company name	THQ Inc.
company logo
company type	Public
traded as
foundation	1989 (as Trinity Acquisition Corporation)
location	Agoura Hills, California, USA
area served	Worldwide
key people	Brian J. Farrell (Chairman, CEO, President)Ian Curran (SVP Int'l Publishing)
industry	Video game industryInteractive entertainment
products	''Red Faction series''''Tak series''''Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War''''WWE Games''''Saints Row series''''Destroy All Humans! series''''Summoner''''UFC Undisputed series''''uDraw GameTablet''''Homefront''
revenue	(2011)
net income	(2011)
num employees	800
homepage	www.THQ.com }}

THQ Inc. () is a developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices. THQ has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The company publishes internally created and externally licensed content in its product portfolio. THQ's internally created franchises include ''Saints Row'', ''Frontlines: Fuel of War'', ''Red Faction'', ''MX vs. ATV'', ''Company of Heroes'' and others. The company also holds exclusive, long-term licensing agreements with leading sports and entertainment content creators including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Games Workshop (''Warhammer 40,000''), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Nickelodeon and Disney-Pixar. It has announced net sales of $830.0 million in 2008, down from $1,030.5 million in the year previous. Net losses were $431 million for the 12 months ending March 2009, down from $35.3 million in the year previous.

History

Trinity Acquisition Corporation was founded in 1989. In 1991, it merged with Toy Head-Quarters, a toy manufacturer founded in 1990 by Jack Friedman. The combined company branched out to the video game industry and adopted the name T*HQ, inspired by the first letters of Toy Head-Quarters even though Trinity Acquisition was the surviving entity. T*HQ was eventually renamed to THQ in 1994 and left the toy business to concentrate solely on video games.

The company began building out its internal product development capabilities in September 2000 with the acquisition of Volition, Inc. located in Champaign, IL. Since then, THQ's internal studio system has grown to eleven studios across the globe with distinct capabilities across all viable gaming platforms. Studios such as Relic Entertainment, Vigil Games, Blue Tongue Entertainment, Juice Games, Kaos Studios and Volition, Inc., who work on games for next-generation consoles as well as PCs.

THQ's global distribution network includes offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific as follows: United States, Canada and Mexico; Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Key THQ Wireless brands include ''Star Wars'', WWE and certain Disney-Pixar properties. THQ Wireless serves content via many major carriers worldwide including Sprint, Motorola, Nokia (N-gage), AT&T;, Sony-Ericsson, Orange in Europe and others.

Major franchises include games based on THQ's long standing licensing relationships with WWE, Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon. The company also holds long-term rights to ''Bratz'' from MGA Entertainment and ''Warhammer 40,000'' from Games Workshop.

In 2006, THQ acquired Vigil Games.

On May 10, 2007, THQ reported its highest annual sales figures and net profits ever for the fiscal year which ended March 31. THQ's revenues reached over $1 billion.

In March 2008, THQ announced they were to develop the world's first ever cheerleading game using the Wii Balance Board.

On November 3, 2008, the company closed five of its internal studios.

In March 2009, THQ spun off Heavy Iron Studios and Incinerator Studios as independent companies, and announced it was looking to sell Big Huge Games.

In May 2009, THQ agreed to sell Big Huge Games to 38 Studios.

In August 2009, THQ acquired Midway Studios San Diego for $200,000. The sale of the studio includes all assets, except for the TNA iMPACT! video game.

In February 2010, they announced that Juice Games and Rainbow Studios would be part of a reshuffle, and would now bear the title THQ Digital Warrington and THQ Digital Phoenix respectively. It is said 60 members of staff face redundancies between THQ's US Rainbow studio and the UK Juice Game's studio.

In August 2010, THQ unveiled the uDraw GameTablet, a $70 accessory for Nintendo's Wii console that lets gamers draw and play on their television screens. The white, 9-by-7-inch peripheral houses a Wii Remote on the left, with a doodle pad and tethered stylus on the right.

THQ says more software for the uDraw will launch every couple of months.http://www.worldofudraw.com/#/home.

On December 31, 2010, THQ closed their Korean office and canceled the development project of ''WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Online''.

On January 2011, THQ sold off their Wireless division to a Swedish mobile company called 24MAS.

On January 12, 2011, THQ unveiled their new logo.

In March 2011, THQ, after their game ''Homefront'', suffered a 26% stock drop. The large drop was speculated to be because of ''Homefront'''s poor reception.

On June 13, 2011, THQ announced the closure of Kaos Studios (the developer of ''Homefront'') and THQ Digital Warrington (formerly Juice Games).

On June 27, 2011, THQ announced they are dropping the long running ''Red Faction'' franchise. This was believed to be due to the poor reception over the latest game in the franchise, ''Red Faction Armageddon''.

On August 9, 2011, THQ has announced that their development focus will move away from licensed kids and movie-based titles by closing down THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tongue in order to focus on "high-quality owned IP". The company has also closed down THQ Digital Phoenix (formerly Rainbow Studios), thus dropping the ''MX vs. ATV'' franchise.

Subsidiaries

Studios

Relic Entertainment in Vancouver, BC, founded in May 1997, acquired in May 2004.

THQ Studio San Diego in San Diego, California, acquired from Midway Games in August 2009.

Vigil Games in Austin, Texas, founded in 2005, acquired in 2006.

Volition in Champaign, Illinois, founded in November 1996, acquired in September 2000.

THQ Studio Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, founded in October 2010 is THQ's first North American studio that was not acquired. It is also described to be THQ's largest studio hiring more than 500 employees.

Divisions

External Development Group (XDG) was founded in 2006 to streamline THQ's outsourcing initiatives. In 2008, the group opened a headquarters in Shanghai, China to transition from traditional business to business outsourcing methods to a form of distributed development.

company name	Play THQ
company type	Children's division of THQ
foundation	2007
location	United States
industry	Children's entertainment
products	''Cars Mater-National''''Nicktoons: Globs of Doom''''All Star Cheer Squad''''WALL-E''''Naked Brothers Band''''Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition''
parent	THQ Inc.
homepage	www.PlayTHQ.com }}

Play THQ is the family division of THQ, founded in 2007. Its first game was Cars Mater-National. Additional games published include licensed material such as SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, WALL-E, Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno'', and original properties such as Lock's Quest. Play THQ is best known for publishing Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon games.

Slingdot

THQ Wireless

ValuSoft in Minneapolis, MN, founded in 1997, acquired in 2002

Defunct

Big Huge Games in Timonium, Maryland, founded in February 2000, acquired in January 2008, sold to 38 Studios in May 2009.

Concrete Games in Carlsbad, California, founded in 2004, closed January 2008.

Heavy Iron Studios in Los Angeles, California, founded in 1999, spun off in March 2009.

Helixe in Burlington, Massachusetts, founded in July 2000, closed November 2008.

Incinerator Studios in Carlsbad, California, founded in 2005, spun off in March 2009.

Locomotive Games in Santa Clara, California, founded as DT Productions in 1997, then Pacific Coast Power and Light, acquired in 1999, closed November 2008.

Mass Media in California, founded in the late 1980s, acquired in 2007, closed November 2008.

Outrage Games in Ann Arbor, MI, founded as Outrage Entertainment in December 1997, acquired April 4, 2002, closed in 2004.

Paradigm Entertainment in Addison, Texas, founded in 1998, acquired from Atari in May 2006, closed November 2008.

Sandblast Games in Kirkland, Washington, founded in August 2002 as Cranky Pants Games, closed November 2008.

Universomo in Tampere, Finland, founded in 2002, acquired in May 2007, closed March 2, 2010.

Kaos Studios in New York, NY, started in 2006. Closed June 13, 2011.

THQ Digital Warrington in United Kingdom, founded as Juice Games in 2003, acquired in 2006, Closed June 13, 2011.

Blue Tongue in Melbourne, Australia, founded in 1995, acquired in November 2004, closed August 9, 2011.

THQ Digital Phoenix in Arizona, founded as Rainbow Studios in 1996, acquired in 2001, closed August 9, 2011.

THQ Studio Australia in Brisbane, Australia, started in January 2003, closed August 9, 2011.

Upcoming games

2011

''Saints Row: The Third'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows)

''Hugo Cabret'' (Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS)

''UFC Personal Trainer'' (Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii)

''Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows)

''Nicktoons: Clash of the Martians'' (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, PSP, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS)

''WWE '12'' (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)

2012

''Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III'' (Windows)

''UFC Undisputed 3'' (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

''Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online'' (Windows)

''Metro: Last Light'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, Wii U)

''Darksiders II'' (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Windows)

''WWE Brawl'' (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)

2013

''inSANE'' (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows)

''Devil's Third'' (PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360)

See also

List of THQ games

:Category:THQ games

References

External links

''THQ'' profile on MobyGames

* Category:Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences members Category:Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Category:Companies established in 1989 Category:Entertainment Software Association Category:Video game companies of the United States Category:Video game developers

ar:تي إتش كيو bg:THQ ca:THQ de:THQ es:THQ fa:تی‌اچ‌کیو fr:THQ it:THQ hu:THQ ms:THQ nl:THQ ja:THQ pl:THQ pt:THQ ru:THQ fi:THQ sv:THQ vi:THQ

name	Junior dos Santos
birth name	Junior dos Santos Almeida
birth date	September 12, 1984
birth place	Caçador, Santa Catarina, Brazil
other names	Cigano
residence	Salvador, Brazil
nationality	Brazilian
height
weight lb	239
weight class	Heavyweight (265 lb)
reach in	77
style	Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
stance	Orthodox
fighting out of	Salvador, Brazil
team	Team Nogueira
rank	Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
years active	2006–present (MMA)
kickbox win	18
kickbox kowin	18
kickbox loss	0
mma win	13
mma kowin	8
mma subwin	3
mma decwin	2
mma loss	1
mma subloss	1
url	http://www.juniordossantos.com.br/
sherdog	17272
updated	April 11, 2011 }}

Junior dos Santos Almeida (Brazilian ; born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Dos Santos fights in the Heavyweight division, under the tutelage of former UFC and Pride Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva. He is currently ranked as the #2 heavyweight fighter in the world by Sherdog.com, #2 by MMAWeekly, #2 by MMAfighting.com and #3 by FightMagazine.com. He holds notable wins over Shane Carwin, Roy Nelson, Gabriel Gonzaga, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović, and Fabricio Werdum.

Mixed martial arts career

Dos Santos is a practitioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and currently holds a brown belt. Dos Santos trains his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Early career

Dos Santos turned professional in 2006 at the age of 21. He fought in small promotions in Brazil, such as Demo Fight, Extreme Fighting Championship, Minotauro Fights and Mo Team League. He won 6 out of his first 7 bouts, with his only loss coming from Joaquim Ferreira, in a rematch.

Ultimate Fighting Championship (2008-present)

Dos Santos debuted for the UFC at ''UFC 90''. Considered a major underdog, dos Santos knocked out top contender Fabricio Werdum in the first round with a strong uppercut.

Dos Santos returned and fought Stefan Struve at ''UFC 95'', quickly defeating him in the first round by TKO.

Dos Santos obtained one of his biggest victories to date over Mirko Filipović at ''UFC 103''. During the third round, dos Santos dominated Filipović in the clinch with knee strikes and punches. A knee from the clinch & a right uppercut left Cro Cop unable to see causing him to verbally submit from the fight.

Dos Santos was supposed to fight Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 108; however, Gonzaga pulled out of the bout on November 25, 2009, due to a staph infection. Instead, dos Santos fought Gilbert Yvel, winning the fight via TKO during the first round, giving him his fourth straight UFC victory, finishing all his opponents by way of stoppage.

Dos Santos defeated Gabriel Gonzaga on March 21, 2010, at UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones by knockout in the first round.

Dos Santos faced Roy Nelson on August 7, 2010, at UFC 117 with a title shot on the line. The fight saw Dos Santos use a variety of strikes and, for the first time, a successful takedown. Despite dos Santos' striking ability, Nelson was able to stay in the fight, resulting in the fight going to decision. Dos Santos won via unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, 30–27).

A shoulder injury and following surgery stopped champion Cain Velasquez from competing for a while, so the title fight was put a on hold.

On January 11, 2011, it was revealed that Dos Santos would be one of the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter Season 13, opposite to Brock Lesnar. They were scheduled to face each other on June 11, 2011, at UFC 131, but Lesnar pulled out due to illness and was replaced by Shane Carwin. Dos Santos dominated Carwin and defeated him via unanimous decision, relying predominantly on his boxing skills, but showed more variety in his game by landing a couple of kicks and completing two takedowns in the third round.

