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Dylan · 07-08-2012, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LKJ

Oh in terms of pure talent, I do think the top of the card contained more of it during the Attitude Era than during the Golden Era. I think the very elite level of talent at that time acted as a deodorant for a lot of what otherwise wouldn't have come off well at all in today's era.

Certainly it was nice to have four legends at the top (five when you factor in Undertaker) to give them more options. During the Hogan era, it just wasn't really viable to keep the belt off of him because they respected the belt then and it was clear that nobody was at Hogan's level for most of his run. I think they chose better by just having him strapped for most of the time rather than pulling what they do now with Cena where there's a world championship and a superior John Cena championship.

They did the same thing in the Golden Era that they are doing now with Cena. Hogan/Sid was the main event of Wrestlemania not Flair/Savage for the title.

**LKJ** · 07-08-2012, 08:03 PM

They did it once, since it was his purported retirement match. They did put Warrior/Rude for the WWF Title on last, after Hogan's match, at SummerSlam 1990.

I'm relatively sure we're only left with those two data points of Hogan singles matches being on the same card as a WWF Title match (in his prime run, that is), so one instance of it out of two occurrences is pretty meaningless since we have almost no sample size at all.

But as far as WM VIII goes, it makes sense that it turned out that way. They weren't going to have Hogan lose his retirement match, so they couldn't have him involved with the title, and there we were.

littlekeed · 07-08-2012, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LKJ

They did it once, since it was his purported retirement match. They did put Warrior/Rude for the WWF Title on last, after Hogan's match, at SummerSlam 1990.

I'm relatively sure we're only left with those two data points of Hogan singles matches being on the same card as a WWF Title match (in his prime run, that is), so one instance of it out of two occurrences is pretty meaningless since we have almost no sample size at all.

But as far as WM VIII goes, it makes sense that it turned out that way. They weren't going to have Hogan lose his retirement match, so they couldn't have him involved with the title, and there we were.

There's no way in hell Hogan goes with this, but if they wanted to create a big star they always could have kept Sid as a face and had Sid win a midcard "retirement" match against Hogan (then ala Hogan/Warrior they embrace and Hogan gets the big sendoff) while concluding the show with Savage beating Flair for the title.

**LKJ** · 07-08-2012, 09:00 PM

I think you basically run into a flaw every time the top face in your company isn't in the card's main event. While the pops Hogan and Savage got at WM VIII were similar, I have a hard time believing (even as much as I'd like to) that Savage was as over as Hogan in that event since they seemed to have no belief in him to carry the strap for a long time.

What you describe would theoretically work, but you just never want to risk burning out your crowd with the biggest attraction before the end of the show.

That's why I don't blame WWE for putting Cena on last all the time. I blame them for not putting the belt on him since he's the one who has to go on last.

**LKJ** · 07-08-2012, 09:02 PM

Although for what it's worth, as a little kid I was going, "What the heck? Flair vs. Savage wasn't last?" But I was a huge Macho mark (loved Flair too) and never bought into Hogan like the masses did.

littlekeed · 07-08-2012, 09:05 PM

Thinking it over, it also doesn't really give off the sense of "epicness" that a Hulk Hogan retirement match would've deserved. Now, to be fair, the WWF also dropped the ball in this respect, but Vince probably didn't want to be definitive because I doubt he really wanted Hogan to leave at this point.