What if Hulk Hogan faces Rusev at WrestleMania 35?

WrestleMania is returning to the New York-New Jersey metro area this spring, WWE’s most traditional stomping grounds after building so much of the foundation of their business there. Though Madison Square Garden won’t be a formal part of WrestleMania festivities (booked for an ROH/NJPW event instead), it remains a part of the company’s history. It was the site of many of Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund’s most legendary world title events, the home of the original WrestleMania, and the place where Hulk Hogan won his first world title to become the original face of the company for its national expansion.

Hogan is back in the WWE fold now after the scandal of the tape of him using racist epithets came out and got him exiled for a time. The window is closing on their being any chance of Hogan working any kind of match in a WWE ring. So what if WWE were to book him for WrestleMania 35, and particularly tap into his roots as an American hero by pitting him against Rusev?

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#5 Truly, The Hulkster’s last match

Hulk Hogan can't have many matches left in his tank.

Hulk Hogan is now 65 years old, well past the point when most people would think about working a pro wrestling match, not to mention that he has had his share of injuries over the years. If WWE were to book him for this match, we have to assume it would truly be the last time they would put Hogan in the ring.

More than a point of shame about a guy being too old to go in the ring, this WrestleMania appearance could be a fitting tribute to who The Hulkster is and what he did for WWE. Hogan represented the US against a range of evil heel foreigner characters like The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff, in addition to guys representing other countries a bit more spuriously like Sgt. Slaughter and Yokozuna. Moreover, Hogan is synonymous with WrestleMania, having main evented seven out of the first nine shows, and factored into the other two significantly in helping Randy Savage win the WrestleMania 4 closer and winding up being Yokozuna in an impromptu match at the end of WrestleMania 9. Hogan vs. Rusev at WrestleMania would be a fitting cap for his WWE legacy.

#4 A squash

Not unlike how John Cena got squashed by The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34, The Hulkster might make quick work of Rusev.

One thing is for certain when it comes to Hogan working a wrestling match at this point in his life—we can’t expect him to work a marathon or absorb any meaningful physical punishment, including bumping. Fortunately, WWE has established a foundation for Hogan to work a different kind of match in a WrestleMania squash.

Whether it was Sheamus Brogue Kicking Daniel Bryan in the face to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in seconds to open WrestleMania 28, The Rock laying waste to Erick Rowan in under ten seconds at WrestleMania 32, or The Undertaker shutting up John Cena this past year, we have seen lightning quick, decisive wins in big-time ‘Mania matches. Hogan laying in some punches and maybe pulling off a body slam or leg drop to pop the crowd and capture the pin would be the most obvious way for this match to go down in 2019.

#3 A push for Rusev

Rusev could get a big push before or after WrestleMania.

While it is difficult to imagine WWE booking Rusev to defeat Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 35, the company will nonetheless need to give The Bulgarian Brute some level of push to get him over enough to justify such a high profile match. As such, we could very reasonably expect him to get a push in the form of squashing other American wrestlers himself on SmackDown in the build to the biggest show of the year.

Moreover, in giving Rusev this big opportunity, he’d be elevated to one of the most recognizable stars in WWE—in particular for those old school fans tuning in to WrestleMania for the primary purpose of getting to see The Hulkster one more time. Not unlike Bam Bam Bigelow getting a featured face run after he put over Lawrence Taylor at WrestleMania 11, Rusev too could get a big push—as a face or heel—building off a WrestleMania defeat.

#2 The Hulkster has a valet

Hogan might have a valet to counteract Lana; he might even bring along his daughter for that purpose.

WWE may well want to add some bells and whistles to get a Hulk Hogan match over and provide as much of a spectacle as it can to justify the match in 2019. One of those special attractions could be him having someone in his corner, and in particular someone who can be there to counteract Lana as Rusev’s manager.

One option would be for Hogan to team up with a current female star who doesn’t have her own featured WrestleMania match and give her the rub. Another option would be to pair Hogan with a fellow legend who doesn’t wrestle full time anymore like Trish Stratus, Alundra Blayze, or even a real throwback like Wendi Richter. Yet another possibility? Hogan does a little business for himself and his family and invites his daughter Brooke Hogan into the mix for a little star exposure to benefit her flagging celebrity status.

#1 An nWo cameo

The nWo may appear with Hogan backstage, or for a big moment over WrestleMania weekend.

If Hulk Hogan works a WrestleMania match with Rusev, the odds are very much that we are getting the traditional red and yellow incarnation of Hogan as a patriotic hero, as opposed to the black and white Hollywood Hogan version of the character. Nonetheless, Hogan is synonymous enough with the New World Order now, including their reunion tour this summer, that it’s doubtful WWE would totally ignore that part of his legacy. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash may not factor into this match, but they may interact with Hogan in a backstage segment at ‘Mania.

On a bigger level with Hogan back on good terms with WWE, there’s the potential for he, Hall, and Nash to join Ric Flair as the only dual inductees for the WWE Hall of Fame, going in that weekend as the nWo. Such a situation would truly pay homage to Hogan’s WWE legacy with one last huge weekend getting featured with the company he helped build.