What if Flair was in WWF & Hogan was in NWA??

[Ruthless-RKO]

Now this quesiton has struck me one to many times now...so I have to ask this question...

We know and the old school fans will know how these 2 affected Pro Wrestling in the 80's....they brought it to life... Well Hogan must have been the bigger star on TV and he just became a LEGEND!! Flair on the other hand was dominating the wrestling in NWA...

What do you think though..if these 2 were the other way around???

I actually think..it couldn't work...for Hogan that is..he wasn't the best wrestler ever was he??
but Flair would have succeeded...he is a great actor and on top of that...a great wrestler as well...but since he was a heel..he couldn't be the face could he?

Well..really I can't explain further...that is why I have posted this thread...I want to hear your views???

 

[mulkeymania]

im thinking if it were reversed then flair would almost unanimously be considered the greatest of all time and hogan would have gotten big but probably more to the stature of a sting or lex luger or dusty rhodes--considered good but not in the mix for greatest wrestler ever.

you have to admit that in the 80's vince mcmahon was a marketing genius as much as it pains me to say so and i think that would put flair far ahead of hogan in fans minds.

 

[CobraVenom]

It wouldn't have worked. Hogan needed things like Rock N' Wrestling. Hogan needed the Hollywood aspect that Vince allowed. Flair wasn't as marketable the way Hogan was. It simply would not have worked for either.

 

[wushady]

I don't think it would of worked from what I've heard and read over the years Vince McMahon spent a lot of time watching talent looking for the perfect showman to use as the face of the company to go mainstream.

Ric Flair had wrestled for the WWWF/WWF in the late 70's and was pretty well known throughout the wrestling business. So there's no doubt Vince knew about him at the time. He didn't see him as the guy who could carry the business into the mainstream.

Flair was without a doubt always a better wrestler, but Hogan was always a better performer. I think it goes both ways Hogan wouldn't have lasted as long in the NWA. The NWA was always more about the wrestling ability than the showmanship. The NWA championship comity always favored natural wrestlers like Flair, Harley Race, The Funks, Jack Brisco, ect. Sting who was more of a showman was red hot and over huge in the late '80's, but wasn't given a title run untill 1990 when Turner took over and they were fazing NWA out.

 

[AttitudeAJM]

From what I've gathered, Hogan was HUGE in AWA before returning to the WWF. I think he would have been just successful as long as they would have put the belt on him. One of the reason's Hogan split was because they wouldn't put him over Nick Bockwinkel. Obviously holding the belt would have given him more merch money.

 

[longlivetheBrood]

At 6'6" and 300lbs. +, I see Hogan becoming a monster heel type, going the way of Meng (or Ming?), Barbarian, etc. or joining Paul Jones' stable and not becoming the headliner that he was in WWE. Maybe we'd never know the Horsemen in any form or maybe with someone else at the head. Magnum TA would've gotten his push earlier with Nikita chasing him for the World Title instead of them fighting over the US belt.

In WWE I see Flair maybe being marketed as an earlier version of the Million Dollar Man (even though Million Dollar Ted and Virgil were pokes at Turner and Rhodes). He'd be an average heel, I think. Savage would've been pushed to the moon and possible been packaged as a fan favorite earlier and chasing Iron Sheik, Bundy, Orndorff or whomever for the World Title. One thing's for sure, Bobby Heenan's career would've been vastly different. He made a living off of putting one big man after another to go up against Hogan.

 

[The Idiot]

It wouldn't have worked. Hogan needed things like Rock N' Wrestling. Hogan needed the Hollywood aspect that Vince allowed. Flair wasn't as marketable the way Hogan was. It simply would not have worked for either.

Just because we see Flair for who he was doesn't mean he couldn't of made a great face with his charismatic persona. I think it would have worked for Flair. Either one of these guys would have a much better shot of making it if they performed on the big stage in front of the world (WWF).

 

[byrnside]

Two words that have already been mentioned: Vince McMahon. The NWA was too spread out and too, dare I say, small minded to allow anyone to become as big as Hulk has. Vince had the vision to turn wrestling into what it is today. Whether you like it or not, Vince is a genius. Sometimes he may not have the best ideas, but if he finds out something isn't working, he scraps it. He's also been smart enough over the years to let other people share their input. Vince is the reason Hulk Hogan was so big. Not to say that Hulk doesn't deserve his share of the credit, because he absolutely does. Hogan has always been [for the most part] very wrestling business saavy.

So I guess you could say, in a sense, they needed eachother. The one thing Flair was missing was his look. Hogan had the look, and he could work the mic almost better than anyone. Except maybe Flair.

But to answer the question, no, I don't think the NWA would've been bigger if the situation was reversed.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

It wouldn't have worked. Hogan needed things like Rock N' Wrestling. Hogan needed the Hollywood aspect that Vince allowed. Flair wasn't as marketable the way Hogan was. It simply would not have worked for either.

This is what I think...Simple really..

Hulk Hogan = Sports Entertainment

Ric Flair = Pro Wrestler...

Agree?

 

[kurt_angle_no1fan]

If Hulk Hogan hadnt of been in WWF when he was I doubt we would even have a product now. WWF would not of survived without Hulk Hogan. Hogan made WWF what it is today. Like them or loathe them McMahon and Hogan are the 2 people who brought Wrestling into the mainstream.