Hulk Hogan tells fans to stick it, turns heel
Schiavone tells Hulk to go straight to hell after Hogan turns out to be the third man at Bash
Hulk Hogan did what many thought would never happen, and some WCW officials feared he wouldn’t do even up until a few seconds before he legdropped Randy Savage – he turned heel.
The turn answered the most anticipated question in years in pro wrestling – who would the third man turn out to be at the July 7 WCW Bash at the Beach pay-per-view?
The deal had been slated for many weeks, but not finalized until a few days before the angle occurred.
And even a week or two before the angle, WCW was searching for possible backup plans.
Hogan sort of turned heel last year, but backed out of going full-fledged heel.
There were fears that he would do the same again.
The entire event was built around who the third man would be.
The build-up was such that there were really only five possibilities – Hulk Hogan, a member of the babyface team (Randy Savage, Sting, Lex Luger), or free agent Bret Hart.
No one else was either available or a big enough deal to warrant the hype being given the angle.
Lex Luger was originally considered, but the plan was changed weeks back when both management and Hulk Hogan agreed that him turning instead would be a better, more money-making idea.
Hogan’s agreement to turn may have been part of a larger contract extension finalized last week, although that is not confirmed.
What is confirmed is that WCW had spent several weeks, despite slating the Hogan angle, looking for alternates, number one on their list being Bret Hart.
Had Bret agreed to come in, it’s not a lock that he would have been the third man instead of Hogan, since in the last week everyone was sure the Hogan turn was the best possible move.
Even for an event that had two hours in the middle of barely passable action, this event was the most well received WCW event in the history of the Torch reader poll.
WCW effectively built anticipation of who the third man would be to the point that any good match was merely an unwanted distraction from the upcoming main event.
Once it was time for the main event, WCW stretched the anticipation as much as possible.
Hogan actually didn’t wrestle in the match.
And there wasn’t an official finish for the main event.
Those two factors, normally grounds for much deserved complaining by viewers, was just an afterthought given the historical nature of the angle that had just taken place.
Scott Hall and Kevin Nash came to the ring wearing outfits very similar to their WWF days.
Diesel wore red instead of black, but otherwise had the same style chaps.
Hall wore the same style tights and kneepads, except they were red with “The Outsiders” written on the back.
They came to the ring without a third man.
Before the match, Hall said they indeed had a third man, but they didn’t need him quite yet.
The match began three-on-two, but of course that situation didn’t last long because who has sympathy for a babyface team with a one man advantage?
Waiting to bring out the third man worked out to be an effective tease that the speculated Luger turn would actually occur.
After Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger began the match, Luger could switch sides leaving the babyfaces at a one-man disadvantage.
Instead, shortly into the match, Sting dove into a corner of the ring where Nash and Luger were battling.
Upon impact, Sting inadvertently rammed Luger’s head into the ringpost.
Luger collapsed to the mat and was knocked out cold. He was stretchered and would not return.
The two-on-two battle saw Hall and Nash dominate offense.
Late in the match, Sting and Savage made a brief comeback, but Nash thwarted it with a low-blow.
At that point, the fans popped as out from the corridor popped Hogan.
Hogan, with a serious look on his face, deliberately marched to the ring.
He did not shake fans’ hands.
At this point Heenan made perhaps the biggest announcing miscue of his career, as he blurted out, “Which side is he on?”
Of course, when he said that there was absolutely no indication Hogan was doing anything but coming down to right a wrong and aid Sting and Savage.
Heenan’s mistake notwithstanding, Hogan entered the ring and stood over Savage.
Hall and Nash watched him from ringside. Hogan then leaped into the air and legdropped Savage.
The fans dropped their clapping hands in shock.
The referee put his hands over his face like he just watched a horrible disaster.
The announcers begged this not to be true. Hogan then got up and celebrated with Hall and Nash.
He legdropped Savage again and Hall counted an unofficial three count.
