Friday Fun - What if Hogan faced Austin at Wrestlemania X-8?

Hi guys just a subject to get a bit of debate going on this damp, windy Friday. We all know the legend of The Rock vs Hulk Hogan from WM 18. The crowd reaction, the rebirth of Hulkamania, The Rock going over and the Hogan face turn which was followed by a title win and match with Vince McMahon the following year at WM 19.

My question is this - How do you think Hulk Hogan's career over the last 11 years would have played out had he have faced Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 18?

Would have gone much differently? Would Hogan have won? Would there have been a face turn/Title win? Would he have gone on to face Vince at WM 19? When would he have gone to TNA when he did?

Ignoring the whole Butterfly Effect theory I think Hogan's career would have panned out pretty much the same way.

He would still have got the same reaction for his entrance at Wrestlemania 18, which in turn would have led to Vince turning him face and capitalising on his popularity by giving him a title run.

The feud with Vince at Wrestlemania 19 would still have happened (I can imagine McMahon - and probably Hogan too - would have been wanting to do that one for YEARS) and they would still have had their inevitable falling out over Hogan's position in the company - Hogan wanting to be one of the main men and Vince seeing him more as a special attraction. He would have still ended up in TNA anyway.

The only difference I can see is that Steve Austin would never have allowed Hogan to play the babyface in that match. That was one of Austin's concerns about facing Hogan, he didn't trust him not to do something like that. So I don't think we'd have seen the test of strength spots, Hulking up etc. that drove the crowd absolutely batf*ck insane during the Rock/Hogan match.

This has always intrigued me. I've no doubt Hogan would have still got a huge reaction, but what would the reaction to Austin had been like? I doubt he would've been booed like Rock, but I'm not sure at that time if the majority would have sided with him.

I've also no doubt that Austin would have went over.

I think part of the reason the Rock received the reaction he did was also a backlash from the hardcore fans for him beginning to spend more time filming movies than wrestling.

Wrestlemania would have been made up of a large percentage of longtime/hardcore fans who would have felt he was turning his back on the wrestling business. The same thing happened to him in his match against Brock Lesnar at Summerslam 2002 in New York, where the Rock was booed and Lesnar cheered in front of another 'hardcore' crowd.

Austin wouldn't have had that problem to contend with. I'm not saying he wouldn't have been booed, but I don't think he'd have been booed as vociferously as the Rock was.

Mr Fuji. Salt in Austin's eyes. Irish Whip. Big Boot. Leg Drop. 1.2.3.

Yeah I agree, he would not have been booed. I just felt at that time the spark had gone with Austin, maybe that was just how he was being booked. Perhaps if he would've accepted the Hogan match the WWE would have made him a big deal again.

I've always thought that if Austin had faced Hogan he would never have been asked to put Lesnar over in a nothing match on Raw, and would've been the person to face him at Summerslam.

Yeah I think this is around the time that Austin was starting to have his struggles with everything seemingly catching up with him, from injuries to differences with the creative team to the fact that he was against the nWo coming in in the first place.

I think you're spot on about the Lesnar situation nas, it feels almost as if Vince was testing Austin with that one. Had he agreed to face Hogan - and Stone Cold would have almost certainly gone over - then he'd never have been asked to job to Lesnar in a match with zero build up.

This should have been the Main Event of WrestleMania XVIII

Hogan should have won the WHC by winning the 2002 Rumble, since it was 10 years since the last time the title was up for grabs in the Rumble match the nWo should have made their debuts and helped Hogan win the belt, Austin as the WWF champ should have faced Hogan in a WWF vs WCW World Title Unification match.

Who knows, maybe history is repeating itself