Childhood – That Time Hogan Slammed a Giant
March 29th, 1987 was the date of Wrestle Mania III. At this exact moment I was still in my mother’s belly and with that said you might be wondering how the hell this moment, this match, stands out to me? Well let me tell you.
Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant wouldn’t happen before my eyes for another five years after the slam heard around the world. It was an old shop in one of my late grandma’s friends house where I would stumble across wrestling tape after wrestling tape. I was fortunate enough to be told I had to watch each of the Wrestle Manias this gentleman owned in order of which they happened. I had no sense of time, I had no qualms about these events being something of the past. For all I knew it was like and right in front of my eyes.
This is when Hulk Hogan stood out to me. He was a colorful character. He was larger than life and I was completely in awe with the sight of him. I was also introduced to him in other forms of media such as Suburban Commando and my young little mind couldn’t handle all that awesomeness. Hulk Hogan was the immortal one and damn it I thought that sounded cool.
So I sat there in this beat up, dusty shop finally coming across Wrestle Mania III. The tape was in and all I could think about was getting to the match that Hogan was in. I wanted to see him wrestle. I wanted to see him win. And then I saw his opponent. A man that was larger than the Hulk. The friggin Hulk! For someone to be larger than him was mind blowing to me.
Then I saw Hogan punch the man and nothing would happen. I was scared for Hogan. I didn’t know what to think. For the first time in my young life I thought that my hero was in danger. I thought the immortal Hogan was no longer to be.
He showed moments of agony, Hogan looked to have met his toughest opponent to date as nothing he did to the Giant was impactful to say the least. He tried and tried and the Giant remained unphased in the match, continuing to look like the dominant Giant he was hyped up to be.
That moment of ultimate glory was fast approaching though. The match moved from outside the ring to the inside and my captivation of this match of wonders seemed to grow rapidly. My excitement was growing rapidly as I felt a strong shift happen within the ring. Suddenly the Hulk was doing that thing where he became the invincible on — he was hulking up. My eyes popped, pure joy overcame me and then it happened — the unthinkable moment when Hulk Hogan picked up Andre the Giant and slammed him down into the mat.
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I was shocked. My mind was at that point where I just simply didn’t know what to really think. On top of this, I was experiencing this moment years later after it actually happened and yet I felt everything that the moment gave the wrestling world. I felt all the jubilation that the Pontiac Silverdome felt that night and I was suddenly a wrestling fan that would go on to be hooked for life.
Wrestling became apart of my world and I became apart of its.
Teenager – That Time the Rock and Hogan Stood and Stared
I was 15-years-old in 2002 at the time of Wrestle Mania X8. The Rock was the biggest draw at this time in the wrestling world — he was simply at the top of a business that grew to absolutely incredible heights in the years leading up to 2002. The Rock was a Wrestle Mania main event attraction that had carved his path of glory though his outstanding rivalry with Stone Cold Steve Austin over the years. Hulk Hogan was the man that seemed to make Wrestle Mania what it is today. He created the first Wrestle Mania moment when he slammed Andre the Giant and Wrestle Mania has since never looked back.
Hogan and the Rock comparably became the two greatest draws and attractions in all of wrestling history. To see these two go head-to-head at the time was basically a possibility many did not think would happen. The Rock vs the Immortal Hulk Hogan was an impossible dream that became a historic moment forever etched into the minds of wrestling fans across the world.
The NWO in its original form consisted of Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall — none of these three individuals came over in the original buy out of WCW from WWE. This is why many did not feel a match up of the likes of Hogan and the Rock would ever happen.
But finally Hollywood Hulk Hogan showed up on WWE television with his NWO allies and the wheels started to turn. What matches are now possible? Stone Cold? Shawn Michaels? Undertaker? All had potential but the first real challenger came out and laid the smacketh downeth! The Rock stepped up to the plate and put forth the challenge that would spark an idea — Icon vs Icon.
The build up to the match was great. People were excited to see what would unfold as these two mammoth personalities would clash once and for all. My excitement was at an all time high level.
To put my excitement in some perspective, I loved the Rock vs Austin matches and always anticipated those greatly — besides their matches, the last Mania I was truly excited for was Wrestle Mania 14 with the build between Austin, Tyson and Michaels. This build between the Rock and Hogan felt even greater and really didn’t have that much to do with story telling.
The build up was great because the two legitimate Icons had already built such a wonderful foundation of Wrestle Mania greatness. At 15-years-old I could understand that what they have done in Wrestle Mania past was essential to Wrestle Mania future.
Then it finally came down to it. They were to square off, face-to-face — Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs the Peoples Champ the Rock.
Hogan came out to that NWO theme that is so loved around the world. The Rock would follow suit and the two would stand in the ring ready to do battle — you could already feel a certain level of electricity, you could already feel the crowd erupting.
The entire opening is worth a re-watch as it still has the ability to give wrestling fans goosebumps. The moment is down in history as one of the greatest to ever happen at Wrestle Mania.
Adulthood – That Time Rollins Cashed In
Maybe the time I am most proud of because it happened to be a moment I got to be apart of live and in the audience.
It was on the heels of a Royal Rumble let down for many. Roman Reigns was obviously not the guy they (fans) all wanted to see. Daniel Bryan was the guy they wanted but did not get and because of that Roman received an unprecedented amount of backlash that continues to this very day. He was the chosen one, set up to fail.
This heat aimed at Roman Reigns continued to run up to Wrestle Mania where he was greeted with boos left and right. Wrestling the likes of Daniel Bryan at WWE Fast lane didn’t help his case either. The inability to cut a promo didn’t help his case. Lastly, the feud build with Brock Lesnar, which was done lazily, didn’t help Roman. He couldn’t do any right.
His opponent on the other side of things was Lesnar accompanied by Paul Heyman. At the time, many believed it was going to be Roman Reigns walking away with the championship due to the fact that Brock’s contract was due to end after Wrestle Mania. This was suddenly changed when Lesnar decided to re-sign with WWE giving new life to the main event title match.
With many eyes now on the main event and most of the marks. (including me) all thought Roman was the sure fire winner. He was built up this way and every sign pointed in a positive direction for him. The only real question in the air was Lesnars contract, which would only put a tiny bit of doubt in peoples minds. The majority still believed that Roman Reigns owned the night.
This was until…
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Seth Rollins was still holding on to the briefcase dubbed Money In The Bank which gave him the power to insert himself into an championship title match at any time. He chose the grandest stage of them all, taking advantage of two warriors that had been going at it punch by punch. As they were both laid at in the ring Rollins music hit and the crowd erupted.
It was a feeling that I had never felt before during anything in my life. The two previous moments with the Rock and Hogan and Andre the Giant and Hogan happened from the comfort of my couch. This moment happened while I was standing on my feet, shouting at the top of my lungs. I was completely captivated by not only the match but by my favorite wrestlers music hitting. The crowd was the loudest it had been all night long and frankly the loudest crowd I have ever been apart of. The sheer happiness stretched from my seat and wrapped itself all the around the stadium in one crazy loud roar. People were even more excited about a match that they were already on the edge of their seat for.
I was happy for Rollins but I was even more happy (selfishly) for myself. I got to experience a legit Wrestle Mania moment — and not one of those that they just say is a Wrestle Mania moment but one that was born out of rage and turned to utter euphoria. Seth Rollins was champion and everyone in that stadium stood, not only in awe, but in absolute shock.
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I wish their was a picture of me sitting in the empty seats that surrounded me. I sat there long after Rollins had cleared out and was just basking in my happiness. It was a night I would never forget because like many of the wrestlers I saw perform that day it was also my dream to make it to Wrestle Mania.
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