Everything about Hulk Hogan totally explained
Terry Gene Bollea (born
August 11 1953), better known by his
ring name Hulk Hogan, is an
American actor, semi-retired
professional wrestler, and former
rock bassist. He currently stars on the
VH1 reality show
Hogan Knows Best and is the new co-host of
American Gladiators on
NBC.
Bollea had mainstream popularity in the mid
1980s through the early
1990s as the all-American, working-class hero character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF--now
World Wrestling Entertainment) and was notable in the mid-to-late
1990s as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, a villainous gang leader, in
World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following WCW's fold, he made a brief return to the WWE in the early
2000s, revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas.
Bollea entered the
WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, and is officially a twelve-time
world champion: a
six time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and a
six time WWF/E Champion He was raised in
Tampa, Florida. As a boy, he was a pitcher in
Little League baseball. He began watching professional events at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered
Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing
bass guitar in several
Florida-based
rock bands. Many of the wrestlers who competed in the Florida territory at that time visited the bars where Hogan was performing. He then attended the
University of South Florida, of which he later dropped out, though he spent most of his time at a local gym, where he met pro wrestler
Mike Graham, who is the son of legendary wrestler and
National Wrestling Alliance president
Eddie Graham. Hogan's physical stature also caught the attention of
Jack Brisco and his brother
Gerald. Together, they convinced Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan agreed, and in 1976, Mike Graham introduced Hogan to
Hiro Matsuda, who was among the sport’s top trainers. According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you want to be a wrestler?" and purposely broke Hogan's leg.
Wrestling career
Early career
Within a year, Matsuda had prepared him for his professional debut, in which Eddie Graham booked him against
Brian Blair in
Fort Myers, Florida on
August 10 1977. A short time later, Bollea donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer," a hooded character first played by
Don Jardine and subsequently used by several other wrestlers.
A few months later, he joined Louie Tillet’s
Alabama territory, where he tag teamed with Ed Leslie (later known as
Brutus Beefcake) as Terry and Ed Boulder. During this time, he appeared on a talk show, where he sat beside
Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series
The Incredible Hulk. The host commented how Terry, who stood 6 ft 5 in and weighed 295 pounds with 24" biceps, actually dwarfed "the Hulk." As a result, Bollea began performing as
Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as
Sterling Golden. and started his first big feud with
Andre the Giant which culminated in a match with Andre at
Shea Stadium underneath the famous
Bruno Sammartino-
Larry Zbyszko Steel Cage match. Hulk Hogan claims in his autobiography that he and André the Giant were the reason for the Shea gate. However, Sammartino/Zbyszko sold out everywhere they wrestled leading up the show. Hogan and Andre wrestled in White Plains, New York, drawing 1,200 in a building that held 3,500 as the main event before they wrestled at Shea.
American Wrestling Association (1981-1984)
After filming his scene for
Rocky III, against McMahon's wishes, Hogan made his debut in the
American Wrestling Association (AWA), owned by
Verne Gagne. Hogan started his AWA run as a
heel, taking on "Luscious"
Johnny Valiant as his manager, but AWA audiences loved the muscular and more charismatic Hogan, and soon the AWA's bookers were compelled to turn Hogan
face.
Using "
Eye of the Tiger" as his theme music, Hogan soon became the promotion’s top babyface, and throughout 1983, he engaged in a big feud against AWA World Champion
Nick Bockwinkel and his manager
Bobby Heenan. However, Gagne continued to tease the AWA audience by booking numerous
screwjobs meant to keep the championship with Bockwinkel, who was a veteran of the territory and had assumed the mantle of the organization's centerpiece following Gagne's retirement from active competition. Because Hogan wasn't an "old school" technical wrestler, Gagne wouldn't let him be champion. On several occasions, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel to win the title, only to have the decision later reversed. This practice increasingly drew the ire of the fans, so much so that on one occasion, according to Hogan's autobiography and other books, one crowd nearly rioted until Hogan himself calmed the audience down. Hogan himself also began to grow frustrated with Verne Gagne's unwillingness to give Hogan a larger share of his merchandise sales. Eventually, Gagne was finally ready to book Hogan to win the AWA title; however, according to Hogan, Gagne wanted a piece of the large money Hogan was making from his frequent trips to
Japan, more control over the bookings that Hogan took overseas. Hogan refused flatly, saying he didn't need the AWA title at that point. Just then, he was lured back to the Northeast by
Vince McMahon Jr., who had just recently purchased the WWF from his ailing father.
Over twenty years later, just prior to Hulk Hogan's
WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2005, the revived AWA, under the authority of owner Dale Gagne (real last name: Gagner), relented and acknowledged the legitimacy of Hogan's two title wins over Nick Bockwinkel, making him a two-time AWA champion. However, this resolution has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as an entirely different body than the Verne Gagne-owned AWA of old. As recently as the release of the DVD
The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, interviews between Hogan and the Gagnes show that there's still animosity between both parties, indicating the unlikelihood Hogan's AWA title reign would have been retroactively instated under the original ownership.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980-1983)
A great deal of Hogan's early success was achieved in
New Japan Pro Wrestling. Japanese wrestling fans were in awe of the gargantuan blond American, and nicknamed him "Ichiban" (which translates to "Number One"). Hogan first appeared in Japan on
May 13 1980, while he was still with the WWF. He toured the country from time to time over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from
Tatsumi Fujinami to
Abdullah the Butcher. When competing in Japan, Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style U.S. fans became accustomed to seeing from him. He also periodically left his feet while performing moves, like armbar takedowns and the
enzuigiri. Another difference is that Hogan used a running forearm lariat (called the "Axe Bomber") as his finisher in Japan, as opposed to the running leg drop that has been his traditional finisher in America.
On
June 2 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) tournament winner, defeating Japanese wrestling icon
Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a 10-man tournament featuring top talent from throughout the world. Initially, Hogan was a heel, allied with veteran wrestler-turned-manager
"Classy" Freddie Blassie; however, this was short-lived.
On
January 7,
1984 edition of
Championship Wrestling, Hogan saved
Bob Backlund from a three-way assault. Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's a great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around". The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on
January 23, Hogan won his first
WWF Championship, pinning The
Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his
corner) in
Madison Square Garden. The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund, On the
first-ever edition of
Saturday Night's Main Event, Hogan successfully defended the WWF title against
Cowboy Bob Orton in a match which Hogan won by disqualification.
In the process, Hogan was portrayed as a real-life
superhero while reaching out to young fans. The consummate role model, he was named the most requested celebrity of the 1980s for the
Make-a-Wish Foundation children's charity. As a result, Hogan transformed the business from a fringe pastime for blue-collar violence-seekers into a sports entertainment spectacle that appealed to prime-time audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Never before had the industry seen anything like Hulkamania, as Hulk Hogan
action figures and T-shirts began turning up in malls across the nation. Moreover, Hogan was featured on the covers of
Sports Illustrated,
TV Guide, and
People magazines, while also appearing on
The Tonight Show and having his own
CBS Saturday morning cartoon titled
Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. Hogan went on to headline eight of the first nine WrestleMania events, and he also co-hosted
Saturday Night Live on
March 30 1985 during this lucrative run. Hogan also owned another money-making machine in the early 1990s: AT&T reported that his
900 number information line was the single biggest 900 number in the industry from 1991 to 1993. Hogan operated the 900 number through his stint in WWF and then recreated it when he joined
WCW.
WWF Champion (1984-1988)
On
October 5,
1985 edition of
Saturday Night's Main Event, he successfully defended the title against
Nikolai Volkoff in a
flag match. He met long-time rival Roddy Piper in a WWF title match at the historic
Wrestling Classic pay-per-view (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,
"The Magnificient" Don Muraco,
King Kong Bundy (in a
steel cage match at
WrestleMania 2), Paul Orndorff and
Hercules Hernandez.
In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag matches with
The Machines as
Hulk Machine under a mask copied from
NJPW character (
gimmick) "
Super Strong Machine." At
third WrestleMania 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 two decades. A new
storyline was introduced in early 1987: Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three consecutive years. André the Giant, a good friend came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterwards, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years." At
WrestleMania III, Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan bodyslammed the 520-pound
Frenchman and won the match after executing a scoop slam and a leg drop.
Hogan remained WWF Champion for
four years and 13 days (1,474 days). He became the third longest reigning WWF Champion in the process, only after
Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund. In front of 33 million viewers, however, Hogan finally lost the belt to André on
February 5 edition of
The Main Event after a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man"
Ted DiBiase and "evil" twin referee
Earl Hebner (in place of the match's appointed arbiter, his twin brother
Dave Hebner). After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their storyline business deal. However, later that night, in the main event, Hogan interfered and helped his on/off friend
"Macho Man" Randy Savage in beating Ted DiBiase to win the vacant WWF title.
