Hulk Hogan, Richard Belzer and the sleeper hold that went wrong on live TV

Jim Cornette's latest episode also revisits John Stossel's slap and Giant Haystacks's studio slam, and its comment section is running far busier than usual.

Channel: VICE Sports Story of October 12, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 459,051 views a day, 134 times a normal first day on this channel (3,422).

When Hulk Hogan Choked Out Richard Belzer on Live TV | Cornette Side of the Ring

"When Hulk Hogan Choked Out Richard Belzer on Live TV" is the newest installment of Cornette Side of the Ring, the VICE Sports series in which wrestling manager and historian Jim Cornette walks through the business's strangest moments. This one is about what happens when a television host asks a wrestler to prove the job is real.

The main story dates to 1985, in the run-up to the first WrestleMania. Hogan and Mr. T, who would team up in that show's main event, went on Belzer's talk show, Hot Properties, to promote it. Belzer asked for a demonstration. Hogan applied a front chin lock, the hold Cornette explains as a sleeper that cuts off blood flow to the brain. When Hogan let go, Belzer fell limp and struck his head on the studio floor. "He's sleeping. That was a sleeper hold. He'll be all right," Mr. T says on the tape. Belzer came to, sent the show to commercial, and the cut on the back of his head was bleeding.

Cornette considers whether Hogan meant to hurt anyone, then explains the lawsuit Belzer filed against Hogan and Vince McMahon. He sets it beside David Schultz, who slapped ABC's John Stossel in 1984 after Stossel told him, "I think it's fake," and was later fired. Hogan, Cornette argues, was protected as the top star in a way Schultz was not. There are lighter detours too: Giant Haystacks body-slamming host Jackie Fullerton, and Cornette's own, far calmer visit to Live with Regis and Kathie Lee alongside Yokozuna.

The episode passed 300,000 views in its first twelve hours, while the channel's other uploads from the same days sit in the hundreds or low thousands. The comments arrived faster still, many times beyond a usual first day. Viewers quote Mr. T's other line from the appearance, about the six o'clock news being the most violent show on television, call Haystacks's unbothered manner after the slam a highlight, and describe the series as part of their Sunday routine. A common request: make the episodes longer.

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The numbers

One episode has pulled far ahead of everything else the channel posted in the past few days, and its comment section even more so.

the video's first day

usual first day here

3,422

this video

459,051

subscribers

1,130,000

no significant change in the last 7 days

total views

296,132,824

views per day

92,726

typical day: 156,144

the video

views

316,816

likes

7,158

comments

1,124

days online

1

subscribers: this channel and similar channels

RocaNews

1,160,000

VICE Sports

1,130,000

Channel 4 Documentaries

1,120,000

Natural World Facts

1,070,000

Odyssey - Ancient History…

1,060,000

Banijay History

1,040,000

As of October 12, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.