What comes to mind when the name of Hogan is brought up? What thoughts do people have when the name is uttered on TV or in passing on social media? Do they automatically go to his controversial past, or do their minds span earlier back? These are extremely valid questions, as sadly his name has been slandered quite a bit over the last few years and yes, some of that is his fault, as he admits and has apologized for, but some of that falls on the shoulders of many who like to exploit a few mistakes to make them seem like bigger ones.

In actual fact, Hulk Hogan is the reason the wrestling business is where it’s at today. He put that sport on the map, and successfully passed that torch to Stone Cold Steve Austin, but before he did, he made sure that the company was as popular as it was ever going to be. But in recent years, Hulk Hogan has become popular for other things, and most notably in the news as of this millennium, for his family and the tumultuous end they found after a few short years in the limelight with their reality show, Hogan Knows Best.

Many of you witnessed the show and its rapid success and downfall, we’re sure, but there is so much more back story to what happened. So without further ado, here are 20 items you may not have known about the wrestling titan and his family.

20 Family Time

Hogan’s initial few runs at WWE were absolutely gruelling, and we have more on that later in the article. But when it was finally over and he was pushed aside for younger stars in the business, Hogan was home a lot more. In fact he was at home more than he ever had been. He took the time to work on his acting career, which he had extremely high hopes for. He had already starred in quite a few comedic successes like Suburban Commando, Mr. Nanny and the action hit, No Holds Barred. He was following that up with a series on TV called Thunder In Paradise. The show didn’t do too well, but at the time of filming, he was home for his kids more than ever.

He was then convinced by WCW and Eric Bischoff to join the cast of wrestlers there and when he accepted, the lighter schedule still enabled him to stay close to his children.

He has stated that he even had time to bring them to school and pick them up from school himself and that was something he had never gotten the opportunity to do back in the day. We’re sure that his kids appreciated it too.

19 Hogan Was Very Close To His Mom & Dad

Hogan’s gone on the record to say that his parents didn’t always understand his choice to become a professional wrestler. That’s understandable, as many of their generation probably thought the business was a bit of a joke and a little like working for a traveling circus. That’s understandable, as the world didn’t know then what it does nowadays. Society is much more educated on what these men and women do, and thankfully so. But for Hogan, it was a bit of an uphill battle.

That was until he started to have a little success at it, that was. Once he started to get going, they probably still didn’t understand it, or like the fact that he was gone so much, but they were indeed proud of his accomplishments and successes. They were there to celebrate with him in the locker room every now and again and their pride and happiness is evident in many of the photos they appear in, as they should have been. Their son was transcending an industry and helping it to grow larger than it ever was. Regardless of these small differences, he was very close to his parents and loved them very much. His mother Ruth passed in 2010 and his father Peter in 2001. The loss of his parents was very hard on Hogan.

18 His Kids Had A Lot To Put Up With

It’s hard enough being a kid whose father is never home because of work, but being the child of a hero and icon such as Hogan — as he was in the eyes of many — must have been extremely difficult to get through. If they weren’t missing their father, then they were having to hear all about it at school. His achievements in the business, whatever it may have been, they must have gone through a lot and it must have caused a few tears to flow for sure.

And not only that, but just try to imagine the shadow he must have thrown over them and for such a broad period of time. He was huge in the eighties, especially after 84, and pretty much for the rest of that decade. In '94, things calmed down considerably as he made the switch to WCW, and as we said earlier, he had a lighter schedule, but those must have been a hard ten years. They were pretty much left with Linda, and we wonder if they had to go through her tumultuous outbursts. According to Hogan, he had to suffer a few when he returned home from the road, so we can just imagine poor Brooke and Nick.

17 He Had To Sleep On The Couch His First Night As A Married Man

Your wedding night should be something special. The ceremony and reception are just the tip of the iceberg. The night that follows is indeed meant to be a special time for a person and his/her partner, and we’ll leave it at that. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Hulk and his new wife Linda on the night of their wedding. According to a story he told in Hollywood Hulk Hogan, one of his biographies published in 2002, his wedding night really didn’t go according to plan.

As it turned out, he can’t remember anything about the night he and Linda became husband and wife, but he sure remembers the following morning.

He awoke, groggy and with a splitting headache. When he finally got his eyes open, he realized that he was holding something in the palm of his hand. What was it, you ask? His championship belt? An empty glass of bubbly? Not quite. He held in his meaty mitt, none other than a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, of all things. How did it get there? He wasn’t really sure, but when he looked around at his surroundings a little more, he deduced that he was made to sleep on the couch in the living room. To find out why exactly Linda forced him to sleep on the couch, keep reading, you won’t regret it.

16 He Admits The 1980s Must Have Been Hard On Linda

But Linda wasn’t all bad. We need to clear that up if that’s the impression you’ve gotten, and if not from us, but from the plethora of magazines and tabloids that have been reporting on her pretty much since their split, it needs to be said. Hogan himself has gone on record to say that he indeed feels for her, and in fact actually feels very bad for what she had to go through during the tumultuous '80s while he and Vince McMahon were trying to build an empire that would one day rival Walt Disney. Yes, many wrestlers went up and down the road and wrestled for little money until they “made it,” and some of them never “made it” at all, but not many wrestlers can say they put in the hours that Hogan did.

He often talks about the late night calls from Vince, as Vince would talk all night wanting to hash things out and plan yet another event or angle or storyline. Hogan was right there and he cared about the business. This shouldn’t be forgotten. And likewise, Hogan has never forgotten that Linda was indeed there for him, through thick and thin and until the end, and he says this no matter what transpired between them, so that’s saying something.

15 Brooke And Nick Grew Up Around A Lot Of Zany Characters

If you think the wrestling business is currently full of a lot of funny, quirky and even creepy characters, you would do well to remember that the characters were pretty much even zanier and creepier than these young bucks. Yeah, of course you’re not likely to want to stand in a dark room with Bray Wyatt, or have a long-winded conversation with Braun Strowman. And let’s be honest, Brock Lesnar is pretty scary to anyone.

But in the eighties, the colourful characters that made up the WWE roster were indeed over the edge, if you will. If it wasn’t The Iron Sheik, then it was The Junkyard Dog. Or how about Big John Stud and the Nasty Boyz! Yikes. Indeed there were a lot of over the top characters, but the wrestling business has always been full of such a cast of characters and thankfully so. It’s what makes that wrestling world go round and round. For Brooke and Nick, visiting their dad at work must have been pretty interesting to say the least. Imagine how it must have been the first time little Brooke or Nick came across Andre The Giant, Cowboy Bob Orton, Jim Duggan, or even Jim Neidhart. Pretty fun thought isn’t it?

14 Brooke Stands By Her Dad

Yes, it’s true… the Hogan name has been dragged through the proverbial mud and a lot over the last few years. In fact it’s been so bad that the WWE saw fit to strip him of his titles and his Hall of Fame ring. That was tough to endure. Hogan has gone on record to apologize for his behaviour and all insensitive or hurtful comments he may have made. Well, as we’ve said before, the proof is in the pudding. Either his daughter Brooke is a very forgiving person, or he wasn’t really all that bad to begin with. Though his comments were absolutely unacceptable in modern society.

As it turns out, she has been so eloquent in saying that she supports her father and states that he was indeed an excellent dad no matter what people are and were saying about him.

Say what you will, but from what we know about celebrity break-ups, the children don’t lie. They say what they feel as when a break-up occurs, they can say whatever they want as it's their chance to rid themselves of some toxic feelings. But that didn’t happen between Brooke and her father. In fact, they’re as close as ever; they even work out together when time permits.

13 Hogan Knows Best Was Scripted

Reality television busted onto the scene in the late 90s and the world has not looked back since. You’d think society would have enough reality with their own lives, but no … they want to see more of it unfolding on TV. But how real is reality TV? According to Hogan and his personal account of the experiences he suffered at the hands of a big network reality TV crew, not very real at all. So for all of you who watch Total Bellas or The Jersey Shore, don’t get fooled by what’s happening on camera, as there is a massive possibility that what you are watching is thoroughly scripted and planned way ahead.

That’s right Ronnie and Sam fans, those fights were planned in MTV boardrooms, and for what? For ratings. Hogan spilled this can of well-oiled beans in his biography, My Life Outside The Ring, stating that the crew would “manufacture” situations … pairing up members of the family and setting them up in particular situations. One case in particular that shows this and also shines a light on Linda’s characteristics one time Hogan speaks of, that Linda held up production for the greater part of the day, and production didn’t move forward because they absolutely needed her that day. If it was “real,” they would have filmed without her, no?

12 Andre The Giant

So we know you’re all curious as to know what Hogan could have possibly done to garner himself a spot on the couch on the night of his wedding. What could he have done to Linda to have made her so mad as opposed to being the happiest woman in the world? Well, it was in the book, Hollywood Hulk Hogan that he divulged the dastardly deed to one and all, and if you sit there and think about it, it wasn’t all that bad. But maybe we’re biased here at TheSportster… we are wrestling fans after all. So, what was it?

Well, the wedding night is about the couple joining together for the rest of their lives ... right? Yes, of course, but Hogan didn’t really get the memo. As it turns out, he spent the later part of the reception partying with his good friend Andre The Giant. Now you get those two together… one about 7 feet tall and the other just about the same, and you can only imagine how much they were able to put away. We hope the party wasn’t too rowdy. Instead of concentrating on his wife, he sat with his good friend Andre knocking back a few too many until he remembered nothing at all.

11 Linda Hit On Him Because She Recognized Thunderlips

The story of how Hogan ended up playing Thunderlips in Rocky III is pretty much cinematic lore by now, but for those of you who don’t quite know it, here is an abridged version of events: Basically, Sylvester Stallone needed a giant to wrestle in the movie. He saw Hogan somehow and he wanted him in the film. Hogan asked Vince Senior if he could have the time off, and Sr. said “no.” Well, Hogan decided to take a chance and went anyways, saying goodbye to his wrestling gig. His performance garnered so much attention that Vince McMahon Jr (the Vince we know and love) wanted Hogan back and wanted to capitalize on Hogan’s new-found fame.

Well, the rest is history, but it wasn’t only his wrestling career that benefitted from the exposure the film got him. His personal life also did quite well. As it turns out, after the success of the film, he and a friend were in a bar and this beautiful young woman came up to him and told him she recognized him from Rocky 3. She actually thought he was an actor and not a wrestler for real. Well, that pretty young blond turned out to be Linda, and the rest… well we won’t say that again.

10 He Bought A House For Linda Before Marriage

The old school way of doing things is that you meet the woman you love, you date, you get married and you buy a house. These days, things are pretty different, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Back when Hogan and Linda were getting married, we’d have expected them to do things in the older manner, but that wasn’t exactly how things worked out. As it turns out, shortly after they met, and as they were dating, Linda had a hard time getting convinced about his seriousness and commitment to her. As it turns out, she needed a lot of convincing indeed.

He ended up buying her a house and all before she said yes to becoming an “honest woman” as they used to say.

Some people need big gestures and a big gesture was what Linda got. Now we know, for Hogan, especially in those days, his money had just started to come in, and the purchase must have been an afterthought, but still… dude?! There are many that would say that that was a foreshadowing element as to where Linda would eventually go in the future. His love should have been enough to convince her of his commitment… but hey, what do we know… we’re sports writers, not relationship doctors.

9 Supported During The '94 Trial

Well, everything’s pretty fine and dandy now in the world of sports entertainment, but that wasn’t always the case. Especially when it came to the federal government wanting to know about the use of performance enhancers. Like we said, things have improved and the company administers tests regularly checking their roster every now and again… sporadic spot checks and the such. But that wasn’t always the case and allegations of steroid use ran rampant in the media about Vince McMahon and his band of wrestlers.

