10 Fascinating WWE WrestleMania 18 Facts
5. Hulk Hogan Claims He And The Rock Had To Go Off Script During Their Match, Due To The Crowd
Everyone was cheering Hogan and booing Rock during their historic showdown. If Rocky and Ata Johnson were there, they'd have been booing their son, too. The God-like adulation that Hogan received apparently came as a bit of a shock, as Hogan and Rock had planned their entire match some time before the show, not accounting for the one-sided response of 68,000 fans toward the designated villain.
Hogan claims that after the first few exchanges, the two took stock of the disparate reactions and decided to craft a new match on the fly. Hogan credits Rock for having strong adaptability, saying it took roughly three minutes for them to settle in to a more sensible direction.
That leads one to assume that in the original plans, there was no "Hulk Up" spot. It's damn near impossible to imagine the match without it.