How Hogan Saved the WWF

[Guest DynamiteKid2K2]

Hulk Hogan

The "Real American", the Hulkster himself is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time.  Known the world over by non-fans as a wrestler that can act, by casual fans as one of the most successful wrestlers of all time, and by smarks as one of the most controversial wrestlers of his time.  While its probably safe to say that Hogan was the lead force in the 80s Wrestling Boom, you'll often hear a lot of smarks, casual fans, and Hell, even the wrestlers and promoters themselves debate wether or not Hogan actually saved the WWF and wrestling.  And while smarks would take anything with a grain of salt in order to go against the word of the "Orange Goblin", I have come to realize that, in my own damned opinion, Hulk Hogan actually DID save the WWF.  But it wasn't when he blew the roof off of Madison Square Garden after defeating the Iron Sheik for the WWF Title in 1984...no, it was actually ten years later in 1994 that the Hulkster did the deed.  And here's how...

 

The Scene

The 1994 wrestling landscape is far more tumultuous than today's picture.  ECW is just beginning to garner strength and lead the Hardcore Revolution.  Wild Pegasus and the Great Sasuke clash in the finals of one of the greatest pure wrestling events of all time, the 1994 Super-J Cup.  And in North America, the WWF has finally said goodbye to Hulk Hogan after nearly nine and a half years of service (1984-1993).  Shawn Micheals and Razor Ramon were about to make history in a Ladder Match, while Bret & Owen were prepared to square off in a heated feud.  Over in WCW, Ric Flair was on top of the world, providing us one of the greatest strings of WCW PPVs ever and once again engaged in a series of heated battles with Ricky Steamboat for the WCW Title.  Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan were busy fighting the Nasty Boys, while Steve Austin was being groomed for a run as the WCW Champion.  Sting & Vader were STILL feuding, wrestling in their 1,492,391 match at Slamboree '94.  All in all, things were looking great for wrestling.  Austin, Foley, Micheals, and the Hart Brothers were poised as the Stars of the Future, while it appeared that Hulk Hogan had all but dissapeared after a rocky ending with the WWF.  

 

The Exodus to WCW

Fast forward to June of that year.  Eric Bischoff, unwilling to wait while Flair slowly but surely built a powerful WCW that could easily contend with the WWF, went to Ted Turner's checkbook and lured the one superstar that had been the focal point in WWF Television for years: Hulk Hogan.  However, the fans weren't exactly thrilled with Hogan's arrival.  Truth be known, a decent portion of the audience, dare say the majority, actually booed at the mentioning of his name.  The loyalty that fans had built for WCW mainstays Cactus Jack, Steve Austin, & Ric Flair was never more apparent than in Hogan's initial reception.  That; however, didn't stop Eric Bischoff for turning Flair heel on the spot, blowing six months of quality storylines in order to prep him for a quick World Title win over Sting, who was then pushed farther back down the pecking order.  Hogan arrived with his friends and quickly took control of the show.  He would maintain that control over WCW for nearly six years before finally being unceremoniously bounced from the promotion by heated words from Vince Russo.

 

The Impact of the Hogan and his Lackeys

Hulk Hogan and his closest friends (Jimmy Hart, Brutus Beefcake, Honky Tonk Man, Jim Duggan) entered WCW and began to run out the longtime WCW mainstays.  And while Hogan never realized it, he had actually saved the WWF...and sowed the seeds of destruction of WCW.  For when Hogan began to use his new found power backstage, there were three men that knew they were better off to get out while they could...

 

Steve Williams

The foul-mouthed, beer swilling, finger gesturing, tough S.O.B. almost never was, for in 1994 WCW, he was being prepped for a World Title run.  He was already wearing United States Title gold by then, and would've been World's Champion by Starrcade had it not been for Hogan.  Hulk thought that his buddy Jim Duggan deserved the U.S. Title for whatever reason, so after Rick Steamboat injured himself into retirement at a Clash of the Champions, Jim Duggan stepped up and defeated Austin in under a minute to claim the WCW United States Championship.  In that minute, the wrestling world was inadvertantly changed forever.  Austin, knowing that he'd never make it to the top while Hogan was in charge, left for ECW soon afterwards and never looked back.  In the WWF in 1996, Williams created "Austin 3:16", and the WWF was never the same again.

 

Mick Foley

Another WCW mainstay, Mick Foley was one of the most popular faces in WCW, alongside Ric Flair & Sting.  His noted battles with the Nasty Boys and Vader are legendary, and it seemed that the sky was the limit for the insane risk-taker.  With Hogan's arrival; however, his tag title reign was quickly cut short.  Seeing no future in a WCW controlled by Hogan's crew, Mick left for ECW alongside Austin.  In 1996, Mick created his second "alter-ego", a gimmick that would help propel the WWF into Stratosphere: Mankind.

 

Paul Levesque

Triple H himself was also smart enough to jump ship.  A rookie in 1994, Triple H was being prepped for a midcard run as a possible partner to Lord Steven Regal.  HHH righteously knew that staying in WCW would be dangerous to his career, so he also jumped ship to the safe harbors of the WWF.  In 1995, he created "Hunter Hearst Helmsley", which would basically evolve into just plain HHH.  Seven years later, Triple H is one of the greatest heels of all time, with several World Titles to boot in the WWF.

 

The Fallout

Hulk Hogan floundered in WCW until 1996, when the NWO came along.  And while WCW beat the holy Hell out of the WWF night in and night out, the trifecta of Austin/Foley/HHH would eventually make the WWF more powerful than anyone could have imagined.  All the while, Hogan watched helplessly as a promtion died under his control.  The effects of his move weren't visible in 1994, but they sure are visible today.

 

Beyond the Ropes...

Did Hulk Hogan save the WWF?  That's debatable, but his friends' takeover did send three important players to ECW and then the WWF.  In my own damned opinion, I think Hogan does deserve a bit of credit, for I do believe that he saved the WWF this time around.  Nevertheless, the future looks grim indeed as the NWO are back.  Here's to hoping that McMahon can keep them on a leash so as to not repeat the same tragic flaws that killed WCW.

[Guest pinnacleofallthingsmanly]

Actually you can also look at the fact that WCW was kicking WWF's ass as a reason that WWF rose to prominence, since the WWF doesn't seem to be giving much of an inspired effort as the only game in town.

[Guest RicFlairGlory]

yeah. Without competition, nobody cares how good the product is.  Like DX with chyna and hbk.  The breast damn woman in town

[Guest griffinmills]

How come Hogan is called Hulk Hogan and everyone else gets called by their real names?

[Guest RicFlairGlory]

because he's Hulk Hogan