10 Wrestlers Hulk Hogan Successfully Got Over
The legacy of Hulk Hogan is a mixed bag for one of the biggest names in wrestling history. Hogan could be argued as the greatest of all time and was the first mainstream star for the industry, but many fans and wrestlers view him negatively. A reputation for being selfish and not wanting to put others over is still talked about today.
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However, there have been enough instances of Hogan getting people over to prove that could do it when wanted. Hogan was selective about who he shared the screen with and who looked strong with him. WWE, WCW and TNA all had Hogan as pivotal parts of their products. The following names got over thanks to Hogan helping their careers.
10 Yokozuna
Hulk Hogan leaving WWE in 1993 featured him dropping the belt to Yokozuna on the way out. Rumors indicate Hogan didn’t want to put over Bret Hart and felt more comfortable losing to a monster heel like Yokozuna if he had to drop the belt.
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WWE went with a sketchy finish of a Japanese photographer blinding Hogan, but Yokozuna still benefited from such a win. The rest of the year saw Yokozuna feeling more credible due to having such an important win sending the top name in the industry off.
9 The Un-Americans
WWE bringing Hulk Hogan back in the early 2000s saw him having his most unselfish time in the business. Hogan was not fighting putting others over or losing matches to younger talent since he wanted to shed some of the negative reputation from WCW.
An unexpected popular tag team of Hogan and Edge won the WWE Tag Team Championship. However, the end game was to have the new heel faction of the Un-Americans defeat them and gain mega-heat for defeating an American hero. Lance Storm and Christian winning the tag belts saw Hogan helping them get over at their peak.
8 Eric Bischoff
The character of Eric Bischoff became a huge part of WCW TV when he joined the New World Order. Hulk Hogan and Bischoff became a tandem act prioritizing their presence in Hogan’s feuds against top WCW stars.
Bischoff evolved into one of the most hated heel characters after Hogan helped make him feel more important. WCW fans likely would not have invested as much emotion into Bischoff’s heel character if not for Hogan. The duo even had a huge tag match together against Diamond Dallas Page and Jay Leno.
7 Abyss
TNA had a generally negative impact of Hulk Hogan becoming a powerful person backstage and on-screen. It became a running joke that the only TNA homegrown star to benefit from Hogan was Abyss since they were paired together.
New fans with nostalgia for Hogan warmed up to Abyss as his protégé and even saw them in tag matches together. Older TNA fans always enjoyed Abyss and were happy to see him spotlighted. Abyss got more over in the otherwise horrible run of Hogan in TNA.
6 Zach Gowen
The short-lived alliance between Hulk Hogan and Zach Gowen came during Hogan’s time as Mr. America. Vince McMahon feuding with Hogan led to the one-legged Gowen being introduced as part of their storyline. Mr. America standing up for Gowen against McMahon made them allies moving forward.
Gowen started to get huge ovations and had fans invested in him earning a WWE contract against Vince’s wishes. Unfortunately, everything fell apart for Gowen after Hogan left WWE. McMahon got the better of him and he moved down the card with WWE wasting Hogan’s effort.
5 Crow Sting
WCW took a huge risk by changing Sting’s character after many years as the top beloved babyface. Sting was pushed to the point where he ditched his colorful fan favorite character to the loner side of the Crow gimmick tormenting the New World Order.
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Fans wanted a feud between Hogan and Sting more and more as time went by with more teases. Sting became the hottest babyface for a while due to Hogan showing fear of him. Some fans would argue that the horrible Starrcade 1997 match ruined Sting, but Hogan put in work to get this new character over.
4 Brock Lesnar
One of the most underrated moments of Hulk Hogan’s career came against Brock Lesnar in a random Smackdown match. Hogan was taking off the rest of the year to rehab from injuries and to refresh his character when agreeing to lose to Lesnar before heading off.
Brock destroyed Hogan in a one-sided squash match that ended with Hulk passing out to a bear hug. The visual of Lesnar smearing Hogan’s blood over his chest made him feel like a true top star ahead of his big WWE Championship victory over The Rock. Hogan ensured Brock would be in the best position possible to become a star.
3 Dennis Rodman
Another overlooked but impactful instance of Hulk Hogan working to get someone over was NBA star Dennis Rodman. Many celebrities appeared in wrestling, but Hogan talked Rodman into joining the New World Order and spending many weeks of the summer on WCW TV.
The tag matches of Hogan and Rodman working together drew a lot of money for WCW. Rodman not being a wrestler meant Hogan had to lead them both for effective matches. Fans were fully invested with Hogan helping Rodman get over as an all-time great celebrity wrestling attraction at the time.
2 Ultimate Warrior
WWE rarely had Hulk Hogan losing any big matches by the time of his dream match against Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6. Hogan never lost clean to make it even more shocking when Warrior scored a career-defining victory over him.
The match was a rare face vs face story with the two most beloved stars going head to head. Hogan was uncharacteristically selfless and was the one leading Warrior to a great match for the time. Warrior flopped as WWE Champion, but he started his reign at the peak of his career thanks to Hogan putting him over.
1 Goldberg
The greatest instance of Hulk Hogan putting someone over came in WCW with the right opponent at the right time. Hogan was the WCW Champion when Goldberg’s undefeated streak was the hottest storyline for WCW at the time.
Eric Bischoff booked the match faster than expected at first, but any flaws in that scenario were removed when it unfolded. Goldberg defeated Hogan to decisively become the WCW Champion and arguably the top star in the company that night.
