10 Times WWE Failed To Replace A Major Star
9. Hulk Hogan With Diesel
The New Generation is widely regarded as one of the most dismal in history.
Aside from the ongoing steroid scandal, Hulkamania had ran its course, and Hogan, the WWF’s marquee star, left the company in 1993. The era oversaw the rise of all-time greats like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but WWE struggled greatly with an outdated, cartoonish product and their inability to replace the biggest star they’d ever created.
Diesel was one wrestler tasked with helping to fill Hogan’s void, and he was a complete disaster. He had the look, size, and personality for the role, but while it made sense on-paper to have a 7ft monster tearing it up with the likes of Hart and HBK in the main event scene, Diesel just wasn’t up to it. He had good matches with the aforementioned wrestlers, but Diesel was a slow, cumbersome wrestler who did little to catch the imagination.
His run as champion was a nightmare, too. Diesel held the WWE Title for 358 days, but his reign was terrible for business. Pay-per-view buyrates, TV ratings, and house show numbers plummeted, and his failure as champion compounded a terrible financial year for WWE in 1995. His final PPV as champion, Survivor Series ‘95, drew 128,000 buys compared to 254,000 the previous year, which perfectly encapsulates his early-career failings as a top level superstar.