was it the Silverdome match? and while we are here how should have Hogan been booked in mid to late 94 after the decent start to his WCW run? fuck the Butcher and Ed Leslie who should have Hogan been headlining Starrcade 94 with?

 

I'd say WrestleMania 6.

 

He was still doing monster business for rest of 87, 88 and 89. It was only after he came back in summer of 90 that a slip in popularity becomes apparent, and then 91 is worse.

Hogan-Andre is the peak.

 

Starrcade '94 should have been Vader beating the tar out of Hogan to set up a feud.

I'd say WrestleMania 6.

 

He was still doing monster business for rest of 87, 88 and 89. It was only after he came back in summer of 90 that a slip in popularity becomes apparent, and then 91 is worse.

 

Didn't SummerSlam draw better that year than WrestleMania, PPV-wise?

 

Things historically began to slip after his appearance on Arsenio Hall denying he took steroids.

Could argue for 5 on the basis of 6's buyrate, but there's probably just as much an argument that 6 fell short due to the face vs. face dynamic.

I always thought the WWF 80's peak in general was at WM3, so I guess Hulk's would be the same.

I'd argue it peaked with the Hogan/Andre rematch on The Main Event, since that was the most watched match in US history at that point.

I can't tell you exactly when Hulkamania peaked, although I believe it is Wrestlemania III.

 

However, what I can absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt tell you is when Hulkamania began to decline: Survivor Series 1987. Not only was this the first "big" event that Hogan didn't "win", but he was made to look like an absolute schmuck, idiot, and whiney bastard. Bundy and Gang played him like a fool, he got eliminated fair and square, and then after Andre beat Bigelow, Hogan ran down like a crybaby sore-loser to beat Andre up. This entire event made Hogan look like a complete tool, which was the stigma that he really carried over through the late 80s and into the early 90s when people began to turn big-time on the character. I even remember the Apter magazines taking Hogan to school about this. They never favored the WWF over Flair and the NWA, but there was always at least some respect shown toward Hogan's character. After this event, it went downhill fast. There's no way to go back and watch that show and see Hogan in a positive light.

The peak was 1988. Even though he was still very strong over the next couple of years (tremendous house show business in 1989 for example), by 1990 the WWF brand was becoming bigger than Hogan the star, the roster was far more padded out in the complete sense, from top to bottom.

I can't tell you exactly when Hulkamania peaked, although I believe it is Wrestlemania III.

 

I'd argue it was after this, coming out of the win. He rode an amazing wave from the months leading into WM3 to Feb 5th 1988's SNME against Andre ending in what I believe was wrestling's greatest ever angle with the Dibaise title purchase and referee scandal.