Dos Santos will fight UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez on 19 November, 2011.

Personal life

Dos Santos states that Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira is his hero. In addition to his native Brazilian Portuguese, Dos Santos speaks English, though not fluently.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*Knockout of the Night (2 times)

FIGHT! Magazine

*2008 Upset of the Year vs. Fabricio Werdum

Mixed martial arts record

| | | Cain Velasquez | | UFC 139 | | | | San Jose, California, United States | For UFC Heavyweight Championship

|- | Win |align=center| 13-1 | Shane Carwin | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 131 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Vancouver, Canada | |- | Win |align=center| 12-1 | Roy Nelson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 117 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 5:00 | Oakland, California, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 11-1 | Gabriel Gonzaga | KO (punches) | UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 3:53 | Broomfield, Colorado, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 10-1 | Gilbert Yvel | TKO (punches) | UFC 108 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:07 | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 9-1 | Mirko Filipovic | Submission (punch) | UFC 103 | |align=center| 3 |align=center| 2:00 | Dallas, Texas, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 8-1 | Stefan Struve | TKO (punches) | UFC 95 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:54 | London, England | |- | Win |align=center| 7-1 | Fabricio Werdum | KO (uppercut) | UFC 90 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:21 | Rosemont, Illinois, U.S. | |- | Win |align=center| 6-1 | Geronimo dos Santos | TKO (cut) | Demo Fight 3 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:44 | Salvador, Bahia, Brazil | |- | Loss |align=center| 5-1 | Joaquim Ferreira | Submission (armbar) | MTL: Final | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 1:13 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 5–0 | Jair Goncalves | TKO (punches) | Mo Team League 2 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 2:52 | São Paulo, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 4–0 | Joaquim Ferreira | Submission (exhaustion) | XFC: Brazil | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 5:00 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 3–0 | Edson Silva | TKO (doctor stoppage) | XFC: Brazil | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 8:46 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 2–0 | Eduardo Maiorino | Submission (guillotine choke) | Minotauro Fights 5 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| 0:50 | São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil | |- | Win |align=center| 1–0 | Jailson Silva Santos | TKO (punches) | Demo Fight 1 | |align=center| 1 |align=center| N/A | Salvador, Bahia, Brazil |

See also

List of current UFC fighters

References

External links

Black House MMA

Official UFC Profile

Category:Brazilian mixed martial artists Category:Heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Brazilian kickboxers Category:Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Category:Living people Category:1984 births

fr:Junior dos Santos ja:ジュニオール・ドス・サントス no:Junior dos Santos pl:Junior dos Santos pt:Junior dos Santos ru:Дус Сантус, Жуниор sv:Junior dos Santos

code	Hurling
sport	Hurling
name	Pat Barry
irish	Pádraig de Barra
birth date	1951
feet	6
inches	6
occupation	Priest
county	Cork
province	Munster
club	Glen Rovers
clyears	1960s-1970s
clcounty	1
clprovince	1
clallireland	1
counties	Cork
icposition	Right wing-back
icyears	1970s
icprovince	1
icallireland	1
nhl	0
allstars	0
birth place	Blackpool, Cork }}

Fr. Pat Barry (born 1951 in Ballyphehane, Cork) is an Irish retired sportsperson. He played hurling and Gaelic Football with his local club Glen Rovers and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county hurling and football teams in the 1970s. Barry won both Munster and All-Ireland honours in 1976.

References

Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Glen Rovers hurlers Category:Cork hurlers Category:Winners of 1 All-Ireland medal (hurling) Category:People from County Cork

Name	Hulk Hogan
Names	The Super DestroyerSterling GoldenHulk HoganHulk MachineHollywood Hulk HoganHollywood HoganMr. AmericaTerry BoulderThunderlips
Height
Weight
Birth date	August 11, 1953
Birth place	Augusta, Georgia
Billed	Venice Beach, CaliforniaWashington, D.C. (as Mr. America)Hollywood, California (as Hollywood Hogan)
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Trainer	Hiro Matsuda
Debut	August 10, 1977
Website	www.HulkHogan.com }}

Terry Gene Bollea (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Hogan had mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now the WWE), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as "Hollywood" Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following WCW's fold, he made a brief return to WWE in the early 2000s, revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas.

Hogan was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a 12-time world heavyweight champion being a six-time WWF/WWE Champion, six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, as well as a former WWE World Tag Team Champion with Edge. He was also the winner of the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991 and the first to win two Royal Rumbles in a row. In his first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan held the title for 469 days from July 17, 1994 to October 29, 1995. It is the longest reign of all time for this championship.

Early life

Bollea, who is of Italian, French and Panamanian heritage, is the son of Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, and his wife Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher. Hogan was raised in Tampa, Florida. As a boy, he was a pitcher in Little League Baseball. He began watching professional wrestling at 16 years old. While in high school, he revered Dusty Rhodes, and he regularly attended cards at the Tampa Sportatorium. It was at one of those wrestling cards where he first turned his attention towards "Superstar" Billy Graham and looked to him for inspiration; since he first saw Graham on TV, Hogan wanted to match his "inhuman" look. Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands. After music gigs began to get in the way of his time in college, Hogan decided to drop out of the University of South Florida before receiving any degree. During his spare time, Hogan would work out at Hector's Gym in the Tampa Bay area and eventually became strong enough to do big lifting. Eventually, Hogan and two local musicians formed a band called Ruckus in 1976. The band soon became a local sensation in the Tampa Bay region.

Many of the wrestlers who competed in the Florida territory at that time visited the bars where Ruckus was performing. Among those attending his performances were Jack and Gerald Brisco, two brothers who wrestled together as a tag team in the Florida region. Impressed by Hogan's physical stature, the Brisco brothers asked Hiro Matsuda—the man who trained wrestlers working for Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF)—to make him a potential trainee. In 1976, the two brothers asked Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood, Hogan eventually agreed. At first, however, Mike Graham, the son of CWF promoter Eddie Graham, refused to put Hogan in the ring; according to Hogan, he met Graham while in high school and the two didn't get along. However, after Hogan quit Ruckus and started telling people in town that he was going to be a wrestler, Mike Graham finally agreed to accept the Brisco Brothers' offer, confronted Hogan and informed him that he would meet with Hiro Matsuda to begin a training session the following day. According to Hogan, during their first training session, Matsuda sarcastically asked him, "So you want to be a wrestler?" and purposely broke Hogan's leg.

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1977–1979)

In the summer of 1977, after over a year of training with Matsuda, the Brisco brothers dropped by Matsuda's gym to see Hogan. During this visit, Jack Brisco handed Hogan a pair of wrestling boots and informed him that he was scheduled to wrestle his first match the following week. In his professional wrestling debut, Eddie Graham booked him against Brian Blair in Fort Myers, Florida on August 10, 1977 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. A short time later, Bollea donned a mask and assumed the persona of "The Super Destroyer," a hooded character first played by Don Jardine and subsequently used by other wrestlers. Hogan, however, eventually could no longer work with Hiro Matsuda, whom he felt was an overbearing trainer, and left Championship Wrestling From Florida. After declining an offer to wrestle for the Kansas City circuit, Hogan took a hiatus from wrestling and managed a private club in Cocoa Beach, Florida-known as the Anchor Club-. for a man named Whitey Bridges. Eventually, Whitey and Hogan became close friends, and decided to open a gym together; the gym would be known as Whitey and Terry's Olympic gym. Soon after, Hogan's friend Ed Leslie (later known as Brutus Beefcake) came down to Cocoa Beach to help Hogan and Bridges manage both the Anchor Club and the Whitey and Terry's Olympic Gym. On his spare time, he and Beefcake would work out in the gym together, and eventually, Beefcake developed a muscular physique; Hogan was impressed by Beefcake's physical stature and become convinced that the two of them should wrestle together as tag team partners. Depressed and yearning to return to wrestling, Hogan called Superstar Billy Graham in 1978 with hopes that Graham could find him a job wrestling outside of Florida; Graham agreed and Hogan soon joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory. Hogan also convinced Beefcake, who had yet to become a wrestler, to come with him and promised to teach him everything he knew about the sport.

In Alabama, he and Beefcake wrestled as Terry and Ed Boulder, the Boulder Brothers. These early matches as a tag team with the surname Boulder being used by both men prompted a rumor among wrestling fans unaware of the inner workings of the sport that Hogan and Beefcake were brothers, as few people actually knew their real names outside of immediate friends, family, and of course the various promoters the two worked for. After wrestling a show for Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in Memphis, Jerry Jarrett, the promoter for the (CWA), approached Hogan and Beefcake and offered them a job in his promotion for $800.00 a week; this was far more than the $175.00 a week they would make working for Tillet. Hogan and Beefcake accepted this offer and left Tillet's territory. During his time in Memphis, Hogan appeared on a local talk show, where he sat beside Lou Ferrigno, star of the television series ''The Incredible Hulk''. The host commented how Terry, who stood 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) and weighed 295 pounds with 24 inch biceps, actually dwarfed "the Hulk." As a result, Bollea began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden.

In May 1979, Bollea had an early shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which at the time was generally recognized as the highest honor in wrestling. In June 1979, Bollea won his first wrestling championship, the NWA Southeast Heavyweight Championship, recognized in Alabama and Tennessee when he defeated Ox Baker.

World Wrestling Federation (1979–1980)

Later that year, former NWA World Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) chief Vincent J. McMahon, who was impressed with his charisma and physical stature. McMahon, who wanted to use an Irish name, gave Bollea the last name Hogan. At this time, Hogan wrestled Bob Backlund for the WWF Championship, and he started his first big feud with André the Giant, which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium in August 1980. Hulk Hogan claims in his autobiography that he and André the Giant were the reason for the Shea gate. However, Sammartino/Zbyszko sold out everywhere they wrestled leading up the show. Hogan and Andre wrestled in White Plains, New York, drawing 1,200 in a building that held 3,500 as the main event before they wrestled at Shea. During his initial heel run in the WWF, Hogan was paired with "Classy" Freddie Blassie, a wrestler-turned-manager.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (1980–1983)

A great deal of Hogan's early success was achieved in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Japanese wrestling fans were in awe of the gargantuan blond American and nicknamed him "Ichiban" (which translates to "Number One"). Hogan first appeared in Japan on May 13, 1980, while he was still with the WWF. He toured the country from time to time over the next few years, facing a wide variety of opponents ranging from Tatsumi Fujinami to Abdullah the Butcher. When competing in Japan, Hogan used a vastly different repertoire of wrestling moves, relying on more technical, traditional wrestling holds and maneuvers as opposed to the power-based, brawling style U.S. fans became accustomed to seeing from him. Another difference is that Hogan used a running forearm lariat (called the "Axe Bomber") as his finisher in Japan, as opposed to the running leg drop that has been his traditional finisher in America. On June 2, 1983, Hogan became the first International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) tournament winner (although he held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship belt, this was not the beginning of the actual championship), defeating Japanese wrestling icon Antonio Inoki by knockout in the finals of a 10-man tournament featuring top talent from throughout the world. Hogan and Inoki also worked as partners in Japan, winning the prestigious MSG Tag League tournament two years in a row: in 1982 and 1983. Hogan's popularity in Japan was so great, he even recorded an album there—a forerunner to the World Wrestling Federation's "Rock 'n' Wrestling" of the mid 1980s.

American Wrestling Association (1981–1983)

After filming his scene for ''Rocky III'', against McMahon's wishes, Hogan made his debut in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), owned by Verne Gagne. Hogan started his AWA run as a heel, taking on "Luscious" Johnny Valiant as his manager, before handing the AWA title over to him. Hogan, unwilling to give up his life as a bachelor just for the world title of the AWA, continued to turn down the belt. Shortly after these attempts to woo Hogan into giving Gagne more of a share of his profits and booking in Japan and attempts to bring him into the Gagne family, Hogan was lured back to the Northeast by Vincent K. McMahon, who had just recently purchased the WWF from his ailing father. Hogan claimed that Gagne, aware that Hogan was leaving AWA for the WWF offered the Iron Sheik a substantial amount to break Hogan's leg during a match. The Sheik refused to do it.

Over twenty years later, just prior to Hulk Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2005, the revived AWA, under the authority of owner Dale Gagne (real last name: Gagner), relented and acknowledged the legitimacy of Hogan's two title wins over Nick Bockwinkel, making him a two-time AWA champion. This resolution, however, has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as an entirely different body than the Verne Gagne–owned AWA of old. As recently as the release of the DVD ''The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA'', interviews between Hogan and the Gagnes show that there is still animosity between both parties, indicating the unlikelihood Hogan's AWA title reign would have been retroactively instated under the original ownership. The WWE won a lawsuit against Dale Gagner, due to trademark infringement, which declared Gagne's claims to ownership of the AWA false, and as such rendered the resolution moot, as WWE only recognizes twelve American world titles being attributed to Hulk Hogan, and the AWA World Title is not among that number.

Return to World Wrestling Federation (1983–1993)

The Birth of Hulkamania

After purchasing the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, Vincent K. McMahon (i.e., Vince McMahon) had plans to expand the territory into a nationwide promotion, and he handpicked Hulk Hogan to be the company's showpiece attraction due to his charisma and name recognition. Hogan made his return to the WWF at a television taping in St. Louis, Missouri on December 27, 1983 defeating Bill Dixon.

On the January 7, 1984 edition of ''Championship Wrestling'', Hogan confirmed his face status for the WWF fans by saving Bob Backlund from a three-way assault. Hogan's turn was explained simply by Backlund: "He's changed his ways. He's a great man. He's told me he's not gonna have Blassie around". The storyline shortcut was necessary because less than three weeks later on January 23, Hogan won his first WWF Championship, pinning The Iron Sheik (who had Blassie in his corner) in Madison Square Garden. The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund, and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's finishing move). The backstage story was that the WWF Champion Bob Backlund had refused to put Hogan over for the title, demanding that any wrestler he lost the belt to have a legitimate wrestling background. As a consequence, The Iron Sheik won the title from Backlund first and then dropped it to Hogan.

Immediately after the title win, commentator Gorilla Monsoon proclaimed "Hulkamania is here!" Hogan frequently referred to his fans as "Hulkamaniacs" in his interviews and introduced his three "demandments": training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990. Hogan's ring gear developed a characteristic yellow-and-red color scheme; his ring entrances involved him ritualistically ripping his shirt off his body, flexing, and listening for audience cheers in an exaggerated manner. The majority of Hogan's matches during this time involved him wrestling heels who had been booked as unstoppable monsters, using a format which became near-routine: Hogan would deliver steady offense, but eventually lose momentum, seemingly nearing defeat. He would then experience a sudden second wind, fighting back while "feeding" off the energy of the audience, becoming impervious to attack—a process described as "hulking up". His signature maneuvers—pointing at the opponent (which would later be accompanied by a loud "YOU!" from the audience), shaking his finger to scold him, three punches, an Irish Whip, the big boot and running leg drop—would follow and ensure him a victory. That finishing sequence would occasionally change depending on the storyline and opponent; for instance, with "Giant" wrestlers, the sequence might involve a body slam.

Over the next year, Hulk Hogan became the face of pro wrestling as McMahon pushed the WWF into a pop culture enterprise with The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection on MTV, drawing record houses, pay-per-view buyrates, and television ratings in the process. The centerpiece attraction for the first WrestleMania on March 31, 1985, Hogan teamed with legit friend Mr. T to defeat his archrival "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. On the first edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', Hogan successfully defended the WWF title against Cowboy Bob Orton in a match which Hogan won by a disqualification.

Hogan was named the most requested celebrity of the 1980s for the Make-a-Wish Foundation children's charity. He was featured on the covers of ''Sports Illustrated'', ''TV Guide'', and ''People'' magazines, while also appearing on ''The Tonight Show'' and having his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon titled ''Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling''. Hogan, as the premier WWF icon, headlined eight of the first nine WrestleMania events. He also co-hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on March 30, 1985 during this lucrative run. AT&T; reported that his 900 number information line was the single biggest 900 number from 1991 to 1993. Hogan operated the 900 number through his stint in WWF and then recreated it when he joined World Championship Wrestling.

First title reign (1984–1988)

On the October 5, 1985 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'', he successfully defended the title against Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match. He met long-time rival Roddy Piper in a WWF title match at the Wrestling Classic pay-per-view (PPV) event. Hogan retained the title by disqualification after Bob Orton interfered and hit Hogan with his cast. Hogan had many challengers in the way as the new year began. Throughout 1986, Hogan made successful title defenses against challengers such as Terry Funk, "The Magnificent" Don Muraco, King Kong Bundy (in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2), Paul Orndorff, and Hercules Hernandez.

In the fall of 1986, Hogan occasionally wrestled in tag matches with The Machines as Hulk Machine under a mask copied from New Japan Pro Wrestling gimmick "Super Strong Machine." At WrestleMania III in 1987, Hogan was booked to defend the title against André the Giant, who had been the sport's premier star and was pushed as undefeated for the previous two decades. A new storyline was introduced in early 1987; Hogan was presented a trophy for being the WWF Champion for three consecutive years. André the Giant, a good friend came out to congratulate him. Shortly afterward, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years." Hogan came out to congratulate André, who walked out in the midst of Hogan's speech. Then, on an edition of ''Piper's Pit'', Hogan was confronted by Bobby Heenan, who announced that André was his new protégé, and Andre challenged Hogan to a title match at WrestleMania III. At WrestleMania III, Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan bodyslammed the 520-pound Frenchman and won the match after a leg drop.

Hogan remained WWF Champion for four years and 13 days (1,474 days). In front of 33 million viewers, however, Hogan finally lost the belt to André on the February 5 edition of ''The Main Event'' after a convoluted scam involving "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Earl Hebner (who assumed the place of his twin brother Dave Hebner, who was the match's appointed referee). After André delivered a belly to belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner counted the pin while Hogan's left shoulder was clearly off the mat. After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their business deal. As a result, the WWF Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history. At WrestleMania IV, Hogan participated in a tournament for the vacant WWF title to regain it and faced André in the tournament quarter-finals but their match resulted in a double disqualification. Later that night in the main event, Hogan interfered and helped "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeat Ted DiBiase to win the title.

The Mega Powers (1988–1989)

Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers. After Savage became WWF Champion at WrestleMania IV, they feuded with The Mega Bucks (Ted DiBiase and André the Giant) and defeated them at the main event of the first SummerSlam. The Mega Powers, however, soon imploded from within in 1989, due to Savage's burgeoning jealousy of Hogan and his paranoid suspicions that Hogan and Elizabeth were "more than friends". Dissension was furthered at the Royal Rumble, when Hogan accidentally eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match. The duo broke up while wrestling The Twin Towers on the February 3, 1989 edition of ''The Main Event''. During the match, Savage accidentally collided with Miss Elizabeth. Hogan took her backstage to receive medical attention, while temporarily abandoning Savage. When he returned to the ring, Savage slapped Hogan and left the ring, where Hogan eventually won the match by himself. After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage, which started a feud between the two. Their feud culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF Championship at WrestleMania V.

Later title reigns (1989–1992)

Hogan's second run lasted a year, during which time he starred in the movie ''No Holds Barred''. The film was the inspiration of a feud with Hogan's co-star Tom Lister, Jr., who appeared at wrestling events as his movie character, Zeus. Zeus was a monster heel who was "jealous" over Hogan's higher billing and wanted revenge. Hogan, however, was easily able to defeat Zeus in a series of matches across the country during late 1989, beginning with a tag team match at SummerSlam, in which Hogan and Brutus Beefcake topped Zeus and Savage. Hogan and Beefcake defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at the No Holds Barred pay-per-view to end the feud.

Hogan's second title run was briefly interrupted in January 1989 when he was defeated via submission by Dino Bravo after Hogan couldn't break Bravo's bearhug hold. Hogan attempted to "Hulk Up" and turn the match around, but Bravo wouldn't release the hold, and Hogan became unconscious, forcing the ref to call the match. A silenced crowd watched Bravo grab the championship belt no sooner than an announcement was made that Hogan was determined the winner, by way of disqualification, therefore retaining his title and championship. An infuriated Bravo was quoted, "Last I checked, a bearhug was a legal move. The better and stronger wrestler just got cheated." The Wrestler magazine covered the story in their February 1989 issue with Bravo's hold on Hogan on the front cover with the title, "The Man That Hulk Hogan Cannot Beat." Also during his second run, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble match. He dropped the title to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title versus title match at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990.

Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 470-pound Earthquake, who had crushed Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on ''The Brother Love Show'' in May 1990. On television, announcers explained that Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank-you"). Hogan returned by SummerSlam 1990 and for several months, dominated Earthquake in a series of matches across the country. His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe caused Hogan to add a fourth demandment: believing in yourself. He would also be known as "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Hogan then became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row, as he won the 1991 Royal Rumble match.

At WrestleMania VII, Hogan stood up for the USA against Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship. In the fall of 1991, Hogan was challenged by Ric Flair, the former NWA champion who recently arrived in the WWF. The feud remained unresolved, as Hogan lost the WWF title to The Undertaker at Survivor Series, and he won it back at This Tuesday in Texas six days later. Flair had interfered in both matches and due to the resulting controversy, the title was again declared vacant.

The WWF Championship was decided at the 1992 Royal Rumble in the Royal Rumble match. Hogan failed to regain the championship as he was eliminated by friend Sid Justice and in turn caused Sid to be eliminated, leaving Ric Flair the winner and new champion. Hogan and Sid patched things up and teamed together on the February 8, 1992 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' against Flair and Undertaker but during the match Sid abandoned Hogan, starting their feud. At WrestleMania VIII, Hogan defeated Sid via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman. Hogan was then attacked by Papa Shango and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior.

At this time, news sources began to allege that Dr. George Zahorian, a doctor for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, had been selling steroids illegally to wrestlers in general and Hogan in particular. Hogan appeared on an episode of ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' to deny the allegations. Due to intense public scrutiny, Hogan took a leave of absence from the company.

Return, pursuit of the WWF Championship and departure (1993–1994)

Hogan returned to the WWF in February 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster), and officially renaming themselves The Mega-Maniacs. At WrestleMania IX, Hogan and Beefcake took on Money Inc. for the WWF Tag Team Championship. However, Hogan thought he was too big of a star to be a tag champion and instead wanted the world title. So Hogan and Vince McMahon came up with the plan that Hogan and Brutus would be disqualified in their match. Later that night, Hogan won his fifth WWF Championship by pinning Yokozuna only moments after Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart. McMahon then planned that Hogan and Bret Hart would eventually fight in a big match at Summerslam 1993 in which Hogan would drop the title to Hart, Hogan didn't want to drop the title in a clean victory to another face and wanted to lose the title to the heel Yokozuna. At the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, 1993, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion, Yokozuna, in his first title defense since defeating Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer"(actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman), This was Hogans idea as he did not want Yokozuna to gain a clean victory over him. The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop. This would be Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan would continue his feud on the international house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan would sit out the rest of his contract which expired later that year.

In 1994, Hogan, having received immunity from prosecution, testified in the trial of Vince McMahon relating to shipments of steroids received from Dr. Zahorian by both parties. Under oath, Hogan admitted that he had used anabolic steroids since 1976 to gain size and weight, but that Vince McMahon had neither sold him the drugs, nor ordered him to take them. The evidence given by Hogan proved extremely costly to the government's case against McMahon. Due to this and jurisdictional issues, McMahon was found not guilty.

Return to New Japan Pro Wrestling (1993–1994)

On May 3, 1993, Hulk Hogan returned to NJPW as WWF Champion, defeating IWGP Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta in a dream match at Wrestling Dontaku. Hogan would wrestle against Muta again, under his real name, Keiji Mutoh on September 26, 1993. Hogan would also wrestle The Hell Raisers with Muta and Masahiro Chono as his partners. His last match in Japan was on January 4, 1994 at Battlefield, when he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami.

World Championship Wrestling (1994–2000)

Early run (1994–1996)

After Hogan left the WWF in the summer of 1993, he split his time working on movies, television, wrestling in Japan, and spending time with his family. In June 1994, Hogan signed with Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and began appearing on television the next month. Hogan won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in his debut match, defeating Ric Flair in a 'dream' match at Bash at the Beach. After overcoming the likes of Flair, The Butcher (former partner Brutus Beefcake), Vader, and the Dungeon of Doom for the next fifteen months (the longest reign of all time for this championship), Hogan dropped the belt to The Giant at Halloween Havoc 1995 via DQ. Following the controversial loss (which was due to a "contract clause"), the WCW title became vacant.

In early 1996, Hogan continued his feud with The Giant, before teaming with Randy Savage in a feud with the Alliance to End Hulkamania. After coming out victorious from his feuds, Hogan began to only appear occasionally on WCW programming.

