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His name is Terry Bollea, but the world knows him as "Hulk Hogan" and more than anyone else, he was responsible for the meteoric rise in the popularity of professional wrestling in the 1980's. While not the most skillful wrestler of his era, nor even the biggest, Hogan combined his enormous physical stature with an outstanding screen presence to cause the World Wrestling Federation to rocket past all other Wrestling Organizations as the top provider of wrestling entertainment on a nationwide basis.
Hogan was brought into the sport of Professional Wrestling when he was discovered while playing the bass guitar in nightclub in the early 1970's. In order to learn his new trade, Hogan trained under the tutelage of Japans great Hiro Matsuda, after which he moved from his home in Tampa to the west coast, where he began bodybuilding in Venice Beach, California, working under the name of "Sterling Golden." Later, he changed his ring name to Terry Boulder, before settling on the name of Hulk Hogan. He was later managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie and wrestled as a heel in a number of organizations, including the AWA and the WWF. While he gained in popularity in several regions, Hogan had not yet gained national exposure - this would happen in 1982.
In 1982, Hogan appeared in the motion picture Rocky III, starring as the enormous wrestling
villain "Thunderlips." Because of the huge positive response his appearance received,
Vince McMahon lured him back to the WWF and made him the focal point of that
federation's ability to survive and then thrive. He defeated the Iron Sheik in 1984 to secure
the WWF Heavyweight Championship and quickly became the WWF's most popular
athlete. Behind Hogan's 26" arms and huge shoulders, McMahon pushed the WWF towards
a national audience. Commencing with several tie ins with MTV, Hogan, the WWF and the
sport of Pro Wrestling hit the big time when the Hulk appeared with actor Mr. T at the
WWF's first big wrestling extravaganza, Wrestlemania I.
Wrestlemania I was not the first nationally broadcast live wrestling event, but at that time it
was certainly the most important. Unbeknown to most fans, had Wrestlemania not been a
big success, the WWF may have had to return to the days of operating as regional
operation - or worse, it may have closed down completely. With all of the organizations
hopes riding on the event, it is not surprising that Hulk Hogan was called upon to carry the
burden of turning it into a colossal success. After countless appearances on popular
television shows (including Saturday Night Live) in which he promoted the event, Hogan
finally appeared alongside Mr. T and repelled the team of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Mr.
Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and "Cowboy" Bob Orton. The success of this event saved the
WWF, established the validity of a national promotion and catapulted Hogan into the realm
of popularity known only to the biggest stars of entertainment and sports - but even this was
not the most important event for Hulk Hogan. That event would be Wrestlemania III.
Loaded with extraordinary matches, Wrestlemania III set a indoor attendance record as
more than 92,000 fans crowded the Pontiac Silverdome for the event. On that day, the
Main Event, and the match which spawned the huge attention to the arena was the battle
between Hulk Hogan and the previously unbeaten Andre the Giant. After suffering an injury
early on, Hogan astounded viewers arounds the world as he not only defeated Andre, but
lifted the 500 pound Frenchman off of the ground and slammed him to the ring canvas to
retain his title.
Hogan went on to defend his title in the WWF and has recently moved to the WCW where
he quickly gained that organizations Championship title. Over the years, and in the future,
Hulk Hogan has symbolized the growth of professional wrestling into a multi-million dollar
industry - but to thousands of young fans, he has become their hero and their champion.
