Fall from grace – The sad story of Hulkamania

For everyone growing up, wrestling remains a fond memory of the past. Especially, if you’re a kid of the 80s and 90s, you had the Attitude Era, which was one of the best periods of professional wrestling, when the WWF and WCW were locking horns for the ratings supremacy. There wasn’t one dull episode of wrestling; everything that was on air was spectacular, and at a point, WCW couldn’t put a foot wrong, while for the next 2 – 3 years, WWF dominated, and they couldn’t do anything wrong either. For a teenager, it was the best time to be a wrestling fan.

The now ‘Old school’ wrestling fans had the chance to grow up watching legends like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Arn Anderson, Andre the Giant and so on. It was a period when Stan Hansen traveled all over the World making a name for himself. Flair was drawing huge numbers in Japan, wrestling the local legends. It was a period when pro wrestling was blossoming, and was looking a potential boom in the industry. But no matter what, it wasn’t able to get that ‘kick’ that would kick start the most glorious period of wrestling history. It was at this time, that a lanky kid was traveling all over the World, who got people’s attention not because of his in-ring skills, but because of his charisma.

The lanky kid I mentioned worked for Vince Sr.’s WWF, then went to Japan, where he performed for New Japan Pro Wrestling, before coming back to the United States, working for Verne Gagne’s AWA. It was at this time that a certain promoter by the name of Vince K McMahon, who had taken reigns from his father, caught the wind of the popularity of Hulk Hogan in Japan, and came up with something that revolutionized the business. He wanted to expand the business from the territorial rule, thereby globalizing the WWF, and handpicked Hogan to be the star and the face of the company. Then started what perhaps was the catalyst for the explosion and boom of the wrestling industry, something which is fondly remembered as the ‘Rock n’ Wrestling’ connection.

Hogan is hailed as the guy who made wrestling mainstream, and those claims are true. Wrestling reached its pinnacle during the Hogan era. Hogan took wrestling to heights unheard of before, and reached out to the masses with his ‘American hero’ gimmick. The Hulkamaniacs only grew in number, and at a point when Hulkamania was experiencing a downward slide because of wearing out, he turned heel with Nash and Hall, which started the biggest, and arguably the greatest stable of all time, the New World Order in WCW. Hogan always had a great wrestling mind, and at a point, couldn’t put a foot wrong in the things he did. By ’99, Hogan claimed he was retiring from the industry. Fans claimed the end of perhaps the greatest superstar was here, and were thankful for everything Hogan had done over 2 decades.

“You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”. It isn’t necessary to put out the source for this quote. And the same applies everywhere. The same happened with Hogan, as he refused to go out, coming back to WWE after Vince bought WCW. People were genuinely excited, as Hogan faced Rock in the most anticipated match of all time. Hogan lost to the Rock, thus passing on the torch to the younger superstar. By now, people thought Hogan’s role was over, and that he would go away gracefully. By this time, many of the ‘more intelligent’ fans began despising Hogan. It was a well known fact that Hogan loved power, and in WCW, used his pull to the maximum, keeping the talented younger guys down, while helping his friends and himself to stay on top. People wanted Hogan to go away, and his act was already boring and stale.

Hogan refused to do that, and is considered one of the main reasons for the demise of WCW. Hogan was involved in many of the unpopular events that unfolded in WCW. At this point, Hogan had less fans and more haters. Vince saw that Hogan wasn’t a main attraction, and would only bring him for sporadic appearances. Hogan wanted more; he wasn’t in control, things weren’t going on his terms, something which Hogan always had control of. Vince didn’t need Hogan anymore, and neither did the Wrestling industry. Hogan tried to remain relevant with his failed attempts at reality show, and his personal life got messier with time, with his son nearly killing another person, while Hogan himself got into trouble because of various issues. Hulkamania was dead and gone, and the one person who couldn’t bear this was Hulk Hogan himself. For once, Hogan was Terry, and he didn’t like it. Things got worse for Terry, with his wife applying for a divorce and his financial situation getting worse.

He wanted a way out, and started touring with younger superstars to get some cash in. He saw the perfect opportunity with the new wrestling organization which was growing at rapid pace, and was already the number 2 promotion in the World. He signed a deal with TNA, claiming he wanted to make the promotion bigger and better. Initially, Hogan and Bischoff tried to do some changes, most of which didn’t sit well with the TNA fans. Hogan claimed he would increase the ratings of TNA, and bring more eyes on the company from all over the globe.

It is an understatement to say Hogan failed miserably in all of these departments. If you switch to TNA now, you can only see Hogan everywhere. Even though he can barely move, he is the center of attention; the focus of the company is not on the talents, but on Hogan. Hogan once again proved why he has become a cancer to the wrestling industry, and not a solution. The quicker Dixie and TNA heads realize it, the better it will be for the company, because making a 60 year old cripple the focus of your show is nothing but idiocy. The ratings are the same, the reach is the same. But the amount Dixie has spent since bringing Hogan in has shot up, so much so that daddy Carter had to put his daughter on a leash with the excessive spending she has done. It is inevitable for Hogan to take the easy way out and hightail from the company within a year or two, after using the resources of TNA to the fullest.

Hogan has also tried suing many companies and organizations with outrageous accusations. It is a sad scene to see where Hogan is right now. From being an idol to the kids to ‘Don’t become him when you grow up’ speeches in every family, Hogan has fallen down from grace. The scenes of Hogan bodyslamming Andre the Giant have been replaced with him rubbing a lotion on his daughter’s butt, which is not only sad, but gives you an image of how ‘Hulkamania’ has lost all of its importance and respect. There are a few more Hulkamaniacs remaining in the World, and Hogan should call it quits before he loses everything.