff like that. But anyway, so Brett and Austin worked out the match ahead of time. And Brett said that it was going to be a match that had a double turn, and that he wanted to get both of them as over as strong as possible.

The way to do that is going to be by blood. And the problem for this, this is all, a lot of it is according to Bret Hart's memoir, but also Austin verifies a lot of it. Now the problem was that Austin hadn't actually bladed before, and doing it wrong at WrestleMania would hurt the angle. And Brett, according to Brett, he said that he would do it for Austin, which in wrestling was always taboo. You never have someone else blade you. You

always blade yourself. But he told Austin, you could trust me. Austin, according to Brett, conceded and this is all according to Brett in his own memoir There's been some disagreement as to How Austin reacted to it? According to Austin versus according to Brett But the the match was set for Brett to beat Austin but not to defeat him was set for Brett to beat Austin, but not to defeat him. And it was set for Brett to be pushed to the breaking point and to turn heel afterwards on a beaten and downed Austin.

And he would pass out in a pool of his own blood and the crowd would be heartbroken at the loss, but respect Austin's toughness all the way through. And at the end, Brett would finally give Austin what he had coming to him, which would come across as excessive to a man who's lying in a pool of his own blood. Oh, wow. Especially because at the time, WWF was a no blood organization for the most part. Yeah, it was really rare. Like, I think it had happened.

Right. And the times where it had, it was Ric flair blading and everybody knew that he had bladed and And that was held up as an example of like this is why we don't fucking do blade jobs Don't bleed Right. So the match was masterful And there's so much to it that I could describe but the the match was masterful. And there's so much to it that I could describe. But the match, in the match, you saw Brett do everything to Austin that Austin had ever done to Brett over the last four months.

And all along the way, Austin refused to stop fighting. He kept thwarting Brett's more involved efforts. Like, Brett, okay, so he wouldn't be able to block Brett's punches, right? But when Brett tried to pilmanize Austin's ankle, he would fight out of that. He kept fighting out of Brett's efforts. They would brawl all over the arena, and it's all stuff that we'd seen months prior individually all poured into this one match.

Oh, it he stops. Yeah, and while he was beating on Austin outside of the ring, that's when Brett bladed him. And the blood on Austin's bald head splattered all over with the blows, and that just added to the brutality of it. So he bladed him, and then he's just hitting him, the blood is spraying off of him.

And then Steve Austin kicked Bret Hart in the balls, turning the tide. Since it's only submissions, it doesn't actually mean that you can get disqualified. Right. Now, Austin is bloody and furious and embodying all the frustration, and he starts kicking and tearing into Bret Hitman Hart. And the audience was super into it and and

Austin and and Brett had set up several spots throughout the match that the other had thwarted Which means you had like a crate of Chekhov's guns that were not fired Just lying everywhere lying everywhere, right? Yeah, okay So then they were picking up Chekhov's guns and firing them at each other, right? Nice. So Brett targeted Austin's leg with the chair for a while and then Austin tried to wrap Brett up in the cords and choke him and then Austin had thought about

using a bell and then he didn't and then while he's choking Brett, Brett grabs the bell and hits him with it and then there's chairs everywhere and everything and toward the end, and here's what really gets it going, Austin's choking Brett with the electrical cords. And then Brett grabs the ring bell that they didn't get to use,

and he whacked Austin on the head with it, ringing his bell. Nice, nice, nice visual pie and there Brett then took the cord off his neck found Austin prostrate in the middle of the ring bleeding Right. He put Austin in the sharpshooter and cranked it as hard as he could and now Austin's knee Which had taken quite a bit of beatings with chairs earlier and everything else Was now in danger of snapping. So Austin, so the camera's big on Austin, right?

It's focused on Austin. He's in excruciating pain. He's got blood pouring down. He's screaming out. He posts his fist on the mat and tries to power out of the sharpshooter, which nobody had ever done. Right.

