Martyn Nolan: "Only casual fans will name Hulk Hogan as the greatest of all time."

[justtxyank]

I don't think people really understand how big Hogan was.

The man was on Sports Illustrated. Fans today can't understand how big that is because SI isn't what it was then. Now there are magazines out the butt and sports networks and the internet. Then, there was Sports Illustrated. Hogan being on the cover of SI was major mainstream crossover.

The WWF became as big as it did and survived as long as it has because of the foundation Hogan built in the 1980s. It was Hulk Hogan that built the WWF brand into the "worldwide leader." It was that foundation that made it to where the WWF brand was ALWAYS seen as the #1 brand, even in the short times where more people watched WCW.

 

[AndThat'sTheBottomLine]

Austin restored the WWF. Hogan built it.

I tend to look at it more this way:

Samartino built it, Hogan furnished it, and Austin restored it after the steroid scandal nearly burned it down thanks in part, to Hogan.

One should never underestimate the influence and impact that Hogan had. My point is that if you think that Hogan is the best ever, then good for you. But don't attack someone for having a difference in opinion. You'll never get the majority of people to say Hogan was the best. Everyone's opinion as to who the best ever is will always be different according to what the individual classifies as the best. Should Hogan be in the conversations of everyone's best of all time? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean everyone is going to think that he is the best and you nor anyone else should attack them for it. I think it comes down to Samartino and Flair with Hogan being third and Austin being fourth. That's my opinion. The question of who the best ever is has no right or wrong answer because it's based solely on opinion.

 

[justtxyank]

But Bruno didn't build the WWF. He did great business for the WWF yes, but the WWF wasn't the biggest promotion in America when he was done wrestling. Until Hulk Hogan came along, the WWF (or WWWF prior to Vince) was not the most important promotion. The Mid-Atlantic was a bigger deal, Georgia was a bigger deal, World Class was a bigger deal, and the AWA was a bigger deal.

It was Hogan that turned the WWF into THE promotion.

 

[Slyfox696]

I tend to look at it more this way:

Samartino built it, Hogan furnished it, and Austin restored it after the steroid scandal nearly burned it down thanks in part, to Hogan.

1) Sammartino didn't build it, the most you can say is he laid the foundation. Hogan built the machine.

2) The steroid scandal didn't burn down the WWE, WCW with Hogan is what nearly put the WWE out of business. Which is really more of a positive for Hogan, than a negative.

3) It's kind of hard to blame Hogan for WWE's condition for telling the truth under oath.

But don't attack someone for having a difference in opinion. You'll never get the majority of people to say Hogan was the best.

Then the majority will be wrong, because he is.

At the end of the day, Hulk Hogan did what he was supposed to do better than anyone else in history. He was the best at his job, which is to make people come to the shows. There's never been anyone better, for such a long period of time. To argue anyone else is better is simply foolish.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

I tend to look at it more this way:

Samartino built it, Hogan furnished it, and Austin restored it after the steroid scandal nearly burned it down thanks in part, to Hogan.

One should never underestimate the influence and impact that Hogan had. My point is that if you think that Hogan is the best ever, then good for you. But don't attack someone for having a difference in opinion. You'll never get the majority of people to say Hogan was the best. Everyone's opinion as to who the best ever is will always be different according to what the individual classifies as the best. Should Hogan be in the conversations of everyone's best of all time? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean everyone is going to think that he is the best and you nor anyone else should attack them for it. I think it comes down to Samartino and Flair with Hogan being third and Austin being fourth. That's my opinion. The question of who the best ever is has no right or wrong answer because it's based solely on opinion.

I totally agree with your take on it. Sammartino was definitely the one who built the framework, while Hogan added the paint and decor and flashing to it. There is one person in between Hogan and Austin, though, who deserves a little more credit for keeping the house from collapsing on its own weight. That man is Bret Hart. Despite all the arguments that he didn't have charisma or personality, there is a legion of fans who argue differently. Bret had a huge international following, especially in places like Canada, Europe and Asia. The WWE was not quite the international corporate juggernaut it is today, but Bret should be credited as one of a select few who opened that market up for expansion. The foreign audiences loved him. It is also in large part to Bret that Austin became the savior of the WWE, the one who restored the company to its former glory and beyond. It was that absolutely amazing match with Bret that got the fans truly on Austin's side. Anyhow, there will no doubt be a ton of people who disagree with me, but in my opinion, Bret did a lot more for the company as the champion than he is traditionally given credit for.

 

[PsychoBlack]

First of all I don't agree with this editorial at all. Cena proved me wrong years ago and now I wouldn't say that I am a fan of his character but the man puts on a damn good show.

