Sometimes, it’s hard to separate a wrestler’s on-screen character from their real-life persona. Hulk Hogan is a great case. The man has seen some serious lows in his lifetime, from legal battles to a bitter divorce, scores of flop movies, and a few interviews he now regrets. That all can overshadow what Hogan did in the ring, becoming an amazing legacy as a fantastic star and one of the true icons of professional wrestling. Yet, even at his best, Hogan could have some bad stuff attached to him.

Related: Hulk Hogan's First 10 PPV Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best

Hogan was in cartoonish stuff in WWE, downright stupid stuff in WCW, and took part in true idiocy in TNA. Hogan was in the midst of some awful feuds, foolish angles, and stuff that’s amazing it ever got on screen. Given his long career in multiple promotions, it’s hard to narrow down the most embarrassing moments of The Hulkster's career. And the fact this only scratches the surface of low points in his life says a lot.

10 Facing HBK

hulk hogan shawn michaels summerslam 2005

Hulk Hogan vs Shawn Michaels should have been a true dream match. Two of the biggest stars in WWE history would finally face-off, with HBK being a heel at the time. The setup was also good, with Michaels mocking Hogan. Then came the match.

For whatever reason, the two could not get on the same page with Michaels ridiculously overselling everything Hogan did to turn the match into a debacle. It was supposed to have a rematch, but the feud was killed instantly after this horrible performance. The dream match turned into a nightmare for Hogan.

9 Bash At The Beach 2000

X Best Ways Wrestlers Have Broke The Fourth Wall (And X Worst)

It was bad enough at the time and even worse today. At this WCW PPV, Jeff Jarrett and Hulk Hogan were set to face off for the WCW World Title. Jarrett came out and simply lay down with Hogan forced to pin him to win the belt. Hogan then got on the mic to berate Vince Russo for “forcing” him into this.

Related: 10 Things About WCW In 2000 That Make No Sense

Russo then came out to strip Hogan of the belt and berate him with various insults. It was going to lead to a bigger program, but Hogan was genuinely upset about Russo’s insults and this ended up being his last WCW appearance. What a lousy way to end a segment of the career.

8 The Fist Helmet

This is really, really weird. In 1988, Hogan was no longer WWE Champion but still had a good push with various feuds. For some reason, Hogan took to wearing a padded helmet bearing a huge fist at the front. There was no reason for it at all as Hogan wasn’t injured.

It looked idiotic, with Hogan obviously using it as a weapon in headbutts. The announcers actually called it a “war bonnet” when it’s one piece of merchandising even a mega-Hogan fan wouldn’t want.

7 Fighting Zeus

Zeus

No Holds Barred was supposed to be Hogan’s big-screen movie hit, but it didn’t work out. Yet WWE attempted to promote it by having Tiny Lister show up as Zeus, his character from the movie.

Related: 10 Wrestling Feuds That Happened For Dumb Reasons

So yes, instead of real wrestlers, Hogan was against an actor pretending his on-screen heel was real. Zeus did have an impressive look but was horrible in the ring as Hogan (never a good technical worker) could wrestle rings around him. Acting like Zeus could be a serious threat was better acting than anything Hogan did in the movies.

6 Superdome Screwup

via wwe.com

This is a famous latter-day screwup by Hogan but has to be noted. As the host of Wrestlemania XXX, Hogan got a huge ovation from the crowd at the Superdome. He took to the mic to talk about how great it was to be at...the Silverdome. Hogan instantly realized his error to laugh it off but put up with a lot of mockery as a result.

At Wrestlemania 35, Hogan poked fun at himself by calling the place the Superdome before laughing he meant the MetLife Center. Too bad it was actually MetLife Stadium. Maybe Hogan took too many blows to the head over the years.

5 The Dungeon Of Doom

Hulk Hogan Dungeon of Doom

Hands down the most ridiculous stable in WCW history, the Dungeon of Doom was a bizarre group led by Kevin Sullivan and the Wizard. They hung out in a “cave” with a laughable skit of Hogan somehow finding his way there to be taunted by them.

Related: 10 Most Embarrassing Moments That Happened On WCW Saturday Night

This set up Halloween Havoc ‘95 as Hogan fought The Giant in a monster sumo truck match and was then attacked by The Yeti. Further clashes continued with the horrific Doomsday Chamber Match, but the early skits showed why Hogan’s Hollywood acting career never took off.

4 Mr. America

Mr America

Promoters keep trying the “face gets suspended and returns as a masked character” storyline, and it rarely works. When it’s someone as instantly recognizable in face and body as Hogan, it’s instantly doomed. Hogan made zero attempts to disguise his voice, and his iconic mustache was visible under the mask.

Yet the announcers kept acting like it was a totally different guy, and Vince was out of line accusing him of being Hogan. There was even a lie detector test before it was dropped as a masked Hogan was a huge miss.

3 The Warrior Fireball

Hogan Warrior Fireball

Hogan himself has acknowledged how bad the 1998 feud with the Ultimate Warrior was. It’d be easy to point out the ridiculous bit of Hogan seeing the Warrior in the mirror, but Bischoff claiming he didn’t. But the Halloween Havoc payoff was even worse.

Related: Every WCW PPV From 1998, Ranked Worst To Best

The match was a total disaster with constant botches and neither man able to get on the same page. The big moment was supposed to be Hogan lighting up a fireball to blind the Warrior and set up a comeback. Instead, Hogan botched it for a third-rate puff of smoke. It was yet another reason the entire Warrior feud was a mess.

2 Manhandled By Jay Leno

Hulk Hogan has lost to a lot of guys he may not have deserved to. But at least they were wrestlers. Even losing to a regular sports star wouldn’t be bad. But a middle-aged talk show host is something else. Yet there was Hogan teaming with Eric Bischoff to face DDP and Jay Leno at Road Wild 1998.

The sight of Hogan forced to look like he was in pain from a Leno armdrag just so photographers could get shots for newspapers wasn’t the publicity he wanted. For once, fans can’t blame Hogan for being upset at this defeat.

1 Begged By Dixie Carter

A lot of Hogan’s stuff in TNA was bad, but the worst was saved for last. And it wasn’t even truly Hogan looking the worse for it. After hints for some time he’d be going, Hogan finally told Dixie Carter off in the ring on how tired he was of her mismanagement of the company and was leaving.

At which point, the strong, powerful heel company owner...got down on her hands and knees to beg Hogan to stay. She even grabbed at his legs as he walked off. Hogan looked visibly embarrassed by the mess and a poor end to his TNA run.

Next: 10 Biggest Booking Errors With Hulk Hogan