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

[rge2010]

Ok, these 4 men are probably the biggest names ever to enter the squared circle. Hogan has being the biggest influence on Wrestling, Steve Austin has had the most popular run ever, HBK has had the most storied career.

So where does that leave The Rock? I dont believe he can match any of the afformentioned wrestlers in the accolades I have just given BUT would Hogan, Austin or HBK have created so much hysteria? Woudl they have recieved the pop like Rock did last night? Would they up the Wrestlemania Buy Rates like Rock is going to?

I firmly believe The Rock is the biggest commoddity in Wrestling right now. Nobody else could have this effect.

Is The Rock the biggest EVER to enter the squared circle? Or is just a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder"? Hogan has being lurking in TNA and is pretty exposed to Wrestling, Austin guest hosted last year and Shawn has retired a little over a year ago....fast forward 7 years and would they have the same effect?

 

[mr.continental]

Probably not. On the simple fact that those 3 guys have never really left completely. Even when Michaels retired the first time due to his back injury he would still pop up every once I awhile.

The Rock on the other hand, has been gone for 7 years. With his only real WWE apperence being the Hall of Fame ceremony for his father and grandfather. So when he finally did come back, it was a special moment.

 

[candy girl]

i'll think i'll go with the whole '' absence makes the heart grow fonder"" thing, i mean he's been gone from wwe for over seven years, so naturally the fans showed him some love, however i also noticed that there were a few people who yelled '' GO BACK HOME" SO there's still some resentment on the part of some of the fans towards him for leaving...... even i had those same feelings of resentment towards him for leaving, but i knew he had to do what was right for him and his family not to mention his health....... however it wouldn't have killed him to show up every now and then, even if it was just thru a video recording, ya' know to say hi dog hi cat or something....... as far as hulk, austin or hbgay getting the same responce as rock did last night is concern, probably!!! depending on what city, or country the were in, i know if raw had taken place in canada and hogan was schedule to return after a lengthy absence he would have gotten the same responce, look what happened after wrestlemania 18.

 

[justinept]

Correct. No one could have had the same impact as The Rock did last night ...

But the reason The Rock would have had a bigger impact over the other legends is because we NEVER see him in the WWE ring anymore. He said it a bunch of times during his promo, but that was his first WWE appearance in SEVEN YEARS.

I was at the All-State Arena in 2002 when Hogan returned to Raw after being away from the WWF for 9 years. Even though we had seen him in WCW, it was still special to see him back in the WWF. I thought last night was the exact same thing for The Rock ... even though we still see him in movies, it was just special to see him in the ring.

 

[eljay7i]

No neither HBK, Hogan or Austin would have that kinda influence last night because of the reasons mr. continental stated above. The only person I can think that woulda get the reaction currently is Macho Man Randy Savage, because of the shock factor and it's been 16 yrs since the guy has stepped foot in a WWF/E ring. I know I would mark out!!

 

[Papa Zapatista]

The effect that Rocky had last night had nothing to do with a 7 year return. That was the effect that The Great One has no matter the time or place that he is in. The Rock is the greatest promo shooter of all time, and he would have electrified the crowd just the same even if he had been coming out every week since last year's Wrestlemania.

Watch his promo videos on Youtube. For the 2nd half of his career, there wasn't a single interview or promo he did that was any less crowd inspiring than his return on 2/14/11. Sure, the initial pop was huge, but he kept the fire under the belly of the beast for 25 minutes. You don't do that unless you are oozing charisma out of every pore in your body. That was not something caused by a return, that was just... The Rock.

So my answer is yes and no. The return of Stone Cold or HBK or Hogan after 7 years would get an amazing reaction. Probably bigger than The Rock's... at least initially. Howveer, neither of those men could keep the crowd riled up for damn near a half hour just by talking. Austin would come close, but even he only had a couple of one liners before he had to stun someone to keep the crowd hooked.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

There has always been something about the rock that everyone loves, he is just huge and everyone loves him.. Also he has been away from the wwe for 7 years apart from the HoF appearence a few years ago.. And what someone above posted, Austin has made appearances here and there and well Hogan has never left the wrestling ring.. It's kinda like Diesel at the Rumble.. It wasn't the wrestler Nash we saw, but it was the character Diesel, his music.. he got a big pop when he appeared at the rumble..

Now we all know the rock is a character and we haven't seen him for some time and we have had many threads on here about people saying, he owes us fans a return and etc.. and it just shows how much us fans want to see the most electrifying man in sports entertainment!

I was at the All-State Arena in 2002 when Hogan returned to Raw after being away from the WWF for 9 years. Even though we had seen him in WCW, it was still special to see him back in the WWF. I thought last night was the exact same thing for The Rock ... even though we still see him in movies, it was just special to see him in the ring.

