Remembering the Night Hulk Hogan Took Over Cedar Rapids
I'm a diehard wrestling fan. Yep, one of those people.
I know it's not real, I enjoy it for the theatrical and wild, almost pure wackiness of it all. The spectacle, the drama, the action.
Like many born in the early 80s, I was a Hulk Hogan fan. I was a little too young to be of the most prolific Hulkster era, by the time I was old enough to "get it", he was a little long in the tooth.
But I still was a fan. And today, I mourn the death of a legend who meant a lot to my childhood, even if he wasn't my "top guy" in wrestling.
Yes, Hogan's legacy will always be tarnished with issues that plagued him after he left wrestling. Out of respect, no links to those here. Google it if you want.
Today, we'll celebrate a man who was a wrestling legend, and put Eastern Iowa on the wrestling map... forever.
And, even more so in the mid-1990s when he "turned heel." A wrestling term for when a good guy, or babyface, becomes an evil, mean-spirited villain in the wrestling world.
Hogan did that in a company called WCW or World Championship Wrestling, and after going bad, he and the WCW brand exploded, and the wrestling boom of the '90s was on.
Remembering Hulk Hogan, Who Twice Shaped an Industry
When Hogan turned heel, he helped create a wrestling group, or faction, called the New World Order, or simply nWo, in 1996. A group of baddies that the fans generally enjoyed, despite their evil alliance.
READ MORE: R.I.P. Legendary Wrestler Hulk Hogan Dead at 71
The nWo re-popularized wrestling in a way that no one had since... well, Hulk Hogan in the 1980s.
The WCW brand took off, beating arch rivals, WWF (now WWE) in the ratings, and, for a brief period of time, it looked like the WWF could actually go under.
It didn't, and the WWE brand is now the wrestling brand. But for a wild few years in the 90s, wrestling fans were eating good (I know, bad grammar) during what was called the Monday Night Wars.
WCW and Hulk Hogan Come to Cedar Rapids, Iowa
During the battle between WCW/nWo and WWF, WCW ran a pay-per-view show here, in Iowa. Actually, in Cedar Rapids, that was very new and unique.
nWo Souled Out was that bold experiment from WCW: a pay-per-view entirely co-branded with the New World Order, featuring an all-"nWo vs WCW" card.
It debuted on January 25, 1997, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at the (called at the time) Five Seasons Center, drawing over 5,100 fans.
If you're not a wrestling fan, all you need to know is this: rebranding your PPV to "nWo" instead of WCW, no matter how popular the nWo name was, is a massive risk.
Hogan headlined the show, wrestling "The Big Show" Paul White, better known at the time as the Giant, for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
The match ended in a chaotic "no contest" with other nWo members interfering. Not exactly a satisfying conclusion.
Despite selling out, critics later called it one of the most ill-conceived PPVs of the era, feeling more like a corporate gimmick than a wrestling event. And, an "nWo branded PPV" never happened again.
Cedar Rapids Holds a Place in Hulk Hogan and Wrestling History
Cedar Rapids earned its place in wrestling history as the setting for this landmark nWo-themed event, with Iowa fans packed into the 5,120-seat arena.
It was a rare moment when wrestling was at full throttle in the Midwest, and all over the world, with Cedar Rapids temporarily the epicenter of the wrestling world.
With Hulk Hogan’s passing, reflecting on Souled Out 1997 reminds us of how he shaped wrestling and even put Cedar Rapids on the pro wrestling map forever.
He was the central figure in WCW’s biggest faction ever, whose entrance on garbage trucks and nWo anthem changed the game, for the better.
Within a few years, the nWo was played out, WWF had a guy named "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a fella called "The Rock", and the rest is history.
WCW went out of business, Hulk Hogan returned to the (now) WWE, and went on to continue to make history and please fans for many more years, despite being on the older side by that point.
Rest easy, Hulk Hogan. 15-year-old me will always cherish those memories.
Iowa Born Sports Stars
Gallery Credit: Johnny Marks
Legendary Bands and Artists That Have Played in Iowa
Gallery Credit: Johnny Marks
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