Peoples Thoughts on Hogan and the expectations They Have on Him Never Jobbing

[Hulkamaniac]

Putting someone over isn't the same thing as jobbing to them. Hogan put people over constantly by making them seem to be on his level. He spent 90% of his in ring time selling his ass off for his opponent's offense, making them look like a real threat, which of course inevitably led to the money maker: The Hulk Up. Either way, it made guys legit. Big Boss Man was a legit upper card wrestler thanks to Hogan. Earthquake, too. These guys didn't beat Hogan, but he made them appear to be near his level, as credible threats. THese guys made money on this forever.

There are dozens of examples of this, let alone the actual losses he would take in the ring. As it has been pointed out, Hogan losing constantly would have devalued the act of beating him. It was still a HUGE deal to beat Hogan all the way through 2005. You don't think Kurt Angle was helped (and appreciated) being the first guy to make Hogan tap out as a face? That was a HUGE deal. Thats just one example.

And seriously, I got a chuckle out of someone claiming earlier in the thread that BRet Hart was a threat to Hogan's legacy. Bret is a third tier superstar that has been elevated to the second tier because of the Montreal Screwjob. Great wrestler in the ring, but had deficiencies in the charisma, promos, and connecting with the fans departments. Ric Flair was right: Montreal is the best thing that ever happened to Bret Hart.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Most of the criticism of Hogan not jobbing comes from his feuds with Randy Savage and his time in WCW. I do believe at some point Savage did enough and was big enough to deserve that win but Hogan, who WAS VERY PROTECTIVE of his legacy would not allow it. In WCW Hogan refused to lose to Flair in their Clash of Champions 94 match even though he was already promised a series clinching title win in the tie breaker match at Halloween Havoc. Hogan reportedly was asked by booker Kevin Nash to drop the title to Flair at SuperBrawl 99 due to how over he was at the time and the fact WCW fans were practically demanding it. He refused, stating he needed at least one more high profile win over Flair before dropping the belt. Then Hogan insisted Flair be buried on TV leading into the Uncensored re match. It was bad for business but good for Hogan's character.

When Hogan put over Goldberg he was already the hottest star in biz not named Austin. Bigger than Flair, Sting, Savage, Rock, Foley, Undertaker, Goldberg was the biggest non Austin star in the industry. He didnt need Hogan, beating him was icing on the cake. Same with Austin beating HBK, beating Michaels didnt make Austin a phenom, it was the cherry on top.

Keep in mind that after Hogan dropped the title to Goldberg it was Hogan who was the centerpiece of the main events, getting top billing at the next three PPV's. Goldberg won the title in July but didnt get top billing for any feud or match until OCTOBER when he shared top billing in his match vs DDP with Hogan vs Warrior. Goldberg actually get de-pushed after that Hogan win. Hogan hoped ratings would fall significantly after that without his involvement in December's Starrcade. Unfortunately the numbers stayed high as wrestling fans made Starrcade one of the most watched shows of 98 centered around Goldberg-Nash and Flair's return. Hogan made sure he got right back in the thick of things with the infamous "Fingerpoke of Doom". If you cant stop Goldberg just de emphasize him further by killing any momentum for a Goldberg-Nash re match by taking the title yourself.

Now I applaud Hogan as maybe the shrewdest wrestler off all time. No one has done a better job at protecting his spot than Hogan. Hogan left WWE after his 2002 comeback because Vince wasnt going to let him beat the roster and dominate the entire program. Vince gave Hogan nice matches and fueds during that run just like he did with Flair and HBK. Like those two however Vince wanted to be a team player and lose once in awhile. Hogan left rather than play ball, though he grabbed one last title run before leaving.

Ultimately I dont blame Hogan, wrestlers have no retirement plans or pensions, no health care, and no collecting bargaining rights. Their next injury could be their last. Hogan cant be blamed for protecting his character, even at the expense of business, like de dmphasizing Goldberg or refusing to lose his rematch with Flair in 94 to drum up interest in the rubber match. The guy I blame is Eric Bischoff, he had the power and he let Hogan run wild, no oversight, no restriction. Vince never would have let it get that far on his watch, never would have let the interests of 1 guy overrule the good of the company as a whole. Hogan was more of a "team player" under Vince because he had to be, play or go home, which after he got his final title win he did.

