Hulk Hogan as a creative booker in WWE?  Logical or outrageous?

Hulk Hogan headlines were always a grabber in the days of classic wrestling magazines. He was a box-office star in pro wrestling.

Hulk Hogan set the highest popularity bar ever seen in the business. Well, this header is fashioned like the editors and I would concoct to stir your interest!

So get your pro wrestling brain in gear and let me know your thoughts! If this subject matter is too outrageous, that's fine. If it makes total sense to you, then it's also fine! I would love your feedback! Now to the story behind that headline ...

I can already sense your outrage. Why is Apter even suggesting this outrageous headline about Hulk Hogan as it is ridiculous? Do me a favor, humor me. Read my thoughts.

Although Hulk Hogan was always cited for protecting his character and only him, there was a logical reason. Hulkster knew that he was making money for WWE and himself and the rest of the talent.

When another wrestler like a Brutus Beefcake, or Bob Orton Jr, were on a card headlined by Hogan, chances were the gate receipts went way up, and that in turn meant everyone on the show from bottom-to-top got a healthier paycheck.

Being WWE's top attraction, he also had the ear of Vince McMahon. If he made suggestions about anything on the show, it wasn't just blown off and dismissed. It was given top consideration.

Hulk Hogan is from that era where everything turned to gold because of the booking mentality and the characters created by the company.

Today, Sports Entertainment is still alive, but it doesn't resemble the product of the Hogan times. It's a different animal. Many say they want to see the current WWE product return to the Hulkamania days of creativity.

Hulk Hogan is not going to get in the ring again and compete. He doesn't have to protect himself or get himself over in any way. Most of the talent in WWE grew up watching and perhaps idolizing the Hulkster.

The Hall of Famer would be a welcome addition in the locker rooms and bring that old school mentality in to fine-tune some of the issues preventing talent from getting over with the fans. Sometimes, you have to go back to move forward. He might be the key to doing that in WWE.

I have not talked to Hulk in a while. But the last time I had a candid conversation with him, we talked about this exact topic. Hogan told me he still watches the product and if he was in the office, Hulkster thought he could come up with storyline ideas that would rock the company in a very positive way. He also spoke about what he would do to get certain talents over.

In the Hulk Hogan days, the names of WWE wrestlers rolled off our tongues. If you asked someone about who is in WWE, they will rattle off 10 or more names like Roddy Piper, Ted Dibiase, Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and more. I tried to do that recently, and most casual fans could not get past a third name.

Hulk Hogan -- again, in my opinion -- is respected in the business we all love. He gave us most of his life in the ring to entertain us all. As you have read in some news reports, he has some physical health-related issues. But people close to him tell me how much Hulk still loves the business, and his mind is always on how he would do things with stories and in-ring workers these days.

A lot of people complain that WWE has lost direction. To me, a respected veteran like Hulk Hogan might be able to change that mode of thinking. That old-school mentality could still work today.

Tell me what you think, please! I will read them all! -- Bill Apter