GRADY: Here in the forge, it's all about the blades.
But tonight we've got the ultimate forging smackdown.
This is our first ever WWE challenge.
Woo!
GRADY: Only one smith will claim victory and a WWE title
from the legend, Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair.
[music playing]
Hunter, Phil, congratulations.
The two of you have beat out the competition, which means
you're moving into round three.
Now, with the Forged in Fire title, $10,000 check,
and the WWE title on the line, this challenge
is far from over.
In this last round, we're going to send you
back to your home forges to build a wicked warrior's
weapon from history.
You guys ready to rumble?
Oh, yeah.
- Ready. - All right, gentlemen.
You guys are going to be building this.
The bastard sword.
NARRATOR: The bastard sword was widely
popular throughout Europe, during the Middle Ages,
and well into the Renaissance.
It's so well-known, a version of this deadly blade
was wielded by the famous bastard Jon Snow in HBO's "Game
of Thrones."
While its blade length varied from 36 to 40 inches,
the name came from its uniquely sized handle that was between
one and two hands long, earning it its alternative name,
the hand-and-a-half sword.
Lethal in battle, the sword could easily
deliver devastating blows with two hands,
or quickly inflict slashes in close-quarters combat with one.
So, gentlemen, you got four days in your home forges.
Good luck.
We'll see you then.
Good luck, brother.
[music playing]
I am Hunter The Vulcan Viking Copeland,
from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Vulcan is the blacksmith who forged all of the weapons
for the Greek gods.
So, you know, I got a little Viking style here,
and I got a little Vulcan blood, so that's where
I'm getting my skills today.
Now, I am stoked to be here on the WWE competition.
I want this piece to look good.
So my finger just wraps around right there.
Nice and comfy.
I like it.
The blade blade is quenched.
I feel great.
I'm a little ahead of schedule.
I have a little extra time right now, so I'm deciding
to temper on the clock--
Yes, sir!
--which pulls some of the hardness out of the blade
and gives it the flexibility and the strength
that it needs to put up with J.
Oof.
HUNTER (VOICEOVER): My blade's getting
too hot in this one area.
It spells trouble.
This is the thinnest part of the blade.
I should have thought of that.
Let's see what happens.
HUNTER: So here we go, putting the handle together.
The epoxy sets, but I've started to notice
that I have a large gap right here underneath the guard.
This is bad.
I just want it to not come loose and start
jingling around in their hand.
See what I can do.
HUNTER: I'm going to kind of wrap wire nice and tight,
all in there, and epoxy it down into place
and just kind of hide this little mistake I have.
Oh, that's perfect.
HUNTE: It doesn't look the way I wish it looked,
but it's really not that bad.
I'm not going to let these guys have all the fun,
so I'm going to do a little bit of testing.
[roars] Yeah!
[music playing]
PHIL: My name is Phil, but they call me Sergeant Cheesebadger.
I'm from Wisconsin, I'm a former Marine,
and I'm here to take home the victory.
I'm not dropping a flying elbow off the top ropes,
but I'm just going to try to make the sickest blade I can.
Almost halfway there.
PHIL: And the billet is solid, so I'm feeling
pretty confident about it.
All right.
I got the profile right where I want,
and I'm getting ready to quench my blade.
PHIL (VOICEOVER): Anything could happen
when you go in to quench.
It could crack or bend or warp, and I really
don't want that to happen.
It's time to go in for the quench.
I don't hear any pings.
I don't hear any tings.
All right.
Everything looks great.
We might have a good sword.
PHIL: I have enough here to grind a straight blade,
which is awesome.
Mild steel is so soft, it almost just drills like wood.
Look at that.
PHIL: So I'm going through my tap and die set,
and I'm realizing that the smallest
set that I have is 1/4 inch.
And my tang is nowhere near that wide.
PHIL: If I had five more hours, I would
definitely thread that tang.
It's just a tighter construction.
But I need to move on, so I'm going with the peening,
because I'm running out of time.
PHIL (VOICEOVER): Hopefully, it all stays tight.
That should do.
[music playing]
Well, bladesmiths, welcome back to the forge.
Guys, I got to say your bastard swords look fantastic.
We're going to get into them.
But first, I got a special guest I gotta introduce.
Please join me in welcoming an absolute legend, a WWE
Hall of Famer, and one of the most prolific, and I'd say,
the most stylish WWE superstar of all time, Nature Boy,
Ric Flair.
