10 WWE Nightmares That Thankfully Never Came True

6. WrestleMania VI: No Holds Barred

Ultimate Warrior Steve Austin WrestleMania XV
WWE

The Ultimate Warrior's WrestleMania VI WWE Title victory over Hulk Hogan didn't end up as an industry-defining elevation of the wrestling business' next big megastar, but the lengthy and rewarding main event between the two superhero superheavyweights did everything possible to try and achieve its goal.

Working way beyond their selective limitations on the 'Grandest Stage', the pair surpassed even the wildest expectations of most, and crafted a spectacle that ensured the Toronto 'Show Of Shows' would go down as one of the most memorable.

When compared to Vince McMahon's original idea for the show's 'blockbuster' main event though, it's perhaps the finest turnaround in company history.

Having tried and failed to make Hulk Hogan's 'No Holds Barred' turkey a cinematic success, McMahon had, by late 1989 accepted that a match featuring the two main stars was a dual box office flop. Before this point, his blind faith that the movie would be a monster hit resulted in Zeus earning the biggest payday of the year against Hogan in a final battle between the two.

Zeus’ (restricted) input in the SummerSlam and Survivor Series matches highlighted just some of the obstacles the pair would face, and a December pay-per-view experiment featuring the movie back-to-back with a Hogan/Beefacke/Zeus/Savage cage rematch failed to live up to financial expectations. By now, Vince had accepted defeat on the entire Hollywood debacle, and began lining up Warrior not only for the April superclash, but as Hulk's long-term replacement.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, 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