Is Austin On Hogan's Level

[Hulkster84]

Hogan is miles ahead of Austin.

If there was no Hulk Hogan, there would be no Stone Cold Steve Austin. And in saying that, Hogan is a bigger star than Austin, he is more popular than Austin, he is a household name to wrestling fans - more so than Austin, he is a household name to non wrestling fans unlike Austin, and he made a much bigger impact on the sport than Austin.

Hulk Hogan:
Hogan is a 6 time WWE champion and a 6 time WCW champion.
His run began in 1984 and continued through to 2006!
That is 22 years on top! Austin only lasted a mere 4 years on top!
Hogans first WWE title reign lasted over 4 years, which is the longest title reign in mainstream wrestling history.
Austins longest title reign was a lousy 5 months long in 2001!
Hogan main evented 8 of the first 9 Wrestlemania's, and was also clearly in the main event of WM18 and WM19 even though he did not go on last. That is a total of 10 Wrestlemania main events.
Austin main evented only 3 Wrestlemanias.

Hogan received a 15 minute standing ovation when he was inducted into the Hall of fame in 2005! Austin received a lousy 3 minute ovation, in his home town might i add at his Hall of Fame induction in 2009! That speaks volumes on who the people love more, respect more and adore more.
The ovations that Hogan received during the Hulkamania era, including 1983-1993, and 2002-2006 were the loudest ovations in history! Hogan received numerous Smackdown and Raw ovations that lasted over 10 minutes!

Hulk Hogan was responsible for not only building WWE, but also WCW. The NWO concept, which Hogan was the head honcho of was what really kicked off the attitude era of wrestling, it wasn't the WWE's version of attitude. WCW was run very poorly however, as many of the wrestlers who worked there have stated, and as a result the WWE overtook them in the ratings and WCW failed as a company.

Big crowds drawn by both men:
Hogan drew: 93,173 at Wrestlemania 3, 67,678 at Wrestlemania 6, 62,167 at Wrestlemania 8, 68,237 at Wrestlemania 18, and over 74,000 at the Big Event in 1986 (vs Paul Orndorff) just to name a few.
Austin drew: 67,925 vs Rock at Wrestlemania 17 - and that's it for big draws.

Media Barriers:
Hulk Hogan was the first and only wrestler to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he appeared on the cover of TV Guide, and on the cover of People magazine. He had his own Cartoon show named after him - 'Hulk Hogan's Rock 'N' Wrestling', he was the face of 'The Rock 'N' Wrestling Connection' on MTV in the 80s, he was Make a Wish Foundation's most requested celebrity in the 1980s - beating Michael Jackson, beating Arnold Schwarzenegger, beating Mr T, beating Sylvester Stallone, beating Mickey Mouse and every other major celebrity from that decade.

Hogan made No Holds Barred, Mr Nanny and Suburban Commando - AND he played a significant role in Rocky 3. He was the man responsible for paving the way for other wrestlers to go to Hollywood and make movies. He set the standard in that regard.

Hogan made wrestling famous. He also appeared on numerous TV commercials. Hogan expanded the identity of wrestling by smashing all of these media barriers. He was the face of wrestling while it took over the world and became more than just what went on in the ring. When wrestling crossed over to the movie industry, the rock n' roll industry, television shows, magazines, charities, and when wrestling introduced the pay per view concept, Hulk Hogan was at the centre of ALL of it! He was the face of professional wrestling while it transformed into a global phenomenon. The people loved Hogan! The people idolized Hogan.

The people did not love Austin, the people thought Austin was cool. Hogan has fought so many big names from so many different generations. Hogan passed the torch to numerous wrestlers as well such as The Rock, Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Kurt Angle and Ultimate Warrior to name a few. Austin didn't really pass the torch to anyone. Hogan is referred to as the Babe Ruth of the Wrestling, and rightfully so. Hogan sold out more arenas, drew bigger numbers and made more money overall than any wrestler in history.

Ratings and Buyrates:
Consider the buyrates for both individuals - The buyrates that Hogan drew include - 10.2 at Wrestlemania 3, 6.4 at Wrestlemania 4, 5.9 at Wrestlemania 5, 3.8 at Wrestlemania 6, 2.8 at Wrestlemania 7.

The biggest buyrate that Austin drew during the attitude era was 2.3 at Wrestlemania 15 - which is the equivalent of Hogans worst Wrestlemania buyrate during the Hulkamania era, which was for Wrestlemania 8 (2.3).
Hogans highest buyrate of 10.2 is almost 5 TIMES LARGER than Austins highest buyrate of 2.3. That speaks volumes on star power and drawing power.

Hogan also drew much bigger buyrates than Austin for Royal Rumble Pay Per Views, Survivor Series Pay Per Views and Summerslam Pay per views.

Hulk Hogan is responsible for the highest rated wrestling segment in history - when he fought Andre the Giant on February 5 1988 on the Main Event, where over 33 million viewers tuned in to see the match!

During the attitude era, Rock and Mick Foley were responsible for the highest rated segment ever, and it didn't even draw 1/3rd of the viewers that Hogan and Andre drew in 88.

The success of the Hulkamania era was basically all because of Hulk Hogan. He was basically always the main event. Sure guys like Savage and Warrior played a part, but the success of WWE was all pretty much because of Hulk Hogan. However during the Attitude era, it was more of a combination of wrestlers that were responsible for WWE's success, Austin, Rock, Taker, DX, Mankind and Mr McMahon.


Austins character and achievements:
Austins character was built around the character of Mr McMahon. It was the feud of Austin and McMahon that shined in the Attitude era, not Austin alone, so it would be fair to say that without Vince to feud with, Austin wouldn't be as big a star as he became. During Hogans era however, Hogans character was not built around one bad guys character, rather it stood alone.

Many Austin fans like to talk about Austin selling more merchandise and grossing more that any other wrestler, including Hogan.

Firstly, that is not because Austin was bigger, more important or more popular than Hogan, it is because more people could more easily purchase merchandise during Austins era because it was during that era that fans could purchase merchandise over the internet, which as we all know is the vessel responsible for the vast majority of merchandise sales that occur today. During Hogans era however fans could not purchase merchandise over the internet, they had to send in a mail order from WWE magazine, or attend the events to purchase merchandise. During Austins era however any fan almost anywhere in the world could purchase merchandise from WWE Shopzone. Austin therefore had a HUGE advantage when it came to merchandise sales.

Secondly - during the Hulkamania era - there were only 4 PPV's per year from 1988 onwards. Before that, 87 had 2 PPV's and 85 & 86 just had Wrestlemania. Hogan therefore participated in only 24 PPV's during the Hulkamania era. Austin however participated in over 60 PPV's in the Attitude era because WWE was doing 1 PPV per month by that point. That's almost triple the number of PPVs.

AND FURTHERMORE, during Hogans era, PPV's were shown in less than 5 countries. During Austins era, the PPV's were shown in over 150 countries. So Austin was working in an era that featured almost TRIPLE the number of PPV's featured in Hogans era, which were shown in a market that was 15,000% larger than the market for PPV's in Hogans era! And this was all because of the natural progression of the business, technology and showbiz in general. Of course Austin was going to gross more in revenue, he had these HUGE advantages during his era.

With all that being said, Austin was very popular during the Attitude era, and he was partly responsible for resurrecting the WWE. His character was the epitome of a rebel. He won 3 Royal Rumbles and had 6 WWE title reigns. He is without a doubt a legend in the industry and one of the biggest stars of all time! He had great microphone skills also, and his move reportoir, much like Hogans, was quite basic.

Clearly Hogan is Bigger:
However, the fundamental impact that Hulk Hogan made on wrestling has been unparalleled. Hogan created wrestling culture, he made it famous, and he was the ultimate good guy - which made his heel turn in 96 absolutely phenomenal.

Hogan has lasted for 3 generations, and he has remained on top for each and every one of those. He not only made wrestling famous, but he had a charisma that still remains unmatched! He was cheered as a bad guy against the Rock (who was the good guy) at Wrestlemania 18. He was cheered and HHH was booed at Backlash 2002. He is the most beloved wrestler of all time. He made main events in general that much bigger, and set the standard for what the calibre of a Wrestlemania main event should be. The biggest matches in the history of wrestling involve Hogan! He has fought all of the big names and has had some legendary, huge matches. Hogan v Andre, Hogan v Flair, Hogan v Rock, Hogan v Warrior, Hogan v Sting, Hogan v Triple H, Hogan v HBK, Hogan v Undertaker, Hogan v Savage, Hogan v Goldberg and the list goes on.

Wrestling and Wrestlemania is just not the same and not as big without Hogan! And so many wrestlers have stated that he is the biggest star in wrestling history - HBK, Flair, HHH, Vince McMahon, Rock, Kurt Angle, Sting, Bret Hart, Goldberg, Big Show, Nasty Boys, Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and the list goes on and on and on!

So, for the aforementioned reasons, Hulk Hogan was and is more important to the wrestling industry than Austin. Had there not been a Hulk Hogan there would be no Austin, no Rock, no Cena etc etc!

Case Closed... If there even was one.

 

[school-of-hard-knocks]

It all depends on what you look at. If you want to go by in ring ability, mic skills, and all of that, then it is Austin. If you look at the ability to draw, merchandise, and what have you, then it is Hogan.

It is still Austin. He outdrew Hogan in every way possible including merchandise, PPV buys, etc.

 

[666_The_Game_666]

Well Everyone knows that Hogan is wrestling he is the best known wrestler of all time he made the WWE he was the WWE for the 80s sure there was Savage Andre and Warrior but they all took on Hogan and he beat them all except Warrior. Austin came around when WWE was loosing and it took him 2 years to become the top guy sure he was popular in 1996 and 1997 but HBK was top guy hell even Taker was which is more true than HBK. People say oh yeah Austin 3:16 sold more shirts that makes Stone Cold better. But wait Hogan drew 97,000 people and 33 million viewers so hes better. Forget all that its about performing. Austin could wrestle while Hogan couldnt. Hogan would do about 10 minutes then leg drop Austin wore down an opponent then would Stunner them. But in all fairness Hogan is the biggest draw and lasted longer on the big stage than Austin. Lets take into account that Austin had major surgery in 1999 after the Pile Drive by Owen Hart in 1997 so his neck was a factor in his prime so it cut alot out of his carer. If he didnt have a screwed neck he would of gone further than 2003 and maybe could still be going if HBK and Taker are still going. So to finish depends on what you look at it if you were in the 80s Hogan is and 90s is Austin it depends on what era you watch i guess

 

[Carolina dude]

The Rock was NEVER more over then Austin, whenever you heard the crowd when Austin and Rock were going head to head it was always at least 60/40 for Austin

Do people think when they make comments like the one above?

Rock/Austin first worked together in late 1997 when Rock was a heel.

Then again in 1998&1999 when Rock was a heel.

Then again in 2001 at Wrestlemania it was their first face vs face match but it was in TEXAS so Rock got booed.

Then they had another match at the UK Rebellion PPV when Austin was the heel.Just like at Survivor Series the same year.

Their last match was at Wrestlemania 19 and AGAIN Rock was the heel.

So they really only had 1 official face vs face match and that was on Austin's turf.

Don't forget that Rock as a heel in 1999 was getting some face pops in his
feud with Austin hence he turned face after Backlash.

I guess not many people remember when Rock got all the chants when he tagged w/Austin vs New Age Outlaws in late 1999 and when he said Austin's name in a promo on November 1st of 1999 some people booed.

It's like some people forget how OVER Rock was in 1999 when Austin was on top.He only got more popular in 2000.

but i mean you hear the same loud pop from the crowd for Austin and Rock....

Thank you.

Backlash 2000 had two of the biggest pops ever.Austin's entrance and Rock's victory.

He was cheered as a bad guy against the Rock (who was the good guy) at Wrestlemania 18.

-Nostalgia.
-It was his Wrestlemania homecoming.
-Toronto cheers cool heels.

 

[Why Always Me]

Great post Carolina Dude - I would of loved to have seen Austin and The Rock head to head in the summer of 1999, when both were at their peak of popularity, at a neutral venue, that would of been awesome.

Rock was arguably more over at that time, I too remember the match against The Outlaws, all the chants were for The Rock.

Look at their face off in the 6 Man Hell In A Cell match, all the chants once again were for The Rock.

There was also a brawl just before Summerslam 1999 at the end of Raw which included Austin, The Rock came out last and the building literally shook when he ran down the ramp (if anyone has a clip of that I would love to see the link).

But we have gone off topic here now, like I posted earlier, The Rock should be added to the mix in any question like this as Hogan, Austin and The rock are the 3 biggest, most popular and recognisable superstars ever.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

In terms of just sheer numbers, nobody is on Hogan's level. That's just how it is. I'm not saying that because I like Hogan, it's just the cold hard truth. However, let's not go overboard with all the "without Hogan there'd be no Austin" crap because I don't buy into it. Hogan was big, biggest in the history of the industry no doubt, but let's not try to make him bigger than wrestling in and of itself.

Hogan came along with the right character at the right time. He just had the kind of charisma that drew people in at that time and kept them coming. Hogan's character was a patriotic superhero that somewhat endorsed Christian values and delivered positive messages for kids in an energetic way. Everything that Regen era conservatives ate up.

Austin was the opposite of Hogan in many ways. The mid and late 90s was a time in which people were just downright cynical. Everything seemed to be more adult oriented, or was at least moving in that direction from tv shows to comic books to video games, etc. Sex, violence and controversy was making something of a comeback during that time. Austin was an adult oriented character that was still popular with kids, even though that was one of the most heavily criticized aspects of the whole Attitude Era. Like Hogan, Austin did change what a pro wrestler and a wrestling company could be. The audience wasn't as large, but it was a breath of fresh air to a kid friendly sort of format that'd gotten very stale and had been for a long while.

In terms of just sheer numbers, Hogan wins. However, in terms of just overall ability as a pro wrestler, Austin takes it. To say that one is completely superior to the other in every way is crap.

 

[Slyfox696]

Wow...

The sillyness is reaching near epic levels in this thread. I was going to do my trademark quote and reply, but there's too many dumb things to do that for.


Simply put, Austin is not on Hogan's level, and isn't close. First off, to the person(s) who say that Austin could "wrestle" and Hogan couldn't, you obviously have the IQ smaller than my shoe size. When Austin was in his prime, it was punch, kick, Stunner. That was about it. While I think it is incredibly stupid to measure wrestling quality on the moves you use, even still, with that criteria saying Austin was different than Hogan is just stupid.

Second of all, and Vince can pout all he wants, but the simple fact of the matter is that the only reason Austin did so well was because Hogan did so well. Austin benefited from the merchandising machine that Hogan created. Austin benefited from having 12 PPVs a year as opposed to 1 or 2. Austin benefited from being on national television every week in a meaningful manner. Hogan had none of that, so when people bring up the whole "Vince said Austin made more, blah blah blah" garbage, it's just that...garbage.

Finally, Austin was on top for what, 3-5 years, if we're generous? Hogan was on top of the wrestling industry for 2 decades. Hogan was the greatest face of all time, and the greatest heel of all time. He took the WWF to national dominance, and almost drove them out of business 10 years later. The only thing Austin did was benefit from the shock TV culture of the late 90s, where tv viewers were chasing the dragon for their next over-the-top shock that tv could provide, whether it was Married with Children, the Jerry Springer show, the Bill Clinton sex scandal, or professional wrestling.

Don't get me wrong. Austin was great. But he isn't close to Hogan's level, and never will be.

