One of the most fascinating periods in wrestling history is the start of the 1990s in WWE. Hulkamania was finally starting to fade, and Hulk Hogan was looking into other ventures, and was gradually working his way out, while Vince McMahon searched feverishly for a successor to the greatest drawing act in wrestling history. There was a great deal at stake. The empire that WWF controlled in the wrestling industry at the time was all but unchallenged with WCW falling flat on their asses under Jim Herd, and the amount of money flowing in was absolutely incredible. To continue this flow of money and success, and to put a lock on the industry in a way that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to ever be challenged they had to find the right man to follow in the footsteps of Hulkamania.
Vince McMahon chose The Ultimate Warrior.
He chose poorly.
Warrior turned out to be a poor drawing card, and flamed out of the company almost immediately, making matters far worse and eventually tumbling WWF into a spiral of failure that nearly cost them everything. Now we have a chance at a do over. The year is 1990, the roster is what it was then. Your job is simple, but terribly difficult.
The coin toss dictates that BGMaverick will go first.
“Macho Man” Randy Savage is the ultimate do-over. This wouldn’t be a rushed or forced move based on the body of work he established as a workhorse and strong Intercontinental Champion in the mid-80s.
He might have been undersized, but he proved to be the precursor to the likes of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and others to show they while he didn’t have the favored look in the 80s, he was viable and marketable in the 90s. Any slight in terms of his size was negated by his intensity, versatility, and personality.
If you weren’t Hulk Hogan, you were a big deal if you interacted with him, so the epic formation and fallout of The Mega Powers also put a feather in one of the many colorful cowboy hats Savage wore. Age could been seen as an issue, but if you’re having to hit the ground running after your big star leaves, you need to go with the proven commodity. It can be a smooth and seamless transition with Savage.
If Vince wanted to feel buyer’s remorse again, Savage eventually proved he had marketability and crossover appeal with the famous Slim Jim endorsement. No matter who has endorsement deals now or in the past, Savage and Slim Jim still is the gold standard.
Whether it was flair, ability on the mic, work in the ring, drama, you had it all in Randy Savage. Vince missed by picking the Ultimate Warrior, but he wouldn’t have if he picked The Macho Man.
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Hulk Hogan was almost 40, and fans were beginning to get bored with his act, looking for fresh workers and real genuine talent. There is one man who had youth, talent and ability to connect with the fans. That man is……Mr Perfect, Curt Hennig!
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As 1990 rolled around, Mr Perfect was in the midst of a huge undefeated streak and his popularity was growing. The best matches of the year featured Mr Perfect and he was able to put on different styles of matches with the likes of Brutus Beefcake, Texas Tornado and his impact in the 1990 Royal Rumble was huge, finishing runner up and proving his worth once again. Mr Perfect was one of a crop of really good technical wrestlers all making their way to the top in WWE but the likes of Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were both still in tag teams whilst Mr Perfect was putting on consistently good matches in singles competition, winning the Intercontinental Championship twice.
Mr Perfect had the look, had the wrestling ability, the charisma and was the natural choice to be given the ball to run with. He worked fantastically as a heel but he was easily capable of a babyface run, something that could’ve been achieved whilst also keeping his undefeated run going. In terms of who should’ve replace Hulk Hogan as the number one guy, Curt Hennig would’ve been….Perfect.
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Mr. Perfect is an inspired choice, no doubt. His technical wrestling was superb and everyone will remember those magical vignettes. He could have wrestled in the shadow of his father but he established himself all on his own.
Being as despised he was as a heel, it made it challenging to get him over as a babyface, as you alluded to. It was attempted by the WWF but the results were extremely mixed at best. That leaves his outlook open to doubt somewhat, especially when it comes to being able to step in as the successor to Hulkamania. With Savage, he was so diversified that he could rile up the crowd one year and then have them loving him the next year.
Both suffered setbacks in various natures. Paranoia and marital matters hindered Savage while Henning’s back began to fail him. Not to make light of a legitimate back issue, marital issues with Elizabeth while taxing, could be worked through. Henning’s back started to betray him.
While he could be erratic due to those issues, Savage was still centered in terms of the profession, being a “good brother” and working as a marketable face of the company. If he needed to get someone over, he would do it and make them look good. Need PR work? Savage was making national TV appearances, carrying and promoting the WWF. If you’re captain faces distress and can still work at a high level, that’s the right choice to be your main man.
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I agree, Mr Perfect is an inspired choice. He’s also the correct choice. In 1990 no one knew his back would eventually give out but everyone knew Macho Man had issues in real life with his relationship with both his wife and his fellow workers. He was a paranoid mess and it hindered his ability, whilst Mr Perfect was stealing the show each night with fantastic matches, great promos and oozing charisma all over the place.
Macho Man was a year older than Hogan, pushing 40 and his best years were behind him. Perfect was in his early thirties, was already in the top 3 performers in the company and had already grown into a fantastic all round performer.
You say he would’ve had trouble getting over as a baby face but listen to the reaction here at 05:20:
The fans were rabid for him coming along to save Bret and with his fantastic wrestling ability he would’ve been an easy turn, dumping The Genius and being a huge face.
No one doubts Savage was a great worker but he was given the reigns in ’88 and failed to keep hold them, cementing his place at a perpetual number two. Most agree that the main problem with the WWF at that period of time was a lack of new faces in the main event but Mr Perfect would’ve been the best choice to break through that glass ceiling and take his place among the elite.
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It’s hard to say the paranoia hindered Savage’s abilities because he was making appearances, both for WWF and the talk show circuit. Could he be difficult to work with? Yeah but when push came to shove, he did what he was told to do and did it well.
Vince did eventually opt to go with a youth movement. He was forced to after the debacle with Warrior and the eventual battle with WCW. If Vince was the captain making his first pick, there was a reason Vince didn’t pick Henning and picked Warrior. Where were the talk show appearances or crossover opportunities not on WWF Television for Henning? He had memorable moments with athletes like Wade Boggs but that happened on WWF Television. Savage and Warrior were similar in a lot of ways. Honestly, they were larger than life. The difference between the two was you knew you could rely on Savage through the ebbs and flows of pushes. He was a pro.
Going with a youth movement works well with commentators but that’s not necessarily required for your star of the company. It’s ideal but not a prerequisite. When you’re recovering and trying to move on from Hulkamania, it’s shrewd to go with something similar in terms of look or personality. Vince opted to go with that with Warrior. He could have gotten the same thing without the headache with Savage.
Case in point: Warrior was the original Slim Jim guy but Savage won the Slim Jim people over.
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So Macho Man, by your own admission:
Difficult to work with.
Similar to the troublesome Warrior.
Goes against the ‘ideal’ youth movement.
I think that goes to show that Savage was really not the ideal choice to replace Hulk Hogan. He was over but he was never the TOP GUY when he was set up to be the top guy. He was a very good number two but he lacked the whole package to be number one.
Hennig had the lot. He looked like a superstar, he acted like a superstar and he wrestled like a superstar. His matches with Bret for the IC title were incredible, especially for that era and he had a lot of respect within the dressing room. His in ring performances were second to none and there was so much respect from his peers and the fans over his incredible talent that he was often supported despite being a smug heel.
It goes to show that 12 years later, at the age of 43 he was still one of the best in ring workers and was able to pop a crowd. Imagine what he could’ve done if given the ball in 1990! If Vince attempted to make Savage into the guy, we all know what would’ve happened and it would’ve followed a similar path to the Warrior but with his athleticism, ability and look, Mr Perfect would’ve been the biggest star of the early nineties, having more classic matches with Bret, Shawn and numerous others.
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