Many of us know Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as a famous actor and celebrity. But before he took over our television screens he was the WWE champ known as ‘The Rock.’ He is currently the ninth most followed person on Instagram and the 45-year-old recently shared a touching Instagram post on the 16th anniversary of WrestleMania X8.
The event, which was sponsored by Skittles, was held at Toronto’s Skydome, now renamed the Rogers Center, in 2002 and was filled with more than 78,000 people in attendance with eight matches on the card. But none was bigger than the match between The Rock and Hulk Hogan.
It was more than 16 years ago when Dwayne Johnson shared the ring with another legend in the form of Hulk Hogan. The Rock went on Instagram to write: ‘16yrs ago today, at WRESTLEMANIA, I had the honor of making history and breaking records with this man: The Immortal.’
The wrestler turned actor said: ‘About a year prior to this match, Vince McMahon came to me and asked how I felt about bringing Hogan back to the @wwe and creating the main event at WrestleMania. I loved the idea and immediately saw the massive business opportunity for us but more importantly, giving the fans a once in a lifetime match to enjoy.’
As Dwayne explains, the match was like a “passing of batons.” It was more than 15 years ago when WWE star Andre the Giant passed the torch to Hulk Hogan who reigned supreme in the wrestling world for the next decade and a half. But it was on that fateful night when Hulk Hogan would pass his title to Dwayne Johnson.
He wrote: ‘Hogan did “the honors” (me winning) that night and passed the torch to me, as Andre the Giant had done for him 15yrs earlier at WrestleMania III. To this day, this crowd of 65,000 strong was the most electric and on fire I’ve ever had the privilege of performing in front of. ’
And his more than 101 million followers echoed their approval and applause. One fan wrote: ‘suddenly I feel 16 again!! Good times.’ Another person posted: ‘back then. It was the best time for us, where we enjoyed every match at night. Always loved to see you on TV. Also, #ShawnMichaels, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, Bill Goldberg, Lesnar, and your favorite #Hurricane! #thosetimes’
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