The Rock vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 is generally viewed by most fans as one of the best ‘Mania matched ever – and I was lucky enough to be there to see it live and in person!
WrestleMania had only come to Canada once before, with WrestleMania VI, way back in 1990. Back then, I was only 8 years old, and living about 14 hours away. But when it was announced that WrestleMania was going to return to Toronto in 2002, I was now 20 and living just under an hour away going to school! Needless to say, you would have had to rip my arm off at the shoulder to keep me from going!
I remember watching the incredible build for Hogan vs Rock in the weeks leading up to ‘Mania. My wrestling fan friends from school who were going with me and I could hardly wait for the big weekend. And when it finally came – we made it count! I also had 2 childhood friends who came from home to go to ‘Mania with us, which made it extra memorable for me. When they arrived in town, they made it to my apartment just long enough to drop off their luggage – then it was straight to the local sports bar for supper and pitchers of beer, followed by a night at the local strip club…..c’mon, we had to make it a memorable weekend, right?? lol
Anyways, the next morning it was up early, and off for Toronto! We took it pretty easy that day, taking in a few sights. Unfortunately, we didn’t have tickets for AXXESS or any of the other wrestling fun. The thing that really stands out in my mind from being in Toronto that weekend is that literally everywhere you went in that city, you heard the trademark Ric Flair “Woooooo!”. You would even hear entire blocks of fans competing to make the biggest group “Wooooo!”. It was quite a thing to witness in person. We also ended up running into Al Snow, and the cast of Tough Enough 2 at Planet Hollywood Toronto at the base of the CN Tower though, which was pretty cool.
That night, we sat in a hotel room making signs for the following nights show.
The next day – WrestleMania Sunday – we spent most of the day just hanging around the Skydome, taking in all the sights and talking to fellow wrestling fans from all over the world, which I particularly enjoyed. Then…..it was time for the big show itself! We all filed inside, and spent some time looking at the merchandise stand before heading to our seats. We ended up with really good seats, seated just to the left of the ramp just below the stage.
Now this is where this blog is gonna take a bit of a turn. I honestly haven’t watched this on DVD in years because it will never be able to live up to what I have in my memory, so I don’t remember every detail of every match. I will share with you what I do remember of my own personal thoughts, though.
The first match we saw was Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty and Albert vs Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm and Test for Heat. I remember marking out big-time getting to see Mr. Perfect in person.
Then they told us it was time for the main show. The lights went down, the intro video played, and the pyro exploded. What a feeling!
RVD vs William Regal was pretty good. I remember Van Dam taking a pretty sick looking suplex from Regal.
DDP vs Christian was fun, as I was a big fan of both men at the time.
I remember being strangely excited for the Hardcore match between Goldust and Maven. I guess because hardcore matches at ‘Mania were usually pretty good, because I was really excited to see Goldust back at the time…..and because I liked Maven’s music and wanted to hear it on the big sound system. The match did turn out to be pretty entertaining, though.
Kurt Angle vs Kane was good, but nothing really memorable about it stands out in my mind.
Undertaker vs Ric Flair, on the other hand, was one of the best matches on the card. I’ll always remember ‘Taker holding up the 10 fingers on the ring apron after he had beaten Flair bloody, signifying that he was now 10-0 and Wrestlemania. Such a memorable and iconic image in my mind.
I honestly don’t remember anything about Booker T vs Edge, because the stupid shampoo ad storyline leading into it had honestly annoyed me so much, that I decided to go get something to eat during that match.
It was quite a thrill to actually get to see “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in person, but other than the 3 stunners and the post-match stuff, his match with Scott Hall was pretty forgettable.
I remember being particularly disappointed with the Tag Team Title match with Billy and Chuck vs The APA vs The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz. Especially considering the Tag Title matches that had taken place at the previous 2 ‘Mania’s. It was nice to get to see Stacy Keibler in person, though!
Next was the one that everyone remembers – The Rock vs Hulk Hogan. The feeling in the crowd during that match was indescribable. I was one of the few who was solidly behind Rock, and I literally thought a group of Hogan fans seated near me were going to tear me apart! I’ve been to huge concerts with over 80,000+, and I have never ever felt the amount of raw electricity in a crowd before or since, like I felt that night in the Skydome.
The Woman’s Title match was utterly forgettable, other than the nice hometown pop Trish Stratus got from the crowd.
Finally, it was time for the main event – Chris Jericho vs Triple H. The crowd was really hot for Triple H’s entrance, rocking to a performance from Drowning Pool, and cheering for his recent return, but after that the crowd honestly started to loose steam. It’s been talked about numerous time in the subsequent years, that the crowd just didn’t have much left in them after the emotion roller coaster that was Rock vs Hogan.
After the main event came to an end, Triple H gave an emotion promo about his recent return, which was never shown on camera.
After the show was over, I remember one of my friends offered a fan who had gotten one of the collectable chairs that were made for people with floor tickets $200 for his chair, but was turned down flat. A testament on both sides to the devotion of wrestling fan.
The next day we left Toronto, and so ended our WrestleMania experience. An experience I for one, will never forget!
Cory Morrow
Bad Blood Executive Producer
