If you are a member of generation X, this last week has been a very painful time for your childhood. Losing Hulk Hogan just hurts.
For the past 30 or so years, I have always had a specific regimen in my life. Every day, I take my vitamins and say my prayers. Why do I do this, and who taught me this rule of thumb? It was none other than the biggest name ever in the sport of professional wrestling, Hulk Hogan. Sadly, this larger-than-life persona passed away suddenly on Thursday at the age of only 71.
Over the past week, people who grew up in the 80s and 90’s saw three prominent members of their childhood lose their lives. First, it was Malcolm Jamal Warner, one of the kids from the 80’s hit “The Cosby Show.” Then this past Tuesday, we lost the prince of darkness, Metal music and cultural icon legend Ozzie Osbourne. People have always stated that deaths sadly come in threes, so some people were waiting for the next domino to fall. No one would have guessed that number three would have been Hogan.
I grew up watching Terry “Hulk Hogan’ Bollea. I have seen his whole career from beginning to end. The man was such a huge pop-culture icon that it’s almost as if you never thought he would die. Sadly, on Thursday, paramedics were rushed to his home in Clearwater, Florida, in what was labelled a case of possible cardiac arrest. After trying to revive him for over an hour, we lost the legend.
Upon hearing this news, shock went through all of the country, if not the world. Social Media was flooded with tributes for Hogan, with most people in stunned disbelief. Even though it’s been over 24 hours since his passing, most people, including myself, have not come to grips with its reality. A lot of tears still fall when thinking of his legacy.
When people say they lost part of their childhood when hearing of Hulk’s passing, it makes perfect sense. For someone like myself, who witnessed the exciting beginning, the messy middle, and the patriotic end to his career, it is true. There is a certain emptiness inside while writing this column.
It was in the late 1970s, while growing up as a young kid, that wrestling was not “a thing” yet. Yes, you could find the WWWF running on local television in my city after midnight on Saturday nights, but it was nowhere near what it is today. Enter Vince McMahon, who had just taken over the WWWF from his father. The first thing he did was drop an “F” off the company name. But now what he needed was a big name, someone he could create into a star!
After scouring a lot of the independent wrestling circuits, McMahon came across Hogan. Hulk was a huge specimen. Over 6 feet 8 inches tall and over 300 pounds. A tanned, chiseled physique with the biggest biceps you’ve ever seen. They were also known as the 24-inch pythons! McMahon signed him to a contract and immediately gave him a huge push to capture the title. By the way, here is a side note.. Hulk got his first name from the great bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno, who played the Incredible Hulk on TV and Film.
It was in early 1984 and the current champ in the WWF was none other than the legendary Iron Sheik. Sheik had been champ for awhile and was going to be a tough guy to beat. But with world hostilities taking place with Iran at the time, Vince needed an American hero. That is exactly what he turned Hogan into on the night of April 24, 1983.
The scene was Madison Square Garden in New York, known as the world’s most famous arena. Legends were made at MSG, and on this night, a legend and a supernova were about to be born. Hogan, with his famous leg drop, wound up pinning the Iron Sheik, winning his first title. From there, history would continue in a meteoric way!
Hogan held his first world title for 4 years till he eventually lost it to another legend, Andre the Giant. However, over his first tour with the WWF, Hogan wound up holding the title 5 times. The wrestlers he beat are a who’s who of Hall of Famers. Names like the “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Sgt. Slaughter, The Undertaker, and Yokozuna were victims of Hulk’s success as a champion. But in the WWF, he was much larger than life.
When McMahon thought of creating a wrestling Super Bowl, he debuted WrestleMania. Hulk was the marquee name for all of the first few WrestleManias. But what Hogan did was generate major buzz in a number of these WrestleMania events. In the first WrestleMania, he partnered with Mr T, who had also paired with him in the blockbuster movie Rocky 3, playing the classic role of “Thunderlips.” He also had the help of music superstar Cindy Lauper, which helped the WWF get more mainstream exposure on major cable and TV networks, including MTV. This helped the WWF become even more mainstream and capture a larger demographic.
If Wrestlemania One wasn’t big enough, Hogan helped the wrestling business explode with his main event at Wrestlemania Three. For the first team, it was held in an outdoor football stadium and generated a crowd of over 92 thousand people at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. On this night, Hogan met his nemesis once again, Andre the Giant. At this point in his career, the over 7-foot, 500-plus-pound Giant had never lost a match. But on this night, Hogan changed the script. After picking up and bodyslamming the Giant, Hogan pinned Andre to win the match!
From this point on, Hogan’s fame kept skyrocketing, and most of us Gen Xers went along for the ride. By now, Hogan was also appearing in feature films, such as the unforgettable “No Holds Barred,” and maybe the forgettable “Mr Nanny.” He would team with Mr T again on the hit TV show, the A-Team. He even had his reality show on VH-1 called “Hogan Knows Best” in 2005.
Hogan was a moneymaker with everything he did, and this is why the rival Atlanta-based wrestling organization, WCW, saw an opportunity. The WCW was always second best in the TV wars, but owner Ted Turner saw a chance to sign Hogan to his group, and he jumped at the chance in 1994. Hogan wound up joining fellow WWF/now WWE mainstays Scott Hall and Kevin Nash with the rival company. Always known as the good guy, baby face, that all changed at WCW’s Bash at the Beach.” Hogan shockingly joined Hall and Nash and changed his whole persona from bad guy to major hell.
Now known as Hollywood Hogan, he traded in the red and yellow colors for the red and black, teaming with Hall and Nash to create the NWO! This new grouping exploded, and each week or so added new members to its clan. Most of the members added were wrestlers who, on one week, you could see wrestling on the WWE, and on the next week, or some weeks, the next night, would be seen on WCW Nitro.
It was a wrestling fan’s dream, one night seeing Bret Hart in a WWE pay-per-view, but on the next night, he was on Nitro. With the help of Hogan and his friends, WCW took over the ratings war. For 83 consecutive weeks from 1996 to 1998, WCW beat the WWE in the ratings mainly because of Hollywood Hulk Hogan!
To chronicle the rest of his wrestling in-ring career would take way too long to mention. Hulk would wind up leaving WCW and going back to WWE in 2002, and held his last official match in 2006, where he defeated Randy Orton.
There were, of course, the ring controversies that followed Hogan. He was accused of using steroids while in the WWF. He then captivated the country with his leading role in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against a trashy gossip website called Gawker. Gawker had published a private sex tape that allegedly involved Hogan. Four years later, Hogan won the court case, being awarded $140 million in damages and forcing the rag to go under.
In the last few years, Hogan’s life has seen some significant changes. Just 3 years ago, he married his third wife, Sky Daily, and seemed to be at peace. He was even baptized 18 months ago and seemed to be at peace with God. In addition, Hulk came out in support of President Trump, appearing at the 2024 Republican convention. While speaking in front of a massive crowd, Hogan ripped off his t-shirt like he did so many times in his career, showing his support for Trump and causing probably the biggest cheers of the week.
Hogan was in the process of starting his new freestyle wrestling venture with his old pal from WCW, Eric Bischoff, and was in the process of opening a sports bar in Manhattan. But then a call for help on Thursday morning put all those plans to bed. This, to me, is what really makes this hard to comprehend.
Sadly, most of the legendary wrestlers from the past died at a young age. You could go down the list and see how many grapplers from the 80’s and 90’s died in their 30’s or 40’s. Hulk was 71, and for a guy who went through over 25 surgeries, including 10 on his back, it’s kind of amazing he lasted this long! When Hogan’s close friend and another legend, Rick Flair, heard the news, he was in shock. “Our friendship has meant the world to me. He was always there for me, even when I didn’t ask him to be. No one will ever compare to you, rest in peace, my friend.”
President Trump sent out a post on social media about Hogan, saying he had a “huge heart.” To anyone who ever met Hogan in person, whether in business or as a fan, this was truly the case. A man larger than life, he always had time for everyone, whether an up-and-coming wrestler like Kane in 2002, or just a little 9-year-old boy who wanted to do a pose down with Hulk at an autograph signing.
Yes, a lot of people lost a lot of their childhoods this week. This columnist had his opportunity to met Hogan in person in 2000 at my old job at a local radio station. He could not have been nicer to me, letting me take numerous photos of us together, which I still cherish to this day.
Hulk Hogan had over 2000 wrestling matches in his storied career. The names he defeated are a who ‘who of wrestling. From the bigger names like Flair, Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Slaughter, Undertaker, Stan Hansen, Sting, Paul Orndorff, Roddy Piper, Bob Backlund, and Andre the Giant. To even some of the lesser-known names but legendary as well, like King Kong Bundy, Big John Studd, and Sid Justice, the list goes on forever. Heck, even Bastion Booger tried to beat Hulk with no luck!
If there is ever a Mount Rushmore for wrestling, you cannot, CANNOT have one without Terry Bollea. In his run in the WWE, Hogan’s theme song was “Real American” by Rick Derringer. There is a line in the song, and it goes like this…
When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside
You gotta take a stand, it don’t help to hide
If you hurt my friends then you hurt my pride
I gotta lend a hand, it don’t help to hide
I am a real American
I fight for the rights of every man
I am a real American
And fight for what’s right
Fight for your life
Those words epitomize Hulk Hogan. He was a real American, a true icon, a larger-than-life figure, sadly gone way too soon. Rest in Peace, Brother…you earned it.
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