What If Hulk Hogan Didnt Exist?

[Kashagi]

As far as ive seen, this hasnt been asked.

Hulk Hogan without a doubt is the biggest most important and probably most popular wrestler in history. Hulkamania ran wild in the 80's and not only did it create so many timeless moments in wrestling history, but it started the first professional wrestling boom. In no time, the newly named WWF destroyed the competition and did the unheard of, interfering in rival territories. Wrestling changed forever.

Of course, everyone knows this... Or if they dont, they shouldnt be here. My question is simple, purely harmless reflective fun for the family.

What would have happened if Hulk Hogan didnt exist?

Would there have been a wrestilng boom? Would the WWF be the multi billion dollar company it is now? Would territories still exist?

What might wrestling have been like in that alternate reality... In the year 2009?

Should be fun.

(I know I should have presented my own opinion, but its still formulating... it will come )

 

[dansaun77]

Its hard to say. Vince still had the vision etc, the question is would he have had the guy to carry the ball. Andre The Giant certainly wasnt the go-to man. Perhaps Vince would have made a bigger play for Ric Flair in 1984 if there was no Hulk Hogan. Bob backlund was stale by the time he lost the title, he lost his shape and was looking old and unfit then even in 1983. Hogan was certainly in the right place at the right time, but if there was no Hogan, look at the domino effect;

No Brutus Beefcake; The Barber was one of the most over guys in the late 80's
No Honkytonk Man: Butch Reed goes on to become Intercontinental Champion, No DOOM in WCW then

nWo; It still would have gone ahead, hell the night of the infamous Hogna turn, Sting still thought 30 minutes til the match commenced that he was the 3rd guy. Doubtful it would have been the huge gimmick it was without Hogan. Theres no way wrestling would be better if he had not been around, but you can say that about alot of others. Hell if you got Vince Mcmahon out of the way, imagine how WWE would flourish now

 

[Tenta]

What if Hulk Hogan didn't exist?

Vince McMahon would have gone with Tony Atlas. Simple as that.

I mean, Tony was supposed to be the original Hulk Hogan. upon his release, Vince told Tony that he wished he'd look at Television, see Hulk Hogan, and realize that could have been him. Tony had the look, the wrestling ability, and he was everything Vince could have dreamed about for a wrestler at that point. Strong as an ox, and perhaps even stronger than Tony. Now, did he have as much charisma as The Hulkster? In his own special way, I guess. I admit that the WWE wouldn't have been nearly as glamorous with Atlamania running wild. Having said that, as great as Hulk was, I credit much of WWE's rise to Vince, the emergence of Cable Television, and Vince's ability to market across the country with his New York ties. This isn't to take away what The Hulkster did, but someone was already put in place long before The Hulkster. And that man was Tony Atlas.

Yes, there'd be a Wrestlezone, there'd be professional wrestling, and while it may not appear as glitzy as it currently does, Vince would have still led some type of Rock N' Wrestling movement. He'd just have Tony Atlas at the helm, instead.

 

[Barbedwire Ropes]

Man, I think its fair to say that 99.9% of the WWE's current roster might not have even thought of taking up Professional Wrestling, seeing as Hogan was such a huge inspiration to so many of today's top guys.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

What would we have done if Hulkamania never ran wild on us? I don't even like thinking of it.

No Hulk Hogan? Damn. There'd be no WWF boom in the 1980s. The mainstream push of that era would be nonexistant. For any of you who think someone could have filled Hogan's charismatic shoes easily, you are sadly mistaken. What Hogan did with Rocky III and his subsequent adventures into mainstream America was make people take notice of professional wrestling. Without Hulk Hogan, WWF would still be on Saturday Afternoon. As someone else said. 99% of the roster is gone. WCW would have still been that regional wrestling show on TBS Superstation. There would be no WrestleMania. Instead, Starrcade would likely be the biggest event in wrestling. McMahon would try to make wrestling bigger, but without that colossal force that was Hulkamania, he WOULD have failed miserably.

The Austin era would never have happened without Hulk Hogan. Hulk made wrestling cool. Wrestling would have never been able to facilitate the rise of a foul-mouthed wrestler since it would probably still be stuck on syndication and Saturday mornings.

Would ECW still have existed? What would be the point? The audience wouldn't be there to begin with. Would the hardcore ECW fans that wanted the violence have had the enemy to rage against in WCW and WWF for them to turn to the Dr. Frankenstein of Extreme's version of pro wrestling?

