Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8. Credit :
George Pimentel/WireImage
- Dwayne Johnson paid tribute to his “friend” and “childhood hero” Hulk Hogan with a heartfelt post on Instagram
- Hogan died at the age of 71 on Thursday
- Johnson and Hogan faced each other at WrestleMania X8, in a match widely seen as a passing of the torch in WWE
Dwayne Johnson paid a heartfelt tribute to his “friend” and “childhood hero” Hulk Hogan with an Instagram post early Friday morning, one day after the professional wrestling legend died at the age of 71.
“Rest in Peace, Terry Bollea aka The Immortal Hulk Hogan,” Johnson, 53, wrote in a lengthy, emotional post on Friday, July 25. “To millions of little kids you were a childhood hero — myself included.”
Johnson — known as The Rock during his wrestling days — went on to share a story about catching Hogan’s “Hulkster” headband during a show at Madison Square Garden in 1984 after the 12-time world champion threw it into the crowd during the match.
“I was the lucky kid [who] caught it when you threw it in the crowd,” Johnson remembered. “You were wrestling ‘Mr Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff that night in the main event. You were shocked and so happy after the match because you told me that was your very last headband and if it weren’t for me, you’d have no way of getting that exact one made again. You promised me that you would get more made and give me a Hulkster headband of my own as a thank you gift.”
Dwayne Johnson and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 30 in 2014. MediaPunch Inc / Alamy Stock Photo
Johnson, whose father Rocky Johnson was a member of the WWF (now WWE) alongside Hogan at the time, wrote that his “hero” followed through on his promise.
“A month later in Madison Square Garden, you did just that. You kept your word, with a handshake and a ‘thanks kid,’ “ Johnson recalled. “And that meant the world to that little 12 year old boy.”
Johnson would go on to join the WWE in 1996, launching his own legendary professional wrestling career while becoming one of the biggest stars of the 1990s and 2000s. As “The Rock,” Johnson won 10 world championships throughout his career and eventually faced off against Hogan at WrestleMania 18 in Toronto in a match billed as “Icon vs. Icon.”
Longtime WWE announcer Michael Cole told SportsCenter on Thursday that he considers the match between Johnson and Hogan “the greatest WrestleMania match in history.”
“It was Hogan versus The Rock, 68,000 fans, as loud as I’ve ever heard an arena,” Cole remembered. “This moment was so important for the professional wrestling industry because it was really the passing of the torch from one icon, Hogan, to the next icon, The Rock, in one of the most incredible moments in the history of WrestleMania.”
Hulk Hogan and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania X8. George Pimentel/WireImage
Johnson would win the match, and both he and Hogan would shake hands and the two performers stood side-by-side in the ring afterwards as they thanked the fans.
“I’ve never felt anything like that in my entire wrestling career,” Johnson said about the match in his tribute to Hogan on Friday. “It takes two to tango, but that historic crowd reaction was all for you. You may have “passed the torch” to me that night, but you, my friend… you ‘drew the house’ meaning you sold out every arena and stadium across the country in your prime as Hulk Hogan, on your way of becoming the greatest of all time.”
Johnson concluded: “From deep in my bones, and on behalf of this wild and crazy world of professional wrestling that we love, I say to you now, and forever…Thank you for the house, brother… Thank you, for the house.”
