Hulk Hogan was the biggest star of the 1980s in pro wrestling, becoming the face of the industry in one of its first boom periods. He was synonymous with the then-WWF until 1993, then jumped ship to WCW.
His career would stretch out until 2012 in WCW, TNA and WWE. But looking back with the benefit of hindsight, Hogan now says he should have walked away from wrestling after two decades to save himself some of the damage it did to his body — even though it would have meant missing out on the nWo and his Hollywood Hogan phase.
At least that’s what the Hulkster told Men’s Health (h/t Fightful) while talking about how he’s paying more attention to his diet and fitness as he ages.
Wrestling has taken its toll. I wrestled almost 40 years, off and on, and I probably should have quit at the 20-year mark, but with Hulkamania running wild all those years and then when I turned into a bad guy and became Hollywood Hulk Hogan, it was like jumping on another lightning bolt and I had no idea that we were going to reinvent the wrestling business. So, I got hooked, I got sucked in, and I rode that thing until it dropped. Wrestling has been really tough on my body with multiple surgeries and injuries. Nobody gave me the memo that this stuff was fake.
Many fans would probably have been fine with Hogan hanging up the boots before his 2010-2012 matches in TNA, and maybe even his early 2000s work in WWE — though there was some entertaining stuff with the Mr. America gimmick in the latter.
But regardless of what one might think of his ring work as Hollywood Hogan, his WCW turn and subsequent role in the formation of the nWo was a seminal moment in pro wrestling history.
So maybe we can all agree that Hogan would have been better off retiring after 25 years, which is a nice round number and still would have included the nWO. It may have also saved him some of his late career surgeries.
Because as it turns out, pro wrestling is indeed not “fake.”