Who REALLY Carried WWE Every Year (1985-2026)
36. 1991 (Hulk Hogan)
This isn't quite the last whirl for Hulk in these pages, but it's his penultimate power play...dude. After losing faith in The Ultimate Warrior, McMahon returned to Hogan and rekindled the Hulkamania marketing push. Sadly for all concerned, it didn't quite do the same level of business that Hulkster in the 80s had pulled.
He was still the biggest ticket seller in the biz though, that's for sure.
The bloom was off the rose for the golden era that had blossomed in the mid-80s, so Vince needed Hogan to carry things through perhaps one last time. To get there, he stuck the WWF Title on Sgt. Slaughter at the '91 Royal Rumble, then had Hulk run straight through the turncoat at 'Mania VII. 'Stars & Stripes Forever', and all that.
More trouble behind the scenes with Warrior at SummerSlam soured a torturous tag-team main event. So, bosses put a red pen through 'The Ultimate One' and hoped that sticking with Hogan would pay off in the long run. Then, Hulk put The Undertaker over for the belt at Survivor Series before reclaiming it on a special This Tuesday In Texas pay-per-view one week later.
Hulk ended the year without his prize, because onscreen WWF President Jack Tunney made the strap vacant in time for 1992's Royal Rumble. We all know what happened there. Woo! '91 would be somewhat of a last hurrah for Hogan during his core run with the company. He'd have to wait a while for his next stint on top.
Now for something completely different.