Hulk Hogan has made his decision about whether he will be wrestling at SummerSlam and WWE is letting out a collective sigh of relief.
Hogan decided today that he will, indeed, wrestle Randy Orton at SumerSlam and will appear on Monday's Raw.
Hogan stated in a wwe.com article, “I’m not doing it for me; I’m doing it for all the Hulkamaniacs, I’ve got a bad knee, and I’ve been really concerned about hurting it more. I’ve got a lot going on in my family right now…but I realize what’s important to me and that’s answering the bell once again in my career."
He goes on to say that he will get Orton back for disrespecting his family, WWE, and the WWE fans.
“I’m going to show up in Boston, which has always been a hotbed of Hulkamania, brother. [At SummerSlam], I’m going to walk to the ring with my red and yellow, stand in that ring, and I’m going to kick Randy Orton’s ass.”
The whole article can be read here: It's On.
I have no idea if Hogan truly needed the time to decide if his knee could take the punishment of wrestling or if there was some backstage finagling going on and issues to iron out. Apparently, whatever was holding Hogan back from committing to his match with Orton at SummerSlam has been resolved and the match will take place as originally planned.
WWE has got to be relieved about that. They had been counting on Hogan to help them get the casual and nostalgia viewer to buy the pay per view and there was a very good chance that they would be left with a gaping hole in the card if Hogan pulled out.
Hogan has been on several TV shows and at the Pokemon Convention this week and was not wearing a knee brace and was not limping. Of course, that doesn't mean he wasn't injured. You just never know with him.
Hulk Hogan will, indeed, wrestle Randy Orton. Brooke Hogan should be in attendance and be a part of this match in some way.
Batista will challenge King Booker for the World Heavyweight Title . You just knew eventually Booker and Batista would end up in a feud after their real life fight a few months back and their comments about one another on wwe.com.
DX (Shawn Michaels and Triple H) will take on Vince and Shane McMahon. Again.
Edge will defend his WWE Heavyweight Title against John Cena. The belt can change hands on a Disqualification. This will take place in Cena's hometown so you decide what will happen in this one.
Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair in an "I Quit" Match. Flair said the magical words on Raw. "May one of us bleed to death in Boston." I suspect we won't hear either man say "I quit" but one will pass out due to blood loss. There is genuine heat between the two and has been for years. I honestly can't imagine one saying "I quit" to the other but, if one does, I can see it being Flair. He always ends up having to back down. Still, my bet is on the loss of blood/pass out ending.
I suspect we may see Trish challenging Lita, but of course, the Women's Champ Mickie James should probably be in there somewhere. There will possibly be a four way ECW Heavyweight Title match between Big Show (champ), Kurt Angle, Sabu, and the returning Rob Van Dam.
More matches will be announced over the course of the next week.
SummerSlam is on pay per view on August 20 at 8 p.m. EST.
I will be back with more news and views!
Patty
My favorite SummerSlam had to be SummerSlam 2002. Shawn Michaels returned after a four year hiatus and fought in a great "unsanctioned" street fight against Triple H. Rock and Brock literally took a back seat to that match but was also a heck of a match itself.
Another wild SummerSlam was SS 2000. This was all about storylines and drama. Triple H and Kurt Angle were both in love with Stephanie McMahon and the build up was great. There was also an awesome TLC match that will have you cringing at the stunts pulled off. Good stuff.
