Remembering Hulk Hogan: A Wrestling Legend Who Shaped a Generation
This week, America mourns the passing of an icon: professional wrestler Terry Bollea, also known as “Hulk Hogan.” Just like many men my age, as a young boy growing up in the 1980s, Hogan was my entry into the entertaining and often confusing world of sports entertainment.
Back in those days, most people knew wrestling was “fake” (or the industry word “work,” meaning matches are scripted with pre-determined outcomes). Kids, however, didn’t. At 7 or 8 years old, it looked real and we didn’t know any difference. All we knew was that the bad guys were really evil and despicable, and the good guys were men for which we could cheer.
Pro wrestling (or sports entertainment, as it’s now often called) has always been a controversial source of entertainment. Some people are sickened by it. Others love it immensely. But most are perhaps amused by it. However, like any source of entertainment, if it can capture your imagination and suspend disbelief, it works.
As wrestling promoter Vince McMahon sought to expand his wrestling company (WWF at the time) by invading regional territories with his product, Hulk Hogan was his chosen hero. For years, wrestling promotions were territorial, relegated to regional parts of the country. There was a gentlemen’s agreement that promotions would not cross certain geographical lines. In the Carolinas, we got a steady dose of Ric Flair because he often wrestled in the area. But as the WWF prepared to go global (which, by the way, was not popular among other promotions), Hulk Hogan was the poster boy.
He urged kids to say their prayers, take their vitamins, and have faith in Hulkamania. When Hogan slammed Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III in front of 80,000 fans in Detroit, it shook the nation. That slam is as iconic as American Pie.
Faith, Redemption, and the Man Behind the Hulk Hogan Persona
Hogan went on to have success later in life as a heel (bad guy) and then returned to being a good guy babyface as his career wound down… mostly because the kids who cheered for him had grown up to be men and they couldn’t root against him anymore.
Hogan’s character embodied the hero: the man who was always up against the impossible opponent. He would be beaten down but would always rise to the occasion and win. In wrestling, eventually, the good guy always wins because that’s what sells tickets.
I’m glad to know that Hogan was a believer. He wasn’t always close to the Lord, but just last year he re-dedicated his life. From the interviews I’ve heard, it sure seems genuine to me.
The Ultimate Hero: Why Jesus Christ Is the True Babyface
We will always love heroes like Hogan. There’s something in our souls that yearns for a hero to conquer evil. That’s because we all have a yearning for an ultimate Savior to save us from evil and ourselves: Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the ultimate babyface. He’s the ultimate hero who, though struck down, wasn’t destroyed. Jesus’ death and resurrection move something in our spirit we can’t explain and beckon to our deepest need: redemption.
Heroes like Hulk Hogan awaken that spirit in us at a basic, primal level. But even Hogan needed a hero. Even Hogan needed someone he could trust and root for. In life, we aren’t the ultimate hero. Jesus is. But when we see our heroes succeed, it moves us because of the Greatest Hero’s actions.
Rest in glory, brother Terry. Thanks for showing people images of Jesus in ways you never imagined.
