Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide, the most popular wrestler of the 1980s, as well as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Hogan began his professional wrestling career in 1977, but gained worldwide recognition after signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in December 1983. There, his persona as a

heroic Heroic may mean: *characteristic of a hero *typical of heroic poetry or of heroic verse *belonging to the Greek Heroic Age *Heroic (esports), a Danish esports organization *Heroic (horse) Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred ra ...

all-American helped usher in the

1980s professional wrestling boom The 1980s professional wrestling boom (more commonly referred to as the Golden Era and the Rock 'n' Wrestling Era) was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of ...

, where he headlined the WWF's flagship annual event WrestleMania eight times (a record which was broken by Roman Reigns). Hogan also was a regular headliner of

Saturday Night's Main Event ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American professional wrestling television program that is produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United Stat ...

and its spin-off

The Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

in which he headlined 31 editions of both shows combined. During his initial run, he was a five-time WWF Champion, with his 1,474-day reign being the longest of the WrestleMania era ever. He is the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

. His match with André the Giant on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988, still holds American television viewership records for wrestling with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers. In 1993, Hogan departed the WWF to pursue a career in film and television. He was lured back to the ring when he signed with rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, and holds the record for the longest reign. In 1996, he underwent a career renaissance upon

adopting Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...

the villainous persona of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, leading the popular New World Order (nWo)

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

. As a result, he became a major figure during the "

Monday Night War The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the WWE, World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''WWE Raw, Monday Night Raw'' ...

", another boom of mainstream professional wrestling. He headlined WCW's annual flagship event Starrcade three times (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

) in which Starrcade 1997 was the most profitable WCW

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

in the company's history. Hogan returned to the WWF in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior year, winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for his record equaling (for the time) sixth reign before departing in 2003. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, and inducted a second time in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

as a member of the nWo. Hogan also performed for the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

(AWA), where he headlined the inaugural AWA closed circuit supercard, Super Sunday in 1983, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) – where he was the inaugural winner of the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship – and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). During and after wrestling, Hogan had an extensive acting career, beginning with his 1982 cameo role in '' Rocky III''. He has starred in several films (including ''

No Holds Barred No holds barred or No Holds Barred may refer to: * ''No Holds Barred'' (1952 film), a film starring The Bowery Boys * ''No Holds Barred'' (1989 film), a film starring Hulk Hogan * ''No Holds Barred'' (Biohazard album) (1997) * ''No Holds Barred ...

'', ''

Suburban Commando ''Suburban Commando'' is a 1991 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy, produced by Howard Gottfried, and written by Frank Cappello. The film stars Hulk Hogan, Christopher Lloyd, Shelley Duvall, and Larry Miller. A ...

'' and '' Mr. Nanny'') and three television shows (''

Hogan Knows Best ''Hogan Knows Best'' is an American reality documentary television series on VH1. The series debuted on July 10, 2005 and centered on the family life of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea). Often focusing on the Hogans' raising of th ...

'', ''

Thunder in Paradise ''Thunder in Paradise'' is an American action film, action-adventure film, adventure TV series from the creators of ''Baywatch,'' which stars Hulk Hogan, Chris Lemmon, and Carol Alt. This Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated TV series orig ...

'', and '' China, IL''), as well as in Right Guard commercials and the video game, ''

Hulk Hogan's Main Event ''Hulk Hogan's Main Event'' is a professional wrestling fighting game starring Hulk Hogan created by American studio Panic Button and published by Majesco Entertainment for the Xbox 360. The game requires the Kinect peripheral. Reception ''H ...

''. He was the frontman for The Wrestling Boot Band, whose sole record, ''Hulk Rules'', reached 12 on the ''Billboard''

Top Kid Audio Kid Albums (formerly known as Top Kid Audio) is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top selling children's music albums in the United States. The chart debuted on the issue dated September 9, 1995. It origina ...

chart in 1995.

Early life

Hogan was born in Augusta, Georgia, on August 11, 1953, the son of construction foreman Pietro "Peter" Bollea (December 6, 1913 – December 18, 2001) of Italian descent and homemaker and dance teacher Ruth V. (''née'' Moody; 1922 – January 1, 2011). He had an older brother named Allan (1947–1986) who died at the age of 38 from a drug overdose. Bollea is of Panamanian,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

descent. When he was one and a half years old, his family moved to Port Tampa, Florida. As a boy, he was a pitcher in

Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationRobinson High School. He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

, and he regularly attended cards at the

Tampa Sportatorium The Tampa Sportatorium was a professional wrestling studio used by Championship Wrestling from Florida. The former television studio building may be demolished for a new building. Located at 106 N Albany Ave near downtown Tampa, Florida, the 7,5 ...

. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first noticed Superstar Billy Graham and began looking to him for inspiration; since he first saw Graham on TV, Hogan wanted to match his "inhuman" look. Hogan was also a musician, spending a decade playing

fretless bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and sc ...

in several Florida-based rock bands. He went on to study at Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida. After music gigs began to get in the way of his time in college, he dropped out of the University of South Florida. Eventually, Hogan and two local musicians formed a band called Ruckus in 1976. The band soon became popular in the Tampa Bay region. During his spare time, Hogan worked out at Hector's Gym in the Tampa Bay area, where he began lifting. Many of the wrestlers who were competing in the Florida region visited the bars where Ruckus was performing. Among those attending his performances were Jack and Gerald Brisco, two brothers who wrestled together as a tag team in the Florida region. Impressed by Hogan's physical stature, the Brisco brothers asked

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer best known by his ring name . He trained many professional wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Lex Lug ...

the man who trained wrestlers working for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF)to make him a potential trainee. In 1976, the two brothers asked Hogan to try wrestling. Hogan eventually agreed. At first, Mike Graham, the son of CWF promoter

Eddie Graham Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), better known as Eddie Graham, was an American professional wrestler. He was also the promoter and booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and President of the NWA in the 1970s. ...

, refused to put Hogan in the ring; according to Hogan, he met Graham while in high school and the two did not get along. After Hogan quit Ruckus and started telling people in town that he was going to be a wrestler, Graham finally agreed to accept the Brisco Brothers' request. During the first session in training, Matsuda broke Hogan's leg. After 10 weeks of rehab, Hogan returned to train with Matsuda and blocked him when he tried to break his leg again.

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1977–1979)

In mid-1977, after training for more than a year with Matsuda, the Brisco brothers dropped by Matsuda's gym to see Hogan. During this visit, Jack Brisco handed Hogan a pair of wrestling boots and informed him that he was scheduled to wrestle his first match the following week. In his professional wrestling debut, Eddie Graham booked him against Brian Blair in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

, on August 10, 1977, in CWF. A short time later, Hogan donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer", a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by other wrestlers. Hogan eventually could no longer work with

, whom he felt was an overbearing trainer, and left CWF. After declining an offer to wrestle for the Kansas City circuit, Hogan took a hiatus from wrestling and managed The Anchor club, a private club in Cocoa Beach, Florida, for a man named Whitey Bridges. Eventually, Whitey and Hogan became close friends, and opened a gym together; the gym became known as Whitey and Terry's Olympic gym. Soon after, Hogan's friend Ed Leslie (later known as Brutus Beefcake) came to Cocoa Beach to help Hogan and Bridges manage both the Anchor Club and the Whitey and Terry's Olympic Gym. In his spare time, he and Leslie worked out in the gym together, and eventually Beefcake developed a muscular physique. Hogan was impressed by Beefcake's physical stature and became convinced that the two of them should wrestle together as tag team partners. Depressed and yearning to return to wrestling, Hogan called Superstar Billy Graham in 1978 with hopes that Graham could find him a job wrestling outside of Florida; Graham agreed and Hogan soon joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory. Hogan also convinced Leslie, who had yet to become a wrestler, to come with him and promised to teach him everything he knew about the sport. In Alabama, Hogan and Leslie wrestled as Terry and Ed Boulder, known as The Boulder Brothers. These early matches prompted a rumor among wrestling fans (who were not aware of the inner workings of the wrestling business) that the two really were brothers, as few people actually knew their real names outside of immediate friends, family, and the various promoters the two worked for. After wrestling a show for

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...

(CWA) in Memphis, Jerry Jarrett, the promoter for the CWA, approached Hogan and Leslie and offered them a job in his promotion for $800 a week; this was far more than the $175 a week they would make working for Tillet. Hogan and Leslie accepted this offer and left Tillet's territory. During his time in Memphis, Hogan appeared on a local talk show, where he sat beside Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series '' The Incredible Hulk''. The host commented on how Hogan, who stood 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) and weighed 295 pounds with 24-inch biceps, actually dwarfed "The Hulk". Watching the show backstage, Mary Jarrett noticed that Hogan was actually bigger than Ferrigno, who was well known at the time for having large muscles. As a result, Hogan began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden. On December 1, 1979, Hogan won his first professional wrestling championship, the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division), recognized in Alabama and Tennessee, when he defeated Bob Roop in Knoxville, Tennessee. He dropped it in January 1980 to Bob Armstrong. He briefly wrestled in the Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) territory from September through December 1979 as Sterling Golden.

World Wrestling Federation (1979–1981)

In the fall of 1979, former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) owner/promoter Vincent J. McMahon, who was impressed with his charisma and physical stature. McMahon, who wanted to use an Irish name, gave him the last name Hogan, and also wanted him to dye his hair red. Bollea claims his hair was already beginning to fall out by that time, and he refused to dye it, simply replying, "I'll be a blond Irish". Bollea wrestled his first match in the WWF under the ring name "Hulk Hogan" by defeating Harry Valdez on the November 17 episode of '' Championship Wrestling''. He made his first appearance at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

on December 17, 1979, defeating Ted DiBiase after a

bearhug In wrestling, a bear hug, also known as a bodylock, is a grappling clinch hold and stand-up grappling position where the arms are wrapped around the opponent, either around the opponent's chest, midsection, or thighs, sometimes with one or bot ...

