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When Jay Leno Fought Hulk Hogan: The Bizarre 1998 Wrestling Match That Shook Late-Night TV
In 1998, Jay Leno stepped out of The Tonight Show studio and into the WCW ring to face Hulk Hogan in a real tag-team wrestling match that blended late-night comedy with pro wrestling drama.
Wrestling fans and late-night viewers are looking back at a strange crossover moment from 1998, when Hulk Hogan and Jay Leno actually faced off in a professional wrestling match. Following the death of Hulk Hogan at age 71 on Thursday, one of the wildest moments from his career is being talked about again: the time he wrestled Jay Leno at WCW’s Road Wild.
From the Tonight Show to the wrestling ring
Jay Leno, then host of The Tonight Show, took a break from his monologue duties to enter the wrestling ring. He teamed up with WCW star Diamond Dallas Page to face off against Hulk Hogan and WCW president Eric Bischoff. The tag-team match took place in August 1998 during the WCW Road Wild event in Sturgis, South Dakota.
The idea began when Tonight Show executive producer Gary Considine reached out to Bischoff, saying, “Jay wanted in.” Bischoff flew to L.A. to meet with Leno. “Jay was so down to earth, the nicest guy you ever, ever wanna meet,” Bischoff said in a 2020 episode of his 83 Weeks podcast.
Here’s how the match was set up
With only six weeks until the event, Bischoff pitched a fast-moving storyline. On WCW’s Monday Nitro, Bischoff insulted Leno. On The Tonight Show, Leno mocked Hogan with a lookalike. The storyline escalated when Hogan crashed The Tonight Show set and threw Leno and bandleader Kevin Eubanks off stage.
Leno responded the next night, bringing out Diamond Dallas Page and security, and the match was officially set. “We told Jay, don’t smile, don’t wink at the camera,” Bischoff said. “Play it completely straight or the whole thing falls apart.”
Jay Leno trained in a tucked-in T-shirt and sweatpants for his in-ring appearance. During the match, he managed to land a low blow and hit some turnbuckle moves. In a surprising twist, Leno pinned Bischoff for the win. WCW star Goldberg joined them in the post-match celebration.
While the moment is now a fun piece of nostalgia, the pay-per-view didn’t perform well. WCW’s Road Wild 1998 drew just 360,000 buys, far below its top event, Starrcade 1997, which got 700,000.
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