10 Times WWE Failed To Replace A Major Star
3. Hulk Hogan With Ultimate Warrior
Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior spent several years together in the WWF, and they were alike in many ways. They were both huge, muscular grapplers whose success came more from their showmanship and personality than technical wrestling acumen, and they were both pushed to the moon and back.
Warrior was pushed as Hogan’s eventual successor in 1990, and their “Ultimate Challenge” remains one of the biggest matches in WrestleMania history. It was Warrior’s Intercontinental Title against Hogan’s WWE Championship, and in what should have been a star-making victory, Warrior put Hogan away to become the first wrestler to hold both titles simultaneously.
Warrior had effectively supplanted Hogan as the top guy, but he could never truly eclipse Hulkamania. Warrior ultimately failed as the top champion, and aside from his notable in-ring deficiencies, he was an absolute drama-magnet behind the scenes. Warrior held the belt for close to a year, but he never came close to touching Hogan’s record-breaking numbers, and he left the company under a cloud of controversy in 1991.
Everything that followed was an utter disaster, and from his ill-fated 1992 departure to his horrific WCW run, Warrior’s name became a running joke among wrestling fans.
An important, iconic wrestler at his peak, Warrior was never cut-out for long-term stardom.