Hulk Hogan Doesnt Want To Discuss These 14 WCW Rumors From The Past
Hulk Hogan’s time in WCW saw many controversial rumors come out about his presence behind the scenes. The signing was huge at the time as the biggest star in wrestling left WWE for the first time for a new start in WCW. Hogan reinvented his career by turning heel to join Kevin Nash and Scott Hall forming the New World Order.
Wrestlers had mixed reactions to working with Hogan due to his actions behind the scenes. Stories and rumors have continued to come out throughout the years after WCW ended with the rise in podcasts, books, shoot interviews and WWE specials. Hogan likely wants to avoid discussing any longstanding rumors that put him in a bad situation. The following stories show WCW rumors that Hogan wants to avoid talking about.
14 Forced WCW to give Brutus Beefcake a job
Hulk Hogan’s power and influence were the biggest problems with his WCW tenure. WCW hired Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake with Hogan as his best friend. Hogan reportedly demanded Beefcake get a huge contract as well with a bigger push. Beefcake received a Starrcade main event as The Zodiac against Hogan and it was a huge failure.
13 Received residuals for other wrestlers merch
Chris Jericho started a huge conspiracy theory when discussing his first action figure set in WCW. The first book from Jericho revealed that his wife purchased a figure set of Jericho and Dean Malenko, but the names of Hulk Hogan and Sting were on the receipt. This created the rumor that Hogan was getting the residual money from mid-card wrestlers’ merchandise.
12 Manipulated Eric Bischoff to do what he wanted
Eric Bischoff became close with Hulk Hogan in WCW, but many wrestlers resented their friendship. Hogan always got his way with Bischoff listening to him even if it involved other wrestlers. The accusations of Hogan using Bischoff to have more control will always exist when discussing their careers together.
11 Was failing before nWo started
The New World Order completely changed the landscape of WCW to finally surpass WWE. However, Hulk Hogan was in WCW for almost two full years before this heel turn. Various WCW employees revealed Hogan was getting more boos as a face and numbers were trending downhill. Hogan failing as a face may have been the inspiration for the heel run.
10 Told Chris Jericho to join WWE
Chris Jericho gave us great insight into the WCW life in his first book. Hulk Hogan didn’t have a close relationship with Jericho in WCW, but there was one noteworthy interaction. Jericho saw Hogan at Owen Hart’s funeral and informed him about his plan to head to WWE. Hogan jokingly asked to go with him and told Jericho it was the right move for his career.
9 Pitched celebrity matches to avoid losing main event spot to Goldberg
Goldberg became the WCW Champion during the summer of 1998, but he didn’t main event a PPV until four months into the title reign. Hulk Hogan main evented over Goldberg with tag matches involving celebrities Jay Leno, Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone. The celebrity influence allowed Hogan to remain above Goldberg even when losing the belt.
8 Suggested hiring Ultimate Warrior to get his win back
Ultimate Warrior coming to WCW was a strange move since the stint only lasted for a few months. The big angle was Warrior and Hulk Hogan having a rematch to their prior WrestleMania classic. Rumors claim Hogan made Bischoff hire Warrior solely to get his win back. WCW didn’t bring back Warrior after losing to Hogan in an all-time horrible match.
7 Whipped David Flair harder than planned
Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan had heat for years until making peace later in their lives. One of the issues between them stepped from Hogan’s segment with David Flair. The angle was going to see Hogan whip David with a belt to send a message to Ric. Various wrestlers claimed Hogan hit David harder than the average wrestler to upset Ric for real.
6 Made money on shows he didn't wrestle on
Hulk Hogan’s ridiculous WCW contract saw him getting more perks than anyone else in wrestling history. One of the clauses was that Hogan would make a small percentage of the live gate if he was promoted to appear. Hogan rarely ever actually did attend the shows, but he apparently received money from the gate.
5 Ruined Bret Hart's booking
The horrible booking of Bret Hart remains a huge story when looking back at WCW’s biggest mistakes. Hart blames Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff with the belief that they tried to sabotage his career. WCW placing Bret in the New World Order: Hollywood faction as Hogan’s sidekick gives credence to his argument.
4 Knew about Vince Russo's shoot promo ahead of time
Hulk Hogan’s final appearance in WCW came when Vince Russo cut the infamous shoot promo at Bash at the Beach 2000. Russo claimed Hogan was a cancer to the locker room and berated him harshly. The claims of Russo indicate that Hogan was aware and comfortable with the promo until it happened. Hogan apparently had his feelings hurt and left the company with a lawsuit on the way out.
3 Ended the Wolfpac's rise
The popularity of the nWo Wolfpac saw Kevin Nash become a bigger star. WCW icons Sting and Lex Luger joining the trio of Nash, Randy Savage and Konnan made the Wolfpac a huge hit. The split ended with Hulk Hogan’s finger poke of doom reuniting the factions. Hogan gaining power from it made pundits wonder if Hulk’s backstage power was in play here.
2 Requesting Steve Austin get squashed
Wrestling fans have wondered for years why Steve Austin didn’t want to work with Hulk Hogan in WWE. Their issues stemmed from Hogan’s early presence in the company. WCW booked Hogan’s friend Jim Duggan to make his debut for WCW by squashing Austin in under a minute to win the United States Champion. Austin’s humiliation proved he was no longer valued in this new era of WCW.
1 Sabotaging Sting match
The booking of the infamous Hulk Hogan vs Sting match at Starrcade 1997 is still viewed as a huge disaster. Sting chasing Hogan and the New World Order saw the match booked after a year and a half of build. Starrcade set the WCW box office record for PPV buys, but the strange booking saw the match stop and start. Many critics believed Hogan pitched for this to look stronger in defeat.
Sources: Wrestling Observer, PW Torch, Death of WCW, Talk is Jericho, 83 Weeks
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGifrqSbYrWws8CnZJ2nlai7tXnWmqWtZaSkeqW10pysrKtdqbWmv8RmaG1lp5jEbr7Upqarq12bv7C5jK2fnmWglsC1ew%3D%3D