Less than ten days after the infamous Curtain Call Incident, Scott Hall arrived in WCW. Kevin Nash would soon follow as well. Their invasion began to take shape at Bash At The Beach, where they faced off against WCW heroes, Sting, Lex Luger, and "The Macho Man" Randy Savage. After The Outsiders laid waste to all three members of the team, Hulk Hogan stomped to the ring to deliver the Leg Drop heard all throughout the world.

Related: Hulk Hogan's First 10 WCW PPV Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best

The biggest good guy in all of wrestling, and easily the most recognizable figure in the industry, turned into a bad guy, formed the New World Order, and became the scourge of the entire wrestling industry. It almost didn’t happen, but if we’re all being honest with ourselves, no matter how you might feel about Hogan personally and professionally, the success of the nWo was never going to be as big without Hogan being the third man, stupid rumor about Mabel be damned.

Hulkamania In WCW Had Grown Old

Hulk Hogan Pythons

When Hulk Hogan debuted in WCW in 1994, Hulkamania had already been getting stale Up North. It didn’t take long for the WCW fans to also get tired of Hogan’s shtick. Eric Bischoff realized this and took a trip to meet Hogan while he was filming a movie to give him a pitch for turning heel. As Bischoff has told the story on his 83 Weeks podcast, Hogan stroked his Fu-Manchu and told Easy E that he couldn’t turn heel, and Bischoff wouldn’t understand until he walked in his red and yellow boots. It’s easy to empathize.

Pro wrestling is the one sport that blends fact and fiction, and if all of a sudden the world’s biggest babyface turned heel, there goes a lot of endorsements and perhaps way more important - his relationship with Make A Wish Kids. About a year later, once a red-hot angle came calling, Hulk Hogan thought better of his decision and when he asked Bischoff who the third guy, he also answered that same question with his own two thumbs - pointing at himself.

Sting Was Ready And Waiting To Be The Third Man

Surfer Sting's Final Appearance

Bischoff’s claims over the years that the idea for the nWo wasn’t former WWE guys taking over, but in reality former WCW guys that were disgruntled at how they were used. With that notion and already knowing Hogan wasn’t going to go for being the Third Man, Bischoff had been in discussions with Sting that he should be the guy leading Hall and Nash. Up until Bash At The Beach, no one in WCW was quite sure Hogan was going to show up, much less make the turn.

Related: 10 Clean Hulk Hogan Losses You Forgot About

Whether or not Sting turning heel would have had the same impact from a wrestling standpoint is debatable, but from a pop culture standpoint, only Hogan could have had the kind of cultural impact. It’s that impact that keeps the nWo still selling t-shirts to this day.

Hulk Hogan Was A Pop Culture Icon

The Kliq

While Shawn Michaels was a handful in the WWE locker room, he was conversely in 1996 the best performer in the world. No one could touch him in terms of skill. As he was the WWE champion, he wasn’t going to get punished for The Curtain Call. In a hypothetical world though, what if he had. Bischoff has answered this question several times - with the kind of locker room behavior, he wanted no part of HBK in his locker room. He also laughed off the ridiculous claim that Mabel was in talks to be the third man. It was always Hogan or Sting. That’s it. Those are the two who fit the storyline best. While no one knew the cultural ramifications, in hindsight it had to be Hulk Hogan.

Over ten years prior, Hulkamania set the wrestling world on fire. He was on the cover Sports Illustrated, was on late night TV, TV shows in general, and of course was the centerpiece in Vince McMahon’s national expansion. Even though others within the sport have gotten to top guy level status, a case can be made that no one ever got to the cultural icon level while they were on their run.

Related: 10 Things You Forgot About Hulk Hogan's 2002 WWE Return

There’s a good chance even still today, other than perhaps The Rock (due his Hollywood status), that Hulk Hogan is the only name non-wrestling fans might know, which is why Hogan turning was such a hot button issue in the first place.