Hogan v Austin-Who was the bigger star?

[d_henderson1810]

Of the two biggest names in WWF/WWE history, Hulk Hogan and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who was the bigger star, and who had more influence in the WWF/WWE becoming the company it is today (as in financially and globally)?

Many are lovers of SCSA here, but I say Hulk Hogan, as, without Hogan's run as WWF World Champion in WWF, there would not have been a WWF/E long-term for Austin to be a star in. Without "Hulkamania", there would have been no "Austin 3:16".

That's my opinion, what's yours?

 

[Raptor93]

Hard to say, If a SCSA where around today he would pale in comparison to that of SCSA in the in the 90's, early 2000's. Wrestling was a lot bigger back then and thus it made everyone in it look bigger and more important. Ill say Hogan was bigger star, For that reason wrestling was biggest in the 80's and has declined ever since. Perhaps not the best quality but for the time it was more popular and thus increased Hogans popularity

 

[klunderbunker]

This depends on how you look at it.

Overall, it's Hogan and there's no real way around that. The guy has been around and prominent for the better part of thirty years. He started modern wrestling and turned it into the worldwide phenomenon that it is today and is a household name because of it. Hogan is the bigger star overall.

Now that being said, Austin reached a level in 1998/1999 that Hogan simply did not hit. Austin was the hottest star in the history of wrestling and carried the WWF on his back to heights that it's never seen before or since. The company was able to go public on the amount of money he brought in with his merchandise sales alone blowing away anything anyone has ever done. When people say Austin was the biggest star ever, this is what they're referring to. To give you an indication of how big he was, the following is from Forbes Magazine in 1999:

At an average of $20 a pop, his T-shirts accounted for nearly half of the WWF's $500 million in merchandise sold in 1998."

Austin's t-shirt sales alone made a quarter BILLION dollars in one year. Wrestlemania this year brought in a little over 70 million. From what I can find, Cena brought in a little over $100 million in 2010. It's not broken down, but that could include PPVs he headlined as well as merchandise. Let that sink in for a minute.

Short version: Hogan is the bigger star overall, but Austin reached the highest high.

 

[Mongoose McQueen]

I did not grow up with either but I am still aware of the history of both Stars careers. I'd go with Hulk Hogan since he essentially started the whole "Sports Entertainment" Fiasco and since then the WWE have been the most financially successful Wrestling/entertainment promotion on the planet. So not denying SCSA's success, but Hogan has more mainstream appeal to his name.

 

[Airehk]

I'll have to give the edge to Austin.

I always knew of wrestling. I knew of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Sting, and another face painted guy who I went on to find out it was Ultimate Warrior once I started watching.

I started watching when in 1998 I was told about this Stone Cold character by some friends in my grade 6 class. I was let down that he didn't look like a typical wrestler with flamboyant looks — he looked plain. Black trunks? Bald head? Not all that muscular? Knowing at the time wrestling was fake, I still gave it a shot. I was hooked on this Austin guy.

I never cared about all the others who came before Stone Cold. NWO, Hogan, Hart, Michaels.. Never did it for me. Believing it was real in those days and knowing it was fake when the Attitude era was around, Austin was able to appeal to me and still keep me tuned in.

Austin wins.

 

[Trail_Blazin]

Hogan.

It's popular nowadays to rip on Hogan, afterall, with the advent of technology and his reality show and his public profile we've seen a side of "The Immortal" that many who grew up watching him would struggle to know even existed. But Hogan was literally the man who put wrestling on the map.

Some of it certainly has to do with time and place. Stone Cold as we knew him wouldn't have been able to be Stone Cold in that era. He wouldn't have been accepted, been allowed to flip off opponents, dose the ring in beer, ect. That wasn't the way things went back in "the day".

And in counter, if Hogan, as the character we knew, existed in the Attitude Era, he would have been John Cena. Almost to a tee. Say your prayers and take your vitamins, brother! Crowd boos.

It's tough to judge who was the bigger star among the two. A lot of people's answers are going to be based on the era they grew up in.

I think the safest thing to say is that without Hogan, who knows where wrestling would be? Without Austin, who knows how well wrestling would have survived in the mainstream (or, if you want to say it would have survived anyways, would WCW be the dominant power without Austin?). Without Rock, where would we be? What about without Cena?

I think Hogan was the biggest thing to ever happen to wrestling. But, each of these guys had tremendous value that helped pave the way for what we have today. And while most people aren't happy with the product, who knows what we'd have without these guys.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Hogan.

Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling history.

Hogan drew on his own personna while SCSA drew because of his gimmick.
Hogan became a huge star on his own. Austin wouldn't be half the star he is if it wasn't for Vince McMahon's heel personna.

WWE are so sad, they always try to bury Hogan and say Austin was bigger than him coz Hogan wasn't as loyal as Austin was to them, but the fact is Hogan is a bigger star than "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock at any given day.

Hogan had a huge role in making WWE and pro wrestling what it is today.

Hogan was responsible for the pro wrestling boom in the 80s, and nWo was responsible for the pro wrestling boom in the 90s.

Most WWF Attitude Era fans who watched Rock n Austin, watched because they grew up as Hulkamaniacs.

WWF Main Event with Hogan and Andre, still the most watched wrestling program in American television history with a 15.2 rating / 33 million viewers.

If Austin faced Hogan at WMX8, he would've got boo'd out of the building, it isn't debatable.


3 BIGGEST STARS IN WRESTLING HISTORY:
1-HULK HOGAN
2/3-THE ROCK AND "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Hogan.

Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling history.

Hogan drew on his own personna while SCSA drew because of his gimmick.
Hogan became a huge star on his own. Austin wouldn't be half the star he is if it wasn't for Vince McMahon's heel personna.

WWE are so sad, they always try to bury Hogan and say Austin was bigger than him coz Hogan wasn't as loyal as Austin was to them, but the fact is Hogan is a bigger star than "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock at any given day.

Hogan had a huge role in making WWE and pro wrestling what it is today.

Hogan was responsible for the pro wrestling boom in the 80s, and nWo was responsible for the pro wrestling boom in the 90s.

Most WWF Attitude Era fans who watched Rock n Austin, watched because they grew up as Hulkamaniacs.

WWF Main Event with Hogan and Andre, still the most watched wrestling program in American television history with a 15.2 rating / 33 million viewers.

If Austin faced Hogan at WMX8, he would've got boo'd out of the building, it isn't debatable.


3 BIGGEST STARS IN WRESTLING HISTORY:
1-HULK HOGAN
2/3-THE ROCK AND "STONE COLD" STEVE AUSTIN

I don't know if I'd disagree about Hogan being the bigger star overall (although it's very debatable and I can't argue with anyone who says Austin instead)... but your facts here about Austin just aren't right.

- Hogan drew on his own persona while Austin only got over because of his gimmick? If we've learned anything about Hogan over the years, it's that the say your prayers, eat your vitamins all american superhero that Hogan portrayed at his peak in the 80's was just a gimmick, and nothing like the real man's persona. Whereas "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, if we've learned anything about him over the years, is exactly who Steve Williams is, only with the volume turned way up.

- Austin got over to the degree that he did thanks to his opponents (first Bret Hart, then of course to a major degree in Mr. McMahon). But then again, Hogan got into that upper stratosphere to a degree because of his opponents (first Roddy Piper, then when he beat Andre). A great hero is only as good as his greatest villain, and Piper was to Hogan what McMahon was to Austin. Anyone that disagrees with that simply wasn't around to see how much people loved to hate Piper back then. It was as much as people loved to hate McMahon

- Hogan was responsible for the boom in the 80's, and the NWO did get the ball rolling in the 90's... but without Austin picking that ball up and running with it, wrestling in the 90's would have never scored the touchdown that it did.

- I would disagree that most Attitude Era fans grew up watching Hogan. This board alone is a perfect example. It's comprised mostly of people who started watching during the Attitude Era and stayed fans after that. The Attitude Era brought back a lot of old 80's Hogan fans, but it also brought in more brand new fans.

- Would Austin have been booed against Hogan at WMX8? Probably. Toronto wanted to cheer Hogan's return more than anything, and I can't really think of anyone he would have been booed against... Austin included. Would he have been booed out of the building? Of course not. The Rock wasn't, and Austin was just as popular still, if not even a little more so. Hogan/Austin in fact was a dream match, and that Toronto crowd would have died to have been able to witness it. I think it would have been more of a case of the fans being behind Hogan, while still respecting the hell out of Austin, even if they were booing him (remember, not all boos in wrestling are bad).

 

[Steve001]

As other have alluded to, the answer to this question is not so simple.

Firstly, I have to state that Hulk Hogan is the very reason I started watching Wrestling 1990. The Main Event of 'Mania 6 was shown here in Australia on free TV shortly after it happened.

As a side note, live Wrestling PPV's were not available in Australia until 1996, so VHS tapes and magazine's were a fans' only option here besides the odd TV broadcast.

Even though the 'Mania 6 scrap between "The Ultimate 'Roider" and the "Hulkster" was regarded as a legit classic by fans at the time, the match hasn't aged well.

Still, for nostalgic reasons and the strength of the characters' personas, the match is a guilty pleasure of mine!

From that moment on, I was a legit 'Hulkamaniac' and was hooked on Pro Wrestling, a strong passion of mine that continues to this very day. Growing up, I had the action figures, Hulkamania VHS tapes, stuffed toys and T-shirts...The guy, in the eyes of a child at the time, was a full-on real life action hero! Simply put, he exuded a feel good aura that was unmatched.

There is no doubt, Hogan was and is a household name that everyone over the age of say fifteen, the world over knows. They may not be able to rattle off matches, angles and opponents...But everyone knows Hulk Hogan is that "Wrestler guy" at the very least.

The combination of Hogan's undeniable magnetic charisma and Vince McMahon's then creative prowess proved to be box office gold and Wrestling, specifically the WWF exploded to levels once thought unfathomable to the Promoter's of old.

Wrestling was everywhere and you couldn't escape it, with the mighty 'Hulkster' at the forefront. Setting box office records, PPV buyrate records and of course merchandising records, Hogan signified the then new era of Professional Wrestling.

He was so popular, he crossed over into the mainstream on a level that no Wrestler previously had.

In 1996, his once unthinkable heel turn and subsequent formation of the New World Order in WCW reinvigorated Hogan and a whole host of fresh match-ups and scenarios for Hogan breathed new life into the ageing veteran and ignited a fire once again in Wrestling. WCW Nitro, circa 1997, was literally the most watched program on all of cable TV in the States.

A heel Hogan, backed up by the hip, cool combo of Kevin Nash & Scott Hall along with the 'Bisch hitting his creative stride helped WCW topple the WWF and for the first time in his life, Vince McMahon was a distant number two.

WWE, 'Vinnie Mac' and Kevin Dunn have long claimed that WCW's explosion was due to Ted Turner's open checkbook and Vince's stars...

That's partially true...But Eric Bischoff truly revolutionized the business along with a refreshed Hogan. Once the nWo was in full swing, and fans' heads were turned, the overall then strong Dubya-See-Dubya product left the WWF standing in a cloud of dust!

As far as Hogan goes, In his prime he was every bit the drawcard and Superstar his reputation suggests he was.


Onto the Austin side of the equation here:

'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was an absolute phenomenon. Benefiting greatly from the departure of many of the old faces in the WWF, he made the absolute most out of every opportunity he was awarded.

Austin always presented a strong work ethic, especially during his early days in WCW and the WWF pre-neck injury, Austin would hit those ropes like a rocket! Always a very talented performer between the ropes, It wasn't until the combination of Vince McMahon and Vince Russo molded Austin into a legit Superstar.

