The Ultimate Question: Hulk Hogan?

[X]

Well I was influenced to make this thread after a bit of posting in the Bret Hart or HBK thread. There seems to always be two trains of thought about Hogan, either he's one of the best of all time, or he's one of the worst of all time. However I believe everyone respects him for what he did to kickstart the business in the 80s.

My personal opinon on the guy: He hasn't done a useful thing since the 80s. I respect what he did for the business in the 80s, I do. And I also highly respect the start of his tenure in WCW when he once again revolutionized the business by going from the biggest face of all time to the guy everyone wanted to personally beat the shit out of in the NWO. However, honestly, he's never had good wrestling skills IMO. Some of his matches are classics simply because of the atmosphere and crowd(i.e., his main events at WM 3, 5, 6, and 7)but none of them were good for the actual wrestling. IMO the guy has been nothing but a cancer ever since the original NWO broke up, and has done nothing but waste camera time and fan's time with horrible, horrible matches that even Cena does better in. Take for example his bout with HBK at Summerslam 2005, so much promise and so much hype, and HBK ends up carrying the entire damn match on his back and it STILL was mediocre at best.

Not to mention the man is one of the most arrogant pricks to ever enter this business. Whether it be refusals to job, or demanding ridiculiously outrageous prices for one off matches on cards that he A: had no business in, and B: other wrestlers deserved more money for simply outperforming him.

So I will ask all of you out there...Hogan...what is he to you?

 

[TheShiznetNo1]

He's a man who put wrestling itself on the map and a man who jumpstarted WCW. Besides that, imo he sucks. He continues to believe someone owes him something. If he would not have got the business started, someone else would have. Besides anyone who has a leg drop for a finisher isn't worth watching anyway.

 

[Emmet]

I hate Hogan, held down alot of talent, good talent. Also wouldnt pass the torch to Bret at SS 1993. Asshole

 

[Kasey]

Hogan is in some ways akin to Jim Helwig. He actually sported his gimmick for so long that he believed in the hype of it and to a lesser extent became it. Now I don't think that Hogan hasn't done anything for the business, because he surely has. However, he's also done as much harm as he has done good for it. For all of his positives in the WWF, he also was the posterboy for an ethical lifestyle, when in fact he was a lying, steroid-munching dick who lied his way through a steroid trial because he didn't have the stones to stand up and tell the truth. It was his actions that put a cumulative black eye on wrestling that nearly squelched the business forever in the early/mid 1990s. He also helped WCW out of its rut, but along with a couple of other key dickwads (Nash? Hall?) helped to run it back into the ground so hard that it isn't even in existence today. For me, his cumulative highlights are dwarfed by the lowlights of his career. He's a guy who milked a good run of a decade during the eighties into a nearly thirty year stain. Definitely a guy who should've walked away from the business the first time he retired and really kept the legacy intact, rather than bleeding it out dry until all the dignity therein was completely absent (Ric Flair?). Besides, anyone who refers to themselves by their gimmick name, at home, TO THEIR FAMILY, has their priorities too far out of whack. On the whole, he's a guy who bled the industry dry for money and more often than not (by far) wouldn't give back when he should've (Hart, Undertaker, Sting, Luger). I'm not against someone buying their own hype...when it's warranted. In Hogan's case, his ego hasn't had the payoff to match since I was in grade school.

 

[Downward Spiral]

It's always hard to follow up a post of Kasey's but here I go with a short one.

Overrated is a definite word that comes to mind when you think of Hogan. He's probably the equivalent of Cena today, compared to Hogan in the '80's: Overrated and pushed on the back of fan favouritism rather than in-ring ability. But Cena's a whole different thing. I voted that I hate the man but I respect what he's done for the business. Now, I don't know a lot of the history of the man, such as many of the things he did in WCW, but I do know that power within the business went to his arrogant head. Bigtime.

Sure, the man helped the business without a doubt. He popularised the entire concept of it and brought in leagues of fans. But that's about as far as the accolades should go. Like Kasey said, time after time he tarnishes his reputation for the sake of more money and more publicity. Honestly, the tickets he puts on himself nowadays are unbelievable. Yes, he's a legend in the business, but he's also well past his wrestling days and should just stop trying to bring himself back in it and asking for prices that are getting higher and higher. I just can't stand the mans arrogance, but again, there is no denying he did a lot for this business.

 

[TheRealDC]

There was a thread like this a while ago, but the thread IMO was a bit too large to merge, since this one has a poll and everything I think it could break out a little more conversations and no nonsense bickering like the old one brought up.

IMO, Terry Hogan is the man I've come to hate, the character he plays is Hulk Hogan. Terry has held down talent, and demanded more money. Hulk Hogan does what is right and the storyline he gets involved in plays it out as such, that Hogan is the underdog and he will prevail. So, when it comes down to who I hate and who I like, its Hulk Hogan all the way. But I refuse to like the man behind the mask. I will still cheer Hulk Hogan and still be star struck if I met him on the street. But I will not cheer for him to win every single time he wrestles, disappointment never hurt anymore. Money shouldn't be an issue because he has a lot of it anyway.

 

[Rabbid Wolverine]

hogan should be on wwe programming for whatever vince offers him, hogan owes vince alot, he should be grateful that vince would even bring him back after hogan/bischoff/turner try to bury wwe.
he is very similar to the ultimate warrior, except now he's demanding more money when he's basically out of the business, while warrior did it while he was in the business.
they are both known outside of the ring as there character for the most part.
hogan should have been putting over the younger stars in the 90's but his ego was way too big, then when he became HOLLYWOOD, it was probly more of a issue not too lose.
but he did bring out the best in the 80's, and you probly didnt need to be the best wrestler in the 80's to draw, because they had alot of guys who could actually wrestle in the ring. he was the main event because of his charisma. i mean hogan vs andre, hogan vs warrior, hogan vs savage, hogan vs flair, hogan vs taker, hogan vs sid, all these matches sound great without them actually having to be great, just because of the atmosphere for the match.

 

[Prax]

Hogan has done too much for the business for me to hate him... i posted my opinion last night on the Flair vs. Hogan thread so I'll be brief over here, but I just respect what he's done too much to hate him. sure, he's kind of a jackass nowadays, but who knows what kind of demons he's had to face the last several years?

His daughter's career not going so smoothly, a possible divorce with his wife, his son basically being reckless, possibly even alcoholism, a fallout with Vince Mcmahon... and that's only the stuff we've ehard about on the rumor sites. The man's got some personal issues so I don't judge anything he's done (especially considering that we don't know how factual any of this is... but anyway... his personal life, I'll stay out of it).

But then look what he's done for wrestling: he all but created WrestleMania, he made himself and WWF a household name in the 80s with everything he did, he revolutionized the way we looked at wrestling in 1996 AGAIN and he pretty much had a major part in starting the Monday Night Wars.

Not to mention that when he comes out I still mark the hell out for him. He's fun to watch, I'll give him that. And that's what it's about in the end, no?

 

[TheShiznetNo1]

His personal life has nothing to do w/ his arrogance, which is the main reason why he has fallen out of favor w/ fans. Hulk Hogan the character i could not stand. I don't need anyone telling me to eat my vitamins and say my prayers. But Hollywood Hogan i loved. i loved to turn on WCW and hate hogan, i thought that was one of the best heels i've seen since watching wrestling. But as far as terry -insert last name-, in concerned he's an arrogant ungrateful guy, imo

 

[ThePitbull]

on the basis of is hogan a great entertainer, yes, one of the greatest of all time. a great in ring performer, yea... but one of the greatest technicians, lol, hell no. can't hate the guy for having no talent, but just be entertaining. plenty of guys have made it on that alone sadly. pretty much any big guy in the game.

 

[dspike]

sorry the pitbull, a great in ring performer, please. beat down beat down beat down, hulk up, big boot and leg drop. i can have better matches with my cat. hogan should have left the wrestling world years, even decades ago. in my opinion he dosent deserve to be on the card at wrestlemania, his ego is out of control and he's just a pain in the ass, when you pay money for a ppv and have to see a old guy doing 2 moves and winning the match. you could say flair is the same in terms of moves, but he isnt up his on ass. he jobs. he makes guys / made guys. hogan is a jackass

 

[ExtremeIronChef]

Well when it comes to Hogan I will always defend what he has done for wrestling. I will always respect the hell out of him but I'll agree that his ego is bigger than Christendom and he is getting to be out of control lately. He basically made pro wrestling what it is today, I won't deny that. Sure he can't wrestle any good nowadays, but in the 80's he actually knew how to wrestle a great match... in Japan. In America he didn't have to do as much because it was his charisma that got him over and his over the top personality. These things made him a star. His promos were always colorful and the moment when he began to hulk up, the fans ate it up and still do today. But as of late he can be a real prick. His falling out with McMahon has sure made me think a little differently of the man, but when it comes down to it, I will always remember him for what he did in the 80's and late 90's with the nWo.

