Hulk Hogan
Can Hulk Hogan revive professional wrestling's WWE?
Hulk Hogan is back with the WWE after settling a feud with Vince McMahon.
When The Rock's motion picture career took off and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.'s prime attraction's attention was far from pro wrestling, what was owner Vince McMahon gonna do?
McMahon turned to the man who was the rock of pro wrestling when the Rock was in grade school. He called Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
"I was shocked," Hogan said last week in a telephone interview. "I couldn't believe it."
Hogan had been McMahon's biggest draw before defecting to Ted Turner's WCW and as a result, the two men had a public falling out and a long feud. Hogan left for the WCW in 1996 and helped Turner beat McMahon in the TV ratings for a year and a half.
McMahon, however, prevailed over Turner in the long run with wildly melodramatic, violent and sexy story lines and new stars like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and The Rock.
McMahon bought out the WCW in March of 2001, but seemed to still be holding a grudge against Hogan.
But when The Rock's movie career took off with "The Scorpion King," which has grossed $90 million for Universal, it became obvious that he would no longer make wrestling his primary occupation.
At the same time, the WWE was under fire for the level of crudeness and sex McMahon was using to attract a huge segment of the teen-age male demographic. So, McMahon admitted during a recent interview with Bob Costas on HBO, he made a conscious decision to clean things up a bit.
At the same time, Austin has lost some of his luster. He had been losing popularity, then was accused of beating his wife earlier this month and has been suspended from the WWE for walking out over a disagreement.
San Antonio police told Reuters that Debra Williams, Austin's wife and manager, called police to the couple's home on Saturday night and said Austin had beaten her on the head, back and legs, and then left before police arrived.
McMahon needed both a big name and a man with some character and charisma.
People were saying the WWE was bad for kids. And they may have been right.
So McMahon turned to Hogan, who for years had sweetly told his "little Hulksters" to train, say their prayers and take their vitamins.
Hogan returned to the WWE ring in February and has once again become its featured attraction over the past few months.
When he sat down with McMahon to discuss a comeback, Hogan said, the two men yelled at each other, "rolled around on the floor," then kissed and made up.
"Time heals," Hogan said. "Vince and I are good together like a hot knife and butter."
Like The Rock, Hogan had unprecedented crossover appeal in the '80s and '90s. He appeared in "Rocky III" with Sylvester Stallone and starred in his own picture, "No Holds Barred." He hosted "Saturday Night Live." He did talk shows.
But Hogan himself said The Rock has a much better chance of becoming a true action-film star because of timing.
"I was competing with Stallone and Schwarzenegger in their primes," Hogan said. "Now they're in their 50s and The Rock is in his 20s. He's much more believable and marketable than them as an action hero.
"The Rock has already made it as a legitimate [film] box-office star. Now he can get big money for his next movie."
Initially, Hogan returned to the WWE as a bad guy, but the fans wouldn't buy it.
"They just kept cheering and cheering," Hogan said, seeming to be genuinely touched. "I've been to rock concerts like Eminem and Madonna and that's what it's been like. It's so loud I can feel the sound of the cheers pounding against me in the ring."
He said he's been able to reach young fans too young to remember his early career because their fathers are taking them to WWE events and saying: "That's the guy I've been telling you about. That's the guy who's the legend. That's the guy who made this sport what it is."
But this week's Variety magazine said that for whatever reason˜whether the loss of big names or the toning down of rough talk and sex˜the WWE's television ratings are falling.
Large numbers of teen boys are tuning out the WWE's prime time shows "Raw Is War" and "Smackdown," according to Variety.
"Smackdown" has lost 35 percent of its 12- to 17-year-olds since this time last year and seen household ratings drop 10 percent.
"Raw Is War" has lost 19 percent of its teen males and 6 percent of household ratings.
Hogan said he's not worried about TV ratings or his own ability to appeal to young fans. He said that McMahon will find a way to make the WWE bigger than ever.
McMahon told Costas on HBO that he's been amazed at the beating Hogan is still able to both absorb and to dish out at age 52.
"Fifty-two?!" Hogan roared. "I may look like I'm 90, but I'm 48!
"Man, I'm surprised I've been able to do this myself," he said.
"It's like a fragile foreign car˜People break a window, but I keep the car running with chiropractors and massages.
"My whole style changed from drinking a couple of beers and going out to going to the hotel room and getting in the Jacuzzi," Hogan said.
"It's not as easy as it used to be. I have to be more careful. I have to plan things out in more detail. Everything's a real calculated risk now."