Austin himself admits, he didn't hit his stride promo wise until 1998, But when he did, Russo provided him with blockbuster material! McMahon at the time, afforded Vinnie Ru more power in the WWF in terms of Creative than any other person in history not named McMahon.

Russo provided Austin with dynamite promos and angles and single handedly penned the Austin/McMahon saga, arguably the biggest and most profitable angle in the history of the business which turned the tables against the superstar heavy WCW in the ratings war and led the WWF to even greater heights than anyone thought possible.

Austin sold more shirts, more PPV's and more tickets than Hogan ever did in the WWF. In 1999, Austin banked more cash from Pro Wrestling in a single year than any other Wrestler in history, earning an astonishing US$15 Million that year.

It wasn't just Austin who turned the tide against WCW, as Russo developed an intriguing under card that had purpose. Talent's like HHH, Rock, The Outlaws and Foley etc all played their part...However Austin was the guy blowing the roof off every Monday with the loudest pops in Wrestling history.

I see someone above me posted that without the McMahon feud, Austin wouldn't have been half the star he became, There is some merit in that statement but Austin was connecting with the WWF fan base long before the Vinnie Mac feud began.

In my opinion, the Bret Hart double-cross and HBK's back injury at the Rumble in '98 were integral ingredients in Austin's megapush...If Hart and Michael's had stuck around, McMahon's attention would certainly have been divided amongst them and Hart/Michaels would have demanded their star still shine brightly, perhaps deservedly so...

But those two departures at the top of the card, needed filling and Austin was savvy enough to work with Russo/McMahon and make this thing work.

Plus, post "Owendriver", Austin altered his ring style and provided an intense, kick/punch brawling style that just worked so well with his character.

To a generation, the spirit of a bloodshot eyed, finger flipping, beer swilling anti-authoritarian named 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin will live forever!

At the end of the day....The numbers don't lie....'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was the bigger draw and star.
On a personal note, perhaps no other Wrestler provided so many memorable moments and promos than 'Stone Cold'.

Once again, go back and check out those crowd pops! Just goes to show, with the right talent and the right help from Creative...just what is possible.

 

[Ubermensch]

I think you have to go with Hogan. He put Wrestling in the mainstream between his movies etc. Guys like The Rock, and Austin probably wouldn't have had success outside of wrestling had Hogan not paved the way.

 

[tom9422]

I believe Vince himself called Austin the greatest WWE superstar ever. Since he probably has more knowledge of who had more fans and who drew the most, i'll just take his word for it. Hogan was first, but being first doesn't make you the best.

Btw, to the guys pointing out Wrestlemania X8 where Hogan got cheered and Rock got booed, that doesn't mean anything. People always take the side of the returning legend over the star you see every week. It's no different from people cheering for Rock over Cena.

 

[CotterHavok]

Hulk Hogan will always be wrestlings biggest star. He held the attention of the WWF fans for OVER A DECADE. Hogan leaves WWF, the WWF falls into hard times, Hogan "retires" from WCW for a year, returns as a heel with Hall and Nash at his side, and along with Goldberg, crushed the WWF for 3 years.

Austin wrestled half of his carrier in the mid card of WCW. He went to ECW after he was fired from WCW where he started sowing the seeds of SC Steve Austin. IN the WWF he was still a nobody for over a year. Then he is finally cut loose and Attitude era began. He was mostly gone from wrestling rings 5 years later. He was a huge draw, but Hogan came up in an era where merch sales and PPV weren't as big. Hell WWF only had 4 real pay per views until the 90's with the in your house monthly deals.

Hogan is the man. Ask a non fan to name a wrestler, and they will say Hulk Hogan or the Rock more often than they will SCSA.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

This is a good topic of discussion, I certainly have my own biases as many of us are going to have. So I am going to be honest about it right from the start of this post. However, before I make my actual pick I am going to go over some highlights about the two icons, no matter what choice I make, both performers are icons in the world of professional wrestling. I think that much is safe to say.

