10 Monumental Happenings On Post-WrestleMania Raws
5. Hollywood Hogan Raises The Roof (2002)
The night after his show-stealing performance and babyface turn in his match with The Rock at WrestleMania X8 from the Toronto SkyDome, Hollywood Hogan provoked one of the loudest ovations in wrestling history.
The sell out crowd of 15,500 at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Canada cheered and bowed and bellowed Hogan’s name as if he were what JBL had professed to be: a wrestling God.
“This is amazing,” said commentator Jim Ross as the cries of approval filled the venue. “Man, this is overwhelming.”
Revelling in the adoration, Hogan ensured the cacophony continued for a further 10 seconds when he told the audience, “Damn! I love you guys.”
“This ovation, in my view, is not about nostalgia: it is about respect for what this man has done for this industry,” said Ross.
Whatever emotions fuelled it, the response was extraordinary.
When The Rock, who had defeated Hogan at WM X8, joined Hogan in the ring, he received so much flak from spectators that it took him three attempts to complete his “Finally . . .” catch phrase.
The tense interplay between Rock and Hogan eventually provoked an appearance by Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, Hogan’s former allies in the New World Order, with whom he had split the previous evening. As entertaining as the verbal jousting was — in particular, Rock’s unscripted “Big Daddy Bitch” barb at the expense of Nash — none of it could surpass the wonder created by the cocoon of noise which enveloped Hogan when he came out.