Hulk Hogan talked in an interview with WWE UK (via Inside the Ropes) about why he never passed the torch to another wrestler prior to his loss to The Rock at WrestleMania 18.
Here is what he had to say:
“I think it’s the most important thing in this business, to maintain the artform, and to make sure that the next generation, the next decade of wrestlers, is ready. There was a time I was red hot in the 80s and all of a sudden the ’90s came and it was time to pass the torch but, it didn’t happen that way. I mean they didn’t have enough guys ready to lead at that time so, you know, we skipped a generation. It took time to pass that torch, which should have been passed at the end of the ’80s. I mean we tried with a couple of guys, putting the belts on them and stuff, but they weren’t ready to run. They weren’t ready like John Cena, they weren’t ready like The Rock, they weren’t ready like Stone Cold. So it’s very, very important that the torch is passed in the correct way and the guys that have all this experience don’t just walk away. They stay there long enough to build the storylines, build the talent, and then pass the torch in the correct way. It’s very, very important.“
