One MIND-BLOWING Secret For Every WWE SummerSlam

24. 2002 | Hulk Hogan Vs. ?

Hulk Hogan Vince McMahon
WWE

WrestleMania 19 was an alarming failure at the box office. 

The show was built primarily around the meeting between Hulk Hogan and Mr. McMahon, the premise of which seemed ideal for WrestleMania - at least as an upper midcard attraction. Who was responsible for the success of the Grandaddy of Them All? 

The contest should have been a Fatal 5-Way that also involved Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper and Richard Belzer on that basis, but it was a strong concept that, if nothing else, underscored the extent to which the brand had grown over the years. The match itself was fantastic black comedy - Vince’s blood-soaked leer was one of the best ever facial expressions from the doyen of the craft - and a smoke-and-mirrors masterpiece that complemented the big star match-ups and technical feasts elsewhere on the card. Folks were happy to see it in the building, but weren’t frantically making calls to order it at home; just 560,000 people purchased the event, which was the worst WrestleMania number since WrestleMania 13 in 1997 (237,000), and was bettered every single year until the launch of the WWE Network in 2014. Even then, with WrestleMania 30 available for a tenner - on top of a complete PPV archive and thousands of hours of WWE content - the traditional buy amount was still 684,000. WWE might have drawn a stronger number for ‘Mania 19, had they not went so big promoting a fun sideshow, and this was almost the case. 

According to the June 3, 2002 edition of the Wrestling Observe Newsletter, Hogan Vs. Mr. McMahon was first planned for SummerSlam 2002. 

This of course didn’t happen; Hogan was removed from TV at his own request because his back and knees were shot. It was thought that a lengthy hiatus might arrest his rapid decline as a drawing card. 

This didn’t happen, either.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!