Did you actually watch wrestling in the 80s?
Oh, yes. But I was an NWA fan a lot more than the WWF. I mean, I watched WWF, but at the time, there was no way to attend the WWF (they didn't tour in the South at the time, and even for years afterward), whereas I could attend an NWA show whenever I wanted. But like I said, I watched it on TV, and I can assure you that although the WWF had better TV production values, and glitz and bling, the level of actual wrestling ability was much, much higher in the NWA. Of course, it could easily be argued that by the time we got to the early-to-mid 90s, that had reversed, especially with Turner's acquisition of the NWA and transforming it into WCW.
Hogan was similar to the Ultimate Warrior in that both were big strong guys who beat their opponents by simply overpowering them, but while the fans were nuts for the Warrior for a while, Hogan was over like no one else has ever been (except for probably Austin and maybe The Rock). All he had to do was rip his shirt off and the fans went absolutely bananas. Every single time. Heels became hated big time simply by feuding with him.
Well, I'm not arguing with any of that. And I think his level of popularity was actually higher than Austin and Rock - they were just the closest thing to it that we've seen since.
Sure, his act got a bit tired in the early 90s, but for a 6 or 7 year stretch, Hogan owned the wrestling world like no one else ever has. And to his credit, when the fans in WCW never really went crazy over him, he reinvented himself as the hated heel, Hollywood Hogan.
Yes, again no argument. He was incredibly cognizant and aware of every part of the business outside of the ring. What to do, when to do it, marketing, booking, all of it.
And to suggest that he was in the right place at the right time has it backwards. Hogan didn't just happened to be the guy there when wrestling was on the way up; he was the main reason WHY wrestling's popularity went through the roof in the mid 80s. Okay, Vince McMahon's vision was the other major reason, but without Hogan, it would have taken a lot longer for McMahon to realize his vision of making the WWF a national thing, instead of it remaining regional like the NWA.
Hogan was a larger than life personality and guy who was given a push at the same time McMahon started his vision of Wrestlemania, bringing in celebrities and MTV at the same time. It was a confluence of events at the right time, and he was the guy. People became Hulk Hogan fans who didn't even follow wrestling. I remember it well. He made his remergence in the WWF in December 1983, and they gave him the belt in January 1984, Gorilla Monsoon said "Hulkamania is here!", McMahon started syndicating WWF programming in areas outside his traditional Northeast territory, then came the Rock N' Wrestling connection, and then Wrestlemania with Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, and Liberace. Hogan was undoubtedly a star (see his time in the AWA, when he was screwed out of being champion by Verne Gagne), but the level he reached was due to a multitude of other things, not just him and his ability.
Long story short - Ric Flair baby