The Student Room Group

Scroll to see replies

Yes, right again Uzi, wrestling is sports entertainment but, as the ad says, the dangers are real.I mean look at all the injuries to people like Droz, Owen Hart (may he rest in peace), Batista, Benoit, Angle, Trish's recent injury.It is a sport where injuries are rife.Anyone who says it is a soap opera or totally fake or that all wrestlers are prima-donnas (except Hogan,he is) simply don't know the truth, and it is a painful thing--so many don't know the truth.For me, it's one of the toughest sports period--no off season, brutal schedule, injuries and the pay is nowhere near that of football in the UK, NFL, baseball, NHL...I saw a recent breakdown of the wrestlers' salaries and if it was legit, which I think it was, HHH is the top earner at $2,000,000 a year and then it falls from there, Undertaker (why?) at $1.85 mil, Cena at $1.72, HBK at just over $1 mil etc.So not extortionate, and remember wrestlers really don't have huge sponsorship deals.
Reply 101
Wrestling is great!...and the dangers are very real. Have u guys herd about the botch when The Great Khaili was trying/testing out his 'flapjack' (power-bomb) in a guy named Ong (i think).

Ong just made one tiny mistake of grabbing khali's shirt, insted of pushing off his back (like instructed) during the move, Ong died later in hosp. APW then got sued $1.3mil by Ong's family. anyways..i think u can find this article in wiki.

Wrestling superstars put their lives at risk everyday. They are great athletes
Well as Mick says: anyone who says it's totally fake just doesn't know much about wrestling...
Here's the promo for the best rivalry/storyline in WWE history (in my opinion anyways). It's Stone Cold vs. Vince and Shane at King of The Ring 1999. This is only video I can find with the build up to the match, I was hoping to find something about the ministry but I can't. Anyways here it is, hope somebody finds it interesting:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=my08f3sNzM0&search=stone%20cold%20mcmahons
Pre-planned, yes. Scripted, yes. Fake, no. Watch this video and explain to me how anyone can do this without risking serious injury:
Sabu v Terry Funk - Barbed Wire
Reply 105
woah :eek: :eek: :eek: thats gotta hurt
I don't care what anyone says about Hogan. I started watching WWF in 1990, and I had all the tapes previous to that, but I stopped watching preoperly about 6 years ago. Call it nostalgia if you will, but Hogan was the best there was and ever will be (just ahead of B Hart). Wrestlers these days don't have the charisma of guys of the past. There are some decent technical wrestlers out there atm but not the characters there used to be. Cena is annoying, Angle keeps switching sides, and some of the story lines are just strange. Vince had the chance to make something great when he bought WCW, but it was a complete failure. Bring back all the old legends i say. Even the tag team division has become dilluted. Marty Jinetti and HBK, Legion of Doom, Axa and Smash etc..vs the current batch.
GunsNRoses
Here's the promo for the best rivalry/storyline in WWE history (in my opinion anyways). It's Stone Cold vs. Vince and Shane at King of The Ring 1999. This is only video I can find with the build up to the match, I was hoping to find something about the ministry but I can't. Anyways here it is, hope somebody finds it interesting:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=my08f3sNzM0&search=stone%20cold%20mcmahons


I have Stone cold vs Vince and Shane in that ladder match on video. It was so quality watching those two get beaten by him all the time.

For Vince to own it, and make himself part of the storyline was brilliant.
Well, I seriously doubt many now would agree that Terry Bollea was the best wrestler of all time, without a doubt he was huge, he had charisma in buckets, and Hulkamania put wrestling on the map.He personified 1980s USA and had some great matches.However there are a lot of 'buts' with Hogan.He is a vicious money grabber and simply not a great wrestler in any way, his matches were often poor and one feels he did not put enough effort into some.He definitely put wrestling onto the map, but when he quit in the early 90s to pursue a movie career(great choice) other wrestlers carried the WWF:great technical wrestlers like Bret Hart (whom you rightly mention as probably one of the all time best), Shawn Michaels, then later the attitude era came along, effectively spelling the demise of WCW, while Hogan simply demanded more and more money there.People like the Rock, Austin, DX, Foley and many others carried wrestling to new heights, with Austin essentially reaching heights above what Hogan did.Let's not forget that when Hulkamania was reborn in 2002 and he won the title, ratings actually went down.Bottom line is really that Hogan was the most popular of all time, but he was far from the best actual wrestler and where was he when the WWF was redefining itself? Nowhere.

For me, the best all round wrestler of all time is/was Ric Flair.His promos were better than Hogan's most of the time, as Hogan was never an effective, money drawing heel.Flair could lift opponents to great matches and has legendary feuds.No-one would cite any, and I mean any, of Hogan's matches as the best matches of all time.No, they cite Flair/Steamboat, Rock/Austin, Michaels/Hart all of which Hogan had nothing to do with.

I mean just look at his tv show.Every time he calls someone or meets someone from a tv station, is at an awards show, a premier he says ''hey brother, this is bigger than when Hulk Hogan(he frequently refers to himself in the third person) slammed Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3, brother."Yeah, great, you don't see Austin saying he hit the Rock countless times with a chair to win the title in front of 67, 925 screaming fans at Wrestlemania X-Seven.The reason?The modern wrestling will probably always remember that and all of their great matches, whereas Hogan has to continually remind people of what he did almost 20 years ago, dude.
My personal favourite is Foley - but I have a lot of respect for the Hart family, HBK, HHH, rock, stone cold etc...

They were better than Hogan, who only slammed Andre because Andre let him, he made Hogan what he is.
Reply 110
tis_me_lord
I have Stone cold vs Vince and Shane in that ladder match on video. It was so quality watching those two get beaten by him all the time.

For Vince to own it, and make himself part of the storyline was brilliant.


I loved that storyline:biggrin: When I was 10 I used to replay that promo over and oevr again:p:
Hogan carried the business for many years, there's no denying that fact. However, I don't think he was the best of all time in any aspect of wrestling. He certainly wasn't the best technically gifted (that title belongs to either Angle or Benoit) or the most charismatic (Austin or The Rock). People who watch wrestling now who didn't during Hulkamania's heyday simply don't care about Hogan anymore. There are few major superstars now but even so, Hogan isn't that popular with younger fans today.

And once again, Ryan has stolen everything I was going to say...
kirstinx
I loved that storyline:biggrin: When I was 10 I used to replay that promo over and oevr again:p:


My favourite storyline is probably the oder stuff between Kane and the Undertaker, like when they reached out to eachother and the fireworks went off - classic.

It started going a bit too far though, and then they ruined the gimmick of them both!

Foley vs HHH around 2000 was good too. :smile:
My favorite all-time wrestler is The Rock but I love Stone Cold too. I stopped watching wrestling a few years ago when The Rock and others left. I don't think the WWE is as good as it used to be but I've started watching again.

I have a video on the Vince vs Stone Cold storyline, its great! I love when the McMahons fued with people!
deipnosophy
...


I didn't mention Hogan's technical ability because he had none, we all know he was no Dynamite Kid. His repetoir of moves consisted of the leg drop, a slam or two, and a few trademark crowd pleasers. What he did was put wrestling on the mainstream map. The older fans of today no doubt became hooked because of face Hogan. His personality was huge, his promos enthused people, and he got the most out of his limited talent in the ring. If you look at Flair, who did have some great matches particularly at Survivor Series, imo he didn't have the charisma of Hogan albeit as a heel for large parts of his career.

To say Hogan had no memorable matches is harsh. The feuds with Piper, Warrior and the single biggest match ever vs Andre the Giant were pretty important to a lot of fans. Nobody would say his matches were technically flawless, far from it, but wrestling was different back then- it was about putting on a show for the fans and the TV audience. Nowadays that doesn't wash because wrestling fans demand a greater synthesis of skill (and charisma)...while the skill is no-doubt there, the personality is not. Benoit is a technitian, but has zero charisma. Angle is slightly more interesting, but I don't get his character. Again, i think it may be nostalgia but The Undertaker is my favourite atm purely because he's one of the few remaining gimmics out there. Shawn Michaels was a legend with Marti Janetti, and later as a superstar in his own right- my favourite PPV ever was propbably Summerslam in London (1993 I think) when he went head to head with Rick Martel. I would hazard a guess that viewing figures are probably lower than they were in Hogan's hayday up until 1993-ish. Wrestling kinda died when Hogan, Bret Hart and Michaels left in the 90s.

Don't get me wrong, I watch the odd show now and then, but I always harbour hopes that Raw will be interrupted by some of my childhood heroes...
Reply 115
I have joined the society:wink:
It's all been said before but heres my opinions anyway

wrestling is suffering at the moment, the star power is lacking, theres no rock , austin, mick foley, undertaker is never there anymore ,

before them there were stars , bret hart , shawn michaels,

theres still HHH , angle etc , but without the greats to fued with their abilities are clouded , who remembers the HHH/ Rock fued of early 2000?

or the angle title run of 2000? they were great , as the greats were fueding with each other

now HHH jobs to Cena , he jobbed to Batista, angle is on ecw:confused:

I cant see how Cena can be the second Austin that the WWE/F are trying to make him , Austin was one of a kind. Did anyone see his promos in ECW? They were genius.
While Cena is big and draws in the crowd, the WWE/F have almost assasinated his character by trying to make him too big, he was more entertaining as a rapper( even though kurt angle outdid him with that). Having him win like superman for a year and a half was a very bad move, even Austin lost sometimes

On Hogan , he was great for the business. He helped make wrestling huge and that can not be forgotten.

