Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan
Hogan in 2005
Born
Terry Gene Bollea

(1953-08-11) August 11, 1953 (age 70)
Occupations
  • Professional wrestler (retired)
  • television personality
  • actor
Years active1976 (musician)
1977–2012 (wrestler)
1982–present (actor)
Spouses
  • (m. 1983; div. 2009)
  • Jennifer McDaniel
    (m. 2010; div. 2021)
  • Sky Daily
    (m. 2023)
ChildrenBrooke Hogan
Nick Hogan
RelativesHorace Hogan (nephew)
Ring name(s)Hollywood Hogan[1]
Hollywood Hulk Hogan[2]
Hulk Boulder[3]
Hulk Hogan[4]
Hulk Machine[5][2]
Mr. America[2]
Sterling Golden[6]
Terry Boulder[2]
The Super Destroyer[2]
Billed height6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[4]
Billed weight302 lb (137 kg)[4]
Billed fromHollywood, California
(as Hollywood Hogan)
Venice Beach, California[4]
(as Hulk Hogan)
Washington, D.C.
(as Mr. America)[7]
Trained byHiro Matsuda[2]
DebutAugust 9, 1977
RetiredJanuary 27, 2012
Websitehulkhogan.com

Terry Gene Bollea[8][9] (/bəˈlə/; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide, the most popular wrestler of the 1980s, and as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.[10]

Hogan began his professional wrestling career in 1977, but gained worldwide recognition after signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in December 1983. There, his persona as a heroic all-American helped usher in the 1980s professional wrestling boom, where he headlined a record eight editions of the WWF's flagship annual event, WrestleMania. Hogan also was a regular headliner of Saturday Night's Main Event and its spin-off The Main Event in which he headlined 31 editions of both shows combined. During his initial run, he was a five-time WWF Champion, with his 1,474-day reign being the longest of the WrestleMania era ever. He is the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991. His match with Andre the Giant on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988, still holds American television viewership records for wrestling with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers.[11]

In 1993, Hogan departed the WWF to pursue a career in film and television. He was lured back to the ring when he signed with rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, and holds the record for the longest reign. In 1996, he underwent a career renaissance upon adopting the villainous persona of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, leading the popular New World Order (nWo) stable.[12] As a result, he became a major figure during the "Monday Night War", another boom of mainstream professional wrestling. He headlined WCW's annual flagship event Starrcade three times, including the most profitable WCW pay-per-view ever, Starrcade 1997.[13]

Hogan returned to the WWF in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior year, winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for his record equaling (for the time) sixth reign before departing in 2003. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, and inducted a second time in 2020 as a member of the nWo.[14]

Hogan also performed for the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he headlined the inaugural AWA closed circuit supercard, Super Sunday in 1983, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) – where he was the inaugural winner of the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship – and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).[15][16][17]

During and after wrestling, Hogan had an extensive acting career, beginning with his 1982 cameo role in Rocky III. He has starred in several films (including No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny) and three television shows (Hogan Knows Best, Thunder in Paradise, and China, IL), as well as in Right Guard commercials and the video game, Hulk Hogan's Main Event. He was the frontman for The Wrestling Boot Band, whose sole record, Hulk Rules, reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference james was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference OWW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Gardner, Eriq (May 28, 2018). "Hulk Hogan trying to bodyslam "Hulk" cereal ad". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference WWEBio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Johnson, Mike (January 1, 2021). "Why WSX Died A Quick Death On MTV, High Energy, Punk In 2021 And More". www.pwinsider.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  6. ^ Wrestling Classics, January 1992 issue, p. 16.
  7. ^ Judgment Day 2003 (DVD). WWE Home Video. 2003.
  8. ^ "Amended Complaint" (PDF). documentcloud.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "Bollea v. Gawker Media, LLC, Case No. 8:12-cv-02348-T-27TBM | Casetext Search + Citator". Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  10. ^ "Top 50 Wrestlers of All Time". ign.com. November 2, 2012. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  11. ^ Boman, Ryan K. (February 5, 2021). "Looking back on Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant: The biggest televised match in the history of pro wrestling". Spotskeeda. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Combs, Jason (September 20, 2007). "The Original Triple H". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  13. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 7, 2008). "Nostalgia: Starrcade '97". PWTorch. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  14. ^ "WWE to honor nWo with Hall of Fame induction". ESPN.com. December 9, 2019. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. ^ "The New PWI". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  16. ^ Oglesby, Brooks (June 29, 2015). "PWI Will No Longer Recognize TNA World Heavyweight Championship". WWE Wrestling News World. wrestlingnewsworld.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  17. ^ "WCW SUPERSTARS: Hulk Hogan". WCW.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved February 25, 2019.