Agree/Disagree: There is only about about a 5-year window a wrestler can be a MEGA-star

[jadillac]

...and by mega star I'm talking Hogan/Austin/Rock level. Where they were unquestionably "the man" for a period of time, revolutionizing the business or keeping a company afloat.

As you approach this 5-year window the character starts souring and fan interest begins to wane.



Hogan - from WM 3 to about WM 8 he was on top, even when Warrior was champ. But around/after WM 8 he was beginning to get stale....and by WM 9, he was "time to move on" status. When he won the belt at WM 9 it was

Austin - on fire during 1997 - early 2003(his last match). But, factor in the time missed when he walked out or was injured, there were also 1-2 points before he went heel where his character was getting stale; and he was hot about a little over 4 years total.

Rock - An anomaly b/c he ran concurrently with Austin, both were "the man". Rock reached unquestioned megastar status around 99 I'd say, was popular thru about 2004 around Mania XX. Hard to gauge b/c he kept leaving for movies. But fans eventually soured on him.

You can make a case for Cena somewhat....and I actually think Cena has broken this 5 year rule. Though he's been forced upon us in order to accomplish this......but he still has the kid fans. And even the kid fans grew up & turned on on Hogan. Daniel Bryan is the first guy in the PG era with sustained fan interest to rival Cena. Punk wasn't on Bryans level.

Bret Hart, HBK, Flair, Sting, HHH all had their years as the top guy. But it was never ridiculous mega-star level.


Agree or disagree?

 

[The G.O.D II]

Cena was hated less then a month into his run. He started getting boo'd around SS 05 vs Jericho. I think they buried him, angle, and christian because of that. I mean there's rare cases. Flair was over no matter heel/face. Bruno was over during his entire run. Macho man too.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

I disagree because Hogan's first mega run was '84 through I'd say '91 before some of the fans started to turn but then he regained his mega star status in WCW twice... First, his initial Hulkster run against Flair which turned business around for WCW until they fell back off again and then he reclaimed that status for a second time in WCW with the nWo heel turn..

Wrestling fans for the most part are picky as fukk, love to complain.. love to build someone up and tear them down. I'd say there is no limit on how long you can be a huge star, you just gotta keep your character fresh. That's what Hogan did.. he switched it up. I'd even argue his first WWF comeback in '02 he might have still been mega star status. Just gotta keep the character fresh and people will be into it.

Cena is just an example of a character getting stale but I can't hate because he's been bringing it with his in-ring work.

 

[threattonature]

Hard to tell due to such a small sample size. Where would you put Ric Flair's run in NWA where he wasn't a crossover star but in the wrestling world he was a mega star from early 80s until around 91-92.

Also I'd say Hogan's run started earlier than that.

 

[Redguard]

Hard to tell due to such a small sample size. Where would you put Ric Flair's run in NWA where he wasn't a crossover star but in the wrestling world he was a mega star from early 80s until around 91-92.

Also I'd say Hogan's run started earlier than that.

Correct. Hogan was over in the AWA but Gagne didn't want to pull the trigger on a mega push. Plus he couldn't compete with the money Vince was throwing at Hogan.

 

[jadillac]

@saysumthinfunnymike @threattonature - I realize Hogan was popular before that. And I could've started his time frame at WM 1 instead of WM 3.....BUT he was a legit household name, world-wide celebrity after WM 3. The ball was rolling and there was no stopping at that point....it really was Hogan's character taking the torch and never looking back.

Would you guys really consider AWA Hogan as an "A+" player? WWF Hogan took the entire business to a different level.

 

[Alexander The Great]

Hogan was also a mega star again in WCW. he never actually left that status.[DOUBLEPOST=1397343279][/DOUBLEPOST]

@saysumthinfunnymike @threattonature - I realize Hogan was popular before that. And I could've started his time frame at WM 1 instead of WM 3.....BUT he was a legit household name, world-wide celebrity after WM 3. The ball was rolling and there was no stopping at that point....it really was Andre passing the torch and Hogan's character taking off and running with it.

Would you guys really consider AWA Hogan as an "A+" player? WWF Hogan took the entire business to a different level.

Hogan was a legit household name before Mania 3

 

[jadillac]

Hogan was also a mega star again in WCW. he never actually left that status.[DOUBLEPOST=1397343279][/DOUBLEPOST]
Hogan was a legit household name before Mania 3

Hogan was getting scattered boos months before joing the NWO. He was corny. That's partially why they made that big swerve.

He was indeed the man once again for about 2 years as Hollywood Hogan. But Hollywood Hogan's character doesn't work without mega-star face WWF Hogan living in the back of ppls minds. Hollywood Hogan played off being everything americana Hogan told us Hulkamaniacs not to do.

 

[Alexander The Great]

Hogan was getting scattered boos months before joing the NWO. He was corny. That's partially why they made that big swerve.

He was indeed the man once again for about 2 years as Hollywood Hogan. But Hollywood Hogan's character doesn't work without mega-star face WWF Hogan living in the back of ppls minds. Hollywood Hogan played off being everything different americana Hogan told us Hulkamaniacs not to do.

i don't know what you're definition of mega star is but Hogan has been one since 1984.

star might have faded in the early 90s(92-95) but he was always still a household name.

 

[jadillac]

Cena was hated less then a month into his run. He started getting boo'd around SS 05 vs Jericho. I think they buried him, angle, and christian because of that. I mean there's rare cases. Flair was over no matter heel/face. Bruno was over during his entire run. Macho man too.

The difference is, Hogan took WWF to another level. Austin was key factor in saving the company from going under. When Austin walked out, it coud've been disastrous....but Rock took over and things never missed a beat.

Not saying they couldnt, but Macho Man nor Flair never had that on their shoulders. Especially beyond the territory era where only 2 real companies wielded the majority of power.

 

[Hulk Hogan]

I'VE BEEN A MEGA-STAR FOR MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS AND YOU KNOW IT, BROTHER!