Hulk Hogan Discusses His Life, Losing Millions, & More
Credit: Mike Johnson and Pwinsider.com
Hulk Hogan was interviewed this morning on ABC's Good Morning America. The pre-taped segment was about themed around a "humbled" Hulk Hogan starting over with a new wife and a new TV show, Micro Championship Wrestling.
Hogan said that the show goes into a direction that "most people don't think of", claimed Hogan, in that once the MCW talents leave the ring, they can't reach doorknobs or go into public restrooms and can't reach the sink. The show "marked a fresh start for someone who once had it all" with an in-ring career, a family and a successful reality show, only to have it all crumbling away "behind the scenes."
Hogan said that his life "bottomed out" and that there was "very physical and mental abuse that I didn't understand at the time", referring to his divorce from Linda Hogan. They quoted an excerpt where Linda wrote in her book that she was "fearful" Hogan would "kill her" in a fit of rage. Hogan said, "Yeah, that's insane" when it was brought up to him and said that he prays for her and hopes that she finds "closure and happiness and gets rid of this crazy delusional situation that she actually believes at this point."
They brought up Hogan's comments in Rolling Stone magazine a few years back where Hogan commented that he understood why OJ Simpson did what he did. Hogan was asked if he was violent outside of the ring at home. Hogan said that he was not. He said that when they were going through their divorce and Linda was "with her 18 year old boyfriend", Linda would file charges if they were even in the same town together and Hogan looked at Linda the wrong way at a red light. He commented that if he was beating her for 23 years, why did none of that come out during the divorce and only when she has a book out to sell.
The story moved onto Nick Hogan's car wreck in 2009 that left John Graziano brain damaged as well as the jailhouse conversations between Hulk and Nick that leaked out. Hogan said, "Everything that I said was supposed to be Nick and I and I don't regret saying any of that because I was trying to ease his sanity. It was supposed to be personal and I was trying to ease and calm him down. 'It really wasn't your fault – it was an accident, Nick.' "
Hogan said that the one place he dropped the ball was putting his "priority of being friends with your wife first and friends with your kids first."
They noted that Hogan had remarried and had gone through a dozen back surgeries. Hogan was asked if he had lost millions and he responded, "hundreds of millions." He said between cars and houses being bought and "vacations for family members", you have 8-9 million "going out" and said the money [going out vs. coming in] "went way off." Hogan said that his finances are getting better and that he's not living in a rented house. He was asked if he was rich and Hogan said, "No, no, I'm living in abundance, but I'm happy now." Hogan said that money helps you get through the day, but it doesn't make you happy.
The story closed with a Hogan-style promo touting Micro Championship Wrestling.
As you would expect, not one mention of TNA or Hogan's 10/16 PPV bout against Sting.