Great analysis Pete. There were quite a few guys who could get heat in the NE and nationwide. Nobody could have been Hogan at that time. Orndorff had the better body but not the personality. JYD was getting older, fatter, and more addicted by the day. Cornette has proposed Austin Idol but nah.
People always overlook the most obvious choice which is Sgt Slaughter, he wasnt gonna hit the heights that Hogan did, no one could do that, but for the blueprint to world domination that Vince had planned out, he was the best option if Hogan didnt exist
He was an all American tough guy ready to battle foreign evil doers, had a decent amount of charisma, could connect with the children, his gimmick was ready made for cartoons, cereal boxes, toys, posters, etc, was a solid talker that could go on all the talk shows and local newscasts and guest shots on the A-Team and Saturday Night Live
Every single thing that Hulk did to help push the WWF into mainstream entertainment, Slaughter could do
Slaughter had started to get lazy by that point but I got a sneaky suspicious that Vince could work his Jedi magic and get Slaughter in the right state of mind to hit the gym and become a mega star
He probably wouldnt last as long as Hogan did, maybe a 2 year run instead of 4, but he could get the WWF off and running like Vince wanted