In coliseum of American over-the-topness, WrestleMania stands alone

FILE - Hulk Hogan fires up the crowd between matches during WrestleMania 21 in Los Angeles, April 3, 2005. FILE - Wrestling fans, under a Wrestlemania sign, watch a WWE Monday Night RAW event, March 6, 2023, in Boston. FILE - Wrestler John Cena, top, chokes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at a Wrestlemania event, April 7, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J.

He surveyed the Arizona crowd that had paid to catch a wrestling glimpse of the planet's mightiest heavyweight, as measured in both box-office heft and ink-stained muscles. Then The Rock let the abuse fly. And as with so many public outbursts these days, attacking his opponents wasn't enough. He had to insult the people, too.