10 Wrestlers That Made Fans Change The Channel

9. Hulk Hogan (1996)

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It was absolutely amazing just how f*cking sick WCW's audience were of Hulk Hogan by the end of 1995.

Amazing because it was high time the insecure old icon got some real-time feedback for his hideously stale act. Amazing because there was literally nothing left to love about a man that was very clearly using and abusing his influence rather making it count. And amazing because WCW were going live with Nitro every week and there was only so much sound-sweetening to quieten some of those boos during his main events.

Going nuts with his booking at the time, Hogan turned to the dark side (a bit) in his war with the Dungeon Of Doom with a series of skits and promos that felt even more out of date than the Billionaire Ted skits portrayed the 'Huckster' as on the other channel.

Far from a slaughter before June 1996, this was a war and Hogan didn't appear to have the heavy artillery for it. Until he turned heel.

An inspired bit of business that still holds up today, Hulk going 'Hollywood' gave fans the cathartic release they'd needed for well over a year in a way that fed the angles, enlivened the broadcasts and got everybody talking. For months, the mere thought of heel Hogan made viewers pine for more of it on the six days Nitro didn't air.

He wasn't alone, of course...

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett