Hulk Hogan’s Best WWE Matches (And His Best WCW Matches), Decisively Ranked
By Tomas Cunha on 25 July 2025
On July 24, 2025, professional wrestling lost one of its biggest icons. Hulk Hogan was a larger-than-life figure whose presence transcended the squared circle and helped turn pro wrestling into a global phenomenon. From headlining the first WWF WrestleMania to launching the New World Order in WCW, Hogan is more than just part of wrestling history. For many casual fans, Hogan was pro wrestling! While he was never the greatest in-ring wrestler from a technical standpoint, nobody could deliver a spectacle quite like The Hulkster.
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With Hogan’s success came a lot of controversy, sure. Hogan’s career was often marked by backstage politics and personal scandals, many of which rightfully sparked heated discussion. But his influence inside the ring, drawing massive crowds, selling out arenas and breaking all kinds of records, remains undeniable. This list focuses on that side of the story. This is about Hulk Hogan as a wrestler. With that said, here are Hogan’s 5 greatest singles matches in WWF/E and his 5 greatest in WCW, decisively ranked and reviewed. Enjoy!
5th Best In WCW: Hollywood Hogan Vs. DDP (Monday Nitro, October 27, 1997)
| Match Quality Rating | 6/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 9/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 6/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 6/10 |
| Overall Rating | 27/40 |
In 1997, Diamond Dallas Page became one of WCW’s most beloved babyfaces thanks to his incredible feud with ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. One night after Halloween Havoc – which featured DDP losing a fantastic Sudden Death Match to Macho Man while Hogan lost to Roddy Piper in a sh-tty (non-title!) cage match in the main event – Hogan and DDP met for the first time. The match had a big-fight feel to it, the action was really good and the crowd was into it the entire time, so not even the DQ finish could ruin it.
SCOTT KEITH REVIEWS: WCW Monday Nitro, October 27, 1997
Hollywood Hogan, as the veteran and the heel, led the match… or allowed the crowd to lead the match, rather. The Hulkster taking his time while selling the threat of being hit with the Diamond Cutter was enough to elevate Diamond Dallas Page. As I mentioned earlier, the DQ ending didn’t ruin this match; in fact it made it even more memorable. The post-match angle with the nWo, a fake “Sting” and the real Sting getting involved was awesome and added even more heat to the Sting/nWo storyline.
5th Best In WWE: Hulk Hogan Vs. Vince McMahon (WrestleMania 19)
| Match Quality Rating | 2/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 9/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 8/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 28/40 |
A match between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon had no business being any good. A lot of people expected a slow, clunky brawl between two senior citizens who were never famous for their athleticism. And they were right… but that’s also what made this Street Fight work. That shot you see above of a bloody McMahon with an evil smile stole the show. That says it all. It perfectly encapsulated what this match (and storyline) was all about.
Both men bled buckets and the violence escalated throughout the bout, with McMahon at one point even delivering a legdrop off a ladder through the announce table! This match also featured ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper returning to WWE for the first time in many years, which made sense given it was a battle over two men who built WrestleMania, and Piper deserved to be in that conversation as well. The Street Fight between Hogan and McMahon ended up exceeding everyone’s expectations.
4th Best In WCW: Hollywood Hogan Vs. Lex Luger (Monday Nitro, August 4, 1997)
| Match Quality Rating | 3/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 6/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 8/10 |
| Overall Rating | 27/40 |
By the summer of 1997, Hollywood Hogan was deep into the most dominant title reign WCW ever saw. Hogan won the belt from The Giant just a month after the nWo’s debut, and would go on to hold it by all means necessary for almost a year. The reason why I say almost is because The Hulkster’s 359-day run came to a shocking end at the hands of Lex Luger on WCW Monday Nitro. Fans had grown desperate to see someone – ANYONE – take him down. When ‘The Total Package’ applied the Torture Rack and Hogan gave it up, the fans in attendance went bananas.
The match wasn’t a technical masterpiece (in fact, one could say none of the matches on this list were) but it didn’t need to be. That was the magic of Hulk Hogan. He understood how to milk a moment and how to make even the simplest moves meaningful. As the leader of the nWo, Hollywood Hogan brought a lot of heat and made the moment much bigger. Even though Hogan would regain the strap just a few days later at Road Wild, Luger’s second WCW World Heavyweight Championship win remains one of the most iconic moments in WCW history.
