By Emma Dowd
Pro wrestling has captivated audiences for almost a half of century. Since the territories started numerous talented names turned into Legends while some stayed as Super Stars. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon took over the WWE and truly revolutionized professional wrestling into an entertainment giant. McMahon had an eye for talent and knew how to put that talent over. One of these individuals is Terry Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan.
Hogan started his career when he attended USF in the 1970s. He was bigger than the rest, stronger than the rest and because of that his physique made him stand out and tower over his opponents. In 1977 he came into the business as “The Hulk”. He eventually joined the WWE, then known as the WWF, and when he did McMahon made him a name that will truly never be forgotten.
In 1984, held at Madison Square Garden, Hulk Hogan would wrestle the Iron Sheik for the WWF Heavyweight Title. At this time the cold war and the Iran Contra scandal was transpiring right as Ronald Reagan took his second term of office. This set up one of the greatest marketing ploys the WWF would ever see.
Hulk Hogan, came to the ring going toe to toe with the much hated heel “The Iron Sheik”, especially because of the conflicts with Iran as the Ayatollah had just been seated a few years earlier. The Sheik defeated the longest reigning WWF Champion ever, Bob Backlund to capture his one and only WWF Heavyweight Championship title. His devastating Camel Clutch closer was something not many of his opponents managed to get out of.
Hogan, representing America was about to battle the hated country of Iran in a heated championship match.
The Sheik got Hogan into the dreaded Camel Clutch, yet Hogan managed to hulk up and break the hold, sending Madison Square Garden to their feet. Then Hogan big foot kicks the Sheik sending him to the mat, while Hogan dropped the iconic Leg Drop on Sheik’s neck allowing him to pin the Champion. Hogan captured his first WWF Championship and start a reign that sent Hogan to be a legend, and the face of the WWE and Pro Wrestling in general.
In Wrestlemania III Hogan would go toe to toe, defending his Championship with his biggest opponent the WWE had, Andre The Giant. Andre was Hogan’s friend and a Baby Face in the WWF until he turned on Hogan, joining Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and challenged him for his belt.
During the match Hogan did what nobody expected, he body slammed the 7′-5″, 505 pound Giant. Camera flashes lit up the Pontiac Silverdome as he did and the sound was deafening. Hogan would leg drop his once friend and pin the Giant for a three count successfully defending his belt. Hogan’s legacy tripled that day as his name was in every household in America. Even if you didn’t like Wrestling you knew Hulk Hogan.
In 1988 Ted DiBiase would pay a referee to cheat in a rematch between Hogan and the Giant on Saturday Night’s Main Event that would end the Legendary Champion’s reign. He would win it back at Wrestlemanie V defeating Randy “Macho Man” Savage before losing it again in Wrestlemania VI against the Ultimate Warrior.
Hogan would continue on with a career in the NWA where he joined the NWO group, turning heel. He became an actor in movies, and had several more stints in the WWE where he regained the WWE Heavyweight Championship and a few other titles in his career. His last match in the WWE cam against Randy Orton in which the legend won in Boston.
Hogan’s legacy made the WWE and professional wrestling a household name. He paved the way for incredible superstars to carry on the legacy, setting the bar high. Outside of Hogan, there is probably one other name as legendary as his, that being “Nature Boy” Ric Flare. With these two legends retired the entire scope and feel of professional wrestling has changed since their time in the ring.
Even with Hogan’s passing, you can’t think of professional wrestling without attributing his name with it. The man that took on the biggest, heaviest and strongest superstars made wrestling even more fun. Personally, I am blessed to have experienced Hulk Hogan in my lifetime; watching him on TV and defend his title against Killer Kahn at the Hartford Civic Center in 1987. Hogan’s passing truly is the end of an era.
