The Greatest Wrestler of All-Time

[Slyfox696]

Who is it? Why do you feel that way? Are you prepared to defend your choice?

Without any hesistation, the only RIGHT answer is Hulk Hogan. Here's a guy who redefined the business, not once, but TWICE, made two different Worldwide companies major bucks, and did it as both heel and face. His charisma is off the charts, and his in-ring work features some of the most gripping moments of all time.

If you don't think Hogan is the greatest of all time, you are wrong.

 

[Skillz]

There is only one answer to this question, and it is Hulk Hogan. When this question gets asked, the names of Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels always come up. But the simple fact is, none of them are as great as Hulk Hogan. The reasons for this have been mentioned a million times before. He is the most charismatic wrestler ever (with the possible exception of The Rock). He is undoubtedy the biggest draw ever. He has had some of the greatest and most significant World Title runs ever. And he has had some of the greatest, most unforgettable matches and feuds of all-time.

When people say that Hulk Hogan wasn't a good wrestler, or hasn't had many great matches, they are simply talking out of their dumb asses. Hogan vs. Savage and Hogan vs. Warrior are quite possibly the two best WrestleMania main events ever. For pure emotion, great crowd response and great storytelling, there is no one who can compare to the Hulkster.

Hogan is a worldwide phenomenon, he created 2 boom periods, made the WWE and WCW a shitload of money, and helped elevate the careers of so many wrestlers over the years. No one comes close.

 

[RabidChihuahua]

For my money, the greatest wrestler of all time is Ric Flair. Period. End of statement.

Now, I realize that it's quite in vogue these days on this forum to bash Ric, but to me, the Nature Boy is the epitome of wrestling. In effect, Ric is wrestling to me. In his prime, I never saw a bad match out of him and his in ring work and mic skills were second to none.

I always made sure to catch Ric on the tube, whether it was NWA, Central States, WCCW, WCW, WWF or WWE, and I was always entertained by the Nature Boy. Really, as a wrestling fan, that's what matters to me.

Does that mean I think less of Hogan than Bobby Heenan's on air persona did? Not at all. It merely means I preferred Ric's style of wrestling. And to be quite honest, I never felt the need to catch Hogan on the tube.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Who is it? Why do you feel that way? Are you prepared to defend your choice?

Without any hesistation, the only RIGHT answer is Hulk Hogan. Here's a guy who redefined the business, not once, but TWICE, made two different Worldwide companies major bucks, and did it as both heel and face. His charisma is off the charts, and his in-ring work features some of the most gripping moments of all time.

If you don't think Hogan is the greatest of all time, you are wrong.

Hogan may be the greatest to you, and that's cool. Now, I don't want to get pedantic, but calling someone the greatest (especially in entertainment) is always going to be matter of opinion. If you were to call him the most significant wrestler of all time, I would agree, as this word carries a greater degree of objectivity.

However, we have debated this subject before (in the Who's Better: Hogan or Stone Cold Thread), and you have yet to give me any overwhelming and convincing evidence that Hogan played as significant a part in WCW as you believe he did. For, as of right now, I believe that he played nothing more than a figurehead for a heel stable (the NWO) that could have gotten over just the same with Sting; the only thing Hogan added, in the end, was the shock of a seemingly perma-babyface turning heel at Bash at the Beach '96. Therefore, all I can say about Hogan in his second run on top (mind you, this wasn't by himself, this was with a faction) was that he was in the right place at the right time while Sting was too much of a mark for himself to turn heel.

 

[DC24]

Its Hogan for me and its always will be I'm the super Hulkamaniac. Put it like this name the 5 biggest match in wrestling history I can just about gurantee they all involve Hulk Hogan I'm just saying. Personally Ric Flair was a fucking bum I just didn't see anything good about him shit Savage was better than him IMO. Hulk Hogan without a shadow of a doubt is wrestling thats only reason hasn't tried to bury him he wants to like he does Savage but Hogan is to big so he can't.

 

[K Bro 30]

Hogan may be the greatest to you, and that's cool. Now, I don't want to get pedantic, but calling someone the greatest (especially in entertainment) is always going to be matter of opinion. If you were to call him the most significant wrestler of all time, I would agree, as this word carries a greater degree of objectivity.

However, we have debated this subject before (in the Who's Better: Hogan or Stone Cold Thread), and you have yet to give me any overwhelming and convincing evidence that Hogan played as significant a part in WCW as you believe he did. For, as of right now, I believe that he played nothing more than a figurehead for a heel stable (the NWO) that could have gotten over just the same with Sting; the only thing Hogan added, in the end, was the shock of a seemingly perma-babyface turning heel at Bash at the Beach '96. Therefore, all I can say about Hogan in his second run on top (mind you, this wasn't by himself, this was with a faction) was that he was in the right place at the right time while Sting was too much of a mark for himself to turn heel.

The reason the nWo had the impact it did was because Hogan was a hero. Sting was never as loved and adored as Hogan, and no one else making that heel turn could have had the effect Hogan did. Sting being that third man would not have gotten the ring covered in trash.

The best performer of all-time is Hogan, no questions asked. Slamming Andre is the greatest moment in the companies history, and the nWo was the most star-studded stable, and maybe the best of all-time. He lead it. No one in the busness has had the impact he has, and I don't believe anyone could have been put in his spot and accomplished the same. He did his job well, and he did it well long, and he did it better for longer than just about anyone else.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

The reason the nWo had the impact it did was because Hogan was a hero. Sting was never as loved and adored as Hogan, and no one else making that heel turn could have had the effect Hogan did. Sting being that third man would not have gotten the ring covered in trash.

The best performer of all-time is Hogan, no questions asked. Slamming Andre is the greatest moment in the companies history, and the nWo was the most star-studded stable, and maybe the best of all-time. He lead it. No one in the busness has had the impact he has, and I don't believe anyone could have been put in his spot and accomplished the same. He did his job well, and he did it well long, and he did it better for longer than just about anyone else.

What I "bolded" was pretty much what I already stated in my post, except you seem to think that the shock of Hogan turning heel had a much larger and lengthier impact than I do. Sure, I agree that no one would have garnered as much shock as Hogan did when he turned heel, but I don't think this in anyway accounts for the long-term success of the nWo. Hogan may have given this faction a credibility boost (I don't see how Sting could not have done the same thing, although to a lesser but still significant extent), but I fail to see how the shock of Hogan turning led in anyway to the nWo's extended popularity. Furthermore, while I may have given credence to your observation of fans throwing trash at Hogan as proof of Hogan's importance had it occurred on a regular basis and had it been based on his antics rather than those of other nWo members, the truth is that fans throwing trash at the nWo was pretty infrequent and, when it occurred, was primarily directed at individuals other than Hogan.

 

[jmt225]

You know, people forget that Hogan teased a heel turn before Nash and Hall showed up, and no one cared. It was a storyline where Hogan started wearing all black and Sting started wearing red and yellow to convert Hogan back to the “good side”. The storyline didn't last long, but I believe that was just because it didn't get over. People stop giving a shit about Hogan until Bash at the Beach, and the ONLY reason people cared then was because they were still thinking it was some sort of WWF vs. WCW type of deal and Hogan finally went back to the WWF. It was really Nash and Hall and their connection to the WWF why the NWO got so over. No question about it.

However, with that said, it's hard to make an argument against Hogan being the greatest ever. I mean, I would love to sit here and say that Sting, Rock, and HBK are the three greatest, but I would ultimately lose the argument because Hogan has too much going for him.

At the end of the day, Hogan pretty much is the greatest ever. When Terry Funk said that, that's when I really started believing. He said the reason why Hogan was the greatest was because he did the least out of anyone in the ring, but is still the biggest draw of all time. How can you make an argument against that?

But I tell you this: If WWE can somehow manage up another boom period while Cena remains top guy, Cena would then become the one guy you can make an argument for being better then Hogan.

 

[Canadian Knight]

Well I believe that Bret Hart is the best wrestler, yeah I know big surprise since I use his icon for myself. He can work the match and carry the match if he needed. And he believed he was one of the boys, dressing with the rest of them. He was a great IC champ, world champ (which he was very loved by people from other countries), and he was one half of one of the best tag teams EVER. He did this by wrestling and not backstabbing. That is why he should be considered the best wrestler.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Hogan may be the greatest to you, and that's cool. Now, I don't want to get pedantic, but calling someone the greatest (especially in entertainment) is always going to be matter of opinion. If you were to call him the most significant wrestler of all time, I would agree, as this word carries a greater degree of objectivity.

I gotta agree with this part, I think when it comes to something like wrestling there can be a difference between being the best and being the most successful because its just a form of entertainment. Your average Adam Sandler movie makes more money than your average Deniro or Pacino movie but would you say Sandler is the better actor? I believe Titanic was the biggest money making movie of all time(it might have just been passed by Dark Knight but Im not positive) but is that the best movie of all time? Personally I dont think so.

The same holds true in wrestling since it is a form of entertainment it is hard to say who is the best because everybody has different tastes. If you simply go by who made the most money for the business and who's the most famous than obviously its Hogan. He's in a league of his own. With all this said Hogan still gets my vote for a few reasons namely because he is so huge and was so popular it cant be ignored. Not to mention he wasnt that bad of wrestler either he may have not been the best in the ring but he was stills solid. So he may not have been the best in the ring nor was he the best on the mic(that could be argued alot of people may say he was) but no wrestler ever could connect with the fans the way he could. The way I look at it is I think if you broke it down in 5 categories(actual wrestling, promo ability, accomplishments, drawing and impact made on the business) and rated the guy 1-10 in each category with 10 being the highest, Hogan would have the highest score cause no wrestler combined all those things like Hogan did so thats enough to get my vote.

 

[joejoe]

While I do understand most peoples choice of Hulk Hogan I'm going in a different direction. My Choice?

Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Many of you will bring up the argument that wrestling wouldn't be where it is today had it not been for Hulk Hogan and I agree with that 100% but in that same breath you can also argue that the WWF/WWE would not be here today had it not been for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

You also have to take into account the time period where Hogan was wrestling. He was basically a cheesey hero with charisma. That would have never worked had he started that gimmick in the mid 90s. In fact it didn't which is why the heel turn was important to him and the wrestling business in general.

Now the heel turn was such a big deal only because he had never been a heel before. However if Hogan turned heel on his own and didn't have the nWo behind him and a Monday Night War behind him not many people would have cared as much. The reason the Hogan Heel Turn was such a big deal was because of who he joined. The evil "outsiders" Hall and Nash who automatically gave the ageing Hogan new life and new cred.

Stone Cold Steve Austin on the other hand was able to get himself over by himself and he did it when he had huge competition to go against in WCW. During 1997 when Austin first started to get hot not many people were watching the WWF. He single handedly made people change the channel to Raw.

While Hogan was able to grab the attention of viewers across the the world as well Austin did it when he had much greater competition.

 

[Dragonslayer]

I beg to differ. As most of you will know I will always vote Hogan in these discussions, especially over Stone Cold. Now as for joejoe's (and also some other) posts:

1) Yes of course, the Outsiders were important to the nWo. It was more or less an open declaration of war between WWF and WCW at the time, and it was blurring the line between fiction and reality, and no one knew what was really going on. That was what made it great, and you have to give Eric Bischoff all the credit in the world for conjuring that and pulling it off the way he did. However, it was Hogan as the ultimate face turning to the ultimate heel that made the nWo last so long, no doubt about it. First off, I believe a lot of people a) wanted to see Hogan get his ass handed to himself for acting so bad and b) at the same time, they wanted him to revert back to Hulkamania and kick the "truly evil" nWo butts. And both things didn't happen for A LONG TIME, and this is why it worked so great. If it hadn't been for Hogan, and people wishing for him to turn again, or at least get his ass handed to him, people would've lost interest in the nWo a lot earlier, in my opinion. Sting couldn't have pulled it off; of course he was WCW's biggest face - but that is just the point: He was WCW's biggest face; Hogan was WRESTLING'S biggest face.

