WWE Hall of Famer blames Hulk Hogan for business-defining move he made in the 80s
Hulk Hogan is one of the biggest WWE superstars in history. However, a fellow Hall of Famer blames Hogan for making a business-defining move in the 1980s that affects everyone to this day.
Professional wrestling is one of the few remaining industries without a proper union. Jesse "The Body" Ventura tried to create a union back in 1986 but Hogan reportedly ratted him out to Vince McMahon and it became a giant mess.
In an appearance on GAW TV with SoCal Val, Mickie James and Lisa Marie Varon, Alundra Blayze, famously known as Madusa, claimed that a union would have helped many former wrestlers today.
"That little bit right there could help with paying bills, medicals," Madusa said. "And when I see some of our older wrestlers that are talking about, 'We could have something like this,' and it sure in the hell would keep them out from doing all these signings every weekend ... Why don't we have something like that in wrestling?" [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
The 60-year-old Hall of Famer blamed Hulk Hogan for wrestling, and more importantly WWE, not having a union back then until now.
"(Ventura) did, and guess who stopped him?," Madusa added. "Guess who turned him in? (Hogan). Yes. Shame on Hogan."
Madusa is still hoping that major names like John Cena or The Rock would step up, and help wrestling have a union in the future.
"I would love to see somebody stand up with their platform like Dwayne or John Cena that have the ability to do this with their own people," Madusa said.
How did Hulk Hogan sabotage Jesse Ventura's union plans?
Jesse Ventura had mapped out a plan for wrestlers to boycott WrestleMania II, to pave the way for a union. However, Hulk Hogan went behind Ventura's back and told Vince McMahon about it.
In an appearance on The Steve Austin Show podcast in 2016, Ventura explained Hogan was making so much money that he didn't want to share it with the other wrestlers.
"We got the records of WrestleMania III, the big one," Ventura said. "Him and Andre. Well, Hogan made more money than all of us combined, including Andre. So naturally, he didn't want a union." [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
It was a shock to Jesse Ventura because he considered Hulk Hogan his friend back then. Nonetheless, there has been no talk of wrestling being unionized and it's kind of a taboo topic within WWE. It's technically not impossible but with no real progress in the past 30 years, it would take something huge or someone with power to make it happen.
Do you think wrestling, or at least WWE, should have a union? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.