Hulk Hogan

Terrence Gene Bollea
Born	(1953-08-11) August 11, 1953 Augusta, Georgia
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	The Super Destroyer Sterling Golden Terry Boulder Hulk Hogan Hulk Machine Hollywood Hulk Hogan Hollywood Hogan Mr. America
Billed height	6 ft 7 in (201 cm)
Billed from	Venice Beach, California
Trained by	Hiro Matsuda
Debut	August 19, 1977

Terrence "Terry" Gene Bollea (born on August 11 1953) is an American actor and semi-retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan. He currently stars on the VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best, but before that he wrestled now legendary stints with both the World Wresting Federation, where he had six World Championship reigns, and World Championship Wrestling, where he had another six World Championship reigns. He is also a two time AWA Champion while wrestling in the AWA. He is often referred to as one of the most recognizable professional wrestlers in the history of the business and was the top man in the top professional wrestling company throughout the 1980s (the World Wrestling Federation) and one of the top men in another for parts of the 1990s (World Championship Wrestling).

Personal information

Born in Augusta, Georgia, Hogan was the third child of Italian American Pete Bollea, and Ruth Bollea, who is of French, Italian and Panamanian descent. He had an older brother, Allan, and an older half brother from Ruth's first marriage, Kenneth Wheeler. Hogan attended T.R. Robinson Senior High School, and attended college at the University of South Florida and St. Petersburg Junior College in Tampa, dropping out of both. He met his wife, Linda, in a restaurant in Los Angeles, and they married in 1983. They have two children, Brooke and Nick. In April, 2006, the family bought a new $12 million bayfront estate in Miami Beach, Florida.

Main article: Hogan Knows Best

Hogan currently stars in an American reality television show, which is centered around his family life, in the spirit of such shows as The Osbournes. The show follows the lives of the Hogan family and Hogan's efforts to help his children establish show business careers of their own. Former professional wrestler "Nasty Boy" Brian Knobbs, a longtime friend of Hogan's, has appeared on several episodes.

Career

Terry Bollea was a pitcher in little league baseball. He also spent ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands, including Ruckus and Infinity's End. Many of the wrestlers who competed in the Florida territory at that time would visit the bars in which Bollea was performing.

Bollea's impressive physical stature soon caught the attention of Jack Brisco and his brother Gerald. Together, they convinced Bollea to give wrestling a try. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Bollea was eager to do so. He trained for nearly two years under the watchful eye of Hiro Matsuda, a hard-nosed taskmaster. According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you wanna be a wrestler?" and then casually (and to instill respect, purposefully) broke Bollea's leg before Bollea could stop him. When he returned eight weeks later, he had a totally different attitude about pro wrestling, cutting his hair (which was down close to his waist) short and taking his training much more seriously.

Bollea wrestled his first professional match in Fort Pierce, Florida on August 9, 1977, competing under his given name. A short time later, Terry donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer", a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by several other wrestlers over the years. Terry went through a few different ring name changes before becoming "Hulk Hogan"; along with "The Super Destroyer", he was also known as "Terry 'The Hulk' Boulder" and "Sterling Golden". Bollea would go on to win his first wrestling championships, the National Wrestling Alliance Southeastern Heavyweight Championships recognized in Alabama and Tennessee, respectively. In May 1979, Bollea even had an early shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, whose holder was at the time generally recognized as the industry's best.

World Wrestling Federation (First run, 1979-1981)

On November 13, 1979, Bollea made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation as a heel. He was then given the name "The Fabulous Hulk Hogan" by Vincent James McMahon, then the majority owner of the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (at the time, the parent company of the Federation). Originally, he was supposed to have red hair, but claims that when his hair began falling out, he was allowed to keep his natural color, which would prove to be a crucial part of the Hogan character later in his career. In his debut, Hogan wrestled three matches in Allentown, Pennsylvania during one of the Federation's marathon television tapings. Hogan was victorious in all three bouts, squashing Harry Valdez in the first match, Paul Figueroa in the second, and Ben Ortiz in the third. One month later on December 17, Hogan made his Madison Square Garden wrestling debut, defeating Ted DiBiase in 11 minutes, 12 seconds.

The later, official explanation for the "Hulk Hogan" moniker was that many considered Bollea to be physically bigger than Lou Ferrigno, who at the time was starring in the popular TV series The Incredible Hulk. McMahon also wanted him to be a tough, working-man brawler with a possible Irish background at the same time, thus the name "Hogan". A deal was later struck with Marvel Comics to use the "Incredible Hulk" name. In February 2005, Bollea himself purchased the rights to the name "Hulk Hogan" shortly after a copyright dispute between Marvel and World Wrestling Entertainment prevented Bollea from being called Hulk Hogan in rebroadcasts of his matches.

Hogan started out in the WWF as an arrogant heel, managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Hogan feuded with then-WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund, "Mr. U.S.A." Tony Atlas, and André the Giant. His feud with André culminated in a match at Shea Stadium on August 9, 1980 in front of 36,295 fans, popularly called the Showdown at Shea.

In 1981, Sylvester Stallone personally offered him a part in the movie Rocky III. Industry etiquette demanded that he first ask for his boss's (Vincent J. McMahon) permission. McMahon said no, believing that pro wrestlers should be pro wrestlers and not become actors, unlike his son (and future owner of WWE) Vincent K. McMahon. However, Hogan took the part anyway, expecting the role to dramatically increase his profile and earning potential. McMahon fired Hogan, who would not appear with the company again for several years.

American Wrestling Association

After filming his scene for Rocky III, Hogan made his debut in the Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association, owned and promoted by Verne Gagne. Hogan started his AWA run as a heel, taking on "Luscious" Johnny Valiant as his manager, but AWA audiences loved the muscular Hogan, and soon the AWA's bookers were compelled to turn Hogan face.

Hogan quickly became the AWA's top draw and feuded with the AWA world champion Nick Bockwinkel. AWA owner Gagne, a close friend of Bockwinkel's and a former college wrestler who emphasized mat skills over showmanship, was reluctant to give the less-technically skilled Hogan a run with the belt, and only considered putting the title on him provided he gave him a majority percentage of the revenues from the sales of his merchandise (Hogan wanted 50% of the proceeds from each shirt sold) and his tours in Japan, which Hogan refused to do. On two different occasions, Hogan had been scripted to win the AWA Championship from champion Nick Bockwinkel and have it revert back to Bockwinkel by contrived technicalities (known as a Dusty finish). This was a common plot device, used to milk audience anticipation that the face would topple the heel "next time". But this time, the crowd reactions was so furious that only Bollea's pleas (on the PA system, in character as Hogan) kept them from rioting. Hogan quickly grew frustrated with the AWA's backstage politics over the world title, and was upset with promoter Verne Gagne's demands for a larger percentage of Hogan's earnings, even mentioning an instance when Gagne sold his shirts and wanted to keep all the money for himself.

Over twenty years later, just prior to Hulk Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2005, the revived AWA, under the authority of owner Dale Gagne (real last name, Gagner), relented and acknowledged the legitimacy of Hogan's two title wins over Nick Bockwinkel, making him a two-time AWA champion. However, this resolution has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as an entirely different body than the Verne Gagne-owned AWA of old. As recently as the release of the DVD The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, interviews between Hogan and the Gagnes show that there is still animosity between both parties, indicating the unlikelihood Hogan's AWA title reign would have been retroactively instated under the original ownership.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980-1983)

A great deal of Hogan's early success was achieved in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Japanese wrestling fans were in awe of the gargantuan blond American, and nicknamed him "Ichiban" (which translates to "Number One"). Hogan first appeared in Japan on May 13, 1980, while he was still with the WWF. He would tour the country from time to time over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from Tatsumi Fujinami to Abdullah the Butcher. When competing in Japan, Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style U.S. fans became accustomed to seeing from him. He would also periodically leave his feet while performing moves like armbar takedowns and the enzuigiri. Another difference is that Hogan uses a running forearm lariat (called the "Axe Bomber") as his finisher in Japan, as opposed to the running leg drop that has been his traditional finisher in America.

On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament winner, defeating Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a 10-man tournament featuring top talent from throughout the world. Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning the prestigious MSG Tag League tournament two years in a row, in 1982 and 1983. Hogan's popularity in Japan was so great, he even recorded an album there - a forerunner to the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock' n' Wrestlin' Connection" of the mid-'80's.

World Wrestling Federation (Second run, 1984-1993)

By 1983, Vince K. McMahon had bought the World Wrestling Federation from his father, with a goal of turning the WWF into a nationwide company, using Hogan's charisma and name recognition as the top draw. Hogan made his return to the WWF at a TV taping in St. Louis, MO on December 27, 1983, defeating Bill Dixon. On January 3, 1984, Hogan made a dramatic appearance at a TV taping in Allentown, PA, saving Bob Backlund from a three-on-one assault. Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's a great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around." The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on January 23, Hogan won the WWF Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik in New York's Madison Square Garden. The storyline accompanying this significant victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent, and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's signature move). He became the first ever Southern-born WWF Champion in history. In Hogan's autobiography, he says that The Iron Sheik told him that Verne Gagne had offered the Sheik $100,000 to break Hogan's leg during the title bout, but the Sheik correctly saw the potential for making millions working a feud with Hogan and refused. Greg Gagne, the son of Verne, recently worked as a WWE road agent and refutes the claim that such an offer was ever made. However, during his Hall of Fame induction speech, The Iron Sheik confirms that the offer was made and that he turned Verne down.

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Hulk Hogan during his first WWF Championship reign.

This title victory caused "Hulkamania" to sweep the WWF, as Hogan's popularity soared; immediately after Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik and won the WWF Heavyweight Title, commentator Gorilla Monsoon officially proclaimed "Hulkamania is here." He would frequently refer to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews, and would go on to introduce his three "demandments": training, saying your prayers, and eating your vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in yourself) would be added following his feud with Earthquake. The vitamins demandment has been parodied to mean steroids in recent years due to Vince McMahon's problems with a steroid trial in the early '90s.

Hogan would remain WWF Champion for four years and 13 days (no wrestler has held the WWF Championship for longer than one year since Hogan's first title reign ^{[Citation needed]}), overcoming such challengers as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Paul Orndorff, and King Kong Bundy, drawing record houses, PPV buyrates and TV ratings in the process. He co-hosted Saturday Night Live on March 30, 1985 and even had his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon during this lucrative run, titled Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling.

On March 31, 1985, the inaugural WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden featured Hogan and Mr. T defeating Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main event. Hogan would go on to headline seven of the first eight WrestleManias.

In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag matches with The Machines as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from New Japan Pro Wrestling character "Super Strong Machine."

A new storyline was introduced in early 1987: Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three years. André the Giant, a good friend (who was seen pouring champagne over him in the Madison Square Garden locker room in the interview scene following his title win) came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterwards, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years." In actuality, André had suffered a handful of countout and disqualification losses in the WWF, but had never been pinned or forced to submit in a WWF ring. Hogan came out to congratulate André, but André walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of "Piper's Pit" (an interview/skit segment hosted by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper), Hogan was confronted by Bobby Heenan when Piper had invited Hogan and Jesse Ventura invited Heenan and Andre the Giant. Heenan announced that André was his new protégé. Andre then challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III, ripping the t-shirt and crucifix off Hogan, leaving Hogan in a state of shock.

