Editor’s Note: Brad Bobo is the Associate Athletic Director for Marketing & Fan Engagement for Arkansas State University Athletics. He is also a huge wrestling fan, as any of his many friends will tell you. Following this week’s death of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan, we asked Brad to write a piece about his feelings about who he calls “the Hulkster.” As only Brad can do, he shared this special piece with us, and now we share it with you. Enjoy, and thank you, Brad.
Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — July 27, 2025 — Here’s a quick two-question quiz for you:
- Are you or have you ever been a fan of professional wrestling?
- Do you know who Hulk Hogan is?
I bet that, even if your answer to the first question was no, your answer to the second question was still yes. And that, my friends, is the power of the Hulkster.
Think about this: when he died last week at the age of 71, how many headlines did you read stating “Terry Bollea Dead at 71”? I’m guessing none. Even the New York Times, which writes perhaps the most highly regarded obituaries in the world, used the headline “Hulk Hogan, Wrestling Superstar, is Dead at 71”.
Now that same publication, the New York Times, in July 2012, didn’t write “Andy Taylor, Beloved Sheriff of Mayberry, Dies at 86”. Of course not. It said “Andy Griffith, Actor, Dies at 86.” I think it’s safe to say that most folks around the world identify Griffith with his most-famous role on the sitcom that bore his name. But, still, we were all able to separate that iconic character from the man who portrayed it.
But not with Hulk Hogan.
Full disclosure: Hulk Hogan was never my favorite wrestler. But that’s because the position was never open.
I’ve been a rasslin’ fan my entire life, thanks mostly to my grandparents. And I was raised at a time and in a part of the country where the stretch of Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. was the most important 90 minutes of the week. That’s because wrestling aired live from the WMC studios in Memphis during that time, and most activity around these parts stopped to see who had wronged Jerry “The King” Lawler now and was going to get theirs the following Monday night at the Mid-South Coliseum.
But, being born in 1977, I’m on the young end of folks who grew up watching wrestling when it was still split into regional territories. By the time I was five or six-years-old, Vince McMahon had launched his plan to take his father’s regional company in the Northeast and create the country’s first national wrestling promotion.
On January 23, 1984, McMahon’s plan went into overdrive when he put his World Wrestling Federation championship belt around the waist of Hulk Hogan. And, from there, the wrestling business was thrust into the stratosphere on a rocket strapped firmly to Hogan’s back.
Hogan was the right guy, at the right place, at the right time. And nothing in wrestling was ever the same again.
He became the first person in the sport to ever really transcend the ring. He was the first pro wrestler to ever be put on the cover of Sports Illustrated, back when that was still a really big deal. He did TV shows, movies, commercials and everything else, all while urging all us little Hulkamaniacs to “train, say your prayers and eat your vitamins.”
He was a superhero in real-life human form. And he became one of the most recognizable people on Earth. Period.
By 1996, the world was a different place. Hogan was gone from the WWF, first to focus on acting but eventually landing in the rival World Championship Wrestling organization, backed by the financial power of Ted Turner. In fact, by this time, the wrestling business as a whole was in a pretty serious downturn.
Even in WCW, folks no longer wanted to get fully behind the all-American Hogan bit. It had run its course. So, on July 7, at an event called “Bash at the Beach,” the unthinkable happened:
Hogan became a bad guy. So long, Hulkster, and hello “Hollywood” Hogan.
Here’s what I remember most about Hogan trading the red and yellow for the black and white of the New World Order: the following day, national sports radio shows were talking about what happened at “Bash at the Beach”. And that was at a time when national sports shows never talked about wrestling.
It once again showed the power of Hulk Hogan. And on the strength of him becoming a bad guy, the business once again soared to new heights.
What other person, regardless of their field, can you say changed the course of their entire industry twice, and 12 years apart? Hogan certainly did.
There’s a great chance that you would have never heard of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin or John Cena if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan.
I think part of the reason his death hit so many of us so hard is that it served as a stark reminder that even superheroes can die. It’s almost like part of our childhood died with Terry Bollea.
Far be it for me to take the New York Times and practically every other media outlet on the planet to task, but I think they all got it wrong. Terry Bollea passed away last week at the age of 71.
But, for many of us, Hulk Hogan will live forever … Brother.