When did you start to hate Hogan?

[Sass 0]

When he wouldn't give Andre a title shot, en route to Wrestlemania 3. This forced Andre to turn on Hulk and join up with Bobby Heenan. I thought that was selfish of Hulk to do to the guy who helped him out for years but never asked for anything else in return except for one shot at glory. I thought Andre joining up with Heenan in order to force Hulk to give him a title shot said it all about Hogan's character.

 

Orndorff was a double-faced prick so I didn't have a problem with Hogan beating up Mr. Wonderful the year before.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Who said people aren’t real fans for hating Hogan? Maybe you should read more carefully before blowing one on the net. I personally believe real fans to be those watch and enjoy the show, not those who go on the internet to complain about everything. I think the majority of the IWC fit into the later, therefore, I don’t class that majority as real fans. That’s my opinion.

 

Maybe in its current form, but to even suggest that without Hogan there would no WWE is beyond idiotic. Suggestion mainstream wrestling wouldn't be around is even more silly. McMahon would have found someone to make his promotional superman, even if it wasn't Hogan, and while things might not have become as big with whoever it might have been, with Vince's promotional mind, things still would have gone mainstream; because that's the direction the business was going in anyway. Hogan just made it monster huge. It still would have gotten big without him, even if it wasn't at the level it got to with Hogan.

 

Claiming someone’s views are idiotic is extremely childish. Hulk Hogan is the most popular man in Professional wrestling history, and he made his gimmick that way. He and Vince moulded that character and that character went on to put Professional wrestling in the public eye, which lead to WrestleMania. Hulk Hogan made the business big, in terms of capital, which made it possible to afford big shows like WrestleMania which helped develop Professional wrestling’s image among casual viewers and fans. Without Hulk Hogan the business would never have become mainstream, no one (i.e. Ted Turner) would have seem the potential in the industry and Professional wrestling would more than likely still be a travelling circus.

 

And by April 4th, it'll have dislocated a hip.

 

Hogan is running on nostalgia fumes, and the longer he stays around with each visit the less he means.

 

Less he means to you, which is only an opinion. I think you're clearly outnumbered on this subject when you listen to the pops Hogan got in his last run, and when he is introduced at WrestleMania 21. I guess you’ll just have to turn the sound down. Most fans cheer Hogan because he entertained them for years, other just act like they were somehow backstage and have a right to comment on Hogan's Backstage behaviour based on things they've read. People need to realise they are fans and nothing more. Hogan entertained the fans, it's as simple as that.

Who said people aren’t real fans for hating Hogan?

 

You did with this:

 

The IWC may hate Hogan but the fans, the real fans, still cheer the house down for Hogan and give him the respect he deserves.

 

and this:

 

I think the majority of the IWC fit into the later, therefore, I don’t class that majority as real fans. That’s my opinion.

 

You said the IWC may hate Hogan but that real fans still cheer him. That says you think the IWC aren't real fans for hating him. They are fans just as much as you would claim to be. Just because they don't blindly worship Hogan, it doesn't make them any less of a fan.

 

Claiming someone’s views are idiotic is extremely childish.

 

Not when those views are nonsensical and more pipe dreaming that based on fact.

 

Less he means to you, which is only an opinion. I think you're clearly outnumbered on this subject when you listen to the pops Hogan got in his last run, and when he is introduced at WrestleMania 21.

 

Oh boy, a mark for the pop. Hogan got monster pops at WM XVIII and on Raw and SD the days after. So Vince put the Undisputed title on him, feeling the pops meant he was super over. Ratings sank like a stone. Hogan is a nostalgia act, and any attempt to push him as something else will fail miserably.

 

Hogan entertained the fans, it's as simple as that.

 

Never said he didn't. But to try and simplify things with such a line is to ignore everything else that makes up the Hogan figure. If you wish to bury your head in the sand, go ahead and do so. It just means you're unable and unwilling to look at the big picture.

[Guest Rrrsh]

I never was a real fan of Hogans, but I hated him when he stole Savages spotlight when he was champ.

