In my mind, he WAS professional wrestling- he embodied all of its postivie elements, contradictions, and absurdities better than anyone else. You'd have to go back to the pre-WWF era, to the equally flamboyant "Gorgeous George", to find his true equivalent.
Once upon a time, in the early 20th century, pro wrestling was a legitimate sport, and champions like Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt were seen as legimitate athletes. However, television, and the WWF, changed all of that. It became more about selling a personal "brand" than actually being a good athlete. Hogan was fortunate in that he possessed a very magnetic personality and "brand" while still being more of a competent athlete than a lot of his peers. For better or worse, his career defined what the WWF/E was, is, and is supposed to be much more than anyone else.
He definitely did embody that 80's era of pro wrestling, and he deserved the money and fame for playing the part so well. But it only took a few years before I started to grow tired of the schtick. Maybe that was me, but as the years went on, I couldn't help but feel a little vindicated.
In my mind, he WAS professional wrestling- he embodied all of its postivie elements, contradictions, and absurdities better than anyone else. You'd have to go back to the pre-WWF era, to the equally flamboyant "Gorgeous George", to find his true equivalent.
Once upon a time, in the early 20th century, pro wrestling was a legitimate sport, and champions like Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt were seen as legimitate athletes. However, television, and the WWF, changed all of that. It became more about selling a personal "brand" than actually being a good athlete. Hogan was fortunate in that he possessed a very magnetic personality and "brand" while still being more of a competent athlete than a lot of his peers. For better or worse, his career defined what the WWF/E was, is, and is supposed to be much more than anyone else.
He definitely did embody that 80's era of pro wrestling, and he deserved the money and fame for playing the part so well. But it only took a few years before I started to grow tired of the schtick. Maybe that was me, but as the years went on, I couldn't help but feel a little vindicated.