10 shocking moments from WWE 2003

Another solid year for the WWE.
Another solid year for the WWE.

#3 Hogan and Vince go head to head

20 years in the making.
20 years in the making.

The 1980s saw an unprecedented boom period of professional Wrestling, first with the Rock n' Wrestling connection and then with the first incarnation of Wrestlemania. Another consistent and related feature of 1980s wrestling was Hulkamania — a phenomenon in its own right.

Before Steve Austin and John Cena, Hogan was the go-to guy who allowed the WWF to sell tickets and fill out arenas at will. His legendary feuds with Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Warrior and others gave the company free licence to print money in a way that has only really been replicated by the Attitude Era in the late 90s.

As much as Hogan deserves credit for this movement, it most likely would not have gotten very far without the mastermind of sports entertainment, Vince McMahon, behind it. Vince was a genius when it came to booking characters and storylines and was able to operate in an environment he felt comfortable with back in the 80s.

Of course, the partnership between Hogan and Vince took a sour turn after the former decided to leave the WWF and sign with WCW. Hogan nearly eliminated the company he had helped to build after the success of his heel turn at Bash at the Beach and the formation of the NWO.

With Hogan returning to WWE in 2002, fans knew that he was set on a collision course with his former employer. One of the signature matches at the following year's Wrestlemania was a Street Fight between the two, but not before some much heated and semi-shoot promos were sent back and forth.

Fans have always been made aware of the professional and personal difficulties between Hogan and McMahon, and with this feud, we got to see those grievances displayed publically. During the storyline, Vince suggested that he never needed Hogan and could have made the WWF what it was with anybody as his main star.

The shock value probably reached its climax during the contract signing in which Vince made Hogan sign in his own blood after attacking him with a steel chair.

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