If Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea in Augusta Ga., had walked away from the spotlight 30 years ago, he might have remained a true legend. During the 1980s and 1990s, professional wrestling exploded moving from the regional conferences to the mainstream, thanks in part to Vince McMahon’s desires to hit it big by any means necessary.
Sadly, you can’t get to the top without stepping over a lot of people. Hogan would become the main star of the World Wrestling Federation (now called World Wrestling Entertainment) bypassing Terry Funk, Andre the Giant and Jesse Ventura as the most recognizable wrestle. It helped he had appeared in Rocky III as Thunderlips, a wrestler who gets a little too rough during Rocky Balboa during a charity event.
Hogan was in his late 20s so it was natural he would take the spotlight especially with his blonde hair and horseshoe moustache. So when McMahon and NBC producer Dick Ebersol, who was the showrunner of Saturday Night Live at the time, collaborated together they created Saturday Night’s Main Event. It brought wrestling more to the forefront as people expecting to turn into SNL would catch the show. (Main Event would air on Saturdays when SNL wouldn’t be airing new episodes.) And Hogan became a staple of the Main Event along with other wrestlers like The HonkyTonk Man, Roddy Piper, Ventura and Junkyard Dog.
But unfortunately, Hogan’s theatrics might have worked in the wrestling rink, but his movies (No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny) weren’t the best. His meta-humor cameo in Gremlins 2: The New Batch probably remains his best work. And there’s the rub. It worked in Rocky III as Thunderlips. He worked playing himself in a movie for a few minutes.
But he could never really have the acting abilities Funk and Ventura could. Even Piper proved to be a better actor in the cult classic They Live, although Piper was supposed to be a heel. That’s why Hogan Knows Best was the perfect vehicle for him. All Hogan had to do was be himself or a version of himself.
Yet, Hogan Knows Best wouldn’t last as it was canceled as Hogan was reportedly having an affair and his wife at the time, Linda Claridge, separated and filed for divorce. His son, Nick, also had some run-ins with criminal activities. Then, there was the infamous sex tape between Hogan and model Heather Clem where his bare butt became internet fodder because it was lighter than the rest of his body which was tanned.
The sex tape would lead to a landmark case Bollea vs. Gawker in which Gawker Media Group reportedly posted parts of the video online. This ended up with the courts ruling in favor of Hogan and the end of Gawker. Yet, there’s some speculation it was more about venture capitalist Peter Thiel was upset with Gawker releasing information he was gay. Remember this was 10 years ago.
But t was apparent by now that Hogan or Bollea wasn’t a good guy, especially reports were coming out that he had said many racial slurs. There was video of it. (Incidentally, he died of a heart attack on July 24, 10 years to the day this made news.) Then, more stories came out how Hogan had worked with McMahon over crushing the concept of the wrestlers forming a union. This was explored more in the Netflix docuseries Mr. McMahon. Ventura and other wrestlers tried to get it off the ground.
What some people may not know is how the wrestlers are cheated out of pay and benefits. Of course, Hogan doesn’t want other wrestlers who don’t have the clout he does making more money than he feels they should. Hogan is the star, the Big Kahuna. While this might have made him a capitalist hero back in the 1980s, it made him into a total dick in the 2020s.
I’ve seen the sex video and it’s outrageous. However, it’s become harder to find online that the video of the FBI busting John DeLorean in a cocaine drug buy. I’m almost certain he’s had many affairs over the years with women. Yet, the young woman, Christiane Plante, was 21 years younger and a friend of Brooke Hogan, his daughter. Yeah. Ewwww!!
This is probably why it was no surprise to see Hogan at the 2024 Republican National Convention where he did his shirt-tearing gimmick to support the current President. He went all ballistic over the fact that there had been an assassination attempt that looked more fake than any of the wrestling scenes Hogan had done. But it was apparent to a lot of us, that we were know officially living in Idiocracy.
Hey, I’m not a Republican and I don’t like his philandering. But at least when Clint Eastwood spoke at the 2012 RNC next to an empty chair that was supposed to be Barack Obama, there was some high-brow humor to it. I might not have agreed with what Eastwood said but at least he made some good satire.
Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if we discover that Hogan’s name is also on the Epstein List. Hogan lived in Clearwater, Fla., but I wouldn’t be surprised if traveled with Epstein to Palm Beach, Fla. I mean if someone is going to have sex with their daughter’s friend, they wouldn’t have scruples about sexually assaulting another young girl, allegedly. For God’s sake, Brooke Hogan was only 17 when the show started and Plante wasn’t that much older.
I don’t care that Hogan had conservative values. I don’t care that he was MAGA. No one really cares. This is America. You’re allowed to have whatever political ideas and beliefs you want. It doesn’t mean the rest of us have to agree with you. The issue I have is that he showed us how two-faced he could be. I know it must be hard for many athletes and celebrities who put themselves out there to balance their professional and private lives. But it seemed Hogan enjoyed portraying himself as a staple of family entertainment.
However, like a lot of celebrities, he showed that he had a dark side and could be an awful person. He joined the ranks of Mel Gibson, Scott Baio, Kevin Spacey, Roseanne Barr, Stephen Collins, Bill Cosby, Paul Dean and Michael Jackson. It is possible to change your opinion of people once you discover some horrible truths.
Just because someone made your Saturdays fun when you were young and growing up doesn’t give them carte blanche to be an awful person. Hogan’s legacy will be tainted by all the things he did outside of the rink, not inside. If you haven’t learned by now, professional wrestling is all for show.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 