Hulk Hogan vs Boris Zhukov WWF Superstars 05-14-1988
I was never diagnosed with Hulkamania
I was born in 1988, so Hulk was still around when I was watching wrestling as a child, but his time in WWF was coming to an end. The first WWF memory of Hulk Hogan I have is when he came to Monday Night Raww to team with Brutus Beefcake and "thanked the big man upstairs". I assumed he was talking about the recently passed Andre the Giant. I was a dumb kid. I cried after Bret Hart lost to Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 9 and so I missed Hogan winning the belt. A couple months later a defective Kodak camera flashed in his face and Hogan lost to Yoko and that was it. He was gone to WCW
I liked Hulk Hogan, but that's because I liked all the babyfaces. I had a lot of Hulk merch, but I think that was from relatives going "This is the one wrestler I know...this little idiot likes wrestling....here have a Hulk Hogan tote bag". I still have that bag, i keep plastic bags in it I sometimes use to pick up my dog's poop. Never metaphor I didn't like. Most of the other merch is gone now and I don't miss any of it for any reason other than what I could sell it on ebay for. The one piece I do miss is my cassette tape of Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band. The Band consisted of Hulk Hogan, Linda Hogan, Jimmy Hart, and I never bothered to figure out who else. They released one album and I listened to the casette all the time. I know everyone loves "Hulkster in Heaven", but the real gem is the only Jimmy Hart vocals on the album " The Wrestling Boot Traveling Band". It's awesome. Seriously. Shut up, if that goblin faced Ed Sheerin did this song everyone would love it.
Most of my pre heel turn experiences with Hulk Hogan are from renting Videotapes. I think even as a kid, I was sort of eh on Hogan. It wasn't like I was a workrate snob, I had an Ultimate Warrior VHS I watched ALL THE TIME. For some reason I just didn't get Hogan. I did watch WCW and nothing Hogan did really changed my opinion. When he turned heel though, man I absolutely Hated him. I one time told my parents if I could kill anyone in the world, it'd be Hollywood Hogan. They were playting Scruples or something, THERE IS CONTEXT TO THIS. As an adult I can appreciate Hulk's role more . It's not nostalgia either, because I can't really be nostalgiac for something I never had a strong feeling about. I think he gets a bad rap sometimes , IN RING...JUST IN RING . Just want to clarify, because as a person he sucks. So let's see if old Hulkster deserves the benefit of the doubt....about wrestling, not about being a racist.
It's May 1988 and in just a couple weeks the world will celebrate my birth. First though, the world waits in baited breath as Hulk Hogan has a rare match on WWF syndicated Television. His opponent is the Russian Boris Zhukov, a wrestler I'm pretty sure never won a match. The Berlin Wall fell when I was a baby, so much like Hulk Hogan I have no Cold War Nostalgia feelings. My first Russian was Boris Yeltsin and I was like, yo why's this guy got such a red nose. Boris' partner Nikolai Volkoff sings the Russian National Anthem before he is interrupted by Real American. I lied about not liking stuff about Hogan, I do love this frigging song. Hogan hits the ring and Nikolai and Boris are after him, but Hogan fights them off. There's something to be said about Hogan's unwillingness to surrender his hair contradicted with two bald men. I don't know what there is to be said, but its something. Hogan is over man as he whips Boris all around the ring and then clotheslines him. Hogan rips his shirt off, throws his bandana, reveals he's a bald idiot and the crowd is loves it. It's the typical Hogan match, as Hogan hits all the classic offense. Boris finally gets some momentum with kicks and chokes to Hogan. Boris with maybe the lamest backbreaker ever gets a 1 count and now Hogan is up and he's pissed. If this was 25 years later I would assume he found out who Brooke is dating. As silly as it is, I do love my a good Hulking up...especially when he gives the Mutomobo finger wave. Who will sex Hulk Hogan tonight? Probably Bubba the Love Sponge's wife. One big boot and leg drop later and Hogan wins. Postmatch he beats up Slick because nothing in wrestling is subtle
It's a fun match and it's interesting to see Hulk Hogan in a squash as it so rarely happened. You kind of know the formula so you get the general idea of how its going to go. Boris was good as a heel just bumping around for the Hulkster, but it's a silly gimmick
Russian villains are so 1988
TLDR Review
Hogan Wins. Hogan Poses. Hogan Sucks
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