5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (25 July - Results & Review)
1. Opening With A Touching Tribute
Nothing in wrestling has been getting more mainstream coverage than the death of industry icon Hulk Hogan.
SmackDown opened with an emotional Triple H announcing a 10 bell salute for Hogan. The likes of Jimmy Hart and Ted DiBiase were on stage with the regular WWE roster to show solidarity and pay their respects. The promotion then ran a video package paying tribute to Hulk. This was heartfelt and definitely the right call. SmackDown couldn't plod on without paying homage to a fallen great.
The live crowd in Cleveland were respectful and positive. They politely applauded and then chanted Hogan’s name several times. Obviously, many people have had their say on Hulk and his legacy as a whole, but there’s simply no denying how huge an impact he made on WWE, wrestling and entertainment throughout the 1980s, 90s and into the 2000s.
Hogan was a pop culture icon, and his legacy cannot be dismissed. The video package narrated by Hunter covered a lot of ground in a short space of time, and it was some nostalgia trip to watch. Incredibly, WWE's production team also had to leave out some of Hulk's biggest successes - he's had too many of them!
His babyface WCW run, for example, got a grand total of 3 seconds. Being fair, the rise of Hulkamania, the nWo, his WWF/WWE comeback and all of the other stuff included deserved more house room, but this just goes to show how much ground Hogan covered during his life and career.
May he Rest In Peace.
What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 15 WWE Title Changes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired and 15 WWE Pushes That IMMEDIATELY Backfired!