Eric Bischoff SHOOTS On Why He Had To Sign Hulk Hogan's Friends!

Eric Bischoff talks exclusively to Inside The Ropes about why he had to sign Hulk Hogan's friends in WCW, including Jim Duggan, The Nasty Boys, Jimmy Hart and more! Subscribe to the channel for more clips of our live shows and interviews, and don't forget to like and comment too!
Subscribe to our new clips channel for smaller bitesize clips from our live shows and interviews.
Check out ITRWrestling.com | For News, Interviews, Exclusives, Podcasts and Much More!
Buy our magazine at insidetheropesm... | Available Now, Ships Worldwide.
ITR Patreon is the best way to directly support us if you enjoy our content. We offer LOADS of bonus content, including the Pod Of Thunder, our dysfunctional journey back to WCW for the entire run of Thunder, The Power Slam OverRun, Retro Raw & Smackdown and ITR Patreon is the only place where you can hear our WWE & AEW PPV reviews!
Support Us On Patreon Today! itrwrestling.co...
Follow us:
Facebook: itrwrestling.co...
Twitter: itrwrestling.co...
Instagram: itrwrestling.co...
TikTok: / insidetheropes
#ericbischoff #hulkhogan #wcw

[@InsideTheRopes]

Was hiring The Nasty Boys truly best for business? Let us know in the comments below!

[@RestingBeachFace721]

I think Hulk Hogan had good intentions but kooky ideas.

[@jcorley45]

@@RestingBeachFace721 He had good intentions for himself

[@Krillep]

Nasty Boys were in WCW already. Hogan created two wrestling booms and WCW was the better show 94-98.

[@Axs_Nice_Hair]

@@Krillep That's right. The nasty boys had been in WCW almost a year before Hulk showed up.

[@bridgetbonds5169]

Hi Eric bischoff my name is Bridget and I’m from Michigan I and I’m your biggest fan and I really want to meet you one day soon and please comment back to me thank you 😊

[@nick56677]

When Hogan goes to bed he sleeps on top of the covers. Those blankets ain't going over on the Hulkster, JACK!

[@corybuckle944]

😂😂😂😂

[@frankmfeb13]

When the blankets asked if they could cover hulk he replied with " that's just not gonna work for me, brother "

[@MG-vo7pz]

Hogan just lets Bubba the Love Sponge's ex-wife get over

[@sethbailey2557]

Brother brother brother

[@sethbailey2557]

Brother brother brother

[@AT-cd2pp]

Bischoff: "Hulk, we can't hire all of your buddies." Hulk: "That's not gonna work for me, brother.

[@megatron7057]

Sounds like Aaron rodgers lul

[@brandocalrissian3294]

​@@megatron7057haha good one.

[@namemcnamerton4249]

HTM: This sucks I'm going back to sing on shotgun Saturday. E: I'm gonna tell everyone I made you cry and had you up against a truck.

[@joseconcepcion6949]

Only one the was cool that he did bring in was macho man and that's it anyone was dead weight and lost there touch that's honky talk man,beefcake,Jim Dugan,akeem, boss man,many more that I'm sure where 80s WWF at the time that ran with hulk Hogan that ain't worth what was mid 90s WCW run not pushing the younger guys was lost wcw war pushing the wrong people

[@garydevlin8178]

Bischoff: ok ok ok Hulky, you win, your butt boys all get garrenteed contracts already! 🤦🏻‍♂️ Hulk: good…oh by the way don’t forget the fine print brother, you bring in as my personal nurse maid…Jimmy Hart Baby! Bischoff: oh son of a!!!

[@Dragonblack90]

Who would win in a fight? Batman with prep time or Hogan with Creative Control

[@LiamAddison08]

Hogan no contest

[@idcwhatuthink4985]

If Hogan does get pinned, Bstman has the whole teen titans attack him, and the riddler counting 1 2 3 in a swerve brother

[@criticalbill2090]

"I`m Vengeance....." "That`s not gonna work for me, brother"

[@grant1739]

Hulkamania gonna run wild all over Batman.. but to be fair Hogan would make Batman look small and he has no superpowers so Hogan in my book!

[@mauricesanchez6804]

Hulk Hogan with an artist brush in his hand brother.

[@jamesb1988]

Bischoff is a part of what I like to call The Pinocchio Trio, along with Paul Heyman & Bruce Prichard. 3 guys who regularly bend the truth but are so charismatic that you don't care.

[@IHateNicolasCage]

Meanwhile Hogan just lies

[@MrFoxxx47]

I wouldn't put Bischoff in the category with those guys lol.

