One of the greatest, most popular, most hated and charismatic wrestlers of all time, Hulk Hogan is one of the men who helped parlay the circus-like world of professional wrestling from cult following into the forefront of American entertainment. What many people who know about Hogan don't know is he was in the "sport" for several years in virtual obscurity before hitting the big time. Hogan made his pro debut in 1978 and wrestled as "Sterling Golden" before becoming "Hulk." Hogan was getting main event matches while wrestling in the American Wrestling Alliance (AWA) in the early 1980s before he was cast as Thunderlips in Rocky III. That bit of casting propelled Hogan into the spotlight and he was soon to enter the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1983. At the time, the WWF was just beginning to go from local television (they were based in the Northeast U.S.) to national, and Hogan's personality (and some well-done marketing and PR, plus the Wrestlemania series) helped to transform not only the WWF, but wrestling into the big show it is today. Hogan won the WWF title numerous times, and was credited with dealing André the Giant his first loss in pro wrestling. Hogan was soon seen everywhere -- television, cartoons, movies, records and lunch boxes -- but he was a part of the steroid scandal in the WWF, and quietly left the organization. Hogan laid low in wrestling circles, but continued to act before coming back, this time with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the WWF's bitter rival. Hogan helped create the New World Order, the main bunch of badmen in WCW, and became more popular than ever. He abandoned his trademark red and yellow colors for black, and even dyed his beard black. He still wrestles as of today, and, like it or not, is probably one of the best entertainers in any form of show business. He always put on a show.


WrestleMania XIX (2003): $150,000
WrestleMania VI (1990): $1,000,000
WrestleMania V (1989): $1,000,000
Rocky III (1982): $15,000

As Hollywood Hogan, made his ring entrances to "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix. Admitted to steroid use in 1994. As a high school baseball player, Hogan was a hot pro prospect and was considered the best pitcher in the state. Won the WCW Heavyweight Championship six times, the last being 1999. First pro wrestler on the cover of "Sports Illustrated." His family has more than 30 pets, including dogs, cats, birds, chinchillas, ferrets, turtles, iguanas, rabbits, fish, and a frog. Signed as official spokesman for an Acclaim video game entitled Legends of Wrestling (2001) (VG). [October 2001] April 21, 2002: Won the WWF (Undisputed) Championship for the 6th time from HHH at WWF Backlash (2002) (TV). Was brought to the federation by Fred Blassie. Has only lost twice at Wrestlemania. His first loss was to The Ultimate James Hellwig at WrestleMania VI (1990) (V), and the other one was to Dwayne Johnson at WrestleMania X-8 (2002) (TV). One of the first wrestlers to defeat André the Giant. Others before him included Rugged Ronnie Garvin (Roger Barnes), Antonio Inoki, El Canek, and the Iron Sheik (Khosrow Vaziri). He claims he was once 6'7" but can now only straighten up to 6'4" due to injuries, although compared to other wrestlers and actors he appears to have been about 6'6" at his peak. He has been billed up to 6'9" in wrestling matches (nowadays usually at 6' 7"). He was originally called "Hulk" because it was noted at a match that he was taller than the actor who played the "The Incredible Hulk", Lou Ferrigno. Uncle of Michael Bollea. Held the IWGP World Title, giving him the distinction of being one of three Americans--along with Scott Norton and Leon White (aka Big Van Vader)--to hold that title. Early in his career wrestled as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder. Filmed the show "Thunder in Paradise" (1994) at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. He is the third-ever, six-time WWF World Champion. The other two are Dwayne Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin. He was one of the wrestlers featured in the cartoon series Hulk Hogan's "Rock 'n' Wrestling" (1985) (1985-1986), though he did not provide his own voice. Brad Garrett of "Everybody Loves Raymond" (1996) was the voice of the animated Hulkster. Lost WCW World Championship to Bill Goldberg on July 6, 1998, in Atlanta's Georgia Dome on "WCW Monday Nitro" (1995). Only once did he ever win a tag-team championship, that was with Adam Copeland (aka Edge) in July 2002. He was the direct inspiration for Copeland to enter the business 12 years prior. His daughter, Brooke Hogan, released her debut solo album in August 2004. Notable title wins include: IWGP Heavyweight Title, WWF Title (6), WWW Royal Rumble Winner (2), WCW World Title (6), WWF Undisputed Title, and WWF tag-team titles with Edge (Adam Copeland). Hogan also won the WCW World Title for a seventh time by defeating Jeff Jarrett; however, the title reign was never recognized. Until recently, neither he nor the WWF/WCW (titan Sports) owned the full rights to his "Hulk" name. "Hulkamania," "Hulk Hogan," and "Hulkster" were all owned by Marvel Comics. The WWF/WWE made a deal with Marvel to use the name "Hulk." This was also done with WCW when Hogan went to WCW. Also, WCW used "Hollywood Hogan" to cancel the Marvel deal, but the deal was still alive. However, before the 2006 release of his multidisk anthology, Hogan acquired the rights to the name Hulk Hogan from Marvel. The trademark citation "Hulk Hogan is a trademark of Terry Bollea" can be found on the DVD-set credits. Inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame in 2005. Teamed up with Shawn Michaels to face Mark Magnus (aka Muhammad Hassan) and Shawn Daivari (aka Daivari) at Backlash 2005. First-ever IWGP Heavyweight Champion. During his 1980s heyday in the WWE, he lived next door to WWF owner Vince McMahon for almost 10 years. Elected to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. Former World Tag-Team Champion. Previous managers: Billy Spears, "Classy" Freddie Blassie (Fred Blassie), Jimmy Hart, Miss Elizabeth, Ted DiBiase, and Eric Bischoff. Father of Nick Hogan and Brooke Hogan. As of 2007, he has the fourth-most Wrestlemania wrestling appearances, having appeared in 11. He wrestled in Wrestlemanias 1-9, and 18-19. (He appeared at Wrestlemania 21, but did not officially wrestle). Third-most is Bret "The Hitman" Hart (Bret Hart), with 12; second-most, Shawn Michaels with 14, and the Undertaker (Mark Calaway) holds the record for most, with 15 appearances. In 1978, he made his wrestling debut in Florida using the Super Destroyer gimmick. He later wrestled as Terry Boulder and Sterling Golden before becoming Hulk Hogan. Lost to The Ultimate James Hellwig at WrestleMania VI (1990) (V) and Dwayne Johnson at WrestleMania X-8 (2002) (TV) in the same venue - Skydome, Toronto, Canada. Is godfather to Ed Leslie's only daughter. On an episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), it was revealed that he was initially offered the chance to endorse the "Lean, Mean, Grilling Machine" that went on to make former boxer George Foreman millions of dollars. Turned down the chance to travel to Iraq as part of the WWE Tribute to the Troops show in 2008.