Hulk Hogan Names The Greatest WWE Hall Of Famer Of All Time
WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan recently participated in a media call to promote the first RAW of 2021, which will be the Legends Night special. India Today provided highlights from the call. The Hulkster was asked how he feels when people say he's one of the greatest WWE Legends of all-time, and who he thinks is the greatest WWE Hall of Famer of all-time. He named Ric Flair.
Hogan also referred to Flair as his hero.
"Well, you know, I will gracefully accept and acknowledge that compliment because it means so much, especially coming from my peers, to say that," Hogan said. "The guy who is my hero, and who I think is the greatest wrestler of all time, that's Ric Flair. So I do appreciate the comment but I have a different opinion about who is the best wrestler and the greatest of all time, I have to go with Flair. It's in his blood he laid the groundwork. He raised the bar that no one has really been able to follow as far as work ethic."
Earlier at this link we noted how Hogan praised Riddle and WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. The full comments show how Hogan had high praise for both McIntyre and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. He was asked what he thinks of the two top champions in WWE right now.
"I'm a little biased to both of those guys," Hogan said of Reigns and McIntyre. "Romans Reigns' father Sika and his partner Afa, they pretty much put me on track when I was lost. I mean, my first run in WWE I left Florida and we met up and drove to the first TV and when we were up there they had been in the business quite a while so they groomed me and they helped me and kept me from making too many mistakes when you're first in the business. I've got so much respect for the Samoan dynasty, and to understand how it peaked with The Rock, I see Roman Reigns taking it to a whole other level now. He's solid, he's consistent, he's got the look and there are no holes in his work he's really, really spot on.
"Then on the other hand I've watched Drew McIntyre, and the years of training and in-ring experience, now he's as legit as they come. He's got the eye of the tiger look in his eyes. He's got the body of a god. His work is solid, everything he does is spot on. His interviews are good. So I think Triple H was right when he's comparing those two guys having classic matches like the stuff Flair and I had I think he's spot on but I think they can take it to a whole other level."
Hogan was also asked about how important it is for Legends to "pass the torch" to the next generation. Hogan called it the most important thing in the business.
"I think it's the most important thing in this business, to maintain the artform, and to make sure that the next generation, the next decade of wrestlers, is ready," he said. "There was a time I was red hot in the 80s and all of a sudden the 90s came and it was time to pass the torch but, it didn't happen that way. I mean they didn't have enough guys ready to lead at that time so, you know, we skipped a generation. It took time to pass that torch, which should have been passed at the end of the 80s.
"I mean we tried with a couple of guys, putting the belts on them and stuff, but they weren't ready to run. They weren't ready like John Cena, they weren't ready like The Rock, they weren't ready like Stone Cold. So it's very, very important that the torch is passed in the correct way and the guys that have all this experience don't just walk away. They stay there long enough to build the storylines, build the talent, and then pass the torch in the correct way. It's very, very important."