Wwf wrestlemania 6 Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate… by Xaristaker

Wwf wrestlemania 6 Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate… by XaristakerAh, the Ultimate Challenge. Despite the utter bomb that was No Holds Barred, Hulk Hogan still felt that he could make it in Hollywood if he tried (he didn’t), which left the WWF in need of a new superhuman face to carry the company forward in the Hulkster’s absence (during which he made Suburban Commando). Randy Savage probably would have been a better choice, but the guy was in full on heel mode, feuding with “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, cheating Robin Leech out of games of croquet, and making life miserable for every good guy with aspirations of champagne wishes and caviar dreams. So they went with The Ultimate Warrior who, credit where it’s due, probably did challenge Hogan in terms of popularity, as the WWF had done such a tremendous job of building his aura. Not only did he go over notables like Andre the Giant and Rick Rude, but the Warrior had one of the most distinguishable entrance themes of all time, his sprint and rope shake entrance was iconic, and his promos were so loud and indistinguishable that you just had to cheer for him.

MY ONLY BAD HABITS ARE THE ONES THAT ALLOW ME TO SURVIVE.The problem with the Warrior is that he wasn’t a particularly good worker, and he was full of himself. Oh yeah, he looked good in there against a guy like Rick Rude, but a wet mop would look good in the ring with the Ravishing One. There are stories about Andre/Warrior matches where Warrior didn’t show an aging, slowed down Andre the kind of respect due to him until Warrior, charging in for a move, was met with Andre’s fist. And there’s story after story after story of Warrior holding up Vince McMahon for money, arguing for creative control, and generally mucking things up because he felt that he was the star of the show. Men without egos probably don’t legally change their name to Warrior.

But, as Rick Rude so ably showed, the Warrior could be led to a good match, and when it came down to it, Hulk Hogan knew how to deliver something that appealed to the fans in attendance and watching at home. Given the assignment of putting the Warrior over, Hogan put on his game face and did so. This is the first match in WrestleMania history to clock in at over 20 minutes, and stood as the longest match in Mania history until Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart had their Iron Man Match at WrestleMania XII. You don’t give a 20-minute match with a slouch like the Ultimate Warrior to a fellow slouch.

Hogan/Warrior is basically a blockbuster summer action movie. It’s big, it’s dumb, it’s mindless, and it’s not at all graceful, but it’s fun like a sugar rush and remains iconic despite the fact that Warrior did not go on to be the star of the 90s. Listen to the fans in the Skydome as Hogan and Warrior hook up for a simple Grecco-Roman knuckle lock. Or when Hogan slams Warrior. Every move is like watching Superman punch Thor, or like watching Thor hit Superman with his hammer. There are some faults, though. Warrior should have never attacked an injured Hogan on the outside of the ring, and I can’t imagine the Code of the Warrior includes anything about intimidating poor little referees who try to enforce the rules. But Hogan unleashes backbreakers and back suplexes and leg trips and all manner of moves that weren’t really his thing during his WWF run, all of which conveyed just how much Hogan wanted to put Warrior away, and just how much more would be needed to do it.

Rumor has it that Warrior cried in the back after this match, thankful for how well it went and thankful for the chance to be WWF Champion. If that’s the case, it was probably the last time Warrior let on that he was really, truly human. Oh, and it also gave us this:

So yeah, it’s basically awesome.