20 WWE Superstars And Their 80s Counterparts

2. John Cena/Hulk Hogan

Luke Harper and Bruiser Brody
WWE.com/WWE

John Cena and Hulk Hogan are undisputedly the biggest stars of their day.

For The Hulkster is was popping vitamins, training hard and saying plenty of prayers, whereas for Cena it’s about never giving up and hustle, loyalty and respect (we know that because it’s flashed up on some form of merchandise every few seconds that Cena is on our screens).

Both were and are clean cut, extreme babyfaces in the most spectacular way, are responsible for shilling a whole boatload of merch, and have both been Vince McMahon’s go-to guy when things have gotten ropey over the years.

Limited in the ring but vastly charismatic and engaging, Hogan and Cena are a promoter’s dream. Well, until Hulkamania took a massive hit after Hogan’s racial tirades and ill-informed life choices became public knowledge.

Luckily for Cena, the only offence he’s caused to most fans over the years involves either his violently-bright merchandise or the much-referenced ‘5 moves of doom’.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.