The most famous swerve of all time, and the most famous heel turn of all time, is of course Hulk Hogans first heel turn as a megastar. Growing increasingly aware that times had changed, and that he needed to freshen his stale eighties babyface act up if he was to retain any longevity in the cutthroat world of professional wrestling, Hogan had decided to become an anti-establishment bad guy a while before, but needed the right scenario to maximise the dollar potential. The Outsiders were that scenario. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had arrived in WCW on a worked-shoot basis, playing the role of cocky outlaw invaders on Nitro. For some time, theyd teased the idea of a third man in their group, something which would convert them from a tag team to that entirely different beast a stable. At Bash At The Beach in 1996, the culmination of the teased angle took place. Delivering a beatdown in the ring to WCW loyalists, the Outsiders were suddenly confronted with the Hulkster coming to the ring to protect his friends. Seeming to come to The Macho Man Randy Savages aid, Hogan would instead perform several leg drops to Savage in front of a dumbfounded crowd, before delivering a searing heel promo in an interview with Gene Okerlund, sneering at fans and announcing their formation of a new world order with the stated ambition of taking over the wrestling industry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO9zxsRzN-M It was perfectly written, perfectly timed, and perfectly executed. Nothing like it had ever been seen before on television.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