[@danger170388]

I agree, he's separate from that group

[@jamesmiller5331]

There are wrestling marks that are paying for Eric Bischoff's horse stables LOL

[@imreadytoberuledbyap]

Wait so you worked at wcw or turner when all of this was going down? I love how people who have had zero to do with anything to do with the industry blurt comments out like they where.

[@IRenegadEEEEE]

I'm never quite sure just how reliable Eric is from a booking and creative perspective when he talks but I always like him telling a story.

[@randolphdefreese7874]

So true.some people say he is full of shit but the way he tells the story it sounds credible.

[@ShadowAngel18606]

@@randolphdefreese7874 He iis still full of shit, like this story. Nasty Boys joined WCW in July 1993, when Hogan was still under contract with the WWF (He was just about to start the Summer Tour of Europe) and wouldn't even negotiatie with WCW for another 7 months. So them coming in had absolutely nothing to do with Hogan whatsoever.

[@ajbahus]

He just very pleasant the way he talks. It’s the opposite energy that someone like Cornette brings lol

[@ants5449]

​@@ajbahusCornette only survives because of his foul language and erratic moods take those away and they'd be very dull boring podcasts

[@magiusfantasia5506]

I will admit, a lot of his opinions, I don't nessecarily agree with. But when he talks business, I agree with him 90 percent of the time. I don't LIKE some of the things he says or does, but I can't deny that I *do* agree with a lot of his business deacons even if I don't like that. That doesn't mean I agree with ALL of his business decisions, but I feel like a lot of them were pretty sound in reason.

[@willowfalls7528]

Randy Savage is still, kind of, the spokesman for Slim Jim. There's at least one Slim Jim product out there that still to this day bears his face.

[@Marc_Araujo]

Yeah, he's still in the most recent commercial (that also has LA Knight and Bianca Belair in it) busting out the catch phrase.

[@gothabilly5]

There's 2 now in my local stores

[@zlinedavid]

Snap into a Slim Jim OOOOOOOOOHHHHHH YEEEAAAAHHHHHHHH

[@AdhamOhm]

The commercials still use his "Snap into a Slim Jim!" soundbite. I wonder if his family still gets royalties for that.

[@jeffj6815]

There's still a life-size standee of Randy Savage at a local store plugging Slim Jims 😊

[@Steve-xp8we]

I love the interviews this channel produces but I hate how it’s not full interviews. I wanna see the whole thing. Not just clips.

[@boxingfan6766]

Me too. I really wanna see the full Edge and Paul Heyman interviews in full.

[@jlescault1983]

Good stuff from Bischoff. It changed the game. When Hogan went to WCW is when i started loyally watching. Miss those days. Wcw had a ton of programming on TBS.

[@freshparkfilms]

all i hear is that sound clip of Owen Hart on wrestling bios " he's an animal, an animal!" 1:26 😅

[@AttackoftheJoe]

Jam up guy

[@LiamAddison08]

Steve mufuggin Blackman

[@dudethunder730]

@@LiamAddison08been mfugged with the mfug elbow

[@Darule514]

The Nasty Boys came to wcw in 1993 almost year before Hogan signed with the company.

[@UziBlancoOfficial]

I was thinking that was the case, I'm 35 now so I was younger back then an didn't pay as much of attention that u do now but yea I believe you are correct about that..

[@1punchmann]

That was a pre serenade of hogan

[@johnbeardshall2898]

True but it was because of friendship that they got resigned at alot of money plus he got them into TNA

[@ElmoKnowsWhereYouLive5150]

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story...

[@stephendwane8166]

This was the show in cork a few months ago , he had barely made it due to flight issues, I was there, great guy🤛😂😂

[@TroystonB]

upstairs in the old oak? how did I miss out hearing about that...

[@stephendwane8166]

@@TroystonB the host gave the rundown before bringing him out👍 Scottish guy, can’t remember name 😂

[@justinlast2lastharder749]

"You probably arent old enough to remember the Randy Savage Slim Jim Commercials" Oh Yeeeaaah right in the "Now I Feel Old". Those were my Childhood.

[@namemcnamerton4249]

They made a new one every year up until his death.

[@AzureSymbiote]

They used Savage for SJ ads at the recent Royal Rumble.

[@McMahonHater]

That first pay/view should have had a stacked undercard. That way they could display their talent.

[@keyboard_g]

Hacksaw was and still is beloved. Good dude.

[@namikstudios]

Yep. I'm Australian, so obviously the whole USA gimmick has no meaning for me, but it certainly got a great reaction from the crowds he was performing in front of.

[@clayton5584]

As an American we feel the same way about Arnold Schwarzenegger

[@nickcancelliere5638]

​@@namikstudiosjag awwve comment mate.... Btw it's an American company...soooo

[@namikstudios]

@@nickcancelliere5638 it (WCW) was an American company, yes. I was lucky enough to see it and Hacksaw live when WCW toured Australia in October 2000. Hacksaw had turned heel at that stage tho and had joined Team Canada, trading the Stars and Stripes for the Maple Leaf. Still had his trusty 2x4 tho!

[@crazyhayn]

Bischoff embellishes but he's relatively consistent about WCW being a division of Turner affecting the way it was run compared to WWE

[@geneawisea2708]

Hogan and Macho got me into watching WCW and I stayed for awhile

[@acereaper201]

And here you are back again in 2024.

[@pauldavis5665]

I remained a WWF loyalist. A lot of my friends jumped to WCW though. Then when WCW went out of business, I remember rubbing it in to my friends and was like "oh, so now you're gonna come crawling back to WWF" 😆

[@CardPlayingStrategies]

Bischoff: he had an attorney named Henry Holmes, who's a f***ing animal. Bret: HE'S AN ANIMAL! Owen: AN ANIMAL! AN ANIMAL!

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

Steve Bucemi : I AM AN ANIMAL . I M N ANIMAL...... I CAN'T GET MY FOOT OUT

[@CornPopodopolis]

Hogan is the greatest wrestler, mat technician, and entertainer the business has and ever will see.. he also worked 366 days in one year brother

[@thekingofkingsrp]

I think it was 400.

[@PokemonGoTrainerUK]

@@thekingofkingsrpit was

[@pjay213]

leap year?

[@BeardedBruh]

No, no, no. On leap years it wasn't out of the question to get 520 days out of him, give or take an hour or two. Hard to really pinpoint the exact amount. But hey, when you're pulling a Superman time warp, traveling around the globe and gaining hours constantly, who can keep track? Give the guy a break, I don't believe a single one of you could wrestle 4 OR 500 days in a year, so get off his monstrous back, would ya?

[@stevechavez83]

I think just recently he said he worked 420 days in one year 😂

[@MackRangerPower]

I like how Eric remembers all the good shit he’s been involved in but just can’t piece together the bullshit

[@jerrybarry3148]

Nasty boys were in wcw a year before Hogan got there

[@ducklife420]

yeh dusty got them their deals

[@IHateNicolasCage]

This interview works for me, Brother.

[@zacharyscott6779]

I know its tv, but that episode of Hogan Knows Best where they have Brian Knobbs stay over... thats exactly how i always imagined that guy to be. Someone who "lived their gimmick" when they most definitely SHOULDN'T have, and had fame simply because they rode Hulk's coattail. As for Hacksaw, met him a handful of times as I was friends with a family member of his, and that guy always cool. Dude deserved good things.

[@dbreiden83080]

He came off to me as 1 of those dudes you think to yourself "Why would anyone want to be his friend"

[@Willrocs]

Cause he would do all the things hogan wanted to do but couldn’t cause the image brother can’t disappoint the little hulkamanics. Plus it fed into hulks ego have someone nasty boys lol

[@joshuasteward6097]

To be fair, I think the Nasty Boys were popular in WWF.

[@whatutalkinboutwillis6122]

Randy savage is still on the slim Jim wrappers to this day.

[@banksta3]

The Nasty Boys are the physical manifestation of Beebop and Rocksteady lol.

[@RandomizedRambler]

Hacksaw was a real showman

[@mexmexican8619]

He paved the way for mentally challenged characters like Eugene

[@Darren-su2gm]

Bruce Prichard is halarious with his impersonations.Especially with Jim Cornett impersonations😂

[@ScubaSteveO1987]

Man, oh man, did Austin ever dodge a bullet by not becoming Hulk Hogans little brother lmao

[@troysmith8334]

the one he said had no marketing potential...lmao

[@joshuasteward6097]

@@troysmith8334 How much potential did Stunning Steve Austin have? I think US champ was his peak. You can't predict what someone will do as a new character with a different company.

[@joshuasteward6097]

I dunno. Maybe that gets him bigger payoffs and more screen time. Then Hogan trusts him and maybe he's in WCW's main event scene and never leaves WCW.

[@ScubaSteveO1987]

@@joshuasteward6097 true. Isaac Yankem became a star when he became Undertaker's brother lol

[@troysmith8334]

@@joshuasteward6097 I think when he became US champ i really don't think Bishoff saw him as a world champion after that. Once Hogan came into the wcw camp, Austin's relevance went south

[@Scorch1028]

Hulk Hogan looking out for his friends is admirable, considering how many other wrestlers he "screwed over" in order to keep his spot in the WWF.

