Hulk Hogan

Background

Terry Eugene Bollea, professionally known as Hulk Hogan, is the world’s most recognized wrestling star since he started his career in the 1980s. Hogan was born on August 11, 1953, in Augusta, Georgia, and is of Scottish and French descent. The wrestling star enjoyed watching wrestling as a young teenage boy and his favorite wrestling stars at the time were Dusty Rhodes and Superstar Billy Graham. As a boy, he used to play baseball as a pitcher for the Little League baseball team, and after graduating from high school, studied at Hillsborough Community College and the University of Florida. Hogan had an interest in music and played the fretless bass guitar in several Florida rock bands. In 1976, during his early 20s, Hogan started a band with two fellow musicians, called Ruckus who were known for performing at several bars in Florida. Little did Hogan know that this very band would lead him to his superstardom in the world of wrestling!

Hulk Hogan Starts Wrestling

During his time as a musician, Hogan started lifting weights at the gym and was spotted by two Florida wrestlers, Jack and Gerald Brisco, during one of Ruckus’s bar performances, as they were intrigued by his physique. The Brisco brothers asked Hogan if he’d be interested in training to wrestle, an opportunity which Hogan gladly accepted. Hogan started with Hiro Matsuda, who was a wrestler trainer for Championship Wrestling from Florida. After training for more than a year with Matsuda, Hogan made his professional wrestling debut against Brian Blair in 1977.

A year later, in 1978, Hogan started wrestling for the “Louie Tillet’s Alabama” territory which was outside of Florida, and in 1979, won his first professional championship, the N.W.A. Southeastern Heavyweight Championship after defeating Bob Roop in Tennessee. Within the same year of 1979, Hogan won his first match in the World Wrestling Federation after his match with Harry Valdez. After signing with the W.W.F. in 1983, Hogan’s performance earned him worldwide recognition. Within the same year of signing with the W.W.F, Hogan wrestled in the International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament and became the first IWGP Heavyweight Champion. In 1982, Hogan made his acting debut in “Rocky III” as “Cameo.”

Professional wrestling became a popular sport and topic during the 1980s and Hogan became the face of the sport. He was the most requested celebrity for the “Make-a-Wish Foundation,” a children’s charity, appeared on the cover of various magazines, and made the headline of eight of the nine editions of “WrestleMania.” He is a five-time W.W.F. Championship winner and became the first wrestler to win the Royal Rumble matches two years in a row. In addition to wrestling, Hogan made several movie appearances between the late 1980s and early 1990s and also filmed his own reality television show in 2005 called “Hogan Knows Best,” which starred his wife and kids. In 2006, he released a food and beverage line called Hogan Energy, which consisted of energy drinks, microwavable hamburgers, and chicken sandwiches that were sold at Wal-Mart. Hogan retired from his wrestling career in 2012 and the same year, opened up a beachfront restaurant called Hogan’s Beach.

The Hulk Hogan Movie

Chris Hemsworth is set to play Hulk Hogan in a biopic. The release date is yet to be confirmed, but the actor said in 2022 “that film’s a while away. That’s sort of in the development stage you know, and if that comes to fruition, great. Todd Phillips is brilliant. Haven’t ripped any shirts off yet, but you’ll be the first to hear about it when I do.”

Hulk Hogan Movies