Sting helped Savage from the ring and to the back.
The Florida fans, more so a pro-Hogan group than in other parts of the country, mostly booed, although as many as one-third were cheering.
Okerlund solemnly made his way into the ring, milking his shock and disbelief for all he could.
“Hulk Hogan, excuse me. Excuse me! What in the world are you thinking?” he asked.
Hogan then answered in what will go down as his most memorable interview of his career:
“Mean Gene, the first thing you need to do is to tell these people to shut up if you wanna’ hear what I’ve got to say…
The first thing you gotta’ realize, brother, is this right here is the future of wrestling (pointing to himself, Hall, and Nash).
You can call this the New World Order of Wrestling.
These two men right here came from a great big organization up north and everybody was wondering who the third man was.
Well, who knows more about that organization but me, brother?…
Let me tell you something. I made that organization a monster. I made people rich up there.
I made the people that ran that organization rich up there.
And when it all came to pass, the name Hulk Hogan, the man Hulk Hogan, got bigger than the whole organization.
“Billionaire Ted wanted to talk turkey with Hulk Hogan.
Well Billionaire Ted promised me movies, brother. Billionaire Ted promised me millions of dollars.
Billionaire Ted promised me world caliber matches.
As far as Billionaire Ted goes, Eric Bischoff, and the whole WCW goes, I’m bored brother.
That’s why these two guys here, the so-called outsiders, these are the men I want as my friends.
They are the new blood of professional wrestling.
And not only are we going to take over the whole wrestling business with Hulk Hogan and the new blood, the monsters with me, we will destroy everything in our path, Mean Gene.”
As fans pelted the ring with garbage and sodas, Okerlund said:
“Look at all of this crap in this ring.
This is what’s in the future for you if you want to hang around with this man Hall and this man Nash.”
Hogan continued:
“As far as I’m concerned, all of this crap in the ring represents these fans out here.
For two years, brother, for two years I held my head high. I did everything for the charities.
I did everything for the kids. And the reception I got when I got out here – you fans can stick it, brother.
Because if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan you people wouldn’t be here.
If it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff would still be selling meat from a truck in Minneapolis.
And if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, all these Johnny Come Lately’s that you see out here wrestling wouldn’t be here.
I was selling out the world, brother, while they were pumping gas in their car to get to high school.
So the way it is now, brother, with Hulk Hogan and the New World Organization of Wrestling, me and the new blood by my side, whatcha gonna do when the New World Organization runs wild on you.”
Schiavone then said what will turn out to be the most famous lines of his career:
“We have just seen the end of Hulkamania… Hulk Hogan, you can go to hell. Straight to hell.”
As Hogan, Hall, and Nash congratulated each other, the pay-per-view went off the air.
The next night on Nitro, the entire show was once again centered around the angle, this time with knowledge of who the third man turned out to be.
Everyone on the card was interviewed and rather than talk about their matches, they invariably first acknowledged the Hogan turn.
Even the heels said they were disgusted.
Usually when babyfaces turn heel, other heels congratulate them.
In this case, everyone spoke against Hogan because the storyline is Hogan and his “New World Order” threaten the very existence of WCW.
Also on Nitro Eric Bischoff explained that the reason he wasn’t present at the pay-per-view or pre-game show was he was busy in executive meetings, blowing off the big deal that was made of it the night before.
Hall and Nash made an appearance during the Nitro main event of Sting vs. Arn Anderson.
After causing problems at ringside, Okerlund interviewed them.
Both gloated over what had happened the night before.
Hogan did not do a follow-up interview on Nitro as he had to return to the set of the current movie he is filming in Hollywood with Roddy Piper.
They advertised, somewhat tentatively, that Hogan would make his first post-heel turn interview at the July 15 Nitro.
Sting gave the most inspired interview on Nitro, talking about the great disappointment Hogan caused all of the kids who had listened to his advice over the years.
Sting told Hogan to stick it.
