Terry Bollea was a noted body builder in his home town of Venice Beach California and gained the attention of Jack and Gerry Brisco. The legendary former NWA World Champions convinced Bollea to give wrestling a try and since Hogan was a life long fan of the mat wars, it wasn't a hard sell. Bollea trained under Hiro Matsuda for two years, even after Matsuda broke his leg after the very first training session. He wrestled his first match in Tallahassee Florida in August of 1977 under the name "The Super Destroyer", defeating B. Brian Blair, who would go on to be part of the Killer Bees. He would also wrestle under the names Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and Sterling Golden before settling on the name Hulk Hogan. He won his first title in the NWA, holding the Southeastern Heavyweight Championship for Alabama and Tennessee. In January 1979, Hogan got his shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Title, as well, in a losing effort to Handsome Harley Race. 

    In November of 1979, Hulk Hogan joined the World Wrestling Federation as a top heel under Vince McMahon Sr and his son Vince McMahon Jr, where Vince Sr gave him the nick-name "The Fabulous" Hulk Hogan. Hogan went on an immediate winning streak, destroying preliminary superstars and, in some cases, doing so in handicap match. Hulk Hogan debuted at Madison Square Garden in December of that year, defeating Ted DiBiase in just over 10 minutes. The McMahons worked to secure a deal with Marvel Comics and began billing Hogan as "The Incredible" Hulk Hogan, though a dispute arose to end that deal. Hogan's character was that of an arrogant heel managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie. He was matched against smaller wrestlers, making Hogan appear to be a giant of the ring. With Blassie in his corner, Hogan feuded with the WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bob Backlund, Tony Atlas and the legendary Andre the Giant, who defeated Hogan by disqualification at Shea Stadium in August of 1980. Hulk Hogan left the WWWF when Vince McMahon Sr refused to grant Hogan permission to appear in Rocky III as Thunderlips. The elder McMahon did not approve of mixing acting with wrestling, unlike his son, and when Hogan accepted the role, Vince Sr. fired him and vowed he would never again compete in the WWWF. 

    After gaining national fame for his appearance in Rocky III, Hogan joined Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association with the same gimmick and took on Luscious Johnny Valiant as his manager. Hogan, however, was well liked and thus turned face to feud with Nick Bockwinkle over the AWA World Heavyweight Title. Gagne, a fan of the old school, had a rocky business relationship with Hogan and the two bickered over t-shirt royalties, touring revenue and other issues. Hulk Hogan had enough of the politics in the AWA and toured Japan with great success, having classic bouts with stars like Abdullah the Butcher and Antonio Inoki. Hogan, while in Japan, wrestled a more technical style as opposed to his brawling style in the United States. His greatest success in Japan came in June of 1983 when Hogan won the first International Wrestling Grand Prix tournament, defeating Inoki in by TKO in the finals. Hogan was so popular that he recorded a music album. 

    Hulk Hogan, despite it all, was ready to go back to the United States. With Vince McMahon Sr. enjoying retirement, Vince McMahon Jr. targeted Hogan as the new top draw of his company, capitalizing on Verne Gagne's inability to work well with the charismatic superstar. Hogan returned to the WWF in 1983 to save Bob Backlund from a three on one attack by the Wild Samoans and Captain Lou Albano. Backlund, by then unseated by the Iron Sheik as the WWF Champion, was on his last legs in the WWF, but still well liked and the partnership enabled Backlund to pass the torch, perhaps accidentally, and Hogan would go on to defeat the Iron Sheik for his first WWF Championship on January 23rd, 1983 at Madison Square Garden after breaking out of the Iron Sheik's finishing move, the camel clutch. What made this match famous and significant was that the Iron Sheik claimed that Verne Gagne had offered him $100,000 to break Hogan's leg during the match, however, the Sheik was obviously not interested in such a move. Verne and his family continue to refute this rumour, however, it would seem that Hogan and the Iron Sheik see it another way. 

    Hulkamania had arrived in the WWF, regardless, and Hogan helped drain the AWA of some of its top talents. Bobby Heenan, who noted that he didn't enjoy working in the AWA by calling it "All the World's Assholes" while accepting his Hall of Fame plaque in 2005, jumped ship along with Mean Gene Okerlund, Ken Patera, Andre the Giant (full time), and many more as time went on, leading the AWA to become bankrupted by the WWF talent raids that would bring in such stars as the Rockers, Sensational Sherri Martel, Rick Martel, Curt Hennig and a host of others in the coming years. Hogan instituted the three demandments of all Hulkamaniacs: training, saying your prayers and taking your vitamins. 

    The true test for Hulkamania and the WWF national expansion took place on March 31st in Madison Square Garden. Wrestlemania featured a headline main event pitting the WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and his partner Mr. T, with Superfly Jimmy Snuka in their corner, against Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, with Bob Orton in their corner. The match was extra special with Mohammid Ali as a guest referee, Liberace keeping time, New York Yankees legend Billy Martin doing the ring announcing, and the Music City Rockettes dancing in the ring. The event was a rousing success, with Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik becoming World Tag Team Champions, Greg Valentine defending his Intercontinental Title against the Junkyard Dog and King Kong Bundy beating SD Jones in a record 9 seconds. Hogan would go on to spend the year feuding with Rowdy Roddy Piper, Don Muraco and King Kong Bundy throughout 1985 and 1986, leading into the second Wrestlemania where Hulk Hogan put down King Kong Bundy in a Steel Cage Match. 

    The WWF World Title scene was growing stale and Vince McMahon Jr pulled out his trump card by having Andre the Giant turn heel, take on Bobby "The Brain" Heenan as his manager and challenge Hulk Hogan for the WWF Title in front of 93,173 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac Michigan. It all began on Piper's Pit when Andre presented Hogan with a trophy to celebrate his being WWF Champion for three years. Andre would return, angry that Hogan never gave him a title shot in those three years, in another edition of the Pit, leading to the challenge by Andre to Hogan for a shot at Wrestlemania. Andre ripped the shirt and crucifix from Hogan and threw it down, leaving with Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura. Hulk Hogan accepted the challenge and went on, not only to defeat Andre but to body slam him and pin him decisively 1, 2, 3 in the middle of the ring. The truth is, Andre's health had begun to deterioriate as he had just exceeded his own life expectancy due to his illness causing his immense size. Andre wrestled the bout with a back brace and partially drunk, to eliminate the pain. Andre almost won the title by accident when he fell on Hogan after a failed body slam attempt and was unable to get off quickly enough. 

    Andre seemed to rejuvenate himself with a break from the ring and returned to feud with Hogan throughout 1987, climaxing in the first ever Survivor Series where Hogan teamed with on-again, off-again friend Paul Orndorff, Don Muraco, Ken Patera and Bam Bam Bigelow in a losing effort to Andre the Giant, the One Man Gang, Butch Reed, Ravishing Rick Rude and King Kong Bundy where Andre emerged as the Sole Survivor, handing Hogan a rare loss. 

    Hogan and Andre agreed to wrestle again and they did so on Saturday Night's Main Event in February of 1988. Earl Hebner, the head official at the time, was replaced by his "evil twin" Dave Hebner who counted Hogan's shoulders to the mat after an Andre belly-to-belly suplex, even though Hogan raised his shoulder, and gave the World Title over to Andre the Giant. A few moments later, Andre handed the gold to Ted DiBiase, who fastened it around his waist, as per the agreement that DiBiase would buy the title from Andre. WWF President Jack Tunney would not stand for it and promptly stripped DiBiase of the title and ordered a tournament at Wrestlemania IV. Randy Savage went on to win that tournament, defeating DiBiase in the finals, and celebrated in the ring with Hulk Hogan and Miss Elizabeth as the Mega Powers truly came together. As Savage became jealous of Hogan's friendship with Elizabeth, the Mega Powers began to crumble in the storylines and Hogan went on to challenge and defeat Savage at Wrestlemania V for the title. 

    Hogan shot his first feature film in 1989 with Tiny Lister, who played Zeus, in No Holds Barred. The line between WWF storylines and the movie quickly blurred as Zeus showed up on WWF programming to attack Hulk Hogan prior to a match he was to have with the Big Bossman on Saturday Night's Main Event. This set up a big tag team confrontation for Summer Slam 1989 as Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake, with Elizabeth in their corner, defeated the Macho Man and Zeus, who had the Sensational Sherri in their corner. Hogan continued to feud with Zeus, though, and at the 1989 Survivor Series, WWF Champion Hulk Hogan teamed with Jake Roberts and WWF Tag Team Champions Demolition to defeat the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, Zeus and the Powers of Pain and Zeus was soon phased out of WWF programming. 

    Hulk Hogan began having various feuds with Mr. Perfect and the Genius and with the Earthquake, Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart. At his side was the WWF Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior, but soon there was rumblings that a match would have to determine who the top draw of the WWF was. The bout took place at Wrestlemania VI at the first international Wrestlemania in Toronto, Ontario at the Skydome. The Warrior shocked the world by beating Hogan cleanly and celebrated with both his old Intercontinental and his new WWF World Title belts. Hogan graciously raised the Warrior's hand and left just as well liked as he went in. 

    Hulk Hogan would enter a storyline where he was considering retirement and on an edition of the Brother Love Show, the Earthquake, Dino Bravo and Jimmy Hart brutalized Hogan with several Earthquake Splashes by the near 500 pounder. Hogan was knocked out of wrestling and it was noted that he would probably retire. Of course, in real-life, Hogan was filming the 1991 movie Suburban Commando with Christopher Lloyd. Hogan returned at Summer Slam 1990 to meet and defeat Earthquake by count-out and began making noise that he would once again be the WWF Champion. Hogan continued to feud with the Earthquake for the rest of 1990, teaming with the Big Bossman, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Tugboat to defeat the Earthquake, Dino Bravo, Haku and the Barbarian at Survivor Series. Hogan would also emerge as a survivor in what was termed the "Grand Finale Match of Survival" where survivors from all the matches came out for one FINAL survivor series bout, teaming with the Ultimate Warrior and TIto Santana to defeat Ted DiBiase, Rick Martel, the Warlord, Paul Roma and Hercules. 

    Hulk Hogan would go on to win the 1991 Royal Rumble and with Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter now wearing the WWF Title, he made it known that he was taking the title back. Hogan easily defeated Slaughter at Wrestlemania VII and then teamed with the Ultimate Warrior to put away Slaughter, the Iron Sheik wrestling as Colonel Mustafa and General Adnan at Summer Slam 1991 in a handicap match dubbed the "Match Made In Hell". Hogan was then announced to be defending the WWF Title against the Undertaker in the first ever, regular bout in a Survivor Series. Of course, things got complicated when the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair had a contract dispute with the WCW and jumped to the WWF in the summer of 1991, appearing on WWF programming with the NWA Belt and proclaiming himself to be the "Real World's Champion". Flair forged an odd partnership with the Undertaker and Paul Bearer to torment Hogan, though the Flair-Hogan match never took off except for a few odd house-show bouts, including one in Madison Square Garden. No decisive winner was ever declared. The Survivor Series bout went on as planned and shockingly, the Undertaker pinned Hogan after Ric Flair interfered, to become the new WWF Champion. A re-match was signed for the This Tuesday in Texas pay per view, less than one week later, where Hogan defeated the Undertaker. The match was controversial, with Hogan using ashes from the urn and a steel chair to beat the Undertaker, and the title was declared vacant by Jack Tunney. 

    Hulk Hogan failed to win the 1992 Royal Rumble when he and Sid Vicious, at that time friends and partners, engaged in an argument in the ring and Sid dumped Hogan out over the top rope from behind. The crowd was openly cheering for Sid at this time, much to the dismay of WWF bookers, and Hogan's Wrestlemania VIII main event match against Ric Flair was changed to a double main event with Hogan battling Sid and calling it his retirement match. Hogan beat Sid by disqualification and the Ultimate Warrior even made his comeback to help Hogan fight off the bad guys. 

    Hogan would stay out of wrestling until the spring of 1993 when he came back to help his friend Brutus Beefcake in his war with Ted DiBiase, IRS and Jimmy Hart after the evil trio used a briefcase to smash Beefcake's surgically repaired face during his comeback match on an early edition of Monday Night Raw. Hogan was not the popular star he used to be and was considerably thinner. Hogan and Beefcake would lose to Money Inc in a WWF Tag Team Title match at Wrestlemania IX but later in the night, Hogan came out of nowhere to defeat Yokozuna to become WWF Champion for the fifth time. Hogan did not defend the title once between April 1st 1993 and June 19th when he was defeated by Yokozuna by pin-fall at the 1993 King of the Ring. Hogan quickly left the World Wrestling Federation with little explanation, but would later testify at the Vince McMahon steroid trial. It would seem that Hulkamania was dead and buried as Hogan began work in movies, developing Thunder in Paradise and Mr. Nanny. Many expected Hogan to return for Wrestlemania X, but that event went by without a sound from Hogan. Fan interest was growing as many wondered where Hogan was planning. 

    Hulk Hogan dropped a bombshell in the summer of 1994 by joining World Championship Wrestling after a lengthy courting process lead by WCW Champion Ric Flair and financed by Ted Turner at Eric Bischoff's request. It was a new challenge for Hogan as many thought that the fans might cheer Ric Flair, the WCW's golden boy, over Hogan in the South where the NWA style of wrestling was still most popular. The first disappointment came in a poorly attended ticker-tape parade to welcome Hulk Hogan into the WCW, but things began to heat up when Ric Flair turned heel and began preparing for a bout with Ric Flair signed for the 1994 Bach at the Beach in July. Hulk Hogan won that match in grand fashion, complete with celebrity Shaquille O'Neil at ringside, and continued to feud with Ric Flair and his new manager, and old Hogan foe, Sherri Martel. The feud climaxed at WCW Halloween Havoc 1994 in a steel cage, retirement match where Hogan beat Ric Flair with help from guest referee, Wrestlemania I alumnus, Mr. T and with Mohammud Ali cheering from the audience. 

    After the match, Hogan was attacked by the mysterious masked man who had previously injured Hogan's knee. In reality, the masked man was played by Rick Rude and Arn Anderson at times, but in the end it was revealed that Brutus Beefcake had grown tired of Hogan hogging the spotlight and attacked. The Avalanche, formerly known as the Earthquake in the WWF, showed up and helped Beefcake and also Kevin Sullivan to brutalize the Hulk after this match, setting the stage for Hogan to meet, and defeat, Brutus Beefcake in the main event of Starrcade 1994. The Three Faces of Fear would give way to the Dungeon of Doom and Kamala, Meng (formerly Haku), and other former enemies of Hogan would join the group, including a re-named Avalanche and Beefcake. 

    During this time, Macho Man Randy Savage returned to the ring to join WCW, reprising his team with Hulk Hogan. Shortly after, Miss Elizabeth joined her team and some retro, glory days were in full swing. Ric Flair made his return to the WCW after he began helping Vader to mess with Hulk Hogan. It was Hogan, in storyline terms, that demanded Flair be reinstated to allow a match. A group was formed in 1995 called the Alliance to End Hulkamania and included Dungeon of Doom and 4-Horsemen members including Flair and Anderson, as well as Lex Luger, Jimmy Hart, and a young Giant, who would gain his greatest fame later as the Big Show. Hulk Hogan defeated Vader by disqualification in February of 1995 at Superbrawl and then defeated him cleanly at Uncensored 1995 in a Strap Match. With Flair back in the saddle, it was Flair and Vader teaming up against Hogan and Savage at Slamboree 1995 with the Hulk and Macho coming out on top. Things came to a head as Ric Flair and Vader came to blows, leading to Vader joining Hogan, Randy Savage and Sting in a team scheduled to face the Dungeon of Doom in War Games at Fall Brawl 1995. Of course, Vader left the WCW for the WWF after a backstage incident with Paul Orndorff and Lex Luger joined the team to defeat the Dungeon soundly in the double cage. After the bout, however, the Giant hit the ring to destroy Hogan, leading to a match at Halloween Havoc 1995 where the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Title after Jimmy Hart turned on Hogan. Hogan continued to feud with this new Dungeon, that now included Lex Luger and the Horsemen, climaxing at Uncensored 1996 where Hogan and Savage defeated 8 opponents in a Doomsday Cage Match. Even Zeus came back under the name of Z-Gangster, teaming with Flair, Anderson, Luger, Sullivan, Barbarian, Meng, and a man called the Ultimate Solution. After the match, Hogan took some time off from WCW as his character had begun to generate many boos. Hulk Hogan did the unthinkable. 

