Would Magnum T.A. Have been bigger then Hogan.

[Road Warriors]

Want to see if those who lived through that time think if Magnum T.A would have been bigger then Hogan had he not gotten into his Car Accident in 86.

I think Magnum was well on his way to Super Stardom..

[Daniel F'n Bryan]

I wasnt alive for any of his run or Hogans WWF run but i know tons about wrestling from all ages and in my opinion from what ive seen of Magnum he could very well been on that track, I mean the guy was so good in the ring, good on the mic, had GREAT fueds, and was rediculously over! He was definately close to a NWA title run which would have moved him even further along the road to super stardom so my vote is yes.

[Deleted]

bigger than Hogan?I genuinely dont think so.

Magnum was a great wrestler with ALL the tools and theres NO doubting he would have been big.......

BUT

he hadnt got Vince behind him......and while he likely would have went North at some point I doubt his presence would have changed much.for all we know Magnum could have been one of the tremendous talents that got out of JCP in 88,went North and been used as a mid carder.

great thread BTW.

[jakksking1]

I said no. He would have had to be in the WWF for him to become as big as Hogan, first off. Secondly, the question is basically would Magnum TA have been the biggest thing in wrestling history. I wouldn't go that far, and wouldn't say that about anyone. Thats a strong statement.

However, he would have been very big in my opinion, I dont doubt that. Biggest thing ever, not sure if I could make that call.

[Deleted]

No.

He would have had success for sure in the NWA but I don't know how much GLOBAL success he would've had anywhere other than the southern part of USA.

[mikey1974]

he would've been a big part of the NWA,definitely World Champ,and possibly even surpassed Flair in influence and popularity in the NWA...

that said,he would never have been bigger than Hogan...the WWF starting in the mid-80's was bigger than friggin pro wrestling ITSELF! and if you weren't part of that,you weren't going to get on the full national stage,much less internationally known....

[Deleted]

the arguments for the "no" camp are all good ones

[mikey1974]

like it or not, "No" is most likely the truth....pure wrestling fans knew Flair was the NWA World Champion...but the rest of the world,all the Hollywood stars,and mainstream media outlets knew Hogan as THE Champion....and that was due to Vince and the media/entertainment push he gave his company....

[Deleted]

No, but he would have been close to their version of Hogan. And that's if he'd stay. Eventually he would have ended up north. And you can't be bigger than Hogan in Hogans yard.

[matteliswin]

no. he was GREAT, but didnt have the look or the connection with the fans like Hogan had.

[gelatinoustapeworm]

I was a huge fan of Magnum's work, but there is no chance in hell he would have been bigger than Hogan.

[Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai]

Big fan of Magnum TA, but I gotta vote "no" on this one. Couple of reasons:

1) Hogan's just on another level... one of a handful of guys (Austin, Rock) where it's almost unfair to ask a wrestler to reach or surpass that level. Some awesome performers have never reached Hogan's level, and there is no shame in that.

2) Even in NWA terms, I think Magnum would have been excellent -- probably at least two title reigns -- but remember this was the era of larger-than-life, big muscular main eventers. Even with a 100% healthy Magnum TA in the NWA/WCW, they still would have had Sting and Luger rising up the ranks. Magnum would have had his share of the main event pie, but I don't think anything would have prevented Sting from becoming the No. 1 babyface eventually (just as he did without T.A. in the picture).

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2011 12:43:10 GMT -5 Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai said:

Big fan of Magnum TA, but I gotta vote "no" on this one. Couple of reasons:
.

2) Even in NWA terms, I think Magnum would have been excellent -- probably at least two title reigns -- but remember this was the era of larger-than-life, big muscular main eventers. Even with a 100% healthy Magnum TA in the NWA/WCW, they still would have had Sting and Luger rising up the ranks. Magnum would have had his share of the main event pie, but I don't think anything would have prevented Sting from becoming the No. 1 babyface eventually (just as he did without T.A. in the picture).

nows theres a great point,the Sting factor.

[Nivro™]

Nov 18, 2011 12:43:10 GMT -5 Johnny Lawrence - Cobra Kai said:

Big fan of Magnum TA, but I gotta vote "no" on this one. Couple of reasons:

1) Hogan's just on another level... one of a handful of guys (Austin, Rock) where it's almost unfair to ask a wrestler to reach or surpass that level. Some awesome performers have never reached Hogan's level, and there is no shame in that.

