10 Wrestling Grudges That Changed The Business
6. WCW Fans Vs Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was so uncertain of whether or not to turn heel at Bash At The Beach 1996 that WCW had to prepare Sting to do the honours just in case. But when he dropped the big leg on Randy Savage to kick off the New World Order storyline, he triggered a chain of events that would change the fortunes of two major promotions and countless wrestlers for decades to come.
He had to do it too. Short of the brief period before the novelty wore off in 1994, WCW fans were sick of Hogan's schtick whilst he was still with WWE. Beyond business growth, 'The Hulkster' offered them nothing emotional to cling on to, and everything to despise. When he gave them that, they gave World Championship Wrestling everything.
There's a timeline where the industry is different beyond reconciliation if Hogan never turns. WWE's business was recovering from it's 1995 nadir, but things such as the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin or even anything Attitude-adjacent might never have occurred without WCW's homework to copy. ECW's influence was only ever going to stretch so far, but the Atlanta outfit was real competition for the first time ever and McMahon and his many new talents were more than ready for the war.
To say it was a paradigm shift undersells it - Hogan pulling the pin out of that specific grenade created an explosion wrestling desperately needed.