[1997-06-16-WCW0-Nitro] Interview: Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Hogan has switched to "Voodoo Child" as his entrance music, or as Mike Tenay says, "Voodoo Chili". Dennis Rodman is with them. I love that they show the limo arrival, long walk from the back and ultimately the arrival in the ring to really get this over as an event. Hogan and Rodman are smoking cigars with Eric Bischoff in tow. That entrance was phenomenal, and they are in Chicago so this is electric. Hogan is having the time of his life. There is no way the WWF could compete with this.

 

They are going to get rid of Flexy Lexy and that stinky Giant tonight! Rodman grabs the mic and calls Luger "Lex Luthor". Funny to see the NWO t-shirt wearing crowd boo Hogan and cheer Rodman. They can't make up their minds on anything!

[ajtroma]

Yeah, this is one week where in the pure image department, WCW won hands down.

 

WCW had a sold out crowd in a major NBA arena. RAW was in a quiet, dark, half-empty hockey arena WAY the hell up in the boonies of New York state.

 

WCW couldn't have thought though that Rodman would be a heel. It was in Chicago on the Chicago Day of Celebration for the Bulls winning the NBA Championship. The mind reels at the debauchery Rodman would see and participate in later that night.

[s1rweeze]

So was this actual *gasp* great planning by WCW? The Bulls had just won their 5th NBA title right there in that arena three days before this.

[Kevin Ridge]

That was a very impressive long continuous shot of them arriving in the limo to walking to the ring. Bischoff refers to both Hogan and Rodman as champions. Hogan wants to see Rodman bodyslam The Giant. Rodman wants a pice of Lex Luthor too tonight.

[soup23]

I have always thought of this entrance as in many ways the peak of the NWO. Only the A team members are around and as much as Buffer is annoying, him saying lets get ready to rumble with Rodman and Hogan at the entrance always gives me chill giving the crowds reaction. We just watched probably the worst Raw since March and all of a sudden the kind of slightly spuddering WCW seems rejuvenated. I find it utterly bizarre that Nitro was at the United Center and the PPV was in Moline. It's possible they couldn't have booked the United Center because of the possibility of an NBA game but this Nitro feels like such a bigger deal. The promo calling out Luger and Giant is great fun even with Rodman saying Luthor.

[El-P]

Great entrance indeed, WCW looked total major league. But to me it's getting a bit problematic when the nWo really looks like the coolest faction and Eric Bischoff is legit marking out while the audience mostly cheers because of Rodman, who himself doesn't even try to be a heel, so Hogan gets the mic back quickly to act obnoxious again.

[PeteF3]

The long, continuous shot following the NWO from the limo to the ring is one of the great production moments in WCW history. Even Buffer is used well--he got paid extra on top of his appearance fee every time he recited his catchphrase, and it was a good use of money on this night, at least. Name gaffe aside, it's hard to fault Rodman for playing to the crowd here--just treat it like the Harts being welcomed home in Canada. Bischoff is a starfucking ninny as usual, but that dynamic works great here. The match is made for Bash at the Beach, but Hogan calls Luger & the Giant out for tonight.