Hulk Hogan was the franchise player in WWE from the moment he won his first World Title from The Iron Sheik in 1984 until he stopped competing in WWE on a regular basis in 1992. He returned to the company around WrestleMania time in 1993, won another WWE Title and then he was gone. He left for WCW in 1994, became the man there for the next seven years and then returned to WWE in 2002 when there was nowhere else for him to go. For the fans that only watched WWE and had no interest in WCW, they were heartbroken to see WWE's biggest star out of the company. While WWE tried to brand their stars the "New Generation" through creative ad campaigns, it didn't always work that well. Business was down after Hogan left in part because WCW was growing and WWE fans were missing Hogan. Any time somebody of Hogan's stature leaves or does something significant it's going to cause a ripple effect in the business because he matters so much to the bottom line of any company. During his prime, he was one of the biggest draws ever and as one of the most famous wrestlers ever and even though WWE had to move on because he was getting older, a lot of fans didn't want to move on. His absence definitely hurt WWE at least in the short term. It ended up working out because WWE was forced to sign new talent and create their own stars, but a lot of Hogan's fans followed him to WCW while others likely quit watching altogether.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
