If you tune into TNA Wrestling these days (and if their recent ratings are any indication, you haven’t), you’ll be treated to watching a shriveled-up wrinkly old prune come out every week to babble incoherently about how he’s the man that made professional wrestling what it is today. The problem is that this description could be given to either Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan. If you want to relive the glory days of Hulkamania, rather than taking the Hot Tub Time Machine back to the 1980s, I strongly recommend buying "Hulk Hogan – The Ultimate Anthology". This three-DVD set was released in 2006, and one store (I think it was Walmart) sold a special 4-DVD set that included a bonus DVD with additional matches.
The DVD is hosted by the wonderful Mean Gene Okerlund and the annoying "Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart. I have no idea why Jimmy Hart was included in the segments that explain the feuds between the matches. As a manager, it was always a treat to see Jimmy get his hair cut by Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake or to see Jake "The Snake" Roberts almost release Damien on Hart’s 150 lb. body. I know that Jimmy became Hogan’s manager (seemingly out of the blue) before Wrestlemania 9, and was with him in WCW, but his useless input and fidgety presence as a host of the DVD takes away from the enjoyment of watching the segments.
The majority of the 23 matches on the standard 3-DVD set contain the majority of Hogan’s best matches (which isn’t saying much, for fans of technical wrestling). Most of Hogan’s Wrestlemania matches are included, and Jessie "The Body" Ventura’s commentary is in-tact (with a set this comprehensive, how could it not be?).
One of the matches included is a house show match between Andre "The Giant" and Hogan from 1980 that took place in Pennsylvania. During the five minute match, Hogan easily picks up and slams Andre in the center of the ring, predating Hogan’s famous slam of Andre at Wrestlemania 3 by 7 years! However, it looks like Andre was approximately 50-75 lbs. lighter in this match than he was at Wrestlemania 3, making the Wrestlemania moment that much more impressive. Other Wrestlemania classics include Hogan facing off against Savage (the "jealous eyes" feud over Miss Elizabeth), the Ultimate Warrior (at the time, the unprecedented babyface vs. babyface match) and The Rock (where the Toronto crowd immediately turns against the babyface Rock, causing Hogan and The Rock to replan their match on the fly). In case you’re wondering, these matches are still great to watch for entertainment value, as Hogan and most of his opponents told a great story in the ring (even if a large part of that story was recycled over and over and over and over and over again).
While a large number of the matches are available on separate compilations (i.e. – the "Wrestlemania Anthology"), there are a few matches in this collection that debuted for the first time on DVD, namely Hogan vs. Big John Studd from 1984 at MSG, Hogan vs. The Giant from 1996’s Hog Wild (where Hogan won the belt post-NWO formation), Hogan vs. Curt Henning from 2001 in the failed XWF wrestling federation and Hogan vs. Shawn Michaels from 2005’s Summerslam. The Hogan/Michaels match is hilarious to watch in hindsight, based on the huge egos involved; adhering to his "born-again Christian" beliefs, Shawn didn’t want to turn heel and didn’t want to lose cleanly to Hogan (his reasoning was that the Hulkster was only wrestling for this one match and didn’t deserve to "go over" the Heartbreak Kid). The result is that Shawn took more outrageous bumps than a standard Mr. Perfect match, overselling Hogan’s offense to an embarrassing degree (including falling to the mat after "the big boot," immediately getting up off the mat, stumbling around, and doing a "Flair Flop" right before Hogan’s legdrop. While I’m no longer the Hogan sycophant that I used to be, the fact that Shawn wasn’t reprimanded for his completely disgraceful performance in this match was, as Gorilla Monsoon would say, "a miscarriage of justice."
If you’re looking to buy this set and you’re lucky enough to find one that contains the bonus DVD, you’ll discover that it’s pretty generous in its content. There are a couple of Saturday Night’s Main Event matches included, where Hogan faces off against Terry Funk and "The King" Harley Race (this was the match where Race head-butted a table when Hogan moved out of the way, giving Race a severe hernia and ultimately leading to his retirement). Hogan’s participation in the 1990 Royal Rumble is shown (from his entrance at number 25), as well as Hogan vs. Tito "Chico" Santana from 1980 and Hogan vs. the "Earthquake" (the late John Tenta) in a terrible match from 1990’s Summerslam.
If you are or were a Hulkamaniac, this set is a no-brainer, for both its entertainment value and its "historical" significance. Even if you hate what Hogan has become (and it’s hard not to), you still may enjoy this DVD set, as it is a nostalgic reminder of the 1980’s main event scene (10 of the matches take place before 1990).
4 ½ out of 5 leg drops brother!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
