STW

On this episode of Something To Wrestle, Bruce and Conrad discuss Hogan returning to the WWE in 2002! Topics include taking on The Rock at the Skydome, the babyface turn and being back to red and yellow, his title win over Hunter and loss to Taker, losing to Brock, returning at No Way Out and wrestling Vince at Mania with Roddy Piper's return before donning a mask and calling himself...Mr. America! Plus, the end of Hulk's run will be discussed, along with his short stint in Japan and getting hit in the head with a guitar from Jeff Jarrett!

[@Jam-City]

That Dusty Rhoades impression is MAGNIFICENT. His son goldust turned out to be a great extension of his son's career

[@andremarc1275]

Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Macho Man and Andre The Giant really are the big 4 of my childhood... today i only watch my old WWF vhs and dvds of the 80s and 90s WWF

[@theslickrips5904]

Mount Rushmore of the highest point in wrestling history

[@ghost_304]

No Ric Flair on that list ? Ric Flair is definitely on that Mt Rushmore

[@leoteasdale7484]

get the network brother....

[@leoteasdale7484]

@@ghost_304 depends on what wrestling you grew up on. I grew up o WWF so Flair ain't in my Mt Rushmore. But, I bet If I was a NWA/WCW fan at an early age he would be.

[@ghost_304]

@@leoteasdale7484 I grew up on Wwf , WcW days and Rick Flair is still on Mt Rushmore of wrestling, Rick Flair was one of the best entertainers in wrestling , was one of the best heals of all time . I understand people has differnt era of wrestling but what Rick Flair accomplished in wrestling etc is definitely on my Mt Rushmore of wrestlers . Thanks for ur opinion though

[@plumlineltd7585]

Mr America was one of my favorite things from that whole era. I’m sad we didn’t get to see it play out all the way, but man was that good stuff.

[@MrBooBeeDoo]

Really? For me it was the dumbest angle and every minute of it frustrated me.

[@eduardoohata9805]

You guys have a fan even here in Brazil

[@undertakerfanz628]

Awesome shout out to Brazil

[@Casperpks]

Been looking forward to this episode for a long time and it did not disappoint!! Please do a 1,2,3 Kid/X-Pac episode soon!!!

[@stephenbabinec8984]

Bruce should be in the WWE HOF

[@billburns7721]

Your mother is in MY HOF

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

@@billburns7721😂

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

I think Vince might see Bruce the same way he sees himself, that he shouldn’t be in the HoF

[@JujuUpTheMountain]

This was a great episode, best in a while.

[@vacuumboots69]

Yep agreed

[@Maradala]

"Kanye loves fishsticks" Finally someone understands Gayfish

[@SonnyO]

The Hogan/Taker 2002 feud I thought was underrated. They went pretty heavy for a few-week build with the bike stuff.

[@bdot187um]

Agreed, people tend to shit on that feud especially after the match they had...ngl as a kid i liked it & now after all these years I still don't find it as bad as people make it up to be.

[@mikeypitt8315]

@@bdot187um anything is rarely as bad as the wrestling fan band wagon jumpers make it out to be,they just do it to try to be cool and agree with the majority and then the years go by and things become infamously bad.

[@mikeypitt8315]

I always laugh how Conrad says "it seems like Vince would react like"...(insert reaction)about this or about that and Bruce just debunks it😂Conrad such a know it all thinks he knows Vince McMahon and others so well.

[@daleharris3809]

It was a good feud with a horrible match. All anyone will remember from this feud was that horrible attempt at a chokeslam

[@bb-gc2tx]

@@daleharris3809 the undertaker had vinces ear thats why he beat hogan, the undertaker kissed vinces ass his entire career because he was nothing without the undertaker gimick vince created and owned

[@WeAreFlawed]

I respect the commitment of Bruce in saying "Nash and Hall".

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

I love that whole bit!

[@JaySchraubMusic]

his fav group is Nash, Stills, Young & Crosby....

[@jmendoza2003]

Surprised Hogan didn't want to get his win back from Lesnar like he had with others. Lot of Respect for that. If he did beat Lesnar and Won become WWE Champion then he would got major criticism over this knowing Hogan wants to stay on top. Looking back on his run on his return in 2002, he lost to the Rock, Undertaker, Angle and Lesnar. And as Mr. American being pinned by the Big Show, Hogan really put others over. Also, since he had his rematch with the Rock at No Way Out 2003 and didn't get his win back on him either. Amazing Hogan lost so many matches in the second stint.

