Jim Ross on Hulk Hogan’s nWo Heel Turn – “It Was Going To Be a No Brainer at Some Point”

WWE Hall of Famer and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed a number of intriguing topics on the Grilling JR podcast. A recent episode of the audio show saw JR and co-host Conrad Thompson look at the 7.6.98 episode of WCW Monday Nitro.

This episode of the WCW flagship show was hugely significant, as it featured Goldberg challenging for and winning the WCW World Championship against Hollywood Hulk Hogan.

Conrad would ask JR about Hogan on the show, asking if he ever thought that the massively popular Hogan character from the 80s would transition so well to being the biggest heel in the wrestling business in the late 90s.

“Well I thought at the end of the day? It would be timely” Jim Ross began on the podcast. “I thought that probably it was going to be a no brainer at some point…if done correctly. He [Hogan] was a galvanising figure, very polarising to a lot of fans. So, I wasn’t shocked about it quite frankly. Hulk you know, he was all over the territories over the early part of his career, so he understood the psychology and the difference that it takes to make a great babyface, which he was; and then subsequently what is took to become a great villain, at which he did a hell of a job.”