Post by Dean Wolf on Jul 10, 2019 7:06:49 GMT -5
I found a bunch of floppy discs from high school and college the other day. My wife bought me a portable disc drive to plug into my laptop and I went through some of the floppy discs last night. I found an essay I wrote for my 12th Grade College English class. The assignment was a compare and contrast essay. I chose to compare and contrast The Rock and Hulk Hogan. I wrote it a month after WrestleMania X8, so that must have been my inspiration. The essay was a worked shoot, brother. Enjoy.
The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan
[Yes, I color coded those words on the cover of the original essay]
[Yes, I color coded those words on the cover of the original essay]
Professional wrestling is one of the biggest entertainment spectacles in modern day America. Two wrestlers that are responsible for the popularity of this sport are The Rock and Hulk Hogan. These two men have the qualities that a great wrestler should have, but have their own unique styles, too.
In the world of professional wrestling, you can know all the maneuvers in the world, but you’ll never be famous if you have a bad gimmick. Hulk Hogan is a classic example of a great gimmick. Hogan, a 10 time world champion, is portrayed as the All-American hero who could stand up to any challenge, no matter how large or small. He always uses the catch phrase “Whatcha gonna do when the Hulkster runs wild on you” to intimidate opponents. He has defeated evil foes like Sgt. Slaughter and Andre the Giant. Hogan is also a man with morals, and often tells his fans, known as the “Hulkamaniacs”, to “…say your prayers and eat your vitamins.” Along with being able to portray a baby face ( a good guy), Hogan can also act out the part of a heel ( a bad guy), such as his gimmick of the callous, self-absorbed and cowardly ringleader of a gang known as the New World Order. In this character, Hogan has no morals and often uses cheating methods to win his matches. Outside of the ring, he is a celebrity that has had a cartoon made for him and has starred in unsuccessful movies like “No Holds Barred”. No matter what gimmick he chooses to use, Hogan has been the force that’s pushed wrestling into the realm of family entertainment.
Even if his interviews make him a shining star, it’s his in-ring performance that has made him a legend. He doesn’t have a vast array of maneuvers. Most of the time he uses simple punches, kicks, and body slams. He can act out different emotions in the ring, though. If he is body slammed, you can hear him moan in pain. If he is making a comeback against his opponent, you can see the intensity all over his face. As a heel, Hogan is good at showing great amounts of cowardice. In most of his matches, he finishes off his opponent with a kick to the face and drops his huge leg on his opponents throat. After the match ends, he performs his trademark muscle showcasing. It’s these details that make Hogan the star performer that he is.
The Rock, an 8 time world champion, represents the modern day sports superstar. His gimmick is one of a cocky, trash talking gladiator. He has coined such catch phrases as “Do you smell what the Rock is cookin’?” He is known to belittle anybody that gets in his way with a plethora of insults. The Rock claims that everything he does is for his fans, also known as “The People”. Like Hogan, The Rock can portray both a baby face and a heel. His most noticeable heel gimmick is one of a wrestler who sells out to his evil corporate bosses to get ahead in his career. He is the perfect example of a snotty narcissist. As a baby face, he is still arrogant, but is now a fan favorite because of his refusal to do what other people tell him to do. His gimmick has made him into a huge celebrity, even more than Hogan. In recent years, The Rock has been a host on Saturday Night Live, and has starred in movies such as “The Mummy Returns” and “The Scorpion King”. Like Hogan, The Rock has progressed into one of the biggest celebrities of his generation of professional wrestlers.
The Rock’s athletic ability has helped make some of the most memorable matches in modern day professional wrestler. He has a more diverse list of maneuvers than Hogan, including the flying clothesline, the sharpshooter (a submission maneuver), the DDT, etc. In most matches, the Rock uses his finishing maneuver, the rockbottom, to finish off opponents. His most famous finishing maneuver, though, is “The People’s Elbow”. It is a simple elbow on the heart, and is probably less painful than Hogan’s leg drop. The similarity is in the way the crowd wildly reacts when the maneuvers are executed. The Rock is a huge crowd pleaser and a huge asset to the world of professional wrestling.
Hulk Hogan and The Rock are both great performers in and out of the ring. Fans across the world can agree that these two men are the epitome of what a professional wrestler should be because they have pride in what they do, and they do it well.
After reading this essay, I can't believe that I graduated high school that year and a college actually accepted me.
After reading this essay, I can't believe that I graduated high school that year and a college actually accepted me.
