http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHoIm72F9Nc Ever seen the movie Gladiator where Russell Crowe's main character is told to "win the crowd" to win his freedom? This match is the perfect example of winning the crowd. Hulk Hogan's return to WWE in 2002 was a big deal at first. He left the company in 1993, went to WCW, helped them get big and also helped them die and then he returned to face The Rock at WrestleMania 18 in Toronto's Skydome. Even though Hogan went into the match as a heel in the NWO, the crowd loved him right away. They really liked The Rock too, who had started his movie career although he was still a top guy in WWE at this time. What's amazing about this match is that before they even locked up the crowd was ridiculously loud. There were chants for both guys. Every move was reacted to as if it was the biggest thing in the world. They even went nuts when Hogan shoved Rock down after a tie-up. They went 20 minutes, Hogan worked through a broken rib and Rock won the match cleanly. When it was over, Hogan's NWO buddies Hall & Nash went after Hogan and Rock ended up saving him. After the match, the two had a joint posedown and the Toronto fans loved them for it. Wrestlers can only dream to have a crowd react to a whole match the way they did this one. On this night in 2002, Hogan & Rock lived that dream.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.