10 Worst WWE Booking Decisions Of The '90s (Year-By-Year)

Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair. It’s a WrestleMania main event that was dangling right in front of WWE, but instead of biting and raking in a huge PPV buyrate, they went with a tussle between Hulk Hogan and one of Vince McMahon’s patented big, sweaty men: the lumbering Sid Justice.

Now, obviously, there was a reason for WWE to not do Hogan/Flair at WrestleMania VIII. After a series of test matches on house shows failed to draw significant crowds, Vince decided to nix the program, and instead paired Flair with Randy Savage and Hogan with Sid. Even Dave Meltzer, in interviews, says it was a better call at the time to pair Hogan with Sid, who was more of his prototypical opponent than someone like Ric Flair.

Still, Bash at the Beach 1994, which finally featured Hogan vs. Flair on PPV, did about 225,000 buys, and it’s clear there was quite a degree of interest in the two icons facing off. WWE could have made a lot of money by airing an iconic matchup before WCW, but instead, they stuck to their formula and had an underwhelming end to an underwhelming WrestleMania. Plus, it's because of this decision that the WWF title was defended in the midcard, which must absolutely rustle the jimmies of many a smarky fan.