. After the match, Hogan thanked DiBiase for putting him over and told him that he "owed him one", a favor he repaid during DiBiase's second run with the company in the late 1980s and early 1990s as "The Million Dollar Man". McMahon gave Hogan former tag team champion Tony Altomare as chaperone and guide. At this time, Hogan wrestled

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, wher ...

for the WWF Championship, and he started his first big feud with André the Giant, which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium in August 1980. During his initial run as a villain in the WWF, Hogan was paired with "Classy" Freddie Blassie, himself a villainous wrestler-turned-

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1980–1985)

In 1980, Hogan began appearing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where Japanese wrestling fans nicknamed him . Hogan first appeared on May 13, 1980, while he was still with the WWF. He occasionally toured the country over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from Tatsumi Fujinami to Abdullah the Butcher. When competing in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, 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 American fans became accustomed to seeing from him. In addition, Hogan used the ''Axe Bomber'', a crooked arm lariat, as his finisher in Japan instead of the running leg drop that has been his standard finisher in America. Hogan still made appearances for the WWF, even unsuccessfully challenging Pedro Morales for the Intercontinental Championship on March 26, 1981. On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) tournament winner and the first holder of an early version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, defeating

Antonio Inoki Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homag ...

by knockout in the finals of a ten-man tournament. Since then, this championship was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year until it was replaced by current IWGP Heavyweight Championship, that is defended regularly. Hogan and Inoki MSG Tag Trophy 1982

Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning the MSG (Madison Square Garden) Tag League tournament two years in a row: in 1982 and 1983. In 1984, Hogan returned to NJPW to wrestle Inoki to defend the early version of the IWGP title after that Inoki won in the finals of the IWGP League, becoming the new no. 1 contender to the championship. Hogan lost the match and title belt by countout, thanks to interference from Riki Choshu. Hogan also defended his WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Seiji Sakaguchi and Fujinami, among others, until ending his tour in Nagoya on June 13 losing to Inoki via count-out in a championship match for the early version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Hogan was the only challenger in the history of that title that didn't win the tournament to become the no. 1 contender to the championship.

American Wrestling Association (1981–1983)

After accepting an offer to work on the film '' Rocky III'' (a decision Vincent J. McMahon disapproved of and subsequently chose to release Hogan from the promotion for), Hogan made his debut in the

(AWA), owned by Verne Gagne, in August 1981. Hogan started his AWA run as a villain, with "Luscious" Johnny Valiant as his manager. This did not last long, however, as the AWA fans fell in love with Hogan's presence and Hogan became the top fan favorite of the AWA, battling the

Heenan Family The Heenan Family was a stable of wrestlers managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan beginning in the 1970s. Heenan managed wrestlers under the Heenan Family name in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the National Wrestling Alliance's (NWA) ...

and Nick Bockwinkel. Hogan's

turn Turn may refer to: Arts and entertainment Dance and sports * Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body * Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool * Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel * Turn, ...

as a fan favorite came at the end of July 1981, when during a television taping that aired in August,

Jerry Blackwell Jerry Blackwell (April 26, 1949 – January 22, 1995) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell. Blackwell competed in the 1979 World's Strongest Man contest, but withdrew early in the competit ...

, after suffering a pinfall loss to Brad Rheingans, began beating down Rheingans and easily fighting off anyone who tried to run in for the save. Hogan ran in, got the upper hand and ran Blackwell from the ring. Hogan was eventually victorious in his

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with Blackwell and by the end of 1981, gained his first title matches against Bockwinkel. In March 1982, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel and his manager Bobby Heenan in a non-title handicap match in the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois. Hogan went on to repeatedly challenge Bockwinkel for the

AWA World Heavyweight Championship The AWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the highest ranked championship in the defunct American Wrestling Association (AWA). All AWA trademarks, including the AWA World Heavyweight C ...

, with the matches generally ending in disqualifications (a decision wherein the Championship does not change hands). In April 1982, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel and was declared the new AWA World Heavyweight Champion, only for the decision to be overturned by AWA President Stanley Blackburn due to the use of a foreign object during the match. Hogan left the AWA in November 1983.

Return to WWF (1983–1993)

Rise of Hulkamania (1983–1984)

After purchasing the company from his father in 1982, Vincent K. McMahon had plans to expand the territory into a nationwide promotion, and he handpicked Hogan to be the company's showpiece attraction due to his charisma and name recognition. Hogan made his return at a television taping in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, on December 27, 1983, defeating Bill Dixon. On the January 7, 1984, episode of ''Championship Wrestling'', Hogan confirmed his fan favorite status (for any WWF fans unaware of his late 1981 babyface turn) by saving Bob Backlund from a three-way assault by the Wild Samoans. Hogan's

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 his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship,

pinning Pinning may refer to: * Pinning, the effect of certain weapons that cause their targets to be pinned down * Pinning ceremony (nursing), a symbolic welcoming of new graduates into the nursing profession * Pinning force, a force acting on a pinned ob ...

The Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his corner) in

. The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund, and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's finishing move). Immediately after the title win, commentator Gorilla Monsoon proclaimed: "Hulkamania is here!". Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment ( believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990. Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing, and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner. The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters, using a format which became near-routine: He delivered steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. After being hit with his opponent's finishing move, he got a sudden second wind, fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack a process described as "Hulking up". His signature maneuvers pointing at the opponent (later accompanied by a loud "you!" from the audience), shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish whip, the

big boot Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional wre ...

and running leg drop – followed, ensuring victory. That finishing sequence occasionally changed depending on the storyline and opponent; for instance, with "giant" wrestlers, the sequence might involve a body slam. In 1984, similarities between Hogan's character and that of The Incredible Hulk led to a quitclaim deal between Titan Sports, Marvel Comics and himself wherein Marvel obtained the trademarks "Hulk Hogan", "Hulkster" and "Hulkamania" for 20 years, and Titan agreed to no longer refer to him as "incredible" nor simply "Hulk" or ever dress him in purple or green. Marvel also subsequently received .9% of reportable gross merchandise revenue associated with Hogan, $100 for each of his matches and 10% of Titan's portion of his other earnings under this name (or 10% of the earnings, if Titan held no interest). This extended to WCW, whose parent company Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner in 1996 and became sister companies with Marvel rival DC Comics. (As Hogan was well underway with the nWo storyline under the "Hollywood Hogan" ring name at the time, this avoided Time Warner the awkward situation of paying Marvel the rights to the name while owning its chief rival.) In a story in 1988's ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume ...

#45'', a wrestler resembling Hogan was tossed through an arena roof by The Incredible Hulk, because he "picked the wrong name."

International renown (1985–1988)

Over the next year, Hogan became the face of professional wrestling as McMahon pushed the WWF into a

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

enterprise with The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, drawing record houses,

buyrates, and television ratings in the process. The centerpiece attraction for the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Hogan teamed with

legit ''Legit'' is a slang abbreviation of '' legitimate''. It may also refer to: * Legit (professional wrestling) * ''Legit'' (2006 TV series), Scottish sitcom * ''Legit'' (2013 TV series), created by comedian Jim Jefferies * Legit Ballin', a record ...

friend, TV and movie star Mr. T to defeat his archrival

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...

and "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff when

"Cowboy" Bob Orton Robert Keith Orton Jr. (born November 10, 1950), better known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton Sr., the brother of professional wrestler Barr ...

, who had been in the corner of Piper and Orndorff, accidentally caused his team's defeat by knocking out Orndorff after he jumped from the top turnbuckle and hit him in the back of the head with his arm cast in a shot meant for Hogan. On ''

Saturday Night's Main Event I ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American professional wrestling television program that is produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United Stat ...

'', Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Orton in a match that Hogan won by disqualification. Hogan was named the most requested celebrity of the 1980s for the Make-a-Wish Foundation children's charity. He was featured on the covers of '' Sports Illustrated'' (the first and , only professional wrestler to do so), '' TV Guide'', and '' People'' magazines, while also appearing on '' The Tonight Show'' and having his own CBS

Saturday morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...

titled '' Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling''. Hogan, as the premier WWF icon, headlined seven of the first eight WrestleMania events. He also co-hosted '' Saturday Night Live'' on March 30, 1985, during this lucrative run. AT&T reported that the 900 number information line he ran while with the WWF was the single biggest 900 number from 1991 to 1993. Hogan continued to run a 900 number after joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW). On '' Saturday Night's Main Event II'', he successfully defended the title against Nikolai Volkoff in a

flag match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. He met long-time rival Roddy Piper in a WWF title match at the Wrestling Classic

(PPV) event. Hogan retained the title by disqualification after Bob Orton interfered and hit Hogan with his cast. Hogan had many challengers in the way as the new year began. Throughout 1986, Hogan made successful title defenses against challengers such as Terry Funk, Don Muraco, King Kong Bundy (in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2), Paul Orndorff, and

Hercules Hernandez Raymond Constantine Fernandez (May 7, 1956 – March 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hercules Hernandez, or simply Hercules. Fernandez began his career in 1979, primarily wrestling in Florida and T ...

. In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag team matches with

The Machines A machine is a device that uses energy to perform some activity or task. Machine, Machines, Machinery, The Machine, or The Machines may also refer to: Term of art More specific applications of the general term * Machine (mechanical) device de ...

as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from NJPW's

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

" Super Strong Machine". At WrestleMania III in 1987, Hogan was booked to defend the title against André the Giant, who had been the sport's premier star and was pushed as undefeated for the previous fifteen years. A new storyline was introduced in early 1987; Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for three consecutive years. André the Giant, who was Hogan's good friend, came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterward, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years". Hogan came out to congratulate André, who walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of '' Piper's Pit'', Hogan was confronted by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, who announced that André was his new protégé, and Andre challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III, where Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan hit a body slam on the 520-pound André (which was dubbed "the bodyslam heard around the world") and won the match after a leg drop.

The Mega Powers (1988–1989)

Hulk Hogan vs Big Boss Man on March 7, 1989, at the El Paso Civic Center for a video-taping of a WWF "Superstars of Wrestling" event. Hogan remained WWF World Heavyweight Champion for four years (1,474 days). In front of 33 million viewers, Hogan finally lost the title to André on ''

The Main Event I ''The Main Event'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). There were five shows between 1988 and 1991. Only the first three ''The Main Event'' episodes were shown live on NBC. Th ...

'' after a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Earl Hebner (who assumed the place of his twin brother

Dave Hebner David Hebner (May 17, 1949 – June 17, 2022) was an American professional wrestling authority figure, promoter, road agent, and referee. He was the identical twin brother of Earl Hebner. Career Hebner debuted as a professional wrestling refer ...

, the match's appointed

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

). After André delivered a belly to belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner counted the pin while Hogan's left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their business deal. As a result, the WWF World Heavyweight Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history because then WWF President Jack Tunney decreed the championship could not be sold from one wrestler to another. At WrestleMania IV, Hogan participated in a tournament for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship to regain it; he and André were given a bye into quarter-finals, but their match resulted in a double disqualification. Later that night in the main event, Hogan came to ringside to stop André interfering which helped

"Macho Man" Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

defeat Ted DiBiase to win the title. Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers. After Savage became WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania IV, they feuded with

The Mega Bucks The Mega Bucks were a professional wrestling tag team that competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1988. The team, consisting of "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and André the Giant, was formed in a storyline that saw DiBiase pu ...

(André the Giant and Ted DiBiase) and defeated them at the main event of the first SummerSlam. They then went on to feud with Slick's Twin Towers:

Akeem Akeem is a name of Arabic origin, being a variation of ''Hakeem'', and commonly used in Africa and among the African diaspora. Persons with the name Akeem include: * Akeem Adams (1991–2013), Trinidadian footballer * Akeem Anifowoshe (1968–1994) ...

and

Big Boss Man Ray Washington Traylor Jr. (May 2, 1963 – September 22, 2004) was an American professional wrestler best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Big Boss Man, as well as for his appearances wit ...

In mid-1988, Hogan wrestled at

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s in singles competition with his "War Bonnet", a red and yellow gladiator helmet with a fist-shaped crest. This was notably used to give

Bad News Brown Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 S ...

his first WWF loss at a Madison Square Garden house show before it was discarded altogether. The War Bonnet gimmick was revisited in the WWE's online comedy series ''Are You Serious?'' in 2012. The Mega Powers began to implode due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were more than friends. At the Royal Rumble in 1989, Hogan eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match while eliminating Bad News Brown, which caused tension, only to be eliminated by The Twin Towers himself. In early 1989, the duo broke up while wrestling The Twin Towers on ''

The Main Event II ''The Main Event'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). There were five shows between 1988 and 1991. Only the first three ''The Main Event'' episodes were shown live on NBC. Th ...

'', when Savage accidentally collided with Miss Elizabeth during the match, and Hogan took her backstage to receive medical attention, temporarily abandoning Savage. After ensuring Elizabeth was all right, Hogan returned to the ring and begged Savage to tag him in. Savage, in a fury, grabbed Hogan's outstretched hand with one hand, and slapped him across the face with the other before leaving the ring. Hogan eventually won the match by himself. After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage, which started a

between the two. Their feud culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania V.

Final WWF Championship reigns (1989–1993)

Hogan's second run in 1989 lasted a year, during which he defended the title in two matches against Savage in April that he lost both times by count-out, before defeating The Big Boss Man in a steel cage match on the '' Saturday Night's Main Event XXI'', which was aired on May 27. In May on ''WWF on NESN'', Hogan retained the title by losing once again by count-out against Savage. This was also the last time the WWF World Heavyweight Championship was referred to as such during a televised title defense, as Hogan's next successful title defense against The Honky Tonk Man on ''

Saturday Night's Main Event XXII ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American professional wrestling television program that is produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United Stat ...

'' saw the title being renamed and referred simply as the WWF Championship. Also during Hogan's second reign as champion, he starred in the movie ''

'', which was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star

Tom Lister, Jr. Tommy Deebo "Tiny" Lister Jr. (born Thomas Duane Lister Jr.; June 24, 1958 – December 10, 2020) was an American character actor and occasional professional wrestling, professional wrestler known for his roles as the neighborhood bully Deebo in ...

, who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus (an "unstoppable monster" who was jealous over Hogan's higher billing and wanted revenge). Hogan easily beat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam, in which Hogan and Brutus Beefcake topped Zeus and Savage. Hogan and Zeus met at the Survivor Series, where the "Hulkamaniacs" faced the "Million Dollar Team"; in the early part of the match, Hogan put Zeus

over Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

by hitting him with everything to no effect. Zeus then manhandled Hogan and shoved referee Dave Hebner down twice, with the second shove prompting Hebner to disqualify Zeus from the match. Hogan and Beefcake then defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at the

pay-per-view to end the feud. Hogan also had defeated Savage to retain the WWF Championship in their official WrestleMania rematch on October 10, at United Kingdom-only pay-per-view First WWF UK Event at London Arena. During his second reign as the WWF Champion, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble match, before losing to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title versus title match at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990. Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 468-pound Earthquake, who had crushed Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on ''

The Brother Love Show Bruce Prichard (born March 7, 1963) is an American professional wrestling executive, booker, and producer and a former manager, commentator, and occasional professional wrestler. In addition to his corporate roles with WWE, Prichard has also ap ...

'' in May 1990. On television, announcers explained that both Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to Warrior 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, and he dominated Earthquake for several months in a series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe prompted Hogan to add a fourth demandment—believing in yourself—and he also became known as "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Hogan became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row, as he won the 1991 Royal Rumble match. At WrestleMania VII, Hogan stood up for the United States against

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 198 ...

, defeating him for his third WWF Championship, and then defeating him again in the rematch at United Kingdom-only pay-per-view UK Rampage at London Arena. In the fall of 1991, Hogan was challenged by

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

, the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion who recently arrived in the WWF. The challenge went unmet, as Hogan lost the WWF Championship to The Undertaker at Survivor Series. Jack Tunney immediately granted Hogan a rematch at This Tuesday in Texas six days later, which Hogan won. Flair had interfered in both matches and due to the resulting controversy, the championship was again declared vacant. It was decided that the winner of the

1992 Royal Rumble The 1992 Royal Rumble was the fourth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on January 19, 1992, at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York. ...

match would also be declared the new WWF Champion. Hogan entered in the #26 spot, but failed to regain the championship as he was eliminated by friend

Sid Justice Sidney Raymond Eudy (born December 16, 1960) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his various Sid gimmicks, each distinguished by the ring names Sid Justice, Sid Vicious, and Sycho Sid in World Championship Wrestlin ...

. In turn, Hogan helped cause Sid's elimination, leaving Flair (who had entered the match as the 3rd entrant) as the winner and new WWF Champion. Hogan and Sid patched things up and teamed together on '' Saturday Night's Main Event XXX'' against Flair and Undertaker, but during the match Sid abandoned Hogan, starting their feud. At WrestleMania VIII, Hogan defeated Sid via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman. Hogan was then attacked by

Papa Shango Papa is a word used in many languages as an affectionate term for father. Papa or PAPA may refer to: Geography and geology *Pápa, a town in Hungary *Papa village (Samoa), on the island of Savai'i *Papa, Scotland, various islands *Papa rock, ...

and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior. At this time, news sources began to allege that Dr. George Zahorian III, a doctor for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, had been selling steroids illegally to wrestlers in general and Hogan in particular. Hogan appeared on an episode of '' The Arsenio Hall Show'' to deny the allegations. Due to intense public scrutiny, Hogan took a leave of absence from the company. Hogan returned to the WWF in February 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with

Money Inc. Money Inc. was a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from February 1992 to August 1993. The team consisted of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster (I.R.S.). They held the WWF Tag Team Champi ...

(

Irwin R. Schyster Lawrence Michael Rotunda (born March 30, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s under the ring names Mik ...

and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase), and officially renaming themselves

The Mega-Maniacs The Mega-Maniacs was the World Wrestling Federation tag team of Hulk Hogan and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake that had two distinct runs as a team, one in 1989 and another one in 1993. History Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake began their careers mor ...

, taking on Money Inc.'s former manager "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart (a long-time friend of Hogan's outside of wrestling) as their manager in what was the first time WWF audiences had seen Hart as a fan favorite. At WrestleMania IX, Hogan and Beefcake took on Money Inc. for the WWF Tag Team Championship, a match the Mega-Maniacs lost via disqualification. Hogan went into the match injured (he had a cut above his left eyebrow, and the left eye itself was fully black). The WWF used Hogan's injury in a storyline that had DiBiase allegedly paying a group of thugs in a failed attempt to take Hogan out before WrestleMania. Later that night, Hogan won his fifth WWF Championship by pinning Yokozuna in an impromptu match only moments after Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart for the championship. Hogan reportedly used his influence to have the finish of WrestleMania changed the weekend of the event so he would be champion during an upcoming international and de facto farewell tour. At the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, Hogan defended the WWF Championship in a rematch against Yokozuna. This was Hogan's first and only title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall win after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman). The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a '' Banzai Drop''. This was Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan continued his feud on the international house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan sat out the rest of his contract which expired later that year.

Return to NJPW (1993–1994)

On May 3, 1993, Hogan returned to NJPW as WWF Champion and defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta in a dream match at

Wrestling Dontaku is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It was originally held from 1993 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2001 in Fukuoka at the Fukuoka Dome. The event was revived in 2009 and has since been held a ...

. Hogan wrestled against Muta again, this time under his real name (Keiji Mutoh), on September 26, 1993. Hogan also wrestled

The Hell Raisers The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Warriors" in th ...

with Muta and Masahiro Chono as his tag team partners. His last match in Japan was on January 4, 1994, at Battlefield, when he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–2000)

World Heavyweight Champion (1994–1996)

Starting in March 1994, Hogan began making appearances on WCW television, as interviewer Gene Okerlund—who was now a WCW employee—visited him on the set of ''

'' episodes. Hype then built over whether Hogan should remain with ''Thunder in Paradise'' or join WCW and have an opportunity to wrestle

. On the May 28, 1994, episode of '' WCW Saturday Night'', Hogan tore up his ''Thunder in Paradise'' contract and stated he was now willing to quit the show and return to wrestling, and Okerlund issued a telephone survey asking if people wanted to see Hogan in WCW. On June 11, 1994, Hogan officially signed with Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in a ceremony that was held at Disney-MGM Studios. The next month, with

Jimmy Hart James Ray Hart (born January 1, 1944) is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World ...

as his manager, Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, defeating Ric Flair in a "dream match" at

Bash at the Beach Bash at the Beach was a yearly professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). It was the company's PPV for the month of July, held from 1994–2000. As the title implied, the show centered on a b ...

. Hogan continued his feud with Flair (who defeated him by count-out on the ''

Clash of the Champions XXVIII ''Clash of the Champions'' is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). T ...

'', thus Hogan retained the title), which culminated in a steel cage match (with Flair's career on the line and Mr. T as the special guest referee) that Hogan won. After Hogan headlined WCW's premier annual event Starrcade ( Starrcade: Triple Threat) in December 1994 by defeating The Butcher for the title, his next feud was against Vader, who challenged him for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at

SuperBrawl V SuperBrawl V was the fifth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 19, 1995 from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. In the main event, Hu ...

, where Hogan won by disqualification after the returning Flair's interference. Hogan then defeated Vader (who was managed part-time by Flair) in a non-title leather strap match at Uncensored. Because of the controversial ending caused once again by Flair at Uncensored, Hogan's feud with Vader culminated in a steel cage match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at

, where Hogan won by escaping the cage. After successfully retaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Big Bubba Rogers and Lex Luger in two separate matches on ''

Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitroalkene, ...

'' in September 1995. The October 9, 1995, broadcast of ''Nitro'' was Hogan's first appearance in an all-black attire. Hogan feuded with The Dungeon of Doom, which led to a WarGames match at

Fall Brawl Fall Brawl was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was held in September from 1993 through 2000. The name was derived from the fall edition of ''Clash of the Champions'', ca ...

where Hogan's team (Lex Luger, Randy Savage, and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

) won. Hogan's reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion (which, at 469 days, is the longest in the title's history) ended when he lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to

The Giant A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PPV ...

via disqualification. Following the controversial loss (which was due to a "contract clause"), the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became vacant and a new champion was to be crowned in a 60-man three-ring battle royal at World War III, where The Giant cost Hogan the title. This led to a steel cage match between Hogan and The Giant at

SuperBrawl VI SuperBrawl VI was the sixth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 11, 1996, from the Bayfront Arena in St. Petersburg, Florida. The main event ...

