Weight: 275 lbs.
Finishing Move: Legdrop
Titles Held: 6x WWE Champ, 6x WCW Champ, 1x WWE Tag Team Champ
Manager/valet(s): Jimmy Hart
Nicknames: The Immortal One, Hollywood
Real Name: Terry Bollea
If there's one man in wrestling who needs no introduction, it's Hulk Hogan. He first came to the WWF in the early eighties, but soon left for the AWA. He gained national attention because of his role in the movie Rocky III, and brought that attention to the WWF when he returned in early 1984. He quickly won the WWF title from the Iron Sheik, and a movement he called Hulk-a-mania swept the land. Hogan gained mainstream popularity and together with Vince McMahon, took the WWF to heights the wrestling business had never seen before. Hogan built on that with feuds with men like Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff and King Kong Bundy. When his friend Andre the Giant turned against him and aligned with Bobby Heenan, their match at WrestleMania III drew over 93,000 fans, which at that time was an indoor attendance record. Hogan beat the undefeated Giant, and reigned as champ until early 1988.
He lost a rematch to Andre because Ted DiBiase paid the twin of WWF referee Dave Hebner to make a fast count on Hogan. Shortly thereafter, Andre tried to sell the belt to DiBiase, but was stopped by WWF President Jack Tunney, who ruled that a title belt could not be sold to another wrestler. The belt was put up for grabs in a tournament at WrestleMania IV, and Hogan and Andre were automatically advanced to the second round due to both men being the last two champions. They fought to a double DQ, eliminating them both. "Macho Man" Randy Savage ended up beating DiBiase in the finals, with assistance from Hogan. The two formed an alliance, and called themselves the Mega Powers. After beating Andre and DiBiase in a tag match at the first SummerSlam, the Mega Powers started having some problems when Savage accused Hogan of chasing after his manager Elizabeth. Savage turned against Hogan, and drove away Elizabeth in the process. They met for the title at WrestleMania V, with Hogan gaining revenge on Savage and winning back the WWF Title. Savage gained a new manager in Sensational Sherri, and coaxed actor Tiny Lister to step into the ring to face Hogan. Lister had played Hogan's rival in the movie No Holds Barred, Zeus. Hogan and Brutus Beefcake beat Savage and Zeus at SummerSlam, and Hogan continued his title reign.
At that time, the IC Champ, the Ultimate Warrior, was gaining a fanbase that was rivaling Hogan's. The two met in a title for title match at WrestleMania VI. For the first time, Hogan was pinned for the title cleanly. Hogan ran into bigger problems over the summer after nearly having his career ended by Earthquake. Hogan was able to overcome this obstacle, but at the same time Sgt. Slaughter made his return to the WWF. Coinciding with the war in the Persian Gulf, Slaughter won the WWF Title at Royal Rumble '91 and declared allegiance to Iraq with his partners Col. Mustafa (formerly the Iron Sheik) and Gen. Adnan. Hogan won the title from Slaughter at WrestleMania VII, and was joined by the Ultimate Warrior in his feud against them. They beat the Iraqi contingent in a handicap match at SummerSlam '91. At that year's Survivor Series, Hogan faced his toughest challenge to date in the Undertaker. With help from Ric Flair, the Undertaker won the title from Hogan, but lost it in a rematch six days later.
President Tunney vacated the title due to the cheating by both parties and put it up for grabs in the Royal Rumble. Hogan nearly won, but was eliminated by his supposed friend Sid Justice. Flair ended up winning the title, and Hogan was declared the no. 1 contender. This angered Sid, who turned against Hogan in a tag match against Flair and the Undertaker. Hogan had agreed to leave the WWF upon the inevitablity of Vince McMahon being put on trial for distributing steroids, and said that his match against Sid at WrestleMania VIII might be his last. He won the match by DQ, and left the WWF. He returned almost a year later, after his friend Brutus Beefcake suffered a vicious attack from his old nemesis Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster, who were the tag team champions. Hogan and Beefcake went for the tag titles at WrestleMania IX, and ended up losing by DQ. Later in the night, Bret Hart lost the WWF Title to Yokozuna. When Hogan came out to check on Hart, Yokozuna's manager Mr. Fuji issued a challenge. Bret told him to go for it, and Hogan beat Yokozuna in about thirty seconds to win the WWF Championship. At the first King of the Ring, however, he lost the title in a rematch when a planted photographer's camera exploded in his face.
Hogan left the WWF and signed with WCW a year later. However, his same old schtick wasn't cutting it in WCW, and the fans started to turn against him. When Kevin Nash and Scott Hall launched an all out attack on WCW, Hogan joined them and they called themselves the New World Order.
After years in WCW, Hogan finally left after a dispute with booker Vince Russo. In early 2002, he came back to the WWF with Hall and Nash, and laid waste to the Rock and Steve Austin. The Rock challenged him to a match at WrestleMania, and Hogan accepted. A few minutes later, Hall and Nash attacked the Rock and he had to be put in an ambulance. The nWo prevented the ambulance from leaving the arena, and Hogan rammed it with a semi truck. The Rock managed to return for WrestleMania, and beat Hogan. After the match, Hall and Nash attacked Hogan but Rock helped him fight them off. The fans welcomed Hogan back, and he even beat Triple H for the WWE Title at Backlash before losing it to the Undertaker at Judgment Day. He faced Kurt Angle at King of the Ring, but Angle made him tap out to the Ankle Lock. He teamed with Edge, who was a longtime Hogan fan, and they beat Billy & Chuck for the tag team titles in July. They lost them to Christian and Lance Storm at Vengeance. When Hogan saved the Rock from an attack by Brock Lesnar, he was challenged to a match the next week. Brock won after applying a bearhug, and left Hogan bleeding in the middle of the ring.