[Stardust]

Interesting point Stardust. That is one thing that is often thought about when it comes to WCW. Where would they have gone without Hogan?

Signing Hulk Hogan in 1994 changed WCW and the style of the company completely. Before Hulk Hogan, WCW in the 80's and early 90's consisted of a lot of pure technical wrestling, and long, classic matches. It wasn't uncommon in WCW to see a 60 minute main event match or a match go close to that time (ex: Flair vs. Steamboat). When Hogan came that changed, since he was the big star and a lot of his matches typically didn't go over 20 minutes.

Even without Hogan coming to WCW I believe they would have made a gain on the WWE in the mid-90's, despite some good talent (Diesel, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, etc.). Signing guys like the Macho Man, Lex Luger, Earthquake, and a young (and much skinnier) Paul Wight, they would have been able to be a threat to WWE, but I don't think they would have provided the big threat to Vince McMahon that they did when the NWO formed and the ratings went through the roof. Like Stardust mentioned, the Outsiders wouldn't have been able to draw the heat that they did had it not been for Hogan. I do think WCW would have stayed afloat simply because the style of wrestling they had (assuming it remained the long, classic matches) and that it would have attracted a solid fanbase, but I think they would have always been second to WWE.

I would like to go further on this (fun stuff to talk about!) but I would like to hear a couple more replies before I do. There are SO many factors that could play into this. For instance, if Hogan doesn't leave WWE, would WCW have signed the Macho Man? Lex Luger? The Outsiders? That remains up for debate.

EXCELLENT reply!

Even though the guys was psychotic, Kevin Sullivan may have been the most underrated booker in the history of the business. I truly believe that he could have taken better advantage of the High-Flyers and had he continued booking matches, versus the booking that took place after the Outsiders came on-board. If WCW would have built around the more athletic talent of the Luchas, Japanese and more specifically guys like Benoit, Guerrero, Rey, Jericho and Pillman, just maybe the WCW could have changed the face of wrestling. Instead, the old guys one the battle of managing the storylines, and WCW floundered a great opportunity. WWE took better advantage and used these guys in Main Event matches. That was WCW's only chance at competing with WWE and ultimately resulted in their downfall.