Hulk Hogan really rocked it in the ring back in the day, but did you know that the former wrestling champ almost rocked out with Metallica? The Hulkster, who before his professional wrestling career played bass in a Floridian rock band called Ruckus, claims that drummer Lars Ulrich once offered him the opportunity to join Metallica.

"I used to be a session musician before I was a wrestler," Hogan recently told British newspaper The Sun. "I played bass guitar. I was big pals with Lars Ulrich and he asked me if I wanted to play bass with Metallica in their early days but it didn't work out."

Or maybe he didn't really get offered the gig at all, and he's remembering things incorrectly. While on a book tour in 2009 promoting his autobiography, 'My Life Outside the Ring,' the Hulkster also spoke about almost hooking up with Metallica -- only back then, his story was a little different:

“When Metallica was looking for a bass player, I called and never heard a word back from them ... I would have quit wrestling in a heartbeat to be a bass player for Metallica," he told the Chicago Tribune.

Either way, we can't help but think about the monster rock Metallica could've made with Hogan handling bass duties, banging his head up and down as he ripped through the riffs to 'Whiplash' or 'Creeping Death.' Just make sure he stays onstage and out of the pit!