Now, let's take a look at these two figures:

Hulk Hogan: Hogan caught like wildfire after his debut in Florida, he was quickly noticed. Going to the (W)WWF to the AWA and back to the WWF, he was the face of a new generation in wrestling. After his Hulkamania run in the WWF he jumped to WCW as we all know. Many often fault him for WCW’s downfall, but one could argue that the company was lucky to have even existed past the late 80s when its original owners the Crockett Family sold to Ted Turner. Not to say that he didn’t have his ego, but I feel much of what is said is more speculation than anything. After all, what good is a creative control clause when Hogan had to share World Champion billing amongst guys like Flair, Sting, and Nash? If his power was so all encompassing, how did they get a title reign in during his stint? Bottom line, you get a multitude of egos with big fat contracts, it’s a powder keg. With that said though, Hogan found himself back in the WWF/E and would eventually get a Hall of Fame induction while feuding with some fresh faces. Controversies aside, nothing changes the fact as to how influential Hogan is in the world of wrestling.

Steve Austin: Stone Cold had a great start in lauded territories such as WCCW and USWA. This spring boarded him to a successful run in WCW as “Stunning” Steve Austin. A tag team specialist as well as an accomplished fixture in the TV and United States Title division. A stop into ECW after his WCW firing was a much needed shot in the arm and where I feel the Stone Cold persona was truly conceived. His WWF debut was underwhelming but thankfully a creative change was made and Austin 3:16 was born, shedding the less than impressive moniker of “The Ringmaster” the Stone Cold character was fully born and ready to usher in the WWF’s Attitude Era. No one can deny that Austin was a needed breath of fresh air for a WWF that was struggling to see new horizons. Sadly, Austin’s career was cut short by injuries but all the credit has to be given for him making as much as he could with his main event run in the WWF/E. For, after it was all said and done, Austin found himself with the honor of WWE Hall OF Famer, and rightfully so.


Now looking at both of their great careers, I l go with Hulk Hogan. Fact is Hogan was a marquee name in the AWA, WWF/E and WCW. Not to mention Hogan’s stints in New Japan and his immense popularity abroad. His whole hand in revolutionizing things along with Vince McMahon steering the ship. Not just anybody could have done such a thing, Hogan showed he was the guy and stood the test of time. Yeah, his TNA stint was underwhelming but, you can’t win them all.

However, I also can’t deny what Steve Austin did. While I don’t begrudge Hogan leaving the WWF for the sake of his own best interests, because let’s be honest, everyone else did it. Randy Savage, Jim Duggan, Bret Hart, Scott Hall, and Kevin Nash are just a handful of other names who were looking to get their bottom line money wise. So Austin was in a unique position and all the power to him for being the standard bearer in the Attitude Era, not just anyone could have done that role much like the way Hogan was the man for his time. Austin was the very same. But in the long run, and I can’t fault Austin for this but he didn’t have Hulk Hogan’s longevity. Not even close. And while Austin’s rivalry with The Rock was legendary, I think Hogan always had the better in ring rivalries. I just think the stories were more intriguing and more gripping. Be it Nick Bockwinkel, Randy Savage, Paul Orndorff, The Ultimate Warrior, The Rock or Shawn Michaels, I just found myself more intrigued and invested. However that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy Austin’s in ring wars with Bret Hart, Triple H, and The Rock. Hell, I was excited as a kid when he was feuding with Ricky Steamboat and Dustin Rhodes. Two names that most of the fair-weather wrestling fans that blindly pick Austin wouldn’t even be able to cite, since the Austin most of these idiots know is only the one from the WWF/E.

And before people use their justification for Austin as being the bigger star because he’s a better man or more loyal to WWF/E, I’ll raise the bullshit flag there. Austin was notorious for having creative differences with WWF/E. He had walked out of the company based on storyline directions. Some of this could be kayfabe, but considering the circumstances, I doubt it was entirely storylined. I think WWE capitalized on it and turned it into a storyline, but I feel it was based on reality. Then of course, he went to court for domestic abuse on both Debra his then-wife, and Tess Broussard a then-girlfriend.

