83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff - Episode 384: Hulkamania Will Live Forever

Episode Date: July 26, 2025

On this very special edition 83 Weeks, Eric shares his thoughts and emotions on the passing of one of his best friends, Hulk Hogan. INDACLOUD - If you’re 21 or older, get 25% OFF your first order + free shipping @IndaCloud with code 83WEEKS at https://inda.shop/83WEEKS  ! #indacloudpod STOPBOX - Get firearm security redesigned and save 10% off @StopBoxUSA with code 83WEEKS at https://stopboxusa.com/83WEEKS  #stopboxpod BLUECHEW - Visit https://bluechew.com  and try your first month of BlueChew FREE when you use promo code 83WEEKS -- just pay $5 shipping. RIDGE - Upgrade your wallet today! Get 10% Off @Ridge with code 83WEEKS at https://www.Ridge.com/83WEEKS ! #Ridgepod ROCKET MONEY - Download the Rocket Money app and enter my show name 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff in the survey so they know I sent you! SAVE WITH ERIC -  Stop throwing money away by paying those high interest rates on your credit card. Roll them into one low monthly payment and on top of that, skip your next two house payments. Go to https://www.savewitheric.com  to learn more.

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at Conrad at save with Conrad. Give us a call at 8884250105 or get yourself a quick quote, even talk to a live person right now at save with Conrad.com. NMLS number 2129, Equal Housing Linder, let's take a summer vacation from house payments at save with Conrad.com. Hey, hey, it's Conrad the Mortgage Guy, and we're live at 83 weeks.com. And today we're going to be doing our most difficult episode yet as we talk about the life and times of the immortal Hulk Hogan, the real. real-life Terry Belaya has passed away at 71 years old. And Eric and I normally drop a show on Friday.

Needless to say, Eric's had a lot of stuff going on this week. So we are live on a Saturday morning and we greatly appreciate you joining us. If you've got questions or memories or stories that you want to share with Eric Bishop, that is the purpose of our show today. I realize that there's a lot of conversation in the IWC right now about Hulk Hogan's, quote, unquote, complicated legacy. Today's episode will not be about that. This is a celebration of Hulk Hogan.

I think this is the most tasteful approach. Not saying that everything else doesn't warrant discussion, but today, Eric, I'd like to focus on the good times, and I guess we should just go right to you. Everybody wants to know how you've been holding up and how you're processing all of this, Eric. A lot of our mutual friends have been texting me every few hours. How's he holding up?

Let's just hear it straight from the horse's mouth. How you doing, Eric? I mean, I don't think it's set in quite yet. It's, it all happened so fast. You know, this last week is a blur to me. It feels like it's been six months already. You know, I started out in Iowa being inducted into the T&T Hall of Fame. Got to hang with JBL and Jerry Briscoe and a bunch of other great people saw Tank Abbott there.

And it was such a high note for me. I mean, and I do before we get into everything else, just a shout out to Gloria and everybody over at the TNT Hall of Fame in Waterloo, Iowa, just a really, really great experience and it meant a lot to me. And I left Iowa to go to Las Vegas because I was planning on shooting some interviews. Actually, you went to New York. You went to New York first. Oh, that's right.

Went to New York. That's right. I went right from Iowa to New York to do Fox and Friends and announce our partnership with Fox for Real American Freestyle, which was kind of a big deal. And I was wishing so badly that Hulk was there. So was everybody else, particularly at Fox. They really, really love Hulk and were anxious to do more with him.

Got that done, flew to Las Vegas the next day, and I was there to shoot interviews with Chail Sondon, who is our play-by-play commentator for Real American Freestyle, and Bubba Jenkins, who is our play-by-play man. And I'm going to tell you this story, just to get it out, because it's how I keep things in the order in my head. but about 6.30 or so Thursday morning, Las Vegas time. I get a text from a good man, Mike Johnson, DW Insider. And Mike sent me a text and said,

hey, just giving you a heads up. Mike said, I'm not going to run with this story because it's not confirmed, which is why I have so much freaking respect from Mike Johnson and PW Insider as well, Dave Shear. but he said, I'm not going to run with a story, but here's what I'm hearing is going on. Again, I was down at Starbucks waiting for them to open so I could get a cup of coffee

and I get this text. And I go back up to my room. I thought, okay, I'm going to track this down. I thought I'd call Nick, folks on, and get a read on what was happening, see if anything was serious. So I put my key card in the room, locked in the room, and of course, I have the television on his background noise, probably 24-7. It was on Fox News.

So I walk into my room, I sit down on my bed, I pull out my phone, start to dial Nick, and then Fox News broke the story. And they used a clip from an interview that Hulk and I did on Fox and Friends, I think it was on May 1st, whatever the date was, a couple weeks ago, month ago, whatever. And that's how I found out. And from that point forward,

I've either been on my phone, on text, or shooting interviews with Shail and Bubba. Got done with that, got home last night, and it's finally now sinking in, but it's surreal, man. It's not just, you know, in my case, losing one of my best friends. is, I mean, that's a big enough deal. But everywhere I look for the last two days, it's Hulk Hogan. He's all over the news. He's all over social media and the outpouring of good stuff. Makes me smile.

Oh, this is going to be my sack of easy. you know it's just starting to sink in and it will we'll go about our business because that's what he would do he'd be kicking my ass if he thought i was moping around and as he would say missing a beat brother miss a beat brother so we'll adjust and we'll be moving forward we're live right now on youtube at 83 weeks dot com If you've got a question or a memory about Hulk Hogan, we want to hear from you. Eric, I did get some text last night. WWE did a really nice tribute to Hulk on Smackdown.

And I was so proud to see front and center, our great close personal friends, Jerry Briscoe, Bruce Pritchard, and certainly one of Hulk's very best friends, Jimmy Hart, right there front and center with Triple H and Cody. and all the stars of today and, of course, legends from the past, like Brian Blair and Ted DiBiase, were you at all interested or tempted or invited to go to Cleveland and be a part of that tribute last night, Eric?

Oh, sure, sure. Like I said, I was shooting. I mean, literally I went from reading the news or seeing the news on television. I had one or two phone calls and a text or two, and then I had to be on location to shoot interviews all day. So I didn't really, I just didn't have time to process. And of course, I was on camera. So I had to shift ears.

I couldn't allow myself to think about it. Otherwise, I couldn't have gotten through the day. But when I got through the day, I went back to my room and I had only slept about three hours in the day. So I was already well in the hole. But then after going, you know, finding the news out first thing in the morning and working all day, I got to my room and I was just exhausted and I fell asleep for about an hour and a half or two hours. And my phone was out silent. Of course, when I woke up, I saw I had a couple

miscalls. Paul Levitt called or texted, I should say, and Bruce and you. I mean, you guys were all trying to find me. And I was just, I was out. I was unconscious. And then when I woke up, You know, I talked to Bruce right away, and I went to my phone instead of looking at flights. And unfortunately, because I was in Las Vegas, the soonest I could have possibly got into Cleveland was like 6.48 p.m. And that's if everything goes right. And I don't know if you've been flying commercially months lately, but it doesn't go right. It very rarely goes right. I just thought, man, to go through all that and only make it halfway and get stuck in Denver or something.

I said, I just can't do it. But they did invite me, and I wished I could have been there. I would have loved to have been there. And I watched it when it was over. I saw it. And I'm so grateful to Paul, Bruce, Nick Kahn, the entire team at WWE, because they really did. it did a good thing it's a day that we never thought what happened

it's a day that we never hoped what happened I'm going to have Silva start scrolling some of the really nice comments that he starred that fans just want to get their messages out there but we'll start with Matthew Hutchinson who says to professional wrestling Hulk Hogan was its biggest star the number one box office attraction and its biggest superhero more importantly Terry was a loving husband

dad and a loyal friend to many a o tv production says i know he made mistakes in his life but he definitely seemed to show remorse for them and he turned his life to christ and that's good enough for me i want to i want to step on that one that's an important thing and this isn't something new for for terry jerry since the day i met him in 1994 had a relationship with christ And I think, like most people who consider themselves Christians and believe, as Christians believe, you go through periods in your life where you get closer to your faith. Sometimes you drift away from your faith. I know I have, and I still do, by the way.

It's an ongoing relationship that changes, evolves. but Harry really his faith was really important to him and it's who he was who he was the last five six seven years of his life eight years of his life it was the most important thing to him and I want people to know that because he was proud of it and he believed that professing his Christianity and trying to live up to the expectations that he had for himself and certainly the Lord that he could be a positive influence he believed that to he was so yeah we'll talk about a lot of other things that damn leg drop and all kinds of other things but his faith was front and center it was real I think everybody who grew up watching him already

knew that Eric I mean I don't remember seeing him on TV very many times where he wasn't wearing a cross necklace and I mean he used to his most famous tagline was about saying your prayers and eating your vitamins and training hard and listening to your parents I mean those are the four commandments of Hulkomania but I I couldn't help but notice that you retweeted and shared a video of the real life Terry Balea talking about his faith and I think Silva has that prepared for us we'll share that with everybody now let's do that I was sick and tired of myself. You know what I mean?

Just the two people in here, my real self and the ego. And I decided to turn back to my faith. And one of the things that I did was I put that crazy tattoo on my back of mortal, meaning I accepted Christ as my Savior. And he died for my sins and I live forever. So I put that on my back. And so many people think, oh, it's the mortal Hulk Hogan, the ego trip. But no, it was for that reason that I did that.

going to be important to me moving forward as being the vessel to spread this message because it's the only truth there is everything else is just temporary everything, fame, the money, the ego, the physical, everything is just temporary

and once you get that and you realize that, it's so important that you make other people understand that that's the only truth there is. So moving forward, that's the first foremost thought of my mind is to be,

a messenger for my lord and savior um that's going to take me where i need to go what an incredible video we're celebrating hulk hogan today and i'm so thankful that we got to talk a little bit about his faith gory james is with us here live and he says while i'm sad that i'll never meet the holster and earth a wholeheartedly believe we'll be praising jesus together in glory someday much love guys uh i got to say the the idea that you know we just in wrestling in this community we don't really talk about religious faith very often. And I understand that that is a deeply personal thing. But I do think it's cool that the real life Terry Belaya has kind of always been pretty

out front about that. And I know that that in and of itself will draw criticism. But, you know, that's not something a lot of people decide to share, Eric. And I don't doubt it with Holkester. We all saw the video. I think it was like 18 months ago. He and his wife's guy were baptized. Do I have that right?

Yeah. Yep. And of all the conversations I've had, and I was going through my phone. And what he liked to talk about his faith a lot. So many of the calls that we had over the last few years, the longest ones, because Conrad, you know, I'm not a phone person. No.

I love my brother and sister dearly. and I'll jump in my truck and drive a thousand miles to cook a mistake. But the odds of me picking up the phone to say, hey, how are you doing today? Now, it's just now, whatever. I'm not part of it. It just is what it is. I'm trying to get better at that. But I spent so many hours on the phone with Hulk.

And 10 minutes of it would be business, 50 minutes. would be him sharing what he's experiencing in his journey, on his journey, with his faith. And we shared so much on those phone calls that had nothing to do with business. Zero to do with business. Sometimes we'd start talking and we would forget to get to the business that we were originally going to talk about. It was important to think to him. I'm glad you guys shared that video. We're trying to celebrate Hulk Hogan here today.

This was not the original plan. Obviously, this was not the planned episode for today. But man, I can't believe I have to do this. But we are contractually obligated because we didn't know we would be doing this type of show today. So we're going to take a break right now and pay a few bills. And we'll be right back sharing some more memories about the immortal Hulk Hogan. all right guys it feels like breaking the rules but it's totally legal and it's better for you than that third cocktail you work hard well maybe you deal with life sometimes but you do

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10 out of 10 this thing's work awesome Eric we lost Conrad's feed and he's coming right back but would you mind sharing some more stories

that you remember about Hoke sure I guess let's start at the beginning I think I can do this without breaking down too so that's a plus I'm in Minneapolis. I don't remember the year.

It was a long time ago. And I was still, I think I stopped by my mom and dad's house. I was living away from my home. But I think I swung by. I was in Saturday. So I probably swung by, just say hi to my dad or say hello to my mom or whatever. Of course, came in and wrestling was up for Gagnez, AWA. And at the time, keep in mind, this is before cable.

This is before WWE went national, all that. And for Wiese, we've been hearing and in Vernon would tease and promo, you know, Hulk Hogan coming to the, and he would say his name as a monster, whatever they referred to, it was kind of a mystery guy, but they would talk about six foot, seven, three hundred and fifty, I mean, it built them up, you know, so great. I think it was Gene Oakland. I was doing it, might a bet. No, it wasn't Gene.

Wasn't Gene? It might have been Marty O'Neill. There's Gene. Anyway, whatever, whoever it was. And this is back when they were shooting in the studio, right? WTCN Channel 11 is the studio at the Calhoun Beach Club by Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. And I'm sitting at home watching and I'm thinking, oh, this is great. I'll be able to see who this monster is that they're bringing in. Everybody's been buzzing about. And you can manage the cameras on the announcement. assume it was Gene. And Hulk comes walking into the frame behind the camera. So when he gets in front of his camera, all you see is his back, which is pretty substantial, especially when he was close to the camera. And as he finally got closer to Gene Oakland, he put his arm up, up the bicep that just covered up, you know, covered Gene's face. So all you could see was

bicep. And of course, I think the cameraman Joe Chupac who I saw at the T&T Hall of Fame, but it was probably running camera that day. Zoomed in and we see this big giant arm and Hulk turns around and he cuts his first problem. That was the first time I'd ever seen Terry Belaya in the wrestling business. And it was pretty damn cool. It was pretty cool. And then to think about from if I would have known in that moment, you know, what I know today, if I would have known what I would have gone through with that man,

today. It would have been a fascinating thought. I wouldn't have believed it, but it would have been fun to think about. That was my first real recollection of Halko. They're paying tribute to Hul Kogan all over the world. We've got some highlights from some of the places that this has been covered. Obviously, it's one of the biggest stories of the year. But it was the front page of the New York Post. RIP, Hul Kogan, wrestling superstar, pop culture, icon ogan dead at 71 even caesar's palace the site of russomania nine and a clash of the champions couldn't help but celebrate hulk ogan madison square garden the most famous arena here in america of course his new bar is going to be right across the street from there and msg thank

tribute to hulk ogan well levex sent me a picture of that shot right after it happened whenever that sign went up within minutes i had a picture from i was like wow this is this is i was grateful do you recognize the photo eric oh that's the 90 won the world title from the iron cheek oh wow that's the night that hulkomania really started in the w f the w e just released a line of legacy merch honoring the Holkster. I guess, you know, it's true. Hulkomania really is going to live forever. It's been cool to see all the coverage. I mean, I've heard from people that I don't normally hear from, people who are not wrestling fans, people who have never had conversations with about

wrestling, Eric, they've been reaching out to me. I can only imagine what your phone's been like. It's been hard. And I'm like when I get texts and phone calls, I have to return. them. I can't just not return them. And I've got a lot of work ahead of me. So people have called or texted, whatever, and I haven't responded yet. Just know that I will. This is the first day I've been home since this all went down. It'll take me a couple hours to get my ears grinding again. But I will reach back out to everybody. And some of, you know, people that are close to me and we're close to Hulk. Kevin Nash, I really, really want to reach out and have a conversation with Kevin and DDP and a lot of other people that are important to me and

we're important to all we know that Hulk Hogan is uh you know clearly and firmly on the the Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling but i was kind of shocked by is that we even heard that Vince McMahon came out of hibernation he usually is pretty quiet on social media but he shared a message on on social that i wanted to share with everybody here because it's so rare that we hear from vets but viz took to twitter and said the world lost the treasure today polkogen was the greatest wwee superstar of all time someone who was loved and admired around the world he was a trailblazer the first performer who transitioned from being a wrestling star into a global phenomenon

His grit and unbridled thirst for success were unparalleled. It made him the consummate performer. He gave everything he had to the audience whom he appreciated, respected, and loved. He leaves us with one of his favorite expressions. Train, take your vitamins, and say your prayers. Today we pray for him. I thought it was really awesome to hear from Vince McMahon, because I do think when most people think of the WWF and that golden era,

they often think about Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon together. This is just the day that I don't think many of us were prepared for. What did you think of Vince's statement there, Eric? I was grateful for it. I was happy to see it. Because Vince was such an important part of Hulk's life. And, you know, talk about complicated, those two had a very complicated relationship. I'm not going to use the word hate in the way people would normally use love, hate

relationship, but it was a love stressful relationship at the very least. But it was because they're both very much alike, both very aggressive, you know, both had a vision, both driven in ways that I've, very few people that I've, met are. And that's probably why they, look, Hulk always loved Vince. Even when all came over to WCW in 94, he was, he was very respectful of Vince. He didn't bury Vince to me. It's one of the things that I noticed about Hulk right away, because oftentimes when people would come to WCW from WWF at the time, there was a pretty consistent pattern. where they're leaving WWF, they're coming to WCW,

so they felt like, well, if I want to get over here in WCW or if I want to, you know, ingratiate myself here to management, I'm going to bury WWF, I'm going to bury Vince McMan. And there's degrees to that. Sometimes it was subtle and nuanced. Other times it was just overt and obvious. Well, it didn't do that. He was very respectful.

You know, talked about the differences of opinions, and in his version of sometimes the same story, which Vince had a different perspective on it, but we know how that goes. But he was always very respectful to Vince. And I knew that they were going to remain friends no matter what. I'm glad that Vince came out and said that. I know it would mean a lot to halt.

It meant a lot to me, because that was great. you know i'm not asking you to share anything we haven't spoken about this offline and i certainly don't expect you to give any real detail here but do you know if there are arrangements being made right now or when do you think there is going to be some sort of celebration of life plan for hulk i haven't talked to nick uh yet but um soon as i know well i'll i'll share it Um, I heard, I don't even want to throw the date out there because it could be wrong. So soon as I, soon as I know, I, I will share it. It's going to be interesting too, Eric.

I was thinking about this because this is really something I've never even had to consider before. But when it's a celebrity of this magnitude, they're going to be, is there two services? I know that even sounds silly, but I imagine there's going to be fans from all over the world who want to pay tribute and play their respects. I mean, this is, uh, something I've never even had to think about a, a celebration. Hulk Hogan's eyes. Yeah. And again, you know, I'll talk to Nick and Hawke's wife, Sky perhaps this weekend and get a better feel for it. I've kind of not wanted to bug them too much. Face that. I know they wouldn't think of it as me bugging them, but I just know. And I know what my phone look like on Thursday, Friday. Um, I can't imagine.

what they're going through and then on top of it, the emotional side of it of his mother and Alchus Guy's husband and he thought the world of her. She's a beautiful woman inside it out. She's

solid. When the time is right, I'll reach out to him. I'm trying not to be a burden in a way. You know, obviously there's you know, wrestling is enjoying a boom now and it's certainly generating a lot of revenue now.

