A Black History Month Perspective: The Ten Greatest Wrestlers Of All-Time
Last week on "Hit The Ropes Radio" Shane, Daris, and I discussed the role of African-Americans in the world of wrestling. We touched on many topics including who's the most decorated champion, who could be next in line to be World Champion and what it takes for an African-American to get to the top.
The Best Damn Wrestling Rumor Mill: Super Sunday Edition
Today's the big football game, meaning it is a day filled with predictions and rumored celebrities to be in attendance. But when it comes to rumors, there is only one place to come and that is here, Hit the Ropes. We've got more news than Peyton Manning has touchdown passes and more awesomeness than Reggie Bush has female acquaintances... Well, that last one isn't so hard to beat since Bush is comfy with Ms. Kardashian. GO SAINTS! It also marks the comebacks of Frank Trigg and Matt Serra.
Super Bowl Worthy Promos
Super Bowl XLIVToday is Super Sunday. No it's not Wrestlemania, as we have a couple of months before that, but the NFL's version of the "Granddaddy of them All." But since the majority of sports fans don't have a dog in the fight, hey there's only two teams playing, many of those gathered in front of the screen will be there to check out the commercials.
| Hulk Hogan You're Not In "Kansas" Anymore |
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| Written by Demetrus Stokes |
| Saturday, 28 November 2009 08:32 |
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So Hulk Hogan is coming to TNA to take over pro wrestling once again. Hulk Hogan has plans to make TNA the number one wrestling promotion in the world. Hulk Hogan is going to bring Vince McMahon to his knees and finish the job this time right? For those of you that listen to Hit the Ropes Radio, you’ve heard me defend Hulk Hogan. A number of our listeners are not big Hogan fans and I think they discount what he means to the wrestling business.Let’s be clear, whether you like him or not, Hulk Hogan revolutionized this business. He is arguably single handedly why wrestling was able to cross over into the mainstream. When people in the main stream are asked to name a person associated with pro wrestling, the name you will get more often than not is Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan is the reason I am a wrestling fan to this day. As a kid, I was a big time Hulkamaniac and still enjoy a nostalgic Hogan moment here and there. Lately, I’ve had some issues with the Hulkster as he’s been spouting off about how he’s taking over TNA and what his plans are. I have no issues with his plans. That’s cool. I wish him the best of luck but Hogan still thinks that wrestling revolves around him and in my opinion it doesn’t (yes I said it). Let’s go back to a comment I made previously in this article. I said that Hogan revolutionized the wrestling business. I said he is arguably the reason that wrestling has crossed over into the main stream. But did he do this all by himself? Sometimes when you hear Hogan talk, he seems to think so. Let’s not forget that Vince McMahon had a little to do with the success of Hulk Hogan. It was Vince’s money, promotion and ability to create and develop a character that made Hogan what he is today. Sure, Hogan’s talent took it to another level but you can’t downplay Vince’s role in the “Hulkamania Era”. If this were not the case when Hogan left the WWE to go to WCW things would have crumbled for Vince McMahon. There would not have been a “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Triple H or The Rock. Though WWE didn’t completely crumble when Hogan jumped to WCW, boy they came awfully close. Hogan takes a lot of credit for this, and he should. At the time he was still wrestling’s biggest star and making the move to WCW changed wrestling forever. Turning Hogan heel and forming the NWO had an even bigger impact.
But was he the sole reason that WCW beat the WWE in the Monday Night Wars 84 weeks in a row? Yes, Hogan was the draw but would a Hulk Hogan vs. Disco Inferno match lead to a WCW takeover? No. There was Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Goldberg, and Sting among others. The point is there were a bevy of established stars in WCW. Combine that with the drawing power of Hogan and you got the WCW’s dominance in the mid 90’s. Hogan likes to tell people that WCW became the number one wrestling promotion in the world when he jumped ship and that statement is true. Isn’t it also true that Hogan was involved in some storylines that lead to the eventual demise of WCW? Not going over clean in the match with Sting at Starrcade in 1997 was a mistake. All the buildup for Hogan vs. Sting and it had one of the worse endings a highly anticipated main event has ever had. And how can we forget the “Fingerpoke of Doom” one of the biggest debacles in the history of pro wrestling. Hogan’s entire career in my opinion has been about self. Outside of the Ultimate Warrior and Goldberg, what young up and coming star has Hogan ever put over? Come to think of it Warrior and Goldberg were already huge stars before defeating Hogan. Coming back to the WWE and losing to The Rock and Triple H doesn’t count either because they too were already big stars before matches with Hogan. Now we come to the present day and many anticipate the arrival of Hulk Hogan in TNA. By all of Hogan’s accounts, he is coming in to presumably be in charge. He’s running the show and as Kevin Nash told us last week, he won’t be alone. We’ve heard Hogan say he would love to bring Rob Van Dam with him which would be a huge pickup for TNA. RVD has been away from wrestling for a while but it’s no doubt that he can still go. Hogan has also mentioned Randy Savage and Brian Knobbs being two possible people he’d bring with him. Why anyone would want to see Brian Knobbs wrestle at this point is beyond me. The Nasty Boys haven’t had any success since the early 90’s. Macho Man Randy Savage would be intriguing particularly if he got involved with Jay Lethal but he is also well past his prime. Any talk of Stone Cold Steve Austin coming to TNA is just that…talk. If we ever see Austin in a ring again it will be a WWE ring. Ken Anderson (Kennedy), Umaga, and Ric Flair are other possible names who could join Hogan in his plans to take over the wrestling world. While these are big names none of them have Vince McMahon nervous. For Hogan to pull off what I think is the impossible, he needs to steal some well established current WWE stars. Guys like John Cena, Batista, CM Punk and Kofi Kingston among others. The problem is, I don’t see any of them ever jumping ship. Then again, it’s wrestling so you can never say never. The guys that are currently in TNA have always been there for the most part so what exactly is Hogan going to do differently that Jeff Jarrett or Jim Cornette couldn’t do? Is Hogan SELFLESS enough to run things without thinking of himself first? We shall come to see very soon but Hulk Hogan needs to remember that it’s not 1997 anymore. If Hogan is coming in with the same plan he had when he helped put WCW on top he better come with something better than that. It’s going to take more than that to draw viewers and eventually take the WWE’s number one spot. While the task is daunting, I can think of no other person other than Hogan who could pull this off. I just don’t see it happening though. Even having Eric Bischoff by his side won’t be enough. If anything, that will just remind folks of the old WCW. Hulk Hogan has wrestled an entire career where everything has been all about him. If he wants to become a successful executive, he’s going to have to put that theory aside. Quote this article on your site To create link towards this article on your website, copy and paste the text below in your page. Preview :  Powered by QuoteThis © 2008 Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          
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