Hulk Hogan is arguably one of the most iconic wrestlers. He is considered a key player in WWF’s expansion as a national force and then international force under the guidance of Vince McMahon. McMahon used his great physique and natural charisma to turn him into an American hero. His spectacular performances in the marquee matches such as Wrestlemania showpieces further fueled his popularity. Even when he left WWF, he didn’t stop cementing his legacy as a wrestler and was WCW’s most popular performer for a number of years.
Sun Sign
Leo
Residence
Hulk divides his time between –
- Clearwater, Florida, United States
- Beverly Hills, California, United States
Nationality
Education
After graduating from high school, Hulk Hogan got enrolled at the Hillsborough Community College. He later shifted to the University of South Florida. At the university, he had selected management and finance as his major and music as his minor. However, he dropped out of the university to focus on his music gigs.
Manager
Hulk Hogan is represented by Sovereign Talent Group.
Genre
Rock, Pop, Hip Hop
Instruments
Vocals, Bass Guitar
Labels
Select Records
Girlfriend / Spouse
Hulk Hogan has dated –
- Linda Bollea (1981-2007) – Hulk Hogan started dating Linda Claridge in 1981. They had first met at a restaurant in Los Angeles and started dating soon after. They got married in December 1983. In May 1988, she gave birth to their daughter, . In July 1990, she gave birth to their son, Nick. In November 2007, she filed for a divorce. Linda later revealed that she didn’t want to live with him anymore after learning about his affair. In his autobiography, he claimed that Linda had suspected him of having affairs whenever he developed a friendship with other women. However, he insisted that he had never cheated on his wife.
- Christiane Plante (2007) – In February 2008, the model Christiane Plante claimed in her interview that she had an affair with Bollea in 2007. Their affair took place while his family was shooting for the reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best. Plante had got in touch with his family after having worked with Bollea’s daughter Brooke Hogan in 2006 on her music album.
- Heather Clem – Hulk Hogan’s sexual fling with Heather Clem, the estranged wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, came to public knowledge in April 2012 after the s*x tape featuring both of them emerged. In the tape, it was seen that Bubba had encouraged them to do their thing. Hogan would later call the fling a bad choice and a very low point of his life.
- Jennifer McDaniel (2008-Present) – The iconic wrestler started dating makeup artist Jennifer McDaniel in 2008. In November 2009, they got engaged. They took their relationship to the next level by getting married in December 2010 in Clearwater, Florida.
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Handlebar Mustache
- Always wears a bandanna
Brand Endorsements
Hulk Hogan has endorsed –
- Legends of Wrestling
- Trivial Pursuit
- 10-10-220 (also did print ads)
- Arby’s
- Harris Teeter Supermarket Store Brands
- Hitachi
- Rent-A-Center Stores
- Honey Nut Cheerios
- Super Beta Prostate Tablets
- Ageless Male Supplements
- LoanMart.com
- Right Guard’s Sport Sticks Antiperspirant and Deodorant (also did print ads)
Religion
Hogan is a devout evangelical Christian. He has often credited his religious faith for keeping him on the right path.
Best Known For
- Being one of the most popular and iconic wrestlers in WWE’s history with some even considering Hulk as the most influential in promotion’s history as he was the driving force behind their early popularity boom in the 80s and 90s
- His successful stint with WCW as he managed to become a 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion
First Wrestling Match
In August 1977, he made his professional wrestling debut in a CWF match against Brian Blair in Fort Myers, Florida.
In November 1979, Hogan competed in his first match for WWF as he defeated Harry Valdez on Championship Wrestling.
First Album
He has previously served as the frontman of the music band, The Wrestling Boot Band, and his first studio album with the band was Hulk Rules. The album managed to reach the 12th spot on Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995.
First Film
In 1982, Hulk made his theatrical film debut in the sports drama movie, Rocky III.
First TV Show
Apart from the telecast of his wrestling matches, Hulk Hogan made his first TV show appearance in the comedy talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, in June 1982.
Personal Trainer
Even with his advancing age, Hulk Hogan regularly hits the gym. He makes sure that his daily workout session lasts for an hour and a half. However, he doesn’t like to go with modern workout trends and prefers to stick with the basics. Because of his age, he prefers to lift light weights. Plus, he tries to remain consistent with his diet with a focus on consuming good and nutritious food.
In Wrestling
- Finishing and Signature Moves
- The Atomic Legdrop
- The Axe Bomber
- Big Boot
- Running Powerslam
- Atomic Drop
- Overhead Gutwrench Backbreaker Rack
- Body Slam
- Bearhug
- Snap Suplex
- Belly to Back Suplex
- Vertical Suplex
- Delayed Vertical Suplex
- Elbow Drop
- Superplex
Hulk Hogan Favorite Things
- Wrestling Moment – WWF Heavyweight title in Madison Square Garden in January 1984
- High School Wrestling Idols – Dusty Rhodes, Superstar Billy Graham
- NFL Team – Tampa Bay Lighting
Source – , ,
Hulk Hogan Facts
- He holds the distinction of being the first professional wrestler to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
- He was approached to endorse George Foreman Grill but he decided against doing it. The product went on to sell over 100 million units.
- While growing up, he used to play as a pitcher in the Little League Baseball. He was good enough to attract attention from the scouts of Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees. However, his baseball career came to a screeching halt after he suffered an injury.
- He first started watching professional wrestling when he was 16 years old. He often used to attend wrestling events at the Tampa Sportatorium.
- Before he decided to become a wrestler, he was an aspiring musician. He played fretless bass guitar for about a decade in various Florida based music bands.
- In 1976, he collaborated with two local musicians to form a music band called Ruckus. His music band found quite a following in the Tampa Bay area.
