10 WrestleMania Main Events That Changed The Direction Of WWE

5. Bret Hart vs Yokozuna - WrestleMania 9

Whereas the aftermath of Wrestlemania 8 saw the WWF start to move away from jacked-up meatheads due to the recent steroid scandal, it was Bret Hart who was given the task of leading the charge for an era of the company that was dubbed the New Generation. After WM8, Ric Flair would go on to reclaim the WWF Title before dropping the gold to Bret Hart at a Saskatoon live event on 12th October, 1992. From there, Bret would go on to fight all comers and go on to be a hugely popular World Champion both with US audiences and with overseas crowds, particularly in the UK and Germany. This was the first real time where it felt that there wasn€™t the shadow of Hulkamania looming large over the company, flexing its 24 inch pythons and deliver a sugar-rush promo; it truly felt like a fresh start, a change of pace, and it was rejuvenating to see a new face at the top of the pile. In the meantime, the company had introduced a new monster heel by the name of Yokozuna. Much like Hogan had his fair share of monsters to go up against over the years, Yoko was the proverbial Goliath to Bret€™s David come Wrestlemania 9 at Caesar€™s Palace. Courtesy of some Mr. Fuji interference, The Hitman would fall. And then who would appear to save the day? Hulk goddamn Hogan! Not to fear, the slimmed-down Hogan would be gone from the company after 1993€™s King of the Ring and wouldn€™t be seen in a WWF/E ring again until 2002, brother.
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.