Championship Region, Tournament Final: (1) John Cena vs. (1) Hulk Hogan

[klunderbunker]

This is the final match in the Championship Region. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Damage carries over from the fifth and sixth rounds and is based on the score of the previous match.

#1. John Cena

Round 5 Score: 82-35
Round 6 Score: 76-25

Total Margin: 158-60

Vs.

#1. Hulk Hogan

Round 5 Score: 60-52
Round 6 Score: 62-36

Total Margin: 122-88

​

Polls will be open for seven days following a one day period for discussion. Voting will be based on who you feel is the greater of the two competitors. Post your reasons for why your pick should win below. Remember that this is non-spam and the most votes in the poll win. Any ties will be broken by the amount of posts of support for each candidate, with one vote per poster.

Also remember that this is a non-spam forum. If you post a response without giving a reason for your selection, it will be penalized for spam and deleted.

 

[The Gribbler]

Oh S***. This is really what I feared happening in this final because I really don't know what to say. Having given this some thought, I can only claim that I think Hogan would get the victory. When looking at both men in their primes, they rarely lost, went over clean, and both came back when it looked like it was too late.

Hogan past his prime lost to Warrior to pass the torch, but that WAS past his absolute prime. Cena held the strap, never losing matches until Edge cashed in after the Elimination Chamber. But even considering that they were different eras.

So to me this comes down to who was the bigger star. Hogan in his prime, or Cena in his. And the answer for me seems to point to a clear Hogan victory. As most of the other factors would be either tied or questionable to say the least. So I think Hogan takes this one.

On a side note, this could be a long one, can you imagine it, Cena hits the AA for Hogan to hulk up and land the boot and the leg drop, for supercena to overcome the odds and kick out and hit an AA out of nowhere, for Hogan to hulk up...

God damn.

Just My Opinion

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I refuse to put Cena on the same level as Hogan, therefore I'm gonna go with Hogan on this one. Not a knock against Cena but only Rock and Austin can touch Hogan business wise, Cena is popular but he's no Hogan.

On top of that Hogan has the edge when it comes to big match scenarios. Both men have tremendous records when the pressures on but Hogan has become synonymous with winning big matches. Hogan lost to Warrior clean in his prime years but outside of that he was pretty much golden in such a situation beating Piper/Orndorff, Andre, Savage, Slaughter and every other cliche villain of the 80's, none of them ever defeating Hogan in a battle. Cena has at least lost a few times to the like of Batista, Edge and Orton. I know Hogan lost but you rarely ever saw those matches or even heard about them.

I assume it will be an epic showdown, so epic the stadium may collapse from too much awesome going on in the ring. Hogan will Hulk up, Cena will Cena up, every signature move ever used by either guy will be pulled out, multiple finisher kick outs, plenty of taunting and showboating, but it will be awesome nonetheless, like WM18 awesome.

Both guys will do very well, Cena could win but my moneys on the Hulkster.

 

[Papa Pillman]

Let's get this out of the way- both were/are booked strong and drew/draw huge crowds and have no advantage from the venue. So...

Here's my Hogan argument:

(And it's based around WM28)

Looking at Hogan and The Rock-

Stars of the company in previous eras that were more popular than the one Cena has dominated? Check.

In fact Hogan even clearly outweighs Rock on this factor as he was booked stronger and was the unquestioned face the company for years. Rock shared that mantle at best with Austin.

Bigger mainstream media stars? Check.

Obviously Rock is the one who ascended to A-list star, but Hogan also outshined Cena here. Hogan had a cartoon, a syndicated action tv series, a reality series, and his first couple main starring film vehicles(No Holds Barred and Suburban Commando) nearly doubled budget, while Cena's two major starring vehicles(The Marine and 12 Rounds) combined to barely cover budget.

So now that we have established the similarities between The Rock and Hogan and how they apply versus Cena, let's revisit 2012's Mania.

"Once in a Lifetime" it was billed. Most important match of Cena's career, it was billed.

