Hogan-McMahon deserves top billing
By Rennie Detore
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, March 30, 2003
Every year, "Wrestlemania" showcases one unprecedented match, an event within an event.
Last year's pay-per-view delivered the first meeting between The Undertaker and 17-time world champion Ric Flair. The 40-year-old Undertaker and the 50-year-old Flair forgot that it wasn't 1990 and produced one of the finer grudge-slash-dream matches in the pay-per-view's 19-year history.
"Wrestlemania XIV" in 1998 saw the end of an era and the beginning of another when "Stone Cold" Steve Austin captured his first WWF title, defeating Shawn Michaels, whose career was thought to be over after that match because of a severe back injury. Austin, WWF's "Attitude" flagbearer, cleanly defeated the federation's star of the '90s and assumed Michaels' spot as the company's headliner.
And who can forget "Wrestlemania III" in Detroit at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, an event that saw then-WWF champion Hulk Hogan bodyslam and pin friend-turned-enemy Andre the Giant in front of 93,000 fans in arguably the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling or its successor, sports entertainment.
This year, Hogan versus Vince McMahon earns the distinction as "Wrestlemania's" most anticipated match.
A showdown being dubbed as "20 years in the making" pits professional wrestling's biggest promoter against his greatest creation in the only wrestler vs. non-wrestler bout that's worthy of even being considered for "Wrestlemania." (Sorry, but Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow just didn't cut it.)
The promotion of McMahon vs. Hogan has infuriated some wrestling purists who feel the match is little more than an ego trip for two of the bigger manipulators in the industry. In fact, the "Who created Hulkamania?" storyline perhaps is McMahon and Hogan's finest swerves in their rocky history together.
The question of "Who created Hulkamania?" is moot and can't be answered in one match between two of the key parties involved. Hogan vs. McMahon is more about capping the historic pairing between a visionary (McMahon) and a guy (Hogan) who was in the right place at the right time with the right amount of muscle mass to McMahon's liking.
McMahon snatched Hogan from the AWA and turned him into an overnight sensation thanks to his ability to market what cannot be sold. Hogan had little athletic ability, but his look rivaled any movie star during the mid-1980s. The 6-foot-6 blond bombshell encapsulated the superhero look with enough charisma to appeal to any demographic, be it the 80-year-old grandmother who still thought wrestling was real to the 8-year-old kid who hung on every word Hogan said and truly believed what he was saying was the word of God.
To Hogan's credit, he gave McMahon the ideal clay to mold. It's hard to think of anyone else in wrestling at the time (1984) who could have taken the "Hulkamania" gimmick and given it the kind of gusto Hogan did. Could you have imagined a pot-bellied, tongue waving "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan wearing red and yellow and trying to tell kids how important vitamins are?
The 2003 version of "Hulkamania," being played by a tired Terry Bollea, has credited fans for their part in making Hulk Hogan a household name, a move consistent with a superstar and man who knows his time as a professional wrestler is coming to an end.
Simply put, the fans, Hogan and McMahon had an equal part in contributing to professional wrestling's pop culture status and the birth of the household name of "Hulkamania."
The match, Hogan vs. McMahon, needs to happen not to crown a winner or a champion of intelligence. Much like any professional wrestling bout, the result often is inconsequential. Hogan vs. McMahon needs to happen for posterity, nostalgia and because history won't have it any other way.
If you look at Hogan vs. McMahon in that light, then clearly it belongs as this year's must-see "Wrestlemania" attraction, not as an athletic contest determined to steal the show or spotlight from more deserving, high-profile matches.
* WWE and Goldberg finally came to terms last week, ending one of the more high-profile negotiations in WWE history. Although nothing has been confirmed by WWE or its Web site ? chances are it's keeping the signing quiet for surprise value ? several sources are reporting that Goldberg will work approximately 100 days per year. He's expected to be on "Raw" tomorrow night.
* Kevin Nash has been mentioned as a possible surprise return tonight at the pay-per-view.
* The Curt Hennig autopsy released last week by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner in Tampa, Fla., revealed that the former WWE and WCW superstar died of acute cocaine poisoning, which caused his heart to stop. Hennig was found dead Feb. 10 in a Florida hotel room before a scheduled event at the Tampa State Fair Grounds.
* Ratings for "Raw" continued to sink. Last Monday's show drew a 3.4.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/trib.../s_126460.html
Goldberg to be on Raw tomorrow, wrestling article... 
It's probably gonna be Hogan's last anyway ... and who deserves it more than he does?
RAW! 