Bottom line, pardon the pun is this: both men are great, both are icons. All of the bullshit speculation of things aside, they brought great things to the industry. While, I pick Hulk Hogan as the man over Steve Austin. I can’t dismiss what Stone Cold brought to the table either. But for me, Hogan all the way.

 

[relentless1]

its Hogan, while austin was INSANELY popular for about 4 years max and had the top dog spot shared with the rock for most of that time hogan was the man, by himself at the top of the wwf for 7 years straight, almost 9 overall. without hulk there would be no wrestle mania for austin to get famous at. austin sold more mercy and was a bigger seller in the smaller window that he had but hogan was a bigger start over a longer period of time, and that me not even including his nWo run in wcw

 

[d_henderson1810]

I realize I'm setting myself to get "booed out of the building" here, but...

I think Cena should at the very least be mentioned. I, too, would put him behind Hogan, Rock and Austin. But John Cena has done everything he can to shoulder the entire load of the WWE, and he's been at the top for a very sustained period. I'm not even a fan of his gimmick, truthfully, but to deny what he's been to the wrestling business is extremely short sighted.

I didn't include Cena, because he wouldn't have got many votes.

I think Cena doesn't get enough credit, but he isn't "larger-than-life" like Hogan and SCSA, or even Rock. However, he is the best the WWE have to rely on at the moment, and could have done with someone like him in their lean period, 1993-1997, which was even worse than today.

I think Cena can enter the discussion when he has retired, and he will get more recognition then.

 

[jameyt2003]

They are both the centerpieces for the greatest times in pro wrestling. Hogan in the 80's in WWF and 90's with NWO/WCW. Austin during the Attitude Era. Both men had a lot of help along the way to becoming icons. Hogan had Andre, Piper, Big John Studd, Mr. T, and Ric Flair to an extent. SCSA had Rock, Vince, Bret, and HHH later on. Both made significant contributions to Vince's empire that Vince himself can never repay. There is a reason we never saw these two wrestle. Because the thought of them against one another is greater than anything they could have produced in the ring. Hogan came first and therefore had more chances to capitalize on the evolving greatness of pro wrestling. Plus he is a great performer. But, not better than Austin. IMO.

 

[yourdamnluck]

"IF HOGAN WASNT THERE....." man i didn't know you guys could see future......
ask anyone who became a fan during the attitude era or after that he'll say hogan was lame and we'd have loved to boo him today......
austin was lightyears ahead of hogan both being at their peaks......
and ya if being average seller for the longer duration beats being the best seller setting new bar for a duration of say 4 years not counting his time as the raw gm (he still sold better than hogan) then you could say hogan was the biggest star.....
but then you have to include cena to and he kicks hogans ass in being a household name all over the world and he'll stay their longer than hogan given his love for wrestling and his loyalty to vince also there is no wcw to go to but still....
SCSA revolutionised this buisness set the bar way higher than hogan and he's the reason we hate cena......
him,rock,foley,shawn.. in a way ruined wrestling for me.......

 

[lowandmighty]

In the matter of who is the bigger star its Hogan. There are still lots of non wrestling fans who have never heard of Austin but instantly recognize Hulk Hogan.

Austin made more money for wwe than Hogan did and sold more merchandise for them but the whole world population was bigger by the time Austin came around and all he did was feed off the boom that Hogan created in the first place. So thats only a partially valid point.

Hogan also played a hand in wwe taking risks during the attitude era to get better by competing against it and winning.
WCW would not have had that amount of market share without Hogan. He expanded wrestling to even more of the world by being there and even inadvertently grew awareness for wwf.

