Hulk Interview

mayosteve99

From the Sun UK




''

Hulk: I'll defeat desperate Vince

FACE OFF ... Hogan wants to do battle with McMahon outside of the ring

FACE OFF ... Hogan wants to do battle with McMahon outside of the ring



LAST week Hulk Hogan shocked the grappling world when he called for an end to steroid use in the sport and lashed out at the number of stars dying young.

The Hulkster also stoked interest by revealing he has raised $40million (£20million) of the $80-100million he needs to start his own wrestling federation and take on Vince McMahon's all-powerful WWE.

Now, in part two of our exclusive interview, wrestling's biggest ever name turns his guns on his former friend and boss.

Hogan slams the "compromised" McMahon and his "robot" roster, then reveals exactly how their relationship broke down.

He also has harsh words for fellow legend Steve Austin and those who he saw wrestling to "silence" at last year's SummerSlam.

People are going to be very excited when they hear your plans to start your own wrestling promotion. Can you tell us any more?

If I can do what I want to do in the next few months then this will be bigger than anything ever done before in wrestling.

You've seen WrestleMania, the nWo, UFC, steel cages, PPV - but this is something completely different again.

Someone else gave me the idea and I said go ahead go and do this crazy thing.

It is something I would have never dreamed of. It would be like inventing an engine that runs on air that kind of an idea

Wrestling needs to be about the art form again. It needs to be about painting a picture and having a really good match.

Whether the guy can dropkick off the top of the cage or, like me, his boots never leave the ground - it's about understanding what this business is about.

The best wrestlers, whether it's a Hulk Hogan or a Rey Mysterio, are the ones who have psychology and can understand this business.

Do you think anyone can challenge the WWE's dominance of wrestling?

Definitely.

If you look at the numbers when I was in WCW, we used to beat them every week.

We had three times the audience of Vince. He was facing bankruptcy.

Then AOL merged with Time Warner and said we do not want wrestling on our stations, and that was the end of WCW.

Right now, Vince's stuff has been compromised.

With all respect to TNA, the WWE is the only option people really have - but it is not at the level of the quality of programming that Vince usually puts out.

What don't you like about the WWE product at the moment?

Well, I never said I didn't like it.

Sorry, what do you think it lacks then?

It lacks stars, it lacks consistency, it lacks quality story lines and it lacks anybody that understands the art form.

Everybody's out there wrestling like a robot.


STILL GOT IT ... Hulk at SummerSlam
STILL GOT IT ... Hulk at SummerSlam

At WrestleMania, you were rumoured to be part of the Vince McMahon v Donald Trump match. Is that true?

I don't know anything about that.

I know I was supposed to be the main event at WrestleMania either against Austin, Big Show or Khali

It is something they had talked about for a year, as it was the 20th anniversary of me slamming Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III.

The year before at the Hall Of Fame, Vince even told me: "Make sure you're ready for WrestleMania 23 because it is 20 years since the attendance record was set in Detroit and we want you back in there as the main event."

But you ended up not being on the show at all. What happened?

Last year, at SummerSlam, I fought Randy Orton - and me and Vince had some problems with the money.

Before SummerSlam, I was a little worried because instead of being a main event match I was on fourth against Randy Orton.

When I heard about the first three matches at the Fleet Centre in Boston and it sounded like a funeral.

And when I listened to the crowd reactions to those matches, it did sound like a funeral.

Then when my music came on it was like the old days people were stood up. It was electric.

Randy is a great hard working wrestler and we fought an old school style match.

That was the most exciting match I've ever had in the Fleet Centre.

I wrestled Sting in a cage - which was a great match in my opinion at least - but this one was better as after second-guessing I was like "oh my god, it still works".

Then Vince went out with his son and wrestled Triple H and Shawn Michaels and it was dead against.

Cena went on for the main event, and people started leaving.

I felt bad when the night ended, as they should have put me on later, but it was the money that really got to me.

I swore I would never talk about the money again with Vince because that's what we always argue about but when I saw the amount, it I was like that like one of my driver's pay cheques so I had to say something.

He replied: "Well you're not the only big guy any more, there are now 12 big guys."

I said: "Well if that's the case let me explain something to you, I heard the first three matches and nothing. I wrestled and I heard what happened.

"And then I heard your match Vince and nothing and I saw Cena and people were leaving. I had a hard time getting out the building because of all the people marching through.

