Hulk Hogan Speaks Out – One Last Match, TNA, More
By chicknwings
Source: Monday Night Mayhem, R.A.W. Radio
Hulk Hogan recently spoke about to Monday Night Mayhem & R.A.W. Radio about TNA, one last match and more. Here are the highlights:
On TNA: “The first thing I learned was to slow down. I thought right away go to Monday nights, do this, do that, make some changes. Number one, it doesn’t happen that way. Dixie Carter owns the company. Her family put their life & blood into this thing, and I’m the ‘Johnny Come Lately’ who’s trying to help them. They have given me an upper hand creatively to help with the direction. We’re trying to make wrestling not the way it used to be, We’re trying to make wrestling like it should be. We are just going to slow down and make sure we are real consistent.”
On One Last Match: That’s a tough question, but as honest as I could be, because I don’t know the answer yet, from four & a half months from back surgery number eight, I would say it’s a 50-50 chance. If you would have asked me this two months ago, I would have said no way. If I could get six & a half months under my belt, I’d pretty much know the answer to that. If I did land wrong or something, I just don’t know if all this hardware & stuff would hold together.”
On Returning To Canada: “The last time I was in Brantford I can’t even remember who I wrestled, but I’m sure the fans can tell you. The building is electric. The fans are electric. It’s a dream come true to come back, and I’ve been around the block a couple of times, and you guys know all the craziness, but at the end of the day, when you talk about loyal fans & fans that stick up for you and show a promoter who they love: You can’t make them boo somebody they don’t wanna boo, such as what happened the last time I wrestled in Canada against The Rock. The fans in Canada are so loyal, and nobody tells them what to do, and who to love, and who to hate, and that’s why I’m digging coming back.”
On WrestleMania 18: “It was like the Toronto fans slapping me and saying, ‘don’t you know who the hell you are – you’re HULK HOGAN!!!’. It was a huge wake up call for me. I wasn’t bowing down…I was just going with the storyline. Whether it’s the right way to go or if you’re going against the grain…you just have a feel for things. Everybody has a different feel for things. I kinda had a feel for what was going on in the ring. At that time, The Rock was so hot. He was the favorite son – he had the Scorpion King coming out. I just wanted to put on a great show. But the fans really stepped up. And I did the job – no big deal – but the fans stepped up and told the promoter, The Rock and Hulk Hogan who they love, and who they wanna cheer for. And with a huge Canadian hand – slapped me and said ‘you’re Hulk Hogan…don’t you ever forget it!”
On Going to TNA: “When my wife divorced me. And my son finally got out of jail. And my daughter moved away from everything. I bottomed out, brother. When I didn’t have any family around. When everything went down…all I had left – the only thing I had left – was my life and wrestling. Before it was WWE – it’s a beautiful open door and sometimes it’s great to work there and at other times, it’s not. But TNA had their arms wide open and Dixie Carter had wanted me to come to TNA for years. Now, when I look at the big picture, and I realize I gotta slow down – and I can’t push Mondays or throw my weight around – my main motivation is not to keep how wrestling how it used to be…but to make wrestling how it should be!”
On Not Facing Flair At WrestleMania 8: “Both Hogan & Flair were tearing it up. If you ask him (Flair), he can count on his fingers how many shows we sold out. That year felt like it should’ve been Hogan vs. Flair at WrestleMania. But I don’t know what Vince saw – if he wanted to have 2 main events or something – but he tore us apart and put me in with Sid. That’s fine – it’s his company. I still don’t know what Vince saw – but he obviously saw something that nobody else saw because his company is still out there and far ahead of everybody else”