Name	Buff Bagwell
Names	Buff BagwellChristianFabulous FabianThe Handsome StrangerMarcus Alexander BagwellMarcus Bagwell
Height
Weight
Birth date	January 10, 1970
Birth place	Marietta, Georgia
Resides	Marietta, Georgia
Billed	Marietta, Georgia
Trainer	Dusty RhodesMike GrahamSteve Lawler
Debut	1990
Website	}}

Marcus Alexander Bagwell (born January 10, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Buff Bagwell. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling between 1991 and 2001, where he was a five time World Tag Team Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Bagwell is of English ancestry. Bagwell was a baseball and football player during his tenure in Sprayberry High School, and worked for his family's lumber company upon graduating as well as being an amateur boxer. When the company went bankrupt, however, Bagwell became a certified massage therapist before deciding to become a wrestler. He trained under Steve Lawler and debuted in 1990, working for North Georgia Wrestling as Fabulous Fabian. In 1991, he began wrestling with the Global Wrestling Federation as The Handsome Stranger, a gimmick suggested by Bill Eadie that saw Bagwell don a "Lone Ranger"-style eye mask.

World Championship Wrestling (1991–2001)

Early years

In 1991, Bagwell was hired by World Championship Wrestling, where he wrestled under his full name. Over the next five years he would form tag teams with Tom Zenk, 2 Cold Scorpio, The Patriot (as Stars N Stripes), and Scotty Riggs (as The American Males), and won four WCW World Tag Team Championships over that span.

New World Order

On November 25, 1996, Bagwell joined the New World Order after turning on his partner Riggs. He soon renamed himself to Buff Bagwell and formed a tag team with Scott Norton called Vicious and Delicious. While with the nWo, he also competed for New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of nWo Japan, the NJPW version of the nWo. When he returned to America, he began a feud with Lex Luger, which later saw Bagwell defeat him at Starrcade.

On the April 22, 1998 edition of ''Thunder'', Bagwell suffered damage to several vertebrae and developed spinal shock syndrome after a botched diving bulldog at the hands of Rick Steiner. As planned however, Bagwell won the match with the interference of Rick's brother Scott moments before being carefully placed on a stretcher. Bagwell then needed to use a wheelchair and a neck brace for some time. He returned months later for an interview only to be viciously ridiculed by Hollywood Hogan and shoved to the entryway floor. On July 6, after recently having neck surgery, the wheelchair-using Bagwell returned to WCW in his home state of Georgia. Bagwell seemed to have a new attitude and even called out Rick Steiner to offer him his forgiveness. However, Bagwell restrained Rick while fellow nWo member Scott Steiner assaulted him with a steel chair, reaffirming his loyalty to Hogan and the nWo. Bagwell then rose from his wheelchair and helped Scott beat down Rick. In January 1999, the nWo factions merged, leading Bagwell and Steiner to side with the Wolfpac. Their alliance ended at Uncensored when Bagwell accidentally hit Steiner with a chair, costing him the World Television Championship.

New Blood

In June 1999, Bagwell engaged in a rivalry with WCW President Ric Flair and Vice President Roddy Piper claiming he was being held back. This led to a three-round boxing match with Piper at the Bash at the Beach, which saw Bagwell triumph. In September 1999, he feuded with Berlyn when Berlyn issued a challenge to Bagwell, but at Fall Brawl, Bagwell was late coming to the arena and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan replaced him. The next night on ''Nitro'', Bagwell lost to Berlyn after the intereference of his bodyguard, The Wall. In November, he defeated veteran Curt Hennig in a retirement match. Bagwell then feuded with Diamond Dallas Page after he made allegations about Page's wife Kimberly. Having spent much of 1999 fighting older wrestlers, Bagwell was one of the first to join Eric Bischoff's New Blood alliance, forming a tag team with Shane Douglas. Bagwell and Douglas eventually won the World Tag Team Championship from Ric Flair and Lex Luger, giving Bagwell his fifth World Tag Team Title reign and rekindling his feud with Luger from two years earlier. At Slamboree, Luger defeated Bagwell via submission with the Torture Rack.

