1980's Hogan, The Streak, and the "it" factor

[angryfan]

So I’ve been seeing the threads, and commenting on the, relating to Daniel Bryan and the whole main event storyline. I saw a post that made mention of being “the guy”, and that got me thinking. We hear about the “it factor” and what it means, who has it, who doesn’t, and how one can tell.

I had started to do a post comparing Hogan and Cena, the two people who are seemingly linked because of their character, and something occurred to me. Cena isn’t Hogan, at least not in the sense of what Hogan was when I was growing up.
The Undertaker is.

When all we had was Saturday mornings, a Hogan promo was a treat, and a Hogan match MEANT something. Even a jobber squash was noteworthy because you didn’t see him on TV every week.
My feelings on Hogan are well known, I was not a fan. I liked Jake Roberts, Koko Ware, JYD and so on. However, I knew that if the show started and Gorilla said that Hogan was going to be in action, I needed to see what would happen. If one of “my guys” was wrestling him, then it was Christmas morning.
Ask yourself this, if you’re watching RAW and Cena’s music hits, does it have that special feeling? Or is it, “Well, it must be Monday at 8”.

Now what about the surprise appearance where some heel is running their mouth and the gong hits? No announcement about “Taker will wrestle later”, just the lights go out and the gong hits.
It’s because back in the day, Hogan wrestling was a special occasion, the champion was a treat and it made the belt matter. It mattered because not everyone got it, but anybody could get a shot.
Taker over the years has had some, we might call them, questionable feuds. Albert, Nathan Jones, Big Show. Some of the early ones were the monster du jour, I get it, but in later years what did we hear the guys saying after the inevitable loss to Taker?

He said he wanted to work with me, it was an honor and I learned something from him.
That catchphrase he used to have, “I’ll make you famous” is true. The HBK/Taker match, we can look back at those and say “Damn, those were awesome”. HBK LOST.
Same for Foley, and those matches MADE him in WWF. Kane, for as much garbage as his character has been through, those two had some great matches, the just clicked.

That’s why the streak is what the title belt used to be. It’s what people want because it’s still special.
The belt is just a thing. It’s the plaything of the same, what, six guys that have tossed it back and forth for 10 years? If that many? Everyone else is an also ran and the announcers drive that home when they talk over people’s matches to bring up whomever is in the slot to wrestle for the belt tonight.

The Streak, weird as it sounds, is the last piece of mythic achievement left. It’s the title match because it hasn’t’ been run into the ground. Hell, Taker himself still feels special because he’s not an every week thing.

I’ll close up with this. If you want to see who has “it”, here’s a test. Pull them from TV for two months. No matches, no promos, no constant name dropping. If the music hits and they get a monster reaction, then they have it. If there’s like 20 seconds of “wait, what’s this” then they probably don’t.

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

Its kind of hard to keep the champ off television now since they have monthly pay per views to hype up.

I agree with you though, back then actually seing hulk on tv was like haley's comet

[angryfan]

Nov 27, 2013 20:43:44 GMT -5 Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite said:

Its kind of hard to keep the champ off television now since they have monthly pay per views to hype up.

I agree with you though, back then actually seing hulk on tv was like haley's comet

I agree with the monthly PPV thing but, why not keep it to a backstage promo, maybe a live appearance on TV to continue a feud or start a new one?

Less is more is what I was driving at. If you're truly over and "special" and "the guy" or on that level, then you don't need to be name dropped every segment.

I guess a big part of it is the "multiple shows" thing, and the need to keep more than one network happy, but I still find it funny that 25 years ago you had a midcard strong enough to carry the broadcasts, and the champion got to seem important. Now the midcard can't even carry a segment so the top guy HAS to be there and actually feel less important even though the situation means that he IS.

God I hope that made sense.

[rnrk supports BLM]

It's not just Undertaker; HHH, Rock, Lesnar all have a mystique to them precisely because they get in the ring infrequently these days so you know when one of them's booked for a match it has this SHIT JUST GOT REAL feeling. And they just can't make any of the current generation of stars feel that big, precisely because the business model they developed back when they needed quick ratings fixes in the Monday Night Wars mean they have to be having matches or big segments on TV every week. Small wonder they've been reduced to bringing these guys back whenever they need to sell Wrestlemanias.

[Sumbody Gon' Get Dey Kneelift]

Nov 27, 2013 19:31:35 GMT -5 angryfan said:

So I’ve been seeing the threads, and commenting on the, relating to Daniel Bryan and the whole main event storyline. I saw a post that made mention of being “the guy”, and that got me thinking. We hear about the “it factor” and what it means, who has it, who doesn’t, and how one can tell.

I had started to do a post comparing Hogan and Cena, the two people who are seemingly linked because of their character, and something occurred to me. Cena isn’t Hogan, at least not in the sense of what Hogan was when I was growing up.
The Undertaker is.

When all we had was Saturday mornings, a Hogan promo was a treat, and a Hogan match MEANT something. Even a jobber squash was noteworthy because you didn’t see him on TV every week.
My feelings on Hogan are well known, I was not a fan. I liked Jake Roberts, Koko Ware, JYD and so on. However, I knew that if the show started and Gorilla said that Hogan was going to be in action, I needed to see what would happen. If one of “my guys” was wrestling him, then it was Christmas morning.
Ask yourself this, if you’re watching RAW and Cena’s music hits, does it have that special feeling? Or is it, “Well, it must be Monday at 8”.

