One WWE Match You MUST Watch From Every Year 1984-2024
WWE's modern era distilled by the unforgettable Superstars, matches and moments and that defined every year
When the date hit 40 years since the birth of Hulkamania, WWE trotted Hulk Hogan out for pre-taped comments on what it meant to be at the heart of a movement that drove an organisation to prominence and - for select periods - mainstream dominance.
The story of January 23rd 1984 wasn't just the start Hogan's story, but the start of a corporate ascent spearheaded by 'The Hulkster's popularity. CM Punk popularised the notion that every performer was merely a "spoke in the wheel", and he wasn't wrong, but the wheel's turned for 40+ years now thanks not just to dated presences like Hogan and Vince McMahon but the strength and determination of a cast of thousands completing in matches and moments designed to last a lifetime.
This collection of contests will aim to capture those that defined each year more than all the rest.
Two rules, set to avoid the most obvious selections and make the task a little bit more challenging in leaner years; no WrestleMania matches, and no NXT. 'The Show Of Shows' is never short of viewers and retrospectives thanks to being the easiest snapshot of any given year, and Triple H's pet project throughout the second half of the 2010s was so divorced from WWE's main roster that 'The Game' actually did a good job in keeping fans on the NXT hook in spite of the other three initials associated with the show.
So where else could it possibly start?
40. 1984 - Hulk Hogan Vs The Iron Sheik, January 23
Living history and looking every bit like he knew it, the Hulk Hogan character wasn't exactly fully-formed from the off, but he very clearly understood the assignment inside a red hot Madison Square Garden.
A squash disguised as something more profound, Hogan's dethroning of The Iron Sheik was the completion of a transitional reign and the start of another that transformed North American wrestling forever.