Was Hulk Hogan the biggest star in professional wrestling?

[jimbob27]

I voted Hulk, Undertaker, Rock, and other...

Since I'm from the UK, Big Daddy definitely needs a mention.

In the 80s, wrestling was shown on network TV so everyone watched it, and Big Daddy absolutely dominated his scene in terms of fame.

Same sort of schtick and Hulk and the Taker. No-selling. Limited moveset. Looks ancient..... but absolutely top tier ringmanship, and able to work a crowd better than just about anyone.

The problem with pro-wrestling, is there are so many great performers. I expect guys like Antonio Inoki or Rey Mysterio should probably be above the Undertaker and The Rock, but I don't really know enough about the Japanese or Mexican scenes to rank them.

 

[Pittie Petey]

the attitude era which is widely considered to be the peak age of professional wrestling.

By 90's wrestling fans that dont know no better

 

[GearSolidMetal]

By 90's wrestling fans that dont know no better

You're right, the PG-Cena era was so much better.

 

[Aurelian]

The rock was the best in terms of being the total package. He was a great performer and the GOAT on the mic. Hogan prob wins based on being the main character that helped bring pro wrestling into the spotlight. I always thought his finishing move of just sticking his foot up was lame as hell. At least the people’s elbow had a set up and some charisma.

Kurt angle isn’t the goat but dude was probably the second best behind the rock in terms of promo/in ring ability

The people's elbow was like a secondary finishing move. Rock bottom was the actual finishing move.

 

[Corona]

By 90's wrestling fans that dont know no better

Per Google/our AI overlords.

“AI Overview



+10
The "best" wrestling era is subjective, but the Attitude Era is often cited as the most popular and impactful, while the Golden Era is praised for its larger-than-life characters and storylines. Some also point to the Ruthless Aggression Era as a strong contender, known for its in-ring action and star power. Ultimately, the "best" era depends on individual preferences for storytelling, character development, and wrestling style”

 

[Corona]

The people's elbow was like a secondary finishing move. Rock bottom was the actual finishing move.

Rock bottom and spine buster are still better than your opponent running into your foot lol

 

[sleepwalk]

Taking into account cultural impact and crossover appeal?

Hulk Hogan
The Rock
John Cena
"Macho Man" Randy Savage

 

[frankmorris1]

Taking into account cultural impact and crossover appeal?

Hulk Hogan
The Rock
John Cena
"Macho Man" Randy Savage

 

[sleepwalk]

I know it's hard to believe but boomers and early Gen-X might not know SCSA's name but they've all snapped into a Slim Jim.

 

[BFoe]

Hmmm ... I do believe honorary rankings should be considered for the greats of prior eras that inspired the next generations.

Got to keep in mind his baby face & heel runs, and I do consider his heel promos to be superior.

And I've always considered the 'Who's on your Pro-Wrestling Mount Rushmore?' question to be extremely... simplifying. It really should be a Top10 or Top25.
And it easily could be expanded to Top25 for Ring-work, Mic-skills, and Overall Character.

That way guys like Mick Foley, Kane, Scott Hall, and numerous others can get their due respect in.

I agree, a Mt, Rushmore is too simplistic. I stopped following wrestling around 2006 or 2007 so if k do a top 10 anyone after that doesn’t make it just because I didn’t watch them. But I try and look at ring work, promos, what they meant to the business in terms of influence. Hogan is in my top 10 because not only was he the face of the Golden Age but also in the nWo too during the Attitude Era. He floundered a bit in the early 90s, but dude was on top and main eventing across the two best eras (imho) of wrestling.

From the live events I’ve been too though, Stone Cold was the best all around talent I ever saw. His ring work, mic work, command of the crowd was just incredible,

The rock at 4 is blasphemy. The dude was literally the face of the attitude era which is widely considered to be the peak age of professional wrestling. He even created “smack down.” Putting the gicant or bork ahead of him is like putting Larry bird and Steph curry ahead of LeBron.

I got Larry Bird ahead of LeBron.


Larry Bird is nasty, terminally slept on.

 

[frankmorris1]

I know it's hard to believe but boomers and early Gen-X might not know SCSA's name but they've all snapped into a Slim Jim.

Austin over Cena

 

[scorpiorising]

Anyone that grew up in the 80s and 90s will say Hogan.

He changed everything. He was the man in wwf for a long time. He was everywhere at that time, then he transitioned into acting (albeit very bad acting) which was unheard of as far as I know, besides Andre in the princess bride I believe.

After the shift to WCW, he literally carried that promotion to 83 weeks on top. He led the biggest wrestling stable of all time for years there.

He always protected the hulk hogan image and it was sad to see Terry Bollea the POS start ruining that image the last 20 years, but saying anyone else other that hogan means you just simply never witnessed it.

 

[frankmorris1]

Anyone that grew up in the 80s and 90s will say Hogan.

He changed everything. He was the man in wwf for a long time. He was everywhere at that time, then he transitioned into acting (albeit very bad acting) which was unheard of as far as I know, besides Andre in the princess bride I believe.

After the shift to WCW, he literally carried that promotion to 83 weeks on top. He led the biggest wrestling stable of all time for years there.

He always protected the hulk hogan image and it was sad to see Terry Bollea the POS start ruining that image the last 20 years, but saying anyone else other that hogan means you just simply never witnessed it.

In the late 90s when both Austin and Hogan were on top of their respective promotions, Austin was bigger , that's how wwf won the Monday night wars

 

[GearSolidMetal]

In the late 90s when both Austin and Hogan were on top of their respective promotions, Austin was bigger , that's how wwf won the Monday night wars

It wasn't JUST Hogan and Austin in their respective promotions.

Hogan was the heel at that time in WCW and he had Sting, Goldberg, DDP, and Luger as babyfaces.

Austin was the Rebellion-Babyface in WWE and had feuds with Hart, Triple-H, Rock, Foley, Undertaker.

Hogan was in WCW for years before turning heel and he only narrowly increased their ratings, mainly because the roster of WCW was absolute crap. When he turned heel and formed the NWO it became a ratings powerhouse.

 

[volodya]

By Pride FC rules, scoring his career as a whole, it's Hogan and it's not close. But Ultimate Warrior was my favorite and IMO had a higher peak albeit briefly, at least in the U.S. But Hogan was a bigger global phenom for sure.

When I was young I saw a WWF event at county stadium in Milwaukee where ultimate warrior KO'd bobby heenan and then dressed him up in a pink bunny suit while he was asleep.

 

[ChickenBrother]

When I was young I saw a WWF event at county stadium in Milwaukee where ultimate warrior KO'd bobby heenan and then dressed him up in a pink bunny suit while he was asleep.

Lmao. I remember when he debuted as the Dingo Warrior, and when he ripped Hercules' chain in half lol. Dude was so insane and high energy he was easy to root for. The beef they set up with Hogan was pretty great.

 

[RoastBeast]

I think Macho Man is underrated in the poll. I feel like more people are familiar with him than they are John Cena.

 

[frankmorris1]

It wasn't JUST Hogan and Austin in their respective promotions.

Hogan was the heel at that time in WCW and he had Sting, Goldberg, DDP, and Luger as babyfaces.

Austin was the Rebellion-Babyface in WWE and had feuds with Hart, Triple-H, Rock, Foley, Undertaker.

Hogan was in WCW for years before turning heel and he only narrowly increased their ratings, mainly because the roster of WCW was absolute crap. When he turned heel and formed the NWO it became a ratings powerhouse.

Yeah but I think it was more the changing of the product to more mature themes that caused the ratings jump, so nwo, and then attitude era. But where WWF won was they had the younger stars during that time, and from 98 to 01 or 02, Stone cold and rock were bigger than Hogan imo

 

[frankmorris1]

I think Macho Man is underrated in the poll. I feel like more people are familiar with him than they are John Cena.

Depends if they grew up in 80s/90s or 2000s really

 

[Deaths Head]

I'm not a fan of his work (solid promo though) but Cena has a much better case for 4th than Savage and I like Savage way more than I like Cena.

Cena was JOHN Cena …He’s not remotely Macho Mans level of popularity or personality , he’s known in his era Id say he’s not massively popular as an icon few know him unless they are die hard fans . Most ppl even remember Machos slim Jim commercials more then Cenas entire career .

Macho Man may have been the guy in WWE if Hulk and Warrior weren’t there , modern pro wrestling just sucks compared to what it once was trust me if you weren’t around in the 80”s , The first wrestling match I saw on T.V was the Legion of Doom the Road Warriors in the NWA in 1981 , I was like 7 and thought it was real up until I was like o.k this can’t be real a few months into watching it .

Wrestlers are definitely more athletic and can do more high flying stunts today but it’ll never have the stage presence or gimmicks it once had those days are gone , many wrestling just look like random dudes today the problem is they tried to make it more sophisticated and it’s mostly crap really . Brock and Taker kept it somewhat still intriguing but what’s after them ? It’s just a must see t.v thing anymore it’s replaced with fast paced action not an actual wrestling match .