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149-581: Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Anton Stecher , brother and manager of former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Stecher , was a founding member of the NWA in 1948 and had promoted wrestling in Minneapolis since 1933 through his Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club. In 1952, he sold a one-third interest in the promotion to his son Dennis and Wally Karbo . Stecher died on October 9, 1954, and control of

298-443: A Banzai Drop . This was Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan continued his feud on the international house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan sat out the rest of his contract which expired later that year. On May 3, 1993, Hogan returned to NJPW as WWF Champion and defeated IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta in

447-527: A green screen with footage of fans at sports bars who were supposedly watching the matches live inserted on the screen using Chroma-Key. The pilot can be viewed in the "WWE Hidden Gems" section of the "Vault" menu on WWE Network . In 1996, Dale Gagner, a former AWA employee but no relation to Verne despite the similar surname, removed the "r" from his name and formed an organization in Minnesota known as AWA Superstars of Wrestling . In April 2007, WWE filed

596-589: A lawsuit against Gagner, citing trademark infringement, as WWE owned all AWA properties due to their purchase after the AWA's closure. In a move to sidestep WWE, former AWA wrestler Jonnie Stewart trademarked the name "American Wrestling Alliance" but the United States Patent and Trademark Office later indicated that the request was abandoned in February 2008. In October 2008, the lawsuit against Gagner

745-537: A quitclaim deal between Titan Sports, Marvel Comics and himself wherein Marvel obtained the trademarks "Hulk Hogan", "Hulkster" and "Hulkamania" for 20 years, and Titan agreed to no longer refer to him as "incredible" nor simply "Hulk" or ever dress him in purple or green. Marvel also subsequently received .9% of reportable gross merchandise revenue associated with Hogan, $ 100 for each of his matches and 10% of Titan's portion of his other earnings under this name (or 10% of

894-481: A steel cage match at WrestleMania 2 ), Paul Orndorff, and Hercules Hernandez . In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag team matches with The Machines as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from NJPW's gimmick " Super Strong Machine ". At WrestleMania III in 1987, Hogan was booked to defend the title against André the Giant, who had been the sport's premier star and was pushed as undefeated for

1043-601: A 50/50 split instead. Gagne refused, and kept the belt from him. However, Hogan did admit in his autobiography My Life Outside the Ring that he still intended to stay with AWA and that Gagne had planned to book him in steel cage matches with Bockwinkel in an effort to expand the AWA to the New York market, but he decided to leave when Vincent K. McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) offered him

1192-699: A Madison Square Garden house show before it was discarded altogether. The War Bonnet gimmick was revisited in the WWE's online comedy series Are You Serious? in 2012. The Mega Powers began to implode due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were more than friends. At the Royal Rumble in 1989, Hogan eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match while eliminating Bad News Brown, which caused tension, only to be eliminated by The Twin Towers himself. In early 1989,

1341-503: A championship match for the early version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Hogan was the only challenger in the history of that title that didn't win the tournament to become the no. 1 contender to the championship. After accepting an offer to work on the film Rocky III (a decision Vincent J. McMahon disapproved of and subsequently chose to release Hogan from the promotion for), Hogan made his debut in

1490-403: A convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Earl Hebner (who assumed the place of his twin brother Dave Hebner , the match's appointed referee ). After André delivered a belly to belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner counted the pin while Hogan's left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their business deal. As

1639-517: A couple of years later, and production was transferred to Minneapolis station KMSP-TV . During the AWA's existence, it produced or had a hand in production of several TV programs: In 1985, Gagne began airing weekly programming on ESPN , hoping to help the promotion compete with the national exposure already enjoyed by the WWF on USA Network and the NWA member Jim Crockett Promotions on TBS . However, weekly AWA shows were not treated with any priority by

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1788-408: A double disqualification. Later that night in the main event, Hogan came to ringside to stop André interfering which helped "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeat Ted DiBiase to win the title. Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers . After Savage became WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania IV, they feuded with The Mega Bucks (André

1937-553: A dream match at Wrestling Dontaku . Hogan wrestled against Muta again, this time under his real name (Keiji Mutoh), on September 26, 1993. Hogan also wrestled The Hell Raisers with Muta and Masahiro Chono as his tag team partners. His last match in Japan was on January 4, 1994, at Battlefield , when he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami. Starting in March 1994, Hogan began making appearances on WCW television, as interviewer Gene Okerlund —who

2086-404: A format which became near-routine: He delivered steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. After being hit with his opponent's finishing move, he got a sudden second wind , fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack – a process described as "Hulking up". His signature maneuvers – pointing at

2235-524: A fourth demandment—believing in yourself—and he also became known as "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Hogan became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row, as he won the 1991 Royal Rumble match . At WrestleMania VII , Hogan stood up for the United States against Sgt. Slaughter , defeating him for his third WWF Championship, and then defeating him again in the rematch at United Kingdom-only pay-per-view UK Rampage at London Arena. In

2384-567: A great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around". The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on January 23, Hogan won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his corner ) in Madison Square Garden . The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund, and became

2533-448: A group of thugs in a failed attempt to take Hogan out before WrestleMania. Later that night, Hogan won his fifth WWF Championship by pinning Yokozuna in an impromptu match only moments after Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart for the championship. Hogan reportedly used his influence to have the finish of WrestleMania changed the weekend of the event so he would be champion during an upcoming international and de facto farewell tour. At

2682-422: A huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank you"). Hogan returned by SummerSlam , and he dominated Earthquake for several months in a series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe prompted Hogan to add

2831-427: A job wrestling outside of Florida; Graham agreed and Hogan soon joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory. Hogan also convinced Leslie, who had yet to become a wrestler, to come with him and promised to teach him everything he knew about the sport. In Alabama, Hogan and Leslie wrestled as Terry and Ed Boulder, known as The Boulder Brothers. These early matches prompted a rumor among wrestling fans (who were not aware of

2980-424: A new title belt of similar design. In February 1989, Larry Zbyszko , a one-time employee and Verne's son-in-law, returned to the AWA and won the vacated World Title in an 18-man Battle Royal, eliminating Tom Zenk to end the match. It was also during this time that Joe Blanchard replaced Blackburn as AWA President. Zbyszko's first title reign would last for a little over one year. During this time, he would defend

3129-690: A non-title handicap match in the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois . Hogan went on to repeatedly challenge Bockwinkel for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship , with the matches generally ending in disqualifications (a decision wherein the Championship does not change hands). In April 1982, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel and was declared the new AWA World Heavyweight Champion, only for

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3278-615: A pair of wrestling boots and informed him that he was scheduled to wrestle his first match the following week. In his professional wrestling debut, Eddie Graham booked him against Brian Blair in Fort Myers, Florida , on August 10, 1977, in CWF. A short time later, Hogan donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer", a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by other wrestlers. Hogan eventually could no longer work with Hiro Matsuda , whom he felt

3427-576: A relationship with Memphis-based promoter Jerry Jarrett and the CWA and even allowed Mid-Southern territory legend Jerry "The King" Lawler to win the AWA World Title from Hennig in May 1988. This was after the AWA flirted for months with the idea of giving Greg the belt, even awarding the belt to Gagne at a couple of house shows, only to return it to Hennig on a technicality. It was widely speculated that

3576-400: A result, he became a major figure during the " Monday Night War ", another boom of mainstream professional wrestling . He headlined WCW's annual flagship event Starrcade three times ( 1994 , 1996 and 1997 ) in which Starrcade 1997 was the most profitable WCW pay-per-view in the company's history. Hogan returned to the WWF in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior year, winning

3725-400: A result, he lost the financial resource he was using to keep the AWA up and running and had no choice but to shut down the promotion. In an interview during the late 1990s with Minneapolis television station KARE , Gagne spoke of the devoted fan base in Minnesota and joked about how he may promote again some day, but nothing ever materialized. In 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment purchased

3874-512: A result, the WWF World Heavyweight Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history because then WWF President Jack Tunney decreed the championship could not be sold from one wrestler to another. At WrestleMania IV , Hogan participated in a tournament for the vacant WWF World Heavyweight Championship to regain it; he and André were given a bye into quarter-finals, but their match resulted in

4023-594: A role in the hit film Rocky III , Hogan rapidly caught on as a babyface with AWA fans, and became the AWA's top draw. But even as his popularity grew to unprecedented levels, Gagne refused to make him the AWA World Heavyweight Champion, as Hogan was a powerhouse wrestler. He recognized Hogan's showmanship and charisma and was well aware of his potential drawing power, but still believed a wrestling company should be built around one of its best technical wrestlers (e.g., himself and Bockwinkel). On

4172-406: A roll of dimes. After further review by on-air AWA President Blackburn, and following weeks of speculation by AWA fans, the decision was upheld and Hennig was the new champion. Gagne pushed Hennig and The Midnight Rockers throughout 1987 and into 1988, but the WWF came calling and all three of his top stars would soon be gone. During 1987, in an attempt to remain relevant and survive, Gagne renewed

4321-560: A series of AWA-related pay-per-views were produced. Titled AWA Classic Wrestling , they featured compilations of old AWA footage, hosted by Greg Gagne and Todd Okerlund (son of Gene Okerlund), with occasional appearances by Verne Gagne. The pay-per-views ceased following the acquisition of the AWA tape library by World Wrestling Entertainment . The AWA World Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in Saint Paul, Minnesota , on January 15, 1962, for

4470-508: A series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam , in which Hogan and Brutus Beefcake topped Zeus and Savage. Hogan and Zeus met at the Survivor Series , where the "Hulkamaniacs" faced the "Million Dollar Team"; in the early part of the match, Hogan put Zeus over by hitting him with everything to no effect. Zeus then manhandled Hogan and shoved referee Dave Hebner down twice, with

4619-465: A six-week notice upon leaving the company for booking and syndication -based reasons, most of the talent reportedly told Gagne that McMahon offered them more money to not work out their notices and previously-scheduled appearance dates, which has been disputed by McMahon. Of the talent to leave AWA for the WWF in this time, only Heenan worked out his notice in good faith to the Gagne family. The sting of

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4768-606: A steel cage match on the Saturday Night's Main Event XXI , which was aired on May 27. In May on WWF on NESN , Hogan retained the title by losing once again by count-out against Savage. This was also the last time the WWF World Heavyweight Championship was referred to as such during a televised title defense, as Hogan's next successful title defense against The Honky Tonk Man on Saturday Night's Main Event XXII saw

4917-424: A story in 1988's Marvel Comics Presents #45 , a wrestler resembling Hogan was tossed through an arena roof by The Incredible Hulk, because he "picked the wrong name." Over the next year, Hogan became the face of professional wrestling as McMahon pushed the WWF into a pop culture enterprise with The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection on MTV , drawing record houses, pay-per-view buyrates, and television ratings in

5066-663: A telephone survey asking if people wanted to see Hogan in WCW. On June 11, 1994, Hogan officially signed with Ted Turner 's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in a ceremony that was held at Disney-MGM Studios . The next month, with Jimmy Hart as his manager, Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, defeating Ric Flair in a "dream match" at Bash at the Beach . Hogan continued his feud with Flair (who defeated him by count-out on

5215-563: A television taping in St. Louis, Missouri , on December 27, 1983, defeating Bill Dixon. On the January 7, 1984, episode of Championship Wrestling , Hogan confirmed his fan favorite status (for any WWF fans unaware of his late 1981 babyface turn) by saving Bob Backlund from a three-way assault by the Wild Samoans . Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's

5364-520: A tour of Japan and left with the championship belt. Hansen argued that he was booked as AWA Champion in Japan and was therefore fulfilling his commitment. Gagne disagreed and awarded the AWA Championship to Bockwinkel, using one of the tag team title belts on a temporary basis. Gagne threatened legal action if Hansen continued to keep the belt and it was returned to the AWA as a result (although according to Bockwinkel on The Spectacular Legacy of

5513-518: A week; this was far more than the $ 175 a week they would make working for Tillet. Hogan and Leslie accepted this offer and left Tillet's territory. During his time in Memphis, Hogan appeared on a local talk show, where he sat beside Lou Ferrigno , star of the television series The Incredible Hulk . The host commented on how Hogan, who stood 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) and weighed 295 pounds with 24-inch biceps, actually dwarfed "The Hulk". Watching

5662-719: Is of Italian , Panamanian , Scottish , and French descent; his paternal grandfather also named Pietro was born in 1886 in Cigliano , Province of Vercelli . Bollea had an older brother named Allan (1947–1986) who died at the age of 38 from a drug overdose. When he was one and a half years old, his family moved to Port Tampa, Florida . As a boy, he was a pitcher in Little League Baseball . Hogan attended Robinson High School . He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes , and he regularly attended cards at

5811-496: Is the longest in the title's history) ended when he lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship to The Giant at Halloween Havoc via disqualification. Following the controversial loss (which was due to a "contract clause"), the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became vacant and a new champion was to be crowned in a 60-man three-ring battle royal at World War III , where The Giant cost Hogan

5960-582: The Clash of the Champions XXVIII , thus Hogan retained the title), which culminated in a steel cage match (with Flair's career on the line and Mr. T as the special guest referee ) that Hogan won. After Hogan headlined WCW's premier annual event Starrcade ( Starrcade: Triple Threat ) in December 1994 by defeating The Butcher for the title, his next feud was against Vader , who challenged him for

