The Hulkamania Tour of Australia: The Fourth and Final Show From Sydney
The Hulkamania tour has just completed the final show of the tour. Like a whirlwind they’ve blown through several cities and left numerous 80’s wrestling tragics with treasured memories that will last forever.
On the flip side, it’s left younger wrestling fans around the country wondering what all the fuss was about.  Men more than 50 years old that use holds, run-ins, and blood to get through a match? Yeah, that’s entertainment…
Match Rundown
- “Pimp Fatha” Charles Wright (aka WWE’s Godfather) d. Sean Morley (aka WWE’s Val Venis)
- The Nasty Boys vs. Rock of Love went to a double count-out
- Heidenreich d. Nick Dinsmore (aka WWE’s Eugene)
- Vampire Warrior (aka WWE’s Gangrel) & Black Pearl “The Count of California” d. Solofa Fatu, Jr. (aka WWE’s Rikishi) & Brian Christopher (aka WWE’s Grandmaster Sexay)
- Brutus Beefcake d. Orlando Jordan
- “Spartan 3000″ Matt Cross (aka M-Dogg 20) d. Shannon Moore in a Ladder match for $25,000
- Uso Fatu (aka WWE’s Umaga) d. Ken Anderson (aka WWE’s Mr. Kennedy)
- Hulk Hogan d. Ric Flair
Anybody who went to the show went with low expectations and walked away pleased, but is that really what a promoter wants? Fans should be excited for a great night out, not biding their time until the last 10 minutes when Hogan and Flair eventually get into the ring.
Those fans that paid up to $360 per ticket a few months ago when they went on sale deserve to be rewarded, not looked over when the 2 for 1 ticket offers and free upgrades started appearing at every show. There were people in the front few rows that paid only $49 for two tickets. The couples sitting around them had paid $671 more between them! That is just not fair and I don’t care how people try to justify it.
The Stats
I thought that I’d take a look back at the tour and see how many wins, losses, and draws each wrestler had. What I found was to be expected on a tour called “Hulkamania.”
Hulk Hogan: 4 – 0 – 0
Ric Flair: 0 – 4 – 0
Ken Anderson: 2 – 2 – 0
Shannon Moore: 1 – 2 – 1
Brutus Beefcake: 3 – 1 – 0
The Nasty Boys: 2 – 1 – 1
Heidenreich: 2 – 2 – 0
Matt Cross: 2 – 1 – 1
Rock of Love: 0 – 3 – 1
Uso Fatu: 2 – 2 – 0
Black Pearl: 2 – 2 – 0
Orlando Jordan: 1 – 3 – 0
Nick Dinsmore: 2 – 2 – 0
Sean Morley: 1 – 3 – 0
Charles Wright: 3 – 1 – 0
Brian Christopher: 3 – 1 – 0
Solofa Fatu, Jr.: 3 – 1 – 0
Vampire Warrior: 2 – 2 – 0
Big Daddy Row Row: 1 – 0 – 0
Upon reflection of the tour, every single member of the main roster lost at least once during the tour…except for Hogan. Funny that. Can we put that down to an ego boost disguised as giving the fans what they want?
The biggest positive to come out of this whole tour is that the careers of Ken Anderson, Shannon Moore, and Matt Cross look alive and kicking. These matches could be considered as a trial for TNA, and with the pull that Hogan will supposedly have in the promotion, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of these three. If nothing else they have at least earned a spot in the Nu Wrestling Evolution promotion in Europe alongside Heidenreich, Solofa Fatu Jr., Black Pearl, and several others where they can wait for that call from Dixie.
Other News
- There is an absolutely awesome video that was released recently by Sydney based filmmaker Keith Loutit which is a highlight reel of the first Hulkamania show in Melbourne, but it’s done in time lapse animation which makes the whole show seem like it’s acted out by figurines. It’s pretty cool and well worth a look.
- The Ric Flair picture that I posted in the last Hulkamania article has since been picked up by TMZ who have definitely run with the ball. I just hope that when all is said and done, that picture doesn’t haunt Flair for the rest of his days.
- The reports of a Hulkamania tour DVD may not in fact be true, but it’s still a possibility. I for one will not be buying it, but I can understand that it will have a special place on the shelves of many Hogan fanatics who will look back at the tour as a big success and with a feeling that they were able to see “The Hulkster” live in action for possibly the last time.
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Call me crazy, but that video made it seem like the event wasn’t all that bad… of course everyone was moving at double speed… so who knows.
I was laughing when Hogan and Flair got into the ring. They seemed to be move at normal speed when everyone else was hyped up on Red Bull. lol.
The video was taken from the first event which was probably the best one because it had a full budget which included fireworks etc.
The only match from the whole tour that I wanted to see was the Ladder match in Sydney. I’m surprised Moore lost, but at least he’s not afraid to put others over (*cough* Hogan *cough*)
I could easily see Moore in the TNA X division.
Moore is The Best!
Was brilliant in all 4 matches, absolutely TNA for him, NOW.
Oh Ric Flair… how you have fallen.
Could they not even have one be a double DQ or a double countout? I mean, my goodness. If I was Flair, I would have had Lacey hit me with a chair just so I’d win by DQ.
This tour really seems like a joke, and if this is what’s in store for TNA’s future, I’m very, very worried.
Oh don’t worry, I’m sure AJ Styles (ranked 10th on the TWD 50 by the way) will make Hogan look great when he takes the belt off himooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh! Who am I kidding? This is going to suck.
what he said
Flair, Hogan, the Alimony-Mania Tour with Eric Bishoff as lead henchman for the tour. Both are way over the hill, despite the will and the “body for a man my age†statements. Flair is my all time favortie. Too bad having his pants pulled down in the ring is the current remaining image we will have for him. Sure fun for the fans perhaps, but this is a wrestling ICON, no larger has really existed with the mike skills, passion and athletic ability of Flair. No one can whip a crowd into a frenzy better and more effectively than the Nature Boy. Hogan is a cartoon image of himself, great for the industry but way past his time. Both need to be involved in wrestling outside the ring, and let the new blood shine. To quote FLAIR, “TO BE THE MAN, YOUVE GOT TO BEAT THE MAN†Sadly these days he seems to be beating himslf