1 00:00:06,980 --> 00:00:10,700 Hollywood Hogan made me act vicious. 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:13,120 He was arrogant. 3 00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:17,540 I was the most evil greaseball that ever showed up in the wrestling business. 4 00:00:19,180 --> 00:00:24,340 The character Hulk Hogan used to be the ultimate tan, all -American hero. 5 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:26,200 Totally two different animals. 6 00:00:26,420 --> 00:00:32,980 So it was just that complete 180 transition to being the most evil 7 00:00:32,980 --> 00:00:35,520 guess you could say. The ultimate bad guy. 8 00:01:01,130 --> 00:01:07,870 The dirtiest player in the game, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, will prove you 9 00:01:07,870 --> 00:01:09,370 take what you want. 10 00:01:10,270 --> 00:01:14,030 Hollywood Hulk Hogan was the most diabolical villain in sports 11 00:01:14,030 --> 00:01:15,030 history. 12 00:01:15,310 --> 00:01:19,710 But Hogan's inglorious brand of evil derived from rather innocent beginnings. 13 00:01:24,190 --> 00:01:26,830 It's the 80s. Simpler times. 14 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,200 Hulk Hogan is the larger than life personification of everything you want 15 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:38,660 hero. Be good, say your prayers, eat your vitamins, and you too could be like 16 00:01:38,660 --> 00:01:39,660 Hulk Hogan someday. 17 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:51,560 Hulk Hogan was larger than life. Big, 300 and some odd pounds, built like a 18 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:56,900 brick house, and had an ungodly amount of charisma. 19 00:02:03,100 --> 00:02:07,040 The 1980s were a wonderful era for real -life superheroes. 20 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,000 Hulk now has the Sheik's robe, and he clotheslined him with it. 21 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:16,460 We were looking for heroes that were really idealized versions of ourselves, 22 00:02:16,460 --> 00:02:19,820 Hulk Hogan was one of those. One, two, he's done it! 23 00:02:22,060 --> 00:02:23,760 Hulkamania is here! 24 00:02:24,140 --> 00:02:28,780 In the early 80s, I started Hulkamania, and I had a lot to do with it, but so 25 00:02:28,780 --> 00:02:29,780 did the promotion. 26 00:02:31,980 --> 00:02:35,020 I've been training and saying my prayers and eating my vitamins. And everywhere 27 00:02:35,020 --> 00:02:39,260 I go, man, the people are training in the parking lots, posing in the gyms. 28 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:41,640 Hulkamania is running wild all over the world. 29 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:48,560 Hulkamania was a phenomenon that grabbed hold of not just the wrestling world, 30 00:02:48,660 --> 00:02:50,320 but the entire world. 31 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:55,980 It just blew up huge. I mean, this guy couldn't go anywhere and not be 32 00:02:55,980 --> 00:02:59,280 recognized. All of a sudden, you started seeing Hulk more and more on different 33 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:00,380 shows. Johnny Carson. 34 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,040 Professional wrestling kind of turns me into a stark raving maniac. 35 00:03:05,660 --> 00:03:06,660 Jay Leno. 36 00:03:06,980 --> 00:03:09,540 We came to Saturday Night Live for one reason, brother. 37 00:03:09,740 --> 00:03:12,080 Because this is the best darn show in the whole wide world. 38 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,720 Hulk. I said, Hulk, you can't go wrong with the red and yellow. He goes, why? 39 00:03:16,420 --> 00:03:19,000 McDonald's. McDonald's is red and yellow and they're all over America. 40 00:03:20,380 --> 00:03:23,760 They were putting me on the cover of Sports Illustrated, all the major 41 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,540 magazines. You know, I was doing commercials for Right Guard. 42 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:28,660 There was this crazy momentum. 43 00:03:34,190 --> 00:03:37,410 greatest professional athlete in the world today, Hulk Hogan. 44 00:03:37,810 --> 00:03:42,450 Hulk Hogan came into my life when I was very impressionable in my formative 45 00:03:42,450 --> 00:03:47,350 years. I loved everything about him. He was big, he was tall, he was tan, he had 46 00:03:47,350 --> 00:03:53,110 24 -inch python, the way he talked, the way he ripped his shirt, when he was 47 00:03:53,110 --> 00:03:55,190 Thunder Lips and Rocky III. 48 00:03:56,370 --> 00:03:59,390 You got to remember, we were in the middle of a Cold War. There was a lot of 49 00:03:59,390 --> 00:04:02,730 propaganda as far as, you know, Russians or whatever the case may be. 50 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:09,000 We got Nikolai Volkov singing the Soviet national anthem. It was not necessarily 51 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,700 a time for nuanced storytelling. 52 00:04:12,100 --> 00:04:16,380 I can't stand to see our enemy's flag in the ring. Mr. 53 00:04:16,620 --> 00:04:21,540 All -American versus the rest of the world. Throw in the American flag, you 54 00:04:21,540 --> 00:04:22,259 a hero. 55 00:04:22,260 --> 00:04:26,180 Hulk Hogan with old glory flying high above. 56 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:33,740 Coming out of the 80s, the 90s. is defined by grunge 57 00:04:33,740 --> 00:04:37,180 and gangster rap. 58 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,100 Counterculture was everything in the 90s. 59 00:04:41,740 --> 00:04:45,740 When the 90s came along, everything changed, you know? It was about being 60 00:04:45,740 --> 00:04:49,840 the bad guy, the more in your face, the more, yeah, who said so? 61 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,880 Well, try to knock this chip off my shoulder and I'll show you what's going 62 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:53,880 happen, buddy. 63 00:04:54,660 --> 00:04:57,220 It was the same red and yellow for a long time. 64 00:04:57,799 --> 00:05:00,420 Very successful long time, I might add. 65 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:05,680 But there was a point where the audience started looking at Hulk and going, 66 00:05:05,820 --> 00:05:07,000 okay, what's new? 67 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,900 All of a sudden, I felt things changing. 68 00:05:12,140 --> 00:05:15,000 I could feel the momentum. It wasn't as powerful. 69 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:17,760 I'd come out and my music would hit. It wasn't the same. 70 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,700 I'd drop the leg, do the pose down. It wasn't the same. 71 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,440 We could notice each night we were getting a few more boos. 72 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:27,040 Each night. 73 00:05:27,290 --> 00:05:30,790 I'd go and check the sales on our merchandise, you know, and I could see 74 00:05:30,790 --> 00:05:32,030 it was starting to dip a little bit. 75 00:05:32,550 --> 00:05:37,850 This Hulk Hogan thing got so big and it was so powerful, but there were certain 76 00:05:37,850 --> 00:05:42,270 times where, you know, when I kind of felt Hulkamania might not be going in 77 00:05:42,270 --> 00:05:45,490 right direction, I thought there might be a time for a change. 78 00:05:46,730 --> 00:05:47,730 Going up? 79 00:05:48,950 --> 00:05:54,070 For the next few years, Hogan focused on his Hollywood ambitions. 80 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,080 So, is he a box office champ? 81 00:05:58,460 --> 00:06:00,500 Well, not yet. 82 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:02,040 I'm getting better. 83 00:06:03,060 --> 00:06:04,380 Transition is a tough one. 84 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,720 By 1994, it became clear. 85 00:06:09,620 --> 00:06:12,320 Hulkamania was not running wild in Hollywood. 86 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:18,500 I kind of like was really on shaky ground for a while. I wasn't making any 87 00:06:18,500 --> 00:06:23,960 money. And when I left WWE, I just thought my run was over. 88 00:06:24,440 --> 00:06:29,520 You know, so I was just kind of like stumbling along on a hope and a prayer. 89 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:39,020 I was so lucky that WCW had a soundstage right next to Thunder Paradise. 90 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:46,060 And Eric Bischoff approached me with Ric Flair and said, hey, we'd like you to 91 00:06:46,060 --> 00:06:48,820 put lightning in a bottle again. I said, brother, I'm in. 92 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:52,360 Eric Bischoff. 93 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:57,120 was a chief executive tasked with leading WCW, a wrestling promotion with 94 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,500 objective to overtake WWE as the industry's standard. 95 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:06,340 Bischoff's first plan of action was to entice former WWE superstars into the 96 00:07:06,340 --> 00:07:07,960 fold to jumpstart the company. 97 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:16,820 And there was still no bigger name out there than Hulk Hogan. 98 00:07:31,470 --> 00:07:33,810 I never. 99 00:07:48,380 --> 00:07:51,440 ever in my life thought that I would run against Vince McMahon. 100 00:07:52,300 --> 00:07:57,280 But, you know, I talked to Eric Bischoff, and he said, what's it going 101 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:02,240 to light this company up? I said, well, I need to come back as Hulk Hogan for a 102 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:06,360 while and get the feel of things, and then we can figure it out really quick. 103 00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:12,720 The initial reaction when Hulk left WWE and went to WCW was 104 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,360 going to a smaller organization at the time. 105 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:19,360 Would help that organization, definitely. 106 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:23,560 But wasn't anything that said, oh, well, this is going to make a difference. Not 107 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:25,400 with the same thing that he had been doing here. 108 00:08:25,820 --> 00:08:29,100 We're going to find out who the most powerful man in the WCW is. 109 00:08:29,340 --> 00:08:33,280 When we first brought Hulk Hogan in, it was a big damn deal. It made a lot of 110 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:34,980 news. It served its purpose. 111 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:41,140 But after about a year and a half, the audience viewed Hulk Hogan differently. 112 00:08:42,260 --> 00:08:45,840 I knew that going head -to -head with the WWE, 113 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,180 We had to be different and had to be a lot edgier. 114 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:55,240 So it was Hulk Hogan joining the dark side. 115 00:08:55,740 --> 00:08:58,320 Oh, what is this? Come on! 116 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:10,780 So I flew myself down to Clearwater and had a conversation with Hulk. What do 117 00:09:10,780 --> 00:09:13,240 you think about turning heel? 118 00:09:13,460 --> 00:09:15,060 Going from good... 119 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:17,200 To the bad guy. 120 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,260 Eric came up with this idea. 121 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:23,620 And, you know, I knew I needed to do something, but I wasn't sold. 122 00:09:25,460 --> 00:09:32,280 I think Hulk knew that the red and yellow Hulk Hogan was still generating a 123 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:39,140 of revenue and would be turning his back on the fans. And I just don't think he 124 00:09:39,140 --> 00:09:44,440 was interested in taking the risk associated with turning heel. 125 00:09:45,550 --> 00:09:50,150 Because Hulk had made it clear to me he had no interest in turning heel at all. 126 00:09:50,270 --> 00:09:51,610 So I had to have a plan B. 127 00:09:54,210 --> 00:09:59,270 WCW president Eric Bischoff hatched a real -life plot to put WWE out of 128 00:09:59,270 --> 00:10:05,930 business. Scott and I have taken on the perception of two of the WWE's top 129 00:10:05,930 --> 00:10:09,790 guys doing basically a hostile takeover of another corporation. 130 00:10:10,290 --> 00:10:13,190 So we were always perceived as the WWE. 131 00:10:13,570 --> 00:10:15,230 Get security out here! 132 00:10:15,450 --> 00:10:20,530 And get them out of here. The perception was implied that they were being sent 133 00:10:20,530 --> 00:10:27,490 from us at the WWE. And it was an invasion of WWE talent going to 134 00:10:27,490 --> 00:10:30,150 WCW. See you, buddy. 135 00:10:31,010 --> 00:10:37,490 Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, they killed everyone. 136 00:10:39,710 --> 00:10:40,710 They... 137 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:45,100 They didn't have anything to lose, and they were willing to take risks. 138 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,120 Oh, my God. Get him out of here. 139 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,760 We picked up a lot of momentum right off the bat. 140 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:55,180 Certainly got people's attention, but I needed to make as big a splash as I 141 00:10:55,180 --> 00:10:59,660 could. So we built an entire storyline around a third man. 142 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:05,880 What made it tricky for me is I had to find the third man in that story. 143 00:11:07,140 --> 00:11:09,900 Bischoff wanted the promise of a mysterious third man. 144 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,120 The baddest of the bad guys. 145 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:14,940 A true heel of a human being. 146 00:11:15,540 --> 00:11:17,980 But who could possibly fill those boots? 147 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:20,200 Everyone wanted that spot. 148 00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:26,120 These two guys lit up the world. I'm talking about number one spot on cable 149 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:32,100 television. We want to know who your three guys are. And then he cut that 150 00:11:32,100 --> 00:11:33,920 about bring your best three. 151 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:36,820 We're bringing our best three. 152 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:38,120 The big man. 153 00:11:38,890 --> 00:11:40,350 And the medium -sized man. 154 00:11:41,110 --> 00:11:43,150 And our surprise buddy. 155 00:11:43,410 --> 00:11:46,250 And next week, I'm bringing the big man in. 156 00:11:46,710 --> 00:11:53,530 The really crazy part is, no one knew who the third 157 00:11:53,530 --> 00:11:57,370 guy was because there wasn't one yet. 158 00:12:06,030 --> 00:12:10,090 I remember the day that I got a call from Hulk, and he said, hey, man, I'd 159 00:12:10,090 --> 00:12:14,590 to talk to you about what's going on. Can you make it out to L .A.? So I did. 160 00:12:15,110 --> 00:12:21,090 I think I got to Hulk's trailer around midnight after we had a beer or two and 161 00:12:21,090 --> 00:12:26,250 lit up a Cuban cigar. Hulk said to me, so, who's going to be the third man? 162 00:12:27,370 --> 00:12:28,650 And I didn't want to tell him. 163 00:12:29,530 --> 00:12:31,710 I already had Sting lined up. 164 00:12:32,010 --> 00:12:34,010 I said, you can't ask Sting. 165 00:12:35,630 --> 00:12:40,630 I needed major, major change really, really bad. 166 00:12:42,290 --> 00:12:46,470 I was starting to get to the point where I was second -guessing everything about 167 00:12:46,470 --> 00:12:47,470 myself. 168 00:12:47,730 --> 00:12:50,370 Was the Hulkamania ride a fluke? 169 00:12:51,490 --> 00:12:57,530 Was the reason Hulkamania got so big, was it just Vince McMahon's promotion? 170 00:12:58,710 --> 00:13:04,180 When this whole three guys thing came along, And I decided to jump on it. I 171 00:13:04,180 --> 00:13:06,720 needed it more than life itself at that point. 172 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:09,760 I didn't want Sting to get it. 173 00:13:10,100 --> 00:13:13,480 And I wanted to prove to people that I knew this business. 174 00:13:13,740 --> 00:13:18,020 And not only could I be the greatest good guy ever, I knew this business well 175 00:13:18,020 --> 00:13:20,220 enough that I could be the greatest bad guy ever. 176 00:13:20,680 --> 00:13:23,700 So I said, I'm in. 177 00:13:24,540 --> 00:13:25,820 I'm in. Let's do it. 178 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:27,240 Wow. 179 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:29,200 Didn't see that one coming. 180 00:13:34,910 --> 00:13:36,230 Boy, have I got butterflies. 181 00:13:37,450 --> 00:13:38,450 Luger's here. 182 00:13:39,030 --> 00:13:40,030 Sting's here. 183 00:13:40,290 --> 00:13:42,890 Savage is here. I only see two of them. 184 00:13:43,770 --> 00:13:46,410 We were told there would be three of these interlopers. 185 00:13:46,730 --> 00:13:49,990 And as you can see, there are only two. 186 00:13:50,590 --> 00:13:52,030 There's just two of them. 187 00:13:52,350 --> 00:13:54,270 They're fighting three guys. 188 00:13:54,830 --> 00:13:56,730 Savage and Luger and Sting. 189 00:13:57,010 --> 00:14:02,190 Where is it? Is your partner telling me that your third man is in the building? 190 00:14:02,750 --> 00:14:04,010 Oh, he's here. All right, Gene. 191 00:14:04,230 --> 00:14:10,130 What made it tricky for me is I wasn't 100 % convinced that Hulk was actually 192 00:14:10,130 --> 00:14:14,510 going to see it through. Up until 4 o 'clock, Hulk wasn't sure he was going to 193 00:14:14,510 --> 00:14:17,110 do it. You know, it was not a go. 194 00:14:17,530 --> 00:14:20,890 And the backup plan was going to be sting turning. 195 00:14:25,470 --> 00:14:29,350 I think everybody under the breath said a little bit of prayer because we knew. 196 00:14:29,850 --> 00:14:33,490 We're taking the biggest name in the history of this business and switching 197 00:14:33,490 --> 00:14:34,490 to a bad guy. 198 00:14:34,610 --> 00:14:37,150 We couldn't afford any mistakes. 199 00:14:37,450 --> 00:14:40,790 Keeping it a secret was my top priority. 200 00:14:41,030 --> 00:14:47,510 I pulled him over into this big janitorial closet, and we started going 201 00:14:47,510 --> 00:14:50,950 that promo, just beginning to middle and end. 202 00:14:52,450 --> 00:14:56,770 It was the most exciting, most stressful, probably. 203 00:14:57,740 --> 00:14:59,580 Two hours of my professional life. 204 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:06,060 Once Hulk walked through that curtain, it was what it was going to be. And 205 00:15:06,060 --> 00:15:09,260 was nothing I or anybody else could do about it. All bets were off. 206 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,380 Hulk Hogan is in the building. 207 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:15,220 You're damn right he is. Hulk comes out. Here he comes. 208 00:15:15,580 --> 00:15:18,400 America. Red and yellow. Bah, bah, bah. 209 00:15:18,800 --> 00:15:20,780 People are there. They're there. They're there. 210 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,000 Finally, the Hulkster to the rescue. 211 00:15:25,390 --> 00:15:30,110 And I'm in on it. I know he's going to turn. And all I'm thinking in my mind 212 00:15:30,250 --> 00:15:34,690 oh, man, five minutes from now, man, I'm going to get the photo op of a 213 00:15:34,690 --> 00:15:37,310 lifetime. Like, I'm in the ring with Hulk Hogan. 214 00:15:37,810 --> 00:15:41,810 I go to the ring, and Bobby Heenan goes, but whose side is he on? 215 00:15:42,170 --> 00:15:43,970 Yeah, but whose side is he on? 216 00:15:44,210 --> 00:15:46,770 What are you talking about, Bobby? What side is he on? 217 00:15:47,030 --> 00:15:48,530 There's only one side for him to be on. 218 00:15:50,590 --> 00:15:52,770 Literally, it was hard for me to breathe. 219 00:15:53,390 --> 00:15:54,470 I was so excited. 220 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,820 Kevin and Scott cleared out of the ring like they were afraid of me first. Get 221 00:15:57,820 --> 00:15:58,820 him, Hogan! 222 00:15:59,180 --> 00:16:00,300 Go get him, Hogan! 223 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,380 Is he the third man? 224 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:07,980 I went in and dropped the leg on Mott. 225 00:16:08,940 --> 00:16:12,880 Hulk Hogan has betrayed WCW! 226 00:16:16,180 --> 00:16:17,280 They were in shock. 227 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:19,880 You just sold yourself to the devil. 228 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:24,320 I mean, you could feel the air come out of the arena. 229 00:16:25,100 --> 00:16:26,840 No one knew how to react. 230 00:16:27,740 --> 00:16:32,020 Hogan drops the leg and stands there in the ring being interviewed by a 231 00:16:32,020 --> 00:16:33,640 disgusting Mean Gene Oakland. 232 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:39,240 Mean Gene, the first thing you need to do is to tell these people to shut up if 233 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:40,620 you want to hear what I got to say. 234 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:47,220 I told everybody I was done, and all you fans out there, you're just like the 235 00:16:47,220 --> 00:16:48,660 trash in this ring. 236 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,220 When I said that, man, they were throwing bottles. They were throwing 237 00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:55,320 they could get their hands on. Look at the ring. 238 00:16:55,980 --> 00:16:58,380 Look at all of this crap in this ring. 239 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:05,660 As far as I'm concerned, all of this crap in the ring represents these 240 00:17:05,660 --> 00:17:06,720 fans out here. 241 00:17:07,060 --> 00:17:09,520 You fans can stick it, brother. 242 00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:15,400 Trash is raining down from the crap. You knew you were seeing something you 243 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:17,180 never thought you would see. 244 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,660 Hulk Hogan was evil. He had become the ultimate villain. 245 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:28,700 You can call this the New World Order of Wrestling, brother. 246 00:17:29,340 --> 00:17:35,920 And he ushers in an entirely new era of professional wrestling. 247 00:17:36,740 --> 00:17:40,240 And that was the birth of the NWO. 248 00:17:48,590 --> 00:17:53,650 Join up with the likes of these two men absolutely makes me sick to my stomach. 249 00:17:53,830 --> 00:17:59,950 The way it is now, brother, not only are we going to take over the whole 250 00:17:59,950 --> 00:18:06,590 wrestling business with Hulk Hogan and the new blood, the monsters with me, we 251 00:18:06,590 --> 00:18:10,390 will destroy everything in our path, me, Gene. 252 00:18:10,850 --> 00:18:12,590 It got so much heat. 253 00:18:13,190 --> 00:18:15,970 Me, Kevin, and Scott got to the back and went, holy. 254 00:18:18,830 --> 00:18:22,230 It was the craziest thing I've ever seen in my life. They had to call extra 255 00:18:22,230 --> 00:18:26,790 police in from the Daytona Police Department came out there because there 256 00:18:26,790 --> 00:18:30,250 riot that took place. I mean, all the news media is picked up on it 257 00:18:33,730 --> 00:18:40,690 The next day, Turner Broadcasting was flooded with emails 258 00:18:40,690 --> 00:18:46,870 and phone calls of really pissed off people, mainly because of the kids. 259 00:18:47,550 --> 00:18:51,830 Because Hulk was, say your prayer, eat your vitamins, and now you're healed? 260 00:18:52,050 --> 00:18:53,430 Oh, man. 261 00:18:54,250 --> 00:18:58,570 People were bleep, bleep, bleep, pissed. 262 00:18:59,470 --> 00:19:06,190 People lost their minds, dude. I mean, kids were burning their Hulk 263 00:19:06,190 --> 00:19:10,690 Hogan wrestling huggers with effigy. I mean, it was insane. 264 00:19:11,850 --> 00:19:14,830 That's how beloved that man was. 265 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:20,920 That was devastating. 266 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:22,400 Little kids were crying. 267 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:24,520 Lone men were pissed. 268 00:19:24,860 --> 00:19:31,680 It was genuine betrayal and the hate that truly 269 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:32,680 follows. 270 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,840 Hollywood Hogan embraced his dark side with greater ease than anyone expected. 271 00:19:40,060 --> 00:19:43,060 It was clear he was in this for the long haul. 272 00:19:43,540 --> 00:19:49,020 Wearing black instead of his customary and traditional yellow print. 273 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:55,300 Mr. Hollywood, Hulk Hogan. 274 00:19:56,500 --> 00:20:02,140 The biggest on -camera change for Hulk Hogan going from good guy to bad guy was 275 00:20:02,140 --> 00:20:05,180 wardrobe, the red and yellow. Those were his colors. 276 00:20:05,460 --> 00:20:10,840 Then going to the black and the bandana being black. He turned his back on it 277 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,060 all. What I liked the most about, as opposed to just the wardrobe, it was in 278 00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:20,050 beard. It visually made his heel turn more dramatic. 279 00:20:20,710 --> 00:20:22,710 At the time, it wasn't gray. 280 00:20:22,930 --> 00:20:27,870 It was still kind of blonde. I grew the beard in, and I got just for men. 281 00:20:28,150 --> 00:20:34,630 And I dyed it shoe -polished black, as evil, as snidely whiplash as I could get 282 00:20:34,630 --> 00:20:36,590 it. That was the look. 283 00:20:37,430 --> 00:20:43,130 It made people so mad that they knew I dyed my beard or I put makeup on it or 284 00:20:43,130 --> 00:20:44,130 whatever they thought. 285 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:49,060 It put that extra icing on the top to make people hate me even more. 286 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:54,500 And then nobody airbrushed their boots, you know. So I was putting Hollywood and 287 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:56,000 lightning bolts on the boots. 288 00:20:56,300 --> 00:21:00,580 So that was like tweaking the character and getting it right. But it made me act 289 00:21:00,580 --> 00:21:01,600 a certain way, too. 290 00:21:02,460 --> 00:21:06,940 There wasn't a bigger boogeyman than Hollywood Hulk Hogan. 291 00:21:07,790 --> 00:21:11,070 Hollywood Hulk Hogan. He'd give the cheap shots behind the referee back. 292 00:21:11,450 --> 00:21:15,750 You know, scrape the back. He would get on his hands and knees and beg, and, oh, 293 00:21:15,750 --> 00:21:19,710 please, don't hit me, please, where the people wanted to see that happen, you 294 00:21:19,710 --> 00:21:23,350 know? And so he was just a whole different persona than he was from Hulk 295 00:21:24,810 --> 00:21:30,330 Hulk Hogan is the man that you voted for for the most hated wrestler of the 296 00:21:30,330 --> 00:21:32,890 year. Hulkster, wait a minute. I've known you, like, forever. 297 00:21:33,190 --> 00:21:36,570 I mean, you were the most popular guy in the world, and now the most hated 298 00:21:36,570 --> 00:21:37,650 wrestler of the year? 299 00:21:37,970 --> 00:21:40,810 Well, brother, times change, and so do people, man. 300 00:21:41,310 --> 00:21:44,210 The Church of the Wrestling World! 301 00:21:44,790 --> 00:21:51,470 Not only was the heat so pure, but all the, I don't want to say purest 302 00:21:51,470 --> 00:21:54,850 wrestling fans, but the dicks like me. 303 00:21:55,470 --> 00:22:00,690 We all loved it. We were like, oh, if he can do that, anything's possible. 304 00:22:00,990 --> 00:22:06,830 I just wanted to set the tone for what really would make the NWO take off. 305 00:22:07,210 --> 00:22:13,490 And man, we rode it hard and we rode it long. 306 00:22:18,990 --> 00:22:22,530 Asking Hogan to turn his back on the ideals that made him the icon of a 307 00:22:22,530 --> 00:22:23,530 generation. 308 00:22:23,690 --> 00:22:25,510 was a big ask to say the least. 309 00:22:25,990 --> 00:22:27,650 There was no turning back. 310 00:22:35,890 --> 00:22:38,930 The fans 311 00:22:38,930 --> 00:22:45,430 picked up on the 312 00:22:45,430 --> 00:22:52,010 NWO and Hulk Hogan. It was something the wrestling world had never seen before. 313 00:22:53,559 --> 00:22:56,520 It was even crazy more so than anything. 314 00:22:57,180 --> 00:22:58,180 They liked it. 315 00:22:58,560 --> 00:22:59,760 They ate it up. 316 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,580 I think secretly we all love the bad guys. 317 00:23:04,580 --> 00:23:08,280 There's always a cool factor to the bad dude. I think there's something within 318 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:12,320 all of us that kind of wishes we could do a little bit of that in real life. 319 00:23:12,540 --> 00:23:13,580 What are your fans going to think? 320 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:14,880 Hey, what are you going to do? 321 00:23:15,140 --> 00:23:16,140 I'm a bad guy. 322 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:25,960 I think there's a certain authenticity that rings with people when they find 323 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,000 that this pure hero is flawed. 324 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:33,760 And then when they see that, they go, wow, I don't have to be perfect. You can 325 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,040 identify with that person that has the flaws. 326 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:39,760 They were cool bad guys. 327 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,660 And I think that's what makes the fans go, you know, I wish I could dress like 328 00:23:43,660 --> 00:23:46,300 him. I wish I could go and tell my boss off like this guy here. 329 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:48,780 It's being everything that... 330 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:51,000 You wish you could be, but you're not. 331 00:23:51,540 --> 00:23:55,160 It's the new world order. There's nothing you can do about it. 332 00:23:55,740 --> 00:24:01,020 You know, the more we would beat people up and spray paint Ted Turner's 333 00:24:01,020 --> 00:24:05,860 equipment outside, the more evil stuff we did, the more the fans cheered. 334 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,260 I think the audience's appetite was changing. 335 00:24:10,620 --> 00:24:15,240 The audience was beginning to dig the anti -hero a lot more than the hero. 336 00:24:16,170 --> 00:24:22,930 The whole idea was to be edgier, more adult -themed, and to have much 337 00:24:22,930 --> 00:24:25,250 more of a reality sensibility. 338 00:24:26,090 --> 00:24:27,950 And it worked. 339 00:24:31,610 --> 00:24:35,710 It was fascinating because they were showing us things that we had never seen 340 00:24:35,710 --> 00:24:39,710 before. They were taking us back behind the scenes, and they were just 341 00:24:39,710 --> 00:24:44,670 disrupting. From a fan's point of view, it was almost like now there was a 342 00:24:44,670 --> 00:24:51,000 virus. In wrestling, and you were either cool, like Hogan, or you were, you 343 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,420 know, company people. 344 00:24:53,420 --> 00:24:59,880 Didn't the world get behind me and want to be a part of it? It was genius. It 345 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:00,880 really was. 346 00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:03,640 Everybody in the arena had the shirt. 347 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:11,080 Want to make a fashion statement? My grandmother wouldn't allow me to wear 348 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:12,080 NWO shirt. 349 00:25:12,810 --> 00:25:18,350 in my house she even ripped down my hulk hogan poster so when hulk hogan was 350 00:25:18,350 --> 00:25:22,530 transforming and the nwo was forming i was also turning into a younger adult 351 00:25:22,530 --> 00:25:26,010 so i was kind of changing the way i was moving and the things i like so that 352 00:25:26,010 --> 00:25:30,110 whole transition was perfect from you know loving this guy in the yellow and 353 00:25:30,110 --> 00:25:36,210 to grandma i need my nwo shirt where's my black and white shirt ironically the 354 00:25:36,210 --> 00:25:39,830 villain at hollywood was now attracting the sort of celebrity attention that 355 00:25:39,830 --> 00:25:42,670 hulk hogan could only dream about back in 94. 356 00:25:44,650 --> 00:25:49,090 The NWO thing was so cool that there were really no boundaries. 357 00:25:50,430 --> 00:25:53,250 I mean, it was insane. 358 00:25:53,670 --> 00:25:54,750 We had a blast. 359 00:25:57,010 --> 00:26:03,350 All of a sudden, our ratings went from like 2 .4s to 6s, 360 00:26:03,370 --> 00:26:05,190 7s, and 8s. 361 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:07,700 I mean, those are NFL numbers. 362 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:10,020 We had our own NASCAR NWO car. 363 00:26:10,700 --> 00:26:13,520 Everybody wanted to be a bad guy. 364 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:20,380 You proved you are the icon that everybody in this building has always 365 00:26:20,380 --> 00:26:23,640 are. Give it up for the Hawks. Come on, give it up. 366 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:33,660 It totally changed the landscape of the business. All of a 367 00:26:33,660 --> 00:26:34,660 sudden. 368 00:26:34,830 --> 00:26:37,170 Bad guys became everything. 369 00:26:38,750 --> 00:26:45,010 Hulk Hogan becoming evil and becoming bad was the game changer that allowed 370 00:26:45,010 --> 00:26:49,970 WCW to move ahead in the ratings above us for 83 weeks. 371 00:26:50,270 --> 00:26:56,370 And that was the catalyst that really set WCW into motion, becoming a very 372 00:26:56,370 --> 00:26:57,370 successful promotion. 373 00:26:58,430 --> 00:27:02,090 Let's destroy the broadcast booth! 374 00:27:04,949 --> 00:27:06,230 The WCW! 375 00:27:07,290 --> 00:27:11,850 At that time, the world celebrated power -hungry villains who might just burn 376 00:27:11,850 --> 00:27:12,970 the whole world down. 377 00:27:13,370 --> 00:27:19,250 But, in a bizarre twist of fate, the very monster WCW created in order to 378 00:27:19,250 --> 00:27:22,930 destroy WWE turned into an evil they could not forbear. 379 00:27:24,250 --> 00:27:30,730 In 1996, thanks to Hollywood Hogan, 380 00:27:30,910 --> 00:27:34,210 WCW was dominating WWE in the TV ratings. 381 00:27:34,700 --> 00:27:41,140 But, as it's often been said, the devil's in the details, or in this case, 382 00:27:41,140 --> 00:27:42,140 fine print. 383 00:27:42,460 --> 00:27:48,500 Going back to some of the first, the initial meetings I had with Hulk about 384 00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:53,540 coming to WCW, he looked me right in the eyes and said, brother, I don't trust 385 00:27:53,540 --> 00:27:58,000 anybody here. I don't know you, Eric, and I know everybody that works here in 386 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,260 this company, and I really don't trust them. 387 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:02,620 So here's how this is going to have to work. 388 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:04,640 Creative control. 389 00:28:08,340 --> 00:28:12,760 It means a lot to have creative control because if somebody else comes in and 390 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:17,600 says, I think we need to do this or do that, and you can't perform, it really 391 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:21,660 hurts the money you're making. So we knew if you do have creative control, 392 00:28:21,660 --> 00:28:22,680 like you can do no wrong. 393 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:29,040 When Hulk came over to WCW for Hulk, creative control meant that you could 394 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:32,160 the match that you wanted when you wanted it. 395 00:28:33,260 --> 00:28:35,940 It was something that opened a can of worms. 396 00:28:37,060 --> 00:28:39,240 I think it rubbed a lot of the guys the wrong way. 397 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:41,840 A lot of the wrestlers were upset. 398 00:28:42,260 --> 00:28:45,920 Their egos just got out of control. They were just really upset. 399 00:28:47,020 --> 00:28:48,020 We were pissed. 400 00:28:48,300 --> 00:28:50,300 We were all just fighting for your spot. 401 00:28:50,700 --> 00:28:53,200 The NWO has had some good times. 402 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,820 Quite frankly, lately, some bad times. 403 00:28:57,580 --> 00:29:02,400 Scott and I, his creative control was very hard because the golden one would 404 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:09,360 walk in at 5 .15 on an 8 o 'clock start and go, brother, that doesn't work 405 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:10,360 for me. 406 00:29:12,460 --> 00:29:15,560 You know, like, wow, really, man? 407 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:17,160 Okay, what does? 408 00:29:17,540 --> 00:29:18,540 Do you have an idea? 409 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:20,280 You don't even have an idea. 410 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,220 That just doesn't work for you. 411 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:24,860 So we'll work around it. 412 00:29:28,330 --> 00:29:32,130 It got to a point when the lunatics started running the asylum and the ship 413 00:29:32,130 --> 00:29:33,590 started falling apart. 414 00:29:36,930 --> 00:29:40,630 The numbers started slipping just a little bit. 415 00:29:41,090 --> 00:29:46,130 Instead of Eric taking over control, you had everybody in the Turner offices 416 00:29:46,130 --> 00:29:50,110 that knew nothing about wrestling trying to put their two cents worth in. We 417 00:29:50,110 --> 00:29:51,110 need to talk. 418 00:29:52,290 --> 00:29:53,450 What do we need to talk? 419 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,760 Wait a minute. This is the president of Turner Sports. He's your boss. This is 420 00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:58,800 Dr. Harvey Schiller. 421 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:01,540 This cannot go well for you. 422 00:30:02,700 --> 00:30:08,080 Turner basically took WCW away from him. Eric Bischoff lost control. 423 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,980 So it was like being sabotaged at the highest level. 424 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:14,860 It just fell apart. 425 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:18,840 So, yeah, I mean. 426 00:30:20,300 --> 00:30:25,380 In September of 99, I was relieved of my duties in WCW. 427 00:30:26,620 --> 00:30:33,480 In their infinite wisdom, WCW brought in Vince Russo. Guys, this 428 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:38,460 show really sucks. Because Vince Russo was able to convince certain people in 429 00:30:38,460 --> 00:30:44,760 WCW and Turner Broadcast that Vince Russo was actually the architect behind 430 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:48,620 Attitude Era and all the success that WWE had. 431 00:30:50,500 --> 00:30:57,480 Bro, as sure as I'm sitting here, I walked into a WCW 432 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:58,760 locker room. 433 00:30:59,860 --> 00:31:06,080 And the minute I walked in, there was a giant target 434 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,800 bullseye on my back. 435 00:31:09,460 --> 00:31:15,280 Vince Russo came in. He said, I'm going to fire everybody that's one day over 436 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:16,280 40. 437 00:31:17,260 --> 00:31:20,000 And I went, okay, how's this going to work? 438 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:25,180 One of the ways he was able to galvanize himself with some of this lower -card, 439 00:31:25,420 --> 00:31:30,440 younger talent was to badmouth guys like Hulk Hogan. 440 00:31:30,700 --> 00:31:35,120 Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair can't go on wrestling forever. You've got to build 441 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:37,240 undercard. I'm just going, oh, my God. 442 00:31:37,780 --> 00:31:41,420 If you guys buy this, I've got a lot of swampland here in Florida to sell you. 443 00:31:41,780 --> 00:31:43,760 Russo's goal was to get rid of Hulk Hogan. 444 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:45,680 That was going to be his claim to fame. 445 00:31:46,380 --> 00:31:48,980 He was going to put the nail in Hulk Hogan's career. 446 00:31:50,420 --> 00:31:55,280 A wrestler's paranoia, you can't change that. 447 00:31:55,860 --> 00:32:00,980 They're going to believe what they want to believe, and they believe that I was 448 00:32:00,980 --> 00:32:04,520 trying to run them out of Dodge, which was the last thing I was trying to do. 449 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,520 Vince Russo never butt heads with anybody to their face. It was always 450 00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:09,520 their back. 451 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:13,660 Don't edit that out. I dare you. 452 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:27,240 So when we talk about Bash at the Beach, I had written the show, and Hulk had to 453 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:28,240 give the script approval. 454 00:32:29,020 --> 00:32:30,020 Okay? 455 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:31,580 Sent the first one over. 456 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:33,320 Hulk didn't like it. 457 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:36,820 Sent the second one over. Hulk didn't like it. 458 00:32:37,460 --> 00:32:40,820 Basically, they want to get the belt off you and put it on Jarrett. I said, 459 00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:43,480 well, here's the deal, bro. I don't get along with this Vince Russo guy. 460 00:32:44,220 --> 00:32:47,820 Anyway, he's been trying to sabotage me since the day he walked in here. 461 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:54,860 So I write the third script, and basically I have Hulk killing everyone 462 00:32:54,860 --> 00:32:58,300 building but not walking out with the title. 463 00:32:58,740 --> 00:32:59,740 He's here! It is! 464 00:33:00,020 --> 00:33:03,860 Vince wanted Hulk to drop the belt to Jeff, and he said, look, let me win the 465 00:33:03,860 --> 00:33:08,500 belt tonight on the pay -per -view, which is the money, and then Monday 466 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:12,820 he said, I'll drop it at Nitro. Well, he didn't want to do that. 467 00:33:13,420 --> 00:33:20,300 I then go to Jeff Jarrett and say to Jeff, Jeff, F Hogan, 468 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:26,060 lay down in the middle of the ring, let him cover you, and let him leave with 469 00:33:26,060 --> 00:33:27,420 his belt. F him. 470 00:33:33,700 --> 00:33:34,700 What's Jeff doing? 471 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:36,240 What's Jeff doing? 472 00:33:36,860 --> 00:33:39,320 Russo, I think, told Jarrett to lie down. What's going on? 473 00:33:39,780 --> 00:33:40,780 Jarrett lays down. 474 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,900 I looked at him and said, brother, don't do this. I said, don't screw this 475 00:33:44,900 --> 00:33:45,900 business up like this. 476 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:48,140 You know, and he just laid there. 477 00:33:53,060 --> 00:33:57,440 That's why this company's in the damn shape it's in, because of bulls like 478 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:08,540 Hulk Hogan is the world's best, and this sport has never seen anything like 479 00:34:08,540 --> 00:34:09,478 this. 480 00:34:09,480 --> 00:34:13,560 Maybe Russo can explain to the world what we have seen. 481 00:34:16,330 --> 00:34:18,969 His face. Yeah, we know that face, don't we? 482 00:34:19,550 --> 00:34:26,489 I've done nothing, nothing but deal with the bull of 483 00:34:26,489 --> 00:34:30,670 the politic behind that curtain. 484 00:34:33,110 --> 00:34:38,590 I came back to the guys behind that curtain that give a shit about this 485 00:34:40,530 --> 00:34:44,510 And let me tell you who doesn't give a shit about this company. 486 00:34:46,989 --> 00:34:48,250 Politician Hulk Hogan. 487 00:34:49,610 --> 00:34:56,610 Because Hulk Hogan tonight wants to play his creative control card. 488 00:34:58,070 --> 00:35:00,890 You will never see that piece of shit again. 489 00:35:05,670 --> 00:35:12,070 So now you've got to understand with Hulk's ego, I go back to the office and 490 00:35:12,070 --> 00:35:15,310 I've got to meet with Brad Siegel, who was the head of TNT. 491 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:17,940 And Brad says, Vince, what happened? 492 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:23,980 And I laid out the entire scenario. And Brad says to me, how did you leave it 493 00:35:23,980 --> 00:35:24,980 with hope? 494 00:35:25,740 --> 00:35:27,760 That was the Vince Russo show. 495 00:35:28,300 --> 00:35:33,760 The whole thing was just so, just out of the realm of what this business is 496 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,400 about. And it was just, it was disaster. 497 00:35:36,940 --> 00:35:39,180 Where does Hollywood hoping's career go from here? 498 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:41,700 Where does WCW go from here? 499 00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:45,180 With the WCW's value at an all -time low. 500 00:35:45,800 --> 00:35:49,920 The powers cut their losses and sold out to the man they sought to destroy, 501 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:51,640 Vince McMahon. 502 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:57,900 The fate of WCW is in my hands. 503 00:36:03,820 --> 00:36:10,060 Will Hollywood Hulk Hogan and his band of cutthroats destroy you? 504 00:36:10,750 --> 00:36:15,710 The WCW will be on a silver platter, brother. 505 00:36:16,010 --> 00:36:22,690 And just like the big bad wolf said, better to 506 00:36:22,690 --> 00:36:23,710 eat you with. 507 00:36:25,170 --> 00:36:26,170 Wow. 508 00:36:27,550 --> 00:36:29,630 The downfall of WCW. 509 00:36:31,490 --> 00:36:37,770 I didn't feel any, you know, ego boost of way to go events. You know, you're 510 00:36:37,770 --> 00:36:38,770 crushing them. 511 00:36:38,960 --> 00:36:40,540 Now you own them and all that. 512 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:43,780 I look at it as business as usual. 513 00:36:44,100 --> 00:36:48,640 You have to grab your competition by the throat, and you've got to squeeze the 514 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:53,240 life out of your competition, just like I did to WCW. 515 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:59,360 On March 26, 2001, WWE officially purchased WCW. 516 00:36:59,940 --> 00:37:04,480 Vince McMahon would dismantle the roster and yank WCW off the air. 517 00:37:10,090 --> 00:37:14,650 A year later, Vince McMahon was looking to squeeze whatever evil juice was left 518 00:37:14,650 --> 00:37:15,650 out of Hogan. 519 00:37:15,890 --> 00:37:18,030 While Hollywood star was on the wing, 520 00:37:18,770 --> 00:37:21,650 The Rock was on his way into the stratosphere. 521 00:37:22,410 --> 00:37:28,590 It was to be a symbolic passing of the torch from an icon of an era gone by to 522 00:37:28,590 --> 00:37:30,370 the great one of the Attitude Era. 523 00:37:31,130 --> 00:37:32,790 Hey, it's The Rock. Come on, guys. 524 00:37:33,010 --> 00:37:34,750 This ain't one of those people's champs. 525 00:37:35,690 --> 00:37:37,630 This is my son's favorite wrestler. 526 00:37:38,540 --> 00:37:40,720 Vince wanted me to wrestle The Rock, you know. 527 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:42,180 Hogan, you take that camera. 528 00:37:42,420 --> 00:37:44,280 It's already shined up. Turn sideways. 529 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:47,760 Eat your vitamins. Say your prayers. And stick it straight up all your candy 530 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:48,760 asses. 531 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:55,340 It's kind of funny because, you know, I remember him saying, well, Terry, you 532 00:37:55,340 --> 00:37:56,340 know, things have changed. 533 00:37:56,980 --> 00:38:00,060 You know, if you're going to wrestle The Rock, you better really bring it. 534 00:38:00,420 --> 00:38:03,660 In my mind, I'm thinking, brother, if I bring it, you're going to be begging me 535 00:38:03,660 --> 00:38:04,660 to take it back. 536 00:38:11,690 --> 00:38:14,950 The Rock against Hulk Hogan. Here's the aging Hulk Hogan. 537 00:38:15,290 --> 00:38:16,730 Here's the newcomer The Rock. 538 00:38:17,310 --> 00:38:18,450 What was going to happen? 539 00:38:21,210 --> 00:38:24,250 Man, it took my daughter to hear the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, and the girls 540 00:38:24,250 --> 00:38:27,010 screamed so loud it hurt my ears. It was just that loud. 541 00:38:45,290 --> 00:38:49,130 When Hulk came back, they didn't want the NWO Hulk. They didn't want Hollywood 542 00:38:49,130 --> 00:38:50,810 Hulk. They wanted Hulk. 543 00:38:51,050 --> 00:38:56,070 I think our audience looked at it as it had been long enough. He had been black 544 00:38:56,070 --> 00:38:59,830 and white for 10 years or whatever it was, and people were ready now. 545 00:39:00,490 --> 00:39:01,810 What's old is new again. 546 00:39:03,050 --> 00:39:09,070 I mean, God, how long did the beginning of that match go on where they were just 547 00:39:09,070 --> 00:39:13,190 listening to the crowd and listening to the deafening? 548 00:39:13,820 --> 00:39:14,759 Hogan chance. 549 00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:21,300 Many in the crowd chanting for Hogan. Holy cow, man. It was a worldwide 550 00:39:21,300 --> 00:39:26,420 telling you that, man, we love him for everything he was. 551 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,460 We loved him for leaving. We loved him for coming back. 552 00:39:29,940 --> 00:39:31,160 We love Hogan. 