'We compromised the NBA Finals': How WCW capitalized on Rodman-Malone hoops rivalry

Editor's note: On June 24, ESPN writer Marc Raimondi's publication "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America" volition beryllium published. This excerpt is from a section documenting erstwhile hoops Hall of Famers Dennis Rodman and Karl Malone took their NBA rivalry wrong the wrestling ringing for World Championship Wrestling.

Michael Jordan took a leap changeable from the three-point enactment that caromed disconnected the rim into the hands of Dennis Rodman. It was Game 6 of the NBA Finals connected June 14, 1998, and the Bulls were connected the roadworthy against the Utah Jazz. Rodman tried to dribble away, but Jazz prima Karl Malone reached successful and knocked the shot loose. He and Rodman got tangled up and some men fell to the level arsenic the shot came out. Rodman and Malone tried getting up, but their limbs became intertwined again, sending them backmost down. Then it happened a 3rd time.

When they yet got up, Malone started moving toward the different broadside of the tribunal and Rodman got successful his way. The 2 collided, sending some down to the hardwood again. Rodman was called for a foul.

Mark Madden, the wrestling writer who became a WCW Hotline host, said helium got a telephone from a person who worked astatine WCW aft the crippled who told him: "Look, the boys did it."

Did what? Madden responded. His person told him astir Rodman and Malone, who had brought their impending nonrecreational wrestling storyline to what ended up being the deciding crippled of the NBA's title series.

"We compromised the NBA Finals," Madden said.

Earlier successful the hoops season, the Jazz were playing a crippled successful Houston against the Rockets. Diamond Dallas Page was successful the metropolis for an autograph signing, and idiosyncratic hooked him and Ross Forman up with tickets to the game. Malone saw Page successful the stands and threw up the diamond motion with his hands arsenic an acknowledgment. The 2 had ne'er met earlier and Page and Forman were shocked Malone knew who Page was. Malone, past 1 of the NBA's biggest stars, was a monolithic pro-wrestling fan.

"Ross Forman s--- his pants," Page said.

Page and Malone met aft the game, exchanged numbers, and started talking connected the telephone regularly. Malone got Page tickets to the All-Star Game that year. After [Eric] Bischoff told him that Rodman was coming backmost to WCW, Page started recruiting Malone.

"I told [Malone], 'I cognize you privation to bash this s---,'" Page said. "I said, 'What astir maine and you against Rodman and Hogan?' I said, 'Would you person a occupation with that?' He goes, 'No.' He goes, 'That mightiness beryllium interesting.' I go, 'Well, deliberation astir it. I'm gonna tally it by Eric, but I didn't privation to bash it without your blessing.' He's like, 'No, spell up and tally it by him. We'll spot what happens.'"

Bischoff was capable to broker the woody during a gathering with Malone and his wife, Kay Kinsey, successful the room of their Salt Lake City home.

Rodman returned connected the June 8, 1998, Nitro successful Auburn Hills, Michigan. He was portion of a conception with Hogan, Bischoff, and Bret Hart wherever helium deed a fastener with the Wolfpac successful the ringing that acceptable disconnected pyro fireworks from the 4 country turnbuckles. Later connected the show, Rodman was with Hogan and Bischoff and a fewer women successful a VIP suite wherever it appeared that they were drinking champagne. Nash had a promo aft that, asking Rodman wherefore helium was hanging retired with "White Boys 'R' Us." To headdress the episode, Hogan and Rodman, who was wearing plaid pajama pants, attacked Page with chairs.

The communicative with Rodman, though, wasn't truthful overmuch astir wherever helium was and what helium was doing. It was astir wherever helium was expected to beryllium and what helium was expected to beryllium doing.

Rodman showed up connected Nitro with the nWo close smack successful the mediate of the NBA Finals. A time earlier, the Bulls defeated the Jazz successful Game 3. And the adjacent day, aft hanging retired with Hogan connected TV, Rodman "overslept" and missed practice, according to [Dwight] Manley, his then-agent.

Manley said Rodman had support from Bulls wide manager Jerry Krause and Bulls manager Phil Jackson to look connected Nitro. But helium did not person support to miss the pursuing day's practice. Manley said Rodman "had excessively overmuch amusive the nighttime before." Rodman was fined $10,000 by the NBA for missing signifier and an undisclosed magnitude by the Bulls.

For WCW, it was different publicity coup. Rodman's shenanigans connected Nitro made each large tv sports conception and each the large newspapers. And then, with Rodman and Hogan versus Malone and Page acceptable for the upcoming Bash astatine the Beach pay-per-view, Bischoff had the thought to usage the NBA Finals arsenic a means to beforehand the match.

It was a tricky situation. Turner was 1 of the NBA's broadcast partners, and Bischoff's nonstop boss, Harvey Schiller, was the caput of Turner Sports. Had Schiller known what Bischoff wanted to do, "Harvey mightiness person changeable maine successful his office," Bischoff said.

So Bischoff spoke to Rodman and Malone earlier the game. He made it wide that helium didn't privation them to bash thing that would impact the outcome. (The Bulls ended up winning the decisive Game 6 to seizure the NBA title.) But if determination was an accidental aft a whistle erstwhile the shot was dead, Bischoff told them, "Don't deed each other, conscionable fto america cognize you don't similar each other."

"That's each I said," Bischoff said. "And they took it from there."

Many would reason that Rodman and Malone got carnal with each different down debased successful the overgarment conscionable astir each game. But portion that was true, Manley acknowledged that Bischoff's recollection has validity.

"[The wrestling storyline] 100 percent changed the dynamic betwixt them," Manley said. "Look astatine the different eleven games [they played against 1 another]. Never had it similar that."

Legendary sports broadcaster Bob Costas, connected commentary during the game, took a excavation astatine Rodman and Malone, saying they are "regrettably scheduled to wrestle successful 1 of those bogus events adjacent month.

"Why Malone wants to little himself to that is anyone's guess," Costas said. "And Rodman seemingly wants to commencement the wrestling now."

There was thing Costas could do. "Bogus" pro wrestling had affixed itself to a crippled that included Jordan, 1 of the astir culturally important quality beings of the 1990s oregon immoderate different decade.