 

[Ambiguous Turd]

Austin isn't on Hogan's level, I agree. I don't really have too much time at the moment and will create a more in-depth post within the next day or so (getting ready for my brother's wedding this weekend) .... but the fact that a particular superstar fad could be created is great. There is no denying that with Austin, WWE tapped into something new. Where his popularity continued, it was still not at the lengths as during the peak of the Attitude Era. And then when Austin started to get old, they could fall back on the Rock.

The fact that Hogan could maintain such a lengthy run as the sole WWE top guy speaks absolute volumes. Doing it longer at the level he did is more impressive to me then short term success.

 

[waylonmercy]

Ok really can someone explain the criteria that makes Hogan the greatest ever? Hogan was on top from 1983 when he did his Rocky Film to around the time he lost to Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania. He was high on the card with WWE main eventing here and there but Vince labelled him passed his prime so he left and went to WCW. He won a few titles but definitely was NOT top of the world then. He started out hot in WCW but fizzled fast and was cruising with them. Then he joined nWo which is what re-energized his career and he was on top. Maybe he loved the gimmick and became very passionate about it becuase his face days in WCW were weak at best. To say he was on top for 2 decades is a crock. He was on top for 2 different decades but not continuously.

What makes Hogan unique in my mind is how great he was as a face in WWE in the mid 80s and how great he was as a heel with WCW in nWo.

I still believe in the grand scheme of things Hogan is better than Austin overall for his contribution but what could be argued is whos run on top was better for the industry... Hogan's 80's run as a face or his heel run with nWo and if either of those runs were better than Austin's WWE run when he was on top.

All 3 runs were unique and had different elements contributing to its success.

 

[SAVE_YOURSELVES_111]

In my opinion, he's very much on the level of Hogan, because he's got the numbers and statistics, and the matches to prove it!!

I will agree however, that Austin had the benefit of his best matches being shown on both TV and PPV! Hogan however, didn't have the same benefits in his '84-'93 run! Yet, the exception to that rule is, that, I was recently watching the SNME DVD (great if you don't have it btw). Hulk was very motivated in those matches! And recently I've seen a lot of matches on 24/7, and Hogan was having good matches with the likes of Killer Khan!

I think Hogan's "bad worker" concept, is just Smart Mark lore, and load of Bullshit half the time! Was Hogan a marvel technician??? No of course not! But was Austin?? No as well! But yet Austin's matches are held in higher regard, because he benefited from being a part of an era where the business was more in demand, and TV and PPV were widespread!

Hogan had a style that worked for him! Period! And while all his matches weren't great, they were watchable, and enjoyable, and easy to get into! And he's had his fair share of classics, despite what people may say!

I never found Hogan to be truly "dreadful" until his latter days in WCW! That's it!

All that said however, I believe they were at the same level, because they're two of the biggest draws of all time! And while the contributions they made to the business were very different, it can't be refuted they contribute a lot!

 

[KillBill]

Its Hogan. A few people on here have gone into detail about how Austin had more ppv's weekly tv shows, all that stuff. Hogan had rediculous ratings when Wrestling wasn't even that big. He headlined some of the biggest Wrestlemanias ever, with guys like Bundy and Slaughter. I mean, those guys? And he still had great ppv buy rates.

What Austin did was revolutionary. He did things before that no one could had ever done, so people were drawn to it. He was the man when watching Wrestling was cool. People bought his T-shirts cause he was cool and it was cool. But like someone mentioned before, there were so many shows and ppvs, there were lots of opportunities to make more money than Hogan. But heres some other interesting points....

-Had HHH won KOTR '96 like he was supposed to, there would have been no Austin 3:16 speech, therefor, no t-shirts. Austin was right place, really right time. You could say he got lucky to get that shot. Could have been HHH. And don't tell me Hogan was right place, right time. He had the look and the charisma. I know people say "well anybody coulda been Hogan". Wrong. Warrior and Savage tried, they failed.

-Hogan was the man and top dog in the 2 biggest companies ever. Granted, Austin may have been held back, but would he have been huge in WCW?

