Gable Steveson, the Olympic gold medalist who had a short stint in WWE NXT, has inked a deal with Real American Freestyle Wrestling.
It was announced on The Ariel Helwani Show today that Steveson will make his RAF debut in Dallas, Texas on May 30. Steveson has signed a multi-match deal with the organization, which was founded in 2025 and features Eric Bischoff as one of the public faces. The freestyle wrestling organization airs its events on the Fox Nation streaming service.
Breaking: Gable Stevenson has signed a multi-match deal with @RAFWrestlingUSA.
He will make his debut at RAF09 on May 30 in Dallas, Texas, on @foxnation.
Helwani said an opponent for Steveson’s debut is not known yet. It won’t be his first matchup, but RAF is building toward a Steveson vs. Wyatt Hendrickson rematch after Hendrickson upset Steveson in the NCAA finals last year.
In addition to this RAF deal, Steveson has been focused on MMA with the aim of breaking into the UFC. Undefeated in the fights he’s had so far, there was speculation about a potential UFC debut at this summer’s White House event, but Steveson is not part of the card.
A high-profile addition to WWE in 2021, Steveson’s career in pro wrestling did not end up panning out. He only had one official WWE match outside of house shows and dark matches. He later attempted to make it into the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.
A brawl broke out during Saturday’s Real American Freestyle event in Tempe, Arizona.
Following the match between UFC lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan and Georgio Poullas, Tsarukyan shoved Poullas to the mat and began throwing punches after the buzzer. Several people immediately ran onto the mat area, including former UFC title contender Colby Covington, who escorted Poullas to the back.
A video of the incident is available here and embedded below.
“Tonight on the Real American Freestyle show, there was a match between Arman Tsarukyan and Georgio Poullas. Tsarukyan won, the buzzer sounded, and then he just started pounding the guy,” Meltzer said.
“It is probably good publicity in the sense that people are talking about it. But that was real bad. I mean, if I am UFC, that is an excuse to fire Tsarukyan. That was complete and total bull—-. And if I were RAF, I would not use him again. I am sure they will, because it is Eric’s company and he will love the publicity, but that was one of the most blatant things I have seen.”
During a Thursday morning appearance on Fox News, Eric Bischoff broke some news regarding Real American Freestyle.
Bischoff and RAF cohorts Chad Bronstein & Izzy Martinez were on Fox & Friends to announce that their organization has extended its broadcast deal with Fox Nation. RAF will continue to air monthly PLEs on the subscription service for the next year. Along with that, the promotion is developing a weekly series that will exist as a scaled-down version of their major events.
“We’re going to be airing on Fox Nation,” Bischoff said while announcing the one-year extension. “When I first heard that there was an opportunity to work with Fox Nation, I thought, ‘Man, that’s too good to be true.’ But here we are, and you guys have been a great partner. We’re going to have monthly events over the next 12 months. We’re working on a weekly series that we’re going to bring to the table. A reality show’s part of it down the line. Think of it as a scaled-down version of our big premium monthly events, but a weekly show with a broader base of talent.”
Real American Freestyle launched in 2025 with the aim of allowing top amateur-style wrestlers to continue their careers as professionals. Bischoff serves as the Chief Media Officer of the organization. Hulk Hogan was set to be the commissioner and public face of RAF prior to his July 2025 passing.
Fox Nation has been the broadcast home of RAF since its first event. The promotion is staging its next show in Tempe, Arizona on February 28, with the card scheduled to be headlined by Henry Cejudo vs. Urijah Faber.
“Our audience is a Fox audience,” RAF CEO Bronstein said. “It’s been unbelievable. You guys have given us a platform to promote a sport that really never had a Fox behind them. So having you guys here has helped us lift this up.”
Eric Bischoff says that Hulk Hogan would be “very proud” of the strides they are making with Real American Freestyle.
RAF 01, the company’s first event, took place on August 30 in Cleveland and aired on Fox Nation. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bischoff revealed that he met with representatives from Fox on Thursday and that they were pleased with how the show performed.
“Certainly can’t speak for [Fox], but I do know that Real American Freestyle this past Saturday night, I think it would be OK for me to say, is one of — if not the — most successful events that they’ve done so far in 2025 in terms of the launch of a new event,” Bischoff said. “But I certainly can’t speak to it from their perspective, because I don’t have any insight into it. I just know they were really happy to see Chad (Bronstein) and I yesterday.”
Bischoff also revealed to the Hollwyood Reporter that WWE’s Nick Khan reached out to him following RAF 01.
“He just said, ‘Hey, man, solid event — awesome, great job,” Bischoff said.
As for the possibility that TKO could become a partner in RAF, Bischoff responded:
“There’s been no no discussions beyond that. I think it’s a little early, a little bit. Maybe we got a couple of years before we start having those conversations.”
Bischoff stated in a separate interview recently that a Real American Freestyle two-hour weekly show is planned for the first quarter of 2026.
“I really think there’s a market for it,” Bischoff said about the planned show. “And it’s a big part of our future.”
Earlier in the interview, Bischoff said news of Hogan’s passing and the timing was “really, really tough” but they were determined to follow through with the inaugural event.
“We woke up and said, ‘You know what? What would Hulk want us to do? He wants to keep going. This is an opportunity for us to build on to an already large legacy and to do something positive,’” Bischoff said. “And from that point forward, it’s just, you know, we’re just like ‘Powered by Hogan.’ We just driving through and trying to make him proud, and I think we are. I know we did on Saturday, and I think he’d be very proud of the progress that we’re making and what we’re doing.”
Bischoff’s full interview with The Hollywood Reporter is available here.
Eric Bischoff Talks Hulk Hogan’s Death and the Two-Hour Weekly (Real) Wrestling Show He’s Shopping https://t.co/gbDOZmkksy
Rey Mysterio and his daughter Aalyah were in attendance last night for a session at Natalya & TJ Wilson’s Dungeon training facility. WWE legend Tatanka and his sons Jeremiah & Joseph were also there.
Natalya wrote:
An insane night of training in The Dungeon. Nights like this set my soul on fire. So much passion and generations of wrestling in one room. It was such an honor having you tonight as a guest @reymysterio. Lessons upon lessons—@NativeTatanka @TJWilson
The @WWE Wyatt house at #halloweenhorrornights is insane. Like insanely good. I got scared, I laughed and almost cried. It’s a MUST SEE! MUST EXPERIENCE.. and I’m not just saying that. [Bray Wyatt] would have loved it
Today marks 30 years since the debut of WCW Nitro, which launched in 1995 with the first episode taking place in Bloomington, Minnesota at the Mall of America.
Weekly 2hr LIVE format, PPV quality matchs, introduction of Lucha/cruiserweight division on a national primetime platform, targeting 18-49 male vs the teen/preteen audience, focus on reality based stories and characters. Happy 30th #NITRO
The GoFundMe campaign to benefit former EVOLVE Tag Team Champion Jaka (Jonathan Echevarria) in his recovery from a heart attack has now raised more than $17,000.
My heart aches for him and his family as he goes through this tough time.
If you ever came across Jonathan, you know that he was a special soul who always went above and beyond to put smiles on faces. His presence always filled a room and there’s truly no one like him.
We all want to make sure that he and his family have no worries and can solely focus on his recovery. So we kindly ask if you can Donate/Share his Go Fund Me
It would mean the world to him and his family. PLEASE continue to keep him in your prayers.
In light of recent public statements made by Matt Riddle regarding the topics of SA and DV, SiouxperCon has made the decision to cancel his appearance at this year’s convention. The statements that were made in no way represent our organization or event, and are not aligned with the mission, vision, and values of our organization.
Fans that have purchased photo ops in advance for Matt Riddle will be automatically refunded this week to their original form of payment.
SiouxperCon has always strived to be a safe and inclusive space and event for all to feel welcome, including those that have been affected by SA and DV. This is why we, along with New Sound Wrestling, will be donating 10% of the proceeds from all SiouxperMania tickets sold to The Compass Center to support the work they do in our community for survivors and victims.
Real American Freestyle announced that it will hold its second event at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania on November 8. The show will stream live on Fox Nation.
I’m a shooter. I love amateur wrestling. And honestly, I hope I get on one of these RAF shows. I talked to [Eric] Bischoff, talked to everybody else. I’m probably going to be on one of these shows soon.
Eric Bischoff is having a lot of fun getting Real American Freestyle off the ground.
The new freestyle wrestling venture launched this past weekend with its first show taking place in Cleveland. Following the event, Bischoff spoke with Undisputed about what he feels was a successful first offering from the promotion. Bischoff said being part of RAF is the most fun he’s ever had.
“I’m having the television producer’s equivalent of an after-sex cigarette,” Bischoff said. “I’m so absolutely grateful for [co-founders] Chad Bronstein, Israel Martinez, and obviously Hulk Hogan — I wouldn’t be here without a phone call from Hulk. This has been the most fun thing I’ve ever done.”
