After spending years as the industry's biggest babyface, Hulk Hogan famously revealed himself to be a member of the NWO during WCW Bash at the Beach 1996, creating one of professional wrestling's greatest heel turns. Making a recent appearance on Barstool's "Rasslin'" podcast, Hogan stated that he loved playing the role of villain, and revealed that he had actually asked Vince McMahon to turn him heel years prior but was shot down.
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"When I did the job for The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6, ... one of the things I said to Vince McMahon was, 'Let me turn heel,'" Hogan said. "If you watch the tape, ... everybody in the crowd was watching me leave. ... Slowly, I [could have] turned and [came] back and just ground him."
Additionally, Hogan said he pitched the idea of becoming "Triple H," also known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. Of course, Hogan's "Hollywood" character didn't come into play until years later, and the "Triple H" moniker would wind up going to another man. As for Hogan, he wouldn't spend too much longer in WWE. After his suggestion was denied by McMahon, Hogan continued wrestling in WWE for several more years before departing, first for the movie business and a stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling before eventually landing in WCW.
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It was in WCW where the wrestler turned into a villain for the first time since he became a mega-star, but Hogan was not as eager to make the transition to a heel as he had been several years before. Because of that, Hogan initially turned down the offer to join the NWO.
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"The Hulk-A-Mania thing was just getting started again after the whole steroid debacle and all that crazy stuff, so I felt a little weird turning heel," Hogan explained.
However, after seeing Scott Hall and Kevin Nash debut on WCW TV, their act caught Hogan's attention. He then called Eric Bischoff, who was running WCW's creative department, and stated that he wanted to join the faction after all. Hogan then had to convince Bischoff to revert to the original pitch.
"I called Eric up [and] I said, 'Man, I'm your guy,'" Hogan continued. "He said, 'Well, do you really want to do it, because we were going to put Sting [in]?' And I said, 'Sting's a great guy, but he's not WWF head-to-toe.'"
Following his introduction into the NWO, Hogan spent the next few years as one of the biggest heels in the industry. Along the way, he and the rest of the group helped WCW gain some serious momentum, with the promotion rising to challenge WWE for several years.
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If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Rasslin'" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
