10 Times WWE Stupidly Tried To Plug Gaps
8. ...Diesel And...
Vince McMahon had survived substantial jail time in July 1994 when he was cleared of all charges relating to use and distribution of steroids in the legal trial of his life, and appeared at least to have changed his attitude towards performance-enhancing products in the immediate aftermath.
His headliners got a little smaller, but his potential headliners simply got taller. Gone from the main event scene was Lex Luger, instead replaced by the rapidly rising Diesel. 'Big Daddy Cool's entire year had been an immaculate exercise in Sports Entertainment smoke and mirrors - his Royal Rumble run was immediately entered into folklore, whilst matches against Razor Ramon and Bret Hart and a tag team tenure with Shawn Michaels armed him with all the skills to act like he belonged at the top of the card.
He was given no such help when he actually got there.
Unseating Bob Backlund in a November 1994 squash, Diesel was immediately a victim of Vince McMahon getting back on his Hulkamania bullsh*t. Slapped on the front of magazines with a big grin, he was repeatedly undermined on pay-per-view as buyrates tumbled lower than they'd done under the misguided Luger run.
Back to Bret. And back to the drawing board...