>>12723636This is the correct take. A lot of us golden 80s era viewers continued watching WWF because of the what felt like a groundswell of change. When WWF acknowledged Hogan being booed, even if subtle, the winds of change to a smart fan could be felt. Seeing Razor Ramon make being a bad guy cool, watching Diesel squash Backlund for the WWF Championship, on grainy VHS footage no lies, felt like proto attitude era stuff. Monday Night Raw's guerilla style video. McMahon, or Dunn(?), was doing a lot with his presentation at the time to keep the hardcore interested, lifted from Heyman's ECW no doubt. But Doink didn't come off as corny to smart fans, and neither did Duke the Dumpster Droese because we were waiting on the other shoe was to drop. Hints were everywhere for a change. On the other hand, before Hogan turns heel, WCW merch and figures were being sold as swap meets and dollar stores. They somehow managed a negative presence culturally.
