AEW's Tony Schiavone Recalls Being On Commentary For Hulk Hogan's WCW Heel Turn

It has now been over 30 years since Hulk Hogan dropped the leg on Randy Savage at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996, revealing he was the third man in the New World Order alongside Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. Plenty of moments stand out from this legendary angle, but one that fans often give praise to is an enraged Tony Schiavone ending the broadcast by telling Hogan he could "go to hell. Straight to hell." Discussing Bash at the Beach once again on "What Happened When," Schiavone reiterated that he didn't have this line in mind, and did, in fact, come up with it off the cuff.

"The line, and we've talked about it so many times on this podcast, the line was completely adlibbed," Schiavone said. "Nobody fed me the line, I didn't write down the line. And the reason is because, unlike what most people think, we had no idea what was going to happen. We had heard so many different things during the course of the day. 'It's going to be Hogan. Maybe Bret Hart. Maybe somebody else will come in and incredibly be the third man. Who knows? Shawn Michaels? Who knows?' And so, when it happened I'm like f*****g stunned in a way, because his name was bantered about as well. I'm stunned because I never thought Hogan would turn heel."

Even all these years later, Schiavone is not sure anything else in his legendary career has measured up to that night. 

"It was, as far as big moments I've been a part of, as far as impact on pro wrestling, the biggest, by far," Schiavone said. "It was something to be a part of that. And of course, it led to, you know, the Monday Night Wars being what they were from 96, 97, 98."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "What Happened When" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription