Hulk Hogan!!!

Hulk Hogan (by Suru!!!)

Nació en Augusta, Georgia, Hogan fue el tercer hijo del Italo Americano Pete Bollea, y Ruth Bollea, quien es descendiente de Franceses, Italianos y Panameños. Tiene un hermano mayor, Allan, y un medio hermano del primer matrimonio de Ruth, Kenneth Wheeler. Hogan estudió en Thomas Richard Robinson High School y en la University of South Florida y St. Petersburg College en Tampa.^[4] Conoció a su esposa, Linda, en un restaurante en Los Angeles, y se casaron en 1983.Tienen dos hijos: Brooke y Nick Hogan. En abril de 2006, la familia compró una casa de 12 millones de dólares en Miami Beach, Florida, donde residen habitualmente.

Hogan actualmente protagoniza un reality para televisión, el cual está centrado alrededor de la vida de su familia, en el espíritu de shows como The Osbournes. El show muestra la vida de la familia Hogan y los esfuerzos de él para ayudar a sus hijos y últimamente a su reciente célebre sobrina Kristin Hogan en sus carreras. El retirado luchador profesional "Nasty Boy", un amigo de siempre de Hogan, aparece en algunos episodios.

Hogan también es un guitarrista experimentado, pasó diez años tocando el bajo electrico en varias bandas formadas en Florida, incluyendo Ruckus and Infinity's End. Muchos de los luchadores que compitieron en el territorio de la Florida en aquel momento visitaron los locales donde Bollea actuaba.

La estatura física de Bollea pronto llamo la atención de Gato Brisco y su hermano Gerald Brisco. Juntos, convencieron a Bollea que intentara luchar. Siendo un ventilador de lucha desde la niñez, Bollea acepto. Entrenó por casi dos años con Hiro Matsuda, un rudo entrenador. Según Hogan, durante su primera sesión del entrenamiento, Matsuda sarcásticamente le preguntó: “Así que deseas ser luchador?” y, inculcar respecto, rompió la pierna de Bollea. Cuando volvió, ocho semanas más adelante, tenía una actitud totalmente diversa sobre la favorable lucha. Corto su cabello (que estaba por debajo de su cintura) y tomo su entrenamiento mucho más seriamente.

Hogan hizo su debut profesional en Fuerte Myers, la Florida, el 10 de agosto de 1977, compitiendo bajo su apodo contra Brian Blair. ^[5] Terry se puso una máscara y asumió el apodo del “Destructor Estupendo,” un personaje encapuchado en el cual se basaron, posteriormente, otros luchadores. Terry se cambio el apodo varias veces antes de llamarse “Hulk Hogan”.Algunos fueron: “El Destructor Estupendo”, “Terry, Hulk, Boulder”, y “Oro Esterlino”. Bollea ganó sus primeros campeonatos de lucha del sudeste reconocidos enAlabama y Tennessee, respectivamente. En mayo de 1979, la fama llego temprano para Hogan, tras ganar el titulo del campeon de los pesos pesados de la NWA.

World Wrestling Entertaiment [editar]

El 13 de noviembre, 1979, Bollea hizo su principio en la WWF.Pronto, le dieron el nombre de "Hulk, el fabuloso, Hogan” .Vincent James McMahon, el dueño de la mayoría del Capitol Wrestling Corporation (en ese entonces, la casa matriz de la federación). Originalmente, lo supusieron tener pelo rojo, pero él demanda que cuando su pelo comenzó a caer hacia fuera, a te se permitió guardar su color natural, que demostraría ser una parte crucial del carácter de Hogan más adelante en su carrera. En su principio, Hogan luchó tres fósforos adentro Allentown, Pennsylvania durante uno de los tapings de la televisión del maratón de la federación. Hogan salio victorioso en los combates contra Harry Valdez (en la primera vez), Paul Figueroa (en la segunda), y Ben Ortiz (en la tercera). Un mes después, el 17 de diciembre, Hogan lucho contra Ted Di Biase, derrotandolo en 11 minutos, 12 segundos.

La verdadera explicación para su apodo “Hulk Hogan”, el mas conocido, era que muchos consideraban que Bollea erafísicamente más grande que Lou Ferrigno, que protagonizaba en ese entonces la serie de TV El Increible Hulk. McMahon también quisiera que él fuera un resistente, brawler del working-man con Irish un fondo posible al mismo tiempo, así “Hogan conocido.” Un reparto fue pulsado más adelante con los tebeos de la maravilla para utilizar el nombre del “Hulk increíble”, implicando a Hogan cameoing en un cómico donde su namesake en un fósforo de lucha lo bate.

Hogan comenzó hacia fuera en el WWF como talón arrogante, manejado cerca Freddie " Classy " Blassie. Hogan feuded con el campeón de Heavyweight del mundo del then-WWWF (federación de lucha mundial) Bob Backlund, “Sr. los E.E.U.U. ” Atlas Tony, y André el gigante. Su pelea con André culminada en un fósforo en estadio del Shea encendido 9 de agosto, el an o 80 delante de 36.295 ventiladores, popular llamó arreglo de cuentas en el Shea.

En 1981, Sylvester Stallone personalmente le ofreció una parte en la pelicula "Rocky 3". Hogan tomó el papel de “Thunderlips”, “El último objeto del deseo femenino”.

Asociación de Lucha Americana [editar]

Después de grabar su escena para la pelicula Rocky 3, Hogan hizo su debut en Minnesota - basado en la asociación de lucha americana y promovida por Verne Gagne. Hogan comenzó en AWA trabajando como talón, teniendo a Johnny “Delicioso” valeroso como su encargado, pero las audiencias de AWA hicieron a Hogan adquirir musculo, y pronto obligó a los bookers del AWA que cambiaran la cara a Hogan [|face de la cara (profesional que lucha).

Hogan hizo el drenaje de la tapa del AWA y feuded rápidamente con el campeón del mundo de AWA mella Bockwinkel. Hogan creció rápidamente frustrado en el AWA y con Verne Gagne.

Sobre veinte años más tarde, apenas antes de la inducción de Hogan del Hulk WWE pasillo de la fama en 2005, el AWA restablecido, bajo autoridad de la mordaza del valle del dueño ne (real last name, Gagner), relented and acknowledged the legitimacy of Hogan's two title wins over Nick Bockwinkel, making him a two-time AWA champion.^[6] However, this resolution has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as an entirely different body than the Verne Gagne-owned AWA of old. As recently as the release of the DVD The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, interviews between Hogan and the Gagnes show that there is still animosity between both parties, indicating the unlikelihood Hogan's AWA title reign would have been retroactively instated under the original ownership.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980-1983) [editar]

Un suceso enorme fue cuando el hizo su arribo a Japòn [[New Japan Pro Wrestling].Los fans japones de la lucha libre estaban fascinados con el enorme rubio americano, y lo llamaron "Ichiban" (que traducido significa "El numero Uno") Hogan aparecio por primera vez en Japòn Mayo 13, 1980, mientras el estaba aun en la WWF. El viajaria al pais de vez en cuando en los años siguientes, haciendo frente a una variedad de luchadores como : Tatsumi Fujinami, a Abdullah The Butcher. Cuando el compitio en Japòn, utilizo un repertorio variado de movimientos de lucha, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style U.S. fans became accustomed to seeing from him. He would also periodically leave his feet while performing moves like armbar takedowns and the enzuigiri.^[7] Another difference is that Hogan used a running forearm lariat (called the "Axe Bomber") as his finisher in Japan, as opposed to the running leg drop that has been his traditional finisher in America.

El 2 de Junio, de 1983, Hogan se convirtió en el primer ganador del "International Wrestling Grand Prix", derrotando al luchador japonés Antonio Inoki por knockout en la final de un torneo de 10 luchadores de todo el mundo. Eran considerados como unos de los mejores en sus paises respectivos. In doing so, Hogan became the first ever IWGP World champion. Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning the prestigious MSG Tag League tournament two years in a row, in 1982 and 1983. Hogan's popularity in Japan was so great, he even recorded an album there - a forerunner to the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock' n' Wrestlin' Connection" of the mid '80s.

Universal Wrestling Asociation, México [editar]

El primer y famoso campeón de la IWGP Hulk Hogan comenzó a tener contratos en el todo mundo. Se trataba del vencedor de los campeones de peso completo del mundo, así que Hulk Hogan se convirtió en una figura de primer orden, que era requerido en todas partes y la UWA comenzó los trámites para poder traerlo a México, logrando su contratación el 21 de Julio de 1983, pero por solo una presentación ya que su agenda no estaba llena, sino repleta de contratos, así que la UWA se tuvo que ajustar a las necesidades de Hogan, para acordar la fecha de su presentación en México.

La máxima estrella de peso completo, el rival de Rocky III, "el mejor luchador del mundo" se presentaría por vez primera en México el Domingo 31 de Julio de 1983, escenario: Toreo de Cuatro Caminos. Aquello era en verdad sensacional el público Mexicano se frotó las manos de emoción al saber que vería en persona al tremendo Hulk Hogan del que Canek, semanas antes se había referido como un gran rival, sin embargo había que pensar un poco en como sería su presentación, por ser única así que se debía explotar al máximo su destreza en la lucha, sin prometer al público asistente, posteriores enfrentamientos con gladiadores aztecas, debido a la carga de trabajo de Hogan.

Despúes de pensarlo mucho Promociones Mora, decidió que el encuentro se realizaría en la modalidad de parejas, definiendo esto el Martes 26 de Julio. En esos años una pareja mexicana hacía estragos en la humanidad de todos los rivales, incluyendo al mismo André el Gigante y esa pareja era conformada por Canek y Perro Aguayo, que recibieron el mote de "la pareja de Mexico" en un grado superlativo; ellos, fueron los elegidos para enfrentar a Hulk Hogan que haría pareja con Gran Hamada, lo que preparó al público a ver un encuentro de altos vuelos, ya que todos sabían que Canek sostendría una gran batalla con Hogan porque ya en Japón se habían enfrentado y por otro lado Aguayo -Hamada tenían cuentas pendientes, por lo que al público le esperaba un encuentro estremecedor.

