Is Hulkamania really wild anymore?

[AegonTargaryen]

I don't own a television and nor care to , and my way of catching up with wrestling since 2010 has been youtube and/or wrestlezone. However, after not having had broadband access for eight months, I've finally acquired it and been watching wrestling just the way I like it- good matches that I've never seen, including the likes of Daniel Bryan vs Cesaro, Cesaro vs Sami Zayn.

Now, I was watching Raw from 10/03/14, and Justin Roberts announces the arrival of Hulk Hogan. And the crowd doesn't erupt, there aren't many who're screaming in sheer joy, and yet Michael Cole goes on falsely saying how the crowd is running wild, and then the usual twitter BS. Even Jerry the King Lawler sounds artificial and contrived as if he's lying whereas when JR would say something, it always feels so true. But I digress.

Even Christian used to get bigger pops, or Rey Mysterio. But the commentators are bombarding "Running wild in Memphis". So, is Hulkamania really running wild with all the mild cheers and yeahs from a fraction of a crowd? I'm still watching it, and the promo seems even more lackadaisical. Fan Response to the Hogan saying "My great idea, memorial trophy, blah blah blah" is milder than when a heel Christian said "One more match" and all the peeps marked out, again. Your thoughts?

 

[Catacomb]

i was a hulkamaniac since i was 5, but i gotta agree. when hogan returned to wwe it was painful to watch hulk hobble down the ramp. hogan can barely get thru the ropes, when i think of hogan i think of wrestlemania 5, the hulkster in his prime, and today hogan is far from that prime. whats even sadder is hogan gets the tv time in favor of guys like tyson kidd, drew, and other guys that could be promoted as the future of the wwe, instead of relying on the past of wwe

 

[Rich the UK WWE Fan 2k14]

Thing is though, even in his prime 30 years ago Hogan only ever did 3 moves, and did all that "Eat your vitamins Brother" and all that wholesome kid friendly crap, and now every third word he says is "Brother", it does get a bit annoying.

It also sucks that Hulk Hogan is in his 60s and has better mic skills than guys less than half his age, what's that about?

 

[faltemer]

Thing is though, even in his prime 30 years ago Hogan only ever did 3 moves, and did all that "Eat your vitamins Brother" and all that wholesome kid friendly crap, and now every third word he says is "Brother", it does get a bit annoying.

It also sucks that Hulk Hogan is in his 60s and has better mic skills than guys less than half his age, what's that about?

Who are you possibly asserting Hulk talks better then? He had one line to get through on his returned and he messed it up. You yourself even pointed out his crutch of literally every other sentence ending with brother.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

Who are you possibly asserting Hulk talks better then? He had one line to get through on his returned and he messed it up. You yourself even pointed out his crutch of literally every other sentence ending with brother.

It was a minor mess up at best, and like a pro he went through it, without drawing too much attention to himself. Unlike that "Right Gay Guy" fiasco that happened on SmackDown some years back, the worst thing is WWE could have fixed that with editing but they didn't.

And even I'll admit that every other word he uses is brother, and that can get rather ad nauseum at times, however, that Universe and Network interchange of words was a minor gaffe, and again he didn't draw attention to it.

To hang on that point is rather petty. Of course, if I could provide Hogan a constructive criticism, I would tell him to tone the use of "brother" down but hampering on the WWE Universe and WWE Network switcharoo (and let's be honest WWE Universe is a stupid f'n term anyway) is a weak argument on your part.

Even with the redundancy of the word brother, Hogan has a unique sound to his voice and commands a presence even at his older age, something that a lot of the roster indeed can't say at times. Can't necessarily begrudge them for that as a lot of these performers don't have that same creative freedom that previous generations had.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Not really. I get that a lot of people are still Hogan fans because of nostalgia, nothing wrong with that. However, the fact of the matter is that Hulk Hogan isn't remotely what he once was. When it comes to name recognition, Hogan's still extremely well known outside of pro wrestling. However, practically all of that is due to his past associations with WWE and WCW, the Hogan Knows Best reality show, the circus that was his divorce, and the sex tape of him screwing Bubba The Love Sponge's wife.

Hulk Hogan's 60 years old and has had major surgeries over the past decade. If I'm not mistaken, both his hips are artificial, I know that at least one of his knees is artificial and he underwent several major surgeries to essentially rebuild his back just so he can physically get around without being in excruciating pain. People know all of this and they know that Hogan wasn't medically cleared to wrestle after undergoing thorough exams from WWE doctors. As a result, Hogan is back primarily for nostalgia and people know this as well. While it might be fun to see him pop up every so often, they're not going absolutely crazy for him because his time his over. Like a lot of past WWE legends, Hogan will pop up sometimes for nostalgic reasons. He's a much bigger star, but he's still a nostalgia act.

 

[Dagger Dias]

It is still wild, but only out of nostalgia and in a much smaller amount than it used to be. Some might see that as bad, but it's really just a case of Hulk's fans having grown up. His nWo days in WCW were from over a decade ago and his Hulkamania days of the 1980's in the WWF are even further back. It was a very long time ago and he has not been nearly as big of a deal. Hogan is 60 years old and he was a part of the very first Wrestlemania, in 1985. As wrestling legends reach older ages, their fans have grown up and many of which will move on. This is just part of life. I'm 100% fine with Hogan and Hulkamania being nothing more than there for nostalgia now. It's time to move forward and Hogan will be best used hyping up the stars of tomorrow.

