How big was it when Hogan beat Slaughter?

[willywonka666]

I was kinda watching at the time and was surprised when Sarge came back as an Iraqi sympathizer and I know that they did move WM to a smaller venue, but did anyone else get the impression that this was really Hulk's last big hurrah?

Hulk hadnt had a patriotic type feud in awhile and even though Slaughter was an American, he was a turncoat.

So when Hulk won was it a major reaction considering patriotism at the time?

The fact they moved Wrestlemania to a smaller venue makes me think maybe it wasn't what it could be

[Chuck Conry]

Seven year old me wasn't surprised at all.

[MichaelMartini]

I'm biased because that's when I stopped watching regularly. All of my friends stopped watching around this time too. The product was getting stale for a guy that started watching in 84. The feud seemed corny and dated. The war didn't seem that popular so patriotism wasn't at a high like in the 80s. Looking back, it's a pretty good PPV and the match itself isn't bad, I just wanted better reasoning for Slaughter being a turncoat. I was in high school at the time, in the detroit area and I don't remember it being talked about much.

[Hit Girl]

It ended the Gulf War.

[SmashTV]

As a Brit, it wasn't that big a deal at all. As a fan who was beginning to get a bit jaded with the product, it was predictable as hell.

If the Hogan/Warrior rematch had happened, I'd have been happy enough to see Slaughter/Duggan in a match. As a main event, however, it was a poor choice all round.

[DjZonk]

1991 for me was the year Hulkamania really lost its popularity. It wasn't the loss to Warrior at WM6, as he still had that high profile run in 1990 where he was main eventing / leading feuds and it all felt natural. But by 1991 it just seemed reductive to have him with the belt - like there was no REAL reason to have it off Warrior > Slaughter > Hogan in that manner. A Warrior / Hogan rematch where Hogan won, I wouldn't have a problem with that, it would have felt a whole lot more natural.

[tigermaskxxxvii]

Feb 5, 2016 23:43:59 GMT -5 Hit Girl said:

It ended the Gulf War.

It made me believe in America again! I was a very cynical seven year old.

[ICBM]

Meh. I was content but it didn't move the needle like beating Andre or Macho. I think I was starting to get tired of seeing it. I wanted Hogan to be the top star BC that is what I was conditioned for and I loved him, but at the same time I guess I started getting bored seeing him beat the bad guy. They ended up having Flair available in WWF for the definitive showdown between Hogan and the one heel I'd have been interested in seeing him wrestle no matter when or where and they buggered it. Don't mistake me the savage v flair was great and it helped bridge me to the transition away from Hogan but it still burned my ass that they had it in the air and couldn't land it

[jmule]

Slaughter was by far the most irritating champion ever, he's the only wrestler that literally gave me a headache and made me change the channel.
I was sooooo happy to see Hogan beat him for the title, hell I probably would've been happy to see Virgil beat him...

[Mozenrath]

You know how when you order a pizza, it comes, and you're glad and all, but it's not a surprise, what with every sign pointing to the arrival of that pizza?

Yeah, I think I could be the markiest mark who ever marked, and I still wouldn't think Hogan was in any peril. Maybe if it was the younger Boot Camp Match Slaughter, but he wasn't a physically threatening opponent for Hogan at this point, and everything about the match clearly had Hogan set up to win.

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

I sorta feel like this would be the equivalent of Cena/Jericho as a WM main event in 2016.

[Milkman Norm]

All the people the people that came up to Bobby Heenan at airports talked about. Plus I heard it was quite the conversation topic at water coolers.

[The Ichi]

I still don't know why they didn't just do Hogan/Warrior II. Sure it would have been Hogan getting his win back but the numbers would have doubled.

[ICBM]

Feb 6, 2016 15:47:18 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

I still don't know why they didn't just do Hogan/Warrior II. Sure it would have been Hogan getting his win back but the numbers would have doubled.

Would have sold out the LA Colisium for sure or gotten damn close. 80k at least

[brooklynmets]

Feb 5, 2016 23:05:48 GMT -5 Chuck Conry said:

Seven year old me wasn't surprised at all.

Fifteen year old me wasn't surprised at all.

[unc40]

Hogan faces evil foreigner who hates America, evil foreigner is beating Hogan badly but Hogan hulks out and defeats evil foreigner. This was 90% of all of Hogan's matches during that period and by the time the Hogan - Slaughter match happened everyone knew what was going to happen.

[eDemento2099]

Feb 5, 2016 23:00:45 GMT -5 willywonka666 said:

When Hulk won was it a major reaction considering patriotism at the time?

The fact they moved Wrestlemania to a smaller venue makes me think maybe it wasn't what it could be

I think the ending was predictable. The only thing that might have thrown people off is the fact that the event was moved to a different venue. Perhaps some believed this was done to ensure Slaughter's safety after wining the match, but now it's common knowledge that the venue was changed because ticket sales were lower than expected.

[wildojinx]

I think it would have been better if they had done one of those "desert storm" matches (basically texas death matches) they did post-WM7 as the WM main event. Hogan still would have won, but at least it would seem like more of a big deal.

[tms]

The only thing I found memorable about their feud was how Slaughter would always kick out *just* after the three count after being hit with the leg drop.

It was a bad, bad feud. Vince's obsession with hokey cornball patriotism and his belief that it appealed to everyone was lame back in the late 80s and tasteless here, and would only get cheesier with Lex Luger later on. Plus as was already stated, Hogan had a history of fighting either super heavyweights, jacked up hosses, or in the case of Savage an incredible athlete who while smaller was still muscular and credible. Slaughter was none of those; he looked like an out of shape uncle at that point.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Feb 7, 2016 8:22:24 GMT -5 eDemento2099 said:

Feb 5, 2016 23:00:45 GMT -5 willywonka666 said:

When Hulk won was it a major reaction considering patriotism at the time?

The fact they moved Wrestlemania to a smaller venue makes me think maybe it wasn't what it could be

I think the ending was predictable. The only thing that might have thrown people off is the fact that the event was moved to a different venue. Perhaps some believed this was done to ensure Slaughter's safety after wining the match, but now it's common knowledge that the venue was changed because ticket sales were lower than expected.

Which makes the promotional spots during WrestleMania 6 where Vince proudly bellows that Mania 7 will have 100,000 fans and "break all attendance records" awkwardly hilarious in hindsight.