Scott,
We all know how Hulk Hogan ruthlessly exploited his political (and contractual) power in the 1990s and beyond.
Before that, during his first reign, how much juice do you think Hogan would have had if McMahon asked him to drop the title (either to sell a rematch or permanently) and that 'didn't work for me, brother'? If Hogan just said no, what options did McMahon have?
My understanding was that the booker / owner had a god-like authority in the 80s, but I also remember Piper simply refusing to ever job.
Over to you.
Depends when the conversation would have come up, I guess. Pre-Wrestlemania, Vince would have likely laughed at him and went out and found someone else instead. Once things exploded with Hulk and Mr. T basically creating the PPV Event mentality, Hulk was in a much more advantageous position.
I mean, though, I know it's been said that there weren't any alternatives to Hogan, but it's not like the company would have fallen apart if Vince had to put the title on Piper or JYD or someone instead. He had been trying to get Kerry Von Erich for a while and realistically could have thrown enough money at Fritz to make it happen if he really wanted to, I'd guess. Worst case he could have put it in cruise control with a babyface Paul Orndorff on top until late 86 and then grabbed young Lex Luger from Florida and tried the Hulk deal again with him.