Hulk Hogan

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Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan in July 2010

Hulk Hogan in July 2010
Data
Surname Terry Gene Bollea
Ring name Hollywood Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Hulk Machine
Mr. America
Sterling Golden
Terry Bollea
The Super Destroyer
Additions to names The Fabulous
The Hulkster
The Immortal
The Incredible
height 201 cm
Fighting weight 137 kg
birth August 11, 1953
Augusta , Georgia , USA
nationality United StatesUnited States United States
Announced from Venice Beach , California
Trained by Hiro Matsuda
debut 19th August 1977
retirement January 27, 2012

Terrence "Terry" Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953 in Augusta , Georgia ), known by his ring name Hulk Hogan , is a former American wrestler and actor .

In his heyday in the 1980s, Bollea was the most highly regarded and successful actor in the wrestling business as Hulk Hogan. His fame brought him guest appearances as well as leading roles in television series, TV shows and movies. Bollea is officially a twelve-time world heavyweight champion and is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame .

Early years

Terry Bollea is the son of the Italian-American Pete Bollea and his wife Ruth, who has ancestors from France , Italy and Panama .

Wrestling career

Beginnings

Before his wrestling career, Terry Bollea played baseball in amateur clubs and was the bass player in some rock bands such as Ruckus and Infinity's End. Many wrestlers who performed in Florida went to bars where he played with his bands. His impressive stature caught the attention of the then Brisco Brothers (Jack and Jerry Brisco), one of the top tag teams at the time, who eventually convinced Bollea to give wrestling a try. Bollea trained under Hiro Matsuda for almost two years .

On August 19, 1977, Bollea had its first professional match. In his early years he was allowed to win some regional titles under the ring names Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and Sterling Golden , including the Southeastern Heavyweight Championships of the National Wrestling Alliance in Alabama and Tennessee . He also performed as Boulder Brothers in the team with his long-time friend Ed Leslie .

World Wrestling Federation (1979–1981)

On November 13, 1979, Bollea debuted in the World Wrestling Federation as ("The Incredible") Hulk Hogan . There feuded Bollea against Bob Backlund , "Mr. USA “ Tony Atlas and André the Giant . The legend "Classie" Freddie Blassie was added to him as manager to linguistically support Hogan, who was still very insecure at the time, in front of the cameras and in interview segments, so that the role of the villain could be conveyed more credibly. 1981 he took with him without consultation the WWF a role in Sylvester Stallone's film Rocky 3 - The Tiger's Eye . As this represented a breach of contract with the WWF, Bollea was fired.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980–1985)

He also appeared in smaller US promotions and New Japan Pro Wrestling . Bollea feuded in Japan against wrestlers like Tatsumi Fujinami and Abdullah the Butcher . On June 2, 1983 , Bollea won the first international wrestling grand prix tournament in Japan , in which he defeated the Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki in the final of a 10-man tournament. Bollea and Inoki then worked together as partners and won the MSG Tag League tournament for two consecutive years (1982/83).

American Wrestling Association (1981-1983)

After filming, he therefore appeared for Verne Gagne's promotion American Wrestling Association and became a superstar after the film was released. Twice Hogan was tested as the AWA World Heavyweight Champion -Titel given , but shortly thereafter has been withdrawn from a then common practice to predict the audience reactions.

Return to WWF (1983-1993)

Hulk Hogan on the way to the WWF Ring in 1989.

In 1983 Bollea was poached from the AWA by the new owner of the WWF , Vince McMahon , Jr. On January 3, 1984, he officially returned and won on 23 January for the first time the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from The Iron Sheik . Bollea remained champion for four years and defended his title against André the Giant , “Mr. Wonderful “Paul Orndorff , Rowdy Roddy Piper and King Kong Bundy . With the latter, Hogan delivered a match in the cage in the main fight of the second Wrestlemania.

On February 5, 1988 , Bollea lost the title to André the Giant. Then Bollea feuded against Macho Man Randy Savage and won from this on April 2, 1989 at Wrestlemania V, the World Heavyweight Championship for the second time. In 1989, Bollea made the film The Hammer and then feuded against Tiny Lister Jr. , who played his opponent in the film. In 1990 Bollea won the Royal Rumble . At Wrestlemania VI on April 1st of that year he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to the then Intercontinental Champion Ultimate Warrior .

WWF Champion Hulk Hogan at WWF .

To take a break, Bollea was injured by Earthquake according to the storyline , eventually returned at Summerslam 1990 and played a number of matches against Earthquake over a period of several months. During the Second Gulf War in the early 1990s, Bollea feuded against Sgt. Slaughter, who was an Iraqi sympathizer . After Bollea won the Royal Rumble Match in 1991, he defeated Sgt. Slaughter on March 24, 1991 at Wrestlemania VII and became WWF Heavyweight Champion for the third time. On November 27, 1991 at the Survivor Series , he lost the title to Undertaker . Six days later, Bollea won the title back. The title was immediately revoked because, according to the storyline, he had resorted to unfair means. After a match at Wrestlemania VIII on April 5, 1992 against Sid Justice , Bollea was passed for the time being.

After a hiatus of nearly a year, Bollea returned to the ring in January 1993 to feud with Money Inc. ( Ted DiBiase and IRS ) with Brutus Beefcake . With his victory over Yokozuna at Wrestlemania IX, he received the championship title for the fifth time. Due to the steroid scandal, Bollea was allowed to lose the title at the King of the Ring tournament to Yokozuna in 1993, as the WWF pulled muscular wrestlers out of the spotlight. After a series of matches against yokozuna on a European tour, Hogan finally left the WWF.

Return to the NJPW (1993-1994)

On May 3, 1993, Hogan returned to NJPW as WWF Champion , defeating IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta in a match at the Wrestling Dontaku Event. on September 26, 1993, Hogan faced Muta again. His last match in Japan was at the Battlefield Event on January 4, 1994, when he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami.

World Championship Wrestling (1994-2000)

After leaving the WWF, Bollea initially took a break from wrestling and concentrated on new film projects and TV appearances.

On June 11, 1994 he signed a contract with Ted Turner and appeared in the subsequent period for World Championship Wrestling .

In his debut match on July 17th, Bollea won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship title from Ric Flair . After feuding against Flair, Big Van Vader and the Dungeon of Doom over the next 18 months , Hogan lost the title again.

From July 7, 1996, Bollea appeared as Hollywood Hogan . It completely changed its ring character. In contrast to the patriotic, superhero-like Hulk Hogan in bright colors, he became a manipulative and devious villain in black ring clothing. He was allowed to found a group called the New World Order and "recruit" numerous, including top-class wrestlers. With this storyline the WCW succeeded in overtaking the WWF and temporarily becoming the market leader.

On August 10, 1996, Bollea won the WCW title from the Giant . In the following years he feuded among others against Randy Savage and Roddy Piper. About a year after winning the title, he lost the title to Lex Luger , but won it back five days later.

In December 1997, Bollea lost the title to Sting after a long feud at StarrCade . After a few feuds, he won the WCW Heavyweight title for the fifth time in a match on January 4, 1999, but lost it again on March 14. After some time he won it a sixth time, only to return the title to Sting at Halloween Havoc on September 12, 1999. Bollea then paused for several months.

Upon his return in 2000, Bollea feuded against Lex Luger , Ric Flair and Billy Kidman . After a dispute between him and storyline writer Vince Russo in April during the Bash at the Beach 2000 , Bollea left WCW. He later filed a defamation suit against Russo, which was dismissed.

Second return to WWF / E (2002-2003)

Hollywood Hogan at Wrestlemania X8 .

By the end of 2001, Bollea largely withdrew from the public. After the decline of the WCW in March 2001, he underwent knee surgery in order to get back into the ring. As a test, Bollea competed in a match for Jimmy Hart's XWF . There he was able to defeat Curt Hennig and proved himself fit enough to return to the WWF.

There Bollea first appeared as the leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash . In the course of a feud against The Rock , however, he left the nWo. In the spring of 2002, he defeated Triple H at Backlash and was "undisputed champion" of the WWE (the WWF was renamed WWE on May 6). After losing to Brock Lesnar in August 2002, he took another break.

In 2003, Bollea returned and feuded against The Rock and Mr. McMahon. Bollea then terminated the collaboration with the WWE out of frustration with the creative team.

Second return to the NJPW (2003)

A few months later he had a match for New Japan Pro Wrestling . He was planning to compete for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling at the time, but another knee operation interrupted negotiations that were never brought to a conclusion.

Third return to WWE (2005-2007)

Hulk Hogan at SummerSlam 2005 .

On April 2, 2005, Bollea was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Sylvester Stallone. From backlash on May 1, 2005, he appeared occasionally for the WWE at major events. From July 4, 2005, Bollea led regular feuds again until he left the WWE in early February 2007 due to internal differences.

Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin (2009)

In November 2009, Bollea organized an independent wrestling tour through Australia . The tour was called "Hulkamania - Let The Battle Begin" and took place in November, comprising four shows. For this, among other things, Ric Flair could be recruited, who competed against Bollea at all events.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2009-2013)

On October 26, 2009, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling announced that Bollea had signed the promotion. He made his official debut on January 4th 2010 at TNA iMPACT! . Since then he has also returned to the ring for his doctorate and has worked in front of the cameras as a member of the heel group Immortal . As part of this stable, he feuded against TNA President Dixie Carter and other wrestlers like Sting until October 2011. At the March 29, 2012 edition of Impact Wrestling , Bollea was named the show's new general manager. In the October 3, 2013 issue, Bollea was written by resigning from the shows as his contract was expiring.

Fourth return to WWE (since 2014)

On February 21, 2014, Bollea's return to the WWE was announced. He acted as moderator and opening speaker of the anniversary Wrestlemania 30. Since then he has made sporadic TV appearances there in official functions and acted as an advertising medium.

