Hulk Hogan Recalls Prep Work For His Iconic WWE WrestleMania Match With The Rock
The first-ever encounter between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Hulk Hogan in the center of the ring during WWE WrestleMania 18 will always be remembered. Fans of wrestling consider this match to be a classic, and preparation prior likely had a role in its accomplishment. Hogan recently admitted that he didn’t enjoy being asked to plan the match before he and Johnson squared off in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“I’ve never practiced a match in my life,” Hogan claimed. But when I left WCW and returned to WWE, Vince McMahon informed me that things had changed. I recall him warning me that if I wanted to keep up, I had better bring it. Other adjustments were also made. We were asked to watch the entire match by Vince and Pat Patterson to observe how we were acting. I didn’t enjoy that at all. Calling it when we’re out there, in my opinion, is an art form.
Despite this, Hogan had the opportunity to collaborate with a legendary figure throughout the practice. He remembered Rocky Johnson, the father of his rival, being there. Johnson’s counsel to The Rock to follow it during the planning stages also meant a lot to Hogan.
Even before I started wrestling, I’d known Rocky Johnson for a very long time, stated Hogan. He was a role model for me. Rocky Johnson shouting, “Dwayne, listen to Hogan!” was all we could hear that day as I stood in the ring talking to Dwayne.
Although Hogan’s days in the ring are apparently ended, his WrestleMania 18 rival may yet have one more match in him. Hogan feels The Rock vs. Roman Reigns would be fantastic if that’s the case.
RECOMMENDED Upcoming
Wrestlers Ranked By Most WrestleMania Main Events
Only a small number of the many hundreds of performers that have worked at WrestleMania have had the privilege of ending the program. Some of the biggest superstars in wrestling history are represented among these men and women, who may form the figurative Mount Rushmore of wrestling. Even fewer have main evented WrestleMania several times out of the small number of people that have.
These guys main evented the “Granddaddy of them all” more than anyone, whether it was because they were indisputably the biggest performers and closed the program, or because Vince McMahon insisted on forcing them down our throats. Only the times they closed the show will be counted, and we’ll rank them according to who main-eventted the most. Therefore, Triple H vs. Jericho served as the main event at WrestleMania X8, even though Hogan vs. Rock was undoubtedly the battle that fans paid to watch. We’ll use win-loss records to break the tie between the several wrestlers that tied for the most main events. Who, in your opinion, has competed the most? You might be shocked.
12. Salute the first-timers
We’ll start by focusing on the characters who only appear in one key event. Hey, simply making it to the Super Bowl is a major accomplishment – after all, not everyone can be the New England Patriots. The names on the list of one-and-done performers range from “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff of the Rock N’ Wrestling Era’s WrestleMania to The Miz of the PG Era’s WrestleMania XXVII. Along with “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (35), it also features “Rowdy” Roddy Piper from WrestleMania. As of right now, other one-time-only main eventers include King Kong Bundy, Andre The Giant, Ted Dibiase, Ultimate Warrior, Sgt. Slaughter, Bam Bam Bigelow, Big Show, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Seth “Freakin” Rollins, AJ Styles, and Drew McIntyre.
Mr. T (WrestleMania) and Lawrence Taylor (WrestleMania XI) were the final two non-wrestlers to compete.Rousey, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Bianca Belair, and Charlotte Flair are the five women who wrapped up the show. Since Ric Flair’s title match against Macho Man at WrestleMania VIII was a mid-card event, Charlotte is the only Flair to have main-evented WrestleMania. This simply goes to show that even some of the biggest stars, like Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes, Diesel, Eddie Guerrero, and Goldberg, never closed the show.
He may still feel the sting of CM Punk’s exclusion, and perhaps Sting too. But not everyone has the ability to end the spectacle. This makes the fact that these men below achieved it more than once all the more astounding.
11. Many wrestlers competed in main events twice.
It’s a great deal to win the championship on the largest stage of them all, but occasionally, storylines matter more than star power (cf. The Miz). But what if you twice made it to the big event? The Old Man obviously saw something in you. Randy Orton, Sycho Sid, and Edge all suffered defeats in their two trips to the championship match. Sid and Edge were both defeated by the Undertaker’s Streak (numbers 13 and XXIV, respectively), while Triple H’s ego eliminated Orton (number 25). While Edge and Daniel Bryan were both stacked by Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37, Sid also lost to Hogan by DQ in WrestleMania VIII.
