10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2003
6. Hulk Hogan Becomes “Mr. America”
Another marquee showdown at 'Mania XIX ruled. Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan was decades in the making by that point, and it made sense that both former friends would be at loggerheads following Hogan's jump to WCW in 1994. The pair didn't disappoint by producing a fun brawl in Seattle on the grandest stage, but attention turned to what was next for Hulk after he'd shut down McMahon.
The answer? More McMahon.
Vince's onscreen character reacted to defeat by firing Hogan after 'Mania. Then, on the 1 May 2003 SmackDown, a brand new character debuted on Piper's Pit. Mr. America was here following weeks of vignettes teasing his arrival, and...it was Hulk in a mask and new outfit. The alter ego attempt was frankly rubbish, but it droned on for a few months before WWE caught up with the apathy.
Mr. America's short run made every heel in the company look like idiots for trying to prove that this was Hulk all along. Worse, they stuck an aging Hogan in the ring with a totally incapable (at least physically) Roddy Piper at Judgment Day for one of the worst pay-per-view matches of the entire year. That one made latter day WCW main events look top notch.
You'd rather sit through Goldberg refusing to go up for Kevin Nash's powerbomb at New Blood Rising than this garbage. Seriously. It was that bad. The word bad would just about cover Hulk's time as Mr. America too. Nobody asked for this offshoot, and it was evident that nobody wanted it either as soon as the character debuted in person.
Give us a break, brother.