, where Hogan won to end their feud. In early 1996, Hogan reformed The Mega Powers with Randy Savage to feud with The Alliance to End Hulkamania, which culminated at Uncensored in a Doomsday Cage match that Hogan and Savage won. After coming out victorious from his feuds, Hogan began to only appear occasionally on WCW programming.

New World Order (1996–1999)

in 1996, during a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

pitting The Outsiders ( Kevin Nash and

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and under the ring name the Diamond Studd and with the ...

) against WCW loyalists, Hogan interfered and attacked Randy Savage on behalf of Hall and Nash, thereby turning heel for the first time in nearly fifteen years. After the match, Hogan delivered a

promo Promo or promos may refer to: Promotions and advertising *Promo (media), a form of commercial advertising used to promote television or radio programs *Promo (professional wrestling), a televised interview in which a wrestler's on-screen personali ...

, accosting the fans and WCW for under-appreciating his talent and drawing power, and announcing the formation of the New World Order (nWo). The new

gained prominence in the following weeks and months. Hogan grew a beard alongside his famous mustache and dyed it black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black and white clothing, often detailed with lightning bolts, and renamed himself "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan (often shortened to Hollywood Hogan). Hogan won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Hog Wild by defeating The Giant for the title. He spray painted "nWo" across the title belt, scribbled across the nameplate, and referred to the title as the "nWo title". Hogan then started a feud with Lex Luger after Luger and The Giant defeated Hogan and Dennis Rodman in a tag team match at

. On the August 4, 1997, episode of ''Nitro'', Hogan lost the title to Lex Luger by submission. Five days later at Road Wild, Hogan defeated Luger to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan then lost the title to Sting in a match at Starrcade. In the match, WCW's newly contracted Bret Hart accused referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and had the match restarted – with himself as referee. Sting later won by submission. After a rematch the following night on ''Nitro'', where Sting controversially retained the title, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became vacant. Sting went on to win the vacant title against Hogan at

SuperBrawl VIII SuperBrawl VIII was the eighth SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 22, 1998 from the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. Storylines The e ...

, and Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just cost Hogan the title match at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can. The feud culminated in a steel cage match at Uncensored, which ended in a no contest. Savage took the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Sting at

Spring Stampede Spring Stampede was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) held in the month of April in 1994 and then from 1997 to 2000. As it was called Spring Stampede, the event was usually Cowboy/Wild West ...

, while Hogan teamed with Kevin Nash to take on

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...

and The Giant in the first-ever bat match. Hogan betrayed Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night on ''Nitro'' for the world title. In the no disqualification match for Savage's newly won title, Nash entered the ring and hit a powerbomb on Hogan as retribution for the attack the previous night, but Bret Hart interfered moments later and jumped in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who won his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Nash's attack on him signified a split of the nWo into two separate factions – Hogan's became nWo Hollywood and Nash's became nWo Wolfpac that feuded with each other for the remainder of the year. Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against newcomer and then

WCW United States Heavyweight Champion The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, currently de ...

Goldberg Goldberg or Goldberger may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Goldberg Ensemble, a British string ensemble * ''Goldberg Variations'', a set of 30 keyboard variations by Johann Sebastian Bach * ''The Goldbergs (broadcast series)'', American radio ...

, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Late in the match, Hogan was distracted by Karl Malone, and Goldberg pinned Hogan to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on the July 6 episode of ''Nitro''. Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches: his second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pitted them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at

, and at Road Wild he and Eric Bischoff lost to Page and

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

thanks to interference from

Kevin Eubanks Kevin Tyrone Eubanks (born November 15, 1957) is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short lived ''The Jay Le ...

. Hogan also had a critically panned rematch with

The Warrior A warrior is a person engaged or experienced in warfare, or a figurative term for a person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in politics or athletics. Warrior or Warriors may also refer to: Indigenous groups * ...

, where his nephew

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

aided 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 legitimate. Both announcements were false and made as publicity stunts to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him. After some time off from WCW, Hogan returned on the January 4, 1999, episode of ''Nitro'' to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship which Hogan won for the fifth time, but many people found the title change to be "scandalous". As a result, the warring factions of the nWo reunited into one group, which began feuding with Goldberg and

The Four Horsemen The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are figures in the Christian scriptures, first appearing in the Book of Revelation, a piece of apocalypse literature written by John of Patmos. Revelation 6 tells of a book or scroll in God's right hand th ...

Final years in WCW (1999–2000)

Hogan lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Ric Flair at Uncensored in a steel cage First Blood match. Later, Hogan was severely injured in a

Texas tornado match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship featuring him, Diamond Dallas Page, Flair, and Sting at

. On the July 12 episode of ''Nitro'', Hogan made his return as a face for the first time in three years and accepted an open challenge from Savage, who had won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at

the night before in a tag team match by pinning Kevin Nash. Thanks to interference from Nash, Hogan defeated Savage to win his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Nash turned on him the next week, and the two began a feud that lasted until Road Wild. On August 9, 1999, Hogan started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main event six-man tag team match. Hogan then defeated Nash in a retirement match at Road Wild to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Injuries and frustrations mounted, and he was absent from television from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book ''Hollywood Hulk Hogan'', Hogan said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booking Vince Russo and was not told when he would be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so. On October 24 at

, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan came to the ring in street clothes, lay down for the pin, and left the ring. Hogan in wcw

Soon after his return in February 2000, at

on July 9, Hogan was involved in a controversial work with Vince Russo. Hogan was scheduled to challenge Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, there was a backstage dispute between Hogan and Russo; Hogan wanted to take the title, but Russo was going to have Jarrett win, and lose it to

Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 1944) ...

. Russo told Hogan that he was going to have Jarrett lie down for him, simulating a real conflict, although Jarrett was not told it was a work. When the bell rang, Jarrett lay down in the middle of the ring while Russo threw the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt in the ring and yelled at Hogan from ringside to pin Jarrett. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "Is this your idea, Russo? That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!" After winning and being announced as the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan immediately took the WCW title belt. Moments later, Russo returned to the ring, angrily proclaiming this would be the last time fans would ever see "that piece of shit" in a WCW stadium. This is also when the public discovered, through Russo, the "creative control" clause that Hogan had, which meant that Hogan could control what would happen with his own character, without anyone else telling him no. In his Bash at the Beach shoot promo, Russo said that he was arguing with Hogan all day prior to the event in the back because he wanted to use the clause in the Jarrett match, saying, "That means that, in the middle of this ring, when oganknew it was bullshit, he beats Jeff Jarrett!". Since Hogan refused to

job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship was created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jarrett later that night. As a result, Hogan filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually dismissed in 2002. Russo claims the whole thing was a work, and Hogan claims that Russo made it a shoot. Eric Bischoff agreed with Hogan's side of the story when he wrote that Hogan winning and leaving with the belt was a work (devised by Bischoff rather than Russo), and that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but that Russo coming out to fire Hogan was an unplanned shoot which led to the lawsuit filed by Hogan. It was the last time he was seen in WCW.

Post-WCW endeavors (2001)

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 Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

on November 14, for the

Xcitement Wrestling Federation The X Wrestling Federation (XWF) (later referred to as the Xcitement Wrestling Federation) was an American professional wrestling promotion that operated from 2001 to 2002. The previous number two and three American promotions, World Champio ...

(XWF) promotion run by his longtime manager

. Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in this match and felt healthy enough to accept an offer to return to the WWF in February 2002.

Second return to WWF/WWE (2002–2003)

At No Way Out in February 2002, Hogan returned to the WWF as a heel. Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock and cost Stone Cold Steve Austin a chance at becoming the Undisputed WWF Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event. The nWo feuded with both Austin and The Rock, and Hogan accepted The Rock's challenge to a match at WrestleMania X8, where Hogan asked Hall and Nash not to interfere, wanting to defeat The Rock by himself. Despite the fact that Hogan was supposed to be the heel in the match, the crowd cheered for him heavily. The Rock cleanly won the contest, and befriended Hogan at the end of the bout, helping him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude. After the match, Hogan turned face by siding with The Rock, 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. During this period, the "Hulk Rules" logo of the 1980s was redone with the text "Hulk Still Rules", and Hogan also wore the original "Hulk Rules" attire twelve years earlier, when he headlined WrestleMania VI at the same arena, in the

SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, i ...

. For a time, he was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blond mustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights and using the " Voodoo Child" entrance theme music he'd used in WCW. On the April 4, 2002 episode of ''

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'', Hogan began a feud with Triple H, and then defeated him for the Undisputed WWF Championship at Backlash, thus becoming the last ever WWF Champion, as a legal battle with the World Wildlife Fund soon compelled the company to change its name from World Wrestling Federation/WWF to World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE in May 2002. On May 19 at

Judgment Day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

, Hogan lost the WWE Undisputed Championship to The Undertaker. After losing a number one contender match for the WWE Undisputed Championship to Triple H on the June 6 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Hogan began feuding with Kurt Angle resulting in a match between the two at the King of the Ring, which Angle won by submission. On the July 4 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Hogan teamed with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck and capture the

WWE Tag Team Championship WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separate ...

for the first time. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's theme song "Real American". They lost the belts to The Un-Americans (

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and

Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Extreme Championship Wrestling (EC ...

) at

Vengeance Vengeance may refer to: *Vengeance (concept) or revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance Film * ''Vengeance'' (1930 film), action adventure film directed by Archie Mayo * ''Vengeance'' (1937 film) or ''W ...

. In August 2002, Hogan was used in an angle with

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, former mixed martial artist (MMA), amateur wrestler, and professional American football player who holds both American and Canadian citizenship. He is ...

, culminating in a main event singles match on the August 8 episode of ''SmackDown!'', which Lesnar won by technical submission (the match was called after Hogan became unconscious from a bear hug hold). Lesnar became only the second WWE wrestler to defeat Hogan by submission (after Kurt Angle), and the first to defeat Hogan by having the match called. Following the match, Lesnar continued to beat on Hogan, leaving him bloody and unconscious in the ring. Hoganlegdrop

As a result of Lesnar's assault, Hogan went on hiatus until early 2003, shaving off his black beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name in his return. Hogan battled The Rock (who had turned heel) once again at No Way Out and lost and defeated

Mr. McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

at WrestleMania XIX in a street fight billed as "twenty years in the making". After WrestleMania, he had a run as the masked Mr. America, a character who, despite sounding and behaving like Hogan, consistently denied he was the Hulkster. Mr. America used Hogan's "Real American" as his entrance theme, as well as all of Hogan's signature gestures, moves, and phrases. He was the subject of a storyline that took place after Hogan was forced by Mr. McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract. A WWE pre-debut

push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

took place with mysterious Mr. America promos airing for weeks during ''SmackDown!''. There was also on-screen discussion on ''SmackDown!'' between then General Manager Stephanie McMahon and other players concerning her hiring Mr. America "sight unseen". On May 1, Mr. America debuted on ''SmackDown!'' on a ''Piper's Pit'' segment. McMahon appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hogan in disguise; Mr. America shot back by saying, "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!" (lampooning Hogan's use of "brother" in his promos). The feud continued through the month of May, with a singles match between Mr. America and Hogan's old rival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper at

, a match Mr. America won. Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26 episode of ''SmackDown!'' when Big Show and The World's Greatest Tag Team ( Charlie Haas and

Shelton Benjamin Shelton James Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under his real name. He is also known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wres ...

) defeated Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and Mr. America in a six-man tag team match. After the show went off the air, Mr. America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed 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 episode of ''SmackDown!'', McMahon showed the footage of Mr. America unmasking as Hogan and "fired" him, although Hogan had already quit in real life. It was later revealed that Hogan was unhappy with the payoffs for his matches after his comeback under the Mr. America gimmick. McMahon terminated Hogan's contract in 2003.

Second return to NJPW (2003)

Hogan returned to NJPW in October 2003, when he defeated Masahiro Chono at Ultimate Crush II in the Tokyo Dome.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)

Shortly after Hogan left WWE, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) began making overtures to Hogan, culminating in Jeff Jarrett, co-founder of TNA and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion, launching an on-air attack on Hogan in Japan in October 2003. The attack was supposed to be a precursor to Hogan battling Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA's first three-hour pay-per-view. Due to recurring knee and hip problems, Hogan did not appear in TNA. Still, the incident has been shown several times on TNA broadcasts, and was included in the TNA DVD ''TNA's Fifty Greatest Moments''.

Third return to WWE (2005–2007)

On April 2, 2005, Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2005 by actor and friend

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

. At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, Hogan came out to rescue

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

, who was being attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. The build-up to Hogan's Hall of Fame induction and preparation for his WrestleMania angle was shown on the first season of ''

''. The next night on ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite

Shawn Michaels Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...

. The following week on ''Raw'', 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 Hogan to team with him. On the April 18 episode of ''Raw'', Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared, saving Michaels and accepting his offer. At Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels. Hogan then appeared on July 4 episode 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 Brooke may refer to: People * Brooke (given name) * Brooke (surname) * Brooke baronets, families of baronets with the surname Brooke Places * Brooke, Norfolk, England * Brooke, Rutland, England * Brooke, Virginia, US * Brooke's Point, Palawan ...

, Hogan attacked Carlito. Kurt Angle then also appeared, making comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan, who was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle, but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Angle in a tag team match; during the post-match celebration, Michaels performed the ''

Sweet Chin Music Strikes are offensive moves in professional wrestling, that can sometimes be used to set up an opponent for a hold or for a throw. There are a wide variety of strikes in pro wrestling, and many are known by several different names. Professional w ...

'' on 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 at SummerSlam, which Hogan won. After the match, Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself", and Hogan and Michaels shook hands as Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd. Prior to WrestleMania 22 in April 2006, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2006. Hogan returned on ''

Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' is an American professional wrestling television program that is produced by WWE (known at the time of launch as the World Wrestling Federation). Premiering in 1985, it originally aired on NBC in the United Stat ...

'' with his daughter Brooke. During the show,

Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor who is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand but is currently out of action due to a back injury. H ...

flirted with Brooke and later attacked Hogan in the parking lot. He later challenged Hogan to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan won. This was Hulk Hogan's final match wrestling for the WWE, although he had negotiations for a match against John Cena at WrestleMania 25 which ultimately fell through.

Memphis Wrestling (2007–2008)

After a brief fall out with McMahon and WWE, Hogan was lured to Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling Jerry Lawler. The match had been promoted on ''Memphis Wrestling Prime Time'' for several months. 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 ''Raw'' and his appearances on the biannual WWE's ''

'') are contractually prohibited from appearing on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

, the channel on which ''Hogan Knows Best'' airs. The situation resulted in a lawsuit being filed against WWE by event promoter Corey Maclin. Lawler was replaced with Paul Wight. Hogan defeated Wight at Memphis Wrestling's PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007, when he picked up and hit a body slam on Wight before pinning him following his signature running leg drop.

Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin (2009)

On November 21, 24, 26 and 28, Hogan performed with a group of wrestlers including Spartan-3000,

Heidenreich Heidenreich is a German surname which may be translated as "Land of the Heathen," or "Power of the Heathens," or "Realm of the Heathens". Notable people with the surname include: The original germanic meaning was: a person of power and wealth, see ...

, Eugene, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Orlando Jordan across Australia in a tour titled Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin. The main event of each show was a rematch between Hogan and Ric Flair – the wrestler who defeated Hogan more times than any other. Hogan defeated Flair in all four matches.

Return to TNA (2009–2013)

Dixie Carter's business partner (2009–2010)

On October 27, 2009, it was announced that Hogan had signed a contract to join TNA on a full-time basis. The footage of his signing and the press conference at

following it were featured on the October 29 episode of '' Impact!''. On December 5, 2009, Hogan announced on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)'s '' The Ultimate Fighter'' that he would make his official TNA debut on January 4, 2010, in a special live three-hour Monday night episode of ''Impact!'' to compete with WWE's ''Raw'' (which featured the return of Bret Hart). On the January 4 episode of ''Impact!'', Hogan debuted, reuniting briefly with former nWo partners Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman, the latter two of whom made their returns to the company. He refused to join them for a full-fledged reunion of their group claiming, "it's a different time", and stuck to his business relations with Bischoff, who made his appearance to declare that, the two of them would "flip the company upside down" and everyone would have to earn their spot. Hogan also encountered TNA founder Jeff Jarrett on the broadcast, appearing via video wall and interrupting Jarrett's company success speech, stating that Carter was instrumental to the company's survival, and that just like the rest, Jarrett would have to earn his spot in TNA. On the February 18 episode of ''Impact!'', Hogan took Abyss under his wing, and during this sequence, gave him his Hall of Fame ring and claimed it would make him a "god of wrestling". Hogan made his in-ring return on March 8, teaming with Abyss to defeat

A.J. Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

and Ric Flair when Abyss scored a pinfall over Styles. Afterward, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Hogan and Abyss from a beatdown by Styles, Flair and

Desmond Wolfe Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1976), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English actor, professional wrestling commentator and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with WWE where he worked as a color ...

. The storyline became a Team Flair versus Team Hogan situation, with Jarrett and the debuting Rob Van Dam joining Team Hogan and Beer Money (

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent pr ...

and Robert Roode) and Sting joining Team Flair. At Lockdown, Team Hogan (Hulk Hogan, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) defeated Team Flair (Ric Flair, Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) in a Lethal Lockdown match.

Immortal (2010–2011)

On the June 17 episode of ''Impact!'', Hogan's alliance with Abyss came to an abrupt end when Abyss turned heel. Abyss later claimed that he was controlled by some entity that was coming to TNA. The next month, Hogan worked with Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe against Sting and Kevin Nash, who claimed that they knew that Hogan and Bischoff were up to something. During this time, Abyss went on a rampage, attacking Rob Van Dam to the point that he was forced to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and eventually put his hands on TNA president Dixie Carter, which led to her signing the paperwork, presented by Bischoff, that would have Abyss fired from TNA following his match with Van Dam at Bound for Glory. Hogan was set to wrestle with Jarrett and Joe against Sting, Nash and

D'Angelo Dinero Elijah Samuel Burke (born May 24, 1981) is an American professional wrestler also known under the ring names "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero and Da Pope. He currently wrestles for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as "Da Pope" Elijah Burke, where he ...

at Bound for Glory, but was forced to miss the event due to a back surgery. He made an appearance at the end of the event, and turned heel by helping Jeff Hardy win the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship and aligning himself with Hardy, Bischoff, Abyss and Jarrett. On the following episode of ''Impact!'', it was revealed that Bischoff had tricked Carter and the paperwork she had signed a week earlier, were not to release Abyss, but to turn the company over to him and Hogan. Meanwhile, Bischoff's and Hogan's new stable, now known as Immortal, formed an alliance with Ric Flair's

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

. Dixie Carter returned on the November 25 episode of '' Reaction'', informing Hogan and Bischoff that a judge had filed an

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

against the two on her behalf over not having signatory authority, indefinitely suspending Hogan from TNA. During his absence, Hogan underwent a potentially career–ending spinal fusion surgery on December 21, 2010. Hogan returned to TNA on the March 3, 2011, episode of ''Impact!'', declaring himself as the new owner of TNA, having won the court battle against Dixie Carter. In April, he began hinting at a possible return to the ring to face the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Sting. On the May 12 episode of the newly renamed ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan lost control of the program to Mick Foley, who revealed himself as the Network consultant who had been causing problems for Immortal ever since Hogan and Bischoff took over the company. This angle was cut short three weeks later, when Foley left the promotion. During the following months, Hogan continued to interfere in Sting's matches, costing him the TNA World Heavyweight Championship first at Hardcore Justice, recruiting Kurt Angle to Immortal in the process, on the September 1 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' and finally at

No Surrender No Surrender may refer to: Politics * "No Surrender!", a British Unionist slogan originating from Siege of Derry now used in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England *No Surrender (to the IRA), a political chant since used by England football fans ...

. On the September 15 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Sting defeated Immortal member Ric Flair to earn the right to face Hogan at Bound for Glory. On October 4, it was reported that Hogan had signed a contract extension with TNA. After feigning retirement from professional wrestling, Hogan accepted the match at Bound for Glory on the October 6 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', while also agreeing to hand TNA back to Dixie Carter, should Sting win the match. Hogan was defeated by Sting at Bound For Glory, ending his storyline as the president of TNA. After the match, Immortal attacked Sting, but Hogan turned face by turning on Immortal and helping Sting. On the following episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan, wearing his trademark yellow and red again, admitted to his mistakes, and put over Sting for winning.

Feud with Aces & Eights (2012–2013)

During TNA's 2012 UK tour, on January 26 and 27, Hogan returned to the ring at

s in Nottingham and Manchester, where he, James Storm and Sting defeated Bobby Roode,

Bully Ray Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag tea ...

and Kurt Angle in a six-man tag team main event at both events, the latter of which was Hogan's final match. Hogan returned to ''Impact Wrestling'' on February 2, when he was revealed as Garett Bischoff's trainer. On the March 29 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan returned and accepted Sting's offer to replace him as the new General Manager. In July, Hogan, alongside Sting, began feuding with a mysterious group of masked men, who had dubbed themselves the "

Aces & Eights Aces & Eights are an American Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable in the Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), initially consisting of a group of Wrestling mask, masked wrestlers bef ...

". The group's attack on Hogan on the July 12 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'' was used to write Hogan off television as he was set to undergo another back surgery. In November, Hogan moved into a storyline with Bully Ray after Austin Aries revealed a secret relationship between Ray and Hogan's daughter Brooke. After seeing them kissing in a parking garage on the December 20 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan suspended Ray indefinitely. The following week on ''Impact Wrestling'', after Ray saved Brooke from a kidnapping by the Aces & Eights, Brooke accepted his marriage proposal. Despite Hogan's disapproval, he still walked Brooke down the aisle for her wedding on the next episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', during which Ray's groomsmen

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

interrupted and revealed himself as a member of the Aces & Eights, leading the group to attack Hogan, Ray, and the rest of the groomsmen. On the January 31 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan reinstated Ray so he could take on the Aces & Eights. Hogan named Ray the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the February 21 episode of ''Impact Wrestling''. At Lockdown, Ray betrayed Hogan, after Aces & Eights helped him win the title, and he revealed himself as the President of the Aces & Eights. Following Lockdown, Hogan blamed Sting for Ray winning the title as it was Sting who encouraged Hogan to give Ray the title shot. Sting returned and saved Hogan from an attack by Aces & Eights on the April 25 episode of ''Impact Wrestling''. The following week on ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan and Sting reconciled their differences. On the October 3 episode of ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan refused an offer from Dixie Carter to become her business partner and quit; this was done to officially write Hogan off, as a result of his contract expiring with TNA.

Fourth return to WWE (2014–2015)

On February 24, 2014, on ''Raw'', Hogan made his first WWE in-ring appearance since December 2007 to hype the WWE Network. On the March 24 episode of ''Raw'', Hogan came out to introduce the guest appearances of

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

and Joe Manganiello; this was to promote the guests' new movie '' Sabotage''. Hogan Rock and Austin WrestleMania XXX

At WrestleMania XXX in April, Hogan served as the host, coming out at the start of the show to hype up the crowd. During his promo, he mistakenly referred to the Superdome, the venue the event was being held at, as the

Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known simply as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, ...

, which became the subject of jokes throughout the night. Hogan was later joined by Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, and they finished their promo by drinking beer together in the ring. Later in the show, Hogan shared a moment with Mr. T, Paul Orndorff and

, with whom he main-evented the first WrestleMania. NWo WM31

On February 27, 2015, Hogan was honored at Madison Square Garden during a WWE live event dubbed "Hulk Hogan Appreciation Night" with a special commemorative banner hanging from the rafters, honoring his wrestling career and historic matches he had in the arena. On the March 23 episode of ''Raw'', Hogan along with

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

confronted Curtis Axel – who at the time had been "borrowing" Hogan's Hulkamania gimmick with Axel referring to himself as "AxelMania". On March 28, the night before WrestleMania, Hogan posthumously inducted longtime partner and rival "Macho Man" Randy Savage into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015. The next night at WrestleMania 31, Hogan reunited with Hall and Nash to reform the nWo, appearing in Sting's corner in his match against Triple H, who himself was joined by D-Generation X (DX) members Billy Gunn,

X-Pac Sean Michael Waltman (born July 13, 1972) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring names 1–2–3 ...

, Road Dogg, and Shawn Michaels.

Scandal and departure

In July 2015, '' National Enquirer'' and Radar Online publicized an anti-black rant made by Hogan on a leaked sex tape recorded in 2007. In the recording, he is heard expressing disgust with the notion of his daughter dating a black man, referenced by repeated use of the racial slur " nigger". Hogan also admitted to being "a racist, to a point". Once the recordings went public erupting in a media scandal, Hogan apologized for the remarks, which he said is "language that is offensive and inconsistent with isown beliefs." Three black wrestlers who worked in the WWF and WCW with Hogan made supportive comments. Virgil commented "Hogan has never given me a reason to believe he is a racist" while Dennis Rodman said he "most certainly is not a racist" and

Kamala Kamala refers to: People * Kamala (name), given name and surname, includes list of people and characters with the name ** Kamala Harris, the 49th and current Vice President of the United States * Kamala (wrestler) (1950–2020), American profess ...

added "I do not think Hogan meant harm by saying that. Hogan is my brother until he decides not to be." Black wrestlers working in the WWE made different comments. Mark Henry said he was pleased by WWE's "no tolerance approach to racism" response, and that he was hurt and offended by Hogan's manner and tone.

said he was shocked and called the statements unfortunate. On July 24, WWE terminated their contract with Hogan, stating that they are "committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds," although Hogan's lawyer said Hogan chose to resign. A day prior, WWE removed almost all references to Hogan from their website, including his listing as a judge for ''Tough Enough'', his merchandise from WWE Shop, and his entry from its WWE Hall of Fame page (he was still listed in the Hall of Fame entry of the official WWE encyclopedia released in October 2016). His DLC appearance from ''

WWE 2K15 ''WWE 2K15'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to ''WWE 2K14'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2K16''. ...

'' was taken down from sale, and his character was cut from then upcoming ''

WWE 2K16 ''WWE 2K16'' is a professional wrestling video game developed by Yuke's and published by 2K Sports for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is the sequel to '' WWE 2K15'', and was succeeded by ''WWE 2K17''. ...

'' game during development. In response to the controversy, Mattel stopped producing Hogan action figures, while Hogan's merchandise was taken down from online stores of

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

, Toys "R" Us, and Walmart. On July 28, Radar Online reported that Hogan had also used

homophobic slurs LGBT slang, LGBT speak, or gay slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBT people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBT community identify themselves ...

on the leaked sex tape. Days later, it was reported that Hogan had used racist language in a 2008 call to his then-imprisoned son, Nick, and also said that he hoped they would not be reincarnated as black males. Hogan gave an interview with ''ABC'' on August 31 in which he pleaded forgiveness for his racist comments, attributing these to a racial bias inherited from his neighborhood while growing up. Hogan claimed that the term "nigger" was used liberally among friends in Tampa; former neighbors disputed this claim. In the time that followed, numerous African-Americans associated with wrestling expressed some level of support for Hogan including: The Rock, Dennis Rodman,

, Kamala, Virgil, Mr. T, Mark Henry,

Big E Big E may refer to: * Capital letter "E" People * Big E (wrestler) (born 1986), American professional wrestler, born Ettore Ewen, formerly known as "Big E Langston" * Elvin Hayes (born 1945; nicknamed "Big E"), American basketball player and r ...

, and

, who stressed his forgiveness of Hogan, whom he saw as having made a "positive mark on humanity" for over three decades.

Fifth return to WWE (2018–present)

On July 15, 2018, Hogan was reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame. Later that same night, he was invited backstage to WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view event and was briefly mentioned on the event's kickoff show. Hogan made his on-screen return on November 2, 2018, as the host of Crown Jewel. Hogan next appeared on the January 7, 2019, episode of ''Raw'' to present a tribute to his longtime friend and colleague Mean Gene Okerlund, who had died five days prior. It was the first time Hogan had appeared in a WWE ring in North America since his 2015 firing. Hogan subsequently appeared on a WWE Network special where he spoke further of his relationship with Okerlund. Hogan inducted his Mega-Maniacs tag team partner and longtime friend Brutus Beefcake into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 6, 2019. The following night at WrestleMania 35, he made a surprise appearance at the beginning of the show alongside WrestleMania host Alexa Bliss, welcoming fans to the event and parodying his

gaffe A political gaffe is an error in speech made by a politician. Definition According to Barack Obama it is: used by the press to describe any maladroit phrase by a candidate that reveals ignorance, carelessness, fuzzy thinking, insensitivity, m ...

from WrestleMania XXX, when he incorrectly referred to the Superdome as the

. On the June 17, 2019, Raw, WWE aired a Hogan interview about the U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team. On the July 22, 2019, Raw, Hogan appeared as part of the "Raw Reunion" special. Hogan was one of the speakers during the "Toast to Raw" segment along with Steve Austin. On September 30, 2019, episode of ''Raw'', he and Ric Flair unveiled a 10-man tag team match, for Crown Jewel. Hogan and Flair made multiple appearances on shows with their teams leading up to the event, which saw Hogan manage his team to victory. Hogan made it public knowledge that he hoped to have one more match in the WWE, including during an interview with the ''Los Angeles Times''. On December 9, 2019, it was announced that Hogan would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame a second time as a member of the New World Order, together with fellow former nWo stablemates Kevin Nash,

, and Sean Waltman. Hogan made his only appearance of 2020 on WWE's non-WWE Network programming when he appeared via satellite on the February 14, 2020, episode of ''SmackDown'' to speak about the Hall of Fame. He was interrupted by Bray Wyatt, as Hogan warned him about his upcoming match with Goldberg. The 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony was subsequently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and aired on April 6, 2021. Hogan made his first appearance of 2021 on the January 4 episode of ''Raw'', which was a special Legends Night episode. He opened the show introducing the 'H-Phone,' his spin on an iPhone. He appeared in a backstage segment with

, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus, where he gave his approval to McIntyre, the current WWE Champion. He also watched the championship main event match between McIntyre and Keith Lee on-stage with the rest of the guest legends. It was announced on the March 19, 2021, episode of '' WWE SmackDown'' he would co-host WrestleMania 37 with Titus O'Neil. Hogan opened both nights of WrestleMania 37 with O'Neil, appeared in multiple segments with Bayley, which led to a return of the Bella Twins, who attacked Bayley, and was introduced during the Hall of Fame celebration with Nash, Hall and Waltman. On January 23, 2023, Hogan appeared live alongside Jimmy Hart to open the

WWE Raw is XXX Raw is XXX (pronounced "Raw is Thirty") was a professional wrestling television special of WWE's weekly television series, ''Monday Night Raw''. The special episode was held on January 23, 2023, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylv ...

show, celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Raw. On January 22, 2024, WWE celebrated the 40th anniversary of 'Hulkamania' with Hogan appearing in pre-taped footage.

Legacy

Hogan has been described as one of the largest attractions in professional wrestling history and a major reason why Vince McMahon's expansion of his promotion worked. Wrestling historian and journalist Dave Meltzer stated that "...You can't possibly overrate his significance in the history of the business. And he sold more tickets to wrestling shows than any man who ever lived". Hogan's match with Andre the Giant at

on February 5, 1988, holds American television records for a wrestling audience with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers. IMDb ranked Hogan as the biggest draw in professional wrestling history, ranking him number 1 in a list with 60 other wrestlers. Fellow wrestler Cody Rhodes has said numerous times that Hogan's WrestleMania X8 match with The Rock is the greatest match in wrestling history and that it epitomized what professional wrestling is. Fellow WWE Hall of Fame member Bret Hart has been repeatedly critical of Hogan's wrestling abilities, including in 2021 saying that he "didn't know a headlock from a headlamp", and that he was "very limited". Hart had previously referred to Hogan as a "hero" to fans. and previously complimented Hogan's look. "You look at Hulk Hogan, okay? Unbelievable look, 6'8″ with the 24-inch pythons, it's an incredible ook When he walks in the room, the whole room stops. Like, you see it. He asgot, like, legs stuck on his shoulders. His arms are as big as somebody's legs. Former writer Vince Russo, who Hogan had previously sued, said that more wrestlers in 2022 should wrestle like Hogan, as opposed to the modern-day style acrobats. Hogan himself has previously said he is "number two" behind Ric Flair, who he said is the greatest wrestler of all time. Chris Jericho said on his podcast in 2023 that Hogan was a better worker than Flair in his experience. "Hogan is a better worker than Flair. For me. I always had amazing matches with Hogan because he knew exactly who he was as a babyface, as a heel, whatever. He was so great. He knew his audience. He didn't do anything he didn't have to. It was one of my favorite times in my career." On February 20, 2019, it was announced that Chris Hemsworth would portray him in a biopic, directed by Todd Phillips.

