In a Q&A session with The National, Hulk Hogan claimed that he was supposed to wrestle John Cena at WrestleMania XXV as part of the big 25th Anniversary event. But thus, the dream match-up never manifested when Hogan suffered from lingering back injuries. The two did share a handful of RAW matches, but we never got a chance to witness the battle between an absurdly effective Five Knuckle Shuffle Vs. Hogans Atomic Big Boot & Leg Drop. With neither man able to test their drawing power against one another, they each sought and wrestled one of the few men who could test their limits: Dwayne The Rock Johnson, WWEs Golden Boy. The Rock, unlike both Hogan and Cena (at the moment), has rocketed to the number #1 box-office action star. Theres not a single property alive that wont explode with Dwayne Johnson attached, no matter how sophomoric the film or entertainment. The Rocks is also one of the few, if only megastar, that has been used as a benchmark for Hulk Hogan and John Cena. The Rocks matches with both werent as much stamps of approval, but tests to the enduring brand of both Hogan and Cena. Wrestlemania 18 featured Icon vs. Icon: Rock Vs. Hogan in a match deciding once and for all who would be immortalized as the greatest ever. While obviously subjective, the match was a once-in-a-lifetime event whereif you didnt go blind from the flashing cameraswe saw an aged Hogan lose cleanly to The Rock. The match quality itself was standard, considering how immobile Hogan was compared to the Rocks inhuman athleticism, but established that the Hogan brand itself was enough to tell a great story. What was meant to be Hogans swan song validated any doubts we had about either mens legacy, if you were even silly enough to reserve any doubt. Nearly a decade later, Cena found himself in The Rocks crosshairs at WrestleMania 27. Like Hogan, an overconfident Cena lost clean, but would go on to avenge himself at WrestleMania 29 and ending The Rocks last title reign. Just as Vince had booked before, Cena met an obstacle and overcame it to reinstate his top-billing reputation.
