WWE History Volume 6: Hulkamania Running Wild

#2 The Birth of Hulkamania

Hulk Hogan in 1984

In the intervening years between Hulk Hogan's first and second WWE run, several changes occurred which altered the pro wrestling landscape.

One was that Vince McMahon Jr. bought the then-WWF off of his father, Vince Sr. Not content with the lucrative North East territory, Vince McMahon Jr. sought nothing less than national dominance.

He invaded the territories of regional promotions, causing a lot of turmoil in the industry. While the various regional promoters were quite angry, there were no laws being broken and they had no legal recourse.

This gave the WWE a bigger footprint on the national stage than any other promotion.

The other major event was the release of Rocky III. While many decry the third entry in Sylvester Stallone's boxing franchise as an example of 1980s excess, the fact remains that it was a blockbuster film and drew a lot of mass media attention.

This was good news for wrestling and Hulk Hogan, since the Hulkster had a brief, but memorable cameo in the film as Thunderlips.

Vince McMahon Jr. knew he need a well known star to build the WWE into a global titan, and he had found it in Hulk Hogan.

Hogan would make his return saving Bob Backlund from a three way assault by the Wild Samoans.

This cemented his new babyface status, which was a good thing since in less than a month he would capture his first WWE World Championship.