Thoughts on Hulk Hogan

[Zeeboe]

I like Hulk Hogan, he's my favorite wrestler of all time, and the reason why I became a wrestling fan, but for the most part without Vince McMahon's creative input, Hogan is a B-rated actor and a second-rate wrestler who jips people out of their money. The nWo was the only good thing Hogan did that McMahon was not apart of, and the nWo angle was ripped off from Japan.

Hulk Hogan (like Bret, with all due respect to Bret) were just WWF wrestlers in WCW. i.e. Without McMahon there, the WCW had nothing to do for Bret, and Hogan's ego was so well-fed by Vince that Hogan actually thought he could make it on his own and do whatever he felt like by using the same gimmick McMahon created for him and try to put Vince out of business, but when Hulk realized the gimmick grew stale (which is something Vince already told him in his final days in the WWF), Bischoff stole the nWo angle, and breathed more life into Hulk for a few more years, but then that got old and stale too in due time so Hulk was left with nothing.

Hulk Hogan should have retired with the WWF in the 1990's and been the Babe Ruth of the company and be a special attraction so that way the memories of him would not be screwed up with images of him in WCW and TNA. (TNA is a glorfield independent promotion. But I digress.)

I would like (and I try very hard) to just remember Hulk Hogan as he was in the WWF in the 1980's and early 1990's. I get warm and fuzzy feelings of childhood innocence when I do that. When I think of him in WCW and TNA, I feel depressed.

In my view - Hogan's final 2002 run with the WWF was the best thing Hulk Hogan did since 1993, and I am glad he did it, and it was my last run as a regular wrestling fan too, and next to the New Hart Foundation run in 1997, it was the funnest time for me to be a fan. But like so many other things Hulk has done, Hulk just had to milk his time in the WWF and sadly screw it up by going over on guys like HBK and Orton when he should have been putting them over or just not wrestled them at all.

Then he went and did that silly-ass reality show that killed his family (and a show that I also never watched), and then Hogan did other shitty B-rated crap with Bischoff and Jimmy Hart and the Nasty Boys. The Hogan fan in me really wishes Hulk would have just (figuratively speaking) riden out into the sunset a long, LONG time ago and not been so selfish for money and attention and maybe just be content with the money he had instead of stealing other people's money.

If Hulk could have returned the favors others did to him and not been so hungry for money and the spotlight, and just retired with the company that made him what he was, and maybe become a mentor for the younger wrestlers, I truly believe he would get the respect he deserves from more people.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

wasn't one of your old gimmicks about how much you loved Hulk Hogan

I'm pretty sure it was

[MoFo]

Hulk = Good
Zeeboe = Shit

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Well, that was easy to find:

http://tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=62353


Hogan haters are always saying that the Hulkster refuses to pass the torch to anyone. These people claim to be hardcore wrestling fans and yet they conveniently forget that Hulk has tried to give the spotlight to many wrestlers and yet they all ended up messing up what Hogan gave them. Let's review...

1. The Ultimate Warrior - He beat Hulk Hogan in a clean victory at Wrestlemania VI to win the WWF Title and retain the Intercontinental Title. Was targeted for big things, but lost the belt to Sgt. Slaughter, went crazy and all but vanished but not before demanding more money from Vince hours before a PPV and no-showing events. Then eventually ended up in WCW and all he wanted to do was talk. Then he disappeared from the wrestling world and all he does now is whine on his website and goes to colleges making anti-gay comments.

2. Sting - Beat Hogan for the WCW Title at Starrcade and relaunched his career as the "Dark Crow" Sting. Lost momentum and then the title to Savage. Started not wearing his cool trenchcoat to the ring after the Columbine massacre and lost more momentum, had a failed heel turn, and got wiped out of WCW by the then champ Scott Steiner, only to return on the last Nitro. Turned to God and refuses to work for WWE.

3. Goldberg - Took the WCW title from Hogan on Nitro, and eventually lost it back to Nash. After the "fingerpoke of doom" match, lost a lot of momentum. Like Sting, had a failed heel turn, and several injuries wiped out a lot of his heat. And then had a very crappy run in the WWE.

4. Billy Kidman - After the back and forth verbal pot shots Kidman and Hogan gave each other for a while, Kidman turned heel and targeted Hogan in what was definitely the highlight of Kidman's boring character. After a few months of cheap shots, he finally had his career handed to him by Hogan. Kidman soon went back to being a babyface, and a dull one at that.

5. The Rock - In one of the best angles in recent times, The Rock beat Hogan in a match that brought the house down. The Rock soon became a full-time movie star and retired from wrestling.

6. Brock Lesnar - He had a huge build-up, was beating every wrestler left and right and put an end to Hogan's huge 2002 run and like so many others Hogan passed the torch to, he screwed up.

Then you have Randy Orton. It's a good thing Hogan didn't lay out for Orton because look what happened to him.

Hogan tried with a lot of wrestlers and they all just couldn't handle it. It's not Hogan's fault that those guys just couldn't hold the torch and burned themselves.