HBK in his return wanted to repair his image and his legacy, he gave back after years of being as bad if not worse than Hogan. He did. Hogan wanted to be the top guy again and when he wasnt he left. Do I blame Hogan for not wanting to be a team player type ? No, that is his choice. However, any abuses of creative control, etc that he is accused of I blame on Bischoff. Hogan was a player but Bischoff lead the team. I think that if Hogan had stayed with Vince or if Bischoff had had some guts The Hulkster wouldnt have as negative an image as he has.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

And seriously, I got a chuckle out of someone claiming earlier in the thread that BRet Hart was a threat to Hogan's legacy. Bret is a third tier superstar that has been elevated to the second tier because of the Montreal Screwjob. Great wrestler in the ring, but had deficiencies in the charisma, promos, and connecting with the fans departments. Ric Flair was right: Montreal is the best thing that ever happened to Bret Hart.

If you don't think that Hogan viewed Bret was a threat then your crazy. Bret is one of the most over wrestlers of all time and was on his way up when Hogan was on his way out. I'm pretty sure Vince would have wanted Bret to beat Hogan to fully lauch him into superstar status. But Hogan knowing his career was not over and that he would be in WCW as the man could not go there with a clean loss to a top face. So we get the Yokozuna debacle.

Also after Hogan left the WWF, his time as a tope face for WCW paralleled Bret's in WWF (94-95). And even though the WWF wasn't what it once was, it was still better then what WCW was putting out. It wasn't until the greatest storyline ever coupled with the greatest heel turn ever to put WCW over WWF.

History shows that Hogan knew Bret was a threat because when each were the man for there companies, Bret outdrew Hogan. Even though Bert never went over on him (which he should have) and he had to do so in a round a bout way by beating the man who beat Hogan.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by the 90's many were getting sick of Hogan. He was starting to get mixed reactions and in some cases (RR92 WM VIII) fans were cheering his competition (Sid). Again it took the greatest storyline and the greatest heel turn to make Hogan relevant again. But even that only lasted for two years as the novalty wore off and once again WWF overtook WCW.

I'm not doubting Hogan's importance towards the sport and where it is today. But by the 90's to say Hogan was a 1st class star and Bret 3rd is way off base and I believe I have given enough solid reasoning for why that is an absurd claim.

With all that happening

Another thing to keep in mind. Anytime Bret talks about Hogan it is always about how bad a person Hogan was. After all these years he still points out how Hogan held him back in the WWF and WCW. What other reason besides Hogan being worried about his legacy is there for Hogan doing this?

 

[god-soldier]

I totally disagree with people claiming Hogan didn't put any over. Hogan helped make a lot of wrestlers and put over a lot of superstars. The Rock has done the same and jobbed to a lot of superstars and help build a lot as well. Now some one who doesn't put people over is HHH the only way HHH puts you over is your his friends or Vince McMahon forces him other than that HHH puts over no one. HBK is the same after he won the WWF title he thought he was the best wrestler to ever hold a championship he refused to put over anyone except for Syscho Sid and Steve Austin but that was because Vince demanded. When he came back he started to clean up his act a little and put over Orton Angle and Cena. But HHH puts over nobody but his friends you can't blame Hogan or The Rock when HHH still refuse to job to anyone.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

If you don't think that Hogan viewed Bret was a threat then your crazy. Bret is one of the most over wrestlers of all time and was on his way up when Hogan was on his way out. I'm pretty sure Vince would have wanted Bret to beat Hogan to fully lauch him into superstar status. But Hogan knowing his career was not over and that he would be in WCW as the man could not go there with a clean loss to a top face. So we get the Yokozuna debacle.

LOL at one of the "most over wrestlers of all time". How long are we making the list? Top 5? No (but Hogan is). Top 10? No (but Hogan is). Top 15? This is where you can start talking about him, but most likely he's around 16-25. And that's assuming you're talking about only American wrestling. Where has Vince or anyone besides Bret ever confirmed this, by the way?

Further, what happened AFTER Hogan left is even more proof that no such match was definitively in the cards. Did Bret get a shot at Yoko immediately afterwards? Who did the WWE groom as Hogan's replacement. It wasn't Bret Hart, it was cheap Hogan knock off Lex Luger.

Also after Hogan left the WWF, his time as a tope face for WCW paralleled Bret's in WWF (94-95). And even though the WWF wasn't what it once was, it was still better then what WCW was putting out. It wasn't until the greatest storyline ever coupled with the greatest heel turn ever to put WCW over WWF.

Apples to oranges. WWE's business and buy rates all went WAY down under Bret. WCW's business and buy rates went WAY up.

History shows that Hogan knew Bret was a threat because when each were the man for there companies, Bret outdrew Hogan. Even though Bert never went over on him (which he should have) and he had to do so in a round a bout way by beating the man who beat Hogan.

See above. The actual events that followed Hogan leaving erode the credibility of this assertion. Bret Hart didn't jump right into the Main Event picture, Luger did. Hart wasn't even booked to win the Royal Rumble or be the "top dog" at the following Wrestlemania, they had to include Luger because they STILL weren't sure.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by the 90's many were getting sick of Hogan. He was starting to get mixed reactions and in some cases (RR92 WM VIII) fans were cheering his competition (Sid). Again it took the greatest storyline and the greatest heel turn to make Hogan relevant again. But even that only lasted for two years as the novalty wore off and once again WWF overtook WCW.

I mean, I'm not sure what to make of this. Is this a criticism of Hogan? This is the way wrestling works. People have to change characters up to go with the people getting used to/sick of their characters. If anything, it's a testament to Hogan that he was able to play the exact same character and still draw HUGE money for 10 straight years. Bret Hart had to change his character, too.

I'm not doubting Hogan's importance towards the sport and where it is today. But by the 90's to say Hogan was a 1st class star and Bret 3rd is way off base and I believe I have given enough solid reasoning for why that is an absurd claim.

Just untrue. Did you ever notice how Bret was not a Main Event guy for EITHER company during their big boom periods? Bret was gone by the time the Attitude Era really kicked into gear, and missed the height of the nWo. Hogan was on Leno and pulling in crazy ratings while leading the nWo and Bret's ratings were bad. Austin was the future of the company, Bret was a placeholder.

Not only that, but from the moment Nitro started, they were competitive with the WWF, with both companies winning weeks back and forth. Raw won several weeks in a row when Hogan was off the air and before Hall and Nash debuted. Then, they started winning again, and then the heel turn came off and they took off. That ENHANCES Hogan's argument.

Not only that, but just look at what happened when both guys made dramatic returns in 2010. Raw's ratings stayed the exact same, while TNA (TNA!) had the biggest rating in the history of the organization.

Another thing to keep in mind. Anytime Bret talks about Hogan it is always about how bad a person Hogan was. After all these years he still points out how Hogan held him back in the WWF and WCW. What other reason besides Hogan being worried about his legacy is there for Hogan doing this?

Oh, I'm sorry, Bret says it, so it must be true. Obviously Bret should have been Main Eventing those Wrestlemania's in Hogan's place...oh wait, no he should not have. Go check out Ric Flair's thoughts on Bret Hart somewhere. That's not Hogan talking smack about Bret, that's Ric Flair. Maybe the thing holding Bret Hart back was not Hogan, but the fact that management never viewed him as a "carry the company" type of performer. What happened in Montreal has elevated Bret's place in wrestling.

Not to mention, that, at one time, Hart was VERY complimentary of Hogan, even writing about it in articles in Canadian newspapers, talking about "if there's anything true or real in professional wrestling, it's Terry Bollea, I've seen him with the kids".

 

[Peoples_Champ]

I think Hogan gets a bad rap most of the time for whatever he does. I'm sure some of it is deserved (politics, etc.), but a lot of it is attributed to jealous wrestlers and smarky fans. Hogan was the greatest thing in the wrestling industry for many years, and having him job just never seems right. Should he have put over talent more often? Absolutely. No way he should have gone over on HBK at Summerslam. But then again, he passed the torch to Warrior at WM6. He passed the torch to Rock at WMX8. And I'm sure there's other non-Toronto Wrestlemania moments where he put over talent - it's just a shame that it's few and far between.

However, point being, Hogan should never have been a "jobber". He should have used his celebrity and overness to help the wrestling industry around him - like he did with Hall and Nash in WCW. Had he done that more often, I'm sure he would be perceived in a more favourable light.

