@@SAnd-pd1ou a very false narrative. Go watch his Japan work for highly technical fast paced matches. Also it's context for the time. Hogan worked a formula that entertained fans for years, drew millions and had the loudest reaction of every night in the 80s. I hate this smark narrative of what "can't wrestle" is. Hogan could work... Just snooty know it alls who ironically don't know anything can say he "couldn't wrestle". Working the audience and telling a story is wrestling and Hogan did exactly what he needed to do to make himself the main event superstar for 15+ years. That's exactly why he could wrestle.
Well, he was originally a heel, but he’d been a face for so long he probably did have to re-learn. With Hogan, the changes are subtle. He’d do face stuff as a heel and heel stuff as a face. In Japan, he actually wrestled a more technical style than we are used to here in the states.
@@glengabruch4664 I know. But he hadn’t done it in so long, he was rusty. Eric Bischoff has said it too. He was working out the kinks, but eventually he got into a groove.
To be fair to Hogan, I think he did the Hulking up routine to get a reaction from the crowd, he got one and it made people talk about it to this day, he knew what he was doing
Awesome psychology by Hogan or whoevers idea it was. "You're still Hulk Hogan even if you are a heel." Like Alexander said, Superman is still Superman good or bad.
@antibasketballamerican You are correct. It was a Holllywood Hulk Up....leg drop doesn't connect. Real American Hulk Up...hits the leg drop. (Yea i know Hogan vs Warrior). I like how Flair still used heel tactics getting that assist in the figure 4 lock.
Not doing that is what ruined Austin's heel run --- among others. Austin went straight from being a literal 1 man army who'd routinely beat the entire NOD or Ministry's asses to being a chickenshit who got overpowered by guys like 5'9 Benoit and average build Chris Jericho and hit Lita with like 10 chairshots, before she walked away with a slight limp. Even as a kid, I knew Lita was a 130 lb girl and couldn't beat an 8th grade male athlete. That was one of my first "Oh shit, this is wacky nonsense" moments as a kid watching wrestling. That being said, Austin showed off how really good he was in the ring, in his heel run. He worked better than almost anyone and that was with his bad neck, both knees, and the fact he was starting to get up there in age with his last 5+ years being full-time on the road as the top guy. Austin's forced heel run was just a bad idea, in general, though.
The lighting, the colors, the crowds, the announcers, the talent, and the writing was so much better in WCW back then. Sucks most of them are dead. This feels like yesterday to me.
Man. When WCW had the horsemen, Luger, Sting, and the Steiners to face off against the nWo, that was the perfect balance. Too bad they messed it up and practically the entire company joined the nWo
Exactly. They didn't know what to do after the NWO was formed, so they just kept forming it. There was never a payoff or great feud. Just NWO running in to beat up lots of people over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.
@@alexioprince you're missing the point NWO wasn't a faction in a company like DX. They were trying to take over the WCW brand and replace it with their own you can't do that with 5 or 6 members. They actually for a short time got what they wanted one hour out of 3 hours of nitro was NWO wrestlers only
@@EXPLISITemcee yea when Austin tried so hard for the fans to hate him he and the wwf failed because the fans loved him so much no matter what he did they still cheered for him rock I think succeeded better when he was Hollywood rock because he got the fans to hate him but some were still cheering rocky rocky 😂 stone cold rock always will be the greatest IMO
@@peeweemgee2738 No i wouldnt say he tried to make fans hate him .. if so he wouldnt ask opinions and would stun fans.. you mean opposite .. WWE wanted Austin to get nicer and funnier ..and Austin did..
Hogan in ring is garbage, great persona and promos and works the crowd. But tecnically speaking he is utter trash, one hogan match is all you need to see brother!!!
Reading these comments, it's amazing how many people think this was called in the ring as if Hogan forgot or something. It's part of the finish and it's a heelish version as he misses the leg drop and gets caught in the figure four, so he's out smarted by the Babyface which I'm 99% sure is what they were thinking when they agreed on the finish. It's mind boggling how many people think it was Hogan being awkward and wondering if he "got any heat backstage" for it. Honestly, they think they know the business inside out because they know a few terms but don't even understand simple in ring psychology.
I believe it's his 1st match after turning heel at Hog Wild...Clash Of The Champions I watched it live...don't think he decided to drop the Hulking up part of his repertoire yet is all.
@OhLong Johnson Never fails. These Crater Faced Meltzer disciples think they read a dirtsheet and know how shit goes any more than any other fan. It's hilarious.
Reading the comments, it's amazing how many people think this was called in the ring as if Hogan forgot or something. It's part of the finish and it's a heelish version as he misses the leg drop and gets caught in the figure four, so he's out smarted by the Babyface which I'm 99% sure is what they were thinking when they agreed on the finish. It's mind boggling how many people think it was Hogan being awkward and wondering if he "got any heat backstage" for it. Honestly, they think they know the business inside out because they know a few terms but don't even understand simple in ring psychology.
This is correct. Hogan was almost always experimenting in some way to see what he could get away with. He tested the heel waters for years before he turned in little moments, just to see what the crowd response might be. This was his way of going "could I turn back if i REALLY need to?...yeah" to himself.
As a storyline goes, one can even say that deep down Hogan still wanted to be a hero, but Hollywood took over and he was too far gone. Somewhere in his soul, he is still the immortal do-gooder.
If you go back to his bash at the beach promo and other promos he did. He changed to a heel because he felt taken for granted & unappreciated by the fans and they made him do it.
I was always super impressed w/flairs strength for a guy who wasn’t ever known for his power or physique. He got Hogan up for that suplex like it was nothing.
Evidently, you've never seen any of his old pics. Man, I was shocked when I saw his pics from his younger days. Flair was a powerhouse. Go check him out. He doesn't even look the same in the face. Back then, he was HUGE!
Flair was in great shape cardiovascular. At one point his resting heart rate was very low. That’s impressive for someone that drank everyday for years. He was more of a cardio guy with push-ups, sit-ups and steps. He did powerlifting when he was younger and physique had a good foundation. It’s too bad when he started hanging out with Triple H, and he didn’t react well to whatever Haitch was doing.
If you’ve really followed Hogan in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, you may recall him using heelish tactics as a baby face. Despite no-selling Flair frequently, he could sell pretty good for the most part.
