The wrestling world lost one of their biggest stars to ever enter the ring. His real name is Tony Bollea who plays the man & legend of Hulk Hogan, and he died of cardiac arrest at the age of 71. He played the good and bad guy in the wrestling world in multiple organizations. As a good guy, Hulkamania spread throughout the world in the 1980’s like an infectious bacteria winning six heavyweight titles in the WWF (World Wrestling Federation.) The Hulkster lasted 35 years in the ring from 1977 to 2002. He added to his collection of belts as the bad guy in the WCW (World Championship Wrestling.) He called himself Hollywood Hulk Hogan, leader of the new world, and took home another six heavyweight championships. He was the face of wrestling for decades. Why is the passing of Hulk Hogan materializing lots of fixed feelings and emotion?

Growing up watching wrestling, I was intrigued by how these guys never got injured. I think wrestling was like Santa Clause because you believed it was real when you were kid. How could someone get whacked in the head with a metal folding chair and after a five minute beat down come back and win a match? It was acting. To be a wrestler, you had to be athletic to do all the stunts they did in the ring. Then you had to look the part and be in shape while taking on the grind of the back flips and high jumps off the ropes. Hulk Hogan was an actor as he starred in Rocky III as a wrestler, Thunder Lips, and played a bad guy before he turned into the leader of the new world. He was also in other films such as Suburban Commando and Thunder Paradise. It was the wrestling ring that got him those Hollywood jobs. In the ring he acted like a homicidal maniac yelling at Mean Gene during an interview like they all did. Many will remember the body slam by the Hulk Hogan on Andre the Giant that was heard around the world in Wrestlemania III in 1987. In 1988 the WWF main event on February 5th, which had the Hulk versus the Andre The Giant rematch, still holds the record in the United States in ratings with 33 million viewers. That is better ratings than most sports. Andre the Giant would win the match in a controversial ending as bribery was involved and a twin referee. It was scripted. Hogan thrived at being one of the popular wrestlers of all-time as he also the first to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches in 1990 and 1991.

Hulkamania was everywhere. He was on the big screen. He was at the top of the wrestling world. His face was everywhere. Kids had his poster in their bedroom. I had a friend back in the 1980’s who wore a Hulkamania tee shirt and did a great imitation of the Hulk when he started to get mad before a fight. Hulk Hogan was in comic books, action figures, cartoons, & he had his own wrestling card. Growing up Terry Bollea was a normal kid who liked playing baseball. He was a pitcher in little league. When Tony turned 16, he started getting interested in watching wrestling. He collected the cards. He looked for inspiration from his favorite wrestler growing up, Superstar Billy Graham. Tony liked music. He played the guitar and was in a band. He dropped out of college because the band was on the rise. He worked out in his spare time when he was noticed. Not for his music. They discovered a wrestler in the gym he was working out at. It’s like many Hollywood stories or in the music industry and in sports. You never know when someone is watching you and wants to make you famous. Terry had bad days when his brother overdosed in 1986 right in the beginning stages of Hulkamania.

Once you build up a legend like a Hulk Hogan and make him the Michael Jordan of the wrestling world, others want to tear him down. In 2015 the Hulkster was exposed on a sex tape made in 2007 when he had ranted about black people. He did not care for his own daughter who was dating a black man. He used the N-word. He would also mention that he was racist to a point. The WWE terminated the contract of Hulk Hogan from the rant he made way back in 2007. They quickly reacted removing anything Hogan from their websites. The toy company Mattel stopped making the Hulkster action figures. Then more sex tapes emerged and this time the Hulkster using was making homophobic remarks. Hogan did ask for forgiveness of his rants and did an interview on ABC. Some black wrestlers supported the Hulkster like former Hall of Fame NBA star, Dennis Rodman. Mark Henry was pleased with the zero-tolerance policy by the WWE. Eventually Hogan did come back to the ring a few years later and got over the hurdle of his own words.

In 2024 Hulk Hogan came out with his own beer. He called it the Real American beer. He was not at home making beer in his bath tub and decided to take it nationally. It’s his face and name on the can and boxes as some brewer makes it for him. He was in Chicago at different liquor stores throughout the Chicagoland area hocking his brew. I did buy some of it and it’s a lager so picture something your daddy used to drink after a long day at work. It was good beer. Hogan was hanging out with the Trumpster, Donald Trump, which many people will make a remark about that. Those rants may come back from the grave and haunt the Hulkster. Some of the articles said Hulk Hogan was on steroids to help his wrestling career. Since wrestling is scripted, steroids would only help their looks. Their muscles. Does it keep a wrestler in the ring longer? I would not compare a wrestler’s steroids in this kind of wrestling to other sports where it changes the game. I’m not sure if that is a fact. It seems like with his passing the good, the bad, and ugly remarks have come out of the woodwork. This for a guy who had such a huge following for decades and was loved by many. When a rock group is out of money, they suddenly get along and go on tour. Athletes and Hollywood may throw their own book into the ring when they are in need of money. Maybe the Hulkster needed some money and went to slinging his beer in recent years. Everyone at one time or another wants a redo in life for something they let spew out of their mouths. Something that they did. I do not know the man. I’m not sure I would like many celebrities for their own personal views. It is sometimes better not to know. Hulk Hogan was not my favorite wrestler of all-time. I liked him. I liked him in Rocky III. He nailed the part in life of Hulk Hogan as a wrestler, I give Terry Bollea that. Hulkamania will never die. His actions in the ring and the ring only will live forever.