    When Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left the WWF for WCW in the summer of 1996, they entered with a gimmick implying that they were representing the WWF in a turf war against the WCW, who had been rising in the ratings to rival the WWF and had begun to take the lead as the #1 wrestling organization in the world. Hall and Nash were set to face members of WCW in a six man tag team main event at the 1996 Bash at the Beach against WCW representatives Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger. The rumour mill was circling to find out who the third man would be. Some thought it would be Ted DiBiase, the 123 Kid, Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Jeff Jarrett, or a double-cross by Luger. During the match, Luger was "injured" and had to be removed, making him the logical third man for a return later. Luger did not return, but as Hall and Nash began to power bomb and leave Luger and Sting laying, the crowd exploded as Hulk Hogan came down the aisle and Hall and Nash were cleared from the ring. Hogan looked down on the injured Savage and, in the move felt around the world, Hogan leg dropped Savage and turned heel for the first time since his days in the AWA. In that interview, Hogan coined the term and called this new group "The New World Order of Wrestling", later shortened to the NWO, one of the most revolutionary storylines of the 1990s. The crowd reaction was hotter than WCW had ever seen, with the audience hurling trash into the ring. Some fans were in tears and one fan jumped the railing but was stopped by Hall and Nash. This was the hottest moment in WCW history as even the announcers were furious. Tony Schiavonie, the lead announcer for the show, ended the show with "Hulk hogan, you can go to hell". If you were watching pay-per-view that night, you might have believed that this was reality. It was that good. 

    Hogan dropped the red and yellow and became Hollywood Hulk Hogan, the evil leader of the New World Order. He was, arguably, the hottest heel in wrestling history. He went on to defeat the Giant at WCW's Hog Wild in August of 1996 to regain the WCW World Heavyweight Title. After the show, he would spray the black letters of the NWO over the belt. This set the stage of the September WCW pay per view, Fall Brawl, featuring War Games. It was a natural fit for Hogan's NWO to battle a team from WCW but that meant that the NWO had to add a fourth man. It was teased that Ted DiBiase would serve as the 4th man after he showed up in the front row of WCW Nitro and held up four fingers, but some thought it might mean he was going to serve as a manager for the Horsemen. During this time, Sting turned his back on WCW... or so the fans thought. It turned out that it was an imposter Sting and team WCW kicked the real Sting off their team and decided to go in to War Games 3 against 4. The real Sting did show up during War Games, anyway, to beat down the man who would become known as the NWO Sting, but then left the ring, turning on WCW and hiding in the rafters. It came time for Halloween Havoc and Hogan defended the title successfully against Randy Savage, who had reunited with Elizabeth after she had turned heel to join the Horsemen. Hogan, and his new ally the Giant, who had jumped to the NWO, brutalized Savage until bag-pipe music stopped them in their tracks and Rowdy Roddy Piper made his WCW debut to tell Hogan what he thought of him, setting the stage for the Starrcade 1996 main event where Rowdy Roddy Piper defeated Hulk hogan with a sleeperhold in a non-title match. Piper continued to feud with Hogan, even as the turned Giant went to a no contest with Hogan at the first NWO pay per view, Souled Out. Hogan was able to defeat Roddy Piper at Superbrawl 1997 with help from the NWO and Hogan's luck began to turn. Lex Luger and the Giant beat Hulk Hogan and NBA star Dennis Rodman at the 1997 Bash at the Beach and then Luger beat Hogan by submission to win the WCW World Title on Nitro. Hogan regained the title, but lost another match to Rowdy Roddy Piper in a steel cage at Halloween Havoc 1997. 

    The waiting was finally over as Hogan was set to face Sting, who hadn't wrestled or spoken in 18 months, for the WCW World Heavyweight Title at Starrcade 1997. Making the bout extra special was that recent WWF defector Bret Hart showed up to help referee the bout after the original referee had been knocked out. The title was held up by pro-NWO boss Eric Bischoff, but Sting held on to the gold. Hulk Hogan chased after the WCW Title but it would be Randy Savage. The next night on Nitro, Hogan challenged Savage and won the WCW World Title with unexpected help from Bret Hart, who turned heel to join Hogan's faction. New WCW Champion Hulk Hogan would team with Bret Hart to beat Bret Hart and Randy Savage at the 1998 Great American Bash and have a celebrity bout with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff losing to Tonight Show host Jay Leno and Diamond Dallas Page. Hogan, though, couldn't survive the challenge of Bill Goldberg who soundly defeated Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Title on the July 6th edition of WCW Monday Nitro. 

    With Hogan out of the title picture, WCW pulled a major coup, signing the Ultimate Warrior and the stage was set for a rematch from their WWF Wrestlemania 6 bout that saw the Warrior defeat Hogan for the title. In a shocker, Hulk Hogan defeated the Ultimate Warrior at Halloween Havoc 1998 with help from his nephew Horace. At Starrcade 1998, Kevin Nash was able to put away Bill Goldberg when the returning Scott Hall zapped him with a stun-gun, reuniting the Outsiders around the new WCW World Champion Kevin Nash. 

    One night later on Nitro, WCW made the decision to go through with an event that many say helped fuel their distaste for the rapidly declining WCW product when Hulk Hogan was set to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW World Title in the main event of Nitro. The crowd was rooting for Hogan, but there was a plan in the air. Hogan simply TOUCHED Kevin Nash to knock him down and he pinned him to become the WCW World Champion. The event would be known as "the finger poke of doom" and it allowed Hogan, Hall and Nash to reform the New World Order for the early stages of 1999. Hogan's heat had become luke warm and more about the lack of fan interest than about his ability to put on a good show. Hogan held on to the title, defeating Ric Flair at Superbrawl. In a first blood, steel cage match at Uncensored, Flair was able to defeat Hogan to become the champion via pinfall when referee Charles Robinson chose to help Flair. Hogan would regain the gold, turn face, and then beat Kevin Nash in a retirement match at Road Wild 1999. 

    Hulk Hogan reverted back to the red and yellow entirely due to popular demand, making his face turn complete. At Fall Brawl, Sting beat Hogan to take back the WCW World title and Hogan's WCW career began to fizzle. Hogan reverted back to the red and yellow version by popular demand in hopes of salvaging his WCW career. Hogan dropped the title to a heel Sting at Fall Brawl 1999 and was unsuccessful in a re-match at Halloween Havoc. Hogan would not hold the WCW World Title again and took a lot of time off throughout the rest of his WCW contract. Hogan defeated Lex Luger at Superbrawl 2000 and Ric Flair again at Uncensored 2000. About this time, WCW was being run by Vince Russo, the shock-jock writer who helped create WWF Attitude in 1998. Russo put in place an angle called the New Blood where young talents were fighting with the Millionaires Club that included Hogan, Page, and other WCW legends. Hogan defeated Billy Kidman at the 2000 Great American Bash and was set to face Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Title at the 2000 Bash at the Beach. 

    Hulk Hogan and Vince Russo, to say the least of it, did not get along. Apparently Hogan had refused to lose to Jeff Jarrett and had demanded another title reign. Backstage, Vince Russo had secretly told Jarrett to simply lay down in the middle of the ring, creating a schmoz main event where Hogan put his foot on Jarrett's chest to win the title. Hogan, however, was not pleased and took the microphone to say "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!". He got a good crowd reaction for saying this, but Vince Russo came out to say "from day one, that I've been in WCW, I've done nothing... nothing... but deal with the bullshit of the politics behind that curtain" and promptly stripped Hogan of the title and held up the title. Hogan quit WCW as Russo had publicly tried to humiliate him and sued WCW and Vince Russo personally for defamation of character. Russo would later claim that the incident was staged, but Hogan does not corroborate his story. Hogan's career was seemingly over and WCW would be out of business within the year after fans rebelled strongly against the WCW way of business. Vince McMahon purchased WCW and all the trademarks that went with it, allowing for an interesting angle in 2002. 

