I feel like this run was the equivalent of Michael Jordans time with the wizards, ironically around the same time period. A unanimous legend that took their respective fields to unprecedented levels of mainstream appeal and changed the game for the future generations. Someone that was the face of the business, becoming synonymous with it in the 80s and 90s. A household name to the point even non fans would recognize them. Then after a hiatus, they come back during the early 2000s on a new blue brand for what could be called a victory lap. While not in their prime they still garnered the same, if not more, amount of respect from their peers and admiration from the fans. A perfect epilogue for a story book career
I think 2002 was one of the best rosters they've ever had...you had legends like Hogan and Flair, soon to be legends like Taker, Austin and Rock and the future in Angle, Edge and Lesnar. I loved Hogan's run here...yeah, it was nostalgia for me, growing up in the 80s watching Hogan, but I loved it anyways.
In general the early to mid 2000’s was probably the most stacked their roster has ever been. You also had the likes Eddie, Benoit, Jericho, Triple H, HBK, Kane, Booker T, Goldberg, Rey, Christian, RVD, Hardy Boys, The Dudley’s etc. Hell even lower card guys like Rhino.
In Edge's documentary he talked about winning the tag team titles with Hulk. It was like a dream come true that he was teaming with his childhood hero.
I always loved Edge so when I found out he was a Hulkamaniac just like me that only made me love him that much more. So glad two of my favorites from different eras got the chance to work together. It was a dream come true for me too.
It's pretty damn awesome that guys like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair and the Undertaker managed to stay so very relevant for so very long. I wish the 3 of these legends a happy life and I hope they are enjoying their MUCH deserved retirement.
I was at wrestlemania 18 and 6. He's mostly big in Toronto and Montreal because wwf would run monthly shows here in the 80s. We're also a very loyal fan base. We didn't care about NWO at X18 cause we wanted Hulkamania back
Agreed. Not just Toronto at WM 6 and WM 18, but also Montreal gave Hulk Hogan a deafening 17 minute standing ovation, the fans wouldn’t stop their cheering for that long even though Hulk pointed to the microphone, and it had to be cut for TV - Canadians give the Hulkster such well deserved respect and appreciation.
@ Hogan didn’t bury Triple H at all. He beat Triple H in an unclean manner as Taker interfered for the WWE championship and than Hogan did the job clean to Triple H on an episode of Smackdown. Which puts Triple H in a very elite group. What part of that is “burying” Triple H? Simply losing, once in awhile, doesn’t mean you’re being buried.
This run is actually way better than many would remember. My brother and I were at the Smackdown where the contract signing took place in Louisville, KY. We marked out pretty hard.
The WWE Undisputed design was the last time the WWE Title looked nice. Screw that spinner. Also Hogan being pulled by the undertakers motorcycle looks like a lot of fun
I bet Vince had a talk with him about it. He wanted him back as the real Hulk, not that skinny version when he got to WCW. But to me in late WCW and his last WWE run he looked the best in his career, huge but defined. In the 80s he was big but bloated like a hotdog.
I remember I was 11 years old watching Smackdown during this era. This man literally stood in the ring about to cut a promo.. and he couldn’t start talking because the crowd wouldn’t stop cheering, they were going INSANE just from his presence. It was the biggest show of love and respect I’ve ever seen in wrestling. It’s legit lasted about 10 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like that since. That’s a superstar
I'm not a big Hulk fan but he looked really good around this era. WCW Hulk be it classic or Hollywood we got used to his predicable schtick and it became eyerolling but with his WWE return he came across like a silent veteran badass type. Solely going off looks, of course his in ring ability would be declining at this point.
@@kingston4313 oof. It's weird contextualizing ages of wrestlers. Been rewatching 1996 Bash at the Beach and was curious how old Jim Duggan was then cause he always seemed like a crazy old man. 42, basic the same age as Brodie Lee.
It's so weird seeing Hulk Hogan in the same ring as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Edge. Hell, it's just weird seeing wrestlers who is popular in the previous generation working with the present and future gens.
Agreed. He’s had 10 back surgeries and lost 4 inches in height because of that leg drop. Bless the Hulkster for sacrificing his body like that to entertain his fans and now suffering the consequences.
I’m glad Hogan won the belt for the simple fact that it made him the last WWF champion before the name change, and of the guys working then Hogan was the one who has held the WWF championship the longest. So for me it made sense that he was the last WWF champion.
Dude, you REALLY deserve a lot of credit for making these videos. We appreciate everything you do more than you can imagine and more than we can put to words. Don't ever have any doubts of what you are doing is anything but appreciated! Thank you! Continue!!! Please!
It seems like it was smart showing he is a team player and making people trust him to do the right thing and still being over with the crowd. Just play ball for a little while then start flexing his power and Vince just goes with the money and it doesn't matter who fans think should win it's all about Vince and money.
@Bryan Mack there was no upside in shawn beating hogan. Must people will criticize hogan for not losing against randy orton, but if i were on hogans shoes, and they call me for one match, i wouldn't take it if i'm not going to win....
Stop bitchin about hbk... The man who was a real troublemaker for years.. He wasn't a Saint neither should Hogan put him over.And guess what in order to put some people over you have to win also some others
This is actually my second favorite iteration of Hogan. He looked amazing, he was humble, and his promos were generally less cartoonish and more real. I wish he'd retired after Wrestlemania 19. His legacy would be MUCH better remembered if he had disappeared after Wrestlemania 19.
