10 Greatest WWE SmackDown Endings
8. The Death Of Hulkamania - 8 August 2002
Brock Lesnar's meteoric rise up the ranks of WWE in 2002 was unlike any superstar before or since. Within six months, he had debuted on Raw, won the King of the Ring and defeated The Rock for the WWE Undisputed Championship in the main event of SummerSlam. Not a bad rookie year by any stretch of the imagination.
In addition to those accolades, 'The Next Big Thing' also made a huge statement on SmackDown in the lead up to SummerSlam by vanquishing an icon along the way. What's more, he didn't just vanquish, he brutalised his opponent in unparalleled fashion.
With the right to fight for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam at stake, Lesnar squared off with 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan two weeks before 'The Biggest Party of the Summer' and the result was sheer domination. Nobody had ever manhandled Hogan quite like Brock did in this bout - not even Goldberg in WCW - and the visual was shocking to watch.
The brute force of Lesnar and his unrivalled killer instinct made Hogan look like a tired, old man and the bloody finish, coupled with the manner of the conclusion, made Lesnar look like the beast he would become. Hogan couldn't have put him over any stronger and Brock was a made man from that point on.