Bischoff’s job title in RAF is Chief Media Officer. The organization’s inaugural event doubled as a tribute to Hogan, with a WWE-produced tribute airing on the show and Hogan’s son Nick appearing. Hogan was slated to be the commissioner of RAF prior to his death this July at 71 years old.
Tito Ortiz vs. Chael Sonnen has been set up for the November event. Sonnen is one of the commentators for RAF alongside Bubba Jenkins and WWE legend Kurt Angle. Undisputed asked Bischoff if we could potentially see Angle relive some of his former amateur wrestling glory by competing for RAF.
“Kurt is an elite-of-the-elite level athlete,” Bischoff said. “There is still that competitive drive and desire. We’re seeing it from Tito and Chael, too. I don’t know if Kurt could do it [health wise], but it would be extremely exciting if he did.”
– Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw, more on Bufford Pusser and lots of other weekend shows as well as the latest news.
– Raw certainly led one to believe that AJ Lee would be coming in to team with CM Punk against Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch. As noted many times, WWE is going to want to load up the next PPV big given it’s the debut on ESPN. We haven’t gotten a confirmation that match is happening or when but on last night’s show that seemed to look like it was being set up, and it looked even more obvious today.
– The Roman Reigns injury angle is because he’s filming Street Fight for the next nearly four weeks. That’s why he wasn’t advertised for the Indianapolis PPV on 9/20.
– Just want to say I’m sorry about the PDF version of the Observer not being up until yesterday. I’m not sure what happened but the people at the site didn’t get it when I sent it on Friday and I was gone the entire weekend on a trip so didn’t get home until last night when it was put up. Also, there were two matches that were supposed to be rated from last week that weren’t that we didn’t get taken care of until last night, which were Jon Moxley vs. Daniel Garcia and Oba Femi vs. Je’Von Evans at ****1/4.
– We’re doing weekend polls on these shows:
WWE Clash in Paris yesterday’
Real American Freestyle from Cleveland on Saturday
ROH Death Before Dishonor on Friday
We’re looking for your thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected]
– Because of the holiday, ratings will be delayed this week. SmackDown numbers will be out tomorrow. Collision numbers probably won’t be out until Wednesday. Last week’s Raw number will be out tomorrow afternoon and we’ll go into detail on that. NXT won’t be out until Thursday. Dynamite will probably be out Thursday but sometimes coming off holiday weeks it’s delayed until Friday.
– Doug Hunt, who usually sends us two or three must-see matches over the weekend, listed six. No. 1 was Bandido vs. Hechicero from the ROH show on Friday. That match was incredible, easily top three of the year, many had it No. 1. I can’t say enough good about it. Athena did a great job with Mina Shirakawa having to follow that match, and while the 2300 Arena is small, the crowds thus far have been great. Others on his list were QT Marshall vs. Paul Walter Hauser, which for a celebrity match was a violent bloodbath and you can really see how much the “you’re a wrestler” chants meant to Hauser. The CMLL Grand Prix went nearly 90 minutes. I haven’t seen this one yet but have had people who thought it was incredible and others who felt it went too long. He also listed Saturday night matches with Villano III Jr. & El Hijo del Villano III vs. Lio Rush & Action Andretti from Arena Coliseo on Saturday night and Tomohiro Ishii & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Josh Alexander & Kyle Fletcher from Collision on Saturday, as well as FTR vs. Adam Priest & JD Drake. Will talk about as many of them as I can tonight as well as Sami Zayn vs. Solo Sikoa from Friday. Another one mentioned by a few people was Kazusada Higuchi vs. Jun Akiyama on the DDT Peter Pan show.
– Legendary wrestling announcer and weatherman Dave Brown turned 79 today.
– Some notes on Google searches this past weekend. With no UFC show, the only stuff was:
Clash in Paris at 130,000
The Rock/Dwayne Johnson at 50,000 because critical reviews have started coming out for The Smashing Machine. At Rotten Tomatoes it lists 93 percent positive review for the movie that comes out on 10/3 at theaters in the U.S. The North American premiere is 9/8 at 9:45 p.m. at the Toronto Film Festival
AJ Lee is at 20,000 based on the rumors of her returning to WWE
Darren Till is at 20,000 for his knockout of Luke Rockhold
Nothing from Real American Freestyle’s debut was listed
– We’re looking for reports from Paris today regarding the matches not on the live show or anything else to [email protected]
– Buff Bagwell will be part of Memphis Wrestling on Saturday with Wrestling Night for the Memphis Redbirds at Autozone Park.
– Pro Wrestling Revolucion will be having matches all day on 9/13 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza as part of the Chile, Mole, Pozole event as well as there will be matches at the San Jose Earthquakes game that night at Levi’s Stadium featuring an appearance of Blue Demon Jr. There will also be matches at the Santa Cruz County Fair that day as well as on 9/10, 9/11, 9/12 and 9/14. There will also be matches Wednesday night at the San Jose Giants minor league baseball game.
– Josh Alexander vs. TJP for the Canadian title has been added to the Maple Leaf Wrestling show on Friday night in Ohsweken, Ontario that also has Grail champion Rohan Raju vs. Bishop Dyer, Canadian women’s champion Gisele Shaw vs. Priscilla Kelly, PCO & Shotzi Blackheart vs. Taylor Rising & Kris Chambers plus Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Billy Gunn, Stu Grayson and Ace Austin.
– The second Real American Freestyle show will be on 11/8 according to an article in Cleveland.com. Eric Bischoff said he would announce the date and location (rumored to be in the Northeast) later in the week.
– NXT tomorrow night has Lash Legend vs. Jaida Parker, Candice LeRae vs. Xia Brookside in the Speed tournament over 3:00 and Hank & Tank & Oba Femi & Ricky Saints vs. DarkState.
– AEW Wednesday at the 2300 Arena has Mercedes Mone vs. Alex Windsor for the TBS title and Adam Page & Kenny Omega & Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey vs. Young Bucks & Josh Alexander & Kyle Fletcher.
– TNA will be live Thursday night on AXS TV from Minneapolis with Matt & Jeff Hardy & Masa Sade vs. John Skyler & Jason Hotch & Tasha Steelz, Eddei Edwards & Brian Myers vs. Nic & RyanNemeth, Indi Hart vs. Dani Luna vs. Jody Threat in a winner gets a shot at Ash by Elegance for the TNA women’s title, AJ Francis vs. Moose plus Mike Santana and Joe Hendry.
– There will be a Q&A on Wednesday night at the Graza Foot Hall in Minneapolis with the Hardys.
– TNA is doing a promotional appearance on 9/25 in Edmonton, before its shows in that market at The Rec Room in South Edmonton with Trick Williams, Leon Slater, Matt Hardy, Steve Maclin and Ash.
– Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Chris Brookes was announced for the 11/3 DDT show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
– Bam Bam Bigelow would have turned 64 today. Doug Williams turned 53 today.
– Green Mountain Wrestlingon 9/14 in Barre, VT at the ElksLodge with a one-night tournament to crown a champion.
Real American Freestyle is planning to launch a weekly live series starting in 2026.
Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff — one of the co-founders of the organization — revealed that Real American Freestyle has plans to broadcast a live, two-hour weekly show that will begin the first quarter of next year. Further details on the broadcast plans have not been announced yet.
“We’re going to launch a weekly, two-hour, live Real American Freestyle series coming your way first quarter 2026,” Bischoff said.
“There is so much great stuff going on here. By the way, that’s breaking news. I did an interview with the Boston Globe yesterday and I gave it to them, but that’s not coming out until I think Saturday. So, it’s a scoop as far as we’re concerned. 52 weeks a year, two hours a week, live Real American Freestyle action coming your way.”
Real American Freestyle is a new venture that aims to give amateur wrestling stars an opportunity to continue their careers in a professional capacity. Prior to Hulk Hogan’s death, the league was announced this April with Hogan, Bischoff, and wrestling coach Izzy Martinez serving as the public faces of the business.
The first Real American Freestyle show will take place in Cleveland on August 30 and will stream live on Fox Nation. WWE and Olympic wrestling legend Kurt Angle will be part of the broadcast team for the event.
Bischoff noted that WWE has produced a “really special” tribute for Hogan that will air on the August 30 Real American Freestyle show. Hogan was slated to be the commissioner of the new league prior to his passing.
Real American Freestyle plans to continue on despite the death of one of its founders.
Following Hulk Hogan’s passing, Real American Freestyle issued a statement today paying tribute to him and saying that it intends to honor Hogan’s legacy by moving forward with the launch of the organization. Hogan was slated to be the commissioner of Real American Freestyle and was one of the public faces of the group along with Eric Bischoff and amateur wrestling coach Izzy Martinez.
“Today we lost our Commissioner. We lost a friend. And the sport of wrestling lost one of its greatest champions, not just in the ring, but in spirit,” Real American Freestyle wrote. “Hulk Hogan believed wrestling was more than just entertainment. He saw it as a brotherhood, a proving ground and a platform for greatness. That’s what Real American Freestyle was built to be, a new stage for the toughest, most passionate athletes on Earth. And Hulk was at the center of it.
“From day one, he threw his weight behind this league. He met with athletes. He watched tape, shared stories and showed up like only he could. RAF was personal to him, something bigger than all of us. This league is part of his legacy, and we intend to honor it.”
Real American Freestyle’s mission is to offer amateur wrestling stars the chance to pursue professional careers in the sport. It will debut with its first event taking place in Cleveland on August 30 and airing on the streaming service Fox Nation.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Hulk Hogan, who single-handedly shaped the world of professional wrestling and inspired millions around the world,” Fox Nation President Lauren Petterson told TMZ. “Our hearts go out to his family, friends, and his many fans.”
Kurt Angle is excited to work with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff again, this time outside of the professional wrestling world.
It was announced last week that Angle has joined Hogan and Bischoff’s Real American Freestyle organization as a commentator and analyst. He’ll be part of the broadcast team for the organization’s inaugural event on August 30 working alongside combat sports veterans Chael Sonnen and Bubba Jenkins.
“It’ll be like it was in TNA and WWE. You know, I worked with these guys for years,” the 56-year-old Angle said. “I understand their philosophies and what they bring to the table, and they bring nothing but good. They’re going to be able to make this a little more entertaining than a regular amateur wrestling duel would be.”
The Wolstein Center in Cleveland is hosting Real American Freestyle’s August 30 event. It was announced today that the organization has reached a deal with Fox Nation to broadcast the show.
Hogan and Bischoff have partnered with amateur wrestling coach Izzy Martinez for this venture. Angle — a legend in both amateur and pro wrestling — told TMZ Sports that one of the things that drew him to Real American Freestyle is that the promotion has signed the top Olympic-style wrestlers available and will have the best of the best on display.
Angle believes that, if something like this existed when he was younger, he might have never even entered pro wrestling.
“Oh gosh, I would have loved to have had this. This would have been my thing,” he said. You know, I don’t even know if I would have crossed over into pro wrestling. I probably would have stuck with amateur wrestling. We didn’t have a pro league back then. So I’m a little jealous, but I’m also excited to be a part of it.”
Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s Real American Freestyle (RAF) has announced its exclusive broadcast partner.
On Monday, the promotion revealed that its debut event, RAF 01, will air on Fox Nation on August 30.
“Real American Freestyle is creating something that’s never been done before, and we needed a partner that understood that and could build with us,” said RAF commissioner Hulk Hogan. “FOX Nation is synergistic with our brand, they appreciate the importance of bringing this sport to the masses, and they believe in our goal.”
The broadcast team is set to consist of Kurt Angle, Chael Sonnen, and Bubba Jenkins. Angle was quoted in a Fox press release on the news:
“I grew up freestyle wrestling and achieved the highest level of success in the sport,” Angle said. “I couldn’t be prouder to support athletes at all levels of their careers and partner with Real American Freestyle to make it happen. Chael and Bubba will bring a unique aspect to their analysis given their own backgrounds in combat sports, and I’m excited to join them for RAF 01 to bring freestyle wrestling to audiences around the world.”
Fox Nation president Lauren Petterson was also quoted in the release:
“We’re thrilled to partner with the Real American Freestyle team as they build a visionary brand that redefines the future of wrestling. Fusing elite athleticism with unmatched entertainment, it’s an honor to be part of the new era of the world’s oldest and most iconic sport.”
RAF 1 will be held in Cleveland’s Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University. The venue holds over 13,000 for basketball and approximately 15,000 for concerts. As of Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 639 tickets had been distributed to the show.
Six matches are advertised for the show:
RAF 01 lineup for August 30:
Bo Nickal vs. Jacob Cardenas
Yianni Diakomihalis vs. Bajrang Punia
Darrion Caldwell vs. Real Woods
Austin Gomez vs. Lance Palmer
Kennedy Blades vs. Alejandra Rivera
Sarah Hildebrandt vs. Zeltzin Hernandez
BREAKING: @foxnation is the exclusive broadcast partner for Real American Freestyle.
It was announced today that Angle — a Hall of Famer in both amateur and pro wrestling — “will serve as live event commentator, analyst, and partner” for Real American Freestyle Wrestling, calling the promotion’s inaugural show alongside combat sports greats Chael Sonnen and Bubba Jenkins. The event is set to take place in Cleveland on August 30.