 

[Jonny B]

I honestly think Hulk Hogan stand’s for everything that is wrong with the wrestling industry. Put aside what he has done for the business (and no-one in their right mind can say he did it alone Vince? Bishoff?).

The guy will not job to anyone, period. After reading the Death of WCW (seriously, read it however accurate it may be) I really discovered how much of a politicker Hulk Hogan really was. Hogan lives in a world where your only over if you win, and that may be true if you don’t have the talent to put on a good match, but I refer you to Triple H for an example of someone who doesn’t have to win to become insanely over. Now I know in 2003-2004 he went over everyone but put that aside, when he put Batista over he went through a period of putting lord knows how many people over, but still gaining popularity with the fans and IWC alike because he could put on decent matches.

Now you look at Hogan he contributed to WCW in a positive way in the beginning, but when he started to get older he grasped at straws and tried to keep his spot at the expense of other wrestlers, Hart and Sting come to mind here. He threw hissey fits everytime he was booked to lose and quit the company on numerous occasions. Now I use the Triple H scenario again, this guy is a company guy, he realises that he isn’t going to be there forever and he is getting older so its time to put other people over, something Hogan couldn’t do.

Hogan doesn’t love wrestling, Hogan loves money, the only reason he was in the wrestling business was not because he loved it, but because he wanted to make a boat load of money, and that’s fine, but when he contributes to the downfall (in a very big way) of a Global Wrestling promotion just so he personally can make more money I cant help but utterly detest the guy.

 

[X]

Well after reading a bit into the Ric Flair vs. Hogan debate, I just realized that this doesn't really even belong in the WWE section.

Could a mod move this over to the Old School section or Independent section, whichever is more applicable.

Kinda doesn't make sense to have a Hogan thread in the WWE section when they're in the middle of a battle of the wills.

Also, every single thing that Jonny just said is spot on. I'd rep ya for that post if I hadn't already repped you too much already mate. You hit the nail right on the head.

 

[startgame1]

"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. You can love him or hate him but make no mistake, he is and always will be The Man. It annoys me when people smear him for not being able to "wrestle" or put on a great match. That is complete B.S. Hulk's matches tell a story. They take people on a ride. Its like going to the movies, people want to be entertained.
For example, I'll use the Hogan vs. Michaels match from SummerSlam 2005. Both guys took some shots at eachother. Shawn with his notorious "over sells" and Hulk taking an hour to deliver the leg drop, all the while people where being entertained. For a guy in his mid 50's Hogan can put on an awesome match, whether he is technically sound or not.
Wrestlemania X8 against The Rock was without a doubt one of the biggest matches of all time. Hogan,for the most part, dominated that match. He set the tempo and had 68,000 people in the palm of his hand. The Rock became forgotten when he wrestled Hogan.
Anyone who believes Hogan can't put on a "great" wrestling match simply don't get it. Hulk Hogan put the "E" in WWE. His legacy is timeless and will carry over for generations to come.

 

[justinsayne]

He did alot for the business early in his career and throughout the 80s, and as a kid I loved him, but his time has passed and instead of doing the job and passing the torch to the next generation, he comes in and buries them, with the most bullshit of finishers, a danm leg drop, so I have to say I hate Hogan, though I do respect everything he has done for the business

 

[Slim Pickns]

My honest opinion of Hulk Hogan is that while I respect the way he carried the company early in his career, I don't like the way he acted later on and that is ultimately what I will remember about him.