6109-539: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD, Bischoff revealed that one of the main reasons the AWA shut down was that Gagne was leveraging money against a valuable property he owned along Lake Minnetonka . Local officials wanted to turn the property into a park. Gagne fought the decision for several years, but eventually lost the eminent domain case, leading to the creation of Lake Minnetonka Regional Park . As

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6258-449: The 1990 Royal Rumble match , before losing to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title versus title match at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990. Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 468-pound Earthquake, who had crushed Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on The Brother Love Show in May 1990. On television, announcers explained that both Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to Warrior took such

6407-603: The American Wrestling Association (AWA), owned by Verne Gagne , in August 1981. Hogan started his AWA run as a villain, with "Luscious" Johnny Valiant as his manager. This did not last long, however, as the AWA fans fell in love with Hogan's presence and Hogan became the top fan favorite of the AWA, battling the Heenan Family and Nick Bockwinkel . Hogan's turn as a fan favorite came at

6556-600: The Axe Bomber , a crooked arm lariat , as his finisher in Japan instead of the running leg drop that has been his standard finisher in America. Hogan still made appearances for the WWF, even unsuccessfully challenging Pedro Morales for the Intercontinental Championship on March 26, 1981. On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) tournament winner and

6705-558: The Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) territory from September through December 1979 as Sterling Golden. In the fall of 1979, former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) owner/promoter Vincent J. McMahon , who was impressed with his charisma and physical stature. McMahon, who wanted to use an Irish name, gave him the last name Hogan, and also wanted him to dye his hair red. Bollea claims his hair

6854-513: The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD , Gagne denied bias against Hogan and defended his actions by reasoning that he believed that Hogan's pursuit of the title was the draw for the audience and that "we really didn't need him to be champion". On two occasions, Gagne went so far as to tease AWA title wins for Hogan, only to return the title to Bockwinkel via technicalities. The first was on April 18, 1982. Hogan defeated Bockwinkel with

7003-476: The Tampa Sportatorium . It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first noticed Superstar Billy Graham and began looking to him for inspiration; since he first saw Graham on TV, Hogan wanted to match his "inhuman" look. Hogan was also a musician, spending a decade playing fretless bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands. He went on to study at Hillsborough Community College and

7152-608: The University of South Florida . After music gigs began to get in the way of his time in college, he dropped out of the University of South Florida. Eventually, Hogan and two local musicians formed a band called Ruckus in 1976. The band soon became popular in the Tampa Bay region. During his spare time, Hogan worked out at Hector's Gym in the Tampa Bay area, where he began lifting. Many of the wrestlers who were competing in

7301-505: The WWF World Heavyweight Championship . As McMahon and his Connecticut -based WWF attempted to end pro wrestling's regional era in the mid-1980s (by establishing the WWF as a national promotion), Gagne made several decisions that caused his AWA to lose momentum in the emerging wrestling promotion war, including overemphasizing his son Greg Gagne in AWA storylines (which led to charges of nepotism within

7450-559: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ) in December 1983. There, his persona as a heroic all-American helped usher in the 1980s professional wrestling boom , where he headlined eight of the first nine editions of the WWF's flagship annual event WrestleMania (a record which was broken by Roman Reigns ). Hogan also was a regular headliner of Saturday Night's Main Event and its spin-off The Main Event in which he headlined 31 editions of both shows combined. During his initial run, he

7599-688: The 1940s. He is a member of the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame ( Class of 2013 ) and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ( Class of 1996 ) Anton Stecher was born on February 7, 1889, on a farm just outside Dodge, Nebraska . "Tony" had a substandard education and worked as a farmhand from a young age. His younger brother Joe was born on April 4, 1893. In January 1912, Tony and Joe visited nearby Fremont, Nebraska , to see famed wrestler Ben Roller . As he often did, Roller challenged all comers on

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7748-403: The 1990s. The AWA would become inactive in the fall of 1990 (the last television taping occurred on August 11). As a result, Zbyszko signed with WCW. As his last official act, Gagne stripped the already-departed Zbyszko of the AWA World Title in December 1990. In 1991, Gagne and his inactive promotion officially filed for bankruptcy. Gagne did promote two cards in Minnesota in May 1991, featuring

7897-503: The AWA , Hansen had run over the belt with his truck before returning it). The AWA also had a brief relationship with the European promotion Catch Wrestling Association , through which its promoter, wrestler Otto Wanz , was given a brief AWA World Title reign in 1982. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, AWA television production was headquartered at Minneapolis independent station WTCN-TV , then owned by Metromedia . The ring announcer

8046-464: The AWA and CWA, and Lawler would challenge WCCW Heavyweight champion Kerry Von Erich to a title unification match at SuperClash III in December. Super Clash III was the AWA's first venture into the Pay-Per-View market and wrestling's first collaborative PPV between several promotions. However, after months of hype, the end results were somewhat contentious and relatively unsuccessful. Following

8195-563: The AWA began to lose audiences, as the WWF was gaining wrestling superiority due to the success of WrestleMania I . Later in the year, as this struggle against the WWF progressed, Karbo also sold all his stock to Gagne as well. In September 1985, Pro Wrestling USA would respond to McMahon's rising success by promoting the first SuperClash . Despite this success, the Pro Wrestling USA collaboration did not last, as Gagne accused David Crockett of trying to sign away AWA talent over to

8344-560: The AWA forged an alliance with several NWA promoters, including Jim Crockett Promotions , Mid-South Wrestling , Pacific Northwest Wrestling , World Class Championship Wrestling , and the Continental Wrestling Association . This new promotion was known as Pro Wrestling USA and came about in an attempt to establish a national presence to compete against the WWF. The AWA was also able to sign top wrestlers like Sgt. Slaughter and Bob Backlund . By 1985, however,

8493-518: The AWA had working agreements with Japanese promotions International Wrestling Enterprise (1969 to 1980), then All Japan Pro Wrestling (1980 to 1988, although the relationship was strained in 1986 by the AWA Title debacle surrounding Stan Hansen ), and, near the end, New Japan Pro-Wrestling . On June 29, 1986, in Denver, Colorado , Hansen refused to lose the AWA World Title to Bockwinkel prior to

8642-557: The AWA title and it was awarded to Gagne on August 16, 1960. While O'Connor was considered the first AWA Champion, he didn't wrestle in the AWA until later in the 1960s (when he teamed with Wilbur Snyder to win the AWA World Tag Team Championship ). Gagne was an amateur wrestling champion who had earned a spot on the U.S. team at the 1948 Summer Olympics ; he ran the AWA with a conservative sensibility, firmly believing that sound technical wrestling should be

8791-478: The AWA to return to the World Wrestling Federation shortly after WrestleMania VI , and Colonel DeBeers took over as the team captain for the Snipers (the team name was changed to "DeBeers' Diamondcutters" and Slaughter was said on air to have "gone AWOL " to explain his departure). Babyfaces and heels alike were assigned to teams, forcing bitter rivals to work together, and due to main talent losses many of

8940-665: The American Heartland . Other promoters joined the successful collaboration, and soon thereafter a similar professional wrestling agreement was made. Pinkie George organised a symposium in Waterloo, Iowa with regional promoters, including Stecher, at which the National Wrestling Alliance was formulated. Stecher continued to play a pivotal role in the ongoing success of the National Wrestling Alliance and professional wrestling in his territory. He

9089-559: The Anchor Club and the Whitey and Terry's Olympic Gym. In his spare time, he and Leslie worked out in the gym together, and eventually Beefcake developed a muscular physique. Hogan was impressed by Beefcake's physical stature and became convinced that the two of them should wrestle together as tag team partners. Depressed and yearning to return to wrestling, Hogan called Superstar Billy Graham in 1978 with hopes that Graham could find him

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9238-461: The Beach on July 7, during a six-man tag team match pitting The Outsiders ( Kevin Nash and Scott Hall ) against WCW loyalists, Hogan interfered and attacked Randy Savage on behalf of Hall and Nash, thereby turning heel for the first time in nearly fifteen years. After the match, Hogan delivered a promo , accosting the fans and WCW for under-appreciating his talent and drawing power, and announcing

9387-591: The Beach , where Hogan won by escaping the cage. After successfully retaining the WCW World Heavyweight Championship against Big Bubba Rogers and Lex Luger in two separate matches on Nitro in September 1995. The October 9, 1995, broadcast of Nitro was Hogan's first appearance in an all-black attire. Hogan feuded with The Dungeon of Doom , which led to a WarGames match at Fall Brawl where Hogan's team (Lex Luger, Randy Savage, and Sting ) won. Hogan's reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion (which, at 469 days,

9536-652: The Central States against wrestlers such as Frank Coleman and John Solomon. In 1914, he was wrestling as the Middleweight Champion of Nebraska and on October 15 of the same year he defeated Tom Doctor in Dodge to also become Kansas State Middleweight Champion. On April 22, 1914, he competed in a 5 hour, 18 minute bout against Wesley Cobb in Stuart, Nebraska. Tony went on to have memorable rivalries with

9685-529: The Florida region visited the bars where Ruckus was performing. Among those attending his performances were Jack and Gerald Brisco , two brothers who wrestled together as a tag team in the Florida region. Impressed by Hogan's physical stature, the Brisco brothers asked Hiro Matsuda —the man who trained wrestlers working for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF)—to make him a potential trainee. In 1976,

9834-504: The Giant , which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium in August 1980. During his initial run as a villain in the WWF, Hogan was paired with "Classy" Freddie Blassie , himself a villainous wrestler-turned- manager . In 1980, Hogan began appearing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where Japanese wrestling fans nicknamed him "Ichiban" ( 一番 , "Number One") . Hogan first appeared on May 13, 1980, while he

9983-400: The Giant and Ted DiBiase) and defeated them at the main event of the first SummerSlam . They then went on to feud with Slick's Twin Towers : Akeem and Big Boss Man . In mid-1988, Hogan wrestled at house shows in singles competition with his "War Bonnet", a red and yellow gladiator helmet with a fist-shaped crest. This was notably used to give Bad News Brown his first WWF loss at

10132-794: The MSG (Madison Square Garden) Tag League tournament two years in a row: in 1982 and 1983. In 1984, Hogan returned to NJPW to wrestle Inoki to defend the early version of the IWGP title after that Inoki won in the finals of the IWGP League, becoming the new no. 1 contender to the championship. Hogan lost the match and title belt by countout , thanks to interference from Riki Choshu . Hogan also defended his WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Seiji Sakaguchi and Fujinami, among others, until ending his tour in Nagoya on June 13 losing to Inoki via count-out in

10281-545: The Midwest region. Relationships were also developed with existing promotions in Houston , Memphis and San Antonio . Gagne's westward expansion into traditional NWA territories was made possible due to relationships and business partnerships he had forged for decades—more the result of other promoters struggling to survive rather than by purchase or hostile takeover by Gagne. The AWA would also benefit from, among other things,

10430-827: The NWA backstage at numerous Pro Wrestling USA shows. The AWA released an AWA Remco Action Figure line with the toy company Remco and a series of 30 minute videos entitled "Wrestling Classics", primarily featuring wrestlers such as Sgt. Slaughter, the Road Warriors, Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal , and World Champion Martel. Despite falling behind the WWF and NWA as a major promotion throughout 1986 and 1987, Gagne still managed to find and/or develop legitimate young talent like Scott Hall (later known as Razor Ramon ), The Midnight Rockers ( Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty ), "Bull Power" Leon White (later known as Big Van Vader ), The Nasty Boys ( Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags ), and Madusa Miceli during that timeframe. With

10579-563: The Undisputed WWF Championship for his record equaling (for the time) sixth reign before departing in 2003. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 , and inducted a second time in 2020 as a member of the nWo. Hogan also performed for the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he headlined the inaugural AWA closed circuit supercard, Super Sunday in 1983, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) – where he

10728-463: The United States together, with Tony brokering scores of bouts from 1917 to 1934. After capturing numerous World Heavyweight Championships, at 43 years of age and after some business setbacks, Joe was hospitalised after suffered a breakdown. Tony arranged for him to be moved to a hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota where he attended to his brother until his own passing. Independently wealthy from his decades in

10877-442: The WCW World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl V , where Hogan won by disqualification after the returning Flair's interference. Hogan then defeated Vader (who was managed part-time by Flair) in a non-title leather strap match at Uncensored . Because of the controversial ending caused once again by Flair at Uncensored, Hogan's feud with Vader culminated in a steel cage match for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Bash at

11026-406: The WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan then lost the title to Sting in a match at Starrcade on December 28. In the match, WCW's newly contracted Bret Hart accused referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and had the match restarted – with himself as referee. Sting later won by submission. After a rematch the following night on Nitro , where Sting controversially retained

11175-512: The WWF expansion was not shouldered by the AWA alone. The Mid-Atlantic , Georgia , and Florida territories of the NWA also lost top stars such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper , Greg "The Hammer" Valentine , Jack Brisco , Jerry Brisco , Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat , "Cowboy" Bob Orton , Barry Windham , and Mike Rotunda to the WWF during that same time. Despite this talent raid, the AWA went on to have another successful year in 1984, mainly because of

11324-438: The WWF to pursue a career in film and television. He was lured back to the ring when he signed with rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times , and holds the record for the longest reign . In 1996, he underwent a career renaissance upon adopting the villainous persona of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, leading the popular New World Order (nWo) stable . As

11473-535: The allegations. Due to intense public scrutiny, Hogan took a leave of absence from the company. Hogan returned to the WWF in February 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc. ( Irwin R. Schyster and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase), and officially renaming themselves The Mega-Maniacs , taking on Money Inc.'s former manager "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart (a long-time friend of Hogan's outside of wrestling) as their manager in what

11622-467: The arena as the new AWA World champion. Six days later on AWA television, AWA President Stanley Blackburn stripped Hogan of the title and returned it to Bockwinkel. The second such occasion was on a "Super Sunday" card in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1983. Hogan again pinned Bockwinkel, was awarded the belt and announced as the new champion. This time, Blackburn came to the ring moments after the match and tried to have Hogan retroactively disqualified for throwing

11771-539: The arrival of The Road Warriors and an angle uniting longtime heel Jerry Blackwell with Greg and feuding with former manager Sheik Adnan El-Kaissey . Although aging, most of the AWA's longtime core talent still remained. Stars like Bockwinkel, Ray "The Crippler" Stevens , The Crusher , Dick the Bruiser , Baron von Raschke , Mad Dog Vachon , and Larry Hennig were all still active at this time despite all being in their 40s or 50s. In response to McMahon's expansion,

11920-555: The assets of the AWA from the Gagnes. All footage of the AWA is owned by WWE. WWE released The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA on November 21, 2006. The DVD includes a documentary on the amateur and professional career of Verne Gagne, the rise and fall of the AWA over its 30-year history, along with numerous interviews and features with Gagne, Hulk Hogan, Jim Brunzell , Michael Hayes , Baron von Raschke , Greg Gagne, Eric Bischoff, Bobby Heenan , Gene Okerlund and Nick Bockwinkel. Abroad,

12069-736: The back of the head with his arm cast in a shot meant for Hogan. On Saturday Night's Main Event I , Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Orton in a match that Hogan won by disqualification . Hogan was named the most requested celebrity of the 1980s for the Make-a-Wish Foundation children's charity. He was featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated (the first and as of 2013 , only professional wrestler to do so), TV Guide , and People magazines, while also appearing on The Tonight Show and having his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon titled Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling . Hogan, as

12218-569: The basis of a pro-wrestling company. Starting in the 1970s, Gagne trained his newcomer wrestlers from his farm in Chanhassen, Minnesota . Under Gagne and Karbo, the AWA became one of the most successful and expansive single territories in North America, promoting shows in such major cities as Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee , Chicago , Omaha , Winnipeg , Denver , Salt Lake City , Las Vegas , San Francisco , Phoenix and throughout

12367-405: The cable network, sometimes being delayed, preempted by live programming, or suffering from occasional changes in time slot, making it difficult for fans to tune in on a regular basis. On February 26, 2008, ESPN Classic began reairing AWA Championship Wrestling episodes, circa 1986-1990. The AWA ran only one pay-per-view card, SuperClash III, during its 30-year run. However, From 1999 to 2002,

12516-488: The champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's finishing move). Immediately after the title win, commentator Gorilla Monsoon proclaimed: "Hulkamania is here!". Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training , saying prayers , and eating vitamins . Eventually, a fourth demandment ( believing in oneself )

12665-460: The champion over the top rope a few minutes before the pinfall occurred. However, this match had been booked as a no disqualification match, which prevented this, so Blackburn simply stripped Hogan of the title and once again handed it back to Bockwinkel. The crowd (which had exploded in cheers when Hogan appeared to have won) almost rioted when learning that Hogan was once again cheated out of the title, and Bockwinkel later had to do damage control with

12814-603: The championship was again declared vacant. It was decided that the winner of the 1992 Royal Rumble match would also be declared the new WWF Champion. Hogan entered in the #26 spot, but failed to regain the championship as he was eliminated by friend Sid Justice . In turn, Hogan helped cause Sid's elimination, leaving Flair (who had entered the match as the 3rd entrant) as the winner and new WWF Champion. Hogan and Sid patched things up and teamed together on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX against Flair and Undertaker, but during

12963-501: The company) and failing to make Hogan the top star of his company when he had the chance. Frustrated by Gagne's business decisions, Hogan accepted an offer from rival promoter McMahon to wrestle for the WWF, in December 1983. One month later, Hogan became the WWF World Heavyweight Champion . He and the WWF soon became a mainstream media phenomenon and virtually synonymous with professional wrestling in much of

13112-487: The decision to be overturned by AWA President Stanley Blackburn due to the use of a foreign object during the match. Hogan left the AWA in November 1983. After purchasing the company from his father in 1982, Vincent K. McMahon had plans to expand the territory into a nationwide promotion, and he handpicked Hogan to be the company's showpiece attraction due to his charisma and name recognition. Hogan made his return at

13261-483: The duo broke up while wrestling The Twin Towers on The Main Event II , when Savage accidentally collided with Miss Elizabeth during the match, and Hogan took her backstage to receive medical attention, temporarily abandoning Savage. After ensuring Elizabeth was all right, Hogan returned to the ring and begged Savage to tag him in. Savage, in a fury, grabbed Hogan's outstretched hand with one hand, and slapped him across

13410-431: The earnings, if Titan held no interest). This extended to WCW, whose parent company Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner in 1996 and became sister companies with Marvel rival DC Comics . (As Hogan was well underway with the nWo storyline under the "Hollywood Hogan" ring name at the time, this avoided Time Warner the awkward situation of paying Marvel the rights to the name while owning its chief rival.) In

13559-519: The end of July 1981, when during a television taping that aired in August, Jerry Blackwell , after suffering a pinfall loss to Brad Rheingans , began beating down Rheingans and easily fighting off anyone who tried to run in for the save. Hogan ran in, got the upper hand and ran Blackwell from the ring. Hogan was eventually victorious in his feud with Blackwell and by the end of 1981, gained his first title matches against Bockwinkel. In March 1982, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel and his manager Bobby Heenan in

13708-463: The event, the collaborative effort was over and Lawler was stripped of the title in January 1989. Lawler kept the AWA Title belt and continued promoting himself in Tennessee, Texas, and on the independent circuit as the unified World Heavyweight Champion. Lawler did this in an attempt to leverage PPV revenue from Gagne that was allegedly owed to him, but Gagne never paid him and eventually commissioned

13857-604: The face with the other before leaving the ring. Hogan eventually won the match by himself. After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage, which started a feud between the two. Their feud culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania V . Hogan's second run in 1989 lasted a year, during which he defended the title in two matches against Savage in April that he lost both times by count-out, before defeating The Big Boss Man in

14006-538: The fall of 1991, Hogan was challenged by Ric Flair , the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion who recently arrived in the WWF. The challenge went unmet, as Hogan lost the WWF Championship to The Undertaker at Survivor Series . Jack Tunney immediately granted Hogan a rematch at This Tuesday in Texas six days later, which Hogan won. Flair had interfered in both matches and due to the resulting controversy,

14155-460: The first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, Hogan defended the WWF Championship in a rematch against Yokozuna. This was Hogan's first and only title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall win after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman). The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan

14304-412: The first holder of an early version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship , defeating Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a ten-man tournament. Since then, this championship was defended annually against the winner of the IWGP League of the year until it was replaced by current IWGP Heavyweight Championship , that is defended regularly. Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning

14453-443: The first session in training, Matsuda broke Hogan's leg. After 10 weeks of rehab, Hogan returned to train with Matsuda and blocked him when he tried to break his leg again. Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s In mid-1977, after training for more than a year with Matsuda, the Brisco brothers dropped by Matsuda's gym to see Hogan. During this visit, Jack Brisco handed Hogan

14602-545: The formation of the New World Order (nWo). The new stable gained prominence in the following weeks and months. Hogan grew a beard alongside his famous mustache and dyed it black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black and white clothing, often detailed with lightning bolts, and renamed himself "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan (often shortened to Hollywood Hogan). Hogan won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Hog Wild on August 10 by defeating The Giant for

14751-478: The help of a foreign object that Bockwinkel's manager Bobby "the Brain" Heenan had interjected into the match. After the three count, the belt was awarded to Hogan and he was announced as the new champion. Heenan informed the referee of the object and the referee questioned Hogan about this, but the blood on Hogan's face was evidence that the object had also been used on him. The ref stood by his decision and Hogan left

14900-425: The idea of the younger Gagne as heavyweight champion did not play well with AWA fans, who seemed more interested in the involvement of Verne and Larry Hennig in the feud than they did with Greg actually winning the title, so Verne decided to go with Lawler instead. Michaels and Jannetty would drop the titles to Badd Company around that same time. Facing financial trouble of their own, WCCW then allied themselves with

15049-413: The inner workings of the wrestling business) that the two really were brothers, as few people actually knew their real names outside of immediate friends, family, and the various promoters the two worked for. After wrestling a show for Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, Jerry Jarrett, the promoter for the CWA, approached Hogan and Leslie and offered them a job in his promotion for $ 800

15198-427: The likes of Clarence Eklund but his work as promoter and booker for his brother Joe (whom he also trained) soon became his main focus. The undefeated Joe achieved unparalleled success but battled demons throughout his career and needed Tony to protect him against unscrupulous promoters. With his matches managed by Tony, Joe became one of wrestling's biggest stars. As brothers they were very close and travelled throughout

15347-427: The mat and both Tony and Joe took him up on the challenge. Roller tossed both but was impressed by Joe's natural talent. Following a disagreement with their father about them becoming professional wrestlers instead of farmers, Joe and Tony ran away from home, hitchhiking to Fremont where they joined the local YMCA and began honing their skills in wrestling Tony would soon turn pro in wrestling and competed throughout

15496-644: The match Sid abandoned Hogan, starting their feud. At WrestleMania VIII , Hogan defeated Sid via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman . Hogan was then attacked by Papa Shango and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior. At this time, news sources began to allege that Dr. George Zahorian III, a doctor for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, had been selling steroids illegally to wrestlers in general and Hogan in particular. Hogan appeared on an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show to deny

15645-489: The match, Hogan thanked DiBiase for putting him over and told him that he "owed him one", a favor he repaid during DiBiase's second run with the company in the late 1980s and early 1990s as "The Million Dollar Man". McMahon gave Hogan former tag team champion Tony Altomare as chaperone and guide. At this time, Hogan wrestled Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship , and he started his first big feud with André

15794-401: The midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of Piper's Pit , Hogan was confronted by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, who announced that André was his new protégé, and Andre challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III, where Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan hit a body slam on the 520-pound André (which

15943-421: The national consciousness, vaulting past the AWA and NWA as the premier promotion in wrestling. Hogan wasn't alone in leaving the AWA. Some of the AWA's other top talent, including announcer "Mean Gene" Okerlund , manager Heenan, and wrestlers Adrian Adonis , Ken Patera , Tito Santana , Jim Brunzell , David Schultz , Wendi Richter and Jesse Ventura also jumped to the WWF. As the AWA required talent to place

16092-456: The opponent (later accompanied by a loud "you!" from the audience), shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish whip, the big boot and running leg drop – followed, ensuring victory. That finishing sequence occasionally changed depending on the storyline and opponent; for instance, with "giant" wrestlers, the sequence might involve a body slam . In 1984, similarities between Hogan's character and that of The Incredible Hulk led to

16241-573: The outfit grow. Stecher's career in the boxing business continued alongside his wrestling tenure. He was the exclusive promoter recognised by the Minnesota Boxing Commission and was a prominent figure in the sport from 1944-1954. He put on scores of bouts with boxing stars such as Jackie Graves , Rocky Graziano , Willie Pep , Beau Jack and Sandy Saddler . He joined Maxwell Clayton and Pinkie George to form an innovative working arrangement to bring top-level boxing fights to

16390-426: The participants were jobbers , such as Jake Milliman , Tom Stone , etc. The winners of Team Challenge matches would earn points for their team; at some unspecified point the highest scoring team would share one million dollars , within the story line. Some of the earlier TCS matches took place in a TV studio without an audience; the announcers claimed it was part of an effort to stop wrestlers from interfering, but it

16539-464: The premier WWF icon, headlined seven of the first eight WrestleMania events. He also co-hosted Saturday Night Live on March 30, 1985, during this lucrative run. AT&T reported that the 900 number information line he ran while with the WWF was the single biggest 900 number from 1991 to 1993. Hogan continued to run a 900 number after joining World Championship Wrestling (WCW). On Saturday Night's Main Event II , he successfully defended

16688-510: The previous fifteen years. A new storyline was introduced in early 1987; Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for three consecutive years. André the Giant, who was Hogan's good friend, came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterward, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years". Hogan came out to congratulate André, who walked out in

16837-423: The process. The centerpiece attraction for the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Hogan teamed with legit friend, TV and movie star Mr. T to defeat his archrival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mr Wonderful" Paul Orndorff when "Cowboy" Bob Orton , who had been in the corner of Piper and Orndorff, accidentally caused his team's defeat by knocking out Orndorff after he jumped from the top turnbuckle and hit him in