"So who are the other 11 big guys you're splitting my money with?"


LEGEND ... The Hulkster in his heyday
LEGEND ... The Hulkster in his heyday

Was that your last conversation with him?

No, we tried to get back on track for WrestleMania.

Vince called me up a few months later wanting me to wrestle his son Shane.

He was raving: "It'll be exciting. Shane can bounce around for you. You can do anything. We really want to re-create WrestleMania 3."

But I said: "How come not Big Show? How come not Stone Cold? Nothing against your son, but why Shane?

"You can re-create everything about WrestleMania III except the magic and probably my pay cheque right?"

And that was the last time I talked to him.

Recently Vince McMahon has had a female wrestler called Jillian Hall play the character of an awful blonde singer - which is obviously a dig your daughter Brooke. What did you think when you saw that?

I haven't seen it myself but people have told me about it.

It's the lowest thing you can do. Like talking bad about someone in high school.

If I have a problem with someone I talk about them. I don't pick on their kids.

So if that's what he's doing then he's desperate and defeatable.

Would you ever go back to the WWE?

Never say never, but I think it would be highly unlikely.

A lot of people are calling John Cena the new Hulk Hogan. He's got the charisma, looks and he has held the title for a long time now. Do you think he could emulate your huge success?

If anybody can do it, he can.

I've talked to John and he's got a real big head on his shoulders. He's not jaded.

He definitely has the opportunity, simply because he keeps his options open.

He is not falling into that replaceable robotic cookie kind of character. He's definitely the one guy that is smart enough to rise and has the talent to move on.

There are two dream matches that are always talked about. You against Cena and you against Austin. Any chance of either of those happening?

Somewhere down the road, Hulk Hogan v John Cena could definitely happen.

But Austin?

Well his claim to fame - rather than slamming Andre The Giant or beating Vince every week in the ratings - is that Austin v Hogan is something he'll never let happen.

If Steve turned round tomorrow and said "I've changed my mind and I'd really like the fight to go ahead" - would you do it?

I don't know. It depends if I was available.

I'm very right busy now.''



Ok good interview , i never knew Jillian Hall was a cheap shot at brooke

AlphaMale 3OO

I used to idolise Hogan. I even met him once, but he really is up his own fcuking a$$hole. Hogan "heard" silence because thats what he wanted to hear. It confirms all his disillusions to himself. He is the greatest ever and doesn't he know it. To prove how money hungry he is and how he can't just let it all go now at the age of 87, he doesn't rule out the possibility of working for WWE again even though Vince has hurtfully parodied his daughter! How would Brook feel about that? He's a sell out with no principles.

N.O.I.P.

Wow apparently it was Hulk and Hulk alone who caused WCW to beat WWF in the ratings, arrogant SOB. His new promotion does have my interest piqued though I must admit. Cheers for putting up the interview

Fozzy

niallquinn999 wrote:

If you look at the numbers when I was in WCW, we used to beat them every week.

We had three times the audience of Vince. He was facing bankruptcy.

Then AOL merged with Time Warner and said we do not want wrestling on our stations, and that was the end of WCW.

Ah, the mandatory "rewriting history" section of every Hogan interview. There were at least three years between WCW beating WWE in the ratings and when AOL/Time Warner decided they didn't want wrestling. And in those three years Hogan could do nothing as Vince changed his program around and got more viewers

I certainly don't remember the crowd being silent at Summerslam. They were quite loud during Flair vs Foley if I remember right, I was anyway. And Edge retained in the main event, so who were all these fans who were walking out? I was thinking they might have been anti-Cena fans, but I'm pretty sure that they got a big reaction in the main event

Hogan is saying that it is somehow a stupid idea on Vince's part not to pay Hogan more money than the guys who are on the road every week doing the hard work. And Hogan complains that there's not any new stars, but everytime he comes back to WWE he buries someone

I'm not sure about this new promotion that he wants to start up. Who will he hire? He might be able to steal a few guys from WWE, TNA and ROH if their contracts allow it, but outside of that he'll probably just get some old guys and semi-retired ex-WWE and ex-WCW wrestlers

ShawnRaven

He can dig up whoever is alive that worked for XWF! Maybe Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger?

VR!

N.O.I.P.

I'm thinking it might be 2 hours of Hogan in the ring with tackling dummies, I mean if Hogans there the crowd will cheer regardless right?

