A couple of years ago, Hulk Hogan was desperately trying to find a persona that got a rise out of the crowd—either positive or negative. Nothing worked, and in the process he looked lost, desperate, and even pathetic. Last Sunday, it’s as if none of that happened. The WWF fans in Toronto’s Skydome gave Hogan one of the biggest, most resounding ovations in wrestling history. It lasted throughout the entire match. Even more remarkable, the fans turned on Rock.
The level of cheers for Hogan and the booing of Rock took WWF officials by surprise. They expected a somewhat split crowd, but not a strong, unified anti-Rock crowd. By the next night at Raw, all was made good again. It was a strange scene, though, seeing the WWF use a 25 minute segment to have Hogan turn the fans in favor of Rock. It was supposed to be the other way around as Rock somehow forgave Hogan for trying to kill him a few weeks earlier. It worked, as the boos for Raw at the start of Raw turned into cheers when they came out for the main event an hour and a half later on Raw.
WrestleMania was the climax of a number of undercard feuds that were only half-heartedly promoted. The next night on Raw, the WWF hit the “reset” button, shifting attention toward a top feud of Rock teaming with Hogan against Hall and Nash.
Very few people know how the roster split will shape up. In fact, wrestlers weren’t told this week which roster they’ll end up on next week. The writing team has already split the roster and has the two separate lists saved on a computer. They are not, however, revealing the split to the wrestlers yet other than a few likely exceptions such as Rock, Triple H, Austin, Hall, Nash, and Hogan. The wrestlers will find out next week, perhaps as Raw airs or perhaps a few minutes before going on the air, which show they’ll be on from now on. Nothing has been done by management to inform wrestlers how the split will affect their schedules or pay.
It appears Rock & Hogan will likely have a rematch against Hall & Nash also, perhaps with two others being added (perhaps X-Pac on the Hall & Nash side and Austin on the Rock & Hogan side).
