Hogan's contract with WCW expired late last week (Janaury 10th 1998), and outside of an apparently loosely worded commitment to four WCW pay-per-views in 1998 (which, technically, he could supposedly fulfill while also working for the WWF), he is a free agent. Bret Hart sat out much of 1996 and ended up in the middle of a bidding war between the WWF and WCW. He ended up raising the bar for main event wrestlers' contracts by being in the right spot at the right time -- in the midst of the competitive Monday Night Wars. Before Hogan's contract expired, he refused to even give Bischoff's contract proposals to his agent, Henry Holmes, to look over. Instead, he waited until the deal expired, then listened to WCW's offers. Bischoff flew to Florida on Friday, Jan. 9 and spent the weekend negotiating with Hogan and his agent Holmes. Monday at Nitro in Jacksonville, Fla., Bischoff, Hogan, and Holmes arrived together in a limousine. They seemed happy, but no formal announcement was made that Hogan had committed to a new, long-term contract.
Of course, it would be strange for Bischoff to announce such considering his public stance all along -- including another statement just last week -- has been that Hogan is locked up for either one or two more years with WCW. Bischoff wanted to get Hogan locked into a set schedule of TV and house show appearances quietly, behind the scenes, without a lot of hoopla that would otherwise make WCW's future seem unstable. Said one WCW employee, also curious of Hogan's long-term status: "The last thing Bischoff would want is word out that Hogan isn't locked up because it adds to Hogan's bargaining power to have everyone talking about it. It's not surprising Bischoff is denying it and calling reports to the contrary 'irresponsible.'"
Rumors, though, spread at Nitro in Jacksonville that Hogan had finally signed an extension, with a raise of $1.5 million a year, bringing his wrestling income in the $4.5 to $5.5 million range. The rumor spread backstage that the figure of $1.5 million was chosen as the "appearance bond" in the on-air storyline involving Kevin Nash and the Giant as a veiled reference to the "new deal." Monday night and all day Tuesday, various networking took place among WCW management, agents, and wrestlers, curious to know what was up. Everybody said they heard Hogan might have signed or was going to sign, but when pressed everyone admitted they didn't know for sure. It turns out, as of deadline, Hogan has yet to renew. He is now working WCW television strictly on a night-by-night basis, apparently earning five-figures per TV appearance, negotiating his price along the way.
One of two scenarios is playing out. Hogan is either stringing along WCW and hoping to negotiate their offer against a WWF offer, and weeks or months from now will seize an offer when he believes his market value has peaked. The other scenario -- and the more intriguing one -- is that Hogan will strike a deal with the WWF (or already has) to appear on the Jan. 19 or Feb. 2 Raw (the next two live editions) to shoot an angle with Mike Tyson and is simply collecting a few extra paychecks from WCW along the way, keeping his face all over WCW TV until right before he jumps. Hogan's friends in wrestling don't know what his plans are -- or even if he has any definite plans. He isn't showing his cards to anyone. That leaves a lot up to speculation.
On the live, Jan. 12 Raw, Jim Ross acknowledged the rumors circulating that Hogan might be appearing at the Royal Rumble. The internet was buzzing with various reports ranging from inaccurate, to overstated, to far-fetched, to possibly correct, including various (and mostly inaccurate) interpretations of PW Torch's cover story two weeks ago, just after Starrcade, that broke the news nationally of the expiration date of Hogan's contract. The rumors were so prevalent that Ross addressed it on his 900 line report."There's been a lot of conversation on the internet, a lot of speculation with wrestling journalists in wrestling publications regarding Hulk Hogan and his alleged pending return to the WWF," Ross began. "There have even been reports that place Hulk Hogan at the Royal Rumble on Jan. 18 in San Jose. I have heard and read that some have even deduced when he would be leaving WCW and how he would return to the WWF and even on what date he would arrive. I certainly don't know everything that goes on in the WWF, but I do know a great deal of what goes on regarding wrestling talent and I can assure you that the WWF has yet to have any meeting with Hulk Hogan or his representatives regarding returning to a wrestling schedule in the WWF.
"Now, I am not trying to knock Hulk Hogan or put Hulk Hogan down," Ross continued. "If Hulk Hogan were legally available to talk to the WWF, I'm sure those talks would happen. I'm sure those talks would be productive. And I'm sure that everybody in the World Wrestling Federation except maybe some wrestlers who would have to look over their shoulders, perhaps, would be very, very happy for Hulk to return to the WWF. But the reports on the internet and in the wrestling media indicating that a possibility exists that Hogan could be a surprise at the Rumble is absolutely not true. It is unfounded. I can assure you as I am recording this at this time Hulk Hogan will not be in the Royal Rumble nor do I expect him to be in this or perhaps any other Royal Rumble. I want to clear that up because there has been so much speculation on it and it seems to be the hot story. It may just have to do with positioning, it may have to do with getting someone's attention, it may have to do with getting a better financial package. There are a lot of reasons these rumors have been started and are floating around out there now. But they do not concern the meeting with the WWF and Hogan personally or his representatives."
Ross then went on to talk about a few other subjects, then concluded his hotline by returning to the Hogan situation. "I suspect there are going to be some changes and developments in not only the Tyson situation... but I'll also keep you apprised of anything on the Hulk Hogan situation as we will continue to get feedback from our people who work with the internet. There are a lot of active folks out there that certainly love to try to put two and two together and do a little amateur detective work with the knowledge they posses regarding the business. I'm sure we'll be getting more feedback on that. It has been all over the internet, that thing about Hogan, and I'm suspecting we'll hear more because I don't know that Hogan has a new contract in WCW -- don't know that he does, don't know that he doesn't -- but if he doesn't have a new deal, then you are definitely going to hear more about Hulk Hogan and him coming to the WWF -- simply because it is a very intriguing story, it makes for good copy, even though it's probably based in fiction, it makes good copy because it certainly puts the pressure on WCW to do all they can to keep the game's most noteworthy and famous wrestler in the world. We'll see how it works out. In any event, don't you think, though, when you stop to think about it whether Hogan stays in WCW or if some day he came to the WWF, I'll tell you the guy who is going to be doing well -- Hulk Hogan. He's going to make a lot of money no matter if he stays or if he goes. And from what I hear he doesn't need the money anyway. That's another story for another time."
Understandably, a lot of people who heard Ross's report believed that was the end of the story -- Hogan and the WWF were not talking and he would not be at the Royal Rumble. However, it's what Ross's didn't say that is most intriguing. Ross didn't say Hogan wouldn't be at Wrestlemania. He didn't even say Hogan wouldn't be at Raw the day after the Rumble. He was very specific in his denial. He said the WWF would probably have "productive talks" with Hogan if his contract with WCW allowed him. If Ross believed the Hogan talk to be total malarkey, he probably would have said so in a much more straight-forward way. Instead he beat around the bush and said that he would be updating any developments as time went on.
Another key phrase from Ross came at the end, when he said from what he hears, Hogan doesn't need the money. It appears on the surface to be a throw-away line, but sources have said that if Hogan were to leave WCW, it wouldn't necessarily be because the WWF offered him more money. Just as Bret Hart chose to take a million less per year to stay in the WWF, sources say Hogan has indicated he would like to go to the WWF just to show Bischoff "who is king." Hogan and Bischoff get along great when they're together, but there is tension, if not resentment, that comes from sharing the credit for WCW's success. Hogan has had to share the spotlight with Bischoff. Hogan's best avenue to proving who really was the force behind WCW's resurgence would be to leave and see if WCW suffered as a consequence. If Hogan returned to the WWF and Raw overtook Nitro in the ratings and WWF buyrates once again surpassed WCW's, then Hogan's legacy would be much more sure-footed regarding his influence in the industry throughout not just the '80s, but also the '90s.
