Hulk Hogan is the most recognized face in pro wrestling history, and not just because of his odd facial hair. Hogan led the WWE to the top of the wrestling world in the 80s and helped morph it into a huge brand that would appeal to a mainstream audience. Between the introduction of WrestleMania and the company expanding in various ways, Hogan was the superstar that fans paid to see. The mix of his impressive physique, charismatic personality and gimmick of patriotism, the viewing audience absolutely loved Hulkamania. WWE may not be as big as it has become today if not for the work of Hogan.

WCW also accomplished its greatest success thanks in part to Hogan. After his face character grew old, the company made the bold decision to turn him heel by forming the New World Order. Hogan played the villain for the first time in years and was spectacular. WCW saw its best ratings, buy rates and actually passed WWE to become the top professional wrestling company for over a year. Hogan could be argued as both the greatest face character and the greatest heel character of all time. There’s no doubting he’s given a lot to the wrestling business.

Despite his production being positive for the most part, Hogan has a glaring negative aspect to him – his ego. Hogan is known to use his clout and power in the wrestling business to keep others down. Many wrestlers have hate stories about how they felt Hogan damaged their careers and used his position to stop them from getting a chance at becoming a bigger star. Hogan definitely knew how to play the game by refusing to do jobs, picking his opponents and spotlighting himself in a way that always looked strong. With all the stories of his times in WWE, WCW and TNA, these are the top fifteen times Hulk Hogan was selfish.

15 15. The Sting Match at Starrcade

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via business2community.com

For various reasons, Sting vs. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan at Starrcade 1997 was viewed as the biggest match in WCW history. The company was at its hottest point and this match had a 15 month build with Sting planning his revenge on the New World Order. Sting wrestled his first match in over a year against Hogan for the title and won the match as expected. The moment was great, but the match was putrid. One of the biggest issues was a strange complicated finish of collusion among referees. Hogan was blamed for the booking as he rarely wanted to lose matches cleanly.

14 14. Getting Brooke Hogan Booked At TNA 

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via smacktalks.org

Go figure. One of Hulk Hogan’s acts to help another person was still selfish. Hogan held a lot of power in TNA after he sold Dixie Carter lies that he would be able to lead the company to the next level in competition with WWE. During his time in TNA, Hulk’s daughter Brooke Hogan was hired by the company as an on-air authority figure for the Knockouts division. Brooke is known for being a failed singer and lower-tier reality star. Her acting on TNA was terrible and any of the actual female wrestlers on the roster could have been given the same role and delivered better results

13 13. WrestleMania III lies 

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via grantland.com

WrestleMania III was one of the biggest events in WWE history and shaped the company into what it is today. Hulk Hogan overcoming Andre the Giant in the main event for the WWE Championship was a magical moment that fans still talk about today. The problem is Hogan still talks about it and isn't always factual when doing so. Hogan often makes up figures much larger than the correct number to describe the number of fans in attendance and Andre’s weight. It makes zero sense since everyone is already rightfully impressed with the event but Hogan wants to make himself look even greater.

12 12. Burying Bobby Roode 

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via 411mania.com

While promoting TNA Bound For Glory 2011, Hulk Hogan was asked about Bobby Roode. The company was setting up Roode as the face challenger to Kurt Angle in a title match on their biggest PPV of the year. The idea was for Roode to become one of the new top stars in TNA but Hogan had other thoughts. Hogan trashed Roode in an interview by saying he wasn’t ready and was not “the guy” to lead the company. The plans changed on the day of the PPV and Roode lost the match to Angle, rumored to be due to Hogan’s influence. This led to a very successful heel run for Roode but Hogan burying him damaged his credibility as a true top guy. Hogan had no reason to say those things other than to demean anyone pushed in TNA before his arrival.

11 11. Putting Himself Over After Other Wrestlers Pass

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via wrestlingrumors.net

Hulk Hogan loves to talk about himself and find an angle to make it about him when other wrestlers are the main topic. On separate occasions when wrestlers have passed away, Hogan has gone out of his way to share stories regarding his relationships with them. After Randy Savage died, Hogan wanted the world to know that the two squashed their issues and became good friends when running into each other at a doctor’s office. Hogan also wanted the same to be known after The Ultimate Warrior passed because the two made peace at WrestleMania. The issue here isn’t whether Hogan is telling the truth, but it’s a little selfish to care about your own reputation right after a legend passes.

10 10. Refused to Lose to Jeff Jarrett 

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via prwrestling.com

WCW gave Hulk Hogan creative control in his massive contract and Eric Bischoff always appeased his desires when booking matches. After Bischoff was exiled and Vince Russo took over as the head writer, Russo wanted Hogan to lose a title match to Jeff Jarrett but Hogan didn’t agree with the decision. Hogan used his creative control to deny the match finish. The match that actually happened is hard to decipher. Jarrett laid down for Hogan to pin him as a “shoot” to show the fans that Hogan refused to lose the match. Russo then cut a heated “shoot promo” on Hogan. The stories afterwards indicated Russo and Hogan planned it but still ended up despising each other after the promo. Hogan losing to Jarrett could have prevented it all.

