10 Iconic Wrestling Images That Show History Repeating

7. Hulkamania Will Live Forever?

Hulk Hogan 2002
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 for nearly 10 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 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, 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.