Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan are two of the most famous names in WWE history. Up until now, their paths have never really crossed. Hulkamania was born in 1984 and was running wild in WWE through the early 1990s. Once Hogan left for WCW, HBK began his rise to dominance in the singles ranks, accumulating one of the most impressive resumes in WWE history.

Former WWE Champion Kevin Nash (aka Diesel) has been linked to both The Icon and The Legend throughout his career. As a result, there's probably no other wrestler alive today that can compare the two Superstars better than Nash. WWE.com was able to catch up with Nash recently to talk about the upcoming battle.

WWE.com: You have been closely linked to both Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan during your career. How would you compare the two experiences?
Kevin Nash: Working with both were real highlights of my career. Coming in with Shawn was basically the origin of my WWE career. And Hulk was actually there when I came in for a short time, and then of course the nWo was a huge highlight of my career. Hulk played a big part of that. Both of those guys were very instrumental in the success of my career. It was kind of like your first kiss with Shawn. And then Hulk was later on in my career after I had success, so it was a completely different experience entirely. Shawn and I traveled every day for three years night in and night out, 365 days a year. I learned the business from Shawn and Scott (Hall). I took what I learned from them and was able to help create what we did in Atlanta (WCW).

WWE.com: Did Shawn ever talk to you about Hogan holding him back in the late 1980s -- early 1990s?
Nash: No, not really. When we got in there it was pretty much a big man territory. I think that's one of the reasons Shawn brought me in. He brought in the biggest heel he could to get heat on, so at least they'd (the bigger wrestlers) work with me.

WWE.com: This week on RAW, Shawn said that the old HBK was back. Do you believe that Shawn is capable of truly bringing the old HBK back?
Nash: To me, he's always been able to shift gears. He's always been able to buzzsaw somebody. I just don't think he's going to compromise his beliefs that he presently has for the betterment of a SummerSlam match. I think this match is much like The Rock vs. Hogan at WrestleMania (X8). You won't hate either of them more than the other. I know that I'll watch it because it's a match I haven't seen. They're saying it's the Icon vs. the Legend, and that's what it is. It's something we haven't seen before. The psychology of who's heel and who's babyface doesn't' really matter. It's just two great performers -- one has had 25, 30 years and one has had 21, 22 great years, and it's a match that's never happened. It's the old Pro Wrestling Illustrated Dream Match -- the computer match -- but we actually get to see it.

WWE.com: You touched on it already, but can you elaborate on whether or not you think Shawn's beliefs would hinder the old HBK from coming back?
Nash: I just don't think, in talking to him the last couple of weeks, that he feels he needs that. I think that the really successful people in our business have been able to pull something out that's a real personality trait. And that's not a real personality trait he has anymore. He won't be raunchy, but I'm sure he can create violence. I watch the shows occasionally, still, and there's not a whole lot of guys that create violence. And plus Shawn's great anyways. Shawn's not going to not have a great performance.

WWE.com: What do you think we can expect from this match?
Nash: I just pray the young guys sit around the monitors and keep their mouths shut and watch how it's done. If they want to see how to work and not do high spots and Chinese Firedrill and just want to see how it's done -- sit down and watch Shakespeare.

WWE.com: Is there anything in particular that you are looking most forward to in this match?
Nash: I'm looking forward to the finish. With the two huge egos going into this, I want to see how things pan out. That to me will be incredibly interesting.