5 facts you didn't know about Hulk Hogan

#3. He wasn't the original 3rd man of the NWO

In one of the most infamous moments in professional wrestling history, Hulk Hogan betrayed WCW and aligned himself with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, forming the NWO. It was considered the greatest heel turn of all time and forever changed the world of pro wrestling as we know it.

So it's kind of surprising to know that it almost didn't happen. At least, not with Hogan in the group. It turns out there was another star lined up to be the third man. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash had apparently been talking to Bret Hart at the time, according to Hall in an interview with Inside the Ropes.

"We had no idea who it was going to be. The whole third guy thing came up by accident. I remember Kev and I called Bret and I spoke to him, Kev spoke to him and we told him it was really fun working at WCW. It was really laid back, guaranteed money, it was easy. We were so used to being in a shark tank in New York. Coming to Atlanta was like being in a country club. We told Bret he should come down. Bischoff was interested, he was offering him a pretty sweet deal but Bret wasn't interested."

Hall later revealed that Hogan was the man Bischoff was trying to bring in, but no one knew if he'd make it for Bash at the Beach 96. Even if he did, he had creative control and they didn't know if he'd be willing to turn heel after all this time.

Because of that, there was also a back up plan. The man called Sting was going to join the Outsiders at the end of the night. Whether or not it would've worked out, it's hard to believe that it could've gone any better.