And he's got the blood trickling down from his head into his mouth, from his forehead. And he's got the blood trickling down from his head into his mouth from his forehead. And he almost makes it as the audience rises to a crescendo and he breaks Brett's hold. But he's so beaten that he can't do anything else. And Brett reapplies the hold, drags him back to the middle and just cinches it in. And this time, Austin's way too weak to kick out of it because all his energy went into it. And Bret Hart described it as, oh, no, no, I'll quote that in just a second, actually. So now Austin refuses to quit. Shamrock is screaming in his face asking him,

Steve, do you give up? Steve, do you quit? And Steve Austin passed out from the pain in a pool and it's a pool of his own blood. And Bret Hart later said of this quote, when I steadied myself on my feet and clamped the sharpshooter on even tighter, I broke every heart in that Stone Cold, I broke every heart that Stone Cold had just won. Nice. Shamrock stopped just won. Nice.

Shamrock stopped the match. Yeah. So he basically says to an unconscious Austin, if you don't respond, I'm going to stop the match. Do you give up? He rings the bell. Brett was victorious, but as Jim Ross pointed out, Austin had never said, I quit.

Damn. But as Jim Ross pointed out Austin had never said I quit Damn Brett celebrated and people popped for him and it seemed he's finally come through He's finally done it All is for game All he had to do is walk down the aisle and leave Austin in a pool of his own blood So instead Bret Hart starts attacking Stone Cold Steve Austin's leg after the match is over. He is ruthless, he's cold,

he's attacking the bad knee specifically, until even Ken Shamrock had to step in and stop him. And Bret basically, so Shamrock tried to, he pulled him off, and Bret walked around Shamrock a couple of times to continue, which this time made it necessary for Ken Shamrock to to, you know, he pulled him off and Brett walked around Shamrock a couple times to continue, which this time made it necessary for Ken Shamrock to grab Brett around the waist and throw him bodily to the mat. Oh, wow.

Brett pops up and gets in Shamrock's face. I mean, he's only giving the bully what he deserves. Yeah. The crowd starts rising to see another fight. And then Brett looks at Shamrock, looks at Austin, and then leaves the ring. Oh, okay. Full heel. Full heel.

He'd done it. And it wasn't the violence. It wasn't even the attacking the man who couldn't defend himself and the refusal to fight. It was It was the refusal to fight back against Shamrock after being stopped from the violence Yeah He was a coward after all and Austin had just laid there beaten but not broken in the ring Wow, yeah now Brett went through the aisle, went down the aisle. A fan flipped him off, and he flipped it right back, yelling a very frothy, fuck you, to

the fan. Austin, for his part, refused all the help from the ring. He stunned a referee. He limped back slowly to the back, defiant and wounded and bloody as hell. He refused any help whatsoever. Hello, individualism. And he hobbled out on his own power under a huge chorus of Austin chants. Yeah, they'd gotten beat, but he also had his toughness, and he also had his masculinity and his God-given dignity still.

Right. And then, yeah. Now, later on when the match was discussed, Mick Foley was asked about it and he said, quote, you can beat him, but you can't stop him. Nice. Steve said that the one thing that was absolutely true is that he'd never quit and he didn't. And how can you boo a man with so much manliness? And therein lies the difference. Brett knew that he could win. And Steve said he would never quit, which is really what it was about. The aggrieved white folks never quit no matter if

they're outperformed, outsmarted or outvoted. Or at least that's the story they like to tell themselves. Yes. But they don't quit. They keep coming back, even if it's against the rules. Even if they're not even supposed to be on the ballot. Even if. Yeah.

Yeah. Jill Stein. I'm more thinking of the current icon of that whole movement and you know, you know, I never, I never settle. I never, you know, just the absolute like patent bullshit in his bluster about that. You know, it's, yeah. Yeah. Anyway. Now Brett wasn't done that night. He came out and healed it up interfering before the main event took place Sean Michaels was on commentary and Brett came out to call him a sissy told the undertaker that their friendship was over because of the Steel cage door slammed in his face and then Sid beat the beat Brett out of the ring calling him a crybaby and

Then they went on to have about as good a match as they could. I don't know shit crybaby. I'm that's going to live in my head rent free forever. Oh yeah. Like yeah. So you know Sid and Undertaker had as good a match as they could at the main event. Nobody could really follow what those two had done though Mania was in Chicago that year which still is a town that will boo the shit out of a baby face if the heel is

Badass enough so that helped. Yeah. Yeah Wow So the level of art Involved in that story. Yeah. Like like Bret Hart deserves a lot of credit as a writer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just full stop. Well, you know, I always love the idea that the the thing on the bottom of the ring is called the canvas.

