Follow TV Tropes

Following

Wrestling / Hulk Hogan

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/download_807.png
His name is synonymous with wrestling, BROTHER.
AND WHATCHA GONNA DO, TROPER, WHEN HULKAMANIA AND THE 24'' PYTHONS RUN WILD ON YOU?!

His given name is Terry Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia). You know him better as Hulk Hogan. If the name doesn't ring any bells, you were either born after the Turn of the Millennium or you've been living under a rock since The '80s. To put it simply, Hogan is the single most famous professional wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots, as even his industry rival, Ric Flair, has reluctantly admitted.

Hogan, like most great wrestlers of the '70s and '80s, made his name largely overseas, and then later gained major fame in the US in the AWA before being signed by the WWF. Simply put, Hogan is the guy who made wrestling go mainstream. Vince McMahon had the dream, but Hogan had The Face, and the push for nationalization would not have worked without him. Moreover, Hogan was already a household name by 1983, with his memorable cameo in Rocky III and numerous interviews on talk shows worldwide.

It was when Hogan faced allegations of steroid use, took his act to Hollywood (see below) and later joined WCW that he ran into problems. In 1993, WCW was still an old-fashioned Southern-style wrestling promotion, and introducing a superhero like Hogan (and even campier villains) never quite clicked. But Hogan still had one last card to play — he took the plunge and turned heel, betting the novelty of "Evil Hulk" would be enough to get by. He was right. "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan was born at Bash at the Beach '96, and wrestling history was thrown into a Darker and Edgier era, which forced WWF to come up with a change of their own, known as "Attitude".

Hogan would don the red and yellow once again by 1999, but the diminishing returns of the nWo angle and numerous business and creative failures led to WWF (now WWE) buying out WCW. He has maintained an infrequent presence on TV, alternating between Reality TV star and General Manager of TNA Impact.

He served a three-year suspension starting in 2015, as racist comments made during a sex tape came to light and led the WWE to attempt to scrub him from their history; however, he was reinstated in 2018.

Hogan has appeared or starred in over a dozen films. Under his belt are films such as No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando, Mr. Nanny, Santa with Muscles, Three Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, Thunder in Paradise and more.note  This opened the door for other WWE alumni to have film and TV careers, but only The Rock, Batista, and John Cena have surpassed Hogan's cinematic output.

Hogan's in-ring achievements are also a need-to-know topic amongst marks and smarts alike. He is a former NWA Southeastern (Continental version) Heavyweight Champion, a former x2 NWA Southeastern (Gulf Coast version) Heavyweight Champion, the inaugural and former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, a former x6 WWF/E World Heavyweight Champion (The 2nd longest combined and 3rd longest individual reigns in the promotion) a former x6 WCW World Heavyweight Champion (Both, the longest combined and individual reigns in the promotion) and a former WWE World Tag-Team Champion (w/Edge). He is also member of The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum since 2003 and WWE Hall of Fame class 2005 and class 2020 as member of nWo.

Don't you confuse him with... you know... "the other guy".

Ladies and gentlemen, please note: Hulk Hogan is our page picture for both Heel and Face.


Hulk Hogan is the Trope Namer for:

These Tropes Are ♫♪Ame-he-hericaaaaan... ma-a-aaaaaaade♪♫:

