When you mention professional wrestling to the average
person on the street, they may have never saw a match, but rest assured,
they’ll know it’s “that thing that Hulk Hogan does”.
“The Immortal” Hulk Hogan was the first in the sport to
achieve mainstream popularity in the 1980’s and beyond. Hulkamania ran wild and
brought the professional wrestling business to a whole different level.
Let’s be honest. Today’s superstars owe their million dollar
paychecks to Hulk Hogan. Vince McMahon’s vision for Wrestlemania 1 in 1985
probably wouldn’t have worked without Hulk Hogan in the main event.
If Wrestlemania didn’t work, there wouldn’t be a WWE and
there would be no Wrestlemania. This year, we’re going to see Wrestlemania 30
in the New Orleans Superdome bring in nearly 70 thousand fans and millions of
dollars of revenue for the company.
Hogan was born as Terry Eugene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia in
1953. He grew up a fan of baseball and music. Despite his massive physical
stature, professional wrestling wasn’t even on his radar.
While in high school, Hogan began attending wrestling events
at the Tampa Sportatorium and looked up to guys like “The American Dream” Dusty
Rhodes and “Superstar” Billy Graham for inspiration. When he first saw the
“Superstar” on TV, he wanted to match his look.
Hogan went to college at Hillsborough Community College and
the University of South Florida. When his music gigs for his band, “Ruckus”,
got in the way of his studies, he chose music and dropped out of the University
of South Florida.
Some of the wrestlers that were competing in the Florida
region would visit the bars where Ruckus performed and when the Brisco
brothers, Jack and Gerald, got eyes on Hogan, they were greatly impressed with
his physical stature.
The Brisco brothers went back and asked Hiro Matsuda, a
trainer well known for roughing up his trainees, to train Hogan. He agreed and
when the brothers asked Hulk to try wrestling, he decided to give it a try.
As Hogan came up through the ranks in the southern territories
as the Super Destroyer and Terry Boulder, he appeared on a local talk show in
Memphis where he sat next to Lou Ferrigno. The talk show host noticed that
Hogan actually dwarfed Ferrigno, the star of the “Incredible Hulk” television
series. After his appearance on the show, he became Terry “The Hulk” Boulder.
In late 1979, he was introduced to Vince McMahon Sr. about
working for the World Wrestling Federation. McMahon wanted him to have an Irish
last name so he became Hulk Hogan.
This run with the company was short, but culminated in a big
match with Andre the Giant at Shea Stadium in August 1980 and a big World
Championship shot against Bob Backland.
Hogan moved on to New Japan Pro Wrestling and the American
Wrestling Association in the early 1980’s. The reason for the move to Verne
Gagne’s AWA was for filming a scene in Rocky 3 against McMahon’s wishes.
After money problems with the AWA, Hogan looked to leave the
promotion in 1983 and Vince McMahon Jr., whom had just purchased the WWF from
his ailing father, offered Hogan a contract. Hogan agreed and from there,
McMahon chose Hogan to showcase as the company’s main attraction.
Hogan became a babyface character and in 1984, he defeated
the Iron Sheik to become the WWF Champion. From there, Hulkamania ran roughshod
over the professional wrestling business and pop culture in general.
Hogan came out to the ring each night to “Real American” by
Rick Derringer, which has become an iconic song over the years. To this day,
the WWE Universe will go wild when they hear the opening riffs to “Real
American”. Hogan urged the kids to eat their vitamins and say their prayers, and
became a hero to them.
He was regularly booked against unstoppable monsters such as
Andre the Giant, King Kong Bundy, Zeus, and Earthquake, and would overcome the
odds after “Hulking up”, hitting the big boot, and finishing his opponents off
with a big leg drop.
Hogan went on to headline 8 of the first 9 Wrestlemanias and
led McMahon’s “sports entertainment” movement into uncharted waters, alongside
guys like The Ultimate Warrior and “Macho Man” Randy Savage, who will surely be
subjects of future “Flashback Friday” pieces.
Hogan was the most requested celebrity of the 1980’s for the
Make-a-Wish Foundation, he appeared on late night talk shows, starred in
Hollywood movies, he had t-shirts, coffee mugs, lunch boxes, action figures,
and even his own Saturday morning cartoon. The “Hulk Hogan” brand began to
transcend professional wrestling.
In 1992, stories came out alleging that Dr. George, a doctor
for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, illegally sold steroids to
wrestlers, naming Hogan in particular.
Due to intense public scrutiny, Hogan took a leave of
absence from the WWF and eventually left the company in 1993. In 1994, Hogan
appeared in front of congress to testify in the trial of Vince McMahon
throughout the steroid scandal. He admitted to using anabolic steroids since
1976 to gain size and weight, but denied that McMahon sold him the drugs or
ordered him to take them.
The evidence provided by Hogan proved to be costly and
McMahon was found not guilty. If McMahon were found guilty and went to jail,
the WWF would have shut their doors. AGAIN, today’s crop of WWE superstars owe
their paychecks to Hulk Hogan.
After the trial, things got interesting when Hogan jumped to
the competition in the summer of 1994 and signed with Ted Turner’s WCW
promotion. At the time, Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in the business and his
presence instantaneously made the WCW a threat to McMahon’s WWF.
Now that Hogan was with the competition, would he destroy
the company that he helped build? I think we all know the answer to that
question, but you’ll get the story in Part 2 of this “Flashback” Friday feature
with Hulk Hogan next week.
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