Yeah. And Bret Hart was an artist. Yeah. And that night, the medium he used was Steve Austin's blood. Yes. But he painted one hell of a story there. Now, Bill Clinton had signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 in August of 1996 that year. It was set to be... You don't like the... You don't like the Purwara? No. Okay.

No. It was set to begin in July of 97. It was passed by an overwhelming majority in both houses and signed by Bill Clinton Who feared that vetoing it for a third time would be politically untenable ahead of his election campaign? Well, yeah, yeah Even in name it's clear what the focus is gonna be individual effort and the need to work as the goal No wonder people in 96 and 97 were all for it has the goal. No wonder people in 96 and 97 were all for it. Red Heart had created a faction to keep healing it up after that and Stone Cold Steve Austin kept standing alone. According to Bill Clinton, making welfare have an expiration date, quote, gives us a chance we haven't had before to break the cycle of dependency that existed for millions and millions of

our fellow citizens, exiling them from the world of work. It gives structure, meaning and dignity to most of our lives. I mean, I, you know, bulletproof backpacks would save lives, too, if we're not going to address the real issue. What if what if what in JD Vance Nation? Like, that's that's that is that that's like that's redneck elegy. Yeah. Or hillbilly.

Elegy. Like, like, right there. That's the argument is like, oh, yeah, I know they were all trapped in. But how about we step back and look at the like absolute toxicity of the culture around them? Yeah. What was trying? It wasn't the relief that was tra around them. Yeah, what was trying? It wasn't the relief that was trapping them that was knowing them alive Yeah, so I guess you could say that was trapping them because they continued to live in that cycle

But the alternative is that they fucking die so like Yeah, well, I mean, you know modern republicanism is a death cult. So You know, I dare say that goes back a lot further. OK, so. Effectively, this program ended welfare as an entitlement program, which require and it required recipients to begin working within two years of proceeding, perceiving TANF, which was temporary assistance for needing families, which replaced the AFDC, which was assistance for families and dependent children.

It also limited funds for parents under 18 because they've had it too good for too long. It cut almost all funding to illegal immigrants of any kind, and it also placed a five-year lifetime limit on federal assistance funds. So you got five years total. After that, oh well, it banned food stamps for anyone who was convicted of a felony, which they already have trouble finding jobs, but okay, it placed work requirements regardless of economic reality, and it required state professional and occupational licenses to be completely withheld from undocumented immigrants. Because after all, this is in the name of old

values of dignity, self-sufficiency, and hard work. Right. You're helping these people, you see. And yet the impact was more dearly and direly felt by women, poor folk, young folk, and non-white folk. And immediately people saw the writing on the wall, including folks who'd analyzed census data the year before it was passed. Quote, 11 million children under the age of six have mothers who work outside the home and thus make use of some form of child care. It has been estimated that this number will increase

by almost 2 million when mothers who previously had received AFDC assistance are required to find employment. Right. Studies later showed that the denial of food stamps led to increased rates of recidivism and that the portion of employed single mothers rose from 58 in 93 to 75% in by 2000. Among the never married mothers, employment increased from 44% to 66%, which meant that their childcare costs ate up a ton of the monies that they were making as minimum wage was under $6 until 2009, when it finally went up to $7.25. Now, according to Joe Ross, who is a political scientist who

spent some time analyzing the Clinton-era welfare reform, he said, quote, the TANF program, Temporary Aid for Needy Families program, does not offer benefits sufficient to lift recipients out of poverty. And despite a strong economy, the majority of families who have moved off the TANF roles have remained in poverty. Considerations of another traditional economic goal,

reduction of inequality, only makes matters worse. Welfare reform has coincided with massive growth in income and wealth disparities, and it has done little to slow the expansion of inequality and may have actually accelerated the trend. Has welfare reform created job opportunities for the poor? Has it promoted wages that allow low-wage workers to escape poverty? In both of these areas the economic story remains the same. We have little evidence that the reform has produced achievements that warrant the label of success What what the point of these programs if you're not gonna help people get out of poverty

It's it's I did my best. I mean, it's it's conscience washing right? It's Pontius Piloting Well, there's there's there's I there's, I think there's more to it. And I think what else is, is there is worse. There's conscience washing and then there is the, well, you know, they don't really deserve it. You know, the, the kind of people who are the loudest about, you know, we got to kick out illegal immigrants and, you know, we gotta, we gotta, you know, cut down on people abusing the system of welfare and, you know,

wanting to keep the myth of the welfare queen alive. Right. So many of those same people are on the receiving end of these programs. I've said this for years. I, as a homeowner, I receive federal assistance every year in my taxes. Yep. Because of the tax benefits I get for having to pay off my mortgage, because of the tax benefits I get for having to pay off my mortgage, or getting to write off the interest on my investment in my home. Everybody is subsidizing me. Yep. Yeah.

Like, I can afford to eat, but we're getting subsidized. These folks, they are paying rent. That means they are paying somebody else's mortgage. They're paying rent and we're worried and angry that they're the ones that are sucking all the benefits up. Well, you see, you and I as homeowners have, have proven that we are worthy because so much of this comes back to Puritan Calvinist ideas of who is elect and who is not. And if you are poor, then that is a moral failing on your part. Right. And so like, well, you know, and, and for people, and the thing that, that fucks with me about this is again, the people who, who, many of the people who

are loudest about, you know, well, you know, we've got to get all these, all these people off of, you know, people mooching off the system and da da da da and they don't deserve it and they don't deserve it. It's like you're, you're on food stamps. You're receiving, you know, AFDC, you're receiving TANF, you're, you're getting, you're drawing unemployment, you're drawing disability. Well, you know, that's different. I, I have, you know, I, I, there's

extenuating circumstances, you know, and, and they are so intensely selfish and simultaneously Manichaean about the, the, this idea that, you know, anybody but me who's on this doesn't deserve it. Well, and again, while there's extenuating circumstances, I'm sorry, so starvation is kind of the biggest extenuating circumstance? Yeah. Or a lack of shelter? I'm glad I'm being subsidized don't get me wrong But let's let's make sure we take care of like rising tide raises all ships. Let's start at the bottom let's

You know what I mean? And and the thing is is that this program was sold to the American people and overwhelmingly had support because the way it was sold was that it was absolutely vital that people stop getting entitlements, which was other people's tax monies. Which again, I get that by getting my interests subsidized. Yeah. Because damn it, we need our own tax monies. And it's like, I used to teach economics and when I would teach economics, I would show the kids, I would have them do, you know, I had them at the bottom of the barrel, they

were making minimum wage. I made them fill out 1040 EZ forms in my class. Nice. And I would always stop and point out the earned income tax credit. And I said, look, that's not free money. That's money that I'm giving to you as a homeowner, as a property owner, as a taxpayer who makes enough money to actually be taxed. I'm giving that to you because it's an investment. I'm keeping you from starving so that you can get your feet under you. Yeah. So that you can go to school and

you don't have to choose between your insulin and your schooling. Right. And that is a really good thing. Yeah. And yet, yeah. You know. Yeah. Well, you know, the other thing is that there was those same people I was talking about they're not actually poor you understand. They're just temporarily embarrassed millionaires, right? So like God forbid we increase the corporate tax rate or or Institute, you know, or the average in his taxes. Yeah. You know, on on what's the phrase unrealized income. Right. Which you use as equity to to buy like.

Yeah. Like you're going to you can do the banks are going to say, oh, no, that's that's that's really there. Yeah. You know, it's really there when you're applying for a loan. But the moment I come around to go, okay, you know tax time Oh, no, but the seed no, that's not really there, right? You know Trevor Noah did a great bit about that with with Elon Musk. Yeah Which by the way, I'm I'm kind of okay with that being okay because if you do that for everybody, that's great Does that benefit them more? Yes, of course

But if you would just collect the taxes from them there was a guy who I think I sent this to you is giving a lecture, and he said What it would cost to pull everyone out of poverty Annually is about a hundred seventy five billion dollars right and if you just Actually collected the taxes on the wealthiest one percent Yeah, that would come out to $173 billion. Not even raise the tax rate. Just collect what you say they owe. It's 99% of the way there. Right. And it's just so, fuck capital gains unrealized. Fine. Keep it.

Congratulations. You found a way to win on that side of the monopoly board. Cool, pay your fucking taxes. And again, instead, most of us don't realize that our mortgage is getting subsidized, our interest being written off. We don't realize that that is poor people giving us money for our houses that we'll then overcharge them for if we rent.