The two biggest examples of his negative actions both involve Randy Savage. When the WWF/WWE was trying to put over Savage, Hogan was unwilling to step down from the main scene in the company. When Savage won the belt at Wrestlemania IV, Hogan didn't even leave the ring, Savage had to share the spotlight with Hogan while Hogan got it to his own the last two years. Then, since Hogan was unwilling to not be in the main event at every pay per view, most of Savages reign as champ came as teaming with Hogan as the Mega Powers, where once again Hogan had to steal the spotlight. One year later into Savages title reign, what happens, he drops the belt to Hulk Hogan thus completing Hogan year of out-shining the new champ.

Then the ultimate low blow to Savage was the Hogan special, a no sell of Savage's finishing Elbow Drop at Summerslam. I still don't know why this happened at the time. Instead of the partners turing rivals, it turned into Hogan dominating Savage.

There are numerous reasons but Jonny B pointed the WCW stuff out so I won't repeat it.

 

[panchcanch]

It's funny that dispite how many people so called "HATE" hogan. Whenever he comes back everybody will pop like there is no tomarrow. I can never recall any crowd ever giving him the "boring" chant EVER. And from what i read Hogan was willing to do the job to Austin just to get him to do the damn match for the fans. And the reason he dropped that stance is because bret hart and steve austin treated him like a prick at the HOF in 06 when he was trying to just be cool and shake bret's hand. By the way hulk Never held anyone back THE PROMOTERS DID THAT.

 

[Slyfox696]

Hulk Hogan is the most underrated professional wrestler on this board, which is astounding considering how much he has accomplished and the fact that John Cena is disliked by many. Hulk Hogan is one of the great professional wrestlers ever. He is the most charismatic wrestler ever, and his matches always have that special feel to them. His matches tell an engaging story everytime, even though you KNOW what's going to happen at the end, people still pop for it. And, what does it say about Hogan's wrestling ability when he can have the same face routine for nearly two decades and still have the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand? It says that he is a master of workrate.

Hulk Hogan is what all professional wrestlers should strive to be. When he's in the ring putting on a match, it's like he has the crowd on a string and he can make the puppets dance as he wishes. He can work a brawling style or a technical style, and even dabbles in some submission wrestling. He is one of the three greatest entertainers of all time (Austin, Rock being the other two) and has no equal when it comes to drawing power.

Hulk Hogan is the Babe Ruth of professional wrestling. No matter how long after he retires it is, people will always look back and remember how great he truly was.

 

[Shocky]

This is a very tough touchy question, but I have learned to do what I've done With Chris Benoit, separate the man from his character.

Hulk Hogan, without question, child hood wrestling hero. The man was larger then life, he beat up bad guys, and he was gold on the mic. Say what you will about Hogan, but you are only lying to everyone here, and to yourself if you are old enough to have watched wrestling in the 80's and were a kid. If you were not a Hulkamaniac, you were probably dead to the world.

And Even with WCW, Hogan brought the attention to it and made it into the machine it was. His heel turned sparked the boom of WCW, and was talked about for years.

So Hogan, the wrestler, he contributed a shit ton to the business. Yes, Hogan was responsible for the Boom period of the 80's with his over the top performances and character, like it or not. Sure Vince could have stuck someone else in their, but it wouldn't have been the same. Hogan had the intangible "it" factor. You can't explain what "it" was, but "it" worked.

Hogan turned around and went heel when his fans had grown older and tired of him. His rebellious attitude coincided with his now teenage fans, and it brought those fans back. Plus, he pissed off the southern crowds with being the big man from that company up north.

Then we get to the meat of the conversation, the Real Hulk Hogan, Terry Bollea. The man that thinks he is his gimmick. The man that refused to put anyone over in the WWF, (one time to Warrior). The man that made sure if anyone got a pinfall on him, it would come back two fold. Undertaker pins Hogan, Hogan pins taker. Hogan refused to job the belt back to Hart at Summerslam of 93, so he drops it to a big wrestler in Yokozuna. Hogan refused to put younger talent over, which led to the piss poor years of 1995 in the WWE.

Same goes for WCW. Hogan is only as good as his winning record. He put one guy over cleanly, but with a stipulation. Hogan puts Goldberg over with the catch that he be the man to end Goldberg's Streak. Why? what the fuck would be the purpose of it?

A year and a half long feud with Sting culminates in...Hogan beating sting clearly, yup, makes sense to me. Hogan intentionally took time off on weeks He knew Nitro would have low ratings (Pre-empted by NBA playoffs), come back the following week and declare he was the reason people tuned in.

