WrestleMania Flashback: Icon vs. Icon

Welcome to the latest installment of the WrestleMania Flashback series here at FanSided that will take you all the way in to WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.

So far, I’ve gone back in time five years to look at both the “Once in a Lifetime” match between The Rock and John Cena and the “End of an Era” match pitting The Undertaker against Triple H from WrestleMania XXVIII and 10 years to WrestleMania 23 to look at the “Battle of the Billionaires” affair featuring Vince McMahon and the current President of the United States, Donald Trump.

This week, we’ll be traveling back 15 years to WrestleMania X8 –yes, they actually called it that — for the historic “Icon vs. Icon” match between Hulk Hogan and The Rock. Enjoy.

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When Vince McMahon bought WCW in the spring of 2001, wrestling fans all over the world were excited at the real possibility of seeing matches that we never thought we’d see. Unfortunately, a lot of the big names in WCW either chose to sit home and collect their checks or just not come at all (I’m looking at you, Sting). Did we really think that Buff Bagwell was going to be a star in WWE? Sure, we did get Booker T and brand-new Hall of Fame inductee Diamond Dallas Page but was that the best it was going to get? I think we can all agree that the Invasion angle was a complete bust and more attention ended up going to WWE “defectors”  rather than real WCW talent. But without the big names, it was always going to be an uphill battle and the storyline thankfully went out with a whimper at Survivor Series.

But the next night on RAW, following the death of the god-awful Invasion angle, things started to change. Ric Flair, easily one of the biggest names in WCW history, made his return to WWE as the storyline co-owner and immediately started a feud with Vince McMahon. Vince vowed that he would not let Flair destroy what he had built, and if anyone was going to kill his creation, he was going to be the one to do it — but he would not be alone. That’s right, he was bringing in none other than the nWo. Now we’re getting somewhere.

The original trio of Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall debuted at No Way Out –get it, NWO –in February of 2002, opening the show and the focus was immediately on Hogan, who had not been in a WWE ring since losing the title to Yokozuna at King of the Ring in June of 1993. He easily got the biggest pop of the three during the promo, and if you go back and watch it, take notice of how the crowd stops with the “WHAT?!” chants when Hogan takes the mic. Yes, Hall and Nash were there but they were never going to elicit the response that Hogan was going to and they obviously didn’t pan out as well during this run as Hogan did either. Nash hung around for a couple of years but injuries kept him out of action for a lot of that time; he never really did anything noteworthy outside of a decent feud with Triple H. Scott Hall earned a match with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania but was released less than two months later for doing what Scott Hall did back in those days. Hogan was always going to be the focus but it wound up being bigger than anyone could have possibly imagined.

Following The Rock’s match against The Undertaker at No Way Out, the nWo ran into him backstage where Hogan told him that he was his son’s favorite wrestler and asked for a picture. The Brahma Bull took the picture but after Hulk said that there was no accounting for the people’s taste, Rock took offense and you knew that something was cooking (pun completely intended there).

Before we venture any further here, it’s important to note that the reported original plans called for Hogan to actually take on Austin in a very complete dream match for the ages at WrestleMania in Toronto. But with neither wanting to do the honors for the other, apparently, the decision was made to go with Hogan versus The Rock instead and it could not have gone any better.

The following night on RAW, Hogan was in the ring bragging about how he had headlined WrestleManias, how the fans had turned on him and there was no one that was as big of a star in the industry as he was. That led The Rock to come down and confront him, and in one of the most riveting scenes in history, he got right in Hogan’s face and challenged him to a match at WrestleMania X8, which Hogan accepted. As Hogan wished The Rock luck during their handshake, he got hit with a Rock Bottom. From that point, we were off and running. As he hit the top of the ramp, Hall and Nash got some revenge on Hogan’s behalf and attacked Rock. They dragged him back into the ring where all three beat him down and spray-painted his back, as was their signature back in the day. As he was being loaded into the ambulance, the nWo violently continued their assault, loading Rock into the ambulance themselves and sealing the doors. Hogan then jumped into a semi and smashed the ambulance in a brutal scene which became so real that firefighters in Chicago had to come to the scene and legitimately deal with the damage that had been done. Obviously, these were stunt guys who had done everything but it added real drama to the program and legendary commentator Jim Ross played to it perfectly.