Yeah. But also, you know, most people don't realize that and most people want to take away. They want to attack the most needed things which frankly cost the least They want to attack those things because We're not getting that Yeah, I'm not getting a title shot, so I'm gonna I'm gonna complain that Brett's getting a title shot Yeah, I don't want the title shot. I just want to fuck up his title shot So Yeah, anyway,

that's where I want to leave it for this episode. The next episode, I swear, will actually finish. But I dare say this whole discussion that we just had is kind of what's been cleaned. Is there anything specific to the feud

that you wanted to highlight or point out? The the level of catharsis that was programmed into that bout. Yes. Is a thing of wonderment. Yes. To me, thinking about it. I mean, you know, every episode that we've been doing this when you said what have you gleaned? I've made some reference to, oh my God, this is art. Like this does not get enough credit for being art.

But the Greek tragedy level, like this is the festival of Dionysus, you know, uh, the, the Orestia, uh, kind of, kind of, uh, stark, literally bloody, uh, collective emotional release involved in, in what you describe in that match is amazing to me. Um, and yeah, um, just, you know, um, everything you have ever said about, you know, these guys not getting enough credit is like, you're, you're making a really good case for it here. I think I'm, I, I am now 110% in agreement with you. Like, no, these guys deserve, there need to be some set of awards. Yeah. This like, you know, cause this is amazing. Um,

and I'm, I'm in awe of the level of Dedication to their art That's involved in Everything that these guys do yeah, it's Yeah, that's that's my That's that's my takeaway here, and it's mostly just an emotional reaction, but that's it. I'm amazed by the spectacle of it all. Yeah, I do not disagree.

I mean, it is spectacular. I absolutely love it from start to finish. It is considered by many to be this particular match that we talked about is considered by many to be the best WrestleMania match of all time. And if not number one, it's number two right behind Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels at Mania 25. I want to say maybe 24. I think it was 25 though, but which was a Fucking phenomenal watch match. It absolutely was But yeah, it's it's such a great story that they tell just beautiful pictures that they paint

So nice. Yeah Well, let's see Anything you want to recommend to people to imbibe? Well, let's see. Anything you want to recommend to people to imbibe? Not at present. Because I've recommended everything I can think of. I'm still knee deep in finishing up my episodes coming up. And so that's where my head's been so I've already basically recommended everything for that but what about you I'm actually gonna recommend people if you have the peacock channel then you can actually find the

match I can't find it anywhere on YouTube because it is one of the best matches ever so why would they give that away for free? Do something if you're good at something. Right. Do it for free. So but I strongly recommend. Yeah, you go to the Peacock Channel, go to WrestleMania 13, find the Austin versus Brett Hart match. It is it is worth the watch. So if you still like you're still subscribed since the since the Olympics,

you know, and you're like, oh, shit, I need to cancel that subscription. Watch this match first. So cancel. So yeah, that'll be my recommendation. Do you want to be found? No, I do not want to be found at present. I remain a shadow in the warp, but we collectively can be found on the Apple podcast app on Spotify on the Amazon podcast app and Our website at wubba wubba wubba geek history time com where you can go through our archive and find 200 and close to 80 now episodes, uh,

ranging on a wide variety of topics. So look through it, find something that catches your interest and start there, uh, wherever it is that you do choose to listen to us, um, take a moment to, uh, subscribe and give us the five star review that you know Damien's exhaustive research has earned us And where can you be found sir? Let's see by the time this drops. I'm gonna chance it and say December 6th January 3rd and February 7th You can find me and capital punishment

slinging puns at the Comedy Spot in Sacramento and downtown Sacramento, 9 PM. You should definitely go to comedyspot.com and book your ticket now because we are selling out weeks in advance sometimes. So please go to that, run, don't walk. And make sure you get a ticket. And if you can't get a physical ticket because you're not in the area, check it out online. Get the streaming option. It would cost half as you get a ticket. And if you can't if you can't get a physical ticket because you're not in the area, check it out online.

Get the streaming option. It would cost half as much as a ticket and you get to stay home. So that's where you can find me on Battle Wind. Well, for a geek history of time, I'm Damian Harmony and I'm Ed Blaylock. The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever has been.