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[JesseEwiak]

This is one of my favorite WM moments ever personally, and I'm not even that huge of a Hogan mark. The build up to nWo Hogan hulking up, Rock's reaction, and then the crowd going absolutely ape shit for it was amazing.

Maybe I have no reaction to this because I had seen Hogan do the same routine in front of dead crowds for most of 1999 and 2000. So, seeing it in front of a hot crowd a couple of years later didn't do much for me.

Please lets not even name Cena and Hogan in the same sentence. Cena is a joke and has been for 10 years. He a god to 5 year olds, and that is all.

A smart mark in 2035 - "Please let's not even name Orlando Liu and Cena in the same sentence. Liu is a joke and has been for 10 years. He a god to 5 year olds and that is all."

Bret Hart went on to headline the next WrestleMania, have a couple of WWE title reigns, and become the face of the company.

John Cena put Daniel Bryan over clean in the middle of the ring. Hulk Hogan walked out to WCW instead of jobbing to Bret at Summerslam.

 

[Data West]

John Cena put Daniel Bryan over clean in the middle of the ring. Hulk Hogan walked out to WCW instead of jobbing to Bret at Summerslam.

You also forget that once Hogan went to WCW to not job to Bret, he immediately jobbed to Arn Anderson and Ric Flair in a 2 week span.

 

[Master Thespian]

Don't worry, he will once the torch is passed to Roman Reigns.

LOL, Cena is gonna be hotdogging in the middle of the ring, tears in his eyes, with Renee on his shoulder while Reigns holds the title off camera in the corner.

 

[slightconfuse]

I only have to make one comparison.
Hulk Hogan feuding with Ted Dibiase vs John Cena ruining Alberto Del Rio's gimmick.

Million dollar monololpy man am I right

 

[Macho Madness]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The further we get from Hogan's constant reign over the industry, the rosier it looks. In ten years, people will be saying the same thing about Cena.

 

[Sephzilla]

John Cena put Daniel Bryan over clean in the middle of the ring. Hulk Hogan walked out to WCW instead of jobbing to Bret at Summerslam.

Which one of these two had a title a few months later?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The further we get from Hogan's constant reign over the industry, the rosier it looks. In ten years, people will be saying the same thing about Cena.

In hindsight though we all recognize that Hogan did huge things for the industry and helped made the business grow in ways people didn't think were possible. Cena has spent most of his career maintaining the status quo.

 

[British Monsoon]

 

[Data West]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. The further we get from Hogan's constant reign over the industry, the rosier it looks. In ten years, people will be saying the same thing about Cena.

I've been watching a shit ton of old WWF promos and PPVs. I barely watched during the Golden Age and have no real attachment to Hogan. It's not rose tinted glasses. It's the truth.

 

[Kaladin]

Matt must have bet Jeff that he could make an uglier belt than Jeff's TNA belt at some point in his career.

 

[Marvel]

Please tell me that belt is photoshopped.

 

[Sephzilla]

We may have finally found a belt uglier than the Spinner Belt

 

[JesseEwiak]

Which one of these two had a title a few months later?

Shockingly, John Cena isn't Head of Creative. Regardless, without Cena agreeing to but Bryan over at Summerslam, there is no Cinderella story. Instead, Bryan really is wrestling Sheamus.

In hindsight though we all recognize that Hogan did huge things for the industry and helped made the business grow in ways people didn't think were possible. Cena has spent most of his career maintaining the status quo.

Without Cena creating a new generation of fans, the WWE would've further stagnated and not been powerful enough to create the Network and break off from PPV carriers. I doubt a decade of Batista and Randy Orton would've been half way as successful.

 

[Data West]

John Cena-ify some promos

"Earthquake, brother, they should call you booty quake, brother. You're just fat, brother. You're not strong, brother."

"Macho Man, brother, Elizabeth wants some of deeez nuts, brother."

"Sergeant Slaughter, brother, you left the Marines because you were scared and didn't want to protect the people like I do, brother. BRRRROTHADOUGH"

"Roddy Piper, you wear a dress, brother. You're a fruity tootie, brother. Here's a photo of you and Mr Wonderful, brother." Hogan holds up a drawn picture of Mr Wonderful and Roddy Piper kissing

"Brother, what kind of 'savage' is named James Harris, brother? Brother brother. You're from Mississippi, brother!"

 

[Sephzilla]

Shockingly, John Cena isn't Head of Creative. Regardless, without Cena agreeing to but Bryan over at Summerslam, there is no Cinderella story. Instead, Bryan really is wrestling Sheamus.

Woooooooooow okay.

The only reason we don't have Batista as world champion right now is because the crowd absolutely fucking shit on him the moment he came back. Cena had nothing to do with Bryan's WM30 run (thank god).

Hell, they're trying to make people forget that Bryan beat Cena clean at SummerSlam. You really didn't notice how they never actually showed Bryan beating Cena in any of those Bryan/HHH videos? Or how Bryan's flying knee got renamed "The Knee that beat HHH"?

 

[Macho Madness]

Every time the WWE gets a new "the guy" it's someone pretty different than the guy before him. Hogan was vastly different than Bruno, Bret/Shawn were way different than Hogan, Austin was different than Hogan/Bret/Shawn, and The Rock similarly. Cena was way different than Austin.

Reigns I guess is different enough, but he's just another strongman at this point with some signature offense. I think it's too early to call.

 

[Xater]

Someone tell me which WCW PPV should I watch during the Monday nigh wars hey days.

 

[geomon]

Please tell me that belt is photoshopped.

It's just a sticker over Jay Briscoe's ugly ass redneck belt:

It's almost an improvement.

 

[JesseEwiak]

John Cena-ify some promos

"Earthquake, brother, they should call you booty quake, brother. You're just fat, brother. You're not strong, brother."

"Macho Man, brother, Elizabeth wants some of deeez nuts, brother."

"Sergeant Slaughter, brother, you left the Marines because you were scared and didn't want to protect the people like I do, brother. BRRRROTHADOUGH"

"Roddy Piper, you wear a dress, brother. You're a fruity tootie, brother. Here's a photo of you and Mr Wonderful, brother." Hogan holds up a drawn picture of Mr Wonderful and Roddy Piper kissing

"Brother, what kind of 'savage' is named James Harris, brother? Brother brother. You're from Mississippi, brother!"

Let me tell ya' Mean Gene.
What ya' gonna do [INSERT WRESTLER HERE] when Hulkamania runs all over you!

Repeat until 1997.

 

[Toki767]

So is Adam Rose's gimmick that he has groupies starting chants for him?

Also they really should have waited to strip Paige of the NXT title until next week. This week in that tag match went something along the lines of "Here comes the NXT women's champion." Then less than a minute later you could hear get edited in "Do you agree with JBL stripping Paige of the NXT women's championship?"

 

[Marvel]

It's just a sticker over Jay Briscoe's ugly ass redneck belt:

It's almost an improvement.

Oh... I'd say it is an improvement.

 

[Data West]

Let me tell ya' Mean Gene.
What ya' gonna do [INSERT WRESTLER HERE] when Hulkamania runs all over you!

Repeat until 1997.

No

 

[Macho Madness]

Let me tell ya' Mean Gene.
What ya' gonna do [INSERT WRESTLER HERE] when Hulkamania runs all over you!

Repeat until 1997.

Does no one remember Hogan's 3.1 count kickout on Warrior, sabotaging his title run before it even started?

 

[HOMEBOY OVER HERE]

a top three wrestlemania moment without a doubt.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

No grapes! Fantastic belt now though.

 

[bean breath]

If E.Y. didn't retain last night at Sacrifice I more than likely would have quit TNA. So glad they did the right thing.

 

[geomon]

a top three wrestlemania moment without a doubt.

Indeed. /kaientai

 

[Sephzilla]

Does no one remember Hogan's 3.1 count kickout on Warrior, sabotaging his title run before it even started?

I get that people don't like it, but I don't see it as a huge thing that sabotages a title reign. Warrior still pinned Hogan clean 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring.

 

[geomon]

If E.Y. didn't retain last night at Sacrifice I more than likely would have quit TNA. So glad they did the right thing.

 

[Marvel]

Last time I saw TNA was with Bad Influence punking out Joseph Park/Abyss week in week out. So quite a while.

Daniels is gone so I have no desire to try again.

 

[Carnby]

There's also an argument to be made for Cena overshadowing the title when he doesn't have it. I don't know if the same was true of Hogan, but it's still bad that Punk's year long reign was repeatedly second banana to Cena's aimless feuds, even at WM.

Even at WM? It was Cena Vs. The Rock. There was no way Punk v. Jericho was going to headline that year.

 

[Macho Madness]

I get that people don't like it, but I don't see it as a huge thing that sabotages a title reign. Warrior still pinned Hogan clean 1-2-3 in the middle of the ring.

Yes but then Hogan immediately made the win about him, not Warrior. The focus was not "Wow, Warrior won! Cool!" it was "Oh Hogan lost! What happens now?!??"

 

[Sephzilla]

Yes but then Hogan immediately made the win about him, not Warrior. The focus was not "Wow, Warrior won! Cool!" it was "Oh Hogan lost! What happens now?!??"

I think that's blowing it out of proportion a little bit. Hogan was acting upset that he lost, he gave the belt to Warrior, and then left. Lets not pretend that there wasn't a pyro filled celebration with the announcers putting over Warrior massively.

 

[Sblargh]

Yo, I don't wanna get into the fist fight that's going on here, but damn, that's psychology, right there.

Hogan basically no-sell the right way. It works with the Rock, too, because the People's Elbow is just the right kind of awesome bullshit. He does a dance, then fall on the guy, and that's mysteriously a lot more effective than everything else.

This is a fight between two kinds of cartoon characters who understand their characters and not only they own it, but they respect 100% of the other guy's cartoon character. The Rock make it like it is such a huge deal that his guy is shaking his head in front of him and not-selling his punches. Those dudes are telling a story.

Gotta respect the other guy's gimmicks, goddamn. That's basic.

 

[gurudyne]

Every time the WWE gets a new "the guy" it's someone pretty different than the guy before him. Hogan was vastly different than Bruno, Bret/Shawn were way different than Hogan, Austin was different than Hogan/Bret/Shawn, and The Rock similarly. Cena was way different than Austin.

Reigns I guess is different enough, but he's just another strongman at this point with some signature offense. I think it's too early to call.

I'd say they have to be. WWE keeps their top guy at the top until that well is poisoned or they leave. Hogan had to go heel because he'd worn out his welcome, so if they brought in another guy like him to fill the role it wouldn't have helped. Austin was lightning in a bottle--he showed up on their doorstep, they gave him a push, he took the character and made it his own and ended up paying off hard. You can't count on that to happen, you have to hope that good talent scouting, coaching and a list of intangibles line up right. Same goes for Rock. I'm a little shaky on this next part, but if I remember the timeline right, when Austin/Rock left, Cena didn't become top guy until the company changed over to PG and Cena's gimmick changed to reflect that and then he exploded in terms of marketability. If so, he's a product of the times.

 

[Sephzilla]

Gotta respect the other guy's gimmicks, goddamn. That's basic.

Which is why Hogan > Cena in my opinion.

Also, that was a good post.

 

[Dark Ninja]

CM Punk saved Wrestlemania 30. We almost had a Shaemus match

 

[Toki767]

Even at WM? It was Cena Vs. The Rock. There was no way Punk v. Jericho was going to headline that year.

Hogan vs Rock, which was a much bigger match than Cena vs Rock, didn't even headline Wrestlemania 18. Know what did? The WWE title match.

 

[Marvel]

Can't believe I sparked such a huge debate over one jpg. Been great reading though.

Sblargh, your post hit the nail on the head for me.

 

[gurudyne]

Even at WM? It was Cena Vs. The Rock. There was no way Punk v. Jericho was going to headline that year.

Can't disagree with you, but that's the point. It devalues the title (and its holder) when it's not in the main event, and the main event at that time was always Cena. Anyone who needs to establish legitimacy as a main eventer has to go through Cena (title be damned) and that rarely works out since Lol Cena Wins.

EDIT: Going to jump on the Sblargh bandwagon as well. Well written post.

 

[BIONIC-ARRRMMM!!]

I have a feeling we'll get a good Cena promo tonight.

 

[British Monsoon]

I don't know why there's so much dislike for Sheamus - his character has been developed badly and, while he isn't the greatest in the ring, he's more than competent and one of the few wrestlers on the roster who can convincingly work a brawling style. His 2/3 falls match against Bryan two years ago was my WWE match of the year for that year, I just wish he had more opportunities to perform at that level.

 

[Sephzilla]

Hogan vs Rock, which was a much bigger match than Cena vs Rock, didn't even headline Wrestlemania 18. Know what did? The WWE title match.

Yep. HHH/Jericho went on last. WM18's card had Austin, Rock, Undertaker, Flair, and Hogan, and none of them went last.

I don't know why there's so much dislike for Sheamus - his character has been developed badly and, while he isn't the greatest in the ring, he's more than competent and one of the few wrestlers on the roster who can convincingly work a brawling style. His 2/3 falls match against Bryan two years ago was my WWE match of the year for that year, I just wish he had more opportunities to perform at that level.

Shaemus is a guy I try to like, but I just cant muster up the energy to like him for a sustained amount of time. In some ways he's really the Coors Light version of Cena. Ever since he's been a face he's become more and more bland to me.

I do kind of feel bad for him though, he's a talented wrestler. But I think he'll never be able to really get over again after the Daniel Bryan 18 second thing.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

I don't know why there's so much dislike for Sheamus - his character has been developed badly and, while he isn't the greatest in the ring, he's more than competent and one of the few wrestlers on the roster who can convincingly work a brawling style. His 2/3 falls match against Bryan two years ago was my WWE match of the year for that year, I just wish he had more opportunities to perform at that level.

Sheamus is a great wrestler, his character is hurting him. That's really it, nobody has an issue with his ring work I wager. I would say he's more than competent in the ring.

 

[Striker]

Hogan vs Rock, which was a much bigger match than Cena vs Rock, didn't even headline Wrestlemania 18. Know what did? The WWE title match.

Because of... oh, well you know.

Hogan-Michaels was the main event in SummerSlam 2005. Above Batista-JBL's WHC match and Cena-Jericho for the WWE title. And you know, in that context I'm fine with it. Of course Shawn flopped around like LeBron James the whole match so it ended up being silly.

 

[JesseEwiak]

Yep. HHH/Jericho went on last. WM18's card had Austin, Rock, Undertaker, Flair, and Hogan, and none of them went last.

Go watch that HHH/Jericho match. The dead crowd is dead for a reason. But I agree, the WWE title should main event. Since Rock-Cena and Rock-Cena II are the two of the top drawing matches in Wrestlemania history, obviously, the best thing to respect the belt and the business is for Cena to have won both matches and held the title at WM both times.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Remember when HHH went over jericho 3 ppvs in a row

 

[gurudyne]

Sheamus is a great wrestler, his character is hurting him. That's really it, nobody has an issue with his ring work I wager. I would say he's more than competent in the ring.

Definitely. If he really feels the ball's been dropped with him (I think Meltzer reported that post-WM), I hope he takes it up with creative. I like his matches and I want to watch him wrestle people who aren't Orton, just not as the persona he's been using since I started watching again.

 

[Pavaloo]

LOL

also

 

[Sephzilla]

Go watch that HHH/Jericho match. The dead crowd is dead for a reason. But I agree, the WWE title should main event. Since Rock-Cena and Rock-Cena II are the two of the top drawing matches in Wrestlemania history, obviously, the best thing to respect the belt and the business is for Cena to have won both matches and held the title at WM both times.

By that logic, Hogan/Rock should have been for the belt too.

The worst thing that happened to the Rock/Cena rivalry was the belt becoming involved. It made the result extremely predictable.

 

[Toki767]

Remember when HHH went over jericho 3 ppvs in a row

I remember when the feud was more about HHH vs Stephanie than HHH vs Jericho.