Terry Eugene Bollea, widely recognized as the most renowned wrestling star globally and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s, embarked on a remarkable professional wrestling career in 1977.
As he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1983, his heroic all-American persona helped propel the 1980s professional wrestling boom, with him headlining eight of the first nine editions of WWF's flagship annual event, WrestleMania.
During his initial run, Hogan won the WWF Championship five times, with his first reign being the second-longest in the championship's history. He is the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991.
Notably, his match with Andre the Giant 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 with 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.
Throughout his career, 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).
In addition to his wrestling career, Hogan has had an extensive acting career, beginning with his 1982 cameo role in Rocky III. He has starred in several films, including No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando, and Mr. Nanny, as well as three television shows, Hogan Knows Best, Thunder in Paradise, and China, IL.