 

It was the first time I realized what a glory hog he was.

[Guest LooneyTune]

If you don't like Hogan for being a glory hog, how can you like Shawn Michaels?

[Guest Rrrsh]

Man, did I see that coming.

[Guest LooneyTune]

It's true though... (ignores I'm in the same boat, except opposite corners).

[Guest Deadbolt]

You said the IWC may hate Hogan but that real fans still cheer him. That says you think the IWC aren't real fans for hating him. They are fans just as much as you would claim to be. Just because they don't blindly worship Hogan, it doesn't make them any less of a fan.

 

Again you haven’t read my comments fully. Look at the word ‘majority’. I myself am a Member of the IWC, but I’m a fan of Hogan. Like I said, I personally believe real fans to be those who watch and enjoy the show, not those who go on the internet to complain about everything; People who just sit down, watch the show, and let themselves be entertained, not get blinded by things they’ve read on the internet. I think the majority of the IWC fit into that view of the Internet Wrestling Community; therefore, I don’t class that majority as real fans. That’s my opinion.

 

Not when those views are nonsensical and more pipe dreaming that based on fact.

 

Maybe that’s the case, I wouldn't disagree with that one bit, but saying Hulk Hogan put WWE and Professional wrestling in the mainstream is FAR from ‘nonsensical’, it’s a widely accepted fact.

 

Oh boy, a mark for the pop. Hogan got monster pops at WM XVIII and on Raw and Smackdown the days after. So Vince put the Undisputed title on him, feeling the pops meant he was super over. Ratings sank like a stone. Hogan is a nostalgia act, and any attempt to push him as something else will fail miserably.

 

Ratings fell? SmackDown! Went through its best period since the Brand split at that time!! Yeah the entire show was a better product than what it is today, and Paul Heyman was writing the script, but Hogan only HELPED the ratings boom. It was when Eddie Guerrero took the title from Brock Lesnar that the SmackDown! Ratings recession began.

 

Never said he didn't. But to try and simplify things with such a line is to ignore everything else that makes up the Hogan figure. If you wish to bury your head in the sand, go ahead and do so. It just means you're unable and unwilling to look at the big picture.

 

Wha? Didn’t you read the entire paragraph before the sentence you quoted?

[Guest Rrrsh]

Seriously, I loved Shawn because that was his gimmick. He was a cocky bastard and he knew it. Hogan always came off like "I am not selfish, I deserve it". It was a massive diffrence. Hogan thought he was right, Shawn knew he wasn't.

 

 

As a kid, one was cool and the other just made me angry.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Oh boy, a mark for the pop. Hogan got monster pops at WM XVIII and on Raw and Smackdown the days after. So Vince put the Undisputed title on him, feeling the pops meant he was super over. Ratings sank like a stone. Hogan is a nostalgia act, and any attempt to push him as something else will fail miserably.

 

Ratings fell? SmackDown! Went through its best period since the Brand split at that time!! Yeah the entire show was a better product than what it is today, and Paul Heyman was writing the script, but Hogan only HELPED the ratings boom. It was when Eddie Guerrero took the title from Brock Lesnar that the SmackDown! Ratings recession began.

Wow. Just, wow.

 

Smackdown ratings for when Hogan was champion:

 

April 18th 2002: 3.8 (Last SD with Hunter as champion)

April 25th 2002: 3.4

May 2nd 2002: 2.9

May 9th 2002: 3.6

May 16th 2002: 3.6

May 23rd 2002: 3.6 (First SD with Undertaker as champion)

 

Raw ratings for when Hogan was champion:

 

April 15th 2002: 4.8 (Last Raw with Hunter as champion)

April 22nd 2002: 4.8

April 29th 2002: 4.4

May 6th 2002: 4.6

May 12th 2002: 3.9

May 20th 3.7: (First Raw with Undertaker as champion)

 

Smackdown's ratings fell almost a full point under Hogan's watch.

Raw's ratings fell almost a point under Hogan's watch.

 

Please, tell me how that is a boom. Better yet, don't bother. I'm tired of having to listen to the drivel of some blind mark.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Short and simple, giving Hogan a title run in 2002 was a big mistake. He should've been used as a special attraction, not wrestle every week.

[The Decemberists 0]

Thing with Hogan's comebacks is that Vince and whoever else mistakes live pops for TV drawing power.

 

If Hogan was wrestling in my city I'd go see him as I've never seen him live and it's Hogan, which annoyingly is enough to see him live thanks to 15 year old memories. If he was on TV though I wouldn't make any effort to watch him.

 

Pops do not equal ratings.

[Some Guy 0]

I was pretty much a huge Hogan fan from late 88 (when I started watching) unitl he left WWF. I got a back into him a little with his WCW face run but was much more into seeing HBK and Bret tear it up on Raw. Hogan's heel turn was a big deal to me but the Outsiders (Hall in particular) made me watch the show. From 96 to his face turn in WWF, I looked at him as an old bald guy with orange skin who was horribly out over the hill both in the ring and on the mic. He always sounded lame when he tried to copy Nash and Hall's promos and looked like a fuckign moron with that beard. His heel schtick was 20 years out of date and he refused to do business with anyone. I did get behind him when he returned to the WWF and marked huge for the Rock match and the dualing chants on the Chicago Raw. It was a fun mostaligia ride that dragged on too long.

 

I thought they finally got him in the spot he should havebeen in when he was tagging with Edge and then put Brock over, but he apparently decided that he should be main eventing because he's draw huge with a sea of Hulkamaniacs flocking to the shows to see an old bald-headed guy get by on the strengh of Hulkamania, brother!.

 

That being said I would have had no problem if they booked him against hassan and had Hogan win with the formula and then getting a short run on TV in order to put over Batista, Orton, or Cena or maybe try to get a "money match" out of he and HBK, as that match never happened.

 

I have no love for his political shit but when I think of Hogan I think of how much I enjoyed watching him as a kid. Something about the guy made you have to watch him.

[Guest JMA]

I've never really hated the Hulk Hogan character, but there have been times when I was tired of him. 1993 and 1999 were probably the years I was least interested in watching him. I'll always be a Hogan fan, though.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

When he became unstoppable in WCW as a heel. I also don't like the fact he didn't want to put Bret over.

[4hartthreat 0]

In the 80's/early 90's I was a HUGE Hogan mark. I was even happy for his WM9 title win though I did feel bad for Bret. I really have no bad feelings about Hogan in the WWF/E, with the exception of refusing to put Bret over, at all including his title run in 02.

 

All ill will I have for Hogan has to do with WCW. I started to turn on Hogan in early 95 when not only did he not drop the title to Vader at Super Brawl, but then beat him again at Bash at the Beach and used the match as a plot point in an episode of Baywatch. He sort of won me back over with the beginning of his nWo run, but then he started not coming to shows when he was champion and when he did show up of course he would never lose.

 

So if they were to bring him back now, I would be fine with it as Hogan in the WWE just seems right somehow.

[Si82 0]

1995

 

When he burned a copy of The Torch (I think!) at the World War 3 PPV. Then when he started to bitch about losing because the Giant pulled him out of the ring under the ropes.

 

And I consider myself a real wrestling fan.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Being an evil kid/teenager and major heel mark while growing up, I hated the "goody goody" say-your-prayers-take-your-vitamins Hogan. until he did the big nWo turn, at which point I immediately became a fan

^ ^ ^

 

Took the words right out of my mouth. Even when I first got into wrestling as a young kid (10~ish) I was a heel mark. I was a huge mark for the Road Warriors (pre-face turn), Freebirds, and Flair. Hogan was the epitome of everything that I hated, and rooted against, and when I was still a mark I used to get so pissed off that he'd always win.

[Youth N Asia 0]

I started disliking Hogan when the NWO run went into year two. As a kid I was a huge Hogan fan. I watched very little WCW when he started there, so he really didn't matter too much to me then. When he turned heel I liked it...but by mid 97 or so I just got tired of seeing him. I was watching more WWF at the time, but any time I turned on WCW it was just Hogan's show.