Speaking of Bryan, in the triple threat match at WrestleMania XXX, Bryan defeated Orton by tapping out Batista.Batista, like Bryan, has competed in one WrestleMania main event and lost in the other. At WrestleMania 21, Batista defeated Triple H. “Macho Man” Randy Savage was also 0-1; he defeated Ted DiBiase in the WrestleMania IV main match, but lost to Hulk Hogan the following year when the Mega Powers erupted.
Yokozuna is a challenge. Due to on-screen shenanigans, he defeated Bret Hart in the main event at WrestleMania IX, but he lost to Hogan the next night as a result of backstage shenanigans. Do those two count? You decide. But in the WrestleMania X main event the following year, he unquestionably fell short to Hart.
10. Bret Hart — 3
Bret, aka “The Hitman” During Hart’s 13-year first tenure with WWE, he had five attempts to win the World Championship, but you never got the impression that Vince thought of him as “The Guy.” Why? Well, since McMahon was always open to switching things up (and eventually switching back to Bret when the new person didn’t pan out). When Yokozuna defeated Hart at WrestleMania IX (using Mr. Fuji’s white powder on Hart’s eyes), Hart’s first world title reign came to an abrupt end. He was the first babyface to fall to a heel in the main event of a WrestleMania event.
However, Hogan won the gold to end the event, ending Yokozuna’s run as champion.At WrestleMania X, Hart did better, winning the first match against his brother Owen in a show-stealer. He lost that match, but when he defeated Yokozuna to avenge himself and win the title, he concluded the program with his arms up. That wasn’t the case, though, as Hart competed in the main event at WrestleMania XII and lost to Shawn Michaels in a 60-minute Iron Man bout.
9. Stone Cold Steve Austin – 4
One could argue that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is the most famous pro wrestler in history. He has only ever competed in the main event of WrestleMania four times (and only once in his heyday). Austin’s main event run, which unexpectedly lasted only five years, from 1998 to 2003, can be blamed on injuries. He missed nearly two of them years due to neck surgery (2000) and walking out (2002). The fact that Austin is the only wrestler to never lose in the main event at WrestleMania despite making several appearances makes his record much more amazing than the number of main event appearances.
At WrestleMania XIV, he defeated Shawn Michaels to win his first world championship. He then defeated The Rock again at WrestleManias XV and X-Seven to win the title both times. At WrestleMania XIX, The Rock retired Austin in the sub-main event, and unlike most wrestlers, Austin remained retired—or so we thought. Austin made a surprise cameo at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas, allegedly for a guest slot in the KO Show. However, the appearance ended up turning into a no-doubt triumph for The Texas Rattlesnake, even though it wasn’t in the main event.
8. Shawn Michaels – 5
Shawn Michaels, who has made five appearances in the WrestleMania main event, most of them in multi-star classics, lived up to his self-proclaimed moniker “The Main Event” and “Mr. WrestleMania” He has lost all but one of his five WrestleMania main event appearances, however, and is tied for the worst main event record ever. At WrestleMania XI, his first WrestleMania WWE Title bout took place against his friend and former bodyguard Diesel, but Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow ended the program.As a result of Michaels winning his first world title and his first Mania main event, HBK and Bret Hart received those accolades at WrestleMania XII.
Michaels returned in a loss to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XIV two years later, but he was sidelined for the following six years while he battled a back injury and inner demons. At WrestleMania XIX, Michaels made his return to the big event with a show-stealing victory over Chris Jericho in the middle of the program. The following year, Michaels competed in the main event again but lost to Chris Benoit in a triple threat match that also featured Triple H. At WrestleMania 23, the WWE was back in a stadium, and HBK was back in the main event as he carried the WWE Champion John Cena to Cena’s best match to that point. At WrestleMania XXVI, Michaels’ run came to an end as he lost the final main event in a “Streak vs. Career” battle against The Undertaker for a (1-4) record in the main event at WrestleMania, in one final amazing contest.
7. The Rock – 5
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has made five appearances in the WrestleMania main event, yet he has only ever won one match despite being one of the biggest performers in pro wrestling, movies, and television history. Yes, you read that correctly—just one. Why? Put the narratives to blame. At WrestleMania XV, he competed in his first Mania main event as the villain of the corporation against Steve Austin, a bout he blatantly ought to have lost. His subsequent loss was in the Fatal Four-way match at WrestleMania 2000 (XVI), which he likely should have won against Triple H, Mick Foley, and The Big Show. However, his triumph over Triple H the following month garnered a sizable audience, so there’s that.
At WrestleMania X-Seven, The Rock once again fell to Steve Austin when Stone Cold allied with Vince McMahon and put an end to the Attitude Era. Surprisingly, The Rock would not headline WrestleMania for another 11 years since he was preoccupied with being the biggest celebrity alive at the time. He came back to defeat John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII (his only triumph), a match he was certainly expected to lose until they discovered at the very last minute that it was taking place in Miami, Florida, his hometown. The Rock returned for WrestleMania XXIX, however he lost the match against John Cena in a “Twice In A Lifetime” rematch, along with the WWE championship.
6. Brock Lesnar – 5
Since his 2012 comeback, Brock Lesnar has been Vince McMahon’s preferred Final Boss. But make no mistake, McMahon has always been a fan of Lesnar, even when “The Beast Incarnate” was still “The Next Big Thing.” Do you believe Vince saw something in Lesnar when he defeated Kurt Angle in the WrestleMania XIX main event? The match also featured The Undertaker, HBK, Chris Jericho, Triple H, Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, and The Rock.
Unfortunately, Lesnar decided to leave the industry and stop competing for WWE for almost ten years after finding success in the NFL and UFC. When Seth Rollins paid in his Money In The Bank and pinned Roman Reigns, his Mania big event comeback at WrestleMania 31 resulted in a defeat for the hoss. In the main event of WrestleMania 34, Brock faced Roman once more (this would become a pattern), finishing him out with six F5s to win. Lesnar lost to Roman Reigns in the “Biggest WrestleMania Match Ever” at WrestleMania 38 after losing to Drew McIntyre in the main event at WrestleMania 36 in a match that was shorter than those on this list. Overall, his five “Mania” major events have produced a 2-3 record.
5. John Cena – 5
John Cena’s WrestleMania main event win-loss record (and main event appearances, for that matter) is rather modest, despite the “CENAWINSLOL” social media stereotype and, y’know, being the top guy for a decade. Cena should be 20-0 if he used his connections to the same extent as Hogan or Triple H. At WrestleMania 21, Cena was forced to compete in a sub-main event where he defeated JBL to win the WWE Title, which he then successfully defended against Triple H at WrestleMania 22—his first “Mania major event—to boos from the Chicago crowd.
At WrestleMania 23, Cena defeated the Game and HBK by tapping out, giving him a perfect 2-0 record in the main event. He also won WrestleMania XXIV’s undercard battle against Randy Orton and Triple H, but that is a different tale. Unexpectedly, Cena didn’t compete in the main event again until WrestleMania XXVII, which he lost to The Miz. The Miz match was really simply there to set up Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII, which Cena also lost. At WrestleMania XXIX, Cena faced The Rock again in what would be his final main event (for the time being). He prevailed, giving him a 3-2 record in main events.
4. The Undertaker – 5
With 21 victories over a period of three decades before losing to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX, “The Streak” is one of the most illustrious achievements in pro wrestling history. But following the Streak, two of Undertaker’s five WrestleMania big events took place. At WrestleMania 13, the Undertaker competed in his first main event and defeated Sycho Sid to win the WWE Title in a dull match that paled in comparison to the earlier Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin match. Before Undertaker competed in the main event again, winning the World Championship at WrestleMania XXIV by tapping out Edge, it would be 11 years.
