Terry Gene Bollea - A True American Hero
In the early 1980's, professional wrestling was something that you
dare not admit to being a fan of. One man would soon change that.
On August 11, 1953, a 10 pound 7 ounce boy was born by the name of
Terry Gene Bollea. Little did the pro-wrestling world know how much it
would soon change.
Terry Bollea began body-building in 1967, eventually accomplishing
his world-famous "24 inch pythons."
After attending the University of South Florida, Bollea moved to
Venice Beach, California to start training to become a professional
wrestler, to which he debuted as Terry Boulder, only to be discovered
in 1979 by then-WWF owner Vincent K. McMahon, Sr.
In 1983, Terry Bollea started telling kids to "Say your prayers and
eat your vitamins." Thus, Hulk Hogan was born, and the world of
professional wrestling was in for the ride of it's life.
Hulk Hogan fought for America by facing opponents representing
countries all over the world. Including, Iran, The Soviet Union, and
even Iraq.
In 1984, Hulk Hogan pinned The Iron Sheik to become the WWF World
Heavyweight Champion, marking the birth of Hulkamania. This would be
the driving force that brought pro-wrestling back to mainstream media.
Not only did Terry Bollea do good for kids while performing in the
ring, but he also did so in real life. You could often find him at the
Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, helping out those
less fortunate children.
Bollea was also a good man to his own kids and wife. In a time in
pro-wrestling when many wrestlers bring in their own family members
for angles and gimmicks, and even have their own real life personal
problems played out for the whole world; never once did we see or hear
about Bollea's wife Linda, nor his two children Brooke and Nicholas.
Hulk Hogan led the professional wrestling world for some 15 years,
and at the age of 45, with 8 World Heavyweight Title reigns under his
belt, (5 in the WWF and 3 in WCW), Terry Bollea announced his
retirement from the sport on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26,
1998 on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno".
Bollea decided that it was time to step down and pass on the torch
to a new generation of professional wrestling superstars.
Now it is time for wrestlers like, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Bret
Hart, Shawn Michaels, Hunter Hearst Helmsly, Sting, Lex Luger, Steve
Austin, Dallas Page and The Rock to step up and take the wheel and
drive professional wrestling into the next millenium.
Hulk Hogan meant to professional wrestling what Michael Jordan meant
to basketball, what Wayne Gretzky meant to hockey, and what Babe Ruth
meant to baseball.
Hulk Hogan made pro-wrestling what it is today, and he remains, to
this day, the most famous wrestler of all time. Just by simply doing
something that most wrestlers do many times throughout their career,
Hulk Hogan created the biggest story in pro-wrestling history. That
was when he turned heel, started the New World Order, and becoming
"Hollywood Hogan", thus, once again, changing the world of
professional wrestling forever.
Hulk Hogan is the true icon of professional wrestling and will
remain so for a long time; probably forever.
I can only sit back and think of all the times I watched Hulk Hogan
on TV and cheered him on. I remember how much he made it seem like the
fans were giving him strength and stamina.
Hulk Hogan made us feel as if we were actually in the ring helping
him to fight the forces of evil. Then, when he was the force of evil;
he made us feel as if we were in there helping to stop him.
Hulk Hogan made us feel good about ourselves and our country. I for
one will mess turning on the TV each Monday night and watching this
true American hero.
SilkySmooth