 

And the finger poke of doom is just when I gave up on WCW as a whole.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

When he became unstoppable in WCW as a heel. I also don't like the fact he didn't want to put Bret over

 

As a Hart mark, this officially made me hate him. I'd always been kind of indifferent.

 

Someone mentioned the pops he got at WMXVII and at Raw the following night.

Well, regarding Raw, he recieved a 5 minute standing ovation in the, what was then called, Molson Centre. The Molson Centre! Hockey's greatest city. The only people other than Hogan to get the same reaction?

 

1) Maurice Richard when Montreal Forum closed. The greatest hockey player in the city's history, in the Mecca of hockey? That gives Hogan some respect.

 

2) Saku Koivu, upon his return from beating cancer. Hogan's wrestling ability, or a courageous battle with cancer? Seems like it shouldnt even be a close battle as to which is more impressive.

(By the way, that game clinched a playoff spot for the Habs, first time in four seasons).

 

I don't like Hogan, but we should all appreciate what he's done for wrestling. No he wasn't a great wrestler. Yes, he was kind of a glory hog. But he did nearly everything to get wrestling to where it is today.

 

Someone made a case that he was for nostalgia, and he was cheered not because they necessarily wanted him to get the strap, just for nostalgia. I think that's fair.

[Jericholic82 0]

well I got into wrestling in 1990, near the end of his wwf run. He wasnt my fav but I liked him enough. I didnt like what he did to sid at the rumble but changed my mind when sid turned heel on him ( i was a mark after all) though I thought it was hogans fault it happened. I liked him even after he won at wm 9 . I didnt start hating him untill he formed the nWo (once again I was still markish at this point, well trying to hold on to my markdom at least)

 

Politics aside, he is clearly the most recognizable wrestler of the past 20 years and is truly the babe ruth of the wwe.

 

 

As long as he stays away from the ring, hell be ok with special appearances here and there,

[Guest BDC]

I got tired of Hogan when he'd take up a whole segment on Nitro just babbling about himself. That bored the absolute hell out of me.

 

Bollea? That was as soon as I found out about his backstage garbage.

[Jericholic82 0]

as for his poltics, I don't blame Terry Bolea as much as Vince Mcmahon for allowing it to happen. But if you were him and your cahs cow gave you demands youd probably cave in too.

[MikeJordan23 0]

His return in 1993 up until his face run in WCW. But liked him from the early 80s until then, then from the nWo era until about 1999 when he really got annoying again.

[Slingshot Suplex 0]

I started watching about 3 months into Hogan's first title run in the WWF. Didn't like him much then and grew to quickly hate him. Partly because of his repetitive matches...partly because of the hypocrisy surrounding him. Hogan was a rulebreaker in the guise of a fan favorite and the announcers would NEVER call him on it (save for Jesse Ventura) I began to dislike the double standard.

 

The only time in my "fan life" I ever came close to liking Hogan was after the NWO heel turn. That became stale for me within two months due to the constant blathering interviews and the repeated match ending run-ins. And I admit, the Wrestlemania match with Rock was entertaining.

 

I can't deny the impact he had on the business but I can't deny that as a character, I can't fucking stand Hulk Hogan.

[IWD 0]

I was never a fan of Hogan's work. Even back in 1990 when I first started watching, I was far more interested in Savage, Rude and DiBiase.

 

Cheers.

[PLAGIARISM! 0]

I actually think I enjoyed nostalgic 'so slow it's funny' Hogan more than I enjoyed Hogan when I was a kid. Alarmingly, Crush was my favourite back then.

[Guest Deadbolt]

Did Hogan do more for WCW then he did the WWF?

[Crimson Platypus 0]

I never have liked Hogan and I never will. As a child I always prefered the "bad guys" like Bundy and Studd, and now I think he should have retired a long time ago. Fuck Hogan.

[Guest news_gimmick]

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