Eric Bischoff Gives His Opinion On Why Fans Rejected Hulk Hogan Early Into WCW Debut

During the 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff covered the Fall Brawl 1995 Pay-per-view. On that show, Ric Flair faced Arn Anderson, and the main event featured War Games between Team Hogan and The Dungeon of Doom. Bischoff also talked about Hulk Hogan joining WCW and how fans started to reject him. Bischoff said that part of the reason fans rejected him was because he was a WWF guy. He also said certain fans were just tired of him, and they were upset about the steroid trail he left WWF over.

"After the new car smell wore off, you began to hear more and more of the anti-Hulk Hogan responses," Bischoff said. "Some of it was a bit of a blow back to the steroid trials. Hulk had himself in a couple tight spots. I think there was a measurable part of the audience that knew he was a WWF guy, and we're WCW.

"I also think there was a small percentage that just said been there, done that. It wasn't till Hulk Hogan turned heel and we launched the NWO that that same audience all of sudden thought they were watching a brand new character and things changed."

Bischoff also continued to mention Hogan's feud with Kevin Sullivan where he agreed to doing the Darkside of Hulkamania. At that time, he showcased a heel side of his character. He said The Dungeon of Doom feud was not a way to test if Hogan was capable of turning heel.

"It wasn't a test run," Bischoff said. "Kevin and Hulk had a lot of connective tissue. Personally, I think Hulk liked all this Dungeon of Doom thing. I referred to it as cartoonish, but that was a more natural fit for Hulk around this time than anything edgier would have been."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.