Hyorinmaru
Sit Upon The Frozen Heavens
Post 1
I got one for the Women so why not one for the men that laid the groundwork. I'll tell you right now all my info comes from Wikipedia
I got one for the Women so why not one for the men that laid the groundwork. I'll tell you right now all my info comes from Wikipedia
Hulk Hogan
- 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.
- In May 1979, Bollea had an early shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, whose holder was at the time generally recognized as the industry's best. In June 1979, Bollea won his first wrestling championship, the NWA Southeast Heavyweight Championship, recognized in Alabama and Tennessee when he defeated Ox Baker.
- Later that year, former NWA World Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to the World Wrestling Federation chief Vincent J. McMahon, who was impressed with his charisma and physical stature. McMahon, who wanted to use an Irish name, gave Bollea the last name Hogan.
- At this time, Hogan wrestled Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship, and he started his first big feud with André the Giant, which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium. Hulk Hogan claims in his autobiography that he and André the Giant were the reason for the Shea gate. However, Sammartino/Zbyszko sold out everywhere they wrestled leading up the show.
- Hogan and Andre wrestled in White Plains, New York, drawing 1,200 in a building that held 3,500 as the main event before they wrestled at Shea. During his initial heel run in the WWF, Hogan was paired with "Classy" Freddie Blassie, a wrestler-turned-manager.
- A great deal of Hogan's early success was achieved in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Japanese wrestling fans were in awe of the gargantuan blond American and nicknamed him "Ichiban" (which translates to "Number One"). Hogan first appeared in Japan on May 13, 1980, while he was still with the WWF.
- He toured the country from time to time over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from Tatsumi Fujinami to Abdullah the Butcher. When competing in Japan, Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style U.S. fans became accustomed to seeing from him.
- Another difference is that Hogan used a running forearm lariat (called the "Axe Bomber") as his finisher in Japan, as opposed to the running leg drop that has been his traditional finisher in America.
- On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) tournament winner, defeating Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a 10-man tournament featuring top talent from throughout the world.
- Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning the prestigious MSG Tag League tournament two years in a row: in 1982 and 1983. Hogan's popularity in Japan was so great, he even recorded an album there—a forerunner to the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock 'n' Wrestling" of the mid 1980s.
- After filming his scene for Rocky III, against McMahon's wishes, Hogan made his debut in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), owned by Verne Gagne. Hogan started his AWA run as a heel, taking on "Luscious" Johnny Valiant as his manager, but AWA audiences loved the muscular and more charismatic Hogan, and soon the AWA's bookers were compelled to turn Hogan face.
- Using "Eye of the Tiger" as his theme music, Hogan soon became the promotion's top babyface, and throughout 1983, he engaged in a big feud against AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkel and his manager Bobby Heenan. Gagne, however, continued to tease the AWA audience by booking numerous screwjobs meant to keep the championship with Bockwinkel, who was a veteran of the territory and had assumed the mantle of the organization's centerpiece following Gagne's retirement from active competition. Because Hogan was not an "old school" technical wrestler, Gagne would not let him be champion.
- On several occasions, Hogan defeated Bockwinkel to win the title, only to have the decision later reversed. This practice increasingly drew the ire of the fans, so much so that on one occasion, according to Hogan's autobiography and other books, one crowd nearly rioted until Hogan himself calmed the audience down.
- Hogan himself also began to grow frustrated with Verne Gagne's unwillingness to give Hogan a larger share of his merchandise sales. Eventually, Gagne was finally ready to book Hogan to win the AWA title; however, according to Hogan, Gagne wanted a piece of the large money Hogan was making from his frequent trips to Japan, more control over the bookings that Hogan took overseas.
- Hogan refused flatly, saying he didn't need the AWA title at that point. Also according to Hogan in his autobiography, Verne wanted Hogan to be brought into the family by marriage before handing the AWA title over to him. Hogan, unwilling to give up his life as a bachelor just for the world title of the AWA, continued to turn down the belt.
- Shortly after these attempts to woo Hogan into giving Gagne more of a share of his profits and booking in Japan and attempts to bring him into the Gagne family, Hogan was lured back to the Northeast by Vincent K. McMahon, who had just recently purchased the WWF from his ailing father.
- Over twenty years later, just prior to Hulk Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2005, the revived AWA, under the authority of owner Dale Gagne (real last name: Gagner), relented and acknowledged the legitimacy of Hogan's two title wins over Nick Bockwinkel, making him a two-time AWA champion.
