How about those three months that Shawn was champion before the nWo was even created? The ratings were poor, buyrates were pitiful, and Shawn was a terrible draw. Fact. Yeah, going against the nWo didn't help, but if he was as great of a draw as people like to make him out to be then he wouldn't have been drawing such as poor ratings. And Austin proved that you could beat the nWo, y'know.
Like I have kept saying, The first three months of Shawn's reign was Hall and Nash coming in as the Outsiders, and acting like they had come from the WWF to destroy WCW, which is just as compelling and as interesting as Hogan turning Heel. Shawn was fighting a losing battle against something like that. Maybe, historically, if he hadn't been up against that kind of competition, he would have been pulling down mid 3's in the ratings and would have been considered a great draw, but the fact that the WWF survived when all they had was Shawn and a handful of other guys, and the fact that later on Shawn drew massive numbers, shows that if he had not been going up against such stiff competition during the time, he would have drew more than he had. All it takes is a little bit of deductive reasoning to see that.
No shit, but you know who he had carry those PPV's? Hogan. Y'know who was a main factor in Wrestlemania becoming such a success? Hogan. Who had the charisma to get the 'Real American' gimmick over? Hogan.
Ok, but you have to have some charisma for the crowd to buy in it. Just because Hulk Hogan and Dean Malenko say the same thing doesn't mean it'll get over equally. Having Charisma and being able to connect with the crowd is just as important as getting the best promos.
Sure, Hogan had a lot of weight to carry on his shoulders during those first few Wrestlemanias, and yes it does take Charisma to pull off the gimmick that Hogan had to pull off, and no, Dean Malenko couldn't have done it, but...let's say you take a poll of 100 wrestlers or so, how many of them would have the charisma to pull off what Hogan did? How many would be able to perform the promo's the writers wrote, and get over with the crowd the same way Hogan did? Out of 100 Wrestlers, I would say that there could be about 10-15 guys who could do exactly what Hogan did. Out of those same 100 guys, how many of them could grow to match the in-ring ability that HBK has still to this day? How many of those guys would have the ability to tell a compelling, interesting, and incredible story in the ring using their bodies? I would say....to match what HBK can do....maybe 2-3 guys, and I admit that those are light estimates, but do you see the point? There are plenty of guys out there who could do what Hogan did. There aren't many who can do what HBK can do.
Bullshit. Thats more fucking subjective then anything.
How exactly is it more subjective? Yeah, they are told what to do out in the ring, and they are told the finish, and all that, but not everyone is able to sell the pain, and perform the moves so that they look truly real, and to tell a story in the ring with their bodies. Going out into the ring and doing what they are paid to do is more an art form than anything. Standing in front of Camera and saying exactly what you were told to say, that is subjective.
PWI is a kayfabe fucking magazine. They have no credibility. Besides, you fucking know that his match vs Mcmahon wasn't MOTY in 2006 and his match vs Diesel in 95 wasn't MOTY. It's just a bunch of marks that were voting for their favorite wrestler, aka Shawn. The Flair and Angle matches wouldn't be on my list, either. Flair/HBK wasn't even the best matche AT WM. Undertaker/Edge was. If you want some credible sources, check the Wrestling Observer. Wanna know how many PWI MOTY Shawn has at WM? 2. X and XXV.
Again, it's just a bunch of marks voting for their favorite wrestler. Fucking Austin/Rock from X-7 was 1000000 times better then TLC 2 but TLC 2 won it. Don't use kayfabe sources as 'attempted' proof because it just doesn't work.
How is PWI a non-credible, kayfabe magazine? Explain that to me with some actual facts to back up your claim rather than just sounding like your just pissed off at the results of the polls they have done, and your just looking to smear it for revenge. The fact remains they are still polls done by thousands of fans of professional wrestling, and the results say that Shawn has had 8 matches at Wrestlemania that were deemed the best. Like the results or not, those are the facts.
And, like I said earlier, if Hogan doesn't help put WM on the map then there is no discussion of who's Mr. WM. Hogan started WM as the Super Bowl of Wrestling.
And, like I said earlier, if Vince doesn't have the balls to put on Wrestlemania in the first place, there is no Hogan. I respect Hulk Hogan for what he has done, and for the moments he has provided, but nobody has put on more memorable matches, and provided more moments on the biggest stage of them all than HBK. Period.