Hollywood Hulk Hogan — Hulkmania Runs Wild, Brother!
Written: Jul 20 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The human element demystifies the icon
Cons: Short and fast read; wasn't as detailed as I expected
The Bottom Line: I would have expected more from one of the most popular wrestlers but this book seemed to fall short of anything spectacular.
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| elvisdo's Full Review: Hulk Hogan and Michael Jan Friedman - Hollywood Hu... |
Hulk Hogan.
The Legend. The Icon. The Immortal One.
Call him what you want. Even if you love him or hate him, there is no denying the fact that he changed the face of wrestling. Once perceived as this backyard, beer-guzzling spectacle, wrestling has transformed into this "sports-entertainment" juggernaut and Hulk Hogan was at the center of it all. But not everything was coming up roses for Hogan throughout his career. Hollywood Hulk Hogan is the latest tell-all wrestling book that was started with Mick Foley's Have A Nice Day. Hogan, along with writer Michael Jan Friedman, re-account his early days to his Wrestlemania X8 match against The Rock.
Beware of the 24-Inch Pythons
Hulkamania took the wrestling world by storm in the early 1980s with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment). Hulk Hogan became more than just another wrestler; he became a celebrity outside of the squared circle. The media attention he garnered was absolutely amazing and totally unprecedented. I remember those days back in the 1980s when Hulk Hogan was everyone. If he wasn’t on Saturday Night’s Main Event, headlining a Wrestlemania or performing in some other pay-per-view event, he was seen in other forums like guest spots on The A-Team, sparring with Rocky in Rocky III, having a cover featured on Sports Illustrated, or even starring in movies like No Holds Barred and Suburban Commando. The man was everywhere.
But wrestling was his main focus despite all the setbacks prior to his 1978 debut. There were many points in his life that the man known as Terry Bollea decided to quit the business of wrestling. Luckily for him he didn’t because as he and Vince McMahon, Jr. changed the look and presentation of wrestling to the public—a combination of sports and entertainment. He has had many matches against some of the greats such as André the Giant, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, King Kong Bundy, Rowdy Roddy Piper, and so many more, that captured the imagination of the fans. But it wasn’t as easy as anyone thought it would be, especially when there are things that happen behind the scenes that the public isn’t privy to and causes some major conflicts along the way.
Scandalous Business
There is another world that goes on behind the scenes of what is shown on television and inside the wrestling ring. Backstage, a lot of politicking and planning takes place to determine the outcome and the way wrestlers get their big push. Hogan and McMahon spearheaded this creative drive and, in those days, were in uncharted territory. With McMahon’s vision and Hogan’s visibility, the two were an unstoppable team and they took advantage of it.
It’s interesting to find out the reasoning as to why Hogan dropped his belt the first two times; the first due to his movie schedule production and the second because he wanted some time off. However, because Hogan was at the forefront and the most recognizable, he took the brunt of many accusations that focused on wrestling by the media and the government.
The subject of steroids is an albatross that hangs around wrestling’s neck. Next to baseball, this is a sport that gets subjected to inquiries about the misuse of the drug. Because of Hogan’s prominence in the media, he also came under fire by these attacks. His worst offense was during his appearance at the Arsenio Hall Show when he denied that he used steroids. His reasoning, at the time, was clear in his head: he didn’t care if he was attacked as person—as Terry Bollea—but he didn’t want to damage the reputation of “Hulk Hogan”, the celebrity and role model to children. In hindsight, Hogan said that it was a mistake not to come clean with the whole thing.
The steroid scandal didn’t stop there as in 1994 Hogan was made a star witness in the Vince McMahon trial. Prosecutors hoped Hogan’s testimony would be the final nail in the McMahon steroid scandal, but instead Hogan defended McMahon by stating Vince didn’t distribute or tell the wrestlers to take steroids. Still, this debacle caused a riff between the two as McMahon felt Hogan betrayed him and called him a liar for not telling the truth. It was years later that Hogan learned that McMahon was referring to Hogan’s appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show and the lies he told then.
This occurred at the same time Hogan decided to join World Championship Wrestling (WCW), WWE’s wrestling rival, at the coaxing of Ric Flair. McMahon tried to vilify Hogan before he got to WCW but it backfired. Hogan’s popularity was as strong as ever especially when it meant seeing the dream match between he and Flair. But it was at WCW that things really changed for Hogan.