[@HoustonOilersForever]

😆 🤣 😂 and Hulk held his friends down.

[@PhillyBagel]

He wanted them to have jobs, he just didn’t want them to get ahead.

[@Me-qp8vz]

He used those friends to make himself look better.

[@rayyzo1]

Cringe comment

[@MrAac1984]

His friends weren’t threats to him. They were all mid-carders / Glorified Jobbers / Jabronis!

[@aidanlynn]

I’m suprised he could “recall” any of these stories.

[@swishbenoit4489]

Shut up and do a double reverse mortgage with Conrad

[@oliverl.5834]

Didn't the Nasty Boys come (back) to WCW about a year before Hogan? What's their signing got to do with Hogan?

[@Rocker-kr9nu]

Yes they did! Nothing! Hogan jumped to WCW after his Series "Thunder in Paradise" flopped.

[@tonyclifton2230]

They were probably sick of them. 😊

[@slashernation6724]

where can i watch these full interviews? is there a streaming service i can buy?

[@Selfpaideatz]

Hulk Hogan had a T.V show when WCW went off called Thunder in Paradise so yeah them negotiations was tough!!!

[@mightilyoats2729]

I don't necessarily believe everything Eric says, but he is a great storyteller, and totally worth LISTENING TO, if not necessarily believing. Which is, funnily enough, basically how wrestling works.

[@1980Triumph]

you literally have decided not to believe without evidence or anything, just straight bias and that is insane

[@JayCord00]

Both of you, only said the truth about everything in your life, you never lied !? People like you 2 are pathetic. Look at yourself before talking about somebody else "lies" 🤣🤦

[@DankHillCometh]

must suck to have that mentality

[@mightilyoats2729]

...what?@@1980Triumph

[@namikstudios]

Yep he's a great talker, both in promos and in reality. Probably the best example of that is how he cut that promo on the fly at TNA at Victory Road 2011 when Jeff Hardy went out to have the match with Sting while he was high as a kite. Kind of gets overlooked because of what Jeff did but the way Eric handled that was an improv masterclass. Not many people could pull that kind of promo off under those circumstances as well as Eric did.

[@QuartzMatrixed]

Nasty boys were a great team. So it was worth it

[@grant1739]

I loved Hulk Hogan when i was a kid so no matter what bad things i hear he still got me into watching wrasslin

[@ReanimatorsMutilations]

I loved him n had never even seen him wrestle 😂

[@georgeresso6835]

a big problem in the demise of WCW..besides overpaying wrestlers...was the PPV's more often than not were hyping NITRO instead of the opposite...i cant tell you how many times at the end of a PPV the announcers would say " i wonder whats gonna happen on nitro?"

[@boriqua87]

I feel that was only done as to counter program RAW. And it worked for a while as we know. Their biggest downfall was their biggest money maker in the beginning, though. The NWO was amazing and then it was like WTH is going on?

[@namikstudios]

That's because WCW was part of a television company, Turner. Getting ratings on TNT and TBS was good for their entire business, not just WCW.

[@danc3488]

So it wasnt necessarily that he HAD to sign Hogan's friends. It's that, as a good businessman and talent manager, he WANTED to sign those wrestlers. Very smart decision looking after for his big prize

[@marineguy4eva]

Doesn't Steve Austin mention this in his famous ECW Promo about teaming up with Hogan or so?

[@pinnacleproductions6275]

One Thing I disagree on Eric with is his stance on Bill Watts. Watts was the first promoter to have black champions and pushed Junkyard Dog, in that interview Watts simply said a business owner should have the right to hire or not hire anyone no matter what race they are. How is that racist? He gave more black wrestlers opportunities than anyone and was close friends with many of them.

[@kevinkbradshaw2239]

Ya, Eric I guess forgot the racial stuff Hogan was caught on tape saying. He sure can remember what "bad" stuff Watts supposedly said

[@freedomisslavery6840]

Yes, he was simply making the correct point that the end result of the Civil Right act legislation is that it essentially outlawed freedom of association.

[@stephenmillar7455]

Er... there's a little more to it than that...

[@pinnacleproductions6275]

@@stephenmillar7455 are you going to elaborate?

[@ScottSmith-xy3jk]

Tell us you don't know anything about Bill Watts without telling us you don't know anything about Bill Watts.

[@TOFTS77]

Steve Austin did not pitch to be Hogans little brother. Austin had the idea for it to be revealed that he was Hogans nephew. They weren't going to tag team. Eric kept the idea in his mind enough to use it with Horace after Austin left WCW.

[@godfather71190]

Horace was Hogan's real life nephew.

[@TOFTS77]

@@godfather71190 I know he was. But the way they handled the Horace angle was beat for beat Steve's pitch. Not knocking Horace but had he had the charisma of Austin the angle might of actually done well.

[@norrisc7163]

​@@godfather71190I know Horace was Hulk Late brother son

[@westyraviz]

It’s rather annoying when fans talk smack about Hogan. Many of these fans don’t appreciate how important Hogan’s presence and charisma was to the growth of professional wresting. Hogan boosted the incomes of every single professional wrestler. Even the legendary Ric Flair admits to Hogan’s financial influence on the business. Every professional wrestler over the last 40 years owes a big debt of gratitude to Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon. When Hogan passes (and may he live another 30 years!) fans will start shedding crocodile tears and talking about he great he was. Tell him now that he’s still here!

[@MP-in4or]

I love Hacksaw. Not only as a person, but he was a good big guy wrestler. He had that, 'that,' every average person could relate to. I loved his facial expressions. They were so funny. He was so over with the fans. I was upset that they did not do more with him as far as at least being the US champ a little more. People loved him and they did not do enough. If WWE was smart, they would bring back WCW. Let it be its own company, but have some cross overs. Bring in the old school guys to be agents, trainers, and help run the show. The younger guys like DDP and Nash can still wrestle.

[@silles8]

Nash can still wrestle? The man with glass knees and paper quads? 😂

[@MP-in4or]

@@silles8 if fair can do it, even w a shirt on, so can Nash. A few knee replacements..... anyone can be back to normal, lol!

[@ReanimatorsMutilations]

​@@MP-in4orNash doesn't want to. He's not an idiot

[@thekingofkingsrp]

I wanted them to do that from when they bought it.

[@OikPoinFive]

​@@silles8don't throw rocks at glass legs!!!

[@Ronsonator]

God Bless the billionaires that love wrestling and don't care about losing money over it.

[@thatboybear]

Eric is a Hogan fanboy, plain and simple. His might be the biggest man crush I’ve ever seen. Bischoff was desperate to be cool, desperate to be one of “the boys,” desperate to have a piece of the spotlight. The man joined a faction that was trying to take down the “establishment” - and HE was the establishment. How tf are you fighting against yourself? I’ve always said that X Pac was the tag along 3rd wheel who always wormed his way into the group of cool kids. Bischoff is that tag along 5th wheel that bought his way in. It’s really pretty pathetic.

[@paulwerline6249]

I've always said the same thing. If you've ever heard him talk about The Booty Man(Brutus the Barber Beefcake) he sounds like Hogan's current lover jealously complaining about his ex.

[@thekingofkingsrp]

Pretty clever bought his way in using someone else money lol.

[@geraldconnolly2140]

Heyman is that you?

[@ignatiusjackson235]

True about Eric, but X-Pac could work with the best of them. There's a reason WWF would use him to get a good match out of newbies during the Attitude Era. I just don't think his character, size, and skillset fit the mold of a "superstar." He was the best "role player" you could ask for until the drugs took over towards the end of his run.

[@conniecarroll747]

On Macho Man. The best thing for him was going to WCW. Vince had him on the commentators table. From what I've read, he, for whatever reason, decided Randy didn't have 'it' in the ring anymore. Once Randy went over to WCW, he proved Vince wrong. To this day, one has to wonder what the Hell Vince was thinking? Randy was in great shape, and he became even more muscular later on, but he proved that he wasn't a washed-up wrestler. Vince's way of looking at guys proved to be wrong several times.

[@peterbaini8752]

I wonder what would have happened if Macho stayed in the WWF and wrestled through 94-99. Matches against Shawn, Taker, Bret, Austin and the Rock would have been great. Imagine Macho v Mankind! Imagine those promos 😅😅

[@brianticas7671]

Macho man still had it but Vince mind was to push new talent. Thats why WCW had it's Demise. All of WCW midcard left because of that

[@viccrown8188]

I’m such a wrestling fan, I dig into EVERYTHING wrestling and STILL just found out about 2-3 years ago that Brutus was the disciple. Blew my mind

[@Moxleygirl]

When I found out I was shocked, people talk about how all he did was have a beard and have blonde hair but he was completely unrecognizable

[@williammoore1980]

Terry looked out for Terry. Period. He wouldn’t have had the attorney he had otherwise. He clearly played the nice guy and had his attorney be how he really wanted to be.

[@sccc6758]

Bishoff seems likeable. Wcw I liked better than set in the 90s. Vice versa in the 80s when it was nwa

[@ultimatevictory9900]

The guy literally signed Razor Ramon and Diesel at their peak popularity, end of story. He's no genius or braniac business man.

[@Krillep]

Hogan gave wrestling life, twice. We're not watching any wrestling on mainstream TV today perhaps without Hulk Hogan.

[@iTubeYourDadsMinge]

You forget that Vince McMahon’s entrepreneurial approach and vision were huge factors in Hogan’s success. If McMahon didnt eat up all of thr territories and take a gamble on the first Wrestlemania, then we likely wouldnt have heard of Hulk Hogan either. Wrestling didnt explode just because of Hogan. And he grew stale, so turning him bad was the best thing to do for shock factor. To say Hogan alone is to credit for wrestling’s original boom and then late 90s peak is incredibly naive.

[@Jestin612]

That's cap. It would have taken off eventually.

[@andrewft31]

@@Jestin612when? And when he turned heel the industry was at an all time low and he made it must watch TV again

[@Jestin612]

@@andrewft31 pfft, 🤣. Hogan is so overrated. Savage or Bret Hart could have blown it up. Hogan is just a dude who benefited by being stingy and creative. So Hall and Nash had nothing to do with the NWO?

[@chadjustice8560]

Hogan is nothing without Vince shoving a ticket up his ass but also the guy on the other side, so with Piper at the beginning and then Andre to push it that much farther.

[@HiPHOPx87]

When they trashed Team 3D locker room was funny as hell 😂. They was pissed 🤣

[@michaelfrazier1632]

It’s crazy because I loved wrestling WWF and WCW Saturday night was my show and Saturday morning I was happy when a lot of wrestlers came there because I got more shows with other wrestlers like

[@guyverjay1289]

Say what you want about Hogan, him looking after his mates is cool

[@mrFiiSKiiS]

Hogan just played the game better than the others.

[@allencollins5666]

Hogan Overly-Criticized.

[@shiningfriday4495]

Randy Savage is still on the huge slim jim package to this day, RIP Macho Man Ooooooohhhhhh YEAH!!!!

[@TheHannibalTV]

Facinating

[@michaelmercury1297]

I'm a big fan of Steve Austin but I don't think him pretending to be Hogan's little brother was a good idea.

[@joshuasteward6097]

They could have had it turn out to not be true as part of finishing the story.

[@christianhoneyman9001]

Awsome video. That was very informative and entertaining. I could watch Eric for hours. 😊

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

I couldn't

[@soulofanerd9364]

Man I would LOVE TO KNOW who booked that crap with Austin and Duggan.... I was on the verge of quitting watching WCW after that. Then Austin got fired not too long after that 🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️. I wanna say at some point it's been said that loss was due to needing to give Austin time off for injuries and that lead to the incident with him and management on the phone where Austin himself has admitted he handled things poorly. Either way that title change pisses me off to this day

[@joshuasteward6097]

Austin was injured. So what if they picked Hacksaw to win the US belt from him? He dropped it to Vader at Starrcade 3 months later.

[@soulofanerd9364]

@@joshuasteward6097 now THAT PART was a relief, Duggan losing to Vader but he never should have had the belt in the first place. As I said yes Austin was injured and needed to drop the title but I'm not in favor of anyone dropping titles to unworthy opponents so in this case Austin was above that kind of loss in my view, Jim Duggan was no where near a title holder level at that point and really ever in my opinion

[@joshuasteward6097]

@@soulofanerd9364 Maybe. But who should have won it? The crowd liked Hacksaw. He did the usa chant, perfect for the belt, and it gave a veteran recognition.

[@soulofanerd9364]

@@joshuasteward6097 ehhhh I don't like the idea of kinda squashing an up and coming star who's been built for 3-4 yrs in a match with a way past his prime guy especially with a title involved that doesn't do anything for the prestige of the title. Off the top of my head I'm still sure there were better candidates than Duggan. Hell was Macho there yet? That's a guy who brings something to any title he had

[@namikstudios]

Dusty Rhodes was the head booker for WCW when this happened so it was probably him.

[@shaolinwisdom]

I think that Hulk only wanted to work with people he trusted and was comfortable with is only half true. Hogan branded himself both within wrestling and as an image outside of wrestling and always selfishly. You couldn't stand in his shadow unless he allowed it, and you were willing to be a sycophant at worst or at least his subordinate at best. He's a valuable piece to wrestling, especially in that early-mid 90s WCW, but it cost other people the chance to be at his level having to be held down too. Of course, he never saw it that way, I'm sure.