Now to address this Hogan issue. People seem to get Favorites confused with the best. Ric Flair is my favorite wrestler of all time and if you asked me who the best ever were I would tell you Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin. The reason I would tell you one of those is that they went beyond wrestling. They became pop culture icons because of the wrestling business and are noticeable by the casual person as a wrestler and an entertainer. The reason they were able to do this is because people saw that they made ridiculous amounts of money. Neither Hogan or Austin are good actors by any standards but people went to see them because they were damn near rock stars. They had the entire country watching a scripted sport and wearing T shirts of wrestlers. The entire point of the business like Sly has stated is to make money. Hogan was the top draw in the world for years in two different promotions. Someone saying that only a casual fan would say that he is the best is rubbish. If you want to go by in ring work or any other category you can think of you go into the realm of your favorites. Only you know what you consider good in ring work or entertaining promos. Hulk Hogan is the greatest wrestler of all time and any intelligent fan would tell you this.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Hogan has to be considered the "greatest" of all time because of how big of a star he was and how much money he drew.

You can hate on the guy all you want. God knows I do. As a human being, Hogan is about as far from the all American superhero type of character he portrayed. Inside the ring, he certainly wasn't a dynamo to watch as countless wrestlers then and today that are better than him with both arms tied behind their backs. However, Hulk Hogan was able to do something on a level that very, very, very few have been able to do: make fans not only tune in, in droves, to watch him but to care about him. Hogan was in the right time, the right place, with the ideal character and the ability to pull it off to perfection.

Hulk Hogan was an altogether different breed of wrestler from guys like Frank Gotch, Georg Hackenschmidt, Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Orville Brown & Lou Thesz. He didn't have the technical expertise or legit toughness of these men, but Hogan's personality & charisma allowed him to connect with, literally, millions upon millions of fans in a way that those wrestlers could never dream of.

As a wrestling fan, there are many wrestlers that I enjoy much more than Hulk Hogan, but that doesn't negate anything that Hogan accomplished.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Without Hulk Hogan, wrestling wouldn't be 'cool'. People wouldn't admit they watch wrestling and it would have a slightly cult following today, as opposed to the mainstream juggernaut WWE has become.

Hogan's run during the Rock 'n Wrestling era did more for wrestling than any era in history. Some will say the Attitude Era, some will say the Bruno era, but when it comes down to it, pop culture didn't accept wrestling on a mainstream level until Hogan became a star. The ratings Hogan drew during this time for Saturday Night's Main Event and other special's are phenomenal.

Flair's my personal preference, but when it comes down to an unbiased point of view with stats and numbers to back it up, it'll show Hogan is the greatest wrestler of all time.

 

[pshanbhag92]

Without Hulk Hogan, wrestling wouldn't be 'cool'. People wouldn't admit they watch wrestling and it would have a slightly cult following today, as opposed to the mainstream juggernaut WWE has become.

Actually, I'd say, Steve Austin made wrestling 'cool'. Before Austin really took off and before the Attitude Era, people wouldn't admit they were wrestling fans. But with Austin's popularity rising, not to forget the likes of Rock and Triple H, not only did more and more people start accepting that they watch wrestling but also more and more people started watching wrestling.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Actually, I'd say, Steve Austin made wrestling 'cool'. Before Austin really took off and before the Attitude Era, people wouldn't admit they were wrestling fans. But with Austin's popularity rising, not to forget the likes of Rock and Triple H, not only did more and more people start accepting that they watch wrestling but also more and more people started watching wrestling.

Wrestling was already in popular culture when Austin had his run. Hogan brought wrestling to the forefront of popularity hanging with Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper (who was a huge as Lady Gaga back in the 80s), and other celebs during this time. Wrestling was a good ol' boy sport watched by older gentlemen and passed down to generations.

When Hogan came about, everyone watched wrestling. It was a family deal. Not to mention all the merchandise that came about. Lunchboxes, backpacks, figures, birthday cakes, and many other things came about because of Hogan.

Austin gets his due, but he's not Hulk Hogan.

 

[dman1373]

in my opinion the greatest of all time was shawn michaels. He was a great talker, a great showman, and untouchable in the ring. But you know i look at wrestling the same way as i look at acting or music. I don't look at the dollars and cents or you know Brittany spears would be better than smashing pumpkins and avatar has the best acting ever.

 

[willross]

Pro Wrestling is a work. So the best would have to be the person who made/drew the most money. Thus, Hulk Hogan is the greatest of all time.

There is a difference between Hogan and HBK of course. Shawn Michaels is the best performer of all time but he didn't make the money or draw the money Hogan did. NOBODY DID!!!!

Don't say Austin or Rock either because people tend to forget Hogan was out there drawing in WCW and making tons of money then.

IWC will never say its Hogan because 90% don't actually understand the business and that its about making money. If it were possible for Hogan to still be the drawing force he was then, today, EVERYONE would be Hulk Hogan.

 

[HBsam31]

The only person even close to Hogan would be Austin. I don't get how someone could even argue that Hogan wasn't the greatest of all time. Not only did he put WWF on the map, but when he left for WCW he made them tons of money as well. HBK was greatest in ring performer, but he didn't draw the moeny hogan did. Like I said Austin might be close, but noone else can touch Hulk Hogan.