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Hulk Hogan was an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality. He was widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s.

Hulk was born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, the son of Ruth V. (Moody) and Peter Bollea, a construction foreman. His surname "Bollea" came from his Italian grandfather. He began his professional wrestling career in 1977, taking the name Hogan around that time, and gained worldwide recognition after signing for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 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 WWF's flagship annual event, WrestleMania. During his initial run, he won the WWF Championship five times, with his first reign being the second-longest in the championship's history. He was the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991. His match with André René Roussimoff 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 the WWF to sign for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). 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 a result, he became a major figure during the "Monday Night Wars", another boom of mainstream professional wrestling. He headlined WCW's annual flagship event Starrcade three times, including the most profitable WCW pay-per-view ever, Starrcade 1997.

Hogan returned to the WWF in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior year, winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for a record equaling (for the year) sixth time 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), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) - where he won the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship - and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA - now known as Impact Wrestling).

During and after wrestling, Hogan had an extensive acting career, beginning with his cameo role in Rocky III (1982). He starred in several films (including No Holds Barred (1989), Suburban Commando (1991) and Mr. Nanny (1993)) and three television shows (Hogan Knows Best (2005), Thunder in Paradise (1994), and China, IL (2008)), as well as in Right Guard commercials and the video game, Hulk Hogan's Main Event (2012). 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.

Hulk Hogan, Jacob Widén, and Oscar Kempe

(1991) TV / print ads: Right Guard&#39;s Sport Sticks anti-perspirant and deodorant.

Appeared on the cover of &quot;Sports Illustrated&quot; magazine (the only pro wrestler to do so).

(2001) TV commercial: <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0300121/?ref_=nmwrk">Legends of Wrestling (2001)</a>.

(2002) TV commercial: Trivial Pursuit (20th Anniversary Edition)

(2002) TV commercial: 10-10-220 (with ALF)

(2003) TV commercial: 10-10-220 long-distance phone service (with <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0103537/?ref_=nmwrk">Terry Bradshaw</a>)

(2003) Print ad: 10-10-220 long-distance phone service

(c. 1990) Short special on Nickelodeon detailing his life as an obese child who starts to exercise.

Music video: Appeared in the <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm1740122/?ref_=nmwrk">Brooke Hogan</a> video &quot;For a Moment&quot;

(2007) TV commercial: Harris Teeter supermarket store brands

(2010) TV commercials (<a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0014609/?ref_=nmwrk">Troy Aikman</a>): Rent-A-Center stores

(2012) TV commercial: &quot;Super Beta&quot; prostate tablets.

(2012) TV commercial: &quot;Ageless Male&quot; supplements.

Other works

Hulk Hogan

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