@@salamisumo2The crazy thing here is if Hall and Nash had not run in when they did. It is safe to say this may have been a short heel run as the fans were cheering their hero on to come to his senses when he hulked up.
It was only really good before WWF and after hogan won the belt from Flair .. it was boring to many AFTER .. allot like trying to re create Warrior vs hulk 2..some things are not magical anymore..
Hogan played both, one of the best hero’s and heel’s in history, and there was a fine line between them; It was easy to tap into both personas to get maximum effect from the crowd.
@@JohnSmith-hv1rm probably not considering Flair being a FULL ON FACE (not just worse of 2 evils haha) and Hogan being a heel were new to both of them. I'm sure they argued about it but I'm sure it wasn't fined huge or backstage fighting ala Bret and Shawn.
This was only his second match as Hollywood. He hadn’t fully fleshed out the character quite yet. This would be the last time he did it until he started his face turn in 1999.
It feels strange for a Heel to Hulk Up.. Most Heels run or roll out the ring to recover.. Someone did say Hogan didn't want to turn Heel and they did a lot of convincing to get him to do so..
I like this much more than when he was rolling over for everybody. I remember thinking why did Hogan lose the power of hulking up, just because he turned heel?
@TrueSinister Yeah, i don't like that. Giving it up easy like that. Don't make the heel look weak. It makes the face look weak. If the heel become competitive, and the face overcomes that. That makes the face look even stronger! Just my opinion.
When he was face and he hulked up he got his power from fans, that's why when he was heel he didn't hulk up coz the fans weren't meant to be on his side. Lol
@@wibbiddywoo Agreed, it even kinda makes sense in this match, he tried to Hulk up but it didnt really work and he had to be saved by The Outsiders lol
That’s something one of my friends and I discussed years ago. Like, how is it, that when a wrestler is a face, he can overcome the odds and win on his own, but same wrestler is a heel, and can’t use all of the same move set, or has to have help to win despite using the same move set? Granted, I know that’s part of the storytelling, but it’s kind of one-sided. Face Hogan either needed no help, or rarely needed help, whereas heel Hogan could never do it on his own. Even in his first match v Rock, he was the heel and lost on his own. He and Flair did a double turn in 99, where Hogan started heel and finished face, but he lost
He didn't 'forget he was heel.' This was right at the beginning of his heel run and he hadn't developed a new heel in ring style yet. He was deliberately hulking up here to see if it would work to hulk up as a heel.
This is what was fascinating about the nWo era for me... Hogan heel turn while teaming up with recent WWF megastars Diesel and Razor. All the while WCW faces (Luger, Sting) forming strange alliances with WCW heels (Flair and the Horsemen). And the Sting "Crow" character change was the perfect icing on the cake.
@@EXPLISITemcee exactly why I said my first comment was sarcastic..... WCW was in the toilet at this point and to be fair, WWF wasn’t putting out a much better product..... and the problem with both of them was all the convoluted stables and constant run ins 👍🏻👍🏻
This was very early Hollywood Hogan and I think he was still figuring it out. It would have been nice if he found a way to do a heel version of the Hulk Up.
There was nothing better than watching Flair get the best of Hogan in the ring. Hogan didn’t let that happen much, but when it did it was glorious. Woooo!!!!
Flair was actually a heel at this time. He was the US champion taking on faces and was also still in the midst of a feud with Randy Savage. The nWo overshadowing the Horsemen as the top heels made him a face and even then, he was a tweener for a while. Flair was really only a face by necessity against the invading nWo. Now in regards to Hogan, I agree with others that the Hollywood character was still in its infancy and he was working out the character. Early Hollywood was beating up people but later Hollywood went classic heel and escaped from the ring when trouble came. Also, watch Hogan's matches against Flair in early 1999 and he hulked up as Hollywood in those matches too. So it could have been just a dynamic between Hogan and Flair. All in all, I do remember this match pretty vividly and how weird it was.
Not that long ago during that time Steve McMichael had betrayed Kevin Greene to join the Four Horsemen. Jeff Jarrett was on his way to WCW during that time. And he was trying to be part of the Four Horsemen.
Hogan and Flair usually just worked the same match every time, that's why he hulked up during those matches with Flair. They wrestled each other hundreds of times over the years and most matches included the same spots. It was just part of their thing.
Bischoff and Nash have both stated in numerous podcasts and interviews how Hogan had difficulty adjusting his working style, promos, demeanor. Nash said Hogan needed help when shooting those "paid for by the New World Order" black and white promos as Hogan kept regressing into face-mode, which is why the earlier ones had Hall and Nash do most of the talking whilst Hogan's had to be stitched together. Fun Fact: Kevin Nash arrived at a Nitro taping wearing a bandana (a la Tupac) and Hogan asked why Nash was wearing that Aunt Jemima headscarf. Nash said it's what rappers are wearing, it's cool.
His first two televised matches after he turned heel were against heels (Giant and Flair). Bad booking on the part of WCW. Hogan had been hulking up against heels for over a decade by 1996...I can't blame him for slipping back into his face persona. Old habits are hard to break, though thankfully he eventually did break this one once he got more comfortable in his "Hollywood Hogan" role.
You gotta remember, Flair and the 4 horsemen were still a heel stable at this point. I think that hogan hulking up here was to build Flair as being able to get past that and turn him into more of a face.
"Heel or face I shall never sell brotha!!" Also side note... I always loved how easily someone was knocked out by wearing a ref shirt... literally knocked out by a roll
Just because he turned heel doesn’t mean he transformed into a Jobber. He’s still Hulk Hogan and it makes it more believable if he doesn’t change everything about his wrestling style
Power villains were great they should have used Hall Nash and Hogan like Vader. Powerful dread Instilling bad guys. It fit them better than the coward villain angle. And it makes the babyface look that much better when they win.
I totally agree. I hated how they made hogan into a coward. It never made sense... have him be dominant And heel and eventually have someone like sting or Goldberg get a huge win. Too dumb to have him lose all hos powers, just because he’s a heel. Also, a Heenan family as baby faces against the NWO would have been MONEY 💰
He hulked up because that’s what he’s always done. You can be a heel in other ways. It not believable if you just all the sudden turn into a jobber and change everything about your wrestling style just because you put on black shirt
Hulking up isn't a 'style'. It's a stupid implausible 'move' that only faces use. It literally is like - the power of being a face, is what is powering your comeback when you hulk up or do an equivalent thing during a match. The crowd support you're getting as the face is bringing you back. When you're a heel you can't do it. It makes no sense.
I believe this was very early into Hogan's heel turn and he was still developing his 'bad guy' character. Guess he figured he'd drop the hulk up the more he got into his villain character...
I remember watching this live thinking WTF...is he turning face ALREADY!?!? I really thought for a split second Hogan might've just cut bait and decided to go back to face. Then I realized, this is him just doing what he's accustomed to for the last 12 years. I don't think he 'wanted to be face'. I think he hadn't figured out what he'd be doing as a heel since he hadn't been one in so long. I actually thought it would be interesting if they HAD HIM HULK UP, since it could be said that he never needed the fans at all. That would've been a helluva swerve thinking about it now.
they were planning to turn Hogan a face after the Wrestlemania match due to fans reacting positively for Hogan before Wrestlemania. They had NO PLANS to turn Hogan back to a face around this time since the NWO was still getting off of the ground!
This was only the 2nd Hollywood Hogan match. They hadn’t worked out the character completely yet. Maybe they were trying to go with the idea of Hogan as an unstoppable monster heel. Hulking up doesn’t defy logic, considering he’d done it for like 15 years, why stop now; the same way Flair did the flop or flip and run to the top turnbuckle. The problem is that it messes up the dynamics of the match. Which is why they dropped it and Hogan went with being the cowardly, asshole heel instead.
So this was actually his first match or so as Hollywood. He hadn't yet fully gotten into the heel character, hadn't started strumming air guitar down the aisle, etc. More than likely this was either planned ahead of time, or they changed it on the fly when Hogan was getting cheered and Flair wasn't. Hogan probably wanted to play to the audience.
I remember this live. The best wrestling days when I was a kid. Road warriors hawk and animal was and is my favorites of all time. Always had respect for double A and ric flair. My 2 favorite horseman
I can see Flair calling that spot. Remember he had Taker sit up in the figure four despite Taker being the American Bad Ass. Imagine the pop though if Hogan hulked up and when he gets to the finger point, Flair just kicks him square in the balls.
Ha I was thinking it too, cause of his plane crash back injury that delay in the suplex and the speed in which he pulled him up into it were both impressive
As much as i loved the cowardly heel he settled on, i do kind of wish they would have figured out a way to make the hulk up work for heel hollywood, plus i loved how vicious he was at first
I mean, he could have possibly played it like a monster heel. Undertaker's no-selling began long before he turned face. But I don't know if that works for Hollywood Hogan. Maybe for early 80s heel Hogan who was huge and taking on jobbers in handicap matches.
@@butcherboy2008 ahhhh 😂 I see.. But honestly I never really considered Lex or Sting A list talent either, Hogan only cause he puts asses in seats, not cause his ring expertise and Nash and Hall had their moments for me.. Moreso Nash as I liked Diesel quite a bit on that original first run but again the Outsiders aren't really fluent in the squared circle either, lol but I see what u mean and how u wrote it now.
When you bump on your ass too much it destroys your back.. That's why in Pro Wrestling school they demand the students to take as many flat back bumps as possible..
I think they was toying with the idea of keeping the hulk up as a heel buttttt really wouldn't work as a heel he went to the more traditional punk heel stuff. You can hear the crowd was cheering the hulk up they didn't want that
Idk, pretty sure this was during the times Hogan and NWO were literally running WCW into the ground, so the fans didnt really like them right now, in a more real way because them ruining WCW wasnt a work it was real life.
@@biggains1 When you say running WCW into the ground, do you mean in a monetary, legitimate business sense or running the pro WCW "faction/stable" of wrestlers in the storyline into the ground? If this is only the 2nd match of the "Hollywood Heel Turn," as many others have commented, the NWO stuff wasn't yet ruining WCW as a business but beginning to take off on the run where they would outdo WWF in viewer numbers
@@biggains1 especially this early on, the fans loved the NWO so im not sure what era ur thinking of, or watched, but NWO was great for business early on in the heel Hogan,Hall&Nash sense
@@biggains1 this was well before the group split in 2. This was simply the way these 2 were used working together with the roles reversed for the 1st time.
I thought this was an interesting little experiment to see how the crowd would react. Despite what Tony was saying, you could hear and see a large segment of the crowd getting behind Hollywood.
@@bugo348 totally, they were the cool heels and the red & black were the most popular faction in WCW 1998. I think what we saw here were a lot of fans who were wanting to cheer for him again and this allowed them too. They never stopped being fans of his.
You have to remember that prior to this match, Hulk was always the face with Flair always the heel. Even going back to their series of matches in the WWF 5 years prior to this. This is just them going back into what was familiar and comfortable
@@TheRoyalHour I'm no Hogan fan, nor do I ever defend him, but this is like his second match as a heel. I'll cut him some slack that he hadn't completely reinvented his in-ring style in 2 matches. Had this continued throughout his heel run than it would have been atrocious, but fortunately it stopped save for a few isolated instances.
@@branchtana315 that would make sense if it wasn’t for the fact that him “Hulking up” is the culmination of the match,most times. Only thing after that is interference, a ref bump,or a 3 count. So,knowing he’s a heel,this isn’t a mistake I think he could make. He never hulked up in the middle of a match as a baby face and was working heel the whole time up to this point in the match.
@@chetmanley610 So you've never see the Rock, Mick Foley, Shane McMahon, Chris Jericho, HBK, HHH, Jeff Hardy, Lita, D'Lo Brown, AJ Styles, or anyone that can actually bump? Watching that old man lay on his side makes me sad.
@@redrick8900 Hmmm no I've never heard of any of those guys. I'll tell you what, you seem to be more versed on the subject than me. Why don't you do a little write up on each of them explaining why they are better and you can teach me a thing or two.
This was shortly after the NWO was formed so Hogan was use to working face with Flair heel I don't think he forgot he was just refining his Hollywood character 😏
They always make me laugh. That bump was like a 3 minute break for the ref. Then, next week same ref gets clobbered with a chair but is only down for 15 seconds.
No-Selling Flair is in Hogan's DNA. He couldn't help it. LOL
Also very true, it’s an institution at this point
Selling doesn't work for me, brother....
Very true.
That suplex, 85% flair %15 Hogan
@@DMDMDM01 no 99% flair. As It is with every suplex, body slam etc. You realise its not real, no one is picking anyone up.
I always loved Flair and Hogan's chemistry. They weren't capable of having a boring match.
Lololololol
Yes, but Hogan couldn't actually wrestle, Flair could?
@@SAnd-pd1ou a very false narrative. Go watch his Japan work for highly technical fast paced matches. Also it's context for the time. Hogan worked a formula that entertained fans for years, drew millions and had the loudest reaction of every night in the 80s. I hate this smark narrative of what "can't wrestle" is. Hogan could work... Just snooty know it alls who ironically don't know anything can say he "couldn't wrestle". Working the audience and telling a story is wrestling and Hogan did exactly what he needed to do to make himself the main event superstar for 15+ years. That's exactly why he could wrestle.
Those early nWo days when Hogan was figuring out how to be a heel were fascinating.
Well, he was originally a heel, but he’d been a face for so long he probably did have to re-learn. With Hogan, the changes are subtle. He’d do face stuff as a heel and heel stuff as a face. In Japan, he actually wrestled a more technical style than we are used to here in the states.
He added more back rakes lol
@@sadetwizelve and started whipping people with his weight belt.... The never ending belt whippings.
You do realize that Hogan started his career out as a heel. He had lots of experience as a heel.
@@glengabruch4664 I know. But he hadn’t done it in so long, he was rusty. Eric Bischoff has said it too. He was working out the kinks, but eventually he got into a groove.
To be fair to Hogan, I think he did the Hulking up routine to get a reaction from the crowd, he got one and it made people talk about it to this day, he knew what he was doing
I agree. I actually think it worked well here.
Not gonna lie, I like the idea of baddie Hogan still having his magical recuperative powers. Puts the fans in the heel's "oh shit" role
Exactly. It's like Superman 3. The bad Superman could do everything the good one could, he was just an asshole.
Awesome psychology by Hogan or whoevers idea it was. "You're still Hulk Hogan even if you are a heel." Like Alexander said, Superman is still Superman good or bad.
@antibasketballamerican You are correct. It was a Holllywood Hulk Up....leg drop doesn't connect. Real American Hulk Up...hits the leg drop. (Yea i know Hogan vs Warrior). I like how Flair still used heel tactics getting that assist in the figure 4 lock.
I hear ya.. something in there isnt there.. like Homelander off The Boys, or OmniMan from Invincible..
Not doing that is what ruined Austin's heel run --- among others. Austin went straight from being a literal 1 man army who'd routinely beat the entire NOD or Ministry's asses to being a chickenshit who got overpowered by guys like 5'9 Benoit and average build Chris Jericho and hit Lita with like 10 chairshots, before she walked away with a slight limp. Even as a kid, I knew Lita was a 130 lb girl and couldn't beat an 8th grade male athlete. That was one of my first "Oh shit, this is wacky nonsense" moments as a kid watching wrestling. That being said, Austin showed off how really good he was in the ring, in his heel run. He worked better than almost anyone and that was with his bad neck, both knees, and the fact he was starting to get up there in age with his last 5+ years being full-time on the road as the top guy. Austin's forced heel run was just a bad idea, in general, though.
Hogan as a heel got the fans pumped up for a quick second. Still got it. As a heel Hogan's Hulking up powers were fading away.
He teased into turning face
The lighting, the colors, the crowds, the announcers, the talent, and the writing was so much better in WCW back then. Sucks most of them are dead. This feels like yesterday to me.
Man. When WCW had the horsemen, Luger, Sting, and the Steiners to face off against the nWo, that was the perfect balance. Too bad they messed it up and practically the entire company joined the nWo
When you have Gold but treat it like Sterling Silver.. WCW had everything and didn't capitalize on it..
Exactly. They didn't know what to do after the NWO was formed, so they just kept forming it. There was never a payoff or great feud. Just NWO running in to beat up lots of people over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.
Just to many NWO faction
@@alexioprince you're missing the point NWO wasn't a faction in a company like DX. They were trying to take over the WCW brand and replace it with their own you can't do that with 5 or 6 members. They actually for a short time got what they wanted one hour out of 3 hours of nitro was NWO wrestlers only
@@gilbert2795 Yeah they replaced it into going out of business. There was no real rivalry, which is why people stopped watching.
Tony had to pretend the fans weren't cheering Hulk's comeback.
I picked up on that too haha
Lol
Yeah totally.. it was funny to hear the confusion, followed by them actually counting when he was hitting Flair in the head :D
3 months into the NWO angle and you wanted a face turn?
They were loosing there minds at first
only hogan could almost turn the fans back to his side with a muscle memory set of circumstances
nobody got excited when he was hulking up 😂 what video were u watching
@@peeweemgee2738 lol
@@EXPLISITemcee yea when Austin tried so hard for the fans to hate him he and the wwf failed because the fans loved him so much no matter what he did they still cheered for him rock I think succeeded better when he was Hollywood rock because he got the fans to hate him but some were still cheering rocky rocky 😂 stone cold rock always will be the greatest IMO
@@EXPLISITemcee bro I really enjoyed Bret way more then hbk in 97 because hitmam was talking from the heart he was a great heel
@@peeweemgee2738 No i wouldnt say he tried to make fans hate him .. if so he wouldnt ask opinions and would stun fans.. you mean opposite .. WWE wanted Austin to get nicer and funnier ..and Austin did..
Dang never again, never again will we see this much talent at one time in any ring.
I mean, the elite vs Hangman and dark order was two days ago.
@@timothygalvin3021 and his comment still stands
We had Eva Marie in the ring a few days ago.
@@JohnnyTronNetwork now that one is extremely hilarious.
Hogan in ring is garbage, great persona and promos and works the crowd. But tecnically speaking he is utter trash, one hogan match is all you need to see brother!!!
It's just a reflex from the crowd. You get to see a hulk up? You start cheering. Pavlov's dog would like a word with Hulk Hogan.
This is pure gold!!! Even as they exit they're still in character and still convincingly bothered about the outcome of the match
Ric Flair was 47 years old at this time. The athleticism at 0:08 is impressive!
First thing I noticed. I know Flair has said he was self conscious during this time in his career, but that was great.
but what about that giant testicle on the right side of his lower back at 0:13? do you get that from weight training?
It’s a calcium deposit
@@tonysteel9502 You are looking to the old dude balls? You sick
I remember this and love it. But man they looked old even back then.
Reading these comments, it's amazing how many people think this was called in the ring as if Hogan forgot or something. It's part of the finish and it's a heelish version as he misses the leg drop and gets caught in the figure four, so he's out smarted by the Babyface which I'm 99% sure is what they were thinking when they agreed on the finish.
It's mind boggling how many people think it was Hogan being awkward and wondering if he "got any heat backstage" for it.
Honestly, they think they know the business inside out because they know a few terms but don't even understand simple in ring psychology.
Exactly so.
I believe it's his 1st match after turning heel at Hog Wild...Clash Of The Champions I watched it live...don't think he decided to drop the Hulking up part of his repertoire yet is all.
I came to say basically the same thing
Oh lord these always one “well actually” guy in the room!
@OhLong Johnson Never fails. These Crater Faced Meltzer disciples think they read a dirtsheet and know how shit goes any more than any other fan. It's hilarious.
Still a more entertaining Match than every WWE "Match" of today
Yup
Definitely not
Less injuries than your average aew show too
I don't really like either of their styles.
@@problemdude390 bitch from nxt literally just tore her acl, don’t matter what company theyre in.
He didn't forget, he was still experimenting with the character. This was about a month after he turned heel.
Yeah, Hogan missed the leg drop and sold the figure four
Reading the comments, it's amazing how many people think this was called in the ring as if Hogan forgot or something. It's part of the finish and it's a heelish version as he misses the leg drop and gets caught in the figure four, so he's out smarted by the Babyface which I'm 99% sure is what they were thinking when they agreed on the finish.
It's mind boggling how many people think it was Hogan being awkward and wondering if he "got any heat backstage" for it.
Honestly, they think they know the business inside out because they know a few terms but don't even understand simple in ring psychology.
I liked it they did that too when Daniel Bryan turned heel he fought Brick at Survivor series I liked it
This is correct. Hogan was almost always experimenting in some way to see what he could get away with. He tested the heel waters for years before he turned in little moments, just to see what the crowd response might be. This was his way of going "could I turn back if i REALLY need to?...yeah" to himself.
@@magesentron he started as a heel
He knew how to do it
As a storyline goes, one can even say that deep down Hogan still wanted to be a hero, but Hollywood took over and he was too far gone. Somewhere in his soul, he is still the immortal do-gooder.
If you go back to his bash at the beach promo and other promos he did. He changed to a heel because he felt taken for granted & unappreciated by the fans and they made him do it.
And it kept us coming back just waiting for him to turn his back on the NWO and do “the right thing” even begging for fan’s forgiveness
I was always super impressed w/flairs strength for a guy who wasn’t ever known for his power or physique. He got Hogan up for that suplex like it was nothing.
He was close to 300lbs when he was younger and lost weight he was in good shape just had extra skin.
Evidently, you've never seen any of his old pics. Man, I was shocked when I saw his pics from his younger days. Flair was a powerhouse. Go check him out. He doesn't even look the same in the face. Back then, he was HUGE!
Ric use to be a big man he slimmed down after plane crash.
Dude, Flair was jacked in his earlier days. You've only seen him in WCW.
Flair was in great shape cardiovascular. At one point his resting heart rate was very low. That’s impressive for someone that drank everyday for years. He was more of a cardio guy with push-ups, sit-ups and steps. He did powerlifting when he was younger and physique had a good foundation. It’s too bad when he started hanging out with Triple H, and he didn’t react well to whatever Haitch was doing.
If you’ve really followed Hogan in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, you may recall him using heelish tactics as a baby face. Despite no-selling Flair frequently, he could sell pretty good for the most part.
The greatest and most unexpected heel turn of all time!
Chris Benoit was the greatest heel turn.
@@ivibs1984 it wasn't his fault. his wife and kid should have Tapped Out.
Austin’s is the most unexpected. No one would’ve guessed he’d be shaking hands with Vince in the heart of Texas.
@@salamisumo2The crazy thing here is if Hall and Nash had not run in when they did. It is safe to say this may have been a short heel run as the fans were cheering their hero on to come to his senses when he hulked up.
Great ring logo, really displays the idea of the squared circle.
The chemistry between Flair and Hogan is incredible.
It was only really good before WWF and after hogan won the belt from Flair .. it was boring to many AFTER .. allot like trying to re create Warrior vs hulk 2..some things are not magical anymore..
I must say that watching this classic rewind Ric Flair was most impressive for his age and Hulk Hogan at that time! God Bless both of these Legends.
2:44 Two of the most beautiful ladies ever to walk the aisle to the squared circle, and sadly both of them are now deceased.
Liz, yes. Woman, no.
@@NateNizzle Nancy is a goddess
uh no. Sunny and Kimberly, way hotter.
I agree
Nancy Benoit was gorgeous
Hogan played both, one of the best hero’s and heel’s in history, and there was a fine line between them; It was easy to tap into both personas to get maximum effect from the crowd.
It’s crazy how he was the biggest face and the biggest heel. He knew the business so well he ruled as both.
Shawn Michaels was at that level as well
No excuses he should have never hulked up
@@joelbritton4067 Until He ran into Hogan in 2005 at SummerSlam.. 😂😂😂
@@kenrickkahn what do you mean, he was an awesome heel then. The promo in Canada is legendary. Who's your daddy Montreal! Hahah
Hogan and Flair were legends even then
Very strange. Could have been an experiment on Hogan's part, just to test the crowd response.
I was wondering this too. I'm curious what the actual story is behind it.
@Rich Smith Did he get any heat backstage? Particularly from Flair who I can only imagine was ticked off by this?
@@JohnSmith-hv1rm probably not considering Flair being a FULL ON FACE (not just worse of 2 evils haha) and Hogan being a heel were new to both of them. I'm sure they argued about it but I'm sure it wasn't fined huge or backstage fighting ala Bret and Shawn.
This was only his second match as Hollywood. He hadn’t fully fleshed out the character quite yet. This would be the last time he did it until he started his face turn in 1999.
It feels strange for a Heel to Hulk Up.. Most Heels run or roll out the ring to recover.. Someone did say Hogan didn't want to turn Heel and they did a lot of convincing to get him to do so..
Shavonie made a great call here and saved it:
"This time not the fan response like the earlier days"
Back when wrestling was wrestling. It will never be this good again folks.
I like this much more than when he was rolling over for everybody. I remember thinking why did Hogan lose the power of hulking up, just because he turned heel?
@TrueSinister Yeah, i don't like that. Giving it up easy like that. Don't make the heel look weak. It makes the face look weak. If the heel become competitive, and the face overcomes that. That makes the face look even stronger! Just my opinion.
When he was face and he hulked up he got his power from fans, that's why when he was heel he didn't hulk up coz the fans weren't meant to be on his side. Lol
@@wibbiddywoo Agreed, it even kinda makes sense in this match, he tried to Hulk up but it didnt really work and he had to be saved by The Outsiders lol
He's using the dark side of the force now. Darkside users can only summon other members of their faction
That’s something one of my friends and I discussed years ago. Like, how is it, that when a wrestler is a face, he can overcome the odds and win on his own, but same wrestler is a heel, and can’t use all of the same move set, or has to have help to win despite using the same move set? Granted, I know that’s part of the storytelling, but it’s kind of one-sided. Face Hogan either needed no help, or rarely needed help, whereas heel Hogan could never do it on his own. Even in his first match v Rock, he was the heel and lost on his own. He and Flair did a double turn in 99, where Hogan started heel and finished face, but he lost
He didn't 'forget he was heel.' This was right at the beginning of his heel run and he hadn't developed a new heel in ring style yet. He was deliberately hulking up here to see if it would work to hulk up as a heel.
Yea I thought this was intentional. Even still if it wasnt, its always good to see Hogan hulk up even though, as his new gimmick, he isNt sUppoSe to
Yup and because the crowd were cheering he had to drop it, otherwise itll defeat the purpose of being a heel
This is what was fascinating about the nWo era for me... Hogan heel turn while teaming up with recent WWF megastars Diesel and Razor. All the while WCW faces (Luger, Sting) forming strange alliances with WCW heels (Flair and the Horsemen). And the Sting "Crow" character change was the perfect icing on the cake.
Even Randy Anderson pointed at Flair when Hogan also did. A double "YOOOOOOU"
Him hulking up is just showing his fighting spirit
Ah yes the golden age when every match ended with a run in
Sounds like TNA in the Hogan era.
@@brolyvohlkson almost as bad as jarrets championship reigns where EVERY SINGLE match ended with a ref bump followed by a guitar shot
false.. google 80s-70s ..
@@EXPLISITemcee dang..... that was a very well put and thought out response to quite the sarcastic comment, but you are absolutely right! 👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@@EXPLISITemcee exactly why I said my first comment was sarcastic..... WCW was in the toilet at this point and to be fair, WWF wasn’t putting out a much better product..... and the problem with both of them was all the convoluted stables and constant run ins 👍🏻👍🏻
This was very early Hollywood Hogan and I think he was still figuring it out.
It would have been nice if he found a way to do a heel version of the Hulk Up.
There was nothing better than watching Flair get the best of Hogan in the ring. Hogan didn’t let that happen much, but when it did it was glorious. Woooo!!!!
it's definitely cool to look back and watch Hogan Flair with the traditional roles reversed
Flair was actually a heel at this time. He was the US champion taking on faces and was also still in the midst of a feud with Randy Savage. The nWo overshadowing the Horsemen as the top heels made him a face and even then, he was a tweener for a while. Flair was really only a face by necessity against the invading nWo.
Now in regards to Hogan, I agree with others that the Hollywood character was still in its infancy and he was working out the character. Early Hollywood was beating up people but later Hollywood went classic heel and escaped from the ring when trouble came. Also, watch Hogan's matches against Flair in early 1999 and he hulked up as Hollywood in those matches too. So it could have been just a dynamic between Hogan and Flair.
All in all, I do remember this match pretty vividly and how weird it was.
This is heel vs heel. Flair was also fighting the Dungeon of Doom in Horsemen vs Dungeon heel vs heel matches.
Hogan and Flair did the double switch of face/heel in the cagematch
Not that long ago during that time Steve McMichael had betrayed Kevin Greene to join the Four Horsemen. Jeff Jarrett was on his way to WCW during that time. And he was trying to be part of the Four Horsemen.
Can’t teach an old dog new tricks, especially when he only knew a handful to begin with.
😂 word
He didnt forget. He was still evolving his heel persona
Understandable. When you had the same march over 1000 times it's just muscle memory
When you bump so hard off a suplex you forget you face/heel alignment
Hogan and Flair usually just worked the same match every time, that's why he hulked up during those matches with Flair. They wrestled each other hundreds of times over the years and most matches included the same spots. It was just part of their thing.
Even though he was a heel it still got you going deep down in your nostalgic heart 😂
This hit me more as the fans cheering him on to get him to come to his senses.
He was just testing it, but he had to drop it because him hulking up actually makes the other wrestler look more like the heel
Face Flair is weird.
@@Speedyreedy1218 lol exactly, hes a heel by nature
@@Speedyreedy1218 Ric had been a decent face wrestler at times in his career. He just spent a lot more of his career as a heel.
@@SB-jn8cw I feel the same about HHH. But seeing those guys as faces is still weird. Because they're legendary at being bad boys.
Bischoff and Nash have both stated in numerous podcasts and interviews how Hogan had difficulty adjusting his working style, promos, demeanor.
Nash said Hogan needed help when shooting those "paid for by the New World Order" black and white promos as Hogan kept regressing into face-mode, which is why the earlier ones had Hall and Nash do most of the talking whilst Hogan's had to be stitched together.
Fun Fact: Kevin Nash arrived at a Nitro taping wearing a bandana (a la Tupac) and Hogan asked why Nash was wearing that Aunt Jemima headscarf. Nash said it's what rappers are wearing, it's cool.
To be fair Hogan had to go super Saiyan against rick.
His first two televised matches after he turned heel were against heels (Giant and Flair). Bad booking on the part of WCW. Hogan had been hulking up against heels for over a decade by 1996...I can't blame him for slipping back into his face persona. Old habits are hard to break, though thankfully he eventually did break this one once he got more comfortable in his "Hollywood Hogan" role.
You gotta remember, Flair and the 4 horsemen were still a heel stable at this point. I think that hogan hulking up here was to build Flair as being able to get past that and turn him into more of a face.
