Would Austin, Hogan, HBK had the influence the Rock did last night?

[Tech N9ne]

NO! No one could ever come on for "one night" and make the impact he can.

Shawn Michaels - He just retired. As a matter of fact, he was just on RAW a few weeks ago. So, he would and always does, get a great ovation. But, his return hasn't been something building for years. If even Shawn was gone for 7 years, I am doubtful he would get THAT kind of reaction from the fans. Taking nothing away from him, he is one of the best ever. But, even at the crowd's loudest, he has not received the same type of "pop" that The Rock used to get.

Steve Austin - If Austin had been gone for 7 years, I think his reaction would be right there with The Rock's from last night. But, if his music would have hit last night, as the Host Of Wrestlemania, the crowd would not have exploded as such. Sure, it would have been really loud. Louder then any pops given to anyone on the RAW roster. But not as loud as the ovation for The Rock. Steve Austin has been around. He has been on RAW AND made other appearances since. He was inducted to the HOF, and has returned for different reasons, over time.

Hulk Hogan - There was a time he would have got a reaction like Rock's. Last night would not have been it. He has been working for TNA, and a lot of WWE fans probably resent that. Though it IS Hulk Hogan. Most of the publicity surrounding him, since we last seen him in WWE, has been negative. REALLY negative. From his children to his divorce, to his new relationship, it has all been out there. It seems as every decade goes by, Hogan's legacy gets just a little bit more tarnished. If he wouldn't have went to TNA, and looked like a fool for that. Also if he hadn't made an appearance regarding wrestling at all since his last WWE appearance. He probably would have had a similar explosion from the crowd as The Rock's last night. But, even then, I have my doubts.

Hogan and Austin had some massive moments in their careers as far as "pops" go. But, there was a time where no one could match The Rock's "pops". In 99-02, The Rock had the loudest "pops" in WWE, and quite frankly, some of the loudest "pops" of ALL TIME!!

 

[PowerHouse]

I would say if anyone could do it its Austin no doubt. Rock got a great responce last night. Stone Cold would get the same type if he stayed away for almost 10 years. Aside from Austin I dont see anyone getting that type of responce. HBK would get a very good one but not as big as Rock or Austin.

 

[Morpheus101]

Short answer: no.

Out of all of those you mentioned, Austin would come the closest though, but no one can do it like The Rock. The Rock seems to have an ability to reach out to everyone and can electrify the crowd like no one else, just by opening his mouth. The others are all legends and are all respected the world over, but The Rock is the most successful entertainer in professional wrestling of all time, hence the fact that of all the wrestlers who also dabbled in acting, The Rock was by far the most successful.

I also think that the crowd's reaction was also to do with the fact that many people are frustrated with the current crop of main-eventers and the PG era. When Rock made fun of Cena, people loved it. If Cena would have come out at that point, he would have been an instant heel and would have been booed off stage.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Simply put, the answer is no. A huge reason why The Rock got the response that he did was because of nostalgia. I'm sure Austin, HBK & Hogan would've garnered great responses but we haven't laid eyes on The Rock live & in color inside of a WWE ring in about 7 years. Outside of inducting his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame a few years back, Rock has had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with wrestling. As a result, having him come back and host WrestleMania feels completely fresh and 100% genuinely exciting.

We've seen Hulk Hogan on television running around doing reality shows for several years now and we've seen him come to dominate the landscape of TNA for a year. Well, most of a year as he's been out lots due to issues with his back the past 5 months or so. HBK just retired at WM last year and we saw him on Raw several weeks back when it was announced he was going to be the first inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. True, it was the first time we'd seen him in almost a year but that doesn't compare to the 7 year absence and complete distance that The Rock has put between himself and wrestling. As for Austin, he's pop up a few times here and there on Raw. He was a guest host for Raw last year and he's going to be the host of Tough Enough when it returns after WrestleMania. Again, his absence just hasn't been as strongly felt as The Rock because we've always felt or k nown that Austin would pop up again every so often.

 

[The Jeff]

we've seen the other guys enough, The Rock is the only one who matters

 

[AngryCenaFan]

It was the right place, right time, and the right guy
He represents a large segment of fans that DESPISE PG WWE and he essentially shit on two of their biggest PG stars.

He also showed why he's LEGIT funny, and why Cena is NOT an to contrived.
Cena should stick to serious emotion based promos, the ROCK will SHIT on him if they adlib

 

[Lawliet]

Short answer, no.

The Rock was the right person at the right time. He has been gone for several years, and nobody can take up the mic like he can. Including the guys mentioned.

The rest of the guys we still see from time to time.

 

[AwesomeRko]

Yeah the answer is no, the Rock left WWE when he was still in his prime Hogan has hung around so long his product has essentially gone stale, HBK again has been in wrestling for so long whilst many of his matches are still great i personally dont think he was ever able to emulate or sustain his form of the 90s. Austin is always going to get a massive pop, yet agan he stayed with WWE longer than the Rock and it has left him in a state where he is no longer able to wrestle. The Rock is still in great shape and could still make a msaaive in ring contribution to WWE, combined with the fact he cuts the best promos ever. And to pick up on the first post asking where the Rock fits between Hogan, Austin and HBK. Although Austins popularity in hhis relatively short peak in the attitude era may never be meatched the Rock took the torch and carried it for a far longer period with his character essentialy being able to sustain his role as the no #1 guy in the company from arguably 1999 till he left, also i dont think the Rock and Stone Cold should really be weighed against each other. They were both around at the same time had in my opinion the greatest most atmoshperic and opnion divisive rivalry in WWE history culminating in some outsanding matches and were a huge part of each others identity essentially are what ensured that the attitude era and the years immediately following it were the best in WWE history

 

[jacdnwarrior]

His absence makes it hard to see how these guys you mentioned could have actually brought the same result or do better. HBK was good in the ring and on the mike, but he isn't anywhere as as popular as the other three mentioned. Austin would work if the show wasn't PG rated. Hogan isn't as gifted in a give and take as much as the Rock.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

This was purely a case of "I haven't been here in 7 long years." The Rock is popular, don't get me wrong here. He's one of the ten or so biggest names in the history of pro wrestling. But, is he really bigger than any guy mentioned in the OP?

He's not bigger than Hogan or Austin, at least not in wrestling. HBK is arguable, probably about equal. HBK hasn't been gone long enough to have that kind of effect. Hogan is with TNA, seen on television all of the time, so it wouldn't matter nearly as much.

Austin comes back, one way or another, about once per year. If Austin had missed 7 years, his reaction would have been just as big. However, in terms of media coverage, The Rock has all of them beat, no matter how long he's been gone. He's a bigger mainstream star than any of those guys, so media outlets are going to pick it up. Austin, Hogan and HBK couldn't have caused such a media stir, but fan reaction, Austin would have been at least equal if he had been gone that long.

 

[manstis1804]

The Rock is more timelessly awesome than any of the others. Austin was a fad, Hogan was a fad, HBK doesn't even belong in this group, he was the same level as Bret Hart, who also does not belong in this group. The Rock's style is one that can never be dated because its not tied to any time period, like Hogan was with the 80s, or tied to any specific storyline/angle like Austin was with his battling Mr. McMahon. Its just The Rock, putting anyone in place that he feels like on the mic, in his inimitable style.