Hulk Hogan has extremely high praise for The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns.
Following the events of the Royal Rumble, Reigns walked out of Tropicana Field still the Undisputed Champion. Not advertised for Elimination Chamber, the next title defence appears to be WrestleMania, where Reigns will face off against Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes 2 years in a row.
If Reigns is able to retain the championship for a 4th straight WrestleMania, all eyes will be on September as The Head of the Table will approach Hogan’s 1,474-day reign as champion and would likely surpass it. Asked about Reigns’ time at the top, the Hall of Famer has nothing but respect.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Hogan praised Reigns for his work as a character and in the ring, adding that his father Sika would have played a huge part in Reigns’ success:
“It takes a really long time to be able to transition and pivot on a dime the way he does,” said Hogan. “That’s how he paints masterpieces you’ve never seen before. He’s working on a whole different level.”
“Roman’s dad, Sika, he explained the ABCs of it all to him,” said Hogan. “Watch his matches and you can tell. You can see it in the way Roman creates emotion, understands how to make the crowd mad, and how he puts people on the edge of their seat calling for that comeback. Roman Reigns learned this all old-school from his dad, but he adapted to the newer era, too. He can do it all.”
Hogan continued, ranking Reigns as one of the all-time greats and someone who would have been right at home in any period of WWE history:
“Roman is adaptable to whoever he is wrestling,” said Hogan. “That’s important. At any moment in time, he can switch gears on you. He’s amazing, and he’d fit in any era.”
Hulk Hogan Did Not Return At The Royal Rumble
Despite teasing an appearance on the go-home episode of Raw, the former World Champion did not appear at the iconic match at Tropicana Field. Discussing the tease prior to the event, one top WWE Star declared that if Hulk Hogan appeared then he would throw him out.