"I don't understand your paranoia" - AEW personality on how he dealt with WWE talent refusing to face Hulk Hogan
An AEW personality recently spoke about his time in WWE and how he dealt with hostility among talent about working with Hulk Hogan.
Hulk Hogan is widely known as one of the most recognizable names in pro wrestling history. However, his appeal backstage apparently dwindled during the latter stages of his career due to his status. This led to several stars refusing to work with the veteran.
On a recent edition of the Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross spoke about how he managed the situation surrounding Hogan during the former's time as WWE's Head of Talent Relations.
“Well, a lot of top guys were not interested in it, because they knew that it was going to create competition for that spot, or those spots. There are not enough spots to go around to cover everybody’s bases it needs and so forth. I tell talent, I remember telling talent: ‘Why are you worried about it? He’s the older guy with multiple back surgeries, he’s very limited on what he can do physically. So I don’t understand your angst, I don’t understand your paranoia. It sounds like you’re worried about competition, right?'” (H/T: TJR Wrestling)
Entrance Of The Day!
Hollywood Hulk Hogan
RAW after WrestleMania 18 (2002) https://t.co/fdresmb2hr
A current AEW star apparently refused to job for WWE legend Hulk Hogan
Jim Ross also revealed that Hulk Hogan's booking plans were further halted by a current AEW star's refusal to put the veteran over.
During Paul Wight's run in WWE, he had a phase where he was unsure of renewing his contract with the promotion due to his back problems. On the Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross spoke about how this led to Wight refusing to do the job for Hogan.
''Other than his back being problematic, he didn't want to job for Hogan. I'm sure Big Show thought 'it's my time for Hogan to put me over.' And that was never in consideration quite frankly,'' said Jim Ross. [33:00-33:40]
Hulk Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for his exceptional career in 2005 and 2020. He is retired as a professional wrestler now.
What do you make of Jim Ross' words? Sound off in the comments section below.