Insight with Chris Van Vliet - BONUS - Hulk Hogan Interview From October 2023

Episode Date: July 26, 2025

This interview with Hulk Hogan originally aired on October 5, 2023 as Episode #519. Hulk Hogan (@hulkhogan) was a legendary professional wrestler and a 2-time WWE Hall of Famer. He sat down with Chris Van Vliet for this candid conversation at Hogan's Hangout in Clearwater Beach, FL to talk about whether Chris Hemsworth is still going to play him in an upcoming movie, where Hulk Hogan ends and where Terry Bollea begins, joining the nWo and turning heel in WCW, his iconic match with The Rock at WrestleMania 18, the last minute plan for the nWo to turn on him after that match, his Voodoo Child entrance music, does he think John Cena should have turned heel?, his match against Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 19, how close we were to having Hulk Hogan return at WrestleMania 39, the biggest regret in his career, why he never had an official last match, his favorite thing about being in TNA, the advice he would give to his younger self, his pro wrestling Mount Rushmore, 3 things he is grateful for and much more!   Please support our sponsors!   PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/?ref=tibcloux  SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount PRIZEPICKS: Download the app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup!  TIMELINE: Go to https://timeline.com/insightto get 10% off your order of Mitopure!   VUORI: Get 20% off your first purchase! Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet at https://vuori.com/cvv   ROCKET MONEY: Download the Rocket Money app and enter “Insight With Chris Van Vliet” in the survey   HUEL: Get 15% off plus a FREE Gift for NEW customers with the code INSIGHT at https://huel.comMIRACLE MADE: Upgrade your sleep with Miracle Made! Go to https://trymiracle.com/CVV and use the code CVV to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40% OFF   ZOCDOC: Instantly book a top-rated doctor today at https://zocdoc.com/insight   BONCHARGE: Use the code CVV to save 15% off your infrared sauna blanket at https://boncharge.com/cvv   BLUECHEW: Get your first month of BlueChew for free with the code CVV at https://bluechew.com   PLUNGE: Get $150 off your Plunge with the coupon code CVV150 at https://plunge.com   For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests.    Follow CVV on social media:  Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Van Fleet! Hulkster. So good to see you again. Good to see you, brother. You look younger and bigger. Younger and bigger? So you're doing something right? I've been ate my vitamins.

I've been saying my prayers. Been doing it all. Let me tell you something, dude. Chrisomania's been running while, brother. You know, the trainer and the prayers and the vitamins, believe it or not, that stuff actually works. If you actually do it and you change your life and stick to that, believe me, I know. because I've deviated, that stuff actually works.

It's not just a gimmick? Well, it started out as a gimmick. But the gimmick was so powerful, it made Terry Belay a better person. It brought me up. So, you know, as soon as I dialed it in and quit messing around with all the other craziness, it actually works. Look at this spot you've got here, by the way. Thank you for inviting us to Hogan's Hangout, right here in Clearwater. Yes, sir.

And I've seen the videos you posted on social media. Like, this is normally, like, you know, a lot of people here, karaoke spot. you've got this is a pretty rocking spot yeah well i mean it's kind of like when i was growing up here this used to be called mandalay surf and all my kids nick and brook would come in here and get the board shorts and the roller blades and the surfboards and the wax so for years i was coming in here going bill bill the guy named bill and i said bill brother if you ever want to sell this place i'd like to grab it from him and he never wanted to sell it and then many many years later fast forward 30 years later he disappears the place is vacant

And I got my hands on it. So, you know, I wasn't really sure what to do with it, but I had a big club in Tampa called Hogan's Beach, where I'd have 3,000 and 4,000 people night come. It was a George Steinbner's old place. I bought from him. And so it got too crazy over there with all the electronic music. And after about three and a half years, I walked away.

And I just want, and my golf cart's like a minute away. I live right down the road. So I got somebody to cook for me, you know. And, you know, it's just so close to the house. It's fun to have my own little. place there. It might be the best kept secret that every Monday you're in here. So if anybody wants to meet Hulk Hogan, see Halkogan, sing karaoke with Halkogan, this is the spot. What's your karaoke song? Well, I don't have one. I don't have one, but I had to shut Flair down. Flair came in here

and you want to sing my ding-a-ling, okay? So that's it. Cut him off. I've got a gong. So if you cuss, that's the end of the song, but just the content of that song, because I do have kids in here. And I buy shots for everybody two, three times. during the night and the kids get milkshake shots. But it is like the best kept secret, but because we give away title belts every week, like to the best male singer, you get a title belt, the best female, you get a title belt.

Then we have quarterfinals. And at the quarterfinals, we give away cash, which was last week. And then once a year, we've got the undisputed champion, but we give away a lot of money. So it gets real competitive in here. And I've got people flying in from Jersey, from New York, from Vegas.

just to come in to sing and go crazy here. You know, Jason Aldeen's been in here. Of course, Rodman's been in here. It's been nuts. I just want to thank you for being who you are. This is our fourth interview together. I appreciate that you always remember me. You're always super kind.

It would be so easy for someone in your position to just sit in your very large, very nice house down the street and, you know, just never interact with fans. But I just want to say on behalf of all fans, we appreciate you. Well, brother, I don't have any choice but to think of about you because you're everywhere, okay? So every time I pull my phone up, you're on their interview and some really, really important people. So I'm just glad that you still remember me. So thank you. Of course. The reason we got connected, at least for this interview, is because every time I interview

Chris Hemsworth, I always have to bring up to him, what's going on with this Hulk Hogan movie? So I interviewed him about a year ago for a movie called Spiderhead. He's like, I don't know. Todd Phillips is off making Joker too. I'm not sure what's going on. Then I interviewed him for extraction to a few months ago and he's like, I'd still love to do it. I still love to play Hulk Hogan. Do you know what's going on with that movie? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. It was a situation where business-wise, Netflix kind of like missed the date, you know, as far as a business situation. And so I had the choice at that time to switch gears. Scott Silver wrote the script. You know, he wrote the Joker and did a bunch of different movies. And of course, Todd Phillips has done the Joker, Wolf of Wall,

Street and, you know, whatever, all the crazy stuff that he did. He did the hangover. The hangover movies. Yeah, thank you. I can't remember everything like that. But yeah, the script came back. It was amazing. I mean, because my favorite movies are like Scarface, Godfather, true romance.

It was there. Yeah. It was there. And I just went, whoa. But all of a sudden there was a business glitch, you know, and then they tried to fix it a few days later. And I'd already decided to move on. So my life rights and stuff are somewhere else now.

and there's a lot of things that are getting ready to happen. And hopefully, Todd Phillips and Chris Hemsworth will still want to play. But there's still a huge opportunity there. Did you have a say and who would play you? I would imagine you would. Well, Chris was the one aisle, even before we get into this, I said, if anybody ever played Holcomb, then I want to be Chris Hemsworth, you know. And then, you know, his birthday is the same day as mine.

So we talked, I think, once about the whole situation. He was all excited because he did. told me he'd never played a real person before. He's, oh, my gosh, your life is so interesting. This is so crazy. This could be the biggest thing I've ever done. And Scott Silver, the writer, who wrote the joke, he goes, this is the most amazing script I've ever written.

So it's powerful. It's in a different place, but there will be an opportunity for everybody to regroup. Have you heard his Hulk Hogan? Can he do it? Can he do it? Well, I haven't heard that. But if we have the opportunity to work together, which I really hope we do, do. I'm going to be there every

second of the day because I love guys like Chavo Guerrero, you know, who do a lot of TV wrestling and a lot of movie wrestling. But there's a mindset that and I love Chavo to death and he would be the guy and want to choreograph everything. He would be the guy. But as far

as getting in Chris's mind with what I was thinking and why I did stuff and why I moved to this corner to that spot and placement and timing, I'd like to be there to let him know what clicks in here. Why I'm so crazy. Yeah. You talk about me being everywhere, which is very kind of you, but you are literally everywhere right now. And, you know, Hulk Hogan shop.com and what you're doing with cannabis,

I feel like you're helping a lot of people out with that. Well, I mean, you know, I've been down that road with the pain fills, you know. The last 12 years, I've had 25 surgeries. So, I mean, you know, the knees, the hips, 10 back surgeries, a couple shoulder surgeries, abdominal surgeries, orbital socket surgeries. So I know what it's like when the doctor goes, here's a prescription. You know, and, you know, I mean,

sometimes when you're in such pain after seven, eight, nine, ten back surgeries, you'd rather just jump off a cliff than live another day. So it's really easy to fall into that situation. And, you know, a lot of other wrestlers that have passed away have fallen into that situation. And then there's a lot of people that have been deployed to Afghanistan and Kuwait that,

you know, have serious issues. So it's just like a more natural way to walk things back, a more natural way to get on track and get back to normal. So it makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons for me. How much pain are you in right now? That's kind of funny. Because I had a physical therapist asked me yesterday, if you could be out of pain or you can have a perfect championship walk,

what would you rather have? And I said, I'd rather have the walk. she goes, you're out of your mind. I said, yes, I am. Because everything hurts, like, just like, it's hard to explain. If I'm going to brush my teeth and I'm leaning on the counterbrush my teeth, I can't push away. So when I'm done brush my teeth, I have to lean in like that and then pull back.

You know, I can't push like a glass door open. Everything in the gym is short strokes. You know, I can't straighten my arms out. And then it's the same with my knees and my hips, my back, my neck. you know but that's that's because i probably wrestled too long and i didn't get to none of that stuff was fake you know so and i don't complain about it because you know something like i was telling sky the lady i'm getting ready to marry tomorrow congratulations this will be out so you'll already be married congratulations that's okay um she goes well how much

pain you know i'm in pain all the time but i'm used to it you know and my go-to uh in the morning just to get me rolling as two cups of coffee and two Tylenols and then that's it. That's as far as I go as far as the pain pills go. But I could probably lose the Tylenols at this point because they don't do much. Yeah. But it's just kind of like a habit now to eat two Tylenols or two cups of coffee. And where do your edibles work into all of this? For sleeping, you know, for sleeping because I don't like not to be normal, you know,

and clear-headed. So if I can't sleep or have a hard time sleeping, you know i'll wake up after two hours and bite one and a half or something and it just knocks me out like a baby but um i found that i'm not real good with not being normal so if i got a little buzz on or something to my phone rings oh my gosh it's my son nick i don't want to answer it you know so it's i'm i'm not used to that feeling yet is it difficult being Hulk Hogan and and i i mean that by you can't go incognito you are recognizable all around the world so wherever you go, people are going to know who you are.

Well, it's not difficult anymore because I thank God it's still happening. You know, it's kind of like when the make-a-wish stuff started coming. You know, I had the gimmick, you know, Venice Beach, California, I never lived there. Just train there, you know, I'm from Florida, from Clearwater. Venice Beach, California, da-da-da-da-da-da-da, the training pros and vitamins. And it was like an undertaker gimmick or it was like the American nightmare gimmick or it was like the ninja Daniel Bryan, you know. It was just a gimmick, but all of a sudden, because I'd hit on all eight cylinders with a very, very positive character.

And when I still had a little hair left and I was golden tan. I did look like the guy from California in the speech. And so all of a sudden, before I knew it, I had these make-a-wish kids coming to me. Okay, what's this all about? This is weird. I'm not used to this. And then as the years went by, I'd go at three, four, five make-a-wish kids tonight, I got used to it. I started appreciating it.

And then the third phase was the kids were still coming. Like when I went to the 30th anniversary of Raw, they had some McQuish, Sue Hs and wanted to see some McQuish kids, and you thank God it's still happening. You know, so that's kind of like, it's not hard to be Hulk Hogan because I appreciate it so much. I could be a wrestler that I walked down the street and nobody recognized me, you know. Yeah.

But it's a situation, you know, like Stallone says, man, I walk next to you, Hogan, I'm invisible, you know? And so it's just, it's really cool now to be, have the mindset and have the wisdom to go, oh my gosh, these people have stuck with me through thick and thin, through the good times, the bad times. They come up to me and they tell me how much they love me. I didn't have a dad growing up or I was hooked on drugs. I was an abusive family.

And I'm going, oh, my God. Well, I was saying the training, prayers, and vitamins and wrestling and doing my thing, it was helping them survive their personal situations. And so I've got so much respect for the character and so much respect for the people that are still with me. I had no idea how intense it really was until my latter years. And it took that long for me to collect all this information. Go, oh, my gosh, what a great find this was to be Hulk Hogan.

So it's not hard for me to be Hul Cogan anymore because I just can't move past people without stopping or talking with them. And when we have like autograph sessions at my store downstairs, my buddy Ron Howard's about churning and burning. But when I shake somebody's hand, where are you from, brother? How long have you been a fan? I like to look at him and talk to him. And Ronnie's, man, you can talk so much.

We make more money. I don't care about that. These people spent 30 or 40 years being my fan. I want to know why. So it's not hard to be Hulk Hogan. Yeah, you make the moment special. And I know the fans appreciate that. I remember our second interview, I was like,

thank you for still doing interviews, because you're at a level where you don't really need to anymore. And you're like, of course, I'm at that level now because I continue to do the interviews. Yeah, well, when I met Sky, you know, my new life has up tomorrow. She really wasn't a wrestling fan because her parents were really strict. And I guess they knew who I was, but they didn't know the whole gimmick, you know. And so she didn't understand, you know, the dynamics of, you know, hanging around me, you know, and I didn't want to run her off because I was very attracted to her.

But some of the whole Kogan stories are like, oh, my gosh, my dad says hello. You played basketball with you for 15 years in Venice Beach. Well, tell your dad and said hello, but I've never played basketball. I don't want to say, hey, kid, your dad's a liar. I mean, you just can't go there. Yeah. But I think she's to the point now where she understands that the people have been endeared by this character so much. Yeah.

Everybody's got a whole coding story, whether it's good or bad, true or false. they tell that story and sometimes I wonder what are they still getting out of that story? Like a lot of wrestlers will tell stories about me that I hear and it's just not true. Some of the guys are main event guys and I hear these stories and I wonder what they're still getting out of telling that story.

You mean the negative stories? Some of the negative ones, yeah. There's a lot of, I'm sure you've heard it all the time that doesn't work for me, brother. And I'm like, did that actually happen in all of these situations? I don't know. What do you mean? You know, there's a lot of people that will tell stories

about like, oh, this happened with Hulk Hogan and TNA or WCW. It's like, we don't know if that actually happened or not. Well, if I knew the individual stories, I could tell you the truth, whether it happened. But that was my catchphrase. That doesn't work for me, brother. You know, like there were several times when Rick Flare and I were traveling, and we do like the Maple Leaf Gardens, the main event.

And then there'd be like Bramford, Ontario, which I would always make the double shot. But every once in a while I had other stuff to do. So I'd say, Rick, take my car, you know, jump back on the plane because that doesn't work for me, brother. But that was my go-to line, you know. When was the last time you shaved your mustache? I think Kevin Sullivan did it in a WCW ring with that whole Dungeon of Doom thing. I think that Kevin shaved it in the middle of the ring. And then...

That was the last time. I think. So we're going mid-90s here? I think, yeah. And, I mean, I have shaved it off for a couple of movies when I did the assault. You probably never saw him. A bunch of old-budget movies, the assault on Devil Island movies with Carl Weather. and Shannon Tweed.

I was Mike McBride and I had a black wig on the color of your hair, a long wig like a ex-Navy ceiling. I had the mustache off. So people still would go, hey,

I'll go into a restaurant for lunch with a black wig and a mustache. They'd still nail me. I mean, come on. You're very recognizable. And you look great, by the way. I'm trying, bro.

I'm 70 years old. I just turned 70. And my new wife put this crazy surprise party on for me. And nobody's ever done that for me before. they've never surprised me with a party. I was crying like a baby.

Oh my gosh, I couldn't believe it. I saw that video. I'm like, that seemed really special. Yeah, it was amazing. You know, a lot of the guys there, Haku was there, and Flair and the Nasty Boys, big show. It was really amazing, man. What a night.

So I've told you this many times, but I love talking about WrestleMania 18. Yeah. It's my favorite WrestleMania match. It's my favorite WrestleMania. It's my favorite match of all time. I was 18 years old when I went there And I got to be honest with you

I was fully going in intending to cheer for the rock Cool And then your music hit and I went I'm a Hulkamaniac And I cheered for you Yeah I mean We can talk about whatever part about We could talk for three hours

About WrestleMania 18 I feel like Yeah What do you need to know? What were your expectations Before you went out for that match Because leading up to it the stair downs that you guys had had were so iconic. So when you guys are, you know, your music finally hits, what were your expectations?

Well, to get there, there's a huge backstory. Okay. And the backstory is working for Ted Turner nine or ten years, trying to put Vince out of business, you know, basically trying to beat him in the ratings and do whatever we could to be competitive. Because when I did leave the WWF at the time, Vince pretty much told me my run was over. and the red yellow was done. After the warrior beat me, there were a couple of years. Actually, after the warrior beat me that night,

I said, well, I try giving the belts. I go down and out, let me do the three stooges. Slowly I turn and let me go brown, even crucify it. I want to be Triple H, Hollywood, Hulk Hogan. Oh, you can't do that. You can't be a heel. I said, brother, your dad brought me in as a heel. Of course I can do it.

No, no, no, no. So a couple years later, I kept floundering around there. That's pretty much told me my run. was over and I went, oh, really? So I went and did Thunder and Paradise, and when I get bored with doing that craziness, went to WCW and did what I did there. And then it was a situation

where I was in a hotel room in New York called the Parker Meridian. And I was actually sitting on a toilet doing number two, right? And then my phone rang, I saw a triple H on the phone. And I went, whoa, that's interesting. So I picked the phone up and I go, what's up, brother? And he goes, oh, man, how are you doing? He said, we heard your contract is done, this and that and the other, whatever the verbiage was.

Vince would like to talk to us. I said, oh, cool, you know. And so one thing led to another. And before I get to WrestleMania 18, the backstory was the verbiage with me and Vince's, things have changed up here. And which I kind of knew that the rock and Stone Cold were the two guys that they catered to. Right. Because before, during the day, when they'd go out to the ring, it'd be Hulkgo, and this is what we're doing. That's what we're doing.

now I knew it wasn't my time, but it was the new guy. So I already knew that. But Vince went, oh, no, you're coming up here. You've got to really bring it. And I was like, okay. I mean, they're going to run faster, jump higher? What do you mean, really bringing stuff? I knew what he meant.

The work rate was quicker and faster and stuff, which to me doesn't mean anything, you know? My fault, and I didn't say it, but if you want me to bring it, you're going to be asking me to take it back, you know, because I'll, but I would never do anything under mine to hurt the boys or to hurt rock. But I just kept my mouth shut,

and the backstory still was, I think they didn't think I could pull it off. Or I think they thought that maybe I wasn't up to snuff to be Hulk Hogan, and say they wanted me to go down to Miami and rehearse the match, which I've never done in my life. And so I went down there and Rocky Johnson was there,

and my boy, and Pat Patterson was there, and there was this ring in a warehouse, and it was 100 degrees plus. And the rock told me everything he wanted to do and walk around, go here and there and spit his fist, and you go over the top rope, go through all the stuff that matches pretty much laid out.

And then Rocky Johnson went, Duane, listen to Hogan. Rocky was just like cheering for me, you know, which was kind of funny because he was a good friend of mine the whole time we're in the WWF. And then Pat Patrick said, okay, Telly, let's go to the math,

Telly. And I went, are you kidding me? He said, if I fall down in here, I'm going to get hurt. I can't wrestle with no people here. He goes, yeah, yeah, you got a Vince, don't you go to the mess? I can't do it.

I said, believe me, we get in front of 20, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80,000 people, I'll be fine. And so, you know, I was kind of wondering that if this whole thing is planned out, what if you start doing this and the people fart at it? Are you going to keep doing what you planned out? And so I really didn't say much, and then

we were in the dressing room, and Rock and I were actually in the same dressing room that night. Not a lot of conversation, but Rocky Johnson was in there. Dwayne, listen to Hook. thanks so we get out there and i expect fully expected them to boo me out of the building after hitting him with a hammer putting in in the ambulance running him over with a semi yeah i did everything i couldn't get heat i remember that i remember you running him over in the semi it's

like uh well in the ring smacked on him n w o style yeah well in the ring he said russomania yes or no yeah and when i said yes i went to pull away he held my hand yeah then he pulled me in a rock bottoming that brought kevin scott and And then we beat him like a dog. Fully expected to get booed, come walking out of the ramp, heard the crowd, and went, oh, my gosh. Lucy, we got a problem.

You know, people were cheering like crazy, just loyal, you know, over-the-top loyal. Then we got in the ring, and I remember we started and pushed him. We did stare down, which, of course, we didn't rehearse that. That was just done. And then out of nowhere, you know,

I think he pushed me or I pushed him. I can't remember. But I know as soon as he said, started to take over on me like he planned. The people started booing him out of the building. Then I cut him off and took over. And it took me about seven or eight minutes to get it right. You know, and then we kind of slow dance through it.

And it was a miracle. He was so good. He was so good with the timing and the placement. And just the, you know, just to listen to the crowd with his ear and his heart. Once we got on the same page, I could have danced with him all night. You know, it was just really easy. you know, and put him over, it's not a big deal. And, you know, it could have went either way, but it didn't matter.

It was just, it was, it was the art form again, which usually the art form is dead. But we went back to the dance of what this business is really about. There's a moment early on where you push him down and the crowd erupts. Yeah. And you kind of look around almost like, oh, like, you've been booed for the last six years, five years, whatever had been. it's almost like, oh yeah, like that's what it feels like to be cheered again. Yeah, and it was really cheap heat for me to acknowledge the crowd. But I was just trying to get this thing to a fever pitch so that when he grinded me and beat me,

he really beat somebody important. You know, I didn't want to pass the torch to some lukewarm, worn out old wrestler. I wanted to pass the torch to a guy that was like the biggest star in this business, and I just beat the biggest guy ever in this business. That's where my mindset was. If we're going to send him off, let's make sure we send him off the right way. And I've never been in the ring with anybody that could call an audible like him and be that open and giving.

You know, a lot of guys will freak out, tighten up on you and not go for a spot, but he was there for everything. Did you know that the NWO was going to turn on you after that match? Yeah. I knew they were coming down. Was it because of the result of you being cheered the whole match? Yeah. Was that an audible that was called at some point?

Yeah, the referee told me they were coming down. It's my Kyoto. Yeah, the referee told me they were coming down. All I remember is being on my knees and looking up at Big Kev, Kevin's got both arms over his head with a chair. And he's like, ah! And I'm like, oh, my God, he's marking out. And I never put my hand up. And I put my forearm up, bro.

And he hit my forearm. And I went in the back to say, Kevin, what is going on, bro? He goes, I never thought I was going to hit Hulk Hogan with a chair. I said, we've been working together. We've been working together for the last seven, eight years. I'm your boy. He goes, yeah, but it was WrestleMania. I had to lay it on.

Yeah, but if I had to put Marma, you killed me. But yeah, we laughed about it afterwards, but thank God I looked in his eyes to see that he wasn't even there. You know, but it was a lot of fun. And then Vince ordered me to go back and get the red and yellow immediately. So from Toronto, and I think the next stop was it was in Montreal? Yeah. So we wanted to send some.

somebody back and I said they'll never find my stuff and they will not bring the right stuff. So I flew back and got the red and yellow stuff and then flew right back. Flew all night that night on Vince's jet to get back to Tampa to get home to dig through storage, you know, to get the stuff and get my butt back up there. That's crazy. Yeah, it was intense, man. And my whole reason for going up there was, of course, the rest of the raw. You know, and of course, heels are meant to be beat. It was a fluke.

I slipped on a banana peel. He could never do it again, you know, whatever. I could have kept my heat. My whole intention was to have that two-year run with Stone Cold because he was red hot at the time. I was dying to get in his shorts, man, and make some money, you know. And so it was kind of like, you know, because I know Steve had some physical issues and stuff

with his nerves and his legs and stuff. So I was just like the air was let out of the balloon when I didn't get a chance to run. with him because that would have been crazy you guys know that when it comes to health and well-being I'm always looking for an edge and that's why I've been taking mitopure for months now because I want to be the healthiest version of myself for as long as possible like I want to be in my 90s and still going on hikes or like still playing with the grandkids or I guess at that point in time it might be great grandkids here's how this works mitochondria is our cells power generators

They're a key influence in how we age. But as the years past, mitochondrial efficiency starts to decline. And it starts to represent this big gap between the quality of life we expect when we're older and the one we actually experience. One way to think about mitopure is like they're the little Pac-Men in your cells, chomping up the damage mitochondria that make you feel old and tired, and we're cycling it into new healthy ones. For me, taking mitopure is really helped with recovering

after a workout, I'd start to feel myself getting stronger with more energy and experiencing less inflammation. I think it's worth you checking out as well. Timeline is offering 10% off your first order of mitochondure. Just go to timeline.com slash insight. That's timeline.com slash insight. Let's take it back to when you did turn heel in WCW. When you're backstage there and you were about to join Hall and Nash, form the NWO, turn heel for really the first time in however long that was. What's going through your mind? Well, first off, we didn't tell anybody.

Nobody. No, Hall and Ash didn't know if I was coming or not. They didn't know who the third man was. Well, there was a possibility because Eric had been, I was filming a movie out in L.A. And Eric had approached me about turning to heal. No, brother, it doesn't work for me right now, you know. I was making real good money there, you know, guaranteed money,

and I just wanted to keep things going the way they were, even though the red and yellow thing was starting to lose a little bit of luster. And it was getting old. And I saw, you know, Scott come out on, I'm just like a shoot, you know? And I'm watching this from L.A. And then Big Kev came out and power bombed Eric to the table. And I called Eric up and said, hey, I'm your third man. He goes, oh, thank God.

Because we were going to go with Sting. I said, bro, you can't go with Sting. thing. He's not WWF from head to it's in my blood. I mean, I'm the guy. So Eric didn't want to tell anybody, you know, so up until the time I went to the ring,

Eric goes, Hogan's not here yet, which of course I was outside hanging out. Hogan's not here yet, and if he doesn't come, we're sending his thing. So Scott and Kevin went not knowing if I was coming, right? So it's really weird

because when I look back at the tape, I know Eric was talking about, oh, yeah, well, we spent time outside and we discussed the promo and stuff, and I don't remember any of that because I just went out, and when Me and Gene came in, it was, let me and tell you something,

Me and Gene, I just rolled with my normal crap. You know, I was selling out the world, and you guys are pumping, bumming gas to get to high school. I just rolled with one of my heel promos, you know, and I never think about what I'm going to say until I get out there. Yeah. So, you know, everything was really cool.

