As soon as that Rick Derringer beat drops, and you hear “When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside,” the goosebumps start to rise and the chills begin! A sea of red and yellow in the crowd begins to scream. As the anticipation builds, the arena erupts as the “Immortal” Hulk Hogan walks through the curtain. The Hulkamaniacs are running wild as they watch their American hero take on the biggest, meanest, and scariest the wrestling world has to offer.
And as soon as you think the Hulkster is down and out, like any other superhero, he “Hulks up,” by hitting his opponent with the big boot and the leg drop! He does his poses in the middle of the squared circle, showing off his 24-inch pythons, inspiring all of the young Hulkamaniacs.
Hulk Hogan’s Impact on Wrestling
How do I even begin? There wouldn’t be the sports entertainment industry without Hulk Hogan! Prior to Roman Reigns, John Cena, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, and Bret “Hitman” Hart, if you asked a random person to name a wrestler, I would bet everything I own they would name the Hulkster. He was the first professional wrestler to become a household name by selling out arenas across the world. The one who put the wrestling into the stratosphere in the 1980s.
Whether he was slamming Andre the Giant in front of 93 thousand screaming fans in the Pontiac Silverdome at WrestleMania III or combining forces with the Macho Man Randy Savage to form the MegaPowers, Hogan had one iconic moment after another. Up until recently, Hulk had headlined more WrestleManias than any other superstar in history, basically carrying the WWF on his back through the ’80s to the early ’90s.
Hogan would retire from wrestling to shoot the television show Thunder in Paradise, only to return to the WWF’s biggest competitor, World Championship Wrestling. Fans would be excited at first about the return of their childhood hero, but they would soon feel the fatigue of the same old Hulkster. Then, in 1996, the unthinkable happened! The man who had told kids for years to “take their vitamins” and “say their prayers” would turn heel, joining Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form one of the most iconic factions in wrestling history!
The New World Order would set the world of professional wrestling on fire! The familiar red and yellow was now replaced with a black and white “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan would be born. The popularity grew outside of wrestling, spilling into pop culture, proving he could do it all in sports entertainment! When Vince McMahon bought his competition, we questioned if we would ever see the wrestling icon again.
Of course, McMahon knew what would be best for business as he brought back the most popular superstar of all time! Hulk would make his way back home, where he would have a second iconic run. Some consider his match against The Rock at WrestleMania their favorite match to ever take place on the “Grandest Stage of them All!” He would go on to receive two WWE Hall of Fame inductions, deservingly so.
Final Thoughts
“Well, let me tell you something, brother,” regardless of how you feel about Hulk Hogan outside of the ring, the man deserves all the credit of where wrestling is today! He may be the epitome of the saying “you don’t want to meet your heros.” That doesn’t take anything away from the countless moments he gave us in our childhood. Hulk Hogan was bigger than professional wrestling, he was larger than life! He is the reason we became fans and he is one of the reasons we stick around.
Even though that “may not work for you, brother,” as I stroke my fumanchu, he built pro wrestling. You may not like the politics or his personal choices, but he entertained us for decades. Now he enters that big rumble in the sky, and he is probably still going over (creative control, of course, I kid). As the ring clears, Hogan must pose! “So whatcha’ gonna do brother, when the 24-inch pythons and all the Hulkamaniacs in Heaven run wild on you?!?” Thank you, Hulkster, for the childhood memories! Hulkamania will live on forever, proving that the colors red and yellow are indeed immortal!
