Wrestling Legend Passes

The landscape of professional wrestling would be very different today if it wasn't for the megastar that was Hulk Hogan. he changed the way the mainstream viewed the industry of pro wrestling. He became that first big mega star that the industry needed when they began becoming more of a public view. A lot of what the wrestling industry has become today can be traced back to Hulk Hogan and Hulkamania running wild in the mid to late 80s. The world lost the superstar earlier this week, passing away at his home in Florida at the age of 71.

When the name Hulk Hogan gets brought up in conversation, it gets looked at from two different viewpoints. The character, and the man behind the character.

The man behind the gimmick, Terry Bollea, was very different than what we saw on TV and in the media. That aspect of the person, we won't dive into here. There's been plenty talked about the person that I really don't fell like getting into here. No what will be talked about here and now was the character of Hulk Hogan.

What the Hulkster did with Hulk-a-Mania runnimg wild in the late 80s and beyond changed the world of professional wrestling and brought it full force into the mainstream. It helped usher in a new era and viewpoint on the wrestling world. It almost cannot be measured.

Sure, there were people in the wrestling industry who had a leg up of sorts on Hulk. Guys like Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat could out wrestle, out talk, and have maybe a little more showmanship than Hogan. But Hulk had the right mix of all of it and he came in at the right time. He was the driving force behind Wrestlemania. he helped power the Monday Night Wars when he was in WCW. When Hulk was really at the top of his game at the turn of the decade going from the 80s to the 90s, it was a huge time for the wrestling industry and Hulk was the right guy for it at the right place at the right time.

Not only did he make wrestling seem like kind of a cool thing to do at that time, he laid the groundwork for not only wrestling as it is today, but for what wrestlers could be able to do outside of wrestling. You look at what guys like the Rock, Batista, and John Cena have been able to do transitioning from wrestling to a big deal in Hollywood. Hulk was the first one to do that. He became the first wrestler of note to really be doing movies, TV shows and even TV commercials. Other stars of the industry soon followed that path. If it wasn't for Hulk taking that first step, we wouldn't have a lot of what we have in the industry now in 2025.

So thank you Hulk Hogan for everything you did for the wrestling industry. HULKAMANIA WILL LIVE FOREVER!