"Heel or face I shall never sell brotha!!"
Also side note... I always loved how easily someone was knocked out by wearing a ref shirt... literally knocked out by a roll
Just because he turned heel doesn’t mean he transformed into a Jobber. He’s still Hulk Hogan and it makes it more believable if he doesn’t change everything about his wrestling style
Power villains were great they should have used Hall Nash and Hogan like Vader. Powerful dread Instilling bad guys. It fit them better than the coward villain angle. And it makes the babyface look that much better when they win.
I totally agree. I hated how they made hogan into a coward. It never made sense... have him be dominant And heel and eventually have someone like sting or Goldberg get a huge win. Too dumb to have him lose all hos powers, just because he’s a heel. Also, a Heenan family as baby faces against the NWO would have been MONEY 💰
Smh.. When you 'hulk up' you are getting the fans behind you. Why would a heel have fans rallying for him to make a comeback?
He hulked up because that’s what he’s always done. You can be a heel in other ways. It not believable if you just all the sudden turn into a jobber and change everything about your wrestling style just because you put on black shirt
Hulking up isn't a 'style'. It's a stupid implausible 'move' that only faces use. It literally is like - the power of being a face, is what is powering your comeback when you hulk up or do an equivalent thing during a match. The crowd support you're getting as the face is bringing you back. When you're a heel you can't do it. It makes no sense.
i loved seeing this live these endings never got old for me i loved seeing the nWo do their thing everytime Hollywood is the man!!
Your like of clueless thinking is why WCW is out of business. Bischoff thought the same why.
@@rolltide9547 Bischoff is the greatest mind that professional wrestling has ever had
@@mtbd215 Bwahahaha greatest mind!! 😂 😂 😂 i hope you're trolling
I didn't recognize Steve Harvey's voice as the ring announcer until the very end of the match
I believe this was very early into Hogan's heel turn and he was still developing his 'bad guy' character. Guess he figured he'd drop the hulk up the more he got into his villain character...
I remember watching this live thinking WTF...is he turning face ALREADY!?!? I really thought for a split second Hogan might've just cut bait and decided to go back to face. Then I realized, this is him just doing what he's accustomed to for the last 12 years. I don't think he 'wanted to be face'. I think he hadn't figured out what he'd be doing as a heel since he hadn't been one in so long. I actually thought it would be interesting if they HAD HIM HULK UP, since it could be said that he never needed the fans at all. That would've been a helluva swerve thinking about it now.
Master class in being a mark right here.
Only other Hulk up I remember he did as Hollywood Hogan was vs the Rock
Ddp in 99
they were planning to turn Hogan a face after the Wrestlemania match due to fans reacting positively for Hogan before Wrestlemania. They had NO PLANS to turn Hogan back to a face around this time since the NWO was still getting off of the ground!
Also there was a match vs Lex Luger he hulked up too.. I think 96
he did in 99 against flair and anderson Nitro after uncensored
@@Bull1908 he can still hulk up imo. He would just need to make drop
The finger thing. And just glare. Makes it dark .
Wrestling was so authentic and raw back then. Real entertainment. Miss those days. Now its over theatrical and silly.
This was only the 2nd Hollywood Hogan match. They hadn’t worked out the character completely yet. Maybe they were trying to go with the idea of Hogan as an unstoppable monster heel. Hulking up doesn’t defy logic, considering he’d done it for like 15 years, why stop now; the same way Flair did the flop or flip and run to the top turnbuckle.
The problem is that it messes up the dynamics of the match. Which is why they dropped it and Hogan went with being the cowardly, asshole heel instead.
Wow this is in the early nWo days too. Strange spot to do
So this was actually his first match or so as Hollywood. He hadn't yet fully gotten into the heel character, hadn't started strumming air guitar down the aisle, etc. More than likely this was either planned ahead of time, or they changed it on the fly when Hogan was getting cheered and Flair wasn't. Hogan probably wanted to play to the audience.
The worst part about watching a hogan match is you know hes not going to lose clean lol
Doesn't matter how tense the situation is 4:08 Debra is still smiling once that camera hits her every time!
Debra was hilarious.
@@TommyRibs she still has a banging body
I remember this live. The best wrestling days when I was a kid. Road warriors hawk and animal was and is my favorites of all time. Always had respect for double A and ric flair. My 2 favorite horseman
I can see Flair calling that spot. Remember he had Taker sit up in the figure four despite Taker being the American Bad Ass.
Imagine the pop though if Hogan hulked up and when he gets to the finger point, Flair just kicks him square in the balls.
I like how Flair reacted to the hulking up
Wow I can’t believe how Flair held Hogan up on that suplex. That really surprised me.
Me too Lol
Ha I was thinking it too, cause of his plane crash back injury that delay in the suplex and the speed in which he pulled him up into it were both impressive
As much as i loved the cowardly heel he settled on, i do kind of wish they would have figured out a way to make the hulk up work for heel hollywood, plus i loved how vicious he was at first
I mean, he could have possibly played it like a monster heel. Undertaker's no-selling began long before he turned face. But I don't know if that works for Hollywood Hogan. Maybe for early 80s heel Hogan who was huge and taking on jobbers in handicap matches.
it’s his first match as a heel in front of a real crowd , he only one other match as heel before this and that was hog wild
I wondered why the crowd didn't pop for the hulk up? That makes sense now.
Your winner and NOT World Heavyweight championnn, Ric Flaaaiiir!! lmao
That was funny 😂😂🤣
At least we got this dream match while they were still younger and not like 60+.
When WCW was bigger than WWF
It always will be to me
They bought all the competition's stars and still lost the war
Hogan calling spots to Flair - "Suplex me, job brother, punch me twice, job brother, I hulk up, job brother.."
Flair - " But you're a heel!"
Hogan - "JOB BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER BROTHER.............
dope!!
Ahh, finally choked on my coffee. I knew there'd be a comment somewhere around here that'd do it!
@@mariosanchez8236 do what??
@@marksmybitch4599 laughed with a mouthful of coffee and about put it through my nose and choked
He didn't "forget"... This was his second match as a heel. He was still in the middle of figuring out how to be heel Hollywood Hogan.
He probably did forget because you until Bash At The Beach he hasn't been a heel since 1981 or 82
good ol Arn immediately goin for the chair 🤣
Why is this so much better than todays wrestling?