The Rock would return a few weeks later for his revenge, which ultimately led to a sometimes forgotten 3-on-2 handicap match with Hogan, Hall and Nash taking on The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Seeing all of those guys together in the ring was surreal enough in itself and Hogan picked up the victory for the nWo by pinning The Rock just six days before their match at WrestleMania.

All the build-up completely out of the way at this point, it was time for the showdown that everyone had been waiting for.

The crowd was electric in Toronto as WrestleMania X8 finally arrived, and while there were some other great matches on the card, including what could also be considered an “Icon vs. Icon” match featuring The Undertaker and Ric Flair, the standout that night is and always will be Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock. Hogan has always had a huge following everywhere but Canada has always been a special place for The Hulkster. That rang true something fierce that night.

Hogan was supposed to be the villain in this scenario but the crowd certainly didn’t play it that way as he walked down the ramp to a chorus of cheers, while The Rock entered to a chorus of boos. Good ‘ol J.R. tried to play up that it was a split crowd but if I had to put a number on it, I’d say this was an 80/20 crowd in favor of Hogan — and that might be a little low. When the music finally stopped, the two circled the ring staring at one another and they could have done this all night for all I care. The crowd was so crazy hot for this and both acknowledged it as they met in the middle of the ring. One would glance to the right while the other would take the left, and even as I’m sitting here writing this, I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it. This was Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania. Are you kidding me?

Credit: WWE.com

After jawing at each other one final time, they separated as the bell rang and Hogan got the raucous crowd even more jacked up from the get-go. The two locked up and Hogan shoved Rock to the ground, posing right in his face, sending Toronto into an absolute frenzy. They lock up again, with Hogan getting Rock into a headlock and at this point, the “ROCKY SUCKS!” chants ring louder than they ever have before throughout SkyDome. Rock throws Hulk into the rope but gets bowled over with a shoulder block, which brings more poses and the crowd can barely contain themselves. Hogan gets the advantage once again and begins to pound on The Rock, even throwing out some “you ain’t nothin’, meatball” lines from his role as Thunderlips Rocky III. Hogan hits him with a nice clothesline as the crowd erupts again and it should be noted that Rock is selling everything so perfectly, doing so throughout the entire match as well.

The Rock finally gets some offense in and the crowd is absolutely livid about this turn of events; this has officially become the coolest environment in the history of professional wrestling. What’s great is that these guys know full well what’s happening and begin playing the roles that the crowd has given them, as Rock gets in Hogan’s face with a vicious look and tells him to bring it. The two trade shoves and Rock gets the upper hand once again with some right hands, which send Hollywood to the outside. Once back inside, Rock hits a kick and a hard clothesline, much to the dismay of the fans, and sets up for the Rock Bottom, which Hogan counters with an elbow to the side of the head. This is typical late-career Hogan with hard right hands but the style doesn’t even matter at this point. He follows it up with some elbows and his signature bootrake to the eyes, then follows it up with a whip into the buckles with a clothesline right behind it. Classic Hulkster.

There’s a little awkwardness over the next 30 seconds but Rock gets things back on track with a mini-spear and talks some trash to the fans, which does nothing but fire them up even more. But Hogan is right back on top with a suplex for a two count and applies an abdominal stretcher, which you think might take up a lot of time but Hogan pounds the midsection during the onslaught, setting up a roll-up that would end with a near fall. Next we get some more classic Hogan with a back rake … and another … and another. The fans can’t get enough, which brings a little smirk to Hulk’s face. He hits some more right hands, then a few more up on the turnbuckles, before throwing in a bite as well. It’s like watching my childhood all over again. So freaking good.

But The Rock turns the tide again with some chops in the corner and mocks Hogan by holding his hand up to his ear to some of the loudest boos I’ve ever heard. Soon after, though, Rock runs into a chokeslam in the middle of the ring before Hogan utilized his wrist tape to assault Rock’s throat. Back on his feet, Rock gets a few shots in but gets tossed to the outside, then gets dropped on the security rail. Hogan starts clearing the announce table but Rock stops him and gets a chair after slamming Hogan’s face onto the table a few times. But Hogan gets the advantage once again with a clothesline and we’re back in the ring for a ref bump.

The Rock gets the upperhand and applies a Sharpshooter — take that, Canada — and Hogan taps out but there’s no referee to see it. Rock lets go and the “ROCKY SUCKS!” chants start up again, just in time for Hulk to get in a low blow and a Rock Bottom, which the crowd goes nuts for. The ref crawls over slowly and counts 1 … 2 … and The Rock kicks out. That built some great drama you almost believed that was going to be it. But with the ref still recovering a bit, Hogan goes back to his bag of tricks, takes off the weight belt and gets some big whips in before balling it up around his fist for a big right, which The Rock ducks before delivering a quick DDT. He then uses the weight belt himself and gets in some whips of his own. He hits a big Rock Bottom and the ref, who seems to be okay now, counts 1 … 2 … and Hogan kicks out to a thunderous ovation and begins to Hulk up, which brings maybe the loudest reaction I’ve ever heard from a live audience. I mean, this was something special to watch. He hits the three right hands, the boot and the leg drop, and J.R.’s call of “He beat Andre the Giant” with that move is amazing. But The Rock has drank his WrestleMania juice and kicks out at two, while Hogan’s reaction here is beautiful.

He hits the three right hands and the boot again, but much like what happened to him in that very same building 12 years earlier against The Ultimate Warrior, he misses the leg drop and it’s over for him from there. The Rock hits two Rock Bottoms and The People’s Elbow “ON HULK HOGAN,” as Jerry Lawler put it, and gets the 1-2-3 for the victory.

But there was so much more to come.

Following the match, The Rock is celebrating as Hogan gets to his feet. Hulk approaches him and sticks his hand out. Naturally, given what’s gone down between the two, he’s a bit skeptical but the two shake hands in the middle of the ring and Rock offers a sincere “thank you” to his longtime idol before leaving the ring. Meanwhile, Hogan had to deal with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, who have hit the ring wondering why their stablemate would offer congratulations to his opponent. They begin a beatdown but The Rock comes back and helps Hogan clear the ring of Razor and Diesel — err, Hall and Nash — .in a truly great scene that the crowd can’t get enough of. But we’re still not done.

Credit: WWE.com

You didn’t think that Hulk Hogan would leave the ring in his first WrestleMania in nine years without posing, did you? Well, it almost looked that way for a minute as Hulk, who was clearly in a lot of pain and holding his side like he had broken a rib, tried to exit the squared circle but was pulled back in by The Rock, who told Hogan that he had to give the crowd what they wanted. And of course, Hogan obliged in a truly epic moment that turned every grown man back into the young Hulkamaniac that grew up watching him. What’s great is that The Rock was one of them. Just go back and watch his face while this whole thing is going on and you’ll see what I mean. At that point, he’s just little Dwayne Johnson at the arena with his dad watching Hulk Hogan do what Hulk Hogan does. It’s just magical and I feel sorry for the two matches that had to follow this one.

Was this the best technical wrestling match ever? Absolutely not. But it was never going to be and anyone who really expected that doesn’t know wrestling. Here’s the thing: it never had to be. That’s the problem I have with some of this new generation of wrestling fans. You’re expecting every match to be a five-star match full of crazy spots. Yes, while those are great, not every single big match has to be that way. The point is to tell a great story in the ring and Hulk Hogan and The Rock did that perfectly 15 years ago. It obviously helps when the live crowd is into it as much as the crowd in Toronto was that night. They are certainly a big part of what made that night so special and a scene like that will likely never be duplicated. But the reason for that is because Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock is a match that we never thought we’d see. But these two guys went out and put on the best match that they could given the circumstances and it delivered on every single level imaginable.

Do you smell what I’m cooking……BROTHER?