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Post by enovak7924 on Jul 8, 2011 12:30:42 GMT -5
Would it still have been as big as it was?
I don't rememeber who the 3rd man was going to be if Hogan didn't want to turn heel, but say Hogan changed his mind.
If it would have been someone else, like Lugar or Macho Man - I doubt it would have took off like it did.
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Altabane
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Post by Altabane on Jul 8, 2011 12:39:39 GMT -5
It wouldn't have had the same impact, but there were guys there that would have made the angle salvageable. I think in Eric's book he said if Hogan wasn't going to do it, Sting was next in line.
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Steveweiser
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Post by Steveweiser on Jul 8, 2011 13:02:02 GMT -5
There were originally rumours it was going to be Bret Hart, but WCW weren't negotiating with him at that point, that was a few months later. I had heard Sting or Luger.
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Post by bobversion1 on Jul 8, 2011 13:04:18 GMT -5
Does anyone know why Hogan wasn't booked on the show to begin with? It seems odd that there was a PPV and Hogan wasn't advertised for a match..
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Steveweiser
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Post by Steveweiser on Jul 8, 2011 13:07:43 GMT -5
Does anyone know why Hogan wasn't booked on the show to begin with? It seems odd that there was a PPV and Hogan wasn't advertised for a match.. Hogan usually took the period during and shortly after the NBA Playoffs off, to try and claim that Nitro's ratings went down because he wasn't on the show. |
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Post by preferable on Jul 8, 2011 14:52:55 GMT -5
Does anyone know why Hogan wasn't booked on the show to begin with? It seems odd that there was a PPV and Hogan wasn't advertised for a match.. Hogan usually took the period during and shortly after the NBA Playoffs off, to try and claim that Nitro's ratings went down because he wasn't on the show. Indeed, nothing to do with the fact he was filming various projects and had a part-time schedule, that he had had with McMahon ever since 1989 too where he'd take regular hiatuses from on-screen work. And of course being on a massive seven/eight figure guaranteed contract, he'd have been really concerned about that. I swear if the guy sneezed it'll OBVIOUSLY be because he's trying to get sympathy by trying to make out he has swine flu to boost his publicity, like he always does. Jeez. Have a day off with the Hogan conspiracy. In any event about the OP, Hogan was really the only one who could provide the 'shock' value to the mainstream audience. Even though he was by and large a figure of the past, he still had notional mainstream attention and the ultimate good guy being bad was what the company was able to play off. If not for Hogan it may have worked as a storyline but it wouldn't have set anything alight. |
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Post by Free Hat on Jul 8, 2011 15:00:32 GMT -5
Let's not forget that the angle was initially sold as a WWF invasion of WCW, and it was that aspect that really got people interested to begin with. Obviously it would never have been as big without Hogan, but it still could have worked as long as the third man was a major star who the fans closely associated with the WWF. Savage would therefore have been the most logical choice. Having it be Sting would have been the equivalent of Steve Austin joining the Alliance in 2001, and wouldn't have worked at all.
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Post by chunkylover53 on Jul 8, 2011 16:10:30 GMT -5
Hogan maybe an egomaniac more often than not, but he's right when he said the reason the NWO was big was because of him. You can't argue with that.
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Turd Ferguson
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Turd Ferguson on Jul 8, 2011 16:13:15 GMT -5
Hogan usually took the period during and shortly after the NBA Playoffs off, to try and claim that Nitro's ratings went down because he wasn't on the show. Indeed, nothing to do with the fact he was filming various projects and had a part-time schedule, that he had had with McMahon ever since 1989 too where he'd take regular hiatuses from on-screen work. And of course being on a massive seven/eight figure guaranteed contract, he'd have been really concerned about that. I swear if the guy sneezed it'll OBVIOUSLY be because he's trying to get sympathy by trying to make out he has swine flu to boost his publicity, like he always does. Jeez. Have a day off with the Hogan conspiracy. In any event about the OP, Hogan was really the only one who could provide the 'shock' value to the mainstream audience. Even though he was by and large a figure of the past, he still had notional mainstream attention and the ultimate good guy being bad was what the company was able to play off. If not for Hogan it may have worked as a storyline but it wouldn't have set anything alight. While there is truth in what you say, there are testimonials (Wrestlecrap WCW book, old dirtsheets, couple of shoots) stating that he did as Steveweiser said. |
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MolotovMocktail
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Post by MolotovMocktail on Jul 10, 2011 16:42:12 GMT -5
In a word...no.
