By TV’s Tim
In 1991, World Wrestling Federation honcho Vincent Kennedy McMahon planned
what he undoubtedly believed was going to be his biggest triumph to date:
selling out the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with the seventh annual
Wrestlemania event. And while he was sure that the WWF brand name alone had
more than enough clout to fill the 100,000+ seat venue to capacity, Vince
also had a main event bout that he was sure couldn’t miss: former 1980’s
superpatriot Sgt. Slaughter (now a Iraqi sympathizer) vs. the All-American
hero Hulk Hogan for the WWF title against the backdrop of the first Gulf
War. After all, Hogan had drawn millions of dollars and broken box office
and PPV records with the same “big bad foreign heel” formula before, so how
could the WWF miss by pitting him against the biggest American turncoat
since Benedict Arnold?
Yet somehow, it did miss. Within weeks, the WWF was forced to move the PPV
event to the much-smaller LA Sports Arena (the kayfabed explanation was an
unidentified terror plot involving a bomb threat) and on the whole, the
failure of Wrestlemania VII is widely regarded as the beginning of the WWF’s
steep decline heading into the mid 1990’s. Indeed, it wasn’t until the rise
of Steve Austin and the Rock in the latter part of that decade when the WWF
would have any hope of ever again approaching the heights of their Reagan
Era successes. And who knows, if Vince had been bold enough to run Rock vs.
Austin at Wrestlemania X-7 in the Coliseum instead of the Astrodome, he
might have been able to put 100,000 behinds in those seats. It’s probably
the only matchup of the modern era that could even come close to pulling off
that feat.
When one looks back at the major WWF bouts of the late 1980’s and early
1990’s, it’s interesting to speculate about which feud from that era could
have sold out the Coliseum. Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage? Possibly, given how
hot the feud was in 1985/86 (and to this day I can’t understand why they
didn’t run this match in the cage at Wrestlemania 2 instead of Hogan vs.
King Kong Bundy), but by the time Vince had any faith in Savage as a main
eventer, the company was already on the downward spiral into the nadir of
the 90’s. Hogan vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper? Maybe, but convincing Hotrod to do
the “time honored tradition” would have been a logistical nightmare. Hogan
vs. Ric Flair? Again, this one happened far too late in the game to have the
kind of impact needed to draw 100,000 paid fanatics. Hogan vs. Andre the
Giant, widely considered to be the Greatest WWE Main Event Of All Time (in
quantity if not quality) by the people who consider such things, drew just
78,000 paid at the peak of the so-called wrestling boom. Even “The Ultimate
Challenge”, featuring two of the biggest babyfaces in wrestling history,
“only” drew 68,000 in the Skydome in 1990 (marking the end of the Second
Golden Age, it should be noted).
So it stands to reason that in order to sell out the LA Coliseum and make
professional wrestling history yet again, Vince McMahon would have had to be
willing to think outside the box and spend the money necessary to bring in
the one man I believe would have presented the Immortal Hulk Hogan with the
biggest challenge of his career: the Russian Nightmare Nikita Koloff.
It is this writer’s firm belief that no one else in the world of pro
wrestling (sport entertainment or otherwise) ever pulled off the “badass
Russian heel” role better than Nikita Koloff. He truly “lived the gimmick”,
to the point of legally changing his name and even learning some Russian
phrases to use in his promos. At 6′2″ and 275 pounds, he was the very
definition of a “lean, mean fighting machine”, complete with a simple black
singlet and a shaved head at a time when that particular look was not part
of the norm. Despite being as green as all outdoors, Nikita was considered a
star the moment he stepped into the ring in 1984. Much like John Cena,
people didn’t care that his ringwork was shaky, because they were so
captivated by his charisma and presence. Whatever that indefinable quality
known as “it” was, Nikita had “it” in abundance. And after working with top
names like Ric Flair, the Roll ‘n’ Roll Express and those other great
talents from Jim Crockett Promotions, he quickly improved and became an even
bigger star. While Hogan was dragging stiffs like Nikolai Volkoff (the WWF’s
answer to the resident foreign menace) around the ring in 20-minute
snoozefests, Nikita and other rising stars like Magnum TA and Lex Luger were
having realistic, hard-hitting bouts that were both exciting and athletic.
