Artice
Courtsey: jimyvan.com
Hulk Hogan is arguably the
greatest wrestler to step foot in a wrestling ring. No, not
because of his wrestling ability. But because of his
accomplishments.
Born Terry Gene Bollea in
Augusta, Georgia, Hulk Hogan was a part time body builder,
bouncer, musician and full time bank teller. He studied
business administration and music at the University of South
Florida. Then, as rumour has it, one night while working as a
bouncer Hogan met up with wrestler Jack Brisco who immediately
saw the potential of this golden haired monster.
Hogan
trained with legendary Japanese wrestler Hiro Matsuda and made
his debut in 1978 as Sterling Golden. He would later be known
as Terry 'The Hulk' Boulder. Then a wrestling heel, the
massive Hogan over-powered and out-matched the opposition. He
first entered the WWF with manager Freddie Blassie, but
despite being a tremendous competitor, he didn't quite catch
on. Hogan then left the WWF and went to Japan, where he became
a big sensation, winning titles and fans.
Hulk then returned to the
U.S., and entered the American Wrestling Association (AWA). He
again started as a heel, but it didn't last. The people took
to him, and he was soon the biggest name in the organization
and nearly defeated AWA champ Nick Bockwinkle for the title on
several occasions. One night he did beat Bockwinkle and was
declared champ, but the title was stripped and returned to
Bockwinkle on a technicality. Hogan's popularity catapulted
after he was cast as "Thunderlips" in Rocky III in
1982.
In late 1983, Hogan
re-signed with the WWF. Again, the fans took to the Hulkster
making him a big-time face. Then, the night came. January 23,
1984. WWF champion The Iron Sheik was scheduled to face former
champion Bob Backlund for the title. However, Backlund was
reportedly injured, and Hogan took his place. Hulk walked into
Madison Square Garden in New York as the challenger, and left
a sensation, as he defeated the Sheik for the WWF title.
Over
the next decade, Hulk Hogan became the most recognizable
wrestler in the world, not to mention one of the most
recognizable sports celebrities. His "Hulkamania"
t-shirts became monsterous best sellers. WWF television
ratings reached new heights, allowing for a new special,
"Saturday Night's Main Event", which actually
replaced NBC's "Saturday Night Live" once a month.
Wrestling matches started occuring in larger arenas on a
regular basis. The WWF introduced wrestling dolls, a cartoon
show, music albums, ice cream bars, even bed sheets. Several
wrestlers were depicted on this merchandise, but Hogan was the
main man. Celebrities became involved in the business,
including Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper. The WWF introduced PPV
events such as Wrestlemania, which did incredible business.
Music also became a part of the business, as wrestlers started
using theme music for their entrances. Hogan was the first in
North America, with "Eye of the Tiger". Without Hulk
Hogan, these achievements may have never happened in the
wrestling industry.
It
was inevitable that Hulk Hogan would dwell back into the movie
business, and that he did. After "Rocky III" came a
cameo in "Gremlins 2", not to mention a starring
role in "No Holds Barred", "Suburban
Commando", "Rough Stuff" and several others.
Hulk even had a weekly prime time series at one point,
entitled "Thunder in Paradise". Hulk has also been
known to devote time to charity. His soft spot has always been
for children, as Hogan has been associated with the
Make-A-Wish Foundation (he was the most requested celebrity
for many years), the Pediatric AIDS Center, the Special
Olympics, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Starlight
Foundation.
Of
course, Hulk did a little wrestling. He reigned as WWF
champion for four years after winning the title the first
time. He won the title on four other occasions, and defended
the belt against the roughest and toughest competitors in the
industry. In 1986, Hogan was injured during an episode of
Saturday Night's Main Event after a WWF title defense (against
The Magnificent Muraco) was interrupted by King Kong Bundy,
who cracked Hogan's ribs following several big splashes. The
two headlined Wrestlemania 2 in a steel cage match that saw
Hogan defeat Bundy to retain the title.
Hulk's biggest title defense
came at Wrestlemania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac,
Michigan. During this historic card, Hogan defeated the
legendary Andre the Giant in front of over 93,000 people; an
indoor attendance record that still stands. It was the first
and only pin loss in the Giant's career.
The next big moment in
Hogan's career came when he formed a partnership with
"Macho Man" Randy Savage. Hogan's first WWF title
reign had been halted by the Giant following a controversial
match on the Main Event in February of 1988. A championship
tournament was held at Wrestlemania IV, with Hogan and the
Giant wrestling to a double-disqualification in the first
round. Savage went to the finals of the tourney against Ted
DiBiase, and used Hogan's interference to defeat DiBiase for
the title.
Hogan and Savage became
"The Megapowers", and would dominate the wrestling
business for most of 1988. The two defeated the team of
DiBiase and the Giant at Summerslam '88, and were also the
sole survivors for their team at the Survivor Series that
year. Tension started to build at the end of the year when
Savage's jealousy towards Hogan's popularity (and his
relationship with Savage's manager Elizabeth) became too much.
In the Spring of 1989 the duo broke up, and Hogan beat Savage
for the WWF title at Wrestlemania V. One year later, Hogan
defended the title against the Ultimate Warrior at
Wrestlemania VI in a title-for-title match against the
Warrior's Intercontinental belt. It would be the only time
during his WWF dominance that Hulk was cleanly pinned, as the
Warrior beat him to take the title.
Following his loss to the
Warrior, Hogan remained a top challenger for the title. When
the Warrior lost the gold at the 1991 Royal Rumble to Sgt.
Slaughter, Hogan stepped up to the plate. He challenged
Slaughter at Wrestlemania VII, and defeated the Sarge to win
his third WWF belt. Hulk would lose the title the following
Fall, again in controversial fashion, to the Undertaker at the
1991 Survivor Series. An immediate rematch took place at the
WWF's "Tuesday in Texas" in PPV, with Hogan coming
out with his forth WWF championship. However, President Jack
Tunney sat ringside during this match and due to the
controversy he witnessed (Ric Flair's interference; Hogan
using ashes from Paul Bearer's urn to blind the Undertaker) he
declared the title vacant. It was announced that the winner of
the 1992 Royal Rumble would be declared champion. Hogan was
one of the remaining three participants in the Rumble, but was
grabbed by Sid Justice from behind and eliminated. The two
engaged in a feud that saw them do battle at Wrestlemania
VIII, a match that Hogan won by disqualification following
outside interference on the part of Papa Shango.
Following Wrestlemania VIII,
the decade-long dominance of Hulkamania came to an end. He
started wrestling less and less, and many believed he would
retire from the business. Hulk chose to pursue a career in
Hollywood. It became known that he had been a longtime steroid
abuser, and without the drug, Hulk became a shadow of his once
bulky self. Hogan attempted a WWF comeback in 1993, when he
defeated Yokozuna in an impromptu match at Wrestlemania 9 for
his fifth WWF title. But the following June, Hogan lost the
championship to Yokozuna at the King of the Ring; Hogan's
first defence during his last reign.
In 1994 Hulk signed with
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and became WCW world
champion. Then, he shocked the world by going back to his heel
ways as part of the company's nWo angle. The move regenerated
his career, and for a time he was the #1 man in the wrestling
industry again.
But, soon the nWo angle was over and
Hogan's career was going downhill. In 1999, the Yellow and Red
returned .. so did.. HULKAMNIA and its running wild once
again!