-There was another thread about Austin being a one trick pony. Its sorta true. Austin was awesome in the attitude era, but what about outside of it? After it ended, Rock had surpassed him. Would that Austin work in the 80's? Nope. Today? Nope. Party because of the PG thing, but still, you have to adjust, which is what Hogan did. He got boring, so he went heel, and it went great. After that wore off, he went back to face, and it went great. Hogan with the red and yellow worked in 80's, some of 90's, and could work today. Hogans act with the boot, legdrop, ripping shirt, saying prayers, etc, has been working for 25 yrs, which is amazing. Austins gig worked in one era, one he needed to create because of Hogan and WCW.

And someones mentioned how the highest rating ever during the Monday night wars and the attitude era didn't even involve Austin. The fans were differnt during the eras as well. In the 80's fans were passionate about Hogan and wrestling, but during the 90's and Austin, it was more, "holy shit, that was cool" with regards to violence, middle fingers, and all that shit. Austin had to be extreme and do the most outrageous things to get over, which Hogan did not.

I'm blabbing, but thats because we are beating a dead horse, everyone has their opinions. I watched both guys, still watching Hogan even when Austin was big. Hogan got mega pops for being the hero, and being good. Austin had to do outrageous things to get the pops, but whatever. Hogan ids my pick, hands down.

 

[SAVE_YOURSELVES_111]

Its Hogan. A few people on here have gone into detail about how Austin had more ppv's weekly tv shows, all that stuff. Hogan had rediculous ratings when Wrestling wasn't even that big. He headlined some of the biggest Wrestlemanias ever, with guys like Bundy and Slaughter. I mean, those guys? And he still had great ppv buy rates.

Umm, Wrestlemania VII was considered to be a bomb overall!

Hogan was the man and top dog in the 2 biggest companies ever. Granted, Austin may have been held back, but would he have been huge in WCW?

Well we'll never really know that will we???

 

[KillBill]

Umm, Wrestlemania VII was considered to be a bomb overall!



Well we'll never really know that will we???

We won't, just like this whole thread. And yeah, that Mania may have "bombed" even though I wouldn't consider it one of the worst ever, but still, 60,000 plus thougt it didn't matter, because it was Hogan. Thats like having Austin headline a ppv with ehhh, he had a lot of talent around him, lets say Big show, or X-pac. Don't think that would put butts in the seats lol.

 

[SSJPhenom]

I have to say that Austin was not on Hogan's level at all.

Austin did very well for himself in the late 90's and early 00's and he is, perhaps, the main reason that the WWE is still around today, however, Hogan was on top of wrestling for nearly two decades. Where as Austin was on top for 5 years at the most.

If Austin had have stuck around for awhile longer who knows? He might have been the biggest superstar of all time, but he didn't. He didn't have the longevity that Hogan had and thus, because Hogan remained a top draw for several of years, Hogan is the greatest professional wrestler of all the times. If we go by numbers, however, Austin is the second greatest professional wrestler of all the times.

 

[SAVE_YOURSELVES_111]

We won't, just like this whole thread. And yeah, that Mania may have "bombed" even though I wouldn't consider it one of the worst ever, but still, 60,000 plus thougt it didn't matter, because it was Hogan. Thats like having Austin headline a ppv with ehhh, he had a lot of talent around him, lets say Big show, or X-pac. Don't think that would put butts in the seats lol.

60 000?? Just to clarify you're talking buys right? Not live attendance??

In all fairness, him and Show COULD'VE been a big draw, had they not messesd it up! That's just my opinion!!

And I still think a mini-feud with the Pacster, on "Raw" would've worked, because he was crazy over at the time thanks to being a part of D-X, even after D-X was a sad shell of its oldself with Hunter & Assman gone, he was still quite popular!

 

[mr.davidson]

This makes me smile...

the thing is in the end.... Hogan is the bar in wrestling that everyone is compared 2...

when you say someone in wrestling is GREAT.. U always compare him to Hogan....

