Well, with all this craziness of Hogan autographs being discussed on the board lately, I figured it is the perfect time to go ahead and place my story here ... I was lucky enough to attend the Fan Interaction in Phoenix for TNA on Saturday. I had press credentials for my radio show and was able to interview many of the great talent and fans too.
Hogan was doing a special VIP signing after the 2 sessions were over. I packed up my equipment, said good bye to my contacts and new friends, and headed to the restroom as I was standing non stop for about 6 hours!~ lol
As I walked back from the lavatory, I noticed they had a partition wall separating the platform where STING would have his HOF ceremony in just a few hours. So, I just kinda walked over a little closer to see it and soak it all in. All of a sudden, I hear this familiar voice, in a deep tone, say to a security guard - " DIDN'T WARRIOR LIVE SOMEWHERE IN ARIZONA?" , So, I turned and realized it was in fact, HULK HOGAN! He was about 50 feet away sitting on a table just chillin' - So, I quickly shouted out, "Yea, he used to live in Scottsdale... My buddy used to clean his aquarium tanks!~" (True story about the fish:-) So he says, "Oh yeah? Cool."
I brought 3 of my old WWF Magazines with me in case I was able to meet him. Didn't expect it to be like this, though. So, I reached into my bag, and held them up face level, and said "Hulk, you remember these?" - He says "Hey, bring those here, Brother!~ Let's see what you got." - So, of course I am marking out BIGTIME, as I am 41 years old and HH was basically the shit in my day. Plus, he basically invited me into his own private hanging out area to talk. I introduced myself and told him how much I admired his work all those years. He looked me in the eyes and thanked me and shook my hand. It was like grabbing a Catcher's Mit!!! Then, I turn to my right and there was BROOKE HOGAN, too... She is VERY nice, and extremely pretty. Very easy on the eyes:-)
So, Hulk is looking thru the mags with Brooke, and making little hilarious comments about his pictures and what not. He said about one of the covers "See there Brian, I used to bleach my eyebrows, too!" Had a good laugh. On the other magazine from 1989, he told me 2 days before that picture was taken, Macho Man and him had a match ... He said MM was supposed to jump off the apron on his chest and HH would catch him .... But MM jumped too short and HH had to reach out closer to him and all the weight of MM fell on his forearms, therefore tearing both of his Pythons. He pointed to the cover and said that was why he didn't raise his arms up any higher in that shot. Plus he showed me the spots on his arms where they had effects still to this day.
I just could NOT believe how friendly and sincere he was ... he acted as if he knew me for 30 years as he just talked and shared stories and was just AWESOME!!! It was a dream come true. I would have been happy to just have look at the mags, say COOL and push me out ... lol ... But he was just fantastic! Brooke was a sweetheart and just so nice.
So I asked Hulk if he wouldn't mind signing them for me, and he said "Ill sign whatever you want, Brother!~" ... Just like that ... Calm and happy to do it .... So, he signed the two in black Sharpie. He asked me "Is this a GOOD marker to use?" I knew he meant if it was newer and full of ink. It was nice of him to be concerned so that the autograph looked sweet. And you can see, they sure did. Then I asked if he could sign the other in GOLD, and he was like "Wow, that looks great on that black cover. Where did you get this?" I told him WalMart for 97 cents, as that is true. LOL
I asked him if he wouldn't mind taking a picture, and he said "OF COURSE! U have a camera?" - I grabbed my trusty Fuji Digital and asked the security guy if he would mind... For the record, ALL the security, staff and personnel were top notch and very friendly .... Took the standard picture with him and Brooke, and one with just him. I was happy with that and was about to close the camera, but he says "Here... face me" Then he put his left arm on my shoulder, and told me to do the same.... So we were doing a lockup and it felt like a Sherman Tank was on my shoulder. He is just huge.
Then, he said turn around, and put me in a sleeper. It was funny, cuz as he put me in the hold, he says out loud "This should have been my finisher all those years instead of dropping that damn leg!" We all laughed out loud. I shook his hand again, kissed Brooke's hand, thanked them both and left the area.... He was just moving towards the door to go to the VIP Signing. I asked him for an interview in the future for my radio show and he said he would love to. Just to set it up with my contact, and hopefully in a few weeks, it will happen.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the pictures and liked my story - All is 100% TRUE as I have no reason to come on here and lie about anything. Hulk loves his fans and really is a GREAT guy!!!~ Comments are welcomed. Thanks ....