The Mike Tyson factor is also huge. On Raw, McMahon announced Tyson would be at the Royal Rumble and also on Raw the next day. "We hope to conclude negotiations with Mike at the Royal Rumble where he will be this Sunday," McMahon said. "Furthermore, I can guarantee you on Raw right here live next week Mike Tyson will be with us where we hope to make a huge announcement."A few minutes later, during the next match on Raw, Ross added: "I guarantee ya' one thing. If Mike Tyson works out this situation with Vince McMahon, Don King, all the advisors and so-forth, there is no doubt in my mind this Wrestlemania will be the biggest of all time, and Lord knows there have been some huge events, some huge Wrestlemanias in the past." If the WWF is merely going to announce Tyson will be a guest time keeper at Wrestlemania, or a guest "ringside enforcer" or referee, they are setting viewers up for a letdown. Tyson's name doesn't mean what it did five years ago. Merely having him appear at Wrestlemania is pretty ho-hum news. Both McMahon and Ross seemed to have a swagger in their voice as they talked about what a "huge announcement" they would have if "negotiations" this week worked out. Was the WWF holding out because Hogan was fielding WCW's final offers over the weekend and was going to inform them whether he was going to stay or jump by Thursday or Friday? A lot of indicators point that direction. Hogan's most opportune moment to jump to the WWF would be with an element of surprise and to be part of Wrestlemania in a match against Tyson (a worked match, obviously). Because Hogan has continued to appear on WCW television, it has led outsiders to believe he must be staying.
But the element of surprise would be a huge factor to McMahon, who has been burned by Bischoff at least three times. Lex Luger debuted on Nitro six days after taping a month's worth of WWF Superstars footage for the WWF. Randy Savage jumped to WCW and McMahon found out ahead of time only by happenstance. And most recently Rick Rude debuted on Nitro the same night McMahon had to air a pre-taped edition of Raw with Rude involved. Simply put, Hogan is worth more to McMahon if he can use the element of surprise to "get back at Bischoff," not to mention shock viewers. If Hogan were off WCW television or had been toned down for several weeks, his jump would have less impact. Meanwhile, WCW has wanted to keep Hogan on the air for his name value (especially for the all-important debut of Thunder) and to quell talk that Hogan might be leaving.
In the end, many of the insiders who are intrigued by the possibility of Hogan jumping to the WWF and see a lot of indicators pointing that direction, still believe that in the 11th hour, Hogan will get an offer from Time-Warner and Ted Turner that he can't turn down. If the WWF's deal was for, say, $3.0 million a year (close to his "base" WCW salary, more than half of which the WWF saved by "cutting" Bret Hart from their roster), plus a generous cut of the increase in buyrate revenue on events he appears on, a generous cut of the profits from his TV show (which he would produce), and paydays from All Japan, he could end up with an offer very competitive with WCW's current "best offer." If WCW topped the WWF's final offer by 20 percent, Hogan would be in the same position Bret Hart was in -- having a chance to take "less money" to be part of a "preferable scenario." Hogan has more money than he'll ever be able to spend, enabling him at some point to take either of two "fair" offers, depending on which he preferred, but not based solely on who offered more money. Remember Ross's final comment on the 900 line: "From what I hear he doesn't need the money anyway. That's another story for another time." Hogan had great negotiating power right before Starrcade since WCW wanted to sign him to a long term deal. Rather than use that leverage to get a win over Sting and retain the title, he volunteered to lose it (but only if he pinned Sting first). He has yet to demand to get the belt back, which is unlike Hogan who (other than when his friend, the Giant, held the belt) has wanted possession of it. And WCW not only hasn't announced a Sting vs. Hogan rematch, but they aren't planning on one. Instead, they are planning to hold an eight-man tournament for the held up title with matches airing on TNT and TBS during February and the finals headlining SuperBrawl. A Hogan vs. Sting rematch is sure-fire big money coming off Starrcade, WCW's most successful PPV to date, but thanks to Hogan's influence, a rematch isn't scheduled. He hasn't committed to any major matches. In fact, WCW bookers don't even know whether to count on Hogan being around next month. Hogan is in the driver's seat and will enjoy every second of it until he decides to cash in. He could cash in this week with either WCW or the WWF, or wait weeks or months to decide.
It was an improvement but I took off points for only managing to get 19 minutes of actual wrestling in 90 minutes of air time 
