Hogan VS Austin WM 14?

[ADudeThatIsAwesome]

So I'm currently listening to "Something to Wrestle with...." and I'm on the Montreal Episode. During the ep, Bruce Prichard mentions that sometime during 96/97 there were negotiation with Hogan about re-turning as a heel. 

Apparently one of the ideas was to go with Hulk as WWF World Champion, leading to WM 14, and dropping the belt to Austin...

So, two things, one, Does anyone have anymore information or insight? 

& 2: How would you fantasy book a Hogan run in the Attitude era WWF?

[Fade]

That would have been insane at that time. Damn. I think it would have made huge money but after that, im not really sure if Hogan as a heel in the WWF would have worked out.

[The Ichi]

Both would have refused to job to the other.

[Deleted]

This was probably just a bargaining tool for Hogan to get that HUGE WCW contract he ended up getting.

[Ben Wyatt]

Jan 9, 2017 17:40:06 GMT -5 @conviction said:

This was probably just a bargaining tool for Hogan to get that HUGE WCW contract he ended up getting.

This would be the correct answer

[cabbageboy]

There was no zero chance Hogan was going to the WWF in 1997-98. I mean why? He was so integral to everything WCW was doing that there was no way to write him out before Starrcade 1997. Even still, what do you do with Hogan to get the title on him before WM 14? I can see Hogan getting a WWF offer in late 1998 or early 1999. We would have been spared the Warrior feud and the Fingerpoke of Doom.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

The WWF gaining Hulk Hogan in 1998 would have caused more damage to them than it would have harmed WCW as 1998 was when the rot set in for them. In order to get Hulk Hogan, the WWF would have had to have outbid WCW and that would have meant giving Hulk Hogan a creative control clause, which would have been an utter disaster for them. Hogan would go over Foley and Austin a few times before losing the title in a way that did Austin no favours then turn face and go over Kane, The Rock then Hunter, dominating the main event scene for the duration of his run, sporting the red and yellow, looking more dated than he did in 1993.

[thecrusherwi]

Didn't Hogan's WCW contract give him like 25% of all profits earned on PPVs he appeared on? There's no way Vince could've offered him anything close to that. Why would Hogan want to leave that? Uncensored in 1997 got a bigger buyrate than Wrestlemania. No way he could've made more dough. Plus, he likely would've forfeited his creative control. So he would've made way less and would've been eating Stunners every night. Would've been a horrible move.

[ADudeThatIsAwesome]

Bruce doe's go on to say, that Vince knew that he probably couldn't afford Hogan but he did extend an offer, because he knew it would help him. With vince saying something like "If it'll help you Terry, I'll throw out an offer."

[Clawley Race]

If Hogan had come to WWF in 1997, we might not have any major american wrestling to watch on tv for the last 15 years

[ADudeThatIsAwesome]

Jan 9, 2017 20:07:25 GMT -5 Clawley Race said:

If Hogan had come to WWF in 1997, we might not have any major american wrestling to watch on tv for the last 15 years

the greatest, most succesful wrestler of all time? And there would be no wrestling? 

[blake6905]

Wwf did fine with hogan as champ beforehand...

Hogan as Vince's corporate champ would have been very interesting. But means a few guys would have never got to make that step up

[Richard]

Off the top of my head.

If I am doing this, I have to think he didn't turn heel in WCW, killed the nWo and left when the fans further turned on him. So I bring him in around Summerslam 97 and sit in the crowd. We go a month or two of him sitting in the crowd before Vince interviews him and announces Hogan has returned home. Hogan is classic Hogan, spouting the demandments, Hulking up, love your Parents and what not but he pushes it harder, more over the top to draw boos. Finally, Survivor Series 97. Bret still gets screwed and goes off to WCW. The next night on RAW, Hulk starts the show and calls out Vince (who doesn't show) and HBK, talks about how that has never been how to treat people. Shawn eventually challenges Hogan and puts the title on the line and Hulk wins. A few weeks later we get the Vince "Bret screwed Bret" interview where he is also asked about Hogan as champ but has no answer. Fast forward to Austin winning the Rumble and Vince talking about how Austin isn't his type of champion and Austin stuns Vince. The following week, a group now with Vince, jumps Austin. Hogan runs down and they scatter, Hulk turns, Big Boot, Leg Drop and Vince enters the ring and shakes his hand. Next week Vince talks about how he and Hogan made so much money and how Hogan is a good example of what a WWF Superstar is. Hogan for his part talks about how the fans have changed. He talks about how he taught us better, how he preached "Train, say your prayers and take your vitamins" but your parents failed because he sees out of shape slobs downing beer after beer, being a drunken mess but putting up their middle fingers while screaming about Austin 3:16. Now he must use everything in his power to stop anymore people, anymore kids, any more Hulkamaniacs from falling into the traps that Stone Cold Steve Austin preaches.

He loses at WM14 to Austin, has a few rematches before feuding with Triple H, who beat HBK for control of DX at WM as well.

[Deleted]

Hogan/Austin with Tyson as the ref?

Yeah, that would have done some business.

