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Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently lavished praise on Hulk Hogan, saying nobody understood the crowd better than the former WWE Champion.
It's no secret that The Hulkster is one of the greatest babyfaces in wrestling history who had the crowd in the palm of his hands whenever he entered the ring. After mastering the role of a good guy for years, Hulk Hogan explored his darker side in WCW, where he became Hollywood Hogan and founded the nWo. In both his babyface and heel avatar, the 69-year-old had the viewers invested.
Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo mentioned Hulk Hogan understood the pulse of fans unlike no one else. He added that the WWE legend's matches followed a simple structure and were uncomplicated.
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"Hogan had it down to the science. Hogan knew exactly what he had to do and when he had to do it. Let's put it this way. I don't know if anybody has read the crowd or listened to the crowd better than Hogan. And it just seems to me like, a Hogan match was a much simpler, easier match," said Vince Russo.
The former WWE writer believes The Hulkster had a 'recipe," which he used in all his matches, irrespective of the opponent. Russo thinks Hogan stuck to his proven formula as it always worked and that it made no sense for him to alter it.
"There were ingredients to this match. There was a recipe to a Hogan match. And he never got off the recipe because he didn't have to. The recipe worked. You don't change something that worked. Whether it was babyface Hogan or nWo Hogan, he had a recipe," added Vince Russo. (3:08 - 4:08)
Check out the full video below:
Hulk Hogan wants his WWE retirement match against Stone Cold Steve Austin
Though he hasn't wrestled since 2012, Hulk Hogan is up for a retirement match. In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Hogan was asked about his dream opponent for a final match at WrestleMania 40.
The WWE Hall of Famer picked Stone Cold Steve Austin, saying the very reason he went back to the promotion in 2002 was to wrestle him.
Though that match never materialized back then, Hulk Hogan is still keen on wrestling The Texas Rattlesnake if things fall into place.
"If he would get in the ring with me... The reason I went back to wrestle The Rock was to get in the ring with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Because me as a bad guy, as 'Hollywood Hogan,' I could have tore the place down with him. He was the ultimate good guy at the time but he was having some physical problems with his legs and nerve damage, and he was about at the end of his run. So, if I had one guy to get in [the ring] with, it'd be him," said Hulk Hogan.
Austin last wrestled at WrestleMania 38, where he came out of retirement to defeat Kevin Owens. However, he reportedly turned down WWE's offer to return for another match at this year's edition of The Show of Shows.
Do you agree with Vince Russo's assessment of Hulk Hogan's abilities? Sound off in the comments section below.
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