I agree. He put over a ton of guys in this era, had two great wm matches, and the crowd was just glad to have him back. Hes done nothing but hurt his legacy after 2005.
One of the best hogan runs. He could still put on at least mostly respectable matches, had some of his best character work, and actually put over w good amount of people while still feeling like a legit title winning threat.
Thought you would've put more emphasis on how Triple H was ripping into him on those promos.. Gotta give hogan credit though, he got alot of non clean wins
Dude, Hogans matches against Angle were amazing! Should’ve talked about them more. Sure it’s easy to just say Angle carried the whole thing, but give Hogan credit for putting on his work boots and being able to hang with Angle at his age.
Hogan getting the belt again for old time's sake is fine; he only had it for a month. His singles matches, however, should have been exclusively on PPV.
The match at Backlash 2002 might not have been a five star classic, but the crowd in Kansas City that night were INTO IT. The whole crowd was on fire that night, and the poo he got when he won the belt was great. For that reason, Backlash '02 is one of my favorite underrated shows.
12:26 Now I know why Stone Cold Steve Austin did not want to do the job for Brock Lesnar. I can argue what the hell is hulk Hogan doing a tv match with Brock but not on ppv?
Hulk is, was and forever will be a whore, any time he wanted screen time after wcw all he needed to do was go back to wwe and they gave him a program hell it was even worse when he sunk his claws into tna
I think every era of Hulk Hogan Was excellent. Hulk knew how to roll with the changes in his life and the wrestling business. Hogan even in TNA though he wasn't in ring he was still the guy with probably the most TV time. People are very critical of Hulk but hes done it all and the best promo in history.
I have to say that I love wrestling documentaries and Wrestling Bios isn’t just the best on TH-cam but your content is better than documentaries you find on the WWE Network too. Keep up the amazing work Wrestling Bios 👍🏻👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Yeah I agree it made the WWE championship very important, but there were several problems. First, too many title changes look at 2002 after the split there were 4 changes all lasted a month. Second the person holding the belt would be burned out between both shows, hence constant title changes. But with careful booking one top champion on 2 shows work, hence why you have midcard titles as the workhorse titles. I currently hate the universal title now.
I didn’t because if one guy from one brand had the champion, then who gets the title shot next? Another guy from the same brand the champion is or someone from the other brand? It just gets confusing.
17:39 Makes me sad to see Sean O’Haire there and still to this day imagine what could have been. I would love to see a video on his entire wrestling career on this channel.
Its going to take him about 5 years to do the complete Monday night war. Who knows where TH-cam will be. This is one of the best channels out there, because with blocking every cannel with "explained" in the title, or channels that show 10-35 second vids, or every channel with the word "tactical" in it, your youtube channel selection really goes down. And thank goodness "Bios" has not used "explained" in his videos.
@@derekazyan9942 Basically, he didnt like the Mr. America gimmick and his WM19 paycheck....Im also sure he didnt like the fact that he wasnt gonna be the top guy anymore.
7:12 screenshot. that ramp, the pitch black barricade, the fist, the lighting, the video of whats going on in the ring on the titantron, this arena design while seeming like a minimal detail did a lot for me to tune into smackdown in 2001-2007. made the entrances look cooler, made wwe feel like its own world, etc.
I won't argue with the people who hate on Hogan for his notorious politics. But I'm only interested in the perspective as a fan. And Hogan has always been special to me, but as a kid who grew up in the 90s. I never saw him wrestle in the 80s Instead I grew up with NWO Hollywood Hulk Hogan in WCW And then his return in this period in WWF. And I think this quick run was when I may have enjoyed him the best tbh. As much as he was my first favorite wrestler as a kid back in the NWO days... This was when seeing him go toe to toe with some of the top WWF guys at the tail end of the attitude era finally became a reality and it was just so entertaining. Plus he was still in such great shape.
This is exactly how I feel. The only thing that really annoys me, is when people pretend Hogan couldn't work....Idk if they're being deceitful or willfully ignorant, but the man's inring capabilities cannot be denied. Just watch his early work, especially in Japan, & it's obvious. He just didn't need to be a great technical wrestler, bc when Hulkamania took over, most fans just wanted big men to dominate, in ring. Nothing more, nothing less.
