RandomVillain
Dark Match Jobber
Hogan packed the Silverdome with 93,000 people. Today at most events WWE has to throw up the black tarps.
Cena is a bigger star then Hulk Hogan.
- Thread starter cenation17
- Start date
Dragonslayer
Getting Noticed By Management
I usually don't bash postings or threads, but the notion of this one is really ridiculous. Sure, John Cena is the biggest wrestling star of today. But to even consider him on par with Hulk Hogan is a notion that cannot be taking seriously.
Hogan is, without a doubt, the biggest pro wrestling icon of all time. He put the WWF on the map back in the 80ies, he revolutionized wrestling in the 90ies by reinventing himself a solid 10 years past his prime as "Hollywood Hulk Hogan", ushering in the biggest book period that wrestling has ever seen.
The only other star who has at times been considered on par or bigger than Hogan is Steve Austin, and I tend to disagree on that for the mere reason that compared to Hogan, even Steve Austin was just a flash in the pan.
Sure, he was the spearhead of the most successful boom period of wrestling with the Attitude era, but that era could never have happened without the groundwork of Hulk Hogan (especially with the nWo paving the way to a more "raunchy" direction of the wrestling product). Also, Steve Austin was on top of the business only for a relatively short period of time - it was a brightly burning flame, but it also burned out fast. Austin was on top from 1996 - 2003 basically, with some absences in between for well-known reasons; that's pretty short compared to Hogan's 20 years on top, and even Cena's 10 now. But I digress.
For even so, Cena's popularity has not reached the levels of either Hogan or Austin's, and I would also go so far as to say that The Rock might surpass (or probably has surpassed) both men in terms of overall star power. Perhaps not if we're looking only at wrestling - from that perspective, The Rock's "high time" was also very condensed and rather short. But with his movie career really taking off, he has become a bigger "overall" entertainment star than Steve Austin and John Cena, and is giving Hulk Hogan a definite run for his money.
The argument of world titles wins is obviously ridiculous too - to ignore the fact that the booking has changed so much from the 1980ies to today is merely showing a lack of understanding in how the business works. Back in Hogan's heyday, the world champion was THE man. And he was portrayed as THE man. That was accomplished by putting the title on him - and KEEPING it on him. The champ was the champ because he was THE BEST and because HE COULD NOT BE BEATEN. So title reigns in those days were just infinitely longer than they are today; it was not until the late 90ies that title changes started to occur more often, and only in the last decade that the oft-critiqued "hot-potatoing" of titles started. So in my opinion, every single Hogan title reign is worth at least 3 of Cena's, if not more.
So those four names mentioned - Hogan, Austin, Rock and Cena - I would consider the biggest US wrestling stars of the past 30-35 years, with Hogan being the biggest, simply for his unbelievable status in the eighties, his importance for ushering into a "new" era of wrestling in the nineties, his staying power and longevity.
I'd consider Steve Austin #2 for being THE biggest star of THE biggest and arguably best boom period and The Rock a very close #3, ultimately followed by John Cena on #4.
Again, this is just by looking at the "wrestling-focus". If we're talking overall media-crossovers, The Rock is definitely #2 and probably closer to #1 now than Hogan - and he's far from done, so who knows to what heights he might still go.
So in closing, and in repeating myself - to say Cena is bigger than Hogan is just plain wrong. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of anybody, no matter if it's John Cena or Hulk Hogan; but to think that John Cena is in any way a bigger star than Hogan just makes it very clear that the OP does not have much of a clue about the wrestling business and its history.
Hogan is, without a doubt, the biggest pro wrestling icon of all time. He put the WWF on the map back in the 80ies, he revolutionized wrestling in the 90ies by reinventing himself a solid 10 years past his prime as "Hollywood Hulk Hogan", ushering in the biggest book period that wrestling has ever seen.
The only other star who has at times been considered on par or bigger than Hogan is Steve Austin, and I tend to disagree on that for the mere reason that compared to Hogan, even Steve Austin was just a flash in the pan.
Sure, he was the spearhead of the most successful boom period of wrestling with the Attitude era, but that era could never have happened without the groundwork of Hulk Hogan (especially with the nWo paving the way to a more "raunchy" direction of the wrestling product). Also, Steve Austin was on top of the business only for a relatively short period of time - it was a brightly burning flame, but it also burned out fast. Austin was on top from 1996 - 2003 basically, with some absences in between for well-known reasons; that's pretty short compared to Hogan's 20 years on top, and even Cena's 10 now. But I digress.
For even so, Cena's popularity has not reached the levels of either Hogan or Austin's, and I would also go so far as to say that The Rock might surpass (or probably has surpassed) both men in terms of overall star power. Perhaps not if we're looking only at wrestling - from that perspective, The Rock's "high time" was also very condensed and rather short. But with his movie career really taking off, he has become a bigger "overall" entertainment star than Steve Austin and John Cena, and is giving Hulk Hogan a definite run for his money.
The argument of world titles wins is obviously ridiculous too - to ignore the fact that the booking has changed so much from the 1980ies to today is merely showing a lack of understanding in how the business works. Back in Hogan's heyday, the world champion was THE man. And he was portrayed as THE man. That was accomplished by putting the title on him - and KEEPING it on him. The champ was the champ because he was THE BEST and because HE COULD NOT BE BEATEN. So title reigns in those days were just infinitely longer than they are today; it was not until the late 90ies that title changes started to occur more often, and only in the last decade that the oft-critiqued "hot-potatoing" of titles started. So in my opinion, every single Hogan title reign is worth at least 3 of Cena's, if not more.
