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00:17Okay, newsroom.
00:19Lucas, Vo's calling me.
00:21Let's go.
00:22Where are we going?
00:23We know.
00:41Can I ask you something?
00:42Have you heard anything about Hulk?
00:45No.
00:46Is there any way I can talk to him?
00:48It's really important.
00:49He died this morning.
00:51Huh?
00:51Hulk died this morning.
00:52Did he confirm cardiac arrest?
00:53He's been having health problems.
00:55He stopped breathing.
00:56Okay, come to my desk.
00:58Lucas has a post.
01:00Can I post this?
01:01Lucas, we're going to do a paragraph.
01:02I got 135 words.
01:04He's got 100.
01:05Harvey, listen to me.
01:06He's got 135 words.
01:07He can post it now.
01:08Post it.
01:11It's up.
01:20He was a pioneer.
01:22There was no one like him.
01:23He's got a mystery made in Madison Sloan Garden.
01:27Hulk was in a class of his own.
01:31Look at this.
01:32He's got a knife.
01:33He embodied professional wrestling.
01:36The first superstar to transcend our sport.
01:43There is no Mount Rushmore.
01:45There's Hogan.
01:45He had some big missteps in his life.
01:48Oh, it hurt.
01:50It hurt.
01:51Let me tell you something else.
01:53A few months before he died, he made his final appearance, and he was booed.
02:01I was hungry.
02:02He deserved much more.
02:03They're going nuts.
02:06Here comes the Hulk.
02:08And the Hulk still needs to hear a 10-pointmaster.
02:12Hulk's going to be proud.
02:15Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk.
02:21Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk.
02:26He could do anything right now to him that would hurt him.
02:29I've never seen Hulk.
02:32i'm carrying the red white blue brother i'm proud of america i stand for this country
02:48what can i say i never thought it could be done
03:06you knew hulk hogan probably better than just about anybody what went through your head when you heard
03:14that he had died shock you just don't think about someone a family member or someone that close to
03:22you you don't think about them passing away and hulkamania will live forever terry had kicked out
03:29so to speak of so many surgeries i think he had like 20 surgeries on his back plus others on
03:35his
03:35knees and hip or something and he you know he overcame all of that it was a tremendous shock
03:42it was a blow to my heart we had some inklings of health issues throughout the years but nothing
03:50can prepare you for news like that nothing it was debilitating
03:57please help us honor him now
04:02as we give a 10 bell salute to terry balea the one and the only the immortal hulk hogan
04:30i really miss him i mean if i dwell on it harvey i can get really really sad really sad
04:39what's up buddy i was devastated i had to pull the car over when i heard it he was having
04:43some
04:44pretty big health struggles the last few months of his life what kind of a toll did that take on
04:49him
04:49well it took a big toll it was hard for him to get going you know he had a cane
04:53he'd walk on and
04:54when we got it in front of the public he'd put his hand on my shoulder we could walk him
04:58out to do
04:58the autographs but he was a trooper he wouldn't let anybody know that he was really not feeling that
05:03well and it's just it's just devastating you know for this to happen but we tried to camouflage it
05:09as much as possible one of the things that struck me he died of a very ordinary thing a heart
05:15attack
05:18it kind of puts in rack focus that this wasn't this incredible hero or larger than life character
05:25this was a man he threw himself into his profession with such reckless abandon
05:31he sacrificed for his audience and that means he defied his health he went against logic he knew he was
05:51abusing his body beating up i know because i saw him through all the operations and i saw the the
05:57lips and the hips and the elbows it was not just the heart it was the accumulation of everything that
06:03just wore him down wrestling legend hulk hogan has sadly passed away at the age of 71 hulk hogan wasn't
06:11just a wrestler he was the wrestler hulk made us feel strong when we were just small he made us
06:18believe
06:19that the good guy still could win harvey i'm really touched by all the people who are coming out with
06:27uh fond memories and uh recollections of hulk but i have to tell you i'm really disappointed in that
06:33small percentage of people who feel like it's okay to lash out at someone of their loved ones
06:39this wasn't just a man with old school values this was a racist so no i'm not mourning the death
06:46of hulk hogan hogan hogan is dead and i better not see no black people on here mourning him okay
06:52it's not unique to hulk i think it's part of our culture now i don't think we realize when i
06:57say we
06:58collectively everybody who's on social media realize that what they write hurts it's weighing me down
07:03it hurts me so i can only imagine how it makes his family feel nobody's perfect by any stretch of
07:09imagination but the positive traits that i learned from terry will live with me forever there is not
07:16a human being on the planet that's made a bigger indentation in their chosen profession
07:23than terry bella did as hulk hogan
07:40there are a lot of guys in wrestling who are big and muscular and charismatic yet hulk stood out
07:50above them why he's just one of a kind i knew what america wanted
07:56and there he is the heavyweight champion of the world
08:00someone but charisma someone who was larger than life and uh there was no one who fit that bell
08:07any more than terry bella
08:17because of his uh ability to compete because of his extraordinary charisma
08:21and his knowledge and his work ethic it worked big time
08:35his voice his size his gestures he just was entertainment
08:40the greatest professional life lead in the world today look at this
08:43we called audrey the boss after le pen one two three hogan said thanks boss
08:52and now
08:56i'm very excited no no you're the boss
09:20nobody put more asses in seats than hulk hogan
09:23hulk was a larger than life personality
09:32people just loved him and gravitated towards him
09:38he's the reason why we're all here today
09:40i mean man say your prayers take your vitamins you know me
09:43when hogan was in the ring he brought so much energy and so much charisma
09:48hulk hogan was the babe ruth he transcended the industry
09:53i hosted wrestlemania and introduced hulk hogan
09:56we were walking through what we were gonna do he's like all right i'm gonna hit this flex
10:00then this pose and then this pose but then as soon as we got out there
10:04he was hitting completely different poses and i was like oh he's in the moment
10:08what i see out here are 80 000 screaming hulk hogan came along in the perfect time
10:22he was taylor made for wrestling i was wrestling as terry boulder
10:27through some local stuff in alabama and georgia
10:30that is it they had a guy named lou ferrigna on a talk show
10:34because the incredible hulk just came out and i was on the same show
10:37with the same host and she said oh my gosh you're bigger than the hulk is
10:41so when i went back to the dressing room the promoter goes your new name is terry the hulk boulder
10:45and then dunce mcmahon senior called me he brought me to new york he says your new name is going
10:49to be hulk hogan
10:51making his first appearance ladies and gentlemen hulk hogan
10:58he was the face of wrestling when wrestling changed
11:11probably the most pivotal year in the history of wrestling is 1984
11:16he was the face he was the star
11:18and the fans on their feet
11:23hulkamania is here
11:24rinston man did a great great job with him
11:27you know as far as marketing those those first couple of years
11:29wrestlers didn't get a lot of mainstream stuff
11:33and by linking him with mr t and with cindy laufer
11:37who were really you know pop culture megastars
11:39at the time he took off
11:41hulk hogan and mr t start to track the dream team man
11:46hulk realized through his travels that it was the connection with the audience that was most important
11:52more important than the moves
11:54and he's giving these fans exactly what they want
11:58his voice his size his gestures he just was entertainment
12:03what a show off what a show off
12:05you went to see him clipping his ear
12:08you went to see him tearing the t-shirt
12:09you went to see the bad guys pound on him and pound on him
12:12getting up no impact at all pointing the finger at him
12:15they knew the entire match before it started
12:18but they just wanted to enjoy that match and see it live
12:21an awesome figure
12:22at 7 foot 5 frame of andre the giant
12:26i've been a wrestling fan
12:28for many decades
12:30and if i had to pick one moment
12:33that may be the biggest single moment
12:37it had to be for me
12:39wrestlemania 3
12:40the irresistible force meeting the immovable object
12:43look at the size of the giant
12:45it wasn't just their match
12:47it was one of those iconic moments
12:50he made a hole for it underneath that
12:53oh! he tried to jump the big guy
12:55this moment etched wrestling in the WWF slash WWE
13:01in history that we were not going anywhere
13:03this was a huge gamble
13:04we didn't know if we could pull it off 94,000 people
13:07we're seeing what this guy is really made of
13:11i'm a guy who believes in moments over matches
13:13and the moment that people took with them from wrestlemania 3
13:17was hulk hogan slamming andre the giant
13:20the greatest professional athlete in the world today
13:23look at this
13:24he's laughing
13:26i don't believe it
13:28i don't believe it
13:30i'm dropping a big look
13:32you called andre the boss
13:35after the pen
13:36one two three hogan said
13:37thanks boss
13:38and uh
13:42and uh
13:43and uh
13:46i'm very excited
13:47no, no
13:48you're the boss
13:52and the world's heavyweight champion
13:55Hulk Hogan has proven to everyone
13:57what he's made
14:00that moment changed my whole career
14:03because Hulk Hogan was off and running
14:05Hulkamania was off and running
14:06but that put me on a rocket ship
14:07it was a moment that kind of registered on a seismograph
14:11it was so big
14:12it gave terry bolea hulk hogan
14:15the ability to walk down the street
14:16in new york and have a 90 year old woman
14:19who's never seen wrestling in her entire life
14:21look up and go
14:22you're hulk hogan
14:25because he was the king of pop culture
14:27and those punches have no effect
14:29on the heavyweight champion of the world
14:31he dropped down now
14:32i'm a count
14:33or he went down up
14:36he got him
14:38he got him
14:39he got it
14:39Hulk Hogan arrives
14:40hook hook hook
14:42what is he doing
14:43oh my god
14:43is he the third man
14:45he's the third man
14:46he's the third man
14:46what the hell is going on here
14:48Hulk Hogan has betrayed WCW
14:51talk about the risk
14:53that he took when he turned from the ultimate good guy to bad guy in 96
14:59i never saw that coming
15:02a career of a lifetime
15:05right down the drain kid
15:06i believe that he realized that the potential reward of giving people an entirely new hulk hogan was going to
15:17be good for him
15:18me gene the first thing you need to do is to tell these people to shut up if you want
15:24to hear what i gotta say
15:28he dressed differently came out with different music had different colors
15:32i thought i'd be the ultimate bad guy which i was
15:35i became hollywood hogan that bad guy in the back with a black beard but the people cheered me
15:40people were cheering me out of the building it was amazing the lines had gotten blurred so i became bigger
15:47than ever again
15:48as far as i'm concerned all this crap in the ring represents these fans out here
15:58it's a risk you go like i was you know look at all the merchandise will people stop buying the
16:02merchandise
16:03well actually you know they end up selling more merchandise
16:05a match for the ages the rock and hogan at wrestlemania one on one
16:12when he came back to the wwe you almost immediately paired him with the rock
16:17how do you feel about headlining one more wrestlemania with the rock
16:26yes
16:30you always want to do what the fans want
16:33they had these two iconic figures and to see them clash
16:38just the anticipation of it alone was like wow what is going to happen
16:42and it was funny because going into the match you know the hulkster was quote what we call the heel
16:53the bad guy
16:54and rock was the baby face and the moment terry walked down and got in the ring you could feel
17:00this feeling i haven't felt before it was different
17:04there's a lot of hollywood hulk hogan fans here in sky dome tonight
17:09they're really cheering for a hogan but in a way that was different
17:12and when they got in the ring you know and said face to face
17:16they both felt it
17:25i did everything i could to be a bad guy after i do all these horrible things
17:30the place is cheering me out of the building
17:33i'm passing the torch giving the rub everything i can to help him be the greatest wrestler ever
17:38many of the crowd chanting for the rock
17:41quite frankly many in the crowd chanting for hogan
17:45it was like wow this is unbelievable and it's very different what are we going to do
18:01when you see something like that happening it's like wow this is so unique
18:08Wait a minute, is he going to hook up to York?
18:11He is!
18:12I cannot believe it!
18:16Woo!
18:17Oh my God!
18:18What are you going to do, Rock?
18:19It was a defining moment in both their careers.
18:23Rock, what a people to the ball are playing it!
18:26Ah!
18:26It was something extraordinary to watch.
18:33You came right out of your seat.
18:35It was so magic.
18:36He was a pioneer.
18:38There was no one like you.
18:44When I first saw him, I said, there's certain people that have a light.
18:49There's a glow.
18:50They just have it.
18:52The Rock would not have that diving board to jump off of by any stretch of imagination
18:57to become the successful Hollywood superstar that he has become
19:01without Hogan busting the door down.
19:18What was he like behind the scenes when you were filming Rocky?
19:22He was so, I mean, I can get moody.
19:28He never got moody.
19:29He was always self-deprecating, loud, welcoming.
19:34I mean, when I first saw him, I said, there's certain people, Harvey, that have a light.
19:40There's a glow.
19:41They just have it.
19:43The ultimate male versus the ultimate meatball.
19:49I'd seen Rocky 1 and Rocky 2.
19:51I had already wrestled under the name Hulk Hogan from like 78 to 80 with Vince McMahon Sr. in the
19:57old WWF.
19:58And then when I went off to do the movie, I got fired.
20:02Vince McMahon Sr. fired me because I went to do the movie.
20:05Because back in the day, the barbaric thinking was wrestlers don't do movies.
20:08They don't do commercials or TV appearance.
20:10The one, the only, Thunderlips.
20:14When he was playing the character of Thunderlips, he hadn't quite got his act together.
20:20He hadn't gotten his voice, his presentation.
20:23So what you're seeing there is the really young Hulk Hogan at the very inception of his career as an
20:31actor and, of course, a superstar in wrestling.
20:34After the match, how about we get a ball right together?
20:38And then when we started to wrestle, because we had to do a couple of weeks of him basically throwing
20:43me around.
20:46I don't think I was ever injured, which is amazing because when people say, oh, wrestling is not real, gravity
20:54is real.
20:57You have a guy 300 pounds landing on you, but he's breaking the fall.
21:01So he's actually hurting himself to protect you.
21:04And that's what a lot of people don't see.
21:08And I realized he was so incredibly concerned about my welfare and not his own.
21:19How important was Rocky III for your industry and for him?
21:24I think it was incredible for pro wrestling.
21:27It was really impressive for him.
21:29I think that movie made like $160 million.
21:33There was nobody that didn't see Rocky.
21:36I don't know anybody that, I mean, do you know anybody that didn't see Rocky?
21:40Absolutely no one.
21:41Good match.
21:43Hey, why'd you get so crazy on me out there?
21:45That's the name of the game.
21:46He set the pace and he showed people the opportunity that they could have.
21:51And that was part of Terry Belay.
21:53We were like, hey guys, let me show you how it's done.
21:5754,000 Hulkamaniacs!
22:01Thunder in Blood!
22:03We did Thunder in Paradise, the TV show that we did.
22:07Of course, the movies, Mr. Nanny and Suburban Commando.
22:09And it just opened the door for a lot of people to start going, you know, these wrestlers are pretty
22:13successful.
22:13MTV, you know, was a big thing.
22:16We got on Saturday Night Live, got on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
22:18All those things that today might not mean a lot, but back then in 1984, they were great building blocks.
22:23Because wrestlers never got those opportunities before him.
22:26The Saturday morning cartoon, man.
22:28Rockin' wrestling.
22:30Every kid that I knew, watched the cartoon.
22:36How much credit does he get for opening the door to people like John Cena, like The Rock, like you?
22:45People who are able to turn your profession into something even bigger.
