In Defense of… 03.29.06: Hulk Hogan (Part 1 of 4)

Posted by JP Prag on 03.29.2006

Well you know something, brother…

In Defense of…
By JP Prag

Issue #48

Hulk Hogan (Part 1 of 4)

Intro

Hello everyone who stopped bleaching their hair, and welcome back to In Defense Of…! We're on the upswing of crazy cases, and this is insane case number five of five, all leading up to our one-year spectacular. In case you can't tell, that means that this is the last of the super crazy cases. But fear not! I have plenty of cases in the queue that will test me to no end. But what about our last case? What about the The World Heavyweight Championship?

Well, with 71.1% of the vote, the World Heavyweight Championship has been found:

NOT GUILTY!

That was way more contentious than even I thought it would be. I got a lot of heated responses from people who just blatantly did not accept points of my defense. The key areas being: (1) that the WWE does not acknowledge the history of the title (or they only do when it suits them) and (2) Triple H's stranglehold of the title. I think with the latter it has more to do with people looking back, not forward. Yes, today Triple H held the title too much beyond that first year, and looking back it is easy to critique. But I was talking about that decision at that point in time. As for the former, since when does the WWE have final say on history? We let them rewrite it too much, and it makes just as much sense by my history of the title. Besides, the WWWF title has just as much of a connection to the NWA championship as the WCW title, so why is the WCW title looked at as the only legitimate branch? The NWA championship is only a branch of a larger championship belt that proceeded it, so how is this any different?

Anyway, I'll address all you naysayers individually when I get a chance to write back. As it is, I have a case to get to!

Perhaps this is your first time clicking on In Defense Of…? Maybe you didn't read about the World Heavyweight Championship, Scott Steiner, the Ultimate Warrior, Vince McMahon in the Death of Owen Hart, Larry Zbyszko, Scott Hall, New Jack, the McMahon-Helmsley Era, Mike Awesome Leaving ECW, Sid Vicious, the Undertaker, the Sport of Professional Wrestling, Lex Luger, WCW Thunder, the Brand Extension, Goldberg, Vince not buying out WCW's contracts, Earl Hebner Screwing Bret Hart, Dusty Rhodes: Head Booker, The Finger Poke of Doom, Kevin Nash, the Elimination Chamber, or even Eric Bischoff. It might be that you fight for the right of every man. Well, for those new to the concept, this article has a pretty simple premise:

Certain people, events, organizations, and storylines in wrestling history have gotten a bum wrap. Some writers have presented overtly critical comments and outright lies as fact, and others have followed suit. Well no more! "In Defense of…" has one reason: to bring the truth to the wrestling fan!

And that's what I intend to do.

Me? I'm the One and Only JP, and my cell phone seems to have lost its connector to the charger and is not getting a full charge at nights anymore. Boo!

Some dame walked into my office and said…

Oh my goodness, where to begin? Why not the beginning? It started with Ernie back in June 2005:

I was wondering if you would be interested in doing a defense column on Hulk Hogan, who is [constantly] ridiculed and projected in a negative light. While I'm sure his detractors have a valid [argument], Hogan did [A LOT] for the business. I'd just be interested in your perspective on this, and I'm sure others in my age group (mid 20's) would be as well.

About a day before or after, Ken Batallones brought up the same idea:

And an even bigger challenge [than Triple H] would be to defend Hogan.

A short time later, Ori Zeiger also had a similar idea, except for different reasons:

The person I would like you to protect is someone I'd think you'd have a real hard time doing so (at least as far as I am concerned but I'm sure also with [a lot] of other people)... and that is the piece of shit called Hulk Hogan. I've never liked him but even [more so] especially now after this [feud] with Michaels and him actually wanting to WIN BOTH matches.

That was a spectrum shift. BDSTW FOM had a more particular idea, but we'll get to it:

Defend the younger wrestlers from Hogan
Defend the young guys from Hogan coming back on occasion and using his pull when they could be getting their own chance.

Someone with lesser initials (BGD) brought it back to the big picture:

Hulk Hogan

Brother, if you manage to get a not guilty on him, Ill be mighty impressed and thankful. I personally [don't] think Hulk Hogan is the Anti-Christ, nor deserving of the bad raps he gets. Any chance of you doing a case on him?

Justin Swift had the same thought:

I think you should defend Hulk Hogan, for as much as he has done for the business, he always seems to get a bum rap! I am personally hoping to see Austin Vs. Hogan at mania (and the mere rumor of it made me lay down 170.00 per ticket for nosebleed seats)

But where there is that much love, there is also hate, as Andrew Lee will tell you:

I really hate hogan, but maybe this because of the IWC. Will you ever
write a piece on him?

Also, Rick Cobos gave me about a million different ideas for Hogan, but I just rolled them all up into one!

And throughout the past year, people have written in and said many nice and nasty things about Hogan that have all led to this case. As a matter of fact, Hogan tops the list of my most frequently e-mailed words. What were the other ones?

10. Chump
9. Chumpette
8. Yours
7. Up
6. Pimpmobile
5. Bite
4. My
3. Shiny
2. Daffodil
1. Hogan

There you have it!

Why this?

Well, as the top ten list showed, Hogan is the most frequent topic of conversation in my In Defense Of… e-mails. More people have requested a case for him than anyone else. More people have referenced or written something directly about Hogan than most other wrestlers combined.

Hogan is the definition of wrestling. Without Hogan, everything that we take for granted in the world of professional wrestling would not exist. I honestly believe that Hogan is not just a pivotal player, but the key central figure of the wrestling revival. No one else could have been in his position.

There is some doubt there, but there is even more doubt about Hogan's worth today. Many feel that he should have been done in 1990, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, and 2005. Yet Hogan keeps returning, keeps coming back, keeps bringing them in. Why does Hogan return? Why is he allowed to return?

There are also questions about how Hogan attained his position in the sport, and more importantly how he maintained it. Going deeper, there are doubts about how over he was, and more importantly how entertaining he was.

Was Hogan a workhorse five star grappler? No way in hell! Was Hogan much better than most ever give him credit? You bet. Was Hogan long winded? Of course! Did what he have to say draw them in? You better believe it (and I'll prove it). Does his imagination get in the way of reality? Sometimes. Andre does get bigger and higher in the air every time I hear the story. But does that matter to the reality of our world?

Hogan has so much that we need to cover that he could not be contained to our normal format. Hulk Hogan is the biggest case to date, and as so, he deserves all the time he needs (that being four parts).

With so much material, it's hard to decide where to start. So why not start… in 1953.

California… Georgia… what's the difference?

Before Hulk Hogan legally changed his name to Hogan, he was Terry Bollea, the name his parents gave to him. His father, Pete, was a construction foreman and his mother, Ruth, was a homemaker and dance instructor. On August 11th, 1953, Ruth gave birth to the 10 lbs 7 ounces future Hogan, very large for a baby. He remained a big baby into his young life, much to the ridicule of his peers. From Obsessed with Wrestling:

Terry Bollea was an unathletic kid who weighed 195 lbs. at the age of 12.

But despite this negative in his life, Terry found many interests, including the electric and bass guitar, as well as baseball.

After the family relocated to Tampa, FL, Hogan found his way to the gym in 1967. As he began to weight train, he found ways to sculpt and build his body. He put in hour of extreme dedication into creating a body that he could be proud of. At the same time, he continued to build is athletic prowess in baseball and other sports, and cultivated his mind in music. Beyond that, he also found a spiritual being by attending a Christian Youth Ranch in the area.

With such diverse interest, Terry was without focus. He was also without a lot of resources. His parents were not wealthy and were not in the best neighborhoods, so Hogan had to work for everything he wanted. And he wanted to go to college. He enrolled in Hillsborough Community College and began studying business. After a couple of years at the junior college, Hogan was admitted into the University of South Florida where he wanted to continue his studies.

But education was expensive, and he had other interests. From Warnet.net:

Terry Bollea was a part time body builder, bouncer, musician and full time bank teller.

With his physique and physical ability, body building seemed like a natural choice, but id didn't pay the bills. Being a bouncer helped pay the bills, but it didn't help Terry grow as a person. Being a musician was a love that tested his abilities, but did not have much of a future, and Terry was too smart to believe otherwise. Working at a bank was a away to apply some of his knowledge, but again it did not give him the chance to be more.

We can see from this that even at a young age, Hogan has an incredible work ethic. He was willing to do anything and everything to live out his dreams. He sacrificed so much of his time and life for his varied interests to make his dreams come true, though he was not too sure of what those dreams were. Hogan knew one thing, though: he wanted to be special.

Depending on who you ask, what happened next is up in the air. Hogan was playing with his band at a number of small venues that the Florida wrestlers frequented, and Hogan became friends with many of them. Now, either he began talking to Jack and Jerry Brisco at the clubs and became friendly with them or they spotted him sitting ringside at a wrestling event and recognized him or one night as a bouncer he met the two outside or he used to work out in their gym. Either way, the Brisco brothers became the pivotal players that finally convinced Hogan to give wrestling a try.

Mike Rickard II sheds some additional light on Hogan's reasoning:

Hulk Hogan's first dream was to be a rock star. He performed in a band called Infinity's End at a Florida nightclub frequented by wrestlers. Hogan also worked out at a gym frequented by wrestlers. At the time, Hogan worked at a bank and claims to have looked over wrestlers' bankbooks which gave him further inspiration to become a wrestler.

Whatever his inspiration, The Brisco's (through Mike Graham) got Hogan in contact with Hiro Matsuda, a wrestling legend and very serious trainer. From Wikipedia:

Yasuhiro Kojima (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was the trainer of Hulk Hogan, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Lex Luger, Ron Simmons, Keiji Mutoh and many other professional wrestlers. He was better known as Hiro Matsuda, an identity he adopted while competing in the southern U. S., inspired by earlier wrestlers Sorakichi Matsuda and Matty Matsuda.

He initially debuted under his real name at Rikidozan's Japanese Wrestling Association, but then left Japan to pursue wrestling in the Americas. Once in a while he would return to Japan, where he formed a tag team with Antonio Inoki that was only the outward reflection of the long-time friendship between the two men.

From that short list, it is obvious that Hiro trained some of the best and most well known wrestlers in the world. But he was also a very unforgiving teacher.

On Terry's first day of training in 1976, Hiro intentionally broke Terry's leg (well, really his ankle, but that still sucks), putting him on Randle's injury list nearly three decades before it existed. It seemed like Hogan's wrestling career was off to a terrible start.

While heeling, Hogan continued playing with his band the Gentrics. He was unsure of what he was going to do next, but after some time, he decided to give it another chance.

And so with his leg healed, Hogan returned to Hiro, much to Hiro's great shock and admiration. He did not go easy on Hogan and demanded he learn everything the same as everyone. Hogan was a quick learner, and showed he not only understood the moves, but understood the audience. He already had the telltale signs of being able to hold the audience in the palm of his hand, but there was only one way everyone was going to find out if that was true or not.

Rasslin' down south

In August 1977, Terry made his debut as "The Super Destroyer" in Tallahassee, FL. He began to wrestle in the small circuits, changing his name several times between "Sterling Golden", "Terry Boulder", and "Terry ‘The Hulk' Boulder", among others. But the money and presitgue was not coming as quickly as Hogan hoped. From Mathew Sforcina's Evolution Schematic:

Terry continued to wrestle for CWF and other small Florida companies, but quickly grew tired. He just wasn't getting anywhere, and the small crowds' apathy and hatred got to him, and he quit.

Phase 2- Well, that was short.

Terry got a job as a longshoreman, and worked on the docks of Port Tampa. Within a few weeks, the Brisco Brothers and Terry Funk, who was also impressed with what he saw, and all of them tried to get Terry to reconsider. Eventually, Bollea did.

