https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KybuI y0wKXk Was this the peak

>>2610007

In terms of crowd reaction in the US? Might be, yes...

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>>2610007
No, this was.

Hogan turning heel in WCW

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>>2610007
No, the peak of wrestling was Hulkamania. There is no way to dispute this. Austin may have made more literal dimes for the company if you believe the bean counters, but Hogan's legacy is what sealed WWF as THE wrestling company that is still going today. Hulk Hogan is the Babe Ruth of wrestling.

Watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3YTvB11JbY

Did you see Stone Cold or The Rock appearing on daytime commercials? No. They did not have the cross cultural appeal. Hulkamania was a "mania" that swept the nation in 1985. Hulk was -everywhere-. When he went up against Andre at Wrestlemania III it was by far the biggest news story of the month, one of the biggest of the year. Not just in wrestling, not just in entertainment, but in anything. Wrestling has never reached a peak like that since in cultural relevance, and probably will not again. The 90s boom was an echo of this, built on what came before, but not as big (even if Stone Cold did end up making more money).

To go a bit further: Hulk Hogan was a meme. WWF was a meme. People were exposed to Hulk in Rocky III, and he stole the show. Everyone walked out of the theatre laughing their asses off at "Thunderlips". And WWF capitalized on this to create Hulkamania. It was something like the "AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENAAAAAA" meme but 1,000,000 more powerful because people were not used to ironic entertainment like this yet, especially from the wrestling business. Everyone wanted to get in on it. It was "dank" to borrow a modern term. It was all tongue-in-cheek, the whole rock n' wrestling connection.

The Attitude Era never equaled that. Hollywood begrudgingly admitted wrestling was popular at the time. There was a TV Guide issue with the headline "How did wrestling become so big, so FAST?!". It was a subtle condemnation of America by the rest of the entertainment industry. Whereas in the 80s everyone was on board for the fun of it all.

>>2610172
# Bring Back Hulk Hogan

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>>2610172
I'll also add that Hulkamania was a thing that -adults- liked in 1985. The children who worshiped Hulk didn't come until a little bit later when Hulkamania went from a real cultural phenomenon to a manufactured product that the WWF shilled. By that time the magic was not as strong as it once was and the mainstream media had moved on. Hulkamania truly ended at Wrestlemania VI, when there was a small upsurge in popularity as people wanted to see the "final chapter" of the saga.

>>2610172
Austin was in a lot of commercials but otherwise great fucking post bro, agree 100%.

>>2610007
Imagine JR calling this instead of Michael Cole.