By 1991, musical trends were beginning to shift. Nirvana's 'Nevermind' record was about to land, but weeks before it did, WCW brought in a big, musclebound guy called Mark Hildreth. Bearing a passing resemblance to David Lee Roth, Hildreth was repackaged as Heavy Metal Van Hammer, and instructed to act like a rockstar. Carrying a guitar on his way to the ring, it was blatantly obvious that Hildreth had barely even picked up the instrument before, nevermind learned how to play it. Nonetheless, the gimmick was in full swing, but got old quickly, certainly when it became glaringly obvious to everyone outside WCW that hair metal wasn't the 'in' thing any longer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjicPV6pxaI Hildreth would return later in the 90s as part of Raven's Flock, but the damage was done. Now simply known as Hammer, who knows what might have been had the heavy metal influences of the character been toned down to suit a changing America.
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.
