“That Was All Real”: WCW Legend Once Opened Up on Hulk Hogan’s Famous Confrontation With an Old Granny

Hulk Hogan flipped the script entirely when he turned heel in WCW, announcing himself as the third man of the nWo faction. He chucked the All-American babyface persona and replaced it with the ‘Black & White’ Hollywood Hogan gimmick. His heel turn was a massive moment in the history of pro wrestling and many fans had a hard time believing it actually happened. In fact, when he turned at Bash at the Beach, the fans littered the ring with trash.

Hogan played the villainous character to near perfection. Despite the nWo being regarded as cool, The Hulkster did his best to draw the ire of fans and was successful.

In one incident during his heel run, he got into a bizarre confrontation with an old woman, which later became a hit. Former WCW President Eric Bischoff talked about the confrontation and revealed it was real and not work.

Bischoff said Hulk Hogan loved riling up the fans

After being a successful and hugely over babyface for years with WWE, Hulk Hogan changed the game with his iconic heel turn at Bash at the Beach 1996. This came as a shock to many fans, especially those who had grown up idolizing Hogan.

Eric Bischoff and Hogan used this to their full advantage and toyed with the emotions of the fans. Some of Hogan’s antics, as the Hollywood Hogan is the best heel work one can find in the annals of pro wrestling. A particularly memorable moment from his run as the nWo’s big bad came with an old fan.

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An elderly lady near a barricade once confronted Hogan, seemingly challenging ‘The Hulkster’ to bring it on! She held a Sting Mask, which Hogan threw away. The old woman tried to get his hands on Hogan but was held back. The Hulkster himself seemed amused and kept teasing her while the granny kept throwing punches in the air.

In his 83 weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff, who was in charge of WCW at that time, revealed that the entire thing was real. He said, “That was a shoot. It wasn’t a plant. She did too good of a job. If you would have put somebody in there as a plant, it wouldn’t come off nearly as well because it wouldn’t have been real. That was all real, but it was fun”.

Bischoff also mentioned that he and Hogan loved making the fans mad like that and riling them up. Indeed, pro wrestling can sometimes hold enough power to get people emotionally immersed in a storyline or angle.

The passion of wrestling fans may be second to none. Fans of all ages enjoy the product immensely and want to be as involved as possible. The old granny getting in the face of a ripped Hulk Hogan is a peculiar example of it.

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