Was Hulk Hogan the biggest star in professional wrestling?

[Hellowhosthat]

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 .

Idk dude it seems like you're a fan of the era you grew up in which is fine but John Cena was a massive mainstream star and Randy didn't compare to that starpower wise

I'd rather watch a Savage match 100 times out of a 100 but the thread isn't about who's the best worker.

 

[Deaths Head]

Idk dude it seems like you're a fan of the era you grew up in which is fine but John Cena was a massive mainstream star and Randy didn't compare to that starpower wise

I'd rather watch a Savage match 100 times out of a 100 but the thread isn't about who's the best worker.

The WWF when it was that had a larger mainstay audience then it does now , stating Cena is more popular is misleading bc the population is much bigger now globally , if both were walking down the street on opposite sides my money is on Savage getting surrounded and stopped if they were in the same era as the actual peak of wrestling back then , honestly if I saw Cena in person I’d probably just say hi ….if I saw Savage I’d want a picture with him .

 

[Deaths Head]

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.

Someone on another thread on Hogan tried telling me the Ultimate Warrior wasn’t that popular and couldn’t sell tickets and he was watching wrestling in those days ? Guy must have been doing heroin . Lol

 

[Aurelian]

Macho Man was a pretty big deal in his prime. I think people are just splitting hairs with different eras and timelines people grew up in.

 

[GearSolidMetal]

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

From 99 to 01 or 02, Rock and Austin were bigger than Hogan.
But also because after the 83 Weeks WCW beat WWE in the ratings WCW began to fall apart.
It became an embarrassment that no one was watching while WWE were still hitting all-time highs.
Even Hogan left early before it was sold to WWE.

But just because Austin & Rock became bigger than Hogan in a few years of one era doesn't mean their legacy surpasses Hogan's.

I love Austin & Rock, don't get me wrong, and Austin is my GOAT, but comparing the their three careers in terms of longevity and legacy throughout multiple eras and decades .. Hogan takes it and it's not a hard call to make.

 

[Swamps]

Hogan and its not even close. Although Austin saved WWE in a time they were in serious trouble.

 

[fingercuffs]

I made and sold a Thunderlips fridge magnet yesterday. The guy who bought it nearly had a wee he was so excited.

 

[Aegon Spengler]

“Macho Man” benefitted from the “Macho, Macho man…I wanna be…a Macho Man” song. Not sure if it was about him but it is to me damnit

 

[Pittie Petey]

So many dumb shits in this thread misusing the term "worker"

Filthy casuals misunderstand the meaning of being a good worker, they think it means being able to do a lot of good moves really fast

No, it literally means to work the marks, work them to the ticket booth, work them into the building, work their butts into seats and the money outta their pockets and into yours, thats what being a good worker means

It doesnt matter how you do it, could be in the ring, could be on the mic, could be by standing out in front of the building with a sign promising free blow jobs in the back, it dont matter how ya get em there as long as you got em

And Hulk Hogan was one of the best workers of all time

 

[GearSolidMetal]

So many dumb shits in this thread misusing the term "worker"

Filthy casuals misunderstand the meaning of being a good worker, they think it means being able to do a lot of good moves really fast

No, it literally means to work the marks, work them to the ticket booth, work them into the building, work their butts into seats and the money outta their pockets and into yours, thats what being a good worker means

It doesnt matter how you do it, could be in the ring, could be on the mic, could be by standing out in front of the building with a sign promising free blow jobs in the back, it dont matter how ya get em there as long as you got em

And Hulk Hogan was one of the best workers of all time

From what I understand in wrestling terminology 'worker' is commonly used as a short-form of 'ring-worker.'

I've never seen anyone from any wrestling interview I've ever seen, which is hundreds at this point, refer to someone who sells a lot of tickets as a 'worker.'

They're commonly referred to as 'stars.'
They're the faces of the companies they work for.
They're who fans spend ALOT of money for tickets to see them in person and cheer, to see the stars cut promos in the ring and wrestle.

It's a given the stars are ring-workers.
It's very rare when anyone becomes an attraction, a star, for a wrestling company without being a good ring-worker.
Even Hogan in the 80s was, by the standards of that era, a great ring-worker.

