Hulk Hogan was set to make a surprise appearance to win a major match at WrestleMania 36

Even though he's 66 years old and has undergone several surgeries since his retirement, Hulk Hogan was reportedly supposed to play a huge role in WrestleMania 36. According to WrestlingNews.co's Paul Davis, WWE planned to make Hulk Hogan win the prestigious Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal if this year’s WrestleMania 36 would have taken place at the Raymond James Stadium in Florida. Reports state that WWE took the decision because Hulk Hogan is a Florida native and would have attracted a huge crowd.

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According to Paul Davis, WWE CEO Vince McMahon also liked the idea, but the ‘plans apparently fell through when the two parties couldn't agree on financial terms’. However, the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal match was taken out of the match card after WrestleMania 36 was shifted from the Raymond James Stadium to the WWE Performance Center in lieu of the pandemic. The Battle Royal was taken out of the match card since it was set to feature 30 superstars and WWE wanted to keep the wrestlers safe from the pandemic.

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However, had the two parties successfully made a deal and had Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal match been included in the WrestleMania 36 match card, the Hall of Famer still wouldn't have made an appearance. A few days before the PPV, Hulk Hogan tore his biceps and was taken to a hospital. Hulk Hogan then missed the Hall of Fame ceremony where he was inducted for the second time with his fellow nWo partners Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Sean Waltman. Earlier, Scott Hall was inducted in 2014, Hulk Hogan was inducted in 2005, Kevin Nash was inducted in 2015, and Sean Waltman was inducted in 2019.

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Hulk Hogan’s recent WWE appearance

Hulk Hogan hasn't wrestled since January 2012. His last major in-ring appearance was in a July 2019 episode of WWE RAW where he reunited with other WWE legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Ric Flair and others to raise a toast to WWE. On the September 30, 2019, edition of WWE RAW, Hogan and Ric Flair made a small appearance where they unveiled a 10-man tag team match for Crown Jewel.

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