 

[legendkiller1979]

There's a reason Hulkamania is not running wild anymore. It's because so many fans are young and stupid. They don't appreciate what Hulk Hogan has done for this business. Many of the hulkamaniacs of the 1980s and 90s have moved on. They did this because the the business dropped off dramatically. Yes, I know the attitude Era brought wrestling back. But that helps to prove my point. Steve Austin and The Rock renovated the house that Hogan built If football stadiums were filled with the same stupid people that wrestling arenas are filled with, I guarantee you Joe Montana would get the same reaction in San Francisco that Hogan did. People have no respect. You don't think the same won't happen to Steve Austin in 10 years? I guarantee you it will. (I can already see the replies from people who think the legend of stone cold will live on forever) There will be a whole new crop of stupid fans who don't appreciate the history of wrestling. Unless the WWE network puts on old episodes of Monday night raw, it won't be long before new fans don't care about stone cold. Let's be honest, all his truly great moments happened on raw. People should be lining up to kiss hogans ass because without him, you don't have wrestlemania. I apologize for my rent, maybe it was a little harsh. But I just can't stand to see the greatest of all time not getting the respect that he so rightly deserves

 

[Loganity]

While Hogan doesn't have the drawing power he used to, according to a report on the homepage a few weeks ago, he's top 5 in merchandise sells if I remember correctly. Yes it is nostalgia based, but he is Hulk Hogan so that's okay. I'm probably one of the few fans that are glad he's still around. Although I gotta admit I've been surprised at how little he's actually been around since his return. No matter what it's nice to see Hulkamainia come home. I'm interested to see what his role is going forward.

 

[notfairtoflair]

You know that the business and WWE's fanbase has drastically changed when the biggest draw of the 80s and 90s returns and gets lackluster reactions. Quite frankly at this point, when it comes to Hogan, less is more, a lesson TNA never understood. I think this is the best use for Hogan, for promotional purposes, I wouldn't have him involved in any storylines.

 

[BigBombB]

The Hogan Knows Best fallout (Nick's accident, Hulk telling him how to profit off of it, the divorce, the sex tape, etc...) has heavily tarnished his drawing power. If he was anyone other than Hulk Hogan his value would be completely gone. And we're seeing that even being Hulk Hogan he is barely above Batista level at this point which is somewhat depressing honestly. I am a mark for the nostalgia but have a hard time overlooking everything else that has happened.

That's the problem imo. The younger crowd barely knows him, the older crowd is a major minority, and everyone in between has been bombarded with his recent woes that have inevitably changed their view of him.

 

[The Boss]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. He got the pop of the night both times he has appeared so far. And unlike Daniel Bryan, he didn't need Rich Flair or Mark Henry to lead a chant for him. The moment the music hit and he appeared the crowd went wild.. As far as not being in his prime any more, well DUH! But there is a huge difference between being past your prime and being washed up. WWE would not have re-signed him if they didn't think there was money to be made. And I may be in the minority but I don't believe HOLLYWOOD HULK HOGAN has wrestled his last match just yet.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

There's a reason Hulkamania is not running wild anymore. It's because so many fans are young and stupid. They don't appreciate what Hulk Hogan has done for this business. Many of the hulkamaniacs of the 1980s and 90s have moved on. They did this because the the business dropped off dramatically. Yes, I know the attitude Era brought wrestling back. But that helps to prove my point. Steve Austin and The Rock renovated the house that Hogan built If football stadiums were filled with the same stupid people that wrestling arenas are filled with, I guarantee you Joe Montana would get the same reaction in San Francisco that Hogan did. People have no respect. You don't think the same won't happen to Steve Austin in 10 years? I guarantee you it will. (I can already see the replies from people who think the legend of stone cold will live on forever) There will be a whole new crop of stupid fans who don't appreciate the history of wrestling. Unless the WWE network puts on old episodes of Monday night raw, it won't be long before new fans don't care about stone cold. Let's be honest, all his truly great moments happened on raw. People should be lining up to kiss hogans ass because without him, you don't have wrestlemania. I apologize for my rent, maybe it was a little harsh. But I just can't stand to see the greatest of all time not getting the respect that he so rightly deserves

It won't happen with Austin and there are many reasons why. First of all, Austin is a much bigger name and way more entertaining that Hogan in the eyes of ALL FANS. Sure Hogan help put pro wrestling on front, but Austin is just better and more entertaining. Then, we had Hogan do his after-wrestling career, doing all the stupid shows and then showing up in TNA where everyone was sick of him, he couldn't draw a dime and nobody cared. Everyone saw that Hogan on a smaller stage is just nothing, and that's why people didn't react. On the other hand, Austin left in 2004 stunning Lesnar and Goldberg and giving them the middle finger, and also came into the HoF in his "car" (how is it called), drinking beer and having the entire arena shaking for him. He left with his head up high and is well respected on everything he does outside of wrestling, especially his podcast. He didn't become a clown and didn't make himself look weak. That's why Austin will always be respected, and Hogan just won't get those ovations.