Hulk Hogan: The man who took wrestling mainstream
Hulk Hogan: A profile of wrestling’s biggest superstar
If we’re talking about professional wrestling, we have to start with Hulk Hogan.
He’s not the first wrestler ever, and he’s not the first to be popular, but he is the person who is most often attributed with lending the most to breaking wrestling into mainstream awareness.
Hulkamania ran wild all through the ’80s and ’90s. Hogan made numerous appearances on talk shows, played in movies—including the Rocky franchise—was in comic books, on the cover art of video games, profiled in many magazines, and even had his own TV show.
Simply put, for years Hulk Hogan was professional wrestling.
His impact is undeniable. He helped sell out arena after arena, put WWE(F) on the map, then later—after defecting to WCW—put them on the map and even helped them top the WWE(F) in ratings for several years. He was a household name and a worldwide phenomenon.
Hulk Hogan’s Early Life
Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1953. While still in adolescence, his family moved to Tampa, Florida. Hogan grew up playing sports—namely, baseball where he was a pitcher and even had interest from MLB scouts—he always had an affinity for athletics and thoroughly enjoyed competition. Unfortunately for the young Hulkster, an injury ended his baseball aspirations. (Elrod, 2014)
In his younger years, Hogan was a practising musician and played in several bands, one of which was called Ruckus and quite popular in Tampa in the 70s. He went to a community college in Florida and later to the University of South Florida. He studied finance and music.
Eventually, Hogan dropped out of college to focus on his passions, specifically music at the time. (Hulk Hogan Biography, 2018)
Hogan matured quickly as far as physicality is concerned. When he was a senior in high school, he was already 6’7 and weighed 300 pounds.
That’s a big kid.
Whether it was sports, music, or wrestling, Hogan was always drawn to creative ventures and ways to display the showmanship side of his personality.
Through the mid-to-late 70s, Hogan played music with his band Ruckus and dedicated the majority of his time to being a musician. During this time is when Hogan’s interest switched to wrestling.
Hogan’s start in Wrestling
While working for clubs and playing music, Hogan met the Brisco brothers—Jack and Gerry—who were impressed with the Hulkster’s large physic. They would talk about the wrestling world with Hogan and piqued his interest in that, at the time, small scene.
In the late 70s, The Briscoes introduced Hogan to professional wrestling trainer Hiro Matsuda, who trained notable wrestlers Tito Santana and Paul Orndoff.
Hogan trained with Matsuda for a year, and in 1977, Hogan had his debut match with the CWF—Championship Wrestling From Florida. The pairing with Matsuda didn’t last long, and Hogan left the CWF. (Hulk Hogan Biography, n.d.)
During his early years, Hogan wrestled under the names Terry Boulder, Sterling Gordon, and Super Destroyer.
Hogan then met Ed Leslie—who would later be known as Brutus ‘the Barber’ Beefcake—and the two formed The Boulder Brothers tag team. The duo worked for Louie Tillet’s Alabama Territory.
After an offer of $800 a week from Jerry Jarrett, Hogan and Leslie jumped ship to Memphis to wrestle for the Continental Wrestling Association or CWA.
While in Memphis, Hogan appeared on a local talk show that Lou Ferrigno was on. The host was impressed by Hogan’s size, even noting that he was bigger than Ferrigno, and took to calling Hogan ‘The Hulk’ because of it.
In 1979, Hogan won his first major professional wrestling championship, the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship, when he defeated Bob Roop. (Hulk Hogan Biography, 2018)
Hulk Hogan and the World Wrestling Federation
It was during Hogan’s time wrestling in Memphis that WWF promoter Vince McMahon took notice of the upcoming wrestler. Hogan debuted for the WWF in 1979 and defeated Harry Valdez in his debut WWF match.
Hogan’s first big program with the WWF was with Andre the Giant, a feud that Hogan eventually lost, but one that solidified his name among fans as a favourite. Hogan enjoyed success in the following years and was quickly becoming one of the premier attractions of the company. (Hulk Hogan Biography, 2018)
In the 80s Hogan also wrestled for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Given that the Japanese wrestling style differs from the American style, Hogan adopted a bit of a more technical approach to his in-ring manoeuvres.
Hogan found fan success in Japan as well. The crowds loved the big American and gave him the affectionate nickname ‘Ichiban’ which means Number One. (Hulk Hogan Biography, n.d.)
It was in 1984 that Hogan really broke through the smaller-scope view of the wrestling world. Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik for the WWF Championship and his name broke out into the mainstream. Hulkamania truly took shape during his first championship run—a reign that lasted from 1984 to 1988 for a total of 1,474 days!
That’s a run that’s still among the top streaks to this day in WWE.
Recognition outside of the ring
Hogan’s first WWF Championship reign saw him make many appearances on talk shows, further boosting the visibility of wrestling as a whole. Merchandise for Hogan could barely be kept on the shelves, with shirts, action figures, lunchboxes, headbands, and all other sorts of items selling like hotcakes.
