George Foreman is name recognised in homes across the world for two very different reasons - boxing and fine grilled meats. But, if it weren't for a few sliding doors moments, millions of families would have Hulk Hogan products in their kitchens instead. If in doubt, just ask the WWE legend himself! The wrestling Hall-of-Famer will have been one of many to pay tribute to the former Olympic Gold medalist and two-time Heavyweight Champion, who sadly died at the age of 76 on Saturday morning. The legend of the ring was described as a "devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather”. Foreman took part in arguably most famous boxing match of all time, The Rumble in Jungle against Muhammed Ali. After officially retiring from fighting in 1999 - and nearly becoming homeless - Foreman put his name to the 'George Foreman Grill' with his net worth rocketing to around £232m. "When I did the deal I was given 16 of the grills and I shared them with my aunts, uncles and cousins and then I would keep a few for training camps," Foreman told talkSPORT in 2023. "Little did I know, over 120 million of those things would be sold worldwide that quickly. Only because it worked so well, but I was shocked, I didn't see it coming." When asked if this was more money than he made from his entire boxing career, Foreman replied: "Yes. But, also I made more friends from the grill because it worked. "People would bet on me in a boxing match and I would lose and they would be upset with me, so the grill was my saving grace!" But things could have been much different if weren't for a series of blunders from WWE legend Hulk Hogan. The novel invention was almost marketed as the Hulk Hogan grill. Almost. And Hulk Hogan surely regrets the tardiness to this day. In the mid 1990s, Hogan was enjoying a career resurgence in WCW and was one of the celebrities Salton approached Hogan’s agent and expressed an interest in Hogan becoming the face of the grill's marketing campaign. In a revealing soundbite, Avatar star Sam Worthington, of all people, said: "He [Hogan] gave me some investment advice because his manager said to him, 'You should get into these things, kitchen appliances, put your name on something'. "The Hulk said, 'Well, what have you got?' The manager said, 'Well, I've got this meatball maker… It pounds the meatballs when you (clench arm muscles and press fists together). The Hulk went, 'That's fantastic, I want the Hulkamania Meatball Maker!' "The manager goes, 'What about the other thing (investment opportunity)?' He goes, 'Ah, give that to your other client.' The other client turned out to be George Foreman, it was the grill! "So George Foreman's made $300 billion and how many people own a Hulkamania Meatball Maker?" That account differs from one Hogan previously told where he was offered the contract for the grill first but missed his agent's phone call because he was picking up his kids from school. He expanded on the story for his reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best, saying: “My kids were upset because I was always picking them up late from school. “So I said ‘I’m going to beat all these soccer moms today’, and went to McDonald's, got a cooler, had everything ready, and got to the school at like 2:30pm, instead of 3:30pm, and now I’ve finally got all the soccer moms behind me and my kids excited I got there early. "Then I get home and press the old school voicemail recorder machine and it says, ‘Hey Hulk, this is Sam Perlmutter, I’ve got a grill and I’ve got a blender and I’m going to call you and George [Foreman] to see who wants it. "I wasn’t there to answer the call, so when I call Sam back he said George took the grill. So basically, $550 million later, George got the 'Lean, Mean Grilling Machine' and I got a blender that when you put double-AA batteries in, it would fart and then turn off.” Regardless, Hogan missed out on one of the lucrative kitchen appliance deals in history. The sales reached 100 million plus and according to some reports, Foreman was given 40% of the profit on each grill sold. He was raking in about 4.5 million dollars each month and this was back in the 1990s. Despite their rivalry over the incredibly fruitful sponsorship, the pair remained firm friends throughout their respective careers. In 2017, Foreman cleared up the misinformation about their feud over the grilling machine in an incredibly positive message about the Hulkster. On social media, the boxing icon revealed: “The real story is Hulk Hogan is about the best friend I ever had.”