Real Name: Terry Bollea
Birthday: August 11, 1953
Ring Debut: 1978
Height/Weight: 6'8", 275
Finisher: Leg Drop
Known as the biggest attraction
in World Championship Wrestling, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan
is the now
the recognized leader of the New World Order...however, Hogan
has enjoyed a long and successful
career dating back long before the NWO was born... Hogan is a
five-time former WWF champion and a
three-time former WCW Champion...over the course of his career
he made his mark as one of the
greatest and most popular figures in the history of professional
wrestling, and is still widely known as the
biggest name in the sport...made his pro debut 18 years ago in
the Mid-Southern area, where he was
managed by Jimmy Hart...in 1979, Hogan entered the WWF as a rulebreaker
and was managed by
Freddie Blassie...signed with the AWA, where he seemed to win
the World title from Nick Bockwinkel in
a no-DQ match; the title was stripped however when the contract
was disputed... appeared in the 1983
film Rocky III as a wrestler named Thunderlips; this role would
help make Hogan famous and attract
mainstream attention to himself and pro wrestling...beat Antonio
Inoki on June 2, 1983 to become the
first IWGP heavyweight champion...returned to the WWF in late
1983 after the Iron Sheik defeated Bob
Backlund for the WWF title...on January 23, 1984, Hogan quickly
defeated the Sheik and a new era in
wrestling was born called "Hulkamania"...Hulkamania
ran wild for years afterward as Hulk Hogan,
promoter Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation continued
to ride the wave of
success...perhaps Hogan's most memorable match ever was against
Andre the Giant, whom Hogan
pinned at Wrestlemania III... lost the WWF title to Andre on February
5, 1988 involving twin referees
Dave and Earl Hebner...Ted DiBiase would later attempt to buy
the title from Andre and the belt was
held up...helped Randy Savage beat DiBiase for the title at Wrestlemania
IV...Hogan and Savage would
form the MegaPowers and begin a long and tumultuous relationship
which would continue to this
day...after the team split over their manager Elizabeth, Hogan
beat Savage for his second WWF title...
lost the belt at Wrestlemania VI to the Ultimate Warrior, which
marked one of the rare occasions in
Hogan's career where he was cleanly pinned...Hogan regained the
title from Sgt. Slaughter soon after
Savage aided Slaughter in defeating the Warrior...Hogan's title
defenses became less and less
frequent...lost to the Undertaker at the 1992 Survivor Series...Hogan
would quickly regain the title some
six days later, but the belt was declared vacant (Ric Flair would
win the belt at the 1993 Royal
Rumble)...Hogan defeated Sid Justice by DQ at Wrestlemania VIII
in what was supposed to be Hogan's
last wrestling match...returned however on February 22, 1993 on
Monday Night Raw...Hogan won his
fifth (and last) WWF title at Wrestlemania IX in Las Vegas after
Yokozuna defeated Bret
Hart...Yokozuna's manager Mr. Fuji challenged Hogan and Hogan
beat Yokozuna in less than 10 seconds
to win the belt...Hogan did not defend the title after the win
however, and disappeared from the WWF for
several months to film a movie...after his return, a much lighter
Hogan lost the belt against Yokozuna in
dramatic fashion at the 1993 King of the Ring...the match saw
Yokozuna totally dominate Hogan, though
the match had a screwjob ending as Hogan was blinded by a ringside
photographer's flash and was
pinned...Hogan let down his Hulkamaniacs by failing to beat the
seemingly unbeatable Yokozuna, and
Hogan left the WWF for the final time...signed with WCW on June
11, 1994 and defeated Ric Flair for
the WCW title in his first match...though Hogan was initially
widely popular in WCW, many fans became
tired of Hogan's in-ring dominance and refusal to put other wrestlers
over...became involved in an angle
with a masked man who would attack him repeatedly... Hogan defeated
Flair in a retirement match at
Halloween Havoc on October 24, 1994, and after the match the masked
man was revealed to be Hogan's
good friend Brutus Beefcake (Ed Leslie, who was known then as
"The Brother," then "The
Butcher")...after a pathetic feud, Hogan defeated Leslie
at Starrcade '94...Savage entered WCW, and the
two teamed up again...Hogan and Savage would later lobby to reinstate
Ric Flair, who served in a
managerial role for Vader...Vader and Hogan feuded wildly for
some time...at the Clash of Champions
XXX, Hogan got up after a Vader powerbomb, shattering Vader's
air of invincibility...after Vader was
later forced to team with Hogan, Vader left WCW...Hogan's popularity
continued to decline as he refused
to job to wrestlers, and it was soon felt by many that a change
was needed.