Who REALLY Carried WWE Every Year (1985-2026)

41. 1986 (Hulk Hogan)

Think of this as a continuation from 1985.

WrestleMania I proved to be a smash hit for McMahon, so much so that he immediately started thinking of ways to make the sequel unique. Eventually, the WWF boss settled on hosting the event in 3 distinct locations: New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The latter portion would be headlined by a titanic steel cage war between Hulk and walking Easter egg King Kong Bundy.

Bundy was the ideal kind of monster for Hogan at the time. No, he couldn't bump around like Mr. Perfect, Shawn Michaels and the like, but he carried a weighty menace that made him believable opposite the might and muscles. It was booking like this that helped Hulkster maintain his status as the top babyface in the entire industry.

People flocked to empty their wallets and watch him vanquish another monstrous foe. Then, they paid cold hard cash to see Hulk topple Orndorff in another main event series. In '86, Hulk stayed at the forefront of everything World Wrestling Federation. He was the top action figure, the top merch seller overall (even though merchandise was still in its infancy as a whole), and he sold out arenas in his sleep.

WWF cards meant more when Hogan was on top. Even Bret Hart admitted that in his autobiography. The 'Hitman' said that everyone wanted to be on Hulk's house show loops, because they typically pulled the best business and that meant a bigger share of the house for those on the undercard.