WWE's next Hulk Hogan did not live up to the hype, veteran recalls
Hulk Hogan was WWE's star attraction in the first nine years of WrestleMania. WWE creative team member Bruce Prichard recently shed light on why The Hulkster's initial replacement, The Ultimate Warrior, failed to fulfill his potential.
In 1990, Warrior defeated Hogan in the WrestleMania 6 main event to win the WWE Championship. The eccentric star became a huge fan favorite in the late 1980s thanks to his larger-than-life personality and physique. Backstage, meanwhile, he gained a reputation for being hard to deal with.
Prichard said on Something to Wrestle that WWE's higher-ups were unimpressed with Warrior's in-ring ability and professionalism shortly after the title change:
"The feeling was definitely, 'Hmm, what have we done?' Going into Ultimate Warrior being the champion and being the guy to carry the mantle, everybody looked at it as, 'Man, he's gonna replace Hulk Hogan.' There were quite a few naysayers. Anybody that had been in the ring with Warrior, anybody that had interacted with Warrior kinda felt that, 'Okay, you don't have the ring skills, doesn't have the temperament, doesn't have the personality,' and from a business standpoint was somewhat difficult to deal with." [14:11 – 14:55]
Warrior held the WWE Championship for 293 days before losing to Sgt. Slaughter at the 1991 Royal Rumble. He never held the title again.
Bruce Prichard compares Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior
While The Ultimate Warrior began wrestling in 1985, Hulk Hogan had already been in the industry for 14 years when their match took place in 1990.
Bruce Prichard thinks Hogan was a worthy champion because he knew how to carry himself in the wrestling business:
"Hulk, on the other side, Hulk didn't have great ring skills. Warrior had amazing charisma, Hulk had amazing charisma. Hulk had the experience on his side. Hulk also had the business acumen from being in the business as long as he had as well. So, Hulk, whether you wanna call it politics or whatever you wanna call it, Hulk knew how to navigate the waters of the wrestling business, but also the business world itself." [14:56 – 15:34]
In 2014, Warrior passed away at the age of 54 after suffering a heart attack. Three days earlier, he reconciled with Hogan backstage at the WWE Hall of Fame after years of animosity between the former opponents.
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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.