Hulk Hogan
American professional wrestler, actor and television personality (1953–2025)
Terry Gene Bollea (; August 11, 1953 – July 24, 2025), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, was an American professional wrestler and media personality. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most recognized wrestlers of all time, Hogan won multiple championships worldwide, most notably being a six-time WWF/WWE Champion. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Hogan also competed in promotions such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Known for his showmanship, large physique, and trademark blond American Fu Manchu moustache and bandanas, Hogan began training in 1977 with Championship Wrestling from Florida and achieved global stardom after joining the WWF in 1983. His heroic, all-American persona helped usher in the 1980s professional wrestling boom, during which he headlined eight of the first nine editions of WWF's flagship annual event WrestleMania and regularly headlined Saturday Night's Main Event. His first reign as WWF Champion lasted 1,474 days—the third-longest in the title's history—and he became the first wrestler to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles in 1990 and 1991.
In 1994, Hogan joined WCW and won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times. His reinvention as the villainous Hollywood Hogan and leadership of the New World Order (nWo) revitalized his career and significantly contributed to the success of the "Monday Night War" wrestling boom of the late 1990s, including three headline appearances at Starrcade. Hogan returned to WWF in 2002—after WWF acquired WCW—winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for a then-record-equalling sixth reign before departing in 2003.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Hulk Hogan” as american professional wrestler, actor and television personality (1953–2025). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american professional wrestler, actor and television personality (1953–2025). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q44176. VIAF identifies the subject as 17423323. The Library of Congress control number is n85226906. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1953, 2025, 1977 and 1983.
Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Hulk Hogan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Hulk Hogan primary sources, Hulk Hogan archive and Hulk research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hulk Hogan”?
- How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Hulk Hogan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.