Vince Russo explains why Hulk Hogan filed a lawsuit against him (Exclusive)

Vince Russo worked as a WCW writer and on-screen personality toward the end of Hulk Hogan's six-year run with the company. In an exclusive video, the 64-year-old addressed the real reason why The Hulkster tried to sue him.

At Bash at the Beach 2000, Hogan controversially placed his foot over Jeff Jarrett to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a 79-second match. Moments later, Russo cut a scathing promo about the wrestling icon and reversed the title change. Booker T then beat Jarrett in the main event to leave the show with the gold.

Hogan filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo after Bash at the Beach 2000, claiming the latter went off-script. However, the veteran writer clarified to Sportskeeda Wrestling host Mac Davis that the legendary wrestler agreed to the idea beforehand.

"When he liked something, his eyes would light up, and this is exactly what he said, 'Oh, brother, I like that, and then I'll have my belt, Booker will have a belt, and then we can do something with me and Booker,'" Russo said. "And I said, Mac, I said, 'Hulk, let's get through tonight. As soon as this is over, as soon as TV is over, I will call you, and we'll talk about where we go from here.'" [15:39–16:13]

Hulk Hogan's real-life issues with Russo allegedly began after Brad Siegel, an executive from WCW's parent company, Time Warner, intervened. According to Russo, Siegel told him to stop booking Hogan because the company could no longer afford him.

"I get back to the office in Atlanta, [and] Brad Siegel calls me in his office. 'Vince, what happened?' I laid it out to Brad just like I laid it out to you. So Brad goes to me, 'How did you leave it with Hulk?' And I said, 'Brad, I told him I would call him when I got back from TV, and we would talk about where we go from here.' Brad Siegel, the head of TBS and TNT, looked at me and said, 'Vince, don't call him because we can't afford to put him on television.'" [18:41–19:22]

On July 24, Hulk Hogan passed away at the age of 71 after suffering a cardiac arrest. Watch the video above to hear Russo tell several stories about his days working with the two-time WWE Hall of Famer.

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Vince Russo claims Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan lied

The Bash at the Beach 2000 script changed on the day of the show after Hulk Hogan refused to lose to Jeff Jarrett. The Hulkster had a creative control clause in his WCW contract, meaning Vince Russo would have required approval before badmouthing him on television.

More than two decades on, Russo is adamant that Hulk Hogan and former WCW executive Eric Bischoff had no problem with him cutting the infamous post-match promo.

"Now, when I don't call Hogan after I told him I was gonna call him, here comes a defamation lawsuit, 'Oh, we had no idea,' [acting like] him [sic] and Eric had no idea any of that was going on," he said. [19:37–19:54]

In 2003, Hogan's lawsuit against Russo was dismissed after the incident was deemed to be a wrestling angle rather than a real-life breach of contract.

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