WrestleMania III, held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, an announced audience of 93,173 witnessed Hogan successfully defend the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. The match would become the most famous of Hogan's career, and is often regarded as the biggest match in the history of the business, one which saw Hogan bodyslam the 520-pound Frenchman before pinning his shoulders to the mat. Andre had physically deteriorated by this time, which caused a mishap when Hogan initially tried to slam Andre right off the bat. The attempt was unsuccessful (as was planned), and Andre fell on top of Hogan. Hogan was almost pinned accidentally for the three count due to Andre's sheer suffocating size and inablity to move off of Hogan quickly enough. The quick thinking ref's slow two and a half count allowed the match to continue. The match was considered as being a "passing of the torch" between one of the biggest stars in wrestling of the 1970s, André, and the biggest star in wrestling of the 1980s, Hogan. Years later, Hogan stated that André was so heavy, he felt more like 700 pounds, and that if he had lost his balance performing the slam, he was sure that Andre's weight would have seriously injured him. Hogan also says that in lifting the super heavyweight, he tore a shoulder muscle, which causes one side of his back to be visibly smaller than the other. Hogan later would assert that no man in wrestling at the time could have ever defeated André without him allowing it.

Hogan lost the belt in extremely controversial fashion to André on NBC's "The Main Event" on February 5, 1988, thanks to a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and "evil" twin referee Earl Hebner (in place of the match's appointed arbiter, his twin brother Dave Hebner). After André delivered a belly-to-belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner three-counted Hogan while his left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their storyline business deal. As a result, the WWF Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history, and all this in turn led to Hogan's on/off friend "The Macho Man" Randy Savage taking the vacant title in a tournament at WrestleMania IV a month later.

Note: The live primetime NBC broadcast of The Main Event on February 5, 1988, from Market Square Arena, Indianapolis,IN was the highest rated television show in American professional wrestling history, with a 15.2 rating. The Hogan-Andre rematch from February 5, 1988 can be found on the History Of The WWE Championship DVD.

Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers. Savage played an instrumental role in Hogan's character development. However, the Mega Powers would soon implode from within, due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were "more than friends." A feud between Hogan and Savage began, which culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF Championship at WrestleMania V on April 2, 1989. Hulk Hogan earned $1.8 million for this single match .

Hogan's second run lasted a year, during which time he starred in his first movie, No Holds Barred. The movie was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star in "No Holds Barred", Tiny Lister, Jr., who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus. Zeus was a monster heel who was "jealous" over Hogan's higher billing and now wanted revenge. However, Hogan was easily able to defeat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam.

Also during his second run, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble Match, last eliminating Mr. Perfect. He dropped the title to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior on April 1, 1990 at WrestleMania VI. It was the first time in over seven years that Hogan suffered an uncontroversial pinfall defeat. That title match was notable in that the two wrestlers were both faces, and Hogan graciously handed Warrior the belt and shook his hand at the conclusion of the match, remembered as one of the most sportsmanlike displays in WWF history.

Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 468-pound Earthquake, a mountain of a man who gained infamy by crushing Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on "The Brother Love Show" in May 1990. On TV, announcers explained that Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to The Ultimate Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank you"). Hogan returned by SummerSlam 1990 and dominated Earthquake in a months-long series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe would cause Hogan to add a fourth demandment: believing in yourself. His name also changed: The Immortal Hulk Hogan. (In his AWA/WWWF days his name was The Incredible Hulk Hogan.)

On March 24, 1991, Hogan stood up for the USA against Iraqi-sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship at WrestleMania VII. Hogan lost the title to The Undertaker at the Survivor Series 1991 on November 27. Just six days later, Hogan regained the title in a match held on a special pay-per-view named Tuesday in Texas, but due to the controversy surrounding both matches, the title was again declared vacant.

In the 1992 Royal Rumble, Hogan was eliminated by storyline friend Sid Justice and failed to regain the championship. In the ensuing five months, Hulk Hogan announced he was contemplating retirement from wrestling and would 'bow out' after his match against Sid at WrestleMania VIII on April 5, 1992. Hogan eventually won the match via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman. Hogan then was attacked by Papa Shango, who actually was supposed to cause the DQ but was late, and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior.

Hogan returned to the WWF in January 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc.. Hogan scooped his fifth WWF Title on April 4 of that year, overcoming Yokozuna in an impromptu bout at WrestleMania IX only moments after Yokozuna's defeat of Bret Hart. At this point, everything was looking good for Hogan; he had the World Wrestling Federation Championship once again and it seemed like Hulkamania was back. However, this was not the case at all.

At the first annual King of the Ring pay per view, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion, Yokozuna. It was Hogan's first title defense since he first defeated Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. During the course of the match, Yokozuna amazingly kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop. The hard-fought bout came to its close when a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman) got on the apron and distracted Hogan, before shooting some sort of fireball out of the camera and into Hogan's face. This was followed by Yokozuna hitting a leg drop on Hogan for the pin. After his victory, Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop amidst the crying children and cursing adults. As Yokozuna celebrated, Hogan was helped back to the locker room by ringside officials, as he clutched his face. Hulkamania had seemingly taken its final breath.

Hogan departed the WWF two months later after a series of bouts against Yokozuna on the Hulkamania European tour. An impending steroid scandal led to Vince McMahon deciding to phase out large, muscular wrestlers such as Hogan and give the top spots to smaller, more technically sound wrestlers such as Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. After Hogan left the WWF, he decided to take time off from professional wrestling to concentrate on movies, TV, and his family.

World Championship Wrestling (1994-2000)

In June 1994, Hogan was expensively lured back to the ring by Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, which was the WWF's main competitor at the time. When Hogan signed with WCW, officials hoped that they could relive the glory days of Hulkamania, but everyone involved also knew it would be tough to convince many loyal, old-school WCW fans of Hogan's worth, particularly the southern fans that were traditionally anti-WWF. Hogan was also at this time given absolute creative control over his onscreen character. Hulk Hogan's contract signing on June 11 was held at Disney World in Orlando, following a red-and-yellow ticker tape parade.

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Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair before their match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, overcoming Ric Flair in a genuine 'dream' match on July 17. After tussling with Flair, Vader, and the Dungeon of Doom for the next eighteen months, Hogan dropped the belt and began to only appear occasionally on WCW shows. WCW fans were clamoring for younger, more exciting international stars such as Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and were growing tired of seeing Hogan's "red-and-yellow good guy" persona they had seen for ten years in the WWF. This led to one of the most talked about moments in wrestling history in the summer of 1996.

The buildup began when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash both left the WWF in early 1996 and returned to their old employer, WCW. They were portrayed as "Outsiders" and quickly announced their intent to "take over" WCW, with the help of an unnamed third member of their team (initially rumored to be either Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, or Sting). At the Bash at the Beach PPV held at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida on July 7, 1996, Hall, Nash and their partner were scheduled to face the WCW trio of Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger. The third partner did not begin the match, and, after Luger left the match due to an "injury", some assumed that he would be the "third man."

After Luger was taken out, Hall and Nash began to beat on Sting, neutralizing him on the outside and leaving Savage alone in the ring. Almost immediately afterwards, Hogan came to the ring to a standing ovation from the fans, making his first appearance in several weeks.

Many expected him to replace Luger and attack Hall and Nash. However, in one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history, Hogan leg dropped Randy Savage twice and declared himself to be Hall and Nash's partner. The match continued officially for a few more seconds until Hogan whipped referee Randy Anderson out of the ring. Hogan legdropped Savage again, with Nash and Hall counting him out. The three then stood in the ring with their arms raised high.

The reaction was swift and angry from the fans. After Savage was "counted out" and a last ditch attempt to save the day by Sting was thwarted, the fans began throwing garbage into the ring. One fan jumped the guardrail and attempted to attack Hogan, but was intercepted by Nash as he tried to enter the ring. Hall and Nash stomped on the fan several times, and he was whisked away by WCW security.

Moments later, with the trash beginning to fill the ring, Gene Okerlund entered to conduct an interview with the now vilified Hogan. Okerlund told Hogan that he and the fans around the world were sick to their stomachs about the whole situation, and demanded an explanation. Hogan further cemented his turn by saying that he built wrestling up to what it was at that point, and that he promised a lot of things when he came to WCW, and after all that he was bored. He went on to say that he had dealt with the negative reactions from the fans for the last two years while holding his head high, and he had had enough and told the fans to "stick it". He finally finished by saying that if it wasn't for him, none of the fans or wrestlers would be in the arena, and then reiterated that the group of Hall, Nash, and Hogan was the New World Order of wrestling. After being threatened by Hogan, Okerlund left the ring and the show concluded with Tony Schiavone closing the broadcast by telling Hogan he could "go to hell."

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The formation of the New World Order at Bash at the Beach '96.

Hogan soon dyed his beard black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black clothing, renamed himself Hollywood Hogan, and returned to WCW programming eight days after his heel turn. Hogan managed to redefine the heel character: rather than the traditional "bad guy", Hollywood Hogan gave birth to a more realistic, street-smart villain, with none of the usual wrestling gimmicks and devices. Many have ranked Hollywood Hogan as the best heel in pro wrestling history.

After defeating The Giant at Hog Wild on August 10, 1996 by hitting him with the WCW title belt, Hogan held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for most of 1997, save for a several day reign by Luger. He would spray paint a black "nWo" across the title belt as well and scribble across the nameplate, and would refer to the title as the "nWo title" during this and any other time he would hold the title while in the nWo. During this period, Hogan grappled with Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, and many more. The ever-expanding nWo gang concurrently became the hottest concept in wrestling, helping WCW to achieve 83 straight Monday night ratings victories over the WWF. The black-and-white nWo T-shirt also became one of the highest-selling pieces of wrestling merchandise ever during 1997.

Hogan then lost the belt to Sting in a hugely-hyped, eighteen-months-in-the-making match at Starrcade in December 1997. The event was also the highest-drawing PPV in WCW's history. Wrestling fans and pundits were disappointed in "The match of the decade" because the match's length and ending didn't justify the buildup. The ending had to be re-worked because Hogan, with a Creative Control clause in his contract, wanted to beat Sting, whom the bookers had already decided would win. In order to keep the booking plans in place and to appease Hogan, it was decided that Hogan would beat Sting after an alleged "fast count" by referee Nick Patrick. WCW's newly-contracted Bret Hart would accuse Patrick and have the match restarted with Sting winning by submission. This finish was executed at Starrcade, and after a rematch the following night on WCW Monday Nitro, the title became vacant. Hogan and Sting would wrestle again at SuperBrawl in February 1998, with Sting coming out victorious.

After this, Hogan developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage. The heat culminated into a steel cage match at Uncensored, which ended in a no contest. Savage would take the world championship from Sting at Spring Stampede in April, while Hogan's match at Stampede had him and Kevin Nash taking on Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever Bat match. Marking the breakup of the original nWo, Hogan would betray Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night for his championship. This no disqualification match included two crucial points of interference: the first came from Nash, who entered the ring and powerbombed Hogan as retribution for the attack at the previous nights PPV, and the second from Bret Hart, who turned heel that night by jumping in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who regained the WCW Championship.

Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against fast rising newcomer Bill Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Hogan dominated most of the match, but became cocky toward the end as he continued to legdrop the challenger. Eventually, his luck ran out, and Goldberg was able to take control. After a final bit of interference by Curt Hennig was thwarted by Karl Malone at ringside, Goldberg was able to hit a Spear and a Jackhammer on Hogan and pinned him to gain his first and only WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches with buddies. His second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pit them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach 1998, and at Road Wild '98, he and Bischoff lost to Page and Jay Leno thanks to interference from Kevin Eubanks, who leveled Bischoff with a Diamond Cutter. Hogan also had a highly hyped rematch with Ultimate Warrior (now known simply as "Warrior") at Halloween Havoc, where his nephew Horace would aid his victory.

On the Thanksgiving episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Hogan officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling as well as his candidacy for President of the United States. Campaign footage aired on Nitro of Hogan and Bischoff holding a press conference, making it appear legit. In the long run, however, both announcements were false and merely done as a publicity stunt attempting to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him.

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Hollywood Hogan performing the infamous “fingerpoke of doom” on Kevin Nash.

After some time off from WCW, a still "retired" Hogan returned to Nitro to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW title. He controversially regained the WCW title in what would later be dubbed the Fingerpoke of Doom. This reformed the divided nWo branches - nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac - which began feuding with Bill Goldberg and a ruthless Four Horsemen.

He was soon cheated out of the WCW Championship to Ric Flair at Uncensored 1999 in a steel cage, first blood match. Strangely enough, a heavily bleeding Flair would win via pinfall thanks to biased referee Charles Robinson. During that match, however, Hogan began to show some signs that a face turn was imminent, showing off some old tactics like his "Hulking up" no-sell.

Hogan would wrestle the following month in one more world title match, facing Flair, Sting, and Dallas Page in a fatal four way match. Page ended up on top, winning his first ever world championship, and Hogan would be carried out of the ring injured and disappear for several months.

On July 12, 1999, Hogan made his grand return as a full-fledged face and accepted a challenge from Savage (who had gained the world title at Bash at the Beach the night before). Thanks to interference from Nash (who had lost the title to Savage), Hogan became champion again. Gaining fan support, however, his nWo look would gradually recede through the shaving of his black beard and the removal of the red "nWo" from his title belt.

On August 9, 1999, he started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his son, Hogan came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main-event 6-man tag team match. Injuries and frustrations were mounting up however, and he was absent from TV from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bollea said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booker Vince Russo and not told when he would be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so. On October 24, 1999 at the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view in Las Vegas, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which he had lost to Sting at Fall Brawl the previous month, when Sting beat Hogan by cheating and had turned heel in the process). However, Hogan came to the ring in street clothes, laid down for the pin, and left the ring.

Soon after his return to WCW TV in February 2000, Hogan began feuding with Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and Billy Kidman. Then, at Bash at the Beach 2000, Hogan was involved in a very controversial, real-life incident with Russo. Hogan was scheduled to wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan felt that he should win because he suspected Russo wasn't going to use him in any future storylines. At that time Hogan still had several months left on his contract and was obligated to appear at more Pay-Per-Views, so he invoked the clause in his contract that gave him creative control over all the finishes of his matches. According to Hogan, it was the only time he ever used that clause in his tenure with WCW. Russo was furious at Hogan because he did not think that Hogan should be the champion.

Unbeknownst to Hogan, Russo told Jarrett to lie down in the middle of the ring and asked Hogan to pin him straight away. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!" Russo responded by coming out and saying that "from day one, that I've been in WCW, I've done nothing... nothing... but deal with the bullshit of the politics behind that curtain" and that since Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship would be created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jeff Jarrett later that night.

Hogan was never seen or mentioned on WCW television after the event (except for the final Nitro broadcast and overall WCW event, on March 26, 2001), and he filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually thrown out of court. Russo later revealed that the Bash at the Beach incident was in fact a work. However, since WCW could no longer afford to pay Hogan for any more pay-per-view appearances, Hogan was never called back and kept off WCW television (which put the wheels in motion for the lawsuit).

XWF (2000-2001)

From July 2000 to November 2001, Hogan was out of the public eye. He had been dealing with self-doubt and depression following the Vince Russo incident, wondering if what Russo had said about him was true. Hogan was also dealing with the death of his father Peter Bollea in December 2001, which he took very hard. Fans at the time had largely agreed with Russo's sentiments , feeling that Hogan was "washed-up" and had been holding down younger talents for too long. Hogan wanted to prove his detractors wrong and show them that he still had another run or two left in him.

In the months following the eventual demise of WCW in March 2001, Hogan underwent surgery on his knees in order for him to wrestle again. As a test, Hogan worked a match in Orlando, Florida for the XWF promotion run by his longtime handler Jimmy Hart. Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in this match and felt healthy enough to accept an offer to return to the WWF in February 2002.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (Third run, 2002-2003)

At No Way Out 2002 on February 17, Hogan returned to the company that had made him a pop culture icon. Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock, and cost Steve Austin a chance at becoming the WWF Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event. A feud soon erupted between the nWo and The Rock and Steve Austin. Hogan feuded mainly with The Rock, while Hall and Nash focused on Austin. At WrestleMania X8, Hogan had one of his most memorable matches when he wrestled his first singles match against The Rock. This was Hogan's only WrestleMania match fought as a heel, but of the record SkyDome crowd of 68,237, Hogan was heavily favored over The Rock, effectively turning him face during the match. The Rock cleanly won the contest but befriended Hogan at the end of the bout and helped him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude. Rumors had it that the match was actually planned to be Austin-Hogan, but at that time Austin was having problems with WWF management and with Hogan as well, so he opted out of the projected storyline.

After the match, Hogan was a definite face again, though he continued wearing black and white tights for a few weeks after WrestleMania X8 until he resumed wearing his signature red and yellow tights. He was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blonde mustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights. He had a month-long reign as WWE Undisputed Championship in the spring of 2002 after defeating Triple H at Backlash. During Hogan's title reign of 2002, the World Wrestling Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), thus marking Hogan as the last ever WWF champion and as the first champion under the new company name. He would go on to lose the belt to The Undertaker at Judgment Day 2002.

The following month, at King of the Ring 2002, Hogan faced Kurt Angle for the first time, in a match which Angle won with his Ankle Lock submission. While Angle was billed as being the first person to defeat Hogan via submission, Lex Luger had actually done it on WCW Monday Nitro to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1997 and later that year Sting did as well. Angle's win was only Hogan's first defeat via submission on WWE programming.

On 2002's July 4 edition of Smackdown!, Hogan teamed with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck and capture the WWE Tag Team Championship for the first time in history. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's classic theme song "Real American." They would later drop the titles to The Un-Americans, at Vengeance 2002 .

After an angle with Brock Lesnar, which saw Lesnar hand Hogan a defeat in August 2002, Hogan went on hiatus. He returned in early 2003 to battle the Rock once again and defeated Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XIX in a match billed as "20 years in the making". He then had another run as Hulk Hogan, shaving off the black Hollywood beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name and later, as the mask-wearing spoof superhero Mr. America.

Mr. America was another Hulk Hogan alter-ego. The persona was supposed to be Hulk Hogan in disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme music and used all of Hogan's signature gestures, moves and phrases. He was the subject of a story line that took place after Hollywood Hulk Hogan was forced by his boss Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract. After Hogan won at WrestleMania XIX McMahon was frustrated with him (kayfabe) and wanted Hulkamania to die.

A WWE pre-debut push took place with mysterious Mr. America promos airing for weeks during SmackDown!. The ads were (as typical) short segments displaying generic shots associated with the coming character. (In this case they included American flags, a bald eagle etc. and flashed messages along the likes of "Mr. America is coming..." There was also plenty of onscreen discussion on Smackdown! between then-General Manager Stephanie McMahon and other players concerning her hiring Mr. America "sight unseen."

On May 1 2003 Mr. America debuted on Smackdown! on the "Piper's Pit," segment. Vince appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise and Mr. America shot back by saying, "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!"(lampooning Hogan's use of "brother" in his promos).

File:Mr America and Zach Gowin.jpg

Mr. American (right) with Zach Gowen.

The feud continued through the month of May, with a singles match between Mr. America and Hogan's old rival Roddy Piper at Judgement Day. Zach Gowen also made his debut with WWE first appearing as an audience plant coming to the aid of an outnumbered Mr. America. Vince tried desperately to prove that Mr. America was indeed Hulk Hogan but failed at all attempts. Mr. America even passed a lie detector test.

Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26, 2003 edition of SmackDown!. The Big Show, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeated the team of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Mr. America in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned Mr. America. After event went off the air, Mr. America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed Hulk Hogan, putting his finger to his lips telling the fans to keep quiet about his secret. The next week, Hogan quit WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the July 3, 2003 edition of SmackDown!, Vince McMahon showed the footage of Mr. America unmasking as Hogan and "fired" him. This departure was somewhat lackluster considering the star power and popularity of the talent that was leaving. The entire event of Hogan/Mr. America being fired was an extremely small segment lasting less than a minute in a show running two hours. Without the presence of Hogan to make a bigger spectacle, the whole situation was seemingly brushed to the side.

For several months afterwards, WWE hyped up The Big Show as the man who retired Hogan at Madison Square Garden (where the six-man tag team match was held), in order to give The Big Show some more credibility. In a twist of irony, The Big Show had been first discovered by Hogan himself and in 1995 was pushed as a major threat to Hogan's WCW Championship reign.

The Mr. America gimmick came under fire briefly from Marvel Comics, who anointed it a rip-off of Captain America, citing costume similarity. (The single star on the mask was also a trademark on Captain America's chest piece.) This was also adding fuel to the fire over the rights to use the Hulk Hogan name (because of Marvel's ownership of the Incredible Hulk character). Because of these problems, WWE was forced to edit out all references to the "Hulk Hogan" name, including pictures which featured Hogan wearing memorabilia that said "Hulk" (a majority of them) and started to refer to Hogan under the "Hollywood Hogan" name he used in WCW.

It wasn't long until Hogan and Vince's uneasy truce with one another blew apart, with Hogan being unhappy with payoffs for his matches shortly after his comeback under the Mr. America gimmick. Vince decided to terminate Hogan's contract and Hogan left WWE in 2003.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2003)

A few months afterwards, Hulk Hogan worked a match for New Japan Pro Wrestling, beating Masahiro Chono at the Ultimate Crush II event, an event that featured both pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts matches.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

According to various reports, Hulk Hogan was approached by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 regarding appearing at a planned event titled TNA Bound for Glory, a three hour pay per view event in October meant to be the annual WrestleMania alternative. Hogan willingly took a guitar shot from Jarrett during a press conference in Japan to hype the storyline, but withdrew from negotiations citing knee problems that would require surgery and would prevent him from wrestling. "I was getting ready to go to TNA, was hoping of working with Jarrett and those guys, and giving Vince a run for his money one more time," said Hulk Hogan on the Main Event radio show in December 2006. The footage of Jarrett breaking a guitar over Hogan's head was thereafter frequently used by TNA.

Hogan continued an amicable relationship with the company, however, and visited with friends off-camera backstage. On November 7, 2004, Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage crossed paths backstage at a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling event in Orlando, Florida. Savage had been going on numerous media outlets for many months, promoting his rap album and was also challenging Hogan to a real fight "anytime anywhere", to which Hogan had not responded. Reports say that Hogan approached Savage to shake his hand. Savage did not shake his hand and had several choice words for Hogan. Hogan then asked Savage if he "wanted to step outside." The two were then separated, but many witnesses say Savage didn't seem too keen on accepting Hogan's request. There has been a rift between the two former best friends for many years, even before this incident. It is speculated that the rift was influenced by different factors, such as Hogan pulling out of a Tampa, Florida nightclub deal in historic Ybor City with Savage as well as a charity match the two were to do for children with cancer; Savage gave him until December 24, 2004, to accept the deadline, and donated a check in Hogan's name when he did not show. Savage has also publicly stated he believes Hogan sabotaged his career and possibly even his marriage to Miss Elizabeth. An urban legend exists that Savage and Hogan engaged in a fight before WrestleMania IX, resulting in the black eye Hogan sported at the event, though Hogan refuted the claim in his autobiography, attributing the eye injury to a verifiable jet-ski accident.

WWE Hall of Fame

File:Hulk Hogan Hall of Fame indution.jpg

Hulk Hogan being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In 2005, weeks before WrestleMania 21, it was announced on all WWE programming that the Hulkster would be inducted on that year's Hall of Fame. This signalled Hogan's return to WWE. On April 2, 2005, Hogan was inducted by actor and friend Sylvester Stallone. Hogan was applauded for several minutes before he was able to make a speech.

At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, 2005, the "American Patriot" Hogan came out to rescue Eugene, who was being attacked by the two Arab-American performers, Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. Some of the build-up to Hogan's induction into the Hall of Fame and preparation for this angle were shown on the first season of Hogan Knows Best.

World Wrestling Entertainment part-time wrestling (Fourth run, 2005-2006)

The next night on RAW, Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite Shawn Michaels. The following week, Michaels approached RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but told Michaels if he found a partner he would be granted a tag-team match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of RAW, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer.

At the WWE Backlash pay-per-view Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels, with Daivari being pinned. Hassan would blame and attack Daivari for the loss the next evening on RAW.

Hogan then appeared on the July 4 2005 edition of RAW as the special guest of Carlito on his talk-show segment "Carlito's Cabana." After being asked questions by Carlito concerning his daughter Brooke Hogan, Hogan proceeded to attack Carlito. This was then followed up by an appearance of Kurt Angle, who made comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan. Hogan was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Shawn Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Kurt Angle in a tag match. During the post match celebration, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Hogan and walked off. The following week on RAW, Michaels appeared on "Piper's Pit" and challenged Hogan to face him one-on-one for the first time. Hogan appeared on RAW one week later and accepted the challenge. The match took place on Sunday, August 21 2005 at SummerSlam.The match between Hogan and Michaels was the main event of the night, and the two collided in a battle billed as "Legend vs. Icon". The match went back and forth, with two referees getting "knocked out" and Michaels using a steel chair to try to gain an advantage. Even after Michaels hit his Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and mounted some offense against Michaels, finally hitting him with the legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself," and Hogan and Michaels shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd.

Prior to WrestleMania 22, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer Mean Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan returned on the July 15, 2006 edition of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event with his daughter Brooke. During the show, Randy Orton flirted with Hogan's daughter and later challenged Hulk to a match at SummerSlam 2006, which Hogan won.

Memphis Wrestling

After falling out with Vince and WWE, Hogan was lured to Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler at the Mid-South Coliseum. This was later change to FedEx Forum, due to the failure to comply with disabled accessibility regulations. The match had been promoted on Memphis Wrestling Prime Time for several months. However, on April 12, 2007, Lawler announced in a news conference that WWE had barred him from wrestling Hogan on the basis that NBC performers (including Lawler, on the basis of co-hosting the NBC-owned USA Network's Monday Night Raw, and his appearances on the biannual WWE Saturday Night's Main Event) are contractually prohibited from appearing on VH1, the channel on which Hogan Knows Best, a reality television series starring Hogan, airs. Lawler was replaced with Paul Wight, formally known as Big Show.

Hulk Hogan defeated Paul "The Great" Wight at PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007 when he picked up and body slammed Wight and pinned him with the leg drop.

Television and movie roles

Cover of the VHS release of No Holds Barred.

Hulk Hogan's crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Along with 1982's Rocky III, he starred, as mentioned above, in No Holds Barred (1989), as well as Suburban Commando (1991), Mr. Nanny (1993), Santa with Muscles (1996), and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998). A few of these are infamous for being featured in the Internet Movie Database Bottom 100. He made two appearances on The A-Team (in 1985 and 1986), and starred in his own TV series, Thunder in Paradise, in 1994. He also appeared in Walker Texas Ranger. Along with Roddy Piper, Hogan lent his voice for a stop motion animation skit on an episode of Robot Chicken based on the TV show Hogan's Heroes. "Hulk Hogan, Thespian" was ranked No. 101 overall in the book "Glow Pucks & 10-Cent Beer: The 101 Worst Ideas in Sports History" by author Greg Wyshynski. (Taylor Trade 2006)

Hollywood Hulk Hogan made cameo appearances in Muppets from Space and in Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Theatrical version) as himself. Hogan also appears in Spy Hard, gets tagged in when Leslie Nielsen's character is getting beaten up, and then rips his shirt off and throws a few punches. Hogan guest starred in a two part episode of "Suddenly Susan" in 1999. In 2001, Hogan guest stared on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, playing a reformed criminal now operating a Christian Community Center and helping Walker steer teenagers away from gangs . Hogan was offered the role of Zeus in Little Hercules in 3D on an episode of Hogan Knows Best and was shown during the filming of the movie.

Other media

Hogan released a music CD, Hulk Rules, as Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band.

The music video for Dolly Parton's wrestling-themed love song Headlock on my Heart features Hogan as "Starlight Starbright."

Hogan has also influenced a number of video game characters:

• In the Taito Pro Wrestling game Exciting Hour, the champion character BLUES BLOODY is clearly inspired by Bruiser Brody. (Note the wild hair and fur-covered boots, both Brody trademarks.) When the game was licenced for release in the US, various English errors were corrected, and the champion was renamed as GOLDEN HULK, clearly to exploit the recent popular appeal of Hulk Hogan in that market.
• In Capcom's Street Fighter III, the character Alex is loosely based on Hulk Hogan. His pre-fight entrance has him ripping his shirt like the "Hulkster" himself and his special pre-fight entrance with Hugo (who resembles André the Giant) having a stare-down as a reference to the Hogan-André stare-down at Wrestlemania III.
• In SNK's World Heroes, the character Muscle Power was modeled on Hogan's character when he wrestled in Japan. He uses Hogan's "Number One!" catchphrase that he used there as well as his Japan-exclusive finishing move, the Axe Bomber.
• Hulk Hogan was also the spokesperson for the Legends of Wrestling video game.
• The Japanese series Kinnikuman has a British wrestler named Neptuneman who looks similar to Hulk Hogan.
• In the Dead or Alive games, Bass Armstrong is clearly modeled after Hogan.
• In the Japan-exclusive Royal Pro Wrestling for the 3DO, which featured look-alikes of many wrestling stars, Hogan is featured in the game in the "WWA" roster as "Golden Lips", which is a combination of his previous gimmick of "Sterling Golden" and his Rocky III character of "Thunderlips".
• The Fist of the North Star manga / anime's character Bask, a minor villain, seems to have been modelled after Hulk Hogan's appearance.
• In the music video "Pressure" by Belly ft. Ginuwine, Hulk Hogan and his daughter Brooke were both made cameo appearances.
• Hogan made a cameo in the Leslie Nielsen film "Spy Hard". Neilsen call Hogan with a push of the button during a physical fight.
• He parcipitated in the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.

Endorsements

In an interview on the Tonight Show, Hogan claimed that the George Foreman grill was originally offered to him, but he failed to respond in time, thus allowing Foreman to use his endorsement. This was backed up by an episode of Hogan Knows Best, in which his wife Linda and the family were worried about Hogan's wrestling career (after watching a bloody match between Hulk and Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 2005) and pleaded with him to take up a career in marketing. Hulk explains about turning down the Foreman grill, and his choice to invest in a shake-mixer instead, saying that whenever he thinks about investing in something "big", he thinks about what happened with the grill and the shake-mixer. However, he has since endorsed a similar product known as "Hulk Hogan's Ultimate Grill".

Hogan made a personal appearance on January 11, 2007 with his son Nick in the Polaroid booth at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Wrestling facts

• Finishing and signature moves
  • Atomic Leg Drop (Running high impact legdrop)
  • Axe Bomber (Crooked arm lariat)
  • Big boot
  • Hogan Shuffle (Three left handed punches followed by a big right, wind-up punch)
  • Back rake
  • Face rake
  • Bear hug
  • Rolling crucifix armbar - in New Japan Pro Wrestling
• Signature taunts
  • Hulk Up (taking punches while in a kneeling position and shaking violently as he raises to his feet) usually preceding the Hogan Shuffle, the Big Boot and the Atomic Leg Drop
  • Wrist twist to cupping the ear
  • Rapidly pointing at his opponent
  • Finger wag
  • Flexing arms

Hulk Hogan making his entrance

• Managers
  • Rene Spears
  • "Classy" Freddie Blassie
  • "Luscious" Johnny Valiant
  • Jimmy Hart
  • Miss Elizabeth
  • Ted DiBiase
  • Eric Bischoff
• Theme songs and entrance music
• Hogan's earliest entrance music was Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," the chart-topping song from Rocky III. It was replaced by the theme song to Hogan's animated series Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling (which was an edited version of Bonnie Tyler's song "Ravishing" from her Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire album) and later by his best-known entrance theme, a track called "Real American" performed by Rick Derringer, which was originally written & used as an entrance theme for the tag team of The US Express prior to Hogan's use. The accompanying music video for "Real American" featured clips from Hulk Hogan's various WWF matches, Hogan riding his motorcycle, defeating his Soviet enemy Nikolai Volkoff, destroying an image of then-hated Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi and stock footage of various forms of crashing (i.e. buildings and airplanes) intersecting between footage of Hogan playing guitar in front of various American landscapes and the American flag. It was critiqued on an episode of Beavis and Butt-head.
• However, as the WWF owned "Real American" Hogan could not use it when he made the jump to World Championship Wrestling, instead he used the song "American Made," from the Hulk Rules album until he joined the nWo and began using their theme, and later the Wolfpac theme. During his time in the nWo he also used "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and then used it again for his "Hollywood Hulk Hogan" run in WWE.
• Towards the end of his 2003 WWE run, when he wore a mask and was known by the name Mr. America, he once again made his entrance to "Real American". Upon his return in 2005 for the WWE Hall of Fame induction, WrestleMania 21 and subsequent appearances he also uses "Real American".

Championships and accomplishments

• American Wrestling Association

• AWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times) As recognized by the current AWA.

• National Wrestling Alliance
• Regional

• NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Note: One in Southern division and one in North division.

• New Japan Pro Wrestling

• 1983 International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament winner

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him # 1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
• Hogan was also ranked twice in the best tag teams of the "PWI Years." He was # 44 with Antonio Inoki and # 57 with Randy Savage.
• Hogan has appeared on the cover of Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine more times than any other wrestler (a total of 81 times, including the 25th Anniversary issue.)
• PWI ranked him #1 in the 1991 PWI 500.
• PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler 1983, 1999
• PWI Comeback of the Year 1994, 2002
• PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year 1985, 1989, 1990
• PWI Wrestler of the Year 1987, 1991, 1994
• PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year 1996, 1998
• PWI Match of the Year 1985 (with Mr. T vs. Paul Orndorff & Roddy Piper at WrestleMania),
• PWI Match of the Year 1988 (vs. André the Giant on NBC),
• PWI Match of the Year 1990 (vs. Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI)
• PWI Match of the Year 2002 (vs. the Rock at WrestleMania X8).
• PWI Feud of the Year 1986 (vs. Paul Orndorff).

• World Championship Wrestling

• WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

File:HoganWWFHeavyweightTitle.JPG

Hogan during his second WWF title reign.

• World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

• WWF/E Championship (6 times)
• World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Edge
• Royal Rumble Winner (1990), (1991)
• WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

Note:Sixth WWE reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• Hogan is a member of the Hall of Fame (inducted in 1996).
• 1982-1991 Best Babyface
• 1985-1991 Most Charismatic Wrestler
• 1985-86,1994-1998 Most Overrated Wrestler
• 1986 Feud of the Year (vs Paul Orndorff)
• 1997 Best Box Office Draw

See also

• Hulk Hogan's Pastamania
• Hulk Rules
• Hogan Knows Best

References

Books

• Friedman, Michael Jan (2003). Hollywood Hulk Hogans. Pocket Books (WWE Copyright). ISBN 978-0743457699.
• Kaelberer, Angie Peterson (2003). Hulk Hogan: Pro Wrestler Terry Bollea. Capstone. ISBN 978-0736821407.
• Ross, Dan (2000). The Story of the Wrestler They Call "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 978-0791055526.
• Zannos, Susan (1999). Hollywood Hulk Hogan (Rl Life)(Oop) (Real-Life Reader Biography). Mitchell Lane Publishers. ISBN 978-1584150213.

DVDs

• nWo: Back In Black (WWE Home Video, 2002)
• Hulk Still Rules (WWE Home Video, 2002)
• Greatest Wrestling Stars of The 80's (WWE Home Video, 2005)
• Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology. WWE Home Video. 2006. ASIN B000HXDSOU.

External links

• HulkHogan.com (Official Website)
• WWE Hall of Fame Profile
• Hulk Hogan at IMDb