Bruce Prichard Pitched Hulk Hogan Heel Turn In The 90s

This July will be the 30th anniversary of Hulk Hogan turning to the dark side and dropping the leg on "Macho Man" Randy Savage at WCW Bash at the Beach, revealing himself as the third member of the nWo. The angle remains arguably the most famous in the history of pro wrestling, and the moment that jumpstarted the second half of Hogan's career after Hulkamania had cooled off during his initial WCW days and the back half of his WWE run.

Naturally, some have wondered how different wrestling history would've been if Hogan had turned years earlier in WWE. And there were at least some within the promotion that were pitching the idea. On "Something to Wrestle," long time WWE executive Bruce Prichard confirmed that he had attempted to get a Hogan heel turn done in WWE when questioned by co-host Conrad Thompson.

"Oh god, yes," Prichard said. "It didn't...it never got far, it never got far at all, because Vince didn't like it. Vince did not want to turn Hulk heel. He held Hulk in the highest of esteem, and felt that the audience would turn on us as a company if we had Hulk Hogan be a bad guy, because your sponsors, your partners...everything was Hulk Hogan."

Prichard revealed that he and Pat Patterson would periodically pitch a Hogan heel turn to McMahon, and that Hogan himself had been in favor of a heel turn on two occasions. According to Prichard, Hogan had proposed turning following his WrestleMania 6 match with Ultimate Warrior, and again before WrestleMania 9 as part of a proposed dream match between him and Dusty Rhodes. 

Prichard also confirmed Rhodes had pitched turning heel himself for the match. Ultimately, McMahon declined all pitches, and the Rhodes-Hogan match never took place, with Hogan winning the WWE Championship from Yokouzuna at WrestleMania 9 instead.

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit "Something To Wrestle" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription