They might pretend like the split reactions are all part of the plan, but I doubt it. I think the office is just resigned to the fact that they can't make everyone cheer their top merch-seller.

The company resigning to that fact and Cena actively engaging it in his promos are not mutually exclusive. Cena has been pretty good at explicitly speaking to both audiences simultaniously, especially over the past 3 years or so. It is a lot easier for him to do with opponents like Punk, Dragon, and Owens of course, but I think he has generally been pretty good at prodding half the audience and popping the other with the same promo and doing it with prett clear intent.

Whoever said Hogan was carried by Rock in that match -- I'd say it was the opposite. Hogan totally showed him up and turned the crowd on him. That was Hulk's match all the way.

The crowd was already on Hogan's side from the instant that his music hit. He didn't have to do anything to get them to cheer him, they were already doing it. Rock quickly recognized what was going on and heeled out (which was interesting, cuz he'd been a babyface for the past three years straight).

Actually, the story goes that Rock didn't realize that Hogan had upstaged him until after the match was over, so at No Way Out 2003, he didn't let it happen again.

I don't buy that at all. (Well, the No Way Out match part maybe, that one wasn't very good.) But Rock obviously figured out in a real hurry that he wasn't the babyface at Mania, he changed his entire shtick to go full heel and let Hogan act as the face.

Pat Patterson laid out the match ahead of time. I'm not referring to Rock picking up on that he was being booed, but rather picking up on that Hogan made himself look like ten times the star. The match was not about Rock, it was about Hulk.

Pat Patterson laid out the match ahead of time.

And you think they followed the script 100% with no improvising? I doubt even Patterson would've realized just how over Hogan would be with that crowd. I can't see the office specifically laying out the match with the deliberate intention of making Rocky look like the heel, when he was the biggest babyface the company had.

hogan being as over as he was had little to do with the match itself, i would argue. it was more about being in the right place at the right time.

 

to be more specific: toronto was arguably the biggest market for hulkamania WWF outside of the traditional east-coast base. they got WM6, the big event, stacked house shows, etc. lots of fond memories of the hulkster in that building. furthermore, this was right at the time when 80s nostalgia was just starting to become a hot trend - i believe VH1 had come out with I Love the 80s around this time, among many other things. just a perfect storm of conditions for hogan to get the reaction he did.

Rock came across, even in winning, as a far lesser star.

Again, I am not talking about Rock knowing Hogan was the more cheered guy. I think anyone could have predicted that. Austin faced Rock at WM X-7 and Austin was the favored guy, but Rock was his equal. Rock faced Hogan and Hogan outclassed him so much in terms of commanding the crowd that Rock looked like the lesser star of the two. The lesser star. Not the heel. The lesser star.

also i just remembered another issue: IIRC, rock was starting to be seen as a ~sellout~ by a chunk of the fanbase because he was doing movies and actually having success there. that probably played some role as well

Again, I am not talking about Rock knowing Hogan was the more cheered guy. I think anyone could have predicted that. Austin faced Rock at WM X-7 and Austin was the favored guy, but Rock was his equal. Rock faced Hogan and Hogan outclassed him so much in terms of commanding the crowd that Rock looked like the lesser star of the two. The lesser star. Not the heel. The lesser star.

Eh maybe but this was Hogan's return match for WWE after nearly a decade of being away. The Rock was always going to be old shoes in comparison.