Hulk Hogan Attempted To Change Winner Of WWE WrestleMania 18 Match With The Rock

The Icon vs. Icon clash at WrestleMania 18 between The Rock and Hulk Hogan is one of the greatest matches in WWE history. A white-hot Toronto crowd forced the two competitors to switch roles, with Hogan breaking out his trademark point and hulking up as The Rock played the heel. Hogan came close to victory, hitting the Leg Drop to a huge reaction before The Rock fought back with Rock Bottoms and a People's Elbow to score the win.

While The Rock would only be full-time in WWE for a few more months as he looked to pursue a career in Hollywood, WrestleMania 18 was seen as a passing of the torch moment from one generation to another.

The Rock almost didn't go over at WrestleMania 18, though, as Hogan's infamous politicking behind the scenes almost derailed who was set to win at the Showcase of the Immortals. Speaking on the Bill Simmons Podcast, former WWE writer and close confidante of The Rock's Brian Gewirtz revealed Hulk Hogan was almost changed to the winner.

Bill Simmons then revealed that he was aware of the story, explaining: "Hulk Hogan decided he didn't want to go over to The Rock. They were planning this whole thing. Hulk was going to lose and get over and it was gonna be great for The Rock. At the last second, Hulk was like, 'Eh, I don't know. I don't know if I'm going to do this.'"

As mentioned, Hogan would ultimately put over The Rock at WrestleMania 18. The Immortal One would then become WWE Champion one month later, defeating Triple H at Backlash 2002 to win the gold one final time.

The Rock and Hogan would have another, less-remembered match at No Way Out 2003.