WrestleMania Rewind #10: The Rock vs. 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan at X8

[Ruthless-RKO]

Click here for rewind #9 The Undertaker vs. Triple H at X-Seven
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My WrestleMania Rewind # 10 is..
The Rock vs. 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania X-8

Promo & Match
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The Questions I would like to ask about the match are:

1. Was the feud going into the match good?
2. Was the match entertaining?
3. Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)
4. Was there any good spots?
5. How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?
6. Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

 

[legendkiller1979]

This match is on the short list of favorites for me. I have been watching WWE for 23 years not so I was around when hulkamania was running wild. I can't tell you how happy I was with the response Hulk Hogan got for the Toronto crowd. I think they were a little over the top with booing The Rock but I absolutely loved his crowd reaction. I thought the match itself was great. It was a good back and forth with some great spots. I wanted so bad for Hogan to get the win when he hulked up all the while knowing it wasn't going to happen. I don't know that I would change anything about the match. The icing on the cake was after the match when Hogan and The Rock stood in the ring together and posed for the crowd. The crowd was nuts for Hogan and The Rock had tears in this eyes from the moment. The Rock handled the situation with a lot of class and respect and I applaud him for that. It was a very fitting tribute to one of the very best

 

[marklouis]

This is one of my favorite Wrestlemania matches because it shows the importance of showmanship in wrestling. Technically, this is not a great match, and no one expected it to be. But you have 2 of the greatest entertainers in wrestling history putting on a tremendous show.

1. The feud was pretty good, not great. The NWO was involved of course, but the feud could've been done without them.

2. Very entertaining. Everything about it was great, and the crowd really added to it. Little things, like Hogan raking the Rock's back & the way the Rock tried to revive the ref were perfect. And I marked out when Hulk hulked up.

3. This was kind of a typical match-heel controls most of it, face comes on strong at the end & wins. Hogan looked really strong throughout the match, even delivering a rock bottom. It was interesting how the Rock sort of embraced the fans boos & did some heel things, like the way he tried to revive the ref, wanting to use a chair, and also his manerisms toward Hogan.

4. Not really, this was a basic match.

5. Crowd was amazing, and really helped make the match as memorable as it was. I wonder if Rock & Hogan were surprised at the crowd's reaction?

6. I think the match was the perfect length. Hogan was older, & I'm not sure how much longer he could've gone. The match was well-paced, and you felt very satisfied after watching it.

 

[Pbenglish]

This is my first time replying to a thread of this nature, so bare with me if I ramble during it.
I was raised in Canada, not too far from Detroit, so I've been fortunate in that I've been to 4 Wrestlemania events, (3 and 23 in Detroit and 6 and X8 in Toronto). While Wrestlemania 3 will always hold a special place for me, seeing as it was my first Wrestlemania, and to be there to see Andre-Hogan with 93,000. That can't really be topped.
X8 though was a much more FUN event to be at, and it's really because of Rock-Hogan.
Now to answer your specific questions:

[*]Was the feud going into the match good?
In my opinion, it was GREAT....the first meeting between Rock and the NWO was classic, (Rock ripping on Nash, Hall and Hogan's catch phrases), the showdown between Rock and Hogan, (in Chicago I believe was great) and then the attack by the NWO really pushed this into overdrive.

[*]Was the match entertaining?
Amazingly so. Being there live, there were no dull moments, as tends to happen (at least for me, when I'm at a live event). It was great watching it live and watching it now, it still holds up quite well


[*]Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)
This match was full of great story telling! From the "returning hero" idea of Hogan at Wrestlemania to how would the Rock handle the mixed reaction to the NWO beat-down and counter attack and finally the posing. Full of amazing story telling!

[*]Was there any good spots?
That's the one negative thing to the match, in my eyes. Neither the Rock nor Hogan are known to be great workers, and so their match was quite simplistic, with nothing really standing out in a wrestling sense.

[*]How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?
In a word...AMAZING! I'm not sure if this video was edited, but I remember there being far more negative reactions for the Rock. That aside, I don't remember a hotter crowd at any wrestling event I've ever been to.

[*]Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)
[/LIST][/QUOTE]
Just perfect. Again, neither Rock nor Hogan are great workers, so having a longer match worked against them, but the meaning and symbolism behind the match made it necessary for the match to be longer. It was perfect as it was.

I have to say, this is a great thread.

 

[deadtaker]

I was at this Wrestlemania and this was by far the best Match of the night. The fan got into the match and it was great. The crown was so pro Hogan even though he was suppose to be the Heel. The Rock and Hogan were both great at playing the crowd and going with the fan reaction as well. They managed to change tactics during the match to suit the Fans reaction.

The similarities between the Rock and Hogan is striking. Both were not the most technical of wrestlers but were great on the mic and great at engaging the fans and reacting to them. Hogan also left to do movies and The Rock was just getting into them and at the time starred in The Mummy Returns ands the Scorpion King.

At the time though the build up didn't go off as well as WWE had hoped. Hogan was just returning and the WWE didn't anticipate the reaction he would get. Coupled with the fact that there was a negative stance towards the Rock because he was started to get out of WWE and into movies. With the Rock spending so much time not appearing on TV regularly it was a tough build up.

The psycology ofthe match was great. They both managed to play off each other and the fans. They put on an entertaining match that had the fans going nuts. It ws so in Hogans favour that there were people in my section that actually walked out halfway through the match because they were so upset. They didn't return until the match was over because they didn't like the noise and that the Rock was being booed.

The NWO getting involved at the end was unneccessary. It could have waited until the next night as it looked rushed, disorganized and just drained the fans. You could have gotten the same result of Hogan turning babyface and the Rock looking good as well. You easily could have done a respect type handshake at the end where Hogan passes the torch to The Rock.

The Match was easily the best of the night and being part of it was amazing.

 

[Zigglerfan227]

1. I did not see the fued going into the match so I cannot comment on that.

2. Yes it was a very good match.

3. Yes I felt that there was good story telling going on.

4. There were more than enough spots. There were many of great spots.

5. The crowd was very into this match. They were going crazy. I wish the crowds were like this all of the time.

6. Mehh......the match could have been longer but it was short and sweet and really delivered.

 

[blockanWo]

1. Was the feud going into the match good?

I think the fued was good. It started at No Way Out obviously with Hogan saying "so much for the peoples choice" when Hogan wanted to get a picture with The Rock for his kid. Ultimately it was The Rock and Stone Cold that the nWo targeted. The fued got a lot more serious when the nWo branded The Rock and they had that whole ambulance spot.

2. Was the match entertaining?

Extremely, it overshadowed the main event. It wasnt because it was a great technical match but it was just a clash of the titans.

3. Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

I think so. Hogan really wanted to prove he could get it done. From the rocks stand point there really wasnt much other than "hey im wrestling my hero and he screwed me I want revenge". But Hogan even told Nash and Hall to stay backstage. It was him trying to prove he was still the peoples favourite and the man. I think Hogan really gave it that extra kick that the match needed.

4. Was there any good spots?

I havent watched the match in a long time so my memory may be jaded. However when Hogan got that belt out the crowd went nuts. Then The Rock got his hands on it. They did the whole rip off the other wrestlers signature move deal.

5. How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

Like I said above. It overshadowed the main event. The crowd was intense from start to finish.

6. Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

I think it was an appropriate length. I do think it should have been placed a bit further up the card. From memory it was around the middle and it really felt like it shouldve been towards the end.


This match for me left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth however, on a personal level I am a huge Kevin Nash mark as well as a nWo fanboy and this match really killed the nWo. It was its first nail. I mean it was doomed from the start, Vince being out for revenge and all... but 2 months after they came back Hulk was gone.

Great match though. Great part of wrestlemania history.

 

[Austinfan87]

the match was cool to see even though i wanted austin in the rocks spot it was still an interesting match. I was not a fan of the build up i felt like it was the rock vs the nwo instead of the rock vs hogan which took alot of the big epic match feel out of it for me.