Hulk Hogan

Hogan's turn as a fan favorite came at the end of July 1981, when during a television taping that aired in August, Jerry Blackwell, after suffering a pinfall loss to Brad Rheingans, began beating down Rheingans and easily fighting off anyone who tried to run in for the save. Hogan ran in, got the upper hand and ran Blackwell from the ring. Hogan was eventually victorious in his feud with Blackwell and by the end of 1981, gained his first title matches against Bockwinkel.

In March 1982, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel and his manager

Rise of Hulkamania (1983–1984)

After purchasing the company from his father in 1982, Vincent K. McMahon had plans to expand the territory into a nationwide promotion, and he handpicked Hogan to be the company's showpiece attraction due to his charisma and name recognition. Hogan made his return at a television taping in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 27, 1983, defeating Bill Dixon.^[53]

On the January 7, 1984, episode of Championship Wrestling, Hogan confirmed his fan favorite status (for any WWF fans unaware of his late 1981 babyface turn) by saving Bob Backlund from a three-way assault by the Wild Samoans.^[54] Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's a great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around". The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on January 23, Hogan won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his corner) in Madison Square Garden.^[1][55] The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund,^[4] and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's finishing move).^[56]

Immediately after the title win, commentator

In 1984, similarities between Hogan's character and that of

Over the next year, Hogan became the face of professional wrestling as McMahon pushed the WWF into a

In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag team matches with

At the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, Hogan defended the WWF championship in a rematch against Yokozuna. This was Hogan's first and only title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall win after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman). The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop.^[88][108] This was Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan continued his feud on the international house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan sat out the rest of his contract which expired later that year.

Return to NJPW (1993–1994)

On May 3, 1993, Hogan returned to NJPW as WWF Champion and defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion

The Hell Raisers with Muta and Masahiro Chono as his tag team partners. His last match in Japan was on January 4, 1994, at Battlefield, when he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami.^[109]

World Championship Wrestling (1994–2000)

World Heavyweight Champion (1994–1996)

Starting in March 1994, Hogan began making appearances on WCW television, as interviewer

At

On the August 4, 1997, episode of Nitro, Hogan lost the title to Lex Luger by submission.^[122] Five days later at Road Wild, Hogan defeated Luger to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[123] Hogan then lost the title to Sting in a match at Starrcade.^[124] In the match, WCW's newly contracted Bret Hart accused referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and had the match restarted – with himself as referee.^[88] Sting later won by submission.^[88] After a rematch the following night on Nitro, where Sting controversially retained the title, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became vacant.^[2] Sting went on to win the vacant title against Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII,^[125] and Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just cost Hogan the title match at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can.^[88] The feud culminated in a steel cage match at Uncensored, which ended in a no contest.^[126] Savage took the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Sting at Spring Stampede, while Hogan teamed with Kevin Nash to take on Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever bat match.^[127]

Hogan betrayed Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night on Nitro for the world title.^[120] In the no disqualification match for Savage's newly won title, Nash entered the ring and hit a powerbomb on Hogan as retribution for the attack the previous night, but Bret Hart interfered moments later and jumped in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who won his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[128] Nash's attack on him signified a split of the nWo into two separate factions – Hogan's became nWo Hollywood and Nash's became nWo Wolfpac – that feuded with each other for the remainder of the year. Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against newcomer and then WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Late in the match, Hogan was distracted by Karl Malone, and Goldberg pinned Hogan to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[129]

Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches: his second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pitted them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach,^[130] and at Road Wild he and Eric Bischoff lost to Page and Jay Leno thanks to interference from Kevin Eubanks.^[131] Hogan also had a critically panned rematch with The Warrior at Halloween Havoc, where his nephew Horace aided his victory.^[132]

On the Thanksgiving episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Hogan officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling, as well as his candidacy for President of the United States.^[133] Campaign footage aired on Nitro of Hogan and Bischoff holding a press conference, making it appear legitimate. Both announcements were false and made as publicity stunts to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him.^[133] After some time off from WCW, Hogan returned on the January 4, 1999, episode of Nitro to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship which Hogan won for the fifth time, but many people found the title change to be "scandalous".^[134] As a result, the warring factions of the nWo reunited into one group, which began feuding with Goldberg and The Four Horsemen.

