1/23/84 - The day wrestling changed, but what if......

Sgt. Slaughter would be my choice, with Paul Orndorff being #2. Slaughter was over the minute they put him with Sheik. You add in that he was the face of one of the biggest cartoons of the era, GI Joe, he had mainstream appeal. He was good in the ring, and good on the mic. Not saying he would have taken wrestling, or the WWF, to the same heights as Hogan, but he would have done very well. Hard to say anyone would have been able to do what Hogan did. Orndorff is another great choice, he was a white-hot babyface after WM1. I think he could have been a great babyface champion. Him and Piper could have been a big feud for the WWF title, maybe even exchange it back and forth to each other for a bit.

As for other options, Kerry definitely had the look, and he could go in the ring. But he wasn't the best promo, and he didn't have the charisma that Hogan did to draw in the fans. Same thing for Jimmy Snuka. He was really over in the early-mid 90s. The New York crowd loved the guy. He could go in the ring, and he had a very unique style, but, like Kerry, he was not a great promo. And, I can't see him doing all of the other shows like Johnny Carson, SNL, MTV, like Hogan did that put the WWF on the map. Plus, both Snuka and Kerry were very unreliable. The WWF schedule back then when Vince took over was brutal. Hogan became a part-time champion in the early 90s, but in the beginning, that guy traveled the country and main evented everywhere. Vince needed someone reliable to do that.

Dusty Rhodes has always been mentioned as a possibility. Vince seemed to really like Dusty, which is odd because Dusty didn't have the look that Vince usually went after. But he definitely had the charisma and ability to be the guy.

Some other interesting names that don't get mentioned. What about Jerry the King Lawler? He had mainstream appeal with the Andy Kaufman feud, and the Letterman show. He was good in the ring, and great on the mic. I've also heard someone pose the question of Austin Idol as a possible guy to be in the spot. I believe someone asked that to Jim Cornette some years ago. He had a good look, could work, and was good on the mic too. He had the Superstar Billy Graham look/persona, so that is something. Another option, Superstar Billy Graham. Had he not done the Karate gimmick, and he was still the same old Superstar, I could see him coming back to the WWF and challenging the Iron Sheik for the belt. I think Superstar could have gotten over big as a babyface. The only downside to him being the guy at the time was his age. By 1983/84 he was in his early 40s, and kind of broken down. Had he been a decade or so younger, he could have been a great choice.

Can't see it working without Hogan, to be completely honest. To say he took the ball and ran with it, is the true definition of the word "understatement".

The only other guy from that time that may have pulled it off would be Paul Orndorff.

I can't see Backlund carrying the WWF like Vince wanted. Having Sheik as a heel with babyfaces chasing him would have been better.