Hulk Hogan. A legacy of triumph and trails (1953-2025)

American wrestler Terry Bollea aka Hulk Hogan, sadly passed away at his home in Clearwater Florida on Thursday the 24th July, 2025. Before I say anything else, I'd be remiss to not start with the obvious. Hogan wasn't only the face of the 80s, he was and forever will be the face of Pro-Wrestling as a whole.

Putting any personal opinions of Terry Bollea as a man aside, the impact he had on me as well as others is simply undeniable. People say that without Hogan, there very well may not be a pro wrestling industry. It sounds like hyperbole, but having done my own research and being a fan now for over 20 years, it's hard to argue against that. Without him, there is quite possibly no WrestleMania. With no WrestleMania, it's an even bigger possibility that the idea of a supercard broadcast on PPV would have failed and the WWF/E could have gone bust. I fully understand that it was ‘Vince's vision’ that ultimately made WrestleMania viable, but Hogan was undoubtedly the lynchpin to any success the early events received financially. 

Without his mainstream appeal and ability to crossover into pop culture, we could live in a world where Pro Wrestling is viewed as niche as tobogganing. The WWF nearly went bust again in 93, the reason they didn't is now owed to the rise in ‘attitude’, again attributed to the direct threat of WCW. Who was pulling in the ratings for WCW while making them a viable threat? None other than Hulk Hogan! Who headlined the first 7 out of 8 WrestleManias ensuring its fiscal success and sustainability going forward? Yep, you guessed it, Hulk Hogan.

Say what you want about his politics, in-ring ability or numerous scandals. But as a PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER, there is simply no one more important than him (in North America at least) and I'd go as far as to say no one will ever reach those levels again. Why? Because they don't have to. Hogan already made wrestling main-stream enough where even people who HATED it, knew two things. The name and brand of the WWF/WWE, and his name. Hulk Hogan. 

Unfortunately, as with most things there is always a counter balance. Sadly, he left himself a more complicated legacy before passing away. Allegations of racism (of which he never offered a full and frank apology) combined with his affiliation to the Republican party in 2024 going as far as to make a rather bizarre speech at the RNC (Republican National Convention) left a sour taste in the mouths of many wrestling fans. So much so, that his final on-screen appearance for the company that many credit him for building (WWE/F) led to him receiving a chorus of boos. He was a deeply fascinating person also, as he seemed to think he had to rewrite his own history constantly, with lies that seemed to outrun themselves. A more lighthearted example of this being when he claimed that the reason he was booed that night was owed to the Los Angeles based crowd who were simply booing the nWo ‘Hollywood Hogan’ character. Now obviously there's no clean and easy metric to ascertain whether this was accurate, we can however use common sense to deduce the fact that a 2025 crowd simply didn't care about Hulk Hogan the wrestler anymore, and more likely than not they also disliked Terry Bollea as a man. 

Even in the ring he wasn't always viewed as the most charitable person, accused of informing Vince McMahon of Jesse Ventures attempts at forming a union, which would have granted the workers benefits such as health care and possibly a pension post-retirement. 

To this day, one of the most iconic catchphrases now associated with him is ‘That doesn't work for me brother’, a nod to his refusal to, at times, do business with and for other workers. 

Circling back to his affinity for stretching the truth at times, here's what I personally found strange. He undoubtedly lived an extremely interesting life that saw a lot, and I mean A LOT, of success. So there was never any need for him to embellish in the ways that he so often did. Whether it be his claims that he was offered a spot in death-metal band Metallica, or him saying that he wrestled “400 days in a calendar year” owing the extra 35 days to the time difference flying to and from Japan. It was, in my opinion, simply unnecessary. 

But at the end of the day, there are people in the same industry who have done much worse. Intentionally injured, or sometimes even killed others. Some have been implicated in sexual assault scandals. As far as we know, the Hulkster has never done any of these things, so your view on him as a man really comes down to your tolerance for his political views, the 2017 racism scandal, and his view on the industry and how he ruthlessly operated to position himself as number one.

My take is this. People say ‘separate the art from the artist’ and for Hogan, personally speaking, that's relatively easy for me to do. People do make mistakes, the only difference being, his mistakes were all extremely public.

I do find it pertinent to state that I IN NO WAY CONDONE racism, or any of the views he has expressed. (Yes, I wrote that in all caps intentionally) 

If he had made a full and frank apology it would have made it much easier for me to say I can separate his personal life from the in-ring one, but having sat with these complicated feelings of my own for nearly a week now, I feel like I owe it to myself to provide some clarity regarding my opinion of him. Towards the end of his life, the line between Terry Bollea and Hulk Hogan was so blurred, it was practically indistinguishable. That seems to be the case for most wrestlers. If you live the gimmick for long enough, it can eventually engulf you.

I'd like to finish by saying this. Hulk Hogan inspired countless children and young dreamers to become wrestlers. If you're of a certain age, there's an exceptionally high possibility, your favourite wrestler's favourite wrestler growing up as a kid, was none other than Hulk Hogan. I wasn't a ‘Hulkamanic' as I was born in the wrong era, but growing up I idolised John Cena who was an exceptionally similar character (on screen) so I can imagine how many 80s kids must be feeling right now. Hulk Hogan was more than Pro-Wrestling, he was Americana personified. His image and look are what most people probably imagine if you were to say to them ‘what do you think a pro-wrestler looks like’. I would have liked to have published a more in-depth retrospective of his life and accomplishments, but sadly it simply wasn't feasible due to other commitments at this moment in time.

The only thing left to say, is as far as what you did for the sport I love, the sport everyone reading this most likely loves, is thank you Hulk.

He was a controversial figure for sure, both inside and outside of the ring. But geniuses usually are, and any mount rushmore of wrestling will forever have your name and face etched upon it.