Hulkamania 1 (WF002)

WWF HULKAMANIA (WF002)

The World Wrestling Federation made their home video debut with the experimental BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS and this would be their follow up, a personal profile centered around their superstar champion Hulk Hogan. I’m unsure of the actual release date but I’ll take a guess and say February 1985. WRESTLEMANIA was the 4^th tape released and that wasn’t until April 85 most likely so this being the 2^nd tape, I’ll say February. Future tapes would center on top current action but this would be the first of many “profile” tapes and who better than your number one draw? Love him or hate him, Hogan was the top star and number one money maker so putting him on home video was a no brainer. Is the tape worth to watch though? That’s what I’m here to find out. As with the first tape, we get the opening Coliseum Video montage before Vince McMahon himself in a navy blue suit takes over to shill the action. We get a quick montage before being sent to the first match.

 

Match 1

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentator: Gorilla Monsoon

 Despite being groomed for the Intercontinental championship, Valentine goes for the big one at the Philadelphia Spectrum on August 4, 1984. Hogan does a voice-over before the match saying he was terrified of the figure-four. Valentine enters with the blue robe and black tights. Hogan wears the white t-shirt and tights. Ring announcer Mel Phillips is wearing one of the most ridiculous suits I’ve ever seen. Monsoon keeps referring to Valentine as the IC champ, which he was at the time of tape production but not during the actual match. Valentine starts with forearms and goes to ram Hogan’s head into the buckle but is blocked. Hogan rams Greg’s head then throws a series of jabs before Greg flops down. Hogan fires up the crowd before Greg regains his composure and calls for a test of strength. Hogan falls for it and is met with a knee to the gut that drops the champ. Greg works over Hulk in the corner with a series of knee drops before applying a reverse chinlock that Hogan barely sells. Hogan then gets up with Hammer on his back and falls backwards into the corner. Monsoon “That’s one way to get out of it.” Hogan delivers a headbutt then throws him into the corner where he nails him with a back elbow smash. Greg bails to regroup but Hogan follows him then continues to beat em’ up outside. Hogan throws Greg back inside who goes to town on Hulk as soon as the champ gets back in. Valentine scales the second rope then drives a forearm to the head. Valentine drops and elbow and covers for a 2 count. Valentine unloads on Hogan with fists, boots then a scoop slam. Valentine locks in a submission hold as Monsoon brings up the last time the title changed hands at the Spectrum was when Stan Stasiak defeated Pedro Morales. Greg continues to work over the legs to weaken him for the figure four. Valentine drags Hogan to the near side of the ring, bails, grabs a chair and hits Hulk in the knee with it. The ref does NOT call for the bell and Hammer goes back in. Hogan trips up Valentine to delay the figure four and starts Hulking Up when Valentine starts unloading with forearms. Hogan does 2 punches then sends Greg off for a big clothesline…hmm, that’s different. Valentine scoots to the apron but Hogan will have none of that as he suplexes him back in. The camera pans to the crowd where a big breasted Hogan fan jumps up and down. Can’t go wrong there. There’s an obvious TAPE EDIT that ruins the length of the match but whatever. Hogan delivers an atomic drop then taunts Hammer, but the send off eats a forearm to the back of the head. Hammer drops a series of elbows and forearms but a blatant choke gets  a “Hogan” chant from the partisan crowd. Another TAPE EDIT shows Valentine continuing to pummel Hulk with elbows. Greg goes upstairs but Hogan catches him and slams him off the top rope (which is one of the scenes in the opening Coliseum Video montage). Unfazed, Greg goes back to work on the left leg but Hogan blocks the figure four attempt. Valentine misses with an elbow drop as Hogan “Hulks Up” quickly. Hogan drops Valentine with a clothesline then drops the big leg. The cover gets 1…2…3 and it’s over, Hulk retains. After a brief celebration, Valentine motions that he’s ready for round 2. Valentine throws the referee into Hogan and grabs the title belt. Hogan actually throws the ref out of the way where he sails through the ropes and to the outside, what a humanitarian. Hogan grabs Valentine in a bear hug and beats on him in the corner. Valentine bails for good as Mel Phillips attends to the ref outside. For 1984 ring work, that’s pretty good. No complaints here, the tape edits kept the match flowing.

