Retro Wednesday: The Alliance To End Hulkamania

In the mid-1990s, World Championship Wrestling was just starting to transition from the over-gimmicky characters, to a more edgy feel that thrived on breaking kayfabe. Especially from 1996-1998, when the Monday Night War was at a fever pitch. In hindsight, it is hard to believe how radical of a change WCW made to defeat WWE for so many consecutive weeks.

Case-in-point: The Dungeon of Doom

When WCW acquired Hulk Hogan in 1994, they were expecting the same ol' giant killing "Immortal One" to garner the same interest of the fans. One of his biggest tests upon his appearance was Kevin Sullivan's Dungeon of Doom stable.

In an attempt to extinguish Hulkamania, Sullivan compiled a group of eccentric characters to rid WCW of Hogan. Former WWE superstars Brutus Beefcake, Earthquake (now the Zodiac and the Shark, respectively) and Kamala – along with a host of others – were used in Sullivan's quest, and were brainwashed to propogate his mission.

The mission became so obsessive, that it was the featured match of the Uncensored pay per view in 1996. Dungeon of Doom, along with Four Horsemen members Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, formed a group called the Alliance to End Hulkamania, and the eight of them competed against Hogan and Randy Savage in what they believed would accomplish their goal. However, the WCW version of the Mega Powers came out the victors, and the mission became aborted.

As much as many are dissatisfied with the current product, these days of WCW were certainly nothing to boast about either. Apparently, the lesson learned from the Jim Herd era – which featured bizarre characters such as Big Josh, Ding Dongs, Yellow Dog and Arachnaman – did not resonate deep enough with the creative team at the time.

What do you recall from this zany feud? Sound off below.