American Gladiators: Hulk Hogan

CraveOnline: How do you maintain your 24" pythons now?

CraveOnline: What is the key to your success?

Hulk Hogan: Well, I think it's so many things. The main thing is being positive, because I kind of stumbled onto this character Hulk Hogan back in the day, way before you were born, 1976. I kind of knew that I wanted to be a positive character, didn't want to be a bad guy. I came up with the training, the prayers, the vitamins and believing in yourself and kind of fell right into this whole mindset of the law of attraction. Like attracts life and if you believe in something, you feel it, it will manifest  and you can have whatever you want. I think that's really possible. Some stuff happened to me throughout the years which is kind of like I've been able to ride the highs and survive the lows. My whole attitude has always been positive. I move forward so I think it's basically my attitude and my belief, my vision of what I see, the final result and my whole attitude about people that no matter what people do to me, even if they sink real low at times and be bottom feeders, I still think people are good people but I understand human beings. I think it's my whole attitude about life and people that I understand, somebody can do something to me last week and I don't hold a grudge. I move forward and I understand that if you're mad at me because I did something, I just get over things and I see the good in everything.

CraveOnline: Could you still tell kids to say your prayers today?

Hulk Hogan: In today's climate, of course, brother. You kidding me? It's a full circle deal. It kind of went out of style during the '90s when everybody was edgy and on the dark side. I don't read the tabloid anymore. I basically have learned a lot about media, how it works. It's a business too, I get it. Just like wrestling, so I understand what needs to be done to keep newspapers in business and magazines in business. I understand how important the truth is but I understand how important it is to put an edge on things to sell and keep your business thriving. Look at today's environment, the training, prayers and vitamins, for that to come back full circle and to be a starting point for some of the kids today, I'm not going to just relate the kids today as the young Hollywood kids but a lot of kids in the smaller towns like Dayton, Ohio. I think it's a great place for people to start with. They may not believe in Jesus Christ, they may not be a Christian, they may not be saved, they may not believe in God, they may not believe in anything. You may believe a higher power, you may be an atheist but the training, the prayers and the vitamins can apply to anybody who wants to use it as a good base. I'm talking too much here. You guys are talking about the stuff I like though.

CraveOnline: What got you into American Gladiators?

Hulk Hogan: It's like a piece of Americana that's always been there. It's kind of like a McDonald's or Chevrolet or Babe Ruth or Hulk Hogan or Mohammed Ali. American Gladiators has been intertwined with American society for so long that to bring it back is something that makes sense. It's something that's a genius idea at this time. This whole idea was manifested and brought about way before the writer's strike. It's not reality TV because the writers are one strike, they need programming. This is something that was planned and they thought of the plan, now they're planning the work and doing the work. I think it's going to be something that people get addicted to. It's faster and quicker than the old Gladiators show. The production's a lot slicker. They've added more intensity to the events. There's water involved in a lot of the events and I think the one thing that really is going to make people get hooked on the show is the competitions, the contenders are normal people that came to the dance this time. They had to beat out thousands of people to get here. Even though they're the normal people that come here like yourself, a fireman, a mailman, a construction worker that made it to this point needed more than just the physicality. They needed motivation and a lot of these guys have these crazy back stories like "I'm doing it for the firemen from 9/11. My dad was a fireman who died and my brother died." That chilled me. One kid's doing it because his mother's deployed. When she comes back, he wants to help her retire. Another kid's doing it because his mother passed away, he dedicated it to her. So you've got this crazy motivation behind their quest. I think when the people at home see this, when they realize what they're up against with these clowns up here, these American Gladiators that are physical phenoms, I think it's going to be an interesting piece of programming in action TV.

CraveOnline: What do you think of the gladiators?

Hulk Hogan: I've been watching these guys for a couple weeks now. I get to know 'em all pretty good, their personalities. I feel very good about these guys because I've got nothing against young kids. I don't want people talking about old people either but nothing against young kids but sometimes when you get a bunch of young kids out here, that testosterone gets going and instead of just stopping someone from scoring a point or something, they may try to stop them from scoring a point and then hurt them, which isn't the case here. These guys know the physicalities involved, they know it's competition but they're not out here to hurt anybody. I just like their mindset. It's competitive on a nice level. They want to win. They're not giving anybody too much slack, or no slack at all from what I've seen, but they're not out there to hurt someone that they get in a compromising position so I respect them for that. There's been a couple times here, some of the contenders have gotten in over their heads where the gladiators put an extra twist or a turn or grab their leg and could have really done some damage. I respect what I see here. I love these guys. The girls, I need to have a talk with them. They get a little crazy sometimes.

CraveOnline: What advice would you give to competitors?

Hulk Hogan: It's a total 100% commitment. When you go to do something physical, even if you get the butterflies and you're nervous like I always was before I went into the ring, once you step in there, you've got to commit because if you don't go 100%, that's when you get hurt. Every time I was in the ring, I said, "Oh, I'm not going to hit the ropes quite as hard, I'm not going to run quite as fast, I'm not going to jump up as high before I land on my butt. Oh, I pulled my back out or hurt my hip." I've learned that if you're going to go over the top rope and you're going to hit the floor, just go for it. Stay tight, keep your knees in and just don't be flailing around because that's when you get hurt. I've tried to give them a little bit of what I've learned, and don't worry about the cosmetics. You want your hair to look good, tighten that damn helmet up. Make sure that mouthpiece, you're going to bite down on it. Don’t worry about 100 years from now, how you're eye makeup looks or Wolf's hair is out of place, who cares? That's what I'm trying to tell them, just the shortcuts that I've learned.

CraveOnline: How do you playing host to the main event after commanding the stage yourself?

Hulk Hogan: I like to take advantage of the situation. I could have went several different ways but I'm all about this whole mindset thing and perception. The truth is, wherever they're going, I've already been, if you want to know the truth. I've done this type of wrestling, I've done the other type of wrestling where they try to break bones, shoot fighting with submissions in Japan. So I've tried to explain to these kids…The hosting part is great but what I've done is I've tried to find out what my niche is and what my groove is. I'm not trying to talk down on these kids, or these young men and young women. I don't know how to say what they are, I'm so old, but I'm not trying to talk down on them. I try to find my spot. What's my character? What I was trying to say before I got derailed was wherever they're going, I've already been so I'm trying to talk to them, not down on them but like, "Listen, boy, these are my gladiators and if you want to live forever, contender, see if you can beat 'em. They're the best of the best." When I talk to the gladiators, "I've picked up Andre the Giant, brother. What was it like when you had that contender over your head. Were you going to throw him into the water or were you going to throw him all the way into the bleachers?" I try to come from an entertainment perspective when I talk, but my vision when I'm talking to these gladiators is I'm kind of like their mentor. I've been in these wars for 30 years, whether they've been real or fake, but I've been there. That's what I'm doing hosting.

CraveOnline: Do you take sides?

Hulk Hogan: Oh, I do sometimes, yeah. Usually I'm rooting for the contenders because I'm trying to get the most out of them. But the truth is, when Titan's up there on the joust, this is his house. This the arena that Titan built when it comes to the joust and I let everybody know that. I say, "Look, man. If I was a betting man, I'm betting on Titan, not on you, my brother because one of his legs is as big as your whole body. So you need to dig. You need to find something extra special if you're going to knock him off his perch, brother. Good luck to you." I'll go back and forth with it but I try to find the spot, the sweet spot. Some of these contenders I can bring something out of them. Some of them I go, "Oh my God, that was a great event, man. You did great, you knocked Titan off the top. What did it feel like when he kept beating you in the head and you knocked him all the way into the water?" "It was great, you know." I try to find the person I can get a buzz off of and get something going.

CraveOnline: You are the ultimate good guy, so how was your experience being a bad guy?

Hulk Hogan: It was weird, brother, because we were at war with Vince McMahon at the time. We were trying to find a way to step up, because at the time the WWF was the crème de la crème of sports entertainment. We were trying to find a way to catch up and I was sitting with Eric Bishof? And Ted Turner and Ted Turner said, "We need to do something that's never been done." I said, "What about Hulk Hogan being a bad guy." Ted Turner and Eric Bishof went, "Oh my Gosh. It's either going to work great or it's going to destroy my career." So it was so weird because when I turned into this bad guy, "The training, the prayers and the vitamins, I did it for the money!" I hit them with that edge, they cheered me. It was a weird time. It was during the '90s when they were cheering the bad guys. It was just such a weird, there was no good guy or bad guy, even in life anymore, there was just this grey area. There was a vigilante on the train in New York that did stuff and kind of got rewarded or cheered for it by the public, so I kind of fell into that groove that even though I was a bad guy, I grew a black beard in, I poked people in the eye and choked them, they cheered for me. Even when I went back to the WWE, I got ready to wrestle the Rock, I hit him in the head with a hammer, put him in an ambulance, I got in a semi, I drove over the ambulance with the semi, tried to kill him. I got in the ring with him and soon as I punched him, the people started cheering at Wrestlemania. Then the Rock started punching me and they started booing him. I went, "I give up."

CraveOnline: What's it like to go back to Raw and still get ovations?

Hulk Hogan: It was different because I wanted to go home and get my red and yellow stuff but I was here. I left straight from the set and went there. So all I had were these clothes with me really. I wanted to come out in the red and yellow stuff but it was cool. I was so tired that when I got to the ring, I was kind of like the place that was my home for all these years, I got out there and I felt like I was out of my element. I tried to talk. I bit my lip and I was stuttering and rushing and wasn't enunciating correctly. I was so tired being there but it was cool to hear the fans and hear them cheer. It was really, really cool. I miss it.

CraveOnline: What has the Hogan Knows Best show done for your image?

Hulk Hogan: Well, for my image, I think it basically made people understand who I am more. Or almost completely because for 25 years, the perception was bald headed, moustche, "Hey brother, Hulk Hogan" the screaming wrestler. I think once I let people into my home, they realized I was a normal person, a father and a husband, just basically trying to deal with everyday problems that most people deal with. Problems with the kids and them growing up and getting their own identity and the choices they make. The personal stuff with me and my wife, I think everybody kind of realized everything was edgy and I go through the same stuff a lot of people do in life. It wasn't just this fairy tale of oh, I'm a great wrestler, one dimensional and shallow. "The guy wrestles for a living, he makes a little bit of money and yells and screams brother all the time." I think it just reinvented me. It really did. I think it raised the awareness level of everything, from my character to the type of person I am to just everything. I think it was good for that.

CraveOnline: Will you ever wrestle again?

Hulk Hogan: Oh yeah. I was in the ring the other night and I started thinking, this is not over until it's over. I'm 54 years old. It still can be fun. I don't have to totally kill myself to have a match. The truth is, I was in the dressing room looking at all the new guys so I didn't know half the guys there because I guess they turn over so fast. I looked at them and said, "I'm in as good a shape as some of these young guys." I could go back and pull it off.

CraveOnline: Do you still think about movies?

Hulk Hogan: I am now. I had this hard time with the movies back in the day because the wrestling was so good to me. My mindset was not only barbaric but kind of selfish, in a good way because in wrestling I knew I was the guy back then. There was no Rock, there was no Stone Cold, there was no one else. I just happened to be the guy that was on the road and doing the thing. Every time I'd go to a movie, the low budget kids movies were fun, I basically would lose that momentum with wrestling. I'd come back three, four, five, six months later, oh my Gosh, Randy Savage would try to take my spot. Then the Ultimate Warrior's trying to take my spot so I have to get back in there and get my spot back. I could have done better with movies. I turned down a huge Al Ruddy movie which was a big mistake. I turned down the lead part in Highlander which was a big mistake. [Note: Can you imagine how much cooler Highlander would have been with Hulk Hogan? – Fred] Men in Tights, the Mel Brooks movie, I turned the part of Little John down. I made several huge errors. I turned down a movie with Pam Anderson right before she met Tommy Lee in Vancouver which probably was a good thing that I turned that down, but there were several beats along my career that I turned down. Now that I'm in this part of my career, I'm looking at it like I can't be the action hero guy. This probably sounds really, really, really egotistical, but I'm going to throw it out there anyway. If I could slide into a spot like a supporting actor like a Gene Hackman or a Sean Connery as a supporting actor, just go with my bald head and not have to have all the peroxide in my hair, I could probably have fun doing it. My biggest problem is sitting in that trailer out there all day, just bouncing off the walls 12, 14 hours. "Oh, they need you for five minutes." Great, okay, now I go sit for five more hours. That's my biggest demon is getting by that. 

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