Terry Eugene Bollea was born on August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia, but it was the exploits during the 1980s and 1990s that make This Day in Wrestling History one to remember.
We don’t usually cover birthdays, but given what Hulk Hogan has meant to the sport of professional wrestling, it’s fitting that we take a moment to look back at some of our favorite moment during his amazing career.
The best of all time
Hulk Hogan is recognized as the most popular wrestling of the 1980s and the greatest of all time to many.
While there’s plenty of debate on whether Hogan is the greatest of all times, most of fans come at it from different angles and for good reason.
Hogan wasn’t known as a great tactician in the United States because he relied on his strength and charisma. However, when he wrestled in Japan, he had a full range of moves including a step up kick.
It’s amazing watching the same man I saw use brutish force as a child be so light on his feet and versatile.
Was he the best in ring worker? No, but he was good.
There are plenty of other reasons for and against him getting this recognition, but the biggest one for us is he’s the highest draw ever and his popularity, while it waned, would return in a blistering crescendo.
He wasn’t considered viable to some when he turned heel in WCW and his career was reborn. He became the one person we loved to boo more than anything.
Then after returning to the WWE and facing the Rock at WrestleMania was one of the greatest moments I saw as the fans welcomed him back like they hadn’t done anyone before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEP8n2gJBbM
A different experience
Growing up, I loved the good guys, but I also grew bored quickly and seeing him win time after time soon grated on me.
While I liked him, I wanted him to lose each time just to give us something different.
While I’ve been a fan of wrestling since WrestleMania 1, it wasn’t until he lost to the Ultimate Warrior in WrestleMania 6 that I started to appreciate him.
He and Warrior had an awesome match, and I suddenly had a full appreciation of his body of work from his feud with Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff, to his WrestleMania 3 match against Andre the Giant.
The Mega Powers and more and more came and it was a great thing to see as he defied Vince McMahon and others to remain at the top for so many years as a fan favorite.
My appreciation and respect for him only grew when I learned he quit the WWE while Vince McMahon Sr. ran it to be in Rocky 3. Vince Jr. hired him back after he bought the company from his father and the rest is history.
If anyone knew in 1953 that an icon that changed the world would create one of the best This Day in Wrestling History moments.
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