In the pro wrestling business, stars like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena were propelled to mega-stardom, but arguably, no one has matched the level of fame and popularity that Hulk Hogan achieved. 

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Hogan was a guest on “Barstool Rasslin'” and was asked why wrestlers today can get to the top of the industry but not to where he or Austin reached in the past.

“Well, you gotta realize, nowadays the star of the wrestling business is the production, where back in the day you had to actually draw money to be the main event guy,” Hogan answered. “It’s all about a run — how long you’ve been married? How long you going to live? How long are your kids going to behave? It’s a run.”

Hogan, whose run lasted 40 years, addressed that he could not wrestle initially, but was kept as a main event talent. The Hall of Famer pointed out how other major stars like Bret Hart and Steve Austin were not main eventers for their entire careers but had periods of great popularity.

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“There’s a difference between being a main event guy and being an attraction, and then the difference between being an attraction and being an international phenom that has awareness internationally. There are very few guys [who had it] — Andre [The Giant] was one,” Hogan continued.

He also reiterated that it’s easier to make stars in WWE now than during his time, crediting the production of the shows as the main draw.

“If someone gets hurt right now in the WWE, the machine is so big and the production is so slick and so sharp that they can make anybody their main event star because they’ve got this thing down to a science and thank god they do because the numbers. The way they’re doing business, WWE is on FIRE and they’re doing better now than they’ve ever had.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Barstool Rasslin’” with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.