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In 1996, wrestling icons Sting and Hulk Hogan were going down a similar path in WCW. Both were living legends who ruled the ring, carrying multiple world championships. By the mid-90s, however, both were also getting stale. Sting was known as the franchise of WCW, having been with the company since its NWA days in the late 80s. Hulk Hogan had been the face of WWE until he shockingly jumped ship in 1994. Both had done it all, and for Hogan especially, fans had grown bored with the red and yellow good guy gimmick. Something needed to change. There was a plan in place to turn the ultimate good guy into a heel, but a wary Hogan resisted, setting up Sting to become the true leader of the nWo. Had Hogan not had a last-minute change of heart, professional wrestling history would have gone down a much different path.
Fans Were Sick Of Saying Your Prayers And Eating Your Vitamins
In the 80s and early 90s, Hulk Hogan was the biggest name in wrestling. His impact on the sport can’t be understated. His popularity turned a regional pastime into a global phenomenon. Every WrestleMania, from the first one onward, revolved around Hogan. He became the ultimate good guy, a superhero who took down villain after villain. Fans ate it up.
When Hogan jumped to WCW in 1994, the shine had started to come off the gimmick. The mid-90s were all about a more dark and grungy aesthetic. The cheesy good guy in the bright yellow was no longer cool. This wasn’t WWE either. Everything felt a little bit different in WCW, a little less big. Hogan himself was a little less big, now sporting a leaner look following his role in the steroid scandal that saw him admit to using the drug.
Sting Almost Becomes The Third Man
In 1996, WWE superstars Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had come over to WCW, playing themselves as outsiders who were there to invade and destroy everyone in the company. The angle was a big success. Eric Bischoff wanted to take it farther. The storyline evolved to there being a third man to join Hall and Nash. It made for must-watch TV, with fans enthralled about who it could be.
Bischoff approached Hulk Hogan and asked what he thought about turning heel. Hogan showed no interest. Wrestling then was not like it is now with our era of constant heel and face turns. Hogan had always been a face. He was the face, a Captain America come to life. To turn him bad would have meant the end of the biggest success in wrestling history. It would mean risking giving up so much in revenue and fan support. For Hogan, that risk was too great.
When Hogan balked, Bischoff turned to Sting to be the third man. Sting was to WCW what Hogan had been to WWE, and would have been a shocking and great choice. At hearing this, Hogan relented. The urge to prove himself outweighed the risk. Still, up until the moment he walked through the curtain at Bash at the Beach, it was up in the air as to who the third man would be. Nash and Hall had yet to talk to Hogan. Hall himself had only met him once briefly. With Hogan flying cross-country to the event, taking time away from filming a movie, Bischoff had Sting ready and waiting to turn heel at the end of the night in case Hogan didn’t show.
How Would Sting and Hogan’s Careers Have Played Out?
As we all know, Hogan did show, and the moment of his reveal played out perfectly. Hogan’s heel turn was the most shocking moment in wrestling history and his time in what would become the nWo revolutionized television and forced a struggling WWE to step up its game or collapse. Still, what if Hogan hadn’t shown? What if Sting had been the third man?
For Sting, it would have meant the loss of his turn into the white-faced Crow version of his character. It’s what he’s been ever since. What would he have looked like? How would fans have received him? If the idea was to shock everyone, a Sting turn would have for sure done that, and he could have been almost as successful as Hogan was.
For Hogan, it may have only seen his career sink lower. If Hogan had continued to stay the good guy and feud with the now cool nWo, fans likely would have turned against him. He would have become what John Cena and Roman Reigns became later, as the dull faces who never evolved. The second act of his career would have been washed away, and we would remember Hogan as a legend who in the end couldn’t adjust to the times. Luckily, for Hogan, for Sting, and for fans, Hogan took the biggest risk of his career. He got to be the baddest heel ever and Sting got to be the avenging dark knight. It was the best thing both of them ever did.