What if Hulk Hogan never returned? – WrestleMania 9
Generally regarded as the worst WrestleMania in company history, the show was littered with terrible booking – case in point, Hogan just turning up and beating the winner of the main event.
In 1992, faux Japanese sumo wrestler Yokozuna burst onto the scene, winning the Royal Rumble within months of his debut. For this, he became the first man to main event the subsequent WrestleMania as a result. The WWF titleholder at the time was Bret Hart – who retained his belt at the same PPV.
Following a terrible card featuring Giant Gonzalez, a white-meat and unhyped Bob Backlund and Doink – Hart faced Yokozuna for the belt. Hart guided Yoko to one of his greatest bouts, with the agile technician working around the 600-pounder. After ‘Zuna pinned Hart after salt-based shenanigans, Hogan came out (having wrestled a tag title match earlier in the night) and decided it was he who would fight the injustice. Hogan then beat Yoko in 22 seconds – making Hart look weak, Yoko look dumb for challenging and Hogan look mega-selfish for stealing the new star’s spotlight.
Apparently, Hart was only informed that he was losing 24 hours beforehand after believing he was going to win – just as a face had won the main event of every other ‘Mania. However he was shocked to be informed of his ‘Mania loss and was likely enraged by Hogan’s invasion but went along with it like a true professional. Hogan went on to not defend the title before losing it 2 months later Yokozuna – who himself rarely ever defended it.
Had Hulk never won the belt, Hart may have been cemented as a further top star whilst Yokozuna could have stayed a threat in the company. ‘Mania 9 would likely have a better reputation without the ‘Immortal One’s’ fingerprints all over it, with the company taking multiple steps backwards as a result of Hogan’s actions. Steps backwards that could have been avoided.