Terrence Gene Bollea, best known as Hulk Hogan and Hollywood Hogan (born August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia), is an American professional wrestler and actor. In his years as Hulk Hogan, he became the most popular athlete in the history of the business. After a brief retirement, and a lawsuit over the use of the name "Hulk" he returned to the ring in 1994 with continuing success as Hollywood Hogan. During his career, he appeared and starred in several movies, and now busies himself managing the music career of his daughter, Brooke Hogan. Hogan is now considered a fourteen-time World Champion, since his AWA title reign was recently recognized as official.

Career

Bollea began wrestling professionally for the first time in 1978, using various names such as Sterling Golden, the Super Destroyer, and Terry Boulder. In 1980 he joined the World Wrestling Federation and was given the name Hulk Hogan by Vince McMahon Sr., then the majority owner of the WWF. The official explanation for the name was that many considered him bigger than Lou Ferrigno, who at the time was starring in the critically acclaimed series The Incredible Hulk. Also McMahon wanted him to be Irish, thus the name "Hogan." He started out as a heel. He was offered the role of Thunderlips in the movie Rocky III. Hogan wanted to use this opportunity for a potential movie career. McMahon refused to let Hogan do the film and he ended up firing Hogan as a result.

After the success of Rocky III, Hogan became a celebrity, and he joined the AWA based in Minnesota in 1981 shortly after the movie's release. Hogan was a great success in the AWA, and was lured back to the WWF in 1983 by Vince McMahon, Jr. after he bought the company from his father. Hogan was unhappy with how the AWA would not let him be the champion despite being by far the organization's most popular wrestler. McMahon wanted to expand the WWF from a regional promotion into a national entity. He used Hogan's charisma and name power to promote his new vision. Hogan became one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1980s, with loyal fans known as "Hulkamaniacs." He played the role of an honest and courageous good guy, reminding children to say their prayers and take their vitamins. A lot of fictitious rumors surround the Hogan sensation, employed in part by the WWF and later the WCW to sensationalize this star. One of the most common of these incorrect statistics is that Hogan was 6'6" tall. In fact, Hogan was never measured above 191.5cm, which is a bit less than 6'4". Hogan dyed his hair platinum blonde and wore a bandana. His usual colors were yellow and red; as a heel they were black and white. One statistic about Hogan that did stand, at least at the time, was that he had the largest (medically defined as longest) arms in professional sports. He held the title for a couple of years. Hogan's "24-inch pythons" were the most commonly used phrase in reference to his arms.

He used his popularity to gain television and movie roles. Along with 1982's Rocky III, he starred in No Holds Barred (1989), Suburban Commando (1991), Mr. Nanny (1993), Santa with Muscles (1996), and (1998). He made two appearances on The A-Team (in 1985 and 1986), and starred in his own television series, Thunder in Paradise, in 1994.

He briefly retired from wrestling in 1993. In 1994 he was lured back to the ring by Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, which was the WWF's main competitor at the time. After a couple of years there, he reinvented himself as a heel. He dyed his beard black and formed the nWo (New World Order), along with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, under the ring name "Hollywood" Hogan.

Hollywood Hogan arguably remade the heel character. Rather than the traditional "bad guy" the character of Hollywood gave birth to a more "realistic" villain, with none of the usual gimmicks. Some have placed Hollywood Hogan as one of the best heels in pro wrestling history.

Hollywood held the WCW/nWo title for most of 1997. He lost the belt to Sting at StarrCade in December of that year, in one of the most hyped matches in pro wrestling history. Hogan eventually turned on the nWo after several years and returned to his familiar babyface persona.

Some time after the demise of WCW in 2001, he appeared in WWE, briefly reforming the nWo with Hall and then heel, Nash. Soon after arriving, he fought a memorable match against The Rock at WrestleMania X8. This was Hogan's only WrestleMania match fought as a heel, but the crowd cheered wildly for Hogan, effectively turning him face and The Rock a hated face during the match. The Rock 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, he had another run as the Hulkster and later Mr. America, including a one-month run with the WWE Championship, before departing WWE once again in 2003. He has since appeared in brief stints for TNA.

Many pundits have criticized him for using backstage political leverage to hog screen time, retain titles, and generally hold down talented workers who might otherwise have deserved to share the limelight with him. At the same time, his career is filled with legendary performances against a wide variety of opponents, ranging from newcomers to some of the greatest champions ever. At any rate, Hulk Hogan has achieved legendary status in the wrestling industry.

Today, he is semi-retired from wrestling, focusing mainly on managing the singing career of his teenage daughter Brooke Hogan.

On April 2, 2005, the night before WrestleMania 21, Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame along with "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Jimmy Hart, Nikolai Volkoff, The Iron Sheik, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. He was inducted by Rocky III director and co-star Sylvester Stallone. Hogan also made an appearance at WrestleMania 21, saving injured wrestler Eugene from a two on one attack by controversial Arab-American heels Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari before treating the crowd to a classic Hogan "posedown." [1]

The weekend after WrestleMania 21 the independent American Wrestling Association (restarted in in 1996 with new ownership) announced a revision of its history books. Since Hogan was stripped of the AWA World Title by (then-President) Stanley Blackburn, and not a referee reversal, the AWA recognized Hogan's two pinfall wins over Nick Bockwinkel in 1982 (they base this on the "referee's decision is final" rule). This retroactively made Hogan a two-time AWA and 14-time World Champion.

Hulkamania still continues to run wild. On the April 18, 2005 edition of RAW, Hogan came out to save Shawn Michaels from an attack by Hassan and Daivari. A week earlier, Shawn had asked Hogan to team with him against the two Arab-Americans at Backlash on May 1, and Hogan accepted.

Mr. America

Mr. America was another Hulk Hogan alter-ego. Mr. America was actually Hulk Hogan in disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's Real American theme music. He was the subject of a story line after Hollywood Hulk Hogan was forced by his boss Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract after he won at WrestleMania XIX because McMahon wanted Hulkamania to die. In reality, McMahon and Hogan are good friends.

On May 1, 2003 Mr. America debuted on SmackDown! on Piper's Pit, in which Vince appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise, Hogan shot back by saying "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!"

The feud continued though the month of May, with a singles match between America and Hogan's old rival Roddy Piper at Judgement Day. Zach Gowen was also involved in the feud on the side of Mr. America.

Vince tried desperately to prove that Mr. America was indeed Hulk Hogan, but failed on all accounts. Mr. America even passed a lie detector test.

Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26, 2003 edition of Smackdown!, where The Big Show, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeated America, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned America. After the show ended, America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed Hulk Hogan. The next week, Hogan quit the WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the July 3, 2003 edition of Smackdown!, McMahon showed the footage of America unmasking as Hogan and fired him.

Profile

• Height: 6'4"
• Weight: 302 lbs
• Birthday: August 11, 1953
• Hometown: Augusta, Georgia (billed from, alternately, Venice Beach, California and Hollywood, California)
• Trained By: Hiro Matsuda
• Professional Debut: 1977
• Previous Identities: Sterling Golden, Terry "The Hulk" Boulder, Hollywood Hogan, Mr. America (masked)
• Previous Managers: Jimmy Hart, Miss Elizabeth
• Quotes: "What'cha gonna do?", "Train, say your prayers, and take your vitamins," "Brother!"
• Finishing/Signature Moves: Running Atomic Leg-Drop, Big Boot, Ax Bomber (Crooked Arm Lariat)
• Collective noun describing fanbase: "Hulkamaniacs"

Title history

Pre-World Wrestling Federation era

December 1979 – NWA South Eastern Heavyweight Title

Defeated Dick Slater (as Sterling Golden) – Knoxville, TN

Lost to Bob Armstrong during January 1980

March 1982 – AWA World Heavyweight Title

Defeated Nick Bockwinkel (as “Incredible” Hulk Hogan) - ?

The decision was reversed by AWA President Stanley Blackburn the next day for "hitting the champ with an illegal object"
Changed on April 4, 2005 by the AWA, along with recognition of a previous win over Bockwinkel to make Hogan a two-time champion.

June 2, 1983 – IWGP Heavyweight Title

Defeated Antonio Inoki in tournament final – Tokyo, Japan

Lost to Antonio Inoki on June 14, 1984

NOTE: Inoki was slated to win, and Hogan nailed Inoki who then tried to hold the rope, but fell and was knocked out cold. Hogan had no option but to pin Inoki due to a packed audience watching.

World Wrestling Federation era

January 23, 1984 – World Wrestling Federation World Title

Defeated Iron Sheik – New York, NY

Lost to André the Giant on February 5, 1988 (@ The Main Event)

NOTE: This is Hogan's longest reign with the WWF World Title; the third longest title reign ever; Bruno Sammartino has the longest title reign at eight years, and Bob Backlund is second at six years.

April 2, 1989 - World Wrestling Federation World Title (2)

Defeated Randy Savage – Atlantic City, NJ (@ WrestleMania V)

Lost to the Ultimate Warrior on April 1, 1990 (@ WrestleMania VI)

March 24, 1991 - World Wrestling Federation World Title (3)

Defeated Sgt. Slaughter – Los Angeles, CA (@ WrestleMania VII)

Lost to Undertaker on November 27, 1991 (@ Survivor Series 1991 )

December 3, 1991 - World Wrestling Federation World Title (4)

Defeated Undertaker – San Antonio, TX

Title is declared vacant due to disputed finish

April 4, 1993 - World Wrestling Federation World Title (5)

Defeated Yokozuna – Las Vegas, NV (@ WrestleMania IX)

Lost to Yokozuna on June 13, 1993 (@ King of the Ring 1993 )

NOTE: After Yokozuna defeated Bret Hart for the title by cheating, Hogan came down and was challenged by Yokozuna. After a failed attempt to cheat, Yokozuna is defeated by Hogan in a record time of twenty-three (23) seconds.

World Championship Wrestling era

July 17, 1994 – World Championship Wrestling World Title

Defeated Ric Flair – Orlando, FL

Lost to The Giant on October 29, 1995 by disqualification

NOTE: The match with The Giant had a stipulation that allowed the title to change hands despite disqualification.

August 10, 1996 - World Championship Wrestling World Title (2)

Defeated The Giant (as “Hollywood Hogan”) – Sturgis, SD

Lost to Lex Luger on August 4, 1997

August 9, 1997 - World Championship Wrestling World Title (3)

Defeated Lex Luger (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Sturgis, SD

Lost to Sting on December 28, 1997

April 20, 1998 - World Championship Wrestling World Title (4)

Defeated Randy Savage (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Colorado Springs, CO

Lost to Goldberg on July 6, 1998

January 4, 1999 - World Championship Wrestling World Title (5)

Defeated Kevin Nash (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Atlanta, GA

Lost to Ric Flair on March 14, 1999

NOTE (1) : The “winning” match was a joke match where Kevin Nash laid down and allowed Hogan to pin and win. This match is often called the "Fingerpoke of Doom" match, especially in the Internet wrestling community.

NOTE (2) : The match with Ric Flair was supposed to be a First Blood Cage Match; however, the match ended with Hogan being counted out in a figure four leglock.

July 12, 1999 - World Championship Wrestling World Title (6)

Defeated Randy Savage (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Jacksonville, FL

Lost to Sting on September 12, 1999

NOTE: The following “match” isn’t considered an official title reign.

July 10, 2000 - World Championship Wrestling World Title

Defeated Jeff Jarrett (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Daytona Beach, FL

NOTE: In this match, Vince Russo, upset that Hogan had opted to use his creative control clause to win the title, ordered Jarrett to lie down for Hogan. Hogan "won" the title and left the arena. A few minutes later, Russo cut a promo deriding Hogan for being a selfish "son of a bitch", and said that the title Hogan won was now known as the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Title". A new WCW World Title was created and put up in a match between Jarrett and Booker T, which was won by Booker.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) era

April 21, 2002 - World Wrestling Entertainment World Title (6)

Defeated Triple H (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Kansas City, MO (@ Backlash 2002 )

Lost to Undertaker on May 20, 2002 (@ Judgment Day 2002 )

July 4, 2002 - World Wrestling Entertainment Tag Team Championship

Defeated Billy and Chuck with Edge (as “Hollywood Hogan”) - Boston, MA

Lost to Lance Storm and Christian on July 21, 2002 (@ Vengeance 2002 )

Trivia

Hollywood Hulk Hogan made a cameo appearance in Muppets From Space as Man in Black.

Hulk Hogan appeared in a 1986 video called "Real American" performed by Rick Derringer. The video features him "playing" a guitar across all of America (actually, he was only standing in front of a blue screen while clips of American landmarks shot across the screen, and also features him in certain WWF wrestling scenes.

Theme songs/entrance music

The entrance music Hogan is known for, from his WWF days, is Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger". This was the chart-topping song from "Rocky III". During the early years of Hulk Hogan's first WWF title reign, he used the song Ravishing performed by Welsh songstress Bonnie Tyler. It was later replaced as the WWF ventured into music with "The Wrestling Album" by a track called Real American performed by Rick Derringer.

However, Hogan cannot use the song Real American outside of WWE. Even though Jimmy Hart wrote the song for Hogan, Vince McMahon had the song copyrighted right before Hulk Hogan left for WCW, preventing him from using it. (The song was originally the theme music for Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham, the USA Express.) He used the song American Made which can be found on the Hulk Rules CD, then the nWo theme for his Hollywood Hogan character while in WCW, and Voodoo Child (Slight Return) by Jimi Hendrix for his Hollywood Hulk Hogan character while in the WWE after the WWE nWo was disbanded. He first used the Hendrix track occasionally during his nWo days in WCW. Towards the end of his last WWE run, he wore a mask and was known by the name Mr. America, once again making his entrance to Real American.

External links

• Hulk Hogan.co.uk

Championship lineage