Was Hogan Replaceable?

[v12dpk]

Well it depends on how you look at the situation, because in terms of draw etc, i dont think Hogan was replacable in his prime, however in terms of his character and 'persona' of this 'American Superhero', then fuck yeah he's replacable as you have Cena doing that sort of clean cut american supremo.

But as various people have said, everyone can infact be replaced, however well its done is a whole other issue lol.

But yeah, Hogan in a way is replacable and Vince is infact a genius lol

V12, Over and Out.

 

[DC24]

If Hogan was replaceable then by who; because if there was they would have done it plain and simple; I love love Savage who should be in the Hall of Fame may I add,Rock,Austin,Undertaker,Sting they they are able to do what they do because of what Hogan brought back then. The reason the doors didn't close cause Hogan built the market up so good everybody after him just had to run with the ball; as big as Austin and Undertaker who were they at WCW a bunch of nobodys Hogan made WCW bigger than Flair or Sting ever did.

 

[K Bro 30]

Hogan is irreplacable. The way he combined the dominating persona, with his role model attributes made him such an icon. His patriotism during the end of the cold war, his say your prayers, eat your vitamins mentality. He combined so many things to make the perfect wrestler. Now all the already mentioned wrestlers had their own charisma, but none of them interacted with the fans the way Hogan did. Cupping his ear, doing everything to get a reaction from the fans. He made it entertaining.

With everything above said, he was a role model above all else. Lets face it, no parent wants to see their kid watch a hell-raiser because kids mimic that. Sting and Warrior not such a good idea because the paint prevents a face from being linked to the name. Macho Man did not have the build, and honestly just had an annoying voice. The Rock would be the closest, but come on, everything given to him and he took his fame and left the company. He had the strength, the charisma, but he also lacked some role-model type attributes.

Let's say one thing, Vince McMahon under no circumstances made Hogan. And we can say that anyone given the push he got would be able to succeed like he did, I disagree. I don't think most wrestlers could handle all the fame he had (movies, TV, lunch boxes, toys, shirts, bandanas), all the appearances, being under the radar the way he was. It is a lot of stress. He not only handled that amazingly, but he also took his push, stayed committed to the business, and ran with it. He lead arguably the most dominant stable in history (no stable had the star power of Nash, Hall, Savage, Giant (Big Show), Curt Hennig, Scott Steiner), he was both the ultimate face and the ultimate heel. He carried the two biggest wrestling companies in history to their peaks.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Hogan wasnt replaceable atleast by any mainstream wrestler that I know of from that time. People bring up Savage and Sting but I dont think they could have, mostly because of their size. I think they might fit the bill in other departments like charisma but one of the big things about Hogan being over was his size. He was built as a larger than life figure, for example the 24 inch pythons and the strongest man in the world thing that he and the WWF used to use. That wouldnt have worked with Savage and Sting because they werent 6'6 300lbs with arms the size of tree trunks like Hogan. For example even though Hogan was already really over before he faced Andre but when he body slammed him that took him to new heights and Im not so sure Sting or Savage could do that.

So when you put it all together there wasnt any mainstream wrestler that I can think of that had the size and charisma that Hogan had. There maybe some wrestler in the indy's or small territories that forever reason never got a chance but in the WWF I cant think of anybody. So that notion that Vince could have plugged anybody in Hogan's spot and they would be over is ridiculous. He tried doing similar gimmicks with other wrestlers most notably Luger in 93-94 but that didnt work out. Cause nobody had the ability to connect and have the fans in the palm of his hand like Hogan did.

 

[bassmann87]

The WWF has no chance of going national w/o the Hulk Hogan character at the top of the company. The strong, charismatic, blond that Hogan represented was the perfect character to carry the WWF on to the national scene.

That being said, Terry Bollea was replaceable. Anyone with his look and charisma would have been able to carry the WWF the way he did. He just happened to be the guy McMahon found to fill the role.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

Anyone with his look and charisma would have been able to carry the WWF the way he did. He just happened to be the guy McMahon found to fill the role.

That's the problem, nobody had that combination. There was nobody that had the 6'6 300lb frame with arms like he had to go with his charisma. With the gimmick he had of being immortal, the strongest guy on earth, 24 inch pythons etc. you needed that size. And to get over you needed that charisma like he had too. He just had a way to connect with the fans that no other superstar had. Whether you were young or old every fan was captivated by him and you can be pushed to the moon but unless you have that ability to connect with the fans like Hogan had it doesnt matter. He wasnt the only guy to be pushed as an unstoppable force or all american yet none of those guys came close to what Hogan did. He went almost a decade and a half as the top face in two companies and being pushed down our throats yet people never turned against him or stopped cheering for him. He was just as over with the crowd in 93 as he was in 83 and that says something.

 

[KillBill]

Did I honestly see someone say that Vince said he could put Snuka in that spot? hahahahaha!!!!! And yes, Summerslam 92 had 80,000 people without hogan, but 2 things:

1. The match isn't in the US. The WWF rarely if ever had ppv's outside of US at that time, so seeing how it was a once in a Lifetime event, that brought people

2. The match wasn't even the real main event. To this day, that may be the only time ever where the Intercontinental title was the more important event, because of Bulldogs hometown. Yeah, 80,000 people, 50-60,000 were more interested in Hart/Bulldog.

And if Hogan headlines Wrestlemania 25 with Austin, even though the chance is slim, there should no longer be an arguement. Hulk's staying power proves it.