WWE Region, Manchester Subregion, Second Round: (1) Hulk Hogan vs. (16)Antonino Rocca

[klunderbunker]

This is a second match in the WWE Region, Manchester Subregion. It is a standard one on one match. It will be held at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. Assume one week has passed since the first round match.

#1. Hulk Hogan

Vs.

#16. Antonino Rocca

​

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.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Rocca may have taken down Superman but he's never felt the awesome force of Hulkamania before.

Now this is a lot closer as Rocca often drew better than most top dogs of his time. There has been a number of events where he was the main event over Thesz and Bruno which says a lot about how popular he was. At the end of the day though he's facing Hogan, the single biggest name there ever was in wrestling. Babyfaces fair very well against Hogan which Rocca would undoubtedly be but I gotta take Hogan in this match based solely on name recognition and popularity (although Rocca is no slouch in that area).

I'm certainly not against Rocca winning though.

 

[PsychoBlack]

Rocca was an innovator and doing things that no one had seen in America until he came along. Hulk Hogan is the biggest draw in the history of wrestling and did it for well over 20 years though.

Hulkamania is a force that very few men have ever stopped and I don't feel that Rocca would be the one to do it in this tournament.

 

[The_Sharpshooter]

Glad I'm first to it. Give me Rocca.

Yea I had the Hul Hogan shoes on my first day of kindergarten, but Rocca's Torture Rack is awesome. And for that reason alone, I'm voting Rocca

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

I've heard some things about how good Antonio Rocca was in his heyday... good enough to be put in a comic with Superman... but Hulk Hogan had his own cartoon, his own line of merchandise, and if Hogan wanted it, he could have gotten his own comic.

Hogan wins this because in big matches, no one, aside from Taker, is bigger than Hogan. And he'd get beaten down, may even be put in the Torture Rack for a bit, but he'll hulk up... punches to the face, big boot, and leg drop for the 1-2-3.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Hogan almost always effectively gets a bye to the gimmick rounds of the competition. You could stick any two guys in front of him in the early rounds it's almost academic to the point of ridiculousness.

Spoiler

With good reason. SWERVE!

Yes Hulk Hogan deserves that accolade. He's the man that, with help, revolutionised wrestling. Rocca may be able to joust with Superman, but I bet he's never felt the incredible force of a Hulk Hogan hulk-up before. If we're talking about the bigger of two faces, then few men prior to Hogan can compete, just as after him.

Antonino Rocco wouldn't belong on that exclusive list. You stick on the impact Hogan had as a mega-heel and it's already won. The golden leg drop takes us to the third round.

 

[8thwotwATG]

Hulk Hogan goes over Rocca in a surprisingly entertaining bout. Antonino Roccas' high flying aerial style was certainly far ahead of its time, and would mesh well with the power wrestling of the Hulkster, but it wouldn't be enough for him to beat Hogan. Rocca keeps Hogan off balance for a bit, but he, like most others who dared challenge Hogan when he was at the height of his powers, would fall victim to the force of Hulkamania. Hogan powers out of the torture rack, 3 right hands, a big boot and a leg drop end Antonino's run in this tournament. Hogan moves on to the next challenge. Hogans' star power and impact are, as usual, going to make him hard to beat in this tournament.

 

[HBsam31]

Great match here, and of course Hogan would get beaten down, but no one has the big match record Hogan has. Maybe Undertaker. Hogan would Hulk up as usual and Rocca would go down to the big boot and the leg drop. hogan wins this one.

 

[Singham™]

The first thing people generally think when sees the ringname "Hulk Hogan" in any kind of duel, is: "Who is going to get leg dropped this time"? As most people already said here, no one can argue about the power that Hogan's "Hulkamania" represents. Hogan on his prime was nearly unbeatable, and only a selective few wrestlers in history was able to defeat him without being defeated back. This includes The Rock, Lex Luger and Sting, although The Rock was actually pinned by Hogan in a Tag Team match once, but well... The thing is that what Hogan always represented and stil represents in the world of wrestling is without doubt bigger than Antonino Rocca. Thats because, although Rocca may even overcome a superman... "We have a Hulk" here.

Thats why I pick Hogan, who would Hulk Up and Leg Drop Rocca to the next round.

 

[Tastycles]

Rocca is actually entertaining, and you should check him out if you haven't before, he's not really like other people of his era, which is probably why he was so popular. He faces two major obstacles here. 1) He's an Argentinian fighting in the UK, which means that the crowd will hate him and 2) the small matter of Hulk Hogan.

If these were ever together, I don't doubt that Rocca would have been the number 2 guy in whatever company it was. The trouble is Andre the Giant and Randy Savage were the number 2 guys, and Hogan decisively beat them, and I think the same would happen.

 

[deem]

Rocca is actually entertaining, and you should check him out if you haven't before, he's not really like other people of his era, which is probably why he was so popular. He faces two major obstacles here. 1) He's an Argentinian fighting in the UK, which means that the crowd will hate him and 2) the small matter of Hulk Hogan.

If these were ever together, I don't doubt that Rocca would have been the number 2 guy in whatever company it was. The trouble is Andre the Giant and Randy Savage were the number 2 guys, and Hogan decisively beat them, and I think the same would happen.

Nail, head.

I would love to find a way to vote for Rocca here, I really love what I've seen and was never into Hogan. Hogan is the toughest to beat in this entire tournament though and Rocca isn't the man to stop him.

Hogan into the final 32. Super easy route for Hogan so far - James Storm - Rocca - Batista/Styles - edge/piper/steamboat/rude. Does anyone have an easier route into the quarters? Pretty much all that could stop him is Edge beating Piper, then Steamboat/Rude, AND drawing a great gimmick vs him, AND getting tons of people on board for another Edge run at this tournament. I just can't see it.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Strangely, I think that Rocca would have had the edge had this been fought in MSG where he might actually have a more impressive resume than the Hulkster... but this is Manchester where the unknown Rocca will be the defacto heel against Hogan and he just would have no chance against Hulk and the Hulkamaniacs.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Although Roccas was incredibly popular, innovative and ahead of his time, I don't think he is the man to stop Hogan in this tournament. We are talking about THE face in professional wrestling, the man who trancended the sport to become an icon the world over.

Hogan in his prime was pretty much unbeatable, and even if Rocca put up a great fight, it is going to take something very special to go over Hogan in this tournament. And he isn't the man to do it.

Leg Drop after a competetive match ends this.

Winner: Hulk Hogan

 

[The Brain]

Rocca was a huge draw and very popular in his day. Just not as huge and not as popular as Hogan. I think the gimmick rounds in this tournament were created just so people could convince themselves to find a reason to not let Hogan advance. If not for that Hogan would just win this every year. No gimmick, no early exit for Hogan.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I think it would be super fun to see Rocca slap Hogan with his feet. Pretty fun stuff there. It is nearly impossible to vote against Hogan in the early stages though. Maybe if this was in Rocca's native Argentina I could vote for him, but alas it is not and Hogan goes over.

 

[The Crock]

Anybody voting Rocca here is doing it just to be different. He was a big deal, but he was not Hulk Hogan. In his prime, Hogan would probably go over everybody in this tournament, much less Antonino Rocca. If there was a gimmick involved, maybe I'd give Rocca a second look, but there's not. Hogan moves on.