10 Great Matches That Inadvertently Ruined Wrestling
4. The Rock Vs. Hollywood Hogan - WWF WrestleMania X8
"The Rock Vs. Hollywood Hogan" was how the Icon Vs. Icon match was originally billed. Within minutes, through expert politicking, a more apt description was "The Rock Vs. Hulk Hogan," for Hogan turned himself babyface within minutes.
Hogan was so touched by the massive reaction he commanded that he flexed his muscles and roared in Rock's face - a total babyface move. It reconciled the split reaction and swung the near-uniform sentiment in his favour. The Toronto crowd had been swept up in a wave of nostalgia.
So too, just as quickly, had the WWF. An audible was called; Hogan's New World Order stablemates were despatched to the ring to formalise the turn. Hogan Fever had reached such a height that he was handed the WWF Championship at the very next pay-per-view, Backlash. To underline the short-termism of the endeavour, another switch took place at the next pay-per-view after that: Judgment Day. The 400,000 buys Backlash '02 drew fell well short of projections. The Attitude Era bubble burst. This new, nostalgia-heavy WWF/E alienated much of the young crowd.
The 'Mania match itself was a minimalist masterpiece. Hogan and Rock occupied the space between moves as masterfully as anybody else before them. Less successful was the stupidly OTT build, but it didn't matter.
This new "dream match" sold itself, and still does now. The promise of a "moment" is meant to be enough to attract viewers. The half-hearted approach to episodic TV was born from this singular attraction.