I vividly recall a moment in Elementary School when free time was allotted and I chose a puzzle for my entertainment. The logo on the side of the slightly torn and dusty box on a bottom shelf attracted me immediately. It was the corporate identity of the World Wrestling Federation, the company which was single-handedly responsible for the majority of my childhood memories.
On the cover of the puzzle box was wrestling’s biggest name, Hulk Hogan. The tanned and muscular world champion was in the middle of a ring wearing his traditional red and yellow attire and ripping off his shirt, a move that is one of maybe a dozen that the Hulkster would perform in front of his cheering fans. The puzzle was missing a few pieces, a flaw which I attributed to its likely decade-old existence and the many wrestling fans who, preceding me, attempted to complete it.
The Hulk Hogan on that puzzle box was the ultimate strong man and good guy. Portrayed as a hero, Hogan urged his followers to say their prayers and eat their vitamins. To boot, he slammed not only Andre the Giant but in the following years, Yokozuna. So popular was the larger-than-life athlete that his brand transcended the squared circle and even puzzle boxes.
In the early 1990s, which is when I would’ve handled the puzzle, Hulk Hogan wasn’t exactly the character pictured on the box. The Ultimate Warrior was now WWF’s indestructible force and Hulk Hogan was heading to, or already at, World Championship Wrestling, a regional promotion purchased by billionaire Ted Turner, who founded CNN. Still wearing the red and yellow in WCW, Hulk Hogan was much leaner than the bulky figure from the late 1980s, likely the result of him abandoning steroids. His move set, however, the same.
By the summer of 1996, Hulk Hogan would again become the biggest name in the wrestling business when he, for the first time in his mainstream career, became a bad guy. Hogan at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view turned on his WCW teammates to join former WWF superstars Scott Hall (Razor Ramon) and Kevin Nash (Diesel) to form a revolutionary faction soon branded as The New World Order.
Hogan, who had ditched the red and yellow for the black and white, would remain a heel (the industry term for a bad guy) until the early 2000s, when, after WCW was sold to WWF chairman Mr. Vince McMahon, he returned to the company with the n.W.o but shortly thereafter became a face (good guy) and put back on his traditional bright clothing.
There’s no debate that Hulk Hogan is partly responsible for wrestling’s place in popular culture. As my colleague Ikey Raw put it when we discussed this topic on my podcast, “you can’t tell the book of wrestling without mentioning Hulk Hogan.”
But the words of the individual who for years played the Hulk Hogan character has, in a way, forever damaged the brand and left fans wrestling with how to remember it.
Three years ago, a recording surfaced of Mr. Terry Bollea of Florida, who got rich portraying Hulk Hogan, calling his daughter’s black boyfriend “a fucking nigger” and admitting he’s a little bit racist.
When Mr. McMahon’s company, now the WWE, got wind of the audio, they scrubbed their website and archives of The Hulkster and removed him from the Hall of Fame, of which he entered in 2005.
But his numerous apologies and volunteer work was sufficient criteria to welcome the character back, WWE said in a statement. Mr. Bollea, however, has not been signed to a contract to appear on WWE programming.
Black wrestlers currently employed by WWE are rather indifferent to the matter but made clear they won’t simply forget what Mr. Bollea said when out of character and that he hasn’t apologized publicly or genuinely. One writer said Hogan’s return “feels like the twisting of a knife Vince McMahon has had in black spines for decades, a final and definite concession that we do not matter to him.”
To me, WWE’s decision is disappointing but understandable: nothing personal, just business. The Hulk Hogan brand still has some marketability to it and what’s a wrestling hall of fame without it? This is where it become hard but necessary to separate the spectacular character from the unrepentant racist.
The world doesn’t truly know Mr. Bollea, no more than they know the real Bill Cosby. Their television characters were compelling but their real-life sins were revolting.
Intellectually, I can separate fact from fiction. And yet it’s a challenge to remember Hulk Hogan without being reminded of the dark side of Mr. Bollea. I want to recall and enjoy the pure memories of the puzzle and the wrestling action figures, a big Hulk Hogan toy among them, that littered my bedroom floor. But each of those memories are tainted by Mr. Bollea’s real-world speech.
I’ll aim to continue to remember the good Hulk Hogan but can never forget the awful Mr. Bollea. For sure, he’s no BROTHER of mine.
LISTEN: The Return of Hulk Hogan to WWE
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™