Former WWE Champion Kurt Angle has recalled being asked to meet with Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan to ensure Hogan wouldn’t talk his way out of losing a match.
Hulk Hogan has a wrestling career to his name like no other. Hogan was the key component in the growth of the World Wrestling Federation and WrestleMania throughout the 1980s. Once Hulkamania came to its natural conclusion, Hogan reinvented himself and reignited the wrestling world by donning the black and white of the New World Order in WCW.
However, Hogan’s backstage antics have become as legendary as his in-ring exploits as the phrase “that doesn’t work for me brother” has entered the lexicon of wrestling fans around the globe.
Now Kurt Angle has recalled one occasion where he was called to a meeting by Vince McMahon ahead of an Angle vs. Hogan showdown at King Of The Ring in 2002.
Speaking on The Kurt Angle Show, the Olympic gold medallist recalled being involved in the meeting to ensure Hulk Hogan didn’t talk his way out of submitting to Angle:
“There was one time where Vince was really concerned because I had to make Hogan tap out at King of the Ring in 2002 and he wanted to make sure, he told me that Hulk Hogan would talk him out of it so he wanted me to be in the room with Hulk Hogan when he told Hulk that he was going to tap out to me.
“I was really nervous, it’s Hulk Hogan, the biggest name in the business, in the history of the business, and here I’m going to make him tap out for the first time in his career and Vince wants me there to make sure he abides by it.”
“It just blew my mind, I was nervous and scared and I was inexperienced. I didn’t know what to think or expect and here Vince wanted me to be there just to ensure Hulk Hogan didn’t talk him out of it. There were times where Hogan might have been political in the past, but he wasn’t at this point in time.”
Kurt Angle also recently discussed a less than savoury encounter with Rikishi and a particularly nasty stink face that Angle was the victim of.