Flashpoint: The Hogan Effect (A TEW 2021 Project)

[Bobby Barrows]

[BGCOLOR=rgb(255, 0, 0)]The Hogan Effect[/BGCOLOR]

An Alternate 1991
TEW 2020 Project

The year is 1991, and the wrestling world is in the midst of its biggest boom since the 1950s. Four US wrestling companies each vie for dominance in the world of television and entertainment; each with different levels of respect towards one another. In Japan, the nation is rocked by huge promotional wars between three major companies looking to put one another out of business. In Mexico, Lucha Libre is on the rise and is about to see its true golden age. Europe and Australia are left with a dearth of wrestling promotions while Canada plays lip service to the American Wrestling companies following the folding of Stampede Wrestling.

World Wrestling Federation

The first major wrestling company is the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), helmed by its President and owner Vince McMahon. With massive financial muscle, a strong sense of business acumen, and a marketing department made up of some of the best minds in the field, the WWF became a national name through the leadership and ruthless tactics of McMahon. He began his national expansion in early 1984, helming the company behind the charismatic 2nd-Generation superstar Kerry Von Erich for the biggest show in the world: WrestleMania. With Von Erich's immaculate success (thanks to the media spin by Vince), he was able to create a wrestling empire throughout the United States on the USA Network, while also buying out several smaller wrestling companies. By late 1990, Vince McMahon had amassed enough funds to finally nab Hulk Hogan, the biggest star in professional wrestling. Alongside other major wrestling stars such as WWF Champion The Ultimate Warrior, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, and Andre The Giant, Hogan has stiff competition ahead of him. It will be interesting to see how the WWF does in 1991, though there may be some rough waters in the near future.

American Wrestling Association

The second major company is the American Wrestling Association (AWA), based in Minnesota and helmed by wrestling legend Verne Gagne. The AWA's rise to prominence came in the 1970s thanks to their nationally syndicated program All-Star Wrestling, but the AWA became nationally ascendant in 1982 as it rode to rising waves of its most popular star: Hulk Hogan. Hogan would become the icon of the Minneapolis-based company and would do gang-buster numbers at the box office, leading to the AWA to nab a primetime national spotlight on ESPN, the biggest sports channel in America. Hogan would dominate the AWA for most of the 1980s, but a contract dispute in late 1990 led to his departure for the WWF; however, the AWA is still in strong spirits with several major stars hanging around: AWA World Heavyweight Champion Curt Hennig, Jerry "The King" Lawler, "Ravishing" Rick Rude (who joined the AWA after contract disputes with the WWF), and "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko.

World Championship Wrestling

The World Championship Wrestling (WCW), formerly known as Mid-South Wrestling, is the pride and joy of media mogul Ted Turner's media empire and is the brainchild of "Cowboy" Bill Watts. With impeccable media coverage, a strong business sense, and a no-nonsense attitude, WCW came into being thanks to heavy negotiations between Turner and Watts, buying up the old Georgia Championship Wrestling timeslot from Vince McMahon and rising to prominence from it. With major income thanks to television deals and sponsorships, Bill Watts companies were able to survive the disastrous Oil Crash of 1986 and forged ahead as a force to be reckoned with. Bill Watts heavily leveraged the company behind Ted DiBiase, a hated heel and veteran of the business. Other major stars in WCW include the WCW World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff among so many others.

National Wrestling Alliance

The final major player is the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA); the NWA was a loose collective of wrestling territories that began back in 1948 and had served as the premier organization throughout the 50s until the early 1980s. However, with the rise of the AWA, WCW, and WWF, the NWA had to find a way to survive by any means necessary. Jim Crockett Promotions, seeing the opportunity, organized the permanent merger of all territories within the alliance to become one super company. Off the back of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, the NWA's style proved to be extremely popular in the Southern region of the United States. The high point of the NWA's competition proved fruitful as they held the first "Clash of the Champions" opposite WrestleMania IV on national television via the FOX Network in 1988. The extreme success of this event led to FOX granting a primetime slot to the company. Other major stars include The NWA World's Heavyweight Champion Sting, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and Lex Luger, among others.

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So for those of you wondering, this is my attempt at creating an alternate timeline in TEW 2021 where Hulk Hogan stays in the AWA but becomes the top star, with Verne not being a complete buffoon. It is also in this timeline that MSW buys out the Turner timeslot instead of JCP; in response, JCP becomes the de facto NWA territory. Confusing already? Yes. Will it take a lot of work? Also yes. A lot of stuff is going to change so I will try to update as best I can from time to time to explain all I've done.​

 

[Bobby Barrows]

First Update:

For the first major update, I've officially broken ground on the project by doing two major things:

1.) WCW is officially renamed NWA, but will retain most of its key roster.

2.) A new WCW is created in its stead, and with it, will have much of the classical Mid-South Wrestling roster, with a few key inclusions here and there.

Now then, here are the major changes to the WWF title scene:
​

WWF Championship

Bob Backlund (Wk 3, February 1978 - Wk 4, December 1983)
The Iron Sheik (Wk 4, December 1983 - Wk 3, January 1984)
Kerry Von Erich (Wk 3, January 1984 - Wk 4, March 1988)
Randy Savage (Wk 4, March 1988 - Wk 1, April 1990)
The Ultimate Warrior (Wk 1, April 1990 - Current)

Intercontinental Championship

Honky Tonk Man (Wk 1, June 1987 - Wk 4, August 1988)
The Ultimate Warrior (Wk 4, August 1988 - Wk 1, April 1989)
Rick Rude (Wk 1, April 1989 - Wk 4, August 1989)
The Ultimate Warrior 2x (Wk 4, August 1989 - Wk 1, April 1990)
Kerry Von Erich (Wk 4, April 1990 - Current)

Tag Team Championships

Tito Santana & Rick Martel (Wk 4, October 1987 - Wk 4, March 1988)
Ax & Smash (Wk 4, March 1988 - Wk 3, July 1989)
The Hart Foundation 2x (Wk 3, July 1989 - Wk 1, October 1989)
Ax & Smash 2x (Wk 1, October 1989 - Wk 2, December 1989)
Andre The Giant & Haku (Wk 2, December 1989 - Wk 1, April 1990)
Ax & Smash 3x (Wk 1, April 1990 - Wk 4, August 1990)
The Hart Foundation 3x (Wk 4, August 1990 - Current

Royal Rumble

Jake Roberts (1988)
Andre The Giant (1989)
The Ultimate Warrior (1990)

King of the Ring

Don Muraco (1985)
Harley Race (1986)
Randy Savage (1987)
Jake Roberts (1988)
Tito Santana (1989)

WWF Women's Championship

Leilani Kai (Wk 3, February 1985 - Wk 4, March 1985)
Wendi Richter 2x (Wk 4, March 1985 - Wk 1, July 1986)
The Fabulous Moolah 2x (Wk 1, July 1986 - Wk 4, August 1986)
Wendi Richter 3x (Wk 4, August 1986 - Wk 3, July 1987)
Sherri Martel (Wk 3, July 1987 - Wk 1, October 1988)
Rockin' Robin (Wk 1, 1988 - Wk 1, April 1990)
Sherri Martel 2x (Wk 1, April 1990 - Current)