Jump to content
Pro Wrestling Only

Comments that don't warrant a thread - Part 4


TravJ1979

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 6.3k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

10 minutes ago, BigBadMick said:

When did Mr Hughes associate with Money Inc? Saw a brief clip of them together on that Tag Teams countdown on the network...

Probably from a May 8, 93 Superstars episode which had that trio vs Kamala and the Nasties. It was the last Nasty Boys WWF match apparently. Just the entrances below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XNj9HMLlU

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love that for some reason Mr. Hughes would randomly appear in every major company in the early to mid 90s. I forgot about his time in ECW and nearly spat my drink out when I showed up on the random ECW show I pulled up on Peacock. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man I don't think I've ever seen a more pathetic display of insecurity in a top guy than Hogan in 1996. There's a few week period where he literally just copies everything Savage is saying and doing including doing the OOOOOOHHH YEAAAAH every week IN THE PROMOS THAT SAVAGE IS STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO HIM. If Flair is doing something wild or storming the booth, Hogan has to do it, too. There's seriously a period where if Macho says anything cool in a promo, Hogan immediately jumps in and repeats it for himself like a fucking toddler begging for attention.

After he LOSES to Arn, he declares himself the new Enforcer of WCW. Heading into SuperBrawl, he has a week where he has all four members of the Horsemen on their knees begging off from him. Just him. At SuperBrawl, after decisively beating the Giant, the entire Dungeon of Doom hits the ring and he beats up the ENTIRE group. By himself. Every single member runs into the cage and gets bounced by him, one by one. The next night, he has Arn giving up in the figure four and pins Ric Flair, who isn't even in the match, at the same time.  Anytime any of the guys around him do or say something cool, he immediately and blatantly tries to co-opt it. You also have more subtle shit like Arn hitting a DDT on Savage costs Savage a match, but Hogan either completely shrugged the move off entirely or no sold it just because when it happened to him. Or the week after Arn gets a very tainted win over him, he comically completely and entirely runs through Arn in the rematch the next week. 

 

I remember all this stuff being bad but rewatching it and it's so glaringly obvious that he's freaking out at a lot of WCW crowds turning on him, and Savage/Sting/Lex/Flair getting better reactions (probably especially Savage and Flair, but he seems pretty shook that Lex Luger of all people ate him up on the mic in the first or second Nitro). There's a period where literally all the other guys involved in the main event angle are getting better reactions than him and suddenly Ric Flair doesn't cut any promos for a month despite being champion and Sting/Lex completely vanish from that whole scene and wanting to be WCW champion and instead just go do the full time tag team thing and Lex goes after...the TV championship. Such a vulgar and pathetic display of ego and insecurity and it really drags down Nitro, the Clash, and PPVs that were a lot of fun previously and immediately hit a wall when Hogan's ego was hurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1993-1996 Hogan is the worst main event babyface of all time. What a strange time looking back. Coupled with WWF being pretty lame, I thought wrestling was near death around the summer of 95 and had pretty much stopped watching. A turnaround seemed impossible to me. Yet, by the fall things were slowly getting better and I was hooked again (WWF), although didnt get fully back in until the rise of NWO and Austin 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At least in 1993-1994 he's not on TV every week. Once Nitro kicks off, he's on every show multiple times a week outside of a 2-3 week period where he was on the Darkside filming some shitty movie no one ever saw. He then kicks it into the highest gear as soon as 1996 starts. There's one promo that really stands out where he just goes on and on about how Liz took half of Macho's money/land/house etc while Savage is right next to him like this mother fucker. It's a promo Ric Flair should have been cutting on Savage, instead it was Hogan and it was clearly just to make Savage look bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My theory always was his ego was so bruised by getting kicked to the curb by Vince that it turned all of Hulk's worst traits up to 11 as overcompensation. 

Not that Hulk was ever accused of being a guy willing to put anyone over, but even by his standards that 93-96 run was unbearable, 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did Vince actually kick him to the curb? Sure seemed like he was willing to throw everything in the trash if Hulk was willing to stay with the company. The late 1995-early-mid 1996 run isn't just not putting anyone over, it's actively and (quite blatantly and obliviously)  intentionally trying to drag everyone around him down. You can see the panic in his eyes when guys are getting better reactions or saying cool things that he wished he came up with.  I'm completely convinced he hit Bischoff/Sullivan with a "that's not gonna work for me, brother" when the few weeks of Sting/Savage calling him on his bullshit got positive reactions from the crowd and suddenly the main event angle changed completely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't really believe there were any serious plans to replace Hogan with Warrior long-term. Warrior was just there to keep the belt warm for a year and for Vince to prove to the boys and to everyone else that he could get Hogan to do a clean job. So in that sense, yes, it may have built on Hogan's insecurities, but the belt was going to end up back with Hogan by Mania 7 no matter what.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I always saw it as Vince seeing dollar signs in Warrior and wanting to move on, only for that plan to fail spectacularly and falling back on his security blanket like he always does. 

Plus having him so definitively squashed by Yokozuna seemed like a "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" move. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, NintendoLogic said:

I thought the plan was for Warrior to be the dynastic champion and for Hogan to be the older living legend, the Sammartino to Warrior's Backlund.

It's been told that way by certain folks in the past, but I think the plan was for Warrior to hold the belt and work the houses while Hogan filmed Suburban Commando and/or took time off when Nick was born, similar to Savage in 88. Hogan even got the major 1990 main event program with Earthquake, while Warrior was put in a repeat feud with Rude. It's often been reported that Warrior tanking on top led to Hogan being given the belt again, but I dont buy that. Hogan was Vince's guy, only the steroid scandal ended it all, and even then, he put the belt back on him as soon as he could at 9. I'm not sure exactly what happened post-9, but i dont think houses with Hogan on top did very well, plus Hulk was angling to get out of wrestling and trying to make a go as a movie star full time, so motivation to keep him in WWF from both sides wasn't strong 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vince put the belt on Hogan at WM 9 in a state of panic, cuz the steroid scandal had done a number on pro wrestling and business was in the toilet. It really went to shit immediately after WM 8, and remained that way even after Bret got the title. Vince panicked, and per his MO, whenever he panics, he turns to the big guys, and Hogan was the ultimate successful big guy. But business kept going down even with Hogan as champ, which is where Vince and Hogan had a fight I guess. Apparently, Vince wanted Hogan to put over Bret at Summerslam, and Hogan refused, cuz Bret was too small and he didn't want to job to the new, small, clean babyface

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/3/2021 at 11:01 PM, sek69 said:

Plus having him so definitively squashed by Yokozuna seemed like a "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" move. 

You mean the match where a "rogue cameraman" flashed a fireball in Hogan's face for the finish? Hardly a squash or a clean loss. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It wasn't a squash or clean, but even with the photographer it was about as decisively as Hogan had ever been beaten. He can't slam Yokozuna, Yoko kicks out of the legdrop, and Yoko pins him with his own move. Then beats him up some more after the match. There was just enough there to protect Hogan for a possible return on the Intrepid but it also served as an effective way to write him off, which is what happened.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, it's Johnny Sorrow's birthday and a few of us are getting together for a Mystery Titans Theatre watch tonight. If anyone here has the time, drop by the Twitch stream, watch along and wish the old man a happy birthday in the chat

https://www.twitch.tv/jarviswashingmachine?sr=a

Tonight we will be viewing a show from Johnny's old stomping grounds, the Philly Spectrum, specifically July 7, 1984, featuring Piper vs Snuka, Hogan vs Orndorff, the great Murdoch and Adonis team, plus cult favorites, wacky ref bumps, and several once great wrestlers far past their prime! 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...