And all of a sudden, I felt that cold, white heat where it got silent from it. And they started throwing stuff. I told me and Gene, I said, you need to go, bro. You need to get out of the ring because we may have a riot here. And then his nose was bleeding. He got hit with something. And he kept his head down. He was scared.

He said, bro, you need to run. Because if we start lighting this place up, we could have a riot here. Because it was that type of heat I hadn't felt for a long time. Yeah, that didn't really happen in WWF where fans with throw things. into the ring. That happened in WCW with you guys all the time. Yeah. Yeah, it pissed everybody off. That's for sure. But you guys also turn this whole idea on its head of like heels don't sell merch. Well, people are still wearing NWO stuff now. Yeah. Well, that was my whole thing, you know, because, you know, other than the art form of this business, the guys working together, I mean, you know,

this is a business, you know. So for me, everybody says, oh, this is a work. Well, it's not a work. this business is a shoot, you know, because if I'm wrestling Stone Cold Steve Austin and we're the main event, and he makes more money than me, that's a shoot to me. You know, so I've always been on my game as far as, you know, the best wrestler is the one that makes the most money. I don't care who's the best worker or who does this or that. This is a business, so the best wrestler is the guy that makes the most money. So this business has always been a shoot to me. you know so when i got when i first went to new york vince mcman senior always paid the champion

more than anybody else he would pay back one more than anybody he wrestled you know whether it was a couple grand more twice as much so i did the best i could to hang on to that for as long as i could you know it's interesting how like john sina has talked about how he wanted to turn a heel and Vince was like, no. Roman turning heel ended up being the best thing for his career. If you were able to give John Cena advice about that, would you tell him to turn heel when he was at his prime? Well, the thing was when you're at your prime, that's where you can turn to all, you know,

the scene of fans that never give up and just look at him and go, you know what, I did it for the money, you know? and he would be one of the hottest heels ever. Yeah. And then, you know, whether it's run a six months or six years or two years, when you repent and you beg for forgiveness, he would be hotter than he was before as a baby face. So it's a natural flow that once you get the vibe, you know,

out there and you kind of like feel the crowd, you can tell, you know, and John would be, John could probably tell better than, honestly, better than Vince once he's out there. Yeah. You know, I know Vince has been in the ring a lot, and he's very good because I've been in the ring with Vince. He's one of the best heels I've ever worked against. Everything he does hurts, though.

I can tell you that much. God. What hurts the most from Vince? His punches, they're brutal. I mean, I was in the wrestling of May 19 doing this all night long. Lighten up, brother, lighten up, brother. I'm on the team with him. I'm lighten up.

You keep doing that. You're going to be in here by yourself. I was giving in the office all night to the point we started laughing, you know. And, but yeah, he's, I told him to go up on that ladder. the outside to drop the leg on the table. He goes, you sure, I said, yeah, I'm sure to go up there.

You know, and he did it. First time he did it, it was perfect. Last year, you had talked about how you were close. It was the possibility of you working WrestleMania 39. How close were we to getting that match? But last year? WrestleMania 39, you talked about with Shane. Well, Shane called me, you know.

That would be this year, I guess, yeah. Yeah, well, Shane had called me, and he sent me a picture from Madison Square Garden. And I guess they got a Hall of Fame walk in there. And I guess Piper's boots are in there and some of my stuff. So Shane sent me a picture of him standing in front of my stuff. He goes, hey, old time, you got one left in you? I went, okay, what are you thinking?

He goes, well, I didn't know if you had one left in you or maybe a surrogate such as Nick, my son. And so we started talking, you know, and I said, the only way I could do anything was if I was in the middle of the ring, he just came to me because I can't run. I can't hit the ropes. have a hard time really walking distance. Taking a bump, if I got up, I'd have to roll to my left.

I can't roll to my right. The only thing I can get up is if I rolled to my left to get up for some reason. So it would be a stretch. But, you know, Nick was in Rikishi school for a couple of years, and he was in there with Rousseff and all those guys. And I would go out in California and watch him, and Nick had it figured out. Then he blew both of his shoulders out.

And I said, well, you know, I don't know. there's a possibility maybe to do something whatever the storyline is whether Nick is a heel and you destroyed my father's career so I'm going to destroy your personal life or if I don't know there's a million ways to say I talked about there's a million ways to do it

but then a couple weeks later Shane got hurt or something with his quad oh that was at WrestleMania oh is that where it was yeah but anyway with idea did a leapfrog and landed on it yeah so anyway that that whole idea I don't know how I just never heard from

the weekend so that was pretty much How close were we to getting your last match in WWE? Because as we sit here right now, your last match is in TNA, right? I think it's a six-man match in like 2012. You know, I really don't remember what the last match was. But I feel like that's such a shame because you're one of the greatest of all time. I feel like you should have one of those last matches against another one of the grades. I would have loved to have had that last match, but now it's completely out of the picture. You know, I'm just, uh, I'm just too beat up from the surgeries. And I think if I took a couple of months, you'd probably have to cut on me again, you know, but no, I really wanted to have that last

match, you know. Against two. And I'm, I wasn't sure, you know, I had, I think it was WrestleMania 25, was in Orlando. So I think they talk with Sina, right? Yeah, and Vince had me all hooked up with Sina and I said, I'd do it. Vince and I were talking every week and we were putting the plans together, you know, like the old days when I was in the office every day, him and I were talking. and every day. All of a sudden, I'm on the phone with him. So I was like, oh, my God. Oh, my back. My back went out when I was talking to Vince on the phone. And I just had back surgery number three or four at that time. And I had to go right in immediately and get cut on. So that was it for that. But I thought that was going to be my last match in the end. You know, but that never happened.

And then it just kind of like faded away. But then TNA happened after that. You wrestle, you know, a bunch of matches there? Was there ever a point during your TNA run when you were still able to work that you could have called up Vince and said, let's do this. One more. I don't know if you saw the TNA run. There were several times I was out in the ring with a back brace on neck collar. In fact, surgery eight or nine or whatever it was at the time. But yeah, it was, I wasn't really good to go after that.

I'd been cut on so much and so often that they'd compromise the, you know, the structure of my spine, you know, that they'd cut so much bone away and put so many screws in and stuff. It wouldn't be worth taking a chance at this point. With all of that said and the way that you feel physically right now, is there anything in your career that you would go back and change? Well, I've talked about this with a lot of people, and everybody goes, no, I would never change anything. But I know the leg drop doesn't look like a tough move,

but most people don't realize since I started wrestling in 77. and at the end of the day, the equipment wasn't like it was. Like, I remember wrestling Andre and Baltimore. He goes, boss, don't fall down. It was a 22-foot boxing ring, and it was like a concrete road that had bumps and holes in it and lumps. I mean, it was the most dangerous ring I'd ever been in in Baltimore. And whenever I wrestle Andre there, he would say, do not go down.

You know, because I had to wrestle more nights after that. He didn't want me hurt. and most of the equipment was just every, every ring was different. Now the WWE is so dialed in, they've got really good rings. They're all very consistent. It's just like, you know, it makes a big difference when you're in the equipment that's really, really good stuff. So all those years dropping that leg in those rings, you know,

with the board sticking up or laying it on my tail, but oh my God, what was that a rock in the ring? Oh, my God, was that a board sticking up? All this years dropping the leg, I would have changed. that and I would have never dropped the leg because at the time my arms were almost 24 inches. I had like the largest arms in the world. You know, some people say I didn't. Some people said I did.

But my arms were big and I should have used the sleeper. No bump. Brutus to go figure out another finish. Greg Ghani, go take a hike. I should have, you know, stolen the sleeper and done that. Yeah. And I think I'd have been in a lot better shape with my spine and my back. Where does Terry end for you and Hulk Hogan begin and vice versa?

Well, it's kind of like to come down here and talk with you. I've got the band-a-in-on-on-my-head. And when I walk out of the house, the mailman was out there delivering another package for my new wife. Amazon, my wife doesn't sell the time. I don't get it. There's like six or seven packages out there. None of them are for me. I mean, every day.

That sounds so familiar. You know, I'm like, what's going on, Sky, baby? You know? So the guy from Amazon, there goes, hey, what's up, Paul? I go, hey, brother, how you doing, man? So I give him just a little. Sure. You know, and then when I come down here, I get out of the car and come up here.

Oh, Mr. Hodge, you have not. Sure, brother, get over here. You know? And so they don't want me to go, hey, guys, how are you doing? I'm Terry. But it ends when I walk in the house. When I walk in the house, the bandana comes off my bald head. The Hulk Hove and gimmicks done.

I mean, I know a lot of wrestlers, and I don't want to drop names, so I know a lot of wrestlers have their title belts in the house, and they've got pictures all over the house. None of that stuff is in my house, you know, because it's a business, That's not who I am. I mean, one of my favorite people in the world was Randy Savage. We had an eight-year blowout and thank God we finally got together before he passed.

But he was one of my, I was with him every day because he lived right down the beach. We just spent, he was like my brother for years. But he never would come. And first off, his voice was like that always. But he kept thinking like the macho man. Let's go get something to eat, brother. Maybe we walk down the beach, you know, and we might see something a little different. He'll.

He ran. We stopped. You know, but he was like that constantly. And, you know, I love Rick Flair to death, but he's Rick Flair 24-7. You know, love him to death. There's nothing wrong with that. But for me, you know, when I go home, I'm, I don't want to self-destructs. You know, I don't want to say, oh, my gosh, I can't live.

If I don't hear the crowd or if I don't have the money or I don't have the adulation or that, that fix, you know, every night going in the ring and hearing that craziness, which that's hard to come off of. That's the hardest part to get that every night and then not to have it anymore. more. Yeah. That's why I got a gym in my house because that turbulence sometimes will build up about 10, 30, 11 o'clock to when I feel like I could go out and be an axe murder. And I go down and I just train myself so hard. I'm wearing myself out.

You know, it's just weird how you get inundated with that business. Yeah. So you got to find ways to work, work around it, you know. Do you have a great macho man story being his friend for so long? I got a couple. But, you know, for many years, when I was married the first time, I would, I mean, I'm still in the cars. I still do a lot of stuff with old cars. I get warehouses everywhere full of junk, but actually good stuff. And, you know, Randy met a buddy of mine, Tony Carlini out in Newport Beach, and Tony did all the prototypes, so we got to O'Aocca.

He did the LeBaron, the K-Car, the Viper, the Prowler. and I was doing in his garage and you have a viper with a full-scale clay car with a popsicle stick, carving out the door handles. Tony, that's the ugliest car I've ever seen. Of course, I bought the first one, right? So, Randy goes, hey, you know, I'd like to get a Lamborghini, you know. And Tony had just cars everywhere. Would you ever sell me the black Lambo who's like Don Johnson's?

So Tony goes, yeah, Randy, I'll sell it to you. So all of a sudden, the Lambo shows. up here and Randy lived right down the beach a couple miles and the lambo, and Randy calls me, I'll be, hey, Ogan, I got screwed. I said, what do you mean? My hat box won't fit in the front of the car. And I'm not a, I'm not a import guy. You know, I'm Dodge, Mopar, American-made American muscle.

I'm like, what do you mean? Don't worry, I'm coming over. We'll work it out. Bro, his hat box wouldn't fit in the front of the car, you know? this Lamborghini had the engine in the back. Yeah, like in the trunk. And I guess the front was the trunk, but he had a hard shell case for his cowboy hats,

and we couldn't close it. I want my money back. My hat wouldn't fit in the car. I'm like, are you kidding? He was dead serious. I had to call Tony and say, brother, would you please give this guy his money back? He's going to drive me crazy.

He thinks he'd screwed him over, you know, but it was just really weird. The only other one I'll tell you real quick is, it was kind of weird because I've been a boating guy the whole life. I've lived on the water, diving, you know, fast boats. My whole thing is being on, I'm the, I am the real beach bump of all beach bones. And, of course, I had a boat and I had a bunch of Harley.

So Randy went out and bought a boat with Elizabeth. I had to teach him how to keep it between the channel markers, you know, which was, it's like trying to teach somebody, you know, trigonometry, you know, but I finally got him to where he was safe. I said, just take this boat out of high tide. Do me a favor. So, you know, Liz was actually a little better with the boat than Randy. was but then he wanted a Harley

and I'm on the I said are you sure? So of course Tony Carlin he was the Harley guy also and I got Randy to Harley at rock bottom price you know that he wanted and we got it in his driveway and I just

kind of showed him how to feather the clutch nice to eat you don't give a lot of gas we just roll out through the driveway and just do a little circle and come back and don't try to shift gears bro he got on that Harley and he just left the crutch clutch out and it jumped him on the bike tipped he put his leg out and he pulled his groin muscle oh that's it very funny hoagie take this effing motorcycle back he never rode it he you know he jumped

it with a clutch let the clutch out the bike leaned on and he tried to save it and he did and he tore something in his groin and that was it wow we had to take the bike back too there's a photo of you that makes the rounds on social media where you're in wcdw cutting a promo in the ring and wearing a necklace that's made out of paper clips. Do you remember why you are wearing a necklace made out of paper clips? No, I don't. No, I don't. That's fantastic.

I have no idea. You don't know what I'm talking about? It must have been some kid that gave it to me or something. That's amazing. Yeah. Wow. One of the best things about you in WCW is you had the greatest heel entrance music of all time. Yeah.

Whose idea was it for Voodoo Child? I think that was Eric's idea. I don't think I came up with that one. That was, well, the NWO music, you know, the porno music, that was Scott or Kevin's one of those two crazies. But the Hendricks stuff had to be Erics because I don't remember coming up with that one. It's just so good, like the cadence in which you walk to the ring,

playing the air guitar and the title. Yeah, that was a lot of fun, man. I admit that was, it was really fun doing that NW run, especially when everybody thought I was kind of like done, you know. And you turned it around. Yeah, it was great. Absolutely incredible. What's your favorite part about your TNA run?

The favorite part about my T&A run, and this is a real self-serving answer, was how kind Dixie Carter was to me. Because from the moment I walked in there, I was getting cut on. Surgery after surgery after surgery after surgery. And all I can say is I was never in that situation, but I didn't expect her to pay me when I was out. Like I'd give a hip replacement.

I'd be out for two and a half months and she'd still pay me every week. So it was just amazing, you know, how, you know, consistent she was and how kind she was. And that was the thing that stood out more than anything was working for her. A lot of people knocked her because she didn't know the wrestling business or it was a hobby to her and stuff like that. But all I know is how she treated people and how she treated me was the thing that really stands out was the type of person Dixie Carter was. With everything you've done in your career and becoming the icon that you are, how do you define success now? Well, it's a little different, you know, now because being happy is just something that you can't.

can't trade money for, you know, and your health is so important. It's kind of like, you know, I've done a lot of stuff. Like, you know, certain people ask you, well, do you want to travel here or do you want to go there? Well, actually, I have been there. You know, I have, I have traveled. Even though I did wrestle in Rome, I did spend a day looking around, you know, even though I was, you know, over in, you know, wherever Germany, I did spend days in the towns. But at the end of the day, you know, being happy, you know, because for so long I was searching, you know, for something that made me really, really happy. And then as the years, and I don't know why this happens, but I think it's a test of time or a test of faith or you have to get so many scars on you before you finally wake up. But, you know, I was saved when I was 14 in a Baptist church.

And I deviated. I went off track and ran am up and chased all these false idols of the money and the fame. and all this stuff. But as soon as I got back to being closer to God and closer, my Lord and Savior, my whole life changed, you know. And being happy, you know, and being on track and having your health

is really, really important because, I mean, I know a lot of people that have one back surgery in the end of in a wheelchair. You know, so for me to have 10 and be sitting here talking to you and not be on a bunch of bills, eight old, weird stuff like that. It's just amazing, you know,

to be happy and to be here. You definitely feel like you're at peace as we sit here right now. Like it just feels like everything's good in your world. Yeah, it is. I mean, it's, you know, I'm not into the drama anymore. You know, I'm not into people that judge people. And I know this just sounds like some holier-than-heck attitude. But I've been around so long now.

I've seen the pyramids. Never have seen them, but I've seen the pyramids. And I kind of like understand. you know why we're here and and this is a test test of faith and it's just a real temporary situation you know and whether i make another 20 or 30 million bucks or not it doesn't matter you know because then they're done that you know and it doesn't bring you know happiness i've been to a couple failed marriages and you know the first one was too young and crazy and was married 23 years the first time second time was a different situation i believed in different things and that person did

And so it's just to be on track now, it's just amazing. It's just unbelievable. If you were backstage the night before your very first match, and this version of you walked in, the veteran Hulk Hogan, walked in, and you could ask that version of you for some advice, what do you think he would say? What's the advice you would give to that Hul Kogan as he was making his debut? Well, first off, this version of me talking to the Hull Cogan,

177 having the first match would not comprehend anything I would tell him. So I would just say, go out there and get in the ring as much as it can. You're going to have to earn your seat time, you know, because you need to get out there and you need to figure out what this business is all about, figure out if you want to stay in it. Then if you do stay in it, try to figure out a way to survive it, you know, because as I moved along, even though everybody says this is a work, I had a target on my back the whole time. I mean, I had that spot for a long, long time. And, you know, I could hear what was being said good. I could hear what was being said bad. There was all kind of locker room stoogers that are Hulk over fans.

A lot of locker room stooges that stir stuff up like the Hulkster, you know. And so to survive this business, I mean, you know, I wrestled Minnesota one time, and Jack Lanza wanted to put the belt on Jesse in the house show. It was. Oh, yeah, the way of the thing would be good. we can tell Vince later. I said, no, bro,

we ain't doing that. It doesn't work for me. You know? It's like, it's just amazing because especially going into Japan, you know,

and spending all those years in Japan, and then all of a sudden Vince coming over and telling Anoki and Saguchi that this is the last time Hogan's ever coming here.

And then coming to me and going, whatever happens tonight, don't lose the belt. And me, of course, me and Adrian Adonis, have been out all night,

hadn't slept, wing and I'm just shaking like I'm getting ready at a stroke because you're not partying all life this is going whatever you do that Fujani who's one of gotchas boys don't lose the belt I'm going oh great thanks Vince this is just it was just those things surviving

this business and learning the young Hulk Hogan would have never understood what I would tell me not that time but it's um it's it's just amazing you know that I got through it all and I've got a lot of friends in the business and and the people that you know have

bad things to say about me. I got nothing but love for them. You know, I just hope that they realize you're only going to get so much out of those negative stories that you tell over and over, you're going to attract more of that to yourself. Yeah. So, you know, it's just, it's weird because I've heard some people say some really crazy things that actually didn't happen and they're sticking to it. So I'm like, okay. And you just let it go. There's nothing you can do about it. No, no, no. I mean, you know, I have done stuff. You know, I mean, like the Jesse Ben's sure a story that he sticks to about I went to Vince and told him that just he was trying to start a union.

I did that. You know, I mean, I was making crazy money. I was getting my break and then Jesse wanted to have a union where everybody got paid the same. I said, ah, Vince, guess what Jesse's doing? You know, so he's right about that. You know, if I did it, if I did it, I'll say I did it. But, you know, there's a lot of stuff that kind of like doesn't bother me, but I just, I pray for those people and say, you know what, everything will straighten out and they'll learn the lessons

I've learned along the way. So it's just really nice to be in smooth waters. Depending on who you asked, you're either the greatest of all time or you are one of the greatest of all time. Since you are one of the goats or the goat, who's on your Mount Rushmore? Well, that's a tough one, you know, because Andre has to be there.

