Hulk Hogan Compares His Heel Turn to John Cena’s Turn, Explains Why His Worked So Well

– During a recent edition of The Ariel Helwani Show, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan spoke about John Cena turning heel, comparing it to his own epic heel turn at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996, where he turned heel and joined the nWo. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Hulk Hogan on his nWo heel turn: “I think when, you know, Eric [Bischoff] and I pulled that off at the Daytona Bash at the Beach, I think it was really real, really organic because, when Scott Hall came in and then Kevin Nash came in, it actually looked like they were still working with the WWE – or WWF – so all of a sudden, when I came down as the third man, nobody knew more about that organization than me.” 

On his heel turn compared to Cena’s: “That was so intense that you could feel in that building how much hatred they had for me for turning and destroying all the kids. The turn with Cena was good, but I think they were just two different things at two different times.”

On his turn being part of a bigger storyline: “The reason it worked was because that turn was part of a storyline. Scott Hall came down. ‘My big buddy’s gonna come next week.’ Kevin Nash shows up. Then, for weeks, the whole story was ‘who is their third man?’ When Hulk Hogan came down, in his red and yellow, and Randy Savage is just – was laying down on the mat – everybody assumed Hulk was there to make the save until he wasn’t,” he said, adding that Hogan’s turn was a dramatic turn of events. “If Hulk Hogan would’ve turned spontaneously, it still would have had a major implication, but because it was part of a story, it has become legendary and everything else is compared to it.”

After turning heel at WWE Elimination Chamber Toronto, John Cena later defeated Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, winning a record-breaking 17th world title.