CLASSIC MATCH - Hulk Hogan v. The Ultimate Warrior (Wrestlemania VI)

Hulk Hogan v. The Ultimate Warrior
WWE Champion v. WWE Intercontinental Champion
Wrestlemania VI Main Event
April 1, 1990 at the Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

WINNER.... and NEW World Wrestling Federation Champion....
The Ultimate Warrior...

This was a match that couldn't happen. How could the WWE - at that time the WWF - tear my heart in two? How could WWF President Jack Tunney make a good guy - and not just any good guy, but THE good guy Hulk Hogan - wrestle another good guy - and not just any other good guy, but the most popular good guy since Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior? How would the crowd react? Who would the fans be cheering for? Hulk Hogan can't lose, can he? No... Hulk Hogan never loses... to bad guys.

This match took place before I had ever heard the terms 'babyface' or 'heel.' This match took place when Hulk Hogan was truly Immortal. This match took place when wrestling was a real competition between two athletes who had trained hard and scouted their opponent. In 1990, I had no idea that the competition I thought I was watching was actually a physical exhibition. I had no idea that Hogan and The Warrior discussed how the match would progress and what the 'high spots' would be and how the match would finish. I had no idea of all the locker room politics that must have gone into such a high-profile match between the two biggest money-making professional wrestlers on the planet. I had no idea that Hulk Hogan was looking to get out of the industry and go work in Hollywood.

What I did know in the beginning of the year of our Lord, 1990, was that with each Saturday morning, The Ultimate Warrior became more and more appealing to me. His entrance was so cool. His antics in the ring were so cool. His music was so cool. His look was so cool. The promos he cut made no sense but they were so cool to an 11 year old kid that they didn't have to make any sense. In 1990, Hulkamania became boring to me. In 1990, I wanted to see The Ultimate Warrior become the WWE (or WWF) Champion.

The tagline for this match was 'The Ultimate Challenge,' and I think that the tagline referred less to the actual match and more to the fans. Would the fans support a new top face? Would the fans jeer The Ultimate Warrior? Would the fans be able to handle their two heroes facing off against each other in Canada? The answers were 'For a little while,' 'No,' and 'Yes.'

The match itself was exciting only because of the caliber of the wrestlers. It was a popularity contest between the well-known biggest draw in the world and the up-and-coming cool new guy. Vince McMahon went with the cool new guy because the biggest draw in the world thought he could move on to bigger and better things. This sort of 'passing of the torch' match has happened several times at Wrestlemania and it had happened before this particular match was booked. However, this is the first time that the WWE dared to book two faces - the two most popular faces - in a Championship Main Event match at Wrestlemania. McMahon wasn't spoon-feeding his audience a main event that would have an obvious finish. He was putting the ball in his audience's court. He was daring in a way. Obviously his audience would accept The Warrior as the top star... he was immensely popular... but the chance of the winner and the new torch bearer being booed out of the Skydome was very real.

The match began with a stare-down/pose-down and moved onto a test of strength. The crowd ate it up. They cheered for both participants. It was unbelievable that this match was happening. As Gorilla Monsoon put it, the tension could truly 'be cut with a knife.'

Hogan injured his leg outside the ring and at one point told Earl Hebner that he could no longer continue the match. This was a heel move and a nice strategy to ensure that The Ultimate Warrior - who was pushed as a bigger face in this match - would be accepted as the winner.

Hogan was able to shake his head and stomp around the ring and point his finger and go numb to any offense Warrior was able to produce. It was a sure thing that Hogan would pass this 'Ultimate Challenge.' The swerve came as Hogan went to drop his big leg. The Warrior rolled out of the way and landed a body splash on the surprised Champion and covered him for a somewhat quick 1-2-3. The Skydome erupted in excitement.

Hogan put The Warrior over even more by handing him the WWE Championship Belt, embracing him in a very manly way, and raising The Warrior's hand in victory. The torch was passed... for about nine months...

When the WWE adopted the 'Attitude' moniker, the fundamental focus was creating a shade of grey between the opponents. I'll paraphrase Vince McMahon: 'Our audience is tired of Good Guy versus Bad Guy.' The excitement in the Skydome and the excitement in the suburban houses of all the kids watching Wrestlemania VI on Pay-Per-View was created by the prospect of the ultimate Good Guy versus another ultimate Good Guy. The excitement was the shade of grey. The excitement was the audience not really knowing who they wanted to win the match and not being able to assume who would win the match. As far as being the biggest possible match on the biggest wrestling event of the year; Hulk Hogan v. The Ultimate Warrior defined what a Wrestlemania Main Event should be. The excitement leading up to and surrounding this match defines what the excitement surrounding Wrestlemania should be.

Hogan v. Warrior is quite possibly the most memorable match in Wrestlemania history. It buried the already dead 'Rock and Wrestling' 1980's Bigger-is-Better Era. It ushered in an era without Hulk Hogan - although he wouldn't be gone from WWE television and Pay-Per-Views for another two years - and started the search for a new top draw. The Ultimate Warrior couldn't carry the torch that Hogan and McMahon bestowed upon him on April 1rst, 1990. However, it was clear that Hogan no longer wanted to carry it and it was clear that a new talent would have to reach for it. With Wrestlemania VI, the WWE as I had known it - and as all the wrestling fans from my generation had known it - was changed forever.


Here, for the loyal readers of OIW's viewing pleasure, is Hulk Hogan versus The Ultimate Warrior... The match is split into eight parts because we respect the OIW Nation's intelligence and time. We know that not only do our readers have better things to do than watch the complete match in one sitting, but we also know that our readers are intelligent fans who can live without a test of strength...