10 Times Wrestlers Bet On Themselves (... And WON!)

The steroid scandal of 1993/1994 sent the World Wrestling Federation into a turbulent period. Gone were the ripped bruisers of the eighties that everyday folk will ask about when wrestling's discussed in the barber's chair; the Hulk Hogans, the Ultimate Warriors, the Randy Savages. They couldn't justifiably appear on company programming against a backdrop of such accusations.

So they did it in WCW instead!

Hogan, having last appeared at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in June '93, rocked up in the Ted Turner-fronted group in June '94 like it was 1987 all over again and was WCW World Heavyweight Champion the following month. He didn't enjoy as lengthy a run with his WCW title as he did with his first WWF title, though; just 469 days. Rookie.

Hulk Hogan leaving the Vince McMahon-helmed promotion is NOT comparable with a disgruntled Cody Rhodes leaving WWE behind to try something new or an AJ Styles starting a new life in NJPW against a ridiculous TNA paycut, but it is comparable in the sense that Hogan took a serious career gamble. The steroid accusations aside, was the 'Hulkster' wanted by WCW's audience?

Yes, apparently; Bash at the Beach 1994, Hogan's first WCW pay-per-view, garnered a 1.02 buyrate with 225,000 pay-per-view buys, the company's highest since the glory days of the late eighties. The risk paid off for Hogan, WCW waged (ratings) war with the WWF, and, well, you know the rest.