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(NewsNation) — In the mid-to-late 1990s, Hulk Hogan and World Championship Wrestling were fighting World Wrestling Entertainment for wrestling supremacy in the "Monday Night Wars."
Hogan (born Terry Bollea), who died Thursday, and Diamond Dallas Page were among the most popular characters in the company and at one point helped WCW win the ratings war with WWE for 86 weeks. The two were even in a program that featured Page teaming with "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno against Hogan and NBA legend Dennis Rodman.
Page, a WWE Hall of Famer and three-time WCW heavyweight champion, appeared on "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" and said Hogan was the reason he had such an illustrious career to begin with.
"He was one of the guys who helped lift me up," said Page. "You have to understand, I didn't start wrestling until I was 35, and my career didn't take off until I was 40."
"Hulk came up to me very early on in my career, and he said, 'Whatever you're doing, brother, keep doing it, because it's not this year or next year or the year after, but somewhere down the line, I believe you have the ability to draw huge money with me.'"
Hulk Hogan was on the same level as Ali: Page
Under his iconic nickname "The Hulkster," Hogan gained popularity during the 1980s and became infamous for his bright yellow wrestling tights and his “Real American” theme music. He won a WWE heavyweight championship six times, coined the phrase "Hulkamania," and became a cultural icon and entertainer whose theatrics brought wrestling into the mainstream.
"If you took a Q rating of people who would be recognizable, Muhammad Ali would be right there at the top, Hulk is not far behind him," Page said.
Page added that Hogan "paved the way" for the new generation of stars who are now performing on Netflix and selling out shows all across the globe.
"In our day, Hulk was a big star in the '80s, I came on in the '90s, and Hulk was an even bigger star in the '90s. All different records of being the top guy, a top performer in our business," he said.
"And everything started with Hulk, Hulk and Vince McMahon getting together. And they just changed. They changed not just the wrestling landscape, but the pop culture landscape."
Dave Meltzer, a longtime wrestling journalist, relayed the same message as Page in terms of Hogan's iconic status.
"Hogan in the '80s, he was just so recognizable," said Meltzer. "At the time, you had people who were just giant in culture, Taylor Swift and people like that now. And he was one of those people. Everyone knew him, everyone still knows him."
Hogan sent Page a loving text before passing
Page emphatically said Hogan had a "heart of gold" and was "very giving" and was quick to acknowledge how proud he was of others.
Page helped Butterbean, a famous 1990s boxer, with his DDP Yoga program, which drew praise from Hogan.
Diamond Dallas Page, Karl Malone, & Hulk Hogan during Press Conference for Bash at the Beach at Planet Hollywood in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)"He sent me the most loving text about how what I'm doing today and helping people, and that he's just, he was very proud of me," Page said.
"So we went back and forth with a couple of texts. I didn't talk to him, probably in about a year, I think it was about a year we were doing WWE legends, and Hulk came in with his wife, Sky, and we sat down, had a good talk."
Hogan also played a hand in assisting the success of many others by creating relationships with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Randy Savage and The Undertaker.
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