    open/close all folders 

    #-B 
  • 10-Minute Retirement: Just when you think Hogan's had his last match... During one such retirement, he announced he was running for president. Even by the 2010s, when Hogan was already approximately 90% cyborg, a pensioner, and could barely walk, he was still stumping for a match with John Cena.
  • '80s Hair: Subverted. In real life, Hogan wears a bandanna everywhere he goes and does not take jokes about bald people terribly well. Just ask Vince Russo or WCW circa 2000. This would explain why Hogan's character models in video games often wear a bandanna or (especially in more recent games) have a full head of hair added to them (for example in WWE 2K15). Though to be fair, when he first started out in Vince McMahon Sr's WWWF, he played this trope straight and continued to do so well into The '90s. Though the hair on top of his head is gone and the rest is thinning, Hogan rocked a horseshoe mullet for almost twenty-five years. He still has the horseshoe hair, but it's mostly hidden by the bandanna, and the long hair we see hanging out are actually extensions, he fried his remaining hair pretty badly after a botched bleaching. Despite not liking getting bald, it made him instantly recognizable for years and continues to do so to this day.
  • All-American Face: His Mr. America persona in 2003's WWE was his last major stab at it.
  • Alliterative Name: Hulk Hogan, and yes, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan and also just "H"ollywood Hogan.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent
    • "Owwwwww!" The Stinger was THE NWA/WCW Hulkster up to '94: Tanning...check. Bleach blond... check. Bodybuilder physique... check. Gaudy clothing... check. Cali Surfer Dude demeanor... like, totally dude! Hulking Out and No-Sell... check and check. Sting was even billed with the same hometown as Hogan: Venice Beach, CA.
    • More like alternate regional equivalent, given Hogan did the international heel becoming international baby face back home routine across multiple companies that sometimes overlapped, but Canek did it before him as the big bully who became the hero of Mexico, right down to slamming 530 lbs French Giant at a big UWA show. Hogan in fact was one of Canek's "extranjero" challengers before his own face turn. By the time of their rematch both Canek and Hogan were faces, so it of course went to a draw.
    • Konnan meanwhile, is the Latin American equivalent to the latter day "Hollywood Hogan", being a big star from a big promotion who defected, went "gangsta" and helped a newer company overshadow the one he left...only Konnan didn't have the Billy Graham traits, didn't defect so much as help founding AAA, and Cibernetico's LLA was closer to the nWo in function than any group Konnan ever lead. "Los Gringos Locos" got the same reaction that lead to Hogan's heel turn, though, just they were purposefully riling up audiences from the start. Konnan's "Legion Extranjera" was also truer to the concept of "outsider invasion" than the nWo ever was. Again, Konnan did most of it before Hogan was around to help him through WCW.
  • And Knowing Is Half the Battle: Advising kids to eat their vitamins, exercise, and say their (Christian) prayers.
  • Arch-Enemy:
  • As Himself: 60% of his film credits were of him making The Cameo, the rest were pretty much Hulk Hogan on a different name.
  • Badasses Wear Bandanas: Originally he wore a Martial Arts Headband, now it's what The Hulkster wears to cover his baldness.
  • Bald of Evil: When he was in the nWo.
  • Beard of Evil: As a heel. And contrary to popular belief, it wasn't sprayed-or-painted on. It was dyed dark though, which made it occasionally look painted on.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: You have to wonder how Hulk feels now about telling Bully Ray to do something that'll be remembered forever?
  • Berserk Button: Hogan does not take kindly to bald jokes. Remember the infamous "worked shoot" at Bash at the Beach 2000? It was one of the reasons Hogan sued WCW.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Who was the first celebrity, sport star, or whatever who reached over 200 "Make-A-Wish Foundation" fulfillments? Yup, the man may not be squeaky clean himself but when it comes to giving back, you can bet The Hulkster was and still is front and center.
  • Big Good: For fourteen years. Hogan became so synonymous with the role that his '96 Face–Heel Turn genuinely sent shock waves through the industry.
  • The Big Guy: Back in his early years there was simply no other wrestler even close to his size save André the Giant and Big John Studd.
  • Big "NO!": During the start of Hogan's feud with Ted DiBiase in late '87 where Hulk was offered a substantial amount (never stated but DiBiase said it would have made "The crowd's head spin") for his WWF title. Hulkster's understated response?
    Hogan: HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
  • Big "YES!": His response to Roddy Piper in early 1987, about accepting Heenan and Andre's challenge for the WWF title at WrestleMania III.
  • Bookends: To a degree in his relationship with the WWF. In the mid-80s, he became the perennial WWF champion for years while spearheading the promotion's nationwide expansion, being the first champion most fans remember to any meaningful degree or as an answer to a trivia question. He was also the first champion under the WWF banner, as Vince would shorten the name from WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) to WWF pretty much right after Hogan won the belt. He is still largely considered the first significantly important world champion in the promotion's history. During his later tour with the WWF in 2002 after WCW's shutdown, he became the final WWF world champion, as the company changed its name to WWE during his reign.
  • Boring Yet Practical:
    • During his AWA run, he got into an argument with Verne Gagne in his office and Hulk put a Front facelock on him, which reportedly led to this exchange.
      Verne: Is that the only hold you know?
      Hulk: It's the only hold I NEED to know to take you down!
      • Consider it was basically the same hold Hogan totaled Belzer with.
    • Both his finishers. One's a simple Running Leg drop and the other is a slightly altered Lariat.
  • Brass Balls:
    • Going back for training with the same guy who broke your leg some months ago so you would "think it over"? Checked!
    • Tony Atlas recalled in an interview the time when Hulkster agreed to put Mr. U.S.A. over back in '81. Then Vince McMahon Sr. asked Atlas: "How are you planning to flip the big dummy over?", right there in front of Hogan. His response? Passing right in front of Mr. WWWF, smirk and then leave the room so Tony and him could talk.
    • The aforementioned incident with Verne Gagne back in AWA. Hogan was still demanding a title shot months afterwards.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Subverted: Hogan was actually trained by a legitimate shoot fighter, the then head trainer and manager of CWF Hiro Matsudanote , and learned to be a fairly solid technical wrestler. Not a spectacular one but he would at least have been effective enough as a believable threat for any opponent, though. If his autobiography is to be believed, he genuinely expected he would be booked to wrestle based on what he'd been taught, expecting to be asked to work more mat based matches with a bit of power moves thrown in. Instead, most promoters in the States took one look at him and just assumed he would work better solely as a powerhouse who only occasionally mat wrestled or took to the air at all due to his size and musculature. In essence, the exact inverse of what he thought he would be asked to do.
    • In Japan he tended to work harder and did a lot more mat wrestling than in the U.S. If he had brought more of that style to his work in the States, he'd probably be thought of more highly as a wrestler than he is. Many American "Smarks" have had their jaws kissing the floor right after they see how much differently he wrestled overseas. On the other hand, that style would clash with the formula that made him so successful in the first place. Damned if you do...
  • Bullying a Dragon:
    • A few weeks shy from the David Schultz/John Stossel incident, Hogan and Mr. T were invited to "Hot Poperties" to promote the first ever Wrestlemania, the interviewer (the comedian Richard Belzer) was taunting Hogan and T to try a wrestling maneuver on him, both men denied his request at first, but Belzer pressed on until he get what he asked for. They had to settle the issue at a later court date.
    • Hulkster was on the receiving end of this from Gawker, who released a sex tape of the Hulk (intending to be Cape Busters) and refused to take it down even with an order against them. Hogan ended up running wild on them. Later it was revealed that Hogan was just The Dragon in this tale. His attorneys were paid for by the actual Big Bad, tech gazillionaire Peter Thiel, who also had a beef with Gawker's coverage of him and was looking for a while to fund cases that could bankrupt Gawker.

