10 Original Failed WWE Pushes You Completely Forgot About

8. The Honky Tonk Man - Hulk Hogan's Friend

Honky Tonk Man Hulk Hogan
WWE

A character so detached from how fans felt about it that WWE rapidly turned it into an opportunity to add loads of addresses to their mailing list, The Honky Tonk Man being a buddy of the WWE Champion was the only likeable thing about this Elvis-wannabe d*ckhead that sailed into town with none of 'The King's talent and some hideous suspenders keeping his tights up.

That was the whole pitch. Honky was here, Hogan said he was great in spite of a working style that undermined his cheerleading, but get in the Pink Cadillac or get kicked to the kerb, brother.

Rarely had this relatively new mass audience made a decision so easy for the company to make when time came for his heel turn. Clocking the boos (and, just as importantly, the lack of cheers) the organisation trotted an indignant Honky out in front of the cameras to ask for a "Vote Of Confidence" he knew he wasn't going to get.

It was inspired, and actually increased the heat he garnered upon embracing the dark side - he drew a fortune as the sh*t-scared Intercontinental Champion a year later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett