On the death of Hulk Hogan: Sion Sion and a “Real American”

Hardly anyone stood for the wrestling like Hulk Hogan (1953-2025) – and hardly anyone has promoted sport in popularity in the past decades. He was the “Hulkster”, the man with the murderous, the blond hair and the torn shirt. The legendary wrestler, which also became an integral part of the US pop culture, has now died at the age of 71.

Hogan was born in the city of Augusta in the US state of Georgia in August 1953. Already in the 1970s he came to a professional wrestling. And already in the 80s he became a star. He won a name that in the USA you would also know in almost every household decades later – and not only if a wrestling fan sits at the table during dinner. Hogan soon became famous internationally.

The wrestling organization WWE – formerly WWF – emphasized what a great influence he had – shortly after his death became known. It was sad to “learn that the WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan died. As one of the most famous figures in pop culture, Hogan helped the WWE to recognize worldwide in the 1980s,” it said. A little later, among other things, a contribution with several pictures by Hogan was published,: “Hulkamania will live forever.”

“Hulk Hogan is for the professional wrestling sport what Babe Ruth was for the baseball. He is a godfather and pioneer of what has become business and what it will be known,” wrote the sports magazine. He was the “first megastar of the WWE” and had helped the industry to new heights and made them the billion dollar business that is today.

He not only developed such an awareness with appearances in the ring. Among other things, he was seen several times as an actor. His first big film is a classic. In addition to none other than Sylvester Stallone (79), Hogan had played in his legendary “Rocky” series. The wrestler appeared in “Rocky III – the eye of the tiger” in 1982. Even in the “Love Boat” and at “The A-Team” he had smaller roles. “I had the pleasure of getting to know this brilliant personality and this showman when he was 26 years old. He was absolutely wonderful and made his amazing skills ‘Rocky III’ something very special”.

He also appeared in reality TV formats-even in his own show. In the 2000s, several seasons of the reality documentary “Hogan Knows Best” ran on the US television, who told the life of Terry Bollea – so his bourgeois name – and his family. The format was also broadcast in Germany.

Hulk Hogan always saw himself as a “real American”, he flirted with it. Among other things, for the song “Real American” by Rick Derringer (1947-2025), accordingly “I am a real American”, he entered. There is no question that this also gave him points with many fans. He became a model for a hero.

The “Survival -Last icon”, like the WWE, was introduced in April 2005 by Sylvester Stallone to the “WWE Hall of Fame”, the Hall of Fame. The sympathizer, the great US hero, was no longer for everyone in his later years of life. In the meantime, the WWE did not want to know anything about Hogan.

A transcript appeared in 2015, according to the “N-word” several times. “It was unacceptable for me to use this insulting language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done this,” he said to the magazine in a statement. Also in the Hall of Fame you didn’t want to see him anymore, but around three years later he was resumed in it. “This second chance follows numerous public apologies and his voluntary work with young people, where he helps them to learn from his mistake”, the WWE in summer 2018.

A few months before his death, Hogan positioned himself as the great supporter of US President Donald Trump (79) in the election campaign. He got off shortly after Hogan’s death. Trump described the deceased as a “great friend”, who was “through and through Maga” (“Make America Great Again”). Vice President JD Vance (40) “big American icon”. Hogan was one of the first people he admired as a child.