Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan: 2022 Biography, Net Worth, Family, Income

Terry Eugene Bollea was born on August 11th, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia. He began what was to become a legendary career in August 1977 when he debuted for Eddie Graham’s Championship Wrestling from Florida. His first match was a loss to another future WWE star, B Brian Blair of the Killer Bees tag team.

Bollea moved on from the CWF only a few months later due to differences with his trainer, Hiro Matsuda, and took on work managing a private club in Florida. After two years, he made his return to the ring alongside his friend, Ed Leslie, who later became Brutus ‘The Barber’ Beefcake. After teaming together in Alabama, the pair were picked up by the Continental Wrestling Association in Memphis. It was here that Bollea was given the ‘Hulk’ nickname after he appeared on a chatshow alongside ‘The Incredible Hulk’ actor, Lou Ferrigno, and dwarfed the musclebound star.

In 1979, he made his first appearance for the then-World Wrestling Federation, then run by Vincent J. McMahon, the father of former WWE Chairman Vincent K. McMahon. It was McMahon who renamed Bollea Hulk Hogan.

During his initial run with the company, Hogan made an impression with a winning streak that included victories over Ted Dibiase, Tito Santana and Dominic DeNucci. The only blemishes on his record came at the hands of Andre The Giant, with several of the pair’s matches ending in double count-outs before The Giant defeated Hogan in Baltimore, Maryland in April 1980.

While still making appearances for the WWF, Hulk Hogan split his time with New Japan Pro Wrestling where he was a popular act and achieved wins over top stars including Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami and even the founder of NJPW, Antonio Inoki himself.

Hogan parted ways with WWF in 1981 and went on to make his big-screen debut as the pro-wrestling character ‘Thunderlips’ in Rocky III. After filming the role, The Hulkster went back to wrestling, this time in the AWA. He soon became a fan favourite main event star in the promotion, but was unable to defeat the champion at the time, Nick Bockwinkel.

In 1983, Hulk Hogan made his return to the WWF, now under the control of Vincent J. McMahon, and was immediately catapulted to the top of the company when he defeated The Iron Shiek to win the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in Madison Square Garden. the era of Hulkamania had arrived.

Over the next few years, Hulk Hogan became a megastar and a household name as the WWF expanded into a national company and broke into the mainstream of US pop culture. With the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection in full swing in 1985, Hogan headlined the first WrestleMania, teaming with A-Team star Mr. T to defeat Rowdy Roddy Piper and ‘Mr. Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff.

As the quintessential American Patriot who always said his prayers and took his vitamins, Hulk Hogan continued to gain in popularity. He could be seen everywhere from magazines to cereals, and even his own cartoon, ‘Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling’. He was also a star guest on numerous TV shows including hosting Saturday Night Live.

Back in the WWF, Hogan headlined the first eight WrestleManias and saw off the company’s biggest villains like King Kong Bundy and Sgt. Slaughter. He also reignited his rivalry with Andre The Giant, who was part of Bobby Heenan’s ‘Family’ when the two clashed at WrestleMania 3. At the event, Hogan bodyslammed Andre in one of the most iconic moments ever seen at The Showcase of the Immortals.

In 1988, Hogan teamed up with another popular star, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage with the pair being known as The Mega Powers. However, Savage turned on Hogan, suspecting he had a romantic interest in Savage’s wife, Miss Elizabeth. Things came to a head at WrestleMania V when the pair finally met in the ring, with Hogan coming out on top to capture the WWF Championship for the second time.

This time, his reign lasted for a full year and featured victories against Savage in several rematches as well as a feud with Zeus, his co-star in the movie, ‘No Holds Barred’. Hogan’s second championship run came to an end in April 1990 at WrestleMania 6 when he was defeated in a blockbuster Title vs. Title match against The Ultimate Warrior.

After taking some time off, Hogan returned at SummerSlam to begin a rivalry with Earthquake that lasted several months. In January 1991, he won his second Royal Rumble match, earning a spot in the main event of WrestleMania VII where he defeated Sgt. Slaughter to regain the WWF Championship.

Later that year, Hulk Hogan took a leave of absence after being embroiled in a scandal which saw him accused of purchasing steroids illegally from Dr. George Zahorian, something he denied during a TV interview. Zahorian was later convicted of the sale of steroids to numerous wrestlers in the WWF.

This eventually led to Vince McMahon being charged with conspiring to distribute the drugs and his infamous trial in 1993. Hulk Hogan took the stand during proceedings and admitted his own steroid use, but denied McMahon had ever been involved.