[whiteyford]

In fairness the whole 'stole it from Japan' thing is a bit of a stretch, it had been done plenty before that, wanna say in Florida, Seth or DLVH can give me an obscure example from the 30s that'd do I'm sure.

[whiteyford]

And the obvious argument against the post the Supreme Olajuwon posted is that there is a huge difference from doing the job and putting someone over, even Hogan said as much about the Warrior match. Hogan's one of the biggst stars ever, I don't buy into the whole 'without him we'd still have territories' schtick but he's no more a dick than headliners from the past.

[Zeeboe]

wasn't one of your old gimmicks about how much you loved Hulk Hogan

I'm pretty sure it was

Yeah, Hogan was and is one of my favorite wrestlers. That's one of the first things I stated in my opening post. My love for Hogan has never been a gimmick either. However, I'm almost 30, and after following Hogan's career for so long these are my honest thoughts. Hulk has done some things I agree with, but he has also done things I have not agreed with. I'm not some Hogan ass-kisser who thinks Hulk can do no wrong. I use to be, but not anymore.

I never liked Hogan in his WCW days. I was a major WWF fan. It wasn't until after WCW died that I said anything nice about Hulk in WCW, and it wasn't until Hulk came home to the WWF that I cheered for him again. I was so happy about him being back in the WWF that I totally relived my youth and marked out big time for Hulk. Then when he came back in 2003, my love for Hulk was very half-assed, but he was the only thing keeping me watching the WWE. When he and Piper left WWE in the summer of 2003, I left with them and have not watched WWE since. I often say I am a WWF fan. Never cared for "WWE". I tried to give it a chance, but the name-change is another reason why I no longer watch wrestling.

The Hogan/HBK feud would have been better if it happened almost ten years earlier, and I was very let down when Hogan didn't put Orton over, and never liked how he'd pop in WWE once a year just to promote whatever B-rated project he had, and then when go over on WWE talent that actually wrestles year-round.

I could barely handle TNA when Hulk went there and haven't watched it in years. I finally realized that Hulk needs Vince to be anything worth a crap.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Remember the Dungeon of Doom? That was AWESOME!

[Zeeboe]

Well, that was easy to find:

http://tpww.net/forums/showthread.php?t=62353

When I made that comment about Orton, Orton was going through issues. He clearly overcame them. I still stand by the other comments I made. However, I am wishing Hulk would have put over Bret Hart, HBK, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Randy Orton. All those other guys Hulk put over (with the exception of The Rock) were has-been's, never-was's, flavors of the month, and jobbers.

[NormanSmiley]

I got hooked in 87. right at wm3, and immediately i was drawn to savage. even then when i was young i thought the spectacle of hogan was fun, the entrance the t shirt deal. but his matches were fucking terrible.

you say it yourself hogan the wrestler is below average and hogan the man is well what can you say, he's a coniving fuck. anything he can do to stay in the spotlight he will do.

for me i think anyone in the business who says hogan has never fucked them over is simply someone hogan didnt see as having anything for him to gain.

[theexample]

In a shoot, Bobby Heenan called Hogan the best worker of all time. He defined a worker as somebody who put asses in seats and made money. If The Brain said it, who is anybody here to disagree?

[CSL]

look at theexample making more sense in less than two lines than a lot of TPWW's lengthy and contrived Hulk Hogan posts combined

[Supreme Olajuwon]

way to set a goodexample

[Supreme Olajuwon]

<iframe src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x5i9yo" frameborder="0" height="420" width="560"></iframe>
Hulk Hogan & Macho Man Randy Savage vs Alliance... (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5i9yo_hulk-hogan-macho-man-randy-savage-v_sport) by TSteck160 (http://www.dailymotion.com/TSteck160)



<iframe frameborder="0" width="560" height="420" src="http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x5ia4k"></iframe><br /><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ia4k_hulk-hogan-macho-man-randy-savage-v_sport" target="_blank">Hulk Hogan &amp; Macho Man Randy Savage vs Alliance...</a> <i>by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/TSteck160" target="_blank">TSteck160</a></i>

[Zeeboe]

In a shoot, Bobby Heenan called Hogan the best worker of all time. He defined a worker as somebody who put asses in seats and made money. If The Brain said it, who is anybody here to disagree?

If I was going to be a wrestler, I would desire to be just like Hogan - Not RVD or the Hardy's or Lance Storm or any of these other guys smark worship. I'd prefer to be like Hogan because he made more money then anyone.

However, if you're a rich man, why do you need even more money? That's just total greed.

[theexample]

But you see, that's the thing. Hogan made a lot of money for Hogan. But he also made a lot of money for his opponents. If you we're booked with him, you drew big bucks.

[Zeeboe]

But you see, that's the thing. Hogan made a lot of money for Hogan. But he also made a lot of money for his opponents. If you we're booked with him, you drew big bucks.

According to Bad News Brown, Warrior got a million dollars for Wrestlemania VI. That much money for a fake sport. Crazy.

