-Ralph, over the years, there have been a lot of rumors
floating around about the "Karate Kid" movies.
I have a few here I'd like your thoughts on.
Sound good?
-I'm good. -Alright. Let's do it.
It's time for "The Final Word: Cobra Kai Edition."
-♪ It's "The Final Word: Cobra Kai Edition" ♪
Alright, first rumor,
"The Karate Kid" is such an iconic title,
but is it true that you didn't like it at first?
-That is true. That is true.
We thought -- I thought, and I was not the only one,
thought it was kind of a hokey, kind of cheesy title
for a movie being directed by the guy who made "Rocky"
and all this stuff. But maybe it was foreshadowing.
I maybe thought if I ever got the part,
I'd have to carry the damn thing for the rest of my life.
Maybe that was it.
-And be The Karate Kid, yeah.
Follow-up, what did you think the movie should've been called?
-If I came up with that great title, we might've had a shot.
You know, it was called -- -Any bad ones?
-Yeah, I think John Avildsen, our director, said,
"Maybe it's 'East meets West in West'?"
I was like -- -[ Laughs ]
Yeah, we'll have people do a little math
when they're going to see the movie.
-Exactly. Like, what does that mean?
And I think it was called "The Moment of Truth"
in many countries when "karate" had a negative connotation
in certain territories. -Oh, really?
-So it was called "The Moment of Truth."
-"The Moment of Truth." I don't mind that one.
-"Moment of Truth II," "Moment of Truth --"
It's just not working. -Yeah, that's true, yeah, yeah.
Alright, here we go, second one.
Everyone knows you as Daniel LaRusso.
But is it true other people were considered for the role, too?
-No. Yes. -I'm assuming, right?
-It was all me. It was all me all the time.
No, I was found early. I was cast very early.
But it was like one of those test deals
where you're not in yet.
And I remember walking by and seeing Charlie Sheen
hanging outside Jerry Weintraub's bungalow.
Like, what's Charlie doing here?
And I heard --
-"Hey, bud, nice to see you again."
-"Yeah, good to see you. What are you doing here?
You don't look like an Italian guy from Jersey."
-[ Laughs ] -"Uh, hey."
And Downey Jr. -- -I heard Nick Cage.
-Nick Cage, I think. I remember --
Yeah, and Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. also did the workshop
of the part I did in "The Outsiders."
So I was doing pretty good with Downey Jr. at that point,
and then it just -- Like Iron Man, it took off.
-Yeah, what happened to that? -Nah, it's great.
-Oh, this is an interesting one they got off the Internet.
And I don't know why. You have to explain this to me.
Do you write Thor comics?
-Ah, no. That's another Ralph Macchio.
It's amazing.
I learned about this when someone was like,
"Dude, love your movies. Thanks for Thor!"
And I was like, "Okay."
And, "Why were you thanked for Thor at the end of the movie?"
And I said, "Let me do some research."
So, there is a very famous Ralph Macchio
who's a part of Stanley's team at Marvel and writes comics.
I've never met him. I wonder if he knows who the hell I am.
-Wow. Amazing. That's wild.
-Isn't that wild? -I never heard that. Yeah.
At the end of "The Karate Kid,"
you famously win the All Valley Championship
with the crane kick.
Now, before we get into it, okay,
I want to show everyone the scene we're talking about.
Here's the famous crane kick from "The Karate Kid."
-No mercy! No mercy!
[ Shouts indistinctly ]
Finish him!
♪♪
-Fight!
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Come on. Come on!
That was the famous scene from "East Meets West Goes West."
And -- No, I hate to bring this up,
but people have asked this question.
-Do you? Do you really? Go ahead.
-Yeah, exactly. I think --
Well, no, I have -- -Go ahead.
-This first one, I don't know.
Was the kick actually legal?
-Yes, it's become an Internet, um, fan theory,
is that the kick was not legal.
Here's my theory. No, here's the truth.
-Whoa! That's what I'm talking about. Yes.
-Here's the truth, 'cause it's been a while,
and I've been fighting off these theories a long time.
Listen, Mr. Miyagi was the ultimate teacher,
so, and LaRusso had him as his trainer.
And as the superior trainer -- He's basically the human Yoda --
You don't bet against Yoda.
You don't bet against Miyagi. That's number one.
Number two, I would say, is that LaRusso, how did he train?
He trained over a couple of weeks time by household chores,
never having the ability or privilege
to have a sparring partner.
His opponent there, bud, was like, you know,
in combat-ready training for years for this event.
LaRusso was injured in the final fight, correct?
-That's true. -He was injured by an illegal --
-You really have thought about this.
-Don't get me started. -Oh, no, I want to! I want to!
-They mentioned we were going to go here.
An illegal leg sweep by a teammate of said opponent.
And so, not to mention --
-"Said opponent."
It's like we're in court. -I'm in a courtroom.
-Your Honor! Your Honor. -It's "My Cousin Vinny" now.
I've just moved to another movie.
So, and if you look at the tape, Jimmy,
if you look at the tape, not only,
not only does the ref say "Point, winner" --
A win is a win --
The opponent, who shall remain nameless at this point,
literally arguably charged, ran into the kick.
LaRusso had nothing to do but defend himself.
-There you go. The kick was legal.
What do you -- True. I agree.
How can you fight --
Case closed on that one.
-I rest my case.
-This one is just --
I think I have my own theory on this one.
It's not a real theory for me.
Was Daniel LaRusso really the underdog,
or is he actually kind of a bully?
-Mm, yeah, that's not even -- Listen, I believe
that no one was not rooting for Daniel LaRusso in 1984.
I -- Let me do it this way.
I'm using you as an example,
someone of great character and judgment.
-Thank you.
-Okay, I've seen more than a handful of sketches
that pay homage to "The Karate Kid" film.
-Yes.
-You are always wearing the Miyagi-Do headband.
-Yeah.
-You would never endorse a bully.
So therein lies the answer to the question.
-Wow. So there --
See, I would never endorse a bully, you're right.
-No, you're not putting on a black headband.
You're putting on Miyagi's headband,
which is LaRusso's headband, which is the hero of the --
-Who was an underdog. Thank you.
Daniel LaRusso.
[ Cheers and applause, both laugh ]
We love you. There you have it.
Ralph, thank you so much for being --
The new season of "Cobra Kai" is streaming now on Netflix!