Who Means More To WWE: Hogan or Austin

[klunderbunker]

I was reading through some old stuff and noticed a comment. Someone said that Austin is the only person that could hold a candle to Hogan as biggest star ever. This got me to thinking:

Of the two, which was more important to WWE and their success? Which one meant more to WWE?

Note: I am NOT asking who is more important to wrestling as a whole as that isn't up for debate. This is WWE only. Austin or Hogan: who is more important in the company's history?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Without Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin in all likelyhood isnt known by nearly as many people. Nothing compares to were wrestling came from to were it got with Hulk Hogan. Austin also never put 100,000 people into a building to watch a show that otherwise had a nothing card.

Not even close.

 

[hdchz013]

I completely agree with Mighty NorCal. Who's to say that there would have ever been an Austin if there was never a Hogan? I really have to go with Hogan on this thread. And that's really tough for me to do considering out of the two...my favorite would be Austin by a longshot. But that's just my personal opinion.

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

Hogan put WWE on the map and made it the biggest wrestling company, while Austin helped beat WCW and made WWE the only major wrestling company in the US and the biggest in the world.

For me it's a tough call. But I'll go with Hogan because before Hogan, WWF was nothing but a regional thing. Then with him, Vince took over everything.

 

[Syborgg]

Without Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin in all likelyhood isnt known by nearly as many people. Nothing compares to were wrestling came from to were it got with Hulk Hogan. Austin also never put 100,000 people into a building to watch a show that otherwise had a nothing card.

Not even close.

Are you talking about Wrestlemania III? Cause I wouldn't say the I.C. Title match between Savage and Steamboat was nothing. In fact that card was full of something that you don't find much of in a WWE show these days....and that was matches.

On to the topic, Hogan was more important because he was the first name to become a house-hold name and put the WWF/E on the map. Sure there were others before him that wrestling fans knew and loved, but Hogan was the first to get the casual fan talking about wrestling. I won't argue that Austin was instrumental in building the empire that is WWE. However Hogan laid the foundation for all of the marquee talents to build upon.

 

[SSJPhenom]

This is a tough one. It's not so cut and dry as Norcal would have you believe.

Both men took the company to plateaus that it had never reached before. Both men drew like crazy. Both men ushered in a new era in the company. You can say that without Hogan there would be no Austin, however, without Austin, in all likelihood, there would be no WWE today. WCW would have won the Monday Night Wars. It's tough if you think about it.

But you have to go with the greatest professional wrestler of all the times here and it has to be Hulk Hogan. He brought the WWF/E up from a territorial promotion and made it a national promotion. He brought the WWF/E into the mainstream audience. He was one of the first wrestlers to have merchandising for the WWF/E.

Hogan brought the WWF/E to the dance. Austin just cut in for a turn.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Don't get me wrong, I loved Stone Cold Steve Austin throughout his run in WWE. In fact, I personally prefer him much more than Hogan. And I do believe that SCSA is second to Hulk Hogan only with regards to overall significance in the history of WWE.

But I would compare Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold much along the same lines that I would compare WWE and TNA. Both are good, but one is far more significant than the other, and the discrepancy between the two is vast. As much as I like TNA (sometimes), it is astronomically far behind WWE. Likewise, as great as Austin was, he's nowhere near as significant to WWE as Hogan was. Hogan, whether you like(d) him or not, brought WWE to a new stratosphere. Without him, there would be no Austin, or Cena, or Miz (sorry, couldn't resist). Not to detract from Austin's contributions, but the nod here clearly has to go to Hulk Hogan.

 

[Tougie]

This is a topic that can easily be compared to the arguement of who the greatest of all time is because its impossible to pick between the two. Without Hogan, the wrestling business would never have become what it once was and evolved into what it is now. Without Austin, there never would have been the Attitude Era which saw WWF/E elevate wrestling to its most popular point in history, and not to mention the WWE wouldnt be around today.

However, I believe Austin is the most important person to ever lace up his boots in a WWE locker room. Hogan helped revolutionize the business, but Austin basically kept it alive. Prior to Hulkamania you had the WWF, AWA and the NWA all doing steady business. All three of them were solid opponents for each other. So if Hogan had stayed in the AWA in 1983 the business wouldnt be the same, but you would most likely still have the territorial setup.