John Cena versus The Rock. Current face of the company, still in his prime, still main eventing every month, against way past his prime former face of the company whose main focus is his lucrative film career. Biggest stage of the year. Biggest crowd of the year.

And what happened? Cena lost. Clean.

So any Cena supporters expect us to believe that Cena, who couldn't beat a past his prime star that wasn't even ever really at his level in the company, in the biggest match of his career on the biggest stage, could somehow come in and defeat the top face in the history of the company in his prime? Please.

If Cena couldn't beat "2012 Rock", in the biggest match of his career, then he sure as hell isn't beating "1986 Hogan" in a match that would be potentially bigger.

The only argument that Cena supporters will have is that Hogan jobbed to Warrior in 1990(slightly past the prime of Hulkamania) in a failed attempt to pass the torch before ultimately reclaiming the helm of the roster(which really isn't that much different than Cena dropping the strap to Punk at MITB '11, but I digress). But this isn't a "torch passing" type of event, this is a "who's the best ever" type of event. And Hogan is the answer.

The ludicracy ends here. Don't rob Hogan another year. Hogan deserves to win his first WZT. Vote as such.

 

[LSN80]

Oh S***. This is really what I feared happening in this final because I really don't know what to say.

I think this matchup is a good thing, as it requires time to consider the factors and who would win. The fact that this makes for a difficult final should lead to some good point/counter-points. Which leads me to my first point....

Having given this some thought, I can only claim that I think Hogan would get the victory.

1. Damage Control: I can understand the logic that if both men were fresh coming in, Hogan would be victorious. However, that simply isn't the case. Cena essentially squashed both Ric Flair and Andre, while Hogan went through an all-out war with Undertaker, and a decent battle with Bruno.

All-told, this is a 98-34 advantage for Cena in terms of damage coming in, or Cena by close to 66%. Both men have made careers out of overcoming odds and extensive damage in matches, and in Cena's case, heading into matches. However, this so thoroughly favors Cena. While I'd expect a finisher-fest here, would Hogan have the strength to crawl to the cover in time to put Cena away?

I think a far more likely scenario would be Hogan passing out in the STF. We've seen countless opponents go for finishers involving their legs, such as Punk's GTS and Orton's Punt, only for Cena to counter and lock in the STF. It's not out of the realm of possibility that the same would happen to a weakened Hogan as he went to drop the boot. As far as damage coming in, and what it means to the match, this heavily favors Cena.

When looking at both men in their primes, they rarely lost, went over clean, and both came back when it looked like it was too late. Hogan past his prime lost to Warrior to pass the torch, but that WAS past his absolute prime. Cena held the strap, never losing matches until Edge cashed in after the Elimination Chamber. But even considering that they were different eras.

2. How do you define Hulk Hogan's prime?: To me, that's the bigger question that needs to be answered here. When he landed in WCW and won his first World Title there, he was 41. Cena, on the other hand, is 36, so the age difference isn't that much apart.

Secondly, Hogan won more titles in WCW then he did in his first run with the WWF. I'm hard pressed to see the argument for Hogan being out of his prime with that being the case. And during that time, he suffered losses to Ric Flair, Sting, Goldberg, Roddy Piper, Lex Luger, and The Giant(Big Show). Some of those losses came by submission as well, including Luger, Sting, an Piper, all names Cena has surpassed. So the thought of Cena beating Hogan by submission isn't as far a stretch as some might think, or want to believe.

As for Cena, one on one matches have been where he's thrived. The Rock and Batista are in rarified company of those whom have beaten Cena clean. I won't run down his title losses again, I did in a previous thread, and other then to Punk, all have come in gimmick matches or cash-ins following Elimination Chambers. Here, it's the opposite, as Cena feels like the man walking in fresh, with Hogan the guy walking out of the Chamber. It's not quite the case, but the damage ratio is extremely lopsided in Cena's favor.

So to me this comes down to who was the bigger star. Hogan in his prime, or Cena in his. And the answer for me seems to point to a clear Hogan victory. As most of the other factors would be either tied or questionable to say the least. So I think Hogan takes this one.

3. Bigger Star?: This, no doubt, is in Hogan's favor. When it came time to build the WWF around a man to promote WrestleMania, it was Hogan, and it was wildly successful. He was the top draw there for 8 years, and went on to be the top draw for another 8 in WCW. Cena, while the top draw for the past 8 years in the WWE, and half the reason for the two biggest gates in WWE history the past two WrestleMania's, still isn't on par with Hogan's ability to draw in his prime.

However, is this relevant here? Being that this is an 8-man, one night tournament, it's a combined draw featuring not only Cena and Hogan, but also Andre, Bruno, Flair, HHH, Undertaker, and El Santo. Hogan could have gone out in the first round, which he almost did, and his drawing power would have meant little.

On a side note, this could be a long one, can you imagine it, Cena hits the AA for Hogan to hulk up and land the boot and the leg drop, for supercena to overcome the odds and kick out and hit an AA out of nowhere, for Hogan to hulk up...

4. Who does a longer match favor?: John Cena, I believe. Hogan worked best when he worked quick, as two of his bigger matches, against Andre at WM 3(12 minutes), and Savage at WM 5(18 minutes) weren't exactly long affairs. Two of his bigger losses, against Ultimate Warrior(23 minutes) and Sting at Starcade 97(23 minutes) were "longer affairs."

It would befit Hogan to finish Cena fast. Not only is Cena a cardio machine who routinely goes 30 minutes or more in victory, but the longer the match goes, the more susceptible Hogan becomes due to damage received. Can he finish Cena fast? Nobody in his prime has done so, and a beaten-up Hulk Hogan isn't going to do so either.

Cena's not going to squash Hogan here, but he should beat him.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

This is going to be one of those arguments that if someone chooses to pick apart and counter it, I don't care. I won't respond. Why?

Because regardless of the damage and harder work Hogan had to put in to get to this point, Hulk Hogan beats John Cena in every shape and form possible.

Drawing? Check. Hulk Hogan drew money in a time where the WWE desperately needed to draw money to survive. The story's been told that if Wrestlemania hadn't been successful, the WWE would be out of business. Who led that charge? Hulk Hogan. Because of the Hulkster, the WWE survived and eventually thrived in the tough world of pro wrestling. Hulkamania ran wild and made the WWE profitable. All John Cena's done since then is maintain what was built by his predecessors. Mind you, I'm not saying Cena can't draw. I'm saying compared to Hogan, Cena can't draw.

Big match victories? Double check! Hogan lost few big matches in his more than 20 years as a major draw. Losing to the Ultimate Warrior, The Rock and to Goldberg are the only major clean losses Hogan's took to the best my of knowledge and Hogan's only loss at Wrestlemania was to Warrior and The Rock. John Cena lost to THE MIZ at Wrestlemania. The Miz. That can't be forgotten here, folks. Cena also fell to The Rock at Wrestlemania. Hulk Hogan beat inferior competition like it was a habit. John Cena routinely lost to inferior talent, only to get retribution later on. Cena doesn't have that chance this time.

Popularity. TRIPLE CHECKAH! John Cena's popular. I get that. He's the all time leader in granting wishes with Make-A-Wish Foundation, he's a big part of popular culture, and his merchandise sales are through the roof. Hulk Hogan? Well, he sold quite a bit of merchandise. More than Cena. He also granted many Make-A-Wish wishes, and to boot... he had his own cartoon! Cena's not at that level. Hogan was also on the cover of Sports Illustrated, something Cena's yet to do. Hogan's era was considered the 'Rock n Wrestling' era because he rubbed elbows with the biggest musicians and stars in the world. Hogan was also in a major blockbuster called Rocky III as Thunderlips, and in other movies such as No Holds Barred, Mr. Nanny, and Santa with Muscles. I know it's ridiculous to bring those movies up, but they made more money than John Cena's feature roles.

Now, in an actual wrestling match? This EASILY goes to Hogan. John Cena's Achilles' heel in big matches is his inability to put foes away. He couldn't do it to The Rock in their first meeting and didn't do it to The Miz. He also managed to fall through a table on his own accord and lose his WWE title. Hulk Hogan is the master of taking a beating, coming back, point the finger, blocking the punch, using punches of his own, whip into the rope, big boot, then the leg drop. Sure he might need more than one leg drop to down Cena, but it'll end up being done. Then Cena goes up the ramp, looks into the sky and wonders how he could lose another big match, while Hogan plays to the crowd as 'Real American' bellows in the background.

Vote for Hulk Hogan.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

On a side note, this could be a long one, can you imagine it, Cena hits the AA for Hogan to hulk up and land the boot and the leg drop, for supercena to overcome the odds and kick out and hit an AA out of nowhere, for Hogan to hulk up...

You're right. This likely would happen. But Hogan wins. Hogan wins because Hogan can win by any means necessary. Hogan can turn heel. John Cena cannot.

Hogan is willing to turn his back on everything that he has valued in order to better himself. Exhibit A:

[YOUTUBE]cO9zxsRzN-M[/YOUTUBE]

I can't find a youtube video of Hollywood beating Giant at Hog Wild '96, but this is just as good:

Start at about 5:00
[YOUTUBE]79-L6OxKWW4[/YOUTUBE]

If he has to, Hogan can abandon the red and yellow and go black if he needs to. Let's then take a look at what happens when John Cena is faced with benefiting from matters in contrast to his values:

Start at 44:04
[YOUTUBE]QurAhNoyOnk[/YOUTUBE]

For Cena, morals, values, character, and justice is more important than winning. Hulk Hogan in his prime did, also. But Hollywood Hogan couldn't have cared less about the fans, his reputation, taking vitamins, saying prayers, or "doing the right thing." It may not be right or good, but ultimately, I think it gives Hogan the advantage.

Hogan wins after turning heel on Cena.

 

[Con T.]

It's as simple as this; without Hulk Hogan, there is no John Cena.

Without Hulk Hogan, you could argue that the WWF/E would have been a regional promotion. Hulk probably said it best when he turned heel; he made people rich up there. He made the people that ran that organization rich up there.

On top of that, it's probably important to note that, in his prime, Hogan has lost one singles match at Wrestlemania, that being Warrior. Cena, on the other hand, has lost thrice; to Orton, to Miz, and to Rock. Also worth noting; this match is akin to main eventing Wrestlemania, being the last match to go on. Hogan has wrestled in eight of these matches, going 7-1.

Cena? He has main evented 5 Wrestlemania's, surely nothing to scoff at. He has also gone 3-2. Again, nothing awful, but when compared to Hogan, it pales, frankly.

This goes to Hogan, for me

 

[Bernkastel]

I didn't vote in the last rounds since I saw little point after seeing the margins in which Hogan and Cena were winning. I had a feeling that this would be the final, and it's a repeat from the semi final from last year. And despite how good I know Cena to be, nothing's changed. And it might be a bit of biased on my part since I do want to see Hogan win his first Tournament - it just wouldn't seem right if he didn't. Not to be a parrot, so I'm just going to quickly run down two of the categories here that I know Hogan has Cena beat in...

The first is drawing power. I think Cena's drawing power is a bit overrated, considering that WWE - as a company - is far larger, and has more influence now than it did in the 1980's. Cities are larger, and yet Cena just can't seem to draw the attention that Hogan did with less people to work with on a regular basis. That may or may not be a knock on his behalf and more to do with factors like the recession and the fanbase, but the fact of the matter was Hogan always drew big numbers in his prime... in fact he drew big numbers past his prime. Cena's drawing power now would probably be akin to Hogan's during his early 00's run.

