Former WWE star EC3 recently spoke about how Hulk Hogan guided The Rock during the pair's iconic match at WrestleMania 18.
The Hulkster returned to WWE at No Way Out 2002 in his 'Hollywood Hogan' avatar. He kickstarted a heated feud with The Rock, resulting in a match at WrestleMania 18. Though the Hall of Famer entered the event as a heel, the Toronto crowd cheered him wildly.
While he fell short of defeating The Brahma Bull, after the match, he turned babyface by fighting off his nWo stablemates Kevin Nash and Razor Ramon. Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3 pointed out how The Hulkster took control of the match's direction.
He added that though The Rock himself had headlined WrestleMania in the past, Hulk Hogan guided him not to "rush" and maintain the pace of the bout.
"If you watched WrestleMania 18 with Hogan and The Rock... The Rock was like a multiple-time champion, a top guy, main evented WrestleManias. But watch how Hulk Hogan teaches him how to work in that match. He's slowing him down; he's talking to him; he's keeping the pace. He's everywhere he needs to be. And The Rock would rush, and he'll be slowing it down. I think the way he manipulated that crowd to have that reaction is a testament to one of the greatest workers of all time," said EC3. (7:08 - 7:43)
Check out the full video below:
WWE legend Hulk Hogan was shocked to see fans cheer him at WrestleMania 18
A couple of months back, in an interview, Hulk Hogan recalled the build-up to his WrestleMania 18 match against The Rock, where he did the most despicable of things to get booed by fans.
The WWE legend added that even after using the dirtiest tricks in the book, he was still unanimously cheered by the Toronto crowd:
"Dude, I hit The Rock in the head with a hammer!" Hogan said. "I put him in an ambulance, I put chains around the ambulance, I get in a semi-truck, I ran him over in the ambulance, and they still cheered me. How dirtier could you be? I didn't have a gun on me at the time, but I did everything I could to get heat and they still cheered me."
21 years ago today.
— 2000's WWE (@2000s_WWE) March 17, 2023
Hulk Hogan 'Hulks Up' against The Rock at WrestleMania 18! One of the LOUDEST crowd pops of all time! pic.twitter.com/N4UuJd4qru
Though it didn't contain any flashy or jaw-dropping maneuvers, the WrestleMania 18 match stands the test of time due to the emotion it generated among fans.
Do you think Hulk Hogan and The Rock had the greatest match of all time in WWE history? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
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