On July 24th, 2025, the wrestling world lost one of its most recognisable figures. Terry Eugene Bollea — known to millions as Hulk Hogan — passed away at the age of 71. To generations of fans, he defined professional wrestling’s boom period and became a household name far beyond the squared circle.
But along with the matches, the championships and the red‑and‑yellow pageantry, Hogan left behind something else: a treasure trove of stories about his life and career. Some were inspirational. Many were colourful. And quite a few stretched the truth so far that they turned into folklore. Looking back on those stories is part of remembering the man himself.
The Early Years: Destined for Greatness
Hogan often described his youth as if destiny had singled him out from the start. He said he had been an all‑state baseball pitcher, scouted by the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds, though no evidence of that has ever surfaced. He spoke about his early days wrestling in Memphis and claimed Elvis Presley was already a fan of his work, even though Elvis died in August 1977, the same year Hogan first appeared there.
He also liked to remark that he had once been six foot nine, only to lose five inches of height through years of injuries and surgeries. While it is true that spinal compression can reduce stature, his billed height during his prime was six foot seven, and the real difference was likely closer to an inch or two.
Changing the Business
Hogan often took credit for changes in wrestling that predated him. He claimed to have convinced Vince McMahon to start selling merchandise, but T‑shirts for stars like Bruno Sammartino were being sold years before. He insisted he had single‑handedly popularised entrance music by paying a technician to play Eye of the Tiger during one of his matches in 1984, even though performers had been using theme songs as far back as the 1950s.
One of his most repeated boasts was that he wrestled 400 days in a single year by constantly crossing time zones between America and Japan. However impressive his schedule might have been, the calendar simply didn’t support that claim.
Territory Tales
Before his WWF fame, Hogan built his reputation in the American Wrestling Association. He liked to recount a story in which he created his own T‑shirts because the promotion wasn’t pushing him enough, only to return from Japan and discover that AWA promoter Verne Gagne was selling them without his knowledge. According to Hogan, this ended in a physical altercation backstage, but no other witnesses ever confirmed it. Like many of his tales, it sounded like a legend told around a locker‑room campfire.
The Boom Years
By the time WrestleMania III arrived in 1987, Hogan was already a cultural icon. His account of that night only grew with each retelling. He said he was the first person ever to slam Andre the Giant, that Andre weighed 600 pounds at the time, and that Hulk Hogan tore 18 muscles in his back performing the feat. In reality, Andre had been slammed by others before, weighed closer to 520 pounds, and lived another six years.
He also described ideas that were never documented, such as wanting to drop the WWF Championship to Roddy Piper in 1985 but fearing Piper wouldn’t return the favour, or wanting to turn heel against The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI but being blocked by Vince McMahon. Later in his career, he claimed the New World Order was his own concept, originally imagined with himself, the Booty Man and The Nasty Boys, although WCW’s creative team and other wrestlers have given very different accounts of its origin.
Hollywood Hogan
Hogan’s forays into acting brought even more colourful stories. He maintained that Paramount Pictures once told him he would be the next John Wayne but that he chose wrestling instead, despite continuing to appear in a string of family films throughout the 1990s. He claimed to have rewritten the scripts for Mr. Nanny and Santa with Muscles only to have his credits taken away, a claim with no record in Writers’ Guild disputes.
He said he turned down a film role opposite Pamela Anderson and even the lead role in Highlander because his wife at the time, Linda, was worried about Hollywood’s influence. Casting records show no sign that he was ever in serious consideration for either project.
His stories from the set of Rocky III were no less dramatic. He told audiences that he powerslammed Sylvester Stallone so hard that blood came from Stallone’s mouth, though Stallone only ever noted that Hogan worked stiffly during the filming.
Later Career
As years went on, Hogan continued to reshape history. He claimed to have discovered The Undertaker, even though Undertaker was already signed with WWF before Hogan’s movie Suburban Commando finished filming. He said he had been the first to recognise Kevin Owens’s potential, despite Owens having spent a decade establishing himself on the independent scene.
Hogan also insisted he never once used his WCW creative control clause, but documented examples exist — such as changing the outcome of the 1995 World War 3 match mid‑bout. He said he was the first to face Brock Lesnar after his UFC run, but Lesnar’s first opponent after returning to WWE in 2012 was John Cena.
The Wildest Myths
Some Hogan stories drifted into pure fantasy. He once described Harley Race arriving at a show with a gun, setting the ring on fire, thanking Hogan for everything he had done and asking for a job. He recounted Andre the Giant supposedly filling a hotel bathtub to the taps. He even said that in a match with Antonio Inoki in Japan, he injured Inoki so badly that Inoki died, was revived by CPR, and that the Yakuza wanted revenge. None of these stories were ever verified.
In his autobiography, Hogan also wrote about a darker personal moment, when he said he had considered ending his life but changed his mind after an unexpected phone call from Laila Ali. That story, unlike the others, was more about vulnerability than self‑promotion.
A Legacy Larger Than Life
Despite how you might think of Hulk Hogan personally — whether you admired him, felt let down by him, or simply shook your head at his many exaggerations — there is no denying his impact on professional wrestling. His passing prompted tributes from every corner of the industry. Ric Flair credited him with making wrestling what it became. John Cena spoke of how Hogan’s popularity paved the way for future stars. Dwayne Johnson reflected on how Hogan’s charisma inspired a generation.
Hogan was a man of contradictions: beloved and controversial, grounded and larger‑than‑life. He built his career on spectacle, and he built his personal legacy on stories that sometimes grew beyond the truth. In wrestling, where reality and fiction have always blurred, he took that art to another level.
With his death on July 24th, 2025, fans are left with memories of sold‑out arenas, legdrops, and countless tales — some true, some not, but all part of the Hulk Hogan mythos. For better or worse, he spent his life creating a character the world would never forget. Rest in peace, Hulk Hogan.
