Who did Hulk Hogan elevate during his WWE Run
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On topic, the main person that Hogan really elevated and put over in a big way was Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 6. The Undertaker at Survivor Series '91, too. It wasn't a clean victory but it was a victory nonetheless and throughout the entire match, Undertaker maintained his invincible aura and the interference only happened because Flair decided to slid a chair into the ring when Taker hit the Tombstone. It was even Hogan himself who had to cheat to win the belt back a week later at This Tuesday In Texas (by throwing the ashes from the urn into Taker's eyes.)
Earthquake is another one. Earthquake putting Hogan on the shelf in 1990 made Earthquake the instant top heel and their feud was pretty hot at the time. It didn't even hurt his momentum after losing to Hogan at Summerslam. If he couldn't sustain the heat once the Hogan feud ended, that isn't Hogan's fault. You could argue that he helped Mr. Perfect. too. Perfect was just another guy on the card before his short feud with Hogan in late '89 and early '90. Their rivalry was even talked about as a possible Wrestlemania 6 main event. After the feud ended, Perfect went on to have a long reign with the Intercontinental Title shortly after.
As D'Z pointed out though, back then it was very much a pro-babyface style of booking in the main event (even more so than it is today.) Heels rarely held the world title for more than a couple of months (the IC and Tag Team Titles were a different story). Other than Billy Graham in 1977, the first heel to hold the world title for more than 2-3 months was Yokozuna in '93. Stan Stasiak, Iron Sheik, Andre, Sgt. Slaughter, Undertaker, Flair, etc. were all champions for only a brief time before dropping it. Savage was champion for a year, but he only held it for another two months after turning heel (many question the decision to put the title back on Hogan at WM5 since Savage was drawing mega heat going into Mania and there may have been more money in keeping the title on Savage until at least say Summerslam but I won't get into that.)
Earthquake is another one. Earthquake putting Hogan on the shelf in 1990 made Earthquake the instant top heel and their feud was pretty hot at the time. It didn't even hurt his momentum after losing to Hogan at Summerslam. If he couldn't sustain the heat once the Hogan feud ended, that isn't Hogan's fault. You could argue that he helped Mr. Perfect. too. Perfect was just another guy on the card before his short feud with Hogan in late '89 and early '90. Their rivalry was even talked about as a possible Wrestlemania 6 main event. After the feud ended, Perfect went on to have a long reign with the Intercontinental Title shortly after.
As D'Z pointed out though, back then it was very much a pro-babyface style of booking in the main event (even more so than it is today.) Heels rarely held the world title for more than a couple of months (the IC and Tag Team Titles were a different story). Other than Billy Graham in 1977, the first heel to hold the world title for more than 2-3 months was Yokozuna in '93. Stan Stasiak, Iron Sheik, Andre, Sgt. Slaughter, Undertaker, Flair, etc. were all champions for only a brief time before dropping it. Savage was champion for a year, but he only held it for another two months after turning heel (many question the decision to put the title back on Hogan at WM5 since Savage was drawing mega heat going into Mania and there may have been more money in keeping the title on Savage until at least say Summerslam but I won't get into that.)
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If we're also going for people Hogan put over during his off-and-on run from 2002 to 2006, then Brock Lesnar deserves a mention as well. While Hogan was way past his prime and glory days and Lesnar already had enough credibility to make it to the top (he was already booked against Rock for Summerslam when the Hogan match happened, in fact), Hogan still took his cleanest loss ever as a face or a heel against Lesnar on Smackdown in '02.
That spot where Hogan's arm drops twice while in a bear hug but then he regains life right before it can drop for a third time is a spot that Hogan made famous. He did it quite frequently in the 80's and always made the big comeback from it and walked away with the victory. Not here, though. Can you imagine how big this type of ending would have been if it had happened in the 80's when Hogan was in his prime?
That spot where Hogan's arm drops twice while in a bear hug but then he regains life right before it can drop for a third time is a spot that Hogan made famous. He did it quite frequently in the 80's and always made the big comeback from it and walked away with the victory. Not here, though. Can you imagine how big this type of ending would have been if it had happened in the 80's when Hogan was in his prime?
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