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Hulk Hogan |
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 Hulk Hogan
Career
Born Terry Gene Bollea in Atlanta, Georgia, he began wrestling professionally for the first time in 1978, using various names such as Sterling Golden and Terry Boulder. In 1980 he joined the World Wrestling Federation and was given the name Hulk Hogan by Vince McMahon Sr., then the majority owner of the WWF. The official explanation for the name was that many considered him bigger than Lou Ferrigno, who at the time was starring in the criticly acclaimed series "The Incredible Hulk". Also McMahon wanted him to be Irish, thus the name "Hogan". He started out as heel (bad guy). He was offered the role of Thunderlips in the movie Rocky III. Hogan wanted to use this opportunity for a potential movie career. McMahon refused to let Hogan do the film and he ended up firing Hogan as a result.
After the success of Rocky III, Hogan became a celebrity, and he joined the American Wrestling Association (AWA) based in Minnesota in 1981 shortly after the movie's release. Hogan was a great success in the AWA, and was lured back to the WWF in 1983 by Vince McMahon, Jr. after he bought the company from his father. McMahon wanted to expand the WWF from a regional promotion into a national entity. He used Hogan's charisma and name power to promote his new vision. Hogan became one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1980s, with loyal fans known as "Hulkamaniacs". He played the role of an honest and courageous good guy, reminding children to say their prayers and take their vitamins. A lot of fictitious rumors surround the Hogan sensation, employed in part by the WWF and later the WCW to sensationalize this star. One of the most common of these incorrect statistics is that Hogan was 6'6" tall. In fact, Hogan was never measured above 191.5cm, which is a bit less than 6'4". Hogan dyed his hair platinum blonde and wore a bandana. His usual colors were yellow and red and as a heel they were black and white. One statistic about Hogan that did stand, at least at the time, was that he had the largest (medically defined as longest) arms in professional sports. He held the title for a couple of years. "24 inch pythons," was the common phrase used during this time.
He used his popularity to gain television and movie roles. Along with 1982's Rocky III, he starred in No Holds Barred (1989), Suburban Commando (1991), Mr. Nanny (1993), Santa with Muscles (1996), and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998). He made two appearances on The A-Team (in 1985 and 1986), and starred in his own television series, Thunder in Paradise, in 1994.
He briefly retired from wrestling in 1993, in 1994 he was lured back to the ring by Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, which was the WWF's main competitor at the time. After a couple of years there he reinvented himself as a heel (or villain). He dyed his beard black and formed the nWo, (New World Order) along with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash under the ring name "Hollywood" Hogan.
Hollywood Hogan arguably remade the heel character. Rather then the traditional "bad guy," the character of Hollywood gave birth to a more "realistic" villain, with none of the usual gimmicks. Some have place Hollywood Hogan as one of the best heels in Pro wrestling history.
Hollywood held the WCW/nWo title for most of 1997. He lost the belt to Sting at Starrcade in December of that year, in one of the most hyped matches of pro wrestling history.
Some time after the demise of WCW in 2001, he appeared in WWE, briefly reforming the nWo with Hall and Nash before returning to his classic "Hulkster" persona. He departed WWE once again in 2003. He has since appeared in brief shots for National Wrestling Alliance: Total Nonstop Action (NWA:TNA).
Many pundits have criticised him for using backstage political leverage to hog screen time, retain titles, and generally hold down talented workers who might otherwise deserve to share the limelight with him. At the same time, his career is filled with legendary performances against a wide variety of opponents, ranging from newcomers to some of the greatest champions ever. At any rate, Hollywood Hogan has achieved legendary status in the wrestling industry.
Today, he is semi-retired from wrestling, focusing mainly on managing the singing career of his teenage daughter Brooke Hogan.
Mr. America
Mr. America was another Hulk Hogan alter-ego. Mr. America was actually Hulk Hogan in disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's Real American theme music. He was the subject of a story line after Hollywood Hulk Hogan was forced by his boss Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract after he won at WrestleMania XIX because McMahon wanted Hulkamania to die. In reality, McMahon and Hogan are good friends.
On May 1, 2003 Mr. America debuted on Smackdown! on Piper's Pit, in which Vince appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise, Hogan shot back by saying "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!"
The feud continued though the month of May, with a singles match between America and Hogan's old rival Roddy Piper at Judgement Day. Zach Gowen was also involved in the feud on the side of Mr. America.
Vince tried desperately to prove that Mr.America was indeed Hulk Hogan, but failed on all accounts. Mr.America even passed a lie detector test.
Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26, 2003 edition of Smackdown!, where The Big Show, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeated America, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned America. After the show ended, America unmasked to show the fans that he was Hulk Hogan. The next week, Hogan quit the WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the July 3, 2003 edition of Smackdown!, McMahon showed the footage of America unmasking as Hogan and fired him.
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