The second is big match victories. If anything can be considered Cena's Achilles Heel in a tournament like this, its his win/loss record in big matches. Again not entirely his fault, considering that he is the only really big marquee star of the modern era; of course his record is going to be worse than guys like Hogan and Austin, because they had guys like Savage and Rock to take the main event reigns from them every so often. Cena doesn't have that luxury, but at the same time it does work against him. Nearly all his big wins have come at the accumulation of a major feud... but this isn't a feud, its a one off. And in one off matches, Hogan's record is far better when glory is on the line.

Not trying to discredit Cena for everything he's accomplished, but Hogan should and would win this match.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I'm going to pick the guy that didn't get pinned by Roman Reigns this past Monday with one of the worst spears I've ever seen after being in the ring for about a half a minute.

We are in the finals now, the biggest internet forum match in the history of wrestling since last year. You have to pick the better guy, no excuses. It's easy to distinguish, Hogan wins.

 

[LSN80]

Because regardless of the damage and harder work Hogan had to put in to get to this point, Hulk Hogan beats John Cena in every shape and form possible.

So regardless of the rules of the tournament, it's the "I'm just going to vote for the guy I like best/vote against the guy I don't like" logic.

All John Cena's done since then is maintain what was built by his predecessors. Mind you, I'm not saying Cena can't draw. I'm saying compared to Hogan, Cena can't draw.

I'm not sure how this is relevant in a one-night tournament. The people are already in the building, a Hogan loss in the first round wouldn't have sent them home. As Cena's been apart of the two highest grossing 'Mania's in history in the main event,

Big match victories? Double check! Hogan lost few big matches in his more than 20 years as a major draw. Losing to the Ultimate Warrior, The Rock and to Goldberg are the only major clean losses Hogan's took to the best my of knowledge.

How about Roddy Piper at Starcade in the main event in '96, when Piper beat him with the sleeper? Or Lex Luger, who had two wins over Hogan already headed into their match in August of '97 on Nitro for the title, and Luger beat him by submission. Hogan tapped out to the Deathlock at Starcade '97 to Sting. Starcade was the WCW version of WrestleMania.

. John Cena lost to THE MIZ at Wrestlemania. The Miz. That can't be forgotten here, folks.

Did Cena lose to Miz in a one-on-one match, or a No-DQ, no-countout match? It was the latter, which renders an argument over his loss to the Miz irrelevant.

Cena also fell to The Rock at Wrestlemania. Hulk Hogan beat inferior competition like it was a habit. John Cena routinely lost to inferior talent, only to get retribution later on. Cena doesn't have that chance this time.

Did Cena need retribution after his title defenses against HHH at WrestleMania 22, HBK at WM 23, or his challenge of JBL at WM 21? How about when he challenged Batista at WM 26? How about Edge at the 2006 Royal Rumble, or Randy Orton at Summerslam 2007? You make it out as if Cena's career has played out to "lose first, win later", when it's generally been the opposite. He's routinely beaten inferior competition, not lost to them.

Sometimes Cena has been battered and bruised by his opponent heading into their match(Orton at Summerslam, Umaga at RR 2007), and has won anyways. He may have been beaten down ahead of time, but he generally beat the talent he was supposed to. And unlike Hogan, he's never tapped out in his prime.

Now, in an actual wrestling match? This EASILY goes to Hogan. John Cena's Achilles' heel in big matches is his inability to put foes away. He couldn't do it to The Rock in their first meeting and didn't do it to The Miz.

In an 8 year prime, these have been few and far between. He's had no problem making essentially every top guy in the company tap out, save the Rock. He did it to Miz multiple times before their WM encounter, and did so after as well. And Hollywood Rock wasn't exactly inferior opposition.

He also managed to fall through a table on his own accord and lose his WWE title.

He was actually attempting a superplex and pushed by Sheamus. But what this has to do with a regular one-on-one match, I'm not sure.

Hulk Hogan is the master of taking a beating, coming back, point the finger, blocking the punch, using punches of his own, whip into the rope, big boot, then the leg drop. Sure he might need more than one leg drop to down Cena, but it'll end up being done.

Until he goes for the Big Boot the second time, gets caught by Cena in the STF, and taps out(Hollywood Hogan) or passes out("Real American" Hogan).
He simply wouldn't have the stamina to stay ahead of Cena, let alone beat him.

Then Cena goes up the ramp, looks into the sky and wonders how he could lose another big match, while Hogan plays to the crowd as 'Real American' bellows in the background.

I think it's much more likely that after Hogan has tapped out or been pinned, Cena helps him to his feet, the two embrace, and Cena celebrates to "The Time is Now."

Take into account the rules of the tournament, folks, don't just vote based upon your childhood memories and love for Hulk Hogan, or dislike for John Cena. All the talk of Hogan turning heel or drawing more or selling merchandise doesn't matter here. What does matter is the damage already done to Hogan that Cena will not only exploit, but use to defeat Hogan.

Vote John Cena.

 

[Con T.]

Are we really all going to buy the argument that Hogan's prime is in WCW?

Why bother to use Starrcade, "WCW's version of Wrestlemania", when we have the actual thing to compare! And when we get to that, in his prime, Hogan has lost once, in the main event. If you want to use Hogan in WCW, I may as well use Cena's time in OVW as the Prototype; it's an absolutely asinine argument, that really holds no bearing.

Was Hogan the guy in WCW? Yes, and you could easily argue that he was the catalyst for the Attitude Era. But that doesn't mean that Hogan's prime was in WCW; frankly, he drew more money, had tougher opponents, and achieved more notoriety in WWF. If you're going to use Hulk Hogan in his prime, that would be a Hogan from 84-91. And that Hogan lost cleanly once

 

[Teddy Irving]

What is being used as Hogans prime here? I have seen Pro Hogan people use the fact he was Hollywood Hogan as a plus for him as he is willing to turn heel and on the other side of the coin they abuse pro Cena for bringing up WCW as it wasn't his prime.

Make up your mind Hogan supporters which is it

 

[Con T.]

What is being used as Hogans prime here? I have seen Pro Hogan people use the fact he was Hollywood Hogan as a plus for him as he is willing to turn heel and on the other side of the coin they abuse pro Cena for bringing up WCW as it wasn't his prime.

Make up your mind Hogan supporters which is it

I think you're confusing "the argument of prime" with Ricky's point; that Hogan will do anything to win, that Cena wouldn't. I don't want to speak for Ricky, but I am pretty sure he would say that WCW wasn't part of Hogan's prime, just a part of his personality. I've seen Hogan shift from Hulk to Hollywood, and vice versa.

Essentially, you're trying to boil down two separate points, and put words into Hogan supporters mouths

 

[Tastycles]

It's taken us 7 years, but I think we're finally going to vote for the greatest wrestler of all time in our contest to find the greatest wrestler of all time. Hogan rode the crest of a popularity wave in wrestling twice. There's few who have even done it once - some of the guys in the 50s and 60s and Stone Cold Steve Austin are about the only ones - but Hogan did it twice.

The fact is, the only thing Cena might have is his stamina and the fact he has had a marginally easier route here. In my mind though, this serves to highlight one of the main reasons Cena isn't as over as Hogan was - the way they come back from being totally fucked.

Watch Cena's comeback here at 22 minutes,


He looks tired, but you don't really see the exasperation or feel the pain he's in in the way Hogan shows here at 11 minutes:


Anyway, I digress.

The single most important reason is that while Cena's importance to the product today and the numbers WWE draws is enormous, he has never significantly added to the audience. There are no more people watching wrestling now than there were when he started. When Hogan started in the WWF, they had a sporiadic TV presence and no PPV. With Hogan, that changed. WWF became a household brand and Hulk Hogan became a household name. Hogan must win this match.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

What is being used as Hogans prime here? I have seen Pro Hogan people use the fact he was Hollywood Hogan as a plus for him as he is willing to turn heel and on the other side of the coin they abuse pro Cena for bringing up WCW as it wasn't his prime.

Make up your mind Hogan supporters which is it

Why can't it be both? How many people in the history of wrestling can say that they were the most over babyface in the wrestling industry for many years and then for another multi-year run the most over heel in the wrestling industry? Sounds like there's an easy discrepancy of "prime" in Hogan's case. Which, logically, would give an even further edge to Hogan.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Because regardless of the damage and harder work Hogan had to put in to get to this point, Hulk Hogan beats John Cena in every shape and form possible.

Basically.


Drawing, big matches, spearheading new mega-era of popularity, the all time indoor attendance record, it goes on and on and on. I may put Cena a notch above in match quality, but one catergory doesnt win this, hen Hogan trounces Cena in every other one.

 

[D-Man]

This is all Hulk Hogan. With all things being equal (damage from previous rounds, drawing power, contributions to the sport, relativity between generations and eras) we need to look at it as if both primes were having a one-on-one match. The fact of the matter is that Hulk Hogan RARELY lost in his prime. Cena, while very powerful, popular, and dominant, still lost multiple high-profile matches year after year. Hogan was undefeated for over FOUR YEARS.

During his prime, NO ONE could beat the Hulkster unless you had one hell of a dusty finish. Aside from using duct tape in a match where it was 100% legal, John Cena usually goes for the fair win; something that NEVER happened to Hogan in his prime (unless your name was the Ultimate Warrior.)

Hulk Hogan can, must, and WILL win this. PERIOD.

I see a landslide on this one. How ironic... Cena getting beaten in a landslide victory in the final round of the Wrestlezone Tournament...

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

What is being used as Hogans prime here? I have seen Pro Hogan people use the fact he was Hollywood Hogan as a plus for him as he is willing to turn heel and on the other side of the coin they abuse pro Cena for bringing up WCW as it wasn't his prime.

Make up your mind Hogan supporters which is it

I'll go with the 80's when Hogan wasn't pinned for FOUR years over Hollywood Hogan. Just like any sensible wrestling fan will do.

My question is where's John Cena's prime? The prime where he lost to Edge in his hometown of Boston? Or the prime where he lost to Miz, Rock, Sheamus, and was pinned by Roman Reigns?

Make up yo' mind CeNation! Which is it?

 

[Thriller Ant]

Here's the one problem I have with people saying Cena loses a ton more than Hogan did. Hogan, in his prime in the 80s, wouldn't have had televised matches all that often. Not his fault, just a different era. Cena, on the other hand, has televised matches at least once a week, if not two or three. That is a massive amount of matches that the entire audience knows the result of, as opposed to the few a year the entire WWF fanbase would see of Hogan.

Again, not taking anything away for Hogan or faulting either man for this or even saying that I'm voting for Cena, just something I wanted to point out.

 

[LSN80]

This is all Hulk Hogan. With all things being equal (damage from previous rounds, drawing power, contributions to the sport, relativity between generations and eras) we need to look at it as if both primes were having a one-on-one match. The fact of the matter is that Hulk Hogan RARELY lost in his prime. Cena, while very powerful, popular, and dominant, still lost multiple high-profile matches year after year. Hogan was undefeated for over FOUR YEARS.

This I can agree with, and I won't throw Hogan supporters under the bus for voting as such. All I've said is that damage has to be taken into consideration when looking at this match. But looking at things with everything being equal, this is a match Hogan should win.

That's not to discredit John Cena, or to concede here. But Hogan's first tenure in the WWF is unlike anything we've ever seen before.

Are we really all going to buy the argument that Hogan's prime is in WCW?

As for using Hogan's time in WCW as part of his prime, why not? He won 6 World Championships during that time, which is more then he won during his first time around in the WWF, which was of equal length. The only thing going against him during his time in WCW was his age, is it not? It's not the way he was positioned or his accomplishments, was it?

If you want to use Hogan in WCW, I may as well use Cena's time in OVW as the Prototype; it's an absolutely asinine argument, that really holds no bearing.

