“Is he f**king around here?”- Former AEW official on 14-time champion’s behavior in WWE main event against Hulk Hogan
Former WWE referee Mike Chioda shared his perspective on the now-infamous match between Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan back in SummerSlam 2005.
Undoubtedly, The Heartbreak Kid and The Immortal One are two of the biggest names in the industry. When they met in the ring in 2005, fans witnessed Michaels comically oversell Hogan's moves as it was rumored that the latter didn't want to lose. The referee for the match, Mike Chioda, recalled his thoughts from that night.
While on an episode of the Monday Mailbag with Mike Chioda, the former WWE official expressed his shock. While he knew Shawn Michaels would do whatever he wanted, he was confused about what was going on.
“I remember during that match thinking holy s**t, he’s selling his a** off for f***ing Hogan. And then I’m like wait a minute, is he f***ing around here? Knowing Shawn, sometimes he’ll do whatever he wants to do. I’m sure he got paid huge for it but I just didn’t know which way Vince was going with Shawn at that point." [H/T Wrestling.Inc]
Wishing a show-stopping birthday to The Showstopper! 💔💔💔
#HappyBirthdayHBK @ShawnMichaels https://t.co/aHgfUvXLIL
The match saw Hulk Hogan as the victor via pinfall. It was also rumored that this was supposed to be the first match in a trilogy, with Shawn Michaels winning the first match and the rest by Hogan. But the plan never materialized.
Mike Chioda couldn't believe that Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels
While on the same topic, the former AEW referee claimed that he couldn't believe Hogan was put over Shawn. He added that there were always problems surrounding a rematch and that Hulk didn't want to 'job out.'
“Shawn had so much left in the tank for wrestling and stuff, I couldn’t believe that Hogan went over on Shawn. I remember there were always problems about if they’re going to have a rematch. Supposedly Hogan didn’t even want to job out if there was a second rematch. I don’t know if it had anything to do with way back in the day, because they never worked together before,” Chioda claimed.
🖤It's his birthday, and he'll rip his shirt if he wants to.
Happy birthday, brother! @HulkHogan ❤️ 💛 🖤 https://t.co/2FGBJgbdVB
Despite their seeming disdain for one another, both men found success in their careers. Hogan and Michaels have captured multiple world titles and are part of the company's Hall of Fame.