The Hulk Hogan retirement after wrestlemania 8

[Zen411]

I've long wondered why they built wrestlemania 8 as hogans last match. It really seemed to come out of nowhere after the rumble. They start hinting that win lose or draw Hogan is retiring at mania. They have a heartfelt interview between Hogan and Vince where Vince thanks hulk. Hogan looks iffy the whole interview. Mania 8 happens and we don't see Hogan again until right before mania 9.

Was this hogans call? Vinces? Was it supposed to be temporary until mania 9 or was it supposed to be the real deal? It seems like this gave Hogan a chance to think about wcw and other opportunities. Was Hogan wwf not going to last?

[mauled]

Sept 19, 2019 13:27:02 GMT -5 Zen411 said:

I've long wondered why they built wrestlemania 8 as hogans last match. It really seemed to come out of nowhere after the rumble. They start hinting that win lose or draw Hogan is retiring at mania. They have a heartfelt interview between Hogan and Vince where Vince thanks hulk. Hogan looks iffy the whole interview. Mania 8 happens and we don't see Hogan again until right before mania 9.

Was this hogans call? Vinces? Was it supposed to be temporary until mania 9 or was it supposed to be the real deal? It seems like this gave Hogan a chance to think about wcw and other opportunities. Was Hogan wwf not going to last?

It was Hogans with Vinces aquiesing. At the time Hogan was getting booed and he'd taken major heat for lying about Steroid use on TV (when he comes back he's clearly off the juice) and the heat was starting to come down on the WF. Plus he thought he was going to be a big movie star 🤭
Hogan thought he could lie low for a bit until things had died down then come back and pick up where he left off.
Problem for Hogan is the audience tastes had changed and moved on to guys like Bret.

[jking1979]

Hulk Hogan should have turned heel after Wrestlemania 8 or take a step down. It would've been interesting to see him stay in WWE and never go to WCW. I know people will bring up NWO, Steve Austin and The Rock. I don't care about all that.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Think it was just a push on TV to get more buys. Doing actual press, Hogan said he wasn’t retiring.

[Zen411]

Hogan should have reinvented himself by that point. How interesting would Hollywood Hogan be in wwf in that era. It would have meant even more. Could have done Hogan warrior 2 etc. Hogans pity party when did threw him out of the rumble should have been the start.

[Yamashita Enforcement Division]

Sept 19, 2019 18:38:05 GMT -5 jking1979 said:

Hulk Hogan should have turned heel after Wrestlemania 8 or take a step down. It would've been interesting to see him stay in WWE and never go to WCW. I know people will bring up NWO, Steve Austin and The Rock. I don't care about all that.

That was a weird shot at the post-Hogan wrestling boom for what is in fact a pretty cool thought experiment. Especially given that certain players would be unaffected by a Hogan turn (Biscoff is going to fix WCW's finances and get the keys to the castle because his doing that didn't involve Hogan and does Bischoff fire Austin in that case since he doesn't have Hogan to anchor the top of the card) you're looking at a very interesting possible wrestling space.

[jking1979]

Sept 19, 2019 22:05:00 GMT -5 Yamashita Enforcement Division said:

Sept 19, 2019 18:38:05 GMT -5 jking1979 said:

Hulk Hogan should have turned heel after Wrestlemania 8 or take a step down. It would've been interesting to see him stay in WWE and never go to WCW. I know people will bring up NWO, Steve Austin and The Rock. I don't care about all that.

That was a weird shot at the post-Hogan wrestling boom for what is in fact a pretty cool thought experiment. Especially given that certain players would be unaffected by a Hogan turn (Biscoff is going to fix WCW's finances and get the keys to the castle because his doing that didn't involve Hogan and does Bischoff fire Austin in that case since he doesn't have Hogan to anchor the top of the card) you're looking at a very interesting possible wrestling space.

I thought he was very skilled even as Stunning Steve Austin. He was also there with his best friend Brian Pillman. I'm still interested in reading what people think would've happened to WWE and WCW.

[petef3]

Turning Hogan in the WWF even in '92 is insane. You're basically killing every other top babyface because you're training the fans not to trust anyone. It's as bad as turning Austin in 2001.

Hogan in 1996 WCW is a completely different wrestler in a different time period in front of a completely different audience. The circumstances were nowhere near similar. Hogan was not an outsider (nor an Outsider) in the WWF. It wouldn't have worked, period. And it didn't work even in 2002.

[jking1979]

What do you think would've happened if Hulk Hogan never went to WCW? I like the thought of WCW struggling with Four Horsemen, Sting and Vader and having great matches on TV. Ted Turner likes wrestling and would have kept on investing money into WCW with or without Hulk Hogan.