New World Order (1996–1998)

At Bash at the Beach in 1996, during a six man tag team match pitting The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) against WCW loyalists, Hogan interfered on behalf of Nash and Hall, attacking Randy Savage, thereby turning heel for the first time in over ten years. After the match, Hogan delivered a promo, accosting the fans and WCW for underappreciating his talent and drawing power, and announcing the formation of the New World Order (nWo). The new stable gained prominence in the following weeks and months. Hogan grew a beard alongside his famous mustache and dyed it black, traded his red and yellow garb in for black and white clothing, often detailed with lightning bolts, and renamed himself Hollywood Hulk Hogan (often shortened to Hollywood Hogan). Hogan returned to WCW programming eight days after his heel turn.

Hogan won his second WCW World Heavyweight Championship at Hog Wild, defeating The Giant for the title. He spray painted "nWo" across the title belt, scribbled across the nameplate, and referred to the title as the "nWo title" during this and any other time he held the title while in the nWo. Hogan then started a feud with Lex Luger after Luger and The Giant defeated Hogan and Dennis Rodman in a tag team match at Bash at the Beach.

On the August 4, 1997 edition of ''Nitro'', Hogan lost the WCW title to Luger by submission. Five days later, at Road Wild, Hogan defeated Luger to regain the WCW title and begin his third WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Hogan then lost the belt to Sting in a match at Starrcade. In the match, WCW's newly-contracted Bret Hart accused referee Nick Patrick of fast-counting a victory for Hogan and had the match restarted—with himself as referee. Sting later won by submission. After a rematch the following night, where Sting controversially retained the title, the WCW Championship became vacant. Sting then went on to win the vacant title against Hogan at SuperBrawl VIII.

Hogan then developed a rivalry with former friend (and recent nWo recruit) Randy Savage, who had just cost Hogan the title match at SuperBrawl by hitting him with a spray can. The heat culminated in a steel cage match at Uncensored, which ended in a no contest. Savage took the World Championship from Sting at Spring Stampede, while Hogan teamed with Kevin Nash to take on Roddy Piper and The Giant in the first-ever Bat match. Hogan betrayed Nash by hitting him with the bat and then challenged Savage the following night for his championship. In the no disqualification match for Savage's newly won title, Nash entered the ring and powerbombed Hogan as retribution for the attack the previous night. Bret Hart interfered moments later and turned heel by jumping in to attack Savage and preserve the victory for Hogan, who won his fourth WCW World Heavyweight Championship. However, Nash's attack on him signified a split of the nWo into two separate factions- Hogan's became nWo Hollywood and Nash's became nWo Wolfpac- that would feud with each other for the remainder of the year.

Hogan defended the title until July of that year, when WCW booked him in a match against newcomer and then WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg, who had yet to lose a match in the company. Late in the match, Hogan was distracted by Karl Malone, and Goldberg pinned Hogan to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Hogan spent the rest of 1998 wrestling celebrity matches. His second tag team match with Dennis Rodman pitted them against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone at Bash at the Beach and at Road Wild, he and Eric Bischoff lost to Page and Jay Leno thanks to interference from Kevin Eubanks, who leveled Bischoff with a Diamond Cutter. Hogan also had a rematch with the Ultimate Warrior at Halloween Havoc, where his nephew Horace aided his victory. On the Thanksgiving episode of ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'', Hogan officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling, as well as his candidacy for President of the United States. Campaign footage aired on ''Nitro'' of Hogan and Bischoff holding a press conference, making it appear legitimate. In the long run, however, both announcements were false and merely done as a publicity stunt attempting to draw some of the hype of Jesse Ventura's Minnesota gubernatorial win back to him.

After some time off from WCW, Hogan returned on the January 4, 1999 edition of ''Nitro'' to challenge Kevin Nash for the WCW title. Hogan won the match for his fifth WCW World Heavyweight Championship, but many people found the change to be "scandalous". As a result, the warring factions of the nWo reunited into one group, which began feuding with Bill Goldberg and The Four Horsemen.

Conflicts with Vince Russo and departure (1999–2000)

He then lost the title to Ric Flair at Uncensored in a Steel Cage First Blood match. A heavily bleeding Flair won via pinfall in a match refereed by Charles Robinson. During that match, however, Hogan began to show some signs that a face turn was imminent, showing off some old tactics like his "Hulking up" no-sell. The turn would have to wait, however, as Hogan was severely injured in a Texas Tornado match for the world championship featuring him, Sting, Diamond Dallas Page, and Flair at Spring Stampede

On the July 12 edition of ''Nitro'', Hogan made his grand return as a full-fledged face and accepted a challenge from Savage, who had gained the world title at Bash at the Beach the night before in a tag team match by pinning Kevin Nash. Thanks to interference from Nash, Hogan defeated Savage to win his sixth and final WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Nash turned on him the next week, however, and the two began a feud that would last until the next pay-per-view.

On August 9, 1999, he started the night dressed in the typical black and white, but after a backstage scene with his son, Hogan came out dressed in the traditional red and yellow for his main-event 6-man tag team match. He then defeated Nash in a retirement match at Road Wild to retain his title. Injuries and frustrations were mounting up however, and he was absent from television from October 1999 to February 2000. In his book ''Hollywood Hulk Hogan'', Bollea said that he was asked to take time off by newly hired head of creative booking Vince Russo and was not told when he would be brought back at the time. Despite some reservations, he agreed to do so. On October 24 at Halloween Havoc, Hogan was to face Sting for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (which he had lost to Sting at Fall Brawl the previous month, when Sting beat Hogan by cheating and had turned heel in the process). Hogan, however, came to the ring in street clothes, laid down for the pin, and left the ring.

Soon after his return in February 2000, at Bash at the Beach on July 9, Hogan was involved in a controversial, legit incident with Vince Russo. Hogan was scheduled to wrestle Jeff Jarrett for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match, there was a dispute between Hogan and Russo. Unbeknownst to Hogan, Russo told Jarrett to lie down in the middle of the ring and asked Hogan to pin him straight away. A visibly confused Hogan complied with a foot on Jarrett's chest after getting on the microphone and telling Russo, "''Is this your idea, Russo...? That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in, because of bullshit like this!''" Russo responded by coming out and angrily proclaiming "I can guarantee you that this is the last time you will ever see that piece of shit in a WCW stadium!" This is also when the public discovered, through Russo, the "creative control" clause that Hogan had, which meant that Hogan was able to control what would happen with his own character and be able to do so without anyone else being able to tell him no. This has been a common complaint about Hogan, since he has been known to request such clauses in his contracts (even in WWE) because it is believed by many that he uses them to be able to "bury" others that would prove to be a threat to his legacy (which also might lead to the belief that the on-air criticisms that Bobby Heenan and then later Mark Madden made about him were not kayfabe even though the two usually were heel commentators, with Madden saying "Amen!" when Russo said that Hogan would not be back in WCW after that night). In his Bash at the Beach shoot promo, Russo said that he was arguing with Hogan all day prior to the event in the back because he wanted to use the clause in the Jarrett match, saying, "That means that, in the middle of this ring, when [Hogan] knew it was bullshit, he beats Jeff Jarrett!"

Since Hogan refused to job to Jarrett, a new WCW World Heavyweight Championship was created, setting the stage for a title match between Booker T and Jeff Jarrett later that night. Whether or not the whole incident was a shoot or a work was hotly debated. As a result, Hogan filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Russo soon after, which was eventually dismissed in 2002. Russo claims the whole thing was a work, and Hogan claims that Russo made it a shoot. Eric Bischoff agreed with Hogan's side of the story when he wrote that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work, and that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but that Russo coming out to fire Hogan was an unplanned shoot which led to the lawsuit filed by Hogan.

In the months following the eventual demise of WCW in March 2001, Hogan underwent surgery on his knees in order for him to wrestle again. As a test, Hogan worked a match in Orlando, Florida for the Xcitement Wrestling Federation promotion run by his longtime handler Jimmy Hart. Hogan defeated Curt Hennig in this match and felt healthy enough to accept an offer to return to the WWF in February 2002.

Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2002–2003)

Hollywood Hogan and Undisputed Champion (2002)

At No Way Out in 2002, Hogan returned to the company that had made him a pop culture icon. Returning as leader of the original nWo with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, the three got into a confrontation with The Rock and cost Stone Cold Steve Austin a chance at becoming the Undisputed WWF Champion against Chris Jericho in the main event. The nWo feuded with both Austin and The Rock, and Hogan accepted The Rock's challenge to a match at WrestleMania X8. At the event, Hogan asked Hall and Nash not to interfere, wanting to defeat The Rock by himself. Despite the fact that Hogan was supposed to be the heel in the match, the crowd favored Hogan throughout it; this effectively turned him face. The Rock cleanly won the contest but befriended Hogan at the end of the bout and helped him fight off Hall and Nash, who were upset by Hogan's conciliatory attitude. After the match, Hogan was a definite face again, siding with The Rock, though he continued wearing black and white tights for a few weeks after WrestleMania X8 until he resumed wearing his signature red and yellow tights. During this period, the "Hulk Rules" logo of the '80s was redone with the text "Hulk ''Still'' Rules." Hulk wore the original "Hulk Rules" attire 12 years earlier, when he headlined WrestleMania VI at the same arena, in the SkyDome. For a time, he was still known as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, notably keeping the Hollywood Hogan style blond mustache with black beard while wearing Hulkamania-like red and yellow tights and using the Voodoo Child theme music he used in WCW. On April 4, Hogan feuded with Triple H and defeated him for his sixth and final WWF (Undisputed) Championship at Backlash, thus becoming the last ever WWF champion before the initials dispute against the World Wildlife Fund For Nature. On May 19 at Judgment Day, he lost the belt to The Undertaker. After losing a Number One Contenders match for the Undisputed Championship to Triple H on June 6, Hogan began feuding with Kurt Angle resulting in a match between the two at the King of the Ring, which Angle won by submission.

On the July 4, 2002 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Hogan teamed with Edge to defeat Billy and Chuck and capture the WWE World Tag Team Championship for the first time. They celebrated by waving the American flag as the overjoyed audience sang along to Hogan's theme song "Real American." They later dropped the titles to The Un-Americans (Lance Storm and Christian), at Vengeance. In August 2002, Hogan was used in an angle with Brock Lesnar, culminating in a main event singles match. Lesnar won by submission (the match was called after Hogan became unconscious from a bear hug hold). Lesnar became only the second WWE Superstar to defeat Hogan by submission (after Kurt Angle), and the first to defeat Hogan by having the match called. Following the match, Lesnar continued to beat on Hogan, leaving him bloody and unconscious in the ring in what many fans recall as the worst beating Hogan ever received of his career. As a result of Lesnar's assault, Hogan went on hiatus and was not able to return until early 2003, shaving off his black beard and dropping "Hollywood" from his name in his return. He battled The Rock (who had turned heel) once again at No Way Out and defeated Vince McMahon at WrestleMania XIX in a match billed as "20 years in the making."

Mr. America and departure (2003)

Later, he had a run as the masked Mr. America. The persona was supposed to be Hulk Hogan in disguise, wearing a mask. He used Hulk Hogan's "Real American" theme music and used all of Hogan's signature gestures, moves, and phrases. He was the subject of a storyline that took place after Hulk Hogan was forced by Vince McMahon to sit out the rest of his contract. After Hogan won at WrestleMania XIX, McMahon was frustrated with him and wanted Hulkamania to die. A WWE pre-debut push took place with mysterious Mr. America promos airing for weeks during ''SmackDown!''. There was also on-screen discussion on ''SmackDown!'' between then General Manager Stephanie McMahon and other players concerning her hiring Mr. America "sight unseen." On May 1, Mr. America debuted on ''SmackDown!'' on a ''Piper's Pit'' segment. McMahon appeared and claimed that Mr. America was Hulk Hogan in disguise; Mr. America shot back by saying, "I am not Hulk Hogan, brother!" (lampooning Hogan's use of "brother" in his promos). The feud continued through the month of May, with a singles match between Mr. America and Hogan's old rival Roddy Piper at Judgment Day. McMahon tried desperately to prove that Mr. America was indeed Hulk Hogan but failed at all attempts. Mr. America even passed a lie detector test.

Mr. America's last WWE appearance was on the June 26 edition of ''SmackDown!'' when The Big Show and The World's Greatest Tag Team (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas) defeated the team of Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, and Mr. America in a six-man tag team match when Show pinned Mr. America. After the show went off the air, Mr. America unmasked to show the fans that he was indeed Hulk Hogan, putting his finger to his lips telling the fans to keep quiet about his secret. The next week, Hogan quit WWE due to frustration with the creative team. On the July 3 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Vince McMahon showed the footage of Mr. America unmasking as Hogan and "fired" him, although Hogan had already quit in real life. The Mr. America gimmick came under fire briefly from Marvel Comics, who anointed it a rip-off of Captain America, citing costume similarity; the single star on the mask was also a trademark on Captain America's chest piece. This was also adding fuel to the fire over the rights to use the Hulk Hogan name because of Marvel's ownership of the Incredible Hulk character. Because of these problems, WWE was forced to edit out all references to the "Hulk Hogan" name, including pictures which featured Hogan wearing memorabilia that said "Hulk" (a majority of them) and started to refer to Hogan under the "Hollywood Hogan" name he used in WCW. It was later revealed that Hogan was unhappy with the payoffs for his matches after his comeback under the Mr. America gimmick. Vince decided to terminate Hogan's contract, and Hogan left WWE in 2003.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)

Shortly after Hogan left WWE, TNA Wrestling began making overtures to Hogan, culminating in Jeff Jarrett, co-founder of TNA and then NWA World Heavyweight champion, launching an on-air attack on Hogan in Japan in October 2003. The attack was supposed to be a precursor to Hogan battling Jarrett for the NWA title at TNA's first three-hour pay-per-view. However, due to recurring knee and hip problems, Hogan did not appear in TNA. Still, the incident has been shown several times on TNA broadcasts, and was included in the TNA DVD ''TNA's Fifty Greatest Moments''.

Return to WWE (2005–2007)

In 2005, weeks before WrestleMania 21, it was announced on all WWE programming that Hogan would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. On April 2, Hogan was inducted by actor and friend Sylvester Stallone. Hogan was applauded for several minutes before he was able to make a speech. When he paused during his speech, the crowd chanted "One More Match! One More Match!" The fans also chanted "Austin, Hogan" (referring to a Steve Austin vs. Hulk Hogan match); Hogan responded "that may be a good match someday". At WrestleMania 21 on April 3, Hogan came out to rescue Eugene, who was being attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari. Some of the build-up to Hogan's induction into the Hall of Fame and preparation for this angle were shown on the first season of ''Hogan Knows Best''.

The next night on ''Raw'', Hassan and Daivari came out to confront and assault fan favorite Shawn Michaels. The following week, Michaels approached ''Raw'' General Manager Eric Bischoff demanding a handicap match with Hassan and Daivari. Bischoff refused but told Michaels if he found a partner he would be granted a tag team match. Michaels then made a plea for Hulk Hogan to come back and team with him. On the April 18 episode of ''Raw'', Hassan again led an attack on Michaels until Hogan appeared, and saved Michaels and accepted his offer. At Backlash 2005, Hassan and Daivari lost to Hogan and Michaels.

Hogan then appeared on July 4 edition of ''Raw'' as the special guest of Carlito on his talk-show segment ''Carlito's Cabana''. After being asked questions by Carlito concerning his daughter Brooke Hogan, Hogan proceeded to attack Carlito. This was then followed up by an appearance of Kurt Angle, who made comments about Brooke, which further upset Hogan. Hogan was eventually double teamed by Carlito and Angle but was saved by Shawn Michaels. Later that night, Michaels and Hogan defeated Carlito and Kurt Angle in a tag match. During the post match celebration, Michaels delivered Sweet Chin Music to Hogan and walked off. The following week on ''Raw'', Michaels appeared on ''Piper's Pit'' and challenged Hogan to face him one-on-one for the first time. Hogan appeared on ''Raw'' one week later and accepted the challenge. The match took place at SummerSlam. The "Legend vs. Icon" storyline was the main event for the Raw brand going into SummerSlam. The match went back and forth, with two referees getting knocked out and Michaels using a steel chair to try to gain an advantage. Even after Michaels hit his Sweet Chin Music, Hogan still kicked out and mounted some offense against Michaels, finally hitting him with the legdrop and scoring the victory. Michaels extended his hand to him, telling him that he "had to find out for himself," and Hogan and Michaels shook hands. Michaels left the ring to allow Hogan to celebrate with the crowd.

Prior to WrestleMania 22, Hogan inducted friend and former announcer "Mean" Gene Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame. Hogan returned on the July 15, 2006 edition of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' with his daughter Brooke. During the show, Randy Orton flirted (kayfabe, as he was engaged with his girlfriend, now wife Sam Speno) with Hogan's daughter, and later attacked Hogan in the parking lot and hit the RKO onto the trunk of Hogan's car. He later challenged Hulk to a match at SummerSlam, which Hogan won. In regards to the public reaction to Summerslam, and his treatment as an employee, he said:

}}

He also spoke extensively on his payment, and his concerns of not being a top priority to Vince McMahon, despite the fact that he felt he was the company's biggest draw:

Hogan's last WWE appearance to date occurred on December 10, 2007 on the ''WWE Raw'' 15th anniversary. He saved Hornswoggle from being attacked by The Great Khali.

Memphis Wrestling and PMG Clash of Legends (2007)

After a brief fall out with McMahon and WWE, Hogan was lured to Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler. The match had been promoted on Memphis Wrestling Prime Time for several months. On April 12, 2007, however, Lawler announced in a news conference that WWE had barred him from wrestling Hogan on the basis that NBC performers (including Lawler, on the basis of co-hosting the NBC-owned USA Network's ''WWE Raw'' and his appearances on the biannual WWE ''Saturday Night's Main Event'') are contractually prohibited from appearing on VH1, the channel on which ''Hogan Knows Best'' airs. The situation resulted in a lawsuit being filed against WWE by event promoter Corey Maclin. Lawler was replaced with Paul Wight. Hulk Hogan defeated Wight at PMG Clash of Legends on April 27, 2007 when he picked up and bodyslammed Wight and pinned him following his signature Leg Drop.

Return to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2009–present)

Debut and Dixie Carter's business partner (2009–2010)

On October 27, 2009 it was announced on TNAwrestling.com that Hulk Hogan had signed a contract to join TNA on a full time basis where, partnered with Eric Bischoff, he would partner with TNA President, Dixie Carter. The footage of his signing and the press conference in the Madison Square Garden following it were featured on the October 29 episode of ''TNA Impact!''. His role remained uncertain.

On November 21, 24, 26, and 28, Hogan performed with a group of wrestlers including Spartan-3000, Heidenreich, Eugene, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake and Orlando Jordan across Australia in a tour titled ''Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin''. The main event of each show was a rematch between Hogan and Ric Flair—the wrestler who defeated Hogan more times than any other. Hogan defeated Flair in all four matches, bringing his career record against Flair from 2–8 to 6–8. It was the first time Hogan had performed in Australia.

On December 5, 2009, Hogan announced on UFC's The Ultimate Fighter that he would be making his official TNA debut on January 4, 2010, in a special live three hour Monday night edition of ''TNA Impact!'' to compete with WWE's Monday Night Raw (which featured the return of Bret Hart) Carter revealed Hogan's role in the company in an interview with The UK Sun stating when his job came to question, "he is involved with everything from looking at the talent to how we shoot the show". On the January 4, 2010 ''Impact!'', Hogan debuted after a motorcade arrival reuniting briefly with former nWo partners Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman, the latter two of whom made their returns to the company. He, however, refused to join them for a full-fledged reunion of their group claiming, "it's a different time", and stuck to his business relations with Bischoff, who made his appearance to declare that, the two of them would "flip the company upside down" and everyone would have to earn their spot. Hogan also encountered TNA Founder, Jeff Jarrett on the broadcast, appearing via video wall and interrupting Jarrett's company success speech, stating that Carter was instrumental to the company's survival, and that just like the rest, Jarrett would have to (kayfabe) earn his spot in TNA.

At TNA Genesis on January 17, Hogan and Bischoff revealed a newly renovated TNA Impact! Zone, and reintroduced the traditional four sided ring, opposing the six sided ring TNA had in use. On the February 18 edition of ''Impact!'' Hogan took Abyss under his wing, and during this sequence, gave him his Hall of Fame ring and claimed it would make him a "god of wrestling". The following week Hogan announced that he would be making his in-ring TNA debut on the March 8 live Monday night edition of ''Impact!'' teaming with Abyss to face A.J. Styles and Ric Flair. That night, Hogan and Abyss defeated Styles and Flair, when Abyss scored a pinfall over Styles. Afterwards, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Hogan and Abyss from a beat down at the hands of Styles, Flair and Desmond Wolfe. This proceeded in later weeks to become a Team Flair versus Team Hogan situation, whereas Jarrett and the debuting Rob Van Dam joined Team Hogan and Beer Money and Sting, who rekindled his feud with Hogan with an attack, joined Team Flair. At Lockdown Team Hogan (Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Jeff Hardy and Rob Van Dam) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm) in a Lethal Lockdown match.

Heel turn, Immortal (2010–present)

On the June 17 edition of ''Impact!'' Hogan's alliance with Abyss came to an abrupt end, when Abyss turned heel. Abyss later claimed that he was controlled by some entity, that was coming to TNA. The next months Hogan worked with Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe against Sting and Kevin Nash, who claimed that they knew that Hogan and Bischoff were up to something. During this time Abyss went on a rampage, attacking Rob Van Dam to the point that he was forced to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and eventually put his hands on TNA president Dixie Carter, which led to her signing the paperwork, presented by Bischoff, that would have Abyss fired from TNA following his match with Van Dam at Bound for Glory. Hogan was set to wrestle with Jarrett and Joe against Sting, Nash and D'Angelo Dinero at Bound for Glory, but was forced to miss the event due to a back surgery. However, he would make a surprise appearance at the end of the event, turning heel, helping Jeff Hardy win the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship and aligning himself with Hardy, Bischoff, Abyss and Jarrett. This is also Hogan's first working as a heel since he reunited with the NWO in the WWE. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' it was revealed that Bischoff had tricked Carter and the paperwork she had signed a week earlier, were not to release Abyss, but to turn the company over to him and Hogan. Meanwhile, Bischoff's and Hogan's new stable, now known as Immortal, formed an alliance with Ric Flair's Fortune. Dixie Carter returned on the November 25 edition of ''Reaction'', informing Hogan and Bischoff that a judge had filed an injunction against the two on her behalf over not having signatory authority, indefinitely suspending Hogan from TNA. During his time away from TNA, Hogan underwent a potentially career–ending spinal fusion surgery on December 21, 2010. Hogan returned to TNA on the March 3, 2011, edition of ''Impact!'', declaring himself as the new owner of TNA, having won the court battle against Dixie Carter. In April, Hogan began hinting at a possible return to the ring to face the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Sting. On the May 12 edition of the newly renamed ''Impact Wrestling'', Hogan lost control of the program to Mick Foley, who revealed himself as the Network consultant, who had been causing problems for Immortal ever since Hogan and Bischoff took over the company, however, this angle was aborted just three weeks later, when Foley left the promotion..

At Hardcore Justice Hogan came to the ring with a steel chair. Angle took the chair from Hogan and used it on Sting to win the TNA Title; turning heel in the process. On the following Impact Wrestling! taping Angle divulged that it was Hogan who informed Kurt that Dixie Carter had kept from him Jeff Jarrett's affair with Karen and as a result will destroy all young superstars. Walking up the ramp Angle was confronted by Sting but Hogan came from behind to start beating down Sting, where Kurt and Hogan then hugged; signifying an alliance between the two men.

CWI (2011)

On August 20, 2011 Hulk Hogan appeared as a face during a 6 man tag match which featured the Nasty Boys, Scott Steiner, Bushwhacker Luke, Tatanka, and Brutus Beefcake. Hulk Hogan distracted Steiner long enough for Tatanka to steal a pin. Hogan celebrated with Tatanka, Luke, and Beefcake after the match.

Other media

Hulk Hogan's crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Early in his career Bollea played the part of Thunderlips in ''Rocky III'' (1982). He also appeared in ''No Holds Barred'' (1989), before starring in the family films ''Suburban Commando'' (1991), ''Mr. Nanny'' (1993), ''Santa with Muscles'' (1996), and ''3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain'' (1998). He starred in his own television series, ''Thunder in Paradise'', in 1994. He is the star of ''The Ultimate Weapon'' (1997), in which Brutus Beefcake also appears in a cameo.