Look, the man thought he might be done with wrestling, yet three wrestling legends already felt he needed to be a part of the game. Even back then, before the name, before the colors, before the hair, and before the maniacs, they saw in Terry the potential to be great. How often do you hear about any older star trying to convince someone to stay in wrestling? They went out of their way because they saw the potential in Hogan (though probably not to the degree that actually happened).

And so Terry returned, and a whole new career began. Others began to see in Terry what the three legend saw. From Cool Dudes and Hot Babes (edited for grammar):

Terry was brought into Southeast Championship Wrestling in summer 1978 by Rip Tyler. On Terry's debut after defeating an unknown local mid-carder, Terry started to be called 'The Wrestling Hulk'. Terry helped heel manager Billy Spears and Ox Baker defeat local legend Masked Wrestling Pro (Leon "Tarzan" Baxter), putting him on the hated list. Then in September Terry had his most memorable angle during that time, against Andre the Giant, which was their first. That led to an Arm Wrestling match, where Terry bloodied Andre with a loaded elbow and he and his manager Billy Spears destroy Andre with the table.

Terry continued working for South East Championship Wrestling, including touring Alabama and Knoxville (and a couple times in hometown Tampa) during the rest of 78. In early 79 Terry has his first ever face turn. It was during an angle involving Ox Baker, Ron Fuller, and NWA champ Harley Race. Race had placed a bounty on Fuller so as to not to have to defend NWA World title against him. Baker & Terry Boulder had been having problems, shoving each other during tag matches after Boulder cost Baker a match, later during Bakers' match Ron Fuller came to the ring only to receive the heartpunch (move Baker was built on as even killing somebody with it). While Ox is beating up Fuller, Boulder comes out to help Fuller and even carries him on his shoulder back to the dressing room. That night Fuller was booked to face Race for the NWA title, due to the heart punch was unable and Terry took his place, in what was Terry's first World title match. Due to Baker's interference Terry won via DQ, but didn't win the title. Then around February or March Terry defeated Ox Baker for his first wrestling title, to become the South Eastern Heavyweight champion recognized in Alabama. [Michael Calloway, who helped me with the Alabama-Knoxville, and was there in Dothan, Alabama to see these matches, can't explain why Terry Boulder/Ox Baker/Austin Idol were not recognized as South East Heavyweight champs in Knoxville. However in the unofficial list they're 100% recognized and there's no doubt they were champs!] Around June 1979 during an ongoing feud with Austin Idol, Idol beat Terry after cheating him out and got the South Eastern title. In July 1979 Terry received his 2nd World title match also against Harley Race, during the match Idol came down dressed up and flashed a camera in Terry's face, allowing Race to nail his top rope Head Butt for the 1-2-3. The Idol-Boulder feud continued in Alabama for the next couple months, which saw Idol 'break' Terry's leg. In mid 1979 Race and Idol brought Terry to NWA Georgia! He was given the Sterling Golden (bigger, better, stronger and improved gorgeous George gimmick) and he fought Handicap matches and used the Sterling Squeeze Bear Hug as his finisher. His major feud in NWA Georgia was against "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas. He was never pushed but his heel character was well protected. Terry offered $10,000 to every one who can break out of his Squeeze. Terry then returned to Southeastern Championship Wrestling, under his new Sterling Golden gimmick and this time was given big push for the recognized Southeastern Heavyweight title, beating Bob Roop for the title

Although the English may have been rough, the history was interesting. Terry was out there in the world paying his dues. He spend a couple of years in the independents, but still built up enough of a name for himself to find his way to NWA Georgia and get two shots at the NWA Championship.

What this piece fails to mention is that Terry spent some time in Memphis as well and feuded with Jerry Lawler. He also tagged with the future Brutus Beefcake, who at the time was wrestling as Dizzy Hogan.

Wait… so in SECW, Terry got the "Hulk" name and in Memphis he teamed with a "Hogan". Yet we hear all the time that it was McMahon (one of them) that came up with "Hulk Hogan" and gave him his name. Does not seem like that is the truth to me, but we'll get back to that in a minute. First, though, we have to get to the WWWF.

Wrestling up north

In November 1979, Terry caught the eye of northeast promoter Vince McMahon Sr., head booker and majority owner of the WWWF. McMahon was looking for more "ethnic" characters, so he asked Terry to be Irish and dye his hair red. Terry agreed to the Irish part and became Hogan, but kept his blonde locks. With Classy Freddie Blassie in his corner, Hogan came in as a heel ready to take the WWWF by storm. From Warned.net:

Hulk Hogan fought many handicap matches to prove his "giant" strength this lead to a feud with Andre the Giant. On August 9th, 1980 - Showdown At Shae 1980 Saw Andre The Giant defeated Hulk Hogan. Andre again defeated Hulk Hogan. On September 22nd, 1980 at Madison Square Garden Andre defeated Hulk Hogan again. Hogan feuded with WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund, and Tony Atlas.

All of those similar feuds that we would see later, Hogan was going though at an early stage in his career. But let us not forget that he was four years into his journey at that point and was no longer a green kid. Even still, no one was going to just jump the gun with giving Hogan the title. He still had to earn his stripes.

Earning stripes was not Hogan's only goal. He wanted to be a star, a real star, perhaps even a "superstar". From Slam! Sports:

For the first (but not the last) time in Hogan's career, Hollywood would come calling, and he found himself cast as "Thunderlips", a champion wrestler, in Rocky III. The move to Hollywood, however, cost him his job in the WWWF...at least for now, as Vince McMahon Sr. fired him.

And furthermore from Warned.net:

In 1981, Sylvester Stallone personally offered him a part in the movie Rocky III. Hogan wanted to use this opportunity for a potential movie career. Bollea took film role. When Vince McMahon Senior found out, he fired Hulk Hogan from the WWE as a result.

But 411's own Mathew Sfornica brought it to a whole new level:

In the spring of 1981, the WWWF had agreed to lend Hogan's contract to the Crockett Jr. run companies in the Carolinas, and Hulk was supposed to go wrestle for them in order to help the two companies help each other and build bridges. Hulk refused, as he had been given a golden chance to go star in Rocky III by Sylvester Stallone, who wanted Hulk to play ‘Thunderlips'. Vince McMahon Sr. was furious, and fired Hulk, since he wanted Wrestlers, not Actors.

So Hulk went off and filmed his part, and then wrestled in Japan (who loved him, oddly enough) and back in some of the companies he came up in, this time as the main attraction.

McMahon saw wrestlers as wrestlers and that was it. Hogan saw himself as a star, and he knew being in Rocky III would do more to increase his value in the industry and the world than being loaned out to another organization. Besides, what right to the WWWF have to loan his contract to another wrestling promotion? Did he note have the right to decide what territory he wanted to work for?

And so after filming, Hogan worked in Japan and made an international name for himself, something that would be quite helpful later. Also, he and Stallone became good friend, another element that would raise his notoriety.

Hogan was correct, too. When Rocky III came out, Hogan's popularity skyrocketed. Of course, by then had already returned to the States, but for a new home.

Wasslin' in Midwest and Puro in the land of the rising sun

After some time in Japan, Hogan joined Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association out in Memphis, TN in 1981. From Mike Rickard II:

Although he debuted as a heel, Hogan won the fans over with his incredible charisma and larger than life look. Hogan's appearance in Rocky III served to increase his popularity even more. He turned babyface and began challenging AWA Champion Nick Bockwinkel for the world strap. At the time, Hogan was an incredible draw but AWA owner Verne Gagne refused to put the title on Hogan because he did not think he was enough of a wrestler to hold the belt. Night after night, Hogan would seem to defeat Bockwinkel for the title only to have the decision reversed on a technicality. Fans grew frustrated with the screwjob finishes. They weren't the only ones.

