Hogan-Hart 93

Not sure if anyone's ever proposed this one, but I always liked to imagine an angle (untethered to any kind of historical reality, of course) where Bret called Hogan out after WM 9 on the concept of them being “friends” and asking – correctly – for a title shot, only to have Hulk duck him and start a heel turn. Or, even better, Hogan could duck him while feigning solidarity, and the whole summer-fall run-up to the Rumble would be a revised version of an 80s-type Hogan BFF-betrayal storyline, except with the roles reversed so the Hulkster is revealed as a scheming chickenshit. For instance:

King of the Ring : Hogan is “forced” to give Yoko a return title shot first and Bret saves him from outside interference/fireball preserving the title and keeping Hogan face, though making him look vulnerable; meanwhile, Bigelow cheats to beat Bret in the KOTR finals with Hogan nowhere in sight, suggesting he's a hypocrite.

Summerslam: Hulk/Hart team together vs. Bigelow (who also wants a shot based on being KOTR) and Yoko; Bret gets the submission win over Yoko, avenging his WM loss and becoming de facto #1 contender, which Hogan seems wary of.

Survivor Series: either Bret and Hogan team together and Hogan turns on him during the match, or they're on opposite teams. One fun idea: Hogan's team's has a mystery partner who turns out to be… Owen Hart, who had originally been booked on Bret's side (“I said I'd see you at Survivor Series, brother, I didn't say I'd be on your side”). Owen is there to help Hogan play mind games, but on the night of the match, Bret's new mystery partner turns out to be.. Randy Savage, who's been on commentary the whole time helping to sell the neo-Mega Powers angle (and nostalgically badmouthing Hogan the whole way). In the match, Owen gets deliberately disqualified so that Hogan can pin or humiliate an incapacitated Bret, only for Savage to be the sole survivor, pinning hogan – for the first time ever – and arguably becoming the #1 contender in his own right. (Let's say just for the sake of it the teams are: Bret/Randy (subbing for Owen) and the Steiners versus Hulk/Mystery Partner (Owen) and the Quebecers, with the joke being that Hogan's built an all-Canadian team just to fuck with the Hitman.

Rumble: Bret gives Savage his blessing to take out Hogan in exchange for a title shot, which he hopes to earn by winning the rumble himself. Owen draws #1 and goes the distance only to get tossed by his brother near the end, continuing their rivalry and setting him up as a main eventer. Bret's win sends him directly to WM, with no meddling possible; Savage gets screwed against Hogan, maybe by Crush (to preserve their WM 10 match) or else Owen, but looks like a winner in defeat.

WM: Bret finally gets a clean shot at Hogan (with Piper as guest referee) and wins; Owen beats a second -tier face in order to prep his own KOTR the run; Savage wither beats Crush or is the one to put over Owen but either way has a big match; Michaels-Razor still happens exactly as is; Hogan either sticks around as a villain or leaves, it's fantasy booking, it doesn't matter…

thoughts?
Adam