Post by tystates on Jan 18, 2010 13:11:01 GMT -5
There are 16 in LOW that challenged the Hulkster for the WWF title. Here's a list ranked by the person that did the other couple lists I posted.
North American challengers only, 1984 - 1993:
1. Randy Savage- the WWF should have had him headline Wrestlemania 2 against Hogan. Phenomenal worker, talker, and loaded with charisma. Has three significant runs against Hogan. Didn’t even need Elizabeth to get over, but she certainly enhanced the package. Had main event runs against Hogan in 1985 – 1986, 1987, and Hogan vs Savage carried 1989. Hard to believe this superior talent spent so many years on the outside looking in due to being blacklisted. Has become vastly underrated as time goes by.
2. Andre The Giant: yep, all for two matches and both of them were awful. I originally had him at #1 and he certainly has a case for the top spot. Andre’s turn provided the ultimate dream match for even the most casual fans and sparked a series of events that won the 80’s wrestling war for the WWF. Showing a new WWF title before WM3 that would fit Andre was one of the greatest swerves in wrestling history. And let’s face it, he DID win the title from Hogan.
3. Ric Flair- the matches the world was waiting for. To this day I think they should have given Flair the right push and had a “title vs title” match at Wrestlemania. Not that what they did was bad, as the Hogan v Flair series briefly revitalized a stale house show circuit in 1991. In fact, Flair himself seemed to awaken a slumbering WWF fan base that yawned through Hogan’s battles against Sgt. Slaughter, Dino Bravo, and The Earthquake.
4. Roddy Piper- the quintessential lead heel for all of 1984 and 1985, and then some of 1986. Wrestled Hogan for the title on the WWF’s first PPV and had a series of matches against Hogan before the first Wrestlemania. Was an incredibly important piece in the WWF’s expansion puzzle, and if I were listing “top heels” as opposed to “top challengers” Piper would be #1. The difference is that Piper never had a real championship program vs Hogan.
5. Paul Orndorff- had a good run against Hogan in 1984 before turning babyface in 1985 and back to heel in 1986. The 1986 feud did phenomenal business, which is surprising considering how incredibly DUMB the turn was. Was originally scheduled to come in as the Grand Wizard’s protégé, and have a series of matches against Backlund at MSG that would have started on January 23, 1984. Would have been Hogan’s opponent at Wrestlemania 3 had Andre not been physically able to wrestle, and had that happened he would have jetted into the top spot.
6. Ted Dibiase- from the moment I saw the “Million Dollar Man” vignettes I thought Ted was the guy that would- not “could”, but would- beat Hogan for the title by buying off everyone in sight. Something like that kinda happened, and the “twin referee” deal was possibly the greatest finish ever. Dibiase had the best in-ring performer on this list and also had the best gimmick but was somewhat diminished by him ordering Andre to go after the title for him. What a great storyline that was. Dibiase was supposed to win the title tournament at WM4 but a well-documented political situation prevented that.
7. The Undertaker- great gimmick and a huge guy that people took seriously. Won the WWF title on the 1991 Survivor Series and the title was held up after the rematch.
8. Big John Studd- not a favorite of mine, but was instrumental as a credible giant heel for Hogan to go up against when the WWF. Even before I knew anything about “woking” I’d figured out this guy pretty much couldn’t do anything but stand there and be big.
9. Sgt. Slaughter- the Hogan vs Slaugher feud carried the bulk of 1991, albeit not very well. By 1991 the WWF had turned everyone into an overacting cartoon character, and Slaughter was the perfect example of that. Actually had an excellent “Desert Storm Match” against Hogan at MSG.
10. Greg Valentine- a well established WWF star from the Backlund era. Didn’t seem to have the size necessary to beat Hogan, but Valentine had been one of the top heels in the game since 1977. Did anyone go to bed dreaming of the WWF teaming Greg Valentine with Brutus Beefcake? Greatly overlooked as a Hall of Fame candidate whose career went into an irreversible tailspin by staying with the WWF for too long.
11. King Kong Bundy- I liked him far better than guys like Studd and Gang thanks to his great look and charisma. I’ve always wondered- did the WWF even know they were doing Wrestlemania 2 more than a few weeks before the show, and if they did doncha think they should have spent more time building up matches? Say what you want about the current product, but they started building up Wrestlemania 26 back in November. Bundy had already gone around the horn against Hogan, and the angle setting up the cage match seemed hastily thrown together.
