• Backstage WWF Reaction To Hulk Hogan’s 1996 WCW Heel Turn
On the latest episode of his weekly ‘Something To Wrestle With’ podcast, Old School WWF manager ‘Brother Love’ Bruce Prichard discussed the backstage reaction in the WWF when Hulk Hogan turned heel at Bash at the Beach 1996, as well as whether there were any previous plans to turn Hogan heel in the World Wrestling Federation, before he left for WCW.
Here’s what Bruce had to say:
“I think more than anything it was, personally, I wish we had done it. I wish we had done it a while ago. It was more of their positioning that it was WWF vs. WCW with those talents. Finally, they had to come out and say ‘you guys don’t represent WWF’ even though the commentary tried to drive you that way all the time.
So you’re looking at it through business eyes and not necessarily a fan’s eyes a lot of times. To the audience, it was Hulk Hogan and something they were familiar with. I dare say a lot of people were ready for him to turn. They wanted to boo him and had been booing him. So you had the perfect storm, and no matter what anybody says, I think the pivotal moment was Hulk turning heel for WCW. That’s what made the turn.
When they did that, they made the turn and didn’t look back for 83 weeks, iron sharpens iron and you’re being challenged now. That gets you on your toes. So yes, it was a completely different feeling, and as you say, thankful we didn’t turn Hulk when I wanted to back in 1993. I think it was an exciting time to be a fan of the product in general.”
Bruce said the following about Vince McMahon’s reaction:
“Not a whole lot other than that there was so much resistance from Hulk way back when. Hulk and Vince saw Hulk Hogan and the Real American character as beyond reproach. You couldn’t f**k with that formula. And it was proven wrong.”
Hulk Hogan’s 1996 WCW heel turn is still considered THE single biggest (and by far most impactful & historically relevant) heel turn in professional wrestling history.
WATCH: Brooke Hogan’s (Hulk Hogan’s Daughter) Private Photos Leaked:
• Old School WWF Veteran Celebrates His Birthday
Old School WWF Veteran Al Snow (Real name: Allen Sarven) celebrates his 58th birthday today.
After short stints in ECW & SMW, Al Snow joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1995, where he worked under a mask as “Avatar” & “Shinobi”, before he became “Leif Cassidy”, one half of ‘The New Rockers’ with his Tag Team partner Marty Jannetty, who was famous for teaming with Shawn Michaels from 1988 till 1991 as the original ‘Rockers’.
Shawn Michaels’ shoes were a little bit too big to fill, so in the fall of 1997, Al Snow was sent back to Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he came up with bringing a mannequin head with him to the ring, that was simply known as “Head”.
In 1998, Al Snow & Head were brought back to the WWF at the peak of the Attitude Era, where Al made a name for himself and is now remembered as one of the most famous mid-carders from that era, including winning the Hardcore Title, European Title & Tag Team Title in the process.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AL SNOW!
