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HULK HOGAN
By Caroline RyderIllustration By Shepard Fairey
Even if you think of professional wrestling as performance art for rednecks, it’s hard not to have a soft spot for Hulk Hogan. He’s the charismatic giant with the platinum-blond hair, the red and yellow bandana, and, at one point, the largest arms in the world (the so-called “24-inch Pythons”). He’s the ultra-tanned icon of the 1980s’ pay-per-view revolution, the man they called Ichiban (Number One) in Japan. And he’s the guy who famously lifted Andre the Giant into the air and bodyslammed him at 1987’s Wrestlemania 3 in Pontiac, Michigan. From that moment on, Hulk Hogan became more than a mere wrestler: he became a real-life superhero.
Before he became the Hulkster, Terrence Gene Bollea grew up in south Tampa, Florida, where “there were two sides of the tracks … the rich side and the redneck side. I came from the redneck side, and the mentality was quite barbaric.” His boyhood heroes were people like Babe Ruth and John Wayne. He started out his performance career as a musician in Florida, playing bass guitar in rock bands with names like Ruckus. Many wrestlers frequented the bars he played at, and they noticed his hefty stature-6’7” tall and, at the height of his career, 330 pounds-and suggested he start training. He became a pupil of the late Hiro Matsuda, who broke Bollea’s leg during their first session, apparently on purpose to show him who was boss. After two years, Bollea was ready to enter the ring, making his debut in August 1977 under the name The Super Destroyer.
With the help of WWF (now WWE) kingpin Vince McMahon, Bollea devised the Hulk Hogan character, a surfer type from Venice Beach, California. The aim was to create an All-American champion, “kinda like McDonalds or Chevrolet.” The name Hulk came about because he was bigger than Lou Ferrigno, the actor who played the Incredible Hulk on TV, and Hogan because McMahon thought it would be a good idea to make him Irish (Bollea was actually of Italian, French, and Panamanian descent).
The Incredible Hulk Hogan made his WWF debut in 1979 and was an immediate hit with fans: 36,000 of them turned up to see his first clash against Andre the Giant in August 1980 in Flushing, New York. He appeared in Rocky III in 1982, prompting McMahon, who had barred Hogan from making the movie, to kick him out of the WWF. He turned to the American Wrestling Association instead, and simultaneously set about building a massive reputation in Japan, defeating the legendary Antonio Inoki in the first International Wrestling Grand Prix and recording an album for Japanese audiences.
Hogan returned to the WWF in 1984, becoming its champion three weeks after rejoining, and remaining so for four years. In 1985, he and Mr. T headlined the first-ever Wrestlemania at Madison Square Garden. Hogan was everywhere, including his own Saturday morning cartoon, Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling.
Hulkamania was sweeping the nation, and the legions of Hogan followers came to be known as Hulkamaniacs. Wrestling fans are among the most obsessive and loyal in the sporting world, and Hulkamaniacs are at the top of their food chain. They delighted in Hogan’s fervent, messianic pre-fight speeches. “This is where the power lies, in the power of the Hulkster, the largest arms in the world!” he growled, hand outstretched to the camera, to commentator Mean Gene Okerlund before one particular match. Hulk Hogan, with his bulging eyes and throbbing veins, was just what Middle America wanted.
If Andre the Giant had been the enduring icon of pro wrestling in the ‘70s, the ‘80s belonged to Hogan. It was inevitable that the two would meet so that Hogan could officially take over the reins. The clash took place in 1987 at the legendary Wrestlemania III, where millions watched Hogan bodyslam the 7’4”, 520-pound colossus. “I felt like I needed an ambulance after that,” says Hogan, who tore several muscles in his back performing the move. Though he was already the champion, and by no means a runt by any standard, Hogan emerged from the match as wrestling’s David, having vanquished Goliath and thus anointed the king of the ring.
Hogan’s timing was perfect. He was the first golden boy of WWF, just as WWF was starting to permeate the mass consciousness thanks to Vince McMahon’s marketing genius. But all good things must come to an end, and after dominating wrestling throughout the ‘80s Hogan found himself on the receiving end of a backlash. Fans branded him gimmicky, accused him of hogging the limelight, and started looking for new stars to adore. Hogan was sued for $5 million after demonstrating a chin lock on TV show host Richard Belzer, causing Belzer to lose consciousness and require stitches in his scalp.
Things were quiet for a few years, until Hogan dyed his beard black and reemerged as his evil alter ego, Hollywood Hogan. Many young Hulkamaniacs were devastated, and reportedly destroyed all their Hulk Hogan toys. He eventually abandoned his villainous persona and resurrected “good guy” Hulk Hogan. He even ran for President in the same year, inspired by fellow wrestler Jesse Ventura’s successful bid for Governor in Minnesota. “I always wanted to be the good guy in the wrestling business,” he says. “Being the bad guy is a lot of fun in the ring, but when you step outside the ring it’s hard to explain to the kids, especially when they’re shouting, ‘Hogan, I hate you!’”
Today, after nearly 30 years in the business, Hogan is still an attraction, thanks in part to the VH1 reality show Hogan Knows Best. He’s also managing his daughter’s music career, and still makes appearances in film and television. He continues to wrestle, despite having four bolts in his body and an artificial disc in his spine. “Sooner or later my back is going to go. It’s inevitable,” he says. “My one hope is that it blows out in the ring, the way it should-not while I’m walking down the road to get a burger.”