Former WWE golden child Hulk Hogan recently revealed to TMZ that botched surgeries at the Laser Spine Institute stopped him from wrestling John Cena at Wrestlemania. The Hulkster made headlines earlier this week when he filed a 50 million dollar lawsuit against the Florida based medical establishment.
A match between Hulk Hogan and John Cena had been speculated for years. During Hulk Hogan’s last run with the WWE, the iconic figure of the 80s and 90s teamed with John Cena on several occasions. Following Hogan’s departure, every year around Wrestlemania season, a rumor would start that WWE was seeking to put a match together between the two. Hogan confirmed with TMZ that a big match was in the works for the two.
Hogan may have lost approximately 50 million dollars in revenue from a potential Wrestlemania match with John Cena, but Hulk’s not the only one who lost out. John Cena may be a bigger loser in this situation than Hogan.
The legendary Hulk Hogan has already cemented his name as one of the biggest, if not the most important, pro wrestler in modern time. His character single handedly changed the landscape of the wrestling in the 80s. He was at the forefront of the movement of sports entertainment. John Cena is today’s equivalent of Hulk Hogan. He is at the forefront of the WWE, he is consistently the top selling merchandiser, and his character reaches a mainstream audience. He is also a hero to millions of children, a fact that many older hardcore fans resent.
A match with Hulk Hogan would’ve done John Cena a world of good. It would have been a passing of the torch from the 80s icon to the 00s icon. It would catapulted Cena into one of the top five superstars in modern history. Hulk Hogan would’ve been the name on his list of victories, that he could point to, to prove that he is the best in the business. Right now, Cena is missing that one legendary name. Men like Shawn Michaels and Triple H are not on the same level as Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin or The Rock. If Cena wants to be acknowledged as one of them, he must beat one of them.
Though a match with Hulk Hogan is out of the question, a match with Austin or Rock is not. Steve Austin has played with fans in the past. One minute Austin says he can wrestle again if he wanted to, and the next minute he’s saying he never will. But a bout with The Rock is an almost certainty at Wrestlemania 29. John Cena will need a win over The Rock, or he can forget about being considered one of the top five greatest wrestlers of all time.
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