Was Hogan Replaceable?

[twisterwrw929]

So I was reading in the columns lounge one of the debates about whether Hulk Hogan made Vince McMahon or Vince McMahon made Hulk Hogan and one point that was brought up was that Hulk Hogan was replaceable. So I thought this may be a good topic to see what everyone thinks about the situation. Now I'm definitely not a Hulk Hogan fan, but I did not create this thread to bash him, or to get other Hogan haters in here to bash him, I just did it to see if anyone thinks anyone else would have been able to do what Hulk Hogan did. So if you are a Hogan hater, don't just come in here and say that anyone else could have done what he did because he sucks or is overrated, if you think someone else could have done it, say who and why they would have been able to do it.

So what does everyone think, was there another person out there who could have become the biggest name in professional wrestling? Was there someone else who could have made wrestling just as popular or even more popular than Hogan helped make it? And just to make things clear, I'm talking about wrestlers during that time period, don't say that Austin or The Rock or Cena or whoever could have done it back then.

Was Hogan the only person? Could Randy Savage have done it? Ultimate Warrior? Sting if he was ever brought to the WWE? Ric Flair? or someone else?

 

[Monkey_Mania]

I've said it once, and I'll say it again. As big as Hulk Hogan was, he IS replaceable. In fact he has been replaced time and time again. Either by Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, The Rock, Or John Cena. Hogan was just one wheel in the WWE vehicle, once he leaves they make a pit stop change the tire and move on. Everyone in wrestling is replaceable...even Hulk Hogan.

Sting could have been the top guy if Vince brought him on, same with Savage and to a lesser extent Warrior because he didnt care about the business. Sure Hogan took the ball and ran it into the endzone, but anyone could have given the oppertunity, and also if they had the drive to do so.

 

[KillBill]

I'd have to disagree. Hulk Hogan is not replaceable. He singlehandedly carried the company, put it on the map. He and Andre fought in front of 90,000 people, which is unthinkable today. Think about where wwe was when he came, and then when he left. Bret Hart? He was great, but not the charisma, or the look of a Hogan, I think his size hurt him. Warrior? They tried that, and look what happened, he wasn't great. Savage? I don't think so. Stone Cold and the Rock were there, but only for a few years. Austins best was only for 4 or 5 years, Rock was a little longer. But the time was different. Hogan couldn't be touched in popularity, maybe warrior, but that was for a short time. Savage as well. The Rock and Austin had the 2 of them to help carry the company. Could you imagine either one of those guys against Andre? The impact would not even be close. People have to stop this, just like with, "whos gonna be the next Jordan? There is no one. These men did so many things for both of their sports that made these sports what they are today. Every generation has someone who defies everything. There will not be another Hogan, Austin, Rock, or Jordan. And think of it like this? If Hogan is so replaceable, why are people now still hoping for a Hogan/Austin match? You dont see Austin vs warrior? savage? Sting? Exactly. Like him or not Hulk Hogan is irreplaceable.

 

[Davi323]

During the 1980s, Hulk Hogan was irreplaceable. I firmly believe that without Hulk Hogan as the face of the company, the WWF stays a regional territory, and we don't get the national wrestling scene we get now. Vince McMahon needed Hulk Hogan to accomplish his goals. But, Hulk Hogan needed Vince McMahon, too. Their relationship during the 1980s was about as mutually beneficial as you can get. Hogan made Vince's dream of going national possible, and made him and the WWF a crap ton of cash. But, Vince is the one that gave Hogan the opportunity to be the legend that he became. Hogan in the AWA, WCCW, USWA or NWA doesn't become the "Immortal".

Monkey_Mania, Hogan became replaceable, as he aged, after the WWF became huge. The names you mention, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold, The Rock, and John Cena, didn't become huge names until the mid 90s or later. When Hogan ruled the WWF, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were undercard tag team wrestlers, just getting their start, Stone Cold didn't have his first wrestling match until 1989, the Rock was still in High school, and John Cena was in Elementary school and Jr. High. During the mid 90s, yeah, Hogan might have been replaceable. During the 1980s, absolutely not.

 

[DEATH MEAT]

HULK HOGAN = 6'7" , 300 lb , good looking , body builder , exceptional speaker and superb actor.
One can learn the wrestling moves which HOGAN performed in just a week. I am not a HOGAN fan at all. And I seriously believe that any person with the above mentioned qualities could have done the same for WWE , for example a struggling actor.
HOGAN recieved a lot of attention due to his role in Rocky III and WWE capitalised on his new found fame to build him as the most dominant person on earth.Also I believe that the name HULK HOGAN was also very creative and marketable due to the green monster the real HULK.

 

[foundation611]

I'm sorry but you have to be nuts to think that if you put someone else in there they'd have done the job. Warrior couldn't do it. No one could do it. Hogan was one of a kind. He had the personality and charisma that no one else did. He had the passion and the drive. Without Vince Hogan isn't as big as he is and without Hogan Vince isn't as big as he is. Plain and simple. Hogan bodyslamming Andre and defeating him at Mania 3 is still one of the biggest moments ever in wrestling history. Andre put him over because he was very fond of Hogan and believed in him and did what was right for business. Does he let someone else end his undefeated streak? Probably not. Right place right time and right person for Hogan. It all worked. He's the biggest name in the history of the sport and always will be. Bar none. No one else could've done what he did. He got replaceable as he got older obviously because he broke down physically but that's natural. At his peak Hogan was irreplaceable. Point blank.

 

[reddevil69]

there is not one wrestler that is "irreplaceable"...every one can be replaced.
wrestling has been around since before the beginning of television and it's not going anywhere. Certain guys draw more money and garner larger ratings, but the fact is no one person is going to cause the entire WWE to crumble. Hogan was enormously popular in the 80's and was definitley a major reason whay the WWF was able to expand so quickly, but while he was gone for a year, Randy Savage drew very good house show numbers and every wrestler that worked there during that time that has been asked the question has said that the money was still good while Savage was on top.

The company was so big by then that they were only going to fall below a certain number and just coast from then on, which is what happened with Warrior...he was drawing huge and as quickly as he came up, the fans lost interest in him and he came down just as quick, but only to a point. Warrior was and still is someone who gets people talking. He and Savage main evented SS 1992 in front of 80,000 fans and Hogan was not on the card.

Bulldog and Bret may have gone last, but the match that sold the ppv in North America was Savage/Warrior. Having said this, i do agree that no one was capable of drawing what Hogan did in the 80's and if by replacing him you mean someone stepping in and selling the same amount of tickets and merch as him, then i would say that no one could have done it at that level at the time, but the company would not have folded without him.

And Vince did not create Hulkamania...it was around when Hogan was in the AWA wrestling Bockwinkel...Hogan had shirts that said Hulkamania on them in 1982, a full year before joining the WWF.

 

[Pickle]

Hogan was one of a kind. He had the personality and charisma that no one else did. He had the passion and the drive. Without Vince Hogan isn't as big as he is and without Hogan Vince isn't as big as he is. Plain and simple. Hogan bodyslamming Andre and defeating him at Mania 3 is still one of the biggest moments ever in wrestling history. Andre put him over because he was very fond of Hogan and believed in him and did what was right for business. Does he let someone else end his undefeated streak? Probably not. Right place right time and right person for Hogan.

Okay, Hogan had charisma but that's where it ends.

Hogan's personality was written for him. He was told to be a Real American, told what to say, told how to act and told which heels to beat up. Anybody could have done the exact same stuff. If it wasn't Hogan, Vince has confirmed he would have put Jimmy Snuka in the exact same role.

The only passion and drive Hogan had was for making himself look better. His name became synonymous with wrestling because he refused to lose and build up new stars. Even when he was leaving the WWE for WCW's bigger paychecks, he still refused to lose to the Fed's up and coming star, Bret Hart.

And please don't ever sully the name of Andre The Giant again. He loved the business and nothing more. He lost to Hogan because it was best for the business. Just as he toured the world in 89, regularily losing to the Ultimate Warrior in 2 minute squashes because again, it was best for business. Lastly, he continued to wrestle until 1990 despite major health issues because it was best for business. Hogan would never have done anything like this, so I doubt Andre really respected him that much.

 

[Haner388994]

I think that HULK HOGAN was irreplaceable in his prime. Their was and is no one with as much of a fan base that HOGAN had in his wrestling days. Still to this day, if HOGAN were to come back for one more match, he would have the biggest pop of the year, easily. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the reason that the PPV that he returned for didn't sell out.

As far as it goes with the "did Vince make Hogan, or did Hogan make Vince" question, I would have to say that without Hogan, Vince wouldn't be were he is today, but without Vince, Hogan wouldn't be were he is today. Hogan wouldn't be were he is because Vince gave him the original push because HOGAN had the name and the look of a "superhero".