As it turns out, those situation came to a head in 1993 and the federal government indicted Vince McMahon for promoting performance enhancer use within his company. The charges were in fact quite serious and the company was in danger of falling apart. As it turns out, Hogan was called to testify under oath, and it presented a very stressful period of time for Hogan as his loyalty was put on the spot. At trial, he stated that he was not forced by Vince McMahon to take any performance enhancers, but there was an evident rift put in place regardless between the two. Regardless, it has been said by Hogan that Linda was by his side throughout the stressful period and he appreciated it immensely.

8 Nick Toured With His Dad Sometimes

There were many instances when Hulk was able to bring his children on the road with him. Of course those instances were more prevalent during his run at WCW, and they must have been fun for his kids, especially Nick. As it turns out, Nick was often in the locker room area with his dad in WCW. This was a great opportunity for him to spend time with his dad who had been on the road a lot over the earlier decade.

Of course Ted Turner’s stomping grounds presented most of the wrestlers with an easier environment to raise a family… they traveled much less than the boys in the WWE did, as their TV tapings were pretty much almost always at the same place and if they weren’t, they traveled only about two days out of the week, which was not too shabby compared to the WWE where wrestlers there were traveling 4-5 days out of the week, if not more. The softer schedule was welcomed by Hogan and a lot of the wrestlers who came from Vince’s camp, as their family lives were improved considerably, as we’re sure Nick and Brooke Hogan can surely attest. It must have been awesome to follow their dad for a change as opposed to waiting around for him to come home.

7 He Was There For Brooke's Fist Time Out On Tour

Yes, his daughter Brooke is a sometimes musician. Her career is not at the level of say Lady gaga, and probably will never be, but she has a few records out and has toured a little over the years. As it turns out, on her first tour, her father was right along with her, and seeing that she was in fact only 16, that made perfect sense. After years of wanting her dad to be home and not on the road, she got her wish, but maybe this time it was a little too much. She was 16… she must have been embarrassed having her dad around, and probably every minute of the day. He went on talk shows with her and watched her play and rehearse.

There are many that would understand his actions out there, and we definitely get his point. Brooke is positively gorgeous and Hulk was just being a protective father. There are a lot of weasels out there in the music business, just lurking around and waiting to take advantage of some impressionable young star, and Hulk was just trying to prevent that. After all, he’d been there and done that, having been a huge star himself.

6 The Reality Show Was Just Too Much

As we said before, the reality show wasn’t something that Hogan liked doing. Yeah, he liked the money it brought, as Hogan has never been one to shy away from a good deal, but it seemed so much like the catalyst that brought down the whole house of cards, being his family. If you watch episodes of the show closely, you can see the foundations of that family being torn at the seams, and in fact, that’s exactly what happened. The moments of tension and frustration are were actually frustrating to watch … the scripted moments were like trying to watch a pair of hands scratching at a chalk board, and there were many that knew the end was nigh.

But of course there was so much that went on behind the scenes and Hogan alluded to them in his book, My Life Outside The Ring. He said that as soon as they signed the deal to do the show, Linda was different. She was like she’d never been, her character changing almost overnight. This then led to her acting a little strangely, and seeing that Hogan wasn’t on the road at this time, he was around for it all, and the stress of having the cameras around eventually was clear on his face.

5 His Son's Tough Times

For Hulk Hogan, all the horrible stuff seemed to happen all at once. He was getting divorced, in court for that and all his millions, and if that wasn’t bad enough, his son was involved and responsible for a horrible automobile crash and was facing prison time, which he received. That’s a lot for one man to take, even Hulk Hogan himself, the man who at one time, had the whole WWE company on his shoulders, and although those shoulders are huge, it was undoubtedly way too much.

His son Nick loves cars. This was made clear on Hogan Knows Best. On a particular evening, Nick and a friend were cruising and maybe just a little too fast. The car then crashed horribly, and although Nick escaped unscathed, his friend did not. This resulted in a huge and lengthy court case that was made very public, and in that light, Hogan was once again painted very badly by the media. There were many that claimed he was a bad father, he hadn’t been there for his kids, and this was why something like this could happen. Well, to most of his fans, it seemed like he had gotten the short end of the stick yet again and was suffering through some terrible times.

