During a recent conversation on “Live The Outbound Life,” WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Hulk Hogan opened up about the intricacies involved in performing amid a live audience and tackled the obstacles newer wrestlers often encounter in such environments.
Hogan observed, “There are instances when these wrestlers, while training at the Performance Center with Shawn Michaels and others, find themselves in front of a crowd and realize that they’re far from ready. It’s a complete learning process. My own journey started with a decade-long stint as a musician, performing in front of small – albeit live – audiences and engaging with them. That helped me overcome any stage fears and made it easy for me to approach a microphone, make speeches or go hyper-animated on the stage. Consequently, when I initially stepped into the wrestling ring, I wasn’t overawed – thinking ‘Oh gosh, there’s a crowd watching.’ Before anyone gets to grapple in the Madison Square Garden, they must put in significant hours of training, else they’ll simply flop on the big stage.”
Last week, Hogan graced the Republican National Convention where he gave a speech filled with plenty of references to professional wrestling, including nods to fellow wrestling legends like Andre The Giant and iconic events like WrestleMania 5.