10 Part-Timers Who Screwed With The WWE Roster

4. Hogan Knows Best

When Shawn Michaels agreed to face Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam in 2005, he made the mistake of not pinning management down on the nature of what he was agreeing to: who was going over, when and how. All discussions on the subject were treated as good faith preparations. He was soon to discover that to Terry Bollea, 'good faith' is what Dusty Rhodes called Ricky Steamboat.

Michaels originally wanted the feud to be babyface versus babyface - kind of how the John Cena/Rock feuds played out in later years - but Hogan wanted a more traditional match, so the 'Heartbreak Kid' had to turn heel, which he wasn't keen on. Michaels was also under the impression that the angle would cover three matches, with each man doing the favour for the other until the rubber match clinched it for Hogan.

However, Hogan's reputation for Machiavellian machination knows no bounds. He waited until just before SummerSlam to inform WWE and his opponent that he wouldn't lose to Michaels. He had a measure of creative control over the finish, and that was that. Suddenly the trilogy that Michaels had in mind had contracted to a single 'big fight' exhibition match, and he'd turned heel and accrue a significant amount of heat simply in order to put Hogan over.

Hogan had made a career out of political manoeuvring like this, but at least back then he was a member of the full time roster: he'd be there the next day, and the next. In 2005, Hulk Hogan was a special attraction as a wrestler: a part-time legend who turned up for a paycheck and a pinfall. Shawn Michaels, on the other hand, turned up to work the next day having dramatically oversold everything that Hogan tried to do to him the night before, to exaggerated and hilarious effect. That'll learn him (it wouldn't).