12 Incredible Behind-The-Scenes WrestleMania Photos

10. Trumped Up

The Rock Paige Ronda Rousey AJ Lee
WWE

Hosting WrestleMania for the second time in as many years, Donald Trump's stilted smile in this 1989 picture with Hulk Hogan betrays the genuine enthusiasm he'd long held for both WWE and his relationship with Vince McMahon.

As well as WrestleMania 4 and 5's presence within the atmospherically-challenged Trump Plaza, 'The Donald' was in attendance for several of the following supershows, including on-camera appearances at both WrestleMania 7 and WrestleMania 20 as well as his legendary 'Battle of the Billionaires' with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania.

In a strange coincidence, nearly twenty years after this picture was taken, both of these men would be caught in a storm over hugely controversial comments recorded without their knowledge. Only one would parlay that into a job as President (despite Hulk Hogan's 1998 threats to run).

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett