10 WrestleMania Main Events That Changed The Direction Of WWE

8. Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania 6

Whilst Wrestlemania 4 was the first time that we€™d see Hulk Hogan not an actual participant in the Wrestlemania main event (despite still doing his best to steal the limelight from €œMacho Man€ Randy Savage), it was with Wrestlemania 6 that it was the first time it appeared that the then-WWF were planning for life without the Hulkster. Having defeated Savage at Wrestlemania 5, Hogan would hold the title until he came face to face with a young pretender by the name of Ultimate Warrior at €˜Mania 6. With Hogan seemingly set to leave the Hulkamaniacs behind and instead seek out a career in acting (after all, who can forget classics like Santa with Muscles, Suburban Commando, and Mr. Nanny?), the decision was made to pass the torch to the Warrior and for the WWF to begin in a new direction, a direction that didn€™t involve saying prayers, taking vitamins, training, and believing in yourself. Instead, the plan was for the future to be made up of rambling, shouting promos that centred on mystical planets, rampaging elephants, and plenty of snorts and grunts. Of course, this Hogan-less World Wrestling Federation wouldn€™t last for long and the 24 inch pythons would return to claim the WWF Title at Wrestlemania 7. Warrior€™s future was troubled at best, with him dropping the strap to Sgt. Slaughter at Royal Rumble €™91 before coming and going over the next couple of years. Still, this was a time that Hulk Hogan hardly ever lost a match, and to see him lose clean in the middle of the ring? That was absolutely unheard of! Despite plans to the contrary, Hulkamania would wind up being around for just a few more years.
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.