Shining a Spotlight 03.22.12: Rock vs. Hogan

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

It’s amazing to consider how it was ten years ago fans were given this encounter, a true “icon vs. icon” fight that still resonates today. It had much the same dynamics of a returning superstar facing the biggest one of the current times. It also played in unexpected ways with the fanbase and led to a major encounter that helped form the biggest show of the year. It had dynamics that this upcoming battle doesn’t but as we prepare for this major “Dream match,” it’s more than time to look back at the previous one and how it shifted WWF far more than anyone expected.

The Build

In my piece on the Invasion last year, I noted how a key reason it failed from the start was that the majority of big names associated with WCW like Hogan, Hall, Nash and Goldberg, didn’t want to take part. That weakened the entire Invasion concept, leading to the mess it became. As 2002 began, the first cracks in the armor of WWF were being shown as the lack of real competition was clearly affecting the creative output. With Ric Flair as “co-owner,” Vince was showing losing his mind more and more, finally doing a wild promo of saying that if anyone was going to destroy his own creation, it’d be him and showed how: The NWO.

Yes, it was well known by now how the political plays of Hogan, Hall and Nash had helped WCW to its ruin. Yes, Nash was known for his constant injuries and Hall for showing up drunk at numerous shows. But there was still power to the concept. People forget that the original New World Order of just these three was absolutely fantastic; it was spreading it out to another twenty guys that watered down the entire idea. There was still a thrill for these three guys coming in, especially given how Vince was willing to let the bad blood with all of them slide in order to introduce some excitement to WWF. They showed up at the “No Way Out” PPV, notable for an encounter with the Rock where Rock mocked all three of them.

The next night on RAW, Hogan came out to cut a promo, playing off his egotistical attitude. He talked about how Vince needed to bring him back to “save” things and that if it wasn’t for him, WWF wouldn’t even be around. Just as Hogan talked of how no one in the business was as big as him, the Rock came out to a monster pop and ripped into Hogan for his treatment of the fans, turning his back on them and such. Sound familiar? The Rock challenged Hogan to Mania, the fans going nuts…

And that’s when something happened that was not in the game plan.

In retrospect, it should have been obvious but at the time, it wasn’t expected. After so long run down by fans for his WCW run, it was only logical that WWF assumed Hogan would be booed by the “smarter” fans fresh off the Attitude years. Instead, that Chicago crowd began chanting Hogan’s name. Watch the video and you can clearly see Rock and Hogan fighting to hide their surprise at that, not anticipating that fans would be on Hogan’s side. The promo was fantastic but, sadly, WWF had to ruin it by going over the top with a beat-down of the Rock and then smashing his ambulance with a car.

For the next few weeks, we had battling promos and each time, Hogan kept hearing cheers from the crowds. In his 2003 autobiography, Hogan talks about how he couldn’t understand what he was doing wrong, he kept getting cheered no matter how much the heel he acted. It was amazing to watch, Hogan slowly acknowledging the cheers even though he was supposed to be the bad guy in all this. It reminds you of the current build with Rock and Cena now using things like Twitter to take shots and it’s much the same thing: An established star fighting against some guy coming back after years away from the company and getting a Mania match right off the bat. And just as with today, the fans were divided, some flocking to Hogan, others still with Rock, heat that even WWF couldn’t have anticipated. That added to the fire of the bout and fans knew they were in for a show but no one really anticipated how much of one.

The Match

There are a lot of things with the show you can look back at and think it could have been different. The location of WrestleMania X-8 was good, the Toronto Skydome, where Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior had enjoyed their huge match twelve years earlier. Canada was always a hotbed for WWF and especially Hogan. The undercard was decent with Undertaker fighting Flair but other battles not as good like an ugly Austin/Hall match and a mess of a four-way for the tag titles. The two did promos, Hogan with Hall and Nash where he talked of how he was going to face the Rock alone to prove himself the better man. We then got a great promo of the Rock making Jonathan Coachman say his prayers with Coach doing a hysterical bit kneeling and calling up “What up, G?” the Rock kicking him away in outrage.

The placement of the match has always been debated. On the excellent “History of WrestleMania” DVD, HHH and Jericho say that right to the day of the show, they were practically begging Vince not to let them be the main event, they knew they could never top Hogan/Rock. Given how the match had been on all the promotional work, one would think the main event only logical but instead it was the middle of the show. That was a bad move as this was what fans tuned in for, anything after it suffered. That’s one mistake WWE won’t be making with Rock vs. Cena as shown by the heat here.

Hogan came out to a monster pop as the fans seemed to completely forget the last twelve years had ever happened. The Rock got a heel reaction with JR called mixed. After a big stare down, they locked up, Hogan winning with huge cheers. The reaction was completely unlike anything people were expecting. They assumed Hogan might get cheered but not Austin-level pops just for clotheslines and punches. While Hogan claimed later to be scared to death back before a huge crowd, watching the show, it looks like he was having a better time in the ring than in years. They continued to do battle and for the first time years, a “Rocky Sucks” chant could be clearly heard. Meanwhile, the Rock was doing some great over-selling of shots to push Hogan on more. After a shoving match, Rock went for the Rock Bottom but Hogan elbowed out of it only to get elbowdropped and started to show a visible limp. Hogan nailed him with punches in the corner and the old running clothesline before a suplex. Hogan actually went old school with an adnominal stretch rollup for two and raking the Rock’s back. The commentary was interesting, Lawler going wild for Hogan while Jim Ross seemed to struggle to give him props. Hogan went heel by using wrist tape to choke Rock and they went outside for brawling, Hogan ramming Rock into the steel steps and security rail. The Rock tried to grab a chair but the ref stopped him, allowing Hogan to hit another clothesline to take them both down. After some brawling, Rock threw Hogan back in for a Spinebuster and then a Sharpshooter which actually got boos. Let me repeat that: the Sharpshooter got booed in Canada. Hogan got to the ropes but there was no ref to break it so Rock dragged him back to the middle of the ring in the hold, Hogan tapping but no one to see it. Hogan went low for a big pop and then hit his own Rock Bottom for two with the place going insane. He then took off his weight belt to smack Rock but got DDT’ed. The Rock then took the belt to whip Hogan to massive boos while JR still insisted the reaction was “mixed.” Ironically, now that the Rock was going full heel, the fans were starting to respond to him. Another Rock Bottom followed and a pin attempt but Hogan kicked out to do his “Hulk Up” routine with the fans going nuts like it was 1985 all over again. Seriously, the pop here was bigger than even twelve years earlier as Hogan got to his feet and Rock looked completely shocked at what he was seeing. The two fists, the big boot and the legdrop followed but the Rock shocked everyone by kicking out. Hogan went for it again but Rock dodged so he missed. Rock hit him with two Rock Bottoms and the People’s Elbow to finally win it.

In retrospect, the wrong guy really went over here. It was clear the crowd wanted Hogan to take it and Rock and Hogan were unprepared for that reaction, throwing the match off a bit. On the other hand, it was still an awesome fight with styles mixing and the crowd popping huge for it. The Rock put over Hogan by shaking his hand and letting him do his pose-down routine for the crowd. Hall and Nash came to attack Hogan, with Rock saving him, officially turning Hogan full face. My only real complaint about this is that it would take a while before they could go back to using “Real American” and Hogan posing down to Jimi Hendrix just isn’t as good. The big change, of course, would be Vince realizing Hogan still had mileage on him and give him one last run as WWF champ a month later. The match itself may not have been a technical classic but it more than lived up to its promise, the two men gelling well and the crowd reaction was off the charts. It was truly an epic encounter that still holds up today and until now, the last true “dream match” wrestling had to offer.

It’s more interesting to look back given the upcoming Rock/Cena match. It’s much the same dynamics but these two have had a longer build. More interesting is how, after all the adulation for Rock, a lot of fans are now acknowledging Cena has a point in Rock getting the main event right off after so long away. Indeed, I’ve been seeing a lot of fans saying that they’ve been won over by Cena’s recent promos, fired up by him and reminded of the Cena who became so big in 2003-04. The wisdom now is different than it was then as most are saying Cena should be going over to push him more with the fans and Rock is leaving after this anyway. Back then, Hogan was still going to stick around for a bit but clear he was energized for a while by that fan reaction. It was a wild battle but more than just a wrestling match. It was a clash of generations and in a fantastic social experiment as these fans supposed “smartened” by the Attitude era went crazy for the guy supposedly seen as a joke for years over their champion. Just like today, it was a battle that made wrestling fans reconsider themselves and the performers. Now, it’s ready to happen again and once more, fans will be given an amazing show that will make them reflect on wrestling’s legacy. If Cena-Rock captures even half the power and mystique that Rock vs. Hogan did, we’re in for one hell of a show.