Hogan made the WWF popular.. Did he make WCW what it was in its hayday aswell??

[mr.davidson]

WWF was made by Hulk Hogan in the 80's and I dont think that many people were watching WCW at the Time.... However once the WCW had hogan and his WWF followers in the 90's the were kicking the WWF's ass for awhile.....

On top of that there was a thread on here disscussing who was better AUSTIN...THE ROCK..OR HULK HOGAN?

If Hogan wasnt the best out of those 3 and didnt carry both of these companies when he was involved with them.... then why does it only take one HULK HOGAN to make fans turn there head and watch WCW and it takes 2 AUSTIN and The ROCK for people to look the other way....

that being said..... if Hogan was not in the WCW would it of even been able to compete with the WWE during the RATING WARS???

Very interested to see your opinions

 

[JenovasWitness]

I don't think it was Hulk Hogan, per se. When Hogan first appeared in WCW, the novelty of his Real American character wore off very quickly. His matches were not selling PPVs well and his feud with Ric Flair was not as well received as the higher ups at WCW thought it might have been.

I think what really got WCW over was the concept of the nWo, that these were guys from WWE coming down to WCW to invade and take over. It was revolutionary at the time and had people talking about, hey, is Vince actually sending guys down south to compete? I actually thought the selection of Hulk Hogan to in the nWo was a key aspect to the angle's success (he was Vince's top draw for a large number of years) but in no way do i think that it was all Hogan's doing that WCW had all the success that it did.

The combination of the nWo and the guerrilla tactics that Eric Bischoff used to hurt the WWE were the main contributing forces that sparked the ratings war and evolution of the business as we know it. Hogan was vital, yes, but in no way was he the catalyst.

 

[The_Don_of_WWE]

Very good topic my friend. I was thinking about this just the other day and you beat me to the punch. Anyway. I'm going to have to go with you on this one. Wrestling was popular, wwwf was popular, WCW was popular in its own way, but anything Hogan touches becomes a money machine. He is probaly the richest wrestler alive and he ain't even own a wrestling company. Not including that celeberty wrestling show. The name "Hulk Hogan" alone is worth damn near half a billion dollars...maybe not that much but you get where I'm getting at. During the time time....let's call it the old school era before the attitude era. Before the old school era was over Hogan was a big money draw and money maker and once he join the wCw....that's when wcw went mainstream and became WWF biggest compitition to date.

 

[PayneKiller79]

I don't think it really was Hogan either. Maybe for a few brief moments he made an impact that drew in some people. I was of a fan of WCW since around '91 and found the early-mid 90's better than the late 90's. They had great star power, and no Hogan, and the storylines revolved around pretty much everyone on the roster. The NWO was a big drawing factor that made WCW popular during the Hogan regime, in addition to showcasing the cruiserweights, and international talent from Japan, Mexico and wherever. The only time this happened were one-time deals when WWE(F) would bring in someone for a Light Heavyweight Title Match. WCW had a great roster and Hogan was not the sole factor. It was obvious WCW wanted to try to portray something by the way they brought him in with the parade and such, but he wasn't the sole reason that made them popular.

 

[kingdirrtysouth1]

First thing you gotta remember, that Austin didn't become Stone Cold & Rocky didn't become the Rock until AFTER Hogan turned heel for the first time ever and became Hollywood Hogan! He was one of the two biggest heels in the US as that persona! That being said, I'm gonna say yes, WCW would have been able to compete. That's if Nitro would have even been created! Neither Raw or Nitro were exactly block busters before the NWO came along! But without Hogan there never would have been a Monday night war, let alone a ratings war because there would have been no Monday Nitro! WCW was making it's money on Saturday nights before Hogan! But then, Vince would have never felt the need to push the envelop & create such controversial money making characters such as Stone Cold Steve Austin & 2009 would have taken place back in 1997! Or worse we would be stuck in pre-Scott Hall 1996!

