[2000-04-10-WCW-Nitro] Hulk Hogan vs Billy Kidman

[soup23]

Here we are at the big reboot. This isn't really a match at all but more Kidman cutting a shoot promo on Hogan and then Hogan coming out and them getting into a big brawl. The way Kidman conveyed his promo felt geunine and there certainly was a good bit of truth mixed into what he was saying. It is an interesting angle to analyze because I can see how someone like Hogan can think Kidman does have the size or stature to really compete with him. Going through the 90's, we witnessed first hand Kidman being a more polished worker than I remembered but even I am not sure in 2017 eyes that Kidman is the right person for this role. However, since the Radicalz had been exiled it is mostly a case of beggars cant be choosers and the reaction this brawl and angle got was really effective for the time. It could have built to something. I do think WCW was too far gone by now to compete but the bones are still there to be sustainable. The ending of this segment shows why that won't be even possible though as Bischoff has to run down, pledge his allegiance to Hogan and then double cross him with a chair shot to the head. This does allow Kidman to score a visual pin so something is acomplished. I am interested in tracking this and Hogan's involvement and attention level leading up to him calling the promotion a pile of shit at Bash at the Beach. NR

[Loss]

As a standalone segment, I thought this was tremendous. The size difference is definitely there, and if they truly wanted to elevated Kidman, he might have been better off working with someone like Flair where it wouldn't be such a standout thing. I'm not someone who normally comments on it, and hate it when people bring it up. But it just makes me appreciate performers like Rey who are able to look credible against bigger guys even more. That said, I understand why they went the Hogan-Kidman route, as the storyline was built in based on Hogan's comments. If nothing else, based on the crowd reaction, it shows that the path forward for guys like Hogan and Flair was to work with up and coming guys instead of each other. Kidman's bumping makes Hogan look like superman, and the Bischoff angle is fine. Of course, it's Vince Russo, so best laid plans and all of that...

[GSR]

The big WCW reboot and the start of the ‘Russo-Bischoff era’ which was supposed to see ‘New Blood’ being pushed to the forefront of WCW. Billy Kidman is out, and feels he’s been handed a ‘get out of jail free’ card after being held down for years by the ego maniacs trying to hold on to their fading careers. Tonight is his night and the one person he wants to address is the biggest ego maniac of them all, Hulk Hogan. Kidman says how he’s been bad mouthing him for weeks, about his size, and while he might not be as big as him, he has two things Hulk Hogan will never have, heart and talent. Hogan claims that Billy Kidman couldn’t draw flies? Well who knows better about drawing flies than a piece of shit like him! He calls Hulk out and as luck would have it, Hogan happens to be walking past a monitor and see what’s happening. When Kidman wonders if his balls are as big as his bald spot? That line seals the deal and he heads to the ring. Hogan confronts him and says how he’s heard him crying and whining for months about “when’s he going to get a break? When’s he going to get a push?” and claims it’s punks like him that give the young guys a bad name. Kidman tells him he’s had a good run but that run is over. Hulk says if he was in the same league as him he might understand what this business is about, but he’s so peewhipped by that girlfriend of his… at which point Kidman jumps him. Kidman actually gets the better of things at first until he leaps off the apron, Hogan sidesteps, and he goes flying into the guard rail. He puts Kidman over his shoulder and rams him into the ringpost like a dart. As he unloads on him in the corner, Eric Bischoff walks down to ringside carrying a chair. He makes out he’s on Hogan’s side only to blindside him him with the chair, and then count the ‘three’ as Kidman covers him.

 

Did anyone outside of newsletter readers and those who were on the internet understand what this was about? It felt like it was booked for the minority as opposed to the majority. Kidman did a good job, although his promo felt like a combination of legitimate grievances and lines Vince Russo had given him (‘balls as big as your bald spot’). Hogan outshone him the moment he arrived, both in the verbals and the fight. Surely if you wanted to try and give Kidman a push or the rub you would want him to be a bit more competitive in things? As it was he only got the visual pin after the help of Eric Bischoff and a steel chair and I’m not holding out much hope with this feud.

[goc]

So I watched this whole show and it's AWFUL. I have to imagine the vast majority of people watching this on TV had no idea what the hell was going on, who Vince Russo was, why Kidman was calling out Hogan, why Shane Douglas hated Ric Flair, what the hell does "being held down" mean, etc etc.

 

I agree with Magnum Milano saying that Hogan outshone Kidman in this segment and that along with the size difference just shows how bad of an idea this feud was. Despite that massive size difference that would have made you think the crowd would have seen Hogan as bullying the smaller guy, they still cheered way more for Hulk beating on Kidman than Kidman getting in offense on Hulk. You could have tried to tell the same kind of "young guy wants to take Hogan's spot" story with someone else who would have actually fit with Hogan's style of work and didn't look so tiny against him but I guess that wouldn't have reached that huge audience of people who knew Hogan dissed him in some interview online. I strongly disagree with the idea that Kidman was a guy who could or should have been elevated beyond the midcard as he didn't have the look, the mic skills or the in ring ability to go beyond a guy who just has good workrate matches in the middle of the card.

[drew wardlaw]

This segment really sums up a lot about what I remember (itll be interesting to see how it looks in retrospect) about 2000 WCW: some good ideas and some direction that gets completely obliterated by the tropes and self-sabotaging. Youve got Kidman, whos mad that hes been held down by Hogan and the like for years, and youve got Hogan whos out there trying to protect his spot. Its good that youve got the older guys finally working with younger guys, presumably to elevate them and put them over, and while tonally the old Millionaires Club being the faces and the young guns being the heels feels off, I think it could have worked, but would have probably required a lot more nuance than was possible at the time. This is all okay. They cant just leave well enough alone though and weve got the double-crossing authority figures getting involved and were off and running. This did, and still does feel fresh and cool coming off Uncensored and I was really excited for this when it aired, but it was not meant to be.