There's no doubt about it. Andre has to be there. And there's just not enough headspace there, you know, because up there, you know, it would have to be Rick Flair. You know, I tell Rick Flair, you're the greatest wrestler that ever lives, you know, and I've had other people tell me other things, you know, but as far as I'm concerned with him loving this business

and being a complete sellout, he gave up everything, family, friends, his own health, everything to be in this business. That's kind of crazy type dedication, you know, way more than I could give, you know, And he did it because he loved this business. And plus, he was a top guy like forever, you know, so it had to be Andre. It'd have to be Flair, you know. And then, you know, I'm just going with the older guys, you know, because there's some new guys like Seth Rollins, who I really admire. You know, Kevin Owens caught my eye really early when a lot of people didn't believe in him.

And I saw him down in the XI, I went, oh, my God, that brother's got to figure it out, you know. And so I'm all over the place with it. But for me, the quick fix would be Andre, Flair, Rock, and Austin. That's the quick fix for me. Those four guys deserve to be up there. I mean, four legends right there. You can put yourself on the Mount Rushmore. Oh, you can put me behind those guys.

I just want to be able to draw money with each one of them. Because I look at everybody with a dollar sign on their chest. At what cost do you think it has been to be Hulk Hogan? I think, you know, sometimes I get treated, little bit differently, whether it's good or bad. Sometimes, you know, like around the beach here, we've got a lot of friends and my girl, Sky, we'll go, oh, let's go out to dinner tonight.

And, you know, I said, okay, which restaurant do we want to go to? They said, oh, they're calling to make reservations, you know. And then they'll call Sky back. Oh, we call, but we can't get in until 9 o'clock. Let me make a call. We're getting in at 715, guys. So that's the good part. You know, some of the bad part is, like, during the steroid trial, okay?

The feds were hell-bent on going after Vince, you know, because Vince was doing so great, because the wrestling was so popular, maybe Vince's character was too arrogant for him, you know, the character on camera, whatever it was, and they were really going after, you know, the WWF at the time. But to really get the media play, they had to really get the media play, they had to have a poster child. So, you know, they grabbed me. And so, yeah, maybe if I'd have been a mid-card guy at the time,

they probably wouldn't have done that. So there's good and bad to it, you know, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. You know, it beats working a real job. I want to thank you for everything that you've done. The pain that you're in right now, it's because of our entertainment that you did it. And I just want to say, on behalf of all fans, we appreciate you.

Thank you. Well, no, the fans are great. I mean, I, now more than ever, I appreciate them. I mean, I've always loved the fans. I've always done the best I could to honor them and respect them. But now, as I get a chance to step back and really look at what this is all about, it's amazing how loyal they are, bro. They are like, I mean, you know, it's just, the only thing that scares me is some of the tattoos they get.

Have you seen some bad ones? I see some of these tattoos where I look like Dracula. And there's some really good ones too. I don't mean to knock the fans tattoos, but it's just how do you come home and tell your wife? I've got a Hulkomania tattooed across my chest to your wife, you know? Or my whole arm is a picture of Hollywood Hogan, hitting flare with a belt, you know?

Because it's for life. Yeah, yeah. But no, it's the fans have been amazing, and they just, it's like the gift that keeps on giving. It's kind of like I was telling my son Nick the other day, you know, I still work with the WWB all the time. I just renewed my deal with them, you know. And so...

I mean, we can hear your music hit sometime soon? I hope so. It's always fun to go out there. Maybe I could hang on to one of the wrestlers to get me out to the ring. You could flex a little, right? Yeah, yeah. But it's really crazy because when I was the world's champion, you know, we sold a ton of merchandise.

We didn't have the vehicle of the Internet and the stuff that they have nowadays. But we sold a lot of stuff. you know, back in the day. The cartoon was very supportive of the merchandise and stuff like that. And, you know, it was kind of strange because I think I had 350 licensees, which were like individual deals, frisbee's watches, headbands, chalk, kites, potty seats, tennis shoes, whatever it may be. And now that I'm kind of like, Jimmy Hart says, well, baby, baby, what's old is new again?

What's old is new again? And I said, Jimmy, you're right, because, you know, I've been approving merchandise. Every day I get new stuff coming in, and I'm up to like 850,000, like 900,000. Pieces of merchandise? Yes. Wow. No, I'm sorry. Not, I'm mistaken.

There's 300 different licenses. I'm up to 900 licenses. Not 950,000. I'm thinking wrong. But instead of 300 deals for Frisbees or whatever, it's up to almost 900 now. Wow. Yeah. So it's like, I'm the eldest is still alive.

You know, it's kind of scary. They know something. I don't know. Yeah. Yeah. So, but it's just amazing how the fans have made this live forever, you know. So it's amazing. And it's the fans that did it.

I don't ask for a lot of autographs, but the last time that I did an interview with you, I brought a Winged Eagle. Yeah. And I brought a WrestleMania 18 poster. Okay. Because of what we talked about earlier. And I got to say, Hulk, I was so impressed that you signed the Winged Eagle, Hulk Hogan. And without me saying anything, you signed the WrestleMania 18 poster, Hollywood Hogan.

Oh, cool. And I'm just like, that's like, it's just a little details like that. And I just think that's so cool. Oh, that's awesome, man. That's awesome. I just want to say, thank you. I appreciate you for who you are. Appreciate your, for your time today.

And I end every conversation talking about gratitude because it's such an important part of my life. Grateful. I love that. Yeah. So beware to spear the price in you. First time God brought the motion. I am that I am. And I have a mortal tattoo on my back.

Of course. That has nothing to do to the immortal hope. but I'll ask you when you accept prices or savior, you live forever. So I am bored. So it's pretty cool. What are three things that you're grateful for as we sit here right now? I'm grateful for life after death and living through my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Number one thing. Number one thing. I'm very grateful for my children. You know, I'm very grateful that my kids are good quality people, you know, and I love them to death. and I'm just very grateful that, you know, I have now met someone that can be my soulmate. I get to share the rest of my life with. And there's one more thing.

I'm grateful that Hall Coveman has not been forgotten by the fans. You know, it's just, it's just amazing that it's just, it seems like it's just as intense as, I always say the people in New York treat me like I'm still the champion. But that is true everywhere. They still treat me that way. It's like, it's just amazing. how the character has just left this mark, you know, on the wrestling fans that they won't let go.

So it's really cool. You truly are. Immortal. You are. Well, I don't know about all that, but, you know. Can we end with a mega powers handshake? Oh, yeah, brother. Fuel the.

Yep, I get a dream of us, man. South of power there. Thank you, brother. Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today.

No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack. Take advantage of it. Get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast.

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