Despite his problems and obvious issues in the past, both in the real world and backstage in the political wrestling world, Hulk Hogan is still one of my favorites. There was a period I lost interest as a fan, however! To put this into context, I am 38 years old. When I was growing up, it was in the Golden Era during the peak of Hulkamania. He main evented many a WrestleMania during this time. He was seen as unstoppable, immortal, a driving force for American patriotism, had values he stood by, etc. Sooner or later, that sort of thing wore off.
By the time late 1991 came around, I was 11 years old and was a little sick of the Hulkster. It just become hokey to me! I was tired of seeing him win all the time. Can you imagine if the internet was around during those days? Hogan might have been looked at like John Cena was all these years and how Roman Reigns is looked at today. I didn't come back around to Hogan until the nWo was created. Not only was I sick of all that, but I noticed something about the Hulk Hogan character. While deemed the ultimate good guy, he seemed to do a lot of heelish things. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it was. I'm about to run down the many instances of Hulk Hogan acting like a heel while portraying a babyface.
Have you ever noticed that many of Hulk Hogan's tag team partners, allies, and friends turned on him? It happened a lot over the years! Paul Orndorff, Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, Sid Justice, etc. I can go on forever! Don't get me wrong, a lot of these turns happened over jealousy and many of them were unjust for their actions. However, some of it may have been justified if you really break it down.
The first person I remember turning on Hogan was Mr. Wonderful. Orndorff had been a heel earlier, as he and Rowdy Roddy Piper feuded with Hogan. Orndorff became a babyface after a falling-out with Piper and Cowboy Bob Orton. He gained Hogan's trust and they started teaming together, often against the Heenan Family, namely Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. Eventually, Orndorff could be seen looking somewhat annoyed at the showboating Hogan was doing. Let's be honest, Hogan did a lot of showboating, as much or possibly more than a heel Ric Flair ever has. During a match, Hogan did seem to try to battle on his own, rarely tagging out. After a misunderstanding, Mr. Wonderful turned on Hogan and joined the Heenan Family. Was Orndorff justified because of Hogan's selfishness for never tagging and over-the-top showboating?
Andre the Giant was a different story altogether. Andre turned to the dark-side courtesy of Bobby "The Brain" Heenan getting into his head. This lead to the match that really put WrestleMania on the map for years to come. Hogan slamming Andre is an iconic moment. But let's think about what led up to the turn! Some of the backstory is a moment when Andre was presented a trophy for his 15-year undefeated streak. Hogan was presented a trophy as well for his 4-year title reign. Hogan's trophy was noticeably larger and his feat was celebrated more. Was this just jealousy on Andre's part? Or did Hogan have it coming?
The Macho Man's turn came about because of jealousy around the lovely Miss Elizabeth. Granted, Savage was much more vicious in his turn but there were moments you couldn't help just question. For instance, during a celebration for the Mega Powers' win over the Mega Bucks at Summer Slam 1988, Hogan put Elizabeth on his shoulder. He somewhat draped his hand over her backside and the look on Randy's face was priceless. Hogan did pay a lot of attention to Elizabeth. In another example, Hogan "accidentally" eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble. Even though it's every man for himself, I'll show the hypocrisy later on in yet another example involving Hogan. During a match between the Mega Powers and the Twin Towers on Saturday Night's Main Event, Savage was sent flying out of the ring, landing on poor Elizabeth. Hogan immediately took her in his arms and ran to the back to get her treatment, but also left his partner to the wolves. Was Savage just a jealous maniac? Or was he justified in his actions?
There are many other examples of Hogan acting like a heel. He would often gouge his opponents' eyes or choke them with his shirt. He would be seen bullying interfering managers, and even gave Sensational Sherri an Atomic Drop! Hell, poor IRS ended up getting choked with his own tie. Hulk was a crybaby often, disputing decisions and making it all about himself. It wasn't until I got a little older that I looked back and noticed these things.
Hulk Hogan was screwed over at the 1991 Survivor Series when Ric Flair's interference cost him his championship to the Undertaker. At "This Tuesday In Texas" during the rematch, Hogan hit Undertaker with Paul Bearer's urn to win back his championship. Due to both men cheating in their matches, the title was vacated. In my previous blog, I wrote about the end of the 1992 Royal Rumble. Sid eliminated Hogan fair and square. Hogan was angry, and tried to pull Sid out, eventually successfully as Flair dumped Sid from behind to win the Rumble and the WWF Championship. When Hogan eliminated Savage from the Rumble years prior, it was seen as accidental. Yet, somehow Hogan was upset this time with the "every man for himself" rule.
Hogan took an almost year-long break after that. He returned to save his buddy Brutus Beefcake at the hands of Money Inc. The match between the Mega Maniacs and Money Inc at WrestleMania IX ended with the Maniacs getting disqualified. Hogan then took their money and gave it to the crowd. Later that night, Hogan came to the aid of Bret Hart, who had just lost his title to Yokozuna due to Mr. Fuji's interference. As Hogan was checking on Hart, Fuji challenged Hogan to a title match right then and there with Yokozuna. After some minor goading and an okay from Hart, Hogan accepted, quickly ending the night by winning the title from Yokozuna. For a split second, I was happy! That feeling soon ended when I realized that was a little messed up of Hogan to just go in there and get the glory for himself. The Hogan/Hart match that never happened, however, is more about Terry Bollea as a person, not the character Hulk Hogan.
Also, if you notice, Hogan almost never lost clean. The only time he lost clean was to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI. WCW was just the same! The WCW title was vacated after a controversial match between Hogan and The Giant. At World War 3, a three-ring 60-man battle royal would determine a new champion. Hogan was unfairly eliminated, yet caused a scene during new champion Randy Savage's coronation. He made it all about himself, ruining the Macho Man's moment. Hogan would continue the same antics in his WCW tenure until he revealed his true colors at Bash At the Beach, joining Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to create the New World Order. The always adamantly anti-Hogan Bobby Heenan was the first to say "I told you so" regarding the Hulkster. Years later, when the lines really started to blur, it was acceptable for "good guys" like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock to do heelish things. However, it was looked down upon during Hulk Hogan's era. Or was it just ignored? Did they think people weren't paying attention? Well, I did!
At the end of the day, I just wanted to point out the irony of Hulk Hogan acting like a heel during his time as a babyface.
But I'm still a Hulkamaniac, brother!
Hogan took an almost year-long break after that. He returned to save his buddy Brutus Beefcake at the hands of Money Inc. The match between the Mega Maniacs and Money Inc at WrestleMania IX ended with the Maniacs getting disqualified. Hogan then took their money and gave it to the crowd. Later that night, Hogan came to the aid of Bret Hart, who had just lost his title to Yokozuna due to Mr. Fuji's interference. As Hogan was checking on Hart, Fuji challenged Hogan to a title match right then and there with Yokozuna. After some minor goading and an okay from Hart, Hogan accepted, quickly ending the night by winning the title from Yokozuna. For a split second, I was happy! That feeling soon ended when I realized that was a little messed up of Hogan to just go in there and get the glory for himself. The Hogan/Hart match that never happened, however, is more about Terry Bollea as a person, not the character Hulk Hogan.
Also, if you notice, Hogan almost never lost clean. The only time he lost clean was to the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI. WCW was just the same! The WCW title was vacated after a controversial match between Hogan and The Giant. At World War 3, a three-ring 60-man battle royal would determine a new champion. Hogan was unfairly eliminated, yet caused a scene during new champion Randy Savage's coronation. He made it all about himself, ruining the Macho Man's moment. Hogan would continue the same antics in his WCW tenure until he revealed his true colors at Bash At the Beach, joining Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to create the New World Order. The always adamantly anti-Hogan Bobby Heenan was the first to say "I told you so" regarding the Hulkster. Years later, when the lines really started to blur, it was acceptable for "good guys" like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock to do heelish things. However, it was looked down upon during Hulk Hogan's era. Or was it just ignored? Did they think people weren't paying attention? Well, I did!
At the end of the day, I just wanted to point out the irony of Hulk Hogan acting like a heel during his time as a babyface.
But I'm still a Hulkamaniac, brother!
If you have any further examples on the situation, let me know in comments. Heck, let us all know on The WAR Report podcast, every Tuesday at 7PM EST, brought to you by TagMeADate.com, the first and only dating site for wrestling fans. Go to askthewarreport@gmail.com or #askthewarreport. For TagMeADate members, our Android app is vastly approaching so stay tuned!
No comments:
Post a Comment