[auph10imitated]

They just needed to take him out of the equation due to the steroid trial and as he was going to film a movie anyways, why not say hes "retired" and take the focus off him for a while. He was always coming back, in fact he came back later than expected as they wanted him back for Summerslam like they did in 1988 and 1990, but I am guessing Hogan thought better of it and the keep his head down for longer.

[Mozenrath]

Sept 20, 2019 2:01:14 GMT -5 jking1979 said:

What do you think would've happened if Hulk Hogan never went to WCW? I like the thought of WCW struggling with Four Horsemen, Sting and Vader and having great matches on TV. Ted Turner likes wrestling and would have kept on investing money into WCW with or without Hulk Hogan.

Nash and Hall still probably end up in WCW and a lot of the "ATM Eric" stuff still would happen, but without Hollywood Hogan, I don't think they get anywhere near the same kind of press.

[auph10imitated]

I also think the "retirement" hook was just as much a way of getting late buys for the PPV as the "Elizabeth Centerfold" was

[wildojinx]

Sept 20, 2019 6:28:05 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Sept 20, 2019 2:01:14 GMT -5 jking1979 said:

What do you think would've happened if Hulk Hogan never went to WCW? I like the thought of WCW struggling with Four Horsemen, Sting and Vader and having great matches on TV. Ted Turner likes wrestling and would have kept on investing money into WCW with or without Hulk Hogan.

Nash and Hall still probably end up in WCW and a lot of the "ATM Eric" stuff still would happen, but without Hollywood Hogan, I don't think they get anywhere near the same kind of press.

I wonder if Savage still shows up in WCW. Savage and Hogan definitely werent friends in the later half of 1993 (that rant on Hogan from an episode of RAW proves it), so does Savage still want to be in the same company at the time?

[Mozenrath]

Sept 20, 2019 8:42:09 GMT -5 wildojinx said:

Sept 20, 2019 6:28:05 GMT -5 Mozenrath said:

Nash and Hall still probably end up in WCW and a lot of the "ATM Eric" stuff still would happen, but without Hollywood Hogan, I don't think they get anywhere near the same kind of press.

I wonder if Savage still shows up in WCW. Savage and Hogan definitely werent friends in the later half of 1993 (that rant on Hogan from an episode of RAW proves it), so does Savage still want to be in the same company at the time?

If Vince still shelves him, he still probably jumps, barring if he were to elect to retire home and raise kids like I think Elizabeth wanted and what was a catalyst for their divorce.

['Foretold' Joker]

I'm still puzzled why Papa Shango never had a match with Hogan, seeing as he interfered in his match.

In fact the whole Shango run is kind of odd as he barely fights anyone really.

[auph10imitated]

Its hard to admit but if Hogan didnt go to WCW, it never would have risen to the heights it did. He set of a succession (for the bad at first) of old WWF stars going to WCW, and that hooked in old fans, including myself who likely were struggling to adapt to The New Generation. That in turn gave them a fresh edge (ironically seeing as it wasnt fresh) which led to Nitro, led to big money, led to the nWo and led to the ratings success. Without Hogan that just would not have happened.

[Deleted]

At the very least Hulk Hogan should have retired from being racist.

[mauled]

Sept 20, 2019 9:19:41 GMT -5 auph10imitated said:

Its hard to admit but if Hogan didnt go to WCW, it never would have risen to the heights it did. He set of a succession (for the bad at first) of old WWF stars going to WCW, and that hooked in old fans, including myself who likely were struggling to adapt to The New Generation. That in turn gave them a fresh edge (ironically seeing as it wasnt fresh) which led to Nitro, led to big money, led to the nWo and led to the ratings success. Without Hogan that just would not have happened.

Gonna disagree with you partially. His heel turn was gold but that was just him jumping on the band wagon of the Outsiders. Sure he made em bigger but they were big already.

[Milkman Norm]

Sept 20, 2019 2:01:14 GMT -5 jking1979 said:

What do you think would've happened if Hulk Hogan never went to WCW? I like the thought of WCW struggling with Four Horsemen, Sting and Vader and having great matches on TV. Ted Turner likes wrestling and would have kept on investing money into WCW with or without Hulk Hogan.

WCW would have drawn smaller & smaller crowds before folding. The Crockett fan base was driven off by the Jim Herd stupidity and they never came back.

[Larryhausen]

Sept 20, 2019 11:24:44 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

Sept 20, 2019 2:01:14 GMT -5 jking1979 said:

What do you think would've happened if Hulk Hogan never went to WCW? I like the thought of WCW struggling with Four Horsemen, Sting and Vader and having great matches on TV. Ted Turner likes wrestling and would have kept on investing money into WCW with or without Hulk Hogan.

WCW would have drawn smaller & smaller crowds before folding. The Crockett fan base was driven off by the Jim Herd stupidity and they never came back.

And even if they did manage to hobble along to 2001, the Time Warner deal happens and WCW is dead anyway