During a recent episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff spoke on Verne Gagne being the person to create the Hulk Hogan character. Here’s what he had to say:
Unfortunately, he’s never going to be recognized as being as influential as he should. If you catch Hulk Hogan in a private moment and you hear him talk about where Hulk Hogan really came from – don’t get me wrong, Hulk will give plenty of credit to Vince McMahon Sr. for creating the name. But in terms of creating the character and what made Hulk famous and helped Hulk understand psychology to the extent where he didn’t need to do Frank Gotch kind of wrestling – he’ll give credit to Verne Gagne. He created the Hulk Hogan character. Those are not my words, those are Hulk Hogan’s words.
I think to a degree, the same could be said for Gene Okerlund. The same could be said for Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, and the Road Warriors to a lesser degree. The same should be said about Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura and so many other names that we all recognize as being some of the biggest names in the wrestling business. But guess where they learned their shit? They learned it from Verne. He created that talent, and he shared that knowledge. He shared that insight and instinct and helped some people develop it within themselves. I would like Verne, because he deserves it, to have more recognition in terms of his contributions to the industry.
You can listen HERE.
Credit: 83 Weeks. H/T 411Mania.