[@moffjerjerrod1579]

Umm, well him going into WCW’s office and saying he wants his win back on Warrior os one thing. It is a TOTALLY different thing for Hogan in his late 40s/early 50s demanding to beat Lesnar. Who Hogan couldn’t bruise much less ‘beat’.

[@berkajr3685]

These two little stints are fascenating to me. Loved Hogan coming back. But there were so many wasted opportunites due to egos. Hogan vs Austin. Hogan vs Foley, Hogan vs Lesnar 2 IMHO, I feel like that Hogan should have been brought back on annual basis like Undertaker for Wrestlemania. One match a year in an interesting program, combined with nostalgia. I completely agree with Conrad, HOgan should have been at WM20. If you ask me, I'd love to see him vs Austin.

[@bdot187um]

I mean the foley match wasn't on the table since he was already "retired" while the other was on a part time contract & didn't have much interest in working with him, the austin stuff it's on steve from all the research I have done it was austin who wasn't interested in having it while Hogan didn't mind especially since the latter had the big return main event with rock and was getting standing ovations everywhere he went while austin's act was getting stale especially after the invasion bs, & Lesnar Hogan 2 would have been huge but In kayfabe I don't see why Hogan would return after getting killed by the next big thing to Lose again that shit would've made him look ridiculous, lastly I fully agree Hogan should've been annual act like taker unfortunately we didn't get enough of him from that era all thanks to two things cash & creative.

[@blueblur2273]

@@bdot187um 🤨 Austin's act was getting stale after the invasion? The audience turned him back into a face because they loved those annoying "WHAT" chants. If anything he was having another resurgence after they turned him back i to a face. Not to mention business went down after he left.

[@81pdmatt]

Hogan vs Austin was planned for Wrestlemania 22. Hogan actually challenged Austin on Raw in October 2005. The match never happened, both guys thought the match wouldnt live up to the hype, and im sure Austin's neck would have been an issue. If you watch the Hall of Fame that yeah when Austin is inducting Bret Hart the crowd was chanting Hogan/Austin. Probably better we never actually got the match

[@aarontooley570]

The pepper and salt routine was hilarious. Listed to it twice. Conrad's reaction me literally lol

[@frednichols9851]

How does Vince not get the Mr. AMERICA Gimmick, but he got Hulk Machine & Giant Machine 🤔

[@jordanwilliams9317]

Bruce sounds so much happier. Wonder why?

[@deepblue8143]

Vacation

[@WrestlingOne]

Welcome back Bruce! Hope you enjoyed your vacation. Now continue giving us this quality of podcast sir! Sometimes I enjoy the banter over the content but I enjoyed this topic.

[@viccrown8188]

I LOVED the Mr. America stuff!! And was soooooooo disappointed with how it ended.

[@joeljohnson8214]

Looking back, when the NWO came to WWE, everyone in the locker room should have gone to the learning tree that was Scott Hall. He had issues, that we know. But his wrestling mind was and is considered one of the best.

[@bdot187um]

Facts, and I would say that should've been the case with all three legends unfortunately at that time they were stepping on "enemy territory" nobody wanted to deal with em or lose their spots to three guys who in their eye's killed wcw.

[@WrestlingOne]

The equivalent of Hogan defeating Lesnar for the title is Goldberg defeating The Fiend in 2020, and that worked out really well

[@bdot187um]

I mean brock was losing the belt anyways, I would rather have it be hogan with some bs finish protecting lesnar than dropping it to the big show...who had zero momentum and the majority of fans didn't take him seriously.

[@deebo1103]

@@bdot187um I agree with that, hogan getting his ass beat for the majority of the match but not giving in, having a couple of comeback points, having lesnar kick out of the hulk up leg drop, and then like having hogan slip out of an f5 into a roll up wouldve worked for short term better than the big shows bullshit.

[@koreykleber]

I haven’t tuned in for a while. Sounds like I came back just in time lol

[@williammitchell4417]

When Bruce and Conrad talk about the book... Wouldn't it be an interesting Dark Side of the Ring??

