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Hulk Hogan spoke to The Daily Star newspaper:
On the perception some fans have that he is in TNA with bad intentions:
"Even though I’m not wres- tling, some people still perceive that as a threat. ‘Hogan didn’t give Roode the belt, he’s a no-good SOB, he never let anybody win, he did it all for himself. You get to a point where you go: ‘Thank God they’re thinking that way’!”
On booking the sudden heel change of Robert Roode at the last second.
"I was sitting watching Roode’s parents saying what a great son he is and his wife saying what a great husband he is and his kids saying what a great dad he is. He’s the ultimate good guy. He’s going to win the belt! But then what? Who does he wrestle? So I sat back and thought: ‘You guys have just done one of the best old school wrestling angles I’ve ever seen.’ If you turn him heel you give him that edge, give him that extra spice – then he’ll have everyone to work with, rather than throw him out there and set him up for failure. It was just me trying to take a step back, throwing in my two cents. They didn’t have to do it – I didn’t make anyone do anything. It just makes sense.”
Hogan also spoke with UK Talk Sport on a variety of subjects.
On how Hogan would rate the current breed of TNA Wrestlers:
"We've got a kid that's been around for a while named A.J. Styles, which is on fire. They call him the Phenomenal One. He's got a brilliant future. We've got another kid, Jeff Hardy, that's already there. He's rocking and rolling. And my old partner, who I never dreamed would have so much gas in the tank, Sting. Sting's on fire. I have no idea when he's going to quit. He's lighting the whole world up again. We've got some really great guys."
Hogan also spoke with CTV News, mostly about his back issues and the electric stimulator implant.
Hogan mentions how his back implant works and its hilarious side effects:
"It's an electric stim you know? If the pain in my back is too bad and it goes to my head, there's an electrical current that I can turn on that will cancel out any pain waves, it pretty much makes you so you don't feel the pain. It's not a drug, it's just electricity. I've got like a garage door controller with all these buttons on how intense I want to make it, my nipples stand on end if I want to! And my wiener stands straight. It's much better than Viagra!"
TNA Producer Eric Bischoff also joked about the electrical implant:
When he's walking down a small neighbourhood he opens every garage door on the street!"
Finally, Hogan spoke to Sportsvibe concerning a number of things.
On what wrestlers fans should be looking out for in the near future:
"There are a lot of great guys in TNA, with the current champion Bobby Roode, AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. There are a lot of talented guys but the wrestling part in the ring is only ten per cent of this business and they have to learn more than just that. There's a lot more to the business than having a five-star match, there's the media cross over, being in character, knowing when to break character, knowing how to deal with a locker-room full of men or knowing how to deal with a room full of kids that have cancer.
As soon as these guys figure that out and get off this 'I'm a TNA original' out of their mindset and look at the bigger picture, I think more of them will be like Bobby Roode and start to step up.
One guy that is doing that is Christopher Daniels, he's starting to step out of that mould. When I see Daniels and shake his hand I say 'Good morning super hero.' I call him super hero because that's what he's going to be. He's got the look, he's got attitude, plus he's so smart and is really stepping up."
On Ric Flair being inducted into the WWE hall of fame again:
"I think it's great, everybody is being very open and Dixie Carter is open and the lines of communication are open. It's great that the two companies can agree on this and have a common bond because Ric Flair has been a staple in this industry, and as they are going to induct the Four Horsemen in the Hall of Fame it's only right Ric Flair is there.
It's like the WWE saying Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were never here just because we're now with TNA. It doesn't make sense because people know we were there and helped build that company. I think with the lines of communication opening it's good business for everybody."
On Missing out on the grill deal that George Foreman eventually took:
You mean the George Foreman grill? Me and George had the same agent and I started picking up the kids from school but they were upset with me because even though I was there before they got out of school all the other soccer mums would get there a half hour early so I was at the end of the line.
One day I told my kids I would get there early and I was the first one there and the kids were really excited. When I got back home I checked my phone message my agent said 'hey hogan, I've got something for you and George, I've got a grill and a blender and I've called you first to see which one you wanted to pick'. I called my agent back and he said 'you weren't home so I called George and he picked the grill'.
Well $400,000,000 later George had the George Foreman grill and I got stuck with a blender that had one small battery and if you put eight ounces of water in it and a scoop of protein it would spin, fart and turn off. The blender only made half-a-million dollars not the $400,000,000 that's still selling. Missing that one phone call changed my life financially.
After that they came up with the Hulk Hogan grill and I actually came to the UK two or three years ago and was on QVC with Billy Mays from Oxi Clean and we set records for sales and then that was it for the grill it kind of went away.