Endorsements and business ventures

Food industry

Hogan created and financed a restaurant called ''Pastamania'' located in the

Mall of America Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

. It opened on the Labor Day weekend of 1995 and was heavily promoted on World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s live show ''

Monday Nitro ''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the United ...

''. The restaurant, which remained in operation for less than a year, featured such dishes as "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-A-Roos". In interviews on '' The Tonight Show'' and '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', Hogan claimed that the opportunity to endorse what came to be known as the

George Foreman Grill The George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, also commonly referred to as simply the George Foreman Grill, is a portable double-sided electrically heated grill manufactured by Spectrum Brands. It is promoted by two-time world he ...

was originally offered to him, but when he failed to respond in time, Foreman endorsed the grill instead. However, there is no direct evidence to support this claim. Instead, Hogan endorsed a blender, known as the Hulk Hogan Thunder Mixer. He has since endorsed a grill known as "The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill", voluntarily recalled as a fire hazard in 2008 along with other QVC and Tristar grills. In 2006, Hogan unveiled ''Hogan Energy'', a drink distributed by Socko Energy. His name and likeness were also applied to a line of microwavable hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken sandwiches sold at Wal-Mart called "Hulkster Burgers". On November 1, 2011, Hogan launched a new website called ''Hogan Nutrition'', which features many nutritional and dietary products. On New Year's Eve 2012, Hogan opened a beachfront restaurant called "Hogan's Beach", located in the Tampa area. The restaurant dropped Hogan's name in October 2015. Hogan later opened Hogan's Hangout in Clearwater Beach.

Finances

In September 2008, Hogan's

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...

was revealed to be around $30 million. In September 2011, Hogan revealed that his lavish lifestyle and divorce had cost him hundreds of millions of dollars and nearly bankrupted him.

Other

In October 2007, Hogan transferred all trademarks referring to himself to his liability company named "Hogan Holdings Limited". The trademarks include Hulk Hogan, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, and Hulkapedia.com. In April 2008, Hogan announced that he would lend his license to video game developer Gameloft to create "Hulkamania Wrestling" for mobile phones. Hogan stated in a press release that the game would be "true to isexperiences in wrestling" and use his classic wrestling moves like the Doublehand Choke Lift and Strong Clothesline. , Hogan stars alongside Troy Aikman in commercials for Rent-A-Center. On March 24, 2011, Hogan made a special appearance on '' American Idol'', giving a big surprise to wrestling fans Paul McDonald and

James Durbin __NOTOC__ James Durbin FBA (30 June 1923 – 23 June 2012) was a British statistician and econometrician, known particularly for his work on time series analysis and serial correlation. Education The son of a greengrocer, Durbin was born in W ...

. On October 15, 2010, Endemol Games UK (a subsidiary of media production group

Endemol UK Endemol Shine UK (branded as EndemolShine UK and formerly Endemol UK Ltd) is a British production company. Since 2020, the company has been a subsidiary of Banijay. Endemol Shine UK incorporates a number of production brands, including Artist ...

) announced a partnership with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment to produce "Hulk Hogan's Hulkamania", an online gambling game featuring video footage of Hogan. In October 2013, Hogan partnered with Tech Assets, Inc. to open a web hosting service called "Hostamania". To promote the service, a commercial video was released, featuring Hogan parodying Jean-Claude Van Damme's GoDaddy.com commercials and Miley Cyrus' " Wrecking Ball" music video. On November 21, 2013, Hulk Hogan and GoDaddy.com appeared together on a live Hangout On Air on Google Plus, where Hulk Hogan had a casual conversation about Hostamania, fans, and business. Hogan became a distributor for multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences after looking for business opportunities outside of wrestling. Hogan supports the

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, ...

. Hogan endorsed Donald Trump for president at the

2024 Republican National Convention The 2024 Republican National Convention is an event in which delegates of the United States Republican Party will select the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2024 United States presidential election. It is planned to be ...

Other media

Acting

Hogan's crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Early in his career Hogan played the part of Thunderlips in '' Rocky III'' (1982). He also appeared in ''

'' (1989), before starring in family films ''

'' (1991), '' Mr. Nanny'' (1993), ''

Santa with Muscles ''Santa with Muscles'' is a 1996 American Christmas comedy film starring Hulk Hogan and directed by John Murlowski. It was released for two weeks in cinemas. Plot Blake Thorn ( Hulk Hogan) is a conceited self-made millionaire who sells bodybuildi ...

'' (1996), and '' 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain'' (1998). Hogan also appeared in 1992 commercials for Right Guard deodorant. He starred in his own television series, ''

'', in 1994. He is the star of '' The Ultimate Weapon'' (1998), in which Brutus Beefcake also appears in a cameo. In 1997, Hogan starred in the TNT original movie '' Assault on Devil's Island'', as the leader of a commando unit featuring fellow genre veterans Carl Weathers and Shannon Tweed. Eric Bischoff was also listed as an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

. The characters were considered for a regular series, but instead received a second feature-length showcase two years later, called ''

Assault on Death Mountain ''Assault on Death Mountain'', also known as ''Shadow Warriors: Assault on Death Mountain'', is a 1999 Canadian–American made-for-television action film directed by Jon Cassar, starring Terry "Hulk" Hogan, Carl Weathers and Shannon Tweed. Ho ...

''. In 1995, he appeared on TBN's ''Kids Against Crime''. Hogan made cameo appearances in '' Muppets from Space'', '' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (the theatrical cut) and ''

Spy Hard ''Spy Hard'' is a 1996 American spy parody film starring Leslie Nielsen (who also executive produced) and Nicollette Sheridan, parodying James Bond and other action films. The introduction to the film is sung by comedy artist "Weird Al" Yanko ...

'' as himself. Hogan also played the role of Zeus in ''Little Hercules in 3D''. Hogan also made two appearances on '' The A-Team'' (in 1985 and 1986), along with

. He also appeared on '' Suddenly Susan'' in 1999. In 2001, Hogan guest-starred on an episode of '' Walker, Texas Ranger''. Hogan has become a busy voice actor in later years making guest voice spots on ''

Robot Chicken ''Robot Chicken'' is an American adult animated stop motion sketch comedy television series, created and executive produced for Adult Swim by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. The writers, ...

'' and ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'' and as a primary actor in the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim series '' China, IL''.

Reality television and hosting

On July 10, 2005,

premiered ''

'' a reality show which centered around Hogan, his then-wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick. In July 2008, a spin-off entitled ''

Brooke Knows Best ''Brooke Knows Best'' is a VH1 reality series spin off from the hit VH1 reality program, '' Hogan Knows Best''. The series first aired July 13, 2008. The show, shot in South Beach, Miami, centers on Brooke Hogan beginning adulthood independent ...

'' premiered, which focused primarily on Hogan's daughter Brooke. Hogan hosted the comeback series of '' American Gladiators'' on NBC in 2008. He also hosted and judged the short-lived reality show, '' Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling''. Hogan had a special titled ''Finding Hulk Hogan'' on A&E on November 17, 2010. In 2015, Hogan was a judge on the sixth season of '' Tough Enough'', alongside Paige and

Daniel Bryan Daniel Bryan may refer to: * Bryan Danielson (born 1981), American professional wrestler who formerly used the ring name "Daniel Bryan" * Dan Bryan (1900–1985), Irish soldier * Daniel Bryan (Big Brother), contestant on the British reality televi ...

, but due to the scandal, he was replaced by The Miz after episode 5.

Music and radio

Hogan released a music CD, ''Hulk Rules'', as Hulk Hogan and the Wrestling Boot Band, which also included Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, his then-wife Linda and J.J Maguire. Despite negative reviews, ''Hulk Rules'' reached No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' Top Kid Audio chart in 1995. Green Jellÿ released a duet with Hogan, performing

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...

's song "

I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am) "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" is a song by English glam rock singer Gary Glitter, written by Glitter with Mike Leander and produced by Mike Leander. It was Glitter's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, spending four weeks at ...

". He has also made cameos in several music videos. From her self-named show ''

Dolly Dolly may refer to: Tools *Dolly (tool), a portable anvil * A posser, also known as a dolly, used for laundering * A variety of wheeled tools, including: **Dolly (trailer), for towing behind a vehicle **Boat dolly or launching dolly, a device fo ...

'', the music video for Dolly Parton's wrestling-themed love song "Headlock on My Heart" features Hogan as "Starlight Starbright". In the music video "Pressure" by Belly featuring Ginuwine, Hogan and his daughter

both made brief cameo appearances. Hogan was a regular guest on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. He also served as the best man at Bubba's January 2007 wedding. On March 12, 2010, Hogan hosted his own radio show titled ''Hogan Uncensored'', on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101.

Merchandising

The Wrestling Figure Checklist records Hogan as having 171 different action figures, produced between the 1980s and 2010s from numerous manufacturers and promotions.

Filmography

Video games

Hogan provided his voice for the 2011 game '' Saints Row: The Third'' as Angel de la Muerte, a member of the Saints. In October 2011, he released a video game called ''

''. A likeness of him, as Rex Kwan-Do, is featured as a playable police officer in ''This Is The Police''. Hulk Hogan and Hollywood Hogan are featured in the following licensed wrestling video games:

Personal life

Legal issues

Belzer lawsuit

On March 27, 1985, just days prior to the inaugural WrestleMania, Richard Belzer requested on his cable TV talk show '' Hot Properties'' that Hogan demonstrate one of his signature wrestling moves. After consistently refusing but being egged on by Belzer, Hogan put Belzer in a modified Guillotine choke, which caused Belzer to pass out. When Hogan released him, Belzer hit his head on the floor, sustaining a laceration to the scalp that required a brief hospitalization. Belzer sued Hogan for $5 million and later settled out of court. On October 20, 2006, on the ''

Bubba the Love Sponge Show Bubba the Love Sponge Clem (born Todd Alan Clem, April 23, 1966) is an American radio personality who hosts ''The Bubba the Love Sponge Show'' on the radio station WWBA in Tampa, Florida, and the subscription service Bubba Army Radio. He can als ...

'', it was claimed (with Hogan in the studio) that the settlement totaled $5 million, half from Hogan and half from Vince McMahon. During his June 23, 2008, appearance on Sirius Satellite Radio's ''The Howard Stern Show'', Belzer suggested that the real settlement amount was actually closer to $400,000.

Testimony in McMahon trial

In 1994, Hogan, having received

immunity from prosecution Legal immunity, or immunity from prosecution, is a legal status wherein an individual or entity cannot be held liable for a violation of the law, in order to facilitate societal aims that outweigh the value of imposing liability in such cases. Su ...

, testified in the trial of Vince McMahon relating to shipments of steroids received by both parties from WWF physician George T. Zahorian III. Under oath, Hogan admitted that he had used

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...

s since 1976 to gain size and weight, but that McMahon had neither sold him the drugs nor ordered him to take them. The evidence given by Hogan proved extremely costly to the government's case against McMahon. Due to this and jurisdictional issues, McMahon was found not guilty.

Gawker lawsuit

In April 2012, a sex tape between Hogan and Heather Clem, the estranged wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, emerged online. On October 4, 2012,

Gawker ''Gawker'' is an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers and based in New York City focusing on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. Founded in ...

released a short clip of the video. In the video, Bubba can be heard saying that the couple can "do their thing" and he will be in his office. At the end of the video, he can also be heard telling Heather, "If we ever need to retire, here is our ticket". Hogan later told Howard Stern on his satellite radio show that, "it was a bad choice and a very low point" and "I was with some friends and made a wrong choice. It has devastated me, I have never been this hurt". On October 15, 2012, Hogan filed a lawsuit against Bubba and Heather Clem for invading his privacy. A

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fina ...

with Bubba was announced on October 29, 2012. Clem publicly apologized to Hogan. In December 2012, a federal court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, found that Gawker's publication of the video snippet did not violate

U.S. copyright law The copyright law of the United States grants monopoly protection for "original works of authorship". With the stated purpose to promote art and culture, copyright law assigns a set of exclusive rights to authors: to make and sell copies of thei ...

. Hogan then joined Gawker in the ongoing action against Heather Clem in state court in Florida, alleging invasion of privacy, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeking $100 million in damages. On October 1, 2015, the ''New York Post'' reported that a Florida Judge granted Hogan access to Gawker's computer system for a forensic expert to search Gawker's computers and office. Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain, and on March 18, 2016, was awarded $115 million. Also, on August 11, 2016, a Florida judge gave Hogan control of the assets of

A.J. Daulerio Albert James Daulerio (born ) is an American writer and blogger. He is the former editor of Gawker and Deadspin. Daulerio famously published an excerpt of Hulk Hogan's sex tape, which led to a lawsuit and the bankruptcy and sale of Gawker Med ...

, former Gawker editor-in-chief, who was involved in the posting of Hogan's sex tape. Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel helped Hogan to finance his lawsuit against Gawker Media. On November 2, 2016, Gawker reached a $31 million settlement with Hogan.

Past fabrications

Hogan has been accused multiple times of fabricating elements of his past, including that he was one of the last people to see Kerry Von Erich prior to his death, that an experience with a terminally ill child through the Make-A-Wish Foundation at SummerSlam in 1992 inspired the songs on his ''Hulk Rules'' album (despite the fact that he never made an appearance at the event and was not working for the WWF at the time), that he was scouted by MLB teams prior to having suffered an elbow injury, that he played in the Little League World Series and finished with a batting average of .714 (despite

Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationThe Undertaker injured his neck at the Survivor Series in 1991, that Elvis Presley was a fan of his (despite having died two years before Hogan's debut), that both The Rolling Stones and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

wanted him to play bass for the band, that André the Giant weighed over 600 pounds at the time of their match at WrestleMania III, and that he was offered the starring role in the film ''

The Wrestler The Wrestler may refer to: * ''The Wrestler'' (1974 film), an American film directed by James A. Westman * ''The Wrestler'' (2008 film), an American film directed by Darren Aronofsky * "The Wrestler" (song), a song from the 2008 film written and ...

'' but turned it down. During an appearance on Bubba the Love Sponge, Hogan claimed to have a 10-inch penis. During the Gawker trial, he admitted in court that this was not true, claiming he was speaking as the character Hulk Hogan, and not as Terry Bollea.

Family

On December 18, 1983, Hogan married Linda Claridge. They have a daughter

(born May 5, 1988) and a son Nick (born July 27, 1990). Hogan made his personal life the centerpiece of the television show ''

'', which included his wife and two children. According to an interview in the '' National Enquirer'', Christiane Plante claimed that Hogan had an affair with her in 2007 while the Hogan family was shooting ''Hogan Knows Best''. Plante was 33 years old at the time and had worked with Brooke Hogan on her 2006 album. On November 20, 2007, Linda filed for divorce in Pinellas County, Florida. In November 2008, Linda claimed to the public that she made the decision to end her marriage after finding out about Hogan's affair. In his 2009 autobiography, Hogan acknowledged that Linda on numerous occasions suspected he was having infidelities whenever he developed friendships with other women, but denied allegations that he ever cheated on her. Hogan only retained around 30% of the couple's liquid assets totaling around $10 million in the divorce settlement. Hogan considered committing suicide after the divorce and credits Laila Ali, his co-star on ''American Gladiators'', with preventing him from doing so. Hulk Hogan began a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel in early 2008. The two were engaged in November 2009 and married on December 14, 2010, in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

. On February 28, 2022, Hogan stated on Twitter that he and McDaniel divorced. Hogan became engaged to yoga instructor Sky Daily in July 2023, proposing to her at actor Corin Nemec's wedding reception. They married on September 22, 2023.

Beliefs

In 2007, he has spoken about his faith in his life saying, "

've A contraction is a shortened version of the spoken and written forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters and sounds. In linguistic analysis, contractions should not be confused with crasis, abbreviations ...

leaned on my religion. I was saved when I was 14. I accepted Christ as my savior. He died on the cross and paid for my sins ..I could have went the wrong way. I could have self-destructed, but I took the high road". On December 20, 2023, he was baptized at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida.

Health

Hogan has suffered numerous health problems, particularly with his back since retiring as a wrestler following the years of heavy weight-training and jolting as a wrestler. In January 2013, Hogan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute for $50 million, citing that the medical firm persuaded him to undergo a half-dozen "unnecessary and ineffective" spinal operations that worsened his back problems. He claimed that the six procedures he underwent over a period of 19 months only gave him short-term relief. After the procedures failed to cure his back problems, Hogan underwent traditional spinal fusion surgery in December 2010, which enabled him to return to his professional activities. In addition, the Laser Spine Institute used his name on their advertisements without his permission.

Awards and honors

Hogan was honored as the 2008 King of the Krewe of Bacchus, a New Orleans carnival organization. Hogan visited the

Children's Hospital of New Orleans Children's Hospital of New Orleans (CHNOLA) is a non-profit, pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The hospital has 229 pediatric beds and is affiliated the Louisiana State University Health Science ...

and rode in the parade where he threw doubloons with his likeness. Hogan received the honor in part because meeting Hogan is one of the most requested "wishes" of the terminally ill children benefited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Hogan was inducted in the Boys and Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame on May 3, 2018.

Championships and accomplishments

HoF 2015-03-28 20-00-32 ILCE-6000 5003 DxO (17364523999)

International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (IPWHF) is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum that is located in Albany, New York (state), New York. The museum was founded by Seth Turner, Tony Vellano, the founder of P ...

**Class of 2021 * New Japan Pro-Wrestling ** IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original version) ( 1 time) ** IWGP League Tournament (1983) ** MSG Tag League Tournament (1982, 1983) with

Greatest 18 Club (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

inductee *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

** Class of 2003 * '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' ** Comeback of the Year (1994, 2002) ** Feud of the Year (1986) ** Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1983, 1999) ** Match of the Year (1985) ** Match of the Year (1988) ** Match of the Year (1990) ** Match of the Year (2002) ** Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1996, 1998) ** Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1985, 1989, 1990) ** Wrestler of the Year (1987, 1991, 1994) ** Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 1991 ** Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the ''PWI Years'' in 2003 ** Ranked No. 44 and No. 57 of the top 100 tag teams of the ''PWI Years'' with

and Randy Savage in 2003 * Southeastern Championship Wrestling ** NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) ( 1 time) ** NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division) (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) * '' Tokyo Sports'' ** Best Foreigner Award (1983) ** Match of the Year (1991) * World Championship Wrestling ** WCW World Heavyweight Championship ( 6 times) * World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE ** WWF/WWE Championship ( 6 times) **

( 1 time) with Edge ** Royal Rumble (

) ** WWE Hall of Fame (2 times) *** Class of 2005 – individually *** Class of 2020 – as a member of the New World Order * '' Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' ** Strongest Wrestler (1983) ** Best Babyface (1982–1991) ** Best Box Office Draw (1997) ** Best Gimmick (1996) ** Feud of the Year (1986) ** Feud of the Year (1996) ** Most Charismatic (1985–1987, 1989–1991) ** Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000) ** Most Obnoxious (1994, 1995) ** Most Overrated (1985, 1986, 1994–1998) ** Most Unimproved (1994, 1995) ** Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (1985, 1986, 1991, 1994–1999) ** Worst Feud of the Year (1991) ** Worst Feud of the Year (1995) ** Worst Feud of the Year (1998) ** Worst Feud of the Year (2000) ** Worst on Interviews (1995) ** Worst Wrestler (1997) ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (1987) ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (1997) ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (1998) ** Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ( Class of 1996)

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

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Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame profile

TNA Impact Wrestling profile (archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hogan, Hulk 1953 births 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century male professional wrestlers Actors from Pinellas County, Florida American autobiographers American Christians American food industry businesspeople American lyricists American male bass guitarists American male film actors American male guitarists American male pop singers American male professional wrestlers American male non-fiction writers American male rappers American male singer-songwriters American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors American musicians of Panamanian descent American people of French descent American people of Scottish descent American professional wrestlers of Italian descent American radio personalities American rock bass guitarists American rock guitarists American rock singers American rock songwriters American session musicians American sportspeople of Panamanian descent American television hosts American writers of Italian descent Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Businesspeople from Miami Businesspeople from Tampa, Florida Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan G1 Climax winners Guitarists from Florida Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Total Nonstop Action Wrestling executives Living people Male actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Male actors from Miami Male actors from Tampa, Florida Masked wrestlers Musicians from Augusta, Georgia Musicians from Miami Musicians from Tampa, Florida New World Order (professional wrestling) members Participants in American reality television series People associated with the 2024 United States presidential election People associated with direct selling Professional wrestlers from Florida Professional wrestlers from Georgia (U.S. state) Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Radio personalities from Georgia (U.S. state) Radio personalities from Miami Radio personalities from Tampa, Florida Rappers from Georgia (U.S. state) Rappers from Miami Record producers from Florida Record producers from Georgia (U.S. state) Royal Rumble winners Singer-songwriters from Florida Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from Augusta, Georgia Sportspeople from Clearwater, Florida Sportspeople from Miami Sportspeople from Tampa, Florida Stampede Wrestling alumni Television personalities from Florida Television personalities from Georgia (U.S. state) Television producers from Florida Television producers from Georgia (U.S. state) University of South Florida alumni WCW World Heavyweight Champions World Tag League (NJPW) winners World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) Writers from Augusta, Georgia Writers from Miami Writers from Tampa, Florida WWE Champions WWE Hall of Fame inductees