    Hogan decided to forge a new company called the XPW in 2001 with Jimmy Hart, Brian Knobbs, Jim Duggan, Curt Hennig, Bobby Heenan and other friends taking part. Hogan was fighting depression during this time due to the Russo incident. His father's death in December of 2001 compounded Hogan's grief. Hogan, though, did not stay down for long. He defeated Curt Hennig, managed by Bobby Heenan, in the XPW and saw Hennig gain a WWF contract after an exemplary performance in the 2002 Royal Rumble. Hogan decided he was headed home. 

    Vince McMahon and Ric Flair had been struggling over the ownership of the WWE during a storyline that saw Shane and Stephanie McMahon sell their shares of the WWF to Ric Flair, making him 50% owner. Vince McMahon was beaten by Flair in several physical encounters, leading Vince McMahon to go insane, slightly, and he said that if he couldn't own the WWF, he would kill it by injecting it with poison... the NEW WORLD ORDER. Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash showed up at WWF No Way Out 2002 and caused havoc... and surprisingly, the trio got a very warm reception. 

    The trio feuded primarily with Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock, who were the top players of the WWF Attitude Era, leading to two matches at Wrestlemania. Steve Austin defeated Scott Hall in the first and the Rock was set to face the Hulk in what was rightfully the feature bout of the entire show. Hogan's return to Wrestlemania, in Toronto at the Skydome, was a rousing success. Hogan was visibly surprised by the overwhelming fan support and the boos given to the Rock! Hogan reverted to being a fan favourite, clearly, during the match, improvising and the Rock became the villain. By the end, however, the Rock was able to put Hogan away 1, 2, 3!! Hall and Nash came down and began to attack Hogan but the Rock saved the day, re-earning the admiration of the audience. Hogan and the Rock would go on to celebrate in one of the truly great Wrestlemania moments. Hulkamania was back! 

    On the first edition of the separated SMACKDOWN! brand, owned by Vince McMahon as opposed to Ric Flair's RAW, the Hulkster walked down the aisle and got a remarkable ovation from the Montreal crowd that reduced Hogan to tears in the middle of the ring. In a truly emotional moment, Hogan thanked the crowd and let them know that Hulkamania will live forever! It wasn't long before Hulk Hogan was named the #1 contender to the WWF Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship held by Triple-H for Backlash 2002. 

    The bout was signed with the Undertaker and Chris Jericho milling about, wanting to attack both fan favourites in the main event, but Hogan and the Game went about their business. Hogan was the clear fan favourite in the match and helped Triple-H earn some boos. Nearly 18 years after defeating the Iron Sheik for the WWF World Title in Madison Square Garden, Hulk Hogan pinned Triple-H after the big leg to become the new WWF Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, which was the product of the merged WCW and WWF World Heavyweight Titles. During April of 2002, the WWF was legally forced to change it's name to the WWE which means Hulk Hogan made history by being the first ever WWE World Champion and the final WWF Champion. 

    Hulk Hogan didn't hold the belt for too long, dropping it to the Undertaker at Judgment Day 2002. Hulk Hogan would go on to call himself the "Babe Ruth of Wrestling" and wrestled as a mid-card star, but always getting the fans support as the main event wherever he wrestled. Hulk Hogan lost to Kurt Angle via submission as the 2002 King of the Ring in a wrestling dream bout but rebounded on the July 4th edition of Smackdown by teaming up with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck to become the WWE World Tag Team Champions! This is the first Tag Team Title that Hogan has ever held and the night also marked the return of Hogan's theme "Real American", which the crowd sang as they went wild for the new champions. Hulk Hogan and Edge lost the gold shortly after, before Hogan would face Brock Lesnar on Smackdown in August of 2002. Hogan went down in convincing fashion and then went on hiatus from the mat wars to heal up his knee and other injuries. 

    Hulk Hogan returned in January of 2003 to battle the Rock, who had returned to the WWE after shooting the Scorpion King and had adopted a heel, Hollywood ego. Hogan said it would be his last run and Vince McMahon, the evil Owner, was not too pleased with Hogan's return. He and Hogan physically warred, but McMahon signed Hogan versus the Rock for No Way Out in February. Hogan went on to lose that match in a "screw-job" finish orchestrated by Vince McMahon, leading to the Wrestlemania XIX showdown between McMahon and Hogan, which Hogan won clean. In a total surprise, Rowdy Roddy Piper made his return to the WWE during the bout and set the stage for Hogan-Piper all over again in WWE. Vince McMahon, however, was livid with Hogan in the storyline and told Hogan to sit out his contract because he simply wanted Hulkamania to die. In May of 2003, Hulk Hogan returned none the less as Mr. America on an edition of Piper's Pit featuring Vince McMahon. Vince was furious, telling the crowd that Mr. America was actually Hulk Hogan! Mr. America continually denied that, saying "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!" to made quite clear who he was! Roddy Piper, Sean O'Haire and Vince McMahon would feud with Mr. America and a one legged Zach Gowan. Hulk Hogan's last WWE appearance during this run was on the June 26th edition of Smackdown where he, as Mr. America, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle lost to the Big Show, Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas when the Show pinned Hogan. After the bout, Hogan unmasked to reveal himself as Hulk Hogan before leaving the company. In storylines, Vince McMahon fired Hulk Hogan as it was now known that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan. For quite some time, the Big Show was billed as the man who retired Hulk Hogan in Madison Square Garden. In reality, Hogan had grown frustrated with the WWE creative direction and his leaving the WWE was a result of a blow-out with Vince McMahon. 

    Hulk Hogan stayed active, appearing in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2003 to defeat Masahiro Chono. After this much publicized bout, Hulk Hogan was attacked backstage by NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett. It was believed to be imminent that Hulk Hogan was going to join TNA and help the company rise against the WWE, but after Vince Russo joined TNA, the talks broke off and Hogan opted out, which disrupted TNA storylines somewhat. 

    Hulk Hogan would stay retired until 2005 when the WWE announced that Hulk Hogan would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside Rowdy Roddy Piper, Jimmy Hart, Paul Orndorff, Bob Orton, Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik. Hogan was inducted by Sylvester Stallone in a classy ceremony one night before Wrestlemania 21. Of course, the fan support for a Hogan match at Wrestlemania was huge, though nothing was announced. Hulk Hogan did show up, though, to save Eugene from Mohammud Hassan and Daivari in a big Wrestlemania moment. Shortly after Wrestlemania, Shawn Michaels began feuding with Daivari and Hassan, but the RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff refused to allow Shawn Michaels to wrestle in the handicap match he wanted against the Arab team. Shawn pledged to find a partner and promptly called out Hulk Hogan on an edition of RAW, asking him to help him defeat Hassan and Daivari. Hogan returned quickly to forge a friendship with Shawn Michaels and they defeated Hassan and Daivari at Backlash 2005. Hogan and Michaels would maintain their friendship and feuded with Kurt Angle, Carlito Cool and Chris Masters. During one tag bout, the friendship finally broke down when Shawn felt HOgan had hogged the spotlight and Michaels gave him his trademark Sweet Chin Music, turning heel. 

    The controversy began to grow about whether a match between the two could ever take place. Both were known for being unwilling to job in high profile matches. The backstage controversy was huge but in the end, Hulk Hogan defeated Shawn Michaels 1, 2, 3 in the middle of the ring with the big leg. Hulk Hogan stepped away from the WWE after the bout and Shawn Michaels turned face again within the week. 

    Hulk Hogan stayed out of the WWE spotlight but did return for the 2006 Hall of Fame ceremony to induct his long-time friend Mean Gene Okerlund the night before Wrestlemania 22. Hogan had a schedule conflict and had to return home late that night to attend an event for his son Nick and did not make his customary Wrestlemania appearance. 

    Hulk Hogan returned in June of 2006 to help promote his daughter Brooke's new music video which played on RAW. Randy Orton became infatuated with hogan's daughter and began making noise that he wanted a date with her. When WWE returned with Saturday Nights Main Event in July of 2006, Hulk and his daughter Brooke appeared and Randy Orton respectfully challenged Hulk Hogan to a match for Summer Slam. In the parking garage, with Brooke looking away, Orton gave Hogan the RKO on the car, making the match at Summer Slam into a Grudge Match. Hulk Hogan went on to defeat Randy Orton in the Legend versus Legend Killer contest and then stepped out of the WWE once again.

    After a review of Hulk Hogan's accomplishments and his career, it is without question that he belongs here in the UWOW Hall of Fame. One thing's for sure... Hulkamania will live forever!