@Movies and Wrestling see around this time was when I would stop watching for a while. The attitude era was closing out and I was just in high school and watching wrestling was no longer seen as the cool thing to do lol So I let it drop for a bit after 2003. Picked up and watched a bit again around 2006-2007 and then basically stopped altogether. It's hard to recapture that magic and to get invested in new talent and storylines But I started watching around 96 and 97 with WCW and by 98 and 99 I had switched to just watching WWF. These days I relive my youth with WWE network lol
@@sese6227 yeah I agree there too. The way he was trained was different back then too. Wrestling used to just be about big impressive looking guys facing off. Almost circus sideshow like strongman physique types. It wasn't as much about some of the more impressive technical stuff. Hogan may have had a limited moveset but he had the cardio to keep up with any opponent and knew how to orchestrate match flow. And that's a huge part of the business too. I give him the respect he's earned. His name is big for a reason. But I won't ignore the reputation he's clearly also garnered behind the scenes too. I just hope he's mellowed out as much as he seems to have when you hear him interview
Even though Hulk Hogan isn't one of my favourite wrestlers, I have always had a lot of respect for what he's done for the wrestling business and his Smackdown run from March 02 - Jul 03 was the period I enjoyed the most of his post NWO career. For the first time ever, he wasn't the centrepiece or main attraction of the show like he was in his 80s heyday, he was actually a team player and did quite a lot of jobs, even though he won the world title from Triple H, he quickly dropped it the following month to the Undertaker and spent most of his run putting over lots of guys like The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Billy & Chuck culminating in giving Brock Lesnar a huge rub before Summerslam. It was weird to see him hold the tag team championship and sharing the spotlight with a younger wrestler but the association did wonders for Edge's singles career. My favourite program with Hulk Hogan was his feud in 2003 against Vince McMahon which had a fantastic story and added a lot of realism to the epic build up, their WM19 street fight was excellent and much better than I expected. Overall this period was Hulk Hogan's best work and even though he lost most of his matches, it didn't hurt him at all and his stature helped make the Smackdown blue brand a much better show than Raw. Thanks for another fantastic video 😊 and keep up the good work 👏
I started watching wrestling in 1998 and never watched WCW, so I was very excited for The NWO in WWF/E. As poorly as it played out, it was surreal. It was one of those moments in wrestling where you feel like a part of history just by watching it happen.
I always wondered why they kept him as “red and yellow” Hollywood Hulk Hogan ... like why keep the Hollywood beard? That always felt so jarring to me as a kid ... BUT I will say this is a great overview! Hogan coming back to the WWF was my dream as a kid and this was easily my favorite time in wrestling.
Great video as always. But how can you not use that image of a bloodied McMahon peeping over the ring at WM?! 😂 Lots of people rip on the Mr America stuff but Ioved it!
If anyone hasn't seen it, do yourself a favor and check out the pre-match promo for Vince vs. Hogan at Mania XIX. Gotta be in the top 5 best promos WWE has ever produced
Appreciate this wholesome content! Would love a face reveal and I don’t feel we even know a first name to call you for this nostalgic journey you are leading us on!
I feel like this run was the equivalent of Michael Jordans time with the wizards, ironically around the same time period. A unanimous legend that took their respective fields to unprecedented levels of mainstream appeal and changed the game for the future generations. Someone that was the face of the business, becoming synonymous with it in the 80s and 90s. A household name to the point even non fans would recognize them. Then after a hiatus, they come back during the early 2000s on a new blue brand for what could be called a victory lap. While not in their prime they still garnered the same, if not more, amount of respect from their peers and admiration from the fans. A perfect epilogue for a story book career
From what I recall (yes, I'm old enough to remember this era!) he definitely wasn't the political nightmare he'd been in WCW. It was actually fun watching him again.
I think it's fair to say that someone the star of Hogan's level that was able to call his own shots like he clearly did in WCW was going to cause some issues, but WCW was always going to have something going against it, the brand always had its issues, going back to the very moment Ted Turner bought Jim Crockett, Jr. out.
I really enjoyed the red and yellow Hollywood Hulk Hogan run. The crowd went absolutely nuclear when Voodoo Child started to play in the arena. It’s something you really had to see for yourself.
I thought Hogan had a pretty good run in 2002-03 especially considering the talent pool in that WWE locker room in 2002. For me it was cool to see him win the Undisputed Title and great story with Hulkamania despite the matches not being great except the magic he had with the Rock at WrestleMania 18. I love the match he had against McMahon at WrestleMania 19, it was better than I expected it to turn out. By the way, this channel deserves a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame
I went to an MSG house show in 02, saw Hogan wrestle Undertaker. The reaction Hogan got at the Garden was off the charts. Fond memories of this period.
Oh come ON! Mr. America was NOT Hulk Hogan! Mr. America never wrestled in WCW, Hogan did. Mr. America wore a mask. Hogan didn't wear mask. Mr. America wore red, white, and blue. Hogan wore red and yellow. Plus, Hogan wore black and white. When did we ever see Mr. America wear black and white? And Hogan's face is CLEARLY photo shopped on Mr. America. Come on guys, it should be so obvious! (LOL)
In my opinion, SmackDown! was Hogan's show during the brand split. Hogan was the face of the SmackDown! brand. What SmackDown! is to Hogan like what RAW is to Stone Cold.
Around this time to me hogan main feud in 2002-2003 was really Vince McMahon....even tho he had small feuds with Rock,taker,triple h angle and Brock his major feud was with vince
I showed that to a friend who didn't watch wrestling but was familiar enough with certain personalities, including Vince McMahon himself. He laughed as hard as I did at that lie detector segment. Vince's facial expressions and comedic timing should be talked about more. Really sold his segments
or the era I call it the "fathers who want to show their son(s) just how amazing and a hero Hogan was to them" era... Which is fine for me cuz I got to see Vince/Hogan and HBK/Hogan so. But he only ever had the looks and charisma - terrible wrestler and matches. without a mic, gimmick/show and dance, he's nothing brother! None the less, he's my first love during the beginning of my early fandom of WWE and is in my mount rushmore, begrudgingly.
Hogan put over a lot of talent during this period and the manner in which how he lost is most surprising. Tapping out to Angle, Being put to sleep by Lesnar and another losing effort to The Rock. I can see how Hogan would get annoyed. I think considering his age and capabilities at the time, it would have been more suited for him to bow out on a high considering what he did for the company.
Imo this was the last time Hulk Hogan truly shine, like an epilogue for a great story. Wrestling bios is on point once again.
What about that epic Ric Flair battle... you know... tna!?! 🤣
The only time I disagreed with W.B. was when he discredited the dark carnival
actually his 2005 run was was really the last time. Headlining Summerslam vs Shawn Michaels
I feel like this run was the equivalent of Michael Jordans time with the wizards, ironically around the same time period. A unanimous legend that took their respective fields to unprecedented levels of mainstream appeal and changed the game for the future generations. Someone that was the face of the business, becoming synonymous with it in the 80s and 90s. A household name to the point even non fans would recognize them. Then after a hiatus, they come back during the early 2000s on a new blue brand for what could be called a victory lap. While not in their prime they still garnered the same, if not more, amount of respect from their peers and admiration from the fans. A perfect epilogue for a story book career
@@willisapril The Legend vs Icon was a awesome storyline but Hulk didn't make it due to his first back injury...
I think 2002 was one of the best rosters they've ever had...you had legends like Hogan and Flair, soon to be legends like Taker, Austin and Rock and the future in Angle, Edge and Lesnar. I loved Hogan's run here...yeah, it was nostalgia for me, growing up in the 80s watching Hogan, but I loved it anyways.
Smackdown was lit
@@dominiquejones3805 back in 2002 it was both raw and smack down rosters on both show because it was just one roster
@@ocsjc13 no. the draft happened in march
no lie in both 2002 and 2003 both Raw and Smackdown were loaded with talent from top to bottom.
In general the early to mid 2000’s was probably the most stacked their roster has ever been.
You also had the likes Eddie, Benoit, Jericho, Triple H, HBK, Kane, Booker T, Goldberg, Rey, Christian, RVD, Hardy Boys, The Dudley’s etc. Hell even lower card guys like Rhino.
In Edge's documentary he talked about winning the tag team titles with Hulk. It was like a dream come true that he was teaming with his childhood hero.
I always loved Edge so when I found out he was a Hulkamaniac just like me that only made me love him that much more. So glad two of my favorites from different eras got the chance to work together. It was a dream come true for me too.
Ya, I can’t imagine how surreal that must have been. I grew up same era same story.
It's pretty damn awesome that guys like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair and the Undertaker managed to stay so very relevant for so very long. I wish the 3 of these legends a happy life and I hope they are enjoying their MUCH deserved retirement.
@@flightofthebumblebee9529 Hulk is like MJ, Tyson, Ali......
They lie all the time in those docs
Found this channel a few days ago, and I've been binging your videos ever since. Love the amount of detail and research that goes into them!
Awesome. Thanks for sticking around :)
As did I!
I've been here for a while now. You won't regret subscribing. Top notch A++ content that's no filler!
Does he really think anything happens in the world of wrestling that isn't 100% scripted and trained for? He talks like things aren't some times.
@@haraldblatand5362 Well if you don't like his analysis then no one forces you to watch...
Hulk Still Rules Hogan was basically Hulkamania & Hollywood combined
Smackdown 2002-2003 was incredible. It was like a ppv every week. It was hands down the better than raw.
I think Hogan might be bigger in Canada than in the US, it's crazy. Like how they cheered for him at WM18 as a heel in Toronto.
I was at wrestlemania 18 and 6. He's mostly big in Toronto and Montreal because wwf would run monthly shows here in the 80s. We're also a very loyal fan base. We didn't care about NWO at X18 cause we wanted Hulkamania back
Agreed. Not just Toronto at WM 6 and WM 18, but also Montreal gave Hulk Hogan a deafening 17 minute standing ovation, the fans wouldn’t stop their cheering for that long even though Hulk pointed to the microphone, and it had to be cut for TV - Canadians give the Hulkster such well deserved respect and appreciation.
He and Bret are on another level here.
Do the story of Stone Colds Raw General manager run in 2003
hogan's 2002 run is so underrated. Who would've thought Hogan would ever win a title that isn't the wwe title. Let alone a tag team title run?
"Triple H should have held on to the belt a little longer."
Boy, I never thought I would hear that in my lifetime.
And then he went on to hold the titles 1000 times.
Ironic hhh got buried by Hogan lol .no one can out bury Hogan. Lol not hhh or shawn
@ Hogan didn’t bury Triple H at all. He beat Triple H in an unclean manner as Taker interfered for the WWE championship and than Hogan did the job clean to Triple H on an episode of Smackdown. Which puts Triple H in a very elite group. What part of that is “burying” Triple H? Simply losing, once in awhile, doesn’t mean you’re being buried.
LOL. No kidding.
What screw that! I’m glad triple h lost that title! Typical triple h holding on to titles boring matches!
This run is actually way better than many would remember. My brother and I were at the Smackdown where the contract signing took place in Louisville, KY. We marked out pretty hard.
Hey, I was at that show as well. It was my first live wrestling event!
@@phyrexiancoffee6324 Same Here
Your ... BROTHA???? That doesn't work for me, brothaaaaaa!!!!
@@cumexolaf3276Hey bro, why doesn't that work for you?
17:03 Steph's top is three sizes too small
Stephanie McMahon back in the day just wow
17:05 Fine AF
She helped turn me from a boy into a man
Attitude era when she was a young ting still 😍
She was one buxom gal
She was hot 🥵
The WWE Undisputed design was the last time the WWE Title looked nice. Screw that spinner.
Also Hogan being pulled by the undertakers motorcycle looks like a lot of fun
Totally agree. All their world belts are hideous.
Did you know the Hogan/Undertaker motorcycle bit was included in Smackdown Shut Your Mouth?
the spinner belt was the downfall of WWE belts looking decent
I agree. The Undisputed belt was a great looking belt.
The winged eagle and the big gold belt were the two greatest straps of all time
That Wrestlemania match between Vince and Hogan was really freaking good
Hulk Hogan was in great shape during the early 2000s
Ya he was no spring chicken but he looked great.
@@kuma1388 Wasnt he 50? same age as Jericho right now
I bet Vince had a talk with him about it. He wanted him back as the real Hulk, not that skinny version when he got to WCW. But to me in late WCW and his last WWE run he looked the best in his career, huge but defined. In the 80s he was big but bloated like a hotdog.
Steroids, I mean vitamins
@Dominic Shaw we dont want healthy goddammit
The last WWF Champion, the first WWE Champion
Yooo I thought I only realised that. Liked the comment btw I don't know it you care.
As a younger man I personally was in heaven when hulk made his final in ring run! Hulkamania will live forever!
I STILL loved the hulkster during this time
I remember I was 11 years old watching Smackdown during this era. This man literally stood in the ring about to cut a promo.. and he couldn’t start talking because the crowd wouldn’t stop cheering, they were going INSANE just from his presence. It was the biggest show of love and respect I’ve ever seen in wrestling. It’s legit lasted about 10 minutes. I’ve never seen anything like that since. That’s a superstar
1:45 so much nostalgia for each wrestler with their own intro card animation. Even if they didn't match the others on screen lol.
Voodoo Child was an awesome theme. I was disappointed when it wasn’t in 2K20
Apparently, they don't have rights to it anymore.
Voodoo side of life was more badass
Vince aint paying no extra money
@@marcbousaleh and this costs nothing for WWE, so it could have at least been there
In terms of Hulk's theme songs, in my opinion:
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) > Real American
Voodoo child is so underrated
Boo this man!
Pretty incredible the amount of dream matches he had in this period
I'm not a big Hulk fan but he looked really good around this era. WCW Hulk be it classic or Hollywood we got used to his predicable schtick and it became eyerolling but with his WWE return he came across like a silent veteran badass type. Solely going off looks, of course his in ring ability would be declining at this point.
He was the same age as Jericho is now.
@@kingston4313 oof. It's weird contextualizing ages of wrestlers. Been rewatching 1996 Bash at the Beach and was curious how old Jim Duggan was then cause he always seemed like a crazy old man. 42, basic the same age as Brodie Lee.
It's so weird seeing Hulk Hogan in the same ring as Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and Edge. Hell, it's just weird seeing wrestlers who is popular in the previous generation working with the present and future gens.
I never saw the "Right ga-guy, at the right time" promo before 🤣
Idk how I missed it, but oh my gosh, that's amazing. Whoopsie!
I honestly don't know how I missed that promo myself! I watched both Raw and SmackDown every week.
I hate to say it with Hogan but he's a gaffe machine with live promos
I grew up watching Hogan, I ate my vitamins, said my prayers, and exercised everyday, brother! I’ll always have a high level of respect for him.
Why does he dislike black people?
@@Krispen_Wah he won't be the first o rlast person to dislike black people
Hogan sucked his wrestling sucked everything about his corny gimmick sucked
@@Krispen_Wah
Why do black people dislike black people?
@@Krispen_Wah Stfu
Knowing what those leg drops did to his body, every time i see hogan drop one I cringe. Anyone with me?
No.
I'd be dropping legs with reckless abandon also for the opportunity to get paid as much as he was for doing it.
Agreed. He’s had 10 back surgeries and lost 4 inches in height because of that leg drop. Bless the Hulkster for sacrificing his body like that to entertain his fans and now suffering the consequences.
@@chris2423 He did it for money, not as some charitable endeavour for the fans.
@@kaganplant167 factual lol
“Vince says he’s going to milk Hulkamania for as much money as he can” . Truer words have never been spoken
Oh that promo was a shoot lol
I’m glad Hogan won the belt for the simple fact that it made him the last WWF champion before the name change, and of the guys working then Hogan was the one who has held the WWF championship the longest. So for me it made sense that he was the last WWF champion.
and the first WWE champion, a great honour that Hulk definitely deserved unintentional though it may have been
Dude, you REALLY deserve a lot of credit for making these videos. We appreciate everything you do more than you can imagine and more than we can put to words. Don't ever have any doubts of what you are doing is anything but appreciated! Thank you! Continue!!! Please!
All those clean losses in 2002 must have been when he had little to no backstage power.
He was paranoid. Those loses didn’t hurt his career at all 🤷♂️
It seems like it was smart showing he is a team player and making people trust him to do the right thing and still being over with the crowd. Just play ball for a little while then start flexing his power and Vince just goes with the money and it doesn't matter who fans think should win it's all about Vince and money.
He went back 2 THAT DOESNT WORK 4 ME BROTHER by the time HBK came through 4 business
@Bryan Mack there was no upside in shawn beating hogan. Must people will criticize hogan for not losing against randy orton, but if i were on hogans shoes, and they call me for one match, i wouldn't take it if i'm not going to win....
Stop bitchin about hbk... The man who was a real troublemaker for years.. He wasn't a Saint neither should Hogan put him over.And guess what in order to put some people over you have to win also some others
This is actually my second favorite iteration of Hogan. He looked amazing, he was humble, and his promos were generally less cartoonish and more real. I wish he'd retired after Wrestlemania 19. His legacy would be MUCH better remembered if he had disappeared after Wrestlemania 19.
I agree. He put over a ton of guys in this era, had two great wm matches, and the crowd was just glad to have him back. Hes done nothing but hurt his legacy after 2005.
One of the best hogan runs. He could still put on at least mostly respectable matches, had some of his best character work, and actually put over w good amount of people while still feeling like a legit title winning threat.
Thought you would've put more emphasis on how Triple H was ripping into him on those promos.. Gotta give hogan credit though, he got alot of non clean wins
Yea Vince is the only one I think
@@rayhoyer4829 seems Hogan has 0 issue being made to look like a fool outside of the ring
Hulk Hogan and Mr. America the same person? AN OUTRAGEOUS FALSEHOOD 😂😂😂😂
Dude, Hogans matches against Angle were amazing! Should’ve talked about them more. Sure it’s easy to just say Angle carried the whole thing, but give Hogan credit for putting on his work boots and being able to hang with Angle at his age.
HHH did hold the belt after this for way to long on and off till 2005 he deserved to lose here
New Year’s starting off well ladies and gentlemen
Hogan getting the belt again for old time's sake is fine; he only had it for a month. His singles matches, however, should have been exclusively on PPV.
2002 was a crazy year for undisputed championship
Hulk Hogan is, was, and always will be the G.O.A.T.!!!!
Facts
Wrong. Austin outsold hogan
Hulk hogan taking the wig off Angle is still awesome.
The wig, then they pants him . Tremendous
The match at Backlash 2002 might not have been a five star classic, but the crowd in Kansas City that night were INTO IT. The whole crowd was on fire that night, and the poo he got when he won the belt was great.
For that reason, Backlash '02 is one of my favorite underrated shows.
12:26 Now I know why Stone Cold Steve Austin did not want to do the job for Brock Lesnar. I can argue what the hell is hulk Hogan doing a tv match with Brock but not on ppv?
Hulk is, was and forever will be a whore, any time he wanted screen time after wcw all he needed to do was go back to wwe and they gave him a program hell it was even worse when he sunk his claws into tna
I think every era of Hulk Hogan
Was excellent.
Hulk knew how to roll with the changes in his life and the wrestling business.
Hogan even in TNA though he wasn't in ring he was still the guy with probably the most TV time.
People are very critical of Hulk but hes done it all and the best promo in history.
I have to say that I love wrestling documentaries and Wrestling Bios isn’t just the best on TH-cam but your content is better than documentaries you find on the WWE Network too. Keep up the amazing work Wrestling Bios 👍🏻👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Yoo... Standing in front of another man talking trash WHILE ripping a shirt off. Classic Hogan
I liked when they had one world title for both brands to fight over. It made things more interesting.
Yeah I agree it made the WWE championship very important, but there were several problems. First, too many title changes look at 2002 after the split there were 4 changes all lasted a month. Second the person holding the belt would be burned out between both shows, hence constant title changes. But with careful booking one top champion on 2 shows work, hence why you have midcard titles as the workhorse titles. I currently hate the universal title now.
I didn’t because if one guy from one brand had the champion, then who gets the title shot next? Another guy from the same brand the champion is or someone from the other brand? It just gets confusing.
This roster was probably the best in wrestling history imo
Please do Hogan vs Michaels and Hogan vs Orton
They should have had a Hogan impersonator play Mr. America for a night to “prove” that he wasn’t Hulk by having the two stand next to each other
They could have brought in Randy Hogan on a one day contract.
I marked out big time back then, and it went so well he sailed off that return for years. And Jimi all the way please 🙏
SRV would have also been awesome.
17:39 Makes me sad to see Sean O’Haire there and still to this day imagine what could have been. I would love to see a video on his entire wrestling career on this channel.
After the Monday night war series is over, you should do Raw vs Smack Down
After 7 years
Its going to take him about 5 years to do the complete Monday night war.
Who knows where TH-cam will be. This is one of the best channels out there, because with blocking every cannel with "explained" in the title, or channels that show 10-35 second vids, or every channel with the word "tactical" in it, your youtube channel selection really goes down.
And thank goodness "Bios" has not used "explained" in his videos.
I'll be dead by that time brother.
Sucks that Hogan didnt stay a little longer in 2003. I wish he wouldve stayed at least long enough to be in WWE HCTP.
Why did he leave again?
@@derekazyan9942 Basically, he didnt like the Mr. America gimmick and his WM19 paycheck....Im also sure he didnt like the fact that he wasnt gonna be the top guy anymore.
7:12 screenshot. that ramp, the pitch black barricade, the fist, the lighting, the video of whats going on in the ring on the titantron, this arena design while seeming like a minimal detail did a lot for me to tune into smackdown in 2001-2007. made the entrances look cooler, made wwe feel like its own world, etc.
7:50 does a great job too witht he pitch black steps, thin padded floors, ring skirt, and ring posts. just provided better aesthetic
I won't argue with the people who hate on Hogan for his notorious politics.
But I'm only interested in the perspective as a fan. And Hogan has always been special to me, but as a kid who grew up in the 90s. I never saw him wrestle in the 80s
Instead I grew up with NWO Hollywood Hulk Hogan in WCW
And then his return in this period in WWF. And I think this quick run was when I may have enjoyed him the best tbh. As much as he was my first favorite wrestler as a kid back in the NWO days... This was when seeing him go toe to toe with some of the top WWF guys at the tail end of the attitude era finally became a reality and it was just so entertaining.
Plus he was still in such great shape.
This is exactly how I feel. The only thing that really annoys me, is when people pretend Hogan couldn't work....Idk if they're being deceitful or willfully ignorant, but the man's inring capabilities cannot be denied. Just watch his early work, especially in Japan, & it's obvious. He just didn't need to be a great technical wrestler, bc when Hulkamania took over, most fans just wanted big men to dominate, in ring. Nothing more, nothing less.
@Movies and Wrestling see around this time was when I would stop watching for a while. The attitude era was closing out and I was just in high school and watching wrestling was no longer seen as the cool thing to do lol
So I let it drop for a bit after 2003. Picked up and watched a bit again around 2006-2007 and then basically stopped altogether.
It's hard to recapture that magic and to get invested in new talent and storylines
But I started watching around 96 and 97 with WCW and by 98 and 99 I had switched to just watching WWF.
These days I relive my youth with WWE network lol
@@whatwelearned Going outta your way to be a A-hole, also not a good look.
@@sese6227 yeah I agree there too. The way he was trained was different back then too. Wrestling used to just be about big impressive looking guys facing off. Almost circus sideshow like strongman physique types. It wasn't as much about some of the more impressive technical stuff.
Hogan may have had a limited moveset but he had the cardio to keep up with any opponent and knew how to orchestrate match flow.
And that's a huge part of the business too.
I give him the respect he's earned. His name is big for a reason.
But I won't ignore the reputation he's clearly also garnered behind the scenes too. I just hope he's mellowed out as much as he seems to have when you hear him interview
all hogan had was charisma he couldn't work and in the end showed his true colors as a racist bigot
Probably the most giving part of his career.
By the time he got 2 Shawn it was back 2 the usual That Doesn't Work 4 Me Brother
Hogan is beyond legendary and deserved an incredible win ratio.
Hogan had a good run here. He wasn't in control backstage so he didn't win all the time but he still had a good run.
Even though Hulk Hogan isn't one of my favourite wrestlers, I have always had a lot of respect for what he's done for the wrestling business and his Smackdown run from March 02 - Jul 03 was the period I enjoyed the most of his post NWO career.
For the first time ever, he wasn't the centrepiece or main attraction of the show like he was in his 80s heyday, he was actually a team player and did quite a lot of jobs, even though he won the world title from Triple H, he quickly dropped it the following month to the Undertaker and spent most of his run putting over lots of guys like The Rock, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Billy & Chuck culminating in giving Brock Lesnar a huge rub before Summerslam.
It was weird to see him hold the tag team championship and sharing the spotlight with a younger wrestler but the association did wonders for Edge's singles career.
My favourite program with Hulk Hogan was his feud in 2003 against Vince McMahon which had a fantastic story and added a lot of realism to the epic build up, their WM19 street fight was excellent and much better than I expected.
Overall this period was Hulk Hogan's best work and even though he lost most of his matches, it didn't hurt him at all and his stature helped make the Smackdown blue brand a much better show than Raw.
Thanks for another fantastic video 😊 and keep up the good work 👏
This is actually one of my favourite Hogan runs, the feud & match with Vince was brilliant
Agreed, it should've lasted longer.
One of my favourite HULKAMANIAC runs
I started watching wrestling in 1998 and never watched WCW, so I was very excited for The NWO in WWF/E. As poorly as it played out, it was surreal. It was one of those moments in wrestling where you feel like a part of history just by watching it happen.
I always wondered why they kept him as “red and yellow” Hollywood Hulk Hogan ... like why keep the Hollywood beard? That always felt so jarring to me as a kid ... BUT I will say this is a great overview! Hogan coming back to the WWF was my dream as a kid and this was easily my favorite time in wrestling.
Great video as always. But how can you not use that image of a bloodied McMahon peeping over the ring at WM?! 😂
Lots of people rip on the Mr America stuff but Ioved it!
If anyone hasn't seen it, do yourself a favor and check out the pre-match promo for Vince vs. Hogan at Mania XIX. Gotta be in the top 5 best promos WWE has ever produced
Fun fact that everyone knows but the undertaker's first champion win was against hulk hogan
Funny how he looked the best during his last run 😅
Jesus something's not right you're actually putting over hulk hogan?? This will make this coming week's episode of reliving the war rather interesting
Yeah this guy REALLY hates hogan it quite obvious for all.
Very nicely covered... I love yoir videos
Kane looked like a clown in that Rock&Hogan segment
Appreciate this wholesome content! Would love a face reveal and I don’t feel we even know a first name to call you for this nostalgic journey you are leading us on!
Part of the reason that the Edge/Hulk promo worked so well was that Adam Copeland really had been a huge Hogan fan as a kid.
Your intro is so nostalgic bro thanks
Polygraph tests don't work even in real life, so that storyline was pretty accurate.
This comment funny asf 😂😂😂😂
Hollywood Hulk Hogan will always be over because HOLLYWOOD HULKAMANIA is 4Life 💪🏻🤘🏻
I feel like this run was the equivalent of Michael Jordans time with the wizards, ironically around the same time period. A unanimous legend that took their respective fields to unprecedented levels of mainstream appeal and changed the game for the future generations. Someone that was the face of the business, becoming synonymous with it in the 80s and 90s. A household name to the point even non fans would recognize them. Then after a hiatus, they come back during the early 2000s on a new blue brand for what could be called a victory lap. While not in their prime they still garnered the same, if not more, amount of respect from their peers and admiration from the fans. A perfect epilogue for a story book career
From what I recall (yes, I'm old enough to remember this era!) he definitely wasn't the political nightmare he'd been in WCW. It was actually fun watching him again.
I think it's fair to say that someone the star of Hogan's level that was able to call his own shots like he clearly did in WCW was going to cause some issues, but WCW was always going to have something going against it, the brand always had its issues, going back to the very moment Ted Turner bought Jim Crockett, Jr. out.
I really enjoyed the red and yellow Hollywood Hulk Hogan run. The crowd went absolutely nuclear when Voodoo Child started to play in the arena. It’s something you really had to see for yourself.
Triple H was fanboying when he saw Hogan when he was doing that promo with him. You can see it in HHH's eyes.
Reported and blocked for saying triple h should have held the title longer lol
Just saw this. So glad to be one of the first to see it lol. These guys @wrestlingbios are awesome 😎🍻🤙
I thought Hogan had a pretty good run in 2002-03 especially considering the talent pool in that WWE locker room in 2002. For me it was cool to see him win the Undisputed Title and great story with Hulkamania despite the matches not being great except the magic he had with the Rock at WrestleMania 18. I love the match he had against McMahon at WrestleMania 19, it was better than I expected it to turn out.
By the way, this channel deserves a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame
I think Hogan should habe kept the title a little longer. Maybe 2 o 3 months more.
@@leonardoyi3183
Agree💯
Hogan should hold the undisputed title until Survivor series of 2002
I went to an MSG house show in 02, saw Hogan wrestle Undertaker. The reaction Hogan got at the Garden was off the charts. Fond memories of this period.
Who won?
I wish they filmed those shows.
@@madandy2008 taker.
Amazing stacked roster
Oh come ON! Mr. America was NOT Hulk Hogan!
Mr. America never wrestled in WCW, Hogan did.
Mr. America wore a mask. Hogan didn't wear mask.
Mr. America wore red, white, and blue. Hogan wore red and yellow. Plus, Hogan wore black and white. When did we ever see Mr. America wear black and white?
And Hogan's face is CLEARLY photo shopped on Mr. America.
Come on guys, it should be so obvious!
(LOL)
In my opinion, SmackDown! was Hogan's show during the brand split. Hogan was the face of the SmackDown! brand. What SmackDown! is to Hogan like what RAW is to Stone Cold.
Hogan was in great shape at 50
I don't know what the Mr. America thing is doing at the end, seems out of place ;)
Around this time to me hogan main feud in 2002-2003 was really Vince McMahon....even tho he had small feuds with Rock,taker,triple h angle and Brock his major feud was with vince
True.
Wait, are you saying Mr. America IS Hulk Hogan? What evidence do you have? ;)
Man you gotta give more props to the lie detector segment, its one of the all time great Smackdown segments ever!
I showed that to a friend who didn't watch wrestling but was familiar enough with certain personalities, including Vince McMahon himself. He laughed as hard as I did at that lie detector segment. Vince's facial expressions and comedic timing should be talked about more. Really sold his segments
or the era I call it the "fathers who want to show their son(s) just how amazing and a hero Hogan was to them" era... Which is fine for me cuz I got to see Vince/Hogan and HBK/Hogan so. But he only ever had the looks and charisma - terrible wrestler and matches. without a mic, gimmick/show and dance, he's nothing brother! None the less, he's my first love during the beginning of my early fandom of WWE and is in my mount rushmore, begrudgingly.
Loved this era for Hulk! Keep it up, WB!
Hogan actually jobbed in this era 🤷♂️
Steph was a babe during her smackdown gm days
Hogan put over a lot of talent during this period and the manner in which how he lost is most surprising. Tapping out to Angle, Being put to sleep by Lesnar and another losing effort to The Rock. I can see how Hogan would get annoyed. I think considering his age and capabilities at the time, it would have been more suited for him to bow out on a high considering what he did for the company.
It was cool to see him back in yellow and red. Wish Macho Man showed back up though.