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Sometimes you make enemies on your way to the top, and sometimes you make friends.
Whether or not you enjoy the glitz and glamour of sports entertainment, or your are just a casual fan, or even if you don't like wrestling at all, it's impossible to escape the legacy of the Immortal Hulk Hogan.
There are monks cloistered away in sanctuaries who don't even own any piece of technology that still know his name. His likeness has been utilized--both officially and unofficially, such as in the World Heroes fighting game--countless times in various forms of media. He's appeared in Hollywood movies, television shows, and even had his own syndicated series for a time--Thunder in Paradise.
Hogan has made numerous one-off appearances outside of wrestling over the years, such as his hilarious turn in the Gremlins II movie, to his tagging in to help Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad in the Spy Hard film.
In short, you really can't get away from Hulk Hogan, and many fans wouldn't have it any other way.
But when you make it big time, you inevitably rub others the wrong way. Sometimes the issue is professional jealousy, and sometimes it's far more personal, but the fact is no one gets to the top without making enemies. Of course, there are also friends and allies to be had as well.
Here are five people who can't stand Hulk Hogan, and five who are his fast friend.
Can't stand Hogan: Macho Man Randy Savage
Why he didn't like Hogan: Savage blamed Hogan for his failing marriage.
On screen, there was a time that Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan were the very best of friends and allies. They banded together out of necessity; Hogan had been victimized by the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase for nearly a year, and Dibiase didn't come alone. He hired Bobby Heenan and Andre the Giant as his back up. They engaged in an insidious plot to get the WWE world heavyweight championship off of the Hulkster. By employing the evil twin of referee Earl Hebner, they succeded--with a catch. Andre's 'surrendering' of the title belt to Ted Dibiase was ruled illegal, and WWE's on-screen president Jack Tunney declared a tournament for the world title would take place at Wrestlemania 4.
Savage got involved with the feud simply because he wound up winning the tournament. When Andre kept interfering in the tournament finals, Hulk Hogan came out to aid Macho Man despite the fact he had no personal stake in the match. Shortly after, the Mega Powers were born.
Of course, the tag team eventually ended and the two battled each other on screen in an intense rivalry. But in the real world, Savage was no fan of Hogans either. Despite what many internet rumours may lead you to believe, there was no evidence of any affair between Savage's wife Miss Elizabeth and the Hulkster. However, Elizabeth was fast friends with Hogan's wife, Linda, and spent a lot of time together. One of Linda Hogan's friends was a male movie producer, and Elizabeth wound up having an affair with him. Savage was angry with Hogan because the Hulkster lied to him and covered up the affair before eventually coming clean. Sadly, the two would never quite see eye to eye again, but they did manage to put their personal issues aside and work together in WCW as part of the NWO.
Friends with Hogan: Eric Bischoff
Why they are friends: Mutual professional respect.
For a man who eventually wound up heading what was--at least for about three years--the most dominant pro wrestling organization on the planet, Eric Bischoff's beginnings in Sports Entertainment started at the announce booth.
Bischoff started as an on-air newscaster who would often appear in pre-taped segments between matches, usually hawking an upcoming big live event or Pay Per View. When Jim Herd was ousted from World Championship Wrestling, he campaigned for, and received, Jim's old job.
Bischoff had a lot of wild ideas, and chief among them was to acquire the services of Hulk Hogan. At the time, the Hulkster was in a state of semi-retirement. He was concentrating more on his acting career and rarely laced up the boots. However, Bischoff convinced him to sign with WCW as their new top babyface.
At first, Hogan sort of floundered with the long term WCW fans, many of whom had been watching since the NWA days. But the mainstream audience and casual fans embraced the Hulkster. Of course, when the NWO gimmick came into being and Hogan was revealed as the Darth Vader of pro wrestling, it was a genius move that made Hogan relevant and led to the biggest sustained success of the fledgeling WCW company.
The two would work together again in TNA wrestling, though this time is not exactly fondly remembered by fans or the company. While the two men take occasional shots at each other on social media, there remains a ton of mutual respect and endearment.
Can't Stand Hogan: Shawn Michaels
Why he can't stand Hogan: Feels disrespected and held back, Hogan refused to job to him.
Shawn Michaels was a man who no one ever pegged as a future world champion during his initial run in WWE as part of the Rockers with Marty Jannetty. This was mostly because he was on the smaller side for a pro wrestler, especially during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
However, the Heart Break Kid had turned many heads with his stellar performances. Roddy Piper once told Shawn Michaels that he would be a world champion someday. One man who did not agree with this assessment was Hulk Hogan. Hogan had Vince McMahon's ear, and if he didn't believe in a wrestler they would often not progress past the mid card.
But then Hogan left the WWE, first for Hollywood and then for WCW. Ted Turner's fledgling organization also snatched up the contracts of veteran performers like Randy Savage, Paul Orndorff, and others. WWE was suddenly bereft of big name talent. They had no choice but to build their own.
