Greg Gagne Recalls Hulk Hogan Leaving AWA for WWE, Reacts to Hogan’s Death

Greg Gagne recently appeared on Busted Open Radio (h/t WrestlingInc) and discussed Hulk Hogan leaving AWA for WWE. Hogan famously sent notice to Gagne that he was leaving the promotion, and did not appear for shows he was booked for. Gagne noted that Hogan could have handled his departure in a different way, but understood Hogan’s decision. Highlights of his comments are below.

On Hogan’s departure from AWA: “Once he got so established in the AWA and we were really on the roll, he got the call from Vince, and Vince called him and away he went. And it was unfortunate because he left not a very good taste in the AWA. Vince had him walk out when we had all our major cities, him and the main event, and he didn’t show. So it really hurt the AWA. And then after that, he just started picking off everybody else. But I have no regrets about, you know, being mad about Hulk on that. He took an opportunity. He should have just, you know, finished out his deal, is all I ever told him.”

On Hogan’s death: “He was genuinely a really good guy and a nice guy, and he listened and he worked hard,” he said. “But all in all, he’s just a terrific guy. And it’s a huge, huge loss for not only the wrestling community, but for everybody because he was an icon, without a doubt.”