Star power
The best Hollywood Hogan ever
Dual threat - classic and Hollywood all at once
2:20 That's the greatest collection of talent in one place at one time. Hogan, Flair, Sting, Hall, Nash, Arn, Luger......Steve McMichael.
Mongo, Sting and Luger always sucked ass 😂
@@danielwilson9724 You know I was making fun of Mongo, right?
@@butcherboy2008 actually, no I didn't.. I can't read sarcasm my friend.. It needs some " lol" or emoji or something making it noticeable, 😂
@@danielwilson9724 That's why I listed all the A-List talent and then......Steve McMichael.
@@butcherboy2008 ahhhh 😂 I see.. But honestly I never really considered Lex or Sting A list talent either, Hogan only cause he puts asses in seats, not cause his ring expertise and Nash and Hall had their moments for me.. Moreso Nash as I liked Diesel quite a bit on that original first run but again the Outsiders aren't really fluent in the squared circle either, lol but I see what u mean and how u wrote it now.
When you take it into perspective that leg drop was terrible for his back the entire time
When you bump on your ass too much it destroys your back.. That's why in Pro Wrestling school they demand the students to take as many flat back bumps as possible..
@@kenrickkahn exactly hit the most surface area
I think they was toying with the idea of keeping the hulk up as a heel buttttt really wouldn't work as a heel he went to the more traditional punk heel stuff. You can hear the crowd was cheering the hulk up they didn't want that
Idk, pretty sure this was during the times Hogan and NWO were literally running WCW into the ground, so the fans didnt really like them right now, in a more real way because them ruining WCW wasnt a work it was real life.
@@biggains1 When you say running WCW into the ground, do you mean in a monetary, legitimate business sense or running the pro WCW "faction/stable" of wrestlers in the storyline into the ground? If this is only the 2nd match of the "Hollywood Heel Turn," as many others have commented, the NWO stuff wasn't yet ruining WCW as a business but beginning to take off on the run where they would outdo WWF in viewer numbers
@@biggains1 especially this early on, the fans loved the NWO so im not sure what era ur thinking of, or watched, but NWO was great for business early on in the heel Hogan,Hall&Nash sense
@@biggains1 this was well before the group split in 2. This was simply the way these 2 were used working together with the roles reversed for the 1st time.
I thought this was an interesting little experiment to see how the crowd would react. Despite what Tony was saying, you could hear and see a large segment of the crowd getting behind Hollywood.
The NWO got a lot of face heat in those days They were over with the crowd.
@@bugo348 totally, they were the cool heels and the red & black were the most popular faction in WCW 1998. I think what we saw here were a lot of fans who were wanting to cheer for him again and this allowed them too. They never stopped being fans of his.
Bugo is right.. Even though they were heels they got a lot of Face Heat.. They were the cool heels..
He got about the same fan response in this match as he was getting when he was face in WCW. The Hulk-up routine was so worn out by this time.
This just show how much he enjoyed playing a good guy.
You have to remember that prior to this match, Hulk was always the face with Flair always the heel. Even going back to their series of matches in the WWF 5 years prior to this. This is just them going back into what was familiar and comfortable
Damn did Ric flair ever beat Hogan once without it's being a disqualification, count out or interference.
That roll the referee did was devastating. It nearly killed him with the force.
Hogan in the beginning was trying to find his way as a heel wrestler, he wouldn't Hulk up again until early 1999
Cartoon character.
@TrueSinister Also in a cage.
Trying to find his way…? Or being so full of himself that he couldn’t stand seeing baby faces get the adoration while he has to be a heat magnet?
@@TheRoyalHour I'm no Hogan fan, nor do I ever defend him, but this is like his second match as a heel. I'll cut him some slack that he hadn't completely reinvented his in-ring style in 2 matches. Had this continued throughout his heel run than it would have been atrocious, but fortunately it stopped save for a few isolated instances.
@@branchtana315 that would make sense if it wasn’t for the fact that him “Hulking up” is the culmination of the match,most times. Only thing after that is interference, a ref bump,or a 3 count. So,knowing he’s a heel,this isn’t a mistake I think he could make. He never hulked up in the middle of a match as a baby face and was working heel the whole time up to this point in the match.
0:25 the sound of that ring is still so amazing.
Can we appreciate just how good Flair was.
At what?
@@redrick8900 uhhh everything! Never seen a guy take a bump and sell it better than Flair.
@@chetmanley610 So you've never see the Rock, Mick Foley, Shane McMahon, Chris Jericho, HBK, HHH, Jeff Hardy, Lita, D'Lo Brown, AJ Styles, or anyone that can actually bump?
Watching that old man lay on his side makes me sad.
@@redrick8900 Hmmm no I've never heard of any of those guys. I'll tell you what, you seem to be more versed on the subject than me. Why don't you do a little write up on each of them explaining why they are better and you can teach me a thing or two.
@@chetmanley610 That makes sense. You don't appear to be a wrestling fan.
One of the greatest storylines of all time.
Hogan's gear still looks really cool to this day.
He didn’t forget he made it about himself as he always did
This was shortly after the NWO was formed so Hogan was use to working face with Flair heel I don't think he forgot he was just refining his Hollywood character 😏
I remember watching this Clash of the Champions. I was shocked to see him hulking up. It threw me off.
Referee takes the smallest bump and stays down for three days.
They always make me laugh. That bump was like a 3 minute break for the ref.
Then, next week same ref gets clobbered with a chair but is only down for 15 seconds.
When Austin turned heel he couldnt get the people to boo him. They cheered him no matter what he did.
Man in the Dolphins jersey going crazy 😂😂
Hogan was that fan's hero, so he decided to cheer his hero on in the effort to get Hollywood to come to his senses.
It never felt right when Hogan had to be the Heel late in his career. I know how it started but as a kid in the 90s i never saw him as the bad guy
When he was hulking up, it felt like the fans were cheering for him to get him to come to his sense as he was still their hero
It would’ve been better if he had started to do it stop look around and laugh at the crowd for getting hyped up for no reason
Agreed
That idea depends on the crowd giving a shit enough to get excited like that.. 😂
That would be terrible. He would be crapping on everyone that ever sold that gimmick.
Now THAT wouldve been a heel moment for real
Back when wrestling was always quality