WWE News: Hulk Hogan Heavily Endorses Alberto Del Rio, Says He ‘Raised The Bar’
When a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler endorses one that is currently in the game, the one receiving the compliment should take that in high regard. Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, the Rock, and Mick Foley have consistently talked about WWE superstars that are making a big impression. To Foley, it’s the NXT women that are keeping him interested. As for Austin, he looks at the big guns like Finn Balor or Baron Corbin.
Hulk Hogan, WWE Hall of Famer, has dropped down to orbit after his run-in with controversy earlier this year. After he made racial slurs in a sex tape, Hogan’s stock dipped down to the depths of irrelevance. The WWE took him off Tough Enough, tried to eliminate him from the WWE record books online, and booted him off the WWE Network.
Regardless of what took place with Hogan and the controversy that followed, he is still a respected member of the WWE Universe when talking about the business. If it weren’t for Hogan, the WWE wouldn’t be where it is today. Then again, it’s logical to think that the WWE wouldn’t be around if Hogan never came to the company in the early 1980s.
As for the Hulkster’s opinion on the current batch of WWE superstars, he took to Twitter and decided to give praise to a newly returning WWE star that made a big impression on his first night back with the company.
“Times 10,I’m really impressed,that is what the business needs,more guys like him. Only respect/love, keep kickin a** HH [sic]”
If everyone raised the bar like @VivaDelRio the wrestling world would be unstoppable 4Life. Only respect. HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) December 29, 2015
A lot of wrestling fans can tell a big difference between Alberto Del Rio’s first run in WWE and his current one. Del Rio’s travels to Lucha Underground and the Independent scene rejuvenated the former WWE champion and gave him that passion he lacked when he first came to the company. When Hulk Hogan notices when someone raises the bar, he’s trustworthy.
Hogan’s experience gives him an advantage when talking about up-and-coming talents. In a recent interview with Radio Yorkshire, Hogan talked about some of that experience as he reminisced on his matches with Ultimate Warrior and the Rock.
“I mean, the timing was there for the Warrior. He was over, like, oh my God, he was over so well. The timing was perfect for that [match] and the timing with Randy [Savage] was always perfect. Randy was ‘Macho Man’ 24/7. He was always on fire, so I was just grateful to be there. Things just kept falling into place, these big matches, one after another. They all were important. They all made sense. The timing was great.
“Timing, electricity, the perfect storm once again. The people were glad to see me come back to the WWE and they loved the nWo thing, so it was like, the momentum was just snowballing, so that was great. That whole thing with the Rock was electric. It was one of my favorite moments ever.”
The match between the Rock and Hulk Hogan was an iconic moment in WWE history. Quite like John Cena vs. the Rock, two of the greatest personalities in WWE history clashed from different eras. Rock was the “Hogan” of his era and Cena is the current version of the Rock. All three men, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, included mainstream popularity with pro wrestling.
[Image via wwe.com]