4 The Fall Of An Icon

At the end of the day, his trouble with his wife and the downfall of his family was just the start of all his problems that he’s suffered in the last decade. Unfortunately, after a successful return to the WWE, he suffered yet another demoralizing blow. Yes, he has admittedly professed his sorrow for what has happened, but this last was definitely his own fault and he takes full responsibility. Unfortunately, it was recorded that he used a racial slur in conversation and that recording was made public. This was absolutely terrible to hear. Many had revered Hogan for years, especially in the Black community, but after that, his popularity definitely took a serious blow.

Not only that, but the WWE stripped him of all his accomplishments and that is what is most sad. He had given so much to the company, and just like that, it was all erased and nullified. Of course there were many in the business that were waiting for this precise moment, but for Hogan, it was just another blow, and after many, you start to wonder, how many can one guy take? Well, as they say, time heals all wounds, and there are rumors that he may return to the WWE, and many are indeed hopeful.

3 His Relationship With Linda Was Tense

Terry Bollea, or Hulk Hogan is not a small man by any means. At the beginning of his career, he was 6’7”, only shrinking down to 6’3”-6’4” in recent years due to many, many back and knee surgeries. But that doesn’t mean that he was a tough guy in nature. Yes, he sometimes played one on TV, but to know Hulk Hogan, you’d see that he is very soft spoken and he actually dislikes confrontation. In his latest book, published in 2009 and written with Mark Dagostine, entitled My Life Outside The Ring, Hulk recounted how his wife Linda was extremely rough with words in their relationship, often yelling and cussing him out. And according to him, she didn’t care who was around to witness her outbursts, including the camera crew for their reality show.

In actual fact, many of her outbursts were caught on camera, and where would Hogan be during these moments of explosive nerves on her part? You guessed it… cowering away and shying away from the invasive cameras. He claimed that the situation was worse than was shown on camera, and he felt as though he was pushed around by her throughout their whole time together. It must have been very difficult for him to admit that.

2 A Counter-Claim: She Says He Was The Culprit

Public divorces are never easy or fun for anyone. It’s not just the fact that the famous couple is divorcing that gets dragged out and displayed in the limelight, but a plethora of stories and secrets get uncovered in the process and that is what is most difficult to endure. In the case of Hogan and his wife, Linda, lots of mean things were said, and by both parties. But for her, Hogan’s claims that she would in fact berate him were apparently way too much for her to handle and according to her he crossed the line.

She claimed that he was in fact the culprit, but these claims made many believe that she was just trying to play he said she said, saying such things in order to deflect the bad image she now had based on his claims. The proof was in the pudding… many saw her nature on their reality show, and there was absolutely no way for her to hide the fact. It was actually pretty sad that she was trying to deflect Hogan’s side of the story by saying the exact same thing about him. In actual fact, it just made her seem a little bit childish. The whole situation made both parties look a little bit foolish.

1 A Splintered Family

Of course what we’re talking about here is the downfall of a family. Many don’t seem to grasp that aspect of this famous group as it all happened on reality TV. We witnessed the change in Linda Hogan, the rise in popularity of Brooke, the demise of Hulk and the troublesome story of his son and all on the Saturday evening news. It’s true, when you become a reality star, your believability as a real human being goes out the window. So much for “reality” TV. People still think they're watching the events of a soap opera unfolding before their very eyes.

The hard truth of the matter is that Hogan and his family’s lives were indeed ripping apart at the seams… a family that he and Linda had at first worked so hard to build and keep together. And no, it wasn’t that surprising to witness, but their demise was sad and it leaves us feeling sorry and wondering if they would still be together as a family had they not signed on the dotted line that was the contract for that reality show. It's a valid question in our eyes, but alas, one without an answer. The chips fell and they all scattered in their own directions as chips are known to do, but we just hope that the Hogans, all of them, find peace after the tough last decade of their lives.