Hulk Hogan turning heel and forming the nWo was a watershed moment for WCW, and American wrestling as a whole, but what if the Hulkster hadn't been the mysterious third man? Many fans believe that Hogan was far from the first choice, and various versions of this tale point to Sting, Lex Luger, Bret Hart, and even Shawn Michaels as the intended turncoat. As it turns out, there's a grain of truth to all of these choices. Eric Bischoff knew he needed to maximize the shock value of the reveal, and he knew that meant Hogan, but in the event that he couldn't close the deal he did have several backups in place, most notably Sting. It's worth noting that WCW did send out feelers to Hart and Michaels around this time, but Hart wasn't interested and Michaels couldn't get a release to join his pals.