22:52The Rock would not have that diving board to jump off of by any stretch of imagination
22:58to become the successful Hollywood superstar that he has become without poking, busting the door down.
23:05He was Captain America, you know.
23:07He was the eternal good guy.
23:08I look at you, and you're a movie star, you're a writer, you're a television star.
23:14You've done multiple things successfully.
23:16And there are very few people, I think, who do that.
23:20And he did as well.
23:22It's really special because at first you wonder, oh, can I really do this?
23:29And you have to be willing to not care if you fail.
23:36He was basically fearless in that way.
23:41He wasn't just a wrestler.
23:43He was going to become a symbol for all the world of WWE and wrestling.
23:49He was going to become an icon, a role model for young children.
23:54He just knew he was destined for bigger things.
23:58And he had the guts and the fortitude to go after that.
24:03And he changed that world forever.
24:06There'll never be another guy like him.
24:09Hulk was in a class of his own.
24:18I remember when Hulk and I would have to do the make-a-wishes.
24:21Show you what a big softer he was.
24:23We'd go out with the make-a-wishes when they set them up.
24:25Holy moly macaroni.
24:27Unbelievable.
24:28He'd get on his hands and knees with the little guys or girls.
24:31And then when we'd go in the back, he'd cry like a baby back there.
24:34And it just tore him apart.
24:53What was he like behind closed doors?
24:55My friend, my best friend, really down to earth, you know.
25:00Came from Augusta, Georgia, you know, the old south.
25:02I came from Memphis, Tennessee.
25:04You know, we're all southern boys.
25:05So we really got along great.
25:06And it was just something special.
25:08Well, he was a part of my life, a big part of my life.
25:11We were brothers to a certain extent.
25:13Every now and then we'd get into a little verbal scrap or something.
25:16But it always turned out for the best.
25:19We were just so close and enjoyed each other's company so much.
25:23He was a family man.
25:24He was a father.
25:25He was a husband.
25:26He liked to go in the water.
25:28He liked to go to the bars and hang out.
25:30He liked to be there with the people.
25:32He was a people person.
25:36Oh, oh, oh.
25:40Next to Mickey Mouse, Hogan is the most requested celebrity by Make-A-Wish children.
25:45Take it easy.
25:46I remember when Hogan and I would have to do the Make-A-Wishes, show you what a big softy
25:51he was.
25:51We'd go out with the Make-A-Wishes when they set them up.
25:54And he'd sit, he'd get on his hands and knees with the little guys or girls and he'd rub
25:58their arms and go, you know, I've got to fight that big old bad guy tonight.
26:02And I need some energy.
26:04You know, I need some of your strength.
26:06He would do that.
26:07And then when we go in the back, he'd cry like a baby back there because he'd say, you
26:11know, Jimmy, when we come back a year from now, they might not even be here anymore.
26:15And it just tore him apart.
26:17Let me see how strong that was.
26:19Holy moly macaroni.
26:21Unbelievable, dude.
26:24When I think of Terry, I just think of the guy that was the first man to show up at
26:29the
26:29hospital for my dad when he got sick.
26:33Can I tell you a story about Hulk and I and the issue we had?
26:38He said something on a national Canadian sports show.
26:42You know, I went ahead while Mick Foley was sleeping and eating cheeseburgers and M&Ms.
26:46I was in the gym working out.
26:48I work out two hours a day.
26:49I've been doing it for 30 years.
26:50And it did sting because he's Hulk Hogan.
26:54Like you want to earn the approval and acceptance of the people who paved the way for you.
26:59But the truth is, over the course of years, I considered it water under the bridge.
27:05But Hulk went out of his way and he made sure he said it on camera.
27:10I want to apologize because that was one of the worst things.
27:12And it's not true.
27:13Ah, thanks, Hulk.
27:14It was just me being stupid.
27:16I mean, really ignorant.
27:17And that may have been the last interaction I had with him.
27:21Yes, sir.
27:22We love you, Hulk.
27:23The last time I spoke with him, my daughters were walking past some area where,
27:29for some reason, he's in a booth.
27:32And he calls them over, even though he has people coming around.
27:36And he goes, oh, wait a minute.
27:37Those are the Stallone girls.
27:39Get over here.
27:39Get over.
27:40And I just happened to call at that time.
27:44And my daughter goes, oh, my God.
27:47Do you know who I'm with?
27:48And then, oh, my God.
27:50Hey, brother.
27:52What's wrong with your beautiful sister?
27:53So, he never lost a beat, is what I'm saying.
27:58Even though I know he was in dire pain, he still had time for my daughter.
28:03The older you get, the more you realize that you're not invincible.
28:07And when your friends start dying off, then you realize it even more.
28:12And Terry, to me, was not only a friend, but he was like an older brother.
28:20So, for that, I'm forever grateful.
28:24He had some big missteps in his life, notably the sex tape with some racist comments.
28:33It was unforgivable.
28:35And I was like, I gasped.
28:37What happened?
28:38And when those things occurred, that's not like him.
28:43What in God's name was going on?
28:56Hulk Hogan got a smackdown from World Wrestling Entertainment firing the WWE star
29:02after he was heard repeating the N-word in a racist rant.
29:06You can't talk about somebody's life by just looking at it in a one-dimensional way.
29:13And he was an amazingly successful guy.
29:17But there were conflicts.
29:18I didn't find out about him having the sex tape until it became national news.
29:23It's hard to believe that I was actually married to this man that I had children with,
29:28that I lived with him, and I had to look at him.
29:30And he's doing this kind of stuff behind my back.
29:33I gave him everything that I had.
29:37His son behind bars for a car crash.
29:41A friend brain damaged as a result for life.
29:46Well, let's start with the funeral.
29:48So you chose not to go.
29:51And I know you really haven't had contact with your dad in the last two years of his life.
29:56My dad and I have been through a lot of stuff over the years.
29:59If you want to give it a quick Google,
30:01anybody can find out the hurt that has happened to me throughout the years.
30:10He had some big missteps in his life.
30:14Notably, the sex tape talking about not wanting to have his daughter date black men.
30:20Hogan is heard on the tape saying,
30:22I'd rather if she was going to some I'd rather have her marry an eight foot tall worth a hundred
30:29million dollars,
30:30like a basketball player.
30:31He had made some racist comments on a call to Nick in jail.
30:37Phone dialogue here.
30:41I think that means my best friend.
30:44It was unforgivable.
30:47And I was like, I gasp.
30:49What happened?
30:51And when those things occurred,
30:54that's not like him.
30:56What in God's name is going on?
30:58On the sex tape, he actually said he was racist.
31:02He said in his words that he was a racist.
31:05So why would I sit here and try to defend somebody that tells you who they were?
31:10How did it affect you personally?
31:13I mean, you knew him.
31:16It hurt.
31:18Oh!
31:20Oh, yeah!
31:24Man, I just grew up watching the dude, man.
31:26I used to love that dude.
31:28I wanted to be like him.
31:30It hurts.
31:31It was probably the worst day of my life when I said that eight years ago.
31:37It was a glitch.
31:37It was a huge mistake.
31:39The worst thing I've ever said.
31:41I told him then, and I told Vince McMahon, I was like, look, if y'all want this to go
31:46away,
31:46I know how to fix it.
31:48And we should do a black college tour at Morehouse and Prairie View and hit the circuit
31:55and go and talk to them and be honest with your apology.
31:58And he was like, well, I've been advised not to talk about it no more.
32:04And I said, I think that's bad advice.
32:07You're clearly disappointed, not just in what he said, but in the way he handled it afterward.
32:15Yeah, most definitely.
32:17Quick photos.
32:18Oh, yeah, sure, man.
32:19I did a show with him in 2017 where we went through his life story.
32:24And he insisted, he said he was not a racist.
32:28I'm not that guy.
