The long-standing mystery surrounding Hulk Hogan’s prominent black eye at WrestleMania IX has been revisited in the new WWE documentary, “WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle,” currently streaming on Peacock, highlighting conflicting accounts from wrestlers present at the time versus Hogan’s official explanation.
Hogan, who had left WWE in 1992, made his return in early 1993, culminating at WrestleMania IX. He notably arrived at the event sporting a severe black eye. As the documentary explores, a persistent rumor quickly spread backstage and has endured for decades: that the injury resulted from a physical altercation with Randy “Macho Man” Savage, who allegedly blamed Hogan for his divorce from Miss Elizabeth.
Several wrestling legends featured in the documentary shared their perspectives from 1993. The Undertaker recalled seeing the injury firsthand, commenting that Hogan should have “bobbed instead of weaved,” and described it as a “pretty nasty black eye.” Taker confirmed the backstage atmosphere, stating, “everyone knew that Hogan and Savage didn’t get along and it didn’t take long for the rumors to spread.”
Scott Steiner also addressed the prevalent story: “The stories is Macho Man punched him, beat him up. I wasn’t there so I don’t know but that was the story going around.” Steiner added a layer of intrigue, stating, “I rolled with Macho Man. He told me what really happened. And I believe Macho Man’s story. So I believe what he told me. But he wasn’t happy about it,” suggesting Savage gave him an account he found credible, related to the incident.
However, the documentary notes that Hogan himself has consistently denied the rumor. The official explanation given to WWE management at the time, corroborated in the documentary by Bruce Prichard, differed entirely. Prichard stated that both he and Vince McMahon “were told by Hogan that he was ‘popped in the eye’ while he was jet skiing.”
The “WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle” documentary thus brings the conflicting narratives surrounding one of WrestleMania’s most talked-about backstage mysteries back into the spotlight, contrasting the widespread rumors and wrestler accounts with Hogan’s official jet ski accident explanation. The documentary is streaming now on Peacock.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit “WrestleMania IX: Becoming a Spectacle” with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
