How Good Was Hulk Hogan Actually?

Wrestlers have catchphrases that define who they are, and that again feels like the house that the Hulkster built. “Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?!” feels like the prototype for “...and that’s the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so”, “If you smell what The Rock is cooking”, and virtually every other wrestling catchphrase that comes to mind. For balance, Ric Flair had a bunch of these instantly quotable mantras too, but Hogan’s permeated pop culture far more than Flair’s.

Standing next to 'Mean' Gene Okerlund and foaming at the mouth, Hogan’s brand of “put your hand in mine and let’s achieve the impossible together” is supremely infectious. His use of “brother”, “dude”, and “Jack” is so famous that it transcends wrestling itself. For the gold standard of Hogan promos, check out the “seek and destroy” promo on the run-up to facing Andre The Giant at 'Mania III. It’s a masterclass of making the audience believe that Hogan was capable of conjuring miracles in the palm of his hand. When Hulk would tell you that “Hulkamania is the strongest force in the universe”, his conviction was enough to persuade the world that he was right.

Even when wrestling transitioned from 'straight to camera' promos to delivering them in the ring and going mic-to-mic with his opposition, Hulk Hogan had the rarest ability to connect with crowds. We’re concentrating on the red and yellow here, but the segment where Hogan goes toe-to-toe with The Rock in Chicago ahead of their WrestleMania X8 match is unreal. Even Hogan following “What?” chants with “...cha gonna do” was superb.

He found a new lane of comedy when he donned a patriotic Lucha mask and ridiculously used all of his regular lines whilst trying to convince the world he wasn’t "Mr. America" on SmackDown in 2003.

What’s bizarre is that Hulk rarely changed tactics at all with his promos, and yet it always worked. Crowds were as into Hogan’s promos in the 2000s as they were in the 1980s...despite him doing and saying the exact same things.

As time rolls on and his schtick feels increasingly dated, it really feels like you had to be there in the moment to feel the power of his promos, but Hogan’s mic rarely met a crowd it didn’t pop.

8.5/10