How Good Was 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan Actually?

Hulk was never a 5-star match guy, but he understood ring psychology like few others who ever reached wrestling's main event scene. He knew how to conduct a crowd like a maestro, and this translated expertly to his heel years. He worked at the pace of a tranquilized sloth, infuriating fans with every dirty trick in the book, and using his over-exaggerated right hand over and over again.

This took a while to come to fruition, as Hogan was so addicted to adulation. In his early matches, particularly his Clash Of The Champions match with Ric Flair in 1996, Hogan would still "Hulk Up", much to the detriment of his job as a heel. Thankfully, this was ironed out quite quickly, as Hulk found a way to replace building-shaking cheers with boos of a similar decibel level. 

Dirty finishes were the new order of the day, with ref Nick Patrick often being involved, alongside Eric Bischoff and his nWo cronies, but this was the whole point. Hollywood Hulk was supposed to be the dirty local sheriff who was above the law. It all added to him being so despised and helped every babyface he ever faced.

Hogan's lack of in-ring prowess may have been a hindrance to his 80s heyday, but being slow and having limited range actually helped as a heel.

6/10