Boo!
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,417
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Post by Boo! on Nov 4, 2013 15:48:54 GMT -5
He'd not been gone that long and kept coming back for various on scree roles. Hogan was virtually dead to WWE for the best part of a decade. Plus a lot of the HBK comeback title win involved working his back injury to be far, far worse than it was. We were wincing every time he took a bump he was supposedly that fragile, but suddenly he was perfectly fine to work a full time schedule on the road again. Hogan's comeback wins as it was the standard bearer of the company returning to reclaim his title and his fans. HBK's was a good comeback but I don't think it meant as much as Hogan's did.
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Post by thetower52 on Nov 4, 2013 15:52:07 GMT -5
2002 return hulk let me get to see hogan wrestle in person at mania 19 And it was grand
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mcstoklasa
Hank Scorpio
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Post by mcstoklasa on Nov 4, 2013 16:55:09 GMT -5
Just noticed that 2002 Hulk Hogan was younger than Steve Austin is now. Old. Both around 48/49 and both look(ed) very good for their ages. Difference is Austin's body at this point has had a decade long break from the in ring punishment. When Hulk came back in 02 he had still wrestled relatively recently before then. My point is if Austin was to wrestle again his body would probably hold up better.
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543Y2J
Patti Mayonnaise
Seventh level .gif Master
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Post by 543Y2J on Nov 4, 2013 18:18:46 GMT -5
2002 return hulk let me get to see hogan wrestle in person at mania 19 And it was grand Oh how I love that match. Vince was amazing in that match as well, like he was against HBK and Shane. I miss the absurd yet brilliant plunder clusterf*** hardcore soap opera Mr McMahon Mania matches.
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percymania
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Percymania will live forever! Oh yeah!
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Post by percymania on Nov 4, 2013 20:06:33 GMT -5
Yeah, lots of fond memories of Hogan in '02 - his last great run in wrestling.
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Post by General Adam on Nov 4, 2013 20:57:19 GMT -5
2002 return hulk let me get to see hogan wrestle in person at mania 19 And it was grand Oh how I love that match. Vince was amazing in that match as well, like he was against HBK and Shane. I miss the absurd yet brilliant plunder clusterf*** hardcore soap opera Mr McMahon Mania matches. It also brought us this infamous photo: Evil. Pure evil.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2013 20:59:42 GMT -5
So does Hogan, I'm sure.
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Boo!
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,417
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Post by Boo! on Nov 4, 2013 21:18:44 GMT -5
Just noticed that 2002 Hulk Hogan was younger than Steve Austin is now. Old. Both around 48/49 and both look(ed) very good for their ages. Difference is Austin's body at this point has had a decade long break from the in ring punishment. When Hulk came back in 02 he had still wrestled relatively recently before then. My point is if Austin was to wrestle again his body would probably hold up better. I'm not sure I agree. Hogan, as you say, had stayed in shape having not been out of the game all that long. Austin's decade long break could mean he struggles to get his body through another match. You have to train and stay in shape to be in best condition. If an athlete trains regularly they're far less likely to do themselves mischief than if they go a decade without doing anything and then going back on the treadmill again
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Nov 4, 2013 21:36:16 GMT -5
He was only out for a year but Austin's 'comeback' in 2000 was pretty great. Yeah, I didn't see Shawn getting himself arrested.
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saintpat
El Dandy
Release the hounds!!!
Posts: 7,664
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Post by saintpat on Nov 4, 2013 21:39:14 GMT -5
Hulk came back in 2002 and had one of the best runs of his career. He was getting some of the craziest, most wild fan reactions I have ever seen. Sure it was pretty much all driven on nostalgia, but Hulk was still delivering the goods even as he approached 50. He of course had the classic match with Rock. He went on to have a bunch of at least 3-star matches with the likes of Angle, Jericho, Lesnar, Flair. He even won the WWF title one last time. He put over Lesnar, Angle, HHH, Rock, (maybe Jericho?) and was a great presence on the show that year. Jericho in his second book tells how fun it was working matches with the Hulkster. Special mention to him winning the tag titles with Edge. Great moment. That match with The Undertaker though... yeeeeeeeeshh. He was losing mobility but he could still go. If you watch those matches now, knowing how old Hulk seems now, he was surprisingly nimble in 2002. I'm not saying he was all that athletic, but he was moving about the ring and taking more bumps, and putting on better matches than a 50 year old man should. He took a powerbomb and many impactful slamming moves from Lesnar in their match too. Hulk could still do the leg drop, something he can't do now. And he had charisma pouring out of his veins. He looked great, with the black and yellow beard. By his age in 2002 (49) he actually looked kind of cool with the bald head skullet look, to go with his grizzled face. It looked far more unflattering on a young Hogan than this Hogan. His physique was also awesome. I don't think I've ever seen him look so cut. Hogan in 2003 was more of the same, really. Pretty good match with Rock and then a surprisingly entertaining match with Vince at Mania. Even Mr America was kind of fun. Hulk in 05 and 06 put on reasonable matches with HBK and Orton (may have also faced Angle on RAW) but he was already losing mobility, even compared to 02. He could still put on a match, take bumps and do the leg drop though, which he cannot do now. If the match with Austin could ever of happened, then the last time it could have been would have been around this time before Hulk lurched into immobility. Compare his 2009 Hulkamania tour in Australia tour 'matches' to his perfomances in 2002. Hulk looks and acts at least 15 years older. In fairness though his latest match against Sting in TNA was bad, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Hulk took three small bumps, although I cringed each time and they did have some semblance of a match. However, I wish we could preserve 2002 Hulk Hogan for ever. Just to come back once or twice a year to a huge ovation, put on surprisingly good matches and move about the ring with at least some speed and agility. For a couple thousand you CAN have 2002 Hogan ... or any Hogan you want. He's flexible.
