WrestleMania 28 Predictions: The Rock vs. John Cena Won't Match Rock and Hogan

There seems to be a theory developing around the WrestleMania 28 main event between The Rock and John Cena and the way that the crowd is going to react to these two superstars. It will be heated, no doubt, but it is important to keep things in perspective. 

The greatest example of heat that fans point to at WrestleMania, at least of this current generation, took place at WrestleMania X8 between The Rock and Hulk Hogan. 

It was a storyline that in many ways parallels the one going on right now between Cena and Rock. Hogan is the returning star, wrestling in his first WrestleMania match in nine years and going up against one of the biggest stars in the company. 

This time, Rock is in the Hogan role and Cena is playing Rock's part. The difference between the two is that Hogan was a transcendent star in the business. Everyone knew Hogan when he was in his prime, and saying all his prayers and eating vitamins. 

Rock was in many ways Hogan's equal at the time. He had clearly established himself as one of the biggest stars in wrestling, and was on his way to becoming a legitimate movie star. 

That is where the biggest difference between this match and the Rock-Hogan match comes in. Cena is clearly the biggest star in WWE today. No one moves merchandise and gets a reaction like he does in the company today. 

However, Cena is nowhere near a star at the level that Hogan was. He is closer to the Rock's level, but he is not quite there. 

Rock and Hogan was a perfect storm of factors that all came together. Hogan was always going to play the crowd to make himself the star, and no one wants to see him get beat up. As a result, the heat was off the charts in ways that few wrestling events today can generate. 

That is not to say that Cena and Rock won't have great heat and be an amazing spectacle for wrestling fans. But it won't come close to approaching the levels that we saw when Hogan and Rock got together 10 years ago. 

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