Hulk Hogan never understood, the business isn't decided by how many wins or titles you have held throughout the years, but did you entertain people. You can't argue that Hogan entertained people, but he didn't know when it was time to hand the torch to the next guy. I don't want to hear all the Rocks, Angles, and so forth. That was post-WCW, when Hogan had no choice in the matter, because where else was he going to go?

Hulk Hogan, the wrestler, great, he entertained me when I was a kid. Hogan still gets cheap pops because most of the fans aren't "Smarks" and don't see him for what he truly is. He is, an egomaniac, a selfish bastard, a cancer, a company Killer. As much good as he has done for the business, he has done far worse to hurt it.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

9 years ago, when I was 16, I dated a 20 year-old college girl. Stay with me here, I have a point. At the time, I thought I was the coolest thing in the world. I mean, a college girl! Dude!

Two months later, she turned into a crazy, possesive psycho. It got so bad my parents had to threaten her with police involvement if she didn't stop calling / coming to the house.

My point? When I was young and stupid, I thought that girl was the greatest thing ever. I also thought Hulk Hogan was cool.

Just because I liked her (and him) at the time doesn't mean I don't look back on it all and shake my head. Hogan was a prima donna. A fair performer, but a terrible wrestler, and a backstage politician to the end.

Good riddence.

 

[JoshK1985]

Ok.. I have seen people accuse Hogan of everything in this thread of holding talent down, running WCW into the ground, and being a liar.

First off holding talent down. All main event types have done it. Flair held down Foley and a few other guys when he was in WCW. Hell, Triple H does it now. It is a simple fact that all established main event guys hold down younger talent, that's the world of pro wrestling. So for saying that about Hogan you might as well say it about a lot of other guys too.

Him running WCW into the ground? How did he do that? By making it the number one show? Yea he had a big contract and all that but if Ted Turner waved a deal in my face like that and I was an aging superstar I would be all over like a fat kid on a cupcake. The real person(s) that ran WCW in the ground was Bischoff, and Turner. They were giving out big money contracts left and right. Why do you think Time Warner didn't want to take WCW in part of the deal when they bought out Turner? Simple WCW was losing money left and right and if memory serves me correct they never really even turned a prophet when they were on top. So Hogan didn't run WCW down.

As far as being a liar yeah he lied about steroids. Can you blame the guy? Millions of kids saw Hogan as there hero. Hell, I even did. Hogan I know lied to save his ass but he also lied so he didn't brake the hearts of all his little Hulkamaniacs. So yeah he is a liar but I like to think part of the reason he lied was to protect his fans that were children, which is something any of us would do.

In closing, Hogan is one of the people who made wrestling mainstream and is what got it to where it is today. If it wasn't for Hogan there would be no pay per views or weekly wrestling shows on in primetime. Not to mention the fact Hogan is the blueprint for what we see today in John Cena. Hogan was the first wrestler to start making movies, and national commercials, he cut a music cd, and the whole giant killer gimmick.. I mean does any of this sound fimiliar? Oh it should, it sounds like what John Cena is doing to me. So if you hate Hogan you hate Cena. Because Cena is pretty much and updated version of Hogan pla and simple.

 

[sincade20]

Okay...okay....Lets be for real Hulk Hogan is the best example of A person that have limited wrestling talent but with a lot of charisma can make it to the top of this business. I mean in the 80s Hogan oozed charisma! He eat charisma,slept charisma Hell he shited charisma. Let be serious in your childhood you really wasn't looking for technical skill. All you look for is Hogan ripping his shirt off, Hulking up big boot and posing. Hogan bring wrestling into the household. He a freaking cash machine!!!!!! He brought WCW to the promise land. NWO 4 life baby! Look at wrestlemania when he wrestle the Rock people was Cheering and he was suppose to be the Heel....Damn! You people bash Hogan should be ashame he was the reason your watching wrestling now!!!!!

 

[mikeRC]

Hogan an asshole but a legendary asshole. he made wrestling what it is today so he cant be called anything but a legend. on the other hand he comes in and gets paid hundreds of thousands to do one match that he has to win because he cant fall over because of too many injuries.