Austin, had he not been around, the WWF would have died and WCW would have been the only player in the industry. Now despite either outcome of who won the war in the 90's, it would have ended up being bad for the business as we have seen since 2001 when WCW closed. However, if WCW won, odds are it would have closed down within a few years anyway due to poor management unless WCW hired most of the backstage talent that WWF had, which for some reason I doubt they would have.

So basically, Hogan helped change the business, but Austin helped keep it alive. If WWE didnt win the war, both promotions would have been dead by 2005. But considering WWE won, their proper management allowed them to continue strongly even as your reading this.

 

[Brahma Bull]

Hogan without a doubt. As other posters have said, he made the wwe national and made people actually pay attention to it. there have been greats past, present, and surely future, but hogan was the one that changed the game.

edit: not to mention i think the wwe would have survived without austin. it wasnt hit too hard when he was out on injury. wwe was already moving towards the attitude era, austin is just the name people remember of it.

 

[marklouis]

I would say Hogan, because he was the face of the WWF when it went from a regional company to a national force. While true that Wrestlemania 3 was a good card & had a great match between Savage & Steamboat, most of the people who watched were there to see Hogan/Andre. He also was part of another huge Wrestlemania gate with his match against the Ultimate Warrior. Hogan also achieved a level of mainstream success that Austin never did. The guy from the Attitude Era who is most know by non-wrestling fans is The Rock, not Austin. I'm not trying to take anything away from Austin, he's one of my favorites & had much better matches than Hogan. But it wasn't Austin alone that drove the WWE in the Attitude Era. He was a major star, but you also had The Rock, HHH, DX, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, etc. Hogan had help as well, but he was far and away the #1 star of WWF during his run. I'm not sure the same can be said about Austin. Again, both were great, but Hogan gets my vote.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Are you talking about Wrestlemania III? Cause I wouldn't say the I.C. Title match between Savage and Steamboat was nothing. In fact that card was full of something that you don't find much of in a WWE show these days....and that was matches.

On to the topic, Hogan was more important because he was the first name to become a house-hold name and put the WWF/E on the map. Sure there were others before him that wrestling fans knew and loved, but Hogan was the first to get the casual fan talking about wrestling. I won't argue that Austin was instrumental in building the empire that is WWE. However Hogan laid the foundation for all of the marquee talents to build upon.

Did the people buy tickets to that show for Savage- Steamboat, or did they buy tickets to see Hulk Hogan fight Andre The Giant?

Please, respond with some sort of silly answer.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

I was reading through some old stuff and noticed a comment. Someone said that Austin is the only person that could hold a candle to Hogan as biggest star ever. This got me to thinking:

Of the two, which was more important to WWE and their success? Which one meant more to WWE?

Note: I am NOT asking who is more important to wrestling as a whole as that isn't up for debate. This is WWE only. Austin or Hogan: who is more important in the company's history?

Love the thread klunderbunker and to be honest and this doesn't pain me to say it all despite many of my pro-Hogan threads on this board, but it's Steve Austin plain and simple.

Here is my reason why too, at this point, unless Austin decides to do some other wrestling related venture outside of WWE, which I never rule out happening, despite what some people might think. But at this point and time I see him staying put and working with Vince within his Legends contract terms whichever those may be, again I am not too familiar with the particulars on his terms with Vince, but I got a good feeling that he must have a sweet enough deal if he keeps making his part time appearances.

And even though Austin has had his drama with Vince in the past regarding creative direction and what not, (i.e. walking out on the company twice, again this is only if it's as true as WWE play it out to be, for all we know that may have been more kayfabe than anything, you just never know with the wrestling business), he has shown that since his time with debuting in the WWF he more or less has stayed put. Outside of the two walkouts I mentioned, Austin never went elsewhere, with there being no WCW we know that would have been difficult unless he wanted to try his hand overseas, but considering how close he was to retirement, I just don't see how that would have happened. But as the last few years have proven, Hogan I don't think means as much to WWE's business model these days because Hogan chooses to go into business for himself a lot more often than most other people in the business and to be honest there is nothing wrong with that.

