10 Things We Learned From Hulk Hogan On Talk Is Jericho (Part 2)

9. Wrestling In Japan

Many fans might not be aware of how successful Hulk Hogan was while working overseas in Japan. At one time, the country was the hotbed for professional wrestling, with the sport being as big over there as the NFL is in the United States. American performers could make serious money in companies like NJPW and All-Japan, but the style was very different. It was a much stiffer product and the matches were more realistic, so you had to be able to handle yourself to a degree to earn the respect of the fans and your peers. In Hulk's fist Japanese match he squared off against the legendary Riki Choshu. Hogan calls him an Olympic gold medalist, and while in reality Choshu didn't place in the tournament, he was a bad*ss nonetheless. The Hulkster credits his time in Japan with teaching him that he had to learn to work smarter because if you're hurt, you don't make money. Japan is also the place where Hulk feels he finally earned Andre The Giant's respect. After Vince, Jr. had taken over from his father the working arrangement between WWE and New Japan had fallen apart with the 2 sides unable to reach a new agreement. Vince informed his champion that he told the Japan booking office Hulk would not be coming back and then let Hogan know to be weary of a double cross and under no circumstances were he to lose the title. Booked against Tatsumi Fujinami who had been trained by the legendary Karl Gotch, Hulk would have been in real danger should the match have broken down into a shoot, and Andre witnessed him taking steps to ensure that he left the arena as champion that night (such as changing the ref to cartoonishly tough Danny Hodge) and warmed up to the WWE posterboy.