Everywhere the WWF went during the 80s they held capacity or near capacity crowds, and many in attendance were donned in Hogan’s trademark red and yellow colour scheme. Kids loved Hogan and looked up to him. His popular catchphrase ‘Take your vitamins, say your prayers, and drink your milk’ was met with masses of cheers each time he uttered it.
Hogan became the first person to win consecutive Royal Rumbles, accomplishing the feat with his wins in 1990 and 1991.
Hulk Hogan transcended the sport - this is some graffiti in Shoreditch, East London.
WCW
In 1994, Hogan jumped ship to WCW. He won his first WCW Heavyweight Championship in his debut match against Ric Flair. Later in his WCW tenure, he formed the groundbreaking New World Order (NWO) with fellow ship-jumpers Kevin Nash and Scott Hall—former Diesel and Razor Ramon of the WWF, respectively.
The NWO took the wrestling world by storm, and once again Hogan was at the centre of another mainstream outbreak of wrestling. The popularity of the group aided WCW in taking the top spot in wrestling from the seemingly untouchable WWF for several years.
Hogan returned to the WWF in the early 2000s. His second run with the company saw him capture his first WWE(F) tag team championship, in a partnership with Edge.
Hulk Hogan’s most Famous Matches
WrestleMania III: Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
The most famous match of Hogan’s career was at WrestleMania III against Andre the Giant. During this match, Hogan famously picked up and slammed Andre—which no one else had been able to accomplish before. Hogan nearly lost the match due to outside shenanigans from Virgil, but he persevered and the image of Hogan lifting Andre lasted in the minds of fans. (BIXENSPAN, 2014)
WrestleMania V: Hogan vs. Randy Savage
Hogan and Savage teamed during the 80s to form the Mega Powers tag team in an effort to combat Andre the Giant and the Million Dollar Man. That partnership didn’t last as Savage grew jealous of Hogan and eventually turned on him. Savage was WWF Champion at the time, and his betrayal set up their vaunted WrestleMania V match that saw Hogan regain the WWF Championship. (Mahanty, 2018)
WrestleMania 18: Hogan vs. The Rock
The Icon vs the Legend. Hogan had returned to the WWE by this time and brought the NWO with him. All three core members of the group feuded with WWE stars. Hogan’s feud was with the Rock.
In what was supposed to be a heel outing for Hogan, the fans revived Hulkamania during this match and pulled the rare swerve of flipping the face and heel mid-match—something that famously happened during the Bret Hart/Steve Austin match at WrestleMania 13. The Rock won the match, but there were no losers in this contest. (Nath, 2019)
Bash at the Beach 94: Hogan vs. Ric Flair
In Hogan’s debut match for WCW, he took on the Champion Ric ‘The Nature Boy’ Flair. Fans had long wanted to see the two lock up for a title match, but it never happened in the WWF. WCW jumped at the opportunity when they signed Hogan, and his first match was the dream match that fans had been craving. Hogan bested the Ric—despite all his dirty tactics—and captured the WCW Heavyweight Championship in his first match for the company. (Henry, 2018)
Hogan’s Wrestling Style
Hogan famously worked a slow and brawler-inspired style in the ring. Wrestling in the 80s was much more about theatrics and a slow pace that told a story of hero vs. villain in the ring. Hogan relied heavily on working the crowd to counter his limited move set.
Hulk Hogan: Wrestling Legend
Hogan left his mark on the wrestling industry. If there was a Mount Rushmore of wrestlers, there’s no doubt that Hogan would be among those etched into it. He pioneered the industry and helped break it into the mainstream. He parlayed his popularity in the wrestling world into a movie career and became a household name across the globe.
Check out our profile of another legendary wrestler, ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair!
Bibliography
BIXENSPAN, D. (2014, March 31). Power Ranking Hulk Hogan's 5 Greatest WrestleMania Moments. Retrieved from Bleacher Report
Elrod, N. (2014, November 17). 17 Things You Didn’t Know About Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan. Retrieved from Boston.CBS Local: https://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/11/17/17-things-you-didnt-know-about-wrestling-legend-hulk-hogan/#:~:text=Hulk%20Hogan%2C%20originally%20named%20Terry,2.
Henry, J. (2018, February 26). 10 Best Hulk Hogan Matches Ever. Retrieved from What Culture: https://whatculture.com/wwe/10-best-hulk-hogan-matches-ever
Hulk Hogan Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Famous People: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/hulk-hogan-1654.php
Hulk Hogan Biography. (2018, January 23). Retrieved from Biography.com:
Mahanty, S. (2018, August 12). Hulk Hogan's 5 Greatest Matches. Retrieved from Sportskeeda:
Nath, R. (2019, March 11). Hulk Hogan’s 5 Greatest Matches. Retrieved from Mandatory.com: https://www.mandatory.com/wrestlezone/features/legends/985107-hulk-hogans-5-greatest-matches/6