 

[Defekt]

Hulk Hogan Jobbed to so many People.
He Jobbed in 1990 to the ulitmate warrior at wrestlamania 6.
He jobbed to the undertaker at survivor series 1991.
He jobbed to yokuzuna in 1993.
He jobbed to the Giant in wcw 1995.
He jobbed to roddy piper in 1996.
He jobbed to Lex luger in 1996
He jobbed to Sting in 1997
He jobbed to Goldberg in 1998
he jobbed to ddp in 1998
He jobbed to JAY LENO in 1998.
he jobbed to sting in 1999
he jobbed to Billy Kidman in late 1999
In 2002 he jobbed to The rock.
he jobbed to hhh in 2002.
He jobbed to Kurt angle in 2002.
he jobbed to The undertaker in 2002
He jobbed to Brock lesnar in 2002.
He jobbed again to the rock in 2003.
He jobbed to sting in 2012.

the lost goes on and on, so with PROFF hogan did job quite a few times to stars younger then he.


But the rock, pitiful.

Whenever possible, Hogan has always positioned himself on top. Even if it was bad for the business. If you watched WCW in 1995, you probably remember Hogan, as world champion, disappearing to film movies or whatever.

Alot of those losses you listed didn't mean anything. Hogan jobbed to Yokozuna to avoid losing to Hart (his successor), in a goofy finish on his way out of the company. He lost to Kidman, but never actually made him look good. The screwball finish of Starrcade 1997 didn't put Sting over. The first 1999 loss to Sting involved a locker room full of people interfering, in the second match Hogan just laid down. That Roddy Piper match was inexplicably non-title. The Giant won the title in 1995 by disqualification.

But Hogan did help alot of people get over. Practically anyone who worked with him in the 80's became a star, even if they never beat him.

 

[FlairFan2003]

One note re: Hogan & Hart, there are conflicting stories about what went down when Hogan lost his ridiculous screw job finish vs Yokozuna instead of the rumored clean loss to elevate Hart. I noticed a couple people making reference to Hogan wanting to protect his legacy, Hart being a threat to his character, and that Hogan knew he was heading to WCW and didnt want to look bad in defeat. If Hogan knew then that he was headed to WCW he kept it the best secret in wrestling history.

Hogan wins the WWE title in an upset at WM 9, loses title in June 93, roughly two months later. Both Hogan & Flair have stated in separate interviews and in their respective biographies that Hogan had no contact with anyone from WCW until Dec 93, a full 6 mths after his last WWE appearance, and that was a phone call to Flair at home to congratulate him on a great match at Starrcade when he beat Vader in his "Win or Retire" Match. Even then, no mention of working for WCW came up. According to both men, nothing about Hogan joining WCW was ever mentioned until Flair approached him in Spring of 94, 9 months after his last WWE match.

Hogan may have refused to cleanly put over Hart, maybe he didnt think he was worthy, maybe he was worried it would elevate Hart too much, Hart & Hogan may never confirm (who has more credibility is another story). One thing is certain, there was no way Hogan could have known at that time in May & June of 93 that he was headed to WCW, that wasnt a factor in whatever went down.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

WHile that may be the case, I would bet that Hogan did not think his wrestling career was over. And if that was the case then he couldn't let the next face (Hart) beat him clean because that would be a threat to his spot.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

LOL at one of the "most over wrestlers of all time". How long are we making the list? Top 5? No (but Hogan is). Top 10? No (but Hogan is). Top 15? This is where you can start talking about him, but most likely he's around 16-25. And that's assuming you're talking about only American wrestling. Where has Vince or anyone besides Bret ever confirmed this, by the way?

Further, what happened AFTER Hogan left is even more proof that no such match was definitively in the cards. Did Bret get a shot at Yoko immediately afterwards? Who did the WWE groom as Hogan's replacement. It wasn't Bret Hart, it was cheap Hogan knock off Lex Luger.

What more evidence do you need then sold out shows with all the fans cheering for Bret to realize just how over he was.

When did you want Bert to fight Yoko, Over the Edge, Backlash, Capital Punishment? The buisness was different then. You didn't have instant gratification. There were only 5 PPV's then and only 3 between the time Yoko beat Hogan to the time Bret beat Yoko. In the meantime Bret was built into being the man (along with Luger) during this time and then when the time was right (WM IX) Bret was pushed to the top.

Apples to oranges. WWE's business and buy rates all went WAY down under Bret. WCW's business and buy rates went WAY up.

No, its the same. Both were the top guys of their respective companies at the same time and Bret outdrew Hogan.

See above. The actual events that followed Hogan leaving erode the credibility of this assertion. Bret Hart didn't jump right into the Main Event picture, Luger did. Hart wasn't even booked to win the Royal Rumble or be the "top dog" at the following Wrestlemania, they had to include Luger because they STILL weren't sure.

Answered earlier, but to reiderate, Bret was the next guy pushed to the top as Luger was the filler till WrestleMania when it was Bret's time to go to the top.

Just untrue. Did you ever notice how Bret was not a Main Event guy for EITHER company during their big boom periods? Bret was gone by the time the Attitude Era really kicked into gear, and missed the height of the nWo. Hogan was on Leno and pulling in crazy ratings while leading the nWo and Bret's ratings were bad. Austin was the future of the company, Bret was a placeholder.

Not only that, but from the moment Nitro started, they were competitive with the WWF, with both companies winning weeks back and forth. Raw won several weeks in a row when Hogan was off the air and before Hall and Nash debuted. Then, they started winning again, and then the heel turn came off and they took off. That ENHANCES Hogan's argument.

Not only that, but just look at what happened when both guys made dramatic returns in 2010. Raw's ratings stayed the exact same, while TNA (TNA!) had the biggest rating in the history of the organization.

So now its Bret's fault that he was screwed in Montreal on his way out (not his idea, Vince told him to go cause he can't afford him) and arrived in WCW on there way down (because of horribal booking by guess who?).

Oh, I'm sorry, Bret says it, so it must be true. Obviously Bret should have been Main Eventing those Wrestlemania's in Hogan's place...oh wait, no he should not have. Go check out Ric Flair's thoughts on Bret Hart somewhere. That's not Hogan talking smack about Bret, that's Ric Flair. Maybe the thing holding Bret Hart back was not Hogan, but the fact that management never viewed him as a "carry the company" type of performer. What happened in Montreal has elevated Bret's place in wrestling.

Not to mention, that, at one time, Hart was VERY complimentary of Hogan, even writing about it in articles in Canadian newspapers, talking about "if there's anything true or real in professional wrestling, it's Terry Bollea, I've seen him with the kids".

I'll take the word of Bret over that of the most egotistical self absorbed guys in the industry (Hogan).

 

[Hulkamaniac]

What more evidence do you need then sold out shows with all the fans cheering for Bret to realize just how over he was.

Shows weren't sold out. Gates, ratings, and PPV buys were all down under Bret. This is well documented. Not as bad as they were under Kevin Nash/Diesel, but still...

When did you want Bert to fight Yoko, Over the Edge, Backlash, Capital Punishment? The buisness was different then. You didn't have instant gratification. There were only 5 PPV's then and only 3 between the time Yoko beat Hogan to the time Bret beat Yoko. In the meantime Bret was built into being the man (along with Luger) during this time and then when the time was right (WM IX) Bret was pushed to the top.

How about, you know, Summerslam? The second biggest show of the WWF calendar? You may have heard of it. But no, they went and hotshotted Lex Luger into the spot, because, again, they DID NOT BELIEVE IN BRET.

No, its the same. Both were the top guys of their respective companies at the same time and Bret outdrew Hogan.

This just shows a lack of nuanced thinking. The companies didn't start at the same place. WWF went down from where they were with Hogan. WCW went up from where they were without Hogan.

Answered earlier, but to reiderate, Bret was the next guy pushed to the top as Luger was the filler till WrestleMania when it was Bret's time to go to the top.

Actually, no. The Undertaker got the shot after Luger, starting at Survivor Series through the Royal Rumble. Again, not Bret Hart. At that point, Bret was brought back to the title scene, but again, not by himself. Because Vince didn't trust Bret to carry a Main Event at Mania by himself. As a matter of fact, Bret's only solo Main Event was at 12, when Vince needed him to pass the torch to his little "Boy Toy", Shawn Michaels. Just understand that no matter what you say, Vince's own decisions erode Bret's argument.

So now its Bret's fault that he was screwed in Montreal on his way out (not his idea, Vince told him to go cause he can't afford him) and arrived in WCW on there way down (because of horribal booking by guess who?).

It's not Bret's fault, it's just the facts. During either companies "boom period", he was not near the top of the card (WCW) or in the company (WWF).