El Gran día llegó [editar]

El Toreo lució un lleno hasta las lámparas, la mayoría del público reunido eran aficionados al deporte y muchos otros nunca habían pisado un local de lucha libre, la razón por la cuál estaban ahí era por ver al Hogan actor y no al Hogan luchador, algo así como sucedió con el Santo después de su primer película. Las cuatro luchas previas a la estelar pasaron y llegó el encuentro final, Hogan llegó con una trusa negra ante la admiración de todos por su increíble altura física, que hacía parecer al chaparrito de Hamada, como un enano. El encuentro sobrepasó las espectativas pues los cuatro luchadores dieron una gran lucha que duró poco más de cuarenta minutos. Hogan, hay que recordar, que en esos tiempos no era un luchador técnico sino un rudo consumado, que hacía gala de su fuerza física cada vez que tenía la oportunidad de hacerlo y esta vez no fue la excepción. La primer caída fue dominada por Hamada y Hogan a base de ganchos al rostro de parte de Hogan a sus rivales y también de tremendos azotones desde todo lo alto, que Aguayo sufrio por parte del Norteamericano que terminó la primer caída poniendole al Perro espaldas planas. Para la segunda caída pudimos ver el agarrón Canek-Hogan arriba y abajo del ring mientras el Perro hacía sangrar a Hamada a base de estrellones al poste; Canek y Hogan estuvieron demasiado tiempo abajo del ring por lo que la cuenta de los veinte segundos llegó a su fin, Aguayo rindió a Hamada y los mexicanos ganaron esta caída. La tercera caída fue de lo mejor Canek demostró a todos los aficionados que era en verdad un campeón completo del mundo al enfrentar a Hogan de tú a tú, lo mismo el Perro que resistía golpe tras golpe del gigante rubio después de retarlo mano a mano aunque éste último siempre se imponía por su fuerza extraordinaria, pero con Hamada se desquitó al enviarlo a la enfermería al mandarlo al hospital con varias heridas en la frente. La pareja de México demostraron a todos los aficionados reunidos en el Toreo, el porqué son una de las parejas más cotizadas del Japón, pues en ese tiempo no tenían mucho tiempo de haberse enfrentado en el país del sol naciente, a la pareja de Andre el Gigante-Antonio Inoki. Sin embargo pese a la magnífica actuación de nuestros Mexicanos Hogan demostró el porque se autoproclamaba, "el mejor luchador del mundo" ya que sus resistencia fue pieza clave para llevarse el triunfo; cuando el Perro ya tenía destrozado a Gran Hamada y Canek a base de golpes a la quijada había doblado la resistencia granítica del rubio Hulk y estaba a punto de derrumbarlo, el gigante, al ver venir de nuevo a Canek con un antebrazo se agacha y el Maya se sigue de largo asestando el golpe al referí Camarena, lo que les valió la descalificación a los Mexicanos, ante una gigantesca rechifla de los aficionados, sin embargo los aztecas, lograron llevarse el reconocimiento de todos ellos, con un caluroso aplauso. Al finalizar el encuentro Hogan amenazaba a los dos ídolos aztecas, que le valió otra rechifla del público. La presentación de Hogan provocó otro entradón en el Toreo y pudimos constatar lo que se había dicho de Hogan: que era un extraordinario gladiador. ¿Falto de recursos? Mmhh tal vez, pero con su físico impresionante y resistencia a toda prueba, además de su personalidad, logró imponer respeto tanto al público como a la pareja de México. ¡Como nos hubiera gustado ver la revancha a la semana siguiente! pero ni en suelo azteca ni en el extranjero, se logró.

Memorias del Pasado Reciente

Sergio Ossio, Superluchas,2004

World Wrestling Federation (segundo periodo, 1984-1993) [editar]

En 1983, Vince McMahon had bought the WWFfrom his father, with a goal of turning it into a nationwide company by using Hogan's charisma and name recognition as the top draw. Hogan made his return to the WWF at a TV taping in St. Louis, MO on December 27, defeating Bill Dixon. On January 3, 1984, Hogan appeared at a TV taping in Allentown, PA, saving Bob Backlund from a three-on-one assault. 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 the WWF Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik in Madison Square Garden. The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent, and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's signature move). He became the first ever Southern-born WWF Champion in history. In Hogan's autobiography, he says that The Iron Sheik told him that Verne Gagne had offered the Sheik $100,000 to break Hogan's leg during the title bout, but the Sheik correctly saw the potential for making millions working a feud with Hogan and refused. Greg Gagne, the son of Verne, recently worked as a WWE road agent and refutes the claim that such an offer was ever made. However, during his Hall of Fame induction speech, The Iron Sheik confirms that the offer was made and that he turned Verne down.

Immediately after Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik and won the WWF Heavyweight Title, commentator Gorilla Monsoon officially proclaimed "Hulkamania is here". He would frequently refer to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews, and would go on to introduce his three "demandments": training, saying your prayers, and eating your vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in yourself) was added following his feud with Earthquake. The vitamins demandment has been parodied to mean steroids in recent years due to Vince McMahon's problems with a steroid trial in the early '90s.

