Source: The Statesman
You cannot name one wrestling fan who doesn’t know Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Hogan is unquestionably the most famous wrestler the world has ever known. The legend turns 53 tomorrow, 11 August. Born as Terrence Gene Bollea at Augusta, Georgia, USA, Hogan made his professional debut as a wrestler in 1978 as Sterling Golden before becoming Hulk.
Hogan was getting main event matches while wrestling in the American Wrestling Alliance in the early 1980s before he was cast as Thunderlips in Rocky III (1982). That break propelled Hogan into the spotlight and he was soon to enter the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1983.
Hulk Hogan was one of the men instrumental in bringing the circus-like world of professional wrestling to the forefront of American, and eventually the world entertainment. In fact he was responsible, more then anyone else, for the meteoric rise of professional wrestling in the 1980’s.
While not the most skillful wrestler of his era, or even the biggest, Hogan combined his enormous 6’ 5â€, 275+ pound physical stature with an outstanding screen presence to cause the World Wrestling Federation to rocket past all other wrestling organisations as the top provider of Wrestling Entertainment on a worldwide basis. Hogan won the WWF title six times, and was credited with dealing André the Giant his first loss in professional 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 organisation. Hogan laid low in wrestling circles, but continued acting in movies before making a comeback.
Over the years, and in the future, Hulk Hogan, who was inducted into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Hall of Fame in 2005, has symbolised the growth of professional wrestling into a multi-million dollar industry – but to thousands of young fans, he has become their hero and their champion.
He still wrestles today and is probably one of the best entertainers in any form of show business. But Hogan’s a family man. He said, “Whatever happens with wrestling, my family comes first. Wrestling’s in my blood, but my family’s in my heartâ€.
Hey, did you know Hogan’s animal-loving family has more than 30 pets, including dogs, cats, birds, chinchillas, ferrets, turtles, iguanas, rabbits, fish, and a frog?
We, the fans of this incredible wrestler hope he goes on entertaining the world for many more years and scares off his opponents as always with his trademark “Watcha gonna do when the Hulkster runs wild on you!?â€
