In spring 1992, WWE was riding high. The 1992 Royal Rumble demonstrated just how rich the company was in both iconic names and in-ring talent, with arguably the greatest Rumble match of all time. Indeed, WrestleMania 8 successfully drew 60,000-plus to the Hoosier Dome and had plenty of attractive matchups on the card. The main event in particular, though, was a spectacular flop.
The Hulk Hogan Vs. Monster Heel And Former Friend Formulas Were Stale
Across the original Hulkamania run, there were two Hallmarks of Hulk Hogan's most memorable rivalries. One was Hogan against a monster heel the likes of Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, or Earthquake—someone big enough to sell Hogan as a physical underdog. Alternatively, there were friends who betrayed The Hulkster, like Paul Orndorff or Randy Savage, who created a personal issue out of their jealousy and disloyalty. WWE mashed together these dynamics for Sid Justice. He was taller and arguably more impressively muscled than Hogan. Moreover, he was portrayed as an ally to the Immortal one, before a falling out after Hogan eliminated Justice from the Royal Rumble, and later was awarded a title shot over him.
As much as these formulas had worked, after eight years they were pretty well exhausted. So it was that Hogan vs. Justice felt like a tired retread going into the match. Worse yet, a real alternative of Hogan vs. Ric Flair in a WWE vs. WCW dream match was at the company’s disposal, but they opted not to book it, foregoing the more obvious dream match for the biggest show of the year, the fresher story, and all but assuredly the better match.
Hulk Hogan And Sid Justice Weren’t Equipped To Deliver A Great Match
Beyond the less-than-fresh creative around Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice, there’s another unavoidable reality. As much as each man’s look and credibility made him a draw, neither were particularly well suited to deliver a very good match from bell-to-bell.
At WrestleMania 5, Randy Savage had raised the bar for the caliber of performance fans might expect from a Hogan main event match through his own athleticism, intensity, and work rate. The last match of WrestleMania 6 thrived on unique circumstances with a fresh babyface vs. babyface dynamic and shrewd direction from Pat Patterson to plot out the match. The WrestleMania 7 main event fell flat, in part, for neither Hogan, nor Sgt. Slaughter being virtuosic workers, and that dynamic was arguably even worse for The Hulkster and Justice.
The lackluster match quality was only underscored by excellent outings between Bret Hart and Roddy Piper, as well as Ric Flair and Randy Savage earlier in the night.
A Non-Finish And Infamous Botch At The End Of WrestleMania 8
If there’s one reassurance WWE fans might have taken going into Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice at WrestleMania 8, it’s that at least there would be the feel-good moment of Hogan leg dropping the heel for the pin, and celebrating with the crowd after his purported final match. The WrestleMania 8 main event couldn’t even get those pieces right.
The plan was for a disqualification finish with Hogan winning, Justice remaining protected, and Papa Shango getting a push. Most would agree that finish wasn’t very satisfying for a WrestleMania main event, but things went from bad to worse when Shango infamously missed his cue and was late to break up the pin fall after Hogan seemingly had the match won. That meant Justice cleanly kicked out of The Hulkster’s finisher to avoid the three count, and it made little sense for manager Harvey Wippleman or Shango to interfere after that, when Justice was the kayfabe favorite after surviving Hogan’s best shot. So it was that the finish was not only disappointing, but also nonsensical.
The Aftermath Of The WrestleMania 8 Main Event
The WrestleMania 8 main event may be better remembered if it had, at least kick-started an interesting future for WWE as Hogan rode off into the sunset. Indeed, some of the pieces were in place with The Ultimate Warrior making a surprise return after the final bell.
Warrior vs. Justice at least had marquee appeal, but between Wrestling Observer reports that Justice had failed a drug test, and other purported disagreements with management, the feud never materialized beyond forgotten house show matches. Shango never became a main event attraction, and wound up achieving far greater notoriety with other versions of himself--most notably the Godfather gimmick years later. Finally, Warrior’s run wound up a major disappointment. After an underwhelming feud with Randy Savage, he wound up abruptly departing WWE in advance of his advertised Survivor Series match teaming with The Macho Man against Ric Flair and Razor Ramon. So it was that, in about a half year’s time, absolutely no one involved in the main event of WrestleMania was anywhere near the WWE main event scene.
There have been a number of lackluster WrestleMania main events, including Bret Hart vs. Yokozuna, Triple H vs. Randy Orton, John Cena vs. The Miz, and Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker. None, however, rendered quite the same combination of immediate disappointment, bad execution, and poor long-term ramifications as Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice.