Hogan-Brand Wrestling: No Thanks!

A couple of things in recent weeks have led me to once again think about a certain wrestler, a man who helped make the world of wrestling what it is today.

Ever since a certain incident at Bash at the Beach last year, Hulk Hogan hasn't really been in the public eye that much. There has been no retirement announcements, which I know has disappointed many a wrestling fan, including yours truly. There has been no call from the man who made him king to come back to the place that made him famous.

The only things we have heard in recent months is that old Terry is trying to start his own wrestling promotion. But this story has been doing the rounds for months, along with the ones that if he actually got the promotion off the ground, we would see the likes of Randy Savage and Roddy Piper competing for him.

But one interesting news item really got me interested about Hogan's proposed promotion - that being that he is considering basing the promotion in Europe.

Now, I know this is going to sound like an anti-American rant, but do you really have to send him over here just so he can make a living? Okay, many well known and talented Americans now make their home in Europe, but what makes Hogan think that we want to watch he and his ilk slowly huffing and puffing around a German beer hall, with Jimmy Hart shouting encouragement through his megaphone to the bemused delight of Hans and Frans.

I seem to recall that Hogan thinks that European wrestling fans would be more receptive to his brand of wrestling. Does Hogan think that we Europhiles would want to cheer Hogan v Savage chapter 9,257,874? The answer, quite simply, is no.

If Hogan were to base his new company in Europe, he, and all the other has-beens he's hoping to recruit, would have to do something that he and his comrades did not do while they worked for the likes of WCW - actually wrestle on a regular basis.

And what television company here in the UK would want to carry a program of Hogan-brand wrestling. Sky already has the WWF, one of the most popular shows it has had since the network began in 1989. The BBC? No chance in hell. ITV? Probably not. Channel 4 - given the fact that they are ending their agreement with the WWF, probably not them either. Channel 5 - hmm, perhaps.

Unless Hogan et al are going to offer us a credible alternative to the WWF, now that they have virtually no competition, then UK fans won't want to drink his kool-aid.

While staying on the subject of the so-called "Real American", the Biography Channel here in Britain have been repeating their "Body Slam Week" or programs. I enjoyed these the first time around, and I thought that it would be good to view them again, especially the first one about Andre The Giant.

I've mentioned this before, but one bit that really got me thinking concerned the events surrounding Wrestlemania III, still regarded as one of the best Wrestlemanias ever.

By 1987, Andre's career, because of his condition, acro-megelee, was coming to an end. This giant of a man who had carried the wrestling world on his shoulders since the late sixties was turning into a lumbering behemoth in the ring. The skills that thrilled the world for nearly two decades were now greatly diminished.

A few months before WMIII, Andre underwent back surgery to relieve some pain, and there was some doubt about whether he'd ever wrestle again. The fact that he did recover from the surgery was a testament to the spirit of the man.

The entire event was sold on the main event of Hogan v Andre alone. It was the old school v new school kind of thing, and it showed what sort of drawing power these two had back then.

In the documentary, Vince McMahon said that Hogan was truly impressed that Andre, this wrestling legend, was willing to job to him, to pass the torch as it were, to put him over. Hogan was truly grateful that Andre would do this thing for him.

But while watching this segment, I couldn't help but think back to a certain event last year - when Hogan refused to job to Jeff Jarett, instead invoking the creative control clause in his contract so that he would end up WCW World Champion.

I was left to wonder, if Andre had been alive today, what would he have made of Hogan's attitude that night? What would he have thought of Hogan refusing to pass the torch to a younger man, given the fact that his career was beginning to wind down?

Sadly, we will never know. But it just goes to show what kind of man Andre was, and what kind of man Hogan truly is.