Fansided

5 most iconic WWE wrestlers of all time

By Chad Porto

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker battle it out at the WWE SummerSlam 2015 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 23: Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker battle it out at the WWE SummerSlam 2015 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 7
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: (L-R) Wrestler Hulk Hogan, writer Trevon Free and wrestler Paul “Big Show” Wright II arrive at the premiere of HBO’s “Andre The Giant” at the Cinerama Dome on March 29, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: (L-R) Wrestler Hulk Hogan, writer Trevon Free and wrestler Paul “Big Show” Wright II arrive at the premiere of HBO’s “Andre The Giant” at the Cinerama Dome on March 29, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan’s legacy has taken a hit over the last decade. Be it poor booking decisions in IMPACT Wrestling, his inability to actually cut a coherent promo that referenced the correct city that he was in, or his now-famous racist tirade that somehow took down Gawker media in the aftermath.

Hogan grew up wanting to be a baseball player but injuries derailed his chances. He eventually found himself interested in professional wrestling and started to watch guys like Dusty Rhodes and Superstar Billy Graham. At 23, after a few years of playing bass in multiple rock bands around Florida, Hogan met the legendary sibling duo of Jack and Gerald Briscoe, who convinced Hogan to get into pro wrestling. After training with Hiro Matsuda, Hogan got his start in and around the Florida territory.

Hogan would spend a year with the WWF, but would leave and become a huge star with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he would land a life-changing role in the film Rocky III as the pro wrestler Thunderlips. The turn in the movie and a declining gate with Bob Backlund as champion forced the WWF to try something new, the WWF brought Hogan back and put the championship on him. He defeated The Iron Shiek in January of 1984 and started a historic run as champion.

During his second run with the WWF, McMahon created WrestleMania and Hogan became a centerpiece of the show until 1993, when he’d leave the company and go to competitor promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) after a brief retirement. After a few years of lackluster performances, Hogan would reshape himself as a villain for the first time since the early ’80s and become Hollywood Hogan, the leader of the iconic heel stable the nWo (New World Order). He became the centerpiece of the wrestling boom of the late ’90s alongside Goldberg, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock.

After WCW closed, Hogan would return to the WWE on an inconsistent basis, and would even stretch his legs in other companies as well. While his legacy is tainted, his impact will never truly be able to be measured.

Home/WWE