10 Most Influential WWE Matches Ever

7. Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania VI

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WWE.com

Prior to WrestleMania VI, the Vince McMahon model of pro wrestling was more or less the same as his father's.

Though his cards would be stacked with several stars, one above all others would be designated as The Man, who would sustain house show business as a long-reigning babyface heavyweight champion - one who would never back down from the challenge of a nefarious heel.

For Vince, Jr., that man at first was Hulk Hogan, with whom he revolutionised the wrestling world with the national expansion of the early to mid-1980s.

There were heirs to Hogan's throne - not least of which Jake Roberts, whose would-be series with Hogan was scuppered out of jealous careerism - but the burgeoning and irrepressible popularity of The Ultimate Warrior presented McMahon with a desirable conundrum. To solve it, he tore up the established rule book, pitting the two babyfaces against one another in the "Ultimate Challenge".

There was no heel transitional champion acting as intermediary here - Vince saw money in this unprecedented pairing and selected the Warrior as his new babyface superstar, giving rise to the face vs. face dichotomy which became familiar in later years.

Nowadays, Vince would be lucky to have one of his pet projects on the receiving end of cheers.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!