2) Even in NWA terms, I think Magnum would have been excellent -- probably at least two title reigns -- but remember this was the era of larger-than-life, big muscular main eventers. Even with a 100% healthy Magnum TA in the NWA/WCW, they still would have had Sting and Luger rising up the ranks. Magnum would have had his share of the main event pie, but I don't think anything would have prevented Sting from becoming the No. 1 babyface eventually (just as he did without T.A. in the picture).

Ill agree on some parts but Ill disagree on some as well. Hogan was on a different level and I dont think anyone could be bigger then him. Nobody could probably be as big but I def think Magnum could have been "as popular" if that makes sense. WWF had much more of a "media market" going for them but actual butts in the seats, the NWA competed very very well against the WWF. WWF would go to MSG and put 25k in the seats but at the same time, NWA would go to Greensboro and put 23K in the seats. WWF would in turn go to The Spectrum and put 18K in the seats and NWA would go to The Omni and put 16k....so the NWA and Magnum could have def drawn "house numbers" with Hogan but things like tshirts, figures, movies etc....Probably wouldnt have been close.

As for Sting and Luger, I really dont see either of them getting the massive pushes they do if Magnum is still around. To me, Luger an Sting were almost "thrust" into spots that were suppose to be filled by Magnum. Sting became the top babyface vs Flair....A spot Magnum was groomed to have and Luger became the good guy turned Horseman to feud with Rhodes.....a spot many people said Magnum would do IF he were to ever turn heel.

[jasonphoenix1]

He would have been huge but not bigger then Hogan. He would have been NWA world Champion for a long time though in my opinion.

[juicewinslow]

Possibly, if he had eventually moved on to join the WWF.

I really don't think anyone was as marketable as Hulk Hogan was though. So I am leaning towards... no.

[Emerald Enthusiast]

He would have had to move to the WWF and supplanted Hogan or been Hogan's successor. At a time when Vince was selling us gigantic bodybuilders, it doesn't seem likely that Magnum would have fit in the Rock 'N Wrestling era.

[Calcifer Boheme]

Bigger than Hogan? No. But I think he would have made it to that upper echelon of 80s stars (Hogan, Savage, Flair, Dusty, etc.). He had everything needed to get there. He was great in the ring, good on the mic, and had unbelievable charisma. He was the everyman just as much as Dusty, but still had the larger than life presence even more so.

Had he gone up north though, I don't think he would have really been a world title contender. That's not really an insult though, as Hogan pretty much had that thing tied up, and I don't think Magnum would have done as well heel. Also, WWE didn't really do the everyman the way Crockett did. I could see him as part of the IC title scene, which produce the better matches anyway.

Magnum really was taken from the sport too soon. I wish WWE would put out a dvd for him, though I'm not really expecting it. We do have a few of his matches on dvd though, so that's still good. If they ever did another stars of the 80s set (and I think they should), he would be a great addition.

[T R W]

Wish I had seen this earlier.

I was a big Magnum fan growing up before he got hurt. But to answer the question, no, I don't think he would have been as big as Hogan. The NWA/WCW just didn't haev the promotional vehicles that the WWF did. Plus, as big as Magnum was, he didn't have the Super Hero look that was so popular in the 80's.

Now I think Magum would definitely have had some NWA title runs, and would probably have elevated past Dusty, and definitely taken up a lot of the spotlight that went to Sting. I think ultimately, his ascension would have probably hurt the legacy of Dusty and Flair the most, as he would have cut into their title reigns, and people like Ronnie Garvin probably wouldn't have won the title at all. It may even have impacted their decision to bring in Ricky Steamboat, and how his feuds with Flair went down.

But in the end, I think if he had gone to the WWF, he would have done little just like most of the guys built up in the Southern territories did. The only ones that did succeed in the WWF got pretty over the top gimmicks like Big Bossman, Million Dollar Man. Arn and Tully had some success, but really never fit in the WWF. Look at what happened to guys like Billy Jack haynes, and Terry Taylor when they went up there.

Magnum could have been one of the all-time greats, but not a household name like Hogan.

[K5]

as big as flair? good possibility. hogan? nope.