Final years in WCW (1999–2000)

Hogan lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to Ric Flair at Uncensored in a steel cage First Blood match.^[2][135] Later, Hogan was severely injured in a Texas tornado match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship featuring him, Diamond Dallas Page, Flair, and Sting at Spring Stampede.^[136] On the July 12 episode of Nitro, Hogan made his return as a face for the first time in three years and accepted an open challenge from Savage, who had won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Bash at the Beach the night before in a tag team match by pinning Kevin Nash. Thanks to interference from Nash, Hogan defeated Savage to win his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[137] Nash turned on him the next week, and the two began a feud that lasted until Road Wild.

On August 9, 1999, Hogan started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his son came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main event six-man tag team match. Hogan then defeated Nash in a retirement match at Road Wild to retain the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Injuries and frustrations mounted, and he was absent from television from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Hogan said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booking Vince Russo and was not told when he would be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so. On October 24 at Halloween Havoc, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[138] Hogan came to the ring in street clothes, lay down for the pin, and left the ring.^[139]

Soon after his return in February 2000, at Bash at the Beach on July 9, Hogan was involved in a controversial work with Vince Russo. Hogan was scheduled to challenge Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[140] Before the match, there was a backstage dispute between Hogan and Russo; Hogan wanted to take the title, but Russo was going to have Jarrett win, and lose it to Booker T. Russo told Hogan that he was going to have Jarrett lie down for him, simulating a real conflict, although Jarrett was not told it was a work. When the bell rang, Jarrett lay down in the middle of the ring while Russo threw the WCW World Heavyweight Championship belt in the ring and yelled at Hogan from ringside to pin Jarrett. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "Is this your idea, Russo? That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!" After winning and being announced as the new WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan immediately took the WCW title belt. Moments later, Russo returned to the ring, angrily proclaiming this would be the last time fans would ever see "that piece of shit" in a WCW stadium. This is also when the public discovered, through Russo, the "creative control" clause that Hogan had, which meant that Hogan could control what would happen with his own character, without anyone else telling him no. In his Bash at the Beach shoot promo, Russo said that he was arguing with Hogan all day prior to the event in the back because he wanted to use the clause in the Jarrett match, saying, "That means that, in the middle of this ring, when [Hogan] knew it was bullshit, he beats Jeff Jarrett!". Since Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship was created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jarrett later that night.^[88]

As a result, Hogan filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually dismissed in 2002.^[141] Russo claims the whole thing was a work, and Hogan claims that Russo made it a shoot.^[142] Eric Bischoff agreed with Hogan's side of the story when he wrote that Hogan winning and leaving with the belt was a work (devised by Bischoff rather than Russo), and that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but that Russo coming out to fire Hogan was an unplanned shoot which led to the lawsuit filed by Hogan. It was the last time he was seen in WCW.^[2][141]

Post-WCW endeavors (2001)

In the months following the eventual demise of WCW in March 2001, Hogan underwent surgery on his knees in order for him to wrestle again. As a test, Hogan worked a match in Orlando, Florida on November 14, for the Xcitement Wrestling Federation (XWF) promotion run by his longtime manager Jimmy Hart. Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in this match and felt healthy enough to accept an offer to return to the WWF in February 2002.^[2]

Second return to WWF/WWE (2002–2003)

At No Way Out in February 2002, Hogan returned to the WWF as a heel.^[4] Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock^[143] and cost Stone Cold Steve Austin a chance at becoming the Undisputed WWF Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event.^[143] The nWo feuded with both Austin and The Rock, and Hogan accepted The Rock's challenge to a match at WrestleMania X8, where Hogan asked Hall and Nash not to interfere, wanting to defeat The Rock by himself. Despite the fact that Hogan was supposed to be the heel in the match, the crowd cheered for him heavily. The Rock cleanly won the contest, and befriended Hogan at the end of the bout, helping him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude.^[144][145] After the match, Hogan turned face by siding with The Rock, though he continued wearing black and white tights for a few weeks after WrestleMania X8 until he resumed wearing his signature red and yellow tights. During this period, the "Hulk Rules" logo of the 1980s was redone with the text "Hulk Still Rules", and Hogan also wore the original "Hulk Rules" attire twelve years earlier, when he headlined WrestleMania VI at the same arena, in the SkyDome. For a time, he was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blond mustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights and using the "Voodoo Child" entrance theme music he'd used in WCW. On the April 4, 2002 episode of SmackDown!, Hogan began a feud with Triple H, and then defeated him for the Undisputed WWF Championship at Backlash, thus becoming the last ever WWF Champion, as a legal battle with the World Wildlife Fund soon compelled the company to change its name from World Wrestling Federation/WWF to World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE in May 2002.^[146][147]

On May 19 at

Hogan returned to NJPW in October 2003, when he defeated Masahiro Chono at Ultimate Crush II in the Tokyo Dome.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)

Shortly after Hogan left WWE, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) began making overtures to Hogan, culminating in Jeff Jarrett, co-founder of TNA and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion, launching an on-air attack on Hogan in Japan in October 2003. The attack was supposed to be a precursor to Hogan battling Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA's first three-hour pay-per-view. Due to recurring knee and hip problems, Hogan did not appear in TNA. Still, the incident has been shown several times on TNA broadcasts, and was included in the TNA DVD TNA's Fifty Greatest Moments.

Third return to WWE (2005–2007)

On April 2, 2005, Hogan was inducted into the

Once the recordings went public erupting in a media scandal, Hogan apologized for the remarks, which he said is "language that is offensive and inconsistent with [his] own beliefs."[228] Three black wrestlers who worked in the WWF and WCW with Hogan made supportive comments. Virgil commented "Hogan has never given me a reason to believe he is a racist" while Dennis Rodman said he "most certainly is not a racist" and Kamala added "I do not think Hogan meant harm by saying that. Hogan is my brother until he decides not to be."^{[231][232][233]} Black wrestlers working in the WWE made different comments. Mark Henry said he was pleased by WWE's "no tolerance approach to racism" response, and that he was hurt and offended by Hogan's manner and tone.^[234] Booker T said he was shocked and called the statements unfortunate.^[235]

On July 24, WWE terminated their contract with Hogan, stating that they are "committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds," although Hogan's lawyer said Hogan chose to resign.

Hogan gave an interview with ABC on August 31 in which he pleaded forgiveness for his racist comments, attributing these to a racial bias inherited from his neighborhood while growing up.[242] Hogan claimed that the term "nigger" was used liberally among friends in Tampa; former neighbors disputed this claim.^[243]

In the time that followed, numerous African-Americans associated with wrestling expressed some level of support for Hogan including:

Hogan made it public knowledge that he hoped to have one more match in the WWE, including during an interview with the Los Angeles Times.[257] On December 9, 2019, it was announced that Hogan would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame a second time as a member of the New World Order, together with fellow former nWo stablemates Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman.^[14]

Hogan made his only appearance of 2020 on WWE's non-WWE Network programming when he appeared via satellite on the February 14, 2020, episode of SmackDown to speak about the Hall of Fame. He was interrupted by Bray Wyatt, as Hogan warned him about his upcoming match with Goldberg.^[258] The 2020 Hall of Fame ceremony was subsequently delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and aired on April 6, 2021.

Hogan made his first appearance of 2021 on the January 4 episode of Raw, which was a special Legends Night episode. He opened the show introducing the 'H-Phone,' his spin on an iPhone. He appeared in a backstage segment with Jimmy Hart, Drew McIntyre and Sheamus, where he gave his approval to McIntyre, the current WWE Champion. He also watched the championship main event match between McIntyre and Keith Lee on-stage with the rest of the guest legends.

It was announced on the March 19, 2021, episode of WWE SmackDown he would co-host WrestleMania 37 with Titus O'Neil. Hogan opened both nights of WrestleMania 37 with O'Neil, appeared in multiple segments with Bayley, which led to a return of the Bella Twins, who attacked Bayley, and was introduced during the Hall of Fame celebration with Nash, Hall and Waltman.

On January 23, 2023, Hogan appeared live alongside Jimmy Hart to open the WWE Raw is XXX show, celebrating the 30th Anniversary of Raw.^[259] On January 22, 2024, WWE celebrated the 40th anniversary of 'Hulkamania' with Hogan appearing in pre-taped footage.^[260]

Legacy

Hogan has been described as one of the largest attractions in professional wrestling history and a major reason why Vince McMahon's expansion of his promotion worked. Wrestling historian and journalist Dave Meltzer stated that "...You can't possibly overrate his significance in the history of the business. And he sold more tickets to wrestling shows than any man who ever lived".^[261] Hogan's match with Andre the Giant at The Main Event on February 5, 1988, holds American television records for a wrestling audience with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers.^[11] IMDb ranked Hogan as the biggest draw in Professional Wrestling history, ranking him number 1 in a list with 60 other wrestlers.^[262]

Fellow wrestler Cody Rhodes has said numerous times that Hogan's WrestleMania X8 match with The Rock is the greatest match in wrestling history and that it epitomized what professional wrestling is.^[263][264]

Fellow WWE Hall of Fame member Bret Hart has been repeatedly critical of Hogan's wrestling abilities, including in 2021 saying that he "didn't know a headlock from a headlamp", and that he was "very limited".^[265] Hart had previously referred to Hogan as a "hero" to fans.^[266] and previously complimented Hogan's look. "You look at Hulk Hogan, okay? Unbelievable look, 6'8″ with the 24″ pythons, it's an incredible [look]. When he walks in the room, the whole room stops. Like, you see it. He [has] got, like, legs stuck on his shoulders. His arms are as big as somebody's legs.^[267]

Former writer Vince Russo, who Hogan had previously sued, said that more wrestlers in 2022 should wrestle like Hogan, as opposed to the modern-day style acrobats.^[268]

Hogan himself has previously said he is "number two" behind Ric Flair, who he said is the greatest wrestler of all time.^[269]

Chris Jericho said on his podcast in 2023 that Hogan was a better worker than Flair in his experience. "Hogan is a better worker than Flair. For me. I always had amazing matches with Hogan because he knew exactly who he was as a babyface, as a heel, whatever. He was so great. He knew his audience. He didn't do anything he didn't have to. It was one of my favorite times in my career."^[270]

1980s wrestler The Warlord gave Hogan credit for his legacy in the ring and behind the scenes. "He was very nice to everybody. He was just one of the boys back there, you know? I always respected him and he always respected me, and that meant a lot to me. He changed the business for a big man."^[271]

On February 20, 2019, it was announced that Chris Hemsworth would portray him in a biopic, directed by Todd Phillips.^[272]

Endorsements and business ventures

Food industry

Hogan created and financed a restaurant called Pastamania located in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.^[273] It opened on the Labor Day weekend of 1995 and was heavily promoted on World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s live show Monday Nitro. The restaurant, which remained in operation for less than a year, featured such dishes as "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-A-Roos".^[273]

In interviews on The Tonight Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Hogan claimed that the opportunity to endorse what came to be known as the George Foreman Grill was originally offered to him, but when he failed to respond in time, Foreman endorsed the grill instead. Instead, Hogan endorsed a blender, known as the Hulk Hogan Thunder Mixer. He has since endorsed a grill known as "The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill", voluntarily recalled as a fire hazard in 2008 along with other QVC and Tristar grills.^[274]

In 2006, Hogan unveiled Hogan Energy, a drink distributed by Socko Energy.^[275] His name and likeness were also applied to a line of microwavable hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken sandwiches sold at Wal-Mart called "Hulkster Burgers".^[276] On November 1, 2011, Hogan launched a new website called Hogan Nutrition, which features many nutritional and dietary products.^[277]

On New Year's Eve 2012, Hogan opened a beachfront restaurant called "Hogan's Beach", located in the Tampa area.^[278][279] The restaurant dropped Hogan's name in October 2015.^[280] Hogan later opened Hogan's Hangout in Clearwater Beach.^[281]

Finances

In September 2008, Hogan's net worth was revealed to be around $30 million.^{[282][283][284]} In September 2011, Hogan revealed that his lavish lifestyle and divorce had cost him hundreds of millions of dollars and nearly bankrupted him.^[285]

Other

In October 2007, Hogan transferred all trademarks referring to himself to his liability company named "Hogan Holdings Limited". The trademarks include Hulk Hogan, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, and Hulkapedia.com.^[286]

In April 2008, Hogan announced that he would lend his license to video game developer

Hogan became a distributor for multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences after looking for business opportunities outside of wrestling.^[295] Hogan supports the American Diabetes Association.^[296]

Other media

Acting

Hogan's crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Early in his career Hogan played the part of Thunderlips in

In 1997, Hogan starred in the TNT original movie Assault on Devil's Island, as the leader of a commando unit featuring fellow genre veterans Carl Weathers and Shannon Tweed. Eric Bischoff was also listed as an executive producer. The characters were considered for a regular series, but instead received a second feature-length showcase two years later, called Assault on Death Mountain. In 1995, he appeared on TBN's Kids Against Crime. Hogan made cameo appearances in Muppets from Space, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (the theatrical cut) and Spy Hard as himself. Hogan also played the role of Zeus in Little Hercules in 3D. Hogan also made two appearances on The A-Team (in 1985 and 1986), along with Roddy Piper. He also appeared on Suddenly Susan in 1999.^[299] In 2001, Hogan guest-starred on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger.

Hogan has become a busy voice actor in later years making guest voice spots on Robot Chicken and American Dad! and as a primary actor in the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim series China, IL.

Reality television and hosting

On July 10, 2005, VH1 premiered Hogan Knows Best a reality show which centered around Hogan, his then-wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick.^[300] In July 2008, a spin-off entitled Brooke Knows Best premiered, which focused primarily on Hogan's daughter Brooke.^[301]

Hogan hosted the comeback series of

A&E on November 17, 2010.^[304]

In 2015, Hogan was a judge on the sixth season of Tough Enough, alongside Paige and Daniel Bryan,^[305] but due to the scandal, he was replaced by The Miz after episode 5.

Music and radio

Hogan released a music CD, Hulk Rules, as Hulk Hogan and the Wrestling Boot Band, which also included Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart, his then-wife Linda and J.J Maguire.^[306] Despite negative reviews, Hulk Rules reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995.^[306] Green Jellÿ released a duet with Hogan, performing Gary Glitter's song "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)". He has also made cameos in several music videos. From her self-named show Dolly, the music video for Dolly Parton's wrestling-themed love song "Headlock on My Heart" features Hogan as "Starlight Starbright". In the music video "Pressure" by Belly featuring Ginuwine, Hogan and his daughter Brooke both made brief cameo appearances.

Hogan was a regular guest on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. He also served as the best man at Bubba's January 2007 wedding.^[307] On March 12, 2010, Hogan hosted his own radio show titled Hogan Uncensored, on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101.^[308]

Merchandising

The Wrestling Figure Checklist records Hogan as having 171 different action figures, produced between the 1980s and 2010s from numerous manufacturers and promotions.^[309]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Rocky III	Thunderlips
1989	No Holds Barred	Rip Thomas
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Himself
1991	Suburban Commando	Shep Ramsey
1993	Mr. Nanny	Sean Armstrong
	Thunder in Paradise	Randolph J. "Hurricane" Spencer	Direct-to-video
1996	Spy Hard	Steele's other Tag-Team Member	Cameo
	The Secret Agent Club	Ray Chase
	Santa with Muscles	Blake Thorn
1998	McCinsey's Island	Joe McGrai
	3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain	Dave Dragon
	The Ultimate Weapon	Ben Cutter
1999	Muppets from Space	Himself	Cameo
2009	Little Hercules	Zeus
2011	Gnomeo & Juliet	Terrafirminator V.O.	Voice role