People who saw wrestling for the first time in the form of wcw when it expanded to many other countries due to networks wanting to get Hogan for a cheaper price than they could get with wwf saw Hogan and asked themselves - Why is he such a big star and always the champion? and if they looked, they found out he was from wwf and was a huge star there, so they watch wwf boom, better product, networks are asked to broadcast wwf - bigger global expansion. Just like that.

I know this for a fact living in Europe during the mid 90's and seeing they only showed wcw and had only just started to once Hogan joined. After a couple of years awareness grew and everyone realized they were getting the raw end of the deal with wcw and pestered the networks to show wwf and they did eventually.

Hogan actually had a bigger impact even than most people realize. Hogan opened up the world to wrestling and in turn to wwe.

Stone cold only made more money because he was in a bigger market - which existed because of Hulk Hogan.

I was originally going to write Austin had more influence but I've talked myself out if it, its Hogan.

 

[Goldie]

Hogan is wrestlings greatest ever superstar.

Steve Austin at his peak, outdrew Hogan.... but Austin was at the top for a short time period... he was huge from 1996-2003... but even during this period there were alot of absenses:
He won KOTR in 1996... but even after his infamous promo, was cut from the next few PPVs and wasn't even put into a meaningful program till he fueded with Bret Hart in Nov '96. And Bret helped build Austins popularity!
He was out for a year late '99 to late '2000 with neck surgery.
He walked out of the WWE in 2002 for 10 months after being dismayed with the booking.
His 2003 return only lasted 2 months before he retired.

So cummunlatively, as popular as he was... in wrestling he was only red hot for 4 and a bit years.

Compare to Hogans 20 year plus run at the top of the industry.... Austin was bigger at his peak, but Hogan outdrew Austin over a greater time period

 

[relentless1]

how can you say that hogan was "average" ?? the only person to beat hogans merch sales WAS austin so i don't know where you get "average" from, you're either too young or too ignorant to understand the impact and legacy that hogan left behind. fact is; no hogan, no austin. and no, i don't put cena anywhere close to hogan or austin because yeah, he's been on top for 9 years or so but his drawing power IS average, or have you noticed the declining stats for wwe these days?

 

[SCrooked1]

While the Attitude Era did the best business in wrestling history at that point Austin had a limited number of opponents in 1998 and 1999 and half of his drawing power in those 2 years also should be credited to Vince McMahon. Austin may have been a bigger draw than Hogan during the Attitude Era but other than that time frame it's always been Hogan.

In '97 Austin's segments on Raw usually lost in the quarter hour ratings to whatever Nitro had on, and if Austin's segment went up against Hogan's then Hogan's segment usually won by a landslide. The nWo storyline stopped making sense in '98 which the WWF capitalized on which their Trash TV. Obviously the nWo storyline peaked with Sting chasing Hogan throughout the year, '98 was pretty much the year of Goldberg, the problem was he wasn't the focus of Nitro consistently like Austin was on Raw because of WCW's star power.

As for people bringing up Raw's ratings in 1999, at least half of those fans were disgruntled WCW fans. If you noticed in '98 the fanbase was pretty much even as both Raw and Nitro averaged a 4.4 that year. So when you think about it, the fanbase for wrestling actually peaked in '98, it's just that WWF took more than half of WCW's fanbase in 1999-2000 which is the reason for the near 6.0 average that year.

 

[Bobbywoodhogan]

Hulk Hogan, easily, the most famous wrestler of all time everyone knows who he is. Austin had some amazing years at the too Hogan had amazing time at the top nearly two decades worth. Add to this no Hulk Hogan no Stone Cold Steve Austin.

 

[Bockwinkel's Class]

WWE, 'Vinnie Mac' and Kevin Dunn have long claimed that WCW's explosion was due to Ted Turner's open checkbook and Vince's stars...

And one could just as easily (and even more accurately) claim that the WWF's explosion in the '80s was due to Junior using Verne Gagne's stars and Junior's checkbook being bigger than other promoters.....

