8 WWE World Title Changes That Were Going To Happen (But Didn't)

6. Zeus Defeating Hulk Hogan - Some Time In 1989

Batista 2014
WWE.com

Way before David Arquette had the 'prestigious' honour of becoming WCW Champion, another actor was at one point meant to ascend to the top of the wrestling mountain. That actor was Tiny Lister.

During a 2014 interview with Peter Rosenberg, Lister revealed that Vince McMahon had plans to put the WWF Championship on him during his run as Zeus in the company. And not just that, but McMahon wanted Zeus to have a year-long run as the WWF Champion and the promotion's top heel opposite Hulk Hogan.

Playing off the turd-tastic No Holds Barred movie, Zeus turned up in the then-WWF in the middle of 1989 to feud with his Hollywood co-star Hogan. The pair would face off in tag matches at that year's SummerSlam and Survivor Series PPVs, and Lister detailed how there were plans for a third match featuring he and Hogan to take place at WrestleMania VI.

If this is indeed correct, it's crazy to think that WrestleMania VI's legendary Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior 'winner takes all' match wouldn't have taken place, and instead we'd have had one further battle between the Hulkster and Zeus.

The reason why Zeus didn't beat Hogan for the WWF Championship in '89 - at least, according to Lister - is that he himself eventually said no to the idea after speaking to his agent.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.