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HULK HOGAN
Pre-Hulk: Terry
Bollea was born on 8/11/53. As a musician in
Florida, the bar he worked at was frequented by
wrestlers. He was trained by Hiro Matsuda, who
broke Hulk's leg on his first day and gained his
respect by coming back when his leg healed. A
few years into his career, he was given the name
Hulk Hogan by Vince McMahon Sr. who wanted an
Irish villain. He was fired for accepting the
role of Thunderlips in Rocky 3.
AWA & Thunderlips: After appearing in
Rocky 3, he went on to fight in the AWA where he
became a good guy. As the top hero, he was
constantly thwarted by Nick Bockwinkle in his
quest to win the AWA title. He left due to money
issues and was hired by the new head of the WWF,
Vince McMahon. With the spread of cable TV,
wrestling shows became national & Vince wanted
Hulk to be the face of his company.
Hulkamania: Within
weeks, Hulk beat The Iron Shiek to become champ.
During his reign, the WWF invaded the areas of
other regional territories to become the number
1 promotion. His most notable feud at this time
involved Roddy Piper and it gained national
attention when Cyndi Lauper & Mr. T got
involved. This part of Hulk's career reached
it's peak when he beat Andre the Giant in front
of 90,000 fans at WrestleMania 3. Their rematch
took place live on NBC and Hulk lost the title.
Hulkamania part 2:
At this point, Hulk really got involved in
acting and his title reigns and appearances were
determined by his movie schedule. After several
years of this, some of the fans started turning
against Hulk and boos became audible. He wound
up leaving the WWF in disgrace after lying to
the fans about steroid use on the Arsenio Hall
show during the steroid trial era of the WWF.
The WCW rebirth:
While filming the TV show Thunder in Paradise,
he was approached by WCW and offered a
tremendous amount of money and a light schedule
to return to wrestling. He was a popular good
guy, but he never lost and the ways he won his
matches were turning off the fans. In
particular, WCW was Ric Flair territory & Hulk
just kept humiliating him. Hulk was wearing out
his welcome and needed to do something drastic.
The New World Order &
Hollywood Hogan: WCW signed Scott Hall & Kevin
Nash from the WWF and set up an angle where it
appeared they were invading. In their first
match, Hulk Hogan joined up with them and became
the leader of the bad guy NWO and was renamed
Hollywood Hogan. As bad guys, they dominated the
WCW for several years. Hulk left in controversy
when head booker Vince Russo insulted Hulk on a
PPV for not wanting to follow his script. Hulk
sued and never returned to WCW.
Return to the WWF: Hulk returned to the WWF in
2002 as a bad guy with the original NWO and
feuded with the Rock. The WWF fans didn't want
this version of Hulk and due to their cheering
Hulk over the Rock, the Hulk Hogan everyone
wanted to see again was back. Since then Hulk
has come and gone several times, most notably
feuding with Vince McMahon over who was
responsible for Hulkamania. In his longest
running feud, he finally worked out a long term
deal with Marvel comics for the use of the Hulk
name.
Hulk in Hollywood and reality TV: In 2005, VH1
premiered Hogan Knows Best, a reality show about
Hulk's home life. The show has been renewed for
a second season. While Hulk is away from the
ring, he spends his time trying to promote his
daughter Brooke's singing career and appearing
in movies. He still wrestles on a part-time
basis.
Notable Hulk Hogan
Matches:
World Title Victories:
WWF
1/23/1984: Wins WWF Title from The Iron Shiek
4/2/1989 Wrestlemania V: Wins WWF Title from
Randy Savage
3/24/1991 WrestleMania VII: Wins WWF Title from
Sgt. Slaughter
12/3/1991 Tuesday in Texas: Wins WWF Title from
The Undertaker
4/4/1993 WrestleMania IX: Wins WWF Title from
Yokozuna
4/21/2002 Backlash 2002: Wins WWF Title from
Triple H
WCW
7/17/1994 Bash at The Beach: Wins WCW Title from
Ric Flair
8/10/1996 Hog Wild: Wins WCW Title from The
Giant
8/9/1997 Hog Wild: Wins WCW Title from Lex Luger
4/20/1998: Wins WCW Title from Randy Savage
1/4/1999: Wins WCW Title from Kevin Nash
7/12/1999: Wins WCW Title from Randy Savage
Sources Include: Pro
Wrestling Illustrated Almanac & Hulk Hogan's
autobiography
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