10 Iconic Wrestling Images That Show History Repeating

7. Hulkamania Will Live Forever?

Eric Bischoff Chris Jericho
WWE

Well, no, but they got a fun month or so out of it.

Hulk Hogan winning his sixth and final WWE Championship in 2002 is retroactively viewed as Vince McMahon's lost touch yet again showing itself after months of other atrocious misfires. It is in fact the one thing that looked like a fairly logical move.

Hogan was red (and yellow) hot upon returning to his old persona following his clash of ages with The Rock at WrestleMania, in a way that felt far closer to earnest adoration that full-throated nostalgia. The emotions meant for different things at the box office, but McMahon wasn't to know as fans blew roofs off for their old favourite after months of being fed ex-WCW stars that brought no excitement whatsoever.

Many panicked at Hogan's politics returning to run roughshod on the organisation, but it couldn't have been further from the truth. Including the loss of this very reign, he'd never done more jobs at any point in his career.

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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