So those four names mentioned - Hogan, Austin, Rock and Cena - I would consider the biggest US wrestling stars of the past 30-35 years, with Hogan being the biggest, simply for his unbelievable status in the eighties, his importance for ushering into a "new" era of wrestling in the nineties, his staying power and longevity.
I'd consider Steve Austin #2 for being THE biggest star of THE biggest and arguably best boom period and The Rock a very close #3, ultimately followed by John Cena on #4.
Again, this is just by looking at the "wrestling-focus". If we're talking overall media-crossovers, The Rock is definitely #2 and probably closer to #1 now than Hogan - and he's far from done, so who knows to what heights he might still go.
So in closing, and in repeating myself - to say Cena is bigger than Hogan is just plain wrong. There's nothing wrong with being a fan of anybody, no matter if it's John Cena or Hulk Hogan; but to think that John Cena is in any way a bigger star than Hogan just makes it very clear that the OP does not have much of a clue about the wrestling business and its history.
Scrotie McBoogerballs
Occasional Pre-Show
It is all subjective. But I do think many people choose Hogan just because that is what most people chose rather than knowing that much about him. Same way many people these days say Ali was the best boxers ever because he is the popular choice when in fact Sugar Ray Robinson was probably the best p4p boxer of all time and people say Andre is the best 'giant' of pro wrestling when in fact Big Show is a much better wrestler who is more mobile and can actually do more than just smother opponents into a corner and slap them.
Hollywood Naitch
The current reigning and defending
I think the OP is simply a troll, and if not he hasn't got a clue of what he's talking about.
Cena is not, and will never be a bigger star than Hulk Hogan. Yes, Cena is a huge star and without question the biggest star that WWE have- the face of the company. But the fact is WWE is not in its most successful period, with ratings much lower than when the likes of Stone Cold and The Rock were leading the company. Cena has led WWE into a slump.
Hulk Hogan is easily the most recognisable wrestler in history, and arguably the man who brought wrestling to the mainstream. Ask anyone who isnt a fan of wrestling to name a pro-wrestler and they'll say Hulk Hogan (and maybe now The Rock), because HOGAN WAS THAT BIG. He became a pop-culture phenomenon who was recognisable to everyone on the street. Cena is known to wrestling fans mainly.
Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling history, probably followed by The Rock, Austin and Ric Flair. Cena is on the level below them, along with Bret Hart, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and The Ultimate Warrior.
Cena is not, and will never be a bigger star than Hulk Hogan. Yes, Cena is a huge star and without question the biggest star that WWE have- the face of the company. But the fact is WWE is not in its most successful period, with ratings much lower than when the likes of Stone Cold and The Rock were leading the company. Cena has led WWE into a slump.
Hulk Hogan is easily the most recognisable wrestler in history, and arguably the man who brought wrestling to the mainstream. Ask anyone who isnt a fan of wrestling to name a pro-wrestler and they'll say Hulk Hogan (and maybe now The Rock), because HOGAN WAS THAT BIG. He became a pop-culture phenomenon who was recognisable to everyone on the street. Cena is known to wrestling fans mainly.
Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling history, probably followed by The Rock, Austin and Ric Flair. Cena is on the level below them, along with Bret Hart, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and The Ultimate Warrior.
Mustang Sally
Sells seashells by the seashore
In many respects, there's no realistic basis for comparison. Pro wrestling is in a vastly different place today than it was in the 80's and while Hogan was the leader of that generation and Cena the leader of this one, it's about as useful to compare them to one another as it is to compare Hogan or Cena to Lou Thesz or Bruno Sammartino, guys who performed before there was social media, pay-per-views, unlimited geographical territories.....and perhaps most importantly, before the general cynicism we see today in all aspects of society in which many people seem to regard themselves as unique rebels if they hate everything new that comes down the pike.
Just looking at Hogan & Cena, I marvel that: while Cena is a pro wrestler, Hogan was a cartoon character (literally as well as figuratively), while Cena wrestles, Hogan performed....and imo, Cena looks so much more believable in his ring wars than Hogan ever did. Still so many people hate Cena and love Hogan. Go figure.
It gets me that people detest Cena "kicking out of every pin attempt" while it never bothered them that Hogan did the same thing. So many folks find Cena's comebacks in a match to be contrived and phony; meanwhile, they loved it when Hogan would be shaking his fists while pacing the ring, unbothered by his opponents raining blows to his back....only to finish with that ridiculous "leg drop out of nowhere" to win match after match.
Was Hogan a bigger star? Maybe he was, but he also had a brighter universe to rule over than does Cena.
I Heart Cena
Pre-Show Stalwart
Then has a different meaning than than.
OP is a bigger troll than 90% of The Prison.
cena's an embarrassment to wrestling. Hogan is a wrestling god.
OP is a bigger troll than 90% of The Prison.
cena's an embarrassment to wrestling. Hogan is a wrestling god.
Scrotie McBoogerballs
Occasional Pre-Show
The Rock is bigger than both 
