5 times Hulk Hogan's insecurities were bad for business

Hulk Hogan is arguably one of the greatest WWE Superstars in wrestling history. But every legend has their flaws. Apart from obvious deficiencies in his wrestling ability, Hulk Hogan’s insecurities have been prominent for decades. Many a wrestler has come out to publicly criticise for how he changed the course of their careers due to his insecurities.

You can’t deny that Hulkamania didn’t define wrestling, but arguments can be made that it ran on for a few years too long.

Hogan became addicted to fame and refused to let go of it. His refusal to let it go hindered the wrestling business and almost undid all the good work he had previously done.

Here are five times Hulk Hogan’s insecurity was bad for business.

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#5 Refusal to put Bret Hart over

Hulk Hogan beat Bret Hart in the last minutes of WM9 after he had beaten Yokozuna

The true purpose of a top guy is to draw crowds, sell merchandise and raise the level of competition. Hulk Hogan did two of those things; the third criteria is something he could never quite grasp.

Hogan just didn’t understand that he had to put over others for the betterment of the business. All he felt was that if he won, the company thrives, but he didn’t know that in the long-term, he was killing wrestling.

As Hulkamania began to run to an end in the early 90s, Vince McMahon knew he’d have to breed a new crop of stars. Bret Hart was one of those contenders and the boss wanted Hogan to put him over clean.

Instead, Hogan exercised his top guy power and deemed Hart to be not good enough for such a main event status, which he told to Vince in no uncertain terms. If it weren’t for Hogan leaving in 1993, Bret Hart may not have become the star he was destined to be.

#4 Admitting to Steroid use

Hulk Hogan still looks incredibly fit, even in his 60s

The Hulkster may have always had a stunning body, but wrestling fans continuously doubted the validity of his build. Such was the pressure of looking good that many a wrestler back in the 80s and 90s used illegal steroids to gain muscle mass.

In 1994, the US Government went after Vince McMahon and the WWE over steroid claims. At the time, Hogan wasn’t in the company and was not under investigation.

However, driven by his ego and need to be the centre of everything, Hulk Hogan decided to testify and admit to using steroids. From then on, a stain was left on the sport of professional wrestling, a stain that still hasn’t been removed.

#3 Creative Control in WCW

Hulk Hogan is a former 6-time WCW Heavyweight Champion

After helping turn the WWE into a global phenomenon, Hulk Hogan was tricked into thinking he could do the same for WCW. When he first signed for Ted Turner’s company, he turned the organisation into a legit rival of the WWE’s. Because of the weight he held in the industry, Hogan negotiated himself a creative control clause in his WCW contract.

With that control, he inserted himself into the main event time after time. This meant that younger talents couldn’t shine as they should have.

In the long-term, this led to the demise of WCW as they invested too much in Hogan, whilst neglecting the other wrestlers who could have drawn people. Hogan’s insecurities not only hindered WWE, they hindered WCW too.

#2 Shawn Michaels at Summerslam 2005

Shawn Michaels oversold every move in that match in rebellion to Hogan's refusal to put him over

As a WWE legend, it’s always best to know when your time is up. John Cena is a perfect example -- he’s undoubtedly the best of his generation but he knew that without him putting over other superstars, his legacy would be tainted.

That’s why it was sad to see Hulk Hogan come back in the early noughties and run rough-shot over so many more talented wrestlers.

In 2005, in a match billed between two legends, Hulk Hogan went toe to toe with the show-stopper, Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid was easily the younger of the two, lest we forget, he was the one who carried the company in the 90s when Hogan left.

Unlike Hogan, Michaels was not on his last legs at the time, but for some reason, Hogan outright refused to follow Vince’s original plan. The plan was to have a best of three series between the two, with Michaels eventually going over.

Instead, Hogan went over clean in one match because he wanted to. Thanks, Hulkster.

#1 Refusal to put over Stone Cold

Imagine the money these two could have made together?

However your Mount Rushmore of sports entertainment looks like, there’s no doubt that Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin will always be on everyone’s list. They’re undoubtedly the two most popular names in wrestling history and this bout is the #1 dream match to never happen. But do you know why it didn’t happen? Because of Hogan's insecurities.

When Vince pitched the dream match to the Hulkster, Hogan reportedly replied by saying he’d never put over Stone Cold in a match. And with that, wrestling fans were denied the opportunity to watch the biggest match in history.

Hogan is from the generation before Stone Cold and should have put him over.