Hogan would remain WWF Champion for four years and 13 days overcoming such challengers as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, André the Giant, Paul Orndorff and King Kong Bundy, drawing record houses, PPV buyrates and TV ratings in the process. He co-hosted Saturday Night Live on March 30, 1985 and had his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon during this lucrative run, titled Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling.

On March 31, 1985, the inaugural WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden featured Hogan and Mr. T defeating Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff in the main event.^[8] Hogan would go on to headline seven of the first eight WrestleManias.

In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag matches with The Machines as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from New Japan Pro Wrestling character "Super Strong Machine."

A new storyline was introduced in early 1987: Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three years. André the Giant, a good friend (who was seen pouring champagne over him in the Madison Square Garden locker room in the interview scene following his title win) came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterwards, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years." In actuality, André had suffered a handful of countout and disqualification losses in the WWF, but had never been pinned or forced to submit in a WWF ring. Hogan came out to congratulate André, but André walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of Piper's Pit, Hogan was confronted by Bobby Heenan when Piper had invited Hogan and Jesse Ventura invited Heenan and André the Giant. Heenan announced that André was his new protégé, and Andre challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III, ripping the t-shirt and crucifix off Hogan.

At WrestleMania III, held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. The match would become the most famous of Hogan's career, and is often regarded as the biggest match in the history of the business, one which saw Hogan bodyslam the 520-pound Frenchman before pinning his shoulders to the mat. André had physically deteriorated by this time, which caused a mishap when Hogan initially tried to slam him. The attempt was unsuccessful (as was planned), and André fell on top of Hogan. Hogan was almost pinned accidentally for the three count due to André's size and inablity to move off of Hogan quickly enough. The quick thinking ref's slow two and a half count allowed the match to continue. The match was considered as being a "passing of the torch" between one of the biggest stars in wrestling of the 1970s, André, and the biggest star in wrestling of the 1980s, Hogan. Years later, Hogan stated that André was so heavy, he felt more like 700 pounds, and that if he had lost his balance performing the slam, he was sure that André's weight would have seriously injured him. Hogan also says that in lifting the super heavyweight, he tore a shoulder muscle, which causes one side of his back to be visibly smaller than the other. Hogan later would assert that no man in wrestling at the time could have ever defeated André without him allowing it.

Hogan lost the belt to André on NBC's "The Main Event" on February 5, 1988, thanks to a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and "evil" twin referee Earl Hebner (in place of the match's appointed arbiter, his twin brother Dave Hebner). After André delivered a belly-to-belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner three-counted Hogan while his left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their storyline business deal. As a result, the WWF Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history, and all this in turn led to Hogan's on/off friend "The Macho Man" Randy Savage taking the vacant title in a tournament at WrestleMania IV a month later.

Note: The live primetime NBC broadcast of The Main Event on February 5, 1988, from Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN was the highest rated television show in American professional wrestling history, with a 15.2 rating. The Hogan-Andre rematch can be found on the History Of The WWE Championship DVD.

Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers. Savage played an instrumental role in Hogan's character development. However, the Mega Powers would soon implode from within, due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were "more than friends." A feud between Hogan and Savage began, which culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF Championship at WrestleMania V on April 2, 1989.

Hogan's second run lasted a year, during which time he starred in his first movie, No Holds Barred. The movie was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star in "No Holds Barred," Tiny Lister, Jr., who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus. Zeus was a monster heel who was "jealous" over Hogan's higher billing and now wanted revenge. However, Hogan was easily able to defeat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam.

Also during his second run, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble Match, last eliminating Mr. Perfect. He dropped the title to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior on April 1, 1990 at WrestleMania VI. It was the first time in over seven years that Hogan suffered an uncontroversial pinfall defeat. That title match was notable in that the two wrestlers were both faces, and Hogan graciously handed Warrior the belt and shook his hand at the conclusion of the match, remembered as one of the most sportsmanlike displays in WWF history.

Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 468-pound Earthquake, a mountain of a man who gained infamy by crushing Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on "The Brother Love Show" in May 1990. On TV, announcers explained that Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to The Ultimate Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank you"). Hogan returned by SummerSlam 1990 and dominated Earthquake in a months-long series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe would cause Hogan to add a fourth demandment: believing in yourself. His name also changed: The Immortal Hulk Hogan. (In his AWA/WWWF days his name was The Incredible Hulk Hogan).

On March 24, 1991, Hogan stood up for the USA against Iraqi-sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship at WrestleMania VII. Hogan lost the title to The Undertaker at the Survivor Series 1991 on November 27. Just six days later, Hogan regained the title in a match held on a special pay-per-view named Tuesday in Texas, but due to the controversy surrounding both matches, the title was again declared vacant.

In the 1992 Royal Rumble, Hogan was eliminated by storyline friend Sid Justice and failed to regain the championship. In the ensuing five months, Hulk Hogan announced he was contemplating retirement from wrestling and would 'bow out' after his match against Sid at WrestleMania VIII on April 5. Hogan eventually won the match via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman. Hogan then was attacked by Papa Shango, who actually was supposed to cause the DQ but was late and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior.

Hogan returned to the WWF in January 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc.. Hogan scooped his fifth WWF Title on April 4 of that year, overcoming Yokozuna in an impromptu bout at WrestleMania IX only moments after Yokozuna's defeat of Bret Hart. At this point, everything was looking good for Hogan; he had the World Wrestling Federation Championship and it seemed like Hulkamania was back. However, this was not the case at all.

At the first annual King of the Ring pay per view, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion, Yokozuna. It was Hogan's first title defense since he first defeated Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. During the course of the match, Yokozuna amazingly kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop. The hard-fought bout came to its close when a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman) got on the apron and distracted Hogan, before shooting some sort of fireball out of the camera and into Hogan's face. This was followed by Yokozuna hitting a leg drop on Hogan for the pin. After his victory, Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop amidst the crying children and cursing adults. As Yokozuna celebrated, Hogan was helped back to the locker room by ringside officials, as he clutched his face. Hulkamania had seemingly taken its final breath.

Hogan departed the WWF two months later after a series of bouts against Yokozuna on the Hulkamania European tour. An impending steroid scandal led to Vince McMahon deciding to phase out large, muscular wrestlers such as Hogan and give the top spots to smaller, more technically sound wrestlers such as Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. After Hogan left the WWF, he decided to take time off from professional wrestling to concentrate on movies, TV, and his family.

World Championship Wrestling (1994-2000) [editar]

In June 1994, Hogan was expensively lured back to the ring by Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, which was the WWF's main competitor at the time. When Hogan signed with WCW, officials hoped that they could relive the glory days of Hulkamania, but everyone involved also knew it would be tough to convince many loyal, old-school WCW fans of Hogan's worth, particularly the southern fans that were traditionally anti-WWF. Hogan was also at this time given absolute creative control over his onscreen character. Hulk Hogan's contract signing on June 11 was held at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, following a red-and-yellow ticker tape parade.

Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, overcoming Ric Flair in a genuine 'dream' match on July 17. After tussling with Flair, Vader, and the Dungeon of Doom for the next eighteen months, Hogan dropped the belt and began to only appear occasionally on WCW shows. WCW fans were clamoring for younger, more exciting international stars such as Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and were growing tired of seeing Hogan's "red-and-yellow good guy" persona they had seen for ten years in the WWF. This led to one of the most talked about moments in wrestling history in the summer of 1996.

The buildup began when Scott Hall and Kevin Nash both left the WWF in early 1996 and returned to their old employer, WCW. They were portrayed as "Outsiders" and quickly announced their intent to "take over" WCW, with the help of an unnamed third member of their team (initially rumored to be either Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, or Sting). At Bash at the Beach held at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida on July 7, 1996, Hall, Nash and their partner were scheduled to face the WCW trio of Sting, Randy Savage, and Lex Luger. The third partner did not begin the match, and, after Luger left the match due to an "injury", some assumed that he would be the "third man." After Luger was taken out, Hall and Nash began to beat on Sting, neutralizing him on the outside and leaving Savage alone in the ring. Almost immediately afterwards, Hogan came to the ring to a standing ovation from the fans, making his first appearance in several weeks. Many expected him to replace Luger and attack Hall and Nash. However, in one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history, Hogan leg dropped Randy Savage twice and declared himself to be Hall and Nash's partner. The match continued officially for a few more seconds until Hogan whipped referee Randy Anderson out of the ring. Hogan legdropped Savage again, with Nash and Hall counting him out. The three then stood in the ring with their arms raised high.

After Savage was "counted out" and a last ditch attempt to save the day by Sting was thwarted, the fans began throwing garbage into the ring. One fan jumped the guardrail and attempted to attack Hogan, but was intercepted by Nash as he tried to enter the ring. Hall and Nash stomped on the fan several times, and he was whisked away by WCW security. Moments later, with the trash beginning to fill the ring, Gene Okerlund entered to conduct an interview with the now vilified Hogan. Okerlund told Hogan that he and the fans around the world were sick to their stomachs about the whole situation, and demanded an explanation. Hogan further cemented his turn by saying that he built wrestling up to what it was at that point, and that he promised a lot of things when he came to WCW, and after all that he was bored. He went on to say that he had dealt with the negative reactions from the fans for the last two years while holding his head high, and he had had enough and told the fans to "stick it". He finally finished by saying that if it wasn't for him, none of the fans or wrestlers would be in the arena, and then reiterated that the group of Hall, Nash, and Hogan was the New World Order of wrestling. After being threatened by Hogan, Okerlund left the ring and the show concluded with Tony Schiavone closing the broadcast by telling Hogan he could "go to hell."

Hogan soon dyed his beard black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black clothing, renamed himself Hollywood Hogan, and returned to WCW programming eight days after his heel turn. Hogan managed to redefine the heel character: rather than the traditional "bad guy," Hollywood Hogan gave birth to a more realistic, street-smart villain, with none of the usual wrestling gimmicks and devices.

After defeating The Giant at Hog Wild on August 10, 1996 by hitting him with the WCW title belt, Hogan held the WCW World Heavyweight Championship for most of 1997, save for a several day reign by Luger. He would spray paint a black "nWo" across the title belt as well and scribble across the nameplate, and would refer to the title as the "nWo title" during this and any other time he would hold the title while in the nWo. During this period, Hogan grappled with Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, and many more. The ever-expanding nWo gang concurrently became the hottest concept in wrestling, helping WCW to achieve 83 straight Monday night ratings victories over the WWF. The black-and-white nWo T-shirt also became one of the highest-selling pieces of wrestling merchandise ever during 1997.

Hogan then lost the belt to Sting in a hugely-hyped, eighteen-months-in-the-making match at Starrcade in December 1997. The event was also the highest-drawing PPV in WCW's history. Wrestling fans and pundits were disappointed in "The match of the decade" because the match's length and ending didn't justify the buildup. WCW's newly-contracted Bret Hart would accuse referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and have the match restarted - with himself as referee. Sting ended up winning by submission. This finish was executed at Starrcade, and after a rematch the following night on WCW Monday Nitro which saw Hogan win back the title in controvercial fasion, the title became vacant. Hogan and Sting would wrestle again at SuperBrawl in February 1998, which Sting won.

After this, Hogan developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage. The heat culminated into a steel cage match at Uncensored 1998, which ended in a no contest. Savage would take the world championship from Sting at Spring Stampede in April, while Hogan's match at Stampede had him and Kevin Nash taking on Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever Bat match. Marking the breakup of the original nWo, Hogan would betray Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night for his championship. This no disqualification match included two crucial points of interference: the first came from Nash, who entered the ring and powerbombed Hogan as retribution for the attack at the previous nights PPV, and the second from Bret Hart, who turned heel that night by jumping in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who regained the WCW Championship.

Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against fast rising newcomer Bill Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Hogan dominated most of the match, but became cocky toward the end as he continued to legdrop the challenger. Eventually, his luck ran out, and Goldberg was able to take control. After a final bit of interference by Curt Hennig was thwarted by Karl Malone at ringside, Goldberg was able to perform a spear and a jackhammer on Hogan, and pinned him to gain his first and only WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches with buddies. His second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pit them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach 1998, and at Road Wild '98, he and Bischoff lost to Page and Jay Leno thanks to interference from Kevin Eubanks, who leveled Bischoff with a Diamond Cutter. Hogan also had a highly hyped rematch with Ultimate Warrior (now known simply as "Warrior") at Halloween Havoc, where his nephew Horace would aid his victory.

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. Campaign footage aired on Nitro of Hogan and Bischoff holding a press conference, making it appear legit. In the long run, however, both announcements were false and merely done as a publicity stunt attempting to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him.

After some time off from WCW, a still "retired" Hogan returned to Nitro to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW title. He controversially regained the WCW title in what would later be dubbed the Fingerpoke of Doom. This reformed the divided nWo branches - nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac - which began feuding with Bill Goldberg and a ruthless Four Horsemen.

He was soon cheated out of the WCW Championship to Ric Flair at Uncensored 1999 in a Steel Cage First Blood match. Strangely enough, a heavily bleeding Flair would win via pinfall thanks to biased referee Charles Robinson. During that match, however, Hogan began to show some signs that a face turn was imminent, showing off some old tactics like his "Hulking up" no-sell.

Hogan wrestled the following month in one more world title match, facing Flair, Sting, and Dallas Page in a fatal four way match. Page won his first ever world championship, and Hogan was carried out of the ring injured and disappeared for several months.

On July 12, 1999, Hogan made his grand return as a full-fledged face and accepted a challenge from Savage (who had gained the world title at Bash at the Beach the night before). Thanks to interference from Nash (who had lost the title to Savage), Hogan became champion again. Gaining fan support, however, his nWo look would gradually recede through the shaving of his black beard and the removal of the red "nWo" from his title belt.

On August 9, 1999, he started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his son, Hogan came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main-event 6-man tag team match. Injuries and frustrations were mounting up however, and he was absent from TV from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bollea said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booker Vince Russo and 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 1999, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which he had lost to Sting at Fall Brawl the previous month, when Sting beat Hogan by cheating and had turned heel in the process). However, Hogan came to the ring in street clothes, laid down for the pin, and left the ring.

Soon after his return to WCW TV in February 2000, Hogan began feuding with Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and Billy Kidman. Then, at Bash at the Beach 2000, Hogan was involved in a controversial, real-life incident with Russo. Hogan was scheduled to wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.^[9] Before the match, there was a dispute between Hogan and Russo. Unbeknownst to Hogan, Russo told Jarrett to lie down in the middle of the ring and asked Hogan to pin him straight away. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!" Russo responded by coming out and saying that "from day one, that I've been in WCW, I've done nothing... nothing... but deal with the bullshit of the politics behind that curtain." Since Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship would be created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jeff Jarrett later that night.

Whether or not the whole incident was a shoot or a "work" is still a hot debate. As a result, Hogan was never seen or mentioned on WCW television after the event (except for the final Nitro broadcast and overall WCW event, on March 26, 2001), and he filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually dismissed in 2002). Russo claims the whole thing was a work (with both Hogan and Bischoff in on the deal). Hogan claims (in his autobiography, "Hulkamania") that Russo made it a shoot; but accused then-WCW head Brad Siegel of double-crossing him; Hogan's assumption was that since WCW could no longer afford to pay Hogan for any more pay-per-view appearances, Hogan was never called back and kept off WCW television (which put the wheels in motion for the lawsuit). Bischoff (in his autobiography, "Controversy Creates Ca$h") contends that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work (claiming 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 law suit filed by Hogan.