Together, Hogan, Savage, and
manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as
The Mega Powers. Savage played an instrumental role in Hogan's character development. After Savage became WWF Champion at WrestleMania IV, they feuded with
The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant), and defeated them at the main event of
the first-ever SummerSlam. However, the Mega Powers soon imploded from within in
1989, due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were "more than friends." This all started at
Royal Rumble 1989, when Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage from the
Royal Rumble match. They began a feud with
The Twin Towers,
After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage and Mega Powers exploded
Four more reigns (1989-1993)
Hogan's second run lasted a year, during which time he starred in the movie
No Holds Barred. The film was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star in "No Holds Barred,"
Tom Lister, Jr., who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus. Zeus was a
monster heel who was "jealous" over Hogan's higher billing and wanted revenge. Hogan, however, was easily able to defeat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at
SummerSlam 1989, in which Hogan and
Brutus Beefcake topped Zeus and Savage. Hogan and Beefcake defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at
No Holds Barred PPV to end the feud.
Also during his second run, Hogan won the
1990 Royal Rumble match. He
dropped the title to
Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title vs. title match at
WrestleMania VI. It was the first time in over seven years that Hogan suffered an uncontroversial pinfall defeat. This title match was unique because the two wrestlers were both faces, and Hogan graciously handed Warrior the belt and hugged him at the conclusion of the match. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe caused Hogan to add a fourth demandment: believing in yourself. His name also changed:
The Immortal Hulk Hogan. (In his AWA/WWWF days his name was
The Incredible Hulk Hogan).
Hogan became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row At
WrestleMania VII, Hogan stood up for the USA against
Iraqi-sympathizer
Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship. Hogan started a feud with
The Undertaker in the fall of
1991 and lost the WWF title to Undertaker at
Survivor Series 1991 due to interference from
Ric Flair. Just six days later, Hogan regained the title in a match held on a special pay-per-view named
This Tuesday in Texas, beginning his fourth WWF Championship reign
The WWF Championship was decided at
Royal Rumble 1992 in the Royal Rumble match. Hogan was eliminated by storyline friend
Sid Justice and failed to regain the championship. The two patched things up and teamed up together on
February 8,
1992 edition of
Saturday Night's Main Event against the new WWF Champion Ric Flair and The Undertaker. Sid turned heel by abandoning Hogan but Flair slapped the
referee, which gave Hogan and Sid a disqualification victory. This began a feud between Hogan and Sid. In the ensuing five months, Hulk Hogan announced he was contemplating retirement from wrestling and would "bow out" after his match against Sid at
WrestleMania VIII. Hogan eventually won the match via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager
Harvey Wippleman. Hogan was then attacked by
Papa Shango (who was scripted to cause the disqualification, but arrived too late), and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior. Later that night, Hogan scooped his fifth WWF Championship by overcoming
Yokozuna only moments after Yokozuna's defeat of
Bret Hart. At the first annual
King of the Ring pay-per-view on
June 13,
1993, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion, Yokozuna, in his first title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. After his victory, Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a
Banzai Drop amidst the crying children and cursing adults. After overcoming the likes of Flair,,
The Butcher (former partner Brutus Beefcake)
Vader, and the
Dungeon of Doom for the next eighteen months, Hogan
dropped the belt to
The Giant at
Halloween Havoc 1995 via DQ. Following from the controversial loss (which was due to a "contract clause"), the WCW title became vacant.
In early-1996, Hogan fueded with The Giant and with the
Alliance To End Hulkamania. After coming out victorious from his fueds, Hogan began to only appear occasionally on WCW programming. It was also around this time, WCW fans began to grow tired of seeing Hogan's "red-and-yellow good guy" persona they'd seen for ten years in the WWF. After the match, Hogan delivered a now-infamous
promo, accosting the fans and WCW for underappreciating his talent and drawing power. This culminated with Hogan's announcement of the formation of a "New World Order." He spray painted a black "nWo" across the title belt, scribbled across the nameplate, and referred to the title as the "nWo title" during this and any other time he held the title while in the nWo. The Giant and Roddy Piper. Hogan then started a feud with
Lex Luger after Luger and The Giant defeated Hogan and
Dennis Rodman in a tag team match at
Bash at the Beach 1997.
On
August 4,
1997 edition of
Nitro, Hogan lost the WCW title to Luger. However, five days later, at
Road Wild 1997, Hogan defeated Luger to regain the WCW title and begin his third WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan then lost the belt to Sting in a hugely-hyped, eighteen-months-in-the-making match at
Starrcade 1997. 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. After a rematch the following night, where Hogan controversially regained the title, the WCW Championship became vacant.
Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just costed Hogan from winning the title at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can. Savage took the World Championship from Sting at
Spring Stampede 1998, while Hogan teamed with Kevin Nash to take on
Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever
Bat match. Marking the breakup of the original nWo, Hogan betrayed Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night for his championship. Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW
booked him in a match against newcomer and then
WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. After a final bit of interference by
Curt Hennig was thwarted by
Karl Malone at ringside, Goldberg was able to perform a
spear and a
jackhammer on a distracted Hogan, pinning him to gain his first and only WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
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
Bash at the Beach 1998 and at
Road Wild 1998, he and
Bischoff lost to Page and
Jay Leno thanks to interference from
Kevin Eubanks, who leveled Bischoff with a Diamond Cutter. Hogan also had a highly hyped rematch with
Warrior at
Halloween Havoc 1998, where his nephew
Horace 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
legit. In the long run, however, both announcements were false and merely done as a
publicity stunt attempting to draw some of the hype of
Jesse Ventura's
Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him. This reformed the divided nWo branches -- nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac -- which began feuding with
Bill Goldberg and
The Four Horsemen.
Conflicts with Russo (1999-2000)
He was soon cheated out of the WCW Championship to
Ric Flair at
Uncensored 1999 in a
Steel Cage First Blood match. A heavily bleeding Flair won via pinfall thanks to biased referee
Charles Robinson. During that match, however, Hogan began to show some signs that a face turn was imminent, showing off some old tactics like his "Hulking up" no-sell.
On
August 9 1999, he started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his
son, Hogan came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main-event 6-man tag team match. Injuries and frustrations were mounting up however, and he was absent from television from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book
Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bollea said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative
booker Vince Russo and wasn't told when he'd be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so. On
October 24 at
Halloween Havoc 1999, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which he'd lost to Sting at
Fall Brawl 1999 the previous month, when Sting beat Hogan by cheating and had turned heel in the process). However, Hogan came to the ring in street clothes, laid down for the pin, and left the ring.
Soon after his return in February 2000, at
Bash at the Beach 2000, Hogan was involved in a controversial,
real-life incident with
Vince Russo. Hogan was scheduled to wrestle
Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, there was a dispute between Hogan and Russo. Unbeknownst to Hogan, Russo told Jarrett to lie down in the middle of the ring and asked Hogan to pin him straight away. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "
Is this your idea, Russo...? That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!" Russo responded by coming out and saying that "
From day one, that I've been in WCW, I've done nothing... nothing... but deal with the bullshit of the politics behind that curtain." Since Hogan refused to
job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship was created, setting the stage for a title match between
Booker T and Jeff Jarrett later that night. which was eventually dismissed in 2002. Russo claims the whole thing was a work, and Hogan claims that Russo made it a shoot. Hogan's assumption was that since WCW could no longer afford to pay Hogan for any more pay-per-view appearances, Hogan was never called back and kept off WCW television. Eric Bischoff contends that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work, claiming 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. The nWo feuded with both Austin and The Rock, and Hogan accepted The Rock's challenge to a match at
WrestleMania X8. At the event, Hogan asked Hall and Nash not to interfere, wanting to defeat The Rock by himself. The crowd favored Hogan throughout the match, effectively turning him
face. The Rock
cleanly won the contest but befriended Hogan at the end of the bout and helped him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude.
After the match, Hogan was a definite face again, 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 '80s was redone with the text "Hulk
Still Rules." 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. At
Backlash 2002, he defeated
Triple H for his sixth and final WWF "Undisputed" Championship. He lost the belt to
The Undertaker at
Judgment Day 2002.
On
July 4,
2002 edition of
SmackDown!, Hogan teamed with
Edge to defeat
Billy and Chuck and capture the
WWE Tag Team Championship for the
first time. This marked the only time Hogan ever won a title that wasn't the major heavyweight singles championship of the promotion he was in. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's theme song "Real American." They later
dropped the titles to
The Un-Americans (
Lance Storm and
Christian), at
Vengeance 2002.
After an
angle with
Brock Lesnar, which saw Lesnar hand Hogan a defeat in August 2002, Hogan went on hiatus. He returned in early 2003 to battle The Rock once again at
No Way Out 2003 and defeated
Vince McMahon at
WrestleMania XIX in a match billed as "20 years in the making." He then had another run as Hulk Hogan, shaving off the black Hollywood beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name.
Mr. America (2003)
Later, he'd a run as the mask-wearing spoof superhero
Mr. America. The persona was supposed to be Hulk Hogan in
disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme music and used all of Hogan's signature gestures, moves, and phrases. He was the subject of a storyline that took place after Hollywood Hulk Hogan was forced by Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract. McMahon tried desperately to prove that Mr. America was indeed Hulk Hogan but failed at all attempts. Mr. America even passed a
lie detector test. After the show went off the air, Mr. America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed Hulk Hogan, putting his finger to his lips telling the fans to keep quiet about his secret. The next week, Hogan quit WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the
July 3 edition of
SmackDown!, Vince McMahon showed the footage of Mr. America unmasking as Hogan and "fired" him, although Hogan had already quit in real life. Hogan was applauded for several minutes before he was able to make a speech. When he paused during his speech the crowd chanted "One More Match! One More Match!", the fans also chanted "Austin, Hogan"(referring to a Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan match). Hogan responded "that may be a good match someday".
At WrestleMania 21 on
April 3, the "American Patriot" Hogan came out to rescue
Eugene, who was being attacked by
Muhammad Hassan and
Khosrow Daivari. Some of the build-up to Hogan's induction into the Hall of Fame and preparation for this angle were shown on the first season of
Hogan Knows Best.
World Wrestling Entertainment (Fourth run, Part-Time 2005-present)
The next night on
RAW, Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite
Shawn Michaels. The following week, Michaels approached
RAW General Manager
Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but told Michaels if he found a partner he'd be granted a tag-team match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the
April 18 episode of
RAW, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared, and saved Michaels and accept his offer. At
Backlash 2005, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels.
Hogan then appeared on
July 4 edition of
RAW as the special guest of
Carlito on his talk-show segment "Carlito's Cabana." After being asked questions by Carlito concerning his daughter
Brooke Hogan, Hogan proceeded to attack Carlito. This was then followed up by an appearance of
Kurt Angle, who made comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan. Hogan was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Kurt Angle in a tag match. During the post match celebration, Michaels delivered a
Sweet Chin Music to Hogan and walked off. The following week on
RAW, Michaels appeared on "
Piper's Pit" and challenged Hogan to face him one-on-one for the first time. Hogan appeared on
RAW one week later and accepted the challenge.
The match took place at
SummerSlam 2005. Initially, this match was discussed as being the first of two between Hogan and Michaels, with each man notching a victory. It was reported, however, that Hogan invoked his creative control, nixing anything less than a clean win for himself. The proposed second bout didn't take place, as Hogan would likely repeat his "clean win" credo. The match between Hogan and Michaels at SummerSlam was the main event of the night, and the two collided in a battle billed as "Legend vs. Icon." The match went back and forth, with two referees getting "knocked out" and Michaels using a steel chair to try to gain an advantage. Even after Michaels hit his
Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and mounted some offense against Michaels, finally hitting him with the legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself," and Hogan and Michaels shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd.
Prior to
WrestleMania 22, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer "Mean"
Gene Okerlund into the
WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan returned on
July 15,
2006 edition of
Saturday Night's Main Event with his daughter Brooke. During the show,
Randy Orton flirted with Hogan's daughter and later challenged Hulk to a match at
SummerSlam 2006, which Hogan won.
After months of saying he'd never work for
Vince McMahon again, Hogan came back for a one night appearance at RAW's 15th Anniversary special by defending
Hornswoggle against
The Great Khali. During his in-ring speech, Hogan said to never say never about another match and went onto mock the catchphrase of longtime rival
Randy Savage.
Independent circuit (2007)
After falling out with McMahon and WWE, Hogan was lured to
Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling
Jerry "The King" Lawler. The match had been promoted on Memphis Wrestling Prime Time for several months. However, on
April 12 2007, Lawler announced in a news conference that WWE had barred him from wrestling Hogan on the basis that
NBC performers (including Lawler, on the basis of co-hosting the NBC-owned
USA Network's
WWE Raw and his appearances on the biannual WWE
Saturday Night's Main Event) are contractually prohibited from appearing on
VH1, the channel on which
Hogan Knows Best airs. Lawler was replaced with
Paul Wight, formerly known as Big Show. He starred in his own television series,
Thunder in Paradise, in 1994. He is the star of
The Ultimate Weapon (1997), in which Brutus Beefcake also appears in a cameo.
Hogan plays an old guy in a bar in (2006) in which he sings and dances about being single.
Hogan also starred in a pair of
made-for-television movies, originally intended as a
pilot for an ongoing series for TNT, produced by Eric Bischoff. The movies,
Shadow Warriors: Assault on Devil's Island and
Shadow Warriors: Hunt for The Death Merchant, starred Hogan alongside
Carl Weathers and
Shannon Tweed as a freelance mercenary team.
Guest appearances
Hogan made
cameo appearances in
Muppets from Space, (the theatrical cut), and
Spy Hard as himself. Hogan was offered the role of
Zeus in
Little Hercules in 3D on an episode of
Hogan Knows Best and was shown during the filming of the movie. He also played a cameo in the end of the movie
Little Monsters.
Hogan made two appearances on
The A-Team (in 1985 and 1986), and along with
Roddy Piper, Hogan lent his voice for a few episodes of the stop-motion animation skit show,
Robot Chicken. He guest-starred in a two-part episode of
Suddenly Susan in 1999. In 2001, Hogan guest-starred on an episode of
Walker, Texas Ranger, playing a reformed criminal now operating a Christian Community Center and helping Walker steer teenagers away from gangs.
Host roles
Hogan hosts the comeback series of
American Gladiators, which has been picked up for a midseason run on
NBC in 2008.
Music and music video cameos
Hogan released a music CD,
Hulk Rules, as Hulk Hogan and
The Wrestling Boot Band. Also,
Green Jellÿ released a single, a duet with Hogan, performing
Gary Glitter's classic song
I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am).
He has also made cameos in several music videos. 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 ft.
Ginuwine, Hogan and his daughter
Brooke both made brief cameo appearances.
Endorsements and business ventures
Hulk Hogan's
Pastamania was a
restaurant in the
Mall of America in
Bloomington, Minnesota. It was created and financed by Hogan. It opened on the
Labor Day weekend of 1995 and was later heavily hyped on
World Championship Wrestling's live flagship show
WCW Monday Nitro, which actually premiered that September from the mall. The restaurant, which remained in operation for less than a year, featured such dishes as "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-A-Roos."
In an interview on both the
Tonight Show and
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Hogan claimed that the
George Foreman Grill was originally offered to him, but he failed to respond in time. George Foreman was called and he chose to endorse the grill instead of a blender. This claim was validated on an episode of
Hogan Knows Best, in which his wife Linda and the family are worried about Hogan's wrestling career and plead with him to take up a career in marketing. Hulk explains about turning down the Foreman grill, and his choice to invest in a shake-mixer instead, saying that whenever he thinks about investing in something "big", he thinks about what happened with the grill and the shake-mixer. However, he's since endorsed a similar product known as "The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill". He also has an energy drink, Hogan Energy, distributed by Socko Energy. It was featured in an episode of
Hogan Knows Best.
During an interview with
The Sun newspaper, Hogan claimed to be planning his own federation to compete against Vince McMahon. Hogan says he's raised $40 million of the $80-$100 million goal and his venture is something that will eventually revolutionize the sport of professional wrestling.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Signature taunts
- Hulk Up Combination (Hulk starts by taking punches while in a kneeling position and shaking violently as he raises to his feet upon which he points to the opponent and says (in unison with the crowd) "YOU!". He then punches his opponent until his opponent reaches the ropes. He then throws his opponent towards opposite ropes then hits his opponent with a big boot and finally hits the opponent with the Atomic Leg Drop)
- Wrist twist to cupping the ear
- Rapidly pointing at his opponent
- Finger wag
- Flexing arms
- Nicknames
- The Hulkster
- The Hulk
- The Immortal
- The Immortal Icon of Professional Wrestling
- The Incredible
- Hollywood
- Managers
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling
- World Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Federation | Entertainment
)