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Goldie and the Bears	Mac McKenna	TV film
1985-1986	The A-Team	Himself	2 episodes: ("Body Slam", "The Trouble with Harry")
1985–1986	Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling	Himself	Live-action parts only
1994	Thunder in Paradise	Randolph J. Hurricane Spencer	Main role; 22 episodes
1995	Space Ghost Coast to Coast	Himself	Episode: "Sleeper"
1996	Baywatch	Himself	Episode: "Bash at the Beach"
1997	Assault on Devil's Island	Mike McBride	TV film
1999	Suddenly Susan	Himself	2 episodes
	Assault on Death Mountain	Mike McBride	TV film
2001	Walker, Texas Ranger	Boomer Knight	1 episode: ("Division Street")
2005–2007	Hogan Knows Best	Himself	Reality TV series
2006–2016	Robot Chicken	Himself, Abraham Lincoln, The Giving Tree, Bigfoot, Various	4 episodes
2008–2009	Brooke Knows Best	Himself	Reality TV series
2011–2015	China, IL	The Dean	Main cast
2012	American Dad!	Himself	1 episode: ("Stanny Tendergrass")
2012	The Inbetweeners	Himself	1 episode ("Fire!")
2014	The '80s Called	Himself	RadioShack commercial for Super Bowl XLVIII[310]
2015	Smosh	Himself	1 episode
2019	The Goldbergs	Himself	1 episode ( "WrestleMania" )
2022	Camp WWE	Himself	2 episodes ("John Cena's Grounded", "Vince's Pizza Party")

Video games

Hogan provided his voice for the 2011 game Saints Row: The Third as Angel de la Muerte, a member of the Saints.^[311] In October 2011, he released a video game called Hulk Hogan's Main Event.^[312]

A likeness of him, as Rex Kwan-Do, is featured as a playable police officer in This Is The Police.

Hulk Hogan and Hollywood Hogan are featured in the following

licensed wrestling video games

:

WWE Video games
Year	Title	Notes
1987	MicroLeague Wrestling	Video game debut Cover athlete
1989	WWF WrestleMania	Cover athlete
	WWF Superstars
1990	WWF WrestleMania Challenge	Cover athlete
1991	WWF WrestleMania	Cover athlete
	WWF WrestleFest
1992	WWF Super WrestleMania	Cover athlete
	WWF European Rampage Tour
	WWF Superstars 2	Cover athlete
	WWF WrestleMania: Steel Cage Challenge
1993	WWF Royal Rumble	Hogan was featured in the SNES version
	WWF King of the Ring	Cover athlete
2002	WWF WrestleMania X8	Cover athlete
	WWE Road to WrestleMania X8
	WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth	Hogan was on the cover of the PAL version of the game, but not the NTSC version
2003	WWE Crush Hour
	WWE WrestleMania XIX
	WWE Raw 2
2005	WWE Day of Reckoning 2
	WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006
2006	WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007
2009	WWE Legends of WrestleMania	Cover athlete
2011	WWE All Stars	Cover athlete
2013	WWE 2K14
2014	WWE SuperCard
	WWE 2K15	Cover athlete on the Hulkamania edition of the game; Hogan was downloadable content and removed after his racial scandal
2015	WWE Immortals
2017	WWE Champions	Added in 2019
2019	WWE 2K20
2020	WWE 2K Battlegrounds
2022	WWE 2K22	Cover athlete on the nWo 4-Life edition of the game
2023	WWE 2K23
2024	WWE 2K24	Cover athlete on the 40 Years of WrestleMania edition of the game

WCW Video games
Year	Title	Notes
1997	WCW vs. the World	Cover athlete
	WCW vs. nWo: World Tour
1998	WCW Nitro	Cover athlete
	WCW/nWo Revenge
1999	WCW/nWo Thunder	Cover athlete
	WCW Mayhem
2000	WCW Backstage Assault

TNA Video games
Year	Title	Notes
2010	TNA Impact! Cross the Line	Hogan was featured in the Nintendo DS version of the game (of which he was also on the cover), but was not in the PSP version
2011	TNA Wrestling Impact!

Legends of Wrestling Video games
Year	Title	Notes
2001	Legends of Wrestling	Cover athlete
2002	Legends of Wrestling II	Cover athlete
2004	Showdown: Legends of Wrestling	Cover athlete

Personal life

Legal issues

Belzer lawsuit

Further information: Belzer v. Bollea

On March 27, 1985, just days prior to the inaugural WrestleMania,

Bubba the Love Sponge Show, it was claimed (with Hogan in the studio) that the settlement totaled $5 million, half from Hogan and half from Vince McMahon. During his June 23, 2008, appearance on Sirius Satellite Radio's The Howard Stern Show, Belzer suggested that the real settlement amount was actually closer to $400,000.^[313]

