PART 15 [THE END]
nWo History – Part 15
Rock vs. Hulk Hogan appears the strong favorite to be the final match at WrestleMania, coming after Jericho-Triple H. Because of Hogan’s historical stature in the WWF, and because this is his first televised singles match in the WWF since his return, it’s not altogether inappropriate that his bout against Rock would end up being presented as the main event. It has leapfrogged Jericho vs. Triple H as the top billed match in most of the WWF’s publicity.
Another factor that could determine which match gets the main event slot is the planned finishes of the matches. The WWF likes to end WM on an up note. If Jericho is scheduled to retain the WWF Title against Triple H, it probably won’t get the final slot. If Hogan is going to get a win over Rock, it probably won’t get the final slot. It’s unlikely the WWF would book both matches to end with the heels winning.
The three matches will each be very different. Austin and Hall worked with each other at a number of house shows the past few weeks, so they should have their timing down. Their final house show match on Sunday in Ft. Wayne got a great response from the crowd. Hall looked solid with his signature spots during the 15 minute main event Raw tag team match.
The Austin-Hall match should be able to generate good crowd pops since both wrestlers have well-established signature moves and tendencies. It won’t be Austin’s best match ever at WrestleMania, but it shouldn’t be a letdown. Expectations probably aren’t high, and they should have no trouble exceeding them. It’s not impossible that the match will approach four stars since both Austin and Hall are known for being very detail-oriented and psychologically sound in planning out matches, especially for big event matches.
Hogan vs. Rock is the wildcard of the event. The expectations are low in terms of the expected athleticism, yet fans probably aren’t expecting anything more than seeing two icons of different eras lock up for the first time one-on-one. To give Hogan some juice (i.e. in-ring credibility) headed into WrestleMania, he pinned Rock clean with a big boot and a legdrop to end Raw this week.
Hogan, though, is headed into the match injured. Hogan is trying hard to downplay the injury, but in his one warm-up house show match with Rikishi in his hometown of Tampa, Fla. last week, he injured his ribs. Hogan was trying to prove he didn’t need to be handled with kid gloves and took a Rikishi Samoan Drop. He was hobbled in his Raw match on Monday, but tried very hard to not show it. The rib injury could affect his performance at WrestleMania. The rib injury could have also been concocted as a built-in excuse to lower expectations for his performance.
During the Raw tag match this week, Hogan looked relatively passable in the ring. Rock is the type of wrestler who should be able to work well with Hogan even if Hogan’s mobility is limited or Hogan’s ribs are still tender. Even with Hogan’s limitations, because of their charisma, and with Pat Patterson’s help plotting out the match’s content, it could surprise a lot of people.
Another thing to watch for is whom the crowd cheers for. There is a definite contingent of anti-Rock fans who have been vocal in their support of Hogan. Hogan has gone full-circle from huge babyface to booed babyface to booed heel and now to a cheered heel. He’s cheered now mostly because he is seen as a legendary figure worthy of respect.
