Hulk Hogan recently spoke with The Sporting News, here are the highlights..
On Inducting Randy Savage Into The WWE Hall of Fame: “Then a few months before he passed away we accidentally bumped into each other, mended the fence and it was the same old Randy with a gleam in his eye. He had just gotten remarried and was happy. It was the same Randy I used to know. So it was bittersweet to be there. I basically thought that Lanny (Poffo, Randy’s brother) should have inducted him into the Hall of Fame and Lanny lobbied hard for me to do it because he said I knew him better than anybody. It was tough. It was really hard. I was nervous. I wanted to do him justice. All the haters were going ‘oh, Hulk Hogan is going to make it all about him.’ It was just amazing to see when you’re honoring somebody just how many people come out of the woodwork with different opinions. It kind of caught me off guard. I didn’t think in a moment like that when we’re there to honor someone and tell someone how much you love someone and what a great professional they were that there were all these left-sided comments coming out. It kind of caught me off guard but we got through it.”
On The Wrestling Business Today: “It’s different. It’s changed. It was cool before when everybody believed that everything that happened in there was real, even if they thought it was not real but they didn’t know unless you told them. You know, there are no smart fans anymore. I’ve been in the wrestling business 35 years and I just figured out that guys in the back don’t talk kizarny anymore. I didn’t even know that. And I thought I understood the business and apparently I don’t. It’s completely different than it was last year. It’s amazing how many fans are like “I’m smart, I’m kayfabing”. Those words aren’t even used any more. It’s pretty amazing. I kind of liked it when there was more of a mystique to it and people weren’t so jaded. You know, you have to change with the times.”