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Post by Crusty Ruffles on Nov 4, 2013 23:59:17 GMT -5
That run was just pure joy. The crowd reactions were insane on a nightly basis. Seeing him working with the younger talent was great. Loved him and Edge winning the tag titles mainly because it seemed like Edge was actually marking out a little.
It was a f***ing great time!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2013 0:02:53 GMT -5
I really loved Hulk working with Jericho. They had this surprisingly great chemistry. It made sense when I read Jericho's book and he said Hulk would just let him put together the whole match. He trusted the guys he worked with and was all about doing what was best for the match, and it resulted in a fondly remembered farewell-type run. Hulkamania was before my time but I'm glad I got to experience a little slice of it in 2002.
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Post by rnrk supports BLM on Nov 5, 2013 0:07:34 GMT -5
I wish we could keep 1987 Hogan for ever.
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Post by kamero00 on Nov 5, 2013 0:11:21 GMT -5
I wish Shawn had another title run after his 2002 one. yeah. 2007 over cena at mania 23 was the time to do it. he could have lost it soon after, but just for the sake of not having the same ending as the year before (cena retaining via stf) i would have had hbk win. That was Shawn's own doing.
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Post by disorganisedchaos v:2 on Nov 5, 2013 2:06:08 GMT -5
Just noticed that 2002 Hulk Hogan was younger than Steve Austin is now. Old. Both around 48/49 and both look(ed) very good for their ages. Difference is Austin's body at this point has had a decade long break from the in ring punishment. When Hulk came back in 02 he had still wrestled relatively recently before then. My point is if Austin was to wrestle again his body would probably hold up better. Yeah, still possible. My post was more about lamenting the passing of time. All we are is dust in the wind, dude.
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Post by disorganisedchaos v:2 on Nov 5, 2013 2:08:13 GMT -5
Both around 48/49 and both look(ed) very good for their ages. Difference is Austin's body at this point has had a decade long break from the in ring punishment. When Hulk came back in 02 he had still wrestled relatively recently before then. My point is if Austin was to wrestle again his body would probably hold up better. I'm not sure I agree. Hogan, as you say, had stayed in shape having not been out of the game all that long. Austin's decade long break could mean he struggles to get his body through another match. You have to train and stay in shape to be in best condition. If an athlete trains regularly they're far less likely to do themselves mischief than if they go a decade without doing anything and then going back on the treadmill again I think a one-off, if done correctly is a real possibility. Same with broken down, blister-handed Hogan. Never say never.
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Post by Ryushinku on Nov 5, 2013 4:10:09 GMT -5
It was a good run, Hogan genuinely seemed to want to work hard and help get others over. I had absolutely zero problems with that 2002-3 run at all and it helped to erode some of my dislike for his games in WCW.
After that he kind of reverted back to type, but that run was a fun one, yes.
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Post by "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay on Nov 5, 2013 10:44:53 GMT -5
2002 return hulk let me get to see hogan wrestle in person at mania 19 And it was grand Oh how I love that match. Vince was amazing in that match as well, like he was against HBK and Shane. I miss the absurd yet brilliant plunder clusterf*** hardcore soap opera Mr McMahon Mania matches. The pop for Piper in that match gives me chills.
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Post by Gerard Gerard on Nov 5, 2013 17:13:14 GMT -5
Yeah, but the long-term run off of it was that the pop Hogan received at WM18 became the starting shot on WWE's kick for banking on nostalgia and established, older names to weight the bottom-line.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2013 17:22:50 GMT -5
I really loved Hulk working with Jericho. They had this surprisingly great chemistry. It made sense when I read Jericho's book and he said Hulk would just let him put together the whole match. He trusted the guys he worked with and was all about doing what was best for the match, and it resulted in a fondly remembered farewell-type run. Hulkamania was before my time but I'm glad I got to experience a little slice of it in 2002. We used to rent tapes all the time when I was really young, so that was how I became a fan of Hogan's WWF work (Hulkamania was before my time as well). Actually getting to see him have another run as it was happening was pretty cool.
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