XWF (2000-2001) [editar]

From July 2000 to November 2001, Hogan was out of the public eye. He had been dealing with self-doubt and depression following the Vince Russo incident, wondering if what Russo had said about him was true. Hogan was also dealing with the death of his father Peter Bollea in December 2001, which he took very hard.

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 for the XWF promotion run by his longtime handler 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.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (third run, 2002-2003) [editar]

At No Way Out 2002 on February 17, Hogan returned to the company that had made him a pop culture icon. Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock, and cost Steve Austin a chance at becoming the WWF Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event. A feud soon erupted between the nWo and The Rock and Steve Austin. Hogan feuded mainly with The Rock, while Hall and Nash focused on Austin. At WrestleMania X8, Hogan wrestled his first singles match against The Rock. This was Hogan's only WrestleMania match fought as a heel. The record SkyDome crowd of 68,237, favored Hogan over The Rock, effectively turning him face during the match. The Rock cleanly won the contest but befriended Hogan at the end of the bout and helped him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude. Rumors had it that the match was actually planned to be Austin-Hogan, but at that time Austin was having problems with WWF management and with Hogan as well, so he opted out of the projected storyline.

After the match, Hogan was a definite face again, 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. He was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blonde moustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights. He had a month-long reign as WWE Undisputed Championship in the spring of 2002 after defeating Triple H at Backlash. During Hogan's title reign of 2002, the World Wrestling Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), thus marking Hogan as the last ever WWF champion and as the first champion under the new company name. He would go on to lose the belt to The Undertaker at Judgment Day 2002.

The following month, at King of the Ring 2002, Hogan faced Kurt Angle in a match that Angle won with his Ankle Lock submission. While Angle was billed as being the first person to defeat Hogan via submission, Lex Luger had actually done it on WCW Monday Nitro to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in 1997 and later that year Sting did as well. Angle's win was however Hogan's first defeat via submission on WWE programming.

On 2002's July 4 edition of SmackDown!, Hogan teamed with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck and capture the WWE Tag Team Championship for the first time. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's classic theme song "Real American." They would later drop the titles to The Un-Americans, at Vengeance 2002.

After an angle with Brock Lesnar, which saw Lesnar hand Hogan a defeat in August 2002, Hogan went on hiatus. He returned in early 2003 to battle the Rock once again and defeated Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XIX in a match billed as "20 years in the making." He then had another run as Hulk Hogan, shaving off the black Hollywood beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name and later, as the mask-wearing spoof superhero Mr. America. The persona was supposed to be Hulk Hogan in disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme music and used all of Hogan's signature gestures, moves and phrases. He was the subject of a story line that took place after Hollywood Hulk Hogan was forced by his boss Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract. After Hogan won at WrestleMania XIX McMahon was frustrated with him (kayfabe) and wanted Hulkamania to die.

A WWE pre-debut push took place with mysterious Mr. America promos airing for weeks during SmackDown!. The short promos in this case included American icons such as American flags and a bald eagle, and flashed messages like "Mr. America is coming...". There was also plenty of onscreen discussion on SmackDown! between then General Manager Stephanie McMahon and other players concerning her hiring Mr. America "sight unseen."

On May 1, 2003, Mr. America debuted on SmackDown! on Piper's Pit segment. Vince appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise and Mr. America shot back by saying, "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!" (lampooning Hogan's use of "brother" in his promos).

The feud continued through the month of May, with a singles match between Mr. America and Hogan's old rival Roddy Piper at Judgement Day. Zach Gowen also made his debut with WWE first appearing as an audience plant coming to the aid of an outnumbered Mr. America. Vince tried desperately to prove that Mr. America was indeed Hulk Hogan but failed at all attempts. Mr. America even passed a lie detector test.

Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26, 2003 edition of SmackDown!. The Big Show, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas defeated the team of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle and Mr. America in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned Mr. America. After event went off the air, Mr. America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed Hulk Hogan, putting his finger to his lips telling the fans to keep quiet about his secret. The next week, Hogan quit WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the July 3, 2003 edition of SmackDown!, Vince McMahon showed the footage of Mr. America unmasking as Hogan and "fired" him. This departure was somewhat lackluster considering the star power and popularity of the talent that was leaving. The entire event of Hogan/Mr. America being fired was an extremely small segment lasting less than a minute in a show running two hours. Without the presence of Hogan to make a bigger spectacle, the whole situation was seemingly brushed to the side. It was later revealed by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, that Hogan was initially placed into the mask to deemphasize his popularity, to allow more fan reaction for the Brock Lesnar-Kurt Angle feud, which was receiving lukewarm fan reaction at best.

For several months afterwards, WWE hyped up The Big Show as the man who retired Hogan at Madison Square Garden (where the six-man tag team match was held), in order to give The Big Show some more credibility. In a twist of irony, The Big Show had been first discovered by Hogan himself and in 1995 was pushed as a major threat to Hogan's WCW Championship reign.

