8 Most Pathetic Examples Of Backstage Politics In Wrestling

5. Hulk Hogan Headlines Starrcade 1994 Against…

Hulk Hogan The Butcher
WWE

Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake was one of the most memorable characters of the WWF’s 1980s Golden Era. This is often lost, because he’s known in shorthand as Hogan’s emotional support jobber. He was absolutely worthless throughout the 1990s as he played, very unconvincingly, various wacky characters and terrible dour hard men. 

Beefcake only got the WCW gig because the vastly powerful Hogan wanted to hang around with his mate backstage. That’s it. That is the only reason. And that wouldn’t be too unfair, if he was just beating some yahoos on Saturday Night - and after a while, he did do that sort of thing. But not before headlining WCW’s version of WrestleMania in 1994. 

The Starrcade main event was an all-time dud. It only went 12 minutes. It’s difficult to tell whether that’s a good thing or not. On one hand, they didn’t take the piss out of the fans by doing anything more than a half-arsed spot show nothing match. A long match would have been even worse. On the other, they did a half-arsed spot show nothing match in the main event of the biggest show of the year promoted by a company with a fanbase that actually gravitated towards lengthy technical struggles. The show got what it deserved, drawing just 130,000 buys - down from Hogan’s Bash At The Beach 1994 debut (225,000), and even Halloween Havoc (210,000). 

They say Tony Khan is spineless and that he lets his top stars walk all over him - but the modern equivalent of this main event isn’t too far away from CM Punk Vs. Ace Steel headlining AEW All In. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!