The best wrestlers, whether it's a Hulk Hogan or a Rey Mysterio, are the ones who have psychology and can understand this business.
Sometimes styles don't translate. Rey Mysterio was a master of doing that. No matter where he went, Rey could make his style adapt. But not everyone is Rey Mysterio.
I saw Hulk Hogan the other day in a parking lot, and I couldn't tell from a distance if it was Hulk Hogan or not. And I realized I've never had that dilemma before. I've always been able to tell immediately when looking at anybody if they were or were not Hulk Hogan.
My first time actually appearing in a match at SummerSlam was 2010, and I was wrestling against Rey Mysterio in the opening match of the show. I was pretty brand new as Dolph Ziggler, and obviously Rey Mysterio was a well known superstar.
People at WWE would say, 'It doesn't matter if you're the best wrestler,' but I would think about Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio. They weren't necessarily the greatest talkers, but they were great wrestlers. I wanted to be that person.
I always had fun with my great friend Rey Mysterio Jr. I think it would be fantastic to have my very last match against someone like him because my very first match in WWE was against Rey Mysterio Jr. I know that all the pro wrestling fans, in particular the Mexican fans, would love to see Rey Mysterio against me for my very last match.
I learned from many people. I became a better wrestler thanks to my matches with Edge, with Christian, with Rey Mysterio, with John Cena - who, even though you, the fans, want to criticize him, John Cena is one of the best wrestlers of the universe.
People say wins and losses don't' matter. Yeah, they kind of do in a way because Hulk Hogan wouldn't have been Hulk Hogan had he lost all his matches.
The only thing Hulk Hogan ever knew was how to make Hulk Hogan. He couldn't tell you how to make AJ Styles or Samoa Joe. What's Hulk Hogan going to tell Samoa Joe? He doesn't know anything to even tell him; he's got zero to offer.
My dad owns his own towing business, and my dad used to tow Hulk Hogan's cars back and forth from Clearwater to different shops and stuff. And they had a relationship where when the cars would get done getting fixed, he'd pick it back up and take it back to Hulk Hogan's house.
Hulk Hogan was a little different character. He wants to be Hulk Hogan and everything, which was good. I was proud of him and I helped him with what he needed to know and stuff like that.
People don't want to see Hulk Hogan as the bad guy. Hulk Hogan is the ultimate good guy.
I talk about Hulk Hogan being in my corner back in the day... Back in the day, if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, I don't know if Booker T and Stevie Ray would've gotten the push that we got.
It's kinda like Hulk Hogan whereas any time Hogan walks into a room, he's got that distinctive look. Everybody, whether you're a wrestling fan or not, you know who he is. Chuck has that same thing. Whether you're an MMA fan or not, he'll walk into a room and everyone goes, 'Oh, that's Chuck Liddell.'
Wrestling has become its own thing separate from what it was in the past and now when people think of pro wrestlers they don't think of Hulk Hogan, they're thinking of guys like me.
I want to be the female Rey Mysterio. Whether it's with a mask or not, I want to be him.