CM Punk says Steve Austin is a bigger star than Hogan

[Tattooed Jesus]

Both are without a shadow of a doubt the biggest stars of their respective generations. The way I look at both is that Hulk Hogan brought wrestling into the mainstream media like no other before him or anyone after. Stone Cold however made it cool for people to like wrestling. Even at the height of Hogans popularity the only people that admitted they liked wrestling were little kids and redneck trailer park trash. At the height of Austins popularity everyone was wearing Austin 3:16 shirts and WWE stars were all over the place in mainstream media, something that didn't really happen with Hogan until much later in his career.

 

[Davi323]

And where did those fair weather fans go to? All of those Stone Cold fans didn't do a damn thing to help the wrestling business survive. As soon as Austin left, they left. Hogan didn't just have fans for himself, he turned people into fans of pro wrestling. Hogan grew the business in a permanent, lasting way. Austin didn't. It's the same way that no matter how many titles they win, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James can never be bigger stars than Michael Jordan was. The NBA was doing okay, saw some growth with Magic and Bird...but when Jordan came along, the NBA exploded faster than a 14 year old boy looking at old Playboys. Kobe and LeBron are enjoying the success of the NBA built by Jordan, just like Austin and the Rock enjoyed their success because Hulk Hogan's popularity that grew the product into a global empire made it possible for them to be successful too.

 

[JGlass]

Both are without a shadow of a doubt the biggest stars of their respective generations. The way I look at both is that Hulk Hogan brought wrestling into the mainstream media like no other before him or anyone after. Stone Cold however made it cool for people to like wrestling. Even at the height of Hogans popularity the only people that admitted they liked wrestling were little kids and redneck trailer park trash. At the height of Austins popularity everyone was wearing Austin 3:16 shirts and WWE stars were all over the place in mainstream media, something that didn't really happen with Hogan until much later in his career.

You're joking, right? Wrestling has always had that stigma of pandering to children and idiots (possibly because it does), but wrestling was no more "cool" when Stone Cold was around than when Hulk Hogan was around. Let's not forget that in the days of Hogan the WWF attracted the attention of some MAJOR mainstream stars. That's not to say Austin didn't, but I'll take Billy Martin, Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, Cindi Lauper, Liberace, and the Rockettes over Mike Tyson any day.

And the idea that the WWF was more for trailer park trash under Hogan than under Austin, who WAS trailer park trash, is laughable. Truly laughable.

 

[Shocky]

Hulk hogan played more to rednecks and white trash then Steve Austin? Just when you think you can't read something new this pops up.

 

[Davi323]

Hulk hogan played more to rednecks and white trash then Steve Austin? Just when you think you can't read something new this pops up.

Well, must be. There is nothing more northern upper middle class/suburban than sporting a tattoo of Texas, racing to the ring in an ATV while wearing a camo hat and a vest without sleeves, and celebrating victories with a lot of beer, spilling most of it on his clothes. That's not redneck at all.

 

[GI Cake]

Triple threat at Wrestlemania, Hulk vs Stone Cold vs CM Punk.

We can call it "Two and a Half Men" match.

 

[Slyfox696]

Triple threat at Wrestlemania, Hulk vs Stone Cold vs CM Punk.

We can call it "Two and a Half Men" match.

Pretty harsh of you to say about CM Punk. I mean, I agree he's no where near Hogan or Austin's level, but....

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Austin sold more merchandise...which is what a lot of people will use to defend Punk. However, it's built upon a faulty premise. It assumes that the fanbases were equal. Austin was able to outsell Hogan in merchandise because he was enjoying the huge global empire that Hogan built. If the WWF hadn't been that big already, he never would have sold that many. Hogan helped transform a regional wrestling territory into a global empire, making it possible for guys like Austin. All Austin did was reap the benefits from the pro wrestling fanbase that Hogan built. If the WWF had already been as big when Hogan started out, this would not ever be an issue. If the WWF had been as built up when Hogan got there, rather than him having to grow it to that size, it would take the combined sales of Austin and the Rock to even come close. Austin's popularity, the fanbase Austin enjoyed, was only made possible because of Hogan's success in growing the fanbase to begin with.

Not to mention merchandise was a much bigger deal in Austin's time and much more accessible than during Hogans. I remember when I was a kid if you wanted a licensed WWE shirt you either had to be at a live event or you could order it through the WWE magazine. There wasn't the internet or WWE's website like for Austin which made ordering that much easier. Also WWE came out with a new Austin shirt like every couple weeks, how many did Hogan have his entire WWE run? I can only think of 3 off the top of my head(the signature "hulkamania" one, the one that said "Hulk rules" and the one with the American flag on it that he wore at WM8). If WWE pushed merchandise in Hogan's time like they did during Austin's there is no doubt in my mind that Hogan would've sold just as much if not more.

 

[GI Cake]

Pretty harsh of you to say about CM Punk. I mean, I agree he's no where near Hogan or Austin's level, but....

I was talking about his size compared to Austin and Hogan. Although Hogan and Punk might be at around the same size considering Hogan's ageing body.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

You're joking, right? Wrestling has always had that stigma of pandering to children and idiots (possibly because it does), but wrestling was no more "cool" when Stone Cold was around than when Hulk Hogan was around. Let's not forget that in the days of Hogan the WWF attracted the attention of some MAJOR mainstream stars. That's not to say Austin didn't, but I'll take Billy Martin, Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, Cindi Lauper, Liberace, and the Rockettes over Mike Tyson any day.

And the idea that the WWF was more for trailer park trash under Hogan than under Austin, who WAS trailer park trash, is laughable. Truly laughable.

No I am not joking. I grew up during the Hulkamania era and I will tell you that I never once saw people running around in wrestling themed t-shirts or anything like that. They weren't selling wrestling themed t-shirts of any kind in major retail stores. During the Austin era if you want to call it that, I saw all kinds of different people wearing wrestling theme apparel. You could go just about anywhere and buy wrestling t-shirts then. Ratings for wrestling were higher during this point that they ever had been before, so yes I think Austin and in turn was much more popular and had much more mass appeal to your average person not just the trailer park trash.

 

[Slyfox696]

No I am not joking. I grew up during the Hulkamania era and I will tell you that I never once saw people running around in wrestling themed t-shirts or anything like that. They weren't selling wrestling themed t-shirts of any kind in major retail stores. During the Austin era if you want to call it that, I saw all kinds of different people wearing wrestling theme apparel. You could go just about anywhere and buy wrestling t-shirts then. Ratings for wrestling were higher during this point that they ever had been before, so yes I think Austin and in turn was much more popular and had much more mass appeal to your average person not just the trailer park trash.

It's called reading. Top to bottom, left to right. Group words together as a sentence. Take Tylenol for any headaches, Midol for cramps.

Not to mention merchandise was a much bigger deal in Austin's time and much more accessible than during Hogans. I remember when I was a kid if you wanted a licensed WWE shirt you either had to be at a live event or you could order it through the WWE magazine. There wasn't the internet or WWE's website like for Austin which made ordering that much easier. Also WWE came out with a new Austin shirt like every couple weeks, how many did Hogan have his entire WWE run? I can only think of 3 off the top of my head(the signature "hulkamania" one, the one that said "Hulk rules" and the one with the American flag on it that he wore at WM8). If WWE pushed merchandise in Hogan's time like they did during Austin's there is no doubt in my mind that Hogan would've sold just as much if not more.