Rick, first of all, I am so so sorry.

This must hit you profoundly.

more than you’ll ever know.

People always wanted to paint us as

enemies, but we were actually very very

close friends.

And um, we kept up with each other on a

regular basis. So,

I I just talked to Jimmy Hart yesterday

and he was fine.

To have this happen is just horrible.

How did you get the news? I I I’m so

sorry, Rick. I am so sorry.

Oh, I’ve I’ve gotten it from everybody.

My won’t stop.

And that that’s a good thing because

that everybody is saying something nice

when social media could be so cruel.

In this case, everybody is saying

something nice.

So, you know, I I knew him over the

years, but not like you Harvey.

Uh he he I I really had a connection

with this guy. I I I’m wondering what he

meant to you. I mean, I I want to hear

your connection to him.

Well, we had a we had magic. I mean, it

wasn’t like me and Steamboat, but we had

we just had a a chemistry that was I

felt like and equal to me and Steamboat,

but in a different way. And he was so

over. I mean, I went when I went there

in the ‘9s, I had never seen anything

like it in my life. and the music

started and he came down the hallway and

I mean I would get him down for two

minutes and we’d have it’s just

unbelievable relationship. I mean and I

I’ll give you an idea of how much fun we

had working together. If we were doing a

dark match after TV,

he would we would go and he’d say room

service and throw me in, give me the

boot and drop the big leg on me.

we got back in a hotel for room service.

I mean, that that’s that’s how much fun

we had working together.

So, you guys were rivals in the ring?

Um, and I I’m so curious about this. Was

there ever did that ever kind of bleed

out into real life or were you always

secretly friends?

Always friends. Always friends. Um, I I

probably I’d be remiss to say I wasn’t

jealous that he was making so much more

money than me, but it, you know, it had

nothing to do with him. It’s just, you

know, I’m not going to bring up his

name. It’s the promotion

just put me in a bad spot. But not not

with him ever. Are you kidding? I loved

him. And everywhere we went, we drew

money. I it’s just we had we had a

connection and we and since then we’ve

done signings together and like the hard

rocks and I keep up with him. I’ve been

out to his bar for karaoke and

I mean it just you know everybody wants

to take a shot at Hulk but he doesn’t

deserve it. you know, people people make

mistakes and um you know, who knows how

that happened, but you know, it just it

it’s it’s unfair to judge anybody by,

you know, I mean, who who who would I be

to judge anybody? I mean, really, who is

anybody

that’s a celebrity to judge anybody?

We’ve all made mistakes.

So, you know, I’ve talked to him over

the years and, you know, about his ups,

which of which there were many, and his

downs, of which there were definitely

some. Where was he? Where was he at the

end of his life in terms of his head?

Where where was Hulk Hogan, Terry Bolas?

Uh, well, I think he was doing great in

it, but there’s a there’s people that

just, you know, they take shots at Hulk

and they, you know, they want to blame

him for being protective of his

position, but they don’t, the young guys

don’t understand that back in the 80s,

you didn’t you didn’t it was wasn’t as

political as it is now, but you had to

fight for your position. I mean, not

fist fight, but in some cases even fist

fight, but cuz everybody wanted to be

you. Does that make sense?

It does. And and you mentioned being

political. He he was political. I mean,

he was, I believe, the star of the

Republican National Convention last

year. Um, and that look, it we’re a

50/50 country, divided, and he paid a

price for that even when he showed up in

the ring.

Yeah. Well, you know what? One thing

about Hulk, and I I’ve never forgotten,

you used to say to me, it’s about it’s

not about

who’s the best worker. It’s about who

makes the most money.

I hated that saying.

Well, what’s interesting about that

saying is that kind of applied to your

relationship with him, that he made a

lot more money than you and that’s what

mattered to him. Yet, you never showed

jealousy toward him.

No. Well, I couldn’t I wasn’t mad at

him. I was mad at the promotion. I’m not

going to bring up any names because now

it’s not a time to blame anybody. But um

you know he he he he with me he knew

that I wanted to work with him cuz that

that meant I was on top and we had some

fantastic dealings the the match with

Shaquille O’Neal as special referee and

then Halloween Havoc where Tommy Hearns

Muhammad Ali Sher Martell I mean they’re

never going to be called classics but

they drew money and we

We drew money and he he I the one thing

that I I said it publicly at the garden

one night.

My son uh

went to six rehabs

and uh he never he I my insurance didn’t

cover rehab. So

Hulk lent me money one time to to to

keep him in rehab and keep him off life

support. So I never forgotten that. And

I went to pay him back and he said, “You

never have to pay me back. I’m here for

you.”

Wow.

And then when I was when I was dying in

the hospital, I don’t remember, but he

was the first one there.

So

how how how do you forget things like

that?

So, um,

this is, um, you know, an hour after we

broke the news, so maybe it’s too early,

but I’m going to try. Um, he was a

complicated man. Um, what do you think

his legacy is?

His legacy is he’s arguably along with

Steve Austin

the biggest star in the history of

wrestling.

uh for his generation for his

generations he was light years ahead of

me. I I used to go ahead go back to

Minneapolis to see my mom and dad and

they weren’t part of the NWA

and it’s one of the greatest things I

ever remember. My dad would say to me,

“Everybody knows who Hulk Hogan is. They

don’t know you.” Okay, Dad.

Well, that’s that’s not true.

No, no. in Minneapolis cuz we didn’t go

there, you know, and I mean he just we

met up on the road and when we did we

always partied and had fun and you know

we competed and but the one thing that

was

a for sure factor is the building was

full and we had fun.

You know, we didn’t talk about it for

three hours. We we knew what we knew

what we were going to do because we felt

it.

I get it. Rick, look, I know this was

really hard to come on this soon after

uh the announcement, but we so

appreciate it. And again, at least from

me and from TMZ, our deepest

condolences.

Well, thank you. You know, I just I hope

everybody

just stands up and says, “Man, Hulk,

you’re the greatest.” He made a lot of

people a lot of money

that he did.

Not not just a promotion. He made a lot

of people a lot of money. I can remember

when he was working with Camala

and Camala wasn’t getting paid right and

he went he went to Vince and said Camala

needs more money. I mean, he had a good

heart.