32:29I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror every day.
32:32I have to be accountable.
32:33I have to be able to live with myself.
32:35It really slapped me and woke me up.
32:36And it made me realize how powerful words are.
32:39For the people that know me and love me, they know who I am.
32:42You know, they know I'm not a racist.
32:44As soon as it happened, obviously the company didn't have anything to do with him anymore.
32:48We even took him out of the Hall of Fame.
32:50You just don't do those things.
32:52Everybody that knows me knows I'm not a racist.
32:55Even the WWE knows I'm not a racist.
32:57They had to do what was best for business for their company.
33:03He was devastated.
33:04I mean, devastated because, and I'll be honest with you, the whole time we were together,
33:09he's never done racist stuff whatsoever.
33:10So that was just kind of like, wow.
33:13And of course, at that time, Huck was at a, not that there's an excuse for it,
33:17Huck was at a very low part of his life.
33:19You know, Linda was leaving him.
33:20He was getting a divorce.
33:22He had been drinking pretty heavily on that.
33:25And sometimes when things happen, when you're at the low point of your life,
33:28you say stuff that you might not say on anything else.
33:30And let me tell you something too.
33:32This is why I don't even really believe he said it until I heard it,
33:35because I've never heard it before.
33:37Kamala was one of our wrestlers back in the day.
33:39And Kamala one day was sitting in the dressing room with us.
33:42And he just got his check sent to him on the road.
33:44You know, what he made that week, fighting with Huck.
33:46And Huck said, let me see that check.
33:47What did you get?
33:48He showed him.
33:49And he goes, oh, man, you got to make more than that.
33:52So right away, Huck picked the phone up and called Vince.
33:54And he said, Vince, come on.
33:55I only got this.
33:56He's working with me every night.
33:58We're selling out houses.
33:59Boy, Vince took care of that right away.
34:01The next week, he got his check.
34:02And he goes, oh, it's double what it was.
34:04Thank you, Huckster.
34:04So that's why it was such a shock to me.
34:07And that's why I was devastated when I heard it.
34:09So you cut ties with him over the racist comments, but ultimately brought him back.
34:16I knew he wasn't a racist.
34:18I'd been with him for so many years.
34:20He wasn't racist.
34:21He said some racist things.
34:22And he should pay for that.
34:25And he did.
34:25But in the end, I think that everyone saw the real Hulk Owen, Terry Bollea, and they felt,
34:32oh, wait a minute.
34:33This guy, he doesn't act like a racist.
34:37He's not a racist.
34:38We all make mistakes.
34:40That was a big one.
34:40But he wasn't a racist.
34:47USA! USA!
34:50Well, let me tell you something, brother.
34:53When they tried to kill the next president of the United States, enough was enough.
35:02And I said, let Trump-a-mania run wild, brother.
35:07Let Trump-a-mania run wild.
35:09He didn't separate his politics from wrestling.
35:12He became the star of the RNC.
35:15And this is a very divisive country.
35:18I didn't come here as Hulk Hogan, but I just had to give you a little taste.
35:25When you saw him on that stage, all in for Donald Trump, and you heard the crowd roar,
35:32what was your reaction to that?
35:34I saw a man being embraced by people and eating it up.
35:39Like, man, somebody loves me.
35:41Somebody still cares about me.
35:49Tonight is about honor.
35:51It is about prestige.
35:55Holy hell!
35:56Holy hell!
36:01A couple months before he died, he had his final entrance into the ring, and he was booed.
36:12We walked into a, oh my gosh, we walked into a firestorm.
36:16But boy, California didn't have any bit of it that night.
36:18Well, let me tell you something, brother!
36:24And so the more booze we got, the more I kept waving that flag.
36:27Was that kind of a body blow to him, emotionally?
36:30Yes, just devastating.
36:33I think that hurt him immensely that night.
36:37Because that was his base.
36:38Those were his fans.
36:40That was his home.
36:41I'm sure it hurt him to the core.
36:43It really did.
36:45I was appalled by it.
36:46For someone who had WWE in their blood, as you did, I'm just wondering how you reacted to that.
36:53Well, it wasn't set up properly.
36:55I'm sure he was probably despondent after that.
37:00But how did you feel when you heard that?
37:02I was angry.
37:06Because, you know, we've known each other for a lifetime.
37:10Professionally and personally.
37:12And setting up, so to speak, this larger-life superhero.
37:17And you don't just let him walk out there.
37:19He deserves something very, very special.
37:22More than anyone.
37:24They owe him.
37:25It was like, okay.
37:26And here comes all COVID.
37:27I found it angry because that's not the way that I would have done it.
37:31And he deserved much more.
37:39I don't think it's ever fair to judge anybody on their worst moment.
37:44Now, of course, the words he used were extremely harsh.
37:47We're definitely racist.
37:49I don't think that's indicative of who he was.
37:53And when I measure the good that Hulk did against the hurt that he caused with that type of language,
38:00he still made a huge impact on so many lives.
38:04So I'm the guy that's saying, I'm going to go with the joy he brought, superseding the pain that he
38:09caused.
38:19He is wrestling.
38:21He took it to a whole other level.
38:24His legacy is the father figure of wrestling.
38:27The one thing that he said, which is that Hulkamania would live forever.
38:32And indeed, it is.
38:45All this legacy is, you know, it's simple, really.
38:49There's everyone, any entertainer, anyone in the sports world, transcended on a global basis.
38:56People understanding that character, what that character did for them, generation after generation.
39:02How you felt about him.
39:04No one has ever been able to do that.
39:08He is wrestling.
39:10He took it to a whole other level.
39:13His legacy is the father figure of wrestling.
39:17To some people out there, his legacy begins and ends with the, you know, the unfortunate language he used.
39:26But I think for anyone else looking at it with a more open mind, he changed the face of wrestling.
39:32He brought it into the mainstream.
39:35He made it acceptable for people to have larger than life characters.
39:41When the wrestling world gave Hulk the 10-bell salute.
39:51You had such history and such a deep friendship.
39:55You must be having such mixed emotions that you weren't there to be part of that.
40:01I just, it really struck me that way.
40:04It struck me that way as well.
40:15I'll always love him.
40:16I'll never forget him.
40:17And I know he's going to save me a little spot up in heaven up there.
40:21And you know what too, Harvey, I think he's happy now.
40:24No more suffering.
40:25No more pain.
40:26He doesn't have to walk on the cane anymore.
40:28And then when he gets up there in heaven, he's going to have his mother and daddy, Pete and Ruth,
40:33sitting on that front row.
40:35You're going to have Rowdy Roddy Piper there.
40:37You're going to have Howard Finkel's going to be doing the announcing.
40:40You've got Randy Savage.
40:41And you've got Andre the Giant.
40:43You've got Rocky Johnson being there.
40:46And just Dusty Rhodes.
40:47All the people that he loved, you know, are going to be there for him.
40:50And when he goes to the ring, I'm sure he's going to have an interview with Mean Gene saying, you
40:54know, Mean Gene, what are you going to do when Hulk Hogan and all the little Hulkamaniacs run wild on
41:00you?
41:01Would wrestling be what it is today without Hulk Hogan?
41:07Absolutely not.
41:08Hogan was able to show people the template of what it takes to entertain people.
41:16And regardless of his shortcomings, it didn't make him less of a wrestler.
41:24It didn't make him less of an entertainer.
41:27It's never going to take away from his greatness.
41:30The one thing that he said in character, which is that Hulkamania would love forever.
41:37And indeed, it is.
41:49Thunderlips is here.
41:50What kind of secret battle plans me and my little Hulkamaniacs have in store for you, dude?
41:59Thunderlips is here.
42:02Thunderlips is here.
42:03Thunderlips is here.
42:04Thunderlips is here.
42:04You
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