16986-540: The profits which was made from matches that occurred in 1973 and 1974 between Superstar Billy Graham and Wahoo McDaniel. The promotion was briefly affiliated with International Championship Wrestling (ICW), which had broken away from NWA Tri-State in 1977, and recognized then AWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Bockwinkel as the "real" world champion . Bockwinkel, accompanied by then manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , traveled to Mississippi several times to defend his title. After Gagne's retirement in 1981, he focused

17135-448: The promotion on Nick Bockwinkel , a loyal employee of several years who was a mat-wrestling technician like Gagne had been. Bockwinkel faced numerous challengers for the title during the early 1980s including eventual champions Rick Martel and Otto Wanz , champion Mad Dog Vachon , and perennial contenders Wahoo McDaniel , and Brad Rheingans , but perhaps his most famous opponent would be Hulk Hogan . Starting in 1982 and accelerated by

17284-573: The promotion passed to Karbo and Dennis. Verne Gagne, an amateur wrestling champion, had become a well-known and popular wrestler nationally in the 1950s as a result of his appearances on the DuMont Network . He aspired to become NWA World Champion , but political sentiment within the NWA prevented it. In 1959, Dennis sold his majority stake in the Minneapolis Boxing and Wrestling Club to Karbo and Gagne. They then became co-owners of

17433-487: The promotion. In 1960, after unsuccessfully lobbying the NWA for a title match between Gagne and the NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor , Gagne and Karbo led certain territories out of the NWA forming the AWA. The AWA unilaterally recognized NWA World Champion Pat O'Connor as AWA World Champion and gave him 90 days to defend the AWA title against Gagne. The NWA ignored the challenge. O'Connor was stripped of

17582-634: The rabid crowd, telling the audience to calm down afterwards as well. Hogan attacked Bockwinkel and his manager Heenan. On the DVD The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA , it was revealed that Gagne planned to have Hogan win the belt that night, but only if he would give Gagne the bulk of the revenues that Hogan was earning from merchandise and his periodic main-event performances in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Outraged at being strongarmed, Hogan refused, but nonetheless offered

17731-401: The retirement of Bockwinkel, Gagne tapped Curt Hennig (later known as Mr. Perfect ) as his next champion and future of the company. Hennig, a talented and popular second generation wrestler, defeated Bockwinkel at Super Clash 2 . The overall card was relatively weak, but the title match was a critical success, although the title change was not without controversy, involving Larry Zbyszko and

17880-447: The return of Greg Gagne and Wahoo McDaniel and other stars such as Baron von Raschke , Buck Zumhofe , and The Destruction Crew ( Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom ), but he was unable to revive the promotion. Despite this, the AWA continued re-running matches in their weekly ESPN time slot, and on their syndicated All-Star Wrestling show. The company also managed to release a commercial tape ( Hulk Hogan's Highlights ) during 1991. On

18029-546: The second shove prompting Hebner to disqualify Zeus from the match. Hogan and Beefcake then defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at the No Holds Barred pay-per-view to end the feud. Hogan also had defeated Savage to retain the WWF Championship in their official WrestleMania rematch on October 10, at United Kingdom show First WWF UK Event at London Arena . During his second reign as the WWF Champion, Hogan won

18178-783: The show backstage, Mary Jarrett noticed that Hogan was actually bigger than Ferrigno, who was well known at the time for having large muscles. As a result, Hogan began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden. On December 1, 1979, Hogan won his first professional wrestling championship , the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) , recognized in Alabama and Tennessee , when he defeated Bob Roop in Knoxville, Tennessee . He dropped it in January 1980 to Bob Armstrong . He briefly wrestled in

18327-530: The title against Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match . He met long-time rival Roddy Piper in a WWF title match at the Wrestling Classic pay-per-view (PPV) event. Hogan retained the title by disqualification after Bob Orton interfered and hit Hogan with his cast. Hogan had many challengers in the way as the new year began. Throughout 1986, Hogan made successful title defenses against challengers such as Terry Funk , Don Muraco , King Kong Bundy (in

18476-547: The title against Zenk, Greg, Wahoo McDaniel , Ken Patera , Nikita Koloff , Brad Rheingans , The Trooper Del Wilkes , and Masa Saito . Zbyszko would eventually lose the title to Saito in February 1990 in front of 65,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome at the NJPW/AJPW Supershow. Zbyszko would regain the title in April 1990 at SuperClash IV . During 1989 and 1990, the AWA also pushed Mike Enos and Wayne Bloom as

18625-414: The title being renamed and referred simply as the WWF Championship. Also during Hogan's second reign as champion, he starred in the movie No Holds Barred , which was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star Tom Lister, Jr. , who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus (an "unstoppable monster" who was jealous over Hogan's higher billing and wanted revenge). Hogan easily beat Zeus in

18774-428: The title, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship became vacant. Sting went on to win the vacant title against Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII on February 22, 1998, and Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just cost Hogan the title match at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can. The feud culminated in a steel cage match at Uncensored on March 15, which ended in

18923-466: The title. He spray painted "nWo" across the title belt, scribbled across the nameplate, and referred to the title as the "nWo title". Hogan then started a feud with Lex Luger after Luger and The Giant defeated Hogan and Dennis Rodman in a tag team match at Bash at the Beach on July 13, 1997. On the August 4 episode of Nitro , Hogan lost the title to Lex Luger by submission . Five days later at Road Wild on August 9, Hogan defeated Luger to regain

19072-443: The title. This led to a steel cage match between Hogan and The Giant at SuperBrawl VI , where Hogan won to end their feud. In early 1996, Hogan reformed The Mega Powers with Randy Savage to feud with The Alliance to End Hulkamania, which culminated at Uncensored in a Doomsday Cage match that Hogan and Savage won. After coming out victorious from his feuds, Hogan began to only appear occasionally on WCW programming. At Bash at

19221-421: The top tag team. In early 1989, Eric Bischoff , who was performing office work for the AWA at the time, mostly in sales and syndication, was placed in front of the camera to replace Larry Nelson as interviewer and occasional commentator. The AWA was Bischoff's first exposure to the world of pro wrestling. He would later become a dominant force in the industry, leading World Championship Wrestling to prominence in

19370-487: The two brothers asked Hogan to try wrestling. Hogan eventually agreed. At first, Mike Graham , the son of CWF promoter Eddie Graham , refused to put Hogan in the ring; according to Hogan, he met Graham while in high school and the two did not get along. After Hogan quit Ruckus and started telling people in town that he was going to be a wrestler, Graham finally agreed to accept the Brisco Brothers' request. During

19519-620: The vacant AWA World Tag Team Championship . The AWA World Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tag team tournament held in Rochester, Minnesota , on October 1, 1989, for the vacant AWA World Tag Team Championship . The AWA held a "Team Challenge Series" from October 1, 1989, through August 11, 1990. All of the available wrestlers were divided into three teams: "Larry's Legends", headed by Larry Zbyszko , "Sarge's Snipers", originally headed by Sgt. Slaughter , and "Baron's Blitzers", headed by Baron von Raschke . Slaughter left

