Former WWE & WCW star Lex Luger was completely shocked when Hulk Hogan turned heel to join the New World Order at Bash at the Beach 1996.
On a recent edition of his “Lex Expressed” podcast, Luger recalled Hogan’s heel turn which would mark the launch of the New World Order. He said,
“It blew my mind. I thought that he was so set with the red and yellow, and ‘Take your vitamins and say your prayers.’ I thought he was going to ride and die with that. … The Hulkster is a really sharp businessman, and I think he could sense that [he’d] run [that] thing out.
“I was like, ‘Gosh, is he really going to do this?’ I knew he had creative control. I was in a couple [of] meetings when the Hulkster … [would] go, ‘Ah, I don’t think that’s going to work for me.’ … He didn’t do that very often. Hulkster’s all business.”
Luger later reiterated that Hogan could have turned the idea of a heel turn down but made the smart call by agreeing and launching arguably wrestling’s most iconic faction.