Wanting to wrestle in the WWE, Hulk Hogan is saying his old back injuries won’t stop him from stepping into the ring. But could the rumored match of Hulk Hogan VS. John Cena at WrestleMania 31 still be possible for the old timer?
In a related report by The Inquisitr , it’s rumored that the John Cena VS. Brock Lesnar match at SummerSlam 2014 could end in Lesnar taking the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt home with him. But the real question is, will Lesnar hang onto the WWE title for months on end since he has been criticized by fellow wrestlers like Dave Batista as a part timer.
We do know for certain that Hulk Hogan will be appearing at Monday Night RAW on August 11 in Portland, Oregon, but everything else is just the stuff of rumors and character bluster. Considering that Hogan hosted WrestleMania 30 it should not be too surprising if he does appear in some fashion for WrestleMania 31, but the real question is whether he’s physically capable of handling an event with a WWE superstar.
When Hogan recently appeared on The Matthew Aaron Show podcast he claimed his training had restored him to the point where he could handle a match:
“Brother, my goal, my goal is to perform in the ring again. You know, it’s not if, it’s when. Because I’ve been training like crazy and my back, the crazy thing is that my back doesn’t hurt at all. My back’s perfect, you know I’ve finally got my back straightened out. Now I’m really trying to get myself into that type of shape. Because if you get in that WWE ring you gotta bring it like The Rock says. You know, and the last time I brought it they were begging me to take it back. But, anyway, to make a long story short, if I get in there I want to make sure I’m ready to go and I give them something really to remember me by. So my goal in life would be to perform again in that WWE ring.”
Let us put these comments in perspective. That Monday Night RAW showing I mentioned earlier also just happens to be Hogan’s birthday, and he will be turning 61 years old. That’s not too far off from Ric Flair, who is age 65 and certainly not talking about taking on a relatively young Cena.
Never mind the age issue, Hulk Hogan’s injuries were quite serious. In 2010, Hulk’s senior moment had him in the hospital due to aggravating those old wrestling injuries and ripping a back muscle… because he was collecting seashells on the beach!
Hogan ended up in surgery for nine hours in order to have his spine straightened out and, as these photos show, the doctors had to stitch him up real good. So if Hulk can’t handle beach walk then it would seem Hulk Hogan VS. John Cena at WrestleMania 31 is out of the question.
Still, Hulk does recognize he has physical limitations as was evidenced when the host asked him whether he’d ever drop the leg again:
“That’s the question. People always ask me if there was anything I would ever change about my career and I’ve always said no, but then I started to think about it… I was such a dummy. I didn’t even know how to work my own gimmick. I’ve got the largest arms in the world; why wouldn’t you use the sleeper hold? Duh, you’ve got the largest arms in the world and you’re dropping the leg drop, what does that mean?… If I’d have used the sleeper hold the last 40 years I’d have had no back surgeries.”
Do you ever think we’ll see Hulk Hogan VS. John Cena at WrestleMania 31? Perhaps the real question should be… do we even desire to see that WWE match in the first place?