[@delbertprince5302]

I love Hulk Hogan since I was in the 5th grade and I am 48 years old,still love Hulk Hogan……

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Me too! Id never join that weak-ass bandwagon that rags on Hogan!

[@delbertprince5302]

@@HereIsWisdom1318 we are part of that era who witness the great times of WWF and WCW.

[@tylertapia]

Yup since 3rd grade I am 43

[@magilla2282]

I want a jelly and peanut butter sandwich

[@The_Sage_of_Six_Paths]

The Nash and Hall part was hilarious. Pepper and salt!

[@shawnpikka641]

pepper and salt jokes made me laugh for 10 minutes very funny

[@adamchristie7626]

The back and forth there was so awesome lol

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

15:24-“Its Hall and Nash!” “Thats weird!”

[@kennethreedy5258]

I remember Jim Ross overselling the Midnight Rider angle ... "THE MIDNIGHT RIDER LOOKS FAMILIAR, BUT I JUST CAN'T PLACE HIM!!" 🙄

[@CraigHarrisWakka]

Bruce is having a Cornette mood at the beginning.

[@1000bip]

You mean to tell me that Mr. America was actually… Hulk Hogan???!!! I don’t buy it

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

What? No way!

[@ROSTAFA]

0:00 BRST INTRO EVER!!! Begins at 3:31 Kurt did in fact injure Bob Holly's arm 46:33

[@ctwwtc8761]

HHH did a autobiography/weightlifting book around 2004 He said the decision to take the belt off him onto Hulk came from the office and he knew it would be a mistake

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Well it wasnt.

[@PoorStretch]

Definitely prefer Real American for Hogan, however at that time right in the aftermath of NWO and Hollywood Hogan I'd argue Voodoo Chile was the better song for that period in time. I know he went back to Red and Yellow but he was still more Hollywood Hogan than "prime" Hogan to me

[@foxmulderGC]

Would love a Steve Lombardi episode. Always puzzled me how he went from being a member of the Heenan family to a jobber on Superstars. Poor guy

[@marcbeauregard9185]

It's the opposite, he has always been a jobber from pretty much as far as I can recall from the start of the 80's until he became the Brooklyn Brawler during Heenan's feud with Terry Taylor around 1990

[@Sebastien47136]

I bet Conrad loves a good jelly and peanut butter sandwich.

[@BreakingNVain]

You know someone who doesn't...?

[@williammitchell4417]

With chicken salad You Know

[@andrewbowyer5043]

He'd rather have a Batista's dick sandwich, while asking what Pat Patterson thought about it

[@delbertprince5302]

Hulk Hogan fan for life………..

[@t-wrecks9866]

Wrestlemania 20 Hulk Hogan and Goldberg VS Shane McMahon and Brock Lesnar

[@allenchristopher2263]

I think this covered the Return of Hogan.

[@undertakerfanz628]

That thumbnail picture with me without the belt doesn't work for me brother

[@Difrentstyles]

Well damn pal..

[@sirekumasutra7022]

1:18:42 You mean the greatest name in wrestling history: CHARLIE BROWN FROM OUTTA TOWN!!

[@kennethreedy5258]

"Mr R" (Tommy Rich) is another classic

[@Momo42460]

Great, now I need a wNo shirt

[@ghost_304]

The pepper and salt , eggs and steak had me rolling it’s like the Toilet Paper is over instead of under on the roller , and Milk and chocolate, lmao

[@crushthecrusher7134]

I like to see hulk Hogan doing he Own wrestling podcast RIC flair have wrestling podcast why not Hulk Hogan

[@bennybonez]

Doot doot doot.

[@palaceofwisdom9448]

This comment is severely underrated!

[@raulvito6246]

Can’t even hear the shows nowadays with a 3 minute add plug every 10 minutes… I swear it sounds more sponsors less actual Brother Love for the last year

[@Johnlmooring]

When hulk hogan came back to a babyface response, especially at wrestlemania against the rock, they had to bring back the yellow and red.

[@soupkid8268]

"Gravy and Biscuits." "What the fuck are you doing?!"

