There is a new reason to sign up for the WWE Network. Since the Network unveiled classic episodes of WCW's Monday Nitro, fans have a chance to relive old archival footage of Ted Turner's baby. But hidden in the annals of the WCW Vault is a storyline involving a side of Hulk Hogan that no one in WWE really wants you to see. This obscure footage reveals a little known angle featuring "Dark Side Hogan" dressed in all black, which precedes the advent of the nWo by 9 months!
Most people remember the Immortal Hulk Hogan's legendary run in WWF in the 80's. Hulkamania defines a certain era of professional wrestling. However, when Hogan signed with fledgling Atlanta-based company WCW, the cultural landscape was shifting. By the mid-nineties, people began to reject simplistic notions of squeaky clean good guys and cardboard cut-out bad guys. Hogan experienced a backlash from fans who wanted to see something fresh. Enter the nWo.
But did you know that before Hogan started rocking the black and white in the summer of '96, he dabbled with the dark side leading up to Halloween Havoc '95. The basic premise was, as he was facing the Giant (Paul Wight, now known worldwide as The Big Show) and the goofy-ass Dungeon of Doom, Hogan had to tap into the evil in his soul. In Hogan's own words, "I've gotta fight fire with fire, brother!"
The program didn't pop very well, probably because it was a half-assed test run at a heel turn. Hogan was so scared of turning his back on the training, the prayers and the vitamins even as the fans had largely turned on him. But "Dark Side Hogan" was still into the training, the prayers and the vitamins and, at one point, skulking in a cave dressed as a druid and wielding a broad sword.
Pro wrestling is littered with half-baked ideas and gimmicks that never made it out of the gate, but someone has gone to great lengths to bury this storyline. It's almost as if the Internet Wrestling Community has intentionally forgotten that this ever happened. Apart from a few old message boards and YouTube videos, there is scarcely any evidence that this angle even existed.
Hogan has carefully crafted his brand over the years, and Dark Side Hogan is pretty embarrassing. But in this day and age, you can't hide something like this forever.
Check out Hogan's Dark Side storyline, which lasted roughly from October 9, 1995, to World War 3 on November 25 1995 on WWE Network.
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