But I don't think wrestling was ever more sort of fresh and hot new than it was in the 80s. It did feel like there was a pop culture phenomenon that was happening that was attached to Hulk Hogan. And I think in the 80s, you know, guys like Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson and Michael Jordan and Hulk Hogan, And like those became international celebrities, regardless of the language, I don't think it's overstating that Hulk Hogan was probably one of the most recognizable people on earth in the 80s, don't you think? Yeah, I mean, I've heard all kinds of anecdotal, you know, comments, remarks, to that effect. I experienced some of it, you know, I didn't really, I didn't get to know Hulk at all until

in 1994. So I didn't know them throughout the 80s. I wasn't around to see that when wrestling, WWF and obviously Hulk kind of brashed the scene in terms of American pop culture. I was just a fan watching at that time. But even in the mid-90s, when I would travel internationally with Hulk, unbelievable. I mean, traffic would stop. You know, it would cause traffic jams. You know, he was put on their brakes to stop and wave and try to get a picture and that type of thing. He really was one of the most recognizable people in the world.

And part of that was, you know, he's a big dude, six foot six, six foot seven, whatever he was, you know, as big as he was, especially when he was in his prime. And it, you know, that big food man shoe. I mean, it's not like he could walk through a crowded restaurant. and nobody would notice him. Right. On top of that, he had that voice. And his voice was almost more recognizable than his face was.

You couldn't hear that voice and not know exactly who had belonged to. There's no doubt about that. He was one of a kind. Hulk Hogan is a character that will live forever. I will say, you know, you and I've talked about this before, maybe we've mentioned it some on the show, But in real life, I know we've talked about how absurd wrestling can be at times. I mean, don't get me wrong.

I became a wrestling fan because of Hulk Hogan in a weird way. I know you because of my fandom for Hulk Hogan. I'm married to the woman I'm married to because I was first a fan of Hul Cogan. It's really weird. But as a little kid, I was a G.I. Joe guy and a He-Man guy. And then I saw Hulk Hogan and thought, well, this is my real-life He-Man. now of course in comic books your superheroes never die but in pro wrestling they do but I'm still a little taken aback when I see like a headline report from TMZ

that says Hulk Hogan dead at 71 because we all know that Hulk Hogan is a fictitious character Harry Belaya is who passed away at 71 and I just think that's interesting because when James Gandalfini passed away I don't think people said, oh, Tony Soprano died, or when Michael Keaton passes away one day, I don't think the headline will say Batman dead at whatever age. It's a weird, interesting thing that we're in love with here, pro wrestling. Is it not, Eric? It is.

And it's a double-edged sword in a way because, you know, Hulk Hogan became such, and still is such a powerful brand. And it's not. unusual in my experience in wrestling, professional wrestling, for the character and the person to eventually become one. Because in wrestling, you know, an actor doesn't leave the movie set or television studio, jump in his or her car, go to a restaurant, and people expect to see the same character that they watch in movies. But that happens in wrestling. And wrestling, you're constantly selling, you're always on.

Your character is your character for a long period of time. It's not like you're playing one character in a movie this week, and then next month you're going to be in another movie, but it's a whole different character and it's a sitcom, whatever, you know what I mean? You become, in the eyes of the fans, and sometimes even in the wrestlers themselves, you become that character. And I'm probably certain that more people know the name Hulk Hogan

then know the name Terry Bullitt for that pretty reason. We did a poll here on YouTube and we asked, what is your favorite memory of the Hulkster? 48% said body slamming Andre the Giant, creating the NWO, got 40% of the vote. And the fans cheering versus the Rock at WrestleMania 18, got 6%.

So many major moments in Hulk Hogan's career, you know, it does feel like in most careers, you could point to one moment and you could say, well, that was them at their peak. But Hogan had so many peaks. Do you think his high watermark was always WrestleMania 3 or was it something else, Eric? WrestleMania 3 was the one.

If we were sitting around having a glass of wine or having dinner and we're reminiscing, that one almost always came up, just a matter of time. Is it in the first glass of wine or in a third glass one? It always came up because it was a, and he just, he loved Andre. He loved Andre. And I think that moment for him personally, and he had so many other great moments, right? Big moments, seminal moments in the industry and as an individual. But Russellmania 3 is probably the one thing that he had to pick one, I'm guessing it was that.

But you know what's really interesting? interesting you bring that up as you think about Hall and again I'm not I don't want to make comparisons here because people get all up and arms up and stuff but if you look at all and Vince when Vince decided to go national everything that Vince did that we know that helped build where we are today WWE oh sorry sorry I just lost it. No, I was asking you about WrestleMania 3, and he's had all these big moments. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, thank you, thank you.

Thank you. But can you think of any, forget about wrestling, any athlete that could claim at least 50% of the responsibility for the success of WWF back in the 80s, and it was all convinced, right? One wouldn't have happened without the other, in my opinion. Either one of them would want to admit that. But it's the fact. And then, Hulk, you know, he has this amazing career.

He made the first time a professional wrestler on the cover of Sports Illustrated. You know, he's in the same picture frame with Muhammad Ali. And, I mean, he was such a big star that I don't think anybody could argue with the fact that Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon really created the pop culture phenomenon of WWF back in the 80s. And you fast forward, 10, 12 years, Hulk's career appears, at least on the outside, can be really winding down. Steroid trial, WWF stuff, the business, WWF's business was declining, it was deteriorating, probably in no small part due to the controversy around steroids and all that.

Clearly, that had a big impact. But nevertheless, the business was out, the wrestling business in general, WWF and at that time, WCW, was really deteriorating. The market was getting smaller, smaller, smaller. And then Halt came along in 1996 and was front and center in re-igniting a business that was dying. Dines is probably too strong a word. but was in a severe decline from where it was. And in one night, dashed at the beach,

whatever the date was, it was July 6th, I think, whatever the date was, turned the industry around, not just WCW, but elevated the entire industry. So one person over the course of a 15-year period had two major home runs, bottom of the knife, three men on base, blows it out of the park.

Not once in the 80s, but again in the 90s. And I don't think of another, another performer in the industry that can come even close to that. Nobody can, you know, I mean, the red and yellow and the phenomenon of Hulkomania took wrestling mainstream and what took wrestling mainstream again was the black and white of the NWO and it was Hulk Cogan that was the straw that stirs the drink in both cases and there's not another performer in wrestling who had that level of influence a decade apart we were just talking about WrestleMania 3 that was March of 1987 and then we fast forward to July 96 and he turns heel but really that story pays off or at least builds to December of

97. So you're saying 87 with Andre to 97 with Sting in the NWO. Those two stories, those two angles, if you will, change to the business. And what's the common denominator? It's Hulk Hogan. We're celebrating the life and times of Hulkegoan here. We are live on YouTube. If you've got a question for Eric, we want to hear from you. But right now, I hate that we're doing this on a tribute show, but we didn't know this was the topic but we'll be happy hope we'd love our sponsors because we wouldn't be doing this show so no apologies necessary brother we'll be right back all right fellas let's be real owning a handgun

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That's a great idea. And yes, I would love to see that. And for the reason we were just talking about who else has, who else can say or who can we look to, who's even no longer here, that had such an amazing impact on the industry that we all love today, that millions of people around the world are watching today. There's only one guy that was in both places back in the 80s when Hulk and Vince launched WWF together in many ways. And of course, in WCW with the NWO. So I think that's a hell of a lifetime achievement.

I don't think anybody else will ever come close. So, yeah, I'm going to be texting my guy that knows a guy that knows a guy. Here's another one from Daniel Meeker. Daniel Meeker says Hulk's heel turn and the NWO was huge. Monday Night Wars were so big. They ran Monday Night Football off the big three networks at another time. Another Hulk is the only pro wrestler to be on the cover, Sports Illustrated, which is true. And that was back at a time when Sports Illustrated really, really mattered.

Today, it's just another rag and there's a lot of them. But back in the day, getting the cover of Sports Illustrated was, it wasn't Time magazine person of the year level, but it was pretty freaking close for sports fans. So, yeah, that was a major moment. Here's another one from Travis Midway. Travis, hey, Eric, sending much love from here in the UK. Thank you, Travis.

Hulkomania will live forever here. Sometimes memories become more important than our dreams, goals, and aspirations, and he left us a million memories. You know, I agree with you, Travis. And after seeing the 10 Bell salute last night on Smackdown, hearing the reaction from, I'm guessing there are nine, or 10,000 people in that venue, hearing that genuine reaction and outpouring of respect, love.

I'm hoping that Hulk's legacy will be one that people can look back at bodily and not get wired in the internet wrestling community in full garbage because he left such, he did create so many memories. I mean, I was on social media this morning, getting ready for this, trying to get my head right for this. I knew it was going to be a little tricky for me. I'm going through like on Instagram and I'm seeing all these clips from back in the 80s and some of them back.

