The wrestling world is mourning the loss of Hulk Hogan, who passed away on July 24th at the age of 71. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in wrestling history, Hogan’s career was filled with unforgettable moments, but few stand out more than his clash with The Rock at WrestleMania X8.
Billed as “Icon vs. Icon,” the 2002 match in Toronto saw Hogan enter as a heel. However, the live crowd had other plans. Their deafening support during the bout flipped the script in real time, turning Hogan into a babyface by the final bell.
The momentum carried over to the very next night on RAW. According to former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz, the ovation Hogan received on RAW was so overwhelming that the entire episode had to be rewritten on the fly. Gewirtz reflected on the surreal experience while paying tribute to Hogan on Twitter:
“Underrated favorite Hulk Hogan moments
Teaming with Roddy Piper at MSG in 1986 (blew my mind)
Match with the Genius on SNME (massively entertaining)
Mr. America lie detector seg (2nd fav Hogan promo I worked on)
Rewriting entire Raw in Gorilla night after WM18 due to ovation”
Brian also answered some fan questions after this:
Fan: Do you remember what some of the original direction post WM18 would have been?
Brian: If i recall, I think we anticipated Babyface Hogan coming out of Mania just not at the level it became. I remember watching match w/Rock on the floor screaming “He just hit him in the back of the head with a hammer and rammed his ambulance with a monster truck!” No one heard me.
Fan: What was the original WM18 plan? I’ve heard it told that it was just gonna be them in their more traditional roles (at the time) but was there anything specific you remember that went out the window?
Brian: I don’t really remember tbh. I do recall a meeting before WM 18 where there was a pitch for Scott Hall to win out of fear the NWO would look weak coming out of Mania but Vince wasn’t hearing any of that.
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