[theexample]

According to Bad News Brown, Warrior got a million dollars for Wrestlemania VI. That much money for a fake sport. Crazy.

It isn't. You're focusing too much on what wrestling is. The question you need to ask is this: 'How much money did WM VI make? How much of that was due to Warrior vs Hogan?'

That match made the event as a whole a massive deal. What the 2 main eventers earned was incredible but probably a small fraction of the final profit. If they have helped to generate such a gate, such ticket sales, why shouldn't they get a healthy cut of it?

Like I said, matches with Hogan involved sold tickets. He drew like nobody ever will again.

[Zeeboe]

I agree, and I am glad Hulk did. We got his entertainment and vicariously lived through his character and he got our money so he could buy drugs. :)

[Corporate CockSnogger]

Hogan's great. Best wrestler ever and probably still will be for a long time.

[theexample]

He didn't get my money. We didn't have to pay for PPVs in the UK back then.

[CSL]

However, if you're a rich man, why do you need even more money?

right so by this brilliant reasoning, every rich person ever should get to a certain tbd amount of wealth and then just stop earning forever?

[whiteyford]

Thats what I did.

[Rammsteinmad]

Probably my favourite wrestler of all time.

[Zeeboe]

right so by this brilliant reasoning, every rich person ever should get to a certain tbd amount of wealth and then just stop earning forever?

No. I just think Hulk should have stepped aside and let another guy take the spotlight. Even if they fuck up, so what? Let the next young guy come in and give it a shot. Hulk should have taken a lesser-role and yes, lesser-money, but so what? He had enough and he'd still be earning.

[CSL]

Hogan put the first guy to ever got close to him in terms of star power whilst being in the same company over clean in the middle (twice even if you include Warrior at WM6, who certainly looked the part for 5 minutes) There's an awful lot of nonsense-stated-as-fact thrown around about Hogan, don't believe everything you read. Before that, he probably could have done a bit more to help out Bret Hart before leaving Vince. That's about it during his "prime" from say 1984-1998.

[Zeeboe]

You're not telling me anything I don't already know and not telling me anything I have not posted myself for the past ten years in some Hogan-related threads. I already said who he should have put over but didn't.

It's interesting how I am on here criticising Hulk Hogan and I am getting backlash as a result. I remember when I defended Hogan and thought he could do no wrong and it was the TPWW posters who criticized Hogan. Now look at this. I never thought this would happen.

Reminds me of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels - in 1992-1993 when Bret and Shawn wrestled, fans booed HBK out of the building and cheered for Bret, then in 1997, the American wrestling fans cheered HBK on and booed Bret out of the building.

My heart however tells me you may just be trolling me CSL.

[CSL]

yeahhhhhhh, I'm not trolling you

and I don't see how you're taking any of these replies as "backlash". And don't worry, your average Hogan thread usually contains more than enough "wahhh Hogan" posts. There was even this months "Hulk Hogan is evil" thread just a few days ago

[Jordan]

Seriously, fuck Hulk Hogan

[CSL]

that was the one

[Ol Dirty Dastard]

He leads an expensive lifestyle and has to constantly look for big paydays so he can keep living said expensive lifestyle, if you're wondering why he kept seeking out the top spot cash.

[#1-norm-fan]

Hogan put the first guy to ever got close to him in terms of star power whilst being in the same company over clean in the middle (twice even if you include Warrior at WM6, who certainly looked the part for 5 minutes)

I actually thought you were talking about Warrior when you started that sentence...

[dronepool]

Meh, he's alright but seems like a scummy person. Always thought a leg drop was a weird choice for a believable finisher. I was never a fan, but he is usually pretty entertaining on the mic.

[Zeeboe]

that was the one

My title was better and more diplomatic.

[Rhaps]

Some of these comments make no sense.

So..Hogan should have been as succesful as he was, made a whole bunch of money...then stepped aside for a lesser-role with lesser money???

Would you do that in your job? Work hard, get to the top of your chosen field and then say "actually, I'm gonna let somebody else have my job, my sallary, I'll step down from being the CEO to go clean the toilets for a while. It's not fair that I made all this money for being good at my job and nobody else can have any."

[Zeeboe]

If I made enough money to retire, I'd retire and never look back, yes. I also think at some point age should matter - Most men Hogan's age have retired. Guys in other sports also took on supportive roles when they got too old to compete by becoming coaches or commentators and all I am saying is I think Hulk should have done something along the same lines at some point.


This is still sooooooooo odd to me that I am the guy criticizing Hogan and having to defend myself on here for doing so. I figured most people would agree with me, but I am damned if I do, damned if I don't. I wish you guys had this attitude over ten years ago. I became the most hated man on here all for being a Hogan mark.


*whispers* The truth is, I still am a Hogan fan and do not mean a word of the bad things I said about Hogan. I am just working undercover for him and got tired of all the Hogan-bashing so I am using reverse psychology.

[Perry Saturn]

In the immortal words of The Iron Sheik: "Hulk O' Mania now Piece O'shit Mania"