Testimony in McMahon trial

Further information: United States v. McMahon

In 1994, Hogan, having received

immunity from prosecution, testified in the trial of Vince McMahon relating to shipments of steroids received by both parties from WWF physician George T. Zahorian. Under oath, Hogan admitted that he had used anabolic steroids since 1976 to gain size and weight, but that McMahon had neither sold him the drugs nor ordered him to take them. The evidence given by Hogan proved extremely costly to the government's case against McMahon. Due to this and jurisdictional issues, McMahon was found not guilty.^[314]

Gawker lawsuit

Main article: Bollea v. Gawker

In April 2012, a sex tape between Hogan and Heather Clem, the estranged wife of radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge, emerged online. On October 4, 2012, Gawker released a short clip of the video.^[315] In the video, Bubba can be heard saying that the couple can "do their thing" and he will be in his office. At the end of the video, he can also be heard telling Heather, "If we ever need to retire, here is our ticket".^[316] Hogan later told Howard Stern on his satellite radio show that, "it was a bad choice and a very low point" and "I was with some friends and made a wrong choice. It has devastated me, I have never been this hurt".^[317] On October 15, 2012, Hogan filed a lawsuit against Bubba and Heather Clem for invading his privacy.^[318] A settlement with Bubba was announced on October 29, 2012.^[319] Clem publicly apologized to Hogan.^[320] In December 2012, a federal court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, found that Gawker's publication of the video snippet did not violate U.S. copyright law. Hogan then joined Gawker in the ongoing action against Heather Clem in state court in Florida, alleging invasion of privacy, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and seeking $100 million in damages.^[321]

On October 1, 2015, the New York Post reported that a Florida Judge granted Hogan access to Gawker's computer system for a forensic expert to search Gawker's computers and office.^[322]

Hogan sued Gawker for $100 million for defamation, loss of privacy, and emotional pain,

A.J. Daulerio, former Gawker editor-in-chief, who was involved in the posting of Hogan's sex tape.^[326]

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel helped Hogan to finance his lawsuit against Gawker Media.^[327]

On November 2, 2016, Gawker reached a $31 million settlement with Hogan.^[328]

Family

On December 18, 1983, Hogan married Linda Claridge. They have a daughter Brooke (born May 5, 1988) and a son Nick (born July 27, 1990). Hogan made his personal life the centerpiece of the television show Hogan Knows Best, which included his wife and two children.

According to an interview in the National Enquirer, Christiane Plante claimed that Hogan had an affair with her in 2007 while the Hogan family was shooting Hogan Knows Best.^[329] Plante was 33 years old at the time and had worked with Brooke Hogan on her 2006 album.^[330]

On November 20, 2007, Linda filed for divorce in Pinellas County, Florida.^[331] In November 2008, Linda claimed to the public that she made the decision to end her marriage after finding out about Hogan's affair.^[332][333] In his 2009 autobiography, Hogan acknowledged that Linda on numerous occasions suspected he was having infidelities whenever he developed friendships with other women,^[334] but denied allegations that he ever cheated on her.^[334] Hogan only retained around 30% of the couple's liquid assets totaling around $10 million in the divorce settlement.^[335] Hogan considered committing suicide after the divorce and credits Laila Ali, his co-star on American Gladiators, with preventing him from doing so.^[336]

Hulk Hogan began a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel in early 2008.^[337] The two were engaged in November 2009^[337] and married on December 14, 2010, in Clearwater, Florida.^[338][339] On February 28, 2022, Hogan stated on Twitter that he and McDaniel divorced.^[340]

Hogan became engaged to yoga instructor Sky Daily in July 2023, proposing to her at actor Corin Nemec's wedding reception,^[341][342] and married on September 22, 2023.^[343]

Beliefs

In 2007, he has spoken about his faith in his life saying, "[I've] leaned on my religion. I was saved when I was 14. I accepted Christ as my savior. He died on the cross and paid for my sins ... I could have went the wrong way. I could have self-destructed, but I took the high road".^[344]

On December 20, 2023, he was baptized at Indian Rocks Baptist Church in Largo, Florida.^[345]

Health

Hogan has suffered numerous health problems, particularly with his back since retiring as a wrestler following the years of heavy weight-training and jolting as a wrestler.^[346]