It's his choice and he has earned the right to do that, Austin on the other hand, has chosen to stay put in WWE and that's just as well too. But because of Austin showing no interest in ever going to TNA in some capacity, I would say that he's a better bet for WWE to rely on. Since he is easily available for merchandising deals and part time appearances than Hogan is, since he chooses to still do business with Vince, while Hogan has decided on TNA.

So at this present time my vote goes to Stone Cold because of how he's availed himself to WWE's product these past few years in comparison to Hogan.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Love the thread klunderbunker and to be honest and this doesn't pain me to say it all despite many of my pro-Hogan threads on this board, but it's Steve Austin plain and simple.

Here is my reason why too, at this point, unless Austin decides to do some other wrestling related venture outside of WWE, which I never rule out happening, despite what some people might think. But at this point and time I see him staying put and working with Vince within his Legends contract terms whichever those may be, again I am not too familiar with the particulars on his terms with Vince, but I got a good feeling that he must have a sweet enough deal if he keeps making his part time appearances.

And even though Austin has had his drama with Vince in the past regarding creative direction and what not, (i.e. walking out on the company twice, again this is only if it's as true as WWE play it out to be, for all we know that may have been more kayfabe than anything, you just never know with the wrestling business), he has shown that since his time with debuting in the WWF he more or less has stayed put. Outside of the two walkouts I mentioned, Austin never went elsewhere, with there being no WCW we know that would have been difficult unless he wanted to try his hand overseas, but considering how close he was to retirement, I just don't see how that would have happened. But as the last few years have proven, Hogan I don't think means as much to WWE's business model these days because Hogan chooses to go into business for himself a lot more often than most other people in the business and to be honest there is nothing wrong with that.

It's his choice and he has earned the right to do that, Austin on the other hand, has chosen to stay put in WWE and that's just as well too. But because of Austin showing no interest in ever going to TNA in some capacity, I would say that he's a better bet for WWE to rely on. Since he is easily available for merchandising deals and part time appearances than Hogan is, since he chooses to still do business with Vince, while Hogan has decided on TNA.

So at this present time my vote goes to Stone Cold because of how he's availed himself to WWE's product these past few years in comparison to Hogan.

So your rationale of Austin meaning more is because Hogan went to TNA? Hogan going to TNA has absolutely nothing to do with this. Hogan meant more to the WWE because he helped many wrestlers get over and they even thanked him because he put food on their table. Hogan revolutionized WWE and made it more mainstream and who knows if Austin would have made the same impact. Hogan meant everything to the WWE at the time and was also a catalyst for Austin being as over as he was.

 

[Miz_Is_Awesome]

What Hulk Hogan Meant To WWE: Hulk Hogan Helped WWE Be The Huge Company It Is Today, But it was already a Big company if you compare it to the territorial promotions that were running around, but without hogan there would be No wrestlemania, no big names you see today, WWF Couldve been brought out by NWA or AWA If it wasnt for hogan.

What Austin Meant To The WWE: No Austin, No Wrestling Period.
If Austin Never Came To The WWF, WWF Wouldve Been Brought by WCW, WCW Wouldve Died, So without Austin, we would have no wrestling to watch, and we would have completly different lives and the world wouldnt spin like it does now.
Hogan Made The WWF, But Austin Kept it alive

If it wasnt for Hogan, The WWF Wouldve PROBABLY Still been around (If Cornett kept his "No competition" rule)

If It Wasnt For Austin, No Wrestling.

My Take Goes To Stone Cold. Very Hard Choice Though.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Love the thread klunderbunker and to be honest and this doesn't pain me to say it all despite many of my pro-Hogan threads on this board, but it's Steve Austin plain and simple.

Here is my reason why too, at this point, unless Austin decides to do some other wrestling related venture outside of WWE, which I never rule out happening, despite what some people might think. But at this point and time I see him staying put and working with Vince within his Legends contract terms whichever those may be, again I am not too familiar with the particulars on his terms with Vince, but I got a good feeling that he must have a sweet enough deal if he keeps making his part time appearances.

And even though Austin has had his drama with Vince in the past regarding creative direction and what not, (i.e. walking out on the company twice, again this is only if it's as true as WWE play it out to be, for all we know that may have been more kayfabe than anything, you just never know with the wrestling business), he has shown that since his time with debuting in the WWF he more or less has stayed put. Outside of the two walkouts I mentioned, Austin never went elsewhere, with there being no WCW we know that would have been difficult unless he wanted to try his hand overseas, but considering how close he was to retirement, I just don't see how that would have happened. But as the last few years have proven, Hogan I don't think means as much to WWE's business model these days because Hogan chooses to go into business for himself a lot more often than most other people in the business and to be honest there is nothing wrong with that.

It's his choice and he has earned the right to do that, Austin on the other hand, has chosen to stay put in WWE and that's just as well too. But because of Austin showing no interest in ever going to TNA in some capacity, I would say that he's a better bet for WWE to rely on. Since he is easily available for merchandising deals and part time appearances than Hogan is, since he chooses to still do business with Vince, while Hogan has decided on TNA.

So at this present time my vote goes to Stone Cold because of how he's availed himself to WWE's product these past few years in comparison to Hogan.

This would be like, totally awesome if it was even remotely relevant to the question asked. The brooklyn brawler has also been with the company his entire carreer, I suppose he eclispes Hogan's impact as well.

 

[kris8524]

Ok, this is hard.

So, for the most relevance to the WWE/F, I have to go with Austin, although he had help also along with Hogan.

Vince McMahon was going to make, I believe, Superstar Billy Graham Hulk Hogan.
So, while Hogan was extremely instrumental... with him the WWE did not put WCW out of business. WWE against WCW and Hogan was able to come out on top with Austin. So, Austin was more important to the WWE, but Vince and others were there to help also.

 

[Yrrab]

Austin, without a doubt.

Hogan may have put WWE on the map, but wrestling wasn't about to vanish. Had he not shown up, WWE would have survived until Austin showed up. Austin is the reason the WWE is one of the most profitable companies in the world, and is the sole reason that the company destroyed it's biggest threat.

Hogan, in my opinion, was more popular than Austin could ever dream. The key difference is - Hogan was popular when WWE wasn't being threatened. Austin was popular when WWE had a lot to lose; And he single handedly crushed the competition.

No Austin, no WWE today.

 

[Gman35]

This is a simple answer!! Vince Mcmahon!! Without him, Hogan, or Austin would never have gotten their names!! Back when Wrestlemania started, Vince very well could have given Steamboat the strap and let him have the Hogan type title reign. Austin was fired by WCW through a phone call. Vince gave him a chance and the era of Stone Cold began. But, yes, it was their bodies that were on the line. Hogan was huge in the 80's early 90's for WWF. Austin was huge for WWE. It is a shame that these two didn't headline Mania, but that is fine. But, Austin surpassed Hogan by far!!

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Austin, without a doubt.

Hogan may have put WWE on the map, but wrestling wasn't about to vanish. Had he not shown up, WWE would have survived until Austin showed up. Austin is the reason the WWE is one of the most profitable companies in the world, and is the sole reason that the company destroyed it's biggest threat.

Hogan, in my opinion, was more popular than Austin could ever dream. The key difference is - Hogan was popular when WWE wasn't being threatened. Austin was popular when WWE had a lot to lose; And he single handedly crushed the competition.

No Austin, no WWE today.

WWF was mainly regional before Hogan showed up. Hogan took the business and gloablized it. Hogan was popular when the WWE was the top company in the United States and if Hogan hadn't gone to WCW and revolutionized the business again, Austin wouldn't be as big as he is made out to be.

 

[GameOver]

Hmm thats a toughy, if going by the pre WCW collapsing era's it's Hogan hands down
Hogan got the ball rolling but not only for WWE Hulkamania was an intrical part in wrestling in general going mainstream. And was involved in WWE in ring far longer than Austin or the Rock's for that matter

For 9yrs Hulkamania kept WWF as pretty much the only focus in the global wrestling eyes. It was only when he jumped ship to WCW that they really got major exposure

Austin was a huge draw no doubt and was a far better performer but wrestling didn't skyrocket with Austin as the face of wrestling it just went back up from a slump.
and Austin was only as good as the people he had to go against and the attitude era appealed to people with money. Without the Rock, DX, Taker, McMahon to battle against i feel the Austin character wouldn't have been as impactful.

