Hulk Hogan Explains Why He Was “Scared to Death” By Andre The Giant

Hulk Hogan’s iconic match with Andre The Giant at WrestleMania III remains one of the biggest WrestleMania matches in WWE history, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to their rivalry. The pair wrestled 42 singles matches against each other over their legendary careers, starting in Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1979 and ending at a WWF house show in Atlanta in 1988. Hogan has given many comments about his tumultuous relationship with Andre over the years and said in a new interview with Theo Von this week that working with Andre consistently “scared me to death.”

“The hardest thing for me was — the first 8 or 9 years — he didn’t like me at all and tortured me,” Hogan said (h/t Wrestling Inc.). “When we got in the ring, he showed me how much he didn’t like me.”

Hogan then recalled an incident where he invited a girl to the arena to watch one of his matches, something Andre was strictly against. “The Eighth Wonder of the World” proceeded to beat Hogan up and down the ring. “The Hulkster” claimed Andre nearly broke his neck with the ring ropes. 

Hulk Hogan’s Trademark Battle With Marvel Comics

Elsewhere in the same interview, Hogan discussed the legal battle he had with Marvel over his various trademarks. The WWE Hall of Famer famously had to sign a 20-year deal with Marvel that gave the company a cut of his earnings due to his wrestling persona being too close to The Incredible Hulk, but he was able to buy all of his trademarks from them on the cheap in the mid-2000s. 

“n 2005, it’s over. Now, I can’t use Hulk Hogan anymore, and I’m red hot in 2005,” Hogan said. “I went to my attorney, ‘I don’t give a damn what deal you make, you’re going to make a deal because I need the name.’ What happened was, I got a one-year extension and I had to pay them 30% of everything I made. Movies, TV wrestling, they got 30% of everything, but if they decided to sell the name, they had to give me first shot at it. They couldn’t sell the name or do anything. Fair market value.

“All of a sudden, Marvel Comics gets in a b—fest with WWE about intellectual properties, that they can’t re-air old Hulk Hogan matches. Marvel Comics lost. They owe Vince $35 million. They made a huge mistake. They said, ‘Instead of paying $35 million, how about we give you the Hulk Hogan name.’ I heard about it and went, ‘You screwed up now.’ Now, I don’t have to pay $35 million for the name, you have to sell it for me for fair money value,’ which is only $750 grand. I bought the name back. Vince wanted to buy the name from me. ‘Nah, I got this one.’ I bought the name back and I own everything,” Hogan added.