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| source// wwe.com |
Without Hulk Hogan, the grand event known to millions around the globe as WrestleMania would not exist.
Inaugurated in 1985, the event was the perfect mix of mainstream celebrity and professional wrestling and Hogan was the man who bridged the gap between the two. He was a charismatic persona, a character that appealed to fans beyond the scope of pro wrestling. He was absolutely integral in selling the idea of a celebrity-infused extravaganza to the audience while simultaneously promoting WWE on talk shows, on radio shows and even during an edition of Saturday Night Live.
As the event grew and evolved, Hogan guided it, the biggest star and the sport’s greatest attraction. Hulkamania ran wild through the first nine events, then returned for its 18th before wrestling his final match at the event he helped grandfather in 2003.
With The Hulkster in the news for all the wrong reasons of late, relive his enormous contributions to the event we will all celebrate on April 3 with these, his epic WrestleMania encounters, ranked from worst to best according to match quality and historical significance.
12. WWE Championship Match: Hulk Hogan Vs. Yokozuna – WrestleMania 9
Hulk Hogan’s worst WrestleMania match is also his most notorious, the greatest example of his ego running wild at the expense of a youthful roster and Vince McMahon’s New Generation.
Moments after Bret Hart had the WWE Championship stolen from him, courtesy of Mr. Fuji and a handful of salt to the eyes, The Hulkster came to his aid. The new champion inexplicably challenged Hogan to an impromptu match, his hubris getting the best of him. Then, in one of the most unexpected endings in WrestleMania history, Hogan ducked another salt attack, hit Yokozuna with a clothesline and pinned him for the title following a big leg drop.
The audience in Las Vegas erupted but more attentive, die-hard wrestling fans watching around the country recognized the moment for what it was: one last grasp effort by an aging mega-star to stay in the spotlight while simultaneously keeping the young generation of stars from surpassing him.
11. WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Hulk Hogan & Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake Vs. Money Inc. – WrestleMania 9
It is no coincidence that Hogan’s first match at the ninth WrestleMania is ranked in this spot, his second-worst match at the event.
His eye bruised following a confrontation with “Macho Man” Randy Savage just 24 hours before the show and his ego battered from his placement in a midcard tag team title match, Hogan was unmotivated to say the least as he teamed with Brutus Beefcake to battle Money Inc. (IRS and Ted DiBIase). The match was formulaic and slow, boring even. No one really bought IRS or DiBiase as credible opposition to the almighty Hogan and the result was a bout devoid of drama.
The only real result was a disqualification result that saw The Hulkster and Beefcake lose the bout and the opportunity to call themselves champions.
At too many points throughout the match, whether he was pandering to the crowd or going through the same old routine, it felt like Hogan was cashing a check and basking in the spotlight one more time.
As we have already touched on, few would have guessed just how far he would go to revel in said spotlight.
10. Hulk Hogan Vs. Sid Justice – WrestleMania 8
The main event of WrestleMania 8 became less about a mutual respect diminishing into animosity and jealousy, and more about feeding Hulk Hogan’s ego. Suddenly, rumors of Hogan wrestling his final match before retiring dominated the discussion. What should have been a war between the past and the future, instead was one more excuse to sing the praises of The Hulkster, despite diminishing cheers.
The match itself was a particularly boring affair, with Sid controlling the pace of the match, only for Hogan to do as he always did. He hulked up, fought back and dropped the big leg.
But Sid kicked out. In the midst of a terrible wrestling match, devoid of the raw emotion that the Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair bout touted earlier in the night, the man who would later enjoy fame as the company’s resident “Sycho,” kicked out of the leg drop as if Hogan had hit him with a clothesline. It was an extraordinary moment that often goes forgotten, but one overshadowed by the return of The Ultimate Warrior, whose stood along a victorious Hogan (via DQ when Papa Shango interfered) to close out the show.
9. WWE Championship Tournament Match: Hulk Hogan Vs. Andre The Giant – WrestleMania 4
Remember how awe-inspiring the showdown between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant was at WrestleMania 3?
The rematch was anything but. It was, at its heart, a cash-grab by Vince McMahon. The promoter understood that fans still had an appetite to whet when it came to Hogan vs. Andre and he looked to milk every dollar out of the matchup that he could. The result? A tournament for the vacant WWE Championship, in which Hogan and Andre would battle during the second round.
That bout would lack the spectacle that the original had, not to mention the raw emotion of the audience watching it. Instead of 93,000 rabid wrestling fans, all of whom cared about the characters involved, the match was witnessed by high rollers of the casino world and tourists looking for a spectacle. Atlantic City did not appreciate the match the way it should have been and the result was a dull match with a crappy finish that left fans unsatisfied.
8. Steel Cage Match For The WWE Championship: Hulk Hogan Vs. King Kong Bundy – WrestleMania 2
There was nothing overly spectacular about Hulk Hogan’s 1986 WWE Championship defense against King Kong Bundy inside a steel cage in Los Angeles. Over the years that have proceeded it, though, it has unfairly been criticized, labeled as a bad match when in reality, it is a titanic clash between two heavyweights with an incredibly effective backstory.
Hogan entered the match with injured ribs, damaged by the vaunted Avalanche Splash employed by his massive challenger. Bundy understandably targeted those ribs, exploiting the injury and nearly putting our hero down and out on several occasions. But Hogan fought back and the fans inside the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena erupted, cheering their real life superhero on.
Showing the resiliency and superhuman effort that would come to define his persona, Hogan toppled Bundy in a match that–right or wrong–ranks low in the pantheon of WrestleMania main events.
7. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T Vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper & “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff – WrestleMania
The main event of the inaugural WrestleMania blended celebrity and sport, bringing together the best and brightest of WWE and the most recognizable pop culture celebrities in the world. On that night in 1985, Hulk Hogan teamed with Mr. T in an attempt to shut up “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and his associate, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff.
The result was a match that captivated fans, generated a huge reaction and gave fans everything they wanted in a victory for the good guys. Best of all, it preserved Piper’s heat. By not beating him, it kept him strong and capable of carrying a year’s worth of house show matches with Hogan and the continuation of his program with Mr. T.
The match was less of a formulaic bout and more of a spectacle, with crowd-pleasing spots, frenetic action and the involvement of Muhammad Ali ensuring sports and entertainment outlets would cover the show the next morning. Hogan won the match for his team and all was right with the world. At least for that night.
6. WWE Championship Match: Hulk Hogan Vs. Andre The Giant – WrestleMania 3
The idea of the epic WrestleMania main event originated in 1987, at the event’s third incarnation, when Hulk Hogan defended the WWE Championship against Andre the Giant. “The unstoppable force meeting the immovable object,” Gorilla Monsoon accurately described the bout. Hogan, heavyweight champion for three years, was pitted against a giant who had not lost on a major stage in 15 years. Fans could not conceivably foresee either wrestler losing, making for a rare occasion in which the outcome was not readily apparent.
Standing chest-to-chin in the center of the ring, Andre emotionless as he stared down at the man he used to call friend, the Superstars could feel the anticipation of the audience reach a fever pitch. The match that proceeded was hardly what one would consider a great one, but one whose historic relevance is undeniable. It is a match that helped establish WrestleMania as The Showcase of the Immortals, the stage on which the most important matches in wrestling history take place.
Hogan won, legitimizing his run as the top attraction in sports entertainment, while Andre proved his selflessness by putting The Hulkster over clean in the center of the ring. It was a satisfying conclusion to an expertly built and marketed match, and the first extraordinary main event produced by Vince McMahon.
5. WWE Championship Match: Hulk Hogan Vs. Sgt. Slaughter – WrestleMania 7
The main event between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 7 is among the most under appreciated in event history. Sure, the circumstances surrounding it are not ideal, what with the blatant exploitation of the Gulf War, but the match itself is what we are judging here. When looked at from that angle, it is a bout that is dramatic, expertly wrestled by two veterans of the mat game and one jam-packed with emotion.
Hogan bleeds, the result of the ruthlessness of Slaughter, but he fights through the proverbial crimson mask. He does it for himself, for the allure of a third WWE Championship and the little Hulkamaniacs in the stands. But more importantly, he does it for America. In the most patriotic main event ever, he drops the leg on Slaughter and puts an end to his maniacal run as champion.
An above-average match that ranks among the best main events Hogan has ever wrestled on the grand stage, it has the dubious distinction of being at the center of one of Vince McMahon’s most notorious booking decisions.
4. Street Fight: Hulk Hogan Vs. Vince McMahon – WrestleMania 19
Who was really responsible for WrestleMania?
That was the question at the heart of the Hulk Hogan-Vince McMahon bout, a grudge match that dominated the marketing of WrestleMania XIX. The faces of the two most influential stars in WWE history were plastered on posters, DVD cases and magazine covers. This, despite the fact that Steve Austin and The Rock were wrapping up their epic rivalry, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar were battling for the first time on pay-per-view and Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels were waging war in a heated singles bout. Needless to say, with a card that strong, all of the pressure was on The Hulkster and his boss to deliver a match that justified their placement as the marquee match of the event.
They did, waging war in a bloody and violent Street Fight that featured the greatest single image in the history of wrestling. McMahon, a bloody mess but in control of the bout, peaked his head up from the floor, his eyes on his opponent and a single, evil grin plastered on his face. It was brilliant and proved the demented nature of our lead villain.
A cameo from Roddy Piper, who laid out Hogan with a led pipe, was a nice touch in that it called into question whether the loudmouthed bad guy from 1985’s inaugural event was as responsible for the success of that event as the two men embroiled in the match.
Hogan won the match but the vendetta was far from over, as fans of SmackDown would come to realize over the weeks that proceeded the epic encounter.
3. Title-For-Title Match: Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior
The WWE and Intercontinental Championships were up for grabs as Hulk Hogan battled Ultimate Warrior in a battle of babyfaces in the main event of WrestleMania 6. Never before had the two most popular stars in the company battled for supremacy on wrestling’s biggest night. The crowd was split, some cheering on the hero that had represented them for six years, the others embracing the new and unpredictable good guy. With the eyes of the sport on them, and 67,000 fans in Toronto’s SkyDome cheering along, they unleashed a match infinitely better than anyone had reason to expect.
A titanic battle between Superstars steeped in good, an honorable war with championship gold at stake, the match captivated fans and took them on an emotional roller coaster ride. Dramatic near-falls kept fans guessing as to which gladiator would leave with the title. A late surge by Hogan left many believing the self-proclaimed Immortal competitor would be victorious, just as he was so many times before.
Then reality set in, as did Hogan’s mortality, as he missed his famed leg drop and Warrior pinned him following the big splash. It was an unfathomable loss, one that Hogan had to come to grips with immediately after the pin as he grabbed his WWE title from ringside and stared into the gold plate. But he did just as his character would suggest, handing the belt to the new champion and riding off into the sunset while Warrior stood atop the wrestling mountain.
At least for that one night.
2. WWE Championship Match: Hulk Hogan Vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage – WrestleMania 5
Good friends made for better enemies at WrestleMania 5 as Hulk Hogan challenged “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the WWE Championship, the culmination of a year-long storyline that saw them form the most dynamic team of all-time (The Mega Powers) before splitting, jealousy over accolades and Miss Elizabeth dooming them to demise.
In front of the same Atlantic City audience that had witnessed Savage’s rise to the WWE title and the formation of the aforementioned Mega Powers, the Superstars locked horns for the right to call himself champion. The maniacal Macho Man controlled the match, showing a viciousness and ruthlessness that fans were not familiar with from the bombastic competitor. He was verbally abusive, too, talking trash to both his opponent and his former valet.
But our resident superhero, clad in the red and yellow that separated him from the other living cartoon characters around him, fought adversity. He punched his way back into the match, booted his opponent’s chances of victory in the face and dropped his mammoth leg on the reign of “Macho Man” Savage.
Fans rejoiced, as did critics. It was the first really great Hogan-centered main event in WrestleMania history and a taste of things to come over the next year as the two battled across the globe, their feud generating big business for WWE.
1. Icon Vs. Icon: “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan Vs. The Rock – WrestleMania 18
In 2002, Hulk Hogan returned to WWE after eight years of guiding competitor WCW to its greatest success and, ultimately, its downfall. While many suspected a dream match with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was destiny, promoter Vince McMahon had other ideas. He wanted the greatest pop culture phenomenon of one era to battle the biggest mainstream icon he had produced during the Attitude Era, The Rock. At a time when the industry was coming off the incredible high that was the previous four years, he was hoping the battle of mega-stars would generate interest in his product. It did, even if momentarily.
Rock and Hogan’s staredown to start the match immediately suggested that Hogan was the overwhelming favorite, the fans in attendance never forgetting the classic encounter he had given them with Ultimate Warrior 12 years earlier. Much like that match, him and Rock relied on crowd-pleasing spots to mask the fact that Hogan was no longer the performer he once was.
But he did not have to be. The spectacle of it all, combined with the youthful energy of his opponent an the excitement that the fans approached the match with carried the bout. The Rock would win the match following his trademark People’s Elbow but it was Hogan who was the real victor. He had proven all of his doubters wrong, taking the stage for a major encounter and performing up to the level of his opponent.
The result? An instant classic.
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