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How does Hulk Hogan's immortal legacy stack up next to other WWE greats?
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00:00So people are always going to get mad at me, but I feel like it's only fair to be honest.
00:03And when you are talking about Hulk Hogan, you also have to bring Terry Bollier into the mix.
00:07Because some of the things that Terry Bollier did in the last 10 years of his life,
00:10they're just bad, they're controversial, and I didn't think they were very good at all.
00:14At the same time, Hulkamania totally changed the WWF and totally changed what professional wrestling was.
00:19But both these things can be true.
00:21I just think when we do wade in these waters, you have to admit there is a nuance to this,
00:25or that we need to be able to talk about it from all sides.
00:27However, as we do continue our How Good Were They series, you'd be mad to ignore Hulk Hogan for obvious
00:32reasons.
00:32There is some comedy to this, because of course, the rating system we do use is Bret Hart's from his
00:37autobiography.
00:38And do you not wrestler he picked to show us an example?
00:41Well, it was none other than Hulk Hogan.
00:43The Hitman broke it down into three categories, looks and presentation, promo and in-ring.
00:47And he gave Hogan a 10 for look, he gave Hogan a 10 for promo,
00:50and of course, he gave him a 3 for professional wrestling, you can debate that in the comments.
00:54We can start with the look as well, because Bret Hart is totally right.
00:57Especially in that mid-80s era, everybody wanted to look like Hulk Hogan.
01:01I mean, he was deceptively massive at like 6'7", he had the 24-inch arms and even the red
01:05and yellow.
01:06When he was coming to the ring, waving his American flag, especially if you were a kid,
01:10you could just look at him and say, oh my gosh, he is a superhero come to life.
01:14How did he escape from a comic?
01:16I mean, even the balding but long hair and the moustache somehow seemed to work.
01:19And if you want to say he was the biggest babyface that was meant to be a babyface in the
01:22history of the WWF,
01:24I don't think many people are going to argue with you.
01:26You also had the big pose down after matches that kind of reminded you of Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger,
01:30and even the real American entrance song.
01:33I don't know how the WWF got this so right, but they ticked every single damn box.
01:38I mean, even calling his fans Hulkamaniacs is something that modern day celebrities do.
01:41They take a part of their name and pick crew or group or team and throw it together.
01:46And I'm sure that people were doing this before Hulk Hogan, like the Beatles,
01:49but he was someone that carried it on and he absolutely made it more popular.
01:53So if you want to say there's never been a more significant brand identity in the world of pro wrestling,
01:57once again, it's going to be hard to debate.
01:59I mean, even in wrestling now, you don't really see people wearing red and yellow because they know what it
02:03means.
02:04You just got to give it a 10 out of 10.
02:06Hulk Hogan had this absolutely perfect.
02:08Now promo is a little bit funnier because good grief, when you watch them today,
02:12some of them you'll be like, I don't know what you were talking about there, Hulk,
02:15but you will want to run through some walls.
02:17He was the epitome of knowing that it's how you say something and not really what you actually said,
02:21because somehow that gets into your loins, it gets into your emotions,
02:24and you're like, man, we better go to MSG to see Hulk kick someone's ass.
02:28He also had the catchphrase, what you're going to do, brother?
02:30And of course, he loved using brother, Jack and dude.
02:32But in many ways, he became the prototype for all of this that professional wrestlers still copy today.
02:37I mean, just go and watch anything he did do before WrestleMania 3,
02:39when he was building up the Andre the Giant match.
02:41If you're of a certain age, you will go, well, damn,
02:43if Hulk Hogan isn't successful here, I think the world is going to end,
02:48because that's the amount of importance he put on it.
02:49The truth is that he just connected with the crowd throughout his career,
02:52and of course, we can talk about WrestleMania 18 when it comes to that too.
02:56Nobody expected to get that kind of a noise as Hulk returned to a WWF ring,
03:01but even today, some of the biggest wrestlers in the world,
03:03how do they describe this?
03:05As the best professional wrestling match of all time, because it's all about connection.
03:08That also comes down to the fact that before all this,
03:10The Rock and Hulk Hogan were promo against each other,
03:13and of course, Hogan doesn't miss a beat,
03:14even though he is dealing with Dwayne The Rock Johnson,
03:17and that's enough for recent people were so excited.
03:19Remember the first time he said,
03:20what you gotta do, brother, after he came back in 2002?
03:23Everybody went nuts.
03:24And sure, he never changed his approach, and it is a little bit dated in 2026,
03:28but it's also of its time.
03:29And look at the longevity he did have.
03:32Bret Hart got this one right too.
03:3410 out of 10.
03:34Now it gets super fun after this,
03:36because we do get to talk about the in-ring capabilities of one Hulk Hogan,
03:38and I have said this on every video, so I'll say it here as well.
03:41It's twofold, actually.
03:42One, if you do make it to AEW or WWE,
03:45you're a very successful professional wrestler,
03:47and it makes no difference what some random ball guy is saying about you.
03:49But also, two, he did connect with the fans when it came to his physicality,
03:53and that's all wrestling is.
03:55It doesn't matter if you can do a Hurricanrana or not.
03:57What does matter is that if your shoulder gets off that mat,
03:59a one-two-oo,
04:00and the fans go,
04:01oh my gosh, I can't believe it,
04:03well, you're pretty good at your job.
04:04Again, we can go to WrestleMania 18,
04:05which was years after Hulk Hogan's peak.
04:08Once again, he had launched people into a fever pitch.
04:10It's only fair to say that his matches were very formulaic,
04:13and he loved to Hulk up.
04:14If you want to get into the science between the hulking up,
04:17what exactly was happening here?
04:19And why did it take a few punches to the face
04:21for all of a sudden Hulk Hogan to realize,
04:23wait a minute, I'm not feeling any pain,
04:24and now I'm going to boot you in the skull?
04:26I mean, technically, he starts the no-sell moves,
04:28which you'd never get away with today,
04:30but he did come up with what the WWF main event style was for years,
04:33and actually, it was probably Stone Cold Steve Austin
04:35that changed that in the late 90s.
04:37That's one hell of a legacy.
04:38And yes, we will throw in his New Japan work,
04:40because everyone that does see that goes,
04:41oh wow, that's very impressive.
04:43But most of this is also from 1983,
04:45and also at the time, it was very hard to see,
04:47because you had to be a tape trader,
04:49so I do kind of feel like you have to move it to one side
04:51just a little bit.
04:52You can't dismiss it, though,
04:53because it proves that he could do it,
04:54but let's look at some of his matches today.
04:56If you do sit down with Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimoire from WrestleMania,
05:00outside of the crowd noise,
05:01I don't think you're going to get much from it.
05:03The same with Andre vs. Hogan too,
05:05do not get me wrong,
05:06one of the most important and biggest matches of all time,
05:08but if you just want to sit there and focus on what they're doing,
05:11well, to be honest with you,
05:12you may just be a little bit bored.
05:14I don't mean that disparagingly,
05:16the world has just changed.
05:17So it's already fair to say it would be completely different
05:19if Andre the Giant wasn't a broken mess,
05:20this was towards the end of his career,
05:22and please go and watch Andre in his peak,
05:24because you will be exploding with joy,
05:26so let's do the whole video game thing as we always do,
05:28and 7 out of 10 isn't average here,
05:295 out of 10 is,
05:30and that is what we are going to do.
05:32He came up with a style that was absolutely incredible,
05:34and he did know what he was doing,
05:36but sure, after a while,
05:37could all his matches feel very samey,
05:39which is one of the reasons he had to go to WCW in 1994?
05:42The answer is yes,
05:43so it's a very, very positive 5 out of 10,
05:46but we're looking at a 40 plus year career here.
05:48In terms of the test of time though,
05:49where it's only fair to say,
05:50the amount of controversies that Hulk Hogan was involved in,
05:53well, it hasn't stood up at all.
05:54Now I just don't think you can ignore this,
05:56or at least I can't,
05:57if you want to separate the art from the artist,
05:59more power to you,
06:00but go and look at the Netflix debut in 2025,
06:03or whenever it was,
06:03when Hulk Hogan did turn up.
06:05He didn't get booed on a fluke,
06:06my friends.
06:07People remembered the absolutely awful things that he did say,
06:10and they didn't want to get past it,
06:12nor should they.
06:12There's also hundreds of stories about how Hogan was backstage,
06:15both in the WWE and WCW,
06:17and they are not the best tales.
06:18And even if you do go to the 1994 arrival in World Championship Wrestling,
06:22fans were livid.
06:23They didn't want this WWF hokeyness,
06:25by the time he was feuding with the Dungeon of Doom.
06:28Once again,
06:28it's all out there on the internet.
06:30I wouldn't say it's very good.
06:31It's hilarious,
06:32but not for the right reasons.
06:33Once again though,
06:34none of that is as important as some of the things that Terry Bollet has said in his real life.
06:38And I know you're going to react to that,
06:40so I'm going to caveat it once again.
06:41That doesn't mean he wasn't a game changer in wrestling.
06:44It doesn't mean he isn't one of the biggest wrestlers of all time.
06:46He did do all that,
06:47and you can't tell the story of sports entertainment without Hulk,
06:50but you also can't tell the story of Terry Bollet
06:52without going into that world,
06:53or that side,
06:54or that corner of what he did do.
06:56And that's why when it comes to the test of time,
06:57you have to give it a 3 out of 10.
06:59Whatever his reputation once was,
07:01it is not now,
07:02and that is all of his own doing.
07:04Now cultural significance is different,
07:05because in terms of pop culture icons,
07:07really from the 80s,
07:09all the way till he did pass away in 2026,
07:11Hulk Hogan was right there.
07:13You can meet a random person on the street and say,
07:15hey man,
07:15do you watch pro wrestling?
07:16And if they didn't,
07:17or they had sort of an awareness,
07:18they would go,
07:19oh,
07:19is that the thing with Hulk Hogan?
07:21I mean,
07:21that is like saying you use Google rather than search the internet,
07:24and it's why Vince McMahon threw the bank behind him
07:26when WrestleMania did launch.
07:27He knew that if he wanted to take the World Wrestling Federation
07:30to the heights that he did,
07:31he needed a face of the place,
07:32and he went and picked Hulkamania.
07:34I mean,
07:34in 1982,
07:34he was part of Rocky 3,
07:36which was a massive movie.
07:37Believe you me,
07:38wrestling fans weren't going to see that.
07:40Casual fans and movie fans were going to see that.
07:42And all of a sudden,
07:43once again,
07:44individuals were like,
07:44who the flub is this Thunderlips fella?
07:46And sure,
07:46the rest of the TV shows and movies are mixed back to say the least,
07:49but even something like Hogan knows best,
07:51it kept him in the public eye.
07:53And I know loads of people that watch that
07:55and didn't give a damn about his wrestling,
07:57mostly because his family was totally nuts.
07:59I mean,
07:59even his rubbish movies like Mr. Nanny
08:01somehow cemented him with something outside of professional wrestling.
08:04And you could argue only Hulk Hogan would have gotten away with it.
08:07I mean,
08:07few could ever hope to replicate this even in 2006,
08:10whether you're a wrestler or not.
08:11If you crave fame,
08:13Hulk Hogan is probably someone that is on that list.
08:15That's why you've got to give it a nine out of 10.
08:17Once again,
08:17go back to the phrase,
08:19he made it into pop culture.
08:20Hogan also had great rivalries as well.
08:22And I'm sure I forget some here,
08:23but there was the Matcha Man,
08:24the implosion,
08:25the Mega Powers,
08:26everything with the Ultimate Warrior.
08:27I mean,
08:28some suck like Sergeant Slaughter,
08:29but then there's Earthquake,
08:30or Roddy Piper,
08:31or Ted DiBiase.
08:32Nobody ever talks about those.
08:34They didn't get to the Superman event,
08:35but they're actually pretty damn good.
08:36Obviously,
08:37the Andre the Giant has to get in there,
08:38as does The Rock from WrestleMania 18.
08:40And even at WrestleMania 19,
08:42when we acted the Hulk vs. Vince program,
08:44a lot of people bought into it.
08:45When he did jump to WCW as well,
08:47everything that they did with Hogan and Flair
08:49was what they should have done in the WWF.
08:51And the Sting thing was good for like 12 months
08:53when we got to Starrcade 1997 and we blew it up.
08:56But if we're talking about the rivalry,
08:58well,
08:58at one time,
08:58it was the biggest thing in wrestling.