4th Best In WWE: Hulk Hogan Vs. Andre The Giant (WrestleMania 3)
| Match Quality Rating | 2/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 7/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 10/10 |
| Overall Rating | 29/40 |
Everyone has something to say about Hogan vs Andre. For some people, it’s a dull main event that doesn’t deserve any love at all. For others, it’s the ultimate wrestling match. Opinions aside, the fact is this iconic meeting between two of the biggest stars of all time is still relevant today, and it’ll continue to be relevant decades from now. A match entirely built around a simple bodyslam – think about THAT! When Hogan went for a slam early into the bout, it backfired and he nearly got pinned, which was the spot they needed to extended the feud.
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That failed slam also hurt Hogan’s back, as Andre landed on top of The Hulkster with all his weight. The big man dominated from there, and they had the crowd in the palms of their hands with every comeback tease. When Hogan hulked up and finally slammed Andre, it was like the entire building itself – hell, it was like THE WORLD – itself shook. You can pick this match apart from bell to bell all you want. But as a spectacle, it’s a one-of-a-kind main event.
3rd Best In WCW: Hulk Hogan Vs. Big Van Vader (SuperBrawl V)
| Match Quality Rating | 5/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 9/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 7/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 7/10 |
| Overall Rating | 28/40 |
In the early 1990s, Big Van Vader was the monster in World Championship Wrestling. Hulk Hogan took down giants for a living. So, when Hulk Hogan joined the company, it was inevitable – sooner or later, the two would collide… and Vader would go down! They met for the first time in February 1995, at WCW SuperBrawl V. The match was stiff, physical and intense; easily one of Hogan’s best matches during that year. To Vader’s credit, he looked like a million dollars against The Hulkster, even getting to kick out of the Legdrop!
Few wrestlers kicked out of Hogan’s finishing move over the years, so it instantly elevated the match. While a disqualification is never the ideal ending in the main event of a pay-per-view, it was really good up until that point. The match had a real sense of danger to it, and Hogan didn’t just steamroll through Vader… at least not yet! That alone made this bout stand out from the rest of Hogan’s babyface run in WCW, and it proved that Hogan could still deliver the goods if paired with the right opponent.
3rd Best In WWE: Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior (WrestleMania 6)
| Match Quality Rating | 6/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 5/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 30/40 |
The main event of WrestleMania 6 was one of those rare matches where everything aligned. Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, the two unstoppable forces in the World Wrestling Federation, stood across from each other at the perfect time with the crowd split down the middle. That created a unique energy in the building that was enough to make it legendary. But the match itself was also really good, surprisingly. In fact, I’d say this was Hogan’s finest hour inside a wrestling ring.
Not his greatest match, but the fact that he basically led The Warrior and kept their 22-minute match on track shows Hogan was NOT the horrible worker that some people painted him to be.The fans were already loud before the match even began, yet the reactions got louder and louder for each nearfall late in the match. Eventually, Warrior dodged a bullet by avoiding Hogan’s Legdrop before splashing Hogan to become the new World Wrestling Federation Champion. This match (and the post-match angle) proved that Hogan didn’t need to win all the time to steal the show.
2nd Best In WCW: Hollywood Hogan Vs. Goldberg (Monday Nitro, July 6, 1998)
| Match Quality Rating | 3/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 7/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 8/10 |
| Overall Rating | 28/40 |
- Cagematch Rating: 6.68
- Dave Meltzer’s Rating: N/R
- Scott Keith’s Rating: N/R
Hollywood Hogan vs Goldberg in front of a sold-out Georgia Dome was pure electricity. Over 40,000 fans came unglued as WCW’s unstoppable rookie challenged the nWo’s leader for the World Heavyweight Championship in his hometown. The Hulkster put the pieces of the puzzle together against the inexperienced Goldberg, smartly building tension until it was ready to boil over. When the nWo inevitable came down, ‘Da Man’ destroyed everyone before spearing The Hulkster out of his boots. A few seconds and a Jackhammer later, Goldberg was the new champion.
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For someone who was just months into his professional wrestling career, Goldberg looked like a million dollars against Hogan. A big part of that was thanks to Hogan knowing exactly when and how to deliver exactly what the fans came to see – Goldberg destroying the legend. When the time came, that’s exactly what happened. Of course it could’ve happened on a big PPV rather than an episode of Nitro, but it’s still one of the most memorable moments in Nitro history and an all-time great WCW title change.
2nd Best In WWE: Hulk Hogan Vs. Randy Savage (WrestleMania 5)
| Match Quality Rating | 6/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 6/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 10/10 |
| Overall Rating | 32/40 |
After a spectacular storyline that lasted over a year, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage brought real tension to the ring in the main event of WrestleMania 5, when the Mega Powers exploded. Savage’s WWF Championship was up for grabs, but it almost felt secondary – this was the end of their friendship, and every moment of the bout reflected that. The fans were fully invested from start to finish, and the two legends lived up to the hype inside the squared circle. What really made the match feel special was how every move, every glance and every moment tied back to their year-long storyline.
Miss Elizabeth’s presence added even more drama, especially since she was the reason why the Mega Powers exploded to begin with. When the referee eventually sent Liz to the back, the true match began. The match got more intense and Savage managed to hit the Flying Elbow. Hogan hulked up immediately afterwards and became the new champion moments later. Whether you cheered for Hogan or Macho Man, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, this match (and its build-up) was peak WWF Golden Era!
Best In WCW: Hulk Hogan Vs. Ric Flair (Bash At The Beach 1994)
| Match Quality Rating | 7/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 7/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 7/10 |
| Overall Rating | 31/40 |
The dream match that Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation never quite delivered. For many years, Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair was the dream match for professional wrestling fans. The face of sports entertainment against the real world champion of wrestling. WWF’s biggest star vs the NWA’s biggest star. While they did meet during Ric Flair’s WWF run in the early 1990s, it wasn’t on the grand stage fans hoped for. So, when Hogan joined WCW in 1994, the company didn’t waste any time. In fact, Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of Bash at the Beach 1994 was Hogan’s very first WCW match!
SCOTT KEITH REVIEWS: WCW Bash At The Beach 1994
The result was a great matchup between Naitch and The Hulkster. As always, Flair bumped like only he could, making Hogan look awesome in his WCW in-ring debut. Meanwhile, Hogan brought the energy and babyface fire that wasn’t often seen in his WCW run. The match was dramatic, well-paced and even though Hogan had been the face of pro wrestling for over a decade, it felt almost like a passing of the torch moment. Just like that, Hulk Hogan was the WCW World Heavyweight Champion after just one match for the company. In my opinion, this was Hogan’s best match in World Championship Wrestling.
Best In WWE: Hollywood Hulk Hogan Vs. The Rock (WrestleMania 18)
| Match Quality Rating | 5/10 |
|---|---|
| Crowd Reaction Rating | 10/10 |
| Psychology Rating | 9/10 |
| Storytelling Rating | 9/10 |
| Overall Rating | 33/40 |
Speaking of dream matches. The Rock vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18 is wrestling’s ultimate dream match, in more ways than one. When Hogan came back to the WWF after nine years away, fans didn’t know what to expect. Sure, everyone knew the nWo had been a huge deal, but this was Hulk Hogan in the WWF! Seeing Hogan coming out to the nWo music on WWF TV just didn’t feel right. When Hogan walked out in Toronto to face The Rock at WrestleMania 18, the fans exploded for The Hulkster.
What makes this match even more special is the fact both men adapted on the fly, since they weren’t expecting that crowd reaction. They went with the crowd’s flow, and what followed was a back-and-forth battle full of big moves and unforgettable moments. When I say “Hulk Hogan beat Andre the Giant with that move”, you can picture exactly what I’m talking about, right!? That’s the mark of a legendary pro wrestling match, and that’s exactly what Rock vs Hogan is. In the end, Rock picked up the win after hitting two Rock Bottoms followed by the People’s Elbow. But honestly, does it really matter? Everyone – fans included – won that night. This will forever be one of the most special matches in wrestling history.
Thank you for reading.
RIP Hulkster!