Shawn Michaels was elevated to top mid carder status, and then worked his way to the main event mostly by virtue of being such a great opponent for Bret Hart. The two men were quicker, more athletic, and more technically sound than Hogan's generation, and they carried the WWE from the New Generation era into the Attitude Era.
Of course, WCW went down in flames, and Hogan wound up in a working relationship with WWE once more. Vince McMahon wanted a program where Hogan and Michaels would face off, legend vs legend, Classic era vs. New Generation era. While Hogan initially went along with the angle, which was going to end with each man picking up a win over the other, he exercised his creative control clause and refused to job, or lose, to HBK.
HBK responded by over-selling in their match, and has since publicly dissed the Hulkster on several occasions. Given the grudge, we don't think Hogan will be invited to any of HBK's barbecues.
Friends with Hogan: The Rock
Why he is friends with Hogan: A great deal of mutual respect on a professional level.
There are a lot of parallels between the Immortal Hulk Hogan and the People's champion the Rock.
For one, both started their careers as heels. That's right, in his initial inception Hogan--who went by Sterling Golden, Terry Boulder, and Terry the Hulk Bollea alternately--started his career as a villain. Mostly this decision was made because Hogan had little training in his early days. A promoter told him he didn't need to know how to wrestle, just to do headlocks and pull tights and be a bad guy. It wasn't until Verne Gagne started pushing Hogan as a face that the fans really got behind him.
Similarly, the Rock was initially a villain. While his Third Generation star Rocky Maivia gimmick was a pure babyface, it didn't work. The fans chanted Rocky Sucks and Die Rock Die, an early precursor to what would later happen with Roman Reigns and John Cena. Unlike those two individuals, the WWE decided turning Rock heel would be for the best. Ironically, it was as a bad guy that Rock would become wildly popular.
Given Hogan's age and contractual status, the match almost never happened but did. Hogan and Rock wound up having tremendous respect for each other, and Hogan made the rare decision to job to the Rock. However, during their match the crowd was solidly behind Hulk Hogan--who was supposed to be the bad guy. Despite the announce team trying to down play the crowd's reaction, Hogan and Rock decided mid-match to switch roles, with Hogan playing the babyface in peril and Rock the cocky and violent heel intent on breaking down the beloved legend.
To this day, Rock still respects Hogan, who he feels trailblazed a path for him in Hollywood.
Can't Stand Hogan: The New Day
Why they can't stand Hogan: The Hulkster uttered racial epithets in a leaked video.
In a bizarre twist, the New Day were able to take an admittedly cheesy gimmick and parlay it into the biggest sustained push of any of their careers.
Yet another ethnic stable thrown together by WWE, the New Day quickly used both their charisma and social media savvy--particularly on the part of Xavier Woods and his podcasts--to become crowd favorites. In many ways, the New Day exemplify the new generation of pro wrestlers, who don't take themselves too seriously and bandy about with fans on social media platforms.
Their beef with Hulk Hogan, however, does not stem from any 'Old school vs. new school' animosity. Rather, the New Day is rather miffed by Hogan's use of racial epithets on a leaked video with many other embarrassing moments on it for the Hulkster.
The New Day has not explicitly stated that they will not work a program with Hogan, but they also refuse to accept his apology for the remarks. Instead, they have adopted a 'wait and see' attitude. They want to see 'genuine effort' on the Hulkster's part before they extend the olive branch.
Friends with Hogan: Hacksaw Jim Duggan
Why they are friends: Hogan helped Duggan with his backstage influence in WWE, and Duggan has been supportive of Hogan in controversy.
Hacksaw Jim Duggan rarely encountered Hogan during their early years in the sport. Hacksaw was more involved in the southern promotions, while Hogan tended toward the west and north.
When both were hired by the WWE, however, they struck up a friendship. Duggan is known as a very down to Earth person, and is not the type to constantly bug the management of a promotion for a bigger push or title reign.
Hogan, for his own reasons, respected Jim Duggan. Possibly it was because Duggan was another big, burly bruiser like Hogan, or possibly it was because they came into the sport in the same generation. Regardless, Hogan used his influence in the WWE to help Duggan become, in many ways, the king of the midcard in WWE. While he held no official titles, he did win the title of King of Wrestling from Harley Race, and defended the crown for over a year until Haku won it off of him.
Later, Hogan would see to it WCW hired Duggan when the Hulkster began his career with that promotion. Since then, Duggan was one of the few voices speaking out in favor of Hogan after his unfortunate leaked video.
7. Can't stand Hogan: Honky Tonk Man
Why he can't stand Hogan: It's kind of unclear. To be fair, Honky Tonk Man seems to hate pretty much everybody he ever worked with in the wrestling business.
He's got his long sideburns, his hair slicked back, and he's coming to your town in a pink Cadillac...but don't expect him to offer Hulk Hogan a ride in that trademark, iconic vehicle.
The Honky Tonk Man was once, believe it or not, considered a heart throb in the world of pro wrestling. Along with Moondog Spot he was one half of the Blonde Bombers (his trademark black hair is a dye job.) The tag team had great championship and critical success until they disbanded.
