What If Hulk Hogan Didnt Exist?

Publish date: 2024-06-06
I think that if Hulk Hogan had never existed, many aspects of pro wrestling would be different than how wrestling turned out with Hulk Hogan around. What would be different? Probably the career paths of many of the wrestlers to emerge in the last 30 years, as the careers of the majority of wrestlers in the WWF, WCW, and ECW over the last 25 years have in one way or another been affected by Hulk Hogan. Some of the wrestlers that ended up becoming the biggest stars in history may not have become such without Hogan. Then again, some wrestlers that ended up not being pushed or that never became big stars might have ended up becoming some of the biggest stars without Hogan around. The possibilities are endless when trying to guess at what might've happened with some of the wrestlers of the '80s. Could Randy Savage have become the biggest star in the history of the sport without Hogan around? Could Ted Dibiase and Rick Rude have become as iconic heels as say Ric Flair, had Hogan not been around to hold the title the majority of the time which prevented them from getting a big reign with the world title? Would Brutus Beefcake ever even had a career in wrestling without Hulk Hogan? Could the Ultimate Warrior not have become a star at all if someone of a similar physique ala Hogan hadn't been around to set that standard? Would Yokozuna have ever held the title had Hogan not pushed for him to replace him when he left the WWE in 1993? Could Sting have ended up becoming one of the biggest heels in the business by being the 3rd man in the NWO in 1996 (instead of Hogan), rather than being basically a career-long babyface? Would Steve Austin have ever come to the WWE and make the company huge again, if Hogan hadn't been around in WCW, which in many ways led to Austin's departure (due to Bischoff wanting guys like Hogan in the company and wanting to part with guys like Austin)? Could Bret Hart have become the top babyface of the '90s had Hogan not been around to derail his push in 1993? The possibilities and effects on many of the wrestlers over the last 30 years due to Hogan not being around are endless.

So yeah, I think a lot of wrestling history over the last 30 years, in regards to the career paths of it's athletes and stars would be different.

But as for the general position of pro wrestling in pop culture and as a business, would the state of professional wrestling be different today? I really don't think so.

I'm not trying to take away from how unique and how much of a "one of a kind" talent Hulk Hogan was. There couldn't be anyone like Hulk Hogan to take his place, and he is the biggest star of all-time. BUT, he is not the only big star in pro wrestling history.

As everyone has stated, Vince McMahon is who had the vision to take the WWF out of the New York territory and make it, at first, a national company, and ultimately, a global company. And I do believe that Vince would have gotten someone else to get the WWF over with American pop culture to make wrestling "mainstream." Would it have simply happened the same way with someone else filling in "Hogan's role?" Probably not. The WWF might not have been able to use MTV for example and promote their shows through MTV. Then again they could've as it was really more Lou Albano and Roddy Piper that got the WWF connected with Cyndi Lauper and MTV and the music industry rather than Hulk Hogan. But the WWF might've used a different outlet and some different theme than the "Rock N' Wrestling."

Vince would've had to utilize a different star with a different type of charisma/style and ultimately perhaps a different theme to make the WWF popular, but he would've found something that worked. Because while Hogan was the biggest star of that time (and of all-time arguably), again, he was not the only big star of that time.

Bob Backlund was obviously on his way out, but let's not forget how popular and over Jimmy Snuka was. If had hadn't had his legal problems there circa 1984 ish, Snuka could've been the guy. Someone mentioned Tony Atlas as the guy pegged to be the original "Hulk Hogan." I'm not sure that would've worked as he was kind of bland. But it could've I guess. But the big one that people are forgetting is Sgt. Slaughter. Sgt. Slaughter was hugely over in 1983/1984. And, Sgt. Slaughter ended up being a pretty big pop culture icon in his own right as he crossed over with GI Joe, and his image became one of the most well known in the mid '80s. And he did all of that while he wasn't with the WWF. He was with the AWA at the time which by that point was like how probably WCW was in the early '90s.

Slaughter was hugely over because he was very charismatic, and had a hugely patriotic character, which was perfect for that time. The '80s are remembered as a decade of glitz, glamour, and bold fashion, but the '80s were also the final years of the "Cold War." The Iranian hostage crisis was still fresh in people's minds, and we were still at a "silent war" with the U.S.S.R. Patriotic wrestlers were very popular at that time (look at Hacksaw Jim Duggan and of course, Hulk Hogan), and patriotic wrestlers of foreign countries were insanely over as heels (ala the Iron Shiek, Nikolai Volkoff, and the Nikita Koloff in the NWA). Just imagine how much bigger a star Sgt. Slaughter could've become in pop culture had he been in the company with the marketing genius of Vince McMahon backing him all the way. Slaughter left in 1984 mainly because he was getting paid less than he felt he should've (which was probably because Hulk was getting paid the most and getting the most backing from Vince and the bookers). If Hulk wasn't around, Vince could've put all of his marketing efforts and attention on Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter could've been the guy to get the WWF over, as a patriotic superhero. The WWF could've used patriotism (which they kind of did with Hogan anyway) and GI Joe to break out into mainstream American pop culture instead of MTV and the "Rock N' Wrestling" theme. The WWF would've gotten huge in the '80s like it did, and things could've progressed from there.

There were other outlets and wrestlers that Vince could've used to make his vision a reality.

Plus, something that everyone else is forgetting here is that wrestling would've changed into what it is now whether Hogan was around or not, simply because of how entertainment, technology, and the world as a whole has changed. I read someone say that wrestling would still be territories and a regional business like it was in the '70s and before, and that's just not plausible at all in today's world. Whether Hogan was around or not, cable television and ppv were growing in the '80s. The internet was only years away, and television recording was only improving and getting bigger. Communication between people became more rapid and massive from the '90s beyond. There's no way that wrestling would still be in the "dark ages" of the territory business in the '70s and before. Businesses as a whole in America have grown insanely in the last 25 years, and wrestling would've been no different.

With the internet, there's no way that fans in Memphis would only recognize Jerry Lawler and the guys in Memphis and not know about what was going in the New York territory (WWF), or in WCW, or in World Class Championship Wrestling, or another territory.

The world and business and technology has grown and evolved too much in the last 30 years for the wrestling business to not do the same. Even if Vince McMahon had never existed, someone would've taken advantage of ppv and cable television (hell, Fritz Von Erich and Jim Crockett, already beat him on these things but ultimately didn't capitalize on them as well as Vince did) and used it to make their wrestling company bigger and more of a national brand.

Wrestling morphed into what is today, not just because of Hulk Hogan or Vince McMahon, but because of the evolution of television, technology, American businesses, and the world in general over the last 30 years.

Wrestling could be different than what it is now, but it certainly would not still be a regional or territory system like it was in the '70s and before. The world is too connected now on a global scale for wrestling to be like it was in the '70s and before, an almost "local" type of business.

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