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The Rewatchables ·

Rocky III

year 1982decade 80sdirector Sylvester Stallonegenre Sportsgenre Drama
host Bill Simmonshost Cousin Salhost Gus Ramseyproducer Craig Horlbeck format 40th Anniversary
All 16 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 23:40

Split: Thunderlips

The opening montage intercuts Rocky enjoying celebrity with Clubber destroying opponents, making both the story and threat immediately clear.

Thunderlips combines credible wrestling moves, comedy, crowd energy, Paulie’s chair attack, and the movie’s role in Hulkamania.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 56:54

“There is no tomorrow”

Bill Simmons: There is no tomorrow is offered first as a favorite.

The film

Rocky III (1982)

Directed by Sylvester Stallone · Sports

100 minutes

IMDb Find on JustWatch Find on Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

57:20

Casting What-Ifs

Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber; Billy Graham for Thunderlips; Morgan Freeman for Clubber’s...

Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber; Billy Graham for Thunderlips; Morgan Freeman for Clubber’s trainer; and several actors or wrestlers are proposed as alternatives.

This discussion recalls a choice from an earlier episode.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:20Read transcript
  • Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers were considered for Clubber, but a stutter and a high voice were seen as liabilities. — Bill Simmons
  • Mr. T was discovered through America’s Best Bouncer. — Bill Simmons
  • Superstar Billy Graham was considered too old for Thunderlips. — Bill Simmons
  • Morgan Freeman unsuccessfully auditioned to be Clubber’s trainer.
  • John Amos is considered as a known actor alternative, though his age and familiarity would reduce Clubber’s mystery. — Cousin Sal
  • Andre, Ernie Ladd, Big John Stud, Bundy, and Paul Orndorf are discussed as wrestling alternatives for Thunderlips.
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1:02:53

Recasting Couch

Morgan Freeman as Clubber’s trainer; Kevin Harlan as announcer; young Mel Gibson as the rabbi (jokingly)

Morgan Freeman as Clubber’s trainer; Kevin Harlan as announcer; young Mel Gibson as the rabbi (jokingly)

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:53Read transcript
  • Morgan Freeman is proposed as Clubber’s trainer despite the need to deliver instructions quickly. — Bill Simmons
  • Kevin Harlan is proposed for the second fight’s play-by-play.
  • A young Mel Gibson is jokingly proposed as the rabbi at Mickey’s funeral.
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1:03:43

Half-Assed Internet Research

Stallone’s extreme diet, the Rocky statue, Mr. T’s mother, a discarded death plan, Ali’s house, and the film’s demo v...

Stallone’s extreme diet, the Rocky statue, Mr. T’s mother, a discarded death plan, Ali’s house, and the film’s demo version of Eye of the Tiger

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:43Read transcript
  • Stallone claimed 2.6 percent body fat, a 155-pound weight, ten egg whites and toast, fruit every third day, and several kinds of daily training. — Bill Simmons
  • Three Rocky statues were made, and Philadelphia officials moved one away from the museum steps after deciding it was a movie prop rather than art. — Bill Simmons
  • Mr. T claimed his mother walked out of the movie after criticizing the way Clubber spoke to Adrian. — Bill Simmons
  • Stallone told Roger Ebert in 1979 that a possible third film would stage a Coliseum fight and might end with Rocky’s death. — Bill Simmons
  • The movie’s exterior house is reported to have belonged to the boxer in Chicago. — Bill Simmons
  • The film uses an unreleased demo of Eye of the Tiger rather than the later commercial version. — Bill Simmons
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1:09:43

Picking Nits

Thunderlips’s size and police assault, the selected opponents, the trainer’s medical care, missing Clubber material, ...

Thunderlips’s size and police assault, the selected opponents, the trainer’s medical care, missing Clubber material, fight logistics, and several training or timing details

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:43Read transcript
  • Joe Sack and Big Yank Ball are singled out as opponent names that do not make sense. — Bill Simmons
  • Thunderlips’s stated 390-pound weight seems implausible for his visible size. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel asks whether Thunderlips would be arrested for striking six apparent police officers. — Bill Simmons
  • Rocky should suspect the selected opponents are weak during ten easy title defenses. — Bill Simmons
  • Doctors say the trainer needs a hospital immediately but allow the fighter to delay while he dies.
  • The movie misses opportunities to show Clubber as champion through talk-show or celebrity scenes. — Bill Simmons
  • A third Rocky-Clubber fight would have been commercially and competitively plausible after the rematch. — Bill Simmons
  • Rocky’s go-for-it answer at the second stare-down is judged a weak comeback even if period-appropriate. — Bill Simmons
  • The final round may run longer than three minutes, although another timing produces two minutes fifty-eight seconds.
  • Rocky’s sudden beach-race victory appears from nowhere after struggling throughout training. — Cousin Sal
  • The trainer predicts seven or eight rounds despite Rocky being unable to skip, punch, swim, or enter the ring properly. — Cousin Sal
  • The speeding limousine behaves as if Rocky is driving even though a chauffeur emerges to open Adrian’s door. — Gus Ramsey
  • Apollo persuades Rocky to return too easily given that Mickey’s death is the whole source of his resistance. — Cousin Sal
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1:12:49

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Clubber’s responsibility for Mickey, Mickey’s age, fight betting lines and location, Mickey’s last perception, the Ro...

Clubber’s responsibility for Mickey, Mickey’s age, fight betting lines and location, Mickey’s last perception, the Rocky-Apollo friendship, performance-enhancing drugs, and the unseen private fight

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:49Read transcript
  • The panel asks whether Clubber killed the trainer and predicts an involuntary-manslaughter case would fail because he already had heart problems. — Cousin Sal
  • The trainer says he is seventy-six in the first film and remains seventy-six on a tombstone three years later. — Cousin Sal
  • The first Clubber fight is estimated around Rocky minus 550 to minus 700 because public money would favor the established champion.
  • The rematch is estimated around Clubber minus 500 to minus 330, with Rocky’s popularity potentially shortening the line.
  • The second fight’s location is left ambiguous: the panel asks whether it is Vegas, Philly, L.A., Qatar, or Saudi Arabia. — Bill Simmons
  • A participant asks whether the dying trainer saw the beaten fighter’s face during his last brief opening of the eyes. — Cousin Sal
  • Rocky and Apollo are compared with famous friendships and partnerships, but the next film’s selfish Apollo behavior weakens the bromance case. — Bill Simmons
  • The panel asks whether Rocky used performance-enhancing drugs while rapidly adding ten knockouts during the early steroid era. — Bill Simmons
  • The result of the private Rocky-Apollo fight remains one of the story’s lasting unanswered questions. — Gus Ramsey
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Mentions across The Rewatchables

Recorded movie reference

Rocky II

The Rewatchables · aired December 2, 2025

Rocky III is listed in the sourced research for this episode. The precise discussion has not been linked yet.

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