[@cjjonez]

That's a myth being held back if you being used any. It's up to the performers to get over as a heel or face. Creative gives the parameters, but it's up to the performers to execute. The great ones just need screen time. Might take sometime but the greats going to get over.

[@gbody2617]

Stop being the common snowflake weenie nowadays! Nobody had it like Hulkster - PERIOD! A lot of the guys weren't ready to hold the company on their shoulders and make money for everyone. You're looking at it wrong and this is what's so disgusting about this generation where everyone feels entitled. P*$$*£$!

[@Yroko]

​@@cjjonezhogan had soo much pull with creative and looked down on any up coming star. Too many talents didnt make it to upper card because of him. When most of them left wcw back to wwe during raw or to tna after the buy out. They made a name for themselves.

[@cjjonez]

@@Yroko I disagree with you Hogan didn't hold "the supposed talent" they brought nothing to the table for Hogan to work with. They had nothing of value to bring to Hogan Being a solid performer dont mean you a draw.

[@cjrrun]

Bruce, Russo and Eric say whatever they want to make them look good

[@harleyjackson3708]

"You're probably not familiar with the Randy Savage Slim Jim commercials..." You mean those commercials that had a major cultural impact and still get made to this day using footage of him on TVs surrounded by new wrestlers doing impressions of him? Nope, never heard of it. We're far too young to know about those commercials that they still make (they sell a Randy Savage themed Slim Jim RIGHT NOW, Eric, catch up a little)

[@grantmcphee5149]

He's in the UK.

[@joeriveracomedy]

When I would watch clash of the titans on tbs I would see sat night ads. It was my only frame of reference for wcw. Had no clue hogan showed up until starrcade 97, my 1st live ppv.

[@Edsecondstocomply]

I'm no hogan fan but bringing in nasty boys makes sense. They were a real established tag team. Jimmy hart, honky and Jim Duggan make sense to be in a southern wrasslin company. The only one with no financial benefit is beefcake, zodiac' brother Brutus, and the booty man.

[@60BloodyChamp60]

He had to hire Hogan’s friends so he could be one of Hogan’s friends. His biggest fear was not being Hogan’s friend, so he did whatever Hogan wanted.

[@kyleannett7623]

😂😂 Eric’s math tho…”our PPV share was 60/40 (wcw got 40%). After signing Hulk I was able to flip that. We’d do $2m per ppv, we’ll thats $200k per ppv where we got a raise”……. That would be $400k per show as a raise.

[@MajorLeagueCOD]

He’s talking about the difference between getting 40% and 60%. Eric is saying when they got 60% because of Hogan that it was an extra 200k on every million difference just from having Hogan.

[@kyleannett7623]

@@MajorLeagueCOD My guy, 8:42 give it another listen. He clearly says they were making $2m per ppv, and follows up with that’s a $200k raise….. that’s 10% not 20%, her never once says per million, he based his incorrect math on $2m revenue….. I didn’t go to the Scott Steiner school for math😂, I know what I commented, and I’m right.

[@joshuasteward6097]

​@@kyleannett7623When they got 40 percent per million, that is $400,000. When they got 60 percent, that's $600,000. A $200,000 raise. I guess you are saying what he meant isn't exactly how he phrases it.

[@kyleannett7623]

@@joshuasteward6097 you guys when does he say per million? Ever? The percentage as profit is whether it’s $10 or $1 trillion…. The only number he ever plainly says is $2m per ppv, and immediately says that’s a raise of $200k per show…. It’s not, it’s $400k. Eric made a head math mistake lol. It’s like Kevin Nash saying “Adjective” lol. Kevin is highly intelligent, but in that moment he was wrong lol. Eric is also highly intelligent, he just brain farted the math a bit.

[@kpz1234]

I haven't heard a lot about them, but I wouldn't want to run into Sags and Knobs if they had a few pops too many at the bar.

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Hacksaw got his start out of Alabama in the southern wrestling territories doing his football tackle finish. The WCW crowd knew him from the early 80s. Plus his USA gimmick was always going to be over. Once he hit Andre with the 2x4 & knocked him out he should have gotten a bigger push. WWF wasted him. He was the #2 babyface in that organization for a few years.

[@bernarddoherty2303]

Make it very easy for me to find the full interview please

[@smiley-qb3nt]

Hulk Hogan once again wanted people around him to make him look good and if it was up to Hogan there would be no nwo bc he didn't want it . Wcw could have been way better with story lines but it was all about Hogan like when a star like Brett Hart came over they did nothing with him. No wonder they tanked

[@TheRealVerbalAbuser]

Hulk Hogan joining WCW shook up the world.

[@salvagemonster3612]

Eric is right. Those names carried a lot of weight with us fans from back in the day. No one cared about Sean, Brett, Austin etc. they were nobody’s

[@NuYoRicanFlava]

Hacksaw is today and forever a treasure.

[@Matty272]

Pretty sure the Nasty Boys returned to WCW in 1993. Hogan made his WCW debut in 1994z

[@johnnyskinwalker4095]

I remember when those damn WWF wrestlers came to WCW, it sucked. It just didn't fit. That being said sometime I prefered their stuff in WCW. Like Duggan was more gritty in WCW with his tapped fist matches.

[@firemarshallbill7983]

As soon as the nasty boys stepped foot in the locker room the locker room should’ve quit…they should’ve known…

[@PhillyBagel]

The one thing I was hoping he would touch on and he didn’t was Hulk Hogan’s creative control aka that doesn’t work for me, brother. It made booking Hogan difficult but that was one of the “parameters” Hogan insisted on. He didn’t trust WCW to protect him to the degree McMahon did.

[@adambergeron5]

Imagine living off something the rest of your life you did for like 4 or 5 years 27 years ago

[@catdad1988]

That something is more than 99% of the fanbase will ever do with their entire lives.

[@orangemaniabrother2232]

What was Austin thinking with that idea??

[@korovievice]

He probably just viewed it as a part-time comedy angle that could get him screen time with the organization's biggest name. Pretending to be Hogan's family and then inevitably backstabbing him also works with the Hollywood Blonde character. Truthfully, this would've been a highlight amongst Hogan's work in WCW up until the NWO.

[@zlinedavid]

Would’ve been more entertaining than the Dungeon of Doom 🙄

[@idonotexist2619]

A veteran like Savage only getting $750,000 a year?

[@zemm9003]

This was before the big contracts. Before Nitro and the NWO. When Nash says in his promos that he and Hall changed the business forever he isn't lying. They really did. After they were hired, 750k contracts became quite common, but before 1996 they were almost unheard of.

[@perfectblindguy]

wcw was never ever considered a regional southern promotion. WCW was always a major promotion that had national tv....

[@Chevyboiz]

It was regional when it was Georgia Championship Wrestling

[@JLvatron]

Eric Bischoff is amazing. Great on the mic and a wrestling legend himself by the genius he showed with Hollywood Hogan and the nWo.

[@rolltide9547]

He copied and stole the NWO from Japan clueless.

[@danielterry6511]

What exactly did Bill Watts say. Considering his biggest babyface in MidSouth was Sylvester Ritter aka The Junkyard Dog

[@FlagTheRef]

Eric Bischoff, the Scott Coker of professional wrestling.

[@jackbarnes9728]

Very odd that Bischoff says Bill Watts is a racist considering that Watts was the first promoter to put the belt on a black man.

[@Goochbag8]

I could really go for a slim jim right now

[@steveosborn7224]

I lived slim Jim and those commercials

[@Thex-W.I.T.C.H.-xMaster]

Love Hogan or hate him, usually if you were on his team you made more money 💰. Hogan was over he was one of the greatest wrestlers of the 90's and the greatest wrestler of the 80's for sure. Flair will disagree with that statement, but that's why it's called an opinion from a Hogan fan 😂.

[@joshr8666]

Wow i didnt know Hank Aaron was working at Turner

[@nes199]

WCW died in 94 it just didn't get buried until 01

[@MattJungleCat]

The Nasty Boys were already in WCW when Hulk Hogan came on board...

[@terrimitchell5236]

I like wcw and wwe but I always liked wcw better should still be around wcw.

[@socalkylex]

I am not a fan of many creative decisions this man has made but as a long time professional manager I can say with confidence that this guy is a managerial genius

[@rancidcrawfish]

Working at walmart isn't the same thing

[@ChuckThunder1111]

Hacksaw was the BEST!! I would trade 100 Bishofs for one Hacksaw...

[@uria702]

“That’s not gonna work for me brother”

[@makaveli087]

What the....Y'all better put some respect on HonkyTonk Man's name, Mr. Eric "I hired Horace Hogan on purpose" Bischoff.

[@JeffTullock-fs4de]

Wrestling was always the best when the greatest of all time had the belt. Unfortunately bischoff didn’t understand that part? Because..”Diamond ARE 4-ever!”

[@seanpatrick5060]

Thunder Lipps Runs Wild Brother!!!

[@Pr3stag3]

0:50 Two words that are the very definition of an oxymoron "Hogan and honesty"

[@makeitthrough_]

-That don't work for- They gonna work with me, Brother.