 

[FlairFan2003]

I hate when people say Austin sold more merchandise than Hogan, they never point to units sold, they point to dollars. Do you realize how much less expensive everything was dollar wise in 1985 vs 1998 ? A new car in 1985 cost less than 9 grand, by 1998 that number was running around 15 grand for the same car. I remember buying floor seats at Pgh Civic Arena for wrestling in 1992 that cost $10 each.....I was paying more than three times that by 1998.

I short, yes, Austin generated a lot of merchandise money compared to Hogan, but Hogan was the king of merchandise sales and was so for more than five years (longer than Austin). There's no way Austin actually sold more units than Hogan, he benefited from higher prices.

It's like Movie Box Office. In terms of box office gross Skyfall is the highest earning Jame Bond picture. It wasn't the most WATCHED Bond film however, more tickets were sold for ThunderBall than any othe Bond film, but at the 1965 prices it's total gross doesn't compare with the more recent films. It was the most watched however.

Biggest star ? Hogan - Hogan was a full time mainstream media star in ways no other WWE star had been before The Rock. Even Austin, who used his much shorter career to spawn some acting gigs has gotten mostly token guest slots on a few B-movies and TV shows, they actually made multiple full length motion pictures starring Hogan, and these were not cheap, direct to video release, they were full on national in theaters everywhere productions.

As wrestling boomed over all in the 1980s, Hogan, who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, was the lone star who branched full bore into mainstream America. Among wrestling fans he was the biggest draw, followed by Flair, with Savage, Andre, & Dusty Rhodes close behind but none of them had the following Hogan did.

Hogan remained a huge draw and legit money making performer for thirty years. No one else other than Flair can say that. Maybe if Savage didn't retire he could have but fact was he did leave when he still had game. Hogan was still a marquee attraction in 2006, almost as big as he was in 1996 when he was HUGE, almost as big as was in 1986 when he was GIANT. Again, only Flair can match that level of longevity as a legit main event caliber draw.

Austin was red hot in 1998 - then missed most of 1999 with an injury while WWE made crap loads of money built largely around The Rock & HHH. WWE did not make money comparable to Hogan when Ultimate Warrior was champ and Hogan was gone by comparison.

Austin wasn't even the reason wrestling had it's boom period in the mid to late 90s....iit was WCW, powered by HOGAN and The NWO Storyline which prominently featured Flair & Sting....Go figure, Austin essentially had nothing to do with the wrestling's second boom, he came along mid stream, caught fire, did well, comparable to Goldberg & The Rock. Wrestling's 80's boom started around Hogan's popularity in the 1980s, he was the catalyst then and a major force in the mid 90s.

Now things might have been different had Austin not missed so much time (and WWE did so well without him) and retired young due to injury. However, Gayle Sayers might have set the all time rushing record if he hadn't retired early with injuries, he didn't though, Jim Brown did. You can make a strong argument that Sayers best season was more impressive than Brown as a whole but it was a short period of time, not a career, and Brown was legendary.

Hogan was the catalyst behind wrestling's 80s boom and a huge factor in the 90s boom. He maintained star power and drawing power longer than anyone besides Ric Flair, and was a much bigger star outside wrestling than anyone other than The Rock. He was the biggest star, hands down. Maybe not the best wrestler, maybe not the best Team Player, but those are different discussions.

 

[FlairFan2003]

At his height, Hogan could draw big money against very weak opponents. Yes, it's easy to draw comparably when you're facing Andre, Piper, Flair, & Savage, but Hogan at his height drew huge crowds facing one dimensional stiffs like Earthquake, Kamala, King Kong Bundy, guys who couldn't sell a main event against almost anyone else.

They used to say in his prime people would watch Flair face anyone because he could wrestle a broom stick and carry it to a 4 star match and have you on the edge of your seat thinking maybe, just maybe, that stupid broomstick might win. With Hogan, he could move 15,000 tickets facing the least talented, weakest opponents on the roster simply because he was Hogan and it was an event to see him. Not even Austin could match that.