9 9. Buried Billy Kidman 

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via tumblr.com

Things were dire for WCW in 2000 and they tried to kick start a youth movement to create new stars. The New Blood was created as a group of new talent who could feud with the veterans and legends of the company. Billy Kidman was the person chosen to enter a feud with Hulk Hogan. Despite getting wins over Hogan, Kidman never benefited from them due to the convoluted overbooking of the finishes because Hogan didn’t want to lose clean. To make matters worse, Hogan completely buried Kidman in an interview at the time citing frustration in the direction of WCW because Kidman “couldn’t draw flies at a flea market.”

8 8. Not Putting Over Randy Savage

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via mirror.co.uk

Hulk Hogan was clearly the top superstar of his era but Randy Savage was a close second and a better all-around performer. Savage was scheduled to win the vacant WWE Championship in a tournament at WrestleMania IV. The best possible finals would have been Hogan vs. Savage in a battle of the two top stars in the industry. Hogan was instead eliminated in a double DQ, of course, and Savage faced Ted DiBiase in the finals to win the title. The match was less memorable and Hogan found his way in the ring to celebrate the occasion with Savage, as if he was a part of the moment. Why put a guy over when you can just steal his glory?

7 7. Wrestling at Bound For Glory 

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via bleacherreport.com

TNA has been full of promising young talents that are ready to be put in a position to succeed. Sadly, that's rarely happened and the company has frequently relied on former WWE stars instead. An instance of this was Bound For Glory 2011. Hulk Hogan was calling the shots and found himself in a top match against Sting at one the company's biggest shows of the year. The two legends pulled off a surprisingly entertaining match but there was no need for it. Hogan could have used his star power in another way, but instead took away a spot from one of the active wrestlers, all for one more moment in the spotlight.

6 6. Not Putting Over Randy Orton 

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via my123cents.com

In a match putting legend against rising young superstar, Hulk Hogan faced Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2006. The program to set up the match was fine but the match itself was a joke. The obvious situation would have called for the future of the company to get the win over the legend of past. Using his old habit of politicking his way into victory, Hogan scored the victory over the wrestler 30 years younger than him. The match was also unimpressive, as Hogan’s age prevented him from keeping up with Orton but he maintained it was the best match of the night and carried the show.

5 5. Main Eventing WrestleMania With Sid 

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via cagesideseats.com

The double main event for WrestleMania VIII saw Randy Savage face Ric Flair for the WWE Championship and Hulk Hogan face Sid Justice. At that point, the main event always featured the world champion because he was seen as the top guy in the company and nothing was more valuable than the title. That was until Hogan talked his way into changing history. The final match of the night turned out to be Hogan vs. Sid, though Macho Man vs. Flair was clearly the better match with a stronger storyline and the title on the line. Hogan’s selfish nature harmed the overall show as his stinker with Sid was not worthy of a main event.

4 4. Beating The Ultimate Warrior in WCW 

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via teamwwechile.com

One of the few stars to get put over clean by Hulk Hogan was The Ultimate Warrior. The torch was passed when Warrior defeated Hogan at WrestleMania VI in a memorable match. Warrior was signed by WCW eight years later in 1998 for a big rematch with Hogan. The hype for the match was skyhigh but the story and the match itself absolutely stunk. Warrior vs. Hogan at Halloween Havoc is viewed as one of the worst matches in pro wrestling history. Hogan got the win and Warrior was quickly pushed out of WCW. The popular belief is that Hogan talked Eric Bischoff into paying Warrior huge money just so he could get his win back.

3 3. Taking Away The Six-sided Ring In TNA

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via wrestlingrumors.net

Hulk Hogan's introduction to TNA was typical. Hogan and Eric Bischoff acted like saviors that would save TNA from obscurity and take them to the promise land. Their run as the men in charge of the television show was a complete disaster and helped turn TNA into a big money loser. One of the things that set the tone for their tenure in TNA was a promo to open the first PPV of the Hogan-Bischoff regime. They changed the six-sided ring into a traditional ring with four sides and the fans in attendance did not approve. Hogan chastised the fans and said the six sides only got them to irrelevance. The comment disparaged everything TNA accomplished before he arrived and he only did worse when given power.

2 2. Refusing To Lose To Shawn Michaels

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via cagesideseats.com

The dream match between Hulk Hogan and Shawn Michaels at SummerSlam 2005 is unfortunately memorable for the wrong reasons. Original plans called for Hogan to win the match at SummerSlam but for Michaels to win a rematch the following month to stay strong. It was reasonable because Michaels would continue wrestling full time but Hogan was leaving after this program. Hogan changed the plans, citing injury, saying he would only wrestle the SummerSlam match and would not return the favor. Michaels wasn't pleased and comically oversold all of Hogan’s offense in an effort to combat the selfishness exhibited by The Hulkster. If Hogan checked his ego at the door and stopped being selfish, the match between the two could have been much better.

1 1. Refusing To Lose To Bret Hart 

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via sportskeeda.com

Hulk Hogan did his best in attempts to sabotage the career of Bret Hart. Following the steroid issues hitting WWE in the early 90s, Vince McMahon decided to try to change the image by taking a chance on the smaller Hart. Hogan didn’t appreciate that and showed it by ruining Hart’s work in 1993. Hart lost the belt to Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX but good ol’ Hulkster saved the day by issuing an impromptu challenge to win the belt from Yokozuna on the same show. The agreement was for Hogan to lose the title back to Hart at SummerSlam 1993, in a passing of the torch moment. Hogan thought Hart was too small and not credible enough to beat him. He instead dropped the belt to Yokozuna with a convoluted finish and left the company. Hart still hates him for it to this day.