Best Known As: Sports Figure

Gist:  Terry Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953) better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, with a wave of wins in heavy-weight WWE championships.

Bollea had mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American, working-class hero character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF?now World Wrestling Entertainment), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as "Hollywood" Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following WCW's fold, he made a brief return to WWE in the early 2000s, revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas.

Bollea was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and is a twelve-time world heavyweight champion: a six-time WWF/E Champion and a six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a former World Tag Team Champion with Edge. He was also the winner of the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991.

Life Facts:  The son of Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher, and Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, he was raised in Tampa, Florida. As a boy, he was a pitcher in Little League Baseball. He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first turned his attention towards "Superstar" Billy Graham and looked to him for inspiration. Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands. Many of the wrestlers who competed in the Florida territory at that time visited the bars where Hogan was performing. He then attended the University of South Florida, of which he later dropped out; he spent most of his time at a local gym, where he met pro wrestler Mike Graham, the son of legendary wrestler and National Wrestling Alliance president Eddie Graham. Hogan's physical stature also caught the attention of Jack Brisco and his brother Gerald. Together, they convinced Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan agreed, and in 1976, Mike Graham introduced Hogan to Hiro Matsuda, who was among the sport's top trainers. According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you want to be a wrestler?" and purposely broke Hogan's leg.

In 2005, weeks before WrestleMania 21, it was announced on all WWE programming that Hogan would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. On April 2, Hogan was inducted by actor and friend Sylvester Stallone. Hogan was applauded for several minutes before he was able to make a speech. When he paused during his speech, the crowd chanted "One More Match! One More Match!" The fans also chanted "Austin, Hogan" (referring to a Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan match); Hogan responded "that may be a good match someday". At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, the "American Patriot" Hogan came out to rescue Eugene, who was being attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. Some of the build-up to Hogan's induction into the Hall of Fame and preparation for this angle were shown on the first season of Hogan Knows Best.

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The next night on Raw, Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite Shawn Michaels. The following week, Michaels approached Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but told Michaels if he found a partner he would be granted a tag team match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of Raw, Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared, and saved Michaels and accepted his offer. At Backlash 2005, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels.

Hogan then appeared on July 4 edition of Raw as the special guest of Carlito on his talk-show segment Carlito's Cabana. After being asked questions by Carlito concerning his daughter Brooke Hogan, Hogan proceeded to attack Carlito. This was then followed up by an appearance of Kurt Angle, who made comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan. Hogan was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Kurt Angle in a tag match. During the post match celebration, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Hogan and walked off. The following week on Raw, Michaels appeared on Piper's Pit and challenged Hogan to face him one-on-one for the first time. Hogan appeared on Raw one week later and accepted the challenge. The match took place at SummerSlam. The "Legend vs. Icon" storyline was the main event for the Raw brand going into SummerSlam. The match went back and forth, with two referees getting "knocked out" and Michaels using a steel chair to try to gain an advantage. Even after Michaels hit his Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and mounted some offense against Michaels, finally hitting him with the legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself," and Hogan and Michaels shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd.

Prior to WrestleMania 22, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan returned on the July 15, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event with his daughter Brooke. During the show, Randy Orton flirted (kayfabe, as he was engaged with his girlfriend now wife Sam Speno) with Hogan's daughter, and later attacked Hogan in the parking lot and hit the RKO onto the trunk of Hogan's car. He later challenged Hulk to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan won.

On the 15th anniversary on Raw in 2007, Hogan made a one-night return to WWE when he came to Hornswoggle's defense in his match with The Great Khali, running Khali off. Afterwards, he gave a short speech where he thanked the fans for keeping Hulkamania alive and to never say never to another match. Afterwards, he made a reference to his former rival and good friend "Macho Man" Randy Savage by using his catchphrase "Ooohhh Yeah!"

It was said in an interview with BBC that Hulk Hogan wants to come back to the WWE as it is his life and does not want to ignore it.

During an interview with The Sun, Hogan claimed to be planning his own federation to compete against Vince McMahon. Hogan says he has raised $40 million of the $80?$100 million goal and his venture is something that will eventually revolutionize the sport of professional wrestling.

In October 2007, Hogan transferred all trademarks referring to himself to his liability company named "Hogan Holdings Limited". The trademarks include Hulk Hogan, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, and Hulkapedia.com.

In April 2008, Hulk Hogan announced that he would be lending his license to video game developer Gameloft to create "Hulkamania Wrestling" for mobile phones. Hogan stated in a press release that the game would be "true to [his] experiences in wrestling" and use his classic wrestling moves like the Doublehand Choke Lift and Strong Clothesline."Gameloft Announces Licensing Deal With Wrestling Superstar Hulk Hogan". Reuters (April 21, 2008). Retrieved November 3, 2008".

Career Facts:  On July 10, 2005, VH1 premiered a new reality show titled Hogan Knows Best which centers around Hulk Hogan, his at the time wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick. Set in their home in Clearwater, Florida, the show follows the family in their efforts to fulfill the dreams of their children while still maintaining their sense of closeness. At the show's onset, 16-year-old Brooke is trying to break into the music industry while younger brother Nick (age 14) goes through a series of career aspirations including becoming a professional race car driver and following in his dad's footsteps as a pro-wrestler."Hulk Hogan Knows Best: About the Series". VH1.com.

As of July 2008, Hogan Knows Best transferred its focus into a new show called Brooke Knows Best which focuses on his daughter's move into a new apartment to continue her pursuit of a music career."Brooke Knows Best". VH1.com.

During an interview with The Sun, Hogan claimed to be planning his own federation to compete against Vince McMahon. Hogan says he has raised $40 million of the $80?$100 million goal and his venture is something that will eventually revolutionize the sport of professional wrestling.

In October 2007, Hogan transferred all trademarks referring to himself to his liability company named "Hogan Holdings Limited". The trademarks include Hulk Hogan, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, and Hulkapedia.com.

In April 2008, Hulk Hogan announced that he would be lending his license to video game developer Gameloft to create "Hulkamania Wrestling" for mobile phones. Hogan stated in a press release that the game would be "true to [his] experiences in wrestling" and use his classic wrestling moves like the Doublehand Choke Lift and Strong Clothesline."Gameloft Announces Licensing Deal With Wrestling Superstar Hulk Hogan". Reuters (April 21, 2008). Retrieved November 3, 2008".