On a recent edition of the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Greg Gagne shared his recollections of Hulk Hogan failing to appear at an AWA event and subsequently signing with WWE during the early 1980s.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Hulk Hogan no-showing an AWA event: “Christmas was always a big one, we ran our major cities from Christmas night to, you know, end of the first part of January. Hogan had won some of the Battle Royals, so he had to wrestle the next week, he could not have a – we had to have a controversial finish to the match. … We’re in six-man Tag Team matches, with Hogan, and we got Blackwell, Bockwinkel, and Stevens. And Christmas night, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, sold out, Hogan doesn’t show up.”
On Vince McMahon signing Hulk Hogan when he was away in Japan: “When he came back, it was Christmas week, we had the big shows going. McMahon met him on the plane, flew to Japan with him, and signed Hogan in Japan.”
On what he told Hogan when he saw him again: “I said, ‘Hey, you don’t do business that way, man. You know? If you wanna leave, no problem leaving, but fulfill your commitment, you know, do this Christmas week and then go.’”