Doubt it was ever realistic though. Hulk had a gig in WCW that he never would have gotten in the WWF as far as money. Probably just used the WWF as leverage to get more money, which seemed pretty easy to do if Hall and Nash's shoots are to be believed.

[Deleted]

Goldberg vs Austin would've been cool too.

In 98, that would've broke the ratings and or ppv buy scale.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Jan 9, 2017 21:07:27 GMT -5 ADudeThatIsAwesome said:

Jan 9, 2017 20:07:25 GMT -5 Clawley Race said:

If Hogan had come to WWF in 1997, we might not have any major american wrestling to watch on tv for the last 15 years

the greatest, most succesful wrestler of all time? And there would be no wrestling? 

I think if Hogan had returned to WWF in '97 the damage it would've done to them (creative control, Austin, Rock, Foley, HHH being fed to him, the cost of his contract, bonuses) would've at least lost them the Monday Night War.

Regardless of winning the war or not, Nitro would've still been cancelled anyway and WCW put up for sale once the Time-Warner deal went through. Maybe Bischoff's group would've gotten control and got them onto another network, maybe not.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Jan 9, 2017 21:07:27 GMT -5 ADudeThatIsAwesome said:

Jan 9, 2017 20:07:25 GMT -5 Clawley Race said:

If Hogan had come to WWF in 1997, we might not have any major american wrestling to watch on tv for the last 15 years

the greatest, most succesful wrestler of all time? And there would be no wrestling? 

Who poisoned WCW from Starrcade 97 onward thanks to his creative control clause and meddling with the ENTIRE main event scene, making sure the fans were seldom sent home happy as his feuds were booked to protect him and him alone, something that would have been toxic to a wounded WWF because all the stars that righted the ship would have laid down for him one after the other. Hogan would need creative control to sign with them in the first place, and he would send in the lawyers and sue the WWF into oblivion should they try to renege on the deal as they did with Bret.

Hogan may be a great wrestler, but he has no instinct for the creative side of wrestling, there is little chance he would do the right thing for the WWF and put over Austin cleanly even though it was what he was hired to do. There'd be some excuse why he can't, but is totally going to do it next time around, honest... Oh wait, Austin isn't drawing, guess it's time for a Hulk face turn to save his little buddy Austin from the demon Kane. He always reverts to his 80s persona, it doesn't matter what the fans think, it doesn't matter that it delivers diminishing returns each time, he wants to be the superhero and that's going to happen, whatever the cost to the company.

WCW was a victim of the TBS/Time Warner merger (That Vince fought so hard to try and prevent) and would have been cancelled even if it wasn't losing money hand over fist, it just wasn't attracting the audience certain execs wanted, the same reason the WB cartoon revival ended and why Babylon 5 and it's spinoff suffered too. In the 2000s, we'd potentially be left with no major wrestling companies on TV and nothing sustainable there to take it's place, and TV execs wouldn't blame the shortsightedness of other execs for the death of wrestling, they'd blame the wrestling fanbase and use it to justify not wanting to touch wrestling ever again.

[Deleted]

Jan 9, 2017 19:56:09 GMT -5 ADudeThatIsAwesome said:

Bruce doe's go on to say, that Vince knew that he probably couldn't afford Hogan but he did extend an offer, because he knew it would help him. With vince saying something like "If it'll help you Terry, I'll throw out an offer."

So would this have been before or after Bret's 20 year contract (which I thought was barely a year old, if that, when SurSer '97 happened)?

Odd that Vince would've made such an offer with one on the table with Bret. But then desperate Vince was probably desperate Vince...

[Push R Truth]

It's interesting to ponder: Did Vince's offer to Hogan end up forcing WCW's hand into such a wacky contract that it ended up being the first major crack in the hull of the WCW ship?

In a lot of businesses one wacky contract like that has nasty compounding consequences. The rest of the big boys like Nash/Macho/Flair/Luger/etc would have started overreaching as well, and having legs to stand on in their demands.

It's quite possible that Vince doing a mostly selfless favor to a friend helped him purchase his biggest rival for peanuts just a couple years later.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Jan 10, 2017 8:45:03 GMT -5 Push R Truth said:

It's interesting to ponder: Did Vince's offer to Hogan end up forcing WCW's hand into such a wacky contract that it ended up being the first major crack in the hull of the WCW ship?

In a lot of businesses one wacky contract like that has nasty compounding consequences. The rest of the big boys like Nash/Macho/Flair/Luger/etc would have started overreaching as well, and having legs to stand on in their demands.

It's quite possible that Vince doing a mostly selfless favor to a friend helped him purchase his biggest rival for peanuts just a couple years later.

Unlikely as in 1997 they were absolutely desperate, they'd lost Hall and Nash, Shawn wasn't performing as a draw while becoming a huge problem backstage, Bret was getting injured more frequently and Austin wasn't yet the box office draw he'd become. The WWF also made plays for Warrior and Savage, with Warrior being the only one to take them up on it so I've little doubt Vince was genuine in his attempt to poach the Hulkster.

Even if Hulkster accepted a WCW contract for half the money they ended up paying him in 98, the creative control clause would be there as he had it since 1994 and was very unlikely to give it up. The rot would still be there by 1999 and the steep decline in ratings, which was the real problem given how they were run as a TV product.