So it's never actually said of the stars 'they're a great ring-worker' because it's pretty much a given. Infact it could be viewed as backhanded compliment because it's so obvious and saying it implies it's not.

 

[Pittie Petey]

From what I understand in wrestling terminology 'worker' is commonly used as a short-form of 'ring-worker.'

I've never seen anyone from any wrestling interview I've ever seen, which is hundreds at this point, refer to someone who sells a lot of tickets as a 'worker.'

They're commonly referred to as 'stars.'
They're the faces of the companies they work for.
They're who fans spend ALOT of money for tickets to see them in person and cheer, to see the stars cut promos in the ring and wrestle.

It's a given the stars are ring-workers.
It's very rare when anyone becomes an attraction, a star, for a wrestling company without being a good ring-worker.
Even Hogan in the 80s was, by the standards of that era, a great ring-worker.

So it's never actually said of the stars 'they're a great ring-worker' because it's pretty much a given. Infact it could be viewed as backhanded compliment because it's so obvious and saying it implies it's not.

90's rasslin fans trying to explain shit is so adorable

 

[Pittie Petey]

Sean Ross Sapp and Ariel Helwani say it this way

 

[GearSolidMetal]

90's rasslin fans trying to explain shit is so adorable

Here, look under 'W' for Worker.

Glossary of professional wrestling terms - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And after that, you can...

 

[Pittie Petey]

Here, look under 'W' for Worker.

Glossary of professional wrestling terms - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And after that, you can...

Wikipedia links


This just keeps getting better


Are you gonna start asking Twitter journalists next?

 

[Deaths Head]

Macho Man was a pretty big deal in his prime. I think people are just splitting hairs with different eras and timelines people grew up in.

Jimmy Snuka was the best maybe even the craziest I do t k kw bc I think I stole that from him .one night .lol

 

[ChickenBrother]

Someone on another thread on Hogan tried telling me the Ultimate Warrior wasn’t that popular and couldn’t sell tickets and he was watching wrestling in those days ? Guy must have been doing heroin . Lol

I think Warrior briefly rivaled Hogan and might have exceeded him at one point, though everyone has their preference. His rise to beating Hogan at Wrestlemania 6 was written very well IMO and my buddies at the time were split on who to root for lol. But TBF his gimmick was pretty one-dimensional and he wasn't close to being as marketable as Hogan long term. His contract issues with Vince and WWF are also known and I think he could have been even bigger if he'd stayed on board with their proposed pay and storylines.

 

[Deaths Head]

I think Warrior briefly rivaled Hogan and might have exceeded him at one point, though everyone has their preference. His rise to beating Hogan at Wrestlemania 6 was written very well IMO and my buddies at the time were split on who to root for lol. But TBF his gimmick was pretty one-dimensional and he wasn't close to being as marketable as Hogan was long term. His contract issues with Vince and WWF are also known and I think he could have been even bigger if he'd stayed on board with their proposed pay and storylines.

Yep ..

 

[Fluffernutter]

Gable, Sanderson, Dake, Burroughs

 

[Hellowhosthat]

The WWF when it was that had a larger mainstay audience then it does now , stating Cena is more popular is misleading bc the population is much bigger now globally , if both were walking down the street on opposite sides my money is on Savage getting surrounded and stopped if they were in the same era as the actual peak of wrestling back then , honestly if I saw Cena in person I’d probably just say hi ….if I saw Savage I’d want a picture with him .

Well sure but you're just basing everything on how much you like them. I like Stan Hansen more than either of them but he wasn't a bigger star than John Cena just because I'd rather get a picture with him.

 

[Deaths Head]

Well sure but you're just basing everything on how much you like them. I like Stan Hansen more than either of them but he wasn't a bigger star than John Cena just because I'd rather get a picture with him.

Stan Hanson isn’t a wrestling Icon so that’s not really a realistic comparison . The voice , look , character ,charisma would be all advantages for Savage over Cena just the fact he was one of Hulks major rivals puts him over bc that’s the real golden age of pro wrestling and will always be it’s not how much I like them it’s just a fact .