Mike Chioda On The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 18

Former WWE referee Mike Chioda talks to Chris Van Vliet about working Wrestlemania 18 with Hulk Hogan taking on Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.
Watch the full interview with Mike Chioda on my main ​⁠​⁠ ‪@ChrisVanVliet‬ channel here: • Mike Chioda: The WWE R...
Email: [e-mail]
Follow CVV on social media:
Instagram: ChrisVanVliet
Twitter: ChrisVanVliet
Facebook: ChrisVanVliet
KZbin: / chrisvanvliet
TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet
#hulkhogan #therock #mikechioda #wrestlemania

[@CVVCLIPS]

Watch the full interview with Mike Chioda on my main ​⁠​⁠channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jILbfKBrlLipiM0

[@TimLoyalToWifeHaterFreeZoneA]

Love It CVVCLIPS Bro.

[@MilMaska]

"Ladies and Gentlemen. You can love him or you can hate him. There are a lot of fans here in the Skydome that love this Legendary Figure, Hollywood Hulk Hogan" - Jim Ross

[@kenterminateddq5311]

I don't care what Meltzer said. Rock vs Hogan from WrestleMania 18 is a 5-star classic.

[@Nunnayadambiness]

Correction. 6 stars. Maybe even 7.

[@MR.__G]

Watch it without volume and it’s basic as hell

[@BertMustin_]

@@MR.__Gtake away the atmosphere? Seriously, you sound like a hater who only cares about high spots

[@Nunnayadambiness]

@BertMustin_ What is absolutely moronic is that Meltzer has actually given a massive star rating for the atmosphere alone. He definitely harbors an anti-WWE bias and has even admitted that his own personal match ratings are the most meaningless part of his work, yet they are the easiest to get worked up over.

[@MR.__G]

@@BertMustin_ no I actually enjoy wrestling in the ring with good high spots… I don’t want to see just taunting and basic offense. Hogan is literally one of the most boring wrestlers I’ve ever seen

[@BSmoothe805]

"A referee shouldn't be in business for themselves". Aubrey Edwards, are you listening???

[@redroversk]

Don Stevens will forward it to her

[@BSmoothe805]

@@redroversk Tell her..I mean him thanks😏

[@CulEdz]

She used to be so good until she went full blown Charlie Chaplin. She was the woman referee who won’t take shit from the male wrestlers. Now she’s an actual part of the show.

[@Ridiculous__Nicholas]

I was coming here to say the SAME thing

[@cargopilotguy305]

Angel Hernandez as well

[@daveblackman816]

Mike chioda is such a legend. Dude was a focal point of so many major matches during my teenage years/early 20s.

[@Lukeor]

One of the most memorable things as a wrestling fan. You could feel it coming in. A bunch of us were kids with hogans run and him being back in wwf was insane.

[@michaelmercury1297]

Hogan's fans from the 80's were very loyal.

[@locutus1126]

I never was a Hogan guy. Even in 80's, I was team macho. I was there that night, when Hogan's music hit and he Rock had that stare down for a few minutes with the crowd going nuts, you not help but cheer for Hogan.

[@rashawn2323]

2:14 in reality Vince was probably in his ear like “ Mike get tf outta the way of the shot!!” 😂lol

[@franciscomoreira9284]

March 17, 2002 .. the way Jim Ross narrated that stare down was art

[@louisglen1653]

I was there and Hogan was trying to get heat, however when Hogan did the heel moves, everyone cheered him. It was easy to see the Rock was surprised by that and to me at least he seemed a bit confused. The Toronto fans and a lot of other fans wanted Hogan to win because he lost the last time he was at the Sky Dome. We could smell what the Rock was cooking but no one wanted to eat it! 🤣

[@markoutwithmark]

I was there too! My jaw was on the floor before they even touched each other because all they were doing was staring at one another and the building was shaking from the noise.

[@TheInfamousThey305]

We all smelled what The Rock was cooking and we all feasted. Shout out to him for making Hogan look good.

[@leonleon2276]

@@TheInfamousThey305exactly. Hogan was a very boring old wrestler at this stage…..the rock rolled back his years for him.

[@MarcoBrolo]

And that’s why he eviscerated you canucks in his 03 promo

[@Boroguysi]

​@@leonleon2276Hogan called the match. You're welcome

[@francisnycvideos]

I love hearing different stories about this match. Never gets old

[@robertpalatsky5017]

I love watching these interviews and hearing about the little things, like stepping off to the side. So much respect for Mike

[@pablojpadilla9460]

Hogan vs Rock was the greatest match of all time

[@markoutwithmark]

If Aubrey Edwards had refereed that match, she would have stuck her head between Hogan and Rock and made a silly face to camera to get attention.

[@Am0ment0fB]

A silly horse face. Ha.

[@Thurmanatr16]

Horse head Aubrey.

[@SonnyO]

The POSTER was Rock/Hogan too, like they knew it was the big match, and still didn’t make it go on last.

[@365daysgone]

I know but at that time it was like a rule that the title match had to be at last. Big mistake. No one really cared about jericho/hhh and everyone knew hhh would win anyways

[@michaelmidax8108]

I'm glad Mike is being interviewed, he is a friggin legend

[@AlexVs-l5t]

Def the best ref in wwe ever. He made a lot of matches flow perfectly. He was great as the ref for edge vs John Cena MITB cash in

[@superpowerplaythroughs]

Thanks for the memories Mike

[@charlesmitchell1516]

Yeah that match should’ve gone on last. It’s crazy that WWE made the same mistake again years later with Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker WM25

[@Tombfan84]

Or Batista vs Taker WM 23

[@theman6705]

@@Tombfan84Shawn and Cena was great thou but yeah, taker and Batista had feud of the year. How they put that match at number 4 is insane.

[@JoseT1212]

I'm so happy to hear Chioda talk about my favorite match at my favorite WrestleMania. That staredown was what told me at the age of 7 "I want to attend WrestleMania someday" which thankfully ended up happening for WrestleMania 35. With that said (maybe a hot take), but at the time, HHH and Y2J were the right call to close the show. Up until that point, WrestleMania always closed with the World Championship (with a few exceptions), it felt like tradition at that rate. Plus, nobody expected that great Toronto crowd to react the way they did. The hype was there but you knew even as a viewer it exceeded expectations. In hindsight, Hogan and Rock should closed it but felt like one of "who would've thought it?"

[@troywilson4694]

Meanwhile the first WM was headlined by a tag team match

[@JoseT1212]

@@troywilson4694 And still featured the WWF Championship. May not have been for the title but your champion was still involved to close. Yes, there are a few WrestleManias that didn't have the champ close and each of those times, it was a terrible idea (1, 8, 11)

[@DarthHater100]

The amazing thing was that it was so far departed from Hogan's prime. He got quite skinny and had several years of stinker matches in WCW, looking old, bald, and wrinkly. Then he got back on the juice and came back with the best physique of his career, and tore the house down like the good old days. As a fan that knew him in his prime, it was wonderful to see Hulk get back to form and wrestle that main even style and story telling, and get the crowd behind him.

[@RealAlphaDrum]

It's true, that match could not have been any more perfect. When Chioda was like...you ready? you ready? RING THE BELL! crowd was nuts.

[@MrJared93]

Chioda called THE best matches what a great official 👍🏻👍🏻 good to hear all these stories from him.

[@chriszaa2309]

he was no earl hebner

[@50R3N]

Still got the VHS VCR wrestlemania home videos. WM18 is one of them.

[@brettriverboat9920]

That voice is liquid gold for radio or voice overs

[@lrod8692]

I saw this Match in a theater while on Vacation in Vancouver, it was insane in that theater

[@SjC420]

Hopefully Aubrey Edwards watches this & pays attention to what Mike said.

[@Bubba__Sawyer]

I think another reason the crowd was so flat for the main-event was because this was in Canada, where Chris Jericho is from and because everyone knew HHH was gonna win.

[@popworldorder2818]

My favorite ref of all time and best 3 count as well

[@pabl0sauced0]

Mike is basically like a background character in the tv show that is the WWE but damn did he leave his mark, by far of of the most memorable refs in the history of the business.

[@CONCERNEDcitizenforever]

🪨Rock 💪🏼hogan wasn’t a main event?!?! 😳🥹😭💀

[@Alvin_Vivian]

Nope. Wrestlemania tradition is that the main event will always be a WWE title match. Since Triple H won the Rumble that year, he took on Chris Jericho, who was the reigning, defending, and inaugural WWE Undisputed champion.

[@Bertaut]

Rock v Hogan is my go-to match if someone who doesn't get wrestling asks me to explain the appeal to them. If they don't get it after that match, they never will.

[@akabancopop]

The thing about this match that people don't appreciate when looking back at it is how much venom was around Hogan at the time. He had largely been viewed as the in-ring poster boy for the demise of WCW on top of being viewed as physically washed up and stylistically passe. A big part of the crowd getting into this match was the incremental realization that he still had it AT ALL, much less being just as over as the Rock on that stage. Say what you will about Hogan, and it's deserved, but he is a MASTER psychologist in the ring and there are few in the history of the sport that could have done what he did on the fly.

[@chriszaa2309]

uh no he wasn't it was a given fact russo was looked on as the one who ended wcw nice story try again

[@akabancopop]

@@chriszaa2309 I'm not talking about all the stories that came out later, I'm saying AT THE TIME, once WCW cratered and it was truly over, Hogan was widely viewed as incompatible with the current roster in the ring both for physical and political reasons. You can hear it in the crowd as they realize this match is actually going to work.

[@chriszaa2309]

because people are stupid and are looking for a scape goat if it wasn't for hulk hogan there would be no wrestling @@akabancopop

[@mbreezy81]

I was not expecting Mike Chioda to sound like Phil Jackson. 🤣🤣🤣

[@dboyfly24]

Another infamous "i was there" from chris 😂

[@wjinthearea]

Aubrey edwards would’ve had her face right between rock and hogan 😂

[@BOBBYSOX86]

Hollywood Hulk Hogan more like Straight to Video Hulk Hogan

[@mapledripcomics]

Hogan has the best timing of any wrestler ever. Anyone who says hes not a good worker doesnt understand wrestling and should be ignored.

[@Hypno_BPM]

wtf 17 years ?! i don’t remember him reffing matches in the 80s. all those years of him yelling in the ring took a toll on his voice

[@renegadeoffunk32]

I was there and I hate how Jericho always says there was no energy in the crowd after The Rock Hogan match which is so untrue. He was just the villain and so most of the energy was one sided for HHH. When HHH hit the 3 count, the crowd went nuts.

[@juliandavidhoffer2022]

Shots fired at Donald Stevens

[@James.chalmers]

It wasn’t last because of hogan going to wcw… why would Vince put him last and give him the biggest pay day after trying to put his company out of business for years… he even spoke bad about wwf when wrestling in Japan in 1993.. it was only after they seen how over he was in this match that they made him the wwf champion then he dropped it to undertaker soon after

[@trustory83]

I Don't Care What the match or who's in the match the World title should ALWAYS Close the Show , PERIOD !

[@craigmcghee4]

Best ref ever sorry earl but Mike is the best

[@Matt561]

Canada was like we don't care about that build we are cheering Hogan.

[@Sam_MvP1]

As bad as booking as that was for it not being last. I still think the worst wrestlemania booking ever was turning Austin heel. That just shouldn’t have happened and someone either Vince or Stone Cold should have called an audible on that

[@deebo1103]

WMX7 was the last day the WWF was ever mainstream. It has been downhill for 22 years.

[@TheDropkick]

Wait..did you guys plan on matching outfits? Lol

[@matthewalkman386]

bro turn up his microphone my TV is on 90 volume and youtube is turned all the way up and cant hear him

[@Nunnayadambiness]

How dare Meltzer rate Hogan v. Rock match sub 6 stars

[@demoth]

I read somewhere that Hogan didn't want to lose to the rock last minute, and undertaker heard it so he taped up his hand and ready to throw down if Hogan tried something funny.

