8 People You Won't Believe ALMOST Became A Wrestling Champion

6. Zeus

Wesley Snipes Blade
WWE.com

Vince McMahon had no reason to doubt his instincts in 1989 as he transposed Zeus from his batsh*t Hulk Hogan hollywood vehicle into 'The Hulkster's WWE orbit.

Business was booming following the money-sh*tting Hogan/Savage programme that main evented WrestleMania V, and it wasn't known at the time if upcoming feature No Holds Barred would be a tinseltown rocket-strapper for the WWE Champion or the fondly-remembered turkey it eventually came to be. Was the Chairman even capable of a dozy misstep at this point?!

Alas, through rose tinted glasses, the red flags just look like flags.

Zeus was capable of hardly anything between the ropes (not his fault, he was an actor expanding on his acting portfolio, not a wrestler making his way in the industry), but McMahon's assumption that this co-promotion was going to be a two-pronged mainstream home run had the cinematic heel penciled in to wrestle (and possibly dethrone) Hogan at WrestleMania VI.

The wind was already blowing the way of the Ultimate Warrior by push-coming-to-shove time, but Zeus' inability beyond choking and...a push and a shove, made the organisation's eventual decision even easier.

In this post: 
24/7 Title
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett