1. Getting A Huge Pay-Rise To Take The Worst Finisher In Wrestling
Hulk Hogan had the worst finisher in professional wrestling. Ok, maybe The Worm was worse. But as the Face of the WWF, the behemoth who stood at the top of the mountain, surely Hogan could have come up with something a little less embarrassing than the Atomic Leg Drop. It makes the AA look like the Canadian Destroyer. What was even more humiliating was being Hogan's opponent and letting yourself be pinned after taking it. There's just some part of the human brain that will subconsciously bury a wrestler who can kick out of a DDT, but is obliterated by an old man falling on them. But there was a rather large upside to being make to look so weak, and it was simply this: you got all sorts of paid to take that leg drop. If a wrestler was put into a program with Hogan during the 80s/90s they knew two things: they would end up on their back for the 1-2-3, and their paycheque would increase by a factor of 10-11-12. In the yesteryear of the WWF, if you wrestled in the opening match on the card, you were lucky to receive $300 for your troubles. Wrestling in the main event against Hogan, however? Honky Tonk Man says it best: "Believe me, brother, when youre getting that legged dropped on you and youre making $10,000 to take that leg drop everyday for nine shows a week, thats 90 grand. Believe me. I loved that leg drop." That's one thick consolation prize, and it just goes to prove that sometimes, not often but sometimes, it can be worth a wrestler's weight in gold to look really, really stupid.
