From Publishers Weekly
If the career of any single individual could serve as a microcosm of the changes in the “sport” of wrestling over the past 40 years, it would have to be that of Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea in real life). His autobiography is an honest, albeit incomplete, look at the many phases in Hogan’s career that will be fascinating only to Hogan’s many fans. Hogan covers all the key moments in his long career: his early incarnation in the late 1970s as “Super Destroyer”; the birth of the good-guy Hulk Hogan persona; joining forces with Vince McMahon Jr. in the hugely popular WrestleMania events of the 1980s; his admission in the early 1990s of his steroid use; and his current reincarnation as a good guy with McMahon’ [Read More...]
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Terry Bollea, known to most of the rest of the world as Hollywood Hulk Hogan, has had quite a 25 year career in the world of professional wrestling. Having finished his new book in one day, I know there are parts of his career he hasn’t spoken of here, but most of it was not that important anyway.
In this, he tells of how he dreamed of becoming a rock star (one of the things people don’t know about Hogan is he’s quite a good bass guitarist) as a boy, but changed his mind gradually as he started meeting wrestlers in the 70’s, from his humble beginnings in Memphis, home to the legendary Jerry “The King” Lawler–a particularly interesting story there was how he was in Chicago on a card where Lawler and comedian Andy Kaufman were wrestling, he passed Kaufman in the hallway and said a quick hello just to be friendly. One look at the young bohemeth next to him and the extremely shy Kaufman acted like he was ready to wet himself–to his Japanese exploits where he’d became friendly with his idol, the late great Andre the Giant (known for having a large heart he called everyone boss), to his rocky roads with promoters Vince McMahon, Sr., whom he’d upset by going to do Rocky III for Sylvester Stallone, and Verne Gagne, who seemingly did everything he could to try to control Terry’s career, to his road to superstardom in the WWF in the mid-1980’s.
He has some particularly interesting stories about Richard Beltzer, Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, Christopher Lloyd, Sylvester Stallone, and of course WWF head Vince McMahon, Jr., whom he’s had a rocky relationship with over the years but has finally buried the hatchet.
But surprisingly, everyone who ever thought that Terry Bollea the person was nothing like Hulk Hogan the character should read this book, because he provides a valid explanation for just about everything I’ve ever heard about him that makes him seem so bad. For instance, I’d heard he wrote a song about a little boy who died of cancer in 1992 that was not about the boy but about how the boy was a Hulkamaniac who died. He provides an explanation that while the album might have seemed like an egofest (and from what I’ve heard of it, it certainly did from where I sat), the profits from it went to the boy’s family, who were having trouble paying his medical bills. I don’t know how true this is, but unless I get solid evidence that it isn’t, it’s good enough for me.
One final thought: I had thought Hogan had reached his lowest in 1997 and 1998 when WCW had made him team with NBA star Dennis Rodman. He explains here that he did not actually want to, but he thought it would be good for the company. Rodman, in turn, was always late to shows and was drunk as a skunk when he finally did show up 75% of the time (if you watch Bash at the Beach 1998, that much is painfully obvious), and besides that his ring skills were not worth what they were paying him. He said he vowed never to work with Rodman again, but was forced to a year later when they made them team up again. They brought Rodman in again a year later, but Hogan (wisely) refused to work with him a third time. According to him, he hasn’t heard from him since.
Good read for wrestling fans.
Growing up in the ’80’s, I loved to watch Hulk Hogan wrestle. So I was eager to read this autobiography. While it was an enjoyable read, it was not at all what I expected. The Terry Bollea who wrote this book is not at all like the “Hulk Hogan” image that became a role model for children years ago. Other amazon reviewers have already questioned how factual some of the content is, and also pointed out how Hogan presents himself in such an overly-positive light. I was disappointed with how many *negative* things he had to say about other media stars or their actions (e.g., Mr. T, Dennis Rodman, Sylvester Stallone), especially when Hogan himself was involved in some of the escapades he disapproves about with them. There are also several admissions throughout the book about how important the money of professional wrestling was to him — and this was while he was already pulling in a six-figure annual income, and did not need to worry about finances.
Perhaps most disturbing was the profanity in the book. Hogan laces practically every page (not an exaggeration) with four-letter words and curses, almost none of which serve any literary purpose. I don’t know if previous wrestling autobiographies have been written this way (e.g., by Bill Goldberg or Mick Foley), whether Hogan wrote this way in an attempt to sound “tough,” or whether he really speaks this way in real life. But the effect was to disract and demean the quality of the book, and also my impression of Hulk Hogan as a person. The *real* Hulk Hogan (away from the cameras) comes off as a swearing, cursing, money-loving, beer-drinking strong-man who alternately takes credit for most of what makes wrestling popular today and dismissing critics by saying he only did what his bosses told him to do.
Despite these shortcomings, the book was still interesting. It gives some insight into Hulk Hogan’s childhood and early career that is not often talked about. He admits that the last thing he ever expected to happen to his career was to become a role model for children, but he took that public perception seriously when it developed. Also, it’s interesting to hear his take on some of his own greatest matches (e.g., against Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, and The Rock in WM III, IV, X8), as well as some other events in the recent history of wrestling. (One chapter describes the infamous John Stossel 20/20 interview, in which another wrestler — not Hogan — beat up the interviewer on camera. Another chapter talks about the death in the ring of Owen Hart.) It was also mildly entertaining to see Hogan address the reader (and practically anyone else who appears more than 2 times in the book) as “brother.”
All in all, this is an interesting look into the life of the most popular wrestler in history. (He wasn’t the most talented, but he definitely put professional wrestling on the map, and his longevity has been incredible.) However, reader be warned: the real Hulk Hogan bears very little resemblance to the public image of the ’80’s.