8 WWE Wrestlers Vince McMahon Refused To Turn Heel
5. Hulk Hogan
Even though he'd been the torch bearer for the World Wrestling Federation throughout the rock 'n' wrestling days and the formative years of WrestleMania, the early '90s saw the star begin to dim on Hulkamania, brother.
Regardless of the crowd response starting to quell for Hogan's ear-cupping, t-shirt-tearing, python-posing act, Vince McMahon never once considered turning the Hulkster heel at that point. Even at those times when there was a chance to run with another top babyface – Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, and Bret Hart as examples - McMahon was adamant that Hogan was his guy.
The response to Hogan even got to the point where crowds would cheer for the sinister heels who Hulk went up against – such was the case with Jake Roberts. With that dastardly DDT enthusiast positioned as one of the company's top heels, Roberts was poised to embark on a full-on feud with the Hulkster. After seeing a studio audience cheer the Snake dropping Hogan with his iconic DDT, Vince was quick to drop that planned rivalry.
Then there’s the 1992 Royal Rumble, where those in attendance at Albany, New York’s Knickerbocker Arena cheered when Sid Justice eliminated Hulk. Likewise, Hogan's tantrum and subsequent role in underhandedly getting Sid eliminated was met by boisterous boos. You wouldn't know it on re-watches, of course, for WWE edited these responses accordingly.
If you believe the oft-questioned proclamations of Hulk himself, recent years have seen the skullet-adorned Hall of Famer claim that he begged McMahon to turn him heel in '92 – but Vince refused.
Even when Hulk Hogan returned to WWE in 2002 as a heel intent on literally murdering The Rock, McMahon flipped Hulk back to babyface barely a month into that run as he capitalised on the audience reaction from WrestleMania X8.