Hulk Hogan’s back problems have been well-documented for years. But it looks like “The Hulkster” is going back under the knife next week as he explained in a new interview with Sports Illustrated. The WWE Hall of Famer has been on WWE programming numerous times in the past few months, mostly because of a feud with fellow legend Ric Flair, but the former WWF Champion refrained from getting physically involved during the 10-man Team Flair vs. Team Hogan tag match. This will be Hogan’s eighth back surgery, and despite being 66 years old he’s still trying to get involved in one more WrestleMania match.
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“I’m going in for another back surgery next Tuesday,” Hogan said. “They’re going to fuse six levels together, so we’ll see how I feel after that.”
Hogan made it clear he wanted a match at WrestleMania 36 in his home city of Tampa next April during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“I talked to Vince [McMahon], and I said I really don’t know if I could live with myself knowing my last match was with TNA [Total Nonstop Action Wrestling],” Hogan said, referring to how his last match in TNA back in 2012 . “If I can get fixed, I pray I can have one more match. I told Vince, ‘When I get through this back surgery, I’m going to get in the best shape of my life and we’re going to talk about me having one last retirement match.’”
“I’d love for it to be against Vince,” he added. “I had such a great time with him in the ring at WrestleMania 19. I had no idea what to expect from him, but he’s a great bad guy. His timing is great. I loved wrestling him, but everything he does hurts. When you’re in the ring with someone and they’re hurting you, you kind of pinch them on the wrist, and the whole match I was doing that to Vince. I was like, ‘Vince, take it easy!’ Everything he does hurts, but I’d like to get in the ring with him one more time for my last match. That would be perfect.”
During the SI interview, Hogan also addressed what fans can expect from the The Goldbergs episode.
“This episode is a prime example of what Hulk Hogan has meant to four generations of people,” Hogan said. “There is something there that connects us. The only way I can explain it is by mentioning that I just bought a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner. It’s the same exact car I had in high school–Omaha orange, a vinyl top, bucket seats, a skinny little steering wheel, it’s a bad ass car. So I’m driving down the road with the window down, and the biggest smile came on my face when the memory of how I used to feel in that car returned. That’s Hulkamania. It’s a nostalgic, old-school feeling that continues to connect us.”