09:00Now,
09:00most of the time,
09:00the person on the other side of the ring
09:02did have to play to Hulk Hogan's strength,
09:04but they didn't mind doing that
09:05because where was the money coming from?
09:06Essentially,
09:07Hogan's name was so damn big
09:08that if you did get the right opponent,
09:10every single fan on the planet would buy into this.
09:12So I think it's a 9 out of 10.
09:14Go and look at those first,
09:15what,
09:1510 WrestleManias?
09:17They're all the Hulk Hogan show.
09:18So without it,
09:19well,
09:20WrestleMania probably wouldn't be what it is today.
09:22And that comes down to Hulk Hogan's rival race.
09:24And it's the same about moments too.
09:26I mean,
09:26basically the idea of a WW moment
09:28was built off the back of Hulk Hogan.
09:30And good grief,
09:30did he like doing them.
09:31I mean,
09:31teaming with Mr. T at the first WrestleMania,
09:33the double clothesline with the Ultimate Warrior
09:35at WrestleMania 6,
09:36carrying Miss Elizabeth out of the ring
09:38as the match remember went,
09:39why would you do this to me,
09:40my friend?
09:41I'm going to whoop your ass.
09:42There's the formation of the NWO,
09:43everything we did do in the lead up to WrestleMania 18,
09:46one of which was done
09:46when he tried to run the rock over in an ambulance.
09:49But again,
09:49you can't win them all.
09:50And I haven't even mentioned
09:51slamming Andre the Giant,
09:53which is probably the biggest WW moment of all time.
09:55So it really was superb stuff
09:57in the eyes of the audience
09:58and actually did overshadow
09:59whatever he was physically doing in the ring
10:00from moment to moment.
10:02They lived and died by these moments,
10:04nine out of 10.
10:05When we get to range,
10:06and it's the same thing I always say
10:07when it gets to a certain type of wrestler,
10:09Hulk Hogan didn't have any,
10:10but I also don't think he needed any.
10:12Even Kevin Nash and Scott Hall
10:13have talked about this.
10:14When he first turned heel in the NWO,
10:16they had to say,
10:17no brother,
10:17don't cut promos like that.
10:19And Hulk would go,
10:19listen,
10:20this is what I do
10:21and we're not changing it.
10:22Even Sean Michaels hinted at this
10:23when they had their feud at SummerSlam 2005,
10:25because one of the buffs he threw at Hulk was,
10:27oh,
10:27surprise,
10:28surprise,
10:28you're doing the same stuff that you always do
10:30because that's the same stuff you always do.
10:32And he is right
10:33and it is a criticism.
10:34It's also one of the reasons
10:35Hulk Hogan was able to do it for 35 years.
10:37So he was ready to do it
10:38because he was crazy successful
10:39and trying something different
10:40may have ruined him.
10:41And even when he went heel,
10:42what did he do?
10:42Just like painted his beard
10:43and changed his clothes.
10:45But it's a two out of 10.
10:46But did anybody want to see Hogan
10:47do anything else?
10:48No.
10:49So that number is a little bit redundant.
10:50And it's fine though
10:51because drawing power is next
10:52and really when it comes to the history
10:54of pro wrestling,
10:55there are only a few guys
10:56that will be up there with Hulk Hogan
10:57and I'll miss some of them now.
10:58But I think of Bruno Sammartino
11:00and I think of Steve Austin
11:01and then there's probably someone else
11:02like a Ricky Dozan
11:03or Antonio Inoki.
11:05But yeah,
11:05he is in an exclusive club.
11:07I mean,
11:07it really is one of the biggest
11:07box office attractions
11:08in pro wrestling ever.
11:10And again,
11:10we talked about those first few WrestleManias.
11:12I'll just say what I said again.
11:14They were built around Hulk Hogan
11:15because Vince McMahon knew,
11:17well,
11:17if we make him the center of the poster
11:18and the center of the show,
11:20more people are going to buy it
11:21and we're going to make more money
11:22and fans will come to the building.
11:24They did.
11:24Even when he jumped to WCW,
11:26all of a sudden their buy rates
11:27and their merchandise
11:27went through the roof.
11:28I mean,
11:29they didn't have any merchandise
11:29before Hulk Hogan arrived.
