Controversy: Worked shoot between Vince Russo and Hulk Hogan turns into a legit shoot Vince Russo and Hulk Hogan aren't exactly known for telling the truth 100% of the time. They're both out with their own agendas, and when they are on opposite sides of a story, it's the ultimate "he said, he said" situation. 2000's Bash At The Beach was the end of Hogan's time with WCW, and it will probably go down as the company's most controversial moment. The night's main event was supposed to be Jeff Jarrett defending the WCW Title against Hogan. The original finish that was written would have seen Hogan lose the match. Hogan didn't like that, so he used that infamous "creative control" in his contract and had the ending rewritten. Now, Hogan would be booked to win the title, but walk away, causing WCW to have a tournament to crown a new champion. After a few months off, Hogan would return with "his" title, claim he never lost the belt, and we would get a Champion VS Champion match to name the undisputed WCW Champion. This is where the story begins to get a bit murky, as far as the truth is concerned. In the match, Jarrett immediately laid down and had Hogan pin him. Hogan looked pissed off, but he went along with it, and he became the new champion. Hogan, in future years, would admit that he was "in" on the entire thing up until that point. After winning the title, thinking his night was over, he would leave the building. That's when Russo would come to the ring and cut an absolutely scathing promo on Hogan, basically blaming him for everything that was wrong in wrestling, comparing him to fecal matter, and saying his title win didn't mean anything. He announced Jarrett would be taking on Booker T in the night's true main event, and the winner would be the new champion. Russo has said that Hogan was "in" here, too, calling it a worked shoot. Hogan, however, says he had no idea it would be going down. All these years later, neither man will budge from their version of what transpired that night, and they probably never will. Whether you like Hogan or not, and whether you believe him or not, it's just a shame that his final WCW appearance had to be in such a fashion, after everything he did for the company.
Columnist/Podcaster/Director at LordsOfPain.net for nearly seven years, with nearly 2000 total columns written. Interviewed and/or involved in interviewing the likes of Tyler Black/Seth Rollins (twice), Diamond Dallas Page, Jimmy Jacobs, Christopher Daniels, Uhaa Nation and more.
