7 WrestleMania Matches That Weren’t All Bad
4. Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania VI (1990)
This bore similarities with the match between Hulk Hogan and Andre The Giant, which had headlined WrestleMania three years earlier.
By 1990, Hogan seemed more unbeatable than ever: he had not been cleanly pinned since he returned to the WWF in December 1983. Ultimate Warrior, meanwhile, had only one blemish on his WWF record. His loss of the Intercontinental championship to Rick Rude at WrestleMania V on April 2, 1989. However, that defeat was excusable: it had only occurred because Rudes manager Bobby Heenan had tripped Warrior from ringside and held his leg as Rude scored the three count. And Warrior had avenged that loss when he regained the title from Rude at SummerSlam 1989.
Prior to WM VI, both Hogan and Warrior seemed so invincible that it was virtually impossible to pick a winner of their match unless one had advance knowledge that Hogan was scheduled to take the summer off.
There were two notable differences between Hogan vs. Warrior and the WrestleMania III main event. The Ultimate Challenge, as Hogan vs. Warrior was billed, pitted babyface against babyface and champion against champion. Both Hogans heavyweight title and Warriors Intercontinental championship were at stake in the match. It was winner take all.
As was true of Hogan vs. Andre, the match was wafer-thin on action and finesse. Hogan and Warrior relied on their opponents to do the bulk of the work in their matches. On this night, it was their responsibility.
Whats more, the match degenerated into comedy when Hogan sold a knee injury, following a bump to the floor, from which he miraculously recovered moments later. He might have just temporarily dislocated the patella, observed Gorilla Monsoon. It was a transparent dig at WCWs star babyface Sting, who was recovering from surgery on his patella at the time.
However, the crowd heat was fierce for most of its 22:51 duration. Fans were gripped by what unfolded before them, even though it was predominantly tests of strength and rest holds. That Hogan and Warrior were able to engage the audience of 64,287 at the Toronto SkyDome for such a long period by doing so little was a remarkable achievement.
And despite those awkward, slothful moments, the all-important ending was well executed.
Hogan smashed Warrior with the big boot, but the IC champion evaded the legdrop. Capitalising, Warrior blasted the fallen Hogan with a splash to take the three count and the heavyweight title for the first time. Really, the sight of Hogans first clean pinfall loss in over six years was worth the price of admission alone. It was a true WrestleMania moment. History-in-the-making, as the late Gorilla might have said.
Warriors glory was short-lived, mind you. Hogan stole his thunder in the post-match scene, as he cheerfully admitted in his first autobiography, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, published in 2002.