By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Hulk Hogan claimed in an interview promoting his new book that he taught WWE CEO Vince McMahon the wrestling business when McMahon "didn't really understand the business" after buying then-WWWF from his father, Vince McMahon, Sr.

"I moved in next door to him in Connecticut and taught him all about lifting weights and riding motorcycles and partying like a mad man; and then I taught him about the wrestling business and making money," Hogan told the City Pages newspaper in Minnesota. "And now I'm doing that again with TNA Wrestling." Read the entire story here.

Hogan offered a slightly different take in his first autobiography published in 2003 through WWE's publishing company. Hogan used terms like "we" and "us" to describe the learning process for both himself and McMahon on how to market pro wrestling to the masses and make more money for the promotion.

In 2009, Hogan seems to want personal credit for WWE's success as a national wrestling promotion now that he's with TNA. The following are two key excerpts from Hogan's first book, "Hollywood Hulk Hogan," that show a different viewpoint when he was working for WWE.

Page 168: I was in his ear about this merchandising thing, driving him crazy. I had seen what could happen in Minnesota (wrestling for the AWA), and I told him that were more ways to make money than just a wrestling payoff. And as soon as he got the ball, he ran with it.

Vince became a monster, the greatest wrestling promoter ever, the greatest deal maker ever, the greatest licensing person ever. he did what nobody else could have done - he turned the company into a multibillion-dollar business empire in just a few years.

Page 176: The other good thing that came out of my success was I became friends with Vince McMahon, Jr. I lived in Stamford, Connecticut, very near hise house, and we started to ride motorcycles together.

We were doing everything together. We were riding, we were lifting weights, we were blazing new territory in the wrestling business. Everything we did was like this "Mission: Impossible" plot to get through somebody's door to pitch our product. And Vince had a better feel for uncharted waters than anybody I had ever seen. He would take his damn house and put it on the line for something he believed in. he would always bet on himself and I'll be damned if the son of a bitch didn't always come out on top.

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