The legendary rivalry between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair became a constant in WCW. Fans expected Hogan vs Flair to be an attraction for WWE in the early ‘90s when Flair signed, but Vince McMahon never went through with it. Hogan joining WCW in 1994 would see them instantly facing off as a change of pace.
Many different versions of the feud existed over the six-year period where Hogan was the top name in WCW. The program would see quite a few things flying under the radar despite having two iconic figures having big money matches. Any fan of Flair and Hogan will enjoy getting the memories back of the impressive feud beyond the surface.
8 Flair Won Unification Match Vs Sting For Hogan Feud
The start of Hulk Hogan’s WCW run saw him instantly in the world title picture. WCW went out of its way to unify its two world title belts to have one major champion. Ric Flair defeated Sting to merge the WCW Championship and WCW International World Heavyweight Championship.
The first match of Hogan in WCW came at Bash at the Beach 1994, defeating Flair to win the gold despite not facing anyone else to gain the title shot. Sting was basically a pawn in this bigger feud, but WCW wanted to remove him from the title picture since Flair was the heel to put over Hogan.
7 Hogan Whipping David Upset Ric
David Flair made his first major impact in WCW when he got involved in the program between his father Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan in 1999. Ric revealed he was upset during a segment that featured Hogan whipping David with a belt harder than he needed to:
“What no one had told me was that Hogan would try to be cute and whip David over and over again. It wasn’t fair to make my son go through that — he wasn’t even really a wrestler yet — but there was nothing that I could do.”
The angle didn’t even have a strong payoff as David turned on Ric to join Hulk at the following PPV.
6 Flair Losing Retirement Match
The end of the 1994 program between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair saw WCW getting lazy with the retirement match stipulation. Flair put his career on the line for another shot at Hogan’s WCW Championship and fell short to lose his job.
WCW would write Flair back in as the manager of Vader when looking to get revenge on Hogan with the big man. The attacks from Ric towards Hogan and Randy Savage saw the other two demanding Flair wrestle them to write him back into the company as a wrestler.
5 Had Real-Life Heat From WCW Feud For Years
The backstage politics in WCW created a lot of tension between the biggest names in the company. Ric Flair spoke poorly about Hulk Hogan and how he abused his power in WCW during various WWE productions looking back at the time.
The heat between the two ended many years later when working together for the later chapters of their careers. Hogan booking Flair to wrestle him on an Australian tour and hiring him in TNA sparked a close bond. Flair named Hogan as one of his best friends in the later years who was there for him most when his son Reid passed away.
4 Flair Winning First Blood Match Despite Bleeding First
The lack of logic involved in some of the WCW match stipulations played a role in the company falling apart. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair faced off in a First Blood cage match at Uncensored 1999 for the WCW Championship.
Flair bled first and should have lost the match, but he had the crooked referee Charles Robinson in his pocket. The match finish ended with Flair getting a fast count victory that had nothing to do with either man bleeding as the stipulation entailed.
3 Flair Asking For Help From Dungeon Of Doom
WCW’s earlier chapter of the Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair rivalry featured Flair getting desperate to get any revenge on Hogan for taking over as the top star. Hogan was involved in another feud with members of The Dungeon of Doom when Flair joined the fight.
The Alliance to End Hulkamania had its own storyline of The Four Horsemen and Dungeon of Doom joining together. Fans more so remember the match of Hogan and Randy Savage beating everyone on their own, but Flair showed his hatred for Hogan by even working with another stable.
2 Both Were Heels During End Of 1999 Feud
The lack of consistency for WCW in 1999 made WWE run laps around them to never look back in the Monday Night War. Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair bringing back their feud played a huge role in fans just getting tired of WCW’s mistakes.
Flair was the face starting the feud after beating Eric Bischoff to become the WCW President. The Nature Boy was looking to get revenge on Hogan for messing with his family. WCW turned Ric heel as well during the feud by abusing his power as president. Both Hogan and Flair were unlikable characters making it hard for fans to cheer for either.
1 Shaq Was In Hogan's Corner For Big Match
The wrestling world has seen NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal wrestle for AEW and make cameos for WWE in recent memory. O’Neal had a forgotten role in WCW as the first official appearance for a wrestling promotion.
Hulk Hogan wanted backup for a match against Ric Flair and picked the basketball celebrity to appear in his corner. Shaq wore the red and yellow Hulkamania colors and ensured that Flair would not cheat or do anything unfair against Hogan.