- This resolution, however, has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as an entirely different body than the Verne Gagne-owned AWA of old. As recently as the release of the DVD The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA, interviews between Hogan and the Gagnes show that there is still animosity between both parties, indicating the unlikelihood Hogan's AWA title reign would have been retroactively instated under the original ownership.
- The WWE also sought legal action against Dale Gagne, due to alleged trademark infringement, which calls Gagne's claims to ownership of the AWA into doubt, and as such may render the resolution moot, as the WWE only recognizes twelve American world titles being attributed to Hulk Hogan, and the AWA World Title is not among that number.
- After purchasing the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, Vincent K. McMahon had plans to expand the territory into a nationwide promotion, and he handpicked Hulk Hogan to be the company's showpiece attraction due to his charisma and name recognition. Hogan made his return to the WWF at a television taping in St. Louis, Missouri on December 27, 1983 defeating Bill Dixon. Initially, Hogan was a heel, once again allied with Blassie; however, this was short-lived.
- On January 7, 1984 edition of Championship Wrestling, Hogan saved Bob Backlund from a three-way assault. Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's a great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around". The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on January 23, Hogan won his first WWF Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his corner) in Madison Square Garden. The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund, and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's signature move).
- Immediately after the title win, commentator Gorilla Monsoon officially proclaimed "Hulkamania is here!" Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in the 1990s.
- Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing, and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner.
- The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters, using a format which became near-routine: Hogan would deliver steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. He would then experience a sudden second wind, fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack—a process described as "hulking up".
- His signature maneuvers, pointing at the opponent, shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish Whip, the big boot and Atomic Leg Drop, would follow and ensure him a victory.
- Over the next year, Hulk Hogan became the face of pro wrestling as McMahon pushed the WWF into a pop culture enterprise with the The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection on MTV, drawing record houses, pay-per-view buyrates, and television ratings in the process.
- The centerpiece attraction for the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Hogan teamed with real-life friend Mr. T to defeat his archrival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. On the first-ever edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Hogan successfully defended the WWF title against Cowboy Bob Orton in a match which Hogan won by disqualification. Hogan was named the most requested celebrity of the 1980s for the Make-a-Wish Foundation children's charity.
- He was featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated, TV Guide, and People magazines, while also appearing on The Tonight Show and having his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon titled Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling. Hogan went on to headline eight of the first nine WrestleMania events, and he also co-hosted Saturday Night Live on March 30, 1985 during this lucrative run.
- AT&T reported that his 900 number information line was the single biggest 900 number in the industry from 1991 to 1993. Hogan operated the 900 number through his stint in WWF and then recreated it when he joined World Championship Wrestling.
- On the October 5, 1985 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, he successfully defended the title against Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match. He met long-time rival Roddy Piper in a WWF title match at the historic Wrestling Classic pay-per-view event. Hogan retained the title by disqualification after Bob Orton interfered and hit Hogan with his cast.
- Hogan had many challengers in the way as the new year began. Throughout 1986, Hogan made successful title defenses against challengers such as Terry Funk, "The Magnificent" Don Muraco, King Kong Bundy (in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2), Paul Orndorff, and Hercules Hernandez.
- In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag matches with The Machines as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from New Japan Pro Wrestling gimmick "Super Strong Machine." At WrestleMania III in 1987, Hogan was booked to defend the title against André the Giant, who had been the sport's premier star and was pushed as undefeated for the previous two decades.
- A new storyline was introduced in early 1987; Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three consecutive years. André the Giant, a good friend came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterwards, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years."
- Hogan came out to congratulate André, who walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of Piper's Pit, Hogan was confronted by Bobby Heenan, who announced that André was his new protégé, and Andre challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III.
- At WrestleMania III, Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan bodyslammed the 520-pound Frenchman and won the match after a leg drop. Hogan remained WWF Champion for four years and 13 days (1,474 days). He became the third longest reigning WWF Champion in the process, being outranked only by Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund.
- In front of 33 million viewers, however, Hogan finally lost the belt to André on the February 5 edition of The Main Event after a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Earl Hebner (who assumed the place of his twin brother Dave Hebner, who was the match's appointed referee).
- After André delivered a belly to belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner counted the pin while Hogan's left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their business deal. As a result, the WWF Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history.
- At WrestleMania IV, Hogan participated in a tournament for the vacant WWF title to regain it and faced André in the tournament quarter-finals but their match resulted in a double disqualification. Later that night in the main event, Hogan interfered and helped "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeat Ted DiBiase to win the title. The relationship between Hogan and Savage would lead to the main event of the following WrestleMania.
- Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers. After Savage became WWF Champion at WrestleMania IV, they feuded with The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant), and defeated them at the main event of the first-ever SummerSlam. The Mega Powers, however, soon imploded from within in 1989, due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were "more than friends".
- Dissension was furthered at the Royal Rumble 1989, when Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match. The duo broke up while wrestling The Twin Towers on the February 3, 1989 edition of The Main Event. During the match, Savage accidentally collided with Miss Elizabeth. Hogan took her backstage to receive medical attention, thus temporarily abandoning Savage.
- When he returmed to the ring, Savage slapped Hogan and left the ring, where Hogan eventually won the match by himself. After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage, which started a feud between the two. Their feud culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF Championship at WrestleMania V.
- Hogan's second run lasted a year, during which time he starred in the movie No Holds Barred. The film was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star Tom Lister, Jr., who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus. Zeus was a monster heel who was "jealous" over Hogan's higher billing and wanted revenge.
- Hogan, however, was easily able to defeat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam, in which Hogan and Brutus Beefcake topped Zeus and Savage. Hogan and Beefcake defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at the No Holds Barred pay-per-view to end the feud.
- Also during his second run, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble match. He dropped the title to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title vs. title match at WrestleMania VI. It was the first time in over seven years that Hogan suffered a defeat with a clean finish. This title match was unique because the two wrestlers were both faces, and Hogan graciously handed Warrior the belt and hugged him at the conclusion of the match.
- Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 468-pound Earthquake, who gained infamy by crushing Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on The Brother Love Show in May 1990. On television, announcers explained that Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to The Ultimate Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank-you").
- Hogan returned by SummerSlam 1990 and for several months, dominated Earthquake in a series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe caused Hogan to add a fourth demandment: believing in yourself.
- He would also be known as "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Hogan became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row, as he won the 1991 Royal Rumble match. At WrestleMania VII, Hogan stood up for the USA against Iraqi-sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship.
- In the fall of 1991, Hogan was challenged by Ric Flair, the former NWA champion who recently arrived in the WWF. The feud remained unresolved, as Hogan lost the WWF title to The Undertaker at Survivor Series and won it back on a one-time pay-per-view six days later. Flair had interfered in both matches and due to the resulting controversy, the title was again declared vacant.
- The WWF Championship was decided at the 1992 Royal Rumble in the Royal Rumble match. Hogan failed to regain the championship as he was eliminated by friend Sid Justice and in turn caused Sid to be eliminated, leaving Ric Flair the winner and new champion.
- Hogan and Sid patched things up and teamed up together on the February 8, 1992 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event against Flair and Undertaker but during the match Sid abandoned Hogan, starting their feud.
- In the ensuing months, Hulk Hogan announced he was contemplating retirement from wrestling after his match against Sid at WrestleMania VIII. Hogan eventually won the match via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman. Hogan was then attacked by Papa Shango and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior.
- Hogan returned to the WWF in January 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) and officially renamed themselves The Mega-Maniacs. At WrestleMania IX, Hogan and Beefcake took on Money Inc. for the WWF Tag Team Championship but ended up losing the match by disqualification.
- Later that night, Hogan won his fifth WWF Championship by pinning Yokozuna only moments after Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart. At the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, 1993, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion, Yokozuna, in his first title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX.
- Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman). The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop.
- This would be Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan would continue his feud on the house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan would sit out the rest of his contract which expired later that year.
- In 1994, a steroids scandal threatened the WWF, and Hogan testified in court that he had used steroids over a period of 12 years "to get big" and had also introduced WWF Chairman Vince McMahon to steroids during the filming of No Holds Barred. Both men also had Pennsylvania doctor George Zahorian send steroids to WWF's corporate office.
- Hogan, however, never accused McMahon of distributing steroids himself, but Hogan also testified that steroid use was rampant in the WWF. His testimony may have kept McMahon out of prison, but it hurt both Hogan and the WWF's public image.
- After Hogan left the WWF in the summer of 1993, he decided to take a few months off from wrestling to concentrate on movies, television, and his family. In June 1994, Hogan signed with Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling and began appearing on television the next month.
- Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, defeating Ric Flair in a 'dream' match at Bash at the Beach. After overcoming the likes of Flair, The Butcher (former partner Brutus Beefcake), Vader, and the Dungeon of Doom for the next eighteen months, Hogan dropped the belt to The Giant at Halloween Havoc 1995 via DQ.
- Following the controversial loss (which was due to a "contract clause"), the WCW title became vacant. In early 1996, Hogan feuded with The Giant and with the Alliance to End Hulkamania. After coming out victorious from his feuds, Hogan began to only appear occasionally on WCW programming.
- It was also around this time, WCW fans began to grow tired of seeing Hogan's "red-and-yellow good guy" persona they had seen for ten years in the WWF. This led to one of the most talked about moments in wrestling history in the summer of 1996. At Bash at the Beach, during a six man tag team match pitting The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) against WCW loyalists, Hogan interfered on behalf of Nash and Hall, attacking Randy Savage, thereby turning heel for the first time in over ten years.
- After the match, Hogan delivered a now-infamous promo, accosting the fans and WCW for underappreciating his talent and drawing power, and announcing the formation of the New World Order (nWo).
- The new stable would gain prominence in the coming weeks and months. Hogan grew a beard alongside his famous mustache and dyed it black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black and white clothing, often detailed with lightning bolts, and renamed himself Hollywood Hogan.
- Hogan returned to WCW programming eight days after his heel turn. Around this time, he began to use his celebrity status and wrestling clout to bring in various celebrities, such as Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman into wrestling.
Hulk Hogan said:
- Hogan won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Hog Wild, defeating The Giant for the title. He spray painted "nWo" across the title belt, scribbled across the nameplate, and referred to the title as the "nWo title" during this and any other time he held the title while in the nWo.
- Hogan then started a feud with Lex Luger after Luger and The Giant defeated Hogan and Dennis Rodman in a tag team match at Bash at the Beach. On the August 4, 1997 edition of Nitro, Hogan lost the WCW title to Luger by submission via Luger's Torture Rack submission finisher. Five days later, at Road Wild, Hogan defeated Luger to regain the WCW title and begin his third WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
- Hogan then lost the belt to Sting in a hugely-hyped, eighteen-months-in-the-making match at Starrcade. In the match, WCW's newly-contracted Bret Hart accused referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and had the match restarted—with himself as referee. Sting later won by submission.
- After a rematch the following night, where Sting controversially retained the title, the WCW Championship became vacant. Sting then went on to win the vacant title against Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII. Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just cost Hogan the title match at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can.
- The heat culminated in a steel cage match at Uncensored, which ended in a no contest. Savage took the World Championship from Sting at Spring Stampede, while Hogan teamed with Kevin Nash to take on Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever Bat match.
- Marking the breakup of the original nWo, Hogan betrayed Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night for his championship. In the no disqualification match for Savage's newly won title, Nash entered the ring and powerbombed Hogan as retribution for the attack the previous night, and Bret Hart turned heel by jumping in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who regained his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
- Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against newcomer and then WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Late in the match, Hogan was distracted by Karl Malone, who delivered a Diamond Cutter to nWo member Curt Hennig, the latter of whom was approaching the ring to assist Hogan.
- A spear and a Jackhammer from Goldberg then followed, and the rookie pinned Hogan to win his first and only WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches.
- His second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pitted them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach and at Road Wild, he and Eric Bischoff lost to Page and Jay Leno thanks to interference from Kevin Eubanks, who leveled Bischoff with a Diamond Cutter. Hogan also had a highly hyped rematch with the Ultimate Warrior at Halloween Havoc, where his nephew Horace aided his victory.
- On the Thanksgiving episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Hogan officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling, as well as his candidacy for President of the United States. Campaign footage aired on Nitro of Hogan and Bischoff holding a press conference, making it appear legitimate.
- In the long run, however, both announcements were false and merely done as a publicity stunt attempting to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him.
- After some time off from WCW, Hogan returned on the January 4, 1999 edition of Nitro to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW title. He controversially regained his fifth WCW World Heavyweight Championship in what was later dubbed the Fingerpoke of Doom. This reformed the divided nWo branches — nWo Hollywood and nWo Wolfpac — which began feuding with Bill Goldberg and The Four Horsemen.
- He then lost the title to Ric Flair at Uncensored in a Steel Cage First Blood match. A heavily bleeding Flair won via pinfall thanks to biased referee Charles Robinson. During that match, however, Hogan began to show some signs that a face turn was imminent, showing off some old tactics like his "Hulking up" no-sell.
- On the July 12 edition of Nitro, Hogan made his grand return as a full-fledged face and accepted a challenge from Savage, who had gained the world title at Bash at the Beach the night before. Thanks to interference from Nash, who had lost the title to Savage, Hogan defeated Savage to win his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship.
- On August 9, 1999, he started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his son, Hogan came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main-event 6-man tag team match. Injuries and frustrations were mounting up however, and he was absent from television from October 1999 to February 2000.
- In his book Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Bollea said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booker Vince Russo and was not told when he would be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so.
- On October 24 at Halloween Havoc, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which he had lost to Sting at Fall Brawl the previous month, when Sting beat Hogan by cheating and had turned heel in the process). Hogan, however, came to the ring in street clothes, laid down for the pin, and left the ring.
- Soon after his return in February 2000, at Bash at the Beach, Hogan was involved in a controversial, real-life incident with Vince Russo. Hogan was scheduled to wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, there was a dispute between Hogan and Russo. Unbeknownst to Hogan, Russo told Jarrett to lie down in the middle of the ring and asked Hogan to pin him straight away.
- A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "Is this your idea, Russo...? That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!" Russo responded by coming out and saying that "From day one, that I've been in WCW, I've done nothing... nothing... but deal with the bullshit of the politics behind that curtain."
- Since Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship was created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jeff Jarrett later that night. Whether or not the whole incident was a shoot or a work is still a hot debate.
- As a result, Hogan filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually dismissed in 2002. Russo claims the whole thing was a work, and Hogan claims that Russo made it a shoot.
- Eric Bischoff agreed with Hogan's side of the story when he wrote that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work, and that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but that Russo coming out to fire Hogan was an unplanned shoot which led to the lawsuit filed by Hogan.
- In the months following the eventual demise of WCW in March 2001, Hogan underwent surgery on his knees in order for him to wrestle again. As a test, Hogan worked a match in Orlando, Florida for the X Wrestling Federation promotion run by his longtime handler Jimmy Hart. Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in this match and felt healthy enough to accept an offer to return to the WWF in February 2002.
- At No Way Out in 2002, Hogan returned to the company that had made him a pop culture icon. Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock and cost Stone Cold Steve Austin a chance at becoming the WWF Undisputed Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event.
- The nWo feuded with both Austin and The Rock, and Hogan accepted The Rock's challenge to a match at WrestleMania X8. At the event, Hogan asked Hall and Nash not to interfere, wanting to defeat The Rock by himself. Despite the fact that Hogan was supposed to be the heel in the match, the crowd favored Hogan throughout it; this effectively turned him face.
- The Rock cleanly won the contest but befriended Hogan at the end of the bout and helped him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude. After the match, Hogan was a definite face again, siding with The Rock, though he continued wearing black and white tights for a few weeks after WrestleMania X8 until he resumed wearing his signature red and yellow tights.
- During this period, the "Hulk Rules" logo of the '80s was redone with the text "Hulk Still Rules." Hulk wore the original "Hulk Rules" attire 12 years earlier, when he headlined WrestleMania 6 at the same arena, in the SkyDome.
- For a time, he was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blond mustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights and using the Voodoo Child theme music he used in WCW.
- On April 4, Hogan launched a feud with Triple H and defeated him for his sixth and final WWF "Undisputed" Championship At Backlash. On May 19 at Judgment Day, he lost the belt to The Undertaker. After losing a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship to Triple H on June 6, Hogan began feuding with Kurt Angle resulting in a match between the two at the King of the Ring which Angle won via submission.
- On the July 4, 2002 edition of SmackDown, Hogan teamed with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck and capture the WWE Tag Team Championship for the first time. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's theme song "Real American." They later dropped the titles to The Un-Americans (Lance Storm and Christian), at Vengeance.
- After an angle with Brock Lesnar, which saw Lesnar hand Hogan a defeat in August 2002, Hogan went on hiatus. He returned in early 2003 to battle The Rock (who had turned heel) once again at No Way Out and defeated Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XIX in a match billed as "20 years in the making." He then had another run as Hulk Hogan, shaving off the black Hollywood beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name.
