The Last Days Of Hulkamania

Nitro represented Hogan's first taste of live wrestling television in years, and f*cking hell did we all sharp know about it.

Having flogged his Pastamania restaurant and blown through major matches with Lex Luger and Sting in early editions of the show, Hogan rapidly took on a Poochie-like presence thanks to his feud with the Dungeon Of Doom. Which then morphed into a feud with The Four Horsemen. Which then manifested as "The Alliance To End Hulkamania" (every heel that drew breath, basically) taking on Hogan and Randy Savage in the infamously rotten Uncensored '96 Doomsday Cage match 8-on-2. The Mega Powers won, of course.

WCW fans in attendance were sick and f*cking tired of everything he did, and never was this any clearer than in his final months as a face before the legendary nWo switch. Take the end of the inaugural World War III pay-per-view, that saw Hogan remonstrate so furiously over on-screen mate Randy Savage winning the world title that it honestly started to look like a shoot.

Or the February 12th 1996 Nitro, where he agreed to put Arn Anderson over cheaply with the proviso that one spot featured him locking 'Double A' in the Figure Four while capturing Ric Flair with a cradle at the same time. Or on an April 1st show where we the fools, as company's fixation with using women's shoes as deadly weapons resulted in him beating Kevin Sullivan to the punch as they both yielded high heels?

The worst was yet to come, but at least there was an end in sight.

CONT'D...