This!! When Hogan returned at No Way Out 2002 with NWO, he spoke last.. even though we had seen him in WCW, we hadn't seen him in the WWE for a long time and also he was a HEEL!! The crowd just did no let him talk!!

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Really excellent question.

HBK absolutely not. He's still too fresh. Hell, HBK is retired and he's basically been missing the same amount of time as The Undertaker.

Hogan, not likely. I really wonder how his reception would be if he came back AGAIN. It's like "how many times can I kick WWE fans in the face and get away with it?" Plus, I think we've been oversaturated as wrestling fans by Hogan.

Austin, close, but not likely. Rock had such command of the ring and the crowd last night that I don't think ANYONE would have come close. Austin at least somewhat, but really no.

The only guy I could see getting a reaction like The Rock did last night is if Kurt Angle shocked the world by showing up on Raw. I really think a lot of fans miss him and would flip to see him back. Brock Lesnar would get a reaction, but not an off the charts bat shit show like Rocky had last night.

I take it back. The ONLY guys who could pull off a reaction like The Rock had last night would be a returning Randy Savage or Ultimate Warrior. They've been been MIA for longer than Rocky has.

 

[AlwaysHasBeen]

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the most talented entertainer to ever grace professional wrestling.

I grew up with the 90s and the Attitude Era and for a while (I'd say between 2002-recently) carried feelings of resentment toward the re-molding of the WWE product but realized that as the times change, so do business strategies. I thought, my opinions shouldn't matter as I'm older now and tend to analyze the talents and happenings within pro wrestling in a way I didn't during my youthful years, where I unquestioningly immersed myself in the product and ate whatever I was spoonfed.

I thought, hmmm, if I was younger I'd probably jump on the Cenation bandwagon and BOO the Miz (instead of straight up detesting him like I really feel) and buy these gimmick-match themed PPVs. I mean, if RAW and Smackdown are still airing week after week and there are still PPVs every month, there are obviously fans that are adamant about the WWE product as it exists today...

...then the Rock showed up on RAW the other night and made me realize that it's not me growing up that has changed my sentiments toward the WWE, it's the straight-up lack of star-power talent that plague the business. In a matter of twenty minutes, Mr. Johnson had millions....and millions of eyes and ears glued to television screens worldwide. Kids in the arena in Anaheim who were too young to know who the Rock was (other than seeing him in films) were still drop-jawed and I'm sure felt the same chills their parents holding them did at that moment.

The Rock showcased what it was that catapulted his career and demonstrated that talent cannot be scripted...it's inborn. Do I think Austin, Hogan, or HBK could have amassed the same amount of excitement that night? No.

 

[Optimist Prime]

Influence? Today? Or are we talking about if they returned at any point in the past?

Hogan would have had the biggest impact for many years...much bigger than the one last night had it been about 10 years ago. Unfortunately when Hogan did make his comeback, Vince thought it would be a better idea to bring him back into the company after nearly 10 years as a strong heel. It's hard to get quite the pop when you're initially brought in as a bad guy...especially after the career and popularity Hulk Hogan had with the WWF over the years.

But you know what? Even being a heel didn't matter as in WM18, 70+ thousand screaming fans insanely cheered for Hogan the heel and booed beyond belief, The Rock, the face of the company.

It all depends on timing. If you're talking about specifically last night...nobody would have had the same impact. Rock hasn't been seen in quite a while. Austin could have made some noise but it's public knowledge now that he'll be hosting Tough Enough and he's been back a few times over the years so it probably wouldn't have been as surprising. HBK wouldn't have been surprising because he hasn't even been retired for a full year yet...and Brett Favre kind of ruined the whole retirement comeback surprise for almost everybody in every form of entertainment.

 

[orton0384]

He had shown up on the tron a few times here and there. 2007 he predicted the trump mcmahon matchup. 2008 hall of fame. 2009 smackdown anniversery. So hes kept lightly in touch so to speak. I would have loved more. We all would have.

However, we all can agree it was neccesary. If he showed up too much we would have argued he is hogging the spotlight. That hes taking away from wrestlers like the celeb guest hosts have. Valuable tv time for wrestlers to build themselves. He did the unselfih thing and I applaud him for it.

Read my other posts I'm happy for Rocky. He achieved what no other wrestler really has. Even if he didnt return I'd still be happy for him. But his stay away tactic was smart whether it was his choice or mcmahons.

If he only comes back for mania and never shows up again I'd still be elated because he put the naysayers and doubters out to barn. Long live the great one. Have a great day folks!

