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Eric Bischoff believes Scott Hall was instrumental in helping Hulk Hogan fit in as part of the legendary nWo faction in WCW.
On July 7, 1996, Hogan unexpectedly turned heel at WCW Bash at the Beach to form an alliance with Hall and Kevin Nash. The moment was one of the biggest in wrestling history and arguably the most surprising heel turn of all time.
Bischoff, WCW’s former Executive Producer and Senior Vice President, spoke about the iconic moment on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast:
“Hulk Hogan, man, he was a square peg in a round hole with that thing, and Scott and Kevin kind of laid the groundwork for the vibe of the nWo, and it took Hulk all of about two weeks to go, ‘Okay, I see what they’re doing,’ and he adapted to that. Scott Hall made Hulk Hogan in the nWo… the vibe… he really did. I think Hulk would attest to that.”
The nWo is widely viewed as one of the greatest factions in wrestling history. Four members of the group (Hall, Hogan, Nash, and Sean Waltman) were inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame.
Last month, Hall sadly passed away at the age of 63 after suffering three heart attacks.
Eric Bischoff did not plan Hulk Hogan and the nWo’s success
Although the nWo were originally portrayed as villains, the group’s popularity with fans led them to become one of wrestling’s hottest acts.
Eric Bischoff added that while he would like to take credit for the storyline idea, he was not responsible for the nWo’s success:
“It was coincidence, brother. I didn’t sit back and go, ‘I’m gonna bring in that Scott Hall because he’s got this cool vibe and Nash will tag right in, and I’m pretty sure Hulk Hogan will learn to adapt.’ I didn’t do that. I wish I did. That sounded really, really smart, right?!”
Had he created that idea from the beginning, Bischoff jokingly added that Vince McMahon would rehire him to work for WWE. The 66-year-old previously worked closely with the WWE Chairman during his four-month stint as SmackDown’s Executive Director in 2019.
Please credit After The Bell and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
