Earlier today, the video above was posted to YouTube by Brian Fritz of BetweenTheRopes.com featuring him interviewing Hulk Hogan with Dave Meltzer. For once, the BS was kept to a minimum, given that he was talking to people who it was much harder to work. The result is better insight into his current mindset and health, including the admission that he has felt frustration over how WWE is currently using him and that he is suffering from genetic arthritis. Here's a synopsis of the interview, for those who can't watch it:
- Hogan explains that his desire to wrestle again has been driven by watching old tapes of his from WCW and TNA. He called his matches in the dying days of WCW "embarrassing" and those in TNA "a nightmare", the latter due to all the back surgeries he was recovering from during that time period.
- Hogan acknowledges that neither Vince McMahon nor Triple H wants him to wrestle again, but nevertheless his goal is still to get back in the WWE ring, not embarrass himself (if that's possible) and have one more match, which he hoped would work and lead to him contributing and participating more on WWE television.
- Meltzer bluntly puts it to the Hulkster that he's trying to get a match with John Cena this year, which he immediately denies, before calling that the best, best case scenario and something that would happen in a perfect world. Despite no longer suffering from back pain and claiming there's nothing wrong with his knees and hips as they're made out of metal, Hogan admitted that he has genetic arthritis in his elbows and toes, which he would need to get rid of to be able to face Cena at WrestleMania 31 next year. He would love to have his body be physically be ready, Hunter and Vince to trust him enough to do it and then tear it down in the ring again.
- Hogan's told Triple H and Vince: "whenever you need me I'm there." He indicates that at times he's been frustrated at how little he's been used by WWE so far, but his confidante Jimmy Hart always manages to calm him down by reminding him that Vince always looks at the big picture and must have a long term plan to use him when the time is right. Hogan hopes that moment comes soon.
- When pressed on this subject further by Fritz, Hogan believes that Vince doesn't want to fall into the same trap as TNA where he lost his mystique and value by coming out with the stick each week on Impact and saying the exact same crap every single time.
- Hogan credits his new wife Jennifer for giving him a new positive outlook on life, "peace, joy [and] love", helping him to realise that people deep down are nice, even those he had problems with in the past like Vince McMahon, Dave Meltzer and Randy Savage, and that they would forgive him if he apologised and extended the olive branch towards them.