Eric Bischoff has opened up about how he learned of the death of his close friend, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan. Speaking on his podcast, the former WCW President detailed the moment he found out about Hogan’s passing while in Las Vegas for promotional work. Bischoff recalled the surreal nature of the experience, explaining how he was flooded with emotion and disbelief as news of Hogan's death spread across the media.

“I went right from Iowa to New York to do FOX and Friends, and announce our partnership with FOX for Real American freestyle. Which was kind of a big deal, and I was wishing so badly that Hulk was there. And so was everybody else, particularly at FOX. They really, really loved Hulk, and were anxious to do more with him. Got that done, flew to Las Vegas the next day. And I was there to shoot interviews with Chael Sonnen, who is our play-by-play commentator for Real American Freestyle, and Bubba Jenkins, who is our play-by-play man. And I’m going to tell you the story , just to get it out, because it’s how I keep things in order in my head. But about 6:30 or so Thursday morning , Las Vegas time , I get a text from a good man, Mike Johnson, PWInsider. And Mike sent me a text. He said, ‘Hey, just giving you a heads up.’ Mike said, ‘I’m not going to run with a story because it’s not confirmed.’ Which is why I have so much freaking respect from Mike Johnson and PWInsider as well, Dave Scherer. But he said, ‘I’m not going to run with a story. But here’s what I’m hearing is going on.’”

Bischoff continued, “Again, I was down at Starbucks waiting for them to open so I could get a cup of coffee, and I get this text. And I go back up to my room. I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to track this down.’ I thought I’d call Nick, Hulk’s son, and get a read on what was happening, see if anything was serious. So I put my key card in the room, walked in the room. And of course, I have the television on as background noise probably 24/7. And it was on Fox News. So I walk into my room, I sit down on my bed, I pull out my phone, start to dial Nick. And then Fox News broke the story. And they used a clip from an interview that Hulk and I did on FOX and Friends , I think was on May 1, whatever the date was. Couple weeks ago, a month ago, whatever. And that’s how I found out. And it , from that point forward, I’ve either been on my phone, on text or shooting interviews with Chael and Bubba. I got done with that, got home last night, and it’s finally now sinking in. But it’s surreal, man. It’s not just in my case, losing one of my best friends. That’s a big enough deal. But everywhere I look for the last two days, it’s Hulk Hogan. He’s all over the news. He’s all over social media. And the outpouring of good stuff makes me smile.”

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