History is about finding nuggets we’d normally miss and celebrate them. It helps tie us to our past and give us a rudder of sorts to guide us through our daily lives. We remember things that were so special we thought we’d never forget them or how they made us feel, yet we always find a way to lose them. Some of those are like this day in wrestling history, March 13, 2002, when Icon vs. Icon happened at WrestleMania 18.
It was a moment no one really expected to unfold the way it did as the Greatest of all Time, the Immortal Hulk Hogan, faced off against the Great One, the Rock.
Hogan had just returned to the WWE a month prior to a hero’s welcome by the fans.
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It didn’t matter he was in his heel persona, “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and leader of the nWo. The emotion from brought out from his return showed on his face, and it would only get better.
Making history
By his own account, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) said Vince McMahon approached him about the possibility of bringing Hulk Hogan back to the WWE and how he’d feel about it. The Rock championed it and even put the idea to have them promoted as Icon vs. Icon in Vince’s head.
It was a dream match fans had wanted for years, and we were going to get it.
Few things can describe what it felt like watching the pair square off in the ring, but Hogan put it best on the event’s 16 year anniversary:
“Never again will an arena shake to its foundation with electricity like it did on the night of WM18 brother HollyWoodHulkHogan 4Life”
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At the time, the Rock and Steve Austin were the WWE’s top faces, but no matter what he did, it was clear during their match that the fans were fully behind Hulk Hogan.
Hogan once said that what they intended to do in the match was losing them the fans, so they changed things up. What happened, and this is purely my speculation, is we saw the rebirth of Hulkamania. Hogan “hulked up” when the Rock nearly beat him.
In that one move, he threw off the “Hollywood” title and became out childhood hero, and the place exploded.
It marked one of Hogan’s best WrestleMania matches despite him closing in on 50 years old at the time, and despite him losing, the fans only cheered louder. And when he shook the Rock’s hand afterwards, the place erupted a second time.
To his credit, McMahon didn’t sit on his hands as Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, Hogan’s nWo brethren ran out and attacked him, finishing Hogan’s face turn. The perfect ending came when the Rock helped Hogan fight them off and the pair simultaneously posed for the crowd, just as Hogan had done throughout this career before his heel turn in WCW.
Gems surround us
We often hear the question, “Where were you when…?”
This is one of those moments, and I’m happy/sad to say I was working and watched it when I bought the VHS tape when it came out. It was a humbling experience as I used to cheer for the bad guys against Hogan, then cheered for him in the nWo and beyond.
We all have our favorites and preferred tastes, but it’s when we get older that we appreciate just how great the greats were. Sometimes, all we need to do is find a simple gem like in this day in wrestling history and we’re transported back to one of our favorite moments.
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