The rumor mill has been hot and heavy on the case of Hulk Hogan's status with WWE and what his role will be, if any, at WrestleMania 30. The consensus seems to be that he has agreed to a deal with the company, though he has yet to officially put pen to paper, and there are ongoing talks of how he'll be used at this year's "Showcase of the Immortals".
There are a lot of moving parts here.
One of those moving parts is Roddy Piper, who headlined the very first WrestleMania in a tag team match opposite Hogan. That match played a big part in WWE becoming the monster success it eventually would. Now, "Rowdy" wants to recreate that magic on April 6, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
That was the rumor, at least, until Steve Austin outright asked him on his show just what the deal is and got the following response:
"This is WrestleMania 30. I've pinned Hogan once and he's never pinned me. From a fan's perspective, and WWE Universe and Vince, it never had closure. The business that would be done.. the interviews and stuff would be coming from the heart. We could try to out-raise the bar of the WWE entertainment machine in our sport, if they let us go toe-to-toe and don't script us. The fans will see really how it got started and why, and then they'll see the conclusion. They are asking can I get in shape. I am already in shape! They are asking Hogan... But there is a fear, I guess, of whether we can pull off the performance. I think we can."
This would seem to confirm that talks have been had regarding the two working together but the doubt that they could "pull off the performance" is justified. Piper is 59-years-old, Hogan is 60. Both are well past their primes and in the case of "The Hulkster", he's currently unable to take a flat back bump.
Who would want to see arguably the most popular pro wrestler of all time paralyze himself at what will likely go down in history as the most important WrestleMania of all time?
All that said, WWE has a lot of reasons to want to get these two involved in some capacity, namely the fact that WrestleMania 30 will be the first pay-per-view (PPV) used to help sell the WWE Network.
Any of you Cagesiders care to fantasy book an angle involving the two to help out?