On July 24, 2015, WWE terminated the contract with immediate effect. The reason given was the publication of a video in which Bollea made racist comments about an Afro-American friend of his daughter's. Hogan later apologized for what he said. The WWE nonetheless removed all references to Hulk Hogan from its website, all Hulk Hogan merchandise was discontinued and he was removed from the Hall of Fame. On July 15, 2018, WWE decided to re-induct Hogan into the Hall of Fame after his three-year suspension due to his numerous public apologies and his voluntary work. Hogan returned for the Crown Jewel Event on November 2, 2018.

Outside of wrestling

In 1994, Thunder in Paradise was a television series with Bollea in the lead role (see filmography). In it, Bollea and Chris Lemmon , son of Jack Lemmon , play two former Navy soldiers who are developing a futuristic speedboat for the Navy and using it to hunt criminals. After 22 episodes and three television films, the project was discontinued.

From July 10, 2005, the TV reality soap Hogan Knows Best was broadcast in the USA on VH1 . So far, four seasons have been shot, the first two seasons can be seen in Germany on MTV . The plot relates to the Hogan family, the main characters are Hulk Hogan, Linda Hogan, Nick Hogan and Brooke Hogan . The camera follows the family when they move to a new house, pool parties with other wrestlers or in the recording studio when Brooke is recording her new album. The spin-off Brooke Knows Best was later produced with a focus on Brooke, in which Hulk Hogan was also seen.

In 2008, Hulk Hogan hosted the remake of the American Gladiators game show on NBC .

From October 18, 2008, the broadcaster CMT broadcast the reality show Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling . On this show, Hogan teaches several American celebrities along with friends and professional wrestlers. B. Eric Esch (Butterbean), Dennis Rodman or Dustin Diamond , as well as playmates and moderators in "professional wrestling". After several training sessions, the celebrities compete against each other in teams of two. From July 13, 2009, MTV also broadcast the show in Germany.

In November 2009, Hulk Hogan announced that he had applied as a bass player for Metallica and had given up his career for it. He said he never got an answer from the band. A request was not confirmed by either the band members or the management.

Hogan is featured in numerous wrestling video games, including: a. at WWF Royal Rumble or WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2006 , WWE Legends of WrestleMania or WWE Allstars . In autumn 2011, the video game Hulk Hogan's Main Event was released exclusively for the Xbox 360 . In the game based on the Kinect movement control , you can put together your own wrestler and learn around 30 wrestling tricks with Hulk Hogan.

For the video game Saints Row: The Third , released in 2011 , he lent his voice to a character.

Private life

From 1983 to 2008 he was married to Linda Claridge. From this marriage come daughter Brooke and son Nick. On November 20, 2007, Bollea's wife filed for divorce. The reason she gave was that Bollea had cheated on her with a friend of their daughter. However, according to British tabloid The Sun , the proposed divorce was only an attempt to protect the family's assets from financial claims. The background was a lawsuit for damages against Bollea's son because of an illegal car race in which one of the participants was seriously injured.

On December 14, 2010, Bollea married Jennifer McDaniels.

The wrestler Horace Hogan, who was temporarily under contract with him at WCW, is his nephew.

In October 2012, the Gawker.com website published a sex tape of Hulk Hogan. In the subsequent civil lawsuit in March 2016, he was awarded $ 115 million in damages, whereupon Gawker applied for bankruptcy protection. Hogan's $ 10 million legal fees were paid for by Peter Thiel , who had been outed as homosexual by Gawker several years earlier .

Filmography

Titles and awards

Hulk Hogan on his Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin Tour in 2009.
  • Tokyo Sports
    • Best Foreigner Award (1983)
    • Match of the Year (1991 against Genichiro Tenryu)

Web links

Commons : Hulk Hogan  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hulk Hogan on genickbruch.com
  2. ↑ Power Wrestling , 11/2009, p. 12
  3. ↑ HULK HOGAN JOINS TNA WRESTLING ( Memento from October 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Breaking news: Hulk Hogan returns to WWE! . In: WWE . February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  5. Jump up ↑ Hulk Hogan's Hall of Fame profile on wwe.com
  6. ↑ WWE separates from Hulk Hogan , report on cagematch.de, accessed on July 24, 2015
  7. ↑ Reasons for Hogan's dismissal known , report on cagematch.de, accessed on July 24, 2015
  8. ↑ Crash of a legend , report on taz.de, accessed on July 26, 2015
  9. ↑ Hulk Hogan was inducted back into the Hall of Fame on de.wwe.com
  10. ↑ News entry about Hulk Hugon's plans
  11. ↑ Kristin Boehm, Kristin Harmel: Hulk Hogan's Wife Files for Divorce. In: People.com . Time Inc. , November 23, 2007, accessed March 28, 2016 .
  12. ^ Lawyer: Hulk divorce is a ruse. In: The Sun . November 28, 2007, accessed March 28, 2016 .
  13. ↑ Internet News: [1]
  14. ↑ Compensation: Hulk Hogan is awarded 115 million for sex video. In: Spiegel Online . March 19, 2016, accessed March 28, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Matt Drange: Peter Thiel's War On Gawker: A Timeline. Retrieved August 3, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Hogan, Hulk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bollea, Terry (real name); Bollea, Terrence Gene (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler and actor
DATE OF BIRTH August 11, 1953
PLACE OF BIRTH Augusta , Georgia , United States