Hulk Hogan and Triple H met in the main event of WWE Backlash on April 21, 2002. The match had big names, history, and high hopes. In the end, many fans left feeling disappointed.
Background
Hulk Hogan was a major star from the 1980s and had later gone to WCW, where he joined the nWo. His last WCW appearance came at Bash at the Beach 2000. A year and a half later, Vince McMahon brought Hogan back to WWE for an nWo reunion with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The reunion did not connect with most WWE fans, who were focused on stars like Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.
Hogan did win over the crowd again at WrestleMania 18, where he lost to The Rock but received loud cheers. He returned to the red and yellow and was soon made the number one contender to Triple H’s Undisputed WWE Championship. WWE moved quickly, building a feud that also involved Edge, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and The Undertaker.
Backlash 2002 Match
The match took place on April 21, 2002, at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Hogan was 48 years old at the time. When the match began, the early excitement faded. The bout was slow and saw Triple H control most of the action by working on Hogan’s leg. That strategy kept the pace low and made the match feel long to many viewers.
Chris Jericho interfered first, pulling the referee out of the ring and hitting Hogan with a chair. Later, The Undertaker appeared and removed the referee again. After the chaos, Hogan hit his trademark big boot and a leg drop on Triple H. Hogan scored the pin and won the Undisputed WWE Championship at Backlash 2002.
| Fighter | Recent Result |
|---|---|
| Hulk Hogan | Won at Backlash 2002 (pin over Triple H) |
| Triple H | Lost Undisputed WWE Championship at Backlash 2002 |
Aftermath and Final Title Run
Hogan’s win at Backlash 2002 became his last WWE world title reign. The company changed its name from WWF to WWE on May 6, 2002, making Hogan the final WWF Champion and the first to hold the belt under the WWE name. Exactly four weeks after Backlash, Hogan defended the renamed championship against The Undertaker at Judgment Day. That match lasted about 11 minutes and included interference from Vince McMahon. A chair shot and a chokeslam ended Hogan’s reign.
Why Fans Felt Let Down
Many fans wanted a fast, competitive match between two icons. Instead, the Backlash match was slow and overbooked with outside interference. Hogan’s WrestleMania 18 moment had hidden some of his in-ring limits. At Backlash, those limits showed more clearly. The result gave Hogan a historic title moment, but the match itself failed to live up to the history and the expectations.
For WWE history, the match matters because it marked Hogan’s final world title win. For fans hoping for a classic in-ring contest, Backlash 2002 is often remembered as a missed opportunity.