 

[CM Kev]

I dont think that Hulk Hogan was replacable as such in the 1980s. He was the face of proffesional wrestling and all the kids idolised him. I dont think people would have warmed to someone else so quickly if Hogan was taken out.

What I will say though is that if someone rather than Hogan was given such a mega push in the early part of the decade then maybe they could have been just as successfull.

 

[midgensa]

I-R-R-E-P-L-A-C-A-B-L-E Absolutely no question about it.
Hogan was perfect for McMahon's vision ... blond, built, charismatic and strong. No other wrestler at the time (or maybe ever) could have fit that mold at that time better. Call it fate if you must.
Sting was great, but need Flair to get over and become a superstar. Warrior ... well he just got boring after a bit. Flair? To much fun as a heel to ever take over the wrestling landscape as a pure face for a long period of time.
Hogan was the man and McMahon knew it. Savage made a legitimate run ... and was an amazing performer, but never quite what Hogan was ... nor could he have been.
He was the perfect fit ... and was simply perfect for the job. And even though he developed into a huge douchebag later in life ... wrestling is what it is today because he was there at the right time and with the right promoter.

 

[BrooklynBuc]

People would love to say Hulk Hogan is replaceable, that anybody could have done it, but here's the thing: HAS anybody done it? Look at the mega babyfaces created by the WWF\WWE: Bret Hart, Lex Luger, Diesel, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Batista, all guys who have been in the top babyface role and gotten somewhat over, but have they been Hulk Hogan over? Think about this: if you ask who Hulk Hogan is to 100 people in the street, they would know exactly who you were talking about. They would know what he looks like, what he was, and where he is now. How many of the others would be as mainstream and well-known? How many are as mainstream and as well-known? The Rock comes the closest only because he does mainstream movies, and Austin comes close based on popularity. Hogan, however, had the rare mix of charisma, strength and popularity to be appealing to both the mainstream and the wrestling fans. You can't say that anyone else could have done it because no one has done it. When someone else becomes as much a household name as Hogan is, then we can truly say Hogan is replaceable. Until then, the man is an icon for a reason.

And by the way, I'm an Undertaker fan, and I got into wrestling by watching him Tombstone Hogan into a steel chair at Survivor Series 1991.

 

[MachoManiac]

That's kind of like asking if the Yankees would have become the greatest team in baseball history if Babe Ruth had been sold to the Tigers instead. Hulk Hogan started Hulkamania when he was in AWA. He was so over in that promotion back then that it crippled AWA when he left. In my opinion, I don't think anyone else could have done it like Hogan did it. McMahon asked Hogan to come to WWF and be champion, Hogan didn't beg Vince to hire him.

 

[TheOzzman45]

And by the way, I'm an Undertaker fan, and I got into wrestling by watching him Tombstone Hogan into a steel chair at Survivor Series 1991.

Wellll then, you should understand that Undertaker is a household name. I guarantee that 100 people know his name. And Rock isn't that over because he left well before Hogan hung up the boots, because quite frankley, he is a greedy sumbitch that does not care about those fans who loved him. But that is a different topic entirely, so back to the point.

Although i do believe that there are people that could have gotten as over in the future, there is NO WAY at that time anyone could've replaced Hogan. See he was over so much because he appealed to all types of fans. Kids loved him because he was "fun," their parents loved him because he was a "real american patriot," women loved his physique, and people like us loved to hate him because he was the John Cena of his time. Like it or not, no one else could have done that. Sting's mysteriousness would have made people skeptical of him (and Stings character made him, btw), Flair was a heel for years, so turning him would left doubters. Honestly, I don't know a lot about Savage or Warrior, but i truly don't think that anyone else could have done what he did. Everyone, and i mean everyone, paid to see Hogan for one reason or another.

 

[Milkyway!]

I have to agree with what monkey_mania said, Hogan was just the person to drive the ball in the endzone w/ him wwf went national but given the chance so could any 300 pound bodybuilder, heck, we chould have seen the govenator as hulk hogan given the chance, what made hulk so great was his gimmik, it brought in the children, the adults, and the women (his body) if the gimmik was given to HHH 20 years ago, could he not have been todays Hulk Hogan??

 

[Monkey_Mania]

Wellll then, you should understand that Undertaker is a household name. I guarantee that 100 people know his name.

Undertaker may be a legend in this business, but he is NOT a household name like Hogan was.

And Rock isn't that over because he left well before Hogan hung up the boots, because quite frankley, he is a greedy sumbitch that does not care about those fans who loved him.

Rock is not over??? Where have you been the last ten years. The Rock was one of the hottest things going, he made the transition into movies and made himself into a megastar. Let me ask you. If you were guaranteed more money for doing something that would not damage your body s much as wrestling would you not do it yourself? It is wrong that he doesnt make the occasional appearance, but seriously. People need to give him a break.

But that is a different topic entirely, so back to the point.

Thank GOD!

Although i do believe that there are people that could have gotten as over in the future, there is NO WAY at that time anyone could've replaced Hogan.

In the 80's anyone could've replaced him. Just as they could today, and tomorrow. He just got the call from Vince, then Vince made him into a cultural phenomenon. He was pretty much in the right place, at the right time.

See he was over so much because he appealed to all types of fans. Kids loved him because he was "fun," their parents loved him because he was a "real american patriot," women loved his physique,

Not going to disagree here. Hulk was way over. He made watching wrestling fun and cool. The parents loved him because he was a good role model. Anyone could have filled that role.

and people like us loved to hate him because he was the John Cena of his time.

Really, and I am not backtracking here but in the 80's anywhere you went you heard 100% cheers from all fans. In todays world us fans are very picky. Back then they like the Superhero image that Hogan provided. Just like they did with The Ultimate Warrior, Sting, and others. They also booed the bad guys, but SHHH don't tell any of todays fans that because they would have a conniption fit.

Sting's mysteriousness would have made people skeptical of him (and Stings character made him, btw)

Stings mysterious character didnt show up until 1996. Before that he was the WCW equivelant of Hulk Hogan. Super mega face, blond hair, great physique, Charisma up the WAZOO. You tell me right now that if Vince was behind Sting that he could not have replaced him. If you say that he couldnt you are crazy.

Flair was a heel for years, so turning him would left doubters.

Flair back in those days was too cool to be a face. They hated him because he was so cocky, and arrogant. Now a days though they cheer this kind of stuff. As much as I like Flair, he could NEVER have pulled it off. But others could have.

Honestly, I don't know a lot about Savage or Warrior, but i truly don't think that anyone else could have done what he did. Everyone, and i mean everyone, paid to see Hogan for one reason or another.

Savage and Warrior were right on par with Hogan. Two big factors though. Savage could wrestle better, but had just as much if not more charisma. Warrior, had alot of charisma, but he was a dumbass.

People paid to see Hogan I understand this. He was just the right guy at the right time. If Sting wasn't cutting his teeth at the time, he could've been just as big or bigger. Same with Savage, although he was a little on the short side.

Bottom Line. Hogan is an ICON, but he couldve been replaced at any time. Hell if he was never there we wouldnt even be having this arguement. We would be dicussing this about someone else.

 

[BrooklynBuc]

I still don't quite agree that Hogan was completely replaceable by ANYONE, although you have opened my eyes to the only person that MAYBE could have replaced Hogan: Sting. Sting was the WCW version of Hogan, and was THE top face of WCW for nearly 7 years until Hogan came in. He was the same type: blonde, incredibly strong, charismatic, a role model, and a hero able to overcome the odds. They both were even hailed from Venice Beach, California! The only problem was that WCW was a joke, and while Hogan was taking on guys like Earthquake, Zeus, Sgt. Slaughter and The Undertaker with little to no help, Sting was fighting heels like The Four Horseman, probably the greatest heel stable in history, with the help of Robocop and The Shockmaster. Things like that made WCW unbelievable and juvenile compared to Hogan overcoming the odds on his own. If the roles were switched, Sting might have been as over as Hogan, although he and Savage were roughly the same size. Still, I'm curious whether there would have been a issue with Sting vs. Sting of the Police. I think McMahon would have changed Sting's name so to avoid confusion with the public. WCW didn't care; they probably LIKED the fact people could confuse them!

And on the note of Savage and the Ultimate Warrior, here's the thing: they were given the chance to overtake Hogan. They both got the WWF title at Wrestlemania, they both were mega-faces with alliances with Hogan, both had their times to shine over him, and both faced a lot of the same villians. Why wasn't The Ultimate Warrior's feuds with Andre the Giant and The Undertaker Wrestlemania events? Or even PPV events for that matter? Why was Savage an afterthought unless he faced Hogan? Wouldn't his aerial attack be better suited for the 400 lbs. guys? See, each of them had their shortcomings. Randy Savage had a temper in real life, so you don't to take the chance that your top guy loses his temper and belts his wife, and despite being the spokesman for Slim Jim, could you see Savage as the star of a movie? Would your ears be able to take it? Or how about the Ultimate Warrior, who was always a wack-job? Was he really a role model for kids? They even tried to make him the new man on top, and he couldn't handle the pressure. Hogan not only handled the pressure, he RAN with it. You can't just say Hogan was replaceable because not everyone could handle the prestige of being the top guy. Look how many guys got drug addictions from being on the road and in pain so long, and a lot of them were mid-card guys who no one cared about. Imagine all the travelling plus being on talk shows, autographs, movie shoots, interviews, hospital visits, and then wrestling 400 lbs. guys that could possibly be coked up.

As a sidebar, I can honestly say that The Undertaker is NOT a household name. He's ultra-popular, and maybe 75-80 people might have heard of him since he and the gimmick have been around so long, but the mainstream public could care less who The Undertaker or MarK Calloway are. The Undertaker is frickin' AWESOME because he has transcended time, but it doesn't mean he's the household name Hulk Hogan was. As cool as Taker is both in real life and in wrestling, I don't think anyone wants their kid to be the Lord of Darkness or a tattooed biker, unless they're already in Hell's Angels.

 

[The Dungeon]

See, this is a hard one! I've never really thought the WWF would've gone as far as it did in the 80's without Hulk!

However, we should recall the time where Macho Man was champion, and Hogan was off filiming "No Holds Barred", the company did quite well still! Granted there were no PPV's in the between time of WM4 and the first Summerslam, but the houses were strong, still drawing sellouts or close to it!

A bigger debate would actually be...."If not Hogan...then who?" I'm sure that's been talked about on here! But I'd like to hear more of that sort of discussion!

 

[gavin1985]

Na, he wasnt replaceable. He brought the fan base in with his gimmick/look. It got the federation noticed on a worldwide level. I'm not the biggest hogan fan, i got into wrestling about 1990, he was still the face of wrestling etc, everyone knew him. But the Warrior etc where my favourites.

he had the look, size and charisma to carry the wwf for a decade easily. The rest of the main eventers couldnt have. I'm dying to say warrior could have but his attitude and all killed him more so than the loss of interest in the character. After Warrior who was there? Hogan again briefly, then maybe luger and yoko carrying the main event till Bret was ready.

Austin and Rock combined almost replaced him, would be an alrite conclusion to this post. attitude era and all - almost as popular as the best hogan days. cena though - dont mention him in the same breath as these guys.

 

[Davi323]

I think we are confusing "replacing" with "picking up the mantle". Austin and Rock combined could never replace Hogan, just like Big Show can't replace Andre the Giant. What they can do, however, is pick up where Hogan left off. Wrestlemania X8 proves that no matter how much of a fan favorite Rock was, no matter how much charisma he had, once Hogan stepped through the curtain, it was all over. Rock won the match, but, anyone who is familiar with Hogan/Rock at that Wrestlemania can tell you that it was Hogan's night. He hadn't been in the WWE spotlight for years, and the second he appeared at Wrestlemania, he completely had the crowd in the palm of his hands. Hulk Hogan is irreplaceable, and Wrestlemania X8 proved it. He was old, past his prime, wasn't the face of the Attitude era, and, on top of that, was ostensibly playing the villain. But dammit, if the crowd and those watching at home didn't get transported back to 1987! THAT is staying power. Steve Austin gets pops when he comes out, the Rock gets pops when he appears via satellite, etc, but...They could never get the reaction Hogan got at Wrestlemania X8 if they were to make a comeback. Hulk Hogan is special. He is in a completely different league when it comes to wrestling personalities. Like Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan will always and forever be remembered. Wrestlers come and go, but Hogan is immortal, he is to wrestling what Babe Ruth is to baseball.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

Ouch. I was so hoping this thread was asking if he's replacable, now. I would've and am saying yes in a heartbeat. But the thread is actually asking if he was replacable, then. Unfortunately, I have to say no, he wasn't.

Hulk Hogan is an icon, a legend and every other singular term you can think of to immortalize the individual that is, Terry. Back in the 80's no one else could've done what Hulk Hogan did. The proof in that, is those who tried and failed. Randy Savage, (WM 4) failed. Ultimate Warrior, (WM 6) failed. Don't even attempt saying Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, or Sting.. they weren't even on the same level.

I can't stand Hogan. I dispise the guy and could never find the ability to sit and fully watch him enough to care for watching him. But he did what noone else could. Sure, the character he played could've easily been handed to Randy Savage.. maybe Savage is even better wrestling skill wise in the ring, but the one thing that made Hulkamania, the one thing that made that entire character.. was Terry. His charisma back then, his ability to do what he did.. noone else had that ability, especially not Savage, especially not the Warrior.. otherwise they would've went over Hogan when they each received their pushes.

Now, if you wanna ask if he's replacable in general.. fuck yes. He's just one guy. He's been out of the business for quite some time (barring one time returns here and there) and obviously the company has continued on without him. Their doors didn't shut, their business hasn't flopped.. so Hulk Hogan did indeed help put Wrestling on the map and make it successful when he was.. but he isn't SO BIG that the industry failed without him. So..

Hulk Hogan.. replacable for the time that was & what he's done for the business? No.

Hulk Hogan.. replacable in general for the spot he was in. Yes.

 

[image1986]

Yes hogan could have been replaced gimmick wise because it was the brain child of vince mcmahon. Granted hogan had the talent and charisma that very wrestlers had at that time but I wouldn't know 4 sure if hogans spot couldnt have been given to another beef up wrestler from another territory. Savage was great and very popular in this time but hogan was marketed as the ultimate face while savage jumped back and forth between face and heel. Warrior was given the spot and could have done it but his inabilty to improve wrestling wise and his ego put a stop to that.the reason why hogan was so popular cuz wrestling back then was simplier and hogan represented the working class patriot who you had to get behind.vince has tried many times to repricate hogan including with pushing luger. Slamming andre is not the same as slamming yokozuna so in conclusion I believe he could have been replaced but how well he was marketed and how he drew made it impossible for anyone else to be as success

 

[Skullz Crack'Em]

Yes, I do believe that Hogan was replacable, Vince started the HulkaMania craze, and there are a few potential candidates that could've handled the role as good(or better) than Hogan.

"Superstar" Billy Graham was similar to Hogan in many ways when it comes to charisma and physique, so I definitely could see him handling the Hulk Hogan character fairly well and becoming popular all around the world, but I doubt he would've done as great of job that Hogan did. Then there is the "Macho Man" Randy Savage, here is a man that wouldn't have needed Hogan's character to be just as popular, Savage had his own great character that is one of the few that can match up to Hogan's. The only thing keeping Savage second fiddle to Hogan was how he was booked, Hogan got the bigger, more eventful victories, that helped carve HulkaMania into what it is today and forever will be. If Randy Savage was booked to win the matches that Hogan won, than I truly believe it is possible that we could of had MachoMania today instead of HulkaMania.

 

[Big Fella]

Hogan was not replaceable.

The only one that was even close is likely Macho Man, and I can't begin to speculate how much of that is because of the rub Hulk gave him. But Savage was a great worker and great on the mic and was always extremely entertaining in his own right.

Sting, not even close.

Any of the other names, not even close.

Hogan was a top draw in the 80's and was still a top draw in the midst of the attitude era in the 90s. As great as Austin and Rock were, neither could successfully portray the wholesomeness of the Hogan character in the 1980s.

The Hogan creating Vince/Vince creating Hogan debate is silly regardless. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.

Hogan was already the AWA's top draw and had already starred in Rocky. He was going to be atop the wrestling business regardless of Vince McMahan or not. But without Vince he would not have been nearly as big.

I also fully believe that Vince would have taken over the wrestling business with or without Hogan. Again though, he would have taken over wrestling but likely would not have had the Rockin Wrestling and MTV connections because it was largely because of Hulk Hogan's cross-over appeal.

 

[Pickle]

Vince made Hogan. Vince could have picked any big guy with charisma, strapped him with the Real American gimmick and put him in the feuds with Sheik, Piper, Bundy, Orndorff and Andre and it would have sold just as well. And chances are, the business would have gotten even bigger if someone else was given the push, maybe a better wrestler that could have put on more exciting matches or somebody with less of an ego who would have put over Randy Savage, Mr Perfect and Bret Hart when it came time.

However, as soon as Vince had Hogan destroy the Sheik and start calling himself a Real American, there was really only Randy Savage who could have taken over Hulks megaface role. He was exciting, had charsima, and had the fan support. The only thing that stopped him from cementing his place as the new megaface was Hogan's politicking.