12 Bad Wrestling Stories That Wasted Great SWERVE Ideas
4. Vince Russo Saves WCW From Hulk Hogan, Or Does He?
There was no incident more infamous in Vince Russo's tenure than the controversial departure of Hulk Hogan from the company following the events of Bash At The Beach 2000. Though not as inherently stupid as the Goldberg heel turn, it was directed at the very same audience. AKA, the smallest and least likely to make a difference to your bottom line.
Four years on from the formation of the New World Order and in the very same building, the booked and promoted WCW World Heavyweight Title clash between Hogan and Jeff Jarrett never happened. Instead, 'The Chosen One' lay down under orders from Vince Russo and allowed to Hogan to get the win. The multi-time World Champion and potentially biggest star in the history of the industry called the whole thing "bullsh*t" and left with his belt.
All of this - or at least the core details - was actually planned, even if it too looked business-killing. The swerve, bro, occurred when Russo arrived to re-book the evening's main event as a Jeff Jarrett/Booker T match for the real belt (still part of the storyline, keep up) and used the extra mic time to launch into a scathing attack on Hogan the person as well as the professional wrestler. He spoke about "bullsh*t politics" and mocked the "big bald son of a b*tch" while promising that fans would never see him in WCW again.
He was inadvertently telling the truth there, but the two sides were kept together in court as a result - an infuriated Hogan sued the company for defamation and breach of contract in a case that wasn't settled for another three years.