I just saw one. It was like in 1977 or 79, you know, when he was wrestling under a hood, Mr. Destroyer or something like that, whatever it was. But just the sheer volume of major moments in professional wrestling it's it's actually overwhelming you forget about them so many it's hard to remember them all but thank you for that we're getting lots of compliments here uh tricky i'd say hogan's biggest moment was beating the iron sheik for the w f title in 84 and started the boom we all loved eric i know you know i don't want to be negative today i know you're not necessarily a huge

Dave Meltzer fan and he does such a great job with the obituaries and I haven't even finished the whole COVID one but I learned so much little nuggets about things that predated my fandom about Hulk story but the biggest of which or one of the biggest was the idea that there was once an idea for Vince to have Hulk Hogan beat the NWA champion the AWA champion and the WWF champion of course we know it didn't happen hardly race famously did not want to double cross Jim Crockett and Dusty Roads out of Starcate 83. But clearly, Vince had big plans for Hulk Hogan, and that jump from the AWA to the WWF,

I mean, I think the night after Hulk no-showed, the Christmas night show in the AWA, is when they decided to put the belt on the Iron Sheik, with the understanding that one month later, January 24th, 1984, Hulkomania would begin. You know, I know that Hulkomania technically existed in the

AWA, but man, the business was never the same once Hulk Hogan beat the Iron Sheik. That's when Vince really pushed his chips in the center. Have you ever spent time? Did you ever spend time with Terry talking about that decision to jump from the AWA to the WWF, and was it perceived as a risk for him at the time? Well, it was a risk.

We, you know, surprisingly, have we had conversations about that over the last 30-some-odd years of our friendship? Of course, we have, but it never really got deep. We never really talked about it in depth. You know, I understood his, from his side of the story, because there's always two sides, right? And before I ever met Hulk, when I was working for Vern in the AWA and Kurt Kanya, of course I heard their side of the story. And I just bought into their side of the story because I didn't have any reason not to.

But there is another side of the story. And we talk about the Hulk side of it a little bit, but more in a lighthearted manner in terms of the decision that Hulk made and why he made it, which is essentially a licensing and merchandising difference of opinions. That's what started at all. But I think Hulk knew going to WWF was going to be a risk because people forget, again, I don't want to compare territories. I wasn't there at the time.

I don't know what the hell I'm talking about in terms of money. But what I have heard, what I have heard over the years is that Burns territory, the AWA was the one that everybody really wanted to work at. It wasn't a weekly territory, so you weren't on the road quite as much. And Vern historically, even though he was accused of not being fair with a lot of people, paid more than just about anybody else. So you could work the AWA territory, make as much or more money than you could work in any of the other territories, and not be on the road quite as much.

So leaving that comfort, an AWA was a very successful promotion of the time, financially and every other way. it was one of the top territories from a revenue perspective. And leaving that was a risk. And Hulk knew that. But he believed in himself. Sometimes he believed in himself more than maybe he should have in any given moment. But he believed in himself and he believed in the power of the Hulk Hogan brand and what it could be. Ironically, because now we're talking back in whatever it was, 80s, early 80s.

and Hulk saw the value of the Hulk Hogan trademark in the merchandise. And he wasn't willing to give it up where most guys would have given it up. Oh, it's T-shirt sales. I'll make it up over here, right, with the payoffs. But it was a line in the sand for Terry. And he believed in himself. And he made a decision risk or no, there's his mom and dad. It's awesome.

We're celebrating Hulk Hogan. We are going to be getting to as many questions as we can. So keep those coming in. But Eric, the reason I wanted to ask you about the perceived risk of jumping from the AWA to WWF is because we know years later he would face a similar challenge with you and WCW. He had obviously left the WWE. He was doing Hollywood, but it had to be perceived as a risk to sort of cut bait with

Fence McMahon and try things with Ted Turner's WCW. And we could tell how big of a fan and how important this was to Ted Turner. There's even a comment here in our live chat that, you know, we almost never saw Ted Turner do these sort of appearances. But when you did the contract signing with Rick Flair and Hulk Hogan, Ted Turner was front and center. Tell me about Ted, but I also want to talk about the perceived risk of going from

you know, I guess we call it the devil you know and Vince McMahon. Clearly by that point, they'd had their ups and downs and they were, you know, sort of hot and cold with their relationship. But to leave where you were an established star like this and the clear number one and to go to WCW, did he perceive that as a risk, do you think? Absolutely. And it was a huge risk. Now, it wasn't the same type of risk,

meaning when when Hulk left AWA to go to work for WWF, He didn't have a fortune. He didn't have millions of dollars in the bank. He was just working for a living like everybody out. Now, he was making more money than a lot of guys, but he wasn't independently wealthy. He was dependent on professional wrestling to pay his bills. Fast forward by the time he met with me the first time,

I'm guessing he had somewhere between $20 and $30 million in the bank. So it wasn't a financial, risk to come to WCW because he was fine no matter what. But it was a big risk in terms of his brand. Keep in mind, more than any other wrestler that I had dealt with up until that point, now it's probably a lot different now because the business has evolved so much. Wrestlers have become far more experienced and knowledgeable of licensing and merchandising and they have attorneys and managers around them to make sure that they

maximize those opportunities, right? WCWCW didn't have any licensing and merchandising. Hulk left WWF, which was a licensing and merchandising machine. Even back in the early 80s, Benson, Linda McMahon really understood the value and had vision for that value of intellectual property. It was a foundation of their business to this very day. But it was a big risk for Halt because, just to be honest, look at where was WCW in 1994? We're just coming off Bill Watts. That was an unmitigated disaster on every level, financially, optically, the reception of WCW from a PR point of view, we were crashed. and we really had never demonstrated the ability to be successful.

Again, look where WWE was. Even though the business was down, it was in a real downturn, they were still so far ahead of WCW from a revenue perspective, a television ratings perspective. And more importantly, they had the infrastructure, a proven licensing and merchandising, as well as production, infrastructure that WCW didn't have. We weren't a startup.

In 1994, we weren't a startup, but we were only like four or five years old. So the real risk was being a major star, the largest company in the world, in your particular business, and then deciding to throw your license, your trademark, your brand into a company that has never demonstrated the ability to do anything with it. That was the risk. Marty Ruiz is with us here live and he says, I had the pleasure of working with Hulk Hogan for 10 years.

I organized the NWO reunion here in Orlando. Hulk Hogan became a great friend and I'll miss him. Our chats and funny text messages that always ended with only love H.H. Does he always sign those text messages with Only Love, H.H.T.U. Absolutely. And he has been for, I don't know, decades. It wasn't anything new. Yep, all the time.

That's how I know that that guy's legit. Yoshido's 2006 says, we all know Hulk's ups and downs. What Hulk did to pick himself up was inspirational. Thank you, Eric. for standing beside him and helping him. If we all had friends like you, we'd all be better people. I mean,

I think the same could be said about Paul Kogan. If you take a look at Rick Flair's emotional tweet that he shared, you know, you shared your sort of story. I got a text from someone that said, is it true? And then immediately my phone rang and it was a friend of ours who works for a wrestling organization.

I probably shouldn't say his name. And he said, Hey, what's going on with Hulk? And I said, uh, I don't know. I'll find out. And when I called you, I can just tell when you answered the phone. It was real. So I didn't know what to do.

So I called Rick and man, he was inconsolable. And if I'm honest with you, I was a little disappointed that TMZ immediately put him on TV like that, but it is what it is. But man, Rick's an emotional guy. And he had a really nice message he shared with the world about the type of friend that Hulk Hogan was to him and I think this really speaks to Terry Belaya

so we're going to share that tweet here with everybody on YouTube Rick wrote I'm absolutely shocked to hear about the passing of my close friend Hulk Hogan Hulk has been by my side since we started in the wrestling business an incredible athlete, talent, friend, and father

our friendship has meant the world to me he was always there for me even when I didn't ask for him to be He was the first to visit me when I was in the hospital with a 2% chance of living. And he prayed by my bedside. Polk also lit me money when Reed was sick. Hulkster, no one will ever compare to you. Rest and peace, my friend.

Man, you can just tell, you know. I mean, I think a lot of people forget about that fact, but Charlotte Flair actually took to Twitter to remind everybody the same thing. When her dad got sick and was at death store in 2007, 17, Hulk Hogan was there. People don't talk about that side of Hulk Hogan a lot. I don't think, Eric. No, because it's, it's antithetical to the narrative, right?

I've said this so many times I know, and I know why, and I accept it. Can't fight it. But whenever I've talked about Halt, I have to say he's one of the kindest, absolutely true most gentle even more true loyal without a doubt and generous not just with this money for this time when you really needed a friend or when you really needed somebody to lean on he was there before you knew you needed it he is that guy he was that guy he was that guy. Sting took to Twitter with another tribute of his own.

He said, Hulk Hogan, the greatest of all, can't thank you enough for all that you did for me and for wrestling fans all over the world. I loved you and I will miss you. My friend, Terry Belaya, rest and peace. Speaking of rest and peace, The Undertaker chimed in as well.

He said, The wrestling world has lost the true legend. His contributions to our business are immeasurable. And for that, I am appreciative. Thank you, Hulk Hogan. Even Kurt Angle got in on the action. He says, RIP Hulkster, thank you for opening up doors for so many people in the business, including myself. There would not be a Kurt Engel without the American-made Hulk Cogan.

My heart and prayers go out to his family. We lost a real icon today. You know what I hate is I know that, you know, Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan were in the WWE at the same time and certainly in T&A at the same time. time, but I would have loved to have seen them interact on Real American Freestyle. We know Angle is going to be a part of the broadcast team. And I know that while the real life Terry Belaya was not an amateur wrestler, he certainly saw the opportunity and saw the plight of those guys sort of post-college.

And the idea that Kurt Angle and Hulk Hogan could have been a tag team of sorts for Real American Freestyle from a promotional standpoint, I mean, those are, you know, The fictitious Hulk Hogan character was the all-American hero. But the real life Kurt Angle was the Olympic gold medalists for America. That feels like that could have really worked. You know, I'm going to talk a little bit about Kurt and real American freestyle. And I know people go, oh, it's not appropriate. You're shilling.

