The meteoric rise of Hulkamania in the 80s also happened to coincide with the peak of the VHS tapes popularity, meaning a veritable plethora of Hulk Hogan video tapes were released during Coliseum Home Videos glory years (13 by my count). They generally ranged from passable to poor, depending on which poor sod was selected to lay down to the big boot and legdrop that time out. With Hogan in the ring you knew what you were getting and his video tapes were no different, with four or five matches selected featuring Hogan going through his routine and overcoming adversity in the end, all wrapped up nicely in an hour or two. Hulkamania 3 is different. Subtitled The Inside Story of the GIANT Betrayal!, the US-only tape painstakingly details Hogans long rivalry with Andre the Giant, starting in January 1987 on Pipers Pit and going right through to WrestleMania IV over a year later. Everything of importance from their issue is covered, all tied together in a tight two-hour package that absolutely flies by. This era was the WWF at its storytelling best, back when the company could engross and enthral in equal measure, and the perfectly-booked Hogan-Andre program was the finest of them all. James Dixon's books, including six review books of ever WWF VHS tape and the best-sellers Titan Sinking and Titan Shattered, are available here.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
