10 Money Matches WWE Rushed To Give Away For Free

4. Brock Lesnar Vs. Hulk Hogan (8 August 2002, SmackDown)

Brock Lesnar Hulk Hogan
WWE

It's incredible to look back on this now and realise it happened almost 20 years ago. Let that sink in for a second. Brock Lesnar's first big push towards headline status occurred almost two decades ago. Wow, that's one way to make yourself feel ancient.

Brock's barbaric mauling of Hulkamania sticks in the mind as one of SmackDown's brightest and best moments. A scant few weeks before he'd slay The Rock at SummerSlam and bag his first World Title, Lesnar entered a composed performance for someone so green, and Hulk did everything in his power to make his peer look like a killer.

Though true that this beating readied Brock for Rock, it could've been a winner on pay-per-view too. Hogan would've worked as a credible title foe for the new champion post-SummerSlam (possibly after he wrapped up his feud with The Undertaker, or at Survivor Series instead of Big Show).

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.