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To start the show, Larry King Live did a voice-over introducing the "Hulk Hogan Primetime Exclusive" on Hogan's near-suicide related to Nick Hogan's car crash and his divorce. They will also be featuring more on Michael Johnson's movie premiere.
King was in Los Angeles. Live in-studio from New York, Hogan was shown on-camera with his attorney David Houston. King asked Hogan why "spill all the guts now?"
Hogan said it's been a "crazy couple years" and he wants to be an inspiration that people can pull through negativity and "pull the nose up on this thing," implying he didn't want to crash and burn in life.
King asked Hogan if it was hard to write the story. He said it was hard on him when his kids were gone, his wife was gone, his animals were gone, and the closets were gone. "I went through a couple of days where I hit rock bottom," he said.
Hogan said he prayed to be happy and he changed his thinking. King asked if Muhammad Ali's "daughter" made the phone call to Hogan to save his life. Hogan said it was his daughter. The mistake correction seemed to fly right over King's head.
Hogan said he was in a situation where he was in so much pain with his back and he "hypnotized himself" thinking it would be easy to end his life. He said if it wasn't for that phone call from Laila Ali, "this whole situation could have been different."
King read a quote from Ali, who said she had no idea the impact of her phone call. Hogan said he had "Bubba a good friend of mine" and Eric Bischoff calling him as he b.s.'ed them that he was doing fine while they were talking about him behind his back. Hogan said there was no agenda from Ali when she called and he felt that was a genuine reaction as opposed to his "friends."
King went back to 2005 for a quote from Linda Bollea on Larry King when she talked about being married to Hulk. They showed Linda saying the toughest aspect of being married to Hulk was traveling on the road. Back live, King asked if Hogan was hiding behind the "happy family image."
Hogan said they weren't hiding anything, but they had differences behind-the-scenes. "It was a situation where I was hoping and praying if we did the reality show, in some crazy weird way, it would be the glue that would bind us back together, but it made it crazier and crazier."
King plugged the new book, "My Life Outside the Ring," then sent it to commercial.
[Commercial Break at 9:08 p.m. EST]
Back from break, they showed a clip from "Brooke Knows Best" of Brooke talking to Hulk about how hard the divorce was with Linda. They showed a split-screen of Hulk watching himself crying during a scene from the show.
Back live, King read a quote from Linda in response to the interview with Hulk: "I sure hope my ex-husband retracts these false statements coming from his book. He knows that our kids and family mean the world to me. I would never put them in harm's way."
Hulk said he agrees with the second-half of the quote that he thinks Linda loves their kids. He said he was shocked by Linda's abusive behavior toward their kids and became used to her dropping the f-bomb on her kids.
King asked if he would retract anything from the book. "No, brother, I wrote the truth," Hogan said.
They cut to a clip of Nick Hogan appearing on Brooke Knows Best discussing his jail time. Nick was shown talking about "freaking the f--- out" while in confinement in jail. Hulk discussed Nick being a kid who is "very focused" and said "the kids were over-the-top trying to create good TV" as Nick tried to create a bad-boy image.
Hogan was asked if he's in touch with John Graziano after the accident. Hulk said it was a great moment when John was released from the hospital. He said he has a different mentality than John's attorneys, saying he knows John will be healed over time.
David Houston was asked to comment on John's guardian suing Hulk. Houston said Hulk has tried to help financially to support John and he thinks "unfortunately" there are some people on John's legal side trying to keep Hulk away from John to cast Hulk in a negative light to maintain a lawsuit against Hulk.
King played dumb and asked why Hogan was being sued. Houston took a deep breath and said because Nick was driving one of Hulk's cars, they are suing him for negligence and trying to pass responsibility to the parent for allowing Nick to drive recklessly. Houston claimed that Hulk was unaware Nick would be driving one of his vehicles the night of the accident.
[Commercial Break at 9:15 p.m. EST]
Back from break, they showed Linda Bollea crying on camera wanting to spend time with Brooke after divorce created a split between them.
They showed a clip from a book signing in New York earlier today of a Hogan Fan submitting a question to Hulk on how his new-found faith has helped him handle these circumstances.
Hulk said he had to go back to being "real" and went inside himself to find happiness, faith, and walking in the spirit of Christ. He said "saying your prayers and taking your vitamins really works." Hogan talked more about staying positive, then King sent it to another commercial.
[Commercial Break at 9:20 p.m. EST]
Back live, King asked Hulk how Brooke is doing. Hulk said Brooke is in Los Angeles "working hard on her music." He said Brooke didn't understand for a long time that there are two sides to every story regarding the divorce.
Hogan said he wasn't trying to rationalize or condone "the things that happened," but he explained to her that she loves her mother and she's moving a different direction, but life keeps moving on.
King asked if his ex-wife has a new man in his life. Hogan tersely said she's dating a new guy who went to school with his kids.
Hogan was asked about his personal life. He said his new girlfriend, Jennifer, has watched him go through changes and everyone is trying to move along with their lives. King interrupted to ask if Hogan would be getting married. "Um, she would be the one," Hogan said after a pause.
King then promised to talk about Hogan "getting back in the ring" again on the other side of the break. Finally, the TNA discussion.
[Commercial Break at 8:26 p.m. EST]
They showed a clip from Madison Square Garden earlier today of Hulk Hogan being introduced to wrestling fans by Eric Bischoff. Hogan was shown entering promo mode. Several wrestling fans were shown talking up Hogan, including the guy with a Hogan tattoo on his back. So weird. Back live, Hogan just shook his head.
King said Hogan has joined Total Non-Stop ACTION - TNA Wrestling. (That was the only mention of the company during the interview.) Hogan said he's on his way to Australia to "check out the Hulk Hogan sea legs" to see if he can wrestle again. Hogan said he needs to get busy living or dying.
Asked if he'll wrestle for TNA, he said he's not sure "exactly what I'm going to do," but he plans to "take this business to a whole 'nother level."
King read a question from Twitter on the biggest difference between wrestling then and now. He said no one told him how to wrestle, talk, or think back in the day. Hogan talked with disdain about people writing scripts trying to tell wrestlers how to walk and talk in the ring nowadays.
Hogan was asked about steroids. "Everybody in all the sports industries were using it," he said trying to shift the focus away from himself onto the macro-environment of the 1970s and '80s when he was breaking into wrestling. Hogan said people were "re-educated" in the late 1980s that steroids weren't necessary for a "sports entertainment exhibiton."
King asked if Nick Hogan has taken up wrestling training. He said Nick has gone to North Hollywood to train at Rikishi's wrestling school. Hogan said he thinks Nick is either curious or wants to get in shape. (Name mentions: TNA 1, Rikishi 1.)
Hogan said he would do another reality show. He said he doesn't know if it would be about himself and Jennifer, but trying to find the next Hulk Hogan. "Like a talent search?" King asked, dating himself. Hogan said he sees an American Idol for wrestlers trying to find the next Hulk Hogan. King paused and reviewed his notes before thanking Hogan for appearing.
Segment went 33 minutes in total. Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
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