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Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman once forced Phil Jackson to call WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan in a bid to find him.
On June 7, 1998, the Chicago Bulls thrashed the Utah Jazz 96-54 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals as Rodman posted six rebounds in 22 minutes. After the game, he flew straight to attend the WCW Monday Nitro at The Palace at Auburn Hills in Michigan.
Apart from his NBA career, Rodman was also a professional WWE wrestler. The story was revealed by Hulk Hogan during a WWE Chronicles documentary:
"I've got Phil Jackson calling me, going, 'Where's my guy at? Where's my guy at?' I'm going, 'Rodman, Phil Jackson keeps blowing up my phone, you gotta go back, (and Rodman) says, 'I don't wanna go back.'”
The Worm had skipped practice, ditched his teammates and coach, and rushed to another city without informing anyone among the Chicago Bulls franchise.
Karl Malone joined Dennis Rodman in WWE
Considering the finals were played between two big teams in the form of Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls, it is unbelievable to think that as many as two players were involved in the WWE who started most of those games. Utah's Karl Malone ended up joining the same WWE series as a tag team rival of his Chicago Bulls rival Dennis Rodman.
Rodman returned to the Chicago Bulls after the appearance and faced a fine for missing the practice. He played in Game 4, which the Bulls won 86-82 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Bulls would end up winning the series in six games, and during the celebration, Rodman draped a nWo shirt on his lap as he sat next to his then-wife, Carmen Electra, and the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Less than a month later, Rodman and Hulk Hogan defeated Karl Malone and DDP at Bash at the Beach – a WCW pay-per-view that earned the thriving promotion its highest buy rate of the year. The two NBA superstars were not only involved in the WWE series, but also played their part in making it one of the most successful of the time.
Needless to say, peak WWE was very different from what it is today, and players will think a lot more before appearing in the WWE days after an NBA Finals appearance.
Guess the Lakers players!
