The Immortal Hulk Hogan is arguably the greatest sports entertainer of all time. With millions of Hulk-A-Maniacs in tow, Hulk Hogan carried the World Wrestling Federation on his shoulders from 1984 to 1993. Of course, Hulk Hogan couldn’t do it alone. He had a great cast of bad guys to feud with in that nine year period. Here is a list of Hulk Hogan’s seven greatest feuds of all time.
7) Hulk Hogan vs Sting
The feud between Hulk Hogan and Sting demonstrated perfectly that a good story doesn’t have to be told quickly in order for fans to understand it. The feud between Hulk Hogan and Sting started in the summer of 1996. Yet, the two didn’t have a match until December 1997. For 18 months, Sting stalked Hogan and his friends in the New World Order. Sting would destroy men like Scott Hall and Kevin Nash on his road to his match with Hulk Hogan. It was a great angle and one of the few things WCW did right. The match itself however, well, I will leave that for another time. Maybe I will include it in an article titled “Matches That Killed Great Feuds.”
6) Hulk Hogan vs Ric Flair
“Nature Boy” Ric Flair was always the black to Hulk Hogan’s white. He was the epicenter of the rival wrestling organization, NWA. Though he never received the mainstream success Hogan did, fans in the know always wondered who would win. In 1994, the world finally found out. The feud began in the mid 80s, the two finally wrestled in the 90s, and in 2011, Hogan versus Flair is still an option. Both currently work for Spike TV’s Impact Wrestling organization. Hulk Hogan versus Ric Flair produced massive pay per views buys for World Championship Wrestling and will be regarded as one of the greatest feuds of all time.
5) Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant
The feud that revolutionized the sport. The Hogan – Andre feud is the epitome of 80s wrestling. Two huge larger than life cartoon characters. Hulk Hogan, a mass of muscle painted in red and yellow versus the true giant. A man who starred in The Princess Bride. The Wrestlemania three main event match between the two behemoths drew a record setting 93,000 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit. The feud lasted a little over 18 months, as the two also wrestled to a double disqualification at Wrestlemania 4. The feud went mainstream, and even casual fans were aware of it. The two also produced one of the most memorable moments in history, when Hulk Hogan slammed the 500 pound giant.
4) Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior
After the two popular wrestlers left the ring at Wrestlemania six in Toronto, the war between the two massive personalities continued. Much of their feud took place in dirt sheets and now on social media. It goes back to Hogan calling Warrior out on being a failure at drawing crowds during his WWF Championship reign. Warrior, of course, didn’t take kindly to Hogan’s words. And the two had been bickering like Grumpy Old Men ever since. In 2005, Hulk Hogan participated in the slanderous WWE DVD release “The Self Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior”. In it he described Warrior as a lunatic and someone who couldn’t live up to the hype. In 2011, Warrior released a video on YouTube claiming Hulk Hogan was a heavy cocaine user and would offer other wrestlers sex with his wife. Hulk Hogan denied all accusations.
3) Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage
“Macho Man” Randy Savage was intense in and out of the ring. In fact, comrades remark that the “Macho Man” was not a character. It was truly how Randy Poffo walked, talked, reacted and lived. So it should come to no surprise the “Macho Man” had a true hatred for Hulk Hogan. After the Mega-Powers exploded in 1989, Savage and Hogan wrestled for almost two years. A few years later in WCW, they went on to feud on and off for the next three years. But the real feud ignited when Savage blamed Hogan for the failure of his marriage to Elizabeth. He also blamed Hogan for keeping him down. That’s a hard argument considering Savage was a multi-time heavyweight champion. Regardless, through the years, Savage would challenge Hogan to “real fights” and constantly call him out on radio shows and newspaper interviews. Randy even wrote a rap song about Hogan called “Be A Man.” No, I’m not joking. He really wrote and released a rap song. Unfortunately, “Macho Man” Randy Savage died on May 20th 2011. The two were never able to reunite and make amends. Hogan and Savage were always described as “good friends, better enemies.” And Savage took that to the grave.
2) Hulk Hogan vs Roddy Piper
At the center of the Rock ‘N’ Wrestling era was Hulk Hogan and “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. The two possessed shining personalities that hooked casual fans into the circus world of pro wrestling. Piper played the perfect antagonist. He could cut an entertaining promo and sell a television to a blind guy. Hogan, as usual, played the good guy, standing up for whatever is right in the world. The two worked well together. Both wrestlers were in their prime, and able to brawl all over the crowded arenas. Outside the ring, although they got along, they had a little professional rivalry. Both were trying to break into Hollywood. Though Hogan has more mainstream attention, Piper never did those movies like Mr. Nanny. So I suspect Piper won that rivalry.
1) Hulk Hogan vs Linda Hogan
The biggest and most personal feud Hulk Hogan has ever been involved in is his ongoing feud with his ex-wife Linda Hogan. Linda Hogan filed for divorce in 2007, and it was granted by a judge in 2009. Since then, Linda Hogan has dragged Hulk Hogan’s named through the mud. She has accused her ex husband of infidelity, verbal and physical abuse, and recently claimed he had a sexual relationship with Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. Linda Hogan has been able to do something that guys like Earthquake, Million Dollar Man and Kurt Angle was unable to do. She is very close to killing Hulk-a-mania. The charges she makes really cuts at the aura of Hulk Hogan. In 2005, Hogan was a likable personality on the verge of a popularity rebound. The beloved sports icon was everywhere, including landing a gig as host of NBC’s American Gladiators. At his worst, Hogan claimed to have put a gun to his head and ready to pull the trigger. Luckily, Hulk Hogan did not. But he is still climbing out of a hole. In the recent years, the world has lost their love for Hulkster. He’s now hawking couches on Rent-A-Center commercials. Poor Hulk Hogan.
Even though he is almost 60 years old, Hulk Hogan continues to wrestle. He is working for Impact Wrestling. And his next match is against Sting at Bound For Glory. The only reason he is still wrestling? He needs the money. Linda Hogan drained him during the divorce. So it seems Hulk Hogan’s feuds are still haunting him to this day. Best of luck Hulk, you’re going to need it.