Eric Bischoff says Hulk Hogan pushed to sign Jeff Hardy to TNA

Just over a decade ago, WWE legend and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan joined TNA, in a backstage role as a consultant, while he also wrestled a handful of matches in the promotion. Hogan was brought in along with Eric Bischoff by then TNA President Dixie Carter.

Bischoff, in a recent episode of his 83 Weeks podcast spoke about the Immortal faction in TNA, which had the likes of Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, and Jeff Hardy, to name a few.

The former SmackDown Executive Director revealed that Hogan was keen on signing Jeff Hardy as he was a big fan of the WWE legend, as well as Ric Flair.

Eric Bischoff on Hulk Hogan wanting to sign Jeff Hardy

Bischoff revealed that the Immortal faction idea was Hogan's and that Hogan was very keen on signing Jeff Hardy soon after learning that he and Hogan would be signing with TNA.

"That was Hulk's idea, as well as creating this faction called Immortal. Hulk was a huge, huge fan of Jeff Hardy. In fact, when Hulk and I first started talking about going into TNA and actually signing with them, it was one of the first things Hulk started talking about was, 'man, we got to get Jeff Hardy back.' A close second to that was Ric Flair." (H/T WrestlingInc)

Bischoff also revealed that Hulk Hogan as well as then TNA President Dixie Carter was a big fan of Jeff Hardy and that Hardy and Carter got along well.

Jeff Hardy began his second run in TNA in 2010, joining the company a few months after his contract with WWE had expired. Hardy won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship after aligning with Bischoff and Hogan and turned heel. In his second run with the company, he held TNA's most prestigious belt three times.

His first run in TNA came between 2004 and 2006, but he didn't win any title during this time. Hardy is currently with WWE, having joined the company in 2017 alongside his brother Matt after their run in TNA had come to an end.