19668-564: The video game, Hulk Hogan's Main Event . He was the frontman for The Wrestling Boot Band, whose sole record, Hulk Rules , reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995. Hogan was born in Augusta, Georgia , on August 11, 1953, the son of construction foreman Pietro "Peter" Bollea (December 6, 1913 – December 18, 2001) and homemaker and dance teacher Ruth V. ( née Moody; 1922 – January 1, 2011). Bollea

19817-406: The win by eliminating DeBeers at the end, winning the series and the supposed one-million-dollar check for Larry's Legends. An unsold pilot for a weekly syndicated "Team Challenge Series" television show was taped in 1989 with hosts Ralph Strangis and Greg Gagne at "Satellite Base" calling matches recorded in an empty TV studio with no ring announcer. All wrestler entrances were done in front of

19966-571: The wrestling business, Tony began a wrestling office as a promoter in Minneapolis. He was taken by the city after a trip in the early 1930s and relocated his family from Nebraska to Minnesota in 1933. His first program was on February 21, 1933, with the wrestling debut of football star Bronko Nagurski . Stecher achieved great success and became the nation's top wrestling promoter. He formed business relationships with various promoters in neighbouring states and aided an upstart Sam Muchnick in created his territory in St. Louis, sending him wrestlers to help

20115-486: Was a five-time WWF Champion , with his 1,474-day reign being the longest of the WrestleMania era ever. He is the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991 . His match with André the Giant on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988, still holds American television viewership records for wrestling with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers. In 1993, Hogan departed

20264-696: Was actually due to poor ticket sales for arena shows. The remainder of the matches took place at the Rochester Civic Center , where the AWA taped live matches for its television program from 1989-1990. The final match in the TCS was a Royal Rumble -style battle royal featuring Brad Rheingans , The Destruction Crew , Colonel DeBeers, the Texas Hangmen, the Trooper Del Wilkes , and several others. Jake Milliman again came away with

20413-410: Was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990. Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing , and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner. The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters , using

20562-405: Was already beginning to fall out by that time, and he refused to dye it, simply replying, "I'll be a blond Irish". Bollea wrestled his first match in the WWF under the ring name "Hulk Hogan" by defeating Harry Valdez on the November 17 episode of Championship Wrestling . He made his first appearance at Madison Square Garden on December 17, 1979, defeating Ted DiBiase after a bearhug . After

20711-630: Was an overbearing trainer, and left CWF. After declining an offer to wrestle for the Kansas City circuit, Hogan took a hiatus from wrestling and managed The Anchor club, a private club in Cocoa Beach, Florida , for a man named Whitey Bridges. Eventually, Whitey and Hogan became close friends, and opened a gym together; the gym became known as Whitey and Terry's Olympic gym. Soon after, Hogan's friend Ed Leslie (later known as Brutus Beefcake ) came to Cocoa Beach to help Hogan and Bridges manage both

20860-473: Was dubbed "the bodyslam heard around the world") and won the match after a leg drop. Hulk Hogan vs Big Boss Man on March 7, 1989, at the El Paso Civic Center for a video-taping of a WWF "Superstars of Wrestling" event. Hogan remained WWF World Heavyweight Champion for four years (1,474 days) . In front of 33 million viewers, Hogan finally lost the title to André on The Main Event I after

21009-527: Was longtime Minneapolis - Saint Paul sports broadcaster Marty O'Neill, who also conducted the post-match interviews. O'Neill announced the matches for the local WTCN audience. But fans watching the syndicated version of the show heard commentary provided by Rodger Kent. In the mid-1970s, during a prolonged illness, O'Neill was occasionally replaced as ring announcer by program producer Al DeRusha and interviews were conducted by both Kent and Gene Okerlund . By 1979, Okerlund had permanently replaced O'Neill, who died

21158-682: Was made for Stecher which now is displayed at the Dodge County Historical Society Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea ( / b ə ˈ l eɪ ə / ; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan , is an American retired professional wrestler . He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide, the most popular wrestler of the 1980s and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Hogan began his professional wrestling career in 1977, but gained worldwide recognition after signing with

21307-471: Was now a WCW employee—visited him on the set of Thunder in Paradise episodes. Hype then built over whether Hogan should remain with Thunder in Paradise or join WCW and have an opportunity to wrestle Ric Flair . On the May 28, 1994, episode of WCW Saturday Night , Hogan tore up his Thunder in Paradise contract and stated he was now willing to quit the show and return to wrestling, and Okerlund issued

21456-505: Was settled. The court ruling prohibits Dale Gagner and his associates from certain uses of the AWA name or any other derivatives. As a result, the organization was renamed to "Wrestling Superstars Live". Tony Stecher Anton Charles "Tony" Stecher (born February 7, 1889, in Dodge, Nebraska , United States - died October 10, 1954) was an American professional wrestler , professional wrestling and boxing promoter and trainer. He

21605-562: Was still with the WWF. He occasionally toured the country over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from Tatsumi Fujinami to Abdullah the Butcher . When competing in Japan , Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style American fans became accustomed to seeing from him. In addition, Hogan used

21754-416: Was the booker and trainer for his brother, World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Joe Stecher , and later was America's top wrestling promoter. In 1948, Stecher was one of five promoters to back Paul "Pinkie" George in the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance . In boxing, he was a prominent promoter in the sport, particularly from 1944-1954, and is credited with reviving boxing in Minnesota during

21903-545: Was the first time WWF audiences had seen Hart as a fan favorite. At WrestleMania IX , Hogan and Beefcake took on Money Inc. for the WWF Tag Team Championship , a match the Mega-Maniacs lost via disqualification. Hogan went into the match injured (he had a cut above his left eyebrow, and the left eye itself was fully black). The WWF used Hogan's injury in a storyline that had DiBiase allegedly paying

22052-600: Was the inaugural winner of the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship – and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). During and after wrestling, Hogan had an extensive acting career, beginning with his 1982 cameo role in Rocky III . He has starred in several films (including No Holds Barred , Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny ) and three television shows ( Hogan Knows Best , Thunder in Paradise , and China, IL ), as well as in Right Guard commercials and

22201-431: Was thought of as a generous and fair man by wrestlers and his "kindness was renowned". In boxing, Stecher is credited with reviving boxing in Minnesota and set records for both attendance and gates for boxing Stecher died of a heart attack on October 10, 1954, having felt unwell the night before. His death was national news and his funeral was attended by sports figures such as Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey. A bronze plaque

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