 

[theirishtaker]

Hulk Hogan did not make WWF/E or WCW. Vince made Hulk into what he was and gave him the push,freedom and storylines to work with. If it wasnt for the WWF giving him such a platform then he would never have been the thought of legend he is today. Yes he picked up Andre but other than that his move set was limited. When he went to WCW it just didnt work changing his character and people got bored and WCW fans tuned out. If he wasn't around not much would have changed and somebody else would have taken up the mantle and been the headliner that he was.

Plus a lot of money might have been saved from the personal limo's,private dressing rooms with fruit baskets etc.

Hulk was overrated....plain and simple.

 

[JenovasWitness]

Hulk Hogan did not make WWF/E or WCW. Vince made Hulk into what he was and gave him the push,freedom and storylines to work with. If it wasnt for the WWF giving him such a platform then he would never have been the thought of legend he is today. Yes he picked up Andre but other than that his move set was limited. When he went to WCW it just didnt work changing his character and people got bored and WCW fans tuned out. If he wasn't around not much would have changed and somebody else would have taken up the mantle and been the headliner that he was.

Plus a lot of money might have been saved from the personal limo's,private dressing rooms with fruit baskets etc.

Hulk was overrated....plain and simple.

I disagree completely. The WWE has put their full weight behind a star before and it has failed miserably. Remember Lex Luger? The WWE tried to make him the next Hulk Hogan but the fans shit on him.

Hogan had this amazing ability to connect with the crowd and electrify them. This is the same IT factor that the greatest superstars have. The Rock, Stone Cold, Cena, these characters have the ability to captivate people and Hogan was the prime example of this as the WWE became a household name and mainstream phenomenon during his heyday in the '80s.

The facts of professional wrestling history CLEARLY show that Hogan was a great success and worthy of his title as legend.

 

[Kingdoug]

the only thing hogan made was alot of money....if you all remember correctly hogan was there when one of the biggest grossing groups were there and that being the NWO if hogan is responsible for anything it is the thing that sent WCW out of business with the infamous finger poke of doom......that is when the rating wars became a one-sided fight....i will agree with someone saying that he made the wwf in the 80s but that is all...he was as shawn michaels said in one of his promos when they were fueding...hogan is nothing more than an overrated wrestler who gets way more credit than he deserves...hogan is a legend which is true...but he is also way overrated and still trying to relive long gone glory days....with his book he will do nothing more than get one last run at wrestling if his book does well.....one message to hogan....just quit....hulkamania will never die but if you continue to wrestle you will put it in a coma......

 

[hatehabsforever]

Absolutely, this question was a no brainer in my opinion. Whether or not you like(d) Hogan or not (personally I was not a big fan) he made WWE what it is today (with the support of McMahon of course). Without Hogan, WWE would never have been as big as it became, he was the launching pad from which WWE skyrocketed. He definitely made WCW as well. Without Hogan the nWo would never have been as successful or as controversial as it was. Think about it, the biggest face of all time turning heel and condemning the fans? Huge at the time. Hall, Nash and the others would never have carried nWo to the extent it became, it would have been mildly interesting and then it would have fizzled out, and WCW with it.

And without the infamous Monday night wars WWE and Vince would have never stepped up in the fashion that they did. The Attitude era would not have been born. Stone Cold and the Rock would not have enjoyed the success they did. They had to elevate their games to compete with WCW, which Hogan made competitive, and the rest is history. Like him or not the wrestling world owes a lot to Hogan.

 

[Budro5454]

Great thread! I had a PART to do with it. Lets face it, Hogan knows how to market himself and people watch the guy no matter what. Keep in mind the whole reason people started flipping to WCW at first was because Hall and Nash showed up and at the time, these wrestling sites didn't exsist so nobody knew for sure what was going on. I myself thought that it was an invasion storyline and that WCW and WWE collaborated to help both products. They were the first people to come out and say that WCW was weak and had no aliance with faces or heels in WCW, just themselves. To see Hogan come out and be the 3 man was what completely flipped the boat. I hated WCW up until that point, and it got me really interested.

