The night WrestleMania VI went down in Toronto is still one of the most talked-about moments in WWE history.
On April 1, 1990, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior collided in a rare “Winner Takes All” main event, with both what was then known as the WWF Championship and Intercontinental Championship on the line.
Warrior ultimately pinned Hogan after a big splash, becoming the first wrestler to hold both titles at the same time and handing Hogan his first clean pinfall loss since 1981.
While the match is often remembered as a symbolic passing of the torch, longtime WWE executive Bruce Prichard says the outcome had a deeper emotional impact on Hogan than fans ever realized.
Speaking on the Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard podcast, Prichard explained that Hogan fully committed to making Warrior the new top star—even while privately questioning whether it would work.
“Hulk was willing to try and Hulk was willing to do whatever it would take to get Warrior over,” Prichard said.
At the same time, Hogan reportedly worried that Warrior didn’t share the same long-term love for the wrestling business, describing him as someone who “really didn’t like the business and didn’t care,” while Hogan viewed himself as a "lifer."
The build to the historic match began weeks earlier, when Hogan issued “The Ultimate Challenge” after the two crossed paths in the 1990 Royal Rumble. Then-WWF President Jack Tunney later made it official, announcing that both championships would be defended in the WrestleMania main event—a first at the time.
Despite Hogan’s willingness to elevate Warrior, Prichard said the aftermath left the Hulkster shaken. According to him, Hogan even considered a heel turn and felt genuine anxiety about facing fans after dropping the title.
“Hulk was nervous going out in front of a crowd the first time,” Prichard recalled. “Because he thought that he was a failure.”
That fear, however, didn’t match the audience reaction. Prichard noted that fans responded louder than ever, rallying behind Hogan even more strongly in the wake of the loss.