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We continue where we left off from part one. (click here to read part 1)
3) The birth of ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was a phenomenon in the 80s. He was much more than a wrestler, much bigger than an entertainer. Hulk Hogan represented everything from Uncle Sam to the United States, to Superman for kids, to an inspiration to all of his ‘Hulkamaniacs’. His ‘take your vitamins, say your prayers and drink your milk’ catchphrase captivated millions around the world. Hulk Hogan took this small organization called the World Wrestling Federation and made it a global juggernaut. With Vince Mcmahon, he formed the most vicious, ruthless and an ingenious partnership, with the aim of becoming larger than life, quite literally. And that he did; Hulk Hogan become once in a lifetime superstar, and he achieved something which only Austin could replicate later – become the greatest pro wrestler in the business, drawing millions in gate, and reach out to the masses. But not every wrestling fan liked Hulk Hogan. There were traditional wrestling fans who couldn’t see what Hogan and Vince were doing to the business. Hogan was more or less the John Cena of the 80s; except, back then, there was no internet, and no dirt sheet could provide the inside scoop, or even prove that the ‘Pro Wrestling’ business wasn’t real. And so, the traditional fans found his act boring, repetitive and a test of their intelligence.
All of that changed in ’96, when something unimaginable happened. Nash and Scott came to WcW claiming they were taking over the company, and were loyal to the ‘other’ company (Which was WWF, as WWF and WcW were engaged in the Monday night wars). And by this time, Hulk Hogan was finding it difficult to re-invent himself. After all, he was boring and predictable by this point, and something had to be done to change it. And what happened on the night during Bash at the Beach? The one thing that the wrestling world needed the most. One of the most shocking incidents till that date, and the birth of one of the most coolest factions in wrestling history. Hulk Hogan turned on the fans, and joined hands with Nash and Hall, thus forming the ‘New World Order’ or simply ‘NWO’. To show how significant this event was, WcW went on to beat WWF’s flagship show, Monday night RAW, for 84 straight weeks! That’s about a year and a half! WcW failed to push the final nail in the WWF’s coffin, but they had them on the mat. The birth of Hollywood Hulk Hogan came as a welcome change to WcW and the wrestling world in general, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect! Nash and Hall came to WcW from the WWF, and they took on the company, going against the fans and the other wrestlers, and joined hands with arguably one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. When you say ‘at the right time’, you couldn’t find a better time for this, and the Monday Night Wars just picked up from here, and it was a delight to be a wrestling fan after this period.
2) Mohammad Hassan’s misfortune
They say sometimes when you play your part too well, you end up in a bad situation. Something similar happened to one of the most promising talents in the mid 2000s. Mohammad Hassan, with Daivari, was one of the most hated heels in the history of professional wrestling. Playing the character of an Arab American, Hassan played his part to perfection, or even better than that! Within a short time of his debut, he was a serious contender for the World Heavyweight title. The guy was solid in the ring, and his promos were amazing. He would come out every week and blame the Americans for what happened in Iraq. His stooge, Daivari, was convincing as well. These two formed the most hated duo in professional wrestling at that time.
Going back to the beginning, Vince Mcmahon loved to cash in when the opportunity was right. When the United States invaded Iraq, there was an opportunity to bring in a guy who was anti-American – against the United States and for Iraq. He had done this before, with guys like Iron Sheik and Sgt Slaughter. Even the Hart Foundation’s heel run consisted of constantly bashing the United States. But little did Vince realize that this time, the condition would get too realistic, and would cross the line with the Hassan character. Hassan soon became the top heel in the company, and like any sensible decision, he was soon to be crowned the next World Heavyweight Champion, and be cemented as the top heel of the company, all before he was even 25! He was immensely talented, and knew what he was saying/doing in the ring, and that takes a lot of effort and talent. But a certain episode on Smackdown! reversed his fortunes.
Hassan’s meteoric rise to fame was also the reason for his downfall. On one episode which was taped on Tuesday, and would be telecasted later that week, Hassan brought some masked men to attack the Undertaker, and later ‘choked’ him out. After the tapings, there was an unfortunate bombing incident in London, and WWE didn’t have time to edit the footage. What happened next was a serious backlash from the media and WWE had to backtrack quickly. The only thing they could have done, was to kill the Hassan character and take it off TV. And that was what happened. He was taken off TV, sent back to the developmental, and was later released. This shows that the timing is not always beneficial, but can also be responsible for the downfall in the wrestling business.
1) Steve Austin’s rise to fame
Every wrestling fan knows who Stone Cold Steve Austin is. Austin is arguably the biggest name in professional wrestling, even though he retired about a decade ago. But few realize that Austin was relatively unknown till about a decade and a half ago, till he was in ECW. When Vince signed Austin up to compete in the WWF, people were tired of the same old storylines, the same old people and the same old matches. Something had to be different. The world of wrestling in general needed a saviour, something equivalent to what CM Punk gave us in 2011. But it was mid 90s, and the wrestling business wasn’t as intelligent, in a way, as it is now. But it needed one man, just one thing to propel it to greater heights. And that one man was Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Austin was a solid technician, and a great mic worker. He could cut an amazing promo, and so he had it all. All he needed was a well defined character, and that was what Vince gave him. Vince gave birth to something that could relate to the audience in general. The middle America needed a role model. People hated their jobs, mostly because of their bosses, and Vince was intelligent enough to take that and add it to Austin’s character, and what came off was the best thing that ever happened to professional wrestling. Stone Cold was born; the character had a purpose, and the people got what they wanted. They lived through Austin, they vented through Austin, and they believed in Austin. And when you’re able to do that, you’re able to create something that can happen only once in this business. You create history.
The reason this worked, was again because of its timing. This proves beyond a doubt the importance of the pieces falling together, and creating something truly extra ordinary. When will such a thing happen again? It can happen in a week, a month, a year, or in a decade. But that’s the beauty of it. The timing, and the surprise element make things work in the business. And that is when we truly spend our time and money watching something we’re truly captivated by. And that is why wrestling is like Hollywood, and yet so completely different.
