15 Things We Learned From Vince McMahon's Docuseries On Netflix

13. Dusty Rhodes Could’ve Been “Hulk Hogan”

Vince McMahon Netflix
WWE

This is fascinating on a wrestling level.

Vince knew he wanted to replace Bob Backlund as his top guy after assuming total control of the WWF, but he didn't land directly on smash hit Hulk Hogan. Almost unbelievably given the body-obsessed era to come, it was Dusty Rhodes who caught Jr's eye first, but Cody chimes in to say his dad didn’t properly believe in what the fed was trying to do.

So, Vince moved on and that’s when Hulk came into the frame. The rest is history, but it's bloody crazy to hear Vince admit on camera that he didn't have everything figured out and actually thought an NWA centrepiece would be the one. Imagine how different things would've been had the 'American Dream' been handed the ball instead of Hogan?!

It seems inevitable that this would've failed long term. McMahon quickly married his love of larger than life physiques from the bodybuilding world with pro wrestling to create what he called "sports entertainment". Cool to know Dusty was definitely on the cards as a possible replacement for Backlund, at least.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.