What if Hulk Hogan Had Turned Heel in WWE?

In WCW, Hulk Hogan was as impactful a heel as he had been a face during his career, to the point that he revolutionized the pro-wrestling industry for a second time (the first time being when he won his first WWE Championship in January 1984). What would have happened if Hogan had turned heel in WWE instead? He originally wanted to turn heel years earlier at WrestleMania VI in 1990, where Hogan was defeated by The Ultimate Warrior for the WWE Championship.

Hulk Hogan's idea was that, enraged by the loss, he would have attacked The Ultimate Warrior. This could have been followed by Hogan lashing out at fans and other wrestlers, blaming everyone but himself for his defeat.

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Would Hulk Hogan turning heel turn at WrestleMania VI have worked? His idea could have been successfully executed by many wrestlers, but at that point in Hogan's career, he was an untouchable hero to his fans, a symbol of wholesome values who had spent years growing a connection with a dedicated, often family-oriented, audience- from children to their parents, he was viewed positively. A sudden betrayal likely would have been met with continued cheers and support rather than the anger a heel turn requires. The audience was so deeply invested in Hulkamania that they probably would not have accepted Hogan as a heel and instead would have sided with him, cheering his actions regardless of their heelish nature.

While Hulk Hogan would have looked different in a WWE heel turn, this image of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan from WCW is the definitive symbol of his transformation.

It's fair to assume that The Hulkster's 1990 pitched heel turn not seeing fruition was not a case of there being doubts that he would have been a great heel in WWE, and that instead it was a case of it being believed that without external heelish circumstances, his character was too strong of a face to be broken. Hulkamania is built on simple, moral narratives where good always triumphs over evil- Hogan turning heel would have gone against the foundation of WWE's brand, which he played a major role in building. During this period, WWE was a "face territory", where a heel's role was to challenge the face champion, and then in the end, be defeated. As the ultimate face, and usually the champion, Hogan thrived in the company- there was no narrative reason to turn heel.

This stands in clear-cut contrast to Hulk Hogan's game-changing heel turn in WCW, where he aligned with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, already-established "anti-WCW" heels, giving Hulk Hogan's turn a context and purpose that made it effective. WCW had a significant heel presence, where a heel could be very successful. The absence of a similar foundation in WWE at the time makes it unlikely a heel turn would have had the same impact. It would have lacked that narrative support, leaving the fans without a clear reason to hate him, even if his actions were heelish. When Hall and Nash arrived in WCW, they began disrupting events and taunting the locker room, declaring dominance. It's a believable story that Hogan, seeing this happening and used to being dominant in a sports entertainment company to think, "I want to be a part of this."



The Hulk Hogan character was a symbol of hope, strength, and patriotism for an entire generation, which was a part of the power of his connection to the fans. Trying to turn that symbol into a heel was a risk WWE was not willing to take at the time. The success of Hogan's later turn in WCW, however, proved that a heel turn was possible, but only under the right circumstances. It showed that when done correctly, a heel turn can not only be a positive for a wrestler's legacy, but it can also change the entire wrestling landscape.