10 Best Moments From Hulk Hogan's 2002 WWE Return

3. Winning The Undisputed Championship

If you are the WWE, and you’ve just run your largest show of the calendar year where one of your biggest past stars has been revitalized purely by fan reaction, what do you do? Clearly there is lightning here, and you need to make sure you bottle it properly lest you let it get away from you.

Luckily, WWE was able to do just that in the weeks that followed WrestleMania 18. In front of live crowds, Hulk Hogan was getting reactions that would go on for minutes before he could even say a word. Knowing they needed to capitalize on the hottest commodity they suddenly found themselves with, the company made the decision to put the World Championship around the wait of a 48 year old Hogan for the 6th time in his career.

However, the way this was presented didn’t make it seem like a cheap nostalgia cash-in. Rather, this was an example of a company making the right business decision; giving the audience exactly what they wanted and not overplaying their hand, as Hogan would only hold onto the title for a month. That was all that was needed to create HulkaMania 2.0, satiating the desires of a generation that wanted their hero to rise once again.