ANNOUNCER: Heavyweight champion, Nature Boy, Ric Flair!
[applause]
Woo!
You guys ready to play?
Yeah.
Always.
Ready.
There's $10,000 on the line, plus an opportunity
to carry the big gold.
I don't know how cool that is to you guys.
It's very cool to me.
Pssh.
This is crazy!
Dave, are you ready, man?
Good to go.
Let's do this.
All right, gentlemen.
You know what time it is.
It's time for the kill test.
I'm going to take your swords.
I'm going to attack this gel torso here.
See what kind of damage we do.
Hunter, you're up first. You ready?
Yes, sir.
DAVE: OK.
HUNTER: Oh, I'm just stoked.
It is the lifelong dream of a bladesmith to make a sword
and whack one of those ballistic dummies.
I'm just going to be lopping limbs
or something off this thing.
I'm so excited for this moment.
Come on, baby.
[hardcore music]
[grunting]
RIC FLAIR: Woo!
Very cool, man.
DAVE: Yeah, I think he's done.
All right, Hunter.
Right off, it's a performer.
It cut deep on each one of those cuts.
As a matter of fact, that one downward diagonal goes all
the way through the rib cage.
Handle could have been just a little bit longer.
I'm winding up with about a hand and a quarter
instead of a hand and a half.
But you definitely got a lethal blade here.
Thank you.
DAVE: All right, Phillip, you're up.
You ready?
Ready.
[energetic music]
[grunting]
Oh, my gosh.
Very cool.
DAVE: So right off, I like the scale of your blade.
I mean, it's very large, and it's got a lot of weight to it,
but the balance is nice.
You can see all these cuts are so deep,
I was actually worried on that last one
that I would hit the post that's holding that thing up.
But as far as being a cutting sword, this thing is lethal.
Good job.
Thank you.
You having fun doing this?
Oh, yeah.
Making history?
Feeling good.
So what's up next?
You ready for this?
We're going to test the strength of your swords.
You ready, J?
Oh, yeah.
RIC FLAIR: Very cool.
J: Thank you, sir.
[music playing]
Bladesmiths, welcome to our strength
test, the WWE Bashfest.
To test the edge holding ability and overall construction,
I'm going to go through a series of WWE weapons.
We're going to destroy the table, puncture
and bash through the garbage can,
and just tear that ladder to pieces.
Hunter, you're up first. You ready to go?
Yes, sir. J: All right.
Let's do it.
J, steal the show, brother.
[grunts]
Damn.
[music playing]
[grunting]
Oh, man.
Hunter, you started out strong, man.
Ugh.
This is actually very comfortable,
even though the handle's a little bit short.
But you look at the grain--
it looks like sand.
Mm-hmm.
J: So that caused a weak point, and the shock
wave went all the way down.
It snapped it at this weak point.
Sorry, man.
My heart.
Hunter, it's painful to see, man.
You put a lot of work into that thing, and it looks great.
But unfortunately, you did have a catastrophic failure
on the ladder, which means you can't
test your blade any further.
But you are not out of the fight yet.
Philip, in order to claim the title,
you've got to make it through the table.
You've got to make it through all the swings to the trashcan,
and you've got to make it through at least one bash
into the ladder.
You prepared for it?
I'm nervous, but I'm ready.
Woo!
Get in the spirit, man?
[laughs]
Let's see what your blade can do.
J?
[music playing]
(WHISPERING) Damn.
[grunting]
Well done.
GRADY: Hunter, man, you fought hard.
The first rounds, you excelled.
But unfortunately, during the testing,
you did suffer catastrophic failure, and for that reason,
your time in the forge has ended.
I'm going to have to ask you to please
step off the forge floor, bud.
PHIL: Thank you, Hunter.
Thank you guys.
Thank you very much.
GRADY: Well, Philip, you know what that means, man.
You are the "Forged in Fire" champion.
RIC FLAIR: Philip, congratulations, man!
Woo!
GRADY: That comes with a check for $10,000,
as well as a WWE title.
Here we go, man.
[laughter]
Get that 10 grand.
Get out of this man's way!
Woo!
PHIL: "Forged in Fire" champion, brother!
This title is going in the most obnoxious spot of the living
room that I can find.
Probably taped onto the TV.
Let me hear it one time.
BOTH: Woo!
[laughs]
[music playing]