- In his time away from music and bands, he used to train at Hector’s Gym in the Tampa Bay area. He also started lifting heavy at Hector’s.
- Hogan was introduced to professional wrestling by Brisco Brothers. They asked Hiro Matsuda, who trained wrestlers working for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), to make Hogan a trainee. They also asked Hogan to give it a try.
- In the late 70s, he started working as a manager of The Anchor club, a private club in Florida. He also developed a close friendship with the club’s owner Whitey Bridges and collaborated with him to open Whitey and Terry’s Olympic gym.
- By 1978, he was depressed with his work and was yearning for a return to wrestling and decided to get in touch with his idol Superstar Billy Graham in hope of finding some wrestling work outside of Florida. Graham helped him join Louie Tillet’s Alabama territory.
- His great performances in Alabama territory soon attracted attention and after one show for Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, the CWA promoter offered him a permanent job for his promotion and offered him a wage of $800 a week. He was being paid $175 a week by Tillet. So, he took CWA’s job.
- Towards the end of 1979, Hulk met WWF’s promoter Vincent J. McMahon, who was impressed by Bollea’s physical stature and charisma. It was McMahon who asked him to use Hulk Hogan as his stage name. He also wanted Hogan to dye his hair red but Hogan decided against it as his hair was already falling out.
- In 1981, he left WWF and joined American Wrestling Association. He had fallen out with McMahon over his decision to work in ‘s movie, Rocky III.
- After purchased WWF from his father Vincent J. McMahon, he decided to re-sign Hulk Hogan in 1983 and use him for his promotion’s nationwide expansion.
- In January 1984, he won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship as he defeated The Iron Sheik at the iconic Madison Square Garden. In the match, he also created history by becoming the first man to have escaped the camel clutch (The Iron Sheik’s finishing move).
- The back story of Hulk’s first championship win was that the original champion Bob Backlund had refused to give up his title to Hogan and had insisted that he would lose his title only to someone who had a legitimate wrestling background. So, the promotion had to first make the title transfer to The Iron Sheik, so that Hogan could win it from him.
- In 1988’s Marvel Comics Presents #45, Marvel decided to pitch Hulk against The Incredible Hulk, who eventually tossed Hogan through the arena roof for having picked the wrong name.
- He has done extensive work for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, a children’s charity. In fact, in the 80s, he was one of the most requested celebrities.
- In March 1987, he created one of the most iconic moments in the history of Wrestlemania as he hit 520-pound with a in a championship match at Wrestlemania III.
- In 1991, Hulk became the first wrestler to have won 2 Royal Rumble matches in a row. In the same year, he also overcame Sgt. Slaughter at the Wrestlemania VII to win his 3rd WWF Championship.
- In June 1994, he joined Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling. In his debut match for the promotion, he took on Ric Flair for WCW World Heavyweight Championship and managed to win it.
- In 1995, he opened his restaurant called Pastamania in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The restaurant featured dishes such as Hulk-A-Roos and Hulk-U’s. However, it was closed within a year of opening.
- In 2006, he launched his exclusive range of energy drinks under the label of Hogan Energy, in collaboration with Socko Energy.
- The Wal-Mart has used his name and likeness to create a line of products that includes microwavable cheeseburgers, hamburgers, and chicken sandwiches. The product range is called Hulkster Burgers.
- Hogan opened a restaurant called Hogan’s Beach on the New Year’s Eve 2012 in the Tampa Bay area. In October 2015, the restaurant decided to drop Hogan from the name.
- In March 2016, he won a lawsuit alleging loss of privacy, defamation, and emotional pain against Gawker. The publication had released a short clip of his s*x tape with Heather Clam. The court ordered Gawker to pay $115 million to Hogan.
- In August 2016, he was granted control of A.J. Daulerio’s assets, who was Gawker’s editor-in-chief when the video was posted in October 2012. In November 2016, the publication managed to reach a final $31 million settlement with Hogan.
- In 2005, he was inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame. He had been previously inducted in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.
- During his appearance on The Show in 2012, he claimed that he had been offered the lead role in The Wrestler. But, he decided to turn it down as he felt he wasn’t best suited for the role. However, the movie’s director disputed his claims and insisted that he wasn’t even considered for the role, let alone being offered the role.
- During the infamous WWF steroids trial in 1994, he admitted under oath that he had been using anabolic steroids since 1976 to gain weight and size. However, he absolved Vince McMahon, who was on trial, of any blame and insisted that he had never sold him any drugs nor had ordered to take any.
Featured Image by Kristin Fitzsimmons / U.S. Department of Defense / Public Domain
Facts of Terry Gene Bollea
- Gender Male
- full nameTerry Gene Bollea
- middle nameGene
- nicknamesHulk Hogan, Hollywood Hogan, Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Hulk Machine, Mr. America, Sterling Golden, Terry Boulder, The Super Destroyer, The Hulkster, Thunder Lips, Hulkamania
- birthplaceAugusta, Georgia, United States
- Date of Birth August 11, 1953
- Age 71 years 0 months
- Horoscope Leo
- Lucky Number 10
- Lucky Stone Ruby
- Lucky Color Gold
- Best Match for Marriage Sagittarius, Gemini, Aries
- ethnicity / ethnic backgroundWhite
- nationalityAmerican
- net worth$25 million
- professionProfessional Wrestler, Actor, Television Personality, Entrepreneur, Musician
- weight137 kg or 302 lbs
- height6 ft 3½ in or 192 cm
- hair colorBlonde
- eye colorGreen
- body type / buildBodybuilder
- collegeHillsborough Community College
- motherRuth V. Bollea
- fatherPietro “Peter” Bollea
- brothersAllan Bollea, Kenneth Wheeler