Flair Region, Atlanta Subregion, First Round: (2) Hulk Hogan vs. (31) Kerry Von Erich

[HBK-aholic]

This is a first round match in the Flair Region, Atlanta Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

#2. Hulk Hogan


Vs.

#31. Kerry Von Erich


​

Polls will be open for three 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.

 

[SSJPhenom]

The Hulkster won't be going out in the first round this time. Better career, better wrestler, better everything.

Vote Hogan

 

[NSL]

I'm quite fond of Von Erich, and as a kid I liked the Texas Tornado. But...that's all he has going for him here.

Hogan is just flat out better than him in every measurable way. Championships, mic skills, charisma....everything.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

Hogan is gonna drop the leg on Kerry like he dropped the leg on Gawker Media. Kerry was a decent IC champ in WWE, and won I think four World Titles for various organizations, but Hogan is Hogan. There isn't much argument to be made here.

 

[ShinChan]

Much like a squash for Hulk Hogan.

Hulk Hogan is better than his competitor Von Erich in every zone be it mic-skills, in-ring skills, accomplishments etc.

Hogan wins easily with the big boot followed by a leg drop.

 

[jmt225]

Honestly, if Kerry didn't have so many personal demons, this could have been the main event of Wrestlemania 6 instead of Warrior/Hogan, with a very similar outcome, except Kerry would have been able to carry the ball unlike Warrior.

Unfortunately though, he did have those demons and he could never fight them off. Because of that he never lived up to his full potential, whereas of course Hogan became perhaps the greatest wrestler of all time.

Very easy choice for Hogan, but Kerry still deserves some love for how over he was as a babyface during his prime and for the potential he had to possibly become just as big of an attraction as Hogan was.

 

[nightmare]

The red & yellow racist ranting, wife swapping super hero of wrestling runs roughshod over this tragic tale of talented Texas history.

That would be a genius headline & exactly what would happen. Hogan for the win.

 

[NSL]

The red & yellow racist ranting, wife swapping super hero of wrestling runs roughshod over this tragic tale of talented Texas history.

'Murica.

And does anything else need to be said? Hogan embodies the sport, and while Von Erich was talented, he was never able to keep it together...literally...The man wrestled with half a foot. Hogan had two fully operational feet, and he'd use them for the big boot and leg drop.

 

[OYDK]

I loved me some Texas Tornado. As has been mentioned, Kerry Von Erich was in line to do some big things in the wrestling industry before personal demons got in his way, but even if they didn't, it's a safe bet that he never rises to the heights of Hulk Hogan. He never main events 10 Wrestlemanias or ends "15 year long" winning streaks.

Kerry Von Erich was a good talent and he may have hung around for a bit, but no way he beats Hogan.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Hogan pulls the leg at some point by mistake, drops to his knees and starts crying. Then hugs Kerry and raises his hand to declare him the winner.

Kerry whacks him in the head with his prosthetic leg.

Hogan wins by DQ.

 

[enviousdominous]

I won't let Hogan's real life heel turn sway my judgment on this one.

Kerry was great and he deserves to be recognized in this tournament, and he has thus been recognized.

Hogan gets the win here -- by my own expectation -- because he's Hogan and it wouldn't make sense for an evil or good Hogan to just get written out of a more dramatic encounter. I'll be hoping that he lasts long enough to go up against Andre or Stan Hansen, and I'll save my best forms of character assassination in regard to Hogan for that time.

For now, Hogan gets his win amid a luke-warm reception from the audience. Vote Hogan.

 

[tdmoon]

This is going to be similar to my response in the thread for Mike Awesome's opening matchup. I see Awesome and Kerry as possibly the two biggest wastes of talent I've seen as a wrestling fan. Both could have had outstanding careers but were derailed by poor decisions both self-inflicted and relating to booking. Kerry had more overall success than Awesome, and may have had an even higher ceiling.

Skimming this thread, I'm seeing a lot about how Hogan was better in every possible way, and I'm not sure I agree with that. Von Erich was a better in-ring technician than Hogan was and had better stamina. His physique was near the equal of Hogan's; while not quite as blown up, it was incredibly impressive and probably better equipped to handle the rigors of wrestling and he was a good looking kid the women swooned over.

What really set Hogan apart from nearly every wrestler in history is his sheer force of personality. Von Erich was very charismatic and had the entire state of Texas eating out of the palm of his hand but he still falls short to the Hulkster here. I would have been interested in seeing what could have been if a healthy Von Erich had the WWF hype machine behind him. He owned Texas, they may have been able to give him the world.

I was never a fan of Hogan and was a fan of Von Erich. I'd love to be able to find reasons to put him over here. Maybe I could say that if he was able to unseat Ric Flair for the World title, it's possible to beat Hogan here. I just don't think I can do it, though....love him or hate him, Hulk Hogan earned himself a spot right at or very near the top of the list of all-time greats. His influence was and is felt all over the world and he may be the most popular and most important wrestler we've seen. He deserves this win for everything he accomplished, though I don't think it's the squash others are making it out to be.

As a side note, almost every Von Erich reference in this thread exclusively references his time as The Texas Tornado in the WWF. Von Erich had years of drug problems and lacked a foot at this stage in his career. I implore you to check out his pre-WWF work to get a good idea of how good this kid was. There were many truly outstanding matches and feuds and it was an important time and place in wrestling history. You won't be sorry.

 

[Tastycles]

Von Erich was a big star in his father's promotion, but I think I'm right in saying there was an older Von Erich who would have received that spot had he also not died young. Von Erich I guess is a bit of a tortured genius, but then so is Hulk Hogan, albeit in a different way. Hogan doesn't appear to be able to dissociate Hulk Hogan from Terry Bollea, and that's every bit a part of the unfortunate reality of being a wrestler as Von Erich's untimely demise.

That's all besides the point, the fact is very few wrestlers have come close to Hulk Hogan's successes, and I see no reason to believe this match will be any different. Hulkamania runs wild.