10 Times WWE Caved To Public Pressure
8. Testing Times
Ultimate Warrior's WrestleMania 8 return was a bit of a f*cking mess, in truth. The mammoth Hoosier Dome crowd seemingly didn't give a toss as pyro rained down on the former WWE Champion and impending 'retiree' Hulk Hogan as the show went off the air, but there was plenty that didn't feel right about his literal run-in at the end of 'The Hulkster's match with Sid Justice.
His return followed the awkwardly late arrival of newcomer Papa Shango, set as they were to feud over the summer months in the absence of either man closing the 'Show Of Shows' in 1992. Hogan was bailing - the intense media scrutiny on him as the face of an under-fire WWE had become too great, not least after he catastrophically lied his way through a misguided Arsenio Hall air-clearing segment the prior summer. Sid wasn't far behind. Latter reports suggested that he'd actually failed a steroid test before the show, but was permitted to work against Hogan then the upcoming European Tour before serving his suspension. Rather than sit out, he walked out.
Warrior's return was already greeted with scepticism thanks to his new haircut and shrunken physique, but he'd returned to his more familiar presentation by the end of the year. Along with Davey Boy Smith, he was forced out of the door. The pressure had forced Vince into genuinely ousting known and flagrant steroid users. Warrior and Bulldog weren't the first big names to depart, and wouldn't be the last.