Current AEW announcer Jim Ross has discussed one of the more notorious wins of Hulk Hogan’s career and says it wasn’t popular with Hogan’s fellow wrestlers.
In 1993, Hulk Hogan was on his way out of WWE as the blazing flames of Hulkamania in the late eighties were reduced to little more than embers.
The times they were-a changing and as a New Generation took hold in the company led by the likes of Bret Hart, Yokozuna, and Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan’s time at the top was all but over.
Or so everybody thought. Hogan had made a huge return to WWE screens in the lead-up to WrestleMania 9 but instead of his usual spot in and around the main event, Hogan was having to make do with a bout teaming with Brutus Beefcake for the WWE Tag Team Championship against Money Inc.
Hogan’s team was unable to unseat the champions – losing by disqualification – but his night was far from done. The main event saw Royal Rumble winner Yokozuna defeat Bret Hart for the WWE Championship, thanks to some salt thrown in The Hitman’s eyes by Mr. Fuji.
Hulk Hogan came to Hart’s aid and was then challenged by Mr. Fuji for an impromptu title match. The Hulkster accepted and a leg drop later, he was WWE Champion once again in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross – who made his WWE debut that night – discussed Hogan’s infamous win and why the only real winner was politics:
“It was kind of a political nightmare. You had different parties lobbying for different things. To me, Yokozuna, at that time, was a little bit of a risk because we didn’t know how well his character was gonna withstand a loss to the returning Hulk Hogan. But I thought it was kind of cool booking, and it certainly reinvigorated Hogan. It showed that Yokozuna was human.”
“They did the little crazy finish, so it wasn’t like he got guzzled or eaten alive. But it was very political. Yoko had a lot of followers within the company – a lot of relatives, a lot of friends. He was very likable. So now, he’s getting his big break, and the old man is coming back to take it away from him. There was a little bit of a political – I don’t wanna say upheaval because that’s a little overdramatic – but it wasn’t the most popular move within the boys.”