Hulk Hogan Claims He Never Used His Creative Control Clause In WCW
WCW creative control clause never used by Hulk Hogan… according to Hogan
Hulk Hogan certainly has a reputation in the professional wrestling industry, with the legendary Hulkster said to have wielded his infamous ‘creative control’ clause in his contract whenever he didn’t want to do something.
According to Hogan himself, though, rumours of him using his creative control clause don’t work for him brother, with Hogan claiming whilst he did have such power written into his WCW contract he never acted on it:
"I called Eric [Bischoff] up, 'Who is your third man?' We're going to go with Sting.' 'Bro, he's not WWE.' Scott [Hall] and Kev [Nash] are WWE. Sting has nothing to do [with WWE]. I'm WWE from head to toe. I'm the third man. Eric goes, 'Really, will you do it?' 'Yeah, I'll do it.' Eric didn't even believe I would do it. I flew on a jet to Daytona and hid out in a hotel room. I told Eric, 'Call me when the last match is in the ring before the main event.' Eric didn't even think I was coming from the hotel. He had Sting ready to go. They didn't believe I would do it. I had creative control. I never used it. Never used it the whole time. I didn't use it this night either. When I walked out, Scott and Kevin almost s***. They had no idea I was coming out. It was kinda cool," Hogan said during a recent appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff claimed that Hogan used the creative control clause only once during his high-profile Starrcade 1997 main event with Sting, with Bischoff saying the following on an A&E Biography: WWE Legends episode:
“Despite the fact that Hulk Hogan did have creative control, and he never exercised it, he never threatened to use it, he had never implied that he might, it was like, ‘Yeah, it’s there, but it’s not,’ except for that night. And because Hulk wasn’t feeling it, he called an audible and it was a mad scramble,” said Bischoff.
Meanwhile, there are countless other examples of where Hogan is said to have pulled the ‘creative control’ card, such as changing the finish to the 1995 World War III three-ring battle royal mid-match, and the events of Bash at the Beach 2000.
H/T: Fightful and Inside The Ropes