In January 2013, Hogan filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Laser Spine Institute for $50 million, citing that the medical firm persuaded him to undergo a half-dozen "unnecessary and ineffective" spinal operations that worsened his back problems. He claimed that the six procedures he underwent over a period of 19 months only gave him short-term relief. After the procedures failed to cure his back problems, Hogan underwent traditional spinal fusion surgery in December 2010, which enabled him to return to his professional activities. In addition, the Laser Spine Institute used his name on their advertisements without his permission.^[347]

Awards and honors

Hogan was honored as the 2008 King of the Krewe of Bacchus, a New Orleans carnival organization.^[348][349] Hogan visited the Children's Hospital of New Orleans and rode in the parade where he threw doubloons with his likeness. Hogan received the honor in part because meeting Hogan is one of the most requested "wishes" of the terminally ill children benefited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.^[349]

Hogan was inducted in the Boys and Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame on May 3, 2018.^[350]

Year	Award	Group	Result	Notes
1988	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Male Athlete	Won
2006	Teen Choice Awards	TV – Choice Reality Star (Male)	Nominated	Hogan Knows Best

Championships and accomplishments

• International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Class of 2021^[351]
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship (original version) (1 time)^[352]
  • IWGP League Tournament (1983)^[353][47]
  • MSG Tag League Tournament (1982, 1983) – with Antonio Inoki^[354][355]
  • Greatest 18 Club inductee
• Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
  • Class of 2003^[356]
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Comeback of the Year (1994, 2002)^[357]
  • Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff^[357]
  • Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1983, 1999)^[357]
  • Match of the Year (1985) with Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff at WrestleMania I^[357]
  • Match of the Year (1988) vs.
    The Main Event I^[357]
  • Match of the Year (1990) vs. The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI^[357]
  • Match of the Year (2002) vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8^[357]
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1996, 1998)^[357]
  • Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1985, 1989, 1990)^[357]
  • Wrestler of the Year (1987, 1991, 1994)^[357]
  • Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991^[358]
  • Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003^[359]
  • Ranked No. 44 and No. 57 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI Years with Antonio Inoki and Randy Savage in 2003^[360]
• Southeastern Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) (1 time)^[2][361]
  • NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division) (2 times)^[362][363]
• Tokyo Sports
  • Best Foreigner Award (1983)^[364]
  • Match of the Year (1991) vs. Genichiro Tenryu on December 12, 1991^[365]
• World Championship Wrestling
  • WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)^{[a][366][367]}
• World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
  • WWF/WWE Championship^[b] (6 times)^{[368][369][370]}
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Edge^[371]
  • Royal Rumble (1990, 1991)^{[372][373][2][93]}
  • WWE Hall of Fame (2 times)
    • Class of 2005 – individually ^[374]
    • Class of 2020 – as a member of the New World Order^[375]
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Strongest Wrestler
    (1983)
  • Best Babyface (1982–1991)^[376]
  • Best Box Office Draw (1997)^[376]
  • Best Gimmick (1996) as a member of New World Order^[376]
  • Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff^[376]
  • Feud of the Year (1996) as a member of New World Order vs. World Championship Wrestling^[376]
  • Most Charismatic (1985–1987, 1989–1991)^[376]
  • Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000)^[376]
  • Most Obnoxious (1994, 1995)^[376]
  • Most Overrated (1985, 1986, 1994–1998)^[376]
  • Most Unimproved (1994, 1995)^[376]
  • Readers' Least Favorite Wrestler (1985, 1986, 1991, 1994–1999)^[376]
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1991) vs. Sgt. Slaughter^[376]
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1995) vs.
    The Dungeon of Doom^[376]
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1998) vs. The Warrior
  • Worst Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Billy Kidman^[376]
  • Worst on Interviews (1995)^[376]
  • Worst Wrestler (1997)^[376]
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (1987) vs. André the Giant at WrestleMania III^[376]
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Randy Savage vs.
    Towers of Doom match at Uncensored^[376]
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (1997) vs. Roddy Piper at SuperBrawl VII^[376]
  • Worst Worked Match of the Year (1998) vs. The Warrior at Halloween Havoc^[376]
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)^[377]

Notes