11:31So he was a net positive
11:32even though they were paying him
11:33millions and millions of dollars.
11:35Now you can get super anal with this
11:36and say that the WWE
11:37actually did better without Hulk Hogan.
11:39See the Attitude Era.
11:40But you don't get the Attitude Era
11:42without what Hulk Hogan did.
11:43He laid the foundations
11:44for every single thing
11:45that WWF was going to do
11:47when it went worldwide.
11:48So you can't just pretend
11:49that he wasn't responsible for this.
11:51In many ways,
11:52he was.
11:52I mean,
11:53he really was the model
11:54and I imagine if you talked
11:55to Triple H right now
11:56and said,
11:56would you like a guy like this
11:57that could do similar numbers
11:58and he would say,
11:59yes,
11:59please,
12:00that sounds great.
12:00So it's a 10 out of 10 for me
12:01and I've seen some people
12:02try to argue this
12:03and put it down to an 8.
12:05But go and look at the things
12:06he was doing
12:06during especially
12:07sort of the late to mid 80s
12:09or the other way around
12:09and maybe into the early 90s too.
12:11But it's the fact
12:12he was then able
12:12to regenerate himself
12:13into the mid 90s.
12:15Who the hell
12:15gets that many opportunities
12:17and hits a home run every time?
12:19It's a 10 out of 10.
12:19It does mean overall
12:20it's a crazy bag
12:21and listen,
12:21I got into pro wrestling
12:22after Hulkamania had calmed down
12:24and I was never a Hulkamaniac
12:25but even today
12:26I can look back
12:27in terms of his impact
12:28on the business
12:28and go,
12:29yeah,
12:29where the flub would we be
12:30about Hulk Hogan?
12:31Even then though,
12:31no matter what he did once mean to me
12:33it is not the same Hulk Hogan
12:34it was even 20 years ago
12:36because look,
12:36I've talked about it
12:37on other videos
12:38especially when he did pass away.
12:40I cannot forget
12:41the things that Terry Boloa said
12:42and because a lot of people
12:43tell me
12:43he never apologized for them directly
12:45well that to me
12:46is way more important
12:47than wrestling
12:48because to me pro wrestling
12:49will always be the most important
12:50of the least important things.
12:51I just think that's the most important thing
12:53that we have discussed
12:53when we are talking about someone
12:55with a legacy
12:55and the test of time
12:56and how people see him today
12:57I do think you probably
12:58have to rank him
12:59at a 7.5 out of 10.
13:01Now given some of the things
13:01we talked about today
13:02are way more crucial
13:04than a damn number
13:04I would just ignore that
13:06but Hulk Hogan
13:06is not the same guy
13:07that he was once
13:08at least not to me
13:09and I know I'm an idiot
13:10I'm a fool
13:10and nobody should like me
13:11I totally agree with that
13:12but I'll always be honest with you
13:14and I'll always be transparent
13:14and that's just how I feel.
13:16Well wrestling is great
13:17but it is just wrestling.
13:18I'm sure without all this controversy
13:19he would have hit it out of the park
13:20but that's like saying
13:21this Batman game
13:22wouldn't be any good
13:23if Batman wasn't in it
13:24well he is in it
13:25so why the flub
13:25would you ignore that?
13:26So I'll just say it one last time
13:27even though it won't make a difference
13:28and people will go crazy at me
13:30which you are allowed
13:30it is your right
13:31but of course
13:32Hulk Hogan is one of the greatest wrestlers
13:33of all time
13:34but Terry Barrelia
13:35the person
13:36well at the very best
13:37I think he was difficult
13:38and really
13:39I just think he said
13:40some terrible things
13:41it's even worse of course
13:41if you were a fan
13:42growing up with this
13:43you probably felt really disappointed
13:45and I would understand.
13:46Now of course my friends
13:47please do leave a comment below
13:48and if you could try to keep it on track
13:49that would be awesome
13:50but again you have free will
13:51to do whatever you want
13:52you can also click on the screen
13:53to get another entry like this
13:55before you like the video
13:55share the video
13:56and subscribe
13:56but otherwise
13:57I do appreciate you sitting down with me
13:59and I will talk to you again soon.
14:01and I will talk to you again soon.
14:01.
14:01.
14:01.
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