12. Big Bossman- a big guy that could take huge bumps, The Bossman was almost a picture perfect challenger for Hogan. He had the kind of gimmick that worked and the fans saw him as a threat. Took an awesome bump from the top of the cage on Saturday Night’s Main Event against Hogan.
13. Terry Funk- Terry carried Hogan to some fantastic matches. Seemed over-the-top crazy for real and got over despite his relative lack of size. Meshed extremely well with Jimmy Hart as his manager.
14. Mr. Perfect / Curt Hennig- yes, you can be really good and still be overrated. Hennig was a tremendous wrestler and a bump machine, to the points where some of the bumps were comically overdone. I personally enjoyed his ”Mr. Perfect” gimmick even though it didn’t get over. I don’t mean to be overly negative, as Hennig carried Hogan to some good matches.
15. Magnificent Muraco- seemed to get over better on the east coast where he was an established WWF superstar. One major negative is that he had just wrestled Backlund for the title in 1981 and 1983, so having him go against Hogan in early 1985 seemed repetitive.
16. Ken Patera- a genuine superstar and a credible challenger to Hogan thanks to his size and strength. Pushed as a top heel before getting sent to prison. Seemed to be too much of a sidekick to John Studd at times.
17. Iron Sheik- you knew there was no way he was getting the title back from Hogan, but the pair had some good matches (including a really hot one from Philadelphia) and Sheik had credibility as the former champion.
18. Harley Race- still an outstanding performer that had excellent matches vs Hogan, but looked WAY out of place in the WWF environment. Moreso than any other of his challengers, Hogan refused to allow Race to look good.
19. Kamala- had two runs against Hogan, neither of which were any good. A friend of mine tried to have “Kamala The Ugandan Headhunter”paged at an airport, but he had to settle for “Mr. Kamala”.
20. Adrian Adonis- speaking of guys that looked WAY out of place, Adonis was somehow was the WWF’s lead heel for much of 1986. He could still have good matches, but was far too short in height and large in the midsection to be taken seriously as a challenger.
21. Yokozuna- hard to rank, as he wrestled Hogan as a challenger once and regained the title from him. Despite his success, I’d rather go with someone that had an entertaining series against Hogan instead of one really bad match (bad thanks to Hogan) What a messed up period 1993 was for pro wrestling.
22. Rick Rude- I think he wrestled Hogan only twice, and that holds him back. Could have had a big run as a challenger to the title in 1987, and eventually did in 1990 against Ultimate Warrior.
23. Bad News Brown- all I can think of is Hogan showcasing that ridiculous “war bonnet” during this series. Brown did great interviews and provided a fresh matchup.
24. Bob Orton Jr- got a nice push as Roddy Piper’s henchman, but no one saw him as a threat to Hogan. Started slowing down in 1984 which brought him from “spectacular” to “very good”.
25. Jake Roberts- like Rude, Jake had very limited exposure to Hogan. There’s no question in my mind that he could have done a major program with Hogan as Jake seemed legitimately devious and crazy. He was different than the other heels.
26. Masked Superstar- had matches against Hogan after his series against Bob Backlund had concluded in Bob’s favor, which brings him down a touch. Still a solid worker and interview.
27. One Man Gang- I figured that after headlining Dallas and being Watts' UWF world champ OMG was positioned for a major run against Hogan, but he came across as being more cartoonish than menacing in the WWF.
28. Honky Tonk Man- I was not a fan of this guy. Honky didn’t have a big run against Hogan as he was busy with other programs. Still, I can’t see him as a creditable challenger for the title.
29. Jesse Ventura- overrated as a performer in every way, shape, and form. I was very surprised that Jesse was booked to wrestle Hogan at MSG, as he just didn’t have the starpower for it.
30. David Schultz- had some good (and often bloody) matches against Hogan but I never took him seriously as a main eventer, even when he was managed by Piper.
31. Dino Bravo- the WWF pushed this stiff as it’s lead heel, and the NWA still couldn’t take advantage. Perhaps the most puzzling push in pro wrestling history.
32. Nikolai Volkoff- a big, powerful guy that looked a bit old facially, Volkoff did some matches with Hogan before settling into a tag team with Iron Sheik. His accent helped him no some nasty-sounding heel interviews.
33. Hercules Hernandez- looked like a potential star in Mid-South a year before arriving here, but this promotion never knew what to do with him. Got some title matches but in the end was just another guy.
34. Killer Khan- actually had some good matches against Hogan, but never seemed like even a remotely credible threat.
35. Brutus Beefcake- The WWF’s first character that they created for themselves once the war started. Pretty soon all of the wrestlers coming to the WWF would find themselves at least partially, and sometime fully, re-invented. Well, Eddie Boulder was at least a good place to start. I couldn’t take him seriously as a tag team champion, let alone a viable contender to Hogan.
36. Samoan Sika- ranks higher than Afa since he got a singles push in 1986. Sika’s manager King Curtis Iaukea (called “The Wizard”) did some of the craziest, most exaggerated interviews in wrestling history in his role here, and that’s saying something.
37. The Warlord- as big as a town square statue but not quite as athletic.
38. Mr. Fuji- ah, the devious one. Got a few shots against Hogan on minor shows in 1984 and 1985. Fuji’s over-the-top sinisterness (I hereby declare that a word) was good for a laugh.
39. George Steele- got title shots against Backlund in 1978, 1981, and 1983 and failed to win the title…and I’m supposed to think he’d beat Hogan? By this point Steele was awful in every way.
40. The Genius / Lanny Poffo- was an undercard guy for years before getting a title shot on Saturday Night’s Main Event, which he won by countout. His act as “The Genius” was entertaining as a manager or a midcarder, but not as a challenger to the world title.
41. Samoan Afa- gets credit for being the top guy in a star team.
42. Jerry Valiant- Jerry was a good worker.
43. Tiger Chung Lee- a mid-carder holdover from 1983.
44. Moondog Rex- strictly a name to feed Hogan on syndicated TV. Held the North American title for Bill Watts as The Nightmare” in 1985.
45. Moondog Spot- ranks lower since he was smaller than Rex.
What surprised me is that there were only 45 challengers listed on Graham’s site, and no one seems to be missing. Backlund had 60 challengers, which is ten a year. Hogan had fewer challengers than that with a far bigger talent roster.
North American challengers only, 1984 - 1993:
1. Randy Savage- the WWF should have had him headline Wrestlemania 2 against Hogan. Phenomenal worker, talker, and loaded with charisma. Has three significant runs against Hogan. Didn’t even need Elizabeth to get over, but she certainly enhanced the package. Had main event runs against Hogan in 1985 – 1986, 1987, and Hogan vs Savage carried 1989. Hard to believe this superior talent spent so many years on the outside looking in due to being blacklisted. Has become vastly underrated as time goes by.
2. Andre The Giant: yep, all for two matches and both of them were awful. I originally had him at #1 and he certainly has a case for the top spot. Andre’s turn provided the ultimate dream match for even the most casual fans and sparked a series of events that won the 80’s wrestling war for the WWF. Showing a new WWF title before WM3 that would fit Andre was one of the greatest swerves in wrestling history. And let’s face it, he DID win the title from Hogan.
3. Ric Flair- the matches the world was waiting for. To this day I think they should have given Flair the right push and had a “title vs title” match at Wrestlemania. Not that what they did was bad, as the Hogan v Flair series briefly revitalized a stale house show circuit in 1991. In fact, Flair himself seemed to awaken a slumbering WWF fan base that yawned through Hogan’s battles against Sgt. Slaughter, Dino Bravo, and The Earthquake.
4. Roddy Piper- the quintessential lead heel for all of 1984 and 1985, and then some of 1986. Wrestled Hogan for the title on the WWF’s first PPV and had a series of matches against Hogan before the first Wrestlemania. Was an incredibly important piece in the WWF’s expansion puzzle, and if I were listing “top heels” as opposed to “top challengers” Piper would be #1. The difference is that Piper never had a real championship program vs Hogan.
5. Paul Orndorff- had a good run against Hogan in 1984 before turning babyface in 1985 and back to heel in 1986. The 1986 feud did phenomenal business, which is surprising considering how incredibly DUMB the turn was. Was originally scheduled to come in as the Grand Wizard’s protégé, and have a series of matches against Backlund at MSG that would have started on January 23, 1984. Would have been Hogan’s opponent at Wrestlemania 3 had Andre not been physically able to wrestle, and had that happened he would have jetted into the top spot.