I'll take the word of Bret over that of the most egotistical self absorbed guys in the industry (Hogan).

What about Shawn Michaels? Scott Hall? Ric Flair? Kevin Nash? New Age Outlaws? All guys off the top of my head who have painted Bret as the most egotistical guys and "mark for himself" guys in the history of the business. Which is funny, since at least Hogan has legit reasons to have his ego.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

How about, you know, Summerslam? The second biggest show of the WWF calendar? You may have heard of it. But no, they went and hotshotted Lex Luger into the spot, because, again, they DID NOT BELIEVE IN BRET.

Again, back then you didn't build a superstar like you do today. Yoko had to be made out to be this moster unstoppable heel so when Bret beat him (Mania X) it meant something. So he was feed Luger and Taker to build him up for the real star to take him down. Of course it would have meant more if Hogan would have done the job for Bret but you boy just couldn't do that now could he.

What about Shawn Michaels? Scott Hall? Ric Flair? Kevin Nash? New Age Outlaws? All guys off the top of my head who have painted Bret as the most egotistical guys and "mark for himself" guys in the history of the business. Which is funny, since at least Hogan has legit reasons to have his ego.

Did you see the Bret/Shawn blu-ray? Yes they both had there egos, but all along the way Shawn was conceding on just about every issue that he was at fault. Then they dig into Hogan (together) and let it be known (already common knowledge) just how bad he was behind the scenes.

 

[HBsam31]

I always thought Hogan got a bit of a bum rep for not jobbing. He was protective of his character, and he did job quite a bit towards the end. Only time I thought he should have lost and didn' was against HBK at Summerslam. I also thought he should have lost clean to Sting at Starrcade 97. That match was built for a year and Sting should have won decisively. The Rock has lost plenty as far as I am concerned. I always wonder why Stonecold is never mentioned in these conversations. It seems to me that he jobbed the least out of everyone in these conversations. By the way Stonecold is an all time favorite of mine so i am not a hater. Hogan put people over for the most part when it counted, and I think sometimes he is unfairly criticized for it.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

One thing that I think is lost in this whole debate is that I would never want Hogan to job. By job I mean getting destroyed in a match. But that's not just for Hogan. I don't want any of the top flight superstars to job. They wouldn't be superstars if they did. But where Hogan gets the critisicm is that he rarely puts others over. This is different then jobbing as you don't look bad by putting someone over. In fact it works in the opposite in that you put the other guy over by having them win a hard fought match against you.

It still remains that Hogan should have put Macho over in the late 80's but didn't. He should have done the same to Perfect and maybe even Dibiasi, but didin't. If Sid was in the WWF's long term play back at WM 8 then he should have put him over to. And to top it off in the WWF he should have put Hart over in the end but didn't.

Now in WCW, I really didn't watch the pre NWO days so I can't speak towards that. But they dropped the ball so bad with Sting at Starcade 97 that its not even funny. Could you imagine how big a Sting v Goldberg match at the following Starcade could have been? The problem with Hogan (especially in the WCW days) is that they couldn't let NWO do what it had to do and move on. NWO should have pretty much ended at Starcade 97 and have guys go in different directions. By that time they established dominance over WWF and it was time to go down a new path with your newly established guys (Sting, Goldberg, DDP..... etc). However, NWO ran through 98 and started getting stale. This opened the door for WWF and they busted that door wide open.

What WCW/Hogan should have done was have an epic (or as close as you can get with Hogan) match with Sting at Starcade with Sting getting the clean win. From there you have the debuting Hart get into a program with Hogan/NWO with Hart getting punked out in the beginning with the whole 1 against a gang thing and then have Hart start to build his own group to counteract NWO. This should be the secondary fued but still an important one that ends with Bret beating Hogan and thus disbaning NWO. Now while this is happening, Sting would be in programs with guys like Macho, Luger, DDP and some NWO guys but not Hogan. And Goldberg is doing what he did in 98. This would lead to there match at Starcade where whoever is most over at the time gets the win.

Now from here you still have the same players going into 99, you start giving some of the younger guys a chance and throw in a Hogan face turn after some time off which puts him back in the title picture to go along with Sting, Hart, Luger, Macho, Nash, Goldberg and DDP. I believe this could have saved the company but when you have Hogan at the helm it just wasn't an option.