when nWo first started out in '96

[Cone Stold Steve Austin]

ive always heard that the 3rd man to join the nWo was supposed to be bret hart, who was a free agent at that time, instead of hulk hogan

ultimately bret re-signed with the WWE instead of taking the $9 million dollar guaranteed contract WCW offered him

i wanna know what kind of impact would thatve had not only on WCW but WWE as well if bret had signed that contract in 1996

Would WCW have dominated the monday night wars for 80 sumthing weeks with bret as the leader of the nWo???

What wouldve happened to WWE because once hart returned he got into a feud with Austin, so would Austin still be one of the most popular wrestlers in history if bret hadnt come back, & what about vince because his "Mr. McMahon" character was born as a result of the screwjob, & would the Attitude Era have started???

Hell, would both WWE & WCW still be around today???

What do u guys think?

 

[Kliq]

I do enjoy Bret Hart, but I don't believe they would have been as successful with him at the helm. The whole thing was as shocking as it was because Hogan hadn't played that sort of character before, Bret (on the other hand) had in the past. I really don't want to get into a whole bunch of 'what if' possibilities, but I will say that I personally do not think they would have had the success they did if it was Bret instead of Hogan.

 

[Upgrayedd]

I remember reading that Bischoff was going after Bret Hart but that wasn't until after Hogan had already turned heel. Hogan was always the original choice with Sting as a back up plan.

Hogan was the perfect choice. The biggest babyface in the history of the business comes out and turns heel. Man, it was such a great move.

 

[Megadeth]

According to Eric Bischoff's book, the original idea was to have it be Sting. Bischoff said he wanted it to be someone from inside WCW, and had talked to Sting about it, who was receptive to the idea, but no incredibly enthusiastic, so while Sting was the likely person at this point, it wasnt a done deal. Hogan was at the time working on the Santa with Muscles movie, he called Bischoff up and had him come out to LA and meet with him. He asked Eric who the 3rd guy was gonna be, Bischoff said he wasnt sure, and Hogan suggested it be him. Even though it was Hogans idea, Bischoff claims he wasnt 100% sure Hogan was actually going to go through with the heel switch, so up until about an hour before the PPV when Hogan arrived at the arena, Eric had Sting set as a backup in case Hogan decided not to do it.
So at least according to Bischoff, he was always planning on the 3rd guy being at least someone already with WCW, so although he had been in negotiations with Bret at this point, I dont think he ever really planned on him being it. And I dont think Bret ever really considered going to WCW at this time because of his loyalty to Vince, and it was only when McMahon told Bret he couldnt afford him and told Bret he should go to WCW that the Hitman ever really considered it an option.

 

[Doomsday Device]

Things turned out best the way it happened.

Hogan turning heel and joining Hall and Nash was downright shocking. Hogan trading the yellow and red for the black and white was something the fans could have never imagined or see it coming.

Plus it was good that Bret stayed with WWE at this time, he started a storyline rivalry with Austin that was beggining of a launch into superstardom.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Hogan turning heel is what made it so big.. Hall and Nash were great with the gimmick and with Hart I have no doubts it would have been big. But not as big as it was with Hogan. Like others have said he turned on the fans and was a major heel which was a big time shock coming from Hogan.

The NWO also helped Hogan's career too. Hogan was getting extremely stale and people were not really responding to the SSDD stuff Hogan had been doing for years. Wrestling at that point needed a shot in the arm and it got it.

 

[The Brain]

Bret Hart is one of my all time favorites and there is probably no one I enjoy watching more. However, if he were the one the join the nwo instead of Hogan it would not have been nearly successful. Although it would have made sense. Hall and Nash had just come from the WWF to "take over." It would be logical for the biggest star in the WWF to come in as the third man. While it would have been exciting, it wouldn't have had the same impact. Hogan's heel turn was the key in the whole angle. Had it been Bret the angle probably would have fizzled out after a few months. It would have been great at first, but eventually Hogan, Savage, and Sting would have beaten Hart, Hall, and Nash and that version of the nwo would have gone their separte ways to just be individuals in WCW. Not only would the nwo not have been as successful, but who knows if Steve Austin would have been as successful. His feud with Hart helped make Stone Cold Steve Austin.

 

[Upgrayedd]

According to Eric Bischoff's book, the original idea was to have it be Sting. Bischoff said he wanted it to be someone from inside WCW, and had talked to Sting about it, who was receptive to the idea, but no incredibly enthusiastic, so while Sting was the likely person at this point, it wasnt a done deal. Hogan was at the time working on the Santa with Muscles movie, he called Bischoff up and had him come out to LA and meet with him. He asked Eric who the 3rd guy was gonna be, Bischoff said he wasnt sure, and Hogan suggested it be him. Even though it was Hogans idea, Bischoff claims he wasnt 100% sure Hogan was actually going to go through with the heel switch, so up until about an hour before the PPV when Hogan arrived at the arena, Eric had Sting set as a backup in case Hogan decided not to do it.
So at least according to Bischoff, he was always planning on the 3rd guy being at least someone already with WCW, so although he had been in negotiations with Bret at this point, I dont think he ever really planned on him being it. And I dont think Bret ever really considered going to WCW at this time because of his loyalty to Vince, and it was only when McMahon told Bret he couldnt afford him and told Bret he should go to WCW that the Hitman ever really considered it an option.

No what really happened is that Bischoff had been talking about Hogan turning heel but Hogan turned the idea down and once he saw the direction they were going in with Hall and Nash decided turning heel would be a good idea so he called Bischoff up. Bischoff said that Sting was a back up plan if Hogan wanted to stay a face.

 

[Miko]

It would've been shocking, although nowhere near as shocking, we'd seen Bret as a heel before. Hogan was the ultimate babyface, the thought of him being a bad guy just hadnt crossed most peoples minds, he was the hero. Not to mention that Bret isnt anywhere near the star Hogan is, it would've been good, but not as good.