MikeHoncho

Sounds like he thinks all he needs is enough money to start a wrestling promotion and off he goes. Nothing about building an audience or anything just $100 mil = TV deal = ratings = WWE down the pan. Shows how far he has had his head shuved up his arse for the last 30 years.

Double C

The Hulkster!!!! wrote:

But Austin?

Well his claim to fame - rather than slamming Andre The Giant or beating Vince every week in the ratings - is that Austin v Hogan is something he'll never let happen.

I nearly fell off my chair when I read this. When Hogan was off trying to be cool, riding the coattails of Nash and Hall, Austin was the biggest star the business has seen since Hogans hey day.

ShawnRaven

Double C wrote:

I nearly fell off my chair when I read this. When Hogan was off trying to be cool, riding the coattails of Nash and Hall, Austin was the biggest star the business has seen since Hogans hey day.

While i nearly fell off the chair reading this. Riding the coat-tails of Hall and Nash? Be serious, you seriously think that the NWO would have taken off with the likes of Bret or Sting as the 3rd man? I don't think so. Hogan being the third man is what made the NWO, Hogans unexpected heel turn made viewers switch over. Don't believe me? What happened to the NWO after they split into Wolfpac and Hollywood respectively? It faded into obscurity, people lost interest and turned back to McMahonland.

While Austin won the 96 KOTR and his popularity skyrocketed, it took the guts of a year before his character really kicked into gear, and then a further year before the Austin v McMahon feud would take place. And Austin may have been the biggest star since Hogan, but he certainly didn't act like it in his later years, smacking his wife around, refusing to work with Brock Lesnar, Eddie Guerrero, Ric Flair to name a few, and no-showing RAW left right and centre.

Not that i'm agreeing with Hogan's statements in his interview, i'm not. But to dismiss Hogan's impact as the 3rd man in the NWO is grossly unfair. Thats like saying Austin was sh*t from September 1997 onwards because he couldn't wrestle like he once could!

VR!

Double C

Right, for me the appeal of the nWo was the cool element, the "this has never been seen before" factor. I loved stuff like the black and white vignettes and the music. Everything about it was cutting edge, except the 50 year old. Nash and Hall were favourites of mine when I was a kid whereas I never got into Hogan. I know Hogan's heel turn got the viewers and that but I think the gimmick would have gotten over with Sting too, admittedly not as much as with Hogan, but it still would have taken off. I'm not saying they still would have beaten Vince for two years straight or whatever it was, they may have, but Hogan was obviously a big part of why they did, he brought in the big ratings. The riding the coattails comment was referring to Hogan trying to be cool, not wrestling or drawing ability. Nash and Hall didn't have to try to be cool, they just were!

I think part of the reason why people lost interest in the nWo is because it had so many members. As Nash said in his RF shoot, if they had to get someone over, give him a nWo shirt.

Hogan saying that Austin will go down as the guy who never let Austin vs Hogan happen absurd.

ShawnRaven

Double C wrote:

Right, for me the appeal of the nWo was the cool element, the "this has never been seen before" factor. I loved stuff like the black and white vignettes and the music. Everything about it was cutting edge, except the 50 year old. Nash and Hall were favourites of mine when I was a kid whereas I never got into Hogan. I know Hogan's heel turn got the viewers and that but I think the gimmick would have gotten over with Sting too, admittedly not as much as with Hogan, but it still would have taken off. I'm not saying they still would have beaten Vince for two years straight or whatever it was, they may have, but Hogan was obviously a big part of why they did, he brought in the big ratings. The riding the coattails comment was referring to Hogan trying to be cool, not wrestling or drawing ability. Nash and Hall didn't have to try to be cool, they just were!

Hogan didn't have to be cool, he had what Nash and Hall didn't have at the time, especially Hall as he was a glorified midcarder. Nash as champion in 1995 was the lowest draw so bad he nearly tanked the company into bankrupcy, and thats where Hogan comes in, drawing power. Hogan could draw on the basis of being Hogan alone. Sting in his place would have tanked as he was nowhere near on Hogans level in the mid 90s, and you'd be insane if you believed otherwise. Now Flair on the other hand...

Hogan v Austin, there's two of them in it there, both of them did their deeds for WWE, Hogan with the 80s, Austin for the 90s and New Milennium. It's really a toss-up on who should do the job there. The essential difference is Austin just plain walks and does a vanishing act when he's asked to do a job, he did that three times over the course of two years. Hogan will just keep chipping away until he doesn't have to do the job, but at least you still got the match with Hogan.

As for the Invalidreasonin post... if i want to see clowns, i'll find the circus.
VR!

Double C

You belong in a circus

I think your overlooking Sting a bit here. He was the biggest WCW face for going on 10 years and a heel turn from him at that time would have been huge. Not on Hogan's level obviously but it would have worked.

As for Austin Hogan, it's the kind of match you'd watch for the wrong reasons. The bulid up would have been worth it though.

ShawnRaven

Double C wrote:

You belong in a circus

You're damn right i do, throwing bananas at a two bit munky like your good self, now back to serious discussion here!

I think your overlooking Sting a bit here. He was the biggest WCW face for going on 10 years and a heel turn from him at that time would have been huge. Not on Hogan's level obviously but it would have worked.

As for Austin Hogan, it's the kind of match you'd watch for the wrong reasons. The bulid up would have been worth it though.

Going on 10 years is a bit strong, he took more years off than Undertaker did in the 90s! Sting SHOULD have been one of the biggest babyfaces, but wasn't quited treated that way, although thats more down to bad booking than anything else. Being booked in dumb feuds like Vampiro grave match and all that sh*t. I'm not overlooking Sting by any means, he was over, Flair made him a huge star with his feuds too. But his chances of being a top babyface between 94-96 were squashed once Hogan made his debut.

I'm no Hogan fan by any stretch of the imagination, the amount of Hogan overexposure i suffered from 87-92 was chronic! But nobody can take away what he did for the business in the 80s, Wrestling certainly wouldn't be what it is today had it not been for him and Vince, however that may not be a good thing in a lot of peoples eyes either, certainly not in John Cena's and thats the ever loving truth there

Hogan v Austin i wouldn't shoot down just yet, it'll happen when the time and money is right.

VR!

AlphaMale 3OO

Cant agree with that. Who would do the job? Hogans getting to old anyway. we dont want a flair type hogan running round the ring, hagard physique and all.

ShawnRaven

forbesii wrote:

Cant agree with that. Who would do the job? Hogans getting to old anyway. we dont want a flair type hogan running round the ring, hagard physique and all.

Hard to say, Hogan would job if the right amount of money was offered. He jobbed to Rock, TWICE on PPV. Wouldn't matter what condition, Hogan can still draw on his name alone.

VR!

Vince135792003

He definitely can draw a ppv once or twice a year. I think he and the WWE realises that less is more in terms of showing up on tv and how it will get over and draw.

Take Mick Foley for example, I'm not at all saying he had Hogan drawing power but he was one of the top guys during WWE's boom period and did draw initially when he would come back now and again. The WWE have over exposed him to the point where its damaged him now and it almost means nothing when he comes back. At Vengeance, in the fatal four way he was pretty much an afterthought.

AlphaMale 3OO

I only think Hogan jobbed to the rock because he never saw him as a threat to being the greatest ever. in other words, losing never hurt him. if he faced austin it would probably be billed as the one to decide the all time greatest and knowing hogan i dont think he'd take a backseat.

ShawnRaven

forbesii wrote:

I only think Hogan jobbed to the rock because he never saw him as a threat to being the greatest ever. in other words, losing never hurt him. if he faced austin it would probably be billed as the one to decide the all time greatest and knowing hogan i dont think he'd take a backseat.

Vince135792003: I'll agree with ya on Foley, uncomparable to Hogan or Austin, but after a one or two year absence can still make a difference. His Mania XX match wasn't pretty to watch though, but it set up the amazing match he'd have with Orton one month later. I don't think Orton would have gotten into main event without that match to be honest, not THAT soon anyway.

The thing about Rock was, Rock was as big as Austin was by that point, WWE even saw that. The likes of Rock and HHH and even Undertaker got put on that main event stage, along with rookies like Kurt Angle, for the nine months he was out after Survivor Series 99. That damaged a lot for Austin as people had new people to care about. HHH really got on the map during Austins absence, as did Rock. The HHH v Rock match at Judgment day, the ironman one helped solidify their places on the top spot too.

So by the time 2002 was coming around, Austin knew this, WWE knew it hence why Austins match was upper mid-card while Rock and Hogan got closer to the main event (with the title match then closing the show). For the second time, with Rock, Austin wasn't even with the company, he'd walked out nearly a year earlier.

If it was a match to determine the greatest of all time, Hogan wouldn't sit on it. But it wouldn't have to be billed that way. Just the dream match that never happened before.

VR!

AlphaMale 3OO

validreasoning! wrote:

If it was a match to determine the greatest of all time, Hogan wouldn't sit on it. But it wouldn't have to be billed that way. Just the dream match that never happened before.

VR!

Nah thats been done with Hogan/Michaels. This would certainly be billed as the "greatest decider" or whatever....neither man would lie down. I'm convinced this is the single biggest reason it hasn't happened yet and never will. though maybe they could do a run in/dq. thats the only conceivable compromise.

ShawnRaven

forbesii wrote:

Nah thats been done with Hogan/Michaels. This would certainly be billed as the "greatest decider" or whatever....neither man would lie down. I'm convinced this is the single biggest reason it hasn't happened yet and never will. though maybe they could do a run in/dq. thats the only conceivable compromise.

Doesn't matter who it's done with. It's been done with many over the years. And it will happen again for as long as wrestling is still going. If they were gonna do it with a run-in or a DQ it would wanna be with someone who would benefit.

Either that or a two out of three falls where each man gets one up over the other and an agreement on which would be better for the business.

VR!

AlphaMale 3OO

Your a stubborn chap. But you haven't dissuaded me.

ShawnRaven

forbesii wrote:

Your a stubborn chap. But you haven't dissuaded me.

It's not about being stubborn, At the end of the day, Vince is gonna want whats best for his business, like any sane businessman. If he can get two of the boys to agree on SOME sort of finish for a match that will rake in gate receipts and buyrates worldwide, he's going to do with it.

VR!

Mr.Nice Guy

validreasoning! wrote:

It's not about being stubborn, At the end of the day, Vince is gonna want whats best for his business, like any sane businessman. If he can get two of the boys to agree on SOME sort of finish for a match that will rake in gate receipts and buyrates worldwide, he's going to do with it.

VR!

He's tried already though and failed. Their egos are too great, particularly Hogan's. I reckon the way he f*cked around Michaels in 2005 over a Summerslam rematch has convinced Austin that he's not worth it.

I'd like to see the match for the build and the promos but I don't believe we'll ever see it unless Hogan decides to actually put his ego aside. I'd say there's more chance of Great Khali putting on a five star match than that.

ShawnRaven

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

He's tried already though and failed. Their egos are too great, particularly Hogan's. I reckon the way he f*cked around Michaels in 2005 over a Summerslam rematch has convinced Austin that he's not worth it.

Heh that made for a seriously funny match though, for all the wrong reasons. I'd agree with you about that convincing Austin that it's not worth it, although between that and being asked to job to Coach may have convinced that WWE isn't worth it for Austin too. Refereeing is one thing, performing an actual match is another.

I'd like to see the match for the build and the promos but I don't believe we'll ever see it unless Hogan decides to actually put his ego aside. I'd say there's more chance of Great Khali putting on a five star match than that.

I'd place a safe bet that the actual match itself would f*cking suck too, given both the limited moveset both guys could perform. But the buildup would be unreal.

VR!

rossie1977

Austin/hogan will never happen imo. Cena and hogan will happen someday though and that would be a bigger draw.

I am not so sure of Hogan's current drawing potential though. he only managed to sell 5,000 tickets for his match with Paul Wight in memphis a few months back. The arena holds close to 20,000

ShawnRaven

rossie1977 wrote:

I am not so sure of Hogan's current drawing potential though. he only managed to sell 5,000 tickets for his match with Paul Wight in memphis a few months back. The arena holds close to 20,000

Indy promotion and Hogan v Big Slow was done to death in WCW prior to this and it didn't generate a lot of interest anyway, and that was when Big Slow was at his peak! As stated earlier, Hogan didn't do a Wrestlemania for 9 years, and then came back to WWE and was accepted immediately. It would be almost the same reception if he'd do TNA as well.

Also consider the PPV market is a lot stronger, if wrestling fans are buying tickets left right and centre or shows on a monthly basis. They'll be broke as hell, and they certainly won't want to go to Memphis to see a WCW main event from 12 years ago.

VR!