However he should have stopped wrestling a long time ago. Watching Shawn Michaels job to him at Summerslam was just sad to watch. This guy can barely walk and yet he can beat a great athlete like shawn Michaels:rolleyes:

The Rock match was at least entertaining and the atmosphere was immense, but thats the only worthwhile match of his return.

The match with the Undertaker was shocking, the undertaker isnt the greatest worker as it is ( hes good for a big guy, but he needs the help of another good worker , e'g Angle no way out 2006). That botched chokeslam was just disgraceful:mad:

The point is , as I never grew up with Hogan , i dont care about his legacy, i want to see guys who have the overall star qualities ( Rock, Austin, angle, HHH, Mankind, Undertaker, Kane (before they killed his character off)

Of the current crop, Edge looks interesting and could well help carry the company ( Raw would be screwed without him ) and Carlito could be huge , he has the charisma :biggrin: and his move set is developing, although he could do with a better finisher as the back cracker is not believeable as a finisher.

I stopped watching after Wrestlemania 2002 (XVIII i think) , there just wasnt the stars to keep me entertained. I got back into it about a year ago , and have watched most of the matches between then and now, but i still feel that 2000-2002 wrestlemania was the best era ( that i watched )

i would extend that to 98- 2002 , but i never watched wrestling at that time
Klinsmannic
If you look at Flair, who did have some great matches particularly at Survivor Series, imo he didn't have the charisma of Hogan albeit as a heel for large parts of his career.

Nobody would say his matches were technically flawless, far from it, but wrestling was different back then- it was about putting on a show for the fans and the TV audience. Benoit is a technitian, but has zero charisma. Wrestling kinda died when Hogan, Bret Hart and Michaels left in the 90s.



Well,I think I'll address these points from your reply.
Firstly, Flair had charisma in bucketloads and I believe he had what I like to term dynamic charisma,i.e. changeable to suit any situation whereas Hogan relied on the same stuff over and over again.As a face and a heel, Flair excelled while Hogan really can't cut it as a heel.And let's not forgot about Hogan's legacy compared to Flair's: Hogan is greedy for money, has a horrible movie period in his career, made some awful choices in WCW and is arrogant beyond belief at times.Flair, though definitely not the nicest of guys in his personal life, is not a money grabber and has stayed loyal to his federation, only quitting when they screwed him.

About wrestling being different back then, I don't think that argument holds water the way you put it.Sure it was different compared to now but if you compare 1989 NWA to 1989 WWF there are many differences, not one consensus.Flair was having hour long, technically brilliant matches with Steamboat while Hogan was calling people ''dude, brother'' and occasionally wrestling.

Thirdy, Benoit does have charisma, I feel he was never used right to bring that to the fore though.If you look at circa Survivor Series 2002 when he and Angle were in a tag team, you will see Benoit's charisma, I particularly remember a great verbal argument they had backstage on Smackdown.Priceless.

Honestly don't get how you can say wrestling ''kinda died'' (maybe you mean for you personally?) when Hogan, Hart, Michaels left in the 90s.I mean Austin was emerging big time around 1997/1998 and Michaels essentially passed the torch.The Rock was emerging too and Foley aswell.HHH was there too, and Austin's era began in March 1998 and the Rock's began at Survivor Series that same year.If anything, wrestling became stronger--new talent, new ideas, new direction and the old stars were replaced by new ones, something which WWE now struggles to do effectively in my opinion.They tried with Cena.Failed.They have fared better with Batista, but he's 40.Who else is there?Carlito possibly, Orton though he's an arrogant fool, RVD? don't make me laugh.Lashley, needs to do serious mic work.Mr Kennedy? now there is probably the most solid prospect for the future but who has he beaten recently? Oh, yeah, Funaki and Gunner Scott, fabulous.Nitro has charisma in bucketloads also.
Well, guess we are stuck with Umaga then...

Ryan
why do people always have to come up with these essays, keep it short and sweet.
Sorry about that rico, I just wanted to address a few points in one go.

Latest