The things Austin has the edge on is, the catchphrases, would be impossible to imagine a promo without the crowd chanting "What" or Oh Hell Yeah
he was involved in far more dramatic storylines and kick ass matches and wasn't a total unbeatable character and the popularity kept WWF from going under.
He also helped build huge stars, Hogan on the other hand seemed very selfish in that regard.
Austin continues to not side with anyone else, though he also is not really doing anything for WWE either, he's just making movies that barely get a mention

My vote goes with Hogan for the pre WCW ship jump (popularity/exposure)
and Austin for Attitude era onwards. (keeping WWF relevant and creating future stars)

probably Austin overall for productivity for the company as far as helping to building a future roster.

 

[Yrrab]

WWF was mainly regional before Hogan showed up. Hogan took the business and gloablized it. Hogan was popular when the WWE was the top company in the United States and if Hogan hadn't gone to WCW and revolutionized the business again, Austin wouldn't be as big as he is made out to be.

Absolutely! Hogan took WWE and made it huge.

But WWE was bound to get there anyways. There's no way of really knowing if WWE would have floundered without Hogan. But just as sure as Ted Turner is as greedy as Vince McMahon, WWE had a serious threat with WCW. And Austin crushed WCW (who, by the way, had Hogan at the time).

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

I was reading through some old stuff and noticed a comment. Someone said that Austin is the only person that could hold a candle to Hogan as biggest star ever. This got me to thinking:

Of the two, which was more important to WWE and their success? Which one meant more to WWE?

Note: I am NOT asking who is more important to wrestling as a whole as that isn't up for debate. This is WWE only. Austin or Hogan: who is more important in the company's history?

Boy George Contanza, the OP was relegating things to WWE only. Hogan did more than just revolutionize the WWF, he revolutionized professional wrestling as a whole, by being a marquee name in the AWA, WWF and WCW. Now to be fair to your point because I more than respect it. Let me continue on this further by responding directly to your quote.

So your rationale of Austin meaning more is because Hogan went to TNA? Hogan going to TNA has absolutely nothing to do with this. Hogan meant more to the WWE because he helped many wrestlers get over and they even thanked him because he put food on their table. Hogan revolutionized WWE and made it more mainstream and who knows if Austin would have made the same impact. Hogan meant everything to the WWE at the time and was also a catalyst for Austin being as over as he was.

Now my rationale for mentioning that Hogan going to TNA changes his importance to WWE is because in WWE's business model you can see how Hogan has lost his importance to WWE in terms of marketing and merchandising, which to be honest make up more of WWE's success than anything else these days. By Hogan not being the "WWE Lifer" that many people sometimes lambaste him on, I personally don't because I'm a Hogan fan no matter where he goes. However I stand by my vote for Stone Cold Steve Austin because of how WWE regards Hogan in today's business model.

With Hogan being in TNA and no longer an important part of the "WWE Legends" scene, save for a few DVD appearances (the Greatest 50 DVD is a travesty to me as a fan, but again I can see where WWE's business rationale is) Hogan's importance is no longer a prerogative to Vince at this moment. For as long as he is in TNA, Vince will use Hogan's name at a bare minimum since it would not benefit his business model to celebrate Hogan's legend, while it's more conducive for him to use Austin on the other hand who is on good terms with him at this point still.

I merely am doing my best to answer the OP's topic and because Austin has continued to be a part of the "WWE Legends" marketing strategy and with WWE making so much revenue on their merchandise I'd like to hope where you see I am coming from. Because at the end of the day, it's all about business and what makes sense business wise since at the moment Vince knows that he can do more with Austin and make the most bang on his buck Austin will remain more important to WWE's success at least in the avenues I just mentioned with the "WWE Legends" deal.

However, as far the wrestling business as a whole goes, of course I am going to pick Hulk Hogan, the man has managed to continue his legend no matter where he goes, from AWA to WWF to WCW and even to an extent with TNA the man still carries the name of icon plain and simple. Remember, the OP didn't ask about wrestling as a whole he was specific in mentioning WWF/E and that should be understood when I am making my point, in no way am I trying to discredit Hulk Hogan.

