10 things most fans don’t realize about their rivalry, after 30 years

Back in the early 1990s, WWE was still largely dependent on the formula that worked for them for quite some time. Hulk Hogan was a bigger than life hero. The other side of the ring saw an overwhelming power from a villain who, through a combination of size or personal trait, posed a veritable threat.

Related: 10 things you learned about Hulk Hogan from his books

Earthquake was one of the last superstars WWE presented in this fashion. Weighing four hundred pounds, he was a natural monster heel and after dominating the middle-class cartooners, he entered a major competition with Hulk Hogan in the summer of 1990. From a distance of three decades, this article looks back at ten things that many fans may not have realized about The story between these two.

10 the rivalry included Hulk Hogan’s first solo match at SummerSlam

SummerSlam is a major event for WWE, dating back to 1988, and arguably second only to WrestleMania when it comes to consistently hosting matches among WWE’s biggest stars. It’s only natural that Hulk Hogan works at the top of the card or around for early SummerSlam events, but it might surprise fans to learn that he didn’t participate in his first solo match at the event until three iterations.

Related: 5 Incredible Main Events of SummerSlam (& 5 Failures)

The first two years saw Hogan represent Hogan in tag team matches, first with Randy Savage versus Ted DiBiase and Andre the Giant, then teamed with Brutus Pefkek against Savage and Zeus. This means The Hulkster actually did one for it on its first SummerSlam appearance in 1990 when it collided with Earthquake.

9 WWE used Hogan’s hit angle to boost their merchandise

On an episode of Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard, Prichard revealed an unlikely plot made by WWE at the intersection of creativity and promotion. The earthquake attacked Hulk Hogan, which put him in the hospital with a Kaifabi injury. In turn, WWE offered fans a headline to send good The Hulkster messages (in fact, the general consensus was that Hogan used this time to act in the Suburban Commando movie).

The development was that WWE used the return addresses of fans who wrote to them to populate a mailing list for their merchandise catalogs. The campaign gave the company a slew of new titles to highly committed audiences who were likely to spend money on WWE products.

8 The tugboat was being groomed as Hogan’s next great competitor

At SummerSlam build 1990, Hulk introduced Hogan Tugboat to fans as his friend. WWE announced that the mega-man will be at the corner of The Hulkster to confront Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart in support of Quake.

However, when SummerSlam rolled in, Jim Duggan was positioned as captain Hogan instead. The kayfabe injury angle knocked Tugboat out of the picture, but Bruce Prichard indicated in his podcast that this was a larger plot to eventually create Tugboat to run Hogan to build on WrestleMania 7. The premise was that while Tugboat visited Hogan in the hospital and rallied fans behind him when Injured, Hogan did not return the favor, thus giving the super heavyweight a justification to run The Hulkster.

7 they had the only match in the SummerSlam Match Hulk Hogan did not win by fall pin

Hulk Hogan never lost a match at SummerSlam. He’s never known to be a wrestling designer either, so it’s not entirely unexpected that he will win nearly all of his matches via Pin, dating back to the original tag team fight with Mega Bucks and moving forward like his dream match between generations with Randy Orton.

Hogan’s match with Earthquake in 1990 was the only exception, as Hogan won the countdown in this match. Less critical earthquake protects to create future PPV standoffs as well as run into the home display market.

6 they had only one singles match at a PPV

The feud between Hulk Hogan and Earthquake spanned from when the monster attacked Hogan in May 1990 right through to January 1991. Throughout that time, and despite the significance of their problem, it’s funny to think that they have only one singles match at SummerSlam’s PPV.

To be fair, it was a different time, with only four annual PPVs on the WWE Calendar. However, the two clashed again as they were in opposition to the Survivor Series teams. Finally, they blew things up when they were the last two men of the 1991 Royal Rumble, at which point Hogan eliminated his opponent to put the feud behind.

5 Quake was only in his twenties

To set the record straight, The Ultimate Warrior was too young for the WWE Champion, at only 30 years old when Hulk Hogan put him in at WrestleMania 6. At WrestleMania 7, Hogan faced the 42-year-old Sgt. slaughter. In between these rivalries, The Hulkster, himself in his mid-30s, fought with Earthquake, who was nearly a decade younger than him.

The Canadian giant was twenty-six years old when he attacked Hogan, and a recent 27-year-old for the SummerSlam match. Of course, the saddest part about realizing how young the earthquake was at the time was his young age when he passed away, being only 42 years old at the time of his death.

4 shades of Andre The Giant to start the feud

There are a number of similarities that can be drawn between Hulk Hogan’s feud with Earthquake and his previous affair with Andre the Giant. Not least, both instances in which The Hulkster legitimately pitted against a monster heel outpacing him by over a hundred pounds.

Related: Hulk Hogan: His 5 best matches in WWE (and 5 in WCW)

As an extra curl, Andre and Earthquake both started their rivalry with Hogan by attacking him on talk shows. For Andre, it was an emotional assault when he revealed the role of his heel and challenged Hogan to the set of Piper Hole. Years later, the Brother Love Show paved the way for Earthquake to physically beat Hogan.

Earthquake 3 had an amateur wrestling background

When fans remember Earthquake, they tend to think of him first and foremost for being an extremely heavy heel and thus could threaten faces like Hogan by virtue of his size and strength. Next, they might think of the surprising agility of a man of his size.

However, fans might not realize that Earthquake also brought a legitimate origin of amateur wrestling to the table. Bruce Pritchard discussed it in his podcast, pointing out how he combined real John Tinta wrestling, soccer, and sumo wrestling to make him a uniquely talented big man.

2 Their match was only the first of the two SummerSlams for Hogan when it wasn’t the main event

Over the course of his career, Hulk Hogan has worked on six SummerSlam events. It was the main event in the first two iterations, as well as the fourth, in the Star-sign tag team match scenarios. After more than a decade, he’s back in SummerSlam and the headline with Shawn Michaels.

Hulkster’s latest SummerSlam saw him running mid-card, albeit in an intergenerational dream match with Randy Orton. It was only the second time Hogan hadn’t been a major event to show SummerSlam that he was in business. The first time was in 1990 when his match with Earthquake fell into the global showdown between The Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude.

1 Hogan presses for earthquake in WCW

On screen, Hulk Hogan and Earthquake were never allied, but by most accounts, the two performed well behind the scenes. As Eric Bischoff and Konrad Thompson shared their 83-week podcast, Hogan tended to work with people he was familiar with – who trusted and knew they could work his way in compatibility. As such, it made sense that he lobbied for WCW to bring Earthquake to work for him in the mid-1990s.

Hogan and John Tinta wouldn’t actually run a single one in any high-profile matches for WCW but were polar opposites for a number of confrontations, with the mega-man being the first of the three faces of Fear, and later the Dungeon of Doom faction.

Next up: Hulk Hogan has ten finals in WWE, ranked from worst to best

10 worst win / loss records as a WWE Champion

About the author Michael Chen (438 articles published)

Find Michael Chen online at miketchin.com or follow him on Twittermiketchin.

More From Michael Chin

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos