WRESTLEMANIA 28 is fast approaching. A couple of hours left and WWE fans will see the greatest spectacle of the year. This event's selling point has been the clash of two icons: The Rock of the Attitude Era and John Cena of the PG Era. Many expect Cena to win, as people view this match as a "passing-of-the-torch" kind of match, where the veteran Rock will put over the current face of the company, Cena. Before we get to witness the epic clash between the two, let us look back at five matches wherein the torch has been passed from one generation to another.

Andre the Giant vs Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania III March 29, 1987: Andre came in as an undefeated monster for 15 years. Hulk Hogan was in his third year as WWE Champion. Hulk may have the title going in the match but he was the underdog here. Nobody saw it coming that it would be Hogan who would be ending the streak of the giant. After the famous slam and a leg drop, Hogan solidified himself as a main-eventer and face of the WWE. Andre on the other hand did the job and passed the torch to Hogan.








Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior - WrestleMania VI April 1, 1990: Hogan has already defended the WWE title at four WrestleManias and never lost. He was already an established star with millions of Hulkamaniacs chanting his name worldwide. Then there's Ultimate Warrior, a budding young wrestler who burst into the scene and made a name for himself right away. He won the Intercontinental title from Honky Tonk Man in an imoressive fashion and there was nowhere to go but up. In this match, both titles were on the line. Both were faces, but they gave the audience a reason to start booing the other. They may not be technically skilled but they entertained throughout the whole encounter. Hogan would now do what Andre did, he passed the torch to Warrior and allowed him to step up and be the face of the company.


Jake Roberts vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - King of the Ring
June 23, 1996: Jake Roberts might not be a former WWE Champion. In fact, he never won any accolade while in the WWE. But he was the right man to launch the career of a man who would become the face of the Attitude Era, Steve Austin. It was the perfect match. The Snake vs The Texas Rattlesnake. The battle of two great in-ring psychologists. The Master of the DDT goes one on one with the Master of the Stone Cold Stunner. I hope Austin comes back to wrestle Randy Orton a man who was modeled in the same vein as him and Roberts and who's finisher closely resembles his.


Holywood Hogan vs Goldberg - WCW Monday Night Nitro July 6, 1998: Goldberg was in a hot streak. He was United States Champion and still undefeated. The only thing he needed to do was to challenge the World Champion, the biggest heel in the business at that time, Hollywood Hogan. With the way Hogan and the NWO was running down in WCW, couple that with rumors of Hogan's ego and refusal to lose in his matches, it seemed that Hogan would be the one to end Goldberg's streak. But Goldberg continued to dominate and eventually beat Hogan. With Hogan doing the job, Goldberg became the biggest face of WCW despite being relatively new. He was what was Austin to the WWE at that time.


The Rock vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan - WrestleMania X8 March 17, 2002: Hogan came back to the WWE for the first time since 1994. By this time, The Rock has become the most popular wrestler in the company. Only one way could make Rock more superior than he ever was: beat Hogan. Hogan jobbed to the Rock but it was a win-win situation. Rock proved that the new generation is always better than the previous one and Hogan looked good in defeat as he turned face and won the WWE Championship for one last time a month later.



Jed Mendoza is a writer for the Pro Wrestling Gazette. Engage with him by following him on Twitter @jedified.