On a recent edition of the “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff discussed WCW’s relationship with NJPW in the 1990s, Hulk Hogan not wrestling in Japan, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On whether there was talent that didn’t want to work in Japan: “No, it was the opposite really. Most talent love going over to Japan, loved it. Hulk Hogan wasn’t going to Japan, he’d been there enough. He’d been there and done that. He built a lot of his career in Japan and had all the fun that he wanted to have, and wasn’t as interested in 20-hour flights as the rest of the talent was. But beyond Hulk, no everybody was excited. I never had anybody balk about going over there. Look, had I brought up Hogan’s name as a potential for a big show? Absolutely. I think everybody would have done backflips, including Inoki who was the president of the company at the time. But I think most people also recognize that that Hulk was, for the most part, done with Japan. And if he did come over, it would be a very special occasion for one match. He wasn’t going to go over there and tour as The Nasty Boys did, or Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, or Sting or any of the other talent that would go over to tour. They weren’t going over for one shot. I think everybody in Japan would have been excited about it, but I think everybody in New Japan knew that it was probably unlikely to happen. It would have been very, very expensive to.”
On whether NJPW wanted Hogan and Hogan didn’t want to work in Japan: “[Hulk] loved working in Japan. If you sit down and talk to Hulk Hogan you get him to open up about his experiences in Japan. And I think there would have been a scenario back in the day when Hulk could have been convinced to stay in Japan. He loved it, absolutely loved it. But like a lot of things in life, you love it to the point where okay, don’t need to do that anymore. And the travel was hard. You know, Hulk Hogan spent a long time [on the road]. He was the original road warrior when it came to schedule. Vince McMahon worked him to death early in the ’80s, and I think when Hulk finally got to the point where financially he was secure and had experienced so much, he was a lot more picky about where he worked and how often he earned that right.”
