by VaderBomb » Apr 03, '14, 4:46 pm
Anything that can be said about the argument of "pro-wrestling wouldn't being where it's at right now if not for Hulk Hogan" as positive thing can also be viewed on the inverse. Vince McMahon ruined a lot of the best things about pro-wrestling with the 80s boom and Hulkamania.
You go back and watch any Mid-Atlantic, Georgia or Florida Championship wrestling and it's way better than post-Hulkamania WWF in every conceivable way, The writing was better. It wasn't cheesy and one-dimensional and legitimately every storyline and feud was wrapped up naturally. The characters were better. Everyone had a stronger hand in creating their persona, they seemed less like cartoons and more like real guys who want to fight each other for respect, honor and glory. The big events were more consistent, with little to no filler. Even the small matches had a good deal of depth. I'll take a Starrcade or an outdoor event from late 70s-early 80s NWA over a late 80s-onward WrestleMania or SummerSlam any day of the week.
On top of those aspects, the matches in those territories were by far and away of higher quality than during and post-Hulkamania WWF. Aside from a few incredible workers like Bret and Hennig who always put on classic matches, the amount of truly great matches from these years in WWF is pretty small comparatively. After Vince bought out these territories, all of the best stuff about pro-wrestling in the 70s-early 80s was gone. Gone was the grittiness. Gone were plain colored short trunks and realistic characters. Gone was the psychology. Gone was the passion. Watch the first couple WrestleManias. Harley Race was wearing a crown and losing in 3 minutes, Dory Funk Jr. was called Hoss, and Hogan main events and wins every fucking time. At least Piper and Steamboat were there, but for fuck's sake! What had they done to professional wrestling?
Flair and Savage weren't even allowed to main event WrestleMania VIII over a very burnt out Hogan and fucking Sid Justice! Even when Hogan went to WCW, his matches and feuds were borderline awful and the company in general seemed to be getting worse. They were forced to turn him heel and WCW started doing better business, but I'd still prefer to watch those old 80s WCW PPVs than any of the early 90s through nWo era stuff.
Don't get me wrong, I obviously adore WWF/E and WCW, but I don't credit Hogan with saving the world or anything. He made wrestling more money, but didn't make it better. He made it worse, wherever he went.
One last thing. I think that aside from his legendary early career, Flair's 00s run in WWE was severely underrated. He put overs tons of guys like MVP, Umaga and Mr. Kennedy and had a decent amount of classic moments and solid matches.
