10 Times The Past Screwed WWE's Present
9. Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Orton (SummerSlam 2006)
What’s that? Hulk Hogan needlessly going over a younger talent? Surely not…
Hogan is a serial offender in this department. He has continually stifled the momentum of young, up and coming wrestlers by beating them cleanly for absolutely no reason, and it has been going on for decades. One of the most recent examples came during his last full-time in-ring run with WWE when he overcame Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2006.
WWE at least tried to protect Orton by having him originally “win” with an RKO, but the referee didn’t notice Hogan’s foot on the ropes. The error was spotted after further analysis, and the match was restarted. The Hulkster overwhelmed his young opponent, hit him with the leg drop, and pinned him in what remains his last WWE match to date.
Hogan was 53 years old at the time, while Orton was less than half his age at 26. The feud leading up to the match was particularly turgid, with Orton cutting basic promos on Hogan’s age and flirting with his daughter Brooke, and this only made the match tougher to get through. Emphasising Hogan’s declining skillset in the build-up only made Randy look weaker for losing to him, and the 'Legend Killer' didn't even get a shot at payback: Hogan was out of the company a few weeks later.