[@Pariahcarey34]

This is probably my second favorite Hogan run after the 80's. I loved the nWo and Hollywood, but there was a lot more Terry in there for much of this, and it was nice to see Hulk the man rather than Hulk the caricature (particularly the caricature that he has been using since about 2005).

[@Johnlmooring]

I think a Vince / Luger feud would have done well. Considering Luger took the first shot jumping to WCW and nitro becoming a hit; after Vince really believed in Lex in wwe.

[@marcbeauregard9185]

it's not eggs and steak or steak and eggs, it's eggs and bacon !! 😂😂 Great episode !

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

I tell you what would have been good of Hogan. To have X-Pac come back and he put over X-Pac! That would have been great!

[@delbertprince5302]

I would not mind spending 150.00 for a picture with Hulk Hogan……

[@account_suspended]

Ahh..so that is why O.W.N didn’t work. Conrad figured it out.

[@bryanqueensberry6215]

Conrad questioning Bruce about Nash & Hall, pepper & salt, eggs & steak coming from the guy that always says all of the sudden instead of all of a sudden & Duke the dumpster Dro-zay instead of Droese smh

[@matthewprioli-baader8451]

I'm convinced that Conrad Thompson and Chaz Bono are the same person.

[@RG-lr4pk]

Hogan didn't have a flat guaranteed salary contract in WCW, that was for the jabronis.

[@danielescalera6638]

Doesn't work for me brother

[@timmarsh7257]

Conrad and Bruce go together like Carrots and Peas....

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Good one!

[@DrRobert909]

Bret is only 4 years younger, by 97, Bret’s already 40, Hills 47.

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Concerning Hall and Nash, i am still shocked after more than 20 years, NO ONE ever had the idea to use the line, “HALL AND NASH ARE HAULIN ASS!” Like they’re running from an ass whooping!

[@loganbush4015]

Do we all really believe Hogan went home to get his red and yellow gear. All the lies Hogan tells we all think that his ring gear still fit and was clean ready to go?

[@Aizenborgman]

So he keeps dirty shirts in the closet ?? What are you talking about !! stop acting smart

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Dude! What? You dont think Hogan kept his ring gear clean? Or worse, he had dirty ring geat in house for 6 to 8 years! And Hogan was still in great shape DUDE! Go look at the Raw where Rock challenges Hogan! Hogan was in GREAT SHAPE!

[@MW-cx3sb]

Yeah you gotta say things in the right order. Its always salt & pepper just like its mum and dad or hall and nash.

[@c.l.freeman7654]

I was at a Hooters watching Hogan vs HHH for the title. When Hogan got the belt, that place exploded. How business goes down drastically in a month is dumb and typical Dave. 18 min ovation on Smackdown? Yeah, real bad for business

[@eddead4235]

Bash hogan mask vs vince hair would have been better than trump

[@dmanentertament125]

Time to talk about the goat Hulk Hogan the greatest wrestler of all time!

[@markant9534]

I prefer Randy Savage, he had it all, Hogan was only good outside the ring, he needed a superstar in the other corner to make him look like a star inside the squared circle.

[@falconesports1581]

@@markant9534 simply not true he put on an all time classic with the ultimate warrior at wm6

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

@@falconesports1581 Warrior’s greatest match!

[@brucegough]

​@@falconesports1581 Savage did the Warrior Wrestle Ania match better

[@Trendleader863]

Tore every ligament in his back when he slammed Andre the giant

[@alexandercorrente5509]

K Bruce is about 66th thirds hot here

[@mikeypitt8315]

Pleased I didn't get Hogans book and wasn't even tempted to tbh ,The Rocks was bad enough!

[@r.josedefraga1205]

I’m a Hogan fan, and even I couldn’t get into that book. It was a cash grab, and not planned well.

[@bb-gc2tx]

29:24 wrong bruce sorry. the crowd was cheering the nwo when they came back

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

A Hogan vs Stone Cole match would have been bad. Their styles would haves clashed too bad. Stone Cold and Hogan should have joined forces.

[@bink9797]

1:02:30 I bet NOW you’ve seen Vince panic huh Brucie and you may have to do the same soon 😬

[@JackQSmith]

Roll & Rock Christian & Edge Oates & Hall Eggs & Bacon Os & Xs

[@phrankie_lewpehz]

I'm just glad that taker didn't drop it back to hogan. Like it happened. 30yrs ago.

