The “Icon vs. Icon” match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 is one of the most legendary in the history of professional wrestling. Veteran referee Mike Chioda had the best seat in the house for the historic encounter, and he recently shared his behind-the-scenes perspective on the match, including Hogan’s advice to him beforehand and the moment Hogan realized the Toronto crowd was on his side.
“Let’s Just Go Have Fun”
Speaking on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast, Chioda recalled his conversation with Hulk Hogan before the epic showdown.
“I remember going to Rock and Hogan match and saying, ‘Hey, Hulkster, is there anything that you would need from me or anything like that?’ He’s like, ‘Brother, let’s just go have fun. Tear the house down, brother, do what we do for years.’ You know? He goes and he got that bump spot worked out with Rock, right? And I’m like, yeah, all set. He goes, ‘Let’s just go have fun.’”
The Crowd Turns
The most memorable aspect of the match was the crowd’s reaction. Hogan entered the match as the heel leader of the nWo, while The Rock was the company’s top babyface. However, the Toronto crowd quickly turned on The Rock and began cheering for Hogan. Chioda was right there to witness Hogan’s real-time reaction to the unexpected turn of events.
“Hogan worked as a heel for years up to that point, right? He pushes Rock down and gets this massive reaction. And he kind of looks around like, right? Oh, that’s for me, yeah. Oh, wow, yeah. Like, there’s this excitement in his face, man… Yeah, I had to give him some cues and stuff like that. So, you know, at the end there, you know, there wasn’t really much to really, I mean, I just had to make sure I perfect my bump that spot where I come back in the ring from the chair.”
You can hear his full interview on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
