"The Hulkster" and "The Other Guy" have much more in common than a simple trademark issue.
As expressed on the main page, Hulk is not properly a name, a nickname or a made-up word that sounds funny. Character-wise, Hogan turned invincible and augmented his own strength endless-fold every time his enemy(ies) pissed him off. Is there the possibility that the WWF and WCW booking teams were huge fans of... "THE OTHER GUY"? Here some fun facts:- After his "Terry Boulder"/"Sterling Golden" days, it was dubbed simply as "The Hulk" in good ol' CWA. It was inspiration of Jerry Jarrett's wife after Bollea's first encounter with Lou Ferrigno to turn the 6' 7''/303 pounds blond Muscle Beach Bum into a titanic proportions monster. The rest; as they say, is history.
- Then Verne Gagne's AWA tried to capitalize this giving him a tremendous push, something Bollea was wise to notice. Watching the obvious huge pop he got despite of being rising within the brand ranks to become The Big Bad, Gagne took a swerve making him face his top-talent, but never allowing Bollea to get the golden strap in the company. The Other Guy never gets credit for his own self-sacrifice or kind acts, billed simply as the mindless punch'em 'n forget'em go-to-guy by the Avengers. Following our lead?
- NJPW's Antonio Inoki suddenly make his career save pushing him as the unbeatable All-Loving Hero, The first ever IGPW Heavyweight Champion and allowing Bollea to make a name of his own. Japan has a long-standing tradition on turning creepy monsters into badass heroes, The Other Guy wasn't the exception.
- Along came the Rock n' Wrestling era, Bollea earned and defended his new brand's golden strap for over four years. Coinciding with the time of The Other Guy TV Show's last season. The Other Guy was considered a hot property that decade to extentions not reached even by The Avengers' flick.
- Who is "The strongest one there is"? The Other Guy sustains a perennial struggle about this issue with The Mighty Thor, Bollea had it also back in the day with The Ultimate Warrior.
- The time a smug-ish yet reliable Bollea turned into a more self-centered celebrity? Came precisely the same time The Ohter Guy started to wear fancy suits, got a swell-paid job in Las Vegas and turned grey.
- And then... July 7, 1996, a day that stills living in infamy. Our Hulkster allied himself with the very threat his then company was facing... invaders from "that company at north", betraying his fandom. Remember when The Other Guy found out that his 20 Minutes into the Future-self changed his name and decided to rule over mankind after exterminating every other Super Hero on 616 universe? Remember how he looked like? Didn't he reminded you of some one?
- The Incredible Hulk (2008) is officially the flick that kickstarted the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, No Holds Barred was this for Titan/WWF-E Productions.