2) Stone Cold also did NOT put himself over. You can't do that. He also had great, great people to work with. Not as "his stable", but as his opponents. He had Bret Hart, who turned him into a star overnight when he made him "pass out" in the Sharpshooter. He had the likes of HBK, The Rock and Triple H to wrestle and feud with, and most importantly, he had the one character as adversary that put Stone Cold on the map like no other: Mr. McMahon. If not for the boss of the company playing that "evil boss" character that SCSA could rebel against, Stone Cold would arguably never have become as big as he did. So to give Stone Cold sole credit for his success is just as short-sighted as to claim that Hogan started the biggest boom period of wrestling all by himself. Both Hogan and Stone Cold were the two biggest factors for their respective success of course, but both had an environment to support them; Hogan in the nWo, and Stone Cold with Mr McMahon.

3) I still believe that The Rock was by far the more talented of the Attitude-Era's two biggest stars, and would've outshone SCSA by a large margin if he had remained. But that is just hypothetical; the way things are SCSA is the more important guy and greater wrestler of that era, no doubt about it. But not bigger than Hogan. Well yes, Austin made the people change the channel after 97... slowly. Back in 98, WCW was still kickin' WWF's butt, and it wasn't until WCW's product became really BAD that WWF managed to beat them again. Of course Austin was one of the main reasons, because his stuff was a lot better than the later-day WCW stuff. And once again - Austin's viewers were already there when he made them switch the channel; Hogan created them out of thin air, so to speak, and made people watch wrestling who didn't even know what it was. Twice.

Of course Hogan's face gimmick didn't work anymore in the 1990ies. But the simple fact that he did the heel turn which was so important for him, and made THAT work just as well, almost putting the competition out of business, just as he had made Hulkamania work in the 1980ies is just another testimony to the greatness of Hogan.

So in my opinion, Austin, despite WWF/E's dire days back then, had a much easier task than Hogan had had in the 1980ies, no doubt about it. WCW was beginning to fail, WWF had the more interesting program for the target audience that WCW had catered to and won over in the first place with their more mature nWo programming after all the comic-like stuff of earlier years; WCW had basically brought its own curse upon itself. They managed to appeal to a new audience with the new direction, but ultimately failed to step it up yet another notch and retain that audience when people began to lose interest because of bad angles, and WWF and Austin stepped in to carry on where WCW could not. So truly, nothing to take from the skills of Austin and his greatness - but it still is nowhere near the greatness that Hogan had, and showed for the better part of 20 years.

 

[RVDgurl]

Of course, I have to disagree with Sly right out of the gate. There is no right or wrong answer here. This is completely subjective. My greatest wrestler of all time is Rob Van Dam. There may be few people who agree with that, but it's my opinion. He's the guy that I have been drawn to the most during my 25 years of being a wrestling fan. For me that's extremely significant.

However, I think Hulk Hogan was the most influential wrestler in history. And I'm not sure the word "influential" encompasses enough to explain the phenomenon that was Hulk Hogan. I understand fully what Sly is getting at with this thread. While I was never a Hulkamaniac, I'm a wrestling fan so I appreciate what Hogan did for this business. He brought the business into the mainstream. He made himself a household name, even for those who have never seen a professional wrestling match. He revolutionized the marketing aspect of the business- there were Hogan Tshirts, lunch boxes, bed sheets, pajamas, figurines, plush toys, etc, etc. Every guy in the business can kiss Hogan's feet every time they get a royalty check.

There have been guys that have taken the Hogan formula and have made it work just as well, such as the Rock and Steve Austin. But Hogan was the original and he deserves endless amount of credit for his contributions to the world of professional wrestling.