10 Best WWE SmackDown Cliffhanger Endings Ever

4. Brock Lesnar Kills Hulkamania? (8 August 2002)

If internet memes had been quite so popular in 2002, then Brock Lesnar might have responded to cries of, "Hulkamania will live forever" with a curt, "Hold my beer". His one-man demolition of the iconic Hulk Hogan was part of a plan to prepare Lesnar for The Rock at SummerSlam, and it did the job flawlessly.

As the 8 August episode ended, the people watching at home and in the crowd could be forgiven for thinking Hogan's legacy had been sacrificed to build a new one.

Hulk's selling was on point, and Brock was akin to a blood-thirsty beast as he tore the ageing babyface to pieces like a savage predator feeding on its helpless victim. With every blood-soaked blow from Brock to Hogan, fans in the front few rows began to worry for someone they'd welcomed back into the WWE fold just a few months before.

When the cameras were turned off and SmackDown was a wrap, there were genuine concerns that Hulk might be done. That didn't prove to be the case, but he did take significant time off before returning in early-2003 for a feud with Vince McMahon.