Hulk Hogan is one of the biggest stars in wrestling history, but during one appearance on a talkshow the former WWE icon let things get a little bit too real.
It was 1985 and Hogan – real name Terry Bollea – was on a media tour alongside ‘The A Team’ star Mr. T to promote their upcoming tag team match at WrestleMania I.
The event was billed as the biggest spectacle in wrestling history and it would be headlined by Hogan and the TV star taking on Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in a bout overseen by special guest referee Muhammad Ali.
One of the prime stops on Hogan and Mr. T’s media sweep was an appearance on the show ‘Hot Properties’.
The show’s host, a presenter and comedian named Richard Belzer, was keen for Hogan to demonstrate a wrestling move on him. The WWE superstar reluctantly obliged, with shocking consequences.
Hogan slapped Belzer in a ‘front face lock’, wrapping his right arm beneath the presenter’s chin and across his throat, locking the hold by gripping on to his left bicep and placing his left forearm down across the back of Belzer’s neck.
The TV show host threw is arms out wide in apparent jest, but Belzer quickly began to struggle. His body went limp with Hogan holding him up.
The wrestler released the hold when he realised Belzer was unconscious, but as he let go the presenter flopped backwards, cracking the back of his head against the studio floor.
Within seconds, Belzer regained consciousness, leaping to his feet and throwing the broadcast into an ad break. But the damage caused by Hogan’s choke hold was more serious than it first seemed.
Bleeding from the blow to his head, Belzer didn’t return for the rest of the show, while Hogan apologised to the audience.
That apology wasn’t enough for Belzer, though. He sued Hogan for $5 million dollars, with all parties eventually settling out of court.
“I sued Mr. T. I sued Hulk Hogan. I sued Vince McMahon. I sued the World Wrestling Federation,” he said in footage shown the Netflix documentary Mr. McMahon. “I sued them all.”