Karl Malone: Bash At The Beach 98 Could’ve Been Better If Dennis Rodman Took It Seriously
Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman made history in 1998 when they went straight from battling in the NBA Finals to battling in the ring.
Malone and Rodman were on opposite sides of the Bash at the Beach 98 main event with Malone teaming with Diamond Dallas Page and Rodman teaming with ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio, Malone discussed how he was able to get approval for the match and what could have made the match better.
“I had an unbelievable owner who gave me the leeway to do certain things and he would always say, ‘don’t get hurt.’ When you do it the proper way and take it seriously and you’re prepared, I will take my chances. I always said, ‘if I ever had the opportunity to wrestle, I’m going to do it.’ My opportunity just happened to come during the NBA Finals. I was comfortable and I trusted Dennis and Hulk Hogan. I trusted them that we would keep each other safe and it all worked out. I took it seriously,” he said. “As great as that match was, it could have been so much better. I love Dennis Rodman, we’re great friends. If Dennis would have taken it more seriously, it could have been mentioned somewhere in wrestling folklore.”
Malone said he was seeing stars when he took his first bodyslam because he “didn’t have his shit right.”
While Malone didn’t wrestle again, Booker T said Malone could have easily succeeded in wrestling if he decided to pursue that instead of basketball. You can find Booker’s full comments by clicking here.
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