13 Biggest Matches WWE Should've Booked In The 80s (But Didn't)

1. Bob Backlund Vs. Hulk Hogan

The old generation passing the torch to the new generation has never been an easy match to book. It's also an incredibly tough match to even identify as far as which performer will end up being the company's banner carrier for the next generation. The company has long underestimated the value of two mammoth fan favorites colliding, and given the two men's careers and name recognition, Hulk Hogan vs. Bob Backlund tops the list for what could've been the biggest match to never happen in the 1980s. Bob Backlund was the champion and face of Vincent James McMahon's WWF prior to Hulkamania. When Vincent Kennedy took over the company, he wanted a more muscular and charismatic champion and wanted Backlund to turn heel and drop the title to Hulk Hogan, his new golden boy. When Backlund refused to turn heel, Vince Jr. needed a transitional champion to get the title off Backlund and onto Hogan and selected The Iron Sheik for that role. Had this situation unfolded today, there's no question that a Hogan vs. Backlund match would have been booked for the main event of WrestleMania, but it was a much different time in the early 80s. Even ten years after the transition from Backlund to Hogan as the WWF's flagship performer, the company had changed only slightly. Vince wanted a Hogan vs. Bret Hart match as discussed in the 15 Biggest Matches WWE Should've Booked In The 90s (But Didn't), but like Backlund a decade prior, Hogan refused Vince's wishes, albeit for different reasons. A technical masterpiece? Perhaps not but, especially if this bout took place as, say, the main event of WrestleMania 2, the biggest match ever (up to that point) and a big draw it would have been.