The funny thing is when Hogan said as Hollywood that half the people in the locker room were there because of him, he was right. To quote Hollywood Hogan, "I'm the biggest star, past or present, in the wrestling world today. And there'll never be a bigger star than Hollywood Hulk Hogan!" You know what the sad thing is: He's right. Without Hogan, the wrestlers, the fans, and us hardcore writers on discussion boards at 1AM in the morning would NOT be here...... brother.

Plus, we wouldn't have Brooke Hogan to gawk at. And that'd be a crying shame.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Somone else would have stepped up. Not saying Hogan is that easy to replace but since there would be no Hogan there wouldn't be anyone to compare to. Wrestling would still be here but it would probably look different.

 

[Toroc102]

I dunno man it's hard to think about since so many things COULD have happened, but for one I have to say if the backup plan definately was Tony Atlas(and I'm not trying to be an asshole in any way when I say this(for all the assholes that like to jump to conclusions)), the WWF would not have taken off the way it did. Hogan at the time was a very rare species of wrestler(the type of wrestler that Vince still goes for these days), he was huge, he was built, he had the biggest arms in the world, he had/has a great voice, more natural charisma in him than anyone that was built like him in those days, and I think the biggest part of it might have been that Hogan had already made a very large name for himself in Rocky 3.

I don't think someone like Hogan had been seen before he actually came along, so while wrestling would still be around for sure, I wonder if Vince McMahon would've been in control. He definately still had the vision but I think he needed Hogan to make that vision work. Sure your Warriors and Savage's came along later, but at the time I think the stars aligned perfectly for Vince heading into the first Wrestlemania.

 

[XgringolocoX]

IMO not too much in the grand scheme of things would be different. As stated before Vince had his vision, and the drive to keep going no matter what. It's not like Hogan was the only larger than life on the market.
Also think about Hogan's rep for keeping people down? Who wouldv'e gotten a shot had Hogan not been there? Would that in turn have created BIGGER stars or more of them.
I'll stop here cause there are so many facets of the business to be explored with this question.
Great topic

 

[Freddy4190]

That's a big ass "What If.." I don't think wrestling would have the mainstream popularity they do now. I don't think we'd have all this celebrity interest or anything else in the mainstream. Hogan MADE wrestling whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Hogan was wrestling, period. I'm not a huge Hogan fan myself, I respect what the man's done for the business and how big of an impact he made on this sport, but I just don't think he's the same GOD he used to be. I don't really like the fact he's above Dixie in TNA, but it's too far to tell really. I didn't mean to turn this into a TNA type response. Anyways, back on topic. I think.. hell.. I honestly have no clue who would have taken Hogan's place. Maybe Warrior? Ugh, shudder at that thought. But regardless, wrestling wouldn't be as popular as it is today without Hogan. There were millions of Hulkamaniacs, still are.

 

[Kashagi]

The thing is, Hogan was only half of the reason, Vince had the vision, and already there has been mention of backups, Tony Atlas etc.

Im curious if anyone could have made that impact Hogan did, I just cant see it in Atlas, perhaps (and probably) its because I am biased, but I just see the great colourful recognisable character that Hogan was... I cant see it for Atlas, I just cant. That said, we never saw his chance so who knows?

Someone else said there still would be an nWo...... Would there have been a WCW? Would Turner have put so much money into wrestling? Perhaps their indeed could have been a wrestling boom, but perhaps it wouldnt have been Hogan vs Sheik.... Maybe it could have been a few years down the track, or maybe even in the 90's.

Its this question that makes me realise everytime just how important Hogan is, its absolutely insane that one man can mean so much to wrestling. Heres another theory, do you think its possible there may have never been the wrestling boom? Maybe even still consist of territories to this day? Big call, but what do you all think.

 

[The Gribbler]

Do I think it would have effected the mainstream exposure of wrestling? Yes of course it would have...

Do I think it would have stopped the WWE becoming the juggernaught that it is today? HELL NO.

Hulk Hogan is just one man, in the world of wrestling there is no bigger name, but seriously, Vince McMahon, once upon a time, was without doubt the greatest genius to ever step into the realm of professional wrestling and I have full faith that he would have put his advertising genius behind someone else and they would have taken off.

Do I think that someone would have been Hulk Hogan?

No but I think whomever that person was, would have been good enough.

Just My Opinion

 

[waylonmercy]

It could have gone many ways... the extremes would have been:

WWE goes out of business after unsuccessful PPV's.

WWE becomes bigger than the NFL in the USA and garners the highest rating in television history.

Hulk Hogan was HUGE in the AWA and if Verne Gagne had gone the way of Vince he could have become a billionaire himself. He had some of the best talent in the 70's and early 80's and Hulk being huge would have been the cornerstone of all this. Without Hulk Hogan there was a lot of talent who could have had his spot. Paul Orndorff had the look of a champion and Snuka was very popular back then. Maybe if each wrestler got a push up the card based on there not being a Hogan one could have stepped up and became as big as Hogan... no one knows.

 

[pessimism101]

Without Hulk Hogan, nothing much would have changed. Vince still would have bought out the territories; WCW and WWF would still have gone to war; the Attitude Era still would have happened (Vince himself said that his product changed with the times); WrestleMania still would have happened (though, probably not as big). The only difference is that someone else would have taken the place of Hogan.

Plus, The Rock might still be around considering he would never have been booed out of the building at WrestleMania X8...

 

[Hulkamaniac]

Without Hulk Hogan, wrestling would look completely different. People who argue you could just plug someone else in are completely ignorant. Could you have just plugged someone into Ric Flair's place in the NWA in the 70's and 80's? Hell no. Wrestling is now, and has always been, about the right person at the right time with the right idea. There is nobody that could do what Hogan did. People ahve tried. People tried to replace Hogan, and nobody could.

By the same token, Verne Gagne wouldn't have been able to do what Vinny Mac did either. Gagne was old school, and Vince was a revolutionary thinker. Hogan couldn't have done it without Vince, and Vince couldn't have done it without Hogan.

Wrestling would still be around, but it wouldn't be as big as it is. There would be no Attitude Era. Wrestling would be much smaller.

 

[mont3818]

Taking Hogan out of wrestling is like taking Oxygen out of H2O. Then what do you have? Just a bunch of Hydrogen... The Hydrogen would have paired up with something else to make different compounds, but then we wouldn't have any water to drink. Get it?

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

I think that if Hulk Hogan had never existed, many aspects of pro wrestling would be different than how wrestling turned out with Hulk Hogan around. What would be different? Probably the career paths of many of the wrestlers to emerge in the last 30 years, as the careers of the majority of wrestlers in the WWF, WCW, and ECW over the last 25 years have in one way or another been affected by Hulk Hogan. Some of the wrestlers that ended up becoming the biggest stars in history may not have become such without Hogan. Then again, some wrestlers that ended up not being pushed or that never became big stars might have ended up becoming some of the biggest stars without Hogan around. The possibilities are endless when trying to guess at what might've happened with some of the wrestlers of the '80s. Could Randy Savage have become the biggest star in the history of the sport without Hogan around? Could Ted Dibiase and Rick Rude have become as iconic heels as say Ric Flair, had Hogan not been around to hold the title the majority of the time which prevented them from getting a big reign with the world title? Would Brutus Beefcake ever even had a career in wrestling without Hulk Hogan? Could the Ultimate Warrior not have become a star at all if someone of a similar physique ala Hogan hadn't been around to set that standard? Would Yokozuna have ever held the title had Hogan not pushed for him to replace him when he left the WWE in 1993? Could Sting have ended up becoming one of the biggest heels in the business by being the 3rd man in the NWO in 1996 (instead of Hogan), rather than being basically a career-long babyface? Would Steve Austin have ever come to the WWE and make the company huge again, if Hogan hadn't been around in WCW, which in many ways led to Austin's departure (due to Bischoff wanting guys like Hogan in the company and wanting to part with guys like Austin)? Could Bret Hart have become the top babyface of the '90s had Hogan not been around to derail his push in 1993? The possibilities and effects on many of the wrestlers over the last 30 years due to Hogan not being around are endless.

So yeah, I think a lot of wrestling history over the last 30 years, in regards to the career paths of it's athletes and stars would be different.

But as for the general position of pro wrestling in pop culture and as a business, would the state of professional wrestling be different today? I really don't think so.

I'm not trying to take away from how unique and how much of a "one of a kind" talent Hulk Hogan was. There couldn't be anyone like Hulk Hogan to take his place, and he is the biggest star of all-time. BUT, he is not the only big star in pro wrestling history.

As everyone has stated, Vince McMahon is who had the vision to take the WWF out of the New York territory and make it, at first, a national company, and ultimately, a global company. And I do believe that Vince would have gotten someone else to get the WWF over with American pop culture to make wrestling "mainstream." Would it have simply happened the same way with someone else filling in "Hogan's role?" Probably not. The WWF might not have been able to use MTV for example and promote their shows through MTV. Then again they could've as it was really more Lou Albano and Roddy Piper that got the WWF connected with Cyndi Lauper and MTV and the music industry rather than Hulk Hogan. But the WWF might've used a different outlet and some different theme than the "Rock N' Wrestling."

Vince would've had to utilize a different star with a different type of charisma/style and ultimately perhaps a different theme to make the WWF popular, but he would've found something that worked. Because while Hogan was the biggest star of that time (and of all-time arguably), again, he was not the only big star of that time.

Bob Backlund was obviously on his way out, but let's not forget how popular and over Jimmy Snuka was. If had hadn't had his legal problems there circa 1984 ish, Snuka could've been the guy. Someone mentioned Tony Atlas as the guy pegged to be the original "Hulk Hogan." I'm not sure that would've worked as he was kind of bland. But it could've I guess. But the big one that people are forgetting is Sgt. Slaughter. Sgt. Slaughter was hugely over in 1983/1984. And, Sgt. Slaughter ended up being a pretty big pop culture icon in his own right as he crossed over with GI Joe, and his image became one of the most well known in the mid '80s. And he did all of that while he wasn't with the WWF. He was with the AWA at the time which by that point was like how probably WCW was in the early '90s.

Slaughter was hugely over because he was very charismatic, and had a hugely patriotic character, which was perfect for that time. The '80s are remembered as a decade of glitz, glamour, and bold fashion, but the '80s were also the final years of the "Cold War." The Iranian hostage crisis was still fresh in people's minds, and we were still at a "silent war" with the U.S.S.R. Patriotic wrestlers were very popular at that time (look at Hacksaw Jim Duggan and of course, Hulk Hogan), and patriotic wrestlers of foreign countries were insanely over as heels (ala the Iron Shiek, Nikolai Volkoff, and the Nikita Koloff in the NWA). Just imagine how much bigger a star Sgt. Slaughter could've become in pop culture had he been in the company with the marketing genius of Vince McMahon backing him all the way. Slaughter left in 1984 mainly because he was getting paid less than he felt he should've (which was probably because Hulk was getting paid the most and getting the most backing from Vince and the bookers). If Hulk wasn't around, Vince could've put all of his marketing efforts and attention on Sgt. Slaughter. Slaughter could've been the guy to get the WWF over, as a patriotic superhero. The WWF could've used patriotism (which they kind of did with Hogan anyway) and GI Joe to break out into mainstream American pop culture instead of MTV and the "Rock N' Wrestling" theme. The WWF would've gotten huge in the '80s like it did, and things could've progressed from there.

There were other outlets and wrestlers that Vince could've used to make his vision a reality.

Plus, something that everyone else is forgetting here is that wrestling would've changed into what it is now whether Hogan was around or not, simply because of how entertainment, technology, and the world as a whole has changed. I read someone say that wrestling would still be territories and a regional business like it was in the '70s and before, and that's just not plausible at all in today's world. Whether Hogan was around or not, cable television and ppv were growing in the '80s. The internet was only years away, and television recording was only improving and getting bigger. Communication between people became more rapid and massive from the '90s beyond. There's no way that wrestling would still be in the "dark ages" of the territory business in the '70s and before. Businesses as a whole in America have grown insanely in the last 25 years, and wrestling would've been no different.

With the internet, there's no way that fans in Memphis would only recognize Jerry Lawler and the guys in Memphis and not know about what was going in the New York territory (WWF), or in WCW, or in World Class Championship Wrestling, or another territory.

The world and business and technology has grown and evolved too much in the last 30 years for the wrestling business to not do the same. Even if Vince McMahon had never existed, someone would've taken advantage of ppv and cable television (hell, Fritz Von Erich and Jim Crockett, already beat him on these things but ultimately didn't capitalize on them as well as Vince did) and used it to make their wrestling company bigger and more of a national brand.

Wrestling morphed into what is today, not just because of Hulk Hogan or Vince McMahon, but because of the evolution of television, technology, American businesses, and the world in general over the last 30 years.

Wrestling could be different than what it is now, but it certainly would not still be a regional or territory system like it was in the '70s and before. The world is too connected now on a global scale for wrestling to be like it was in the '70s and before, an almost "local" type of business.