All facetiousness aside, it's ridiculous to try and draw even the slightest comparisons of Hogan's prime being in WCW, where he did lose more, but still infrequently, to when Cena was barely a glint in Vince's eye as the face of the company. This was still Hogan on top: The biggest feuds, all major storylines, and headlining PPV after PPV.

He just lost more.

My question is where's John Cena's prime? The prime where he lost to Edge in his hometown of Boston? Or the prime where he lost to Miz, Rock, Sheamus, and was pinned by Roman Reigns?

Still going now, and began when he won the title from JBL at WM 21, I'd argue. The losses during that period have still rarely come clean, or in non-gimmick matches.

I won't fault anyone who votes for Hogan here, as he's perhaps the greatest star this business has ever seen. But all things aren't equal here, and that has to be a factor taken into consideration. As does the time he spent in WCW, as it encompasses a large portion of his career.

 

[Loveless]

I can't stand either of these 2 but I prefer Hogan and I appreciate his talent far more than I do Cena's. In-ring they both bore me to tears but I can at least listen to Hogan talk without wanting to slap him. The deciding factor though is when I look at their careers.

When I think of Hogan I think of how he has presided over 2 boom periods in the industry, in 2 different companies as both heel and face.
When I look at Cena I see a failure. He was meant to be the Golden Child and the new Hogan but in the years he's been on top the ratings have tanked, PPV buyrates are down about 50% on 10 years ago and half the crowd despises him, to the point where they were disappointed when he turned out not to be seriously injured this week. That is not a successful face.

Cena isn't bigger than Hogan, never will be and in their primes, Hogan would have been booked over Cena every day of the week.

 

[Bdubbs]

I'm voting for Hulk Hogan. Yes, Cena and Hogan were in their prime in different era's, but Hulk beats Cena in almost every important category. With the exception of Warrior, Hogan didn't lose clean in his prime WWF run. Cena has been pinned many times in his prime by different wrestlers. As already stated, Hogan is the better draw, and he revolutionized the business. WWF became a phenomenon with Hogan attracting new viewers, and mainstream recognition.

When Hulk turned heel in WCW and created the NWO, the WWF was in serious jeopardy of going under. WCW annihilated WWF in the Monday Night Wars, by beating WWF for 84 consecutive weeks. It took 2 megastars in Austin and Rock exploding at the same time, along with others like Foley and HHH to regain control from WCW.

Without Hogan paving the way, there is no Cena. The only defense I see for Cena is voting on personal preference. It's time to give Hulkamania his due by voting him to win the WrestleZone Tournament, brotha!

 

[LSN80]

The only defense I see for Cena is voting on personal preference. It's time to give Hulkamania his due by voting him to win the WrestleZone Tournament, brotha!

It's funny, because it's the only defense I see for voting for Hogan here.

I'll say it one more time: This is a one-night tournament. Hogan comes in here after a war with Undertaker and a tough match with Bruno having sustained 66% more damage then John Cena has. I realize people either don't like this aspect when it comes to their personal preference, or will choose to ignore it, but it puts the advantage heavily in John Cena's favor. I've yet to see a John Cena match in his 8 years on top when he lost when the odds were in his favor so heavily.

Otherwise, I can see the logic in voting for Hogan, but not here.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Here's the one problem I have with people saying Cena loses a ton more than Hogan did. Hogan, in his prime in the 80s, wouldn't have had televised matches all that often. Not his fault, just a different era. Cena, on the other hand, has televised matches at least once a week, if not two or three. That is a massive amount of matches that the entire audience knows the result of, as opposed to the few a year the entire WWF fanbase would see of Hogan.

Again, not taking anything away for Hogan or faulting either man for this or even saying that I'm voting for Cena, just something I wanted to point out.

You do make a fair point here. Cena is definitely going to lose more simply because he wrestles more than Hogan did in his prime. Nonetheless, they both have had huge Wrestlemania main events and Hogan won all but one while Cena loses them a lot more often. He jobbed to The Miz. Even with interference from The Rock, that is just unacceptable.