Bollea also starred in a pair of television movies, originally intended as a pilot for an ongoing series for TNT, produced by Eric Bischoff. The movies, ''Shadow Warriors: Assault on Devil's Island'' and ''Shadow Warriors: Hunt for The Death Merchant'', starred Hogan alongside Carl Weathers and Shannon Tweed as a freelance mercenary team. In 1995, he appeared on TBN's ''Kids Against Crime''.

Bollea made cameo appearances in ''Muppets from Space'', ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (the theatrical cut) and ''Spy Hard'' as himself. Hogan was offered the role of Zeus in ''Little Hercules in 3D'' on an episode of ''Hogan Knows Best'' and was shown during the filming of the movie. He also had a cameo at the end of the movie ''Little Monsters''. Hogan also made two appearances on ''The A-Team'' (in 1985 and 1986), and along with Roddy Piper, Hogan lent his voice for a few episodes of the stop-motion animation skit show, ''Robot Chicken''. Nick's favorite animated show, Captain Planet, was another popular stop for Hogan's recognizable voice. He was the voice of BP, Sly Sludge's evil sidekick. His famous catchphrase was "You're gonna pay at the pump, brother!" He also had a vital role in the two-part episode of ''Suddenly Susan'' in 1999. In 2001, Hogan guest-starred on an episode of ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', playing a reformed criminal now operating a Christian Community Center and helping Walker steer teenagers away from gangs.

Bollea hosted the comeback series of ''American Gladiators'' on NBC in 2008. He also hosted and judged the short-lived reality show, ''Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling''. Hogan had a special entitled ''Finding Hulk Hogan'' on A&E; on November 17, 2010.

''Hogan Knows Best''

On July 10, 2005, VH1 premiered a new reality show titled ''Hogan Knows Best'' which centers around Hulk Hogan, his then-wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick. Set in their home in Clearwater, Florida, the show follows the family in their efforts to fulfill the dreams of their children while still maintaining their sense of closeness. At the show's onset, 16-year-old Brooke is trying to break into the music industry while younger brother Nick (age 14) goes through a series of career aspirations including his failure to become a professional race car driver and following in his dad's footsteps as a pro wrestler.

As of July 2008, ''Hogan Knows Best'' transferred its focus into a new show called ''Brooke Knows Best'' which focuses on his daughter's move into a new apartment to continue her pursuit of a music career.

Music and radio

Bollea released a music CD, ''Hulk Rules'', as Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band. Also, Green Jellÿ released a single, a duet with Hogan, performing Gary Glitter's classic song "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)". He has also made cameos in several music videos. From her self-named show, ''Dolly'' the music video for Dolly Parton's wrestling-themed love song "Headlock on my Heart" features Hogan as "Starlight Starbright". On the show, Parton mentioned that the tabloid Weekly World News had "reported" that she had written a song about her love for a wrestler, and said "if you read in the Weekly World News, it must be true!" In the music video "Pressure" by Belly ft. Ginuwine, Bollea and his daughter Brooke both made brief cameo appearances.

Bollea is a regular guest on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. He also served as the best man at Bubba's January 2007 wedding. On Monday March 12, 2010, Bollea hosted his own radio show, titled ''Hogan Uncensored'', on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101.

Endorsements and business ventures

Food industry

Hulk Hogan's ''Pastamania'' was a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was created and financed by Hogan. It opened on the Labor Day weekend of 1995 and was later heavily hyped on World Championship Wrestling's live flagship show ''WCW Monday Nitro'', which actually premiered that September from the mall. The restaurant, which remained in operation for less than a year, featured such dishes as "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-A-Roos".

In an interview on both the ''The Tonight Show'' and ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', Bollea claimed that the George Foreman Grill was originally offered to him, but he failed to respond in time. George Foreman was called and he chose to endorse the grill instead of a blender which became the Hulk Hogan Thunder Mixer. This claim was validated on an episode of ''Hogan Knows Best'', in which his wife Linda and the family are worried about Hogan's wrestling career and plead with him to take up a career in marketing. Hulk explains about turning down the Foreman grill, and his choice to invest in the shake-mixer instead, saying that whenever he thinks about investing in something "big," he thinks about what happened with the grill and the shake-mixer. However, he has since endorsed a similar product known as "The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill."

In 2006, Bollea unveiled his own energy drink, Hogan Energy, distributed by Socko Energy. It was featured in an episode of ''Hogan Knows Best''. His name and likeness are also applied to a line of microwavable hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken sandwiches sold at Wal-Mart called "Hulkster Burgers".

In September 2008, Bollea's net worth was revealed to be over $30 million.

Other

During an interview with ''The Sun'' in 2007, Bollea claimed to be planning his own federation to compete against Vince McMahon. Bollea says he has raised $40 million of the $80–$100 million goal and his venture is something that will eventually revolutionize the sport of professional wrestling.

In October 2007, Bollea transferred all trademarks referring to himself to his liability company named "Hogan Holdings Limited". The trademarks include Hulk Hogan, "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Hulkster, Hogan Knows Grillin, Hulkamania.com, and Hulkapedia.com.

In April 2008, Bollea announced that he would be lending his license to video game developer Gameloft to create "Hulkamania Wrestling" for mobile phones. Hogan stated in a press release that the game would be "true to [his] experiences in wrestling" and use his classic wrestling moves like the Doublehand Choke Lift and Strong Clothesline. As of 2010, Hogan stars alongside Troy Aikman in commercials for Rent-A-Center. On March 24, 2011, Hogan made a special appearance on ''American Idol'', giving a big surprise to wrestling fans Paul McDonald and James Durbin.

On 15 October 2010, Endemol Games UK (a subsidiary of media production group Endemol UK) announced a partnership with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment to produce "Hulk Hogan's Hulkamania", an online gambling game featuring video footage of Hogan.

Personal life

On December 18, 1983, Bollea married Linda Claridge (born August 24, 1959). They have a daughter Brooke (born May 5, 1988) and a son Nick (born July 27, 1990). Bollea made his personal life the centerpiece of the television show ''Hogan Knows Best'', which includes his wife and two children.

Bollea's 17 year old son Nick was indicted as an adult on November 7, 2007 on four criminal charges. The charges stemmed from an August car accident that seriously injured the passenger in Nick's car, John Graziano. Nick pleaded no contest and was sentenced to eight months in prison on May 9, 2008.

According to an interview in ''The National Enquirer'', Christiane Plante revealed that she had an affair with Hogan in 2007 while the Hogan family was shooting ''Hogan Knows Best''. Plante was 33 years old at the time and had worked with Brooke Hogan on her 2006 album. On November 20, 2007, Linda filed for divorce in Pinellas County, Florida. Hulk told ''St. Petersburg Times'' that he was unaware of the filing when the paper called for a comment. The Graziano family's lawyer believed the divorce might have been an attempt to divide the family's assets from a planned civil suit against the Bolleas regarding their son, Nick. After filing for divorce, Linda (48 at the time) began dating Charlie Hill (19 at the time). Hill was a student at Brooke and Nick's high school, one grade above Nick and one grade below Brooke. In November 2008, Linda revealed to the public that she made the decision to end her marriage after finding out about Hulk Hogan's affair.

Bollea was honored as the 2008 King of the Krewe of Bacchus, a New Orleans carnival organization. Hogan visited the Children's Hospital of New Orleans and rode in the parade where he threw doubloons with his likeness. Hogan received the honor in part because meeting Hogan is one of the most requested "wishes" of the terminally ill children benefited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Bollea lived with his daughter, Brooke, who starred in the now-cancelled VH1 reality series, ''Brooke Knows Best''. Bollea has suffered numerous health problems, particularly with his back since retiring as a wrestler following the years of heavy weight training and jolting as a wrestler.

On October 27, 2009, St. Martin's Press released Bollea's autobiography, ''My Life Outside the Ring.'' Bollea has continued to stay in the news, due to his revelation that he considered suicide in 2007, shortly after his wife filed for divorce. Hogan credits Laila Ali, co-star on ''American Gladiators'', with preventing him from committing suicide.

Bollea has been in a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel since early 2008. The two were engaged in November 2009 and married on December 14, 2010, in Clearwater, Florida.

In 2011, A&E; released a 1-hour documentary about the problems of Hogan, his comeback to (and problems with) TNA and his current life problems.

Hogan became a distributor for multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences after looking for business opportunities outside of wrestling.

Filmography

''No Holds Barred (1989 film) ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' ''Suburban Commando'' ''Mr. Nanny'' ''The Secret Agent Club'' ''The Ultimate Weapon'' ''McCinsey's Island'' ''Assault on Death Mountain'' ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' ''Little Hercules'' ''Gnomeo and Juliet''

style="background:#B0C4DE;"	Year	Film	Role	Notes
1982	''Rocky III''	Thunderlips
1989	No Holds Barred'' ||	Rip
1990	|	Himself
1991	|	Shep Ramsey
rowspan=2	1993	|	Sean Armstrong
''Thunder in Paradise''	Randolph J. ''Hurricane'' Spencer
rowspan=2		1994	Thunder in Paradise>Thunder in Paradise II''
''Thunder in Paradise		Thunder in Paradise (TV)''
1995		Thunder in Paradise>Thunder in Paradise III''
rowspan=3	1996	|	Ray Chase
''Spy Hard''	Steele's other Tag-Team Member
''Santa with Muscles''	Blake
rowspan=2	1997	|	Cutter
''Assault on Devil's Island''	Mike McBride
rowspan=2	1998	|	Joe McGrai
''3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain''	Dave Dragon
rowspan=2	1999	|	Mike McBride
''Muppets from Space''	Himself
2001	|	Boomer Knight	List of Walker, Texas Ranger episodes>Division Street
2009	|	Zeus
rowspan=2	2011	|	Terrafirminator V.O.	Voice
''Black River''	Marcus Demchak

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Axe Bomber'' (Crooked arm lariat)

''Atomic Leg Drop'' (Running leg drop)

Signature moves

Atomic drop

Big boot

Body slam

Clothesline

Multiple punches, with theatrics

Raking the opponent's eyes or back

Managers

"Classy" Freddie Blassie

Miss Elizabeth

"The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart

Nicknames

"(The) Hulkster"

"The Hulk"

"The Immortal"

"Hollywood"

* The Unstoppable Force

Entrance themes

* American Wrestling Association

** "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor

* World Championship Wrestling

** "American Made" by The Wrestling Boot Band (1994–1996, 1999–2000)

** "Rockhouse" by Frank Shelley (used while a part of the New World Order; 1996–1999)

** "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1997–1999)

** "Kevin Nash/Wolfpac Theme" (used while a part of the nWo wolfpac elite; 1999)

* Xcitement Wrestling Federation

** "American Made" by The Wrestling Boot Band (2001)

* World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

** "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (1984–1986)

** "Hulk Hogan's Theme" by Jim Steinman (1985)

** "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa (1985)

** "Real American" by Rick Derringer (1986–1993,2002,2003,2005–2007)

** "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2002–2003)

* Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

** "nWo Original Theme" (Rockhouse Remix) by Frank Shelly (2010–present)

*"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver (used while a part of Immortal; 2010–present)

Championships and accomplishments

New Japan Pro Wrestling

IWGP League Tournament (1983)

* MSG Tag League Tournament (1982, 1983)—with Antonio Inoki

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

*Class of 2003

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

* PWI Comeback of the Year (1994, 2002)

* PWI Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff

* PWI Match of the Year (1985) with Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff at WrestleMania

* PWI Match of the Year (1988) vs. André the Giant at The Main Event

* PWI Match of the Year (1990) vs. The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI

* PWI Match of the Year (2002) vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8

* PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1996, 1998)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1983, 1999)

* PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1985, 1989, 1990)

* PWI Wrestler of the Year (1987, 1991, 1994)

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

PWI ranked him #57 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Randy Savage in 2003

Southeastern Championship Wrestling

NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Northern Division)'' (1 time)

* NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Southern Division)'' (2 times)

Tokyo Sports Grand Prix

Match of the Year (1991) vs. Genichiro Tenryu on December 12, 1991

Most Outstanding Forienger (1983)

World Championship Wrestling

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE World Tag Team Championship (1 time)—with Edge

WWF/E Championship (6 times)

Royal Rumble (1990, 1991)

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

* Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff

* Most Charismatic (1985–1987, 1989–1991)

* Most Overrated (1985–1987, 1994–1998)

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1987) vs. André the Giant at WrestleMania III

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1996) with Randy Savage vs. Arn Anderson, Meng, The Barbarian, Ric Flair, Kevin Sullivan, Z-Gangsta, and The Ultimate Solution in a Towers of Doom match at Uncensored

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1997) vs. Roddy Piper at SuperBrawl VII

* Worst Worked Match of the Year (1998) vs. The Warrior at Halloween Havoc

* Worst Feud of the Year (1991) vs. Sgt. Slaughter

* Worst Feud of the Year (1995) vs. The Dungeon of Doom

* Worst Feud of the Year (1998) vs. The Warrior

* Worst Feud of the Year (2000) vs. Billy Kidman

* Best Babyface (1982–1991)

* Least Favorite Wrestler (1985, 1986, 1991, 1994–1999)

* Worst Wrestler (1997)

* Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1995, 1996, 1998–2000)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Hogan's last reign was as Undisputed WWF Champion. The title was renamed the WWE Undisputed Championship on May 6, 2002 after World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. settled a lawsuit with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and became simply World Wrestling Entertainment.}}

Notes

References

External links

HulkHogan.com (Official website)

Professional wrestling record for Hulk Hogan from The Internet Wrestling Database

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

WWE Hall of Fame Profile

TNA Profile

Official Twitter

Hulk Hogan Possibly Returning to WWE at The Wrestling Cafe

Category:1953 births Category:Actors from Florida Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:American film actors Category:American people of French descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Panamanian descent Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Augusta, Georgia Category:People from Miami, Florida Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Category:University of South Florida alumni Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:People associated with Direct Sales

ar:هولك هوجان an:Hulk Hogan bar:Terrence Bollea bg:Хълк Хоган ca:Hulk Hogan cs:Hulk Hogan cy:Hulk Hogan da:Hulk Hogan de:Hulk Hogan es:Hulk Hogan eu:Hulk Hogan fa:هالک هوگان fr:Hulk Hogan gl:Hulk Hogan ko:헐크 호건 hy:Հալկ Հոգան hi:हल्क होगन it:Hulk Hogan he:האלק הוגאן hu:Hulk Hogan ml:ഹൾക്ക് ഹോഗൻ ms:Hulk Hogan nl:Hulk Hogan ja:ハルク・ホーガン no:Hulk Hogan pl:Hulk Hogan pt:Hulk Hogan ro:Hulk Hogan ru:Халк Хоган simple:Hulk Hogan sr:Халк Хоган fi:Hulk Hogan sv:Hulk Hogan te:హల్క్ హొగన్ th:ฮัลค์ โฮแกน tr:Hulk Hogan vi:Hulk Hogan

name	Chuck Liddell
birth name	Charles David Liddell
birth place	Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
other names	The Iceman
nationality	American
birth date	December 17, 1969
height ft	6
height in	2
weight lb	205
weight class	Light Heavyweight (205 lb)
reach in	76 + 1/2
style	Kenpō Karate, Koei-Kan Karate, Kickboxing, Wrestling
stance	Orthodox
fighting out of	San Luis Obispo, California
team	The Pit
trainer	John Hackleman John Lewis
rank	Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-JitsuBlack belt in Kenpō KarateBlack belt in Koei-Kan Karate
years active	1998–2010 (MMA)
kickbox win	20
kickbox kowin	16
kickbox loss	2
mma win	21
mma kowin	13
mma subwin	1
mma decwin	7
mma loss	8
mma koloss	6
mma subloss	1
mma decloss	1
university	California Polytechnic State University
relatives	Sean Liddell, ''brother''
url	Official UFC Profile http://www.iceman.tv
sherdog	192
updated	November 22, 2009 }}

Charles David "Chuck" Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion. Liddell has an extensive striking background in Kempo, Koei-Kan karate and kickboxing, as well as a grappling background in collegiate wrestling. As of his retirement, Liddell has had 23 fights in the UFC. Along with fellow UFC Hall of Fame fighter Randy Couture, Liddell is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts into the mainstream of American sports and entertainment. On July 10, 2009, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. In 2009 he competed on season nine of ''Dancing with the Stars''. During the course of his career Chuck has defeated some of the all time greats of MMA including Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture (Twice), Tito Ortiz (Twice), Renato Sobral (Twice), Amar Suloev, Jeremy Horn, Alistair Overeem, Vitor Belfort, Guy Mezger, Kevin Randleman, José Landi-Jons, and Murilo Bustamante.

Early life

Liddell began studying Koei-Kan karate at the age of 12; the tattoo seen on his scalp reads "Koei-Kan". Liddell was a four-year starter on the football team at San Marcos High School. While growing up in Santa Barbara, he often frequented the infamous Del Playa Drive, the middle of the party scene of the college town of Isla Vista, where he often found himself in fights with drunk college students. He became a Division I wrestler at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business/Accounting in 1995. He holds an amateur kickboxing record of 20 wins and 2 losses, with 16 of his wins coming by way of knockout.

Mixed martial arts career

When Liddell started his MMA career, he began to train in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Rise To Fame

Liddell made his UFC debut in 1998 during UFC 17 in Mobile, Alabama, with a decision victory over Noe Hernandez. Despite a Technical submission loss to top contender Jeremy Horn shortly after, Liddell began establishing his reputation as a top contender with dominant victories over Kevin Randleman, Murilo Bustamante, Vitor Belfort, Amar Suloev, Jeff Monson, Renato Sobral and Tito Ortiz. Liddell was also the first UFC fighter currently on the roster to go fight in Pride where he represented the organization against fellow kickboxer Guy Mezger, knocking him out cold in one of the most exciting fights in the earlier days of MMA.

Liddell vs. Couture

By 2002, Liddell was considered the number one contender for the UFC light heavyweight title, with growing popularity and support from his fans. The UFC tried to arrange a title bout with then-champion Tito Ortiz, but Ortiz cited scheduling conflicts. To force Ortiz's hand, they created an interim light heavyweight championship and matched Liddell with Greco-Roman wrestler and former heavyweight champion "The Natural" Randy Couture at ''UFC 43''. Couture neutralized Liddell's hooks with straight punches and eventually began taking "The Iceman" at will. Couture eventually gained full mount and forced a referee stoppage due to a barrage of punches.

PRIDE Grand Prix Tournament against Overeem/Jackson

After his defeat to Couture, Liddell entered the Pride 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix tournament as the official UFC representative. After defeating Muay-Thai specialist Alistair Overeem in the first round of the tournament In an action packed bout Liddell was getting out landed by the taller, quicker and more technical striking of Overeem but later in the round Liddell landed an overhand punch to the head of Overeem staggering him into the ropes, Liddell rushed in with knees and straight rights and knocked him out at the latter stages of the first round. In the next round Liddell was eliminated by Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, The first round Liddell was landing shots as he found his distance but Jackson countered with powerful strikes rocking Liddell numerous times. In the second round, Jackson continued to out land Liddell with big punches but couldn't finish him. Later in the second round a visibly exhausted and stunned Liddell was taken down at will numerous times and while taking a barrage of punches from the ground his corner threw in the towel, giving Jackson the upset victory.

Liddell vs. Ortiz

Returning to the UFC, Liddell was once again put in contention for the light heavyweight title, preparing for a match with former champion Ortiz. The pair had once trained together at the Pit fight Club and experienced a falling out that escalated as Ortiz taunted Liddell. The falling out stemmed from Ortiz's unwillingness to give Liddell a title fight, despite Liddell's status as the top contender in the UFC. Eventually, after Ortiz lost the title to Randy Couture, the two would meet in a highly anticipated bout at ''UFC 47'' on April 2, 2004, in Las Vegas, Nevada. After most of the first round was spent feeling each other out, Liddell threw a few punches and a kick which was blocked by Ortiz, with Ortiz slapping himself on the head, taunting Liddell. When the round ended Ortiz pushed referee "Big" John McCarthy out of his way, into Liddell, and the pair exchanged words. Shortly after the second round started, Liddell landed a flurry of punches that dropped Ortiz and led to a TKO victory. Ortiz has since stated that Liddell's thumb made contact with his eye, causing him to momentarily see "nothing but black". Since ''UFC 47'', the bad blood between both fighters remained, with Ortiz repeatedly stating that he wanted "his" title belt back. Despite the tension, Ortiz and Liddell would not fight again for two and a half years.

Becoming a Legend

The Ultimate Fighter

In early 2005, Liddell was a coach on the inaugural season of ''The Ultimate Fighter'', Spike TV's reality show which featured fighters competing for a UFC contract. Liddell was the coach of Team Liddell, while then-UFC-light-heavyweight champion Randy Couture coached Team Couture. The series was a success for both Spike TV and the UFC. Both of the winners of the show, Diego Sanchez and Forrest Griffin, were members of Team Liddell and have had very successful careers in the UFC since.

Liddell vs. Couture II

On April 16, 2005, at ''UFC 52'', Liddell fought Randy Couture, again for the light heavyweight title. Couture moved in for a punch, Liddell countered with a big right hand to the temple of couture, knocking him out cold, making him the new UFC light heavyweight champion.

Liddell vs. Horn II

Liddell was scheduled to defend his new title against UFC veteran Jeremy Horn, at ''UFC 54'', a matchup the UFC claimed was demanded by long-time fans of the sport since Horn had given Liddell his first loss. Throughout the bout, Liddell dominated with aggressive punches, causing knockdowns in several rounds. Liddell's defensive wrestling ability, especially his sprawl, stifled the bulk of Horn's offense, which was centered on grappling and submission wrestling. Liddell eventually won the fight via TKO in 2:46 minutes of the fourth round after Horn informed the referee that he could not see. He had been hit with a right punch to the eye causing him to bleed from his eye as well as his nose. Liddell had successfully defended his title and, in the process, avenged two of his three career losses.

Liddell vs. Couture III

On February 4, 2006, at ''UFC 57'', Liddell faced Randy Couture in a rubber match, After an action packed first round, Liddell landed a big punch to Couture's face causing him to bleed, Couture bounced back with a take down of Liddell, but he was able to get up right away. Later in the second round as Couture moved in Liddell countered similar to in the second fight at UFC 52 knocking Couture out. defeating Couture for the 2nd time via knockout in Las Vegas, Nevada to retain the light heavyweight championship belt. After the fight, Couture announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Liddell vs. Sobral II

In Liddell's next defense, at ''UFC 62'' on August 26, 2006, Liddell would best Renato "Babalu" Sobral, who he had defeated nearly three years prior. Seconds after the fight started sobral came running forward throwing punches, Liddell was moving backwards landing big punches, a right upper cut was the final hit in the onslaught ending the fight at 1:35 of the first round. It was announced during ''UFC 61'' that, if he were to defeat Sobral, Liddell would face off against Pride Middleweight (205 lb) champion Wanderlei Silva. The fight failed to materialize due to the competing promotions' inability to reach an agreement. UFC president Dana White attributed this to Silva's subsequent knockout loss to Mirko Filipović.

Liddell vs. Ortiz II

In what would be the most financially successful UFC event to date, Liddell fought a rematch with Ortiz at ''UFC 66'', which took place on December 30, 2006. Liddell's takedown defense neutralized Ortiz's wrestling ability forcing Ortiz to stand up with a known striker. Although Ortiz did take Liddell down at one point in the fight, Liddell went on to defeat Ortiz via TKO in the third round to successfully defend his light heavyweight championship for a fourth time. It was later revealed that Liddell tore his MCL prior to the fight. In addition, during the fight he popped the tendon out on the middle finger on his left hand.

Losing Title and Decline

Liddell vs. Jackson II

In his fifth defense, Liddell would lose the title at ''UFC 71'' on May 26, 2007, in a rematch with Quinton Jackson. Liddell was knocked down by a right hook less than two minutes into the first round and was unable to defend himself against Jackson's strikes on the ground, resulting in a TKO victory for Jackson. After the loss, Liddell was widely criticized after reports indicated he had been seen in night clubs the week before the event. He responded that it wasn't anything he hadn't done prior to his other fights in Las Vegas.

Liddell vs. Jardine

On July 11, 2007, Dana White confirmed in an interview with Yahoo! Sports that a rumoured bout between Wanderlei Silva and Liddell had been canceled indefinitely. Silva and Liddell were supposed to fight in the main event at ''UFC 76'' in Anaheim, California. Instead, Liddell would face Keith Jardine.

In the main event of ''UFC 76'', Liddell came out landing his signature right hand to the head of Jardine, rocking him backwards as well as multiple straight right hands but Jardine stayed in the fight. After the dominant first round for Liddell, Jardine started to land low leg kicks continuously through out the fight while Liddell was unable to time the odd formed southpaw. Liddell lost a close split decision, the first consecutive losses of his career.