 

Time of Match: An unofficial 8:46

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall (Still WWF Champion)

 

We head right to the next match.

 

Match 2

“Big” John Studd (with Bobby “The Brain” Heenan) vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Howard Finkel (yes, HIM)

    Hogan does a voice over before the match saying he didn’t know if he could slam the big man going in but blows the ending of the match saying Studd went up like a feather. We’re at the Brendan Byrne Arena (wasn’t named Continental Airlines for another 12 years) in East Rutherford, NJ on December 10, 1984 for this one. The ring announcer is Gary Michael Cappetta who actually would leave later the following year for a near decade stint in NWA/WCW. Hogan enters last wearing the yellow trunks as the graphic on the screen says “weight 364 lbs”…yeah right. The crowd explodes as referee Dick Woehrle tries in vain to get the two in neutral corners. Bells gone and they circle as Howard gets The Brain to explain if the 15 grand is on the line. Heenan “So far that money is still drawing interest!” So it’s a standard match but Hogan gets a 15 thousand dollar bonus if he slams Studd, got it. After about a minute they tie up and Studd goes to slam Hogan but is blocked. Hogan then tries to slam Studd but is also blocked. Heenan shouts advice to Studd but Hogan kicks at him to go away. Finkel “Heenan can make life miserable for Hulk Hogan”. Studd gets the upper hand with forearms to the back. A shoulderblock does nothing and they each fail to slam each other. Hogan ducks under an elbow smash attempt and clocks John with one. A series of jabs rocks the big guy before sending him off for the BIG BOOT…which barely fazes Studd. John blocks a bodyslam attempt and pounds away in the corner with forearms. Hogan blocks a whip so the champ rallies with right hands. A running clothesline dazes Studd and a body-slam attempt nearly works but Studd powers out last second. Hogan reverses a whip with a running clothesline in the corner. Another slam attempt nearly gets him but Studd makes it to the apron. The action spills outside where Studd rams Hulk’s head into Fink and Monsoon’s table. Yes, those two are actually there so this is no re-dub. Studd rams Hulk’s head into the ring post before sliding in to break the count. Hogan is busted open as Studd goes back to work outside, throwing Hogan into the steel guardrail. A “Hogan” chant breaks out as Studd floors Hogan with a forearm to the chest. Studd rolls Hulk back in then goes upstairs. Studd nails Hogan with a forearm to the back from off the top. Studd floors Hogan with an elbow smash. Studd goes for the cover but only gets 2. We get a TAPE EDIT and when we resume, Studd scoop slams Hogan then boots him through the ropes to the outside. Studd continues to kick away at Hogan’s attempts to get back in the ring until Hulk pulls John outside. Studd pounds on Hogan outside the ring until he Hulks Up on the floor. Hogan slams Studd and rolls back in as Woehrle completes the count. Hogan doesn’t get the 15 grand because the slam wasn’t done in the ring but he wins the match. After the match, Hogan goes to slam Woehrle but sets him down last second.

 

Time of Match:  An unofficial 7:52

Winner: Hulk Hogan by count-out (Still WWF Champion)

 

Now we go to the famous TNT skit where Hogan makes a protein shake. I covered a bit of it on BLOOPERS, BLEEPS AND BODYSLAMS but I guess I have to go into full detail for this tape. Vince is wearing his pink herringbone suit while Alfred Hays has an impeccable bow-tie. Hogan talks about legit nutritional stuff like sugar energy burning too quick which means you need better stuff while training or wrestling. Hulk says he’s going to show his “Python Powder” which will turn Vince’s “garden snakes” into pythons. Hulk says to start out with spring water because “milk is for babies”. Then add in the powder. Idiot Hulk turns the blender on without the top on yet and it damn near explodes all over Alfred. He throws in a peach, a banana, some strawberries, 3 eggs (which he says you don’t need to crack it because the calcium is in the shell) one more spoonful of powder and a bit more spring water. Other than the mysterious powder, everything else is legitimate. He then pulls out a bag of pills that will “get Awful Alfred back into shape”. He pours his concoction for Alfred, Vince and himself and even McMahon is skeptical, asking Hogan if he’s gonna take all 12 pills. Hogan says you should talk all those vitamins first thing in the morning so you’re raring to go the rest of the day (normal vitamins yes, but I don’t want to know what he’s packing). Hogan takes a giant swig and downs all 12 pills “Not too bad” he says. Now it’s Alfred’s turn but he chickens out so Vince takes a swig instead. His face brightens up “That’s actually very good.” Hogan rants that if you train, take vitamins yadda yadda then he’s not responsible for your clothes ripping due to the increased muscle mass. He then makes fun of Vince’s pink suit as Vince is delighted to try the pills. In a shoot interview, Sunny claims Vince never had his talent do anything that he himself wouldn’t try so if Hogan’s not dropping dead, I doubt Vince will either. Unlike Hogan, Vince can’t swig all the pills in one gulp. Finally, Hogan demands Alfred try it. He takes a swig then goes to throw up. I’d say it was usual Hogan ballyhoo but there were some legitimate nutritional facts thrown in there, plus anytime Alfred’s in peril is always funny. On to the next one.

 

Match 3

“Dr. D” David Schultz vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and “Mean” Gene Okerlund

 Dr. D was the perfect heel for the time period but his attitude was unfortunately not very professional, which I’ll get to later. Hogan does a voice over calling him an arrogant redneck before the action starts. We’re at the badly lit Met Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 17, 1984 for this one. Hogan dons the blue tights and poses for 3 minutes BEFORE THE MATCH. They go nose to nose at the opening bell and Hogans shouts invectives at him. D turns and walks away so Hogan does the same, PEARL HARBOR JOB by Schultz! Okerlund scoffs as D pounds away on Hogan in the corner. D chokes Hulk with Hogan’s own headband before clotheslining him with it. A cover gets 2 and he goes back to choking him with the band. Monsoon asks why the ref hasn’t grabbed the thing yet and right on cue, the ref does. Dr D covers but gets a 2. Up to the second rope goes D and he delivers a forearm smash. Schultz rams Hogan into the corner and goes to town, choking Hulk on the top rope. Maybe its just the lighting but Schultz looks exactly like Jeff Jarrett just with curly hair and the Andre half singlet. A forearm to the head drops Hogan through the ropes and to the outside. Dr. D grabs a chair and rams him in the head with it. Hogan is busted open and referee Joey Marella does absolutely nothing. Damn, refs were a lot more lenient in the 80’s than they were in the 90’s. Dr D stomps Hogan as he tries to enter and Hulk continues to bleed all over the floor. Back inside Schultz continues to stomp away before biting the open wound, Blassie would be proud. Schultz goes up to the second rope and drops an elbow. Monsoon says that was one of his trademark moves. Who does he think he is, Randy Savage? Actually, Schultz and Savage were tag team partners in Memphis before Vince stole Schultz. Well, Vince stole Randy (and Lanny to boot) too but Schultz went first. Schultz takes forever to cover but when he does, 1….2..HULK UP. Hogan no sells D’s offense then rakes the eyes (because he’s such a role model) and gets in his 3 punches plus a blatant choke for good measure. After a TAPE EDIT Hogan hits a running clothesline and the big…elbow. The cover gets 2 and Hogan pulls D up for more punishment. Hogan delivers some punches and scoop slams D. Hogan drops the leg and covers 1…2…..nope, he pulls Schultz up again. Hogan throws Schultz through the ropes and to the outside. Hogan then rams Schultz into the steel ring post. Now D is busted wide open as we get another TAPE EDIT. Back to live action Schultz counters a whip with a running clothesline. A forearm by D drops the champ then he goes upstairs. The flying elbow misses and Hogan gets up….only to have the action cut in favor of a slow motion replay of the elbow missing. What the hell was that about? Anyway, another Hulk Up leads to a running clothesline. The cover gets 1…2…3 and its over. Sheesh, couldn’t even take the leg drop? Hogan celebrates but Schultz nails him from behind. Schultz nails Hulk with the belt then puts it on his own waist.Hogan comes to, rakes the eyes then punches D down. Schultz bails and Hogan celebrates again. Okerlund leaves the announce booth to announce Hogan the winner. Where was Howard Finkel, in the bathroom? As I was saying earlier, Dr. D was one of the top heels on the roster but on December 28, 1984 he was suspended for attacking 20/20 reporter John Stossel. Stossel was at Madison Square Garden to do a story on “Is wrestling fake?” To which ol Schultz came over and started whacking him around asking him “Is THAT fake?”  between blows. I understand Schultz trying to protect the business but smacking someone around isn’t the way to do it. Hell 13 years later Vader was arrested in Kuwait for doing almost the same thing to a daytime TV host. Schultz was suspended but wasn’t fired, but he eventually did get fired for threatening Mr. T. The word on the street was he wanted to steal the Wrestlemania main event away from Roddy Piper but after Schultz cost Vince $425,000 in a lawsuit settlement with Stossel, McMahon cut his losses and let Dr. D go before Mr. T sued him too. Schultz was a great heel but he just didn’t know when to stop.

