10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Hulk Hogan
10. The Huckster
Yes, The Huckster.
Back in 1996, the then-WWF responded to Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage tearing it up in WCW by acting like children. Admittedly, they weren't the only ones; the tittle-tattle between Vince McMahon and Ted Turner's operations in the '90s was borderline embarrassing at times. There were lawsuits over trademarks, the fake Diesel and Razor Ramon characters, Eric Bischoff challenging Vinnie Mac to a fight live on air and much besides.
The WWF's solution was to tie some Hogan-bashing in with their "New Generation" movement. Skits began airing in the lead up to WrestleMania XII, and they showed a pair of old dudes (and another playing "Mean" Gene Okerlund) hamming it up as "The Huckster" and the "Nacho Man". It was as thrilling as it sounds.
McMahon's message was simple: those creaking oldies on the other channel were past it, no use to the WWF, couldn't compete with fresh-faced, athletic WWF stars and he wanted everyone to know it. He probably didn't when he later rehired Hogan and made him World Champ in 2002.