On May 9, 2000, following a ''Thunder'' taping in Springfield, Illinois, Bagwell punched and yelled racial slurs at Darrell Miller, a WCW crew member, after he and Bagwell began arguing when Miller attempted to carry equipment through a doorway in which Bagwell was standing. On May 15, 2000 Bagwell was charged with battery by the Sangamon County, Illinois State's Attorney's office. WCW responded to the incident by suspending Bagwell for thirty days and stripping him of his half of the World Tag Team Championship.

Upon his return, Bagwell attempted to win the World Tag Team Title with Douglas once more, but failed. Bagwell, now with Torrie Wilson by his side, fought Douglas at Bash at the Beach, but lost when Wilson distracted him and sided with Douglas. Bagwell then began a feud with Chris Kanyon, who began stalking him and even harassing Bagwell's mother Judy as a psychological attack. Bagwell eventually defeated Kanyon in a match where Judy was suspended from a forklift. He rescued his mother despite the surprise interference of actor David Arquette. In August 2000, Miss Hancock, the girlfriend of David Flair, mysteriously became pregnant. Flair quickly accused the womanizing Bagwell, which led to a First Blood match at Halloween Havoc, with Flair hoping to obtain a sample of Bagwell's blood to prove he was the father of Hancock's child. Although Bagwell was victorious, Flair managed to get his blood sample when Bagwell's nemesis Lex Luger attacked him after the match. Bagwell was then revealed as not being the father, and the entire pregnancy was eventually found to have been a fabrication.

Totally Buff

At Starrcade, Bagwell (who at the time had returned as a backstage interviewer) betrayed Goldberg by trying to cost him his match with Lex Luger. Bagwell's efforts were unsuccessful, but he managed to hit Goldberg with a steel chair after he had pinned Luger. Despite feuding in the past, Bagwell and Luger then formed a tag team known as Totally Buff. Totally Buff would go on to defeat Goldberg at Sin after a fan maced Goldberg, allowing Bagwell to pin him. Due to a stipulation in the match, Goldberg was, in storyline, fired. In early 2001, Totally Buff joined Ric Flair's Magnificent Seven faction, and remained with them until WCW's closure.

World Wrestling Federation (2001)

Shortly after WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001, Bagwell was one of the first AOL Time Warner contracted wrestlers to accept the offered buy-out on his contract and sign with the WWF. On July 1, 2001, Bagwell faced Booker T at a house show and he made his WWF televised debut on the July 2 episode of ''Raw is War'', facing Booker T for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. The match went to a no-contest after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin and Kurt Angle. When Bagwell arrived to the ''Raw'' tapings on July 9 in Atlanta, Georgia, he was informed he was being released from his contract due to complaints about his attitude and an altercation with fellow WCW alumnus Shane Helms. There were also accusations that Bagwell faked an injury at the July 3 ''SmackDown!'' tapings after receiving a double powerbomb from the Acolytes Protection Agency. The accusations also claimed his mother Judy was calling WWF offices to request that her son get time off to heal from an injury supposedly inflicted to Bagwell from the double powerbomb and to complain about her son's travel arrangements.

Independent circuit (2001–2002)

X Wrestling Federation

Bagwell was featured as a main eventer in Jimmy Hart's newly founded X Wrestling Federation, which taped television matches at Universal Studios Florida on November 12 and November 13, 2001.

World Wrestling All-Stars

In 2001 and 2002, Bagwell toured Europe and Australia with the World Wrestling All-Stars. In the autumn of 2001, he competed in the Inception pay-per-view where he won an open battle royal before losing to Jeff Jarrett in the semi-finals of the WWA World Heavyweight Championship tournament. A United Kingdom tour followed, where he mostly faced Stevie Ray and defeated him in several matches. He continued with the WWA into 2002, where in April, he took part in the Eruption pay-per-view. This time, he teamed up with his WWA rival Stevie Ray in an unsuccessful effort against Brian Christopher and Ernest Miller. In the autumn of 2002, he toured the UK and took part in the Retribution pay-per-view. During this tour, he often took part in the main event as a tag team match also involving Sting, Lex Luger and Nathan Jones. At the pay-per-view, he teamed up with Johnny Swinger to face Norman Smiley and Malice in a losing effort.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2003, 2006)

Bagwell made several appearances with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002 and 2003.

Bagwell appeared on the April 27, 2006 episode of ''TNA Impact!'' as the first of Sting's possible tag team partners for Sacrifice on May 14, 2006. Bagwell also appeared on the September 28, 2006 episode of ''Impact!'' in several segments, including a press conference, a video package, and a live segment where he brawled briefly with Jeff Jarrett. At a 2008 live event in Florida, Bagwell expressed that he would like to work a deal with TNA in the near future and that he likes TNA because it reminds him of his days in WCW.

Return to the independent circuit (2006–present)

Bagwell continues to wrestle on the independent circuit, most prominently for the NWA Mid-Atlantic promotion, which covers Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Media

Acting career

''Day of the Warrior'' (1996) as The Warrior ''L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies: Return to Savage Beach'' (1998) as The Warrior ''Terror Tract'' (2000) as Pound Dispatcher

Television appearances

''Charmed'' (2001) in episode ''Wrestling With Demons'' ''I Want a Famous Face'' (2005) as himself

Personal life

Bagwell married his third wife, Judy, in 2001.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Buff Blockbuster'' (Diving neckbreaker)

Signature moves

Arm drag

Atomic drop

Double underhook DDT

Dropkick

Neckbreaker

Shoulder block, sometimes from the second rope

Standing or a running big splash

Swinging neckbreaker

''Yellow Jacket Suplex'' (Bridging cradle suplex)

With The Patriot

Simultaneous vertical suplex / diving crossbody combination

Nicknames

Marcus "Buff" Bagwell

"Buff Daddy"

"The Stuff"

Entrance themes

*"Rockhouse" by Jimmy Hart and H. Helm (WCW; Used while a part of the New World Order)

*"Tear It Up" by Jimmy Hart and H. Helm (WCW; Used while a part of the New World Order)

*"Kevin Nash / Wolfpac Theme" (WCW; Used while a part of the nWo Elite)

*"Buff Daddy" (WCW / WWF; 1999–2001)

"Devil Without a Cause" by Kid Rock (Independent circuit)

Championships and accomplishments

AWA Superstars of Wrestling

AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Patriot

Cleveland All-Pro World Wrestling

CAPW Unified World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Great American Wrestling Federation

GAWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Great Championship Wrestling

GCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Scott Steele

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling¹

Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Dusty Rhodes (1) and Rikki Nelson (2)

North American Championship Wrestling

NACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Morton

NWA Blue Ridge

NWA Blue Ridge Television Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #66 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1999

Ultimate NWA

Ultimate NWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Championship Wrestling

WCW World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with 2 Cold Scorpio (1), The Patriot (2), Scotty Riggs (1) and Shane Douglas (1)

Rookie of the Year (1991)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Most Embarrassing Wrestler (2001)

Other titles

Georgia All State Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Walker

Michigan Midwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

RCW (Tennessee) Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

¹This is the second promotion to be called Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and this one is owned by David Baucom. The first Mid-Atlantic promotion was under the control of Jim Crockett, Sr. and later on his son, Jim Crockett, Jr. before it was sold to Ted Turner in 1988 and was renamed World Championship Wrestling. While this promotion uses some of the same regional championships that the original Mid-Atlantic promotion used, it is not the same promotion.

References

External links

TheRealBuff.com

Interview with HitTheRopes.com

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American people of English descent Category:People from Marietta, Georgia Category:Sportspeople from Georgia (U.S. state)

da:Buff Bagwell de:Buff Bagwell es:Buff Bagwell fr:Buff Bagwell it:Buff Bagwell ja:マーカス・バグウェル simple:Buff Bagwell

Name	Jeff Jarrett
Names	Jeff Jarrett
Height
Weight
Birth date	July 14, 1967
Birth place	Hendersonville, Tennessee
Resides	Hendersonville, Tennessee
Billed	Nashville, Tennessee
Trainer	Jerry JarrettTojo YamamotoBuddy Landel
Debut	April 1986
Retired	}}

Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett (born July 14, 1967) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds minority stock. He also works for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), where he is the current AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He is well-known from his multiple runs in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1990s.

A second-generation wrestler, Jarrett has held seventy championships in various promotions throughout his career. Within TNA, he is currently recognized as an 11-time world champion, having been a self-booked six-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and one-time AAA World Heavyweight Champion. He has also accumulated five additional world title reigns, being a three-time USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion and two-time WWA World Heavyweight Champion. While he never captured the WWF Championship during his time with the WWF, he challenged for the title and achieved notable championship success in the promotion, becoming a six-time Intercontinental Champion (a record from 1999–2004), and is one of three men to hold both the Intercontinental and European Championships simultaneously. He is the first wrestler to be a two-time King of the Mountain (self-booked), and also won AAA's Rey de Reyes tournament in 2004. Between WWE, WCW, and TNA, Jarrett has held 22 total championships as well as other numerous regional titles.

Professional wrestling career

Born in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Jarrett became involved with basketball when he was in high school, but, he worked for his father Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) as a referee in March 1986 and trained as a wrestler under his father and Tojo Yamamoto. Jeff Jarrett made his in-ring debut at the age of 18 in April 1986 when jobber Tony Falk attempted to end his lengthy losing streak by challenging Jarrett, then a referee, to a match. Jarrett accepted the challenge, wrestling Falk to a 10-minute draw. Jarrett is a 3rd-generation wrestler; his father wrestled, as did his maternal grandfather, Eddie Marlin, while his paternal grandmother, Christine, was employed by a wrestling promotion.

In 1989, Jerry Jarrett purchased the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling promotion and merged it with the CWA to create the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). Over the following years, Jarrett won the USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship on 10 occasions and the USWA World Tag Team Championship on 15 occasions. Jarrett also wrestled on the independent circuit for 7 years, appearing in Japan and Puerto Rico. In 1993, he was hired by the World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation (1993–1996)

Jarrett debuted in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the gimmick of "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a country music singer who intended to elevate his singing career through his exposure as a wrestler. Jarrett's character would strut to the ring wearing flashing "Double J" hats and ring attire, and he punctuated his promos with the phrase "ain't I great?". He ended his interviews by distinctly spelling out his name ("That's J-E-Double-F, J-A-Double-R, E-Double-T!").

Jarrett made his pay-per-view debut in January 1994 at the Royal Rumble. At SummerSlam, he pinned Mabel. At Survivor Series, Jarrett competed in a 10 man elimination tag match. In January 1995, Jarrett had a brief feud with Bret Hart, ultimately losing to Hart on the January 23 edition of ''Monday Night Raw''. At the Royal Rumble in Tampa, Florida, Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett challenged Diesel for the WWF Championship on the February 20 edition of ''Raw'', but lost the match. Razor Ramon received a rematch at WrestleMania XI which Jarrett lost by disqualification, but retained the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Jarrett was then joined by The Roadie, with the duo losing to Razor Ramon in a handicap match at In Your House 1. On April 26, 1995, the WWF Intercontinental Championship was declared vacant after a controversial ending to a match between Jarrett and Bob Holly. They had a rematch later that evening where Jarrett reclaimed the title. On May 19, Razor Ramon regained the title from Jarrett in Montreal, Quebec, but Jarrett won it back two nights later in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, making him a three-time Intercontinental Champion.

