6 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (Oct 20)
3. Thank You, Hulkster *Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap*
Bizarre footage was unearthed by wrestling Twitter GIF maverick Allan - via Bobby Heenan! - this week.
In it, at the close of WrestleMania IX, a jubilant Vince McMahon, who at which point had not been outed as company owner, joins Hulk Hogan in the ring to wildly celebrate his impromptu WWF Heavyweight Champion win. This took place even before McMahon experimented as a heel in the Memphis territory later that year.
The footage is strange on multiple levels; the relationship between Hogan and McMahon was strained, at the very least. Randy Savage, in full phase-out mode and harbouring a deep hatred of Hogan, joins the celebration. McMahon was steering away from the 1980s figureheads on national television, and yet he shares in Hogan’s triumph as if they’re bang in the midst of the glory years. Hogan of course is sporting that gruesome black eye, helpfully visualising the farce as a nuts, Machiavellian plot. What’s particularly weird is the conviction behind the celebrations. All three men are workers of the utmost echelon, true - but they are genuinely acting as if they haven’t just put on the biggest stinker ever of a PPV finish.
Meanwhile, in the back, a teary Bret Hart is probably surveying the scene on a monitor, as his boss gleefully revels in his burial. The same Bret Hart tasked with anchoring the nascent RAW brand as Hogan elected to take a sh*t on the title in Japan.
As if Hart didn’t need another excuse to be bitter…