10 Forgotten WWE Matches That Came Right Before Iconic Moments

6. Haiti Kid & Tiger Jackson Vs Dana Carpenter & Pancho Boy - Hulkamania Is Born (MSG, January 23 1984)

Brian Pillman Steve Austin
WWE

Haiti Kid, Tiger Jackson, Dana Carpenter and Pancho Boy engaged in countless variations of their specific tag match back when WWE considered "Midget Madness" (their phrasing, not ours) an important inclusion in their broadening Sports Entertainment package, but only once could this formulaic but fun encounter tee up a moment that would change professional wrestling forever.

A Madison Square Garden bow for the four was inserted for chillout purposes after a super-heated Intercontinental Championship match minutes earlier, but the show would be stolen by the moment made in the iconic and historic match that followed.

Going just under seven minutes in a two-out-of-three falls match in Madison Square Garden in January 1984, the quartet assembled much of their usual ahead of Hulk Hogan sending the home market into an absolute frenzy with his ultra-patriotic and uber-over schtick It took 'The Hulkster just over five to despatch The Iron Sheik and claim his first ever WWE Championship, but the ramifications of that match are still being felt over 35 years later.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett