The most unlikely WCW feud featured Hulk Hogan and Billy Kidman facing off in a singles program. Wrestling promotions will always try to make new stars by putting them over established names. Ric Flair putting over Sting is considered the standard of how to make someone a star. Sting looked like an equal to Flair and had fans believing he could beat the biggest name.
However, that doesn’t always work out when it comes to execution. Hogan and Kidman working together showed that things could backfire and hurt both talents along the way. WCW was a train wreck when it came to making new stars and this was a shining example. The idea of Hogan putting over Kidman was one of the biggest misfires in company history.
The Storyline Of Billy Kidman Vs Hulk Hogan
WCW essentially booked a revamp of the promotion in 2000 when Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff were tasked with working together after previous failures. The big plan was to vacate all the titles, end-all storylines, and have a major storyline kickstart the new era. Russo and Bischoff were united on-screen characters leading the young stars of WCW.
The New Blood faction consisted of the talents who felt they were being held down by the legendary veterans. Names like Jeff Jarrett, Shane Douglas and Billy Kidman led the charge against the biggest names in the industry. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Sting, Kevin Nash and the other established top guys led the Millionaire’s Club.
WCW placed Kidman and Hogan against each other due to real-life heat from a radio interview. Hogan publicly buried Kidman by name as one of the unhappy WCW stars who couldn’t be bigger stars. The insults saw Hogan claiming that Kidman wouldn’t be able to draw money at a flea market, let alone in a major wrestling promotion.
Kidman received the biggest opportunity of his career calling out Hogan in a worked shoot promo. The feud led to the two exchanging personal insults and having a few big matches. Kidman even had Bischoff on his side after the boss betrayed Hogan. What could go wrong for Kidman in such a promising feud?
The Failure To Make Billy Kidman A WCW Star
The matches between Billy Kidman and Hulk Hogan were never going to be mat classics, but the expectations were for Kidman to look strong. Unfortunately, everything about the booking led to Kidman looking weaker in the main event scene than he did as a cruiserweight. WCW booked Kidman to get the better of Hogan using unfair advantages on Nitro but their two PPV matches were a different story.
Slamboree 2000 featured Eric Bischoff as the special guest referee to stack the odds in favor of Kidman. However, Hogan still managed to win the match when his nephew Horace Hogan evened the odds. Bischoff was knocked out and Horace hit the mat with Bischoff’s hands to count the pinfall in an embarrassing match.
The second singles match had higher stakes at Great American Bash 2000 with Hogan’s career and a WCW Championship title shot on the line. Torrie Wilson betrayed Kidman by hitting him with a low blow to cost him the match. Kidman not only lost the biggest matches of his career, but he lost his love interest who humiliated him.
The Feud Failed Both WCW Wrestlers
Billy Kidman’s time in the main event picture ended right after the program with Hulk Hogan. WCW decided to turn Kidman babyface shortly afterward to enter a feud with Shane Douglas. Torrie Wilson managed Douglas to play a heel and feud with her former lover, but the roles were reversed to make the Hogan feud pointless. Kidman eventually returned to the tag team and cruiserweight divisions like before his big push.
Hogan worked with another New Blood talent when keeping his WCW Championship match against Jeff Jarrett. The infamous shoot promo from Vince Russo at Bash at the Beach 2000 burying Hogan upset him enough to walk out on WCW and sue the promotion one month later. It was somehow a bigger debacle for Hogan than the Kidman feud.
WCW had two goals with the unlikely rivalry between the biggest name and an underrated cruiserweight. Kidman was supposed to become a bigger star, but it ruined any momentum and credibility he had with the fans. Hogan should have felt fresher, but it sparked the end of his run. An idea meant to put someone over just hurt two careers and disappointed millions of viewers – one of the many nails in the coffin of WCW.