These matches were not workrate classics, but rather short and simple
encounters booked to focus on the strengths of these men and showcase them
to the world. And while Magnum TA was booked as the future star destined for
greatness, it was the Russian Nightmare who stood out from the pack. And
indeed, when Magnum’s career was ended after his 1986 car accident, it was
Nikita who was designated as the new heir apparent by head booker Dusty
Rhodes.
Interestingly enough, Vince McMahon apparently made several overtures to
Nikita about joining the WWF, but only for a midcard role and far less money
than he was receiving from the Crocketts. It’s unfathomable to me that a man
as widely hailed as a “wrestling genius” by so many people somehow not only
failed to see the value of a longterm feud like Hogan Vs. Nikita, but by all
accounts was seemingly more interested in proving the “superiority” of his
WWF wrestlers than, you know, making millions and millions of dollars. It’s
the same myopic view of the world that killed the biggest potential
money-making angle in wrestling history (the InVasion) and lead to insanity
like “King” Harley Race and Dusty Rhodes in polka dots. Instead of trying to
lure Nikita into the fold with lowball offers just so he could job him out
to lesser WWF talent, Vince should have opened his wallet and called upon
his much-ballyhooed creative genius to craft a scenario that would have been
enticing enough for Nikita to jump ship.
Imagine if it had been the Russian Nightmare who handed Hogan his first
pinfall loss in four years on the Main Event in 1988 instead of the
increasingly decrepit Andre the Giant. Imagine Nikita going on a year-long
reign of terror, running ripshod through all the top WWF stars enroute to
the rematch with Hulk Hogan at the following year’s Wrestlemania, with the
WWF title (and all the hopes and dreams of all the little Hulkamaniacs of
the world) on the line in front of the largest crowd in North American
wrestling history. And after the inevitable babyface turn, imagine the true
“Superpowers” team of Hulk Hogan and Nikita dominating the WWF scene,
mirroring the changing political climate of the world during the late
1980’s.
Of course, none of this ever happened. Nikita stayed with JCP and later WCW
for sporadic runs through the end of his career in 1993 (with a brief
stopover in the AWA) and never set foot in a WWF ring. Indeed, aside from
Sting and Ole Anderson, he’s the only major NWA/JCP star from that era who
has not made at least a token appearance in Titanland. And despite his
setbacks in the 1990’s, Vince McMahon has managed to do pretty well for
himself in the interim and even helped to usher in what could be considered
the Third Golden Age of Wrestling during the latter part of that decade. But
since Andre vs. Hogan in 1987, he’s never really had that one, definitive,
era-defining match that lives on in infamy long after the participants are
retired from the sport or dead and gone. Some bouts have come pretty close:
Hogan vs. Warrior at Wrestlemania VI, Hogan vs. Rock at Wrestlemania X-8,
even Rock vs. Austin at Wrestlemania X-7. But in the end those matches, as
memorable as they all were, didn’t have the one mysterious X-Factor that
separates great moments from truly legendary ones. The Immortal Hulk Hogan
vs. The Russsian Nightmare Nikita Koloff, in front of a rabid, 100,000+
sellout crowd at the LA Coliseum, could have been one of those moments that
changed the world of professional wrestling and which fans would speak about
in reverent tones decades later, joining such classics as Kerry Von Erich
vs. Ric Flair at Texas Stadium or Bruno Sammartino vs. Larry Zbyszko from
the Showdown at Shea in 1980. Or, dare I say, Hogan vs. Andre.
It’s just a shame that greed and ego ultimately deprived the wrestling fans
of the world of what could have been the Greatest Feud of All Time.
