10 Wrestlers Who Saved Promotions From Ruin

6. Hulk Hogan

Cody Rhodes
WWE

Hulk Hogan and WCW went 50/50, ultimately, which is rather ironic. He didn't go 50/50 with any f*cker outside of the Ultimate Warrior, whom he brought back into the fold just to beat.

Think of it like this: an eight year-old loss in a predetermined scripted contest weighed more heavily on his soul, or lack thereof, than the vile racist rant that forever tarnished his public image. He hasn't truly apologised for his N-word furore. He was more concerned about warning the bizz-oys that their awfulness could be recorded thizz-ese days, brother!

And yet, those eight years gnawed at him, so much so that he plunged WCW into total parody just to make them work for the Hulkster. Hogan's bullsh*t was tolerated because it was written into his contract and because he moved the needle all the way to head-to-head competition. Even before he transformed into the Hollywood persona, and generated waves of heat with his fabulously narcissistic promos, he stemmed the blood flow. He executed Eric Bischoff's best idea to perfection, at least before he Triple H'd Sting because they are bi-zzurds of a feather-uh.

He was never well-liked by the ultras, but his star power blew up pay-per-view business and allowed WCW to break through into prime time.

In this post: 
Cody Rhodes
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!