“So it has come down to this. After so many years of watching wrestling, one of these guys just won’t go away. I am talking about mister ego himself, the red and yellow power ranger, ‘Thunderlips’ in all his
glory … it can only be the Immortal Hulk ‘look at me I am still cool’ Hogan.
You would assume wrestling fans embrace a legend like Hogan, but in the world we live in, we see a society where those big
icons are getting old (and somewhat annoying), while no one new is
coming through, at least, not in the magnitude of stars from previous decades. We have to endure stars like Justin Bieber, John Cena
and Lady Gaga, while we look back at the glory days, with men like
Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, and even Hulk Hogan. Of course, a lot of those former stars have tarnished their own legacies in some fashion, or are no longer with us, and Hogan has done really well at embarrassing his legacy in recent times.
So I sat there watching TNA wrestling from 2010-2013. A company trying to grow, a company trying to get noticed, but they clung onto dinosaurs. Full respect to what dinosaurs did
for our planet, but they became extinct, and they were replaced by much
cooler, much younger species. As long as people cling to the past, you
can’t move forward, and that’s what really grinds my gears.”
Episode 3 – Revenge of the Hulkamania.
So without further ado …
“To all my love slaves out there, Thunderlips is here. In the flesh, baby. The ultimate male, versus the ultimate meatball.”
Yes, I went there. It was an easy target, but it had to be done. Hogan will always be one of the most loved, and at the same time,
overrated superstars of the wrestling industry.
It is difficult, with so many children/teens of today only being born in the
90s and 2000s, they never got to embrace Hulkamania in its prime. It was
a true phenomenon, you can’t even compare him to guys like Cena. The
only man to be on the same level when it came to merchandising and
all-round awareness was Stone Cold Steve Austin. It is difficult to see
anybody reaching that level again, it’s true that Cena may sell some
merchandise, he may have a lot of Facebook/Twitter followers, but he is
not “cool” to the point that he gets a loud ovation every single time he
steps into an arena.
Hogan innovated that, he got the crowds going insane for him on the first few seconds of an entrance. He had the
build, he had the catchphrases, he had the move-set. Although it was an
incredibly predictable move-set, fans didn’t care, they paid to see
the move-set, and back then you didn’t have people calling each other
“marks”, and you didn’t have people complaining because he wasn’t
“wrestling”. People were seriously behind him, but he only got there
because of help from certain individuals like Vince McMahon, Randy
Savage, and other wrestlers who helped to put him over, and build him
into a mega star.
He was becoming stale in the early 90’s, people wanted change.
His politics helped to keep him afloat in the main event picture, until
he decided that Vince and the WWF was no longer good for him, so he
jumped to WCW. We all know what happened after that, he turned Hollywood
and went full-blown heel, forming the nWo, and keeping himself alive
for a few more years.
And then guess what? He fell off the cliff. He got to the point where he
was no longer the biggest draw. Stone Cold Steve Austin and the
Attitude era changed all that, and his larger then life character was no
match. He attempted to revive Hulkamania in the WWE not long after WCW
went down, but he never quite reached the same level, he was too old,
too out of touch with what wrestling had become. He needed to step aside
and put over younger talents.
He lost his edge in WCW. Instead of helping to put over the talent of
the future, he used his creative control and influence to keep himself,
and friends in the main event scene. This created a rift between the
mid-card and management, and they were very frustrated. They were doing a
lot of the hard work, while guys like Hogan took cuts from their
merchandise sales.Of course, a lot of blame for this should be blamed on WCW itself, for giving him such a lucrative contract, it would have been stupid of Hogan not to take advantage of it, anybody else would have. He did put over some guys during his WCW days, but ultimately, it was his contract that stopped anybody getting close to his spot. It was not a smart business move by WCW, but it was excellent for Hogan.
What does this tell you about the man? It tells us that Hulk Hogan has
one of the biggest ego’s in wrestling, and he has admitted that fact on numerous occasions. He is all about the money, and
hogging the spotlight so he can make that money. He has tarnished his
legacy by repeatedly creating negative media attention on himself and
family. He also made many enemies in his career. Let’s go through the
list:-
Bret Hart – Back in the early 90’s, Hogan and Bret Hart did not
get along. Vince wanted a match between the two at Wrestlemania, but
Hogan refused. He didn’t want to get in the ring with a ring general
like Bret. Bret would have made him look like an amateur. What happened? Vince had Yokozuna take the belt off Bret at Wrestlemania IX so Hogan could immediately win the belt off Yokozuna, avoiding a clash between the two.
Shawn Michaels – When Hogan came back to the WWE for his last
run, he fought Shawn in a match. HBK purposely mocked Hogan by
over-selling his moves during their match. This was a dig at Hogan being
some kind of wrestling god, and how everyone over-sells his move-set
during his matches.
The Iron Shiek – This man helped to put Hogan on the map, when
Hogan defeated him for the WWF title. The Iron Shiek was more of a paper
champion, as Bob Backlund did not want to lose to Hogan. The Iron Shiek
hates Hogan with a passion, and always talks about how he helped to put
him over, but Hogan never appreciated it. You can often hear him say
“F**k” the Hulk Hogan.”
The Ultimate Warrior – If you never saw his shoot videos on
Hogan, I highly recommend it. The Warrior went into graphic detail on his life,
and how he lived a crazy life filled with drugs, parties, and
“swinging” with his wife. Warrior thiought Hogan was trash, and could never
find a way out of the business, because he is useless. Warrior found
work outside of wrestling, and was able to make a living, while he
claimed that Hogan continued to take the spotlight and bury the talent of
today, to make himself look good. A lot of what he said in his videos were very informative, and can be backed up. He did patch things up with Hogan on the Wrestlemania weekend before he died. RIP.
Scott Steiner – I made a blog a few years ago about the Twitter war
between Steiner and Hogan. I highly recommend you read that blog,
Steiner touched on many subjects relating to Hogan’s influence in TNA wrestling. He totally ripped him apart, and although he may
not be the most intelligent when it comes to putting a point across, his points were absolutely dead on. Don’t underestimate Steiner’s opinions when he shoots off
like he does, he only does that when he has something legitimate to say. You can find that old blog here >> Steiner vs Hogan/Bischoff Twitter War
Linda Hogan – Of course, his ex-wife turned on him too. She said
many bad things about Hulk during their separation, and afterwards.
Claiming he was sleeping around during their marriage, and this was
confirmed in the latest “sex tape” scandal.
Vince McMahon – I think Vince hated him for leaving to go to WCW.
He only brought him back as he saw it would be good for business, but I
feel that Vince thinks he made Hulk Hogan, and made wrestling what it was in the 80’s…
while Hogan claims it was him who helped put wrestling on the map more
then Vince.
Steve Austin – Steve Austin in his ECW days, he did a promo on
Hulk Hogan, and ripped into his character in style. I suppose he was
frustrated that he was being held back, while guys like Hogan and Flair
continued to be pushed in the spotlight. It was those promos that got
him noticed by the WWF and recruited by Vince McMahon.
Hulk Hogan has made many enemies over the years. He has endured many
scandals, including the Sex tape scandal, the car accident in which his
son was found guilty in injuring John Graziano, and the headlock
incident in which the guy sued him for performing it wrong and injuring
him.
Hogan also made a reality show, showing his personal life, which became
pretty popular (Hogan knows best), but at the same time, taking away the illusion of his
character. This helped to launch Brooke Hogan’s career, as she made an
album, and went on to work for TNA Wrestling with Hogan despite having no talent whatsoever.
Hogan continues to hog the media spotlight to keep his name relevant,
despite being 60 years old, and he was shown very regularly on TNA wrestling during his time there. He took up so much airtime, I got sick of seeing him to be honest. I can’t be the only one right? I can’t be the only one who was happy to see him leave, because he never fit in TNA, he has always, and always will be a WWE guy.
Since he and Bischoff debuted in TNA in 2010, the company was heavily criticized (and still is to some degree) for taking away the six sided ring, recruiting many
of Hogan’s friends, and older wrestlers from the WWF/WCW days, as well
as making negative comments about TNA wrestlers such as AJ Styles, Kurt
Angle, and Bobby Roode, while praising a rookie like Garrett Bischoff.
It really made me cringe to see Hogan in the ring, or doing anything
anymore. His back is pretty much destroyed, yet he insisted on being
physical in TNA, and if he was able to wrestle, we woud have seen with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship without a doubt.
It was too funny to watch him come out at Bound for Glory, and destroy
the majority of the Aces and Eights with one punch to each of their
heads. It looked incredibly fake, and made the group look weak. When can a group of thugs get laid out by an old man with a
crippled back? Only in wrestling folks.
It was the same during the Hogan vs Sting match. Hogan comes into that match as a heel, then, instead of working as a heel, he plays to the crowd during the match, and does a full turn by the time it ended. He took the last bumps I have seen him do in that match, and all I could think during every single bump was … why? Stop this.
Seriously, your back is crippled, to the point your doctors tell you never to take bumps again, and he does it anyways for the sake of one last match against Sting? I don’t know whether to consider it passion or stupidity.
You may love him, you may hate him, but no one can deny the mans
success. He changed wrestling forever, and we will probably never see
anyone else like Hogan, but it really is time he found ways to make
money outside of wrestling. He doesn’t need to be on a major wrestling
show every week, he doesn’t need to be taking airtime away from the very
hungry stars of today, he just needs to become more of a trainer, more
of an ambassador who looks on from far away. I think he is playing that role in the WWE now, he will show up from time to time, to plug something, to put someone over, but gladly he has no creative control, so all he can do is completely mess up his lines (Silverdome Brother!) and give everyone a good laugh.
The world loved you Hogan, but you really did make yourself a joke for a long time. It is difficult to take Hogan seriously anymore. Should he have continued making sporadic appearences in the WWE, instead of jumping to TNA?
Your time is over Terry, it’s not the 80s anymore, Hulkamania is dead.
Just look after yourself and never bump again. No one in
the wrestling business should end up in a wheelchair or worse. Too many
wrestlers died because they didn’t take the time to rest, they did too
many drugs, and was on the road so much, it should be a lesson that
every aging wrestler should know.
So let’s all raise our glasses (or our tiny cups of tea)… to a legend who tarnished his legacy. Let’s hope he stops doing that, or we will have no choice but to laugh until our sides split over Hulkamania.
And that … is what really grinds my gears … Brother!!.
