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- Hulk Hogan is renowned for being one of the more selfish wrestlers of all time, due to being one of the biggest draws and most successful stars throughout history in the likes of WWE and WCW. This makes it fairly difficult to pick out moments in which Hogan “gave back” to the professional wrestling business. Of course, he made a lot of money for WWE with his massive success and countless main events, including helping to make the WrestleMania phenomenon what it is today, but he wreaked the benefits of all that with championship gold, wins and money. There were instances in which he did give back though.
On the list of most influential and recognizable wrestlers in history, Hulk Hogan is very close to the top of that list. While his legacy is not without its controversies or issues, there is no denying the cultural impact that Hogan has had over his decades in the wrestling business. Hogan's reputation has often been that he is considered selfish and not always doing what is best for business, but history proves otherwise.
Despite his reputation, Hogan has helped move the wrestling business along for several decades and has done the right thing at several points in his career. While it is easy to point out times that he could have done something differently creatively, it would be difficult to say that he has not done any good in the wrestling business at all.
UPDATE: 2023/06/10 07:30 EST BY ANDREW KELLY
Hulk Hogan is renowned for being one of the more selfish wrestlers of all time, due to being one of the biggest draws and most successful stars throughout history in the likes of WWE and WCW. This makes it fairly difficult to pick out moments in which Hogan “gave back” to the professional wrestling business. Of course, he made a lot of money for WWE with his massive success and countless main events, including helping to make the WrestleMania phenomenon what it is today, but he wreaked the benefits of all that with championship gold, wins and money. There were instances in which he did give back though.
12 Losing To The Undertaker In 1991
When it came to monster heels such as King Kong Bundy, Andre The Giant and more, Hulk Hogan almost always got the upper hand. If you were a young upstart heel, the chances of gaining success when up against Hogan was a rarity.
However, in a rare instance of someone getting a decisive win over Hogan was when a young Undertaker defeated the legend for the WWE Championship at Survivor Series 1991. Sure, Hogan would win the title back fairly quickly, but this established Undertaker as a main eventer and a world title caliber performer, which may not have happened if Hogan didn’t put him over here.
11 Losing To Yokozuna On His Way Out
It is common for a wrestler to go out on his back when they either leave a promotion or retire, though you would be forgiven to expect someone like Hogan to win - even if he was leaving.
However, that wasn’t the case in 1993 when Hogan put over Yokozuna on his way out, prior to his exodus to WCW. Hogan slightly righted the wrongs of his involvement in the WrestleMania 9 main event by allowing Yokozuna to benefit from a big win over a top name.
10 Losing to The Ultimate Warrior
Hulk Hogan very much liked being the definitive number one babyface of WWE, but he gave back one time when he put over The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 6.
Warrior was a rising babyface Intercontinental Champion, and he and Hogan fought for both that gold and the WWE Championship - which Warrior won clean. There have been many over babyfaces throughout the years that haven’t succeeded as well as they could at times due to Hogan’s stranglehold on the role, but this was a rare instance in which Hogan gave back.
9 Forming the nWo
After over a decade as the biggest good guy in professional wrestling, Hogan's yellow and red character was beginning to get stale with audiences. Even after defecting to WCW, he maintained many aspects of his character and fans were beginning to turn on him.
Sensing that it was time for a change, Hogan agreed to one of the biggest character shifts in wrestling history. By becoming Hollywood Hogan and leading the villainous nWo, he helped spark a boom in the wrestling industry and revitalized his career in a huge way.
8 Dropping The WWE Championship To The Undertaker
Hogan's return to WWE in 2002 was among one of the biggest career resurgences that fans had ever seen before. The crowd was eating up everything Hogan would give them following WrestleMania 18, and the wave of nostalgia led him to win his sixth and final WWE Championship at the age of 49.
However, with his advanced age and body hurting following years of performing, Hogan was no longer up to the full-time schedule that a champion would need to do. Thankfully, his last reign as champion was short and he dropped the title to The Undertaker shortly afterwards.
7 Brock Lesnar Beatdown
In 2002, it was clear that Brock Lesnar was going to be the next top star in WWE. With an impending championship match against The Rock at SummerSlam that year, Lesnar took on Hogan during an episode of Smackdown which helped define Lensar's path to the top.
After not only defeating Hogan by submission, Lesnar continued to beat him down for a long period of time. After decimating Hogan and leaving him bloody in the ring, there was little doubt in any fan's mind that Lesnar was going to be a force in WWE for a long time.
6 Putting Over Goldberg
If there is one thing Hulk Hogan did well in his career, it is knowing when to pass the torch to the next wrestler in line for the promotion. In 1998, Bill Goldberg was on a meteoric rise in WCW and in the middle of an undefeated streak during his rookie year and was gaining incredible popularity with fans.
Following a long run as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan was booked against Goldberg while he was reaching the peak of his popularity. Rather than run over the rookie, he was defeated in decisive fashion and dropped the title to Goldberg, ushering in one of the most popular homegrown stars for the company.
5 Passing The Torch To The Rock
After returning to WWE after several years away, fans were very elated to see Hogan return for a big marquee match against The Rock at WrestleMania 18. The Rock had been one of the biggest draws for WWE and was close to embarking on a career in Hollywood at that point.
Recognizing that despite his popularity with the audience following his return, The Rock would benefit more from defeating him in the big match, and he clearly lost his first match at WrestleMania in ten years to one of the biggest stars in the business.
4 Tag Teaming With Edge
Returning big-name stars may have often taken such a beating on their bodies that returning to a full-time singles wrestler schedule is not a smart decision. For Hogan's final run as a full-time wrestler in WWE in 2002, he was nowhere near the ring shape he used to be and was not able to perform at his previous level.
Instead of phoning in poor performances, Hogan transitioned to being a tag team wrestler for a period of time. In doing so, he gave a huge rub to an upcoming main eventer in Edge. While Edge was already an accomplished tag team wrestler, partnering with Hogan gave him legitimacy as a main eventer which boosted his career for the future.
3 Feuding With Billy Kidman
In WCW, Hulk Hogan was well known for flexing his creative control clause in his contract which allowed him to trump WCW management when he disagreed with their decision-making. Unfortunately, this led to some wrestlers who feuded with Hogan not getting their due during their feud.
In a rare bright spot, Hogan feuded with Cruiserweight main-stay Billy Kidman during his final months in WCW, and actually helped elevate him on the card. While Kidman never scored a decisive victory over Hogan, he did outsmart him on several occasions and it boosted his credibility with fans.
2 Tapped Out To Kurt Angle
For many years, Hulk Hogan was portrayed as an invincible force in the ring who would never give up despite the odds. Despite facing some of the biggest and worst opponents over the years, Hogan had never quit during a match while under submission.
However, once he met an Olympic Hero inside the ring, things changed. Kurt Angle's technical wrestling and submission skills are above most wrestlers, and he was able to give Hogan his first submission loss in 2002, giving Angle a big point on his resume for the rest of his career.
1 Stepping Away After Controversy
Despite being a beloved fixture of the professional wrestling community, Hogan is not immune to scandals hurting his reputation. After a video containing Hogan making disparaging and racially-charged remarks emerged in 2015, WWE and the rest of the wrestling world were quick to cast Hogan aside.
Instead of spending time online trying to maneuver himself back into the business, Hogan went on an apology tour and then stepped away from the spotlight. By spending time away from wrestling and letting the wounds heal from his terrible comments, Hogan did the right thing which has served to assist in rehabilitating his image.