Hulk Hogan may have found himself on New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 12 pay-per-view if not for his astronomical pay demands.
According to Sports Illustrated, the former WWE icon reportedly asked the company for $750,000 to make a single appearance at the January 4th show, prompting owner Takaaki Kidani to quickly retract his offer.
Hogan would have shown up as an honorary Bullet Club member, as the likes of Jeff Jarrett and Meng have done at recent WK events. These plans were originally reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last month, but with this new report, we now understand why the two parties couldn’t reach an agreement.
Hulk spoke openly on the subject of joining wrestling’s most notable modern faction in a Washington Post interview last month, stating: “I’m about ready to jump on a plane and fly to Japan and get involved with that Bullet Club, man. I’m so excited about those kids.” Not “excited” enough to ask for a reasonable fee, it seems.
With the NJPW dream dead, WWE appears to be Hogan’s only pathway back into wrestling, but he was overlooked for Raw 25. It looks like he’ll be on the sidelines for a while longer.
