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  • January 23, 1984, was the night Hulkamania became a national phenomenon when Hogan defeated the hated Iron Sheik to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. (It wasn't exactly a secret, but the match was televised live nationally via the USA Network.) Not only was it a match that changed professional wrestling but, as it came during a time where tensions were at all-time highs between the United States and Middle East, the match was seen as America conquering a hated world enemy in Iran. Today, the match remains celebrated in American culture.
  • Wrestlemania III, where Hogan defended his championship against André the Giant, a match that drew a crowd of 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome. Despite a rare case of being the underdog, Hogan managed to win the match after bodyslamming the Giant in one of professional wrestling's defining moments. The staredown between them is still used in videos today.
    • And, contrary to what some detractors say, there was no line or any sort of assistance used by Hogan during that match. He tore a pectoral in the process of lifting Andre.
    • The build to that, when Andre challenged him on Piper's Pit, is easily the best acting he ever did in his career. You can feel how increasingly distraught he becomes as it sinks in that Andre has just stabbed him in the back.
  • One of the more memorable spots of the late 1980s was courtesy of Hogan's Saturday Night's Main Event match with the Big Bossman, where Hogan hit a superplex off the top of a steel cage. That was big by 1989 standards.
  • His tours of Japan, which proved Hogan could go out and wrestle technical matches with the best of them, as seen in one match against the legendary Great Muta... Two words: Hogan Enzuigiri.
    • Want to know what's the best way to enrage smarks? Only ask them: "Remember that time Abby and 'Mania bladed the shit out of each othOH YOU DIDN'T KNOW? ...HERE, you're welcome!"
  • His title for title match with Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VI. The irrestible force meeting the immovable object in Toronto, Canada at The Skydome. At the end, Jesse Ventura, a man who hated Hogan with every fiber of his being admitted that Hulkamania will live forever.
  • His Face–Heel Turn at WCW's Bash at the Beach 1996. After years of playing the All American Hero, Hogan turned his back on WCW, aligning with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form the nWo. Quite possibly, the standard bearer for heel turns.
    • One big African fan in the first few rows gets his own moment: while most were shocked and/or horrified he completely loses it, jumping up and down, pumping his fists, waving his arms in the air and giving high fives to nearby fans. This goes on into the post match interview.
  • Hell, you could have seen it coming at No Way Out 2002, when the nWo came to WWE! When Hall passed the mic to Hogan, everybody went nuts and started chanting for him like crazy, and anybody could tell that he was pretty happy to be back.
  • August 9, 1999 is a major case. Goldberg and Sting are set to team with Hollywood Hogan for a six man against Kevin Nash, Sid and Rick Steiner. Out of nowhere "American Made"note  plays for the first time since July 7, 1996. The crowd actually goes almost dead silent having no idea of what is happening. Then....out walks Hulk Hogan, clad in the famous Red & Yellow that had been synonymous with him for over a decade. The crowd proceeds to collectively LOSE THEIR SHIT, as a man that most had begun to miss due to how long the nWo angle—and the Hollywood persona— had been played for, comes back in his classic persona. Tony and Bobby were screaming their heads off in amazement, which further helped to sell it. Even his opponents looked completely poleaxed. The fans were all too willing to welcome The Hulkster back after three years of Hollywood Hogan.
    Tony Schiavone: "It's HULK again!"
  • Wrestlemania X-8 against The Rock, where the Toronto fans once again embraced Hulk Hogan as their hero. Doubles as a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming in the often cynical world of pro wrestling.
    • To further emphasize that point, do yourself a favor and watch that match, particularly the moment when the audience realizes that he's Hulking Up. It's a thing of beauty.
    • If you believe the rumors, apparently commentators Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross had no idea that Rock and Hogan were going to make this happen, as the plan had been pretty straightforward with Rock as the face and Hogan as the heel. They couldn't know because it wasn't supposed to happen! According to a magazine interview Hogan did in 2013, he and Rock read the audience reaction in the ring and made the decision themselves to rewrite the script on the fly in a masterful display of psychology, improvisation and storytelling. That means that both hardened veterans' reaction was completely genuine.
      Jim Ross: Oh my God.
    • And then there was when Hogan nailed the leg drop on the Rock. The crowd somehow became even more electric, and Jim Ross reminded everyone "He beat Andre the Giant with that move!"
    • Rock himself has since confirmed the rumor that he and Hogan rewrote the match on the fly, and the two have since done interviews on the subject. Hogan made a decided point of giving Rock the lion's share of the credit for the decision, while Rock has tried to downplay it and give them both equal credit for the match. It remains one of the best loved matches in the latter part of Hogan's career, and one of the best loved matches in Wrestlemania history.
    • The night after on RAW, Hogan came out to one of the loudest and longest rounds of applause in the history of the promotion. After waiting some time for the fans to get the emotion out of their systems, a visibly choked up Hollywood Hulk Hogan reversed the infamous words that began his heel turn:
      "Damn I love you guys!!!"
  • The response he got from the fans in Canada on Smackdown not long after he won his sixth WWF/E championship, which went on for over FIFTEEN MINUTES STRAIGHT. The arena was pretty much blowing the roof off nonstop for the entire time. Hogan was very literally begging them to let him talk. This went on so long they had to go to a commercial break....and it was still going on when they came back. Hogan's response once they finally let it come down to a dull roar— it never actually stopped, they just gave him some room to talk— summed it up perfectly:
    "You guys are OVERWHELMING!!!"
  • Opinions of what he said in the sex tape that made him an Un-person to WWE aside, it's pretty awesome that Hulk managed to single handedly take on a $100 million media company on in court, and win so hard that they had to sell off.
  • The fact that despite being decades over the hill, despite being, by all reports, an opportunistic, nepotistic jerkass backstage, despite being old and worn out, all it takes for the roof to blow off the arena is for Real American to come on. Despite it all, he is the Legendary Hulk Hogan, and his name is still a household one, and will likely remain one til the day he dies, probably for several years after but most likely well beyond that! Hogan pretty much is nostalgia at this point, and even four generations later, people STILL blow the roof off for the guy.
    • It is literally zero exaggeration to say that if prompted, "Show me a real-life superhero", the collective popular response of generations of American children would be— "HOGAN".
      • It's like his entrance video says: Hulk still rules.
  • His dedication to his fans, particularly the sick and the young. Say what you want about his backstage politicking, but he takes his status as a role model with the ABSOLUTE SERIOUSNESS it deserves. Both Ric Flair and Bret Hart, two men that have been less than complimentary to Hulk (and each other) in the past go out of their way in their respective autobiographies to praise his dedication to fans. Flair said what impressed him most about Hogan was not his star power, but how he would ignore celebrities most wrestlers would trip over themselves to meet in order to make time for a sick child. Bret stated that Hogan never hesitated to take the time to meet a sick or dying fan.

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