The duo’s rematch, which The Phenom won and retired The Showstopper from, took place in the main event of WrestleMania XXVI after their iconic match with Shawn Michaels stole the show (but didn’t close it) at WrestleMania 25. Nearly ten years later, at WrestleMania 33, The Deadman was defeated by the Big Dog and apparently retired. All of it was a ruse since the Undertaker returned for a few more contests, including his final match before retiring for good against AJ Styles in a thrilling “Boneyard Match” at WrestleMania 36. While Undertaker has a 25-2 overall record at WrestleMania, he has a 4-1 mark in the main event.
3. Roman Reigns – 6
Roman Reigns has appeared in more main events at WrestleMania than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Reigns’ cousin The Rock combined. Reigns may only be getting started, as well. Even if you make the case that McMahon forced The Big Dog down our throats during at least half of these main event appearances, Reigns has still closed the show more frequently than nearly anybody else. At WrestleMania 31, he made his debut in the main event of the show against Lesnar in a one-on-one WWE Championship battle that ended in a triple threat loss to Seth Rollins.
McMahon tried again at WrestleMania 32 with Reigns defeating Triple H in front of a mob of boos after that botched coronation. At WrestleMania 33, Reigns “retired” The Undertaker, but the Phenom made a comeback a month later. At WrestleMania 34, Reigns fought Lesnar once more but somehow lost. Reigns missed the following two main events and skipped the entirety of WrestleMania 36 after winning four consecutive ‘Mania main events. He triumphed against Brock at WrestleMania 38 after stacking Edge and Daniel Bryan to defeat both of them at WrestleMania 37. Thankfully, he made a triumphant comeback to the Grandest Stage as the Tribal Chief. Reigns is sure to come in first on this list at some point.
2. Triple H – 7
Since Triple H established himself as the “Big Bad” that WWE’s babyfaces had to defeat for years, he has been in many main events, seven to be exact. He has a 3-4 record in the main event at WrestleMania and a 10-14 record overall, which also means he has lost a lot of matches. As the first heel to leave WrestleMania with the WWE Title (Yokozuna beat Bret but lost to Hogan), Triple H started his WrestleMania main event run strong by defeating The Rock, Big Show, and Mick Foley at WrestleMania 2000.
At WrestleMania X8, Triple H defeated Chris Jericho to a chorus of disinterest because Rock-Hogan had already worn out the fans and because no one had any interest in supporting Triple H as an underdog babyface. After defeating Booker T on the WrestleMania XIX undercard, Triple H reverted to his heel persona and started a three-match losing skid in the main event, falling to Chris Benoit (XX), Batista (21), and John Cena (22), respectively. Because HBK-Undertaker depleted the crowd and no one buys Triple H as an underdog babyface, WrestleMania 25 finished in silence despite Triple H winning his first ‘Mania main event in years against Randy Orton. For his final WrestleMania main event, Triple H turned to the dark side and lost to Roman Reigns main event at WrestleMania 32, losing to Roman Reigns but this time receiving cheers. How shall we put it? Fans of wrestling are odd.
1. Hulk Hogan – 8
At the immortals’ presentation, “the Immortal One” could only be ranked as number one. Since Hogan constructed WrestleMania, it was only fitting that the biggest babyface of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Era main-evented the Granddaddy of them all the most—eight times. (An asterisk is next to that eight, but we’ll get to that in a minute.) With seven wins and just one loss, Hogan’s record is also very good. In the first WrestleMania’s main event, Hogan and Mr. T defeated Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. At WrestleMania II, Hogan defeated King Kong Bundy in a steel cage. At WrestleMania III, Hogan crushed Andre the Giant in front of a packed crowd.
At WrestleMania IV, Hogan chose to compete on the undercard, but he still assisted Savage in winning the main event. At WrestleMania V, the Mega Powers detonated, and Hogan defeated his friend. Hogan’s only loss came at WrestleMania VI when he handed the torch to the Ultimate Warrior. However, he quickly picked up the torch again and defeated Sid Justice (Psycho Sid) at WrestleMania VIII and Sgt. Slaughter at WrestleMania VII by DQ.
Hogan closed the program at WrestleMania IX after defeating Yokozuna for the WWE Title in an unscheduled 22-second “match” even though he wasn’t scheduled to compete in the main event. You decide whether that matters, but if you disagree, what are you going to do when Hulkamania breaks out in your face?