 

[Montague]

No just due to the simple fact that the other 3 have been around the wrestling business more recently then the Rock, HBK retired recently, Hogan is in TNA, Austin makes appearances every once in a while, but Rock has been MIA for years

 

[rge2010]

i'll think i'll go with the whole '' absence makes the heart grow fonder"" thing, i mean he's been gone from wwe for over seven years, so naturally the fans showed him some love, however i also noticed that there were a few people who yelled '' GO BACK HOME" SO there's still some resentment on the part of some of the fans towards him for leaving...... even i had those same feelings of resentment towards him for leaving, but i knew he had to do what was right for him and his family not to mention his health....... however it wouldn't have killed him to show up every now and then, even if it was just thru a video recording, ya' know to say hi dog hi cat or something....... as far as hulk, austin or hbgay getting the same responce as rock did last night is concern, probably!!! depending on what city, or country the were in, i know if raw had taken place in canada and hogan was schedule to return after a lengthy absence he would have gotten the same responce, look what happened after wrestlemania 18.

Hmmmm didnt Rock "pop up" in 2007 to plug the Turner vs McMahon match at WM23? Then he did again in 2009 to suggest he was returning as a host!!!

Good point about Hogan in Canada though. So yeh, maybe.

 

[MaxSteel]

For the reasons many people here already posted, nobody would make a bigger impact than The Rock.
It hasn't been long since HBK retired, and he has been involved with the WWE quite a bit since than.
Austin has been making a few WWE appearances (most memorable, in my opinion, is him being the special guest ref, Batista vs Y2J, Cyber Sunday 2 years ago). He is also in TE, so his "comeback" as WM host wouldn't mean too much, even though it could definitely draw in some capacity.
As for Hogan.. had he actually stayed out of wrestling, and had he been in nearly as good shape as The Rock was, than maby he could have as big of an impact as The Rock had. However, the above 2 conditions haven't been met, so there's nothing more to add here.

 

[TUFFY54]

Hogan - YES. Hogan is unique in that he gets the biggest pop of the year whenever he steps into a WWE ring. The fans just know that he belongs their more than anyone else in wrestling. When he came back in 02 he had only been off TV a year and got cheered out of the building as a heel. When he came back in 03 he had been off TV for 6 months and got a five minute standing ovation. He got the loudest cheers anyone had every heard at the WWE Hall of Fame. He couldn't talk for almost 10 minutes. The pop he got when he did a run in at Wrestlemania 21 might be the loudest I've ever heard in the history of pro wrestling. Everyone looses it when the hear Real American start to play. All he would have to do is say that he's back where he belongs in the company he and fans made together - the WWE.

Austin - YES. Austin got a medicore (for him, great for anyone else) reception when he was the guest GM because he was the guest GM. It was advertised for months and everyone knew the routine. He came out at the beggining and had a few encounters in the back. If he came out unanounced at the end of RAW and cut an old school 15 minute pro from the Attitude Era that set up angles, he would have blown the roof off the building. He probably would have gotten a better reaction than the Rock.

HBK - NO. Michaels is great, but he just hasn't been gone long enough. I actually don't think he would get a reaction like the Rock 7 years from now. Michaels is an all time great. Probably the best in ring performer in history. However, he just never reached that level of main stream success that Hogan, Austin, and Rock did. He just isn't on their level.

 

[Brahma Bull]

Hogan: No. the guy is way to old. it would be almost the same as when hart came back, everyone is happy for the nostalgia, but hogan is no longer the presence he once was.

Austin: maybe, but probably not. the initial pop would be about the same, but the rock just cut one of the best promos ever. not only did he make a return, he put himself back on top after 7 years.

HBK: No, just no. HBK may be the best all around wrestler, but in terms of sheer popularity, the rock is leagues ahead of HBK.

not to mention these guys dont ever seem to leave. the rock was a legit suprise.

 

[mikead]

Hogan - YES. Hogan is unique in that he gets the biggest pop of the year whenever he steps into a WWE ring. The fans just know that he belongs their more than anyone else in wrestling. When he came back in 02 he had only been off TV a year and got cheered out of the building as a heel. When he came back in 03 he had been off TV for 6 months and got a five minute standing ovation. He got the loudest cheers anyone had every heard at the WWE Hall of Fame. He couldn't talk for almost 10 minutes. The pop he got when he did a run in at Wrestlemania 21 might be the loudest I've ever heard in the history of pro wrestling. Everyone looses it when the hear Real American start to play. All he would have to do is say that he's back where he belongs in the company he and fans made together - the WWE.

Austin - YES. Austin got a medicore (for him, great for anyone else) reception when he was the guest GM because he was the guest GM. It was advertised for months and everyone knew the routine. He came out at the beggining and had a few encounters in the back. If he came out unanounced at the end of RAW and cut an old school 15 minute pro from the Attitude Era that set up angles, he would have blown the roof off the building. He probably would have gotten a better reaction than the Rock.

HBK - NO. Michaels is great, but he just hasn't been gone long enough. I actually don't think he would get a reaction like the Rock 7 years from now. Michaels is an all time great. Probably the best in ring performer in history. However, he just never reached that level of main stream success that Hogan, Austin, and Rock did. He just isn't on their level.

I agree with you on Austin. If out of no where, during any match or during any situation on RAW the glass broke and his music hit, the top would blow off the arena. It might not be as big as the Rock was last night, but it would still be the biggest we've seen in recent years.

Hogan, under the right circumstances, could get something close, but I think the fact that hes been everywhere, in and out, for the past decade, his pop wouldn't be as massive as it used to be.

Theres a lot of guys that could come back and get a much bigger pop than the biggest pops you hear on any regular Raw, but what we heard/saw last night was unique and its hard to think of anyone who could match it.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I Agree and Disagree here. Would Hogan, Austin, or HBK had the influence/or gotten the pop HBK did last night? HELL YEAH THEY WOULD'VE! Austin hasnt been on WWE programming in awhile, HBK barley make appearences and almost always has a huge pop, and, while itd be impossible RIGHT NOW, Hogan is one of thee biggest stars of all time and has been with TNA, so except for maybe HBK cause we all know he is going in the HOF, it wouldve been a HUGE suprise to see either of them on RAW last night and i think they wouldve DEFINATLEY gotten HUGE pops!

BUT, where i do agree with you is that Rock is DEFINATLEY THE HUGEST COMMODITY TO WWE RIGHT NOW! Why?? PROMOS! PROMOS! PROMOS! Ive never even been a Rock fan and ive watched his promo from last night 3 times already!!(Best quote came from JR's Blog:"I Hope all the young guys in the back were watching last night, Great to see Rock on WWE" or something along those lines)The thing with EVERY other supertar, is we expect a Stunner, or Sweet Chin Music, or A Leg Drop, etc. Would we all love to see him Layeth the Smacketh Downeth? OFCOURSE! But could we all just watch Rocky talk forever and Host mania? Hell Yeah! He's the best at it! Thats why he is the biggest commodity, cause i dont think anyone else could host(just talk) and be so successful and appreciated. He can never get hurt, and always be on WWE without lifting a finger!!!

 

[aravindakshans]

It is not about the hiatus, it is not about wrestling, it is about entertaining, simply put no one never did it better than The Rock, not HBK, not Hogan, not Austin or Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior. Sure most of these guys are talented in the ring, talented than The Rock, but no one was near as good as to entertain even when wrestling or when he was involved in cutting promos, even when Rock was regular, the pop he got from the people was amazing, no one else could get that, some one here mentioned keeping them entertained for whole segment, Rock has done it in the past, he was involved in so many promos no body could cut it better than him, and no one had the ability to make people listen for that long, not just because of the pop, hogan can never come in stand in the ring and talk for 20 mins or so and make people listen to him. Rock was involved in the most watched wrestling show at a time, he did this episode with mick foley in attitude era, which got the highest rating for a wrestling show, not hogan or austin could achieve that. Simply put The Rock is the wholesome package, a package that truly is the great one, THE ONE which can never ever be replaced. Rock was unique about him, his moves, his style and the way he talks. No one will ever come near to Rock. If u think they do try to see if they could entertain fans singlehandedly without any moves, just with a mike in his hands and that is the damn truth.

 

[Deadman87]

No i don't think any of those three would of got the same reaction The rock did.

The Rock did walk away from wrestling, he pursued his dream and didn't feel a need to get back into the business, he came back for the fans not himself whereas you could make the argument with the others that they wanted to stay or needed to stay for fiancial reasons (more so Hogan than the others).

 

[Ultra Awesome]

Longevity has a lot to do with why Shawm Michaels's, Hulk Hogan's, and Stone Cold's returns wouldn't have been as impactful as the one given by the Rock.

Shawn Michaels hasn't even been gone for over a year. Hulk Hogan is a shadow of his former self. Though his return to the WWE would be an interesting one, I don't believe it'd be as impactful as the Rock's as quite frankly, he's, well, past his prime. He's just too damn old and over-exposed. Stone Cold probably could have been one to rival's Rock's reaction; but he's been in and out of the WWE quite a few times. And I believe the return that he had last year would have damaged this return. There is also that, while Stone Cold is a living legend, the promo that he could cut wouldn't match the level of greatness that the Rock's did.

Now this leads me to The Rock and the reason why I am so convinced that no one would have gotten the same reaction as him:

The first: it's been every fans desire, dream to see the Rock one day return inside the squared circle. Constantly have you seen around the internet people jizzing themselves just because some "rumor" is predicting the Rock's return. In a sense, with all the rumors that float around, you get the hype - the hype that leads to the excitement of seeing the great one finally come home. The second: couple of times has the Rock stated over and over again that one day he would return. That one day he would come home. Whether it be back in 06(?), on the 10th anniversary of Smackdon, interviews -- whatever, the point being: the build to his return was building.

And finally, The third reason to why I think nones return could have rivaled the Rock's is because of every smarks'/marks'/longtime-fans'/male-fans' desire to see someone finally, finally break the barrier that is PG and cut the level of promo tht the Rock did. It's no surprise that a good amount of the general audience of the WWE is still [roughly] male's ages 18 - 33 -- typically, the type of guys that are always complaining about how their once favourite product has gone PG.

So what do you get when your only hope in the entire world to shit all over the PG comes to Monday Night Raw to do just that? Well, we all witnessed the reaction to Rock's promo last night. Many fans have always dreamed of a time when someone could finally step inside the ring and say all kinds of colorful language without the consent of the "PG" era. And if Stone Cold didn't do it a year ago, who else is their to do just that? - the guy that has been MIA for over 7 years - that's who.

Don't get me wrong. I love the PG. In fact, I'm one of it's biggest supporters. But it's been many's dream to finally see someone break that PG barrier and cut that kind of promo. Just look at the dime-a-dozen threads that have popped up all over forums across the net. You have the IWC jizzing their pants because finally they had someone to cut a promo that wasn't too PG.

This along with the immense build/hype we've been getting from the 'one day he will return' feeling is why I sincerely doubt that any of the other three's return would have been as shocking and great.

Sadly, the level of promo that was last night has certainly raised the bar to what fans are to expect from the current roster...

 

[MinistryDeadman95]

No, because fans have anticipated The Rock's return in the ring for about 6 years now, unlike Stone Cold, Hulk Hogan, and Shawn Michaels who have made many appearances over the last 6 years.

 

[Yrrab]

You know, at first I scoffed at this. Of course none of those guys would've had the same impact.

The obvious answer is that assuming any of those guys came back for the same reason as the Rock (to do something special for the fans), the Hulkster or Austin could have had the same impact. I don't quite think HBK would've had nearly the reaction that any of the other 3 would have gotten, just because he's only been gone a year. My opinion though, Austin could've had a bigger impact. This assumes two things though -

1. Austin's promo and interaction with the crowd is just as oldschool as Rocky's was. Hearing Austin cut an oldschool promo on anyone in today's PG era would be incredible. As often as Rocky said ass last night, we would've heard so many classic catchphrases from Austin that we haven't heard in a damn long time. Just as long as it's been for Rocky, I'd say. Sure, we've seen Austin much more frequently, but we haven't seen Stone Cold Steve Austin the way he's meant to be seen.

2. Austin's return isn't soley for one night and then Wrestlemania. At least have him included in some of the WM buildup. Have him announce some of the matches or something, just keep him talking every other week or so.

I would've lost my mind 10x more if I heard Austin ask the crowd "If you wanna see me open a can of whoopass on (insert any star here), gimmie a hell yeah!"

That's not to say that I'm bummed it wasn't Austin, because I don't really want it to be Austin. I'm glad to see the Rock again. But for some food for thought, I personally think that Austin could've had an even bigger impact than Rocky did.

 

[Calderownz]

No. For various reasons.

Hogan hasn't gone away. So, he doesn't have the BIG FEEL to him because fans are continually seeing him on wrestling television.

Shawn Michaels suffers from the same fate.

Austin could be the closest, but he still has come back from time to time and has been involved in WWE products, movies, what have you.

The Rock has made two to three appearances in the last half decade. That makes it mean more.

 

[Alastor]

Austin - Not really. His guest host appearance didn't gather as big a reaction as the Rock's appearance on Raw. He is more restrained now as his attitude era persona is not a good PR image for his career right now.

Hogan - Yes. WWE fans will always mark out for him. He basically made wrestling famous. He has been away from WWE for a long time as well. Since most WWE fans don't know of TNA he will still have seen as 'coming back to wrestling'. Example: Kevin Nash at RR.

HBK - No. He has only been gone for less than a year. Hardly a period for fans to build up the anticipation for his return.