Terry Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American actor and semi-retired professional wrestler.

Bollea had mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American, working-class hero character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now World Wrestling Entertainment), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as "Hollywood" Hogan, a villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following WCW's fold, he made a brief return to the WWE in the early 2000s, revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas.

Bollean was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and is officially a twelve-time World Heavyweight Champion: a six-time WWF/E Champion and a six-time WCW Champion as well as a former one time Tag Team Champion with Edge. He was also the winner of the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991.

Early Life

The son of Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher, and Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, he was raised in Tampa, Florida. As a boy, he was a pitcher in Little League Baseball. He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first turned his attention towards "Superstar" Billy Graham and looked to him for inspiration. Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands. Many of the wrestlers who competed in the Florida territory at that time visited the bars where Hogan was performing. He then attended the University of South Florida, of which he later dropped out; he spent most of his time at a local gym, where he met pro wrestler Mike Graham, the son of legendary wrestler and National Wrestling Alliance president Eddie Graham. Hogan's physical stature also caught the attention of Jack Brisco and his brother Gerald. Together, they convinced Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan agreed, and in 1976, Mike Graham introduced Hogan to Hiro Matsuda, who was among the sport's top trainers. According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you want to be a wrestler?" and purposely broke Hogan's leg.

Early career

Within a year, Matsuda had prepared him for his professional debut, in which Eddie Graham booked him against Brian Blair in Fort Myers, Florida on August 10, 1977. A short time later, Bollea donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer," a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by several other wrestlers. A few months later, he joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory, where he tag teamed with Ed Leslie (later known as Brutus Beefcake) as Terry and Ed Boulder. These early matches as a tag team with the surname Boulder being used by both men prompted a rumor among wrestling fans unaware of the inner workings of the sport that Hogan and Beefcake were brothers, as few people actually knew their real names outside of immediate friends, family, and of course the various promoters the two worked for. During this time, he appeared on a talk show, where he sat beside Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series The Incredible Hulk. The host commented how Terry, who stood 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) and weighed 295 pounds with 24 inch biceps, actually dwarfed "the Hulk." As a result, Bollea began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden.