Hulk Hogan wanted to be a bad guy way before 1996

[PSachkovsky]

In a newly published interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine, TNA Wrestling Superstar Hulk Hogan claims that he had proposed to turn heel six years before he actually did in World Championship Wrestling, during the 1990 build-up to his all-babyface WWF Championship match against Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VI.

“Vince and I were best friends, but when we talked about money, we were enemies,” said Hogan. “So I went [to WCW] with the red and yellow, beat Ric Flair, and Hulkamania took off again. Then, creatively, I turned into a bad guy, which I always wanted to do in the WWF, but nobody wanted me to. I always said, ‘I could be the best bad guy ever. Just let me do it’, but no-one wanted me to be a bad guy.

“At Warrior’s time, I really wanted to f–k him as a bad guy; I wanted to beat The Ultimate Warrior in Toronto, but as a heel. I just thought it would be intense, and I would be the best bad guy ever. I could have done it, and then said, ‘Forget the prayers and the vitamins, I did it for the money!’ But it’s just creative differences, and Vince knows what he’s doing, believe me. I just wanted to try something different in the WWF.”

When Hogan turned heel to form the New World Order with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash at Bash at the Beach on July 7, 1996, he was very hesitant on the career-altering maneuver. Former WCW boss Eric Bischoff stated in his 2006 autobiography, Controversy Creates Cash, that Hogan was initially dismissive toward his idea of leaving the red and yellow behind to become a villain. Then shortly after Hall and Nash became a force on WCW programming, Hogan, who had not spoken to Bischoff in months, proposed that he be the third man in the group. Up until the pay-per-view event at Daytona Beach, Bischoff was unsure if Hogan would follow-through on the idea, and had Sting agree to join the New World Order in case “The Hulkster” changed his mind at the last minute.

The six-page interview with Hulk Hogan is in Issue 91 of FSM, available now from WH Smiths and Easons in the UK and Ireland, and for iPhone/iPad and Android via FightingSpiritMagazine.co.uk.

 

[Leo C]

That would've been great, actually. It was around that time he was getting stale, I think.

 

[Testify]

Damn, Sting joining in instead of Brother would be dope.

 

[Lockard 23]

Yeah right. As the article states, Bischoff said in his book that when he proposed a heel turn for Hogan in early 1996, he 'politely kicked him out of his house." Hogan even stated in interviews after WCW's demise that he couldn't completely enjoy the heel run in WCW because he didn't do charity as often and the kids didn't run up to him in large numbers like they used to.

Just saying, always take anything Hulk Hogan says with a grain of salt. That includes the recent article where Hogan said he wanted to try and get Sting to jump to WWF, as Sting was barely a star yet and no way do I believe that Hogan was giddy about giving up his spot to another guy. It even disturbed Hogan for years that Warrior got a clean win over him that he never got back (until he eventually did much later.)

Also, I would have hated Sting joining the NWO as their leader. We'd already seen Hogan battle and conquer a long list of evil doers during his Hulkamania run (that includes almost every single member of the Bobby Heenan Family.) Do you really want to see him be the big hero against the New World Order as well? It was more interesting with Hogan as the big villain of this new huge villainous group, with someone else playing the part of trying to take down and defeat him, which was especially great considering Hogan was the big hero exactly a decade earlier.