553 00:39:31,740 --> 00:39:34,480 And maybe you're shoving rock down our throat. 554 00:39:39,820 --> 00:39:40,820 Heard him cheering. 555 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:42,380 I went, oh, crap. 556 00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:45,980 You know, and they were cheering and cheering and cheering, and then The Rock 557 00:39:45,980 --> 00:39:48,860 started taking over. I mean, every time he'd punch me, they'd boo him. 558 00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:53,240 The Rock was getting booed. 559 00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:58,740 He's had the push of a lifetime, and here I come back, trying to put the WWE 560 00:39:58,740 --> 00:40:02,900 of business for 10 years, trying to destroy the company, and I come back, 561 00:40:02,900 --> 00:40:04,740 the people are cheering me and booing him. 562 00:40:05,300 --> 00:40:09,780 The crowd is solidly behind Hulk. I don't know if The Rock knows what to 563 00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:12,080 People went crazy over the Hulkster. 564 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,260 Oh, my God, it was unbelievable. And then people loved The Rock, too, but 565 00:40:15,260 --> 00:40:18,320 got the match turned around where people cheered The Rock, cheered Hulk, you 566 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:22,360 know. Let's go, Hulkster. Let's go, Rock. Let's go, Hulkster. Let's go, 567 00:40:23,140 --> 00:40:27,140 Hulk, Rock, two of the greatest of all time. 568 00:40:27,780 --> 00:40:33,560 And they were able to listen, react, and make it work. 569 00:40:38,510 --> 00:40:43,310 People just couldn't take it anymore. Couldn't wait for Hulk to Hulk up and 570 00:40:43,310 --> 00:40:45,310 that big comeback, comeback, comeback. 571 00:40:46,050 --> 00:40:49,070 Oh, my God. What you going to do, Rock? 572 00:40:49,410 --> 00:40:55,970 Hulk heard an audience, a worldwide audience telling you that, man, we want 573 00:40:55,970 --> 00:40:58,850 our traditional Hulk back and we love him. 574 00:40:59,610 --> 00:41:04,990 It was a beautiful moment because that was an evolution for Hulk. 575 00:41:16,940 --> 00:41:20,840 It was interesting because it was almost like it was the first time that Hogan 576 00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:27,660 realized that there could be some ambiguity to his character. And I 577 00:41:27,660 --> 00:41:32,820 think it wasn't until that night, because he was so over with the 578 00:41:32,820 --> 00:41:38,400 realized he could have elements of Hollywood and not be completely bad. 579 00:41:46,380 --> 00:41:49,740 At the end, the people really got what they wanted to see, two of the biggest 580 00:41:49,740 --> 00:41:50,880 icons in the world. 581 00:41:51,160 --> 00:41:53,980 And so, you know, it was kind of like a passing of the torch. 582 00:42:01,660 --> 00:42:08,640 It was so intense 583 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,940 that Vince McMahon goes. 584 00:42:13,580 --> 00:42:16,060 Where is your red and yellow gear? 585 00:42:16,780 --> 00:42:19,260 Vince goes, you need to go get your red and yellow stuff. 586 00:42:23,080 --> 00:42:30,040 My whole character of Hollywood Hogan was nothing but fun and being nasty 587 00:42:30,040 --> 00:42:32,160 as I want to be and having a blast doing it. 588 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:39,780 The Hulk Hogan character actually. 589 00:42:40,790 --> 00:42:45,090 Was up here and it brought me up and made me a better person all these years. 590 00:42:45,570 --> 00:42:48,970 And I finally understand what it meant to so many people. 591 00:43:12,470 --> 00:43:16,170 Psychoanalyst Carl Jung once said that inside of every person is a shadow self. 592 00:43:17,170 --> 00:43:19,490 It's where we keep the things we don't like about ourselves. 593 00:43:20,230 --> 00:43:23,790 Pride, ruthless ambition, tendency to violence. 594 00:43:24,710 --> 00:43:25,930 That's Hollywood Hogan. 595 00:43:26,530 --> 00:43:31,770 As much as we all want to be the hero that was Hulk Hogan, we all have a 596 00:43:31,770 --> 00:43:33,810 bit of Hollywood Hogan inside of us. 597 00:43:37,370 --> 00:43:41,250 I think if one were to go back and try to... 598 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:49,160 Do a post -mortem on the evil Hulk Hogan. At its core was the 599 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:55,900 fact that Hulk turned his back on people who loved him and supported him as a 600 00:43:55,900 --> 00:44:01,580 character. And creating a mystery, getting the audience to ask questions, 601 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:08,400 blurring the line, which I will admit now that the litigation is far behind 602 00:44:08,940 --> 00:44:10,440 Creating that... 603 00:44:11,150 --> 00:44:15,530 feeling of not being sure if what we're seeing is real or make -believe. 604 00:44:15,930 --> 00:44:18,950 For Hollywood, every night's a main event. 605 00:44:19,250 --> 00:44:20,670 Every night's a payoff. 606 00:44:21,010 --> 00:44:23,210 And every night's another trip to the bank. 607 00:44:23,530 --> 00:44:30,370 It was genuine betrayal and the hate that surely follows. 608 00:44:30,990 --> 00:44:33,270 It was a thing of beauty. 609 00:44:34,030 --> 00:44:35,470 If I do say so myself. 610 00:44:37,890 --> 00:44:40,550 It's the most Cunning men will survive! 611 00:44:41,490 --> 00:44:45,570 What are we to think of the duplicitous Hulk Hogan? Is he the icon who inspired 612 00:44:45,570 --> 00:44:48,750 a generation of Hulkamaniacs to say their prayers and eat their vitamins? 613 00:44:48,990 --> 00:44:51,670 A superhero who made it cool to be the good guy? 614 00:44:52,010 --> 00:44:56,850 Or is he the nefarious Hollywood Hogan who became intoxicated with his own 615 00:44:56,850 --> 00:45:00,170 and fame to the extent he brought down an entire company? 616 00:45:00,750 --> 00:45:05,750 Either way, for the most beloved superstar of a generation to become the 617 00:45:05,750 --> 00:45:07,050 prolific villain of the next. 618 00:45:07,740 --> 00:45:08,920 is an amazing feat. 619 00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:15,840 If you really want to know what evil lurks around you, take a closer look 620 00:45:15,840 --> 00:45:17,620 the heart of your heroes. 621 00:45:17,820 --> 00:45:20,700 I am the master of the mental game for us. 622 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:23,640 The maneuver people like puppets. 623 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:25,900 I actually take what I want. 624 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:27,400 There's no being better. 625 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:32,720 And each and every time I hit an arena, I made sure I left my mark. 626 00:45:33,580 --> 00:45:37,400 Because I gave wrestling something that nobody else could have given it. I gave 627 00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:38,158 it life. 628 00:45:38,160 --> 00:45:40,380 And wrestling will live forever because of me. 629 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:45,220 The preceding announcement has been paid for by the New World Order.