Furthermore from Wikipedia:

On two different occasions, Hogan had been scripted to win the AWA Championship from heel champion Nick Bockwinkel and have it revert back to Bockwinkel by contrived technicalities. This was a common plot device, used to milk audience anticipation that the face would topple the heel "next time." But this time, the crowd reaction was so furious that only Bollea's pleas (on the PA system, in character as Hogan) kept them from rioting. Hogan, for his part, grew frustrated with the AWA's backstage politics over the world title, and was upset with promoter Verne Gagne's demands for a percentage of his Japanese earnings in exchange for the AWA Championship.

The AWA of today (which holds almost NO relation to the AWA of that era) has since reversed those decisions and calls Hogan a two-time AWA champion. Little good that did at the time. Hogan knew he had done it. He was a superstar making big money and drawing in fans from everywhere. He had been wrestling for six years and had been fighting champions for years. Everyone was ready for the trigger to be pulled, but much like RVD and Booker T in the WWE today, the AWA refused to make it happen (that's right, I just compared Hulk Hogan to RVD). But unlike the aforementioned wrestlers, Hogan would not take it and left the AWA.

Finding his way back to Japan in 1982/1983, Hogan finally found a major championship. From Wikipedia:

When competing in Japan, Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more "scientific" (i.e., technical, more amateur style-seeming) looking traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based (feats of strength), brawling style U.S. fans were accustomed to seeing from him. On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament winner, defeating Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a 10-man tournament featuring top talent from throughout the world. 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. Also 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-'80's.

Hogan was still officially working for the AWA while in Japan, but things had changed at home. Vince McMahon Jr. had bought his father's company and dropped a W. He had a plan to take his organization national, and Hogan was to be a part of that plan. From Mike Rickard II:

At the time, Vince McMahon was moving to make the WWF into a national promotion and he felt he needed a new type of champion to make his national expansion work. Hogan came in shortly after Bob Backlund had lost the WWF Championship to the Iron Sheik. Hogan debuted on WWF tv when he ran in to save Bob Backlund from a 3-on-1 beating from the Wild Samoans. Hogan told the crowd that he was back but that he had changed his ways and had a new attitude. Fans eagerly welcomed the babyface Hogan.

In early 1984, Bob Backlund was scheduled to have his rematch with the Iron Sheik. However the combination of injuries from his title loss and his attack by the Samoans sidelined Backlund and Hogan replaced him as the challenger. While January 23, 1984 was not the birth of Hulkamania (Hulkamania had already been running wild in the AWA), it was the start of a new era in professional wrestling. That night in Madison Square Garden, Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik and helped launch Vince McMahon's national expansion of the WWF.

Exactly, so despite what Vince and the WWE may say today, Hulkamania existed in the AWA and Japan (and semi-nationally domesticaly) well before Hogan finally winning the title. He had got into Rocky before all of that great fame, not the other way around. Yet, there was still much work to be done. It was not like Hogan was suddenly a legend: he needed to revitalize wrestling and change it in a way no one ever had.

RECESS!

And you wondered why this had to be four parts?. Ten pages in we JUST made it to the beginning of the WWF (and not even to Rock & Wrestling). The point of this being that Hogan had a long, storied career well before his "official" beginnings in the WWF/E, a history that needs to be understood in order to have a full idea of the man, and what he has worked for and sacrificed in this industry.

When we return it's the beginning of the WWF and Rock & Wrestling Era. Then it's his problems with the WWE, changes in lifestyles, WCW debut, and the nWo. Do you think that's enough for one issue? Maybe we'll talk about promos or wrestling style? Nah, that'll most likely end up in the third issue.

So tune in next week for our 24" python edition of In Defense of… Hulk Hogan (Part 2 of 4)!!

Be sure to check out Hidden Highlights in the meantime! Don't forget to send JT and I your Hidden Highlights for RAW, SmackDown!, Heat, Velocity, iMPACT, or any other show you saw this week (that includes house shows and indy events, you know)!

Until then, the defense rests!




Know a particular person, event, organization, storyline, etc… in wrestling history that needs a defense? E-mail the One and Only JP at [e-mail], and I'll be glad to hear your case.