Guessing at what might have been for WCW if the company hadn't been sold to McMahon, or if the Undertaker had signed, or Eric Bischoff hadn't made some seriously questionable decisions will always be fun. More pertinent now though is the question of whether the promotion would have even been in a position to directly challenge WWE without Hulk Hogan. His signing in 1994 might as well have been a blow direct to the testicles for McMahon as Bischoff piled Ted Turner's money into pissing off his competition as provocatively as possible. And while the decision to basically give Hogan a free pass to write his character set a dangerous precedent for the industry, his presence proved to be one of the strongest foundations for the Monday Night Wars. Without Hogan, there would have been no opportunity to book the abandoned WrestleMania tie of Hogan vs Ric Flair, and no huge PPV buy-rate as a direct result. Given that early reaction, it's hardly surprising WCW rewarded Hogan with an extended run as champion: the two brands - individual and promotion - perpetuated one another perfectly. And without one, who is to say what would have happened to the other.
