Hogan was indeed never seen in WCW again, and the company was out of business less than a year after his final appearance. In 2002, he returned to the WWF, for an Icon versus Icon match with The Rock at WrestleMania X8 in Toronto, Canada. What nobody saw coming was the fact that Hogan was about to explode as the biggest babyface in the industry for one final run. The Toronto crowd gave him a sustained pop like no other that night at Mania X8. The noise was outrageous, to the point that both Rock and Hogan had to pause for reflection before the action began. Hogan was the heel, but was being cheered like the most over wrestler in the history of wrestling. It was unbelievable. So much so that Vince McMahon tore up the playbook and made Hogan the WWE Champion at the very next pay per view.