Vince McMahon hired Honky Tonk Man and decided that he resembled the 'old' Elvis Presley. Since in the 1980s nostalgia by baby boomers had driven Elvis mania to an all-time high, Vince decided Wayne Ferris would portray an Elvis impersonator. Initially, he was meant to be a babyface, but the crowd didn't respond well. After a clever 'vote of confidence' angle, Honky Tonk Man turned heel, though he continued to insist the fans were solidly behind him.
Honky Tonk Man is considered the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time, and Hogan is largely responsible for his being so. When Butch Reed no showed an event, and Jake Roberts was injured, Vince and the Hulkster were struggling to find someone to take the belt of Ricky Steamboat, who wanted to take time off for his son's birth. Supposedly, Honky Tonk Man was just walking by when Hogan pointed him out and said "Hey, Vince, what about HIM?"
You'd think that such a vote of confidence and career boost would have endeared Honky Tonk Man to Hogan. You'd be wrong. Honky Tonk Man is famous for the vulgar and vitriolic rhetoric he directs at former co-workers, and Hogan is no exception. At least Hogan has a lot of company in Honky Tonk Man's doghouse.
Friends with Hogan: Brian Knobbs
Why he is friends with Hogan: Knobbs and Hogan befriended each other during the era when both were in WCW, and have remained fast friends since.
Brian Knobbs started his wrestling career during the big boom of the 1980s. He and partner Jerry Skags formed the Nasty Boys, who are perhaps most famous for never, ever, ever updating their gimmick or in ring gear.
Unlike many other pro wrestlers, Knobbs wasn't much of an athlete before he began his wrestling training. Perhaps because of this, he and partner Skags ended up wrestling a 'hardcore' style. This involved taking numerous big bumps, like when Knobbs did diving elbow drops from the turnbuckle to the floor. Or when both members ended up getting their brain cells rattled by steel chair shots.
All of the hardcore wrestling unfortunately shortened their careers, and Knobbs has barely wrestled in the last decade. He has, however, made numerous appearances alongside his good friend Hulk Hogan on the Hulkster's reality show series, Hogan Knows Best.
Knobbs also participated in the one and only season of Hulk Hogan's celebrity wrestling, where he led his own team.
Can't stand Hogan: Vince Russo
Vince Russo claims to be a life long wrestling fan, and in fact even trained for the ring though his small stature and lack of athletic ability led to his career going nowhere.
He got a stroke of luck by writing a letter to WWF magazine in the late 1980s. Linda McMahon was so impressed with his letter she hired him to write for the WWE's publications, including the magazine and programs. Russo adopted the pseudonym Vic Venom for his articles in the magazine, and often used an acerbic wit to lambaste talents he didn't like, usually the babyfaces.
He would eventually parlay this into joining the WWE creative team, and was named the head writer for all of WWE's programming. It was Vince Russo who heavily pushed the partial nudity, sex, and violent themes that were a hallmark of the WWE's Attitude Era.
Money talks, and WCW--flagging behind in the ratings after WWE after nearly three years of dominance on Monday nights--offered him double his salary to join Ted Turner's promotion. Russo agreed, and began to make heavy changes.
One of the things Russo disliked about WCW was that the veteran talents like Hogan basically got to book themselves. He set out to push younger stars instead, and this wound up with him butting heads with Hogan. It led to the famous moment in WCW history when Jeff Jarrett simply laid down for Hogan and allowed himself to be pinned. Russo came out, breaking kayfabe utterly, and called Hogan a 'piece of s**t' and assured fans they would never have to see Hogan again.
This led to a lawsuit filed by Hogan against WCW, and eventually Russo was removed as head writer. The two have managed to be civil enough to each other when they met in TNA, but the waters are still pretty iced over.
Friends with Hogan: Dennis "the Worm" Rodman
In the 1990s, basketball was huge in the United States and internationally. From the exploits of the Olympic Dream Team to Michael Jordan's legendary climb to fame and fortune with his various licensed products--who didn't want a pair of Air Jordans?--the sport truly exploded in popularity.
Obviously Michael Jordan was the major star of the era, but one of his teammates managed to garner even more mass media attention; Dennis Rodman. From his tattoos and piercings, to his propensity for cross dressing and challenging gender norms, Rodman was born to controversy.
But a favorite saying of Eric Bischoff's was "controversy creates cash." He offered Dennis Rodman a deal for a few one-off wrestling appearances, because Rodman's persona fit in so well with the image of the NWO.
Rodman was, at his best, adequate in the ring, but his celebrity status led to a lot of attention. Along the way, he and Hogan became fast friends. They would often hang out together and socialize after events, and even long after the fall of WCW they remain close. Rodman participated--and won--Hulk Hogan's celebrity wrestling, despite the fact that he lost every event leading up to the final.
When Hogan came under fire for his prejudicial comments, Rodman was one of the first to leap to his defense. He was quoted as saying "there's not a racist bone in that man's body." Proof that friendship has truly weathered the test of time.
There you have it: Five people who can't stand Hulk Hogan, and five who are his friends. If you have comments, please leave them below the article and thanks for reading!
