Chuck Zito has revealed the story behind one of Hulk Hogan and the nWo’s popular WCW entrances, noting that Eric Bischoff changed the original plan after hearing what could happen if the bikers accompanying Hogan were struck by objects from the crowd. Zito said Hogan personally asked him to bring members of the Hells Angels to the show, but a backstage conversation with Bischoff resulted in their role being shortened before they went through the curtain.
Zito discussed the story during an appearance on What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon. Zito is an actor, stuntman, former celebrity bodyguard and former Hells Angels member who has crossed paths with professional wrestling several times. His best-known wrestling appearance came on the January 11, 1999 episode of WCW Monday Nitro in Knoxville, Tennessee, when he and other Hells Angels members accompanied Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the nWo. Broadcast footage from that night specifically identified Zito as the group surrounded the ring.
While speaking with McMahon, Zito explained that Hogan called him only days before the appearance and asked whether he could put together around 20 bikers. Despite the short notice and winter conditions, Zito said he managed to gather 18 members from different areas.
“He calls me up and it's a Saturday and he goes, hey, brother, he goes, I need like 20 house angels, you know, to, to, to walk us in the rain, you know, Monday night Raw... So I got 18 of us total.”
Zito recalled that once they arrived, Bischoff explained how the entrance was supposed to work. The bikers were expected to ride alongside Hogan, circle the ring, get off their motorcycles and remain around ringside. Bischoff also warned them that because Hogan and the nWo were heels, fans could throw objects in their direction.
That warning prompted a response from Zito that immediately changed the plan. “I said myself or anyone of my brothers get hit with anything. We're going to start stabbing and slabbing people. He goes, you know what? Don't even stop. Go around the ring and go right back into that.”
Instead of remaining at ringside as originally planned, Zito said the group rode around the ring twice before heading straight backstage. He recalled that the reaction also went differently than expected, as the crowd began cheering once the bikers appeared alongside Hogan. Zito still looks back fondly on the entrance, calling it one of the greatest wrestling entrances he was involved with. During the same conversation, McMahon revealed that she and Triple H later borrowed from the idea when Triple H incorporated female bikers into one of his WrestleMania entrances.
Wrestling
