"He sometimes wasn't very popular" - Jim Ross says WWE stars were jealous of 13-time World Champion
Former WWE commentator and executive Jim Ross believes many WWE Superstars were jealous of Hulk Hogan’s relationship with Vince McMahon.
Hogan was presented as WWE’s star attraction in the 1980s and early 1990s. The two-time WWE Hall of Famer also headlined eight of the first nine WrestleMania events before joining WCW in 1994.
The latest episode of Jim Ross’ Grilling JR podcast focused on Hogan’s famous heel turn at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996. Discussing The Hulkster’s reputation in WWE before joining WCW, Ross recalled how the locker room really felt about Vince McMahon’s top guy.
“He sometimes wasn’t very popular,” Ross said. “That stems from a lot of jealousy and the fact that whoever’s closest to Vince at that particular time is gonna get some heat on them. Nobody was gonna say anything, maybe covertly… The jealously issues were tough for Hogan. He got an unfair hand more often than not, simply because he was very, very successful.”
WWE personality Paul Heyman spoke about Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior’s jealousy in Warrior’s A&E documentary earlier in 2021. He said the legitimate competition to become WWE’s top star caused “jealousy and envy” in the locker room.
Jim Ross says WWE Superstars wanted to work on Hulk Hogan’s shows
WWE often ran three live events on the same night during the height of Hulk Hogan’s popularity.
Despite other WWE Superstars’ jealousy of Hogan, Jim Ross says everyone wanted to work on the same show as the WWE legend.
“If you go back in his heyday of WWE when they were running three house shows a night, the first thing when a talent got their booking sheet was to look and see where Hogan was, and then hope that they’re on that same card. They knew it was gonna draw more money than the other cards. And that’s the guy that people got jealous over,” Jim Ross added.
Hogan is among the most decorated champions in wrestling history. A 13-time World Champion, he won the WWE Championship six times, WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, and IWGP Heavyweight Championship once.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.