On the next edition of MSL & Sullivan, the weekly podcast on MLWRadio.com, former WCW booker Kevin Sullivan brought up a previously unknown wrinkle to the complicated relationship that Hulk Hogan had with the company. In a passage sent out in advance (the episode goes up tomorrow, October 23rd), Sullivan is quoted as saying the following about legendary manager Jimmy Hart:
Besides him getting a payday from WCW, he was getting paid by Hulk. So I was inclined to use Jimmy because of the creative control. He wasn’t getting a percentage. He was getting a flat fee. Every January 1st or 2nd he got a check written to him. Six figures.
When co-host Mister Saint Laurent asked why Hogan put so much faith in Hart, Sullivan explained their relationship:
Out of all the people Hulk had, he felt more secure with Jimmy because Jimmy had no vices. I think it happened in Memphis when Hulk first got there. Jimmy probably got him rides and he would ride with Hulk. When you finished Memphis, you had to go to Louisville, which was a brutal ride. 380 or 400 miles. He would get him a ride. He knew the places, this was the deep south, this was Kentucky Fried Chicken, Jimmy would talk the guy into grilling Hulk a dozen chicken breasts. That kind of thing. I think it started from there.
