Could Hogan make it as a new wrestler today?

[Fuel The Fire]

OK this is just a thought so try not to get so pissed off but im just thinking
what if we had the wwe like we do today as popular as it is right now and there was no hulk hogan but vince mcmahon sees him now..
Would he make it in the business today with his bald head? Because not only do you have to have the wrestling skills you also have to have the look. Would vince even look at him?
I mean would we accept him as a bald wrestler looking like that.
I was just thinking that we would not take his as serious with as tough crictics as we are now with the internet.
So with this in thought would we accept him in the wrestling business if he where to debut today?


Edit: I was thinking of 80's hogan..I know that the w.w.e goes for the looks at well so i know his wrestling skills but he was still bald when he first started and i dont know if anyone would take him serious like that.

 

[bxbigshow]

Unless you're talking about the Hogan that debuted in the 80's with Vince Sr. this is an unfair post. Because a balding 56 year old rookie wouldn't get looked at by even you.

So with the assumption of the former, I say no for this reason. Vince would sign him because Hogan was BIG. He would then be pushed heavy in the beginning, but them creative will have nothing for him. Hogan will then job to Rey Rey, and he'd be released.

 

[byrnside]

I think he could. He would definitely need a different gimmick, because the Real American would probably not get over today like it did in the 1980s. I think Hogan has enough raw talent and charisma that no matter what decade he could get over, he just would need the right persona. I also don't think he'd get quite as over as he was in the 80s, but I think he could survive.

 

[Mark0820]

Absolutely. Hogan actually does know how to wrestle. He just didn't need to do it. He wasn't a great wrestler, but did know several holds. And yes, Vince would look at him. He was 6'6-6'7 and ripped.

 

[waylonmercy]

Hulk Hogan didn't get over because of his patriotic gimmick. Hulk Hogan got over because of his exceptional charisma. He didn't land the role in Rocky because of his gimmick and he didn't get over in AWA because of a patriotic gimmick. Hulk Hogan is so smart when it comes to knowing how to get over he'd have little difficulty with establishing himself. If you think he'd get buried like some newcomers do after a quick hot run there is a major difference between Hogan and say a Chris Masters and it all has to do with charisma.

 

[johnbragg]

I've been drinking gallon after gallon of Hulk Hogan Haterade lately, but even I have to say that yes, the young Hulk Hogan would still become a star if he came along today. He wasn't nearly as limited when he started out--when he became a big star, he developed/adopted the formula of take the beating, Hulk Up, legdrop.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I'm confused with this question. I don't know if you're asking whether or not Hogan can make it TODAY with his look TODAY or if he would be discovered today with his original look back in the early 80's... so I'll answer it as if you were asking about a young Hogan making it today.

The answer is no. Hogan's All American gimmick wouldn't mesh well with a certain someone who wrestles now. His name is John Cena. If you haven't noticed, Cena is pretty much a modern day Hogan with the bad movies and his 'soldier' gimmick. Hogan would also have to compete with Jack Swagger. The fact is Hogan is a great wrestler if needed, but his character wouldn't work today. It's been done before and him doing it during this day and age simply wouldn't work.

 

[johnbragg]

The answer is no. Hogan's All American gimmick wouldn't mesh well with a certain someone who wrestles now. His name is John Cena. If you haven't noticed, Cena is pretty much a modern day Hogan with the bad movies and his 'soldier' gimmick.

That's funny. That's exactly why I thought that a young Hogan would be fine today--he'd be Cena. I guess there can only be one at a time, huh?

 

[XgringolocoX]

Hold the phone. A young Hogan is here, they call him Fetus....
I think Hogan today would get looked at, and probably a job. I don't really see him going huge in today's market with the All American gimmick. Maybe paint him up and he can be Luna and Kane's love child....

 

[burnout4200]

The only people I've seen work a crowd like Hulk Hogan was Green Day. Not only would he get over but Hogan would end up as champion. Charisma can't be taught. It's a raw talent that near noone has anymore. That man could get Arabs to boo Allah.

 

[Midnite Express 2009]

Like everyone else pretty much said, the Hogan that returned in 1984 to beat The Iron Sheik would NOT make it today. He'd have to actually be the Hogan managed by Blassie. Though this is somewhat of a trick question: If Hogan had not existed until now, who then would have headlined Wrestlemania. This is like Back to the Future Pt. II. There'd be an alternate 2009/2010 in so many ways, even on a mainstream level. That's how big Hogan was. Granted, it wouldn't drastically change the outcome of society in a larger sense so I'll keep it general. The heel Hogan would make it. I'd just have trouble placing him in a reasonable program with someone. Perhaps he could replace The Big Show as Jericho's partner. A young Terry, with all the muscle and little to no fat teaming with a brash, cocky and determined Chris Jericho. Wow.

 

[The Brain]

Though this is somewhat of a trick question: If Hogan had not existed until now, who then would have headlined Wrestlemania. This is like Back to the Future Pt. II. There'd be an alternate 2009/2010 in so many ways, even on a mainstream level. That's how big Hogan was.

Because of this, this is an impossible question to answer. Everything we know about today's WWE was shaped during the Hulkamania era. Who knows how different wrestling would be without Hogan back then. Maybe Vince would be out of business and there would be no WWE. Maybe there would still be territories. I understand the point of your question, but I think it's impossible to answer. Hogan was so big that everything we know today would be different without him.

I just have to ask, why all the emphasis on Hogan being bald? What's the big deal? Austin was bald. The Rock eventually went bald too. Angle was bald. Orton and Batista are bald today. Seems to me that being bald didn't hold these guys back at all.

 

[KillBill]

I just have to ask, why all the emphasis on Hogan being bald? What's the big deal? Austin was bald. The Rock eventually went bald too. Angle was bald. Orton and Batista are bald today. Seems to me that being bald didn't hold these guys back at all.

Umm, They either shaved their head, or got old. Hogan has been bald since he was like 25 lol. But yes, I agree about Hogan/Cena, basically the same idea. I think it would work today more than ever because of everything that has happened with the war in the past 10 yrs, and the fact that he's geared towards kids. Could you imagine how big he would have been if he debuted right after 9/11? To think about, even having Hogan now come out back then with his music and the flag would have been great.

 

[johnbragg]

Could you imagine how big he would have been if he debuted right after 9/11? To think about, even having Hogan now come out back then with his music and the flag would have been great.

I still sometimes can't believe that Vince missed this opportunity with the red-white-and-blue milk-drinking clean-living (as far as we knew) Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle. They gave him the belt for two weeks, according to Wikipedia, but I didn't even notice at the time--there was kind of a lot going on and watching wrestling wasn't a priority.