Kane addresses Hulk Hogan controversies after the WWE legend's death

WWE legend Hulk Hogan passed away on Thursday at the age of 71. As the news broke out, tributes poured in for The Hulkster, with fans and his peers celebrating his iconic career. Right from The Rock, who faced Hogan at WrestleMania X8, to Vince McMahon, the biggest names in the wrestling community came together in this heartbreaking moment.

Former World Heavyweight Champion Glenn Jacobs, aka Kane, who is now the Knox County mayor, also paid his tribute to The Immortal One in an interview with ABC News.

Kane talked about the impact of Hogan on him growing up and how he changed the world of pro wrestling, helping put WWE on the map. The Big Red Machine was then asked about Hogan's controversies, such as steroid use, lawsuits, and personal problems, and how he dealt with them during his professional career.

"Well, everybody goes through things like that. I remember seeing Hogan backstage and he would just be a normal guy, softspoken, and then all of a sudden he would just slip into character and just turn it on and it was all seamless," he said. [From 1:34 - 1:49]

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He then addressed how Hogan knew how to keep his personal and professional life separate, which Kane thought was a reason for his success.

"So, I think that ability to really separate what might be going on in your personal life from your professional life or someone of that caliber of that magnitude you know really is one of the secrets to success," he added. [From 1:50 - 2:04]

Despite the controversies outside the ring, Hogan remained a major draw for WWE. Then, when he moved to WCW, Hulk Hogan reinvented himself as the heel Hollywood Hogan character with the nWo and took WCW to new heights.

After WCW's folding, he returned to WWE again and had some memorable feuds that included a championship run.

Kane says watching Hulk Hogan inspired him to be a pro wrestler

Earlier in the interview, Kane was asked about some of the fond memories he had of the icon. He recalled an incident from the time before he became a pro wrestler and how watching Hulk Hogan during a show left him in awe.

"One of my most fond memories was the first time I ever saw him in person. I was not actually in the ring. It was before I got into wrestling. I was at a WWE show in St. Louis, Missouri at the Checker Dome. And when Hulk Hogan came out, he was in the main event. The roof just blew off the place and that's when I decided, man, I would really like to be a professional wrestler," he said. [From 0:15 - 0:34]

Kane would eventually get to work with Hulk Hogan in 2002 and had a memorable backstage segment with him, mimicking the icon's pose. They would team up with The Rock to take on Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and X-Pac on an episode of SmackDown.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit ABC News and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Sanchari Bhattacharya