Hulk wouldn't mind. In fact, he'd be pissed if I didn't. So a little story about Kurt, Kurt is definitely going to be a part of real American freestyle. We made that announcement about a week ago, I think. But the idea of launching a professional freestyle wrestling league started, I think, sometime in April. Yeah, middle of April. I got a phone call from Haltz said, hey, I'm working with these guys. And I didn't know who Izzy Martinez was at the time.

I certainly didn't know Chad Bronstine at the time where our two other. other partners along with Hulk and myself. But Hulk said, hey, we got this project. I think you'd really be interested in it. You want to come down and talk to these guys. And we had one or two conversations over the phone. And when Hulk, before I got down there, when Hulk and Chad started laying out what they saw in their head

about creating this professional freestyle wrestling league to kind of work our way into that combat sports genre, I knew immediately it was the right idea. Now, it's not going to be easy when I say I knew it was the right idea, not because I thought, well, this is going to be a laydown. Watch this. I knew it was going to be a lot of work. And I understood the amateur wrestling world, to a degree, and I knew how hard it was going to be. But I also knew that the talent, the athletes, and this is where Halton did. brother been out on the road with some of these wrestlers they're the real deal and i'm not talking about their shoot fight all that kind of crap in terms of their characters he said you see that connor mcgregor kind of swagger that everybody's so in love with he goes these people have that you're going to have to bring it out of him he's hulk saw so much he wasn't an amateur

wrestling so it wasn't like he was coming at this from you know that perspective of experience But his perspective and experience was in the ability to create stars. That's what Hulk knew how to do. He knew how to create stars. And he recognized stars that could be created. And he was so excited about a lot of these amateur freestyle wrestlers who I didn't know. And Hulk had met many of them because Chevronstein is Hulk's partner in Real American beer. That's how this kind of thing, this thing all kind of came together out of the

real American beer thing. And Hulk's confidence and our ability to make these amazing athletes turn them into full-fledged media stars, he believed that so much that I believe it. I mean, I can see it, but he really put me over the top. And then over the last month or so, I've been traveling around the country. I'm getting interviews with a lot of these athletes. You know, Real Woods, who was on Fox and Friends with us last week. Austin Gomez, Kennedy Blades. These athletes have such great stories. And they're just amazing people that now I know why Hulk was so excited.

Because when you get to know them, you can see, we're going to have a lot to work with It's not going to be easy, but we've got a lot to work. Clint Brady is with us here. One more thing, and this is why I will brought it up. So when I went down to Tampa to meet with Chad and Hulk and Izzy for the very first time to see if I really wanted to jump on board officially. Oh, yeah, what's going on with me this morning? I can't remember where I was going.

We were talking about Kurt Angle. Oh, Kurt Engel. So we're sitting around that table. And, you know, Chad and I, I don't negotiate much, as you probably know. It's not my thing. We talked for about a minute and a half. I said, okay, that sounds fine to me. Let's go.

The very next thing we did after I threw my head in the ring, Hulk says, let's call Kurt Angle. We're all sitting around the table. So the first person we reached out to was Kurt Angle because Hulk saw the potential and how much, not even real potential. Hulk knew how much Kurt Angle could contribute. to the team and he was he was hawks he was uh curt's biggest cheerleader we uh we're going to be talking to some of hulk's biggest cheerleaders in the comments on the other side of this break

we'll be right back after these words all right guys it's time to enter the room dick first blue chew isn't just a tablet it's a cheat code for your crotch stronger harder longer lasting like somebody gave your downstairs a pep talk and a gym membership blue chew is the original brand offering chewable tablets for better sex. Have you ever tried to fuck in a submarine? Yeah. Okay, guys, this isn't just about performance. It's about your legacy or your third legacy.

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one thrust at a time head on over to bluechew dot com for details and afforded safety information and we thank blue chew for sponsoring today's podcast i'm i'm trying to figure out the submarine thing but brady's with us here live and he says uh he passed exactly one week shy of exactly 10 years since we lost piper and they both rest and peace. And I don't guess I realized that, but was it 2015 when Roddy Piper passed away? Collie, time flies, doesn't it? Yeah, it does. And I remember, I remember Lori and I were on, we're on our Harley. We're driving up around in, somewhere in Montana. I think we're in Livingston, Montana. And we stopped in a little bar for a bite to eat. And, uh, I got a text from Halt.

I followed up with a call and he told me about Roddy. And then he, he, played for me the last message that Roddy had left him so I could hear it. And Holt kept that. He kept Roddy's texts. He kept his phone messages. They're probably still on his phone right now. I meant a lot to him. We're live and A-L-TV productions sharing one of their favorite memories of Hulk Hogan.

says hogan versus granny nitro 97 what a face off that was an iconic moment the old lady trying to get at hollywood that was perfect isn't that old lady reminded me and my grandmother when i first started when i first started watching wrestling story mine was you know as a kid growing up in detroit and my grandmother didn't like me much it's just i don't know what i did But she tolerated me kind of at best and pipped on me a lot. She voted over my little brother, my sister. But whatever reason, man, she and I were like oil and water, except when wrestling came on.

That was like the thing me and Grabber could do together. It didn't end up with me getting hit the head with a slipper or some shit. And we'd watch wrestling together. And she would get so animated. And she was kind of a mean German kind of upbroad anyway. But when she got fired up, oh my gosh, it was hilarious. But yeah, that old lady in 97 reminded me of my grandma Agnes. No wonder if she was so mean.

Her name was Agnes. Sean H is with us here live. And he says, thank you, Eric, for making that plane ride all those years ago. And convincing Hogan to walk them all in some different colored shoes. He showed the World Hulk still had a lot to give and made Monday nights unforgettable. Nicholas Blake sending his condolences little Jimmy Sorensen telling us he had a blast hanging out in Iowa and sending love your way. By the way, I wanted to shout out to the ad free shows.

So many of them came and were there. One of the reasons I had such a good time there is the people that were there to support it and me. And seeing the ad free shows team. there was pretty special i wish i would have more time to spend with more of them there's a little busy but it was really cool to see them how great was uh jb l's induction of ron simmons by the way jbl is in another universe when it's he he's one of the best there is at it no doubt uh layfield took to twitter he says one of the reasons i got wrestling. Hulk was always so nice to me and was the one celebrity that wanted to see all the

kids I brought over from Bermuda. Rest in peace legend, there'll never be another Hulkomania never dies. Eric, tell us, you know, you've talked to a lot of different people in these last couple of days. Have there been any Hulk memories that you had sort of forgotten about that it made you smile just to think about, something you hadn't thought about in quite a while? No, because I really haven't had much of a conversation with anybody. All my conversations have been, you know, a minute or less. It's just been that crazy. I'm sure that I will.

I'm going to make a point of reaching out to Kevin Nash this afternoon and DDP. And I know Kevin, Kevin's going to want to talk and I'm going to want to listen. But I'm sure some of that will come up. But I just haven't really had time. What I have had time to do is just scrolling through, like I said, social media. media and there's so many clips of so many things that I either didn't know about didn't know they ever really happened in the first place or or things that I completely forgot about and there's so many of them that it's going to be hard to kind of sort through it.

Ask a bum was not happy with the Smackdown tribute last night and said, WW lost me that joke of a tribute was insanely disrespectful. Hogan isn't worth a full show. I'm hurt and offended. I've lost respect for Triple H. Last night was supposed to be all about Hulk. Hascomb, let me just say, I thought they did a fitting tribute. It had only been a day.

And I'd be willing to bet the tribute videos aren't finished. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more on Netflix on Monday. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some sort of tribute at SummerSlam next weekend. I think the Hulk Hogan celebration is going to last a little longer the two hours on a Friday night, don't you think, Eric? Let me just see this. And I appreciate the sentiment because it comes from a good place. It comes from a place of thinking that Hulk deserve more. So this is not me being critical of that statement.

But just also keep in mind that, as you pointed out, Conrad, that came together in, you know, 24 hours, basically. I think what they, what WWE did for Hulk was amazing. Yes. But more importantly, I know for a fact, as I'm sitting here, Hulk appreciated that. He loved it. Don't be so hard on people that are trying to do the right thing. I appreciate you saying that, Eric. We're not going to be negative today.

We're going to be positive. That's what this show is about. But I will say I've been disappointed. There's a sentiment among. so a portion of the internet wrestling community that's more concerned about the optics of doing the right thing than actually doing the right thing and i think we need to all try to be a little better and have a little great just have a little grace man yes well sad uh mark 79 says sending mycadolence to you and hulk's friend eric uh what are your earliest memories of hulk's aura

when you signed him for WCW. That's a buzzword right now, Eric, the aura. It's because of the ring. It's the marketing. It's the ring thing, right? Everybody's got the aura going on. Very few people had the aura of Polkogen. He had a presence when he walked in a room.

But it's one thing to see that on TV. It's another to actually experience it. You mentioned when you were traveling in the mid-90s and you'd go international. It was just crazy. Can you tell us the first time you remember being overwhelmed with Hulk Hogan's aura and all that that brought with him in public? It really struck me probably in our very first meeting.

It was at the Disney. I think we're at the yacht club and he was filming Thunder or Paradise. I was filming WCW Worldwide. We'd talked to once or twice over the phone and decided to meet for dinner. And I was obviously excited about it. and nervous, you know, I wanted it to go well. Didn't want to say the wrong thing, you know. I was new at it, so I was learning kind of as I went.

I was excited and I kind of, you know, I knew Hulk Hogan was a major star. It wasn't like I was surprised at that. That's why I was excited to talk to him. But here's the difference between Hulk and any other celebrity, whether it's an athlete or an actor, actress, or a wrestler. Hulk would walk into a room, as we talked about earlier, 6-6, 6, 7, whatever he was. When he was filming Thunder and Paradise, he was down to like 260. They wanted him to lean out, right?

So he wasn't the big imposing 1984, Hulk Hogan, but he was still a monster, right? So when he'd walk into the right now, we're at a Disney hotel, so you can only imagine what that looked like at dinner time. And it was proud in kids and adults. And Hulk walked in. I got there first. I was seated there and I just ordered a glass of water, whatever it was. And I see Hulk coming into the restaurant and just everybody stopped what they were doing. Again, it's not like he's going to walk through the restaurant.

You're not going to notice it. It's like a big fluorescent light. And Hulk sat down and went through our, you know, the pleasantries, you know, hey, how you doing? I'm glad we can finally meet. Oh, this is going to be awesome. What do you want for dinner? You know, you want a glass of wine? Whatever.

Just a normal kind of conversation. Within about two minutes is when the people started coming up to the table. Now, this is the part that I noticed. This is what separated Hulk from everybody else that I had still to the state ever really been around. When people would come up and the first thing they would say is I used to hate the airiness, with people that said, excuse me, Hulk, I mean to interrupt. In my mind, I'm thinking, yeah, but you are.

I'm trying to have a business meeting here, my future sitting across the table for me, and you want an autograph. That's what I'm thinking, right? But I kept my mouth shut and just smiled. Hulk was so engaging. Like, he'd carry out conversations. I'm thinking, you can just give the guys autographs so we can keep talking business here, you know? he wouldn't rush people he made you feel like you were important it's one of the and he was so

disciplined about that and he was militant about it he saw another wrestler brushing off a fan saw people signing autographs and elite people standing in line because they got to catch a flight or whatever or whatever that happened to him because it did he would livid he hated hated when people were standing in line waiting for an autograph and he didn't have the time to not only sign the autograph but to have a conversation with his

aura and I think this is the point I'm trying struggling I'm sorry I'm just not as sharp this morning as I was hoping I would be I've been around a lot of other celebrities big ones athletes whatever actors actresses

and they'll sign autographs they'll smile they'll take a picture but they don't engage they don't make you feel important they don't make you feel like he was grateful that you came up and asked for an autograph that's one of the reasons that Hulk I think one of the reasons why he was so beloved is he was approachable yeah he was Hulk Hogan he was larger than like oh my gosh it's a human cartoon it looks like something that walked off a Marvel comic book. But he was so human and down to earth.

And there was no, I'm a star barrier. There was no pretense. He related to people that were like him growing up. He related to kids. He knew how, we talked about this off. He knew how important it was to make eye contact. It's a lesson that I've learned. It's one of the reasons when I go to a convention,

I don't just sit there and sign and hand them. I'm going to have a conversation with you, whether you want to have it or not, we're going to have a conversation. And I learned that from home, no matter how inconvenient it was. And believe me, it's happened thousands of times in the 30 years that I've known all. I've never seen him not go the extra mile, not just to sign an autograph, but to make the person asking for it feel important. well said Eric Brian Fry is with us here live he says hey Eric and Conrad Eric you and

Hulk are such a big part of my childhood and it's hard seeing a part of that leave Eric when WCW went out what were you and Hulk's conversations about Vince buying WCW did you have conversations about zero that never never came up I mean nothing happened so fast it was you know one minute I'm on a beach drinking of my tie getting ready to fly home to take over WCW with Brian Bedal and Steve Greenberg and 20 minutes later I'm not.

Shortly thereafter, Vince got it. So it all happened so fast and I don't recall us talking about it to be honest. Zol Lopez says for fans who are struggling with ways to honor their childhood hero, what are some ideas you could provide, Eric? Would you

recommending watching Hulk's movies or matches or taking their vitamins prayers to you and your family? What is a fitting way today for us all to celebrate the incredible Hulk Hogan you know I'll tell you what I'm going to do later on today seemingly I'm going to get through this in one piece so I'll have perhaps a different perspective on things later today and be more willing to do what I'm going to suggest but for me I want to go back and watch his early stuff I want to go back and watch Inoki and Hulk. I want to go back and watch someone's early, early matches

and appreciate how far he came. I want to go back and watch him in the beginning. That's what I'm going to do. I think, you know, everybody's got a different relationship or more importantly a different memory, the things that stand out to them. And a lot depends on how old you were at the time and what your relationship was with professional wrestling at that time you know as your kid it's one thing as you get into teens it's a little different and then as an adult it's even more different so it kind of depends where you fall on that specter or that timeline but for me i'm just going to go back and watch some of his early stuff i want to hear his early promos you know i saw a couple of those this morning and a part of smile to my so that's that's what i'm

good chase street is with us here live and he says surfer and crow sting might be fairly close to major impacts. But let's face it, Crowsting would have never been without Hollywood Hogan and the NWO. Thank you, Hogan, and thank you, Eric, for the best story ever. Jamie Sheen says, it's up to all of us now to kick out and Hulk up. Don't let the big guy down, brothers. Thanks for all the magical memories, mate, from a fat kid in Australia that needed you. Matthew Rodriguez says, question, how much did Hulk help people with autism like Asper? or Down syndrome, et cetera, did Hulk do charities like that for the telephones and so forth? You know, that's the thing that I think has gotten lost over the years is, you know,

a lot of people give their flowers to John Sina for doing more Make a Wishes than anyone in history. Rightfully so. I mean, he's done a lot of great work for a lot of people. But one of the records he broke along the way was Hulk Hogan's record with Make a Wish. There were so many kids who wish. to meet Hulk Hogan and this is before everybody had a camera in their pocket at all times not saying that you know anybody did anything wrong I'm just saying Hulk did a ton of charity that you know really predates where the mainstream media

was in everybody's pocket at the same time Eric right yeah I mean we all know that he did it and and put a value on that we respect that right but We didn't get to see it all the time. You know, now whenever anybody does anything, and believe me, I would do it if I was out involved and if I was at Make a Wish and saying things, I wouldn't want people to know that I'm trying to support and contribute, do whatever I can because I've got a platform to share something positive with anybody. Yes.

So it's not like I'm saying I wouldn't publicize it. It's the opposite. Hulk would have, too, have the technology been there. That's right. He was just doing it because it was the right thing to do. And he also knew that it mattered to these kids. He talked about that a lot. It was important to him.

And he, I don't want to say bragged, but he'd let you know that Make Wish was a big deal to him. And he'd talk about the appearances he made and he'd share the experiences he had while he was making those appearances. It was very important to him, but it was real. It was legit. And, yeah, we don't know about it much. We don't hear about it once in a while, but he was grinding it back then, just like Sina is or was, and still is. But he was grinding it.

He was on the road 300 days a year. And when he had time, he was doing makeover. So that's another important part of Halkton. Don't know about quite as much. P.P. says, thank you, Eric. God bless Hulk Hogan. Louis one only says he was mine and many others childhood heroes, rest of peace. Emerson Pendergrass says, this is my first time getting to watch this live.

Eric, you and Hulk were a big part of my childhood of the 90s. I just wanted to say thank you and Hulk for making my childhood so special. Rest easy, Hulkster. You know, it's weird, Eric. I don't know that I even put this together until just now. It seems silly, of course, but. Vince had such a great relationship with Hulk and together they made magic in the WWF. but you and hawk had such a great relationship in wcw that led to the magic of the nw o with so much

success like i know that much has been said about hoggin in a non-positive way about him being political but i do think that you know communication and being on the same page and being a part of a team and everybody pulling in the same direction like it becomes clear to me and i don't guess i even really put this together that one of the things things Vince understood and Hogan understood and you understood is that you've really got to be kind of attached at the hip to make some of these big ideas come to fruition. The relationship that Vince had with with Hulk is obviously different than the relationship you had with Hulk. But being on the same page, creating a word I know you hate like synergy, that's important.

And he was able to do that in two different promotions with two very different people. I think that's a testament to the real life Terry Belaya and his adaptability. No, he, I mean, he moved up to Connecticut. He lived right down the road from Vince. He was, he was planning on being there full time. You know, he was ready to get into it because it becomes your life. It's not like a job, a job, you go to work in the morning, you put in your eight or ten hours, you get some stuff done, you come home, enjoy the rest of your life,

and you just rinse and repeat, you do that every day. I think professional wrestling, particularly with Vince and Hulk, we're really building the empire in the very, very beginning. It's a 24-hour-day job seven days a week. When you're not doing it, you're thinking about it. When you're thinking about it, you need somebody to bounce ideas off of. You need that, I call it riffing. And Conrad, you know, I reach out to you every once in a while,

and I just want to riff. I don't know what I want to riff about. I just want ideas to start bouncing around a freaking room and then zeroed in on the ones that feel good, right? That's kind of my process. And I think it was the same with Hulk and Vince. Obviously, it wasn't there. But when I hear Hulk tell stories,

and he would do it in a positive affectionate way, talk about going up and working with Vince and, you know, grinding away at Vince's house and coming up with storylines. He did it with so much respect and love, but I can see it. And Hulk was, you know, up until the day, I was debating whether I was going to share this and up, but I'm going to.

So I went to see Hulk a couple weeks ago. He had been in the hospital. I wasn't really getting day-to-day updates on this condition. I was cutting like I am currently now. I don't want to be the guy calling up. What was he doing? What can I come a visit? I do want to do that.

It's stressful if you're there and you're taking care of somebody and, you know, you're managing things and you're managing your own emotions. It's just the last thing you want is somebody calling up, taking your time or your energy. So I kind of laid back, and I would get information as it came in. When I found out that Hulk had gone home from the hospital, it was just whatever it was, three weeks ago, I think. I called Hulk. I said, all right, brother. Nick told me that he could talk.

Nick asked me to give a call, actually. So I got him on the phone, and I could tell he was weak. you know, he sounded tired, but he still had that, what are we going to do next kind of underlying current of energy in his voice? Even though he sounded tired, he sounded weak, he still had that, what's going on with Real American Freestyle, where we are at? Have you talked to Kurt? You know, that kind of thing. Checking up on me to make sure I was on top of my shit. I said, how come coming down to see him?

He goes, man, I really, really want to see you, but I'm kind of embarrassed for you to see me this way because, you know, I've been pretty sick. I said, when I look at you, I don't see the same thing that you see when you look in the mirror. So if you fuck that, I'll be down Monday. And I came down and was able to spend some time with him. And the whole time I was there, you know, bringing me up to speed and where he was at, kind of what he went through, which is a small,

I was there for maybe an hour or so. Probably the first five, 10 minutes of it was, you know, the situation he was in. But then it was like, what's going on with real American freestyle? He signed Wyatt Hendrickson yet.

And it's just like, what's the event to look like in August? We got tickets on sale. It's all he wanted to talk about was business, but in a fun, energetic way, even though he was struggling, it was just a little more effort than it should have been for him to even talk at that time because it's, you know, larynx and all the stuff got moved around during

surgery. So it was work for him to have a conversation, but he was the same guy. And I, I texted, because I, right before I left and I knew, you know, he had a nurse there, I could tell he was getting tired and I could tell the nurse was starting to get a little anxious because she had to, you know, she had to elevate his legs and There was a certain thing she had to do to make sure that, you know, he's going to stay healthy and get him on oxygen, you know, on a regular basis because that was one of the challenges that he had was the CO2 levels in his system. Anyway, one of the last things I said is, all right, Hulk, I got to take off. I got some calls to make, which wasn't true.

I just didn't want to be hanging around and become a burden or just be an obstacle, right? So I said, I'll tell you what, you know, I'm going to call over to chat. set things up. We'll see if we can get you out and get you on some interviews. Now, I knew damn good and well, it was going to then, obviously I didn't know what was going to happen, but I knew it was going to be quite a while before he was ready to do interviews. He knew it too, but he said, brother, I can't wait. I may not be able to do anything on camera for a couple weeks. He said, I'll be good on the phone. You can set some stuff up for me on the phone. He was so anxious to get back to work.

He was, and I said that, I had that conversation with him because I wanted to leave him kind of up and looking forward to something other than being taken care of. And I've just known, since I've known him, he loves the hunt. He loves the thrill of the hunt. But if I could give him something to be excited about, maybe it'll help him put up with the crap he's got to go. So I had that conversation about, you know, okay, I'll make some calls and see if we can set some stuff up. And I'm walking out of his house. I get to my car and I'm thinking,

you idiot, you know, because his wife's guy doesn't really know me. We spent a lot of time together. And I'm thinking, this poor woman sees me stand there talking to her husband who's really struggling and I'm trying to get him out to do interviews, which wasn't the case. I was just giving him something to look forward to. So I actually had the text guy and said, just so you know, I'm not really anxious to try to get him to do any kind of interviews. I'm not anxious for him to do but get healthy. I said he's always loved the hunt. I wanted him to have something to look forward to.

And she responded back. She got it. She appreciated it. It's just him, man. He just loved the hunt. Man, Eric, thank you so much for sharing that story. That's the whole Kogan we all know and love. Let's go ahead and take a break right now. All right, I got to admit, I was hanging on to my old crusty wallet for way too long that is until i found out about ridge a guy at the office john taylor in fact was the first person i knew who had the ridge and i didn't understand exactly what the ridge was

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I can't imagine we're done telling Hulk Hogan stories after today. Those will live on forever. Somebody who took to Twitter that I wanted to share their message with is Linda McMahon. She wrote, I had the privilege of knowing and working with Hulk Hogan for 40 years. Hulk was a dear friend and member of our WWF family. his legacy in and out of the ring will always be remembered. He was one of a kind. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, his friends, and all of his

fans. Your old pal Dennis Rodman took to Twitter as well. He says, NW.O. for life, brother. Polkogan, always and forever. Thank you for the memories we created. Great friend indeed. Keep his family in your prayers. Hashtag too sweet. Troy Eggman of Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame, Super Bowl champion broadcaster. From a fan to a friend working with Hulk Hogan for a few years

was a thrill and a privilege. He was every bit the showman and entertainer. We all grew up watching. Rest and peace, Hulk. We've talked a little bit about what Vince and Linda had to say, and we've heard from Eric, but even Dixie Carter from formerly of T&A took to Twitter to say, my heart hurts so much right now.

My heart hurts even more for Brooke and Nick, who all loved Hulk I was blessed to work with Hulk and have so many incredible memories I will cherish a hard day for the wrestling world today for hurting all over the world to lose such a beloved icon

rest in eternal peace Terry you know we haven't spent any time talking about Brooke and Nick you and I had a conversation in Waterloo, Iowa that I never thought we would talk about on the air but I said hey man I hope Nick

attends events like this in the future. I started thinking about the health challenges that the Hawkshire had had and I thought about Charlotte Flair and I know that Charlotte Flair will carry the banner for Rick one day and just at attending events and just keeping

his name and legacy going on but I know Nick has not necessarily been a super public person and I hope that Nick is able to attend some things and enjoy the legacy that his dad left because There's a whole lot of Hulk Hogan fans out there who have a lot on their mind today.

And I can't help but think about Nick, Eric. Yeah, I've got to talk a little bit about Nick. Obviously, I've known him pretty much all of his life. And over the last six months or so, I've started working, I say working, but communicating more regularly with Nick. Because Nick is very much involved with the Real American Beer brand. He's a part of that team. And Nick was really excited about Real American Freestyle. So we started communicating, just, you know, riffing ideas back and forth.

I have to say, Nick is turning into a very mature, responsible young man. I'm very impressed with Nick. And he's going to struggle. I can't imagine the avalanche of complicated things. that Nick is going to have to navigate, but he's a smart young man. He's mature and he's a good man. So I think we'll probably see Nick. I know I hope we're going to see him at Real American Freestyle August 30th.

He's going to be a part of everything we do. I know he's going to be a big part of here. And I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see more of Nick at some of these events just so he can feel the love. It's not like he didn't grow up around it. now he grew up as a little kid of people adoring his father and all that inside an arena but it's hearing the stories that make you really appreciate things even more than being a 10-year-old kid and seeing your dad in the middle of the ring and 20,000 people cheering him and chanting his name and all that obviously makes a big impression on the kid right but as an adult

as a man when he hears some of the stories that he was too young to appreciate or maybe heard for the first time because you know it's not been there with halt throughout his career. I think Nick's going to be relieved and grateful. It's the only word I can think of. We're grateful that all of you are joining us. We're overwhelmed

by your attendance and your outpouring of Hulk Hogan's support. We're going to try to get to as many of these as we can today, but I want to remind you, we're not done talking about Holkogen so if you've sent us a super chat today we are going to address it either in this video or later this week because i think we can take victory laps till the cows come home for Hulk Hogan i mean i could read all of these messages from the different superstars there's been such an outpouring of love from social media guys like tony shivani who says his impact in pro wrestling is undeniable to the end of an era jeremy borash says he was a man who transformed our business there was no one like him and there may well be never another Nick Aldous says

Hulk Hogan represents his childhood into millions of others that deserves recognition I mean even the freaking White House that Hulk Hogan will be greatly missed like no matter where you are on American politics and this is not a political show and it never will be just the idea

that the White House is shouting out a quote unquote celebrity death I mean, he transcended maybe the word celebrity, but I really like the message from a guy like Matt Jackson. I know that a lot of fans have noted disappointment that AEW didn't acknowledge the passing of Hulk Hogan on their social media. I want to be clear they've not done a broadcast yet. They will tonight.

You got to assume they will. But Matt Jackson took to social media and said, would have never been a wrestler if I didn't watch the Hulkster. Always so kind to me and my fans. family. He made videos for my son that we'll cherish forever. So gracious, even when nobody was watching. Can we stop right there? Yes, sir. That was cool. That's amazing. Very cool, man. Yes. And the best part of it, oh, just one second. The best part of it was at the end. It's so true. Even when no one was.

watching that's the part of Hulk I wish people could see could have seen he really did love people all people he was that accessible he was that nice of a guy and as Matt said thank you man even when no one was watching sorry oh got me let's take a break we'll be back hey listen let's be real everybody knows there are things they can do to reduce monthly costs and improve their finances

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and would the NWO have hit as hard without him say if Sting was the third man I feel Terry never got enough credit for seeing the industry shift thanks Eric for everything over the years adore you you know it's a hypothetical it's kind of hard to really say the NWO the way it was set up Scott Hall comes in Kevin Nash comes in who's the third man that was just magic some of it was great timing some of it was a pretty decent idea most of it was the chemistry and the personalities that Scott Kevin Nash brought to the table it was originally going to be Hulk excuse me it was

originally going to be staying because I didn't think Hulk would want to turn heel It already had a conversation about that months before, and it didn't go well. So the thought of reaching out to Hulk and saying, hey, we got this third man thing, feels pretty good, would you be interested? That thought never crossed my mind. Again, because he made it pretty clear months before that, he wasn't interested in turning heel. I guess I want to talk about that for a second because, again, there's the perception. Oh, he's always just, Hulk was always out just for himself. It wasn't true.

The reason that Hulk so elegantly threw me out of his house. I've told that story before when I went down to ask him to consider turning heel is because I didn't have a plan. I was just like, hey, what about turning heel? No plan. No suggestion of where that might go or how to do it. It was just like a wrestling fan. offense. It's just like somebody going, hey, what if you just turned heel? And the reason I think

he felt differently about the opportunity to be the third man is because it was pretty clear where it was going. The story was unfolding in front of him. It wasn't just, hey, you want to turn heel? I don't know how, but we're just going to do it. That's how I went into that first meeting, essentially. But the NWO, he saw it play out. But it was originally going to be Sting. Yeah, because I don't think Hulk was interested. It took me a couple of weeks to convince Sting.

And I had a good relationship with Steve, still do, I believe. He trusted me so I could have a pretty open conversation with him. Steve, in my experience, has always been a very thoughtful person, meaning you lay something out to him. You're not going to get a reaction instantly. There's no tells. You can't tell if he likes it or doesn't like it because he's thinking about it. He's visualizing it. He's trying to see how it would play out for him and to see if he could be comfortable.

That was my impression, at least. Sting finally throws his hat in the ring, and then we know the rest of the story. sorry, Hulk comes in, it ends up being Hulk. But to answer the first part of that question, do I think the NWO would have been as successful and not, Hulk not turned heel and sting been in that spot? Honestly, no. Not as successful because Hulk Hogan turning heel as evidenced by the outpouring of support and love from people that have been watching him and being fans of him now for 40 years,

but back then it was, 20 years, whatever it was. That was such a monumental moment that there's no other wrestler that you could have plugged into that role that would have had the impact of Hulk Hogan. Nobody in W.W.E. would have had that impact, if I could have brought the Undertaker over, whatever. Nobody would have had the impact at that time of Halk Hogan because he was Halk-Friken Hogan.

is not a not a not mean to diminish stings the power of the same character at that time because it was powerful the angle would have been successful we would have made a lot of money with it i just don't think it would have moved the needle quite the way hulcon turning you was and that's not a reflection on on stings character at all as far as him being relevant to the 90s you know that's the hypothetical part who knows what could have happened there might have been a better idea. We'll never know. But because of his drive, his passion for the business, his belief in himself, his belief in the power of the Hulk Hogan brand, if it wouldn't have been the NWI, it would have probably been something else. We just don't, we'll never know what it

would have been. Hull Cogan was an inspiration to today's wrestlers as well. Matt Cardona took to Twitter and he shared a photo. He said, this is me skipping school. in 11th grade to me, Hulk Cogan, at the Times Square Toys or Us, it was shown on the Hulk Still Rules DVD. The Ms. took to Twitter and wrote, when I was a kid, I ate my vitamin, said my prayers because Hulk Hogan told me to. He was someone I looked up to with larger than life presence. I copied constantly growing up, the voice, the flexing, the charisma. He made you want to be bold, loud, confident. Well, Ms. you did all of that, brother.

Yeah, let's go to some web comments. Sure. Hamlin business, the Hogan Savage-year-long feud leading up to WrestleMania 5 is exhibit A of how a storyline should marinate. The mega powers exploding was perfectly dug. You know, I agree with you. Handling business. I've got a friend of mine by the name of Tom DeShane.

Tom DeShane is a writer. He's a Harvard graduate, very, very smart young man, a game developer. He's done a lot of things. And one of the things that Tom can do better than anybody I've ever met is take a really important storyline, like the Megapower, excuse me, like the Megapower and he can walk you through the structure of that story and compare it to classic stories, like by Shakespeare, for example. And he can show you the parallels in a successful wrestling story

and some of the most famous classic literature. And that's why the Bloodline story, the MWO story, the Mega Power story, those stories people will always remember and refer back to because the stories resonated. It's what drove their passion. So I love hearing that comment. Thank you. Let's take a question from Jared Lang.

Gerald Lang. Eric, what is the single greatest influence or advice all Terry gave you or had on you? Ooh. There's been a lot of it. But I remember, and I, unfortunately, again, I'm a little burnt out this morning, beat up, so I can't recall word for word, the conversation. But we were in Detroit for a pay-per-view, might have been Halloween havoc. It was probably in 97 because business had really turned around.

We had gone from being kind of an embarrassment for the most part in the wrestling business to being on top. I remember being in a limo with Hulk. We left the hotel, rode over the building together, and we were both feeling very positive. It was excited. I don't know what I said,

but it was something that obviously Hall thought maybe my head was getting a little too big. And he said something to the effect of, you know, don't think because you're here right now. now in this moment, that you're going to be here in this moment forever. It's a tough business. It's his way of just keeping me in check and not letting me get too confident because I probably was, hockey, borderline arrogant.

But he put me in my place. He just reminded me, okay, enjoy this moment. It doesn't mean you're going to get another one, so enjoy this one. And that's advice that I think about often. You know, when I talk about Hulk's faith, in the last 15 or 20 years, the conversation we've had about faith generally center around staying grateful and not allowing negative people, thoughts,

messages get too comfortable in your head. They can take up residence. But it always came back to just live in the moment and be grateful. Don't think so much about next week or tomorrow. Certainly don't have to think about yesterday. It's not going to do any good. Stay in the moment, stay grateful. Things seem to work out pretty well.

And that's some really good advice. So good that I had grateful tattooed on my wrist because every once in a while I've got to do this. every once in a while when I'm pissed off, frustrated, or don't have an answer, or otherwise overwhelmed, and just give it one of these. And it reminds me. Stay in a moment.

Stay in a great. Catherine Summers has a moment that she's grateful for. Hey, Catherine, my best memory was of you in Hulk standing out in front of the VIP suite at the Palace of Auburn Hills during Nitral. four rows down, and it was priceless. Hulk was the reason kids of my generation watched wrestling. Catherine Hulk is the reason a lot of kids and a lot of generations watch wrestling. That's magic about Hulk Hogan.

And you're seeing that outpouring, you know, today and social media. We saw it last night on Smackdown. It's amazing how much he touched, how many people he touched for such a long period of time. both i'm still here i believe conrad's back with this is conrad right well that's good otherwise i was going to start singing and dancing Eric we have been uh so appreciative of the time you've spent with us today i mean this is an episode we never thought we would have to do we never hoped we would have to do there's been an outpouring of love on social media and in our comments we eric and i are going to endeavor to do another episode and get to all of your live chat

and comments and questions. The reality is we can talk about Hulk Hogan until next week's episode. I want to highlight Jimmy Hart. There was a great photo of him that I think Silva has ready for us here. And there was a tweet from

Sigman Wrestling, who I think really did a great service to Jimmy. He says we should all aim to be a friend like Jimmy Hart, loyal for life through the good times and bad, willing to protect and put over his best friend until his last day and beyond.

I can't imagine what he's gone through this week, and I know he's one of the best people this business has to offer. He's one of the kindest and most giving individuals I've ever worked with. God bless Jimmy. And I know you and I feel the same way. Eric, we've had fun at times on the program saying things like, oh, I got Jimmy Harted into the deal. But, man, Jimmy Hart was a real true friend to the real life, Terry Belaya.

Wouldn't you agree? Well, there's one of the reasons why Jimmy Hart got Jimmy hearted into Hulk Hogan's deals is because Hulk absolutely trusted Jimmy. And that's in the wrestling business, in any form of entertainment business, right? It's not just wrestling. But in the entertainment business in general, it's really, really difficult to find people, that you absolutely would trust in any situation. That's Jimmy.

And yeah, I was probably the one that coined the phrase Jimmy Harded into the deal because I got Jimmy Harded into a Hulk Hogan deal with T&A. So I'm not saying it to be critical, obviously, but Jimmy Hart earned that. Jimmy Hart works like nobody else I've ever met. I cannot keep, I couldn't keep up with Jimmy when I was third. I'm 70 now. He's in his 80s, late 70s, whatever. I can't even come close. I can spend 70 minutes in the gym. I can do cardio. I can do a lot of stuff. I cannot keep up with Jimmy Hart. Not even close. And Jimmy is someone that you can absolutely trust. And that is such a rare thing to find that Hulk would have been out of his mind not to take Jimmy with him everywhere he went. assuming we would have his best. Adam Copeland, we used to know him as Edge these days.

He's Adam Copeland or Cope over in A.E.W. He wrote, as a kid, he made me believe I could catch my dreams. What a gift. Then he helped me catch some of them. He was the inspiration that made me believe I could be a wrestler forever changing the course of my life. He was the hero I needed at a pivotal time in my development. Thanks, Terry.

I'll miss you and our talks. Love you, brother. He inspired a generation of professional wrestlers. He captured the imaginations of tens of millions of fans. And we did our best to try to pay him tribute today. We fell short. I don't feel like anything we're ever going to do is good enough. But I'm sure we'll have another bite at the apple

when we pick up our conversation about Hulk Hogan in the coming days. Is there anything you want to leave us with today, Eric? No, I just want to thank everybody for being here. I'm sorry if I got a little awkward. Actually, it wasn't as bad as I thought, so I'm going to pat myself on the back for that. But just thank you. Thank you for the outpouring of support and love for all. It's well-deserved.

So just thank you. Well said, Eric. We'll do the time-honored tradition to close us out, and we'll be back in the coming days with more conversation about the real life Hulk Hogan Terry Balea. I don't know. B.