There have been so many names that come and gone throughout the history of professional wrestling, but none as big as that of Hulk Hogan. So many times we have heard his name or the things that he has done. Who here forgot to say their prayers and take their vitamins? Remember that all the Hulkamaniacs can follow the 24-inch pythons to the Promised Land. He spray-painted the big gold belt with the famed letters of the nWo. Andre the Giant was lifted with his feet over his head and slammed to the canvas in front of 93,000 fans at WrestleMania III. Plenty of memories and thousands of moments throughout his career have become staples on DVD collections or simply in the minds of all those that watched him for years. This collection gives all of us fans a chance to see some of the matches and moments from Hogan’s wrestling journey that may not have ever graced our eyes.
Hulk Hogan has been the face of wrestling for decades now and will probably be associated with it for many years to come. Hell, there have even been a few DVD collections already released pertaining to Hogan’s career and some of the great matches he has been a part of. Considering that it’s also quite hard to pick up a DVD of any PPV from WCW or WWE in the eighties, nineties, and most of this new century without him being on it somewhere, what more could we really ask for? Well, there is a collection of matches and moments that many people know about or have seen before on television specials or in person but just don’t have it at their current disposal. That is where the Unreleased Collector’s Series comes into play by allowing fans to see what the WWE has hidden deep in its vault.
The storyline portion of this DVD set is basically a refresher course for anyone that knows anything about Hogan. We are taken on a journey through his career from the very beginning days of the AWA through his first run in WWE to WCW and the nWo and then back to the WWE. Some subtle differences are given here though and new footage that I know is new to my eyes. A lot of training footage is put together as well as some clips from Hogan’s time spent in Georgia Championship Wrestling which is a nice added touch. It’s fun to see some of the older stuff from Hogan’s career because most of the time we only ever see that big time match against the Iron Sheik and then it all jumps into his huge run in WWE. For a change we now see what time was like for the Hulkster before he became the huge icon and the man known for hulking up in preparation for the monster comeback.
What should and is the selling point of this set would be the matches. Throughout all three discs, there are barely any matches from PPVs in any major promotion which almost guarantees that you won’t have them already in your wrestling collection. Disc one is what true wrestling fans will really covet because there are some honest to God rarities here that are all new to me and I’ve been watching wrestling for over twenty-five years. It’s also great seeing some of the superstars from the early heyday of wrestling like Bob Backlund, Randy Savage, Ted Dibiase, and King Kong Bundy. But it’s also sad when you see the number of wrestlers Hogan goes up against or teamed with that have already passed on. Junkyard Dog, Andre the Giant, Rick Rude, Big Boss Man, and Earthquake are just a few of the guys you’d expect to be inducted in the Hall Of Fame soon but now they can’t even accept their reward on their own behalf.
Don’t be upset though by seeing these guys again even though they’re gone. That doesn’t make this set any less then enjoyable though because those are the matches which turn this set into a must buy. It’s seeing them in the ring with the immortal one that got them on this set and created a collection of matches we may never have gotten our hands on had Hogan not been so popular. Just be forewarned that while the list of matches starts out really good; things go downhill about midway through the second disc with only a few rare gems here and there throughout to the end.
~ Championship Wrestling November 13, 1979: Hulk Hogan Vs. Harry Valdez
~ Philadelphia, PA April 12, 1980: WWE Championship Match: Bob Backlund Vs. Hulk Hogan
~ All Star Wrestling September 10, 1980: Handicap Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Steve King & Angelo Gomez
~ Madison Square Garden September 22, 1980: Andre The Giant Vs. Hulk Hogan
~ American Wrestling Association May 2, 1981: Handicap Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
~ Detroit, MI April 26, 1986: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage
~ Maple Leaf Gardens May 4, 1986: Hulk Hogan & Junkyard Dog Vs. Big John Studd & King Kong Bundy
~ Houston, TX June 26, 1987: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Kamala
~ Boston Garden September 12, 1987: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Killer Khan
~ Philadelphia, PA December 5, 1987: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. One Man Gang
~ Boston Garden January 9, 1988: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. “Ravishing” Rick Rude
~ Maple Leaf Wrestling March 12, 1988: Hulk Hogan & Bam Bam Bigelow Vs. “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase & Virgil
~ Los Angeles, CA October 16, 1988: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. King Haku
~ Los Angeles, CA December 17, 1988: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Big Boss Man
~ Boston Garden June 3, 1989: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy “Macho Man” Savage
~ Madison Square Garden April 30, 1990: Hulk Hogan Vs. Earthquake
~ London, England April 24, 1991: WWE Championship Match – Hulk Hogan Vs. Sgt. Slaughter
~ Madison Square Garden December 29, 1991: Hulk Hogan Vs. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair
~ Slamboree May 21, 1995: Hulk Hogan & Randy “Macho Man” Savage Vs. Vader & “Nature Boy” Ric Flair
~ Bash At The Beach July 16, 1995: Steel Cage Match for the WCW Championship – Hulk Hogan Vs. Vader
~ Nitro November 20, 1995: Hulk Hogan Vs. Sting
~ Souled Out January 25, 1997: WCW Championship Match – Hollywood Hulk Hogan Vs. The Giant
~ Nitro September 28, 1998: Bret “Hit Man” Hart Vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
~ RAW May 13, 2002: WWE Undisputed Championship Match – Hollywood Hulk Hogan Vs. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair
~ SmackDown June 6, 2002: #1 Contender’s Match – Hollywood Hulk Hogan Vs. Triple H
~ SmackDown July 11, 2002: WWE Tag Team Championship Match – Hollywood Hulk Hogan & Edge Vs. Billy & Chuck
~ SmackDown August 1, 2002: Hollywood Hulk Hogan Vs. Kurt Angle
The event is shown in 1.33:1 Full Screen format and the footage varies in quality throughout. Everything from the nineties and on is fantastic looking as is to be expected, but it is impossible to make some of the truly older matches look much better than they do. WWE has done all they can to make this as good looking as possible and no complaints can really be said here.
The event is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and it is just fine by WWE’s great standards as always. No problems to be found.
“Around The World” Nassau Coliseum: September 7, 1984
“Hogan And Mr. T” Tuesday Night Titans: March 7, 1986
“Back To Square One” Madison Square Garden: February 23, 1992
“The Mega Maniacs” Wrestling Challenge: March 13, 1993
“Hulk Hogan and Rod The Bod” Bash At The Beach: July 16, 1995
“The Darkness Of The Doom” Nitro: November 13, 1995
“Times Have Changed” Nitro: September 2, 1996
“Hulk Hogan And The Heartbreak Kid” Raw: April 25, 2005
If you’re looking for more of the story and history of Hulk Hogan then you’re better off finding one of the other DVD sets like Hulk Still Rules or Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology. For a bit of a history and a collection of matches you won’t find anywhere else, then this is the set for you. The first disc and half of the second are really excellent and there are a few matches throughout the next disc and a half well worth checking out. But damn there are also some stinkers in there as well and I feel they’re just in there because it is probably kind of difficult to find any Hogan material that hasn’t been released before and they had space to fill. The special features section is nothing more then a handful of promos so no big deal there. Unreleased is a set though that fans will want to pick up because there truly are some classic gems to be had and who knows if we’ll even get another Hogan DVD from the WWE again.
You know what I mean…brother.
WWE Home Video presents Hulk Hogan’s Unreleased Collector’s Series. Featuring: Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Vader, Sting, King Kong Bundy, Bob Backlund, Andre The Giant, and many more. Running time: 540 minutes on 3 discs. Rating: PG. Released on DVD: November 17, 2009. Available at Amazon.com
