Our collective and individual fan reactions, eulogies, and memories of Hulk Hogan, one of wrestling’s greatest icons, will vary. A lot will get condensed into simplified, pithy sentiments. Undoubtedly, expressions of facts and opinions will cause discord.
Some mourn a childhood icon, a symbol of Americana, a performer. For many, Hogan was their childhood hero. Without Hogan, wrestling would not be what it is today.
Hogan shaped wrestling, pop culture, and even America’s modern identity. Yet, even if you take Hogan as a symbol, a character or concept, separate from the man behind the feather boas, Terry Bollea, there exist positives alongside negatives and unintended consequences.
Others cannot so easily separate the art from the artist. Since the 1990s, Hogan has, through his actions and words, gradually eroded his legacy. In between the steroid scandal and being caught on tape making racist remarks, there were numerous huge whoopers of self-aggrandising lies, reality show drama, and more.
It’s hard to separate Bollea from Hogan. Even if you consider them like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, they ultimately are at their core the same individual. Bollea, in court and under oath during his Gawker lawsuit, recognised the disconnect between himself and the persona of The Hulkster.
However, Bollea seemed comfortable being Hogan. In court, Bollea claimed Hogan had a kayfabe 10-inch python, whereas Bollea did not. Kayfabe can bleed into reality, altering some fans’ reality when we choose to preserve our beliefs.
Even if you de-compartmentalize Hogan and his impact into categories, you’ll still find shadows at the edges of the light. In deconstructing three elements of The Immortal’s complicated legacy to explore why multiple viewpoints can co-exist and each hold truth.
Wrestling – Constructing a Hero in Hulk Hogan
The story of the individual great historical figures often sees them treated like a monolith. Even when we recognise these figures as products of their surroundings, times, and cultures, the focus overlooks that many individuals’ success comes from a collective effort.
Myths reflect this. We want heroes.
Even before Vince McMahon, another controversial wrestling figure, shaped and marketed Hogan to the world, the groundwork had been laid in the AWA, where Hogan had already built a crowd-gathering and pleasing repertoire. Hogan’s aesthetic and promo style took inspiration from “Superstar” Billy Graham and others. Rocky III was released two years before Hulkamania caught fire.
None of this undermines Hogan’s achievements in crafting and performing a character that for decades inspired generations of wrestlers, from Adam Copeland to The Young Bucks. Hogan had the intangibles and the right combination of qualities to allow him to tap into the zeitgeist. Displaying patriotism during the Cold War with the physique of a Hollywood action hero, Hogan was America personified.
Even if you weren’t a wrestling fan, you knew Hogan’s character was the Real American Hero. Righteous, determined, and driven, Hogan, the character, was a perfect role model for more than just kids.
An example of individualism, hard work, and Reagan-era values at their finest, Hogan was the era in human form. Hogan represented America and the status quo.
Most importantly for many fans, what matters is how Hogan made them feel. Many felt connected, part of something bigger than themselves.
This concept still reigns supreme in wrestling today. While, as a concept, it pre-dates Hogan, it’s hard to deny that Hogan perfected it for the mass media age.
The myth remains strong for many because they believed, felt, and were part of something bigger than themselves. That time and moment that matters most.
Pop Culture to Parody to Persistent
Time and changes wear away at all personas. We’ve seen this with the differing responses to The Undertaker and Sting’s legacies as each man ended their careers and embraced the public spotlight differently.
Outside of wrestling, when a pop culture figure tries to transition into a new field, public perceptions shift. Especially if/when their expertise, knowledge, and persona translate poorly into a different medium.
Hulk Hogan remains so synonymous and successful in wrestling that his failed ventures as a film star, businessman, etc., provided security. Many of Hogan’s enterprises were so comical and bizarre that they have provided great, memorable, and entertaining content for many of us.
Dookie? PastaMania. A bare-assed Hogan parodying Miley Cyrus on a wrecking ball. It’s given content creators, like Brian Zane of Wrestling with Wregret.
For some, these failures have exposed the weaknesses and limitations of Bollea the man and Hogan the brand and character. It’s why some are and will laugh at Hogan’s tarnished legacy. However, memeification can make a person somehow more enduring and appealing.
Look at political figures like former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson or current US President Donald Trump. Figures who strangely embrace or project a fallible, disconnected from reality persona, yet somehow get over and gain support while side-stepping complexity.
Wrestling repeatedly allowed Hogan opportunities to reinvent himself and retain name value. Nostalgia, until recently, provided Hogan with consistent work in wrestling, particularly with WWE. The tipping point for Hogan in popular culture and the final straw for many wrestling fans was Hogan’s racist comments.
Although many fans will remember and laugh at Hogan being booed on Raw, Hogan’s beer brand remains featured on the ring canvas. Parody or not, Hogan’s star power afforded him privileges some fans will continue to resent, this sense of “getting away with it”.
“Real” American Identity
Until his death, Hogan remained an embodiment of America’s identity and subsequent difficulties since the 1980s. Hogan told audiences to “Train. Say your Prayers. Take your vitamins.”
This embodied the double-sided and hypocritical nature of 80s America. An age of greed, steroids, and hiding economic and international actions behind kayfabe to preserve a feeling of triumph that saw America win the Cold War.
By the ’90s, Hogan shifted to reflect national scepticism and anti-hero culture with the NWO. Post-9/11, Hogan/Mr America, appealed to an uncertain nation with memories of a simpler, better time. One who desired a return to traditional family values and glory.
Subsequent returns for similar reminders of the glory days grew thinner, with more of Hogan’s lies and actions brought scrutiny. Mirroring the examination of America’s immoral and illegal actions of the past and present. An image some wanted to remain idealised with secrets left in the dark.
Those clinging to the “glory days” of the 1980s, often politically right-leaning, saw Hogan as a hero and a representation of what could be again. Especially after endorsing Donald Trump. As Fox News Producer, Patrick Hatten told OutKick, “We lost a part of our DNA, a part of our collective selves today.”
For some, Hogan’s flaws, racist comments, and lack of a meaningful or rectifying apology don’t matter. It’s the idea and symbolism that do.
For others, that denial, that sense of exceptionalism, and Hogan the pariah reflect current internal and international feelings about America. A country whose government likewise refuses to change or acknowledge wrongdoing. Like America, Hogan was a unifying institution that now polarises its citizens.
Hogan was and remains a symbol, a myth, a feeling whose meaning will continue to change, even in death.
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