50 Must-See WrestleMania Matches
7. The Rock Vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania X-8 (18)
When WWF bought WCW in March 2001, wrestling fans were giddy at the thought of all the dream matchups that were possible. In reality, WCW’s biggest stars had guaranteed contracts and no incentive to give them up to wrestle for WWF. As a result, some of those bouts had to wait.
In early 2002, WWF brought in the original members of the New World Order. Putting an awful storyline aside, the move brought Hulk Hogan back to WWF for the first time in nearly nine years. He engaged in a feud with the Rock, arguably the biggest star in WWF at the time, and certainly the wrestler with the most crossover appeal since Hogan (and would shortly eclipse Hogan).
While their match was well short of a technical masterpiece, the fact is this was a matchup you only see once or twice a generation. The Toronto fans were so happy to see Hogan back in action (he hadn’t wrestled for WCW since mid-2000) that they turned a guy who tried to commit vehicular manslaughter weeks earlier into a face. The reaction and mini-rebirth of Hulkamania led to one last run on top for Hulk and a final world title reign before he rode off into semi-retirement.