“Everybody loved Hogan growing up ‘cause he was Hogan.” – Will Sasso
Few wrestling fans actually need an explanation of WWE in 1985, but for those that do, it was a year when the merging of Rock and Roll and wrestling was booming, WrestleMania was born, and the success was all led by the crazy phenomenon that was Hulk Hogan. But some may forget that Hogan became such a pop culture star that a cartoon was even named after him and began airing in September of 1985, Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling. At that time, WWE had such a wide variety of incredibly over the top characters like Junkyard Dog, Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts, Andre The Giant, and of course, the real comic book hero come to life, Hulk Hogan, that a cartoon seemed like a no brainer and a natural fit (much more so than in 2020). Unfortunately, the show unravelled before it even got going.
Where the hell is Hulk?
When you think back to great cartoons like Spider-Man, Batman: The Animated Series, etc., for the most part, each episode was led by the central character, and certain episodes would include more of a particular side character. Naturally, one would assume that’s how this Hulk Hogan titled cartoon would work, but sadly, that’s not the case. Hogan was, without a doubt, WWE’s main attraction in 1985, and the children that tuned in to watch this show were likely sold by the name and the belief that they were going to get their hero in cartoon form. Instead, the episode focuses on two mini-stories of Junkyard Dog (a middle of the card WWE talent), and there is, if you’re lucky, 2 minutes of Hulk Hogan on your screens (more if you count the opening theme, I guess). Even watching this back in 2020, you can’t help but feel robbed and lied to, so imagine being a child in ’85. Episode 1 is supposed to be a hook and ensure you come back for more, but when you offer so little of the central character, it’s hard to hook your audience.
Unfortunately, the lack of Hulk Hogan is just one of the problems, and things only get worse. The stories of Junkyard Dog racing Rowdy Piper to get his car in a film and him accidentally creating a Frankenstein like robot are appropriately ridiculous and simple for an ‘80s cartoon. However, they also wreak of lazy writing and are a little too coincidental, such as Andre slipping the Rowdy Piper tape into the robot instead of the antagonist’s interfering and turning the robot bad. Also, there is little wrestling violence in this episode, which ultimately takes away what most fans recognise these characters for - their in-ring moves.
Another problem is the immediate disconnect you feel when watching the portrayal of these well-known wrestling characters. Instead of being voiced by the actual wrestlers, voice actors takeover, and this leads to mixed results. Some voices work, like the legendary James Avery’s voice for the Junkyard Dog, and some are so far away from the real WWE superstar, it’s cringe-worthy. The episode and the characters are also surprisingly tame. Considering so many of WWE’s characters at the time were based on animals and behaved in preposterous ways, one would have thought a character like Junkyard may have had his own dog in the cartoon or something along those lines. Hulk Hogan’s live-action films were later criticised for being so over the top but had some of those over the top qualities ended up in episode 1, it would have brought some much-needed life to this cartoon.
Although this blog is much more centred on highlighting episode 1’s failures, there are a few positives that bring a smile to one’s face. The portrayal of Andre is a lot of fun, as not only does Ron Feinberg have the accent, but he also nails that loveable giant charm that Andre possessed in the ring and out. The tag team of Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff have some of the more amusing moments as well, such as when Volkoff accidentally paints Shiek’s face. The humour from Sheik, Volkoff, and Andre is nothing new, but it’s executed well, especially in an episode where few things come off looking good.
In the end, for those that have seen or grew up watching the two seasons of Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, they will likely not be surprised to read the faults in episode 1. However, for those that may have been curious about what this cartoon was like, like me, now you know. Call me silly, but considering the time period and the characters WWE had on their roster, this could have potentially been a fun show that lasted longer than two seasons. However, from the very first episode, you find out exactly what this cartoon was, a poor attempt at capitalising on WWE’s new sensation (at the time), Hulk Hogan.
P.S. I’m still angry there was, essentially, no Hulk Hogan in this episode!
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