[@jamesdillon637]

Nope that was shawn Michael's and stone cold shawn was refusing until taker warned him

[@deebo1103]

No, just no. The deal with Hogan putting over Rock was what was always planned. It was planned that way too with Austin, but he didn't want to get in the ring with Hulk for whatever reason.

[@BrayzenBull]

02:40 Qué, Bryce Rimsburgs and Aubrey Edwards...

[@Tarantulisimo]

Jericho was definitely right: THIS match shoulda been last....But I get it: it wasn't a title match & traditionally/usually a title match ends the PPV -- and I'm sure HHH wasn't in as generous & gracious of a mood as Jericho was & therefore willing to give up or change his main event spot. However, everyone in the back shoulda been able to read that crowd & known what to do....

[@deebo1103]

HHH has screwed most of his main events with nonsense. He argued to go on last at this wm and the crowd was dead, same at wm25. There was no way his dumb match with orton could follow HBK/Taker.

[@py2007]

They ruined with it the other guys coming out at the end.

[@ichneumon2776]

2:33 That's for the 🐴

[@chimmychanga738]

Aubrey would have stood there during the staredown 🐴🐴

[@Krillep]

Crowd was exhausted after this match. Crowd was dead Triple H vs Jericho. Even some empty seats. It was like you had a battle war. It was like an orgasm, and you just were so tired. All air was out in the building....We never see anything like this again. And we all know Vince ego couldn't take that Hogan mainevented and was the guy. That they couldn't see this coming show his out of touch. Hogan should have a longer run. The magic of Hulkamania was back. And just listen to the crowd. We will never see a man more emotional invested than Hulk Hogan, it goes beyond wrestling.

[@trippyworld2093]

🎉

[@BrayzenBull]

02:00 So, we can admit that the AEW refs aren't professional?

[@Andreas-xc3zh]

that crazy aew lady ref should watch this video, but I guess she will learn 0 from it about how a referee is supposed to act 😂

[@redred1952]

I wonder how Aubrey Edwards woulda reffed that match lmao

[@brandensimmons653]

The Canadian crowd was electric that night at the Sky dome watching it on PPV television it was a masterpiece

[@CVVCLIPS]

🇨🇦!

[@jerry85g7]

Chris is a credit to the wrestling business. Nothing but great interviews.

[@Gwildor2020]

It’s like he is a mark but he doesn’t interview like a mark. He lets his inner mark come out at the right times so it compliments the interview.

[@GABRIELA-ACEVEDO.]

I kinda like hearing more these types of interviews from people that were either referees, managers, or someone backstage, more than the wrestlers themselves. These types of interviews give you more insight of the business.

[@garethcullen9604]

I could honestly listen to him speak all day. Chris has provided a great setting for this and doesn't cut in or interrupt. Gonna listen to the full thing now. Keep up the good work!

[@CVVCLIPS]

Hope you enjoy the full episode!

[@CageDalton]

Endeavor needs to rehire Chioda to coach the referees down at The Performance Center

[@turdferguson2839]

That match proves without a doubt that Hulk is the GOAT, he did everything he could to be the bad guy and the WWE did everything it could to make the Rock the biggest name in wrestling but once Hulk hit that ring... the crowd went crazy and supported him. That match wasn't even the main event but 20+ years later, it's the only match remembered from that Wrestlemania.

[@gscruzseven]

Hogan didn’t just steal that match he stole wrestlemania 18 💪. Steve Austin was smart not to wrestle Hulk , he new he would lose the crowd 💪 Hulk Hogan is the greatest in wrestling History nuff said 💪

[@markmatarese3172]

What makes sense is when Austin said their styles didn't match...and what is obvious is that Hogan was fkn pulling political bullshit behind the scenes to go over so why should he have agreed to lose to an old man out of his prie when he was raking in $ as the #1 draw EVER! Fuck Hogan he is a selfish political bitch and he helped kill WCW

[@AidanSynnPringle]

Chioda is one of the boys.

[@mopopo3487]

Great interview clip about an awesome night. I remember waiting to get into the arena and you could almost feel that people were there for that huge reaction. Fun time for sure. Thanks for bringing up this question, brought back a memory of a great moment.

[@Horsemanpig]

Its cody rhodes favorite match It's the miz favorite also jerry Lawler. Anyone else?

[@manovanbenthem8035]

Mine. There more wrestlers they have that match as them favorite match

[@youngcblack89]

I agree the rock vs hogan should've been the last match it was epic

[@365daysgone]

Even jericho said it should go on last. What a terrible booking to hace the womans title and the world title match last

[@carter3369]

HHH did some backstage politicking to make sure he went on last. He was always the biggest ass kisser in the company.

[@Beardo2517]

Still imo the best Wrestlemania match ever

[@mikeleecruz4197]

aubrey edwards take some notes

[@dimaztri19]

What's cool is even though The Rock was babyface he leaned into the crowd, and he kinda revert back to corporate rock persona during the match, he acted as heel

[@chriszaa2309]

thats because hogan told him to

[@showtimevegas]

I love these interviews I learn so much

[@jacobveu4859]

If Hogan comes out on yellow and red with his theme, I’m convinced the roof would’ve actually erupted

[@365daysgone]

It did

[@deebo1103]

I always wished that when Rock came back and they ran off the NWO and Rock wouldn't let Hogan leave without posing, they should've let Real American rip through there.

[@jpbart1390]

My favourite Hogan match was WM6 against Warrior, but the Hogan vs Rock match is in my top 5. Funny how I'm an unapologetic Hulkamaniac, yet some of my faves are ones he lost.

[@DennisVSyoutube]

Shout out 🇨🇦! True wrestling fans

[@dimaztri19]

What's cool is even though The Rock was babyface he leaned into the crowd, and he kinda revert back to corporate rock persona during the match, he acted as heel

[@chriszaa2309]

on hogans advice it wasn't the rocks idea he was scared to death on what to do and hogan guided his way through it

[@dimaztri19]

@@chriszaa2309 lol no

[@chriszaa2309]

uh yesss @@dimaztri19

[@dimaztri19]

@@chriszaa2309 that's cute

[@MrJonnyl123]

@@chriszaa2309rock called the match lol, hogan said so. Hogan even said the way the rock adjusted was unbelievable and he’d never been in the ring with someone that quick footed to change up like that

[@tacoenvy]

My fav Wrestlemania match of all time.

[@safe-tactcrap2922]

Always hated hogan to much cartoon but I was a piper fan a macho man

[@905north9]

Dave Meltzer 4 stars lol

[@49WWFcobianfan]

Who would of known Mike Chioda sounded so much like Chester Cheetah???!!!

[@sanchez501]

The title match should always be last. That's the most important story they should be telling. That year should have been Triple H vs Austin.

[@ReinEngel]

Earl Hebner went into business for himself a bunch of times.

[@ElFamosoArt]

That’s so cool man he’s like a kid excited for the match

[@whistlerdaver]

march 17 2002. the boys and I hit the loose moose then headed over to the skydome for wrestlemania. im confident it was the greatest sporting event i will ever attend live.

[@RhinoXpress]

Hines sight 20/20 this match should have been the first match at wm x8 or the last, but tradition dictated world title matches are always last which makes sense except for in this case. I think the wwe greatly underestimated how big of a match this was going to be. If they could do it all over again this match would have definitely been the last match.

[@daidavies90]

Mike Chioda always reminded me of Bob Morton from RoboCop 😂

[@ritchierich2793]

Mike with that drip of a timepiece on his wrist... Good taste for a referee..

[@Ashcash95]

Chioda is the best ref ever I commented this on yoir IG too chris he is the best I’ve seen and was apart of so many cool matches.

[@Iceman-xe7jo]

The crowd was the best workers in that match.

[@mikelandryjr7310]

Lol,im going rewatch that match

[@breauxcewayne1971]

Best referee ever.

[@mitchellandrews1015]

Mike chioda? Really?

[@CVVCLIPS]

Really!