5 Things That Can Save Hulk Hogan In His WWE Comeback

It was earlier this year that the WWE put forth a public statement, confirming that it has indeed roped in former WWE Superstar and professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, so as to help him enable others to learn from his mistakes.

Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news.

In other words, after his 2015 firing from the WWE and subsequent removal from the company's Hall of Fame, Hogan has been considerably active in the social welfare realm -- time and again asserting his intentions of genuinely desiring to make amends to compensate for his racist rant which happened to be caught on video. One ought to note that several mainstream African-American celebrities, as well as sports-persons, have expressed their support for The Hulkster, which is said to have played a part in the WWE consequently reinstating Hogan into its Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Hogan was present backstage at the Extreme Rules 2018 PPV and addressed the entire WWE locker room -- apologizing for his past actions, and insinuating that he's looking forward to making things right. Now, although Hogan is yet to make his on-screen comeback to the WWE's main roster programming, with recent talks of him travelling to Saudi Arabia as well as partaking in WrestleMania 35, it's fairly obvious that the sports-entertainment icon is coming home!

Today, we are going to be looking at the 5 most essential things that can salvage Hulk Hogan in his WWE comeback...

#5 Slow and steady booking

The WWE higher-ups would be smart to book Hulk Hogan steadily and not involve him in any and every random segment on television

Perhaps one of the most important measures the WWE must resort to while booking the returning Hulk Hogan, is to refrain from going all out with his return pop right away. Granted that the vast majority of the WWE Universe, particularly several sections of the sport's casual viewers, would be more than excited for the legend's comeback -- however, the WWE must book him in no more than a single storyline, at a time, rather than having him featured in several random segments as they'd done in his return back in 2014.

In simple terms, the WWE would be better off if they don't overexpose him to the fans, and instead only have him appear for brief segments every week, and then build new layers to the 2018 Hulkster character from there...

#4 Realistic angles

Physically challenging spots ought to be a strict no-no for Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is a mountain of a man and happens to be 65 years young -- a man young at heart, trying his best to beat Father Time by hitting the gym religiously, and doing so for several years. Regardless, time and tide wait for no one, and as a matter of fact, even The Hulkster isn't immune to the wear and tear that comes along with the passage of time.

Having competed as a professional wrestler since the year 1977, Hogan has dealt with a laundry list of injuries over the years, including potentially career-threatening back injury issues. Add to that the aforementioned fact that Hogan is way past his athletic prime, and booking him in angles where he has to execute physically challenging wrestling manoeuvres makes no sense at all!

As opposed to the point we discussed on the previous page, in this case, WWE booked Hogan in perfect angles during his 2014-15 run -- ensuring that he performed little-to-no physical spots in whatever angle he featured in on TV...

#3 Lio Rush

This may perhaps be one of the very best measures WWE could presently implement, so as to ensure that Hulk Hogan's return to the company goes forward as smoothly as is possible. It's no secret that the company is always looking to create the next big thing, and per the vast majority of professional wrestling experts, including WWE's Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Lio Rush is the future.

Although the possibility of Hogan serving as a manager for current NXT Superstar The Velveteen Dream was floated earlier this year, The Dream is yet to be promoted to the main roster. On the other hand -- Lio Rush -- who's as charismatic a young Superstar as Dream, perhaps even more -- is a part of Monday Night RAW. The WWE could book Hogan as Rush's mentor, akin to the manner in which Ric Flair worked as Triple H's manager in the 2000s.

Hogan's on-screen managerial services can take Rush's career to the next level, and help the latter truly break through as a mainstream name representing the WWE Universe...

#2 A strong authority figure

Hulk Hogan isn't one to be intimidated by Stephanie McMahon

The WWE, or for that matter professional wrestling as a whole, has for long witnessed authority figures play a pivotal role in the way a given storyline progresses. That said, in recent years, the WWE has experienced a dearth of believable, strong authority figures on both Monday Night RAW as well as SmackDown Live.

Intriguingly though, the NXT brand boasts a credible, strong-willed and gutsy authority figure in William Regal, whereas the main roster has for long lacked a notable on-screen personality whom the fans could see run the RAW/SmackDown administration with an iron fist. Well, RAW does have Stephanie McMahon, while SmackDown is led by Shane McMahon, however, neither brand currently has even a halfway-decent authority figure not named McMahon.

This is where Hulk Hogan can come in, and truly make an impact as an authority figure who won't be intimidated by Stephanie -- unlike Kurt Angle or "Constable" Corbin -- and instead, give the WWE Universe what they want. There's indeed a high probability that we may get to see The Hulkster as the RAW General Manager sooner rather than later...

#1 Balance between nostalgic storylines and newer angles

Nostalgia is just as essential an aspect of entertainment as is the future

Truth be told -- Hulk Hogan has done it all in the business, and in connection with the same, it may not come as a surprise to many that most of the current veteran Superstars, such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, have already been featured in notable storylines with Hogan in the past. With that in mind, it makes all the sense in the world for the WWE to book The Hulkster in storylines with some of the newer Superstars, as Hogan guides his protege or proteges to the top of the sports-entertainment world.

Nevertheless, the WWE has gold on its hands right now, since they could very well book Hogan in both nostalgic angles with part-time performers such as Triple H, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker; as well as in angles with the newer crop of talent such as Elias, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Superstars of the sort.

The key to success is for WWE to strike a near-perfect balance between booking Hogan in nostalgic storylines and featuring him alongside the younger talent pool as well.

Which Superstar or Superstars would you like to see Hulk Hogan take under his wings? Sound off in the comments!