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

1:10:20-Hogan was losing so much, he deserves to beat Lesner in the part 2 match! I mean, for Hogan, whatever happened to “i get my win back”?

[@crushthecrusher7134]

The man made wrestling what is today Hulk Hogan the icon the wrestling legend hulk Hogan help wwe world wrestling Entertainment what is today

[@desireejohnson7221]

Lmaooo you guys make me laugh 😂

[@jimbeamguy02]

U 2 r 🤬ing hilarious 😂

[@KizzMyAbs]

How many fucking people got paid more than they would’ve with a set contact? Not to many! Bruce sniffing Vince’s cheeks here

[@alexs7670]

Well, at the very least we can agree that the product has only gotten worse since the introduction of guaranteed contracts. Its better for talent but definitely worse for fans.

[@matsong5134]

The WNO 😂😂😂

[@LinusKnight]

I think of old days , revenue shared pay - people trying to think of what will work and tried hard -- guaranteed money? I imagine hall nash and hogan in road clothes lazily walking to the ring for a NOT match and not taking anything seriously

[@hawk4065]

Jelly and peanut butter sandwich

[@BreakingNVain]

The Being a Heel Lock 🔒

[@mikeypitt8315]

The heel lock really hurts lol

[@Cazz8203]

Ok....wtf am I missing...this is a work, right? I've listened to so many of these podcasts and it seems like Bruce has a deep hatred for Dave meltzer.....if that's true, I would think Bruce's best good buddy , Conrad "let me sell you a F'n house" Thompson would not be constantly referencing Dave's thoughts and opinions every 2 minutes. So has this been complete BS from the beginning?

[@adamsmashups4839]

Every time a match is discussed,Conrad mentions how many stars Meltzer gave it.Every damn time.

[@HereIsWisdom1318]

Dave Meltzer is a smeltzer!

[@81ghale]

Guaranteed money most definitely helped the wrestlers. It just also happened to fuck up the business they are in. Say what you want, less people watch today. More places for wrestlers to go is better than 1 Goliath of a company and one or two little ones that come and go. And don’t give me the bullshit line about “people have more to watch so they can’t get numbers like they used to”, because the NFL blows that theory out of the water every single week between October and February. Those are closer to the numbers wrestling used to do, than the numbers they do today.

[@desireejohnson7221]

Nash and hall lmao. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@freshtendrills5969]

45:40. Can you guys not do that shiz? I can't stand knowing all the cool stuff we'll never hear about. That's the something to wrestle I wanna hear.

[@wolfcrewe7474]

I hate hogan and all his politicking and I genuinely thought he was a shit wrestler, but I’ve actually watched some of his Japanese work lately and he’s actually decent. I think vince pigeon holed him into a certain gimmick and style as that’s what made money, and there ain’t many that’s grossed that kind of box office. But seriously, check out his work in japan

[@7over8]

Who farted @27:33?

[@warshipsatin8764]

incringing on someones inferation is very uncool

[@michaelhoward688]

NO MERCY FOR CONRAD!

[@burnabee]

I unsubscribed from this show it use to be good thank god for Jim Ross and Mick Foley podcast

[@silverbullet9442]

Bit of a lazy topic here as all of this has been discussed before in other episodes. This could have actually been a megasode episode and it would have been the same.

[@wtwn]

It always amuses me to see people complain about free content. Skip the episode brother and quit complaining.

[@silverbullet9442]

@@wtwn free content doesn't mean it has to be lazily done especially when they get paid to produce it but go ahead and excuse it

[@CharlesKhan]

Conrad infringing on the inferation as usual.

[@user-lb6is4oo5e]

First

[@andrecorreia848]

Mr. America was nothing fun! It sucked! I hated it! They could have done so much more with Hogan…

[@hahajaxsontv]

If hogan return to wwe I quit.

[@billburns7721]

Quit what? Jerking off?

[@mine5441]

so quit.

[@Cazz8203]

Bye

[@Aizenborgman]

Nanana nah nanNa nah hey hey hey good bye

[@jessecalarco9091]

See you later Jabroni

[@MultiKnick]

Return to what?

[@bdot187um]

TO POSE BROTHER!🤨