10 WWE Attitude Era Stars & Their 80s Counterparts

1. Steve Austin / Hulk Hogan

The two top draws of all-time share more in common than what might initially meet the eye. Hulk Hogan put professional wrestling on the map, there is no question about that. If it wasn't for the success Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin, the sports-entertainment form and the WWE may not even exist today much less as the global entertainment powerhouse that it is today. As youths, Hogan and Austin were both successful athletes; Hogan was a baseball player who supposedly received attention from the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds, and Austin, a football player receiving a full scholarship to the University of North Texas. Also in their formative years, both men became fans of professional wrestling and bigger fans of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes. Austin would attend shows at the Dallas Sportatorium as a kid, and Hogan attended shows at the Tampa Sportatorium. After they decided to try their hand at the business, both men would try different gimmicks and personalities until finally finding their moneymaker persona. As Vince McMahon's number one guy, both men were given an on-screen association with the world's most famous celebrities of the time. Hogan would partner with fellow pop culture superstar Mr. T to headline the original WrestleMania. Austin would do business with boxing icon and controversy-magnet Mike Tyson at WrestleMania XIV. After many attempts by Vince McMahon to push a different type of character, it is ironic that two men without a full head of (blonde) hair, wearing basic trunks, kneepads and boots would become the company's flag bearers. Both men would have falling outs with Vince, but eventually returned as future Hall of Famers. The two characters known as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan represent perhaps the last dream match that, while possible, never materialized, and make for the top counterparts of the Attitude and 80s eras.