10 Times The Past Buried WWE's Future

Among seasoned wrestling fans, Hulk Hogan is as known for his backstage politicking as he is for his numerous in-ring achievements. "That doesn't work for me, brother" is as synonymous with the red-and-yellow superstar as "whatcha gonna do..." and encouraging fans to say their prayers and take their vitamins. His magnum opus of political s**thousery came at WrestleMania IX.

During an era where WWE was trying to find its way as a business after the glory days of the Golden Era, Vince McMahon was moving towards superstars who were younger and more impressive in the ring. Bret Hart fit every criteria you could ask for in this regard, and Yokozuna was the perfect monster heel champion walking into WrestleMania IX.

The stage was set for Bret's glorious coronation, until The Hulkster reemerged. WrestleMania IX has one of the worst endings to any PPV in wrestling history, with Hogan ending the night as WWE Champion in a match he wasn't even in. Yokozuna beat 'The Hitman', and Mr. Fuji offered an open challenge to the WWE locker room for absolutely no good reason.

Enter, Hulk Hogan. 

Bret Hart encouraged Hogan to take the match, making Hart look like nothing more than a pink-and-black-clad Hulkamaniac, and Hulk won the title in 21 seconds. This debacle took WWE years to recover from, as their world title lost all credibility, all in the name of one more shining moment for Hulk Hogan.