    C-D 
  • Calling Your Attacks: After the Big Boot, Hogan would often either does the lifting theatrics asking to the crowd if he's going for a power move or claps three times and do the ear-cupping thing if it is for the Leg Drop. Also, according to Chris Jericho, Hogan actually mutters "Hulk Up, Hulk Up, Hulk Up, Hulk Up" to himself when he, well, Hulks Up.
  • Captain Ersatz: ...oh, so many! There's even a trope in here about it.
  • Care-Bear Stare:
    1. Hogan starts off strong. He subsists entirely on milk, vitamins, and America, and NO opponent can hope to match him.
    2. Bad guy does somethin' to CHEAT ...that dirty sonuvabitch!
    3. All is lost. Well… 
    4. Hulk Hogan looks to the right.
    5. Hulk Hogan looks to the left.
    6. The Hulkamaniacs start to cheer.
    7. Hogan shakes his fists, looks deep within himself and remembers what A Real American Hero is.
    8. HULK RIPS OFF HIS SHIRT AND THE CROWD GOES NUTS AS HE MAKES HIS BIG COMEBACK! HOT DAMN!!
  • Cassandra Truth: Initially—initially—knew that Bully Ray was Evil All Along. He's been that man before. Even in TNA. And he's been around Bully Ray enough to be able to know what he's about.
  • Celebrity Toons: Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, in which he was played by Brad Garrett.
  • Character Catchphrase:
  • Charlie Brown from Outta Town: TWICE, as a matter of fact! You really need to know how this trope works, otherwise you'll be Comically Missing the Point.
    • Back in the 80's WWF a new team from Japan came along: "The Machines." Where there was their head trainer and enforcer, a guy by the name "Hulk-Machine". Come on, now... He even striked the same poses!
    • And then, "Mr. America". Vince couldn't fire him from SmackDown because he didn't have "ironclad proof" that it was the same guy, he actually Passed a Lie Detector Test when he was asked point blank if he was Hulk Hogan. This leads to Fridge Brilliance on WWE and Hogan's part; strictly speaking, he's Terry Bollea, Hogan and Mr. America are both gimmicks. So even though the entire thing was staged, he probably could pass a real life lie detector test.
  • Chaste Hero:
  • Clothes Make the Legend:
    • Once the Hulkamania character was set, Hogan always wore his trademark "Gold 'n Red"; bandana, tear-away shirt, wristbands, trunks (tights later in his career), kneepads, and boots.
    • "Hollywood" Hogan always wore black-&-white: Bandana, sunglasses, tear-away nWo t-shirt, fingerless gloves, black tights with lightning design airbrushed on, weight belt, black kneepads and boots.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Hogan is similar to "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant in that they trained to wrestle heel and never bothered to learn much in the other direction, but were both over and charismatic enough that when they heeled out on their opponents, fans accepted that the guy getting the business must've done something to deserve it.
  • Composite Character: His post-nWo 2002 WWE run. Using the template of Hollywood (long tights, black beard, "Voodoo Child"), while adding the red and gold.
  • Continuity Nod: From Hulkamania to Hollywood and beyond, there are a few select foes who in kayfabe have for the most part consistently hated Hogan. Roddy Piper, The Wizard/Dungeon Master, Ric Flair, his Four Horsemen, and Bobby Heenan are the most reliable players for this.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Deconstruction & Reconstruction: The first worked like a charm, but the second proved more difficult. Hogan's stated reason for turning heel was that he felt fickle fans didn't appreciate all he'd done for them, ignored his charity work and avoided his films like the plague. He became a sleazy parody of what heels had always accused him of being: a money-grubbing showboat who rewarded friends and punished rivals. However, he fell out of favor with the nWo in 1999, when he, Nash, and Savage began to squabble over who was going to be in charge with Flair removed from WCW'S office. Reverting to his trusty red & gold and trouncing Savage and Nash to a great crowd reaction. The object of the whole nWo exercise, no doubt.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable:
    • One of the only people to ever defeat André the Giant and The Undertaker by pinfall. As far as the trope applied to Hogan's opponents, the WWF would often sign a new monster heel touted as unbeatable, and then allow that wrestler to run roughshod over jobbers and low- to mid-carders, even occasionally taking out a main eventer. Famous examples include King Kong Bundy, The One Man Gang (before he became Akeem), Big John Studd, The Big Bossman, Kamala, Earthquake, Yokozuna, Zeus and Sycho Sid. Hogan would then get a shot at the heel and, after enduring a beating, would come back with his Five Moves of Doom to eventually defeat the bad guy. By the time Hogan was done with the feud, the monster heel wasn't so fearsome anymore. This is also the reason why fans have accused Hogan over the years for Vader's Badass Decay in the States.
    • Conversely, anyone who manages to beat Hogan is considered to have done this. In fact, the list of people who have beaten Hogan cleanly can be counted on your fingers, and still have room left over. This is by design, as Hogan often used his popularity and drawing power to justify being allowed to win, and had an infamous contract with WCW that included complete Creative Control over his stories, note  it's worth checking, at least:
      • Pinned clean by "Bullet" Bob Armstrong back in 1979's Souteastern Championship Wrestling (Alabama/Tennessee).
      • Lost clean to André several times back when The Giant was the face and Hulkster the heel.
      • Lost clean to Tony Atlas back in 1981.
      • Pinned clean by the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI, giving him his only world title run. Years later, Warrior addressed it on his big "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Hogan on the August 17, 1998 Nitro:note 
      Warrior: "Hogan — beating you means nothing anymore, everybody already has!"
      Heenan: "Now... to Hogan, that hurts!"
      • He lost to Piper at Starrcade '96. For the record: Hot Rod was both in kayfabe and real life, not at top game due to surgery, Hogan had help from his NWO goons and The Giant, Piper still won clean.
      • The most triumphant example may be his WCW title match against Lex Luger. Not only did Lex get Hogan to tap out clean to the Torture Rack, but he survived a slew of nWo run-ins without resulting in a DQ.
      • The famous world title loss to Goldberg on Nitro.
      • Jacques Rougeau (best known for his runs in the WWF as half of the Fabulous Rougeau Bros. and later as The Mountie) once pinned him cleanly in WCW. Apparently on Hogan's insistence, due the fact that the Rougeaus were so big in Montreal and he had a deep respect for them.
      • Lost to perennial cruiserweight midcarder Billy Kidman during their feud in 2000. Clean, but more of a fluke win than actually being defeated.
      • Famously lost to The Rock at WrestleMania X8, though The Rock did use Hogan's weight belt as a whip that went unnoticed due to a ref bump.
      • Sting has gotten several wins over Hogan without having ever lost to him note , possibly more than any other wrestler. Though most people only remember the screwy Starrcade 1997 finish.
  • Dented Iron: The Hulkster's body has taken quite the pounding over the years; particularly his knees, hips and spine. Not helped by his trademark leg drop, Scoliosis that went undiagnosed until his fifties, long-term steroid abuse and the sheer length of his career. He's had both knees and both hips replaced and a total of ten back surgeries. Hogan was still able to wrestle with the knee and hip replacements, but once they cut into his back, it was game over. He initially wanted to get a spinal fusion like Shawn Michaels so he could keep wrestling, but the doctor suggested he try everything else first. They'd cut so much bone out of his spine that he is now three inches shorter than he used to be and incapable of ever wrestling again.
  • Does Not Know His Own Strength: Hell... just ask the revered Japanese legend Antonio Inoki!

    E-H 
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • He made his WWE debut in 1979 as a heel managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie rocking blue tights, red kneepads, boots, a gaudy, colorful robe instead of a tear away t-shirt, and a full head and chest of hair. Hogan occasionally wore various other colors in his early run as WWF world champion after he returned to the company, such as the short-lived "American Made" all-blue/white trunks, boots and kneepads that was famous enough to be used as an alternative outfit in Legends of Wrestling and several exclusive action figures, but eventually settled on his now classic yellow trunks and boots with red kneepads.
    • But before that, Hogan wore a green singlet in Memphis. And a mask in Florida. And was known as Sterling Golden in Georgia. And he had a full beard in all three.
    • Earlier in his WWE years, he'd say "daddy" where he's now famed for saying "brother."
    • It wasn't until relatively late in his first WWF World Championship run that the standard finishing formula was codified – bad guy dominates for two or three minutes before connecting on a devastating finishing move, Hogan kicks out at two, hulks up, becomes invincible and connects on his Five Moves of Doom.
    • He didn't start tearing off his shirt when he entered the ring in the AWA at first, rather just mundanely taking it off. It was when he came out for a tag match with the High Flyers where Greg Gagne grabbed one side of his shirt, Jim Brunzell the other, and ripped it off of him, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Hogan, recognizing a good thing when he saw it, started doing it himself, and the rest is history.
  • Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Have you ever wonder why his gimmick revolves about turning Super Strong and Die-Hard every time his opponents piss him off? The reason is clear evident when you check his in-ring first name.
  • Expy: He visually resembled Jesse Ventura, who in turn took cues from "Superstar" Billy Graham. Their gimmicks were pretty different once you got past that though.
  • The Face: Without Hogan, Vince was another territorial promoter with a carnie show. With Hogan he is a global powerhouse in merchandising and TV. Mc Mahon needs a full time, front-and-center Hogan because without that 1 Mega Star, all the other stars don't receive residual exposure. If millions of youngsters weren't tuning in to watch Steve Austin, they never would have sat through The Nation of Domination nor have cared enough to see Mankind's underdog story, nor have ever bought a ticket to see Val Venis either. Vince without a Hulk Hogan is like Steve Jobs without an iPhone.
  • Finishing Move:
    • The infamous Atomic Leg Drop. Originally used as a way for Hogan to take pressure off a dodgy knee, eventually becoming the finisher we all know. Hogan's said for years that he regrets using it because doing it hundreds of times a year for over three decades destroyed his knees, hips and back.
    • He's also said he realized way too late that he spent 90% of his promos talking about his arms but used a leg in his finisher, what makes no sense. Thus, he said he should have used a Sleeper Hold better which is interesting since he used the Golden Squeeze in Georgia and Florida, switching later for a Canadian Backbreaker Rack in his early days in WWF.
    • In Japan, Hogan used a lariat known as the Axe Bomber, mostly due to fan demand after he legitimately knocked out Antonio Inoki with it.
  • Five Moves of Doom: Before Wrestlemania III it was Hulk up, Irish Whip, Corner Clothesline Sandwich, Scoop Slam/Atomic Drop and the Leg Drop. Right after it was Hulk Up, Punch, Punch, Punch, Irish Whip, Big Boot and Leg Drop.
  • Flanderization: He switched between white, red, blue and yellow trunks and boots up to WrestleMania III, then it was yellow trunks and boots with red knee pads up until the nWo. It coincided with the standardization of the Hogan matches. Before this, he did more moves, moved quickly and changed up sequences. Usually if he was in all-white, he was going to bleed. He worked so much, though, that by this point Hogan/WWF had cracked the elements of his shtick and condensed them into the match he'd more or less repeat until '96. He didn't have to put as much thought into it, and was less likely to be injured. Also this way, they could make an always accurate action figure.
  • Fleeting Demographic Rule: While Hulk Hogan had some success in TNA, it is generally looked upon as one of his failures, a re-heating of the nWo/Hollywood angle.
  • Fluffy Fashion Feathers: Added feather boas to his entrance attire in the late 90s/early 2000s, providing the current page image.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • During his 1979-1981 WWF run, his manager Freddie Blassie predicted that Hogan would one day grace the cover of large-circulation magazines; at the time, nothing more than empty boasts, note  but in the end these actually came to pass, with Hogan actually making MAD, Sports Illustrated and many more. Blassie and Hogan also bragged about how Hogan would one day be a leading movie star, and that he had connections with Sylvester Stallone and in negotiations to play in the (then in-development) Rocky III; in an era where there was no internet and kayfabe reigned supreme, there was no way to know that just two years later, Hogan would indeed grace the big screen and as Thunderlips fought against Rocky Balboa.
    • Hogan had arguably his best match during his early heel run on April 12, 1980 at the Philadelphia Spectrum, defeating WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund by countout. Play-by-play announcers Dick Graham and Kal Rudman remarked that they had the feeling they were seeing a future world champion, and Rudman even correctly admitted that Hogan — for his wrestling ability and determination to dethrone Backlund — gained many new fans that night. In his autobiography, Backlund admitted he praised Hogan for his work that night, that they put on a great match and said he thought he had what it took to be a big star in the business.
    • Possibly the best example of this trope came during the Dungeon of Doom feud in WCW, when he briefly became the black-clad "Darkside" Hogan.
