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[1995-02-19-WCW-Superbrawl V] Hulk Hogan vs Vader


Loss

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Flair's promo earlier in the show is interesting because the Baltimore crowd is extremely pro-Flair and extremely anti-Hogan.

 

I know the reputation for this match, but I was still surprised by how good it was. Hogan brought his A-game to the match. Like Ditch said, it is a deviation from the formula, while still being a Hogan match. Nothing Hogan throws at Vader works early on, so then he tries actually wrestling him. The clotheslines and chairshots outside the ring that don't result in DQs make this feel more like a big New Japan match than a WCW main event to me.

 

I should also add that Ric Flair worked his ASS off in that run-in. He must have been antsy to get back in the ring because he goes all out with the few minutes he has.

 

I think with maybe 5 more minutes, this might have creeped up another level. It really was a surprisingly good match.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

If Vader was in against anyone else, his performance here would look great. But after Hogan no sold the Powerbomb at the Clash, I can't take Hogan pretending that any of Vaders offense hurt in this match. Although Vader dropping Hogan right on his head with that chokeslam he does was sick.

 

Speaking of Hulk, That promo he did before the match has to be a record. He said "Brother" about 20 times in 5 minutes. Then at the end, He needs help from 2 people to run off Flair and Vader? Really Hulk? God I hate pre NWO WCW Hogan.

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  • 10 months later...

His point was that Hogan took Vader's best shot and it didn't even phase him the month before, and now we're supposed to believe that transitional moves hurt him. It's a valid point.

Actually, Eric Bischoff did a pretty good cover up for this on a Worldwide show, saying that Vader doesn't beat his opponent with just one move, he does it with an accumulation of big moves and beatdown until his opponent can't take it anymore, which was a way to say that Hogan kicking out of the powerbomb didn't mean that much since it was the only move Vader did to him.

 

Anyway, very good match, a top 5 match for Hogan in the 90's for probably. Hogan work reasonnably hard although not nearly as hard as he could, but Vader makes up for it despite working visibly lighter than he does usually. I really don't mind the finish because Vader kicked out of the legdrop at one, and Hogan stayed down after the powerbomb for 10 solid seconds. Made Vader look really strong, just like Hogan having to resort to chairshots to beat him down earlier on (although it's a rather shitty babyface move, but that's Hogan for you). Ric Flair was intense in his run-in like Loss said.

 

Really good stuff all-around to cap-off a pretty bad PPV overall (only Savage/Sting vs Bubba/Avalanche was good, while you had to suffer through horrible matches like Dave vs Kevin Sullivan, Duggan vs Buck, and yet another "Dustin against a boring and bad worker from the Studd Stable in Barry Darsow" match. Poor guy, he was supposed to get the world title at some point in 1994 if Hogan hadn't showed up, and he's been wasted for a year now, Goldust can't happen soon enough to salvage his career at this point)

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  • 1 year later...

Weird. I thought I had posted this. I would say this is a top 5 Hogan match easy and maybe his best babyface performance in terms of him making you believe how much of a monster Vader was not just through selling, but by changing his offense to try combat the Mastodon.

 

WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs WCW US Heavyweight Vader
Superbrawl V February 19, 1995 Baltimore, MD
Not much of a story to this one, except it was one of the big dream matches since Hogan had arrived in WCW and really logical. Hogan had made his star by wrestling these big monsters and vanquishing them (Studd, Bundy, Andre, Earthquake). However, there is no more versatile big man than Vader, who combined the size of those men with an explosive quickness. Also, Hogan’s star was on the wane as his 10 year old character had grown stale and passé especially in the South, which expected a higher level of wrestling than the cartoon stuff that Hogan liked to shovel. This led to this weird dynamic of Hogan getting pretty brutally booed the entire match against monster heel, Vader.
Tony lets us know that Ric Flair is indeed here in the front row. Hogan had “retired” Flair in October of 1994. They begin by both men are of equal strength. Hogan unleashes some pretty wicked slaps and his whip/elbow combo. Vader just screams “NO PAIN! NO PAIN! NO PAIN!” I was totally marking out during this segment. I just wanted Vader to maul Hogan. In a cool twist, Hogan realizes the power game is ineffective and actually attempts to wrestle Vader. WHAT!!??! He even busts out a flying cross arm-breaker (juji-gatame for MMA fans). Vader breaks that up by stepping on Hogan’s face like a boss. Hogan is betwixt and between. Vader mauling in the corner is combined with a wicked short-arm clothesline.
Hogan powders and Vader eats his railing bump and nearly wipes out Flair. Well, I think Hogan may have found something that worked. Hogan works some chops in the corner, the 10 punch count and then a rebound lariat to a small pop. Hogan uses some of his heel tactics: boot on throat and eye-rake, but he goes for the bodyslam attempt too early as Vader drops on top of him. Vader runs through some strikes and then connects with the powerslam/Vaderbomb combo for two. The Vadersault misses and Hogan in desperation whips Vader back into the rail and blasts him with the best Hogan chair shot I have ever witnessed. VADER FEELS NO PAIN! Vader chokeslams the fuck outta Hogan. I don’t think Hogan intended to take that wicked of a bump. The Hulk-Up comes off a vertical suplex. Vader KICKS OUT of the LEGDROP at ONE!!!! HOLY SHIT!
A Vader body attack wipes out the ref and Vader hits the powerbomb and he counts a visual three along with Flair, but there is no ref. Hogan makes his comeback and clears him outta the ring only for Flair to attack. Finally the ref calls for the DQ. Savage and Sting make the save against Flair & Vader.
There is a lot to love about this match up until the finish. I loved the beginning story with Hogan trying to wrestle Vader and then using his own dirty tactics out of desperation because Vader was such a monster. Vader comes across as this unconquerable monster with the no-selling at the beginning, the killer offense and of course kicking out of the vaunted leg drop at one. A lot is made about how, Hogan no sold a Vaderbomb previous to this match and how it killed Vader’s drawing power. I can only say he definitely tried to make up for it in this match because Vader looked awesome here. All of the traditional Hogan transition are ineffective against Vader and they only way for Hogan to sustain offense is through Vader mistakes and illegal tactics like chairshots really makes Vader seem like an unstoppable force. The finish is pretty unsatisfying. A Vader victory and subsequent matches against Sting and Savage would have drawn well while Hogan questions if he still has it would have been an interesting wrinkle to the Hogan character. I like the Boss match better because of the efficiency of spots and the better finish, but this one was remarkably good and one of the Top 5 Best Hogan matches I have ever seen. ****
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  • 3 weeks later...

This is complete trash. They can't decide if they are wrestling this as David/Goliath or Hogan as an ass kicker. "He's too strong!" Hogan says a few moments before he goes back to throwing Vader all over the ring. This started off really promising, and then like so many of his matches, Vader blew his load in the first few minutes and let the face dominate him. They never let the narrative play itself out, they rush into each sequence, Hogan can't be stopped, Vader and Flair are chumps. Horrible booking. The legdrop 1 count means nothing. They never built to it. This is everything that is wrong with Hogan, Vader, WCW & Ric Flair's willingness to be Hogan's chump, all in one segment.

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  • 2 months later...

Vader with a shoutout to his kid in his pre-match promo. Flair gets a hero's welcome for his interview, while there are audible boos when he name-drops Hogan. Pretty much a pure babyface promo from Ric. Hogan mis-uses the word "understatement" for the third straight interview. Hulk has been attempting to pay lip service to the idea that Vader can seriously hurt him, but despite the fact that this show sold well (as I said, the match sells itself) you'd like to think Hogan could have raised his game a bit, the way he did with Earthquake. Instead, Hulk's talk about this being the Most Important Night of His Life just rings hollow. Hogan makes threats to Ric Flair, and I hope this interview didn't play on the video monitor, because that isn't going to endear himself with this audience.

 

SHOOT, VADER, SHOOT was a rallying cry for us smarks on RSPW, and it even became my Prodigy screen name for awhile. Anti-Hulk Hysteria was at a fever pitch, maybe to an even greater degree than it would be at Uncensored '96. So this is a match I could not possibly have objectively evaluated until now, almost literally decades after the fact. As it is...it's pretty damned good. Vader doesn't really seem to work any lighter than usual, despite the supposed signed document preventing him from stiffing Hogan. After so much Hogan-By-Numbers in the buildup, Hulk does do a pretty effective job of selling frustration and even fear when his opening attacks have no effect on Vader. So Hulk tries going to mat wrestling, which is a development that's very well-called and explained by Bobby & Tony. He finally takes over when Vader makes a mistake on the floor, but can never really sustain anything. Hulk takes one of the more brutal bumps I've ever seen him take on a Vader chokeslam. Vader brushes off the big boot and legdrop, and even gets a visual pin on the Hulkster with Randy Anderson knocked out. Eventually Flair comes in, Anderson recovers, and it's a DQ, but it's a DQ leaving you wanting to see another match. Hogan sort of bitches Flair out afterward, but it is put over that Vader & Flair were going to double-team him into oblivion if not for Savage & Sting. In the end, Hogan stepped up his game after all, as seemingly all of Vader's opponents have had to do.

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  • 11 months later...

After reading all those recommendations here I've watched this match. On paper it looks great, but really, Hogan not selling for a powerbomb and that stupid ending killed this for me. In the beginning it looked like they've been building for something special, but later on it was clear that this match had no structure at all and that overkill in the end just put the last nail in the coffin.

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  • 1 year later...

After thinking Vader/Duggan from Starrcade was awful, despite the hype it got from some corners, I was almost afraid to watch this... surprise, surprise, I actually enjoyed it for the most part. Yes, it's got some pretty bad stuff, but it also has some unexpected good stuff, like Vader NOT pulling his punches at all (it seemed), and kicking out of the leg drop at 1 and all that. Bad hulk up and bad finish, of course, but not nearly as bad overall as I was afraid of.

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  • 4 months later...

Speaking of Hulk, That promo he did before the match has to be a record. He said "Brother" about 20 times in 5 minutes.

You're understating things brother. He said it 23 times in under 3 minutes brother. Had there been no commentary I'd have done a Jimmy Hart "baby" count as well.

 

I suppose this was a good match by Hogan in WCW standards. That's damning it with faint praise. This cartoon superhero vs villain stuff is way past its sell by date in 1995.

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  • 8 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Also, Hogan’s star was on the wane as his 10 year old character had grown stale and passé especially in the South, which expected a higher level of wrestling than the cartoon stuff that Hogan liked to shovel.

 

Baltimore is not in the South.

 

I like this match a lot. For me, it's a tossup between this and the Desert Storm Match as Hogan's best. And I think Vader kicking out of the legdrop at one and getting a visual pinfall off the powerbomb did a good job in repairing the damage done by Hogan popping up at the Clash. That pre-match promo, on the other hand...oh boy. He said "brother" no less than 23 times (well, "brother" 22 times and "brothers" once) in the span of three minutes. I don't even think Shawn Michaels said "brother" that many times in his Hogan on Larry King parody.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1995-02-19-WCW-Superbrawl V] Hulk Hogan vs Vader
  • 2 years later...
  • 2 years later...

I guess people say this subverts the typical Hogan formula, but my counterpoint would be this is just a protracted version of it. Obviously this match-up became an immediate joke after Hogan infamously no-sold Vader's powerbomb back at Clash, but matches can be good in vacuum, right? Hogan is who he is, and Vader requires someone who can take a bit of stiffness -- something Hogan is notorious for being unable to handle. Flair interferes in the match at the end, and we get a fuck finish, and this was a complete waste of time.

**

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