 

Time of match: An unofficial 8:57

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall

 

No cutscenes, on to the next bout.

 

Match 4

“Big” John Studd vs Hulk Hogan in a Steel Cage Match for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon

     Howard Finkel calls this a “return bout” yet it’s from April 6, 1984 while the slam match earlier on the tape was 8 months later in December. We’re at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, deep in the heart of NWA territory. Guys like Sam Mushnick must have thought Vince Jr was nuts to promote there but there’s a damn good turnout for this event. Studd enters by himself which means he wasn’t managed by Heenan yet as Hogan’s pre-match voiceover says he got sick of back and forth insults and decided to settle it inside a cage. Hogan comes out wearing the blue trunks and we don’t even get a stare down, we automatically TAPE EDIT to where the ring is loaded with garbage and Studd rams Hogan into the cage. Hogan is busted open for the third match in a row on this tape. Studd drops an elbow then crawls for the door but Hogan stops him last second. Hogan pulls him back inside and we get another TAPE EDIT. Hogan picks up Studd and rams Studd into the cage which busts Studd open then we get ANOTHER TAPE EDIT to Hogan ramming Studd chest first into the corner. A charging Hogan eats clothesline and Studd crawls for the door. Hogan catches him and pounds on him with right hands. Studd floors the champ with an elbow. Studd goes to the second rope and drops another forearm to the back. Studd goes for the door but collapses on the way. Studd squirms over but Hogan stops him in time. Studd rakes the eyes and sends him crashing into the cage. Studd staggers around as Monsoon says he can’t see with the blood in his eyes. Studd goes to climb the cage but Hulk stops him with fists. They trade blows but an eye rake stops the Hulkster. Hogan reverses a whip and sends Studd smashing into the cage. Hogan drops the big leg as Monsoon calls it “the big knee” by accident. Hulk crawls for the door but Studd stops him, Hogan boots John in the face then makes it out the door onto the floor to win the match. The partisan crowd goes wild as Studd wants more on the outside. They brawl but Hogan gets the upper hand. Well that was…different. They edited the living daylights out of it to keep the action moving but they left out too much action. Guess due to time constraints they had to cut all the matches short.

 

Time of match: A heavily edited 5:48

Winner: Hulk Hogan

 