Now what about the surprise appearance where some heel is running their mouth and the gong hits? No announcement about “Taker will wrestle later”, just the lights go out and the gong hits.
It’s because back in the day, Hogan wrestling was a special occasion, the champion was a treat and it made the belt matter. It mattered because not everyone got it, but anybody could get a shot.
Taker over the years has had some, we might call them, questionable feuds. Albert, Nathan Jones, Big Show. Some of the early ones were the monster du jour, I get it, but in later years what did we hear the guys saying after the inevitable loss to Taker?

He said he wanted to work with me, it was an honor and I learned something from him.
That catchphrase he used to have, “I’ll make you famous” is true. The HBK/Taker match, we can look back at those and say “Damn, those were awesome”. HBK LOST.
Same for Foley, and those matches MADE him in WWF. Kane, for as much garbage as his character has been through, those two had some great matches, the just clicked.

That’s why the streak is what the title belt used to be. It’s what people want because it’s still special.
The belt is just a thing. It’s the plaything of the same, what, six guys that have tossed it back and forth for 10 years? If that many? Everyone else is an also ran and the announcers drive that home when they talk over people’s matches to bring up whomever is in the slot to wrestle for the belt tonight.

The Streak, weird as it sounds, is the last piece of mythic achievement left. It’s the title match because it hasn’t’ been run into the ground. Hell, Taker himself still feels special because he’s not an every week thing.

I’ll close up with this. If you want to see who has “it”, here’s a test. Pull them from TV for two months. No matches, no promos, no constant name dropping. If the music hits and they get a monster reaction, then they have it. If there’s like 20 seconds of “wait, what’s this” then they probably don’t.

I love this post and want to see this tested on TV.

[cool guy]

Nov 27, 2013 23:27:41 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

It's not just Undertaker; HHH, Rock, Lesnar all have a mystique to them precisely because they get in the ring infrequently these days so you know when one of them's booked for a match it has this SHIT JUST GOT REAL feeling. And they just can't make any of the current generation of stars feel that big, precisely because the business model they developed back when they needed quick ratings fixes in the Monday Night Wars mean they have to be having matches or big segments on TV every week. Small wonder they've been reduced to bringing these guys back whenever they need to sell Wrestlemanias.

I mostly agree with this, but I don't think it's completely impossible to transition guys like say, Cena or Punk to these roles over time as their careers wind down. This batch of part-time main eventers is a new concept, and the fact that these guys are entering their highest drawing periods at 40+ might just be a sign of how things are going to work going forward, rather than proof that the attitude era will reign supreme or anything.

[saintpat]

By the same token, Vince McMahon is the same with me.

If I hear he's going to be on Raw, or if he just shows up ... I will watch every minute waiting for it.

He's a great character, isn't overexposed lately and IMO the best promo guy who ever spoke into a mic.

[rnrk supports BLM]

Nov 28, 2013 0:26:48 GMT -5 cool guy said:

Nov 27, 2013 23:27:41 GMT -5 rnrk supports BLM said:

It's not just Undertaker; HHH, Rock, Lesnar all have a mystique to them precisely because they get in the ring infrequently these days so you know when one of them's booked for a match it has this SHIT JUST GOT REAL feeling. And they just can't make any of the current generation of stars feel that big, precisely because the business model they developed back when they needed quick ratings fixes in the Monday Night Wars mean they have to be having matches or big segments on TV every week. Small wonder they've been reduced to bringing these guys back whenever they need to sell Wrestlemanias.

I mostly agree with this, but I don't think it's completely impossible to transition guys like say, Cena or Punk to these roles over time as their careers wind down. This batch of part-time main eventers is a new concept, and the fact that these guys are entering their highest drawing periods at 40+ might just be a sign of how things are going to work going forward, rather than proof that the attitude era will reign supreme or anything.

You may be right. The guy I'm actually wondering about right now is Batista, who came in after the boom period already ended and had his run at the top of the active roster at a time when the active roster was already declining in significance. Will WWE be able to pop big buyrates by bringing him back for the occasional match a few years down the line?

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

Nov 27, 2013 19:31:35 GMT -5 angryfan said:

I’ll close up with this. If you want to see who has “it”, here’s a test. Pull them from TV for two months. No matches, no promos, no constant name dropping. If the music hits and they get a monster reaction, then they have it. If there’s like 20 seconds of “wait, what’s this” then they probably don’t.

Part of me wonders if this is something they're testing out with Bryan being abducted by The Wyatt Family. Like, if he comes back after a few weeks away and still gets those crazy pops... then they may as well not have a Rumble, because Bryan's getting the WM title shot.

[Boo!]

Hogan may has rarely wrestled on TV but his name was constantly mentioned, in deference.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

You can't go home again. You are completely right, but the Attitude Era was the overexposure era.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Here's how you really tell if an angle or wrestler is over.

If Triple H suddenly comes back to wrestle and take the spot light away from everyone who deserves it, it's over.