WWE HOFer Jimmy Hart Discusses Hulk Hogan Heel Turn On Bash At The Beach Anniversary

It's been 29 years since Hulk Hogan turned his back on wrestling fans and founded The New World Order alongside Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. Hogan's longtime manager, "The Mouth of The South" Jimmy Hart, appeared on "Busted Open Radio" to celebrate the anniversary.

"We had a meeting with Hulk...a month before [the turn]," Hart said, recalling a conversation at Hogan's beach house. "He said 'Jimmy, what do you think?' And I said, 'Hulkster look, you've always been ahead of the game and the red and yellow is so successful.'"

Hart says that both men realized Hogan was taking "a big chance" by changing up his alignment, but between Hogan's ability, and the popularity of Hall and Nash, Hart felt that the ingredients were right.

"I said 'We need something right now,'" Hart said, noting that Hogan was starting to get boos in arenas, and it was probably best to turn while the heel turn could still be Hogan's idea and not the fans'. "Look at John Cena...sometimes everything gets stale and the people get redundant to it...10 people booing overshadows 5,000 people cheering...It was time for a change."

It wasn't just Nash, Hall, and Hogan behind the NWO, as WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff was also a guiding force for the program.

"Eric had a great plan, Bischoff did...It was just something special, it just worked out," Hart said.

As mentioned, WWE star John Cena followed in Hogan's footsteps recently, ending 20-plus years as a babyface by aligning with The Rock and Travis Scott earlier this year.