What drew a lot of casual wrestling fans back into the product was the novelty of seeing Hulk Hogan as a bad guy. Many of us had given up on wrestling at the time, as ratings for both feds were way down. Then, all of a sudden, our childhood hero was the most hated man in pro wrestling, and we had to see exactly why. When I heard about it, I didn't even know that Hall and Nash were the other two guys; I just wanted to see what made Hulk turn.
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Post by casualobserver on Jul 10, 2011 16:47:26 GMT -5
Anything less would've been too civilized.
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Post by "Nature Boy" Ric Moranis on Jul 10, 2011 18:35:52 GMT -5
The "Razor" & "Diesel" WCW invasion angle was excellent and compelling. But it wouldn't have worked as well without Hogan as a payoff. That took it to a whole other level. Hogan being a "bad guy" felt historic. Great angle.
The butterfly effect of Hogan being the 3rd man was huge. Brought so many old fans back to wrestling, and the NWO forced McMahon to change his whole approach to compete.
Right place, right time, right talent. It's funny reading old newsletters where people are speculating that the 3rd man is Bret, Bam Bam Bigelow, Jeff Jarrett, Hennig, Luger, Savage, etc.
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donny
Team Rocket
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Post by donny on Jul 10, 2011 19:05:55 GMT -5
I think it would have been depending on who ended up as the third man. Someone like HBK, Sting, or Bret Hart would have been pretty cool, too. Someone like the 1-2-3 Kid would not have been as great. You have to think of it this way:
-With HBK or Bret, you have one of the top WWF stars coming in so it still looks like an invasion.
-With Sting, it looks like THE WCW guy has sold his soul to Vince McMahon and joined them in the WWF invasion. Also, you have to remember that at that time heel/face turns didn't happen as frequently as they do now. A Sting heel turn would have been pretty big. The Hogan turn was obviously bigger, but don't disregard a Sting heel turn as if it's nothing.
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Post by ritt works hard fo da chickens on Jul 10, 2011 21:24:05 GMT -5
Not to further piss off the Hogan defense circuit but Hogan was perfect for several reasons. he was strongly resented by a lot of the NWA traditionalists for bringing his lackeys and usurping their homegrown favorites. His all American good guy stick was so tired and worn out that the fans who didn't hate him were at best apathetic. they still recognized him as a legend but did not care much about what he was doing. As far as they were concerned they had seen him do it all. Then he does something nobody expected and it justified the hate of the traditionalists and made those disinterested take a second look.
Hall and Nash and whomever they slotted as number three could probably have made the angle work, however no way it would have been as big.
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Jul 10, 2011 21:50:57 GMT -5
Nope, it wouldn't have worked nearly as well. Without Hogan, you don't have that emotional punch that you get from him turning heel for the first time in at least 20 years.
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Post by Kevin Hamilton on Jul 10, 2011 21:51:48 GMT -5
Not remotely.
It woulda been a big angle for WCW; but wouldn't have been huge nor would it have garnered the 'mainstream' attention.
It's not much exaggeration to say that with Hogan, the nWo changed the entire wrestling landscape. Without him, it just woulda been a fairly big storyline.
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Post by joebob27 on Jul 10, 2011 22:09:20 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't think it's debateable. Not to mention, the dude performed big-time in this angle, especially early on. Putting another name in, like say Sting, there's no certainty they get the character over the same way.
Eventually it devolved into those Triple H-Esque megapromos, but you look at the black and white "run-in" promos they did early on, and it's just wow, especially for the time and that company. Hogan brought it.
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helped $lim jinx NXT. Woops
