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Hulk Hogan is often considered the biggest name in the history of professional wrestling, and his rise as Hulkamania dates mainly back to the 80s. Back when wrestling was not a show for television audiences, people mostly used to attend live shows to watch wrestling. '80s professional wrestling was completely different from what we witness today.
It was Hogan who made professional wrestling internationally famous show and the television audience started to enjoy wrestling. Hogan was a huge star back in the 80s, and millions of audience used to tune into the television screen to watch The Hulkamania go wild on his opponents. He was more of a superhero than just a professional wrestler.
Gail Kim discusses the contributions of Hulk Hogan
Hogan was the biggest reason professional wrestling reached every household, and by the 90s, everyone in the United States of America used to watch wrestling. Professional wrestling legend Gail Kim recently explained how Hogan helped wrestling to become a mainstream show. Speaking with Jackpot City Casino, the WWE Hall of Famer explained the following;
Hulk Hogan was the biggest professional wrestling star in the 80s
“Hulk Hogan brought pro wrestling to the mainstream audience in the 80s. I remember as a kid, watching wrestling. Me and my sister being children and, like, waiting up really late on Saturday Night’s Main Event. It was so special to us, and the storylines and the characters back then. There was no internet, so everyone just believed everything in pro wrestling. It was such a wonderful time. I don’t know if you watched wrestling as a kid back then, but it was very real, very memorable.”
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005
“But Hulk Hogan wasn’t my favorite, I’ll say that. I liked some of the mid-card guys, I guess you would call them the Intercontinental champions at the time: Tito Santana, the British Bulldog, Bret Hart. I kind of liked more of the smaller guys, I guess, or the ones that moved around quicker, or certain characters, like Ricky Steamboat, and Jake “The Snake,” and Rick Rude, and Miss Elizabeth.“
Hulk Hogan remained a regular active professional wrestler until the early 2000s, after that, he started working as a part time wrestler. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, but even after his Hall of Fame induction, he kept on working as a part time worker. It is quite unfortunate that he passed away on July 24, 2025.
