Few wrestlers will ever reach the all-time level that Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns have in their careers. Any talents to hit that peak level in WWE history will see comparisons made against each other. There are plenty of things to link together or differentiate when looking back at the past and present of wrestling.
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Hogan’s legacy is already written since he’s now retired for good, but Reigns is still writing his chapters in midst of his best run. The chances of Roman having an all-time rank higher than Hogan are 50/50 and time will tell who fans remember more fondly. However, we can already pinpoint the things that make them similar and different.
10 Similar: Both Added Managers After Already Being Established
The overall top wrestling star for a promotion doesn’t typically have a manager, but Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns both proved that could change. Hogan was already by far WWE’s biggest star when the legendary Jimmy Hart started managing him as a babyface.
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The story was a bit different before having the same result for Reigns when adding Paul Heyman to his act. WWE turning Roman heel was a truly shocking move, but the addition of Heyman ensured the new character would work. Both legends here had all-time great managers becoming part of their acts.
9 Different: Roman Reigns Has Better Matches
In-ring quality is arguably the biggest change in today’s wrestling over every other past era. Hulk Hogan had his fair share of good matches, but most were considered below average. The current product requires more athleticism and theatrics to provide more compelling matches.
Roman Reigns has already been a great in-ring performer despite getting the “you can’t wrestle” heckling earlier in his career. Matches against AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins and countless others show that Roman is a great worker, while Hogan would get by just being okay.
8 Similar: Led All-Time Great Factions
Factions have become more common in wrestling throughout each era due to the storytelling involved with such an idea. Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns could be argued as being in the two greatest wrestling stables that got over immensely with their peers.
The Shield helped Roman become a star when all three were newcomers, but Reigns was positioned as the leader due to his booking at the end. Hogan was the clear leader of the New World Order as his heel turn was the biggest reason it became the hottest act in wrestling.
7 Different: Hulk Hogan Refused To Put Over Others
Any top star losing matches is a delicate situation since that upper tier is typically protected in booking. Hulk Hogan is considered to be at the top of the list of names that made it hard to book him to lose. Bret Hart, Jeff Jarrett and Shawn Michaels are just some names that witnessed Hogan refusing to put them over.
Roman Reigns doesn’t have that kind of reputation despite being protected with very few losses. History has seen Reigns taking clean losses against names like Finn Balor, Seth Rollins and recently Jimmy Uso. Hogan would never lose that easily once he had a top spot with leverage.
6 Similar: Top Spot In Both Face & Heel Roles
Not every great wrestler will thrive in both the babyface and heel roles since they require different mindsets. Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns are on the short list of Mount Rushmore level WWE all-time greats that could excel in each character role.
The babyface run of Hogan helped WWE become a national entity, but his heel turn was equally as successful for WCW with the New World Order forming. Roman was a strong face of the company in WWE before his shocking heel turn took his career to even higher heights like Hogan did.
5 Different: Roman Reigns Won Different Titles
Hulk Hogan was always in the main event picture and didn’t get anywhere near the grand slam champion level. The world titles in WWE and WCW were Hogan’s main belts, with one WWE Tag Team Championship stint in his veteran years with Edge.
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Roman Reigns proved that top superstars could thrive all over the card. WWE made Reigns a grand slam champion after winning the Intercontinental Championship and United States Championship to complete the list. Roman has even held two different world titles during his top WWE run.
4 Similar: Vince McMahon Instantly Viewed Them As "The Guy"
Every WWE star before the Triple H era had to win over Vince McMahon if they wanted a huge push or long-term greatness. Roman Reigns and Hulk Hogan have a shared story of two future legends that McMahon believed could be a face of the franchise from the start.
Hogan had worked for Vince’s dad, but his return felt like a debut to most fans. McMahon pushed Hogan to win the WWE Championship a month into his debut to become face of the company. Roman had the same start to his career when protected as the next big star during his epic run in The Shield.
3 Different: Hulk Hogan Actually Left WWE
A huge difference between the two names in question is that Roman Reigns appears to be a WWE lifer. Reigns started his wrestling career with WWE’s developmental offer after his dreams of a full-time career in football faded away.
The career of Roman has never seen him wrestle outside of WWE with that unlikely to change. Hulk Hogan did not hesitate to leave when the WWE run started to get sour in 1993. WCW adding Hogan made fans believe that anyone could jump ship.
2 Similar: WrestleMania Dominance
Most WWE stars have the dream of main eventing WrestleMania since it signifies being at the top of the industry. Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns are the two names that most stand out for that accolade since they rank #1 and #2 for most total WrestleMania main events.
WWE had Hogan main event eight of the first nine WM events with just one loss in those matches. Reigns just recently main evented his seventh WM already to tie Triple H for one behind Hogan. WWE is most likely going to have Roman pass that record, especially with the show having two nights now.
1 Different: Roman Reigns Helped Get Relatives Over
The similarity of Hulk Hogan and Roman Reigns both trying to help their friends and family get pushed could be discussed on that side, but the results create a huge difference. Hogan helped friends like Brutus Beefcake and the Nasty Boys or relatives like Horace Hogan and Mike Awesome get jobs.
Unfortunately, most of the acquaintances of Hogan ended up flopping with the connections. Roman has found far more success with the Bloodline becoming an all-time great storyline. The Usos, Solo Sikoa and even Paul Heyman have all benefited from Reigns’ influence giving them opportunitie.