We know go to an exclusive interview with Hogan for this specific tape conducted by Vince himself. Hogan is wearing a t-shirt with his own image on it while Vince ditches the herringbone suit for a normal blue suit coat. Vince asks Hulkster why he got into wrestling. He claims he was the greatest wrestling fan ever before he became the greatest wrestler ever (wow, no egotism there huh?) and he loves the 1 on 1 contact. Vince asks him what’s his attitude on training and Hulk calls him Mr. McMahon, 14 years too soon on that one. Hulk says positive thoughts, good food, good workouts, good sleep and the vitamins, etc yadda yadda. He does have a point saying when someone quits smoking and drinking then looks at themselves in the mirror they’ll see a change for the better. Vince asks him when wrestling became the profession of his life and Hogan gives a half-cockamamie story on when he was a little kid his father took him to see wrestling and he loves it, the truth is he became a fan at the age of 16 when he saw Dusty Rhodes at the Tampa Sportatorium in Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida. Later “Superstar” Billy Graham came to Florida and Hogan wanted to look as built as Billy did. Vince takes it a step further and asks if any one person influenced him the most and Hogan gives the kayfabed answer of Andre the Giant when, like I said, the REAL inspiration was the Superstar. Hogan hypes up Andre as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Vince asks if Hulk still has butterflies in his stomach before going to the ring, Hulk answers sometimes. He doesn’t want to let the little Hulksters down and he fears no man or evil. We then cut to the final match on the tape. Final count: Man – 2, Dude – 1, Brother – 0, Jack -0 so if you had the under you win. As expected, we’re treated to the explosion of Hulkamania into the mainstream by showing us the match with Iron Sheik. To give a bit of backstory, Hogan left Vince McMachon Sr’s WWWF to do the movie Rocky 3 in 1980 and Vince wouldn’t let him come back after he was done. Desperate for a job, he turned to Verne Gagne’s AWA where he made his debut in 1981 to thunderous cheers despite being a heel. Fans were so desperate for something new they cheered the heel. Soon, Hulkamania was born. From 1981 to 1983 Hogan ruled the AWA despite never being champion. He was due to win the title but egotism got in the way. Hogan was making extra money by working in Japan and selling merchandise, something new at the time. His “Hulk Rules” t-shirt was a big seller in Minnesota. Like a lot of old time promoters, Verne wanted a piece of the action and demanded Hogan give up a portion of his Japanese income. Hulk rightfully refused and Hulk was also displeased when Verne sold a bunch of Hogan t-shirts without giving Hulk his cut. In December of 83, Hogan was scheduled to win the AWA title from Nick Bockwinkel but he was growing increasingly unhappy with how Verne ran things. Enter Vince McMahon Jr, the new kid in town. Vince bought the company from his father, renamed it the WWF and wanted to go national. In the territorial era of wrestling, promoters never promoted in rival territories although they would exchange talent here and there. Vince said the hell with that and decided to promote shows wherever the hell he wanted. Simply booking shows in places like Nashville is one thing, doing so without the larger than life champion was a different story. He needed a larger than life star in order to go national. He had Andre the Giant but Andre was 37 years old in 1983 plus his giantism was beginning to affect his mobility. Vince then got wind that Hogan was unhappy in the AWA. Hulkamania had been running wild in the AWA but this was before Verne got on ESPN so Hogan wasn’t yet nationally known beyond Rocky 3. With Vince running Madison Square Garden and more importantly, New York City, Vince had the venue for Hulk’s star to shine brightest. After signing the Hulkster away from the AWA, now all Vince needed to do was put Hulkamania over. His current champion Bob Backlund was a great mat-based wrestler but he was about as exciting as last night’s toast. Vince wanted the title to be on Hogan but Backlund refused to job to someone without an amateur background. Not a problem Vince said, he asked if Bob was willing to put over the former 1971 AAU wrestling champion and member of the Iranian national team, Iron Sheik. Backlund said sure and was willing to drop it to him. On December 26, 1983, five year champion Bob Backlund was dethroned by Sheik. A week later Bob Backlund brought out Hulk Hogan on WWF television and put over Hulkster as the number 1 contender. There was one final bit of the story that was not revealed until years later. Verne Gagne was pissed beyond belief that Hogan would betray him and he called up his former protégé Sheik with a proposal; break Hogan’s leg and take the belt back to the AWA. It was Gagne who originally trained Sheik when he came over from Iran and Sheik actually helped train his son Greg. Sheik has done countless interviews saying he had to turn down Gagne because it was against his religion to bite the hand that fed him. In other words, Vince McMahon Jr had given Sheik the title and was paying him well, so it would be sacrilegious for Sheik to betray Vince. With Gagne out of the way, the rest is history.

 

Match 5

Hulk Hogan vs The Iron Sheik (with Ayatollah Blassie) for the WWF Heavyweight Championship

Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon and Pat Patterson

  The match that started it all, the true dawning of Hulkamania in the national spotlight. This match came about when Bob Backlund was dethroned on December 26, 1983 by the Sheik. Rather than get his deserved rematch, Backlund brought out old Freddie Blassie crony Hulk Hogan. Hogan said he had denounced Blassie and was totally reformed, his mission was to destroy the Sheik and bring the belt back to the good guys. On January 23, 1984 Hogan met Sheik for the title in Madison Square Garden. Hogan crosses himself on his way out to the ring and guess who’s holding the curtain for him, 69 year old Vince McMahon Sr, dying of pancreatic cancer but fighting it long enough to see Hulkamania take off. If you pause your tape/dvd/etc to see that image, it’s an iconic one. The changing of the guard if you will. The regional territory era of Vince Sr is going by the wayside as Hulkamania sweeps the nation. It’s a shame the old man died when he did, he would have loved to have seen some of the gigantic crowds his son was about to draw. Sheik’s got the red trunks on. Hogan’s wearing his standard yellow trunks and a red t-shirt that says American Made on the front and Hulk-A-Mania on the back. After the introductions, Sheik turns to take his ring gear off but Hulk PEARL HARBOR’S him because he’s such a role model. Hogan sends Sheik into the corner with his robe still on and delivers an elbow smash. Hulk strangles Sheik with his own robe then sends him off and clotheslines him with the robe. The ref finally gets the robe away from Hogan. Hulk unloads in the corner then delivers a running clothesline. Hulk drops a knee to the throat, rakes the eyes and chokes him over his head. Hogan spits at Sheik and delivers the big boot. Hulk covers but the referee takes forever to get over there and Sheik kicks out at 1. Hogan drops Sheik with a running elbow then drops another elbow. Patterson goes crazy but the cover only gets 2. Hogan whips Sheik into the corner but misses a charge. Sheik finally gets an offensive move in 3 minutes into the match by stomping away at the Hulk. Hulk staggers to his feet and Sheik executes a backbreaker. Sheik covers but Hogan powers out at 2. Sheik goes back to work with boots to the chest then “loads up the boot”. Another boot leads to a Boston crab applied by the Sheik. Monsoon scoffs at the referee for being out of position but Hogan powers out of the hold. Pat wonders when Sheik will go for the camel clutch as he delivers a well executed gut-wrench suplex on Hogan. Another cover 1…2 and no. Sheik goes back to the boots to the kidney then locks in the camel clutch. Patterson says no one’s ever broken the hold as Monsoon says this is what did in Backlund a month earlier. Monsoon “Only the immense power of the Hulk can save him!” Hogan begins to Hulk Up and soon powers his way to his knees. Hogan stands up with Sheik on his back and rams him back in the corner. Sheik falls like a dead deer in the center of the ring. The crowd goes wild and Hogan drops the big leg! The cover gets 1…2…3 AND WE GOT A NEW CHAMPION! Madison Square Garden goes crazy as Hulkamania takes over New York City. Monsoon “History made in Madison Square Garden! Hulkamania….is here.” He wasn’t kidding, folks. Hogan kisses the belt (the same won worn by Backlund a month earlier before Sheik won it) as Fink announces Hogan the winner and new champ. Now Vince had his larger than life champion and the road to dominance was about to begin.

 

Time of match: 5:34

Winner: Hulk Hogan by pinfall (new WWF Champion)

 

The tape ends here with the orchestral ending montage as the credits roll. An explanation for why the matches were drastically cut is here. “The wrestling matches on this cassette have been edited to maximize their entertainment. Careful preservation of the spirit and integrity of the matches has been maintained.” I don’t know how cutting them up as badly as they did made them more entertaining but it sure made the action flow. Just like with the first tape, we end with a preview for BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 2, ANDRE THE GIANT and MOST UNUSUAL MATCHES. I’ll get to those later. As for this, now that’s more like it. The tape was designed to feature Hogan in good matches and to showcase hot 1984 action. I mean Hogan was never a mat based wrestler so judging the tape from a technical standpoint is a waste of time. The crowd was hot and the action flowed, 3 stars out of 5. 2 points off because there was no Roddy Piper mentioned and the edits were too much. Next tape after this is BEST OF THE WWF VOLUME 1 as we finally get to see some REAL action, not a collection of TNT skits and Hogan profiles.