Nostalgic Blog Post Revival Series [ICON VS ICON, or Hogan vs. The Rock]
In this series, I am reposting past articles from my long-running blog, 'Graham Bonnet-taro's Room.' This article was originally posted on 08/26/2014.
There are things known as legendary matches.
In American professional wrestling, specifically WWE, this has to be the one.
The time was 2002, during the height of The Rock's era. Hulk Hogan made a surprise return, and they finally clashed at WrestleMania 18.
I got goosebumps from the entrance scene, but this moment was the absolute best.
The two of them staring each other down after entering the ring. It must have lasted for about three minutes, right?
While staring each other down,
The Rock and Hogan
were acknowledging the crowd's cheers.
Just that scene alone
made this match a victory for both of them.
It was such an incredible scene, unlike anything I've ever seen before.
Even after the match started, it was like this.
Even though Hogan was the villain before it started,
midway through,
it was dramatic how the crowd's cheers for The Rock turned into boos.
If you are a pro-wrestling fan, you absolutely must watch this.
Apparently, Hogan's ribs were broken by the end of it. That's amazing. Both of them are true professional wrestlers.
It gives me chills.
Please check out my blog as well.
The famous FC2 blog 'Graham Bonnetaro no Heya' is popular for its unique style of writing about professional wrestling and hard rock/heavy metal, characterized by humor, affectionate sarcasm, and deep insight.
The main tendencies and perspectives of the administrator, Graham Bonnetaro, when discussing Hulk Hogan and The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) are as follows.
On Hulk Hogan
While acknowledging Hogan as the 'greatest icon in professional wrestling,' Bonnetaro analyzes the gap between his time in Japan (New Japan Pro-Wrestling) and the US (WWF/WWE), as well as his 'cunning as a businessman,' in a way that is both humorous and sharp.
'Ichiban' and 'Axe Bomber': He highly praises Hogan's time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he showed technical wrestling tailored to Japanese fans, and his legendary matches with Inoki (such as the first IWGP final).
Transformation in America: He often describes Hogan's shift to a 'superman style' consisting only of punches, kicks, and the leg drop after becoming a social phenomenon as 'Hulkamania' in the WWF as the ultimate form of the wrestling business.
Political Power and Charisma: There is a noticeable focus on his strong influence behind the scenes and his 'instinct' for staying at the top, such as his heel turn in the nWo.
Affectionate Teasing: He describes Hogan's exaggerated moves and the occasional 'standard' developments with great enjoyment (and sometimes sharp retorts) from the perspective of a Showa-era wrestling fan.
On The Rock
Regarding The Rock, he often emphasizes his aspects as a 'genius of entertainment' and a 'god of mic performance.'
The Power of Speech: He raves about the sharpness of The Rock's signature mic performances and his ability to have the audience in the palm of his hand. He analyzes the cleverness of his use of catchphrases like 'If you smell...' from an entertainment perspective.
Glamour and Dynamism: He focuses on the brilliance of the 'presentation' of moves like the People's Elbow and the Rock Bottom rather than the moves themselves, and discusses how he led the Attitude Era (WWE's golden age).
Success as a Hollywood Star: Considering the difficulty of a pro wrestler succeeding in Hollywood, he views Dwayne Johnson's current status as 'the pride of the wrestling world,' while emphasizing the 'special feeling' when he occasionally returns to the ring.
Contrast with Stone Cold: He also touches on his relationship with his rival Steve Austin, and there are articles that reminisce about the intensity of the era when both were active.
Overall Style
As is true for the blog as a whole, it is not just a list of information, but is characterized by a very strong subjective passion regarding 'how I felt at the time' and 'how they embody the fun (or absurdity) of the wrestling genre.'
Even toward 'superstars' like Hogan and The Rock, he never deifies them too much, but expresses their 'humanity' and 'karma as pro wrestlers' using unique vocabulary, sometimes comparing them to hard rock artists.
*If you are looking for specific articles (dates, etc.), entering 'Hogan' or 'The Rock' into the blog's search window should yield many hilarious articles filled with his unique metaphors.