(July 7th marked nineteen years since the events of Bash At The Beach 1996. This is part four of a series of articles looking back on the events that led up to the infamous WCW pay per view.
To view part one, click here.
To view part two, click here.
To view part three, click here)
When Eric Bischoff approached Hulk Hogan about abandoning his All-American good guy red and yellow persona after over two decades, Hogan was against the idea. He didn’t see why he should abandon something that had worked.
Key word: had.
The formula of instructing youth to train, say your prayers, and consume your vitamins had grown old, much like the kids that had once abided by the demandments of Hulkamania. Those children of the 80’s and 90’s had grown into teens and young adults, and Hulkamania had become just as passé and uncool as Alf and Barney The Dinosaur. If Hulk Hogan didn’t learn to change with the times, the entity of Hulkamania, once thought to have eternal life, would die a quick death. Eric Bischoff wasn’t the only prominent person behind the scenes of World Championship Wrestling that knew that this would happen.
Kevin Sullivan wasn’t just a wrestler in WCW. He was also the lead booker for the promotion. Soon after Hulk Hogan’s arrival in WCW, Sullivan created and was a member of “The Dungeon of Doom.” A stable featuring some of pro wrestling’s strangest oddities, including the likes of The Shark, The Yeti, Lochness, The Giant, and Ed “The Zodiac Disciple Butcher Barber Brother Bruti Booty Man With No Name” Leslie, The Dungeon was hellbent on destroying Hulkamania. This led to some of the absolute worst matches (The Butcher vs. Hogan in the main event of Starrcade 1994, Giant vs. Hogan at Halloween Havoc 1995, Hogan and Randy Savage vs. The Dungeon AND the Four Horsemen in a Doomsday Cage Match, at Uncensored 1996) and most cartoony segments (The Yeti, a mummy, hatching from a block of ice, the sumo monster truck battle on Cobo Hall, Sullivan attacking Hogan dressed as a woman, and shaving Hulk’s mustache, any segment in the Dungeon of Doom’s cave) in the history of pro wrestling.
Years later, Sullivan would claim that this was done by design. That’s right. Sullivan claims that in order to gain Hogan’s trust, he proceeded to put The Hulkster in the most zany and over the top scenarios ever, so he felt like his character was on par to the Superman he portrayed in the WWF. Maybe Sullivan is covering his tracks– but maybe he’s telling the truth. Despite his prevalent Boston accent and short stature, back in the 70’s, 80’s and even early 90’s, Kevin Sullivan had the ability to make fans believe that he was the devil himself. That being said, just maybe Sullivan did create The Dungeon to gain Hogan’s trust.
So why was the trust of Hulk Hogan so important to Sullivan? Well, from the beginning of Hulkamania’s run in WCW, Sullivan could see that Hulk needed to change. Hulkamania was on life support, and in order to avoid making funeral arrangements for the career of Hulk Hogan, when the time was right, Sullivan knew that with Hulk’s trust, he could inevitably convince him that becoming the biggest villian in wrestling was just what the doctor ordered.
Sullivan had multiple discussions with Hogan, and eventually convinced him that ditching the red and yellow for black, along with an alliance with the younger and cooler Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would reinvigorate Hogan’s career. Plans were put in motion to pull the trigger on the biggest heel turn of all time for the 1996 edition of Bash At The Beach. To ensure that Hogan wouldn’t change his mind and pull his creative control card, Sullivan spent all of July 6th and July 7th with Hulk Hogan, up to the very moment that Hulk walked through the curtain.
And the rest, as they say, was history. Dozens of pounds of garbage, three leg drops onto The Macho Man, an alliance with two big time WWF Superstars and biggest acquisitions in WCW history, and one of the most surreal post match interviews of all time changed the course of wrestling history, and saved Hulk Hogan’s career. Without Hulk Hogan’s willingness to change, he may have very well faded into obscurity.
The Hostile Takeover of 1996 was necessary for Hulk Hogan, but because it led to a change in how wrestling was presented. The creation of the nWo brought a sense of realism back to the business. WCW wasn’t going to survive with things like The Dungeon of Doom. The WWF wasn’t going to make a main eventer out of a wrestling plumber like T.L. Hopper, or a disgruntled hockey player named The Goon. It was time to stop insulting the intelligence of the fans.
Gang violence and a rebellious frame of mind was uprising throughout society, and the nWo reflected that. ECW began tackling realistic issues before WCW, but it can be argued that WCW first brought it to mainstream wrestling. Without the nWo, we may have never seen Degeneration X, Stone Cold Steve Austin, or The Rock.
It’s ironic, though, because as much as the formation of the new World order changed the presentation of wrestling storylines, it’s continuation well past it’s expiration date played a large role in the real life demise of WCW, creating an opening for World Wrestling Entertainment to monopolize pro wrestling across the globe, forever changing how many pros are able to make money in this profession… even nineteen years later.
That’s a story for another day, though.
-Greg
