Underrated Hulk Hogan Matches That Deserve More Respect

There isn't any doubt that Hulk Hogan is one of the biggest stars in wrestling history. He's one of the few people to ever compete in it that has broken out into larger pop culture and become a household name. Yet one of the crazy things about pro wrestling is you don't always need to be considered a great wrestler to be, well, a great wrestler. From journalists, to many of his fellow wrestlers, to tons of hardcore fans, there are a lot of people that will tell you that Hogan isn't particularly special in terms of the quality of his matches. They were formulaic, technically limited, and never exactly on the cutting edge.

Sometimes, though, those criticisms have gone too far. Hogan did have a solid base foundation of wrestling skills, and could sell. More importantly, he had something few wrestlers ever had: an all-time top-tier charisma that could get fans to live or die with every move he took or delivered. Hogan has had a lot of matches that appealed to the masses, but if you look closer, we think you'll find that he had some that would appeal even to many of his critics. We've combed through The Hulkster's career to find the matches in it that, for one reason or another, just haven't gotten enough respect from certain circles. Whether you're a Hogan lover or a Hogan cynic, hopefully this list will give you some things to chew on.

Before Hogan ever even arrived in the WWF, he was already a star not just stateside in the AWA, but overseas for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Japan was so meaningful to Hogan in the early to mid-'80s that he actually retained the ability to continue to work for New Japan during the early days of his WWF run. This match took place during that timeframe, and in fact, despite happening in New Japan, was a sanctioned defense of Hogan's WWF World Title. The opponent, Tatsumi Fujinami, was one of the great wrestlers of his generation, a New Japan star whose work would go on to influence so many who came after him.

If you've never seen Hogan wrestle in Japan, you've only seen one Hogan. Japanese wrestling has different styles, their fans have different expectations, and Hogan would work hard to meet them. Watch this match and you'll see Hogan work the mat more and break out moves you'd rarely, if ever, see from him in the US, including an honest-to-God bow and arrow hold. He'd finish things off with the Axe Bomber, a lariat variation that Hogan used as his finisher in Japan, rather than his legdrop. Fujinami had many better matches than this over the years, but from Hogan's end, it was a chief example of the level he could rise to when he was challenged to be a little different.

This match is a representative pick. There are a lot of matches in Hogan's career that are similar to this one that also don't get the credit they deserve. Short, fast-paced TV matches, sometimes singles but often tags, where a super-talented heel bumps like a pinball for Hulk. Yes, wrestlers could do that for anyone, but there's something more fun when they do it for Hogan. His entire character, the way he works, his super strong push, his presence, were all built for him to be a conqueror, and matches like this showcased it. The tag rules and shorter TV match times allowed matches like this to be less bogged down with filler to boot.

Like we said, we could've picked a lot of matches like this for the list but this one makes it because of one man: Mr. Perfect. One of the greatest bumpers of all time, Curt Hennig was built to be Hulk Hogan's dance partner in a match like this. This match isn't long, it's not an epic, but it hits the spot. A lot of times when you watched Hogan, you didn't come for a back and forth WrestleMania saga, you came to see Hogan run over some bad guys. When it comes to matches like that, this night is one of the better examples.

One year later, we got something of an unofficial sequel to the previous match. Just like that entry, here Hogan is main eventing another Japanese/WWF supershow in the Tokyo Dome. This time, however, instead of Hogan wrestling two weeks after main eventing WrestleMania VI, he was wrestling just one week after main eventing WrestleMania VII. Instead of working with All Japan and New Japan, the SWS promotion was the Japanese partner here. Most importantly, the match-up was completely different, a tag encounter pitting Hogan and local superstar Genichiro Tenryu against The Road Warriors of Hawk and Animal. Hulk taking on one of the most beloved tag teams in history is a dream match many fans probably are unaware even took place.

Like in the Hansen match, Hogan had his Japanese working boots on and gave another spirited performance. Also like the Hansen match, there were multiple people bleeding here, with Hawk joining Hulk this time in letting the red flow. Another match that broke down at times into a chaotic brawl, Hogan and Hawk showed some real fire and made you wish these two had shared a ring more often. The one flaw may be the anticlimactic finish, with The Roadies winning by count-out. Even there, though, we got a dramatic post-match where chairs were swung and ring seconds were attacked. Hogan and The Road Warriors were both acts that were used to physically dominating their opponents, but in this match, everyone somehow managed to look strong without weakening the men across the ring from them.

You could argue this match already gets respect, and it does, but only from certain people. Famously, Dave Meltzer only gave it three stars, one of his most controversial ratings. In so many respects, this match was a dream match that lived up to the hype, so much so that it completely overshadowed the actual main event of HHH vs. Chris Jericho. Was it technically very good? No, there were some fairly glaring timing issues between the two men. If you watched this match with the sound off, just focusing on the ring, and had no attachment or prior knowledge of these two men, maybe you wouldn't think it was that good at all. But that's not how we watch wrestling.

In the world we actually live in, you saw it all and you heard it all. The biggest star of the '80s taking on one of the biggest stars of the '90s, and the crowd eating up every second of it. Just the two men looking to the fans, milking every moment to perfection, was as entertaining as the big moves in so many other matches. Before very long, Hogan, the heel, was getting cheered over Rock, the face. It's a match that reminds you that seeing stars be stars can be just as entertaining as stars doing great wrestling. On this night, Hogan stole the show from the generation that came after him one more time. In some ways, this is his finest hour.

Just in terms of match quality, this is a pretty solid outing for the Hulkster. Kurt Angle wrestled this during the time when he was ashamed of being newly bald, working this match in headgear and a wig, which lead to some incredibly ironic goofiness when Hogan took it off and exposed him for being follically challenged. Angle also generally just ran around and bounced off Hogan in this match, adding some dynamic movement to a legend slowing with age. That being said, Hogan himself showed a surprising willingness to take a belly to back suplex and an Angle Slam, especially considering that he was approaching the age of 50 here and was not ever really known for taking big bumps.

None of that is the reason this match is here, though. No, the reason this match is on the list is the finish. Hogan does the classic Hulk Up comeback, he goes for his legdrop finish, Angle turns it into the ankle lock and after a big struggle ... Hogan taps out. Cleanly. It was a shocking finish at the time and is shocking even today thinking back on it. Hogan is well known for rarely putting over other wrestlers under any circumstances, let alone cleanly, let alone via submission, let alone as a babyface. It was an uncharacteristically generous act from someone who rarely conceded one. The match may deserve more respect. The finish definitely does.