New Real American Freestyle league will go on without legendary Hulk Hogan

When Eric Bischoff thinks of Hulk Hogan he is flooded with memories from a friendship that lasted over three decades One memory in particular sticks out It wasn t long before Bash at the Beach in the seismic moment when Hogan started wrestling s New World Order turning from crowd favorite to villain and Bischoff had traveled to California to visit Hogan while he was filming Santa with Muscles The set was in the middle of specific mountain range recalled Bischoff who made the trek because Hogan sought to discuss his future in World Championship Wrestling I went to Hulk s trailer which was basically his dressing room and office and Hulk solicited me who the third man was going to be in this new group with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall After Hulkamania had stood for all that was right throughout the s and early s Hogan had balked at the notion of becoming an on-screen villain Yet the times were changing as evidenced by Nash and Hall connecting with a wider audience as the anti-hero Despite rejecting the idea in prior discussions Hogan was well aware that if executed correctly it could breathe new life into his career I couldn t tell Hulk who I was planning to have as the third man commented Bischoff the WCW president who initially had Sting in mind for the role He was like a -year-old kid at Christmas when he got excited he had childlike enthusiasm when he heard a storyline he really liked and I loved that about him but I had to be careful because he might share it with the wrong person So I answered his question with a question and urged Who do you think it should be On a remote location over a -pack of beer and a pair of Cuban cigars Hogan and Bischoff then effectively rewrote the future of professional wrestling I ll never forget his answer noted Bischoff Hulk stroked his fu manchu put his beer down and declared You re looking at him I think it should be me Bischoff is still mourning the loss of Hogan who passed away last month at age He is proudly carrying on Hogan s legacy with Real American Freestyle a new unscripted freestyle wrestling league that Hogan was set to lead as its commissioner The inaugural Real American Freestyle event is Saturday airing live from the Wolstein Center in Cleveland Ohio on Fox Nation at p m ET I saw Hulk maybe days before he passed noted Bischoff If you knew Hulk you knew he relished the hunt of creating the next big thing and he presumed this was it Hulk made a point to stress this was one of the bulk crucial projects he d ever done He was really good at seeing a star before anyone else could Real American Freestyle was so meaningful for him He d met the wrestlers he concluded they were stars and he required me to help him make them stars Real American Freestyle s first card is built around UFC competitor three-time NCAA national champion Bo Nickal It also features reigning NCAA DI champ Wyatt Hendrickson and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hildebrand who are both competing on the card Even without the late Hulk Hogan to serve as commissioner Eric Bischoff left has high hopes for the new Real American Freestyle league Photo courtesy of WWE The common denominator between UFC and WWE is wrestling noted Bischoff who is a Real American Freestyle co-founder and its chief media officer Plus there s so much crossover between freestyle wrestling and MMA If you re a combat sports fan Real American Freestyle s got something for you A seasoned veteran of live television Bischoff is enjoying his role overseeing every element of the broadcast He believes the commentary club of Bubba Jenkins Chael Sonnen and WWE legend Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle will also enhance the viewing experience Real American Freestyle is also launching a live weekly series in That is how the league plans to introduce more athletes and build stars and Bischoff noted that Boston is a foreseen home for one of its premium events in the coming year Bischoff also revealed that Saturday s event will feature a Hogan tribute produced by WWE There will also be Hogan-inspired elements like the red and blue corners being replaced with red and yellow corners Hogan s trademark colors There will also be a surprise with our ring announcer for the main event announced Bischoff It is something that will be very meaningful for people Outside of the Olympic Games and the NCAA Championships freestyle wrestling has struggled to connect with the masses But Bischoff and his crew believe they have the formula to succeed with Real American Freestyle This is going to be as entertaining as anything you ll see in WWE and as real as the UFC mentioned Bischoff It s going to look different it s going to sound different and we re going to follow through on Hulk s promise to introduce a whole new group of stars to the world