At In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23, 1995, Jarrett and Sawyer Brown performed the song "''With My Baby Tonight''". Later that evening, Jarrett lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship to Shawn Michaels. Following the event, Jarrett left the WWF for 7 months and returned to the United States Wrestling Association. Jarrett returned to the WWF in late 1995, feuding with Ahmed Johnson. Jarrett lost to Johnson by disqualification at the 1996 Royal Rumble and left the WWF shortly thereafter due to a contract dispute. Later that year, The Roadie revealed that he had in fact sung "''With My Baby Tonight''" and that Jarrett had been lip synching.

World Championship Wrestling (1996–1997)

In October 1996, Jarrett was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), signing a 1 year contract. Upon debuting in WCW, Jarrett became a "free agent" in the rivalry between the Four Horsemen and the New World Order. After defeating Chris Benoit at Starrcade, Jarrett was inducted into the Four Horsemen. On June 9, 1997, Jarrett defeated Dean Malenko to win the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship. In mid-1997, Jarrett left the Four Horsemen and began feuding with Horsemen member Steve "Mongo" McMichael. Despite aligning himself with McMichael's ex-wife, Debra McMichael, Jarrett lost the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship to McMichael on August 21. In October, Jarrett's contract expired and he opted to return to the WWF, despite the dominance of WCW in the ongoing Monday Night Wars.

Return to WWF (1997–1999)

Jarrett returned to the WWF on the October 20, 1997 episode of ''Raw'', delivering a worked shoot speech in which he criticized both WCW President Eric Bischoff and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. After briefly feuding with The Undertaker, Jarrett defeated Barry Windham to win the vacant NWA North American Heavyweight Championship. In early 1998, Jarrett joined forces with Jim Cornette and his stable of "invading" National Wrestling Alliance wrestlers, and began defending the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship on WWF television. In March, Jarrett left Cornette's stable, and Cornette stripped him of the title and awarded it to Windham.

Jarrett went on to reprise his country music singer gimmick, introducing Tennessee Lee as his manager and the tag team Southern Justice (formerly known as The Godwinns) as his bodyguards. He redeveloped his habit of breaking an acoustic guitar over the heads of his opponents. At Unforgiven: In Your House, Jarrett once again sang alongside Sawyer Brown with their hit single, "Some Girls Do". In August, Jarrett abandoned his country singer gimmick and dismissed Lee. He and Southern Justice began feuding with D-Generation X, with Jarrett losing to D-X member X-Pac in a hair versus hair match at SummerSlam. Jarrett's long hair was subsequently cut short by D-X and Howard Finkel, who had himself been shaved bald by Jarrett and Southern Justice shortly before SummerSlam. Jarrett and Southern Justice were defeated by D-X at Breakdown in September, and the trio separated shortly thereafter.

Jarrett briefly feuded with Al Snow before reuniting with Debra, who had left WCW for the WWF, and forming a tag team with Owen Hart. Hart and Jarrett were close friends and travel partners for years, so the team gelled almost immediately. Jarrett and Hart won the WWF World Tag Team Championship from Ken Shamrock and The Big Boss Man, successfully defending the titles at WrestleMania XV before losing to Kane and X-Pac on an episode of ''Raw''. 8 days after Hart was killed in a stunt that went wrong at Over the Edge, Jarrett defeated The Godfather, who Owen was scheduled to face at the pay-per-view. As he was handed the title he yelled Hart's name in tribute to his friend. In mid-1999, Jarrett won and lost the WWF Intercontinental Championship on 2 more occasions.

In the months that followed, Jarrett became increasingly abusive towards Debra. At SummerSlam, Jarrett challenged D'Lo Brown for both the WWF European and Intercontinental Championships, with Debra accompanying Brown to the ring following an argument with Jarrett. Brown lost the match after both Mark Henry and Debra turned on him, making Jarrett the second ever "Euro-Continental Champion". On the following episode of ''Raw'', Jarrett rewarded Debra and Henry by giving Debra an assistant, Miss Kitty, and Henry the European Championship. In late 1999, Jarrett began feuding with Chyna over the Intercontinental Championship. In the course of the feud, Jarrett became somewhat misogynistic, attacking numerous females, including both wrestlers and actress Cindy Margolis, and executing the figure four leglock on them. Jarrett eventually abandoned Debra in favor of Miss Kitty after he and Debra were defeated by Stephanie McMahon and Test in a mixed tag team match. He later also turned on Miss Kitty after she lost a match that Jarrett had inserted her into in his place.

Jarrett left the WWF in October 1999, right after WWF head writer Vince Russo resigned from the WWF in order to join WCW. Jarrett's contract expired on October 16, 1999, one day before his scheduled match with Chyna at No Mercy. Jarrett wrestled at No Mercy nonetheless, losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna. Chyna later alleged that Jarrett and Russo had colluded in order to delay Jarrett's title defense until after Jarrett's contract had expired, and that Jarrett had subsequently extorted WWF Chairman Vince McMahon for $300,000 in order to wrestle without a contract.

In 2006, Jarrett asserted that he had been paid only what he was owed by the WWF. In a 2008 interview for a TNA special, Jarrett stated that not only were his negotiations cordial and in good faith, but that he also got stock options in WWF's IPO, which occurred 2 days after he left.

Return to WCW (1999–2001)

Jarrett returned to WCW on the October 18, 1999 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', attacking Buff Bagwell and proclaiming himself the "Chosen One" of WCW. Jarrett took part in a tournament for the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship, winning his first three matches with the assistance of Creative Control. At Mayhem, he was eliminated from the tournament after losing his semi-final match to Chris Benoit following interference from Dustin Rhodes. At Starrcade, Jarrett defeated Rhodes in a bunkhouse brawl, then unsuccessfully challenged Benoit for the WCW United States Championship in a ladder match. On the following episode of ''Monday Nitro'', Jarrett defeated Benoit in a rematch. In the same evening, Jarrett reformed the New World Order with WCW World Champion Bret Hart and the reigning WCW Tag Team Champions, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, with the foursome calling themselves "nWo 2000".

In early 2000, Jarrett feuded with WCW Commissioner Terry Funk, who forced him to wrestle three veterans - George Steele, Tito Santana, and Jimmy Snuka - in 1 night. Jarrett was stripped of the United States Championship after suffering a concussion during his bout with Snuka, but the title was returned to him by Nash after he became WCW Commissioner. In order to help him retain the title, Jarrett drafted the Harris Brothers (formerly Creative Control) into nWo 2000. In the following months, Jarrett repeatedly challenged Sid Vicious for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, in the process clashing with Nash and winning the position of WCW Commissioner for himself. Following the retirement of Hart, the New World Order disbanded.

In April, WCW was "rebooted" by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, with all titles vacated as a result. Bischoff and Russo also created the New Blood, a stable of younger wrestlers who feuded with the Millionaire's Club, made up of the older members of the WCW roster. Jarrett joined the New Blood, and at Spring Stampede on April 16, he defeated Millionaires Club member Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Page regained the title on April 24, and on April 25, the title was contested in a tag team match pitting Jarrett and Bischoff against Page and actor David Arquette. Arquette won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship after pinning Bischoff. Jarrett hit Page with the championship belt while special referee Kimberly Page's back was turned; WCW official Mickie Jay counted Bischoff out while Jarrett had Page pinned. At Slamboree on May 7, Jarrett defeated Page and Arquette in a three way triple cage match to win his 2nd WCW World Heavyweight Championship after Arquette turned on Page.

