WWE News: Hulk Hogan Thanks Triple H, Says ‘The Game’ Is Responsible For Bringing Him Back To WWE
Hulk Hogan has had an up-and-down relationship with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. He’s left the company on bad terms more than once, and, while everyone had always expected Hogan to eventually return after each one of his exits, it was never easy for WWE and Hogan to come to terms.
After WCW — WWE chief competitor in the ’90s — experienced a good deal of success in the mid-’90s with Hogan as the biggest star in the company, there was some doubt that “The Hulkster” would ever return to WWE. But WCW’s success didn’t last forever, and Hogan eventually returned to WWE in 2002.
Every time Hogan left WWE after 2002 was either due to him being unhappy with how much he was being paid, or due to him wanting to be the main guy in the company and Vince McMahon not allowing it.
The last time Hogan left WWE was in 2009, when he signed with TNA Impact Wrestling. Hogan was given a pretty big-money deal with the idea that his presence and creative input would help TNA ascend to WWE’s level. It didn’t, and Hogan left the company in late 2013.
Hogan finally returned to WWE last year, and was named the host of WrestleMania 30, and was given an ambassador role in the company. In an interview with Adelaide Now, Hogan explained exactly what his ambassador role entailed, and thanked WWE’s Chief Operating Officer Triple H for rebuilding the bridge between himself and Vince McMahon, saying that if it wasn’t for Triple H, he may have never returned to WWE.
“The ambassador position means I can still be part of the big show, and I thank Triple H for that. If not for him, this thing between Vince McMahon and I — this heat — would still be bad. Vince made me feel so welcome when he explained to me that I’m the glue that bonds the father, the son and the grandson that watch wrestling.”
In the very same interview, Hogan was asked about him potentially wrestling one last time at WrestleMania 32 next year. Hogan has said in the past that he wants to wrestle on the show, and he has also said that Vince McMahon has told him that he’s looking forward to seeing him return to the ring.
“I had a run-in with Vince McMahon after the last WrestleMania. I saw him in the lobby and said, ‘I know what’s going on. Next year, WrestleMania in Dallas and you’re going to try to break my attendance record. Let me tell you something, brother, there’s no way you’re running that show without me on the card! Whether it’s for my last hurrah, my retirement match, my next run, or to beat whoever the champion is to be champion again.’ Vince shook my hand and said ‘I’m looking forward to it.'”
[Image via WWE]
