Wrestlemania notes: Hogan, Austin vs. Benoit, RVD, more
Submitted by Mr. Tito on Tuesday, March 26, 2002 at 2:24 AM EST



The following news and notes comes from the Dave Meltzer Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Subscription information can be obtained by CLICKING HERE.

It was apparently clear at WWF Axxess last weekend that Hulk Hogan was going to be cheered like crazy at Wrestlemania from his fan response there. However, nobody expected the Rock to receive the large amount of boos early on.

The night before the Montreal RAW match between Rock/Hulk Hogan vs. Scott Hall/Kevin Nash, Wrestlemania actually, Vince McMahon had Hulk Hogan take the personal WWF jet to Hogan's home in Tampa Bay, FL to get his old Yellow and Red memorabilia to appear in his classic babyface look for RAW. HOWEVER, just before RAW started last week, Vince McMahon was talked out of having Hogan in the classic Yellow and Red.

The feeling is that Hulk Hogan in the color Black represents a new version of Hulk Hogan, whereas the old Yellow and Red has nostalgia to it as Hogan will get a reaction with those colors at first but lose popularity fast. Look at what happened in WCW when he returned to the Yellow and Red for a few times in the late 1990's, such as the summer of 1999.

Rob Van Dam was trying to be extra careful with his offense at Wrestlemania in his match with William Regal for the Intercontinental Title. RVD has a history of busting open his opponents in some of his bigger WWF matches. If you didn't notice, RVD at one point did bust Regal's lip open.

Having Hulk Hogan become a larger face than the Rock and then with Steve Austin going home for the recent RAW/Smackdown shows was beyond the expectations of the WWF locker room for what the original NWO (Hogan, Hall, and Nash) could do or at least in the short amount of time it took to do it.

Some are saying that some of the blown moves or some of Hulk Hogan's no selling of some of the Rock's moves at Wrestlemania was intentional, citing Hogan's cleverness when it comes to making himself look good. However, some cite his injury affecting his performance, as Hogan was wrestling with a broken rib. Still, some say that certain moves weren't given full effort by Hogan unless it suited him or to his liking.

If you didn't read it in the Wrestlemania notes sent in by the readers, many fans were filing out of the Toronto Skydome during the main event of Wrestlemania, Chris Jericho vs. Triple H.

Before the NWO was signed (Hogan, Hall, and Nash) and right after Chris Jericho vs. Triple H was then decided as the Wrestlemania main event, ideas went around to have Steve Austin to face a returning Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania. HOWEVER, word came that Benoit wouldn't be ready by Wrestlemania and a week later, the WWF signed Hogan, Hall, and Nash to contracts, thus changing everything for Austin. Of course, nothing was mentioned if Benoit was was actually ready for Wrestlemania if Austin would have still fought Benoit or not.

[ Credit: Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter ]

(Note: When using this news, please have the dignity to credit Dave Meltzer as the source of the news and Mr. Tito/LordsofPain.net for compiling the post. Thanks!)








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