In May, Jarrett won and lost the World Championship on 2 further occasions, regaining the title from Ric Flair both times. Jarrett feuded with Nash and Hulk Hogan throughout June 2000, and on July 9 at Bash at the Beach, he faced Hogan with the World Championship on the line. The match ended swiftly after Jarrett immediately laid down, allowing Hogan to rest a boot on his chest and win the title, with Hogan commenting, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in—because of bullshit like this." Vince Russo subsequently came to the ring and delivered a profanity-laced interview in which he accused Hogan of politicking and claimed that Hogan had used his creative control to refuse to lose to Jarrett. Russo then stated that, while Hogan was free to keep the title belt he had just won (the "Hulk Hogan Memorial Belt"), Jarrett would wrestle Booker T for the official WCW World Heavyweight Championship later that night. Booker T won the resultant match, and Hogan didn't appear in WCW again. It is disputed whether the situation was a shoot, a work, or some combination of the two.

In the following months, Jarrett briefly feuded with Booker T, Mike Awesome, Sting, Buff Bagwell, and Flair. In late 2000, he joined forces with the Harris Brothers once more, with the trio defeating the Filthy Animals at Starrcade on December 17. In the same evening, Jarrett aligned himself with WCW World Champion Scott Steiner by helping Steiner defeat Sid Vicious. In 2001, Jarrett and Steiner became members of the Magnificent Seven, a large stable headed by Flair. Flair and Jarrett feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes until March, when WCW was purchased by the WWF. His contract was not picked up by the WWF. On the last Nitro, Jeff was seen on ''RAW'' while Vince McMahon watched the show. Vince saw Jeff on the screen and told the viewer that Jarrett would not have a future in the WWF by saying Jeff's name would now be known as "Capital G Double-O Double-N Double-E" following McMahon's acquisition of WCW, effectively firing him on-air.

World Wrestling All-Stars (2001–2003)

In late 2001, Jarrett wrestled in World Wrestling All-Stars in Australia and Europe. Jarrett won the 1st WWA World Heavyweight Championship, but was later stripped of the title. Jarrett returned to the WWA during his 1st NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign; he defeated Sting for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship at the last WWA event on May 25, 2003, unifying the two titles.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–present)

In June 2002, Jarrett and his father created a limited-liability company, J Sports and Entertainment and opened a new pro wrestling promotion, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. TNA aired in a weekly pay-per-view format until May 2004, when the promotion negotiated a TV deal with Fox Sports Net and began broadcasting ''TNA Impact!''. In November 2004, TNA began airing monthly pay-per-views instead of weekly pay-per-views, and in October 2005 ''Impact!'' moved to Spike TV. Panda Energy acquired a controlling interest in TNA in 2002, although Jarrett remained a minority owner.

NWA World Heavyweight Champion (2002–2006)

On the inaugural TNA pay-per-view on June 19, 2002, Jarrett took part in a Gauntlet for the Gold with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on the line, but was eliminated by country singer Toby Keith. In the following months, Jarrett feuded with Scott Hall, Brian Lawler, and Brian Gerard James. On November 20, 2002, Jarrett defeated Ron Killings to win the NWA World Championship with the assistance of Vince Russo. After Jarrett refused to join Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme stable, Russo turned the members of SEX, including the debuting Raven, against Jarrett. The rivalry continued until February 2003, when Russo lost interest in SEX. In the following months, Jarrett feuded with the remaining members of SEX, then began feuding with Raven and Raven's Nest, the group of wrestlers that Raven controlled. On June 11, 2003, Jarrett faced Raven and A.J. Styles in a 3-way match for the NWA World Championship. Styles pinned Jarrett to win the title after the returning Russo struck Jarrett with a guitar. Jarrett regained the title from Styles on October 22, 2003, turning heel. Jarrett was unable to escape Styles, losing the title back to him on April 21, 2004 in