Eric Bischoff recently spoke about the immense value and enduring star power of his friend and business partner, Hulk Hogan, stating that Hogan’s involvement has been the key to opening major doors for their new promotion, Real American Freestyle Wrestling. Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show, Bischoff dismissed the “haters” and argued that Hogan’s brand remains as powerful as ever.
The conversation turned to Hogan when Helwani asked if the negative opinions some people have about the icon have been a challenge in getting the new company off the ground. Bischoff was adamant that the opposite is true.
“It’s Open Doors”
“It’s the opposite. It’s open doors,” Bischoff stated. “Do I think Fox Nation would have done a deal with Eric Bischoff and Chad Bronstein and Izzy Martinez? Not without Hulk Hogan attached. It opened doors for us, and still does to this day.”
He drew a parallel to his experience bringing Hogan to WCW in 1994, when many critics were saying Hogan was “old news” and “washed up.” The move ultimately led to the most successful period in WCW’s history. “I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, I don’t think so.’ And we were right then,” Bischoff said.
The 10% Rule
Bischoff acknowledged that Hogan has his detractors but believes they represent a vocal minority. “It gets awkward at times because I feel like I want to defend him, because he’s my friend, and I know him. I know his heart,” he said. “But again, it goes back to that 10% of the people make 90% of the noise. So many people still react so positively to Hulk.”
He pointed to Hogan’s recent business successes as proof of his continued popularity. “You look at what’s going on with his beer… he’s killing it. The brand is killing it,” Bischoff said. “He’s got his own sports bar going in across the street from Madison Square Garden. So the brand itself is very, very strong, because 90% of the people out there dig him and respect him for what he did. But you’ve got that 10% of the audience that are going to be haters, and they’re going to be loud, and you just have to deal with them.”
Bischoff also clarified that while Hogan is the face of the promotion and the key to its mainstream appeal, he is not involved in the day-to-day operations. “Hulk brings so much awareness and a spotlight and a megaphone to everything that we do, and that’s what we really wanted to leverage,” he explained.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit The Ariel Helwani Show with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
