WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has opened up about what Vince McMahon told him after his return to WWE in 2002. Hogan revealed that McMahon wanted him to wrestle The Rock and that things were "different" to when he left WWE a decade earlier.
Hulk Hogan left WWE in 1993, after the expiry of his contract. He went on to join WWE's main rival, WCW, and shocked everyone by debuting a heel character. After WCW was bought out by WWE, Hulk Hogan returned to WWE in 2002.
While speaking on After The Bell with Corey Graves, Hulk Hogan discussed his return to WWE and what WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told him:
"Vince McMahon said, 'You know, I want you to wrestle The Rock and things are different now, Terry. So if you're going to come back and wrestle The Rock, you better bring it.' I said, 'Okay, I'll bring it.' It was kind of weird because Pat Patterson, Vince McMahon, they hadn't seen me wrestle in so long that they set up a ring down in Miami. When I went down to Miami, The Rock was there, Pat Patterson, Rocky Johnson, The Rock's father, was there."
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
Hogan said that The Rock told him what he wanted to do in their match at WrestleMania, and that they should go over their match in Miami, which Hogan wasn't keen on doing. The WWE Hall of Famer wanted to call the match in the ring, rather than prepare for it beforehand.
Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan's friendship
Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan have had a rocky relationship over the decades. Hogan helped McMahon's WWF become a global phenomenon, but the WWE Chairman was hurt when Hogan decided to join WCW, which Bruce Prichard revealed a few years ago.
Eric Bischoff recently discussed Hogan and McMahon's relationship and stated that it was like the "most dysfunctional married couple in the world".
Hulk Hogan will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of nWo, and will also be the host of WrestleMania 37, later this month.
Please H/T After The Bell and Sportskeeda if you use any of the above quotes