WrestleMania Rewind : The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VI

The granddaddy of them all, WrestleMania is just about a month away. The anticipation for the extravaganza is sky high among the WWE Universe. And since the pay-per-view is richer than Richie rich when it comes to history, we have decided to take a look back at some of the best WrestleMania matches with this latest series.This time we are going to take a look at the clash between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior which happened at WrestleMania VI. Hogan and Warrior were not the best of friends during their career but the match had its fair share of hype.The show had a record breaking attendance thanks to the ‘Ultimate Showdown’ between Hogan and Warrior. Also, Hogan went into the match undefeated at WrestleMania and here is a look at how things turned out.

#1 The Buildup

The first confrontation between the two superstars came in the 1990 Royal Rumble. When Hogan entered the ring during the match, the ring cleared and the only man standing to receive Hogan was the Warrior.

Fans went nuts seeing two of the biggest names going face to face for the first time. The brief confrontation between the two was eaten up by the excited fans and Vince McMahon, knew what he had to do for WrestleMania.

Hogan went on to win the Rumble match but the win was overshadowed by the confrontation. Within no time, Hogan issued a challenge for Warrior. The Hulkster wanted to know how the Hulkamania would stand out against the Warrior’s force and the match was made official.

WWE’s onscreen owner Jack Tunney put both titles on the line as well. And so the fans were going to get a Hogan – Warrior match with both the Intercontinental and WWE championship on the line at WrestleMania.

During the buildup, both men stuck to their baby face routine and helped each other against heels. The promos weren’t up to the mark but the fans were blinded with excitement, so nothing else mattered. The fans were rallied behind their favorite superstars and the show was on.

#2 The Match

A match between Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan was never going to be a technical master piece. Breaking kayfabe, both superstars are extremely overrated when it comes to their wrestling skills.

Vince McMahon introduced the match as the ‘Ultimate Challenge’ and soon, the bell rang. Instead of being a match between two regular wrestlers, it started off as a showdown between two mega powers.

Since both superstars didn’t know much technical wrestling to be frank, they stuck to what made them famous. The match dragged through a lot of holds, ties and headlocks which would have been crucified by the current crowd. However, the fans back then were so excited, they cheered for every arm raised and every hold locked.

There was an iconic test of strength between the two men as well before they steered the match to its climatic sequence. In the end, Warrior hit his famous Press Slam – Splash combination but Hogan kicked out at two.

Hogan turned the tables around and tried to deliver his trademark leg drop. Warrior dodged the move with ease and produced a splash of his own. The fans thought that Warrior was going to win, and it is exactly what happened as Hogan could only kick out after the three count.

The crowd erupted and Warrior was standing tall with WWE championship for the first time in his career.

#3 The Fallout

The Hogan – Warrior match at WrestleMania went into archives as an instant classic. Though it was not the best ‘wrestling match’, the magnitude of each superstar was enough to steal the show.

For some reason, WWE decided to strip Warrior of the Intercontinental championship since he was the WWE champion. Warrior then went on to feud with Rick Rude for the championship while Hogan had his storyline with Earthquake.

Years after, Hogan and Warrior jumped ships to WCW and WCW booked a rematch between the two at 1998 edition of Halloween Havoc and pushed it as Hogan vs. Warrior II. Hogan was having his heel run at that time and Warrior was pretty much the same. It ended up being one of the worst matches in WCW history and failed to follow up the classic they put up at WrestleMania VI.