    • Also his final title run in the same promotion. Having come back from an injury as Hollywood, his promos became more Hulk-like, culminating with him reverting to the red and gold.
    • His first live appearance for TNA involved him talking about how it was time to do right by the business and put over young talent, while spending at least a half an hour in segments where he did nothing that could have been cut back to give more time to young talent.
  • Friend to All Children: The man spent a lot of his free time in hospitals visiting sick and dying children.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: Hogan had spinal fusion surgery in late 2010, which ended his active wrestling career permanently. To put this in perspective, this was the same surgery Edge had in 2003 that led to his first retirement. Edge was 29 at the time and lasted eight more years, probably against better judgment. Hulk Hogan was nearly twice that age.
  • Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Always happens after he Hulks up, emphasized by a huge "YOU!" from him and the crowd, followed by a big Finger Wag. Look at it as the dressing for his Five Moves of Doom salad.
  • Greater Need Than Mine: After André the Giant ripped Hulk's cross off his neck as part of his Face–Heel Turn during "Piper's Pit" on the February 7 (taped January 26), 1987 WWF Superstars, Piper told Hulk that he was bleeding but Hulk didn't seem to notice, since he was so in shock from Andre's betrayal.
  • Hand Rubbing: Unbeknown even by most experts, 75% of his promo time consisted in this while depicting in a Totally Radical way how badly his opponent's rear end will be beaten down.
  • Handicapped Badass: He looks pretty good for a guy who's had a billion and 1 back and knee surgeries.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: Not even the ultimate All-American Face was exempted of this:
    • Since the very beginning of his career until his first WWF run's end way back in '81, his gimmick was basically your generic Monster Heel.
    • Heel–Face Turn: In 1981 now performing in the AWA, Hogan started to get cheers despite being pushed as a villain; he came in to run Wrestling Monster Jerry Blackwell from the ring after he was beating down a jobber into oblivion and several other faces (including main-eventers Jim Brunzell and Greg Gagne) had failed to even faze Blackwell. Hogan then turned into The Hero as mentioned before for the span of fourteen years.
      • In 1999 Hogan made the switch again, you can read about it at "He's Back" / "Still Got It" below.
      • Coming back from WCW in 2002, "Hollywood" recived the hero's welcome by his WWF die-hard fans, so the promotion had no other choice to reinstate him as a baby face after the match against The Rock.
    • Face–Heel Turn: One of, if not then the, most famous example in wrestling history. The Hulkster— scourge of evil-doers who taught kids to train, say their prayers, take their vitamins, and believe in themselves— turned his back to his fans at Bash at the Beach '96, once more becoming one of wrestling's top draws, but now as a Heel. His turn was so shocking that a fan legitimately stormed the ring and attempted to confront Hogan, but was immediately subdued by Hall and Nash.
  • The Hero: He's the most iconic main character in the Golden Era and a Supporting Protagonist in the Ruthless Aggression Era. As a Heel, he's a Villain Protagonist instead, especially during his "Hollywood Hogan" days.
  • Heroic Second Wind: You can tell the difference between Face and Heel Hogan because the Heel one is in no-sell mode immediately, whereas Face Hogan trembles and huffs like he's having an asthma attack, until the baddie stupidly lays That One Hit on him, causing him to run wild and drop the leg of doom. If they just walked away and left him shaking in the ring, he might die of malnutrition.
    Noah Antwiler: Sleeper holds never work on the good guy. He almost goes out, right? But then he goes into some kinda seizure... WTF? HE'S HULKING OUT... HULKAMANIA'S RUNNING WILD! NO DON'T PUNCH HIM, HE'S INVULNERABLE!
    Ric Flair: [knife edge chop]
    Hogan: YOOOOOU!!
  • He's Back!: And how... proving that the man Still Got It!
    • August 9, 1999 is a major case. Goldberg and Sting are set to team with Hollywood Hogan for a six man against Kevin Nash, Sid and Rick Steiner. Out of nowhere "American Made"note  plays for the first time since July 7, 1996. The crowd actually goes almost dead silent having no idea of what is happening. Then....out walks Hulk Hogan, clad in the famous Red & Gold that had been synonymous with him for over a decade. The crowd proceeds to collectively LOSE THEIR SHIT, as a man that most had begun to miss due to how long the nWo angle—and the Hollywood persona— had been played for, comes back in his classic persona. Tony and Bobby were screaming their heads off in amazement, which further helped to sell it. Even his opponents looked almost stunned and completely poleaxed. The fans were all too willing to welcome The Hulkster back after three years of Hollywood Hogan.
      Tony Schiavone: "It's HULK again!"
    • Think Hulk can't make the Impact Zone pop for him? Think again!
      Mike Tenay: "...he's gonna do it. He's gonna do it! HE'S GONNA DO IT—! <*shirt rip*> YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAH!!!"
    • Invoked with the "Hulk Still Rules" shirts released by WWE during his run in 2002.
  • Hidden Depths:
    • "Everyone" knows that Hogan can't really wrestle. Of course, "everyone" presumably hasn't seen his matches in Japan.
    • Before wrestling, he traveled the east coast as the bass player of a band called Ruckus. They even recorded an album.
    • You may not notice it for the way he performs his move set or plays 4-6 strings (which he can also do, and quite well!), but Hogan is a lefty. That makes him the 3rd lefty with a famous role in a single movie (Rocky III), just watch him signing autographs to confirm.
    • An almost forgotten fact: During a fancy restaurant scene in No Holds Barred he orders dinner for a bemused, smokin' hot Joan Severance in perfect French. How, you may ask? Well, those are the quirks of being born with mixed ancestrynote , mon frére!!!
  • Hulking Out: Unstoppable Rage included!!!

    I-O 
  • I Have Many Names: The Super Destroyer, Terry "The Hulk" Boulder, Sterling Golden, Hollywood Hogan, Mr. America and Hulk Hogan. In films he's often credited as Terry "Hulk" Hogan.
    • During his 1979-1981 WWF run, he added his Red Barons (used interchangeably) “The Incredible” and “The Fabulous.” When he returned in 1984, he was still often introduced using his heel nicknames (although by now he was the most popular wrestler in the world) until late that year. By 1990, after his return from an absence (during his feud with Earthquake), he was known as “The Immortal.” When he turned heel in 1996, he became “Hollywood” Hogan.
  • "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight:
    • His iconic match in Wrestlemania X8. Whether or not "The Rock" actually meant to beat an actual Heel–Face Turn out of him, he (and the audience) seemed pretty impressed to have the old Hogan Hulking Out again.
    • The same goes to "The Stinger" on Hogan's last in-ring active match at the Impact Zone, granted that the former had to play as the Greater-Scope Villain first, to then be the Dude in Distress so The Hulkster's "real me" could be pulled out to be the saviour one last time. The match as such was slow-paced and dull at times, but the story told that night at least made some sort of sense.
  • Improbable Weapon User
    • Used his shirt to choke people at times.
    • At WrestleMania 2, King Kong Bundy used the tape on Hogan's ribs to choke out Hogan. Hogan later used the tape to tie Bundy's arm to the top rope.
    • His weight belt later, a maneuver he borrowed from Piper.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: According to Wrestle Crap, the tribe Hogan would have been looking for was the Yavapai when Ric Flair stole his weight lifting belt in WCW.
  • Insult Backfire: Back in 1988, Bad News Brown disparagingly called him "Hollywood Hogan." Randy Savage called him that on the WCW Monday Nitro after Hulk's heel turn at WCW Bash at the Beach 96. Come the December 30, 1996 Nitro, Hulk officially started calling himself "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, usually shortened to simply Hollywood Hogan.
  • Invincible Hero:
    • Hulkamania just might be the greatest gimmick in the history of wrestling (with Taker coming close.). How do you hurt a guy who is 50% "The Irresistible Force" and 50% a Looney Toon?
      Bryan Alverez: That man knows how to get everything out of NOTHING. And very few people know how to do that. Does that mean Hulk Hogan should be on top? Fuck no...BUT: he does have a point. Young guys today could learn something from Hogan on how to get something outta less.
    • One of the reasons Hogan stayed interesting for so long was his Strictly Formula, some squash matches here and there with some few Jobbers and mid-carders. Main Events were few and far between then, so unlike today's wrestling atmosphere any match featuring The World Heavyweight Champion was something rare and special.
    • The problem didn't become apparent until his WCW stint; a good portion of it's fanbase had it in for all things Hulk and WWF from day one, and he didn't exactly endear himself making everyone in the roster look bad so he could rest easy while on vacation or shooting a ''Three Ninjas'' flick. His invincibility hit particularly egregious levels during Uncensored 1996. He and Randy Savage took on The Four Horsemen AND Dungeon of Doom (a total of EIGHT men) and squashed them. When Monday Nitro started to have Main-Event-quality matches every week and the promotion started airing pay-per-view events every month, Hogan was seen as formulaic and lazy. Thankfully, a truly shocking heel turn saved his career.
    • Subverted in his 2002 run. While he did win the title from Triple H, he lost it shortly afterwards to The Undertaker, and would go on to have a loss to Kurt Angle at KOTR by TAPPING OUT and was finally destroyed by Brock Lesnar, leaving television until early 2003.
  • Killer Bear Hug: When he was "Sterling Golden" in Georgia Championship Wrestling, he used it as his finisher, The Golden Squeeze.
    • Back in the day when some dark/house shows' Main Event was a handicap match between 'Mania and two or three cruise/light heavyweights, he just finished them off applying the squeeze on all of them at once. Even Abby got a three minutes taste of it on their match in Japan.
  • Knight of Cerebus: Hogan as a heel. While Hogan could and often did beat anyone that came to take his championship, he often did it with illegal help and was so smug about it that the crowd was hoping somebody would just take the damn thing away from him. (Cue to Sting and later Goldberg).
  • Large Ham: Hogan is the yardstick for hammy wrestlers in WWE, setting a standard in the 80s with his huge, gruff promos about America, the 24-inch pythons, taking down evildoers and his beloved Hulkamaniacs. He's the reason that 80s wrestling has its Larger Than Life reputation. Even in real life, and his short lived movie star career, if people stop paying attention to him, he will do something - anything - to get the cameras pointed his way.
    • Funnily enough, this was massively toned down during his run in Japan. He shouted a lot less, and promos were delivered with a more subtle intensity which displayed how articulate Hogan really was.
  • Last of His Kind: The Hulkster is officially the last in a line of perennial WWF/E World Heavyweight Champions. His first reign lasted 1474 days. In perspective, the longest after his was the 434 days reign of CM Punk over 23 years later.
  • Like a God to Me: Spoken word for word to Andre The Giant when he is trying to talk The Giant out of his Face–Heel Turn during their appearance on "Piper's Pit" on the February 7 (taped January 26), 1987 WWF Superstars.
  • Line-of-Sight Name: In his Terry Boulder days, he was being interviewed alongside Lou Ferrigno. The host looked at them and proclaimed Boulder was "bigger than The Hulk!" The name stuck for the rest of his career.
  • Living Legend: You can say what you want about him, but take in count that even people like "Superstar" and "The Body" have gave him their blessings, touting him as the greatest American pro wrestler since Goergeous George.
  • Long Runner: His career as active in-ring performer spanned for over 35 years.
  • Made of Iron: The Hulkster has the distinction of being the non-plus-ultra of no-selling. This has a long history in the making but it doesn't have to do with booking or creative control clauses, but with the determination of men like those of his own generation.
    • Back in the old territories days, the hardened, embittered veterans used to have fun stretching and compacting as most people as they could, so their most obvious victims were the rookies. Hogan came from an era when "pay your dues, dude" sounded more like "a pound of flesh", so to speak.
    • Did you know this was the way The Hulkster earned Andre's friendship? Hulk wanted to emulate The Giant, being that charismatic and verbose to make himself seem as "large" as possible. Andre took his promos and the likes as a direct challenge, so he would then proceed to legitimately beat the ever-lovin' crap out of Hogan during many of their first matchesnote . At some point, the fact that Hogan kept coming back and treated the Big Guy with respect despite the animosity he had for 'Mania, got the Hulkster to the point that Andre winded up respecting and befriending him.
  • Manly Tears: He's shed a few over the years.
    • When Andre first turned heel and ripped Hulk's shirt and crucifix off his person.
    • His post match interview after losing the WWF Heavyweight Title due to the second referee.
    • In 1989, when he thought Miss Elizabeth had died (no, seriously) after having Randy Savage thrown on top of her. (This was during the infamous "Megapowers Meltdown" on The Main Event that saw Savage, the WWF World Heavyweight Champion, turn bad on Hogan over his perceived second-billing role in the alliance and Hogan's overly friendly behavior toward Elizabeth.)
    • He shed legit tears in 2002 on SmackDown! after a 15 minute standing ovation from the crowd.
    • And again in 2019, at the tribute to his departed friend "Mean" Gene Okerlund.
  • Masked Luchador:
    • His first gig, actually! It came in the gimmick of "The Super Destroyer". A hooded, invincible behemoth who only could be beaten by DQ or count-out note  This was also a Legacy Character of some sorts, first held by Don Jardine and then passed over from 'Mania to a future frienemy.
    • Read more about the "Masked 'Mania" above on "Charlie Brown From Outta Town".
  • Motive Rant: What ended the Bash at the Beach PPV when Mean Gene demanded to know what Hogan was doing joining the nWo. Hogan's response pointed out that he had done everything a good guy should and the fans had turned their backs on him for it. Had some elements of a Worked Shoot as part of it.
  • Muscle Beach Bum: His gimmick in a nut.
  • No-Sell: As told above, expect this every single time he gets a Heroic Second Wind and his Nigh-Invulnerability kicks in:
    • The infamous no selling of Vader's Power Bomb, one that has legitimately produced concussions and broken backs.
    • In the Smithsonian of this very trope, Hogan vs. The Wall is the Mona Lisa. These two should never have been put in the same ring.
    • He also kicked out Goldberg's Jackhammer, though that was due to Kevin Nash being late to the ring to break up the pin.
  • No-Holds-Barred Beatdown:
    • This was expected during his matches right after his Unstoppable Rage kicked in, more prominently on Main Events or facing an unbeatable monster.
    • His Wrestlemania 19 match against Vinny Mack was even dubbed "The twenty-years in the making" Street Fight. It went on for over twenty five minutes where Hogannote  carried Mr. WWE all the way, proving that nobody worked audiences better than him. Even the most rabid, jaded smarks remember it as a rare fulfilment of their expectations.
    • His legal battle against Gawker over its publication of his sex tape ended up with him winning, Gawker filing for bankruptcy, and the court ruled that Hogan could start seizing Gawker assets.
  • Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: While the animosity is more than justified and has lasted four and a half decades, Bret "The Hitman" Hart reluctantly admits that no matter his opinion of him as a person or performer, he has always respected the devotion and affection that The Hulkster shows to fans, not only to his fans, but with wrestling fans in general. And is also deeply thankful for him showing in Owen "The Rocket" Hart's funeral.
  • Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught: Hogan would routinely do heel spots. Choking, fingernail scrapes, closed fists, even interfering in a match by smacking DiBiase in the back of the head with a chair and setting up Macho Man (the babyface) to get the pin at WrestleMania IV.
  • Older Is Better: Not usually thought of like this, but in comparison to current-generation wrestlers (or for that matter, the generation or so before them), is very old-fashioned in his thinking about wrestling and its traditions. Case in point: During the WWE DVD/hatchet job The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior, Vince McMahon recalls a story from Summerslam 1991 where the eponymous wrestler refused to wrestle in the main event unless given twice the agreed-upon amount of money beforehand.note  According to Vince, Hogan asked if Warrior needed to be hurt. Hogan's response? To candidly admit that he said exactly that, and claim that it was how things were done when he was in the business at his prime.
  • Open Mouth, Insert Foot: The end result for Hogan of Sting foiling his latest attempt at a 10-Minute Retirement scam to get away from The Icon.

    P-R 
  • Panthera Awesome: The Wizard called Hogan "The rare, white Bengal tiger" on the October 14, 1986 WWF Prime Time Wrestling. Wizard later became The Master of the Dungeon of Doom in WCW in 1995, and he, "The Taskmaster" and the Giant would again refer to Hogan that way.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: The "Mr. America" gimmick was born following Hogan being (in kayfabe) forced to sit out his contract after beating Vince McMahon in WrestleMania XIX, but showed back up for wrestling, changing his name and wearing a Captain America-style mask but otherwise doing nothing to his moves, poses, even entrance music. Nobody in the company except Vince noticed or cared, forcing Vince to drastic and bizarre measures to prove that Mr. America was the Hulkster, including an in-ring Lie Detector test (only for Mr. America to pass it without a hitch).
  • Poor Communication Kills:
    • Thankfully no one died but a few careers might have. Hogan announced he would not be returning to WWE because they insulted an aspiring singer, his daughter Brooke, through Jillian Hall's tone deaf gimmick and went on to say he would prove Hulkamania was bigger than WWE. Jillian had a tendency to "sing" in that manner already, she just decided to do so on camera. Most of her act imitated the likes of Britney or Beyonce and she kept it up long after leaving "McMahonland", including a few appearances for TNA. The Hulkster's whole TNA run? He assumed something was about him when there were any number of possibilities, Jillian's might have been the gimmick he needed to convince WWE to give Brooke more of their airtime; it might have helped to elevate Jillian too, she was in a "feud" with Lillian Garcia (a singer whose voice didn't make children cry) and has since "feuded" with Mickie James in the NWA for the same reason. It might have averted TNA's misguided attempt to recreate the Monday Night Wars.
    • He was Properly Paranoid in 2007, he knew McMahon was upset with him for leaking the names of the upcoming Hall of Fame inductees on radio while drunk. Since Hulk had gotten Brooke in an angle already it is not hard to see why he jumped to that conclusion. Still, a lot could have been salvaged with a little conversation.
  • Papa Wolf:
    • He suspended Bully Ray, a man who's consistently sided with him easily more often than not during his three years in TNA. Why? For dating his daughter Brooke. According to Hogan, this broke some sort of unwritten wrestler's code, brother! Fences were supposedly mended on the 1/31/13 Impact Wrestling episode when Hogan finally reinstated the Bully but Hulk apparently subsequently revoked the reinstatement or something.
    • Aces And Eights threatened his daughter. When he returns, he knocks out three of their members with Sting's baseball bat and is absolutely livid.
    • When they ruined her wedding and attacked him and Bully Ray along with the wedding party, that was enough for him to finally recognize Bully's loyalty, revoke the disproportionate suspension he put on Bully, and book a pseudo-rematch of the BFG'12 tables match (Aces & Eights vs. Bully and Sting) the following week.
  • Popularity Power
    • Years after the height of his popularity and success in the industry, Hogan is still wildly popular, especially outside of America.
    • The Hulkster's so well loved, he actually managed to get THE ROCK booed when they fought... and Hulk was a heel then! note 
  • Power Stable:
  • Precision F-Strike:
    • At Bash at the Beach 2000, Hogan faced Jeff Jarrett in a WCW Championship where Jarrett immediately took a dive for Hogan. Annoyed, Hogan shot off with:
      "That's the reason why this company's in the damn shape it's in, because of BULLSHIT like this!"
    • Got another one during his Mr. America stint in 2003, when Vince McMahon was taking the lie detector test. He asks:
      "Are you the biggest ASSHOLE on God's Green Earth?"
  • President Evil: His 1998 "candidacy" for the White House. (Jesse who? ) In the second Nitro of November, Hogan came out in his formalwear—a black and white feather boa—surrounded by Secret Service agents as "Hail To The Chief" played, with Bischoff beside him saluting and a giant American flag unfurling around him.
  • Produce Pelting: His heel turn at Bash at the Beach caused the fans to litter the ring with trash, an act that would continue for a while as the nWo ran roughshod over WCW, though not to the extent that the initial turn at Bash did.
    "As far as I'm concerned, all this crap in the ring represents the fans out here!"
  • Protagonist-Centered Morality:
    • Randy Savage slowly started to turn against Hulk Hogan for eliminating him from the Royal Rumble '89, calling it a betrayal even though it was an every man for itself match, thus making Savage look like a Sore Loser suffering Sanity Slippage. However, when Hogan was eliminated from Royal Rumble '92 by Sid Justice he proved to be such a sore loser he illegally helped Flair eliminate Sid. The crowd cheered when Hogan was eliminated too, so the WWF piped in boos over them, to make it look like they actually supported Hogan for being just like Savage.
    • The first Survivor Series counts as well; after his elimination, he refused to leave ringside until the referee threatened to strip him of the title.
  • Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Hulking up always started with the opponent punching at the Hulkster to no avail. However, more than once this was used against him, usually to push an opponent as a more dire threat than ordinary opponents (namely, André, Zeus and Taker). During his WCW days, this happened at least once when he squared off against The Giant at Hog Wild, where the Giant started Hulking Up.
  • Put on a Bus:
    • This happened with Hogan and his Mr. America persona due to Hogan having a falling out with Vince McMahon (over money, apparently).
    • Again in 2015, when a tape he made with a friend's wife went public which included racist comments.
  • Real Men Love Jesus: A dedicated Evangelical Christian.
  • Red Baron:
    • The "Incredible", The "Immortal", The "Fabulous", "Hulkster" and/or "Hollywood".
    • "Ichiban" (一番 "The Number One" or "The Best") in Japan.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: One of the reasons he and Randy Savage could never team together for too long was that they were both Reds.
  • Ring Oldies: Hogan always looked great for his age, so much so that in Toronto—which used to be Flair Country until the WWF dominated the scene there—Flair sold himself as the establishment heel and Hogan as the scrappy upstart, despite them being only 5 years apart in mileage.
  • Rule of Symbolism: For a fairly brief time in his early heel days, Hulk shaved his chest hair in the shape of a mushroom cloud to go with his Atomic Leg Drop.
  • Rule of Three: Every time he threw punches, back fists, bionic elbows, knife-edge chops or elbow drops.