The Mr. America gimmick came under fire briefly from Marvel Comics, who anointed it a rip-off of Captain America, citing costume similarity. (The single star on the mask was also a trademark on Captain America's chest piece.) This was also adding fuel to the fire over the rights to use the Hulk Hogan name (because of Marvel's ownership of the Incredible Hulk character). Because of these problems, WWE was forced to edit out all references to the "Hulk Hogan" name, including pictures which featured Hogan wearing memorabilia that said "Hulk" (a majority of them) and started to refer to Hogan under the "Hollywood Hogan" name he used in WCW.

It wasn't long until Hogan and Vince's uneasy truce with one another blew apart, with Hogan being unhappy with payoffs for his matches shortly after his comeback under the Mr. America gimmick. Vince decided to terminate Hogan's contract and Hogan left WWE in 2003.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2003) [editar]

A few months afterwards, Hulk Hogan worked a match for New Japan Pro Wrestling, beating Masahiro Chono at the Ultimate Crush II event, an event that featured both pro-wrestling and mixed martial arts matches.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling [editar]

According to various reports, Hulk Hogan was approached by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2003 regarding appearing at a planned event titled Bound for Glory 2003, a three hour pay per view event in October meant to be the annual WrestleMania alternative. Hogan willingly took a guitar shot from Jarrett during a press conference in Japan to hype the storyline, but withdrew from negotiations citing knee problems that would require surgery and would prevent him from wrestling. "I was getting ready to go to TNA, was hoping of working with Jarrett and those guys, and giving Vince a run for his money one more time," said Hulk Hogan on the Main Event radio show in December 2006. The footage of Jarrett breaking a guitar over Hogan's head was thereafter frequently used by TNA.

WWE Hall of Fame [editar]

In 2005, weeks before WrestleMania 21, it was announced on all WWE programming that Hogan would be inducted on that year's Hall of Fame. This signalled Hogan's return to WWE. On April 2, 2005, Hogan was inducted by actor and friend Sylvester Stallone. Hogan was applauded for several minutes before he was able to make a speech.

At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, the "American Patriot" Hogan came out to rescue Eugene, who was being attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. Some of the build-up to Hogan's induction into the Hall of Fame and preparation for this angle were shown on the first season of Hogan Knows Best.

World Wrestling Entertainment lucha libre parcial (Cuarto periodo, 2005-2006) [editar]

The next night on RAW, Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite Shawn Michaels. The following week, Michaels approached RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but told Michaels if he found a partner he would be granted a tag-team match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of RAW, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared to save Michaels and accept his offer. At WWE Backlash, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels, with Daivari being pinned.^[10] Hassan would blame and attack Daivari for the loss the next evening on RAW.

Hogan then appeared on the July 4 edition of RAW as the special guest of Carlito on his talk-show segment "Carlito's Cabana." After being asked questions by Carlito concerning his daughter Brooke Hogan, Hogan proceeded to attack Carlito. This was then followed up by an appearance of Kurt Angle, who made comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan. Hogan was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Shawn Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Kurt Angle in a tag match. During the post match celebration, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Hogan and walked off. The following week on RAW, Michaels appeared on "Piper's Pit" and challenged Hogan to face him one-on-one for the first time. Hogan appeared on RAW one week later and accepted the challenge. The match took place on Sunday, August 21 at SummerSlam 2005. Initially, this match was discussed as being the first of two between Hogan and Michaels, with each man notching a victory. It was reported, however, that Hogan invoked his creative control, nixing anything less than a clean win for himself. The proposed second bout would not take place, as Hogan would likely repeat his "clean win" credo. The match between Hogan and Michaels at SummerSlam was the main event of the night, and the two collided in a battle billed as "Legend vs. Icon." The match went back and forth, with two referees getting "knocked out" and Michaels using a steel chair to try to gain an advantage. Even after Michaels hit his Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and mounted some offense against Michaels, finally hitting him with the legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself," and Hogan and Michaels shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd.^[11]

Prior to WrestleMania 22, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer Mean Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan returned on the July 15, 2006 edition of WWE Saturday Night's Main Event with his daughter Brooke. During the show, Randy Orton flirted with Hogan's daughter and later challenged Hulk to a match at SummerSlam 2006, which Hogan won.^[12]

Lucha libre de Memphis [editar]

After falling out with Vince and WWE, Hogan was lured to Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler at the Mid-South Coliseum. This was later changed to FedEx Forum, due to the failure to comply with disabled accessibility regulations. The match had been promoted on Memphis Wrestling Prime Time for several months. However, on April 12, 2007, Lawler announced in a news conference that WWE had barred him from wrestling Hogan on the basis that NBC performers (including Lawler, on the basis of co-hosting the NBC-owned USA Network's Monday Night Raw and his appearances on the biannual WWE Saturday Night's Main Event) are contractually prohibited from appearing on VH1, the channel on which Hogan Knows Best airs. Lawler was replaced with Paul Wight, formerly known as Big Show.

Hulk Hogan defeated Paul "The Great" Wight at PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007 when he picked up and body slammed Wight and pinned him following the leg drop.