83 Weeks - Hulk Hogan: WCW's Savior [Show Notes] (Patreon)

Today Eric we’re going to discuss the theory that Hulk Hogan was the savior of WCW.

So we’ll discuss the business of WCW today, the negotiations to bring Hulk in, the business after he comes in, and what it changed for WCW. We’re going to discuss Ric Flair’s role in bringing in Hulk, and there are a ton of quotes we’re going to ask you about from Hulk’s book regarding him coming into WCW.

Let’s start at the beginning Eric. Hulk is off WWF TV after King of the Ring 1993 and does an international tour and also works 3 matches for New Japan. How long after you’re promoted to Executive Vice President do you say to yourself…what does WCW look like with Hulk Hogan inside it?

Does Ted Turner bring it up to you or do you bring it up to him?

When you talk about expanding the brand by adding Hulk Hogan you’re adding a significant salary and you have to make significant guarantees…do you sit down with the finance people of Time Warner/WCW whoever and realize you need Hogan to generate X amount of dollars for it to make sense?

When you’re discussing numbers with Hulk…do you have a set budget in mind? Like was there a number where you thought the price was too high?

Hulk wrote in his book that because WCW was running at Universal Studios and he was filming his show, Thunder in Paradise, “In order to whet their appetites, the tour guide would say, “Come backstage and watch Hulk Hogan film his new show.” Naturally, everybody thought it was a wrestling show. It didn’t occur to them that I would be making Thunder in Paradise. So they walked past Soundstage B and they saw Ric Flair—who had returned to WCW—and Sting and Arn Anderson and all these wrestlers. But they didn’t see me, so they would ask their tour guide, “Where’s Hulk Hogan?” So 3,000 people an hour were coming through the place asking for Hulk Hogan. It drove the tour guides nuts.”

Do you think that was taking place?

It’s Ric Flair who originally brings up bringing in Hulk correct?

How important is Ric to these negotiations?

If Hulk and Ric had been done - let’s say as a WrestleMania main event - previously in the WWF on such a grand scale - do you think it would’ve been that appealing to you?

Hulk wrote in his book you wanted to do, the Hulk Hoagie. Did you tell him that?

He also wrote that he negotiated directly with Ted Turner and Bill Shaw. Why were you kept out of these?

At the same time this is going on the Vince McMahon Steroid Trial is happening and Hulk is a major witness. Did this give you any pause?

Was signing Hulk the only way you thought WCW could compete against the WWF?

Hulk’s name is mentioned a few times in passing on WCW TV in hotline reports from Gene Okerlund…did you notice an immediate uptick in interest on the hotline?

Is there anybody in the locker room coming to you like…is this the best idea?

The talk has always been Hulk Hogan couldn’t cut it in a more wrestling centric promotion compared to the WWF - land of the giants as they were always called. Are you worried about that?

Hulk’s first appearance is built up to happen on WCW Saturday Night on March 12th, 1994 when Bobby Heenan confronts Gene Okerlund and Hulk who are having an interview - oh by the way Brutus “The Fucking Barber” Beefcake and THE SHOCKMASTER were there. The rating for that show is a 2.8…tying the highest of the year at this point. Is that…a disappointment?

Did you know when bringing in Hulk meant you had to bring in other talents? How the hell did Shockmaster end up there?

Heenan shows Hogan and Flair on a cover of Pro Wrestling Illustrated as a sort of tease about Hogan’s unfinished business…did that just line up well or did you go to PWI and say hey we need this cover?

That will be the highest rating for WCW Saturday Night until November. When that rating comes in and a few weeks after do not get back to that point…do you think this might be a mistake or was it too soon?

As the deal is nearing completion and you know you have Hulk in the fold…how quickly are you going to the sales team and saying…ok we need to get on the phone with this company and that company and let’s start getting the business moving?

Who are you targeting? Specific sponsors do you think? Did Hulk go out of his way to find business as well?

When you bring Hulk in…are you looking to expand the pay-per-view business, the TV ratings, but you know Hulk isn’t going to do many house shows…was that even in a conversation?

How big was Jimmy Hart in all this?

May 28th, 1994 on WCW Saturday Night Hogan tears up his Thunder in Paradise contract and states he is ready to come back to pro wrestling. That show drew a 2.3 rating and finally on June 11th the ticker tape parade takes place with Hogan’s Viper at Disney MGM studios and it was made to look like a big deal and let’s be honest Eric…it is. But it’s a 2.4 rating. Are you getting feedback internally like…we’ve signed the biggest professional wrestling star in the history of the business…and our ratings are not doubling. Was that an internal expectation or something you think you knew you had to build over time?

On June 23rd - the Clash with Sting vs. Flair sees Hogan’s in arena debut for WCW and it’s heavily promoted that the contract signing for Flair & Hulk for Bash at the Beach 1994…has Ted Turner involved. Your idea? His idea? That’s on Saturday Night and again…the rating is a 1.8.

Is this just a sign that maybe Saturday Night isn’t the vehicle it once was?

Hogan and Flair face off at Bash at the Beach in Orlando. Let’s talk about the business aspect…

The pay-per-view before…Slamboree 1994 draws 4,000 fans in Philadelphia. It has a .48 buy rate and the show is headlined by Sting and Vader for the vacant WCW International Title.

Bash at the Beach…14,000 fans in Orlando. A 1.02 buy rate…double the last show. So right off the bat Hulk vs. Flair draws 10,000 more fans and doubles the buys. Screaming success is it not?

Hulk wrote this in his book… “The guys at WCW were just getting into merchandising. But after Minnesota and my time with Vince, I knew how to cut a merchandise deal with a saber. My legal counsel, Henry Holmes, convinced WCW that I should receive more than half of the gross merchandising revenues from Hulk Hogan products and that I would share with WCW a percentage of gross revenue from all other WCW merchandise after expenses.”

How important was Hulk to merchandising not just WCW, but the rest of the wrestlers, and the brand?

Hulk would also write that WCW went from being the minor leagues to one of the major leagues. Do you think he honestly looked at it this way?

With the increase in money being spent to Hulk, as he wrote, 700,000 every time he laced his boots up, how quickly did you see a difference in income to the company? Immediate? Months?

WCW would not get a 1 buyrate again until Halloween Havoc 1997 with Hogan as a heel on top against Roddy Piper. Did Hulk really capture the audience everyone was expecting in 1994?

Hogan’s next appearance in the ring is at the Clash in 1994 in Cedar Rapids. The show draws a 4.5 rating with a 7.7 share. That’s what you’re looking for when it comes to having Hulk Hogan on the roster right?

Halloween Havoc comes and it’s a steel cage match against Flair and it draws another huge buyrate, .97. But the War Games in between the two shows which doesn’t feature Hulk only draws a .53 buy rate. With Hulk being so expensive when he is booked…was he not building the brand or just was Hulk drawing Hulk viewers for himself?

Where do you think Hulk made a difference the most in WCW? Was it merchandise?

Without Hulk Hogan - do you get Monday Nitro? Because that’s really the basis of this right? Saturday Night was in a death spot…TV viewership had changed…and taping these shows in front of 800-1,500 fans at a sound stage or running live TV events in 4,000-7,000 seat arenas in prime time…you needed Hulk to get there…because there’s no one else that could’ve done this right?

So when you look back at things Eric - Hulk is the savior just because of Nitro is that right?