6. Ted Dibiase- from the moment I saw the “Million Dollar Man” vignettes I thought Ted was the guy that would- not “could”, but would- beat Hogan for the title by buying off everyone in sight. Something like that kinda happened, and the “twin referee” deal was possibly the greatest finish ever. Dibiase had the best in-ring performer on this list and also had the best gimmick but was somewhat diminished by him ordering Andre to go after the title for him. What a great storyline that was. Dibiase was supposed to win the title tournament at WM4 but a well-documented political situation prevented that.
7. The Undertaker- great gimmick and a huge guy that people took seriously. Won the WWF title on the 1991 Survivor Series and the title was held up after the rematch.
8. Big John Studd- not a favorite of mine, but was instrumental as a credible giant heel for Hogan to go up against when the WWF. Even before I knew anything about “woking” I’d figured out this guy pretty much couldn’t do anything but stand there and be big.
9. Sgt. Slaughter- the Hogan vs Slaugher feud carried the bulk of 1991, albeit not very well. By 1991 the WWF had turned everyone into an overacting cartoon character, and Slaughter was the perfect example of that. Actually had an excellent “Desert Storm Match” against Hogan at MSG.
10. Greg Valentine- a well established WWF star from the Backlund era. Didn’t seem to have the size necessary to beat Hogan, but Valentine had been one of the top heels in the game since 1977. Did anyone go to bed dreaming of the WWF teaming Greg Valentine with Brutus Beefcake? Greatly overlooked as a Hall of Fame candidate whose career went into an irreversible tailspin by staying with the WWF for too long.
11. King Kong Bundy- I liked him far better than guys like Studd and Gang thanks to his great look and charisma. I’ve always wondered- did the WWF even know they were doing Wrestlemania 2 more than a few weeks before the show, and if they did doncha think they should have spent more time building up matches? Say what you want about the current product, but they started building up Wrestlemania 26 back in November. Bundy had already gone around the horn against Hogan, and the angle setting up the cage match seemed hastily thrown together.
12. Big Bossman- a big guy that could take huge bumps, The Bossman was almost a picture perfect challenger for Hogan. He had the kind of gimmick that worked and the fans saw him as a threat. Took an awesome bump from the top of the cage on Saturday Night’s Main Event against Hogan.
13. Terry Funk- Terry carried Hogan to some fantastic matches. Seemed over-the-top crazy for real and got over despite his relative lack of size. Meshed extremely well with Jimmy Hart as his manager.
14. Mr. Perfect / Curt Hennig- yes, you can be really good and still be overrated. Hennig was a tremendous wrestler and a bump machine, to the points where some of the bumps were comically overdone. I personally enjoyed his ”Mr. Perfect” gimmick even though it didn’t get over. I don’t mean to be overly negative, as Hennig carried Hogan to some good matches.
15. Magnificent Muraco- seemed to get over better on the east coast where he was an established WWF superstar. One major negative is that he had just wrestled Backlund for the title in 1981 and 1983, so having him go against Hogan in early 1985 seemed repetitive.
16. Ken Patera- a genuine superstar and a credible challenger to Hogan thanks to his size and strength. Pushed as a top heel before getting sent to prison. Seemed to be too much of a sidekick to John Studd at times.
17. Iron Sheik- you knew there was no way he was getting the title back from Hogan, but the pair had some good matches (including a really hot one from Philadelphia) and Sheik had credibility as the former champion.
18. Harley Race- still an outstanding performer that had excellent matches vs Hogan, but looked WAY out of place in the WWF environment. Moreso than any other of his challengers, Hogan refused to allow Race to look good.
19. Kamala- had two runs against Hogan, neither of which were any good. A friend of mine tried to have “Kamala The Ugandan Headhunter”paged at an airport, but he had to settle for “Mr. Kamala”.
20. Adrian Adonis- speaking of guys that looked WAY out of place, Adonis was somehow was the WWF’s lead heel for much of 1986. He could still have good matches, but was far too short in height and large in the midsection to be taken seriously as a challenger.
21. Yokozuna- hard to rank, as he wrestled Hogan as a challenger once and regained the title from him. Despite his success, I’d rather go with someone that had an entertaining series against Hogan instead of one really bad match (bad thanks to Hogan) What a messed up period 1993 was for pro wrestling.
22. Rick Rude- I think he wrestled Hogan only twice, and that holds him back. Could have had a big run as a challenger to the title in 1987, and eventually did in 1990 against Ultimate Warrior.
23. Bad News Brown- all I can think of is Hogan showcasing that ridiculous “war bonnet” during this series. Brown did great interviews and provided a fresh matchup.
24. Bob Orton Jr- got a nice push as Roddy Piper’s henchman, but no one saw him as a threat to Hogan. Started slowing down in 1984 which brought him from “spectacular” to “very good”.
25. Jake Roberts- like Rude, Jake had very limited exposure to Hogan. There’s no question in my mind that he could have done a major program with Hogan as Jake seemed legitimately devious and crazy. He was different than the other heels.
26. Masked Superstar- had matches against Hogan after his series against Bob Backlund had concluded in Bob’s favor, which brings him down a touch. Still a solid worker and interview.
27. One Man Gang- I figured that after headlining Dallas and being Watts' UWF world champ OMG was positioned for a major run against Hogan, but he came across as being more cartoonish than menacing in the WWF.
28. Honky Tonk Man- I was not a fan of this guy. Honky didn’t have a big run against Hogan as he was busy with other programs. Still, I can’t see him as a creditable challenger for the title.
29. Jesse Ventura- overrated as a performer in every way, shape, and form. I was very surprised that Jesse was booked to wrestle Hogan at MSG, as he just didn’t have the starpower for it.
30. David Schultz- had some good (and often bloody) matches against Hogan but I never took him seriously as a main eventer, even when he was managed by Piper.
31. Dino Bravo- the WWF pushed this stiff as it’s lead heel, and the NWA still couldn’t take advantage. Perhaps the most puzzling push in pro wrestling history.
32. Nikolai Volkoff- a big, powerful guy that looked a bit old facially, Volkoff did some matches with Hogan before settling into a tag team with Iron Sheik. His accent helped him no some nasty-sounding heel interviews.
33. Hercules Hernandez- looked like a potential star in Mid-South a year before arriving here, but this promotion never knew what to do with him. Got some title matches but in the end was just another guy.
34. Killer Khan- actually had some good matches against Hogan, but never seemed like even a remotely credible threat.
35. Brutus Beefcake- The WWF’s first character that they created for themselves once the war started. Pretty soon all of the wrestlers coming to the WWF would find themselves at least partially, and sometime fully, re-invented. Well, Eddie Boulder was at least a good place to start. I couldn’t take him seriously as a tag team champion, let alone a viable contender to Hogan.
36. Samoan Sika- ranks higher than Afa since he got a singles push in 1986. Sika’s manager King Curtis Iaukea (called “The Wizard”) did some of the craziest, most exaggerated interviews in wrestling history in his role here, and that’s saying something.
37. The Warlord- as big as a town square statue but not quite as athletic.
38. Mr. Fuji- ah, the devious one. Got a few shots against Hogan on minor shows in 1984 and 1985. Fuji’s over-the-top sinisterness (I hereby declare that a word) was good for a laugh.
39. George Steele- got title shots against Backlund in 1978, 1981, and 1983 and failed to win the title…and I’m supposed to think he’d beat Hogan? By this point Steele was awful in every way.
40. The Genius / Lanny Poffo- was an undercard guy for years before getting a title shot on Saturday Night’s Main Event, which he won by countout. His act as “The Genius” was entertaining as a manager or a midcarder, but not as a challenger to the world title.
41. Samoan Afa- gets credit for being the top guy in a star team.
42. Jerry Valiant- Jerry was a good worker.
43. Tiger Chung Lee- a mid-carder holdover from 1983.
44. Moondog Rex- strictly a name to feed Hogan on syndicated TV. Held the North American title for Bill Watts as The Nightmare” in 1985.
45. Moondog Spot- ranks lower since he was smaller than Rex.
What surprised me is that there were only 45 challengers listed on Graham’s site, and no one seems to be missing. Backlund had 60 challengers, which is ten a year. Hogan had fewer challengers than that with a far bigger talent roster.
