Normally our wrestling anniversary posts, especially when they revolve around Hulk Hogan, are limited to us, and presumably you, not being able to believe how long ago everything in WCW happened. 1996 marked 20 years since Hogan was The Third Man and formed the New World Order Of Professional Wrestling, Brother, and last summer we celebrated 20 years since Goldberg picked Hogan up and threw him at the ground in the Georgia Dome.
Today marks a different kind of Hogan anniversary, and one that reaches a broader audience than “people who used to watch Nitro and are still on the Internet for some reason.” Way back on January 23, 1984 — 35 years ago to the day — Hulk Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik for the WWF Championship, ushering in an era of “Hulkamania” and helping kickstart a cultural popularity and relevance pro wrestling had never experienced before.
If you’ve never seen it before (or it’s been a while), here’s the match in its entirety, including pre- and post-match interviews. Enjoy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb5N8WPxddI
To put it another way,
ON THIS DAY I SHATTER THE EARTH I MAKE THE HULKAMANIA BECOME THE HULKAMANIA. I MAKE IT BUBBA. FROM THEIR WE ALL BECOME THE LEGENDS OF THE EARTH. pic.twitter.com/REs374i3rt
— The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) January 23, 2019
So there you have it; the WWF Championship change that affected the next four decades of the business (and even ended up giving us a cartoon show) is now old enough to run for President.
Note: WWE, if you’re reading this, this is not a reason to invite him back and celebrate it.
