The last WWF Champion before the change, fittingly, was Hulk Hogan, enjoying what was effectively a run paying tribute to his original pomp. He was promoting a pay-per-view main event with The Undertaker, as he'd done some 11 years earlier not long before McMahon agreed not to be such a cheeky b*stard with the company initials.
By May 6th, he was WWE Champion, as if it were the most normal thing in the world thanks to the multiple mentions of it by the time he made it to the ring during the aforementioned Raw broadcast.
Steve Austin was on the show working a nothing storyline with Ric Flair and The New World Order, while The Rock (technically) resided over on SmackDown with the likes of Triple H, Kurt Angle and Vince McMahon himself. The Chairman was a Warrior, Shawn and Bret short of having almost every major star he'd promoted under the WWF initials, but none of them were present for the fabled final show.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
