Jim Cornette spoke about who could have taken the top babyface role in WWE had Hulk Hogan not been around to lead the company during the early 80s.
It’s said by many that the WWE achieved national prominence largely due to the charismatic presence of Hulk Hogan. Hogan’s widespread popularity, fuelled by his in-ring prowess and larger-than-life persona, played a pivotal role in propelling the WWE onto the national stage. He captivated audiences across the country, ultimately contributing to the WWE’s transition from a regional promotion to a dominant force in professional wrestling on a national scale.
But Hogan was just a part of Vince McMahon‘s big plan to go national. Regardless of whether or not he had Hulk Hogan in the ranks, the WWE would have always attempted to go national and then international anyway.
Speaking in 2017 on The Jim Cornette Experience, Jim Cornette and co-host Brian Last discussed who could have hypothetically replaced Hogan as the figurehead of the company. One name that came up was Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes was already a national name and had sold out Madison Square Gardens for Vince McMahon Sr.
“Vince would have had to changed a lot just because Dusty wasn’t gonna look like Hulk Hogan physically. I think Dusty could have probably changed a little bit. But at the same time, I didn’t know Dusty until ’84. Dusty in the late 70’s was so hot and so popular and “Dustymania” was nuts, even though it wasn’t called that, just the fact that he was the most popular guy in the business at one point. I don’t know if Dust and Dream’s ego, baby, was as big as Texas! And I don’t know if he felt he was the one that needed to change at that point or whether the promoter needed to change. Because why would you change something that had worked everywhere it went for Dusty?”
Dusty had transformed into the immensely popular “American Dream” persona following a successful face turn in the 70’s. He had primarily wrestled for NWA territories throughout the decade but as previously mentioned, had appeared for WWE prior to its expansion, wrestling against then WWE Champion, Billy Graham. Cornette wasn’t convinced that a McMahon/Rhodes partnership with Rhodes on top would have worked out.
“It might have been one of those situations where Dusty and Vince, one or the other, said to them the same thing that Bill Watts said to Vince when he left in ’95, “there’s only room for one titan at Titan Sports!””
Rhodes would eventually sign with “Titan” in 1989 but was featured on the undercard. Despite Cornette’s feelings on Hulk Hogan, he still felt that Vince McMahon owed him for the company’s successes.
“Vince ought to be horsewhipped for firing Hulk over his sex tape revelations because if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon might still be running the Cape Cod Coliseum up there and Linda would be taking in washing. Who knows?”
Jim Cornette On ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage
The outspoken Jim Cornette let rip his feelings on whether or not Randy Savage could get over in any time frame. Speaking on his podcast, Cornette made it clear that he felt Savage could have. Not only this, but Jim Cornette makes comment about how he believes that Savage could have got over any point and at any time.
H/t to TJRWrestling.net