At WrestleMania IX, Yokozuna wrestled against Bret Hart for the WWF Championship. Hart had the match won with Yokozuna about to submit to the Sharpshooter, when Mr. Fuji threw salt into the champion's face. Blinded, Hart was then pinned by Yokozuna, who won the WWF Championship. As he and Mr. Fuji celebrated, Hulk Hogan came to the ring to help Hart and was challenged by Mr Fuji to take on the champion for his newly won crown. After Fuji accidentally threw salt in Yokozuna's eyes, Hogan came through with the win and captured his fifth WWF Championship. At the time, Yokozuna held the record for the second shortest time (after Ric Flair) to win the WWF Championship after his debut, with 173 days (currently, Yokozuna holds the fourth shortest time, after Flair, Sheamus and Brock Lesnar). At King of the Ring 1993, Yokozuna, whose weight had already increased from to , challenged Hogan for the title. Hogan seemed to have the match won, but a photographer, planted at ringside among a legitimate Japanese wrestling press group, shot a blast of fire into Hogan's face. This allowed Yokozuna to take Hogan out with a leg drop and regain the WWF Championship, after which Yokozuna proceeded to hit Hogan with the Banzai Drop in the corner. Soon after, Hogan left the WWF to pursue other interests, which left Yokozuna and Fuji to claim that they had ended "Hulkamania" (to wit, that would be Hogan's last appearance in the WWF for nine years). To celebrate, he held a "Bodyslam Competition" aboard the , a decommissioned aircraft carrier, on Independence Day. Many wrestlers and athletes alike tried to slam Yokozuna, with no success. As Yokozuna thought that there would be no one left to challenge him, Lex Luger flew in by helicopter, stepped forward, and slammed him on the deck. Commentator Bobby Heenan claimed Luger's move was a hiptoss, not a bodyslam, as Yokozuna was running at Luger, but the slam was ruled legitimate. This made Luger the next major challenger to Yokozuna's title.