[1991-03-03-WWF-Wrestling Challenge] Interview: Hulk Hogan

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

We've seen the best of Hogan and the worst of Hogan at times. This is somewhere in the middle. His angles and acting are so transparently phony and over the top that it's hard to invest in them, but I also can't deny that they are effective.

[shoe]

This felt different as opposed to his back to the camera in front of a green screen or some lockers.

[Childs]

There's definitely some black comedy in the idea of Hogan as the ultimate American. He in no way represented the phony ideals he was touting, yet he absolutely represented a lot of what a cynic would describe as "Real American." These promos have a place in the Hogan-was-an-asshole thread we had going a while back.

[PeteF3]

More conflicting feelings here. Hogan makes some incredibly cynical references to his USO tour, but the promo is definitely full of intensity and focus.

[Kevin Ridge]

Hogan brings up his USO tour. Hulk has his own rules now. Hogan says the only conditions he has for their match is Slaughter will not leave with the WWF World Title.

[soup23]

I guess I'm a Hulk apologists as I am right there with him on these promos. I thought this was neat to watch.

[garretta]

Again, what the hell was the man supposed to do? He was cast in the role of American hero. Was he supposed to refuse it or downplay it just because Vince decided to make his opponent more distasteful than usual? Was he only supposed to talk about the moves he was going to use during the match, with no mention at all of the poster burning? Was he supposed to not bring up his USO tour, as if it was something to be ashamed of under the circumstances? Remember, the USO had to have known that the WWF was going to use this tour for its financial gain. If they didn't want Hogan to sell pay-per-views off of it, why did they let him do it in the first place?

 

I guess what I'm saying is that there's no sense taking the moral high road in a situation where there's none to be had. The best Hogan could do was play the hero to the hilt and make himself look as good as possible, and that's what he did here. Any changes in that role had to come from Vince, and he wasn't changing a damn thing at the time. This angle was coming off exactly as he wanted it.