Daily DDT
Fansided

WrestleMania X8 Rewind: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock

By Rob Wolkenbrod

facebooktwitterreddit

The next WrestleMania Rewind takes us to WrestleMania X8 from the Skydome in Toronto, Canada.

More from WrestleMania

Preview

It may be impossible to ever have as much hype as this match had between Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock.

Hogan had recently returned to the WWF with nWo stable-mates Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The trio played the heel role, but all of them, especially Hogan, received huge babyface reactions. This was the case for his WrestleMania X8 match against The Rock as well.

This match was created during an episode of Raw when Rock came out to interrupt a promo from Hogan, who was trashing the crowd and saying that there will never be another star like him. Rock challenged the Immortal One to a match at WrestleMania X8, which was accepted. The Great One would then hit the Rock Bottom on Hogan to get the festivities started.

Over the following weeks, these two brawled back and forth. It became nWo vs. The Rock for awhile, which made it look like the odds were against him.

Before the match started, Hogan approached Hall and Nash. He told them to not interfere because he “wanted to do this on his own.” After Hogan left, Nash said that they’re still going to be part of this match.

The Match

Here we go!

Hulk Hogan comes out first to the nWo theme, which will never get old. It’s so cool. When the entrance music stopped, the crowd roared with the chant “Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!”

Out next is The Rock, who got a huge pop from the Skydome (now known as the Rogers Centre) Crowd.

Once these two both got into the ring, the crowds battled with their chants and flashed their camera bulbs. While this was going on, Rock and Hogan stared each other down and glared to all sides of the crowd to take it all in.

Live Feed

Cody Rhodes reveals how he dealt with fans’ disappointment in WrestleMania 39 loss
Cody Rhodes reveals how he dealt with fans’ disappointment in WrestleMania 39 loss /

FanSided

  • George Kittle has a future in pro wrestling after NFL careerNiner Noise
  • South Carolina Football: Gamecock featured at Wrestlemania, looks to become second Gamecock star in wrestlingGarnet and Cocky
  • WWE WrestleMania 39 match grades and takeaways: WWE drops the ball as Roman Reigns beats Cody RhodesFanSided
  • WWE WrestleMania 39 live results and highlights for Night 2FanSided
  • George Kittle helps Pat McAfee win WWE WrestleMania 39 matchFanSided

    • Now for the actual match – it began with a lock-up and Hogan throwing Rock down to the ground. The crowd popped for Hogan as Rock stood there in shock, who immediately was placed into another headlock.

    Then you could say this was where Hogan turned babyface. He did a few of his trademark poses and played to the crowd, which made everyone cheer even louder!

    Following a few hard take-downs from Hogan, The Rock got back up and knocked him down. They would then stare each other down, which led to Rocky doing his trademark punches.

    Rock started getting a lot of boos just minutes into the match. All of the support was being given to Hogan.

    For awhile, these two traded punches and small moves, shifting the momentum back and forth.

    Hogan then began taking advantage with a few holds, hard hits to the back of The People’s Champion, and a couple of Ric Flair chops to the chest. Rock would then hit a few on Hogan, which were received with a chorus of boos from the sold-out stadium. They eventually landed outside the ring and Rock started slamming Hogan’s face into the announce table, which got the fans riled up even more.

    When they got back into the ring, Hogan sidestepped The Rock as he was flying off the ropes. Coincidentally, the referee was standing right in Rock’s path, so the two collided.

    With the referee knocked out, Rock put the Sharpshooter on Hogan. He was able to get to the ropes while Rock has the hold on, but he was pulled back into the center of the ring. Hogan started tapping, but the referee was still out.

    Hogan then hit a low-blow on Rock and stole his finisher by performing the Rock Bottom, which The People’s Champ barely kicked out of.

    With the referee down again, Hogan took off his belt and started whipping Rock with it. Moments later, Rock started doing the same to Hogan.

    Hogan would then be picked up and have the Rock Bottom performed on him too. However, he kicked out just as the referee counted to two. That meant this was time for Hogan to Hulk Up, which got the crowd to absolutely explode. He hit his punches, the big boot, and the usual match-ending leg drop. Rock kicked out of it, though.

    Following a few more moves, Rocky hit a second Rock Bottom on Hogan. Instead of covering him, he hit a second Rock Bottom on him. Then he broke out The People’s Elbow, which led to him winning this torch-passing match.

    After a little while, Hogan got up to shake Rock’s hand, which he shook right back.

    Moments later, Hall and Nash came out and attacked Hogan. Rock was still around, though, and made the save. They stood tall and did some of their catchphrases to end the most exciting part of the evening.

    Final Thoughts

    There was no way that this match was ever going to reach the hype, but it sure as heck was entertaining to watch. The crowd was into it and so were the Superstars, so it made for one gigantic spectacle.

    It would have been great to see The Rock continue to carry the torch for many years following this, but he had a career waiting for him in Hollywood, so it didn’t happen for too long. He eventually did a match like this with John Cena at WrestleMania 28 and 29.

    This was an iconic match that is very hard to replicate. The only way a match will equal this much hype will be when Sting and Triple H battle at WrestleMania 31 next month. However, if The Undertaker and Sting have a match at WrestleMania 32, then we’ll have to reconsider this.

    What were your thoughts on Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8?

    More from Daily DDT