Griffen: Alabama vs. UConn is like Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan

Rylan Griffen’s wrestling fandom is well-documented. The Alabama basketball wing compared the Crimson Tide’s recent Sweet Sixteen win over North Carolina to Brock Lesnar beating the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.

When UA took down Clemson to make the first Final Four in school history, Davin Cosby handed Griffen a WWE championship belt, adorned with an Alabama logo, and the sophomore discussed what his ring entrance would look like. The Crimson Tide is now set to face UConn, a team favored by 11.5 points, and Griffen was asked Tuesday which wrestling moment would most compare to an Alabama upset.

“I think Ultimate Warrior beat Hulk Hogan when Hulk Hogan was big dog,” Griffen said. “He was the highest, big-time dude going in WWF at the time and Ultimate Warrior came in with a bunch of energy and beat him.”

The match Griffen referred to took place at Wrestlemania VI in 1990. Hosted at the SkyDome in Toronto, It was the first Wrestlemania held outside of the United States.

The winner-takes-all match pitted Hogan, WWF’s champion at the time, against WWF intercontinental champion Ultimate Warrior. The Ultimate Warrior won the match, dealing Hogan his first clean pinfall loss in six years, becoming the first wrestler to hold both titles simultaneously.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated made the bout its match of the year.

“He got the belt, he got the championship,” Griffen said. “Hulk Hogan, he was just laying down on the floor, hurting and stuff. I would say that, because Hulk Hogan is in the GOAT conversation for WWF and UConn, they’re a really, really good team. They’re like the Hulk Hogan of college basketball right now. So Ultimate Warrior came in and beat him, so obviously it’s like that.”

Alabama and UConn will square off Saturday in Glendale, Arizona’s State Farm Stadium, which hosted Wrestlemania in 2010. The game is scheduled for 7:49 p.m. CT and will be aired on TBS.