Dark Side of the Ring Season 2 Episode 7 Review: David Schultz & the Slap Heard ‘Round the World

Detractors of professional wrestling often fall into the false dichotomy of “Wrestling is fake. They’re not real tough guys.” One of those detractors was John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20. Back in 1984, he set out to prove the first part of the equation and found out the hard truth about the second. His tutor that day was “Dr D” David Schultz.

Before Vice takes us to 1984, they take us to Schultz’s training under Herb Welch a decade earlier. The crotchety ex-carny trained his prospects the way it had been done in his day … with pain and degradation (as illustrated by some rather graphic descriptions/allegations by Jim Cornette). Schultz had been stretched and sweated for two months before Welch “smartened him up” and let him know that it was all performance. That was how seriously the omerta-like mystique known as “kayfabe” was taken by Welch and how Schultz would do so throughout his career.

John Stossel’s opposite path was built on the exposure of “bullshit” whether it be from tobacco companies or breakfast cereal makers or Vince McMahon. His investigation showed that roughly a third of the audiences thought that professional wrestling was a legitimate competition and that didn’t sit well with him.

Enter Eddy Mansfield. Mansfield was a regional wrestler who made good on his threats to promoters to reveal the business in retaliation for his feelings of mistreatment. He took Stossel into the ring and showed his audience the bumps and even the blade, the method by which wrestlers bleed for dramatic effect. This does not sit well with Cornette or Schultz even to this day.

Stossel expresses respect for the wrestlers if not the illusion. Mansfield expresses regret that the exposé focused more on discrediting the illusion than business practices. Still, Mansfield was decent enough to warn him, “Don’t go up to Dr D.”

Schultz describes a pre-meeting where Vince McMahon told him to stay in character and “blast” Stossel. Was this all miscommunication? To David Schultz, it was clear: Protect the business. Legitimate competitor or not, Dr D was 6’6” and over 260 lbs of muscle and bad intentions. As soon as Stossel dropped the word “fake,” Schultz dropped him twice with open hand slaps. Stossel had post-concussion symptoms and felt he had to teach Vince McMahon and the wrestling industry a lesson. 

In an attempt to deflect the media attention, McMahon sent Dr D to Japan … where promoters saw fit to recreate the incident as a storyline. Upon his return, Dr D. had been replaced by Mr T.  In an attempt to create a family-friendly product with crossover appeal, the A-Team star had been brought in to be Hulk Hogan’s tag team partner in training hard and drinking milk. Schultz admits that he was unhappy with opening the doors to an “outsider.”  

From there, Schultz again found himself with a different version of events than the company line. He says that Mr. T and entourage came to a match and were allowed in the backstage area. He didn’t like it but accepted it and spoke with Mr. T cordially. Road agent, Jay Strongbow, told him to stop bothering Mr. T and his people and later called the cops to arrest him at gunpoint. In a 2019 interview, Hulk Hogan tells a very different story where Schultz leaves the ring during a match to slap Mr. T at ringside.

Hulk Hogan says that Dr. D rolled out of the ring and slapped Mr T. Either way, Schultz is gone from WWF. In a good point regarding the way Schultz was treated by Vince McMahon and other promoters, they briefly highlight the famous Hot Properties incident where Hulk Hogan hospitalized actor/comedian Richard Belzer with no penalty.

Eddy Mansfield doesn’t forgive John Stossel. Jim Cornette doesn’t forgive Mansfield.  Stossel doesn’t forgive Dr D. Dr. D never seemed to like much of anyone in the first place.

By the time Vince presents wrestling as entertainment rather than sport to avoid taxes and athletic boards, David Schultz was a renowned bounty hunter, working with law enforcement in the United States and Puerto Rico.  He works occasionally as a trucker these days but still has a few fond memories of protecting the wrestling business, traveling the world, and locking up fugitives who recognized him as “that wrestler that beat the shit out of Geraldo Rivera.”

Dark Side of the Ring Season 2 Episode 7 ‘David Schultz & The Slap Heard ‘Round the World’ is currently on demand on your local cable service, and on Viceland.