10 Best Ways Wrestlers Recovered From WWE WrestleMania Defeats

7. Hollywood Hogan

Hulk Hogan The Rock
WWE

Defeat: 12 years on from that clever trickery at 'Mania VI, Hogan was back at it again when he showed deference to The Rock at 'Mania X-8. Toronto again treated Hulk, who'd been working as a so-called heel in the nWo, like their absolute fave. Even so, he'd been defeated, and it could easily have been his final bow in the WWF.

Recovery: Only kidding. This is Hulk f*cking Hogan, brother!

After laying down for Rocky at 'Mania, Hulk left the nWo Hollywood colours behind and returned to his red and yellow traditions. The fans were there with him every step of the way, and the nostalgic wave of emotion Hogan stirred up for his 80s revival act resulted in another WWF Title reign by Backlash.

To be fair, Hogan was awesome at times in 2002-2003. Matches against Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Vince McMahon and others were all bags of fun, and fan support for his unlikely revitalisation was genuine enough that even detractors had to admit it was the right call.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.