    S-Z 
  • Sadist Teacher: He was trained by one, Hiro Matsuda, who once broke Hogan's leg, on purpose, to see if he really wanted to be a wrestler.
  • Signature Move: Let's be blunt, several Ring Oldies went over with movesets even more limited than that Hogan was accused for using. Beyond those noted on Finishing Move and Five Moves of Doom he displayed what you can expect from your regular Powerhouse: Standing shoulder blocks,Collar-and-elbow push downs, One-handed Beil throws over the top rope, Meeting-of-the-Minds, Gorilla-pressing/Body-slamming one guy onto another, Neck Lift Choke Holds and the likes, nevertheless some maneuvers no one recognizes him for is the wide range of suplexes, back-breakers, throws, holds and locks he employed time and again.
  • Sore Loser: Hulk himself at the 1992 Royal Rumble, trying to pull Sid Justice over the top rope after his own legitimate elimination, ultimately giving the win to Ric Flair.
  • Sleeves Are for Wimps: If you had 24 inch pythons, you'd want to show them off too! And that's if you could even find anything to cover them in the first place, brother!
  • Spotlight-Stealing Squad: He's been accused, with some equanimity, of always putting himself in the spotlight, even when it's to the detriment of the product. Burying younger talent in interviews (seemingly unable to decide whether his protégés are "the future of this business" or "talentless 'knuckleheads' who aren't ready, brother"), putting himself over despite being booked as the heel, and generally soaking up as much adoration as humanly possible.
  • Start of Darkness: "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His heel turn was motivated primarily by money, fame and a healthy dose of bitterness after the fans started to turn on him so Hulk took the attitude that he was bigger than wrestling and didn't owe either to it or to the public anything, anymore. At Halloween Havoc, a leaner, clean-shaven Hulk wore all-black in his match against the Dungeon of Doom, that tried to awaken "...the darkness within Hulkamania!" The makeover was sufficiently convincing.
  • Stock Parody: He is THE stock parody for professional wrestling, both in wrestling and in media in general. For so long, if you saw a wrestling character in media, he was most likely going to be based on Hulk Hogan. Randy Savage came close, and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker and Triple H reached this level in wrestling but not as much in regular media as Hulk did.
  • Tag Team:
  • Take That, Audience!: When revealing the standard four-sided ring to replace TNA's unique six-sided one, the crowd roundly booed him and chanted "WE WANT SIX SIDES!" His response:
    Hogan: I got one thing to say about six sides: you had it, and it only got you so far. Now we're takin' ya all the way, Jack! No more eight sides, no more six sides, no more stinkin' playpen rings!
  • Take That, Critics! At the 1995 World War 3 PPV, Hogan (alongside Sting and Randy Savage) burns a dirt sheet, which he calls "a rag sheet", telling Gene Okerlund to "Observe this!", which is a shot at Dave Meltzer of the The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and then proclaiming, "The Internet's got all the scoops!" Little did he know that those words would come back to haunt him. They changed the booking of the show after Meltzer got word of it in order to swerve him, but Meltzer had the changes in the issue the week before the PPV.
  • Tonight in This Very Ring: Suicide will take his mask off, brother!
  • Traumatic Haircut: On the October 2, 1995 episode of Monday Nitro, Kevin Sullivan and the Dungeon of Doom took Hogan down and shaved his mustache. Subsequently, Hogan would appear dressed in black and state he was ready to play the Dungeon's game.
  • Tyrant Takes the Helm:
    • Forget breaking the fourth wall; EATING IT would be a better description for Hogan's comments on the November 18, 2010 TNA ReAction.
      Hogan: No wonder this company was in the shape it's in. It's time to get rid o' the trash, the garbage, the worthless piece of crap out here, and we started with Dixie Carter. Yeah, we're gettin' very real around here. We are so, real, it's unbelievable. Because, if you don't get over like I said, you're fired. If you don't draw numbers, if you don't entertain, if you don't put asses in seats, if you don't put the coinage in the piggy bank, you're fired. No more games. No more, "Kayfabe." "It's a work." "I've won thirty-four tag team belts." Who gives a damn, how many... fake belts you won!? If you don't draw money, you get fired around here. If you don't put asses in seats, you’re gone.
  • Underwear of Power: Hogan's famous yellow trunks.
  • The Unsolved Mystery: To the sun of this very day, no one has stated the whos or the whys 'Mania had himself a nasty black eye at his Wrestle Mania IX match against Yoko.
  • Unskilled, but Strong: Hulk Hogan did not have an amateur wrestling background and while he was quite competent on the mat, he was also kind of sloppy and not up to the standard set by Verne Gagne and Nick Bockwinkel in the AWA. That said, Gagne was one of the people who was willing to give Hogan an AWA singles title run despite his "lacking" technical chops, he just wasn't willing to do it on the time table Hogan or the fans wanted it on since they were still paying to see Hogan chase the champ. Then Hogan left and their money chased him... oops!!!
  • Unrelated Brothers: Teamed with Brutus Beefcake early in their careers as the Boulder Brothers, Terry and Ed.
  • Verbal Tic: "Brother", which he took from "Superstar" Billy Graham, "Jack" from Jimmy Valiant and "Dude". A running joke on /wooo/ when Hogan is mentioned is the phrase "brotherdudejack", a combination of some of his most-used tics.
  • Villain Protagonist: Whenever he turns heel, he's this, especially during the nWo run.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds
  • We Used to Be Friends: Three instances as stated on Dark Side of the Ring:
    • The episode about Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth and the supposed involving of Hogan on (according to Randy) their crumbling marriage and subsequent divorce. Though the two had reportedly just started speaking again shortly before Savage's passing.
    • "Dr. D." David Schultz and Hogan were the best of friends back when them both were newcomers at WWF, until Schultz was fired and Hogan turned his back on him. Lampshaded when Schultz showed an old photo of Hogan with the following words written on the back:
    "Old friend, forgot his name."
    • Although he didn't testify against Vince's best interests during the steroid trials, the fact he was called in by the prosecution left a mark in what it was up to that point an amicable working relationship.
  • Wham Line: Bash at the Beach 1996 featured the longtime All-American Face Hogan announce that he turned his back on the fans and that he joined forces with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form the New World Order.
    Hogan: Mean Gene, the first thing you need to do is tell these people to shut up if you wanna hear what I gotta say!
  • What Have I Become?: After his match with Sting at the climax of the Immortal angle, Hogan performs a Heel–Face Turn and turns on Immortal. Next Impact, he explained he'd realized he'd pretty much become nothing more than a thug and he didn't like it.
  • While You Were in Diapers: During his Face–Heel Turn promo at Bash at the Beach:
    Hogan: If it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, you people wouldn't be here! If it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff would be still selling meat from a truck in Minneapolis! And, if it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, all these johnny-come-latelies that you see out here, wrestling wouldn't be here! I was selling out the world, brother, while they were bumming gas to put in their car to get to high school!
  • Worked Shoot
    • In New Japan Pro Wrestling he called the WWF Championship worthless while he was still WWF champion and called the American promotions crap. He even put down The Great Muta saying he wanted to knock out Antonio Inoki again.
    • Bash at the Beach 1996:
      Hogan: These two men right here, came from this great big organization up north. Well, who knows more about that organization, brother?
    • Bash at the Beach 2000: (See Precision F-Strike above) Jeff Jarrett laying down for him, Hogan making his speech, and Vince Russo cutting a promo on Hogan were all works until Russo started making personal attacks on Hogan.
  • Wrestling Family: His nephew Mike competed as Horace Boulder in Japan, ECW, and other promotions before arriving in WCW in 1998. On the October 26, 1998 WCW Monday Nitro, he said his name was "Horace Hogan" and joined the nWo. While in FMW, Horace teamed with his cousin, Mike Awesome.
  • Wrestling Monster: An early example, back in the 70's. With his size and strength, he seriously outclassed almost everybody in the ring and would drag out matches far longer than needed to win just because he could. If you want an idea of what he was like, just watch his appearance in Rocky III.
  • Wrestling Psychology: Say what you will about his tendency to No Sell when making his big comeback at the end of matches and of his overall wrestling ability in general, but when he took a beating in the ring, he took a beating. When on the receiving end of his opponent's overpowering assault, he looked absolutely haggard and could make you believe that the man he was facing was an unstoppable juggernaut.
  • Writing Around Trademarks: Hogan's changeover to the ring name "Hollywood Hulk Hogan" was WCW's way of getting around royalty payments to Marvel Comics; the announcers started calling him simply "Hollywood Hogan", which cut down on the amount of times "Hulk" was used, which cut down on the royalty payments. Eventually, Hogan simply bought the rights to use the name himself.
  • You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry: Either in Kayfabe or in real life. Even Hogan's friends (such as Bischoff, Jimmy Hart and Big Show) say he's a wonderfully generous guy personally, but a rather cutthroat man when it comes to dollars and cents. Others, like Shawn Michaels, said you could tell from the beginning that Hogan was not there to make friends (he had his separate locker room) and was slowly weaving a web of connections.
  • Younger Than They Look: Hogan has always looked at least a decade older than his actual age. His huge size, propensity for tanning and going Prematurely Bald being large reasons why. Nowadays, he's looking pretty good for a man in his sixties.
  • Youngest Child Wins: His elder half-brother Kenneth was in the military, Terry only met him once when his father passed away. His older brother Alan was by Hogan's own admission a troublemaker who almost got killed in a shoot-out, only to finally die of an overdose at the age of 38.



 
Feedback

Video Example(s):

Top

Yokozuna Gets Salted

Yokozuna's first reign as world champion is cut short when Mr. Fuji's usual trickery backfires during an impromptu challenge to Hulk Hogan.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (3 votes)

Example of:

Main / HoistByHisOwnPetard

Media sources:

Report