After years of telling kids to train, say their prayers, take their vitamins, and believe in themselves, he did a complete 180-degree turn and turned into a “heel” (wrestling term for bad guy). All of a sudden the red-and-yellow clad superhero was replaced with the black-and-white super-villain. It was a shocking moment for wrestling fans to see that even the best could be corrupted. Wrestlers change from babyface to heels and back again in a blink of the eye. However, Hogan’s case was different. He has built this reputation of being a “good guy” for so long that people had put their emotional investment into his character. His turn felt like a betrayal as a result, and that was exactly what he wanted. The fans needed to feel it and it took WCW to even greater heights as part of the nWo (New World Order) regime. This was the birth of “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan (or the other “Triple H” as I like to call him).
But over the years, as his boss Eric Bischoff was removed from his lofty position, new management came in the form of Vince Russo, a former WWE writer, whose number one agenda was to get rid of Hulk Hogan. Russo stated that these “dinosaurs” were holding back the new blood of wrestlers waiting in the wings to make their mark, and he did everything he could to ruin Hogan’s image. Surprisingly, and to Russo’s disgust, the fans cheered Hogan even more. In the end, however, Russo did manage to run Hogan out of WCW for good, and did so by slandering his name. This led Hogan to contemplate and question himself in the process during his hiatus from wrestling. It wouldn’t be until Wrestlemania X8 that Hogan would be able to prove to he world that he could still compete in the squared circle.
Blame Canada
Two of Hogan’s memorable matches both came at Skydome in Toronto, Canada, and interestingly enough, these were the two matches that he was also pinned on the mat.
Wrestlemania VI was touted as a “Champion Vs. Champion” match with Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior facing Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan. This was unheard of because both of them were babyface characters. That means it was tougher for the fans to choose their hero to win the title. In essence, Hogan wanted a break from wrestling to spend time with his family and was prepared to lose the match, cleanly as well with his shoulders pinned to the mat. However, he didn’t think The Ultimate Warrior would be able to carry the load as the main attraction. Still, it wasn’t his concern anymore and needed some time away from the spotlight. He was more than happy to “pass the torch” to someone else and lost cleanly to him. And over 60,000 lucky fans witnessed this spectacle live at the Skydome.
Incidentally, Hogan was right about the Warrior, though. He didn’t stay champion for long, losing it 10 months later to Sgt. Slaughter. This set up Wrestlemania VII’s main event of Slaughter Vs. Hogan for the title.
Hogan’s return to the Skydome in Toronto was in Wrestlemania X8 against The Rock in a match tiltled as “Icon Vs. Icon”. No title was up for grabs, but this time there was a “good guy vs. bad” guy scenario in play; The Rock being the former and Hogan being the latter, who wore the nWo black-and white colours. Hogan had no intention of winning. Instead, he wanted The Rock to win and put him over with the crowds. Interestingly enough, Hogan garnered more cheers from the fans while they were heavily jeering The Rock. This was a concern. Hogan wanted The Rock to look good. Why? Because The Rock was in a unique position of being recognized as a wrestler AND a Hollywood actor. No one other wrestler has experienced this dual role in a successful way since Hogan, and he recognized the opportunities it would create for the industry down the line. On a personal note, Hogan also wanted to show his critics that he could still deliver the goods. Suffice to say, everything exceeded all expectations and Hogan was able to do all that and more.
Even though he lost both matches in Canada, Hogan came out looking like a real superstar regardless of the outcome.
Hogan’s Legacy
I’ve been following Hulkamania since I was a kid. I got swept up in the hype and hoopla early on in 1984 and have been following Hogan’s Wrestlemania matches for as long as I can remember. Hollywood Hulk Hogan touches upon all of these events as well as his personal life before and after his wrestling career. But it only does just that… touches the surface of what has happened without really going into depth. I felt Hogan didn’t delve too deeply into his family life or other personal affairs. It would have made for a more interesting read. Instead, he focuses more on the celebrity of Hulk Hogan.
Mick Foley made it acceptable and even cool for wrestlers to tell their stories. The market is now saturated with tell-all tales from inside and outside the squared circle. Unfortunately for Foley, he set the bar so high that others can’t really follow him. I thought Hollywood Hulk Hogan would be different because Hogan’s status in the wrestling world is unique. This wasn’t reflected in his book at all, even though he had help from Michael Jan Friedman (writer of many comic books and Star Trek novels).
Maybe he held back from telling his story and opted to ride the success of his reality based show, Hogan Knows Best. I think he could have done both.
This review is part of my Canadiana Write Off that celebrates anything having to do with Canada. Hogan lost in Canada. Twice. That's enough to celebrate.
Product Details:
ISBN: 0743457706
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 432pp
Pub. Date: June 2003
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Trade
Recommended:
Yes
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elvisdo
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Member: Charles "The Grim One"
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Thank you to everybody who participated in both my write-offs. Until the next one!
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