For what Hogan did for wrestling was bigger than just being a WWF superstar his role in the WWF benefited wrestling as a whole plain and simple and that success in WWF made him capable of doing what he did for WCW. But we're keeping this strictly to discussions about the WWE and their business model since we're talking about "success". In that regard, you have to be realistic and understand that if we're talking about the WWE's past, present and future we have to keep in mind that Austin's continued relationship with WWE is more important to WWE's success than Hogan because Austin continues to work with WWE to this day and remember this topic is relegated only to WWE's business and not wrestling overall. Hogan's career exceeds WWE in the first place.

It's not my intention to cause an argument here or take away your point on anything, but I am merely speaking more about the idea of how WWE sees things more than how I do.

 

[wushady]

Hulk definitely put WWE on the map. There probably will not be a WWE without Hogan. At the same time after Hogan went to WCW and WWE nearly bankrupt. Austin went on to be one of if not the main reason WWE overtook WCW and eventually put them out of business. So it could also be said there would be no WWE without Austin either.

I could see how some would say Austin is more valuable to WWE since he is their biggest draw in history. He even out sold Hogan in merchandise, but it was many years later. The economy was completely different plus WWE had a far better merchandise team.

However like I said Hogan put WWE on the map so even the I think Austin is far better in many was. I think Hogan was probably more important to WWE in the long run.

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

This would be like, totally awesome if it was even remotely relevant to the question asked. The brooklyn brawler has also been with the company his entire carreer, I suppose he eclispes Hogan's impact as well.

See my rebuttal to Contanza, but we're talking about WWE here, and if you see how the year or so has been since Hogan jump shipped to TNA, and how Austin even with his brief disagreements with the company (if they are even as real as WWE portrayed them), he has been a more consistent presence and for someone like Austin who continues to be a part of the "WWE Legends" merchandising label, through video games, toys, and etc. that means a lot to WWE's success which in turn equates to success in this case financial success which to WWE is going to be very important because it means ol' boy Vinnie Mac is gonna keep raking in the dough.

With Hogan being more adamant about controlling his likeness and his ability to make money (which again is not something to fault him for), that makes him in some ways detrimental to WWE's success because Vince can't control him like he would want to. I heard last year, Vince wanted to buy Hogan's name and likeness but Hogan was reportedly not going to let that jive. So from what I'm gathering by the OP's question is that who is more important to WWE's success?

Well, I would say the most important to WWE's success is the one who's going to be more cooperative in helping them continue to be successful and at this point, Hogan by going to TNA (which I don't begrudge) does not want to do that and Austin has continued to. Look at this way, WWE is all about the revenue and Austin and Hogan I feel both have equity in their legends after all these years, but with Austin being readily available to lend his likeness more than Hogan (because he chose to go to TNA), there's more potential equity with Austin right now than Hogan because they can use him far more than they can Hogan. Because after all the topic says Who Means More to WWE: Hogan or Austin and not Who Meant More To WWE.

As far as Hogan's career in wrestling goes, and how I feel about his importance in all of wrestling goes read my response to Costanza. Because to be honest, Hogan's value to the WWE and his value to wrestling are two very separate things. Therefore, I politely ask you to re-read and reevaluate my statements and why I chose to make them. It was not to diminish Hogan's presence and star power.

But to be honest, I really think this topic in the first place is nowhere near clear cut (which is ok, because it's still an interesting one) because who knows what could happen in the future, one day Hogan might be back to WWE and with that happening, that could change a lot of factors in what klunderbunker is asking.

 

[Spying Lammer]

OK Everybody listen up! I know how TNA can beat WWe! And theres only one way they can do it! Would you like to know which way?
Well here it is!


Stone Cold Steve Austin signs a contract with TNA for a year for wrestling!

Ok Yeah that may not be true, but just imagine! Imagine!

TNA would end up beating WWE. Its a fact and that ladies and gentz is the onlllllllyyyyyy way TNA would ever beat WWE.

Do you agree with me or not?

Please comment back as Im curious what you guys think about this.