Hulk Hogan says Kevin Owens needs to be a 'great politician' to get picked up for main events for 25 years

Hulk Hogan has got some advice for the newly crowned Universal Champion Kevin Owens. The former WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Champion has said that Owens needs to be a "great politician" to get consistently selected for main events in the coming twenty or twenty-five years as the wrestling business is based upon "relationships".

The Hulkster further said that Owens' success in the wrestling business depends on "how well he figures the game out". "I know he's going to make the most of the opportunity. I know that first hand from asking him," the 63-year-old former wrestler said during an interview with Eric Bischoff on his new weekly podcast Bischoff.

"Booker T used to say, 'Don't hate the player,' like when someone like Brock Lesnar or Hulk Hogan gets a big break. Booker T used to say, 'Don't hate the player. Hate the game. At the end of the day, this wrestling business, as much as you do or do not want to admit it or may not want to understand it. All these smart marks really don't get it at all. 'Hogan's a politician!' or 'He's a politician! John Cena's a politician,'" the former wrestler said.

"Truth is... this business is about relationships on every level. If you want to be a main event guy. If you want to be consistently configured in the main events for twenty or twenty-five years, however long you want to do it, you've got to be a great politician. You've got to be a politician in the ring. You've got to be a politician in the dressing room," Hogan said.

"You've got to be a great, smart politician when you're working with Vince and Triple H. You've got to be a politician when you're out in public, especially. You've got to be a politician when you're with a group of men or women. It's all about having that finesse to really make sure in every different situation that you understand the game. I don't know how much Kevin understands the overall game but that has a direct influence on how long he's going to become a dominant force. Or stay a dominant force in this business. He has to understand the game," he added.

When asked who he thought is a potential breakout star, Hogan said that when he was still with WWE he told Triple that "If you get this guy [Kevin Owens] up and running he could turn into one of your greatest babyfaces."

"I told Triple H, 'This kid Kevin Owens, no matter how he looks, no matter what you think about him. When he walks out he's over in such a weird way.' He's got natural heat and when he gets in the ring, I watched him work on an NXT match and he was just grinding old-school like an heel. Getting the heat, staying on the guy, letting him sell, walking away...and then when it was time for the babyface to come up."

"I saw the babyface try to come up at the wrong time several times, he had enough instinct to cut him off. And then when he did let him come up, he was backpedaling like a Pat Patterson or like a Hollywood Hogan or a real big, chickens**t heel, and he was over so well as a heel."