“I grew up freestyle wrestling, and achieved the highest level of success in the sport. I couldn’t be prouder to support athletes at all levels of their careers and partner with Real American Freestyle to make it happen,” the Olympic gold medalist said in a press release. “Chael and Bubba will bring a unique aspect to their analysis given their own backgrounds in combat sports, and I’m excited to join them for RAF01 to bring freestyle wrestling to audiences around the world.”
The formation of Real American Freestyle was announced this April with Hogan, Bischoff, and wrestling coach Izzy Martinez leading the venture. The Wolstein Center in Cleveland is hosting the August 30 event.
“Kurt Angle is a living legend. He’s achieved every accomplishment he could in wrestling, so it makes sense that he’s partnering with Real American Freestyle as we actively change the name of the game across the sport,” Hogan was quoted as saying. “Kurt will provide fire, infamy, and unparalleled experience to the commentary and analysis of our live events. We couldn’t be more excited to have him on the Real American team.”
Hogan has been experiencing health issues ahead of the Real American Freestyle launch, but his wife is denying rumors that he’s in grave condition. Sky Daily Hogan said her husband has been in and out of the hospital over the past six weeks as he recovers from neck fusion surgery.
Eric Bischoff says he’s confident his new venture with Hulk Hogan, Real American Freestyle, will land a broadcast deal.
Bischoff and Hogan were guests on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show. During the interview, Bischoff was asked about where the promotion’s debut event on August 30 will air. He responded:
“As a matter of fact, as soon as we’re done with this, I have a call with a major platform that everybody would know about and recognize. We may end up there, we may not. We are going to end up on a platform on August 30th. We’re in discussions. I don’t even want to call negotiations. I’ll be really straightforward with you on this. We’re in discussions with two different platforms. Like I said, one over the next 45 minutes. I’m confident that we’re going to land a streaming opportunity and it may be a cable broadcast, but time will tell, you know.”
“I’m not concerned that we won’t have a platform. I’m only concerned with which one it will be and how it will work for us.”
Also during the conversation, Hogan and Bischoff mentioned their goal is to run one event per month. The Real American Freestyle website lists an event in Michigan for October and one in New Jersey for November, but no other details have been disclosed.
Bischoff was also asked about the status of Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder with the promotion. Snyder is one of 8 athletes to be featured on the RAF website. Snyder was recently revealed as one of 16 men arrested as part of a prostitution sting in Ohio earlier this month. Bischoff says they will review the matter internally.
“I just read about that about an hour ago, actually. I’ve been on the phone all morning and we’ll talk about it internally. I don’t know enough about the facts to comment on it here. Other than to say, I don’t know how old Kyle is, but as a young man or woman, once you start reaching certain levels of success in life and people know who you are, it becomes even more critical that you are careful in the way you conduct yourself, whether it’s in the business or away from the business.”
Hogan was also asked about the negative reaction he received at the WWE on Netflix premiere earlier this year. He responded that the media treats him differently than others when he’s booed.
“The last time I was in LA, I was Hollywood with the black beard and doing the bad guy thing. I can go out there and get booed in LA or The Rock can get booed in LA or John Cena gets booed in LA but when I get booed, there’s a whole different reaction media wise. For some reason I’ve laid some type of groundwork that people are still interested in what I’m doing. And so for those that are on the team and are riding with the train to the station, that’s great. For those that are the haters and still have a problem with me, there’s nothing I can do to fix that except just keep proving by my actions that I’m still in the game. I’m still pushing hard.”
“When you get booed and then you get 3.2 billion engagements, and you rock that whole world in LA with how much interaction there was on the internet, I’ll take it.”
Hogan was asked if he felt it was people booing his character rather than him personally. Hogan responded:
“All of the above. There were certain people who boo the character, there were certain WWE Superstars who had an opinion and had advice for me but I would like to ask the same guys when I go to New York or Chicago and the people cheer out of the rooftops, I would like to know what their advice is then and what their opinion is.”
“So it’s a double-edged sword and it’s always been that. It’s part of the character, it’s part of me personally, it’s part of my professional life, it’s part of my personal life, it’s all the above. And at the end of the day I’m just like an old scarred up seal with a bunch of scars on me and I’m really relatable to most normal people because a lot of people have been through a lot of stuff I have professionally.”
Bischoff and Hogan’s full appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show is available below:
