If you were an 80’s baby such as me, then you know that Hulk Hogan was one of the biggest things to explode on the scene back then outside of the crack epidemic. He was the main force in helping Vince McMahon make the WWF/E a household name sowing the seeds for what the company has become. If I could start a wrestling promotion with any wrestler from the past or present, it would be a 1987 Hulk Hogan. When I was 4 years old, I remember watching highlights of WrestleMania III when he slammed Andre the Giant and retained his WWF Title. That was the moment that I became a lifelong wrestling fan. Now some 27 years later, I had the pleasure of seeing him show up on Raw to let everyone know that he was going to be hosting WrestleMania XXX. He received the homecoming welcome that I would have expected from the WWE fans in spite of the fact that there were plenty of younger fans there who basically only know him from video games. But as Jim Ross said, Hogan was more over in 5 minutes on Raw than he ever was during his time in TNA. This just shows how important the WWE machine is, and it also shows that at the end of the day no matter where Hogan goes that he will always be a WWE guy first. Having Hulk Hogan back in the WWE family does nothing but help their product and their awareness. The next day after Raw he was already on the Today show promoting both Wrestlemania 30 and the WWE Network. These are the things that Hogan will always be good for with his return to the company. Hogan gets to cash out on his likeness and trademarks by doing media appearances, autograph sessions and things like that. He will also cash out making appearances on some WWE Network programming, DVDs, T-Shirts, etc. He is going to be treated like the legend that he is. Hogan has found his retirement job! It’s going to be like his time in TNA never happened because to a lot of folks who watch WWE, TNA doesn’t exist anyhow. I wonder what more we will see of Hogan? What other projects will he be involved in? I think that a great moneymaker for WWE would be a “Greatest Rivalries” DVD just like the Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart one. And who would I like to see involved? How about Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior? I bet the two of them would have a lot to say sitting down together talking about the buildup to the WrestleMania VI and their huge main event, and could probably even talk about how their battles in WCW didn’t quite live up to the standards of that first battle. With WWE Network, a lot of kids out there will be seeing Hulk Hogan wrestle for the first time and they can realize how important he is to WWE’s history, WCW’s history, and his importance to professional wrestling as a whole. A lot of fans out there are played out by his act, but I feel that as long as a wrestling show isn’t somehow based around him that it is all good. I still get hype every single time I hear the song “Real American” begin to play, and he comes out to the ring and cups his ear to the crowd. I guess part of me is still that same little kid who was a Hulkamaniac that watched as he fended off challenges from the likes of Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, Earthquake, and so many others. Because of old school fans and all the old footage available out there Hulkamania STILL runs wild for a lot of us. As always, you can follow me on Twitter @whosantcox, and I can be reached by email at invidwarriorz@gmail.com. See you next time, wrestling fans!
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