Hulk Hogan’s last televised match during this run in the WWF ended in defeat when Yokozuna was able to overcome him at King of the Ring to regain the WWF Championship. Following the bout, Hogan took part in the company’s European Tour before returning to NJPW for a few matches involving The Great Muta after his contract expired.

In June 1994, amid much fanfare, Hulk Hogan signed for the WWF’s up-and-coming competitor, World Championship Wrestling. Only weeks later, he re-established himself as a top star by defeating Ric Flair to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match.

Hogan held on to the title for over a year before losing it to Paul Wight – then known as The Giant – in his debut match in WCW. The loss was controversial, however, as The Giant won by DQ after Hogan’s longtime manager Jimmy Hart attacked him with the belt in front of the referee. Hart then turned on Hogan and hit him with the belt as well, solidifying his heel turn as he joined The Dungeon of Doom.

The next few months would see an alliance form between the Dungeon and The Four Horsemen as they attempted to end Hulkamania. This culminated in Hogan reforming The Mega Powers with Randy Savage to defeat the members of the alliance in a ‘Doomsday Cage Match’.

Later in 1996, Hulk Hogan took part in one of the most pivotal moments in wrestling history when he appeared at Bash At The Beach to assist Kevin Nash and Scott Hall against Savage, Sting, and Lex Luger. Turning heel for the first time in over a decade, he announced the formation of the New World Order to close the show as the trio were hit with a barrage of trash.

The nWo quickly became the hottest thing in wrestling and led to WCW decisively overtaking the WWF in ratings during the Monday Night War between Nitro and Raw.

During this time, Hogan began calling himself ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan and won the WCW Championship for the second time by defeating The Giant. He went on to feud over the title with Lex Luger – who won the championship only to lose it back to Hogan – and then Sting, who also defeated Hogan for the title.

Over the following months, the nWo expanded to include dozens of members. Tensions inevitably began appearing in the ranks and ultimately led to Hogan and Nash splitting the group in 1998, with Hogan leading nWo Hollywood and Nash having nWo Wolfpac. The two groups feuded for several months and saw Hogan having matches with the likes of Diamond Dallas Page, Scott Hall, and Bret Hart as well as reigniting his rivalry with Sting.

By January 4th, 1999, Kevin Nash held the WCW Championship and was scheduled to defend the belt against Hulk Hogan on Nitro. This resulted in the infamous ‘Fingerpoke of doom’ incident where Hogan jabbed Nash in the chest and the champion fell over to allow Hogan to pin him for the title, so reuniting the two nWo factions.

Hulk Hogan lost the title to Ric Flair that March and later suffered an injury that put him on the shelf for several months. On his return, Hogan recaptured the championship from Randy Savage, and spent most of the year defending the belt against the likes of Sid Vicious, Randy Savage, and Kevin Nash, who had turned on him once again. He lost the title to Sting that September, and in the October ‘rematch’ he refused to wrestle, instead lying down in the middle of the ring and simply taking the pin. He then took another lengthy leave of absence from the company.

By 2000, WCW was losing to the WWF on a regular basis and the creative direction was heavily criticised. One of the most memorable moments of this time took place not long after Hogan returned. At that year’s Bash at the Beach, Hogan was set to face Jeff Jarrett for the WCW Championship.

In real life, Hulk Hogan and the head of WCW creative, Vince Russo had a heated argument with Hogan wanting to win the title while Russo wanted Jarrett to retain it and lose it later in the night. The situation led to Russo booking Jarrett to lie down for Hogan and take the loss. However, after it happened Russo came out to the arena and nullified the result before publicly firing Hogan, ending his time with WCW for good.

Following the incident, Hulk Hogan took time to get much-needed surgery on his knees. While he was out of action, WCW was purchased by the WWF in 2001.

In 2002, Hogan returned to the company that made him a household name as a heel and part of the reformed nWo. He didn’t last long in the group, however, as when he faced The Rock at WrestleMania 18 in an ‘Icon vs. Icon’ match, he had become a babyface by the end, showing respect to The Rock event though The People’s Champion had defeated him. This led to the other nWo members, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash turning on him.

From then on, Hogan returned to wearing his traditional red and yellow outfits rather than the black and white nWo colours. He captured the WWF Undisputed Championship later in 2002, notably becoming the last man to hold a WWF Championship as the company became ‘WWE’ during his run.

