The discussion around WWE’s Legacy Hall of Fame inductees, particularly Ivan Koloff ending Bruno Sammartino’s legendary reign, prompted a fascinating “what if” scenario regarding another iconic title change: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI.
On the “Something To Wrestle” podcast, JBL argued that having a heel transition champion often works best when dethroning a long-reigning babyface, using Koloff-Bruno as the prime example. He then applied this logic to the 1990 mega-match between Hogan and Warrior.
“I thought it was a mistake to have Hogan lose the title of Warrior,” JBL stated plainly. “Because you have one of the most charismatic guys of all time, warrior who… incredibly charismatic and incredibly over… I think you should have put a mailman in between them. I think you should have put a heel, like, like an Ivan Koloff in between them, and drop it [the title] and then drop it to warrior. I thought, I thought it would have worked better.”
JBL felt the direct babyface-to-babyface transition put Warrior in an impossible position. “It’s just impossible to live up to what Hogan did with giant and, you know, 93,000 people the start of WrestleMania and all that,” he argued. “I don’t know anybody in the history of wrestling that could have carried that right after Hogan, as big as Hogan was at the time.”
Host Conrad Thompson pointed out that WWE had used an interim heel champion successfully before, when The Iron Sheik briefly held the title between Bob Backlund and Hogan. Thompson suggested Mr. Perfect, who was undefeated heading into WrestleMania VI, could have played that role.
JBL wholeheartedly agreed. “Perfect would have been the ideal person to do it,” he said. “He can work. He had a ton of heat. He would have made Warrior look great. And all sudden, now you’ve you’ve got the hated Curt Hennig [Mr. Perfect], because he took the title off the guy you love of Hulkamania. Well, who can come and make vengeance for that? That’s when the warrior comes riding in on the white horse and wins it… You did it for Hogan. You know, instead of beating Hogan.”
While the Hogan vs. Warrior match remains an iconic WrestleMania moment, JBL believes utilizing a heel interim champion like Mr. Perfect could have strategically benefited both superstars and followed a proven booking pattern.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
