Hulk Hogan’s wrestling reputation is remembered for both incredible success on-screen and a lot of political use behind the scenes. Few wrestlers had as much power as Hogan due to his star presence and value to promotions. WWE, WCW and TNA each gave Hogan a lot of influence when he was their biggest name.
No one in wrestling felt as comfortable using their power and influence backstage than Hogan. Many other wrestlers were impacted by the variables of Hogan unexpectedly making his voice known at strange times. The legendary figure held down his top spot longer than most by using his influence in the following way.
10 Shutting Down Rematch Vs Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels overselling against Hulk Hogan created one of the wildest matches in WWE history at SummerSlam 2005. The comedic theatrics from Michaels were clearly done out of frustration for Hogan playing politics backstage before their match.
WWE initially booked Hogan to win the big SummerSlam match and for Michaels to win a rematch in the following months. Hogan changed his mind about the rematch and was not appearing after his victory to upset Michaels and others backstage.
9 Not Dropping WWE Championship To Bret Hart
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels were rivals for many years, but they shared one thing in common. Both men hated the experience of working with Hulk Hogan and felt that he disrespected them at various points. Bret’s issues with Hogan came many years before he even worked with Michaels.
WWE reportedly wanted Hogan to drop the WWE Championship to Hart before leaving in 1993 since Bret was set up to be the next face of the company. Hogan refusing led to him putting over Yokozuna instead and earning an enemy out of Hart to this day.
8 Main Eventing Starrcade 1994 Vs Brutus Beefcake
Hulk Hogan joining WCW in 1994 saw his influence even stronger than his WWE run. WCW gave Hogan a massive contract with creative control and gave him enough input for other parts of the show. Hogan’s best friend Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake received a big deal in WCW with him.
The creative influence of Hogan was flexed right away when he had Beefcake turn heel as The Butcher to get a WCW Championship match against him. Hogan even picked WCW’s biggest event Starrcade 1994 for the place for an underwhelming match inspired from favoritism.
7 Stopping Bobby Roode From Beating Kurt Angle For TNA Championship
TNA hired Hulk Hogan to have the responsibility of coming up with ideas and pushing the talents he believed in with a creative team behind him following orders. Hogan rubbed many TNA wrestlers the wrong way since he didn’t lead to the success he did in WWE and WCW to gain his power.
Bobby Roode felt the wrath of Hogan during an interview when Hogan claimed he wasn’t ready for the title and buried his face run. TNA changed initial plans of Roode beating Kurt Angle for the TNA World Championship. This ended up working out better for Roode since he turned heel and won the title that way shortly after.
6 Walking Out Of WCW After Vince Russo's Promo
Vince Russo’s infamous shoot promo created chaos in WCW when Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff walked out that night. Hogan refused to return to WCW and issued a lawsuit for Russo’s harsh comments burying him in front of the audience.
An overlooked part of this story was Hogan agreeing to the worked shoot storyline until Russo went overboard with his insults. Russo said things that Hogan wasn’t aware of, and it upset him enough into leaving the company.
5 Not Losing Cleanly To Sting At Starrcade 1997
Starrcade 1997 remains the biggest night in WCW history due to the buy rate record and general build for a massive Hulk Hogan vs Sting match. WCW had the easiest story ending in the world with fans just wanting Sting to beat Hogan and bring the WCW Championship home for revenge.
Hogan and Eric Bischoff were unhappy with Sting not being in peak shape and not having a tan. Their conversations changed the booking to have the ridiculous scenarios of the Hogan pin and the match restarting due to a fast count that never was.
4 Brooke Hogan Running Knockouts Division
Dixie Carter trusting Hulk Hogan ended up hurting the company in the short and long term with the promised success never coming. Hulk trying to get his daughter Brooke Hogan in the wrestling world without training somehow was allowed in TNA.
Brooke was hired and given a lot of promotion to be named the new authority figure of the Knockouts division. TNA eventually placed her in a romantic storyline with Bully Ray, but it was all a hot mess thanks to Hulk’s influence.
3 Big Show Getting Hired With Rookie Push
The idea of a new wrestler debuting in a title match and winning a world title without any matches to his name seems impossible to believe today. WCW followed Hulk Hogan’s plan when he wanted this for Big Show after discovering him.
The Giant was the name given to Big Show when playing Andre the Giant’s son to feud with Hogan in his first appearances. WCW putting someone with minimal training and one match on his resume in a top role was all due to Hogan’s vision.
2 Main Eventing WrestleMania 8 Over WWE Championship Match
One of the strangest main event choices in WWE history featured Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice main eventing WrestleMania 8 over the WWE Championship match of Randy Savage vs Ric Flair. WWE always closed the show with the title match until this night.
Hogan’s influence in WWE at the time saw him always getting his way and feeling like his match was the better choice. Ultimate Warrior returning to save Hogan from a post-match attack was the main motivation for WWE allowing this regretful decision.
1 Getting His Win Back Over Ultimate Warrior
WCW booking Ultimate Warrior showed the ego of Hulk Hogan in play even when other parties deny it. Eric Bischoff has protected Hogan by saying this was all his decision, but the smoke shows fire since the two were best friends at the time.
Warrior came in for a big match with Hogan referencing their WWE history with the story of Hulk never beating him. WCW had Hogan defeating Warrior in an abysmal match and never booked Warrior again. If WCW had any desire for Warrior to be a player, he’d have won his first PPV singles instead of just giving Hogan his win back.