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What’s the story?
During a recent edition of his 'Something To Wrestle With' podcast, Bruce Prichard talked about why he thinks Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin never had a match.
In case you didn’t know…
Many fans have always considered Hulk Hogan vs Stone Cold Steve Austin as the ultimate dream match, and the biggest match never to happen.
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The two briefly shared the ring in March 2002 on RAW, during a Handicap Tag Team match pitting The Rock and Steve Austin vs Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan. But the two never collided, one-on-one.
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WWE heavily teased the match happening on the Homecoming episode of WWE RAW in 2005, to take place at WrestleMania 22 in 2006, but nothing ever came of this.
The heart of the matter
According to Bruce Prichard, there were tentative talks of having 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin vs 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 in 2002, instead of Hogan vs The Rock. Prichard claims that Austin turned down the idea but never gave a real reason.
When asked by 'Something To Wrestle' podcast co-host Conrad Thompson to venture a guess as to a reason why Austin turned down the dream match, Prichard speculated that it might have gone back to their early WCW days, where Hogan turned down a program with then 'Stunning' Steve Austin, saying he was a nothing more than a "mid-card guy" and not a big enough star.
Back in 2002, it was speculated that Austin may have felt that he was a huge star while Hogan wasn't as big as he once was. There was also some feelings that Hogan may have gone over, which would have heavily displeased Austin.
What’s next?
Both men's active wrestling careers are long over. Hulk Hogan is currently negotiating a return to WWE, but the role he may have with the company hasn't been specified.
Author’s take
I am one of the many who looks at this as the ultimate dream match and finds it such a shame that it never happened. That said, we did get an unforgettable classic from Hogan and The Rock at WrestleMania X8 instead, so it wasn't a total loss.