Liddell vs. Silva

On October 23, 2007, White announced that a matchup between Liddell and Silva would finally take place at UFC 79. The fight was all that it was billed up to be over the years, It was a back and forth battle between two of the best light heavy weights of all-time. Liddell defeated Silva via unanimous decision, out landing Silva with harder more efficient punches and getting two take downs later in the fight. Many fans and MMA critics called it the best fight of the year. Both fighters were awarded "Fight of the Night" honors. This fight was voted 2007's Fight of the Year at the first annual World Mixed Martial Arts Awards.

Liddell vs. Evans

On February 1, 2008, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua revealed that he had recently signed a contract to fight Liddell, however on March 4 it was announced on UFC.com that "Shogun" was receiving surgery on his knee and was forced to withdraw from the fight. It was later officially announced that undefeated wrestler "Sugar" Rashad Evans would replace Mauricio Rua in a bout at UFC 85 in London, England. However, a hamstring injury forced Liddell to withdraw from the fight, as well.

On September 6, 2008, Liddell fought Rashad Evans at UFC 88. Despite Liddell pushing the pace and controlling the fight, At 1:51 of the second round, Liddell threw a right uppercut just as Evans connected with an overhand right, causing Liddell to fall unconscious to the mat.The knockout was dubbed "knockout of the year" by MMA-website Sherdog and marking the first time Liddell had been knocked out cold. Liddell has been criticized for over-relying on the same coaches and training partners. Shortly following his knockout loss to Evans, long-time trainer John Hackleman confirmed that Liddell is participating in training sessions with American Top Team to "round out his skills", although he is still officially associated with Hackleman and The Pit.

Liddell vs. Shogun

On January 17, 2009, Dana White confirmed during the UFC 93 post fight press conference that Liddell's next fight would be against the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 on April 18 in Montréal, Canada.

On April 18 at UFC 97, Liddell was once again defeated by Technical knockout due to punches late in the first Round. After the fight, White declared that Liddell is retired from fighting. White said, "I care about him. I care about his health, and it's over, man. It's over." White went further, saying, "At the end of the day, I care about these guys. I don't want to see anybody stick around too long. You're never going to see Chuck Liddell on the canvas again." In May however, Liddell's trainer, John Hackleman, claimed 'with confidence' that Liddell isn't done yet and that he's "definitely on top of the food chain." Liddell has "more than one fight left in him." In an interview afterward, White went on to rhetorically ask "can I tell him not to fight? Absolutely not. If he still wants to fight, he can fight. I'm not saying, 'It will never happen. It will never happen.' But he made a deal with me [not to fight]."

Hall of Fame and Talks of Retirement

On July 10, 2009, at the UFC 100 Fan Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, Liddell was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

After UFC 101 in August, Dana White stated that "I don't want him to (fight). He wants to, so we'll see what happens." Two days afterward, Liddell went on record to say that he was undecided on the matter and that "it's hard for an athlete to quit what he's done his whole life." Liddell went on to say that he would be "making that decision in the gym, not in the ring" after sparring sessions.

Liddell vs. Franklin

It was later announced that Liddell would be coaching against fierce rival Tito Ortiz on the 11th season of ''The Ultimate Fighter'', with the two of them fighting each other on June 12, 2010, at UFC 115. However, in March, it was rumored that Ortiz was pulling out for as yet unknown reasons and Ortiz would be replaced by former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. This was then denied by UFC president Dana White.

On April 7, 2010, White confirmed that Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 would be the main event for the card; however, on April 12, 2010, the main event was changed to Liddell vs. Rich Franklin.

On June 12, 2010, Liddell faced Franklin at UFC 115 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Liddell came out and looked the best he had since his prime years, landing brutal high kicks and a takedown, until Rich Franklin connected with a counter right hook knocking Liddell out cold in the first round with five seconds remainig until the end of the round, ending his legendary Mixed martial arts career. Earlier in the fight Franklin had broken his arm blocking a body kick from Liddell. Only a few hours after the match, UFC President Dana White declared that he guarantees Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell will not fight in the UFC ever again.

Liddell is tied for second place with Randy Couture and Georges St-Pierre for the most wins in the UFC at 16, behind Matt Hughes' 18.

UFC Retirement

Chuck stated that he had made the decision to retire after losing 3 consecutive fights by knockout, despite his belief that he could continue to fight. With the opinions and considerations of his family and friends in mind, he decided to end his fighting career on December 29, 2010. At the UFC 125 press conference, Liddell announced his retirement and stated he would be taking the position of Vice President of Business Development within the UFC. Liddell was visibly emotional at the announcement, acknowledging his retirement and an end to his fighting with words of farewell: "Most of all I want to thank my fans and my family. I love this sport and I'm excited to go to this new stage in my life and keep promoting the best sport in the world, the sport I love... now that I'm retired."

Personal life

Liddell is associated with John Hackleman and The Pit fight team and earned a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Liddell has a brother, Sean, who also competes in MMA, fighting last in the WEC. He also has a brother named Dan and a sister named Laurelai.

Liddell continues to train in San Luis Obispo, CA, where he attended college. He has two children, a daughter named Trista, with female MMA fighter Casey Noland and son named Cade.

Chuck once dated the female host of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Willa Ford.

Liddell is no longer engaged to his longtime girlfriend Erin Wilson.

He is a part owner of two bars in Lincoln, Nebraska, Dillinger's and NZone. He also owns a store called "Ultimate Iceman", a memorabilia store in San Luis Obispo.

Liddell endorsed John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election.

Liddell proposed to his girlfriend Heidi Northcott on November 4, 2010.

Print media

On May 9, 2007, Liddell became the first UFC fighter to be on the cover of ESPN The Magazine. Liddell also released his autobiography, ''Iceman: My Fighting Life'', on January 29, 2008.

Acting career

Liddell has also made several film and television appearances. He appeared as himself in the movie Bachelor Party Vegas, He appeared as "Graft" in the pilot episode of the TV series ''Blade: The Series'', had a guest cameo in the first season of ''Inked'' on A&E;, and made a brief appearance in the 1981 film ''The Postman Always Rings Twice'' with Jack Nicholson.

|- ! Title ! Character ! Year |- | ''Blue Mountain State'' | Himself | 2011 |- | ''The Ballad of G.I. Joe'' | Gung-Ho | 2009 |- | ''Drillbit Taylor'' | Himself | 2008 |- | MTV Series – ''Punk'd'' | Himself | 2007 |- | HBO Series – ''Entourage'' | Himself | 2007 |- | ''The Death and Life of Bobby Z'' | Mad Dog | 2007 |- | ''Blade: The Series'' | Graft | 2007 |- | ''Bachelor Party Vegas'' | The Iceman | 2006 |- | ''Cradle 2 the Grave'' | Ultimate Fighter | 2003 |- | ''How High'' | Tough Guy | 2001

''Good Morning Texas'' interview

In March 2007, shortly before ''UFC 68'', he appeared on ''Good Morning Texas'' (Texan version of Good Morning America) for an interview, and to promote the film 300, but appeared to be very drowsy and fell asleep in mid-interview. The Interview ended when Liddell asked the host who he would like to fight. UFC President Dana White, along with Liddell's head coach Scott VanGilder, explained that Liddell had pneumonia and had taken a large dose of sedatives the night before the interview. This is just one explanation offered by Dana White. In another interview when Dana White was asked about Liddell's behaviour on Good Morning Texas, he stated that Liddell had been out drinking the night before and had taken a sleeping pill when he got back to his accommodation so he would be ready for the interview the next morning.

He was named the "Most Dangerous Man" at the ''Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards'' on June 13, 2007.

Sponsorships

Liddell has served briefly as a spokesperson on behalf of Monitronics, a security system company.

He is currently sponsored by Iceman Fight Gear- a brand designed with his input.

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship

*UFC Hall of Fame

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

*Four successful title defenses

*Fight of the Night (Two times)

*Knockout of the Night (One time)

PRIDE Fighting Championships

*PRIDE 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinalist

International Fighting Championships

*IFC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Sherdog

2006 Fighter of the Year

Black Belt Magazine

2001 NHB Co-Competitor of the Year along with Tito Ortiz

World MMA Awards

*Fight of the Year (2008) - vs. Wanderlei Silva on December 29, 2007

Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards

2007 Most Dangerous Man.

Kickboxing

International Kickboxing Federation

*IKF Amateur International Rules U.S. Super Heavyweight Championship (One time)

World Kickboxing and Karate Association

*WKA Amateur International Rules U.S. Heavyweight Championship (One time)

United States Muay Thai Association'''

*USMTA Amateur Muay Thai North American Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

|- | Loss | align="center" | 21–8 | Rich Franklin | KO (punch) | UFC 115 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 4:55 | Vancouver, Canada | ((small|retired after fight |- | Loss | align="center" | 21–7 | Mauricio Rua | TKO (punches) | UFC 97 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 4:28 | Montreal, Canada | |- | Loss | align="center" | 21–6 | Rashad Evans | KO (punch) | UFC 88 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 1:51 | Atlanta, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 21–5 | Wanderlei Silva | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 79 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Las Vegas, United States | |- | Loss | align="center" | 20–5 | Keith Jardine | Decision (split) | UFC 76 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Anaheim, United States | |- | Loss | align="center" | 20–4 | Quinton Jackson | TKO (punches) | UFC 71 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 1:53 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Lost UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 20–3 | Tito Ortiz | TKO (punches) | UFC 66 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 3:59 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 19–3 | Renato Sobral | TKO (punches) | UFC 62 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 1:35 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 18–3 | Randy Couture | KO (punch) | UFC 57 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 1:28 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 17–3 | Jeremy Horn | TKO (punches) | UFC 54 | | align="center" | 4 | align="center" | 2:46 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Defended UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 16–3 | Randy Couture | KO (punches) | UFC 52 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2:06 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Won UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 15–3 | Vernon White | KO (punch) | UFC 49 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 4:05 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 14–3 | Tito Ortiz |TKO (punches) | UFC 47 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 0:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | Knockout of the Night |- | Loss | align="center" | 13–3 | Quinton Jackson | TKO (corner stoppage) | Pride Final Conflict 2003 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 3:10 | Tokyo, Japan | Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinal |- | Win | align="center" | 13–2 | Alistair Overeem | KO (punch) | Pride Total Elimination 2003 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 3:09 | Saitama, Japan | Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal |- | Loss | align="center" | 12–2 | Randy Couture | TKO (punches) | UFC 43 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 2:39 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | For Interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 12–1 | Renato Sobral | KO (head kick) | UFC 40 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 2:55 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 11–1 | Vitor Belfort | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 37.5 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 10–1 | Amar Suloev | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 35 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Uncasville, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 9–1 | Murilo Bustamante | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 33 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 8–1 | Guy Mezger | KO (punch) | Pride 14 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 0:21 | Yokohama, Japan | |- | Win | align="center" | 7–1 | Kevin Randleman | KO (punches) | UFC 31 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 1:18 | Atlantic City, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 6–1 | Jeff Monson | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 29 | | align="center" | 3 | align="center" | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | align="center" | 5–1 | Steve Heath | KO (head kick) | IFC Warriors Challenge 9 | | align="center" | 2 | align="center" | 5:39 | Friant, United States | Won IFC Light Heavyweight Championship |- | Win | align="center" | 4–1 | Paul Jones | TKO (punches) | UFC 22 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 3:53 | Lake Charles, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 3–1 | Kenneth Williams | Submission (standing rear-naked choke) | Neutral Grounds 11 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 3:35 | Los Angeles, United States | |- | Loss | align="center" | 2–1 | Jeremy Horn | Technical submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC 19 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 12:00 | Bay St. Louis, United States | |- | Win | align="center" | 2–0 | José Landi-Jons | Decision (unanimous) | International Vale Tudo Championship 6: The Challenge | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 30:00 | Sao Paulo, Brazil | |- | Win | align="center" | 1–0 | Noe Hernandez | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 17 | | align="center" | 1 | align="center" | 12:00 | Mobile, United States |

Books

(2008) ''Iceman: My Fighting Life.'' Dutton Adult. ISBN 978-0-525-95056-1.

References

External links

Official UFC Profile

Category:1969 births Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from California Category:Middleweight mixed martial artists Category:Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:American kickboxers Category:Kickboxers from California Category:Heavyweight kickboxers Category:Super heavyweight kickboxers Category:American karateka Category:Living people Category:People from Santa Barbara, California Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship champions

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