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  • -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!

-Ralph, over the years, there have been a lot of rumors

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