It’s been a while since we’ve had a Mic Battle on The Overtimer. Let’s see who really rocks the mic between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair.
There really aren’t any rules to the Mic Battle but I tend to keep to contemporaries—wrestlers who had their peaks around the same time.
Hulk Hogan
The Hulkster’s mic work as a face was top tier for the 80s. There weren’t many who came close to delivering as a charismatic babyface at the time.
Babyface wrestlers can be severely restricted if they’re going in as a beacon of good in the company. Outright roasting or insulting an opponent, their skill, their family just wasn’t at their disposal.
Now, no one told Jerry Lawler this. Southern faces were actually closer to tweeners but feuds in southern wrestling were often so heated that fans expected faces to go off on heels.
Hogan’s 80s career as a face was mainly based up north in the core of WWE’s stomping grounds. Faces were textbook and basic but he worked excellently in those restrictions.
Not only that but he was a Superman–esque babyface on the mic.
In wrestling, there’s a thing where for a wrestler to play a great face wrestling as a heel prior is encouraged. Heels know how to get the best out of a face and how to get them over.
Before becoming the Hulkster, he worked as a heel throughout the U.S and Japan and knew what worked. When he turned in 1996, it was a massive deal since it seemed like a first.
This was at the time when you had to collect tapes to see his prior work. If you didn’t you probably would’ve thought Hogan was always a face.
His mic work as an arrogant, big money, crossover star heel was good. You could see that Hogan really enjoyed letting his skullet fly, wearing all black, with his spray-on stubble.
Whether it was WCW or WWE, he had periods where his popularity waned but when he was popular, he was nuclear. I’ll say he was strongest on the mic as a heel.
Ric Flair
“The Nature Boy” might just have a shorter breakdown. Ric Flair was strongest as a heel. Facts. Not only that but he had a longer period of being consistent as heel.
In NWA and WCW, he was incredible as a cocky, rich, playboy heel then evolved his character into an eccentric millionaire in the late 90s.
The whole time, he always kept his character loud and over-the-top while bragging about what he has, what it costs, and how your girl was for the streets because he could pull her.
I mean, there’s a reason rappers name drop Flair way more often than Hulk Hogan.
As the 2000s came around, Flair went full-on into classy and crazy territory with his character and it held up on the mic. Hell, his showdown with Jay Lethal on the mic was wonderful.
Also, Ric Flair could escalate into the over-the-top character. This was his default as faces at this time took pages out of southern mic work playbooks and he could be targeted.
Saying something about Flair would always result in his stablemates having to hold him back or calm him down at over 50-years old!
A segment could hinge on Flair having enough of the guy at the top of ramp, grabbing the mic, and battling with them. It was routine but it always worked.
This was the only time where sitting through a 20-minute promo opener was worth it on a weekly basis.
We can’t get into his character and mic work without mentioning how his character didn’t transition well to WWE in 1992-1993. WWE had a vibe and Flair didn’t fit it.
I mean, it wasn’t as bad as Hogan’s first year in WCW but both were meh for the most part. Unlike Hogan, Flair did have his Royal Rumble 1992 performance to lean on.
Mic Battle Winner: Ric Flair
On the mic, Flair is washing Hogan. He had the electricity, the longevity, and even if he could be as routine as Hogan, The Nature Boy had bars.
Hogan was asking people what they’re gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on them. He was telling kids to say their prayers and eat their vitamins.
But he also let us know that when you’re nWo, it’s for life. Flair didn’t care about any of that. He couldn’t keep his gators down, his suits cost a bunch of money too.
Actually, so does his Rolex–Rolexes. However, telling the fans about how many women he pulled and how he’d take them to Space Mountain took the cake.
This routine when over-the-top when he started singling out fans in the crowd. Flair takes this showdown hands down. Oldest ride, longest ride indeed!
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