The two had a pretty magical relationship in the early 80’s when they took the pro wrestling business to heights it never dreamed of seeing – the two men were Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan. When Vince McMahon purchased the WWE from his father Vince McMahon Sr. in 1984, he had his eye on a red and yellow phenomenon that was running wild in a regional territory called the AWA. Now Hulk Hogan had attempted to do business with Vince McMahon Sr. before the Vince we know today eventually bought it. Hulk Hogan was asked personally by mega star at the time Sylvester Stallone to play a part in Rocky 3.
As odd as it sounds Vince McMahon Sr. however, would have no part of Hollywood . Vince McMahon Sr. thought of wrestling the way all promoters did that day, it was wrestling, not entertainment. Another big thing he shared with other promoters was that the wrestling business should of been kept small regional territories, owned by different promoters in each part of the U.S. When Vince McMahon Jr. bought the company from his dad he had different plans , way different plans. Vince went around buying off every star he could find in each territory, not without offering money to each promoter who of course laughed in his face.
Vince Jr. had a vision of a worldwide global phenomenon, one that he eventually achieved. Hulk Hogan was actually already running wild in the AWA, selling T-Shirts and creating a stir the wrestling business hadn’t seen before. What Vince Jr. did was take his promoting and marketing genius and take Hulkamania to unprecedented heights. It was a pretty intimidating connection – Vince’s marketing genius and Hogan’s undeniable charisma. The two had their ups and downs but would eventually end up working together in 2002 where Hulk Hogan showed he was just as big as ever fighting The Rock at Wrestlemania 18.
Hogan however has not worked with Vince McMahon since 2005, he has found a place in TNA wrestling that seems to work for him, the real question is – how long will it be before Hulk Hogan returns to his home – the WWE. I say home because let’s face it, the WWE was a company Hogan built with Vince, main eventing the first 9 Wrestlemanias, he was surely the face of the WWE. It would be an awesome sight to see Hogan going face to face with today’s WWE stars – The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, CM Punk and John Cena. We all know Hogan’s return is undeniable, but the when, how and why is the question.
I think the most likely scenario would be a Hulk Hogan/John Cena match up, but would Hogan be willing to do the job for Cena? Another question would be will Hogan even be able to wrestle again? Only time will tell but we all know the WWE is Hogan’s home and he tends to own it every time he returns.