In the end its Hogan that is the end all and be all to wrestling.... although i will say Austin is in second big time....

aside from Hogan there is no one as big as Austin.... but in the end Austin will always be shadowed but Hogans greatness....

that being said though Flair will always be in the shadow of Hogan and Austin... and Dusty Rhodes will always be in the shadow of all of those guys...

so yeah as far as the best, it will always be Hogan.... but U should always remember that Austin is like right behind him and i mean like stepping right on the back of his heels its that close!

 

[666_The_Game_666]

This makes me smile...

the thing is in the end.... Hogan is the bar in wrestling that everyone is compared 2...

when you say someone in wrestling is GREAT.. U always compare him to Hogan....

In the end its Hogan that is the end all and be all to wrestling.... although i will say Austin is in second big time....

aside from Hogan there is no one as big as Austin.... but in the end Austin will always be shadowed but Hogans greatness....

that being said though Flair will always be in the shadow of Hogan and Austin... and Dusty Rhodes will always be in the shadow of all of those guys...

so yeah as far as the best, it will always be Hogan.... but U should always remember that Austin is like right behind him and i mean like stepping right on the back of his heels its that close!

Flair would only be in the shadow of Hogan because Hogan was the face of Wrestling and the ICON of the WWE. Flair is and has always been the better performer and we all know Flair is the best ever but Hogan is the biggest name and draw that the WWE has seen. To get in further the top 3 is Hogan Austin Flair

 

[Paradox]

The name of the thread to me answers the question. No, I don't think that he is. Hogan is the bar to which everyone is measured. You have to look at the guy and what he's done and then compare him to Hogan. Austin was great, he became stale, but he remained great. Hogan was the same way, but in my mind there would not have be a Stone Cold Steve Austin had it not been for Hogan turning heel in WCW. It was at that point that WCW started to destroy WWF in the ratings. That's when Vince started to turn his guys lose to do what they wanted. DX, Austin, Rock, all of them. Hogan was the reason for it.

Then on top of that, Austin wasn't around for near as long as Hogan was, and while he did have come classic matches, Hogan had that many more. You can go down the list of the first 8 Manias and Hogan had the biggest match on most the card. Any major PPV had Hogan as the main event. Where Austin wasn't, now I know that Austin had a lot of talent around him, but so did Hogan. Austin became huge, but he never reached the level of Hogan. I don't hear people mention wrestling and someone say, "Oh didn't that Steve Austin guy do that?" No, everyone knows of wrestling because of Hogan.

Another thing Austin was huge for was his rebel attitude, flipping people all and so on. Until he had the Stone Cold gimmick. Before that he was wondering around different places. Not really getting up on the ladder. Hogan came in and was big right away, then Maina 3 propeled him into the strasphere. And really hasn't come down from that.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Flair would only be in the shadow of Hogan because Hogan was the face of Wrestling and the ICON of the WWE. Flair is and has always been the better performer and we all know Flair is the best ever but Hogan is the biggest name and draw that the WWE has seen. To get in further the top 3 is Hogan Austin Flair

Depends what you mean by better performer. In-ring work rate? Sure. But Flair was never as universally loved as Hogan was (in his prime Hulkamania days), nor as universally loathed as Hogan was (in the prime NWO days). Even when Flair was playing the heel, he was still the "cool heel". He was never the uber-heel that Hogan was (until Hogan and the NWO, of course, switched to being "cool heels".)

Talk about in-ring work all you want, but as a star, nobody compares to Hogan. Flair is great in the context of pro wrestling. Hulk Hogan is great in the context of pop culture.

 

[CENAtion]

Im finally back on thiese forums. It has been awhile. I lost my smile like Shawn Michaels but i am back and ready to raise hell.

I am a die hard SCSA fan just to get that out of the way before i get started. Is Austin a step below Hogan? NO. Is he slightly behind him YES but that gap is so small it is ridiculous. I heard the argument about how yes Austin saved the WWF during the Monday Night Wars, but it was Hogan who kept the WWF alive a decade before. I agree with both. I think it can be tied into the Best Hell in the Cell thread of which Cell match was the best. Many say Shawn vs. Taker was the best but the most memorable was Taker vs. Mankind. Hogan came before Austin so people say hogan is the best. In my eyes if Austin came before Hogan, people would say that Austin is the greatest of all time. Those two are in a category of their own and whoever was first would be considered the greatest of all time. Today is more about the new age wrestling fan. And Austin is the Taker vs. Mankind Cell match in the aspect that if you ask the fan under the age of 30 they are going to say that Steve Austin is the best they have ever seen and has created the most memories of all time in their eyes when in comes to Hogan and Austin. I really beleive the two are that close. To end my argument which i know isnt the best. Lets look at the biggest boom in the history of the business...the Monday Night Wars. It was arguably best group of all time NWO led by Hogan vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin for the most part. Everyone can agree that Nitro and Raw were built around both. Who won that battle? Stone Cold Steve Austin. Hogan dominated the 80's...Austin dominated the late 90's and early 2000's. In my eyes its impossible to say Hogan was a step above Austin.

 

[Space Volcano]

SCSA is beyond Hogan's level. He was a bigger draw, a better mic man, and he had wrestling skills that would make Hogan look like a rookie

 

[Freddy4190]

I think Austin's about even in terms of popularity with Hogan. He ran the WWF, he had more memorable moments. People think Hogan, they think slamming Andre. Mk, what about Austin? Yeah, go ahead and think for a while. Lots of classic Austin moments. Just like someone said, Hogan was king when the WWF had nowhere to go but up, Austin was king when the WWF actually had competition. It's definitely a toss up either way, of course there are arguements that there's superstars more popular and closer to surpassing Hogan then Austin..

 

[The Brain]

All that being said, this is what I want to know: can Austin be seen as on the same level as Hogan or at least very close to it, or was Hogan leaps and bounds ahead of Austin?

Note: this is not about who is bigger as Hogan simply was bigger or who would win in the ring etc. This is about can Austin be considered just a step behind Hogan or is he miles behind him?

Let's go all the way back to the orginal question. I agree that Hogan simply was bigger. The question is how far is Austin behind him. In WWE history Austin is just a step behind Hogan. In the overall history of professional wrestling Austin is further back. In the eyes of the general public Austin is miles behind Hogan. Ask 100 people who have never watched wrestling to name a professional wrestler. I bet at least 90 say Hulk Hogan. If you showed 100 non wrestling fans a picture of both I bet they would all recognize Hogan, but hardly any would recognize Austin. My point is as wrestling fans we can have our favorites. We can see how great Austin was and show proper appreciation to him (I'm a big Austin fan). Hulk Hogan is bigger than wrestling. People who have never seen a wrestling match in their life know who Hulk Hogan is. In my opinion that makes him miles ahead of Austin. I think most would agree if they had the ability to put their personal feeling aside and look at it objectively.

 

[Kanye South]

Are you fucking kidding me? Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan are on the exact same level. Hogan may have brought the WWE into the mainstream, but Austin brought it to the level it is today. Look at all of the superstars Vince has tried to put the 'Austin' formula on: Cena, Orton, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Rock, etc. But it has only worked on one person: Steve Austin himself. Steve Austin was the reason for the biggest storyline the WWE ever had, Austin vs. McMahon. When the WWE was in a slump, he brought them to the level where if you thought wrestling, you thought WWE. He basically did what Hogan did, except for the fact that he was the exact opposite of Hogan. Austin 3:16 is just as big as Hulkamania, and anybody who says it's not is quite the idiot.

 

[gully side adidja]

austin is definatley on his level, but not above it,both are the most influental people in the buisness, and drawed fans to watch it,(hogan brought in fans who love over the top comic book hero gimmicks, good vs evil whereas austin brought in fans who like wrestling mixed with shock tv and more realism involving everyday life,arrogant boss, fed up employer,),but then again you can say without hogan there would be no wrestling,but without austin there would have been no resurrection of wrestling,(attitude era) i say just about,yeah,holla!