Hogan lost the title to The Undertaker only weeks after winning it and moved on to have feud with Kurt Angle, who handed him his first submission loss. He had a brief Tag Team Championship reign with Edge and then feuded with Brock Lesnar. Lesnar defeated Hogan with a Bearhug before viciously assaulting him after the match, writing him off TV for several months.

When Hulk Hogan returned, he feuded with Vince McMahon, culminating in a Street Fight at WrestleMania 19 from which he emerged victorious. Following the win, in the storyline, McMahon forced him to sit out the rest of his contract, but Hogan returned under a mask as ‘Mr. America’. He performed under the mask for several weeks, but quit in real life in July 2003, seemingly over frustration with his creative direction.

Hulk Hogan next re-emerged in WWE in 2005 when he was inducted into that year’s Hall of Fame class. Soon after, he teamed with Shawn Michaels to defeat the heel team of Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. Weeks later, Michaels rescued Hogan from an attack by Carlito and Kurt Angle on Raw, only to level him with a Superkick after they defeated the pair later in the night. This resulted in the two facing off for the first time ever at SummerSlam.

Their bout has become infamous for HBK’s over-the-top theatrics when taking any move from Hogan. This was due to Michaels becoming frustrated with Hogan’s demands for the multi-time World Champion to turn heel and lose the match while refusing to allow him a return victory. Hogan’s last match with WWE at that time took place at the following year’s SummerSlam and saw him defeat Randy Orton.

In 2009, Hogan joined TNA – now IMPACT Wrestling – alongside Eric Bischoff. By the time he started with the company, Hogan’s wrestling days were close to being over and he rarely stepped in the ring, but he became a regular onscreen presence and held a lot of influence behind the scenes.

This translated to the two taking power in storyline as well, with them heading a heel faction known as Immortal which also included Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, and Jeff Hardy, who they helped win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The pair tricked Dixie Carter into signing ownership of the company over to them. Alongside Ric Flair’s Fortune group, Immortal dominated TNA for some time. At the end of 2010, Carter regained control of the company and Hogan took time off for back surgery.

When he came back in 2011, Hogan set his sights on his former WCW rival Sting and the pair eventually faced off in a singles match at Bound For Glory that October. This proved to be Hulk Hogan’s last televised match and saw him lose to Sting.

The following January, he fought in two tag matches during TNA’s UK tour, teaming with Sting and James Storm against the team of Bobby Roode, Bully Ray & Kurt Angle. The second match, which took place in Manchester on January 27th, resulted in Hogan’s team winning and turned out to be the last time he would compete in the ring.

For the rest of the year, Hogan was embroiled in a feud with Aces & Eights. As he couldn’t compete, he assisted others against the group, including Bully Ray, who later betrayed him, revealing he was the leader of the heel faction. Soon after this, Hogan was written off TV and he left the company.

Afterwards, Hogan reconciled with WWE and made numerous appearances for the company, hosting WrestleManias and making cameos at legends nights. In 2015, however, video emerged of him making racist remarks and, while he apologised for the comments, WWE terminated his contract and removed him from the Hall of Fame.

In 2018, WWE reinstated Hulk Hogan in the Hall of Fame and began using him onscreen again. His last major appearance came at WrestleMania 37 in 2021 where he co-hosted alongside Titus O’Neill.

Net Worth

As of November 2022, Hulk Hogan has an estimated net worth of $25 million, making him the 7th richest wrestler in the world.

Family

Hulk Hogan married his first wife, Linda Claridge, in 1983. The couple divorced in 2009 after 26 years together. They have a daughter, Brooke, who was born in May 1988 and a son, Nick, born in July 1990.

Hogan then began a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel and the two wed in December 2010. The pair were together for over ten years before divorcing in 2021.

Income

Hulk Hogan is estimated to earn $2 million per year through acting, pro-wrestling, and his endorsements.

Record

According to Cagematch.net, over the course of his 35-year career, Hulk Hogan competed in 2104 matches, with a record of 1574 wins, 396 defeats and 134 draws. That puts his career win percentage at an impressive 74.8%.

Figures are correct as of November 21st 2022.

WWE Career

• WWF/WWE Championship – 6 times
• WWE Tag Team Championship – 1 time
• Royal Rumble – 2 times in 1990 and 1991
• WWE Hall of Fame inductee – 2 times:
  • Class of 2005
  • Class of 2020 – as a member of the New World Order

WCW Career

• WCW World Heavyweight Champion – 6 times

Charity

Over the course of his lengthy career, Hulk Hogan has supported numerous charities. These have included the Make-A-Wish Foundation, American Diabetes Association, 50 Legs, and The Special Olympics.