Its also a strong rumor that Bret Hart was supposed to be the 3rd man until he changed his mind at the last min and resigned with WWE... and can you even imagine how different things would be if he went the other way? Think about it, the best chemestry i think Austin ever had was with Bret Hart and that originally put Austin on the map. There would have been know screw job and more importantly, where would that have left Hogan? He would become the 4th memeber and lead them, it wouldn't make sence.

Might wanna make that a thread... "What if Bret signed with WCW back in 97?"

 

[SinCityBlitz]

In wrestling you are only as good as your competition. If guys like Andre, Piper, and Orndorff didn't make Hogan look like a million bucks he wouldn't have been shit. Hogan wouldn't have been able to do anything without others pushing him to the moon. Hogan himself has said this about Andre in many different interviews.

Now Hogan has the charisma to carry it which he should get credit for. A lot of wrestlers can't carry themselves like he could. Of course a lot of guys never got the push he got either.

I still think with the vision Vince had that the WWF would have become big without Hogan. As big? I don't really know. I doubt it.

 

[Real Lucha Guy]

Hogan got the push because he deserve it. Hogan didn't play dirty politics. I haven't heard one story about Hogan refusing to job or work with someone but I did hear stories like that with Flair,HHH,Austin,HBK,etc. but hey Hogan is the bad guy.

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

Hogan never had to deal with dumbasses like Jim Herd either Lucha Guy. He wanted to shave Flair's head, make him into a military man with an ear ring and have him hunt people in the name of some ancient Asian God. I mean, that deal with getting rid of Flair and literally telling Flair to stick the belt up his ass killed the NWA. Don't blame Flair for his problems because he had to work for some major pissants in his career.

Shawn Michaels I will admit at one time is bad at doing that, havent heard anything about it recently though. I know Triple H does it a lot.

As far as making the company what it is I have to agree Hogan was as responsible for WCW's emergence as anyone because even though his skill was less than spectacular in the ring he still could draw a crowd like no one else in the business, play to the crowd, and was a media draw like none other the wrestling business had ever seen. Without Hogan being in WCW I can pretty much guarantee the Monday Night Wars would have been nothing but an afterthought, that is if they ever happened at all.

 

[Mark0820]

Hogan got the push because he deserve it. Hogan didn't play dirty politics. I haven't heard one story about Hogan refusing to job or work with someone but I did hear stories like that with Flair,HHH,Austin,HBK,etc. but hey Hogan is the bad guy.

Hogan's done it, I won't lie, but Hogan never walked out on the company(Austin refused to job to Lesnar and left and also was refusing to show up to work).

That said, yes, Hogan's name made WCW. Without it the NWO wouldn't have taken off and neither would have Nitro.

 

[Upgrayedd]

Yes. WCW was never taken seriously before Hogan came in. Hogan came in and a little while later they have their own live show on Monday nights. That wouldn't have happened if Hogan wasn't there. But it's not like he brought in millions of viewers like he did for the WWF.

The 3 people who really deserve credit for putting WCW on the map are Hogan, Hall and Nash. While The Outsiders were awesome the nWo wouldn't have worked out so well without Hogan turning heel. He changed the whole business that way. Pretty soon the anti-hero would become the favorites in the business.

So yes he was responsible for making WCW what it was.

 

[Chimera]

Of course Hogan helped make WCW what it was. If you look at The Wcw roster from About 1993 before Hulk showed up you've got Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, Steve Austin, Cactus Jack, Rick Rude, Sting and Vader.
Now look at the roster 1996 when WCW started to pick up steam. Hogan, Sting, Luger,Flair, Giant, Hall, Nash, Savage and Page.
Now the WCW of 93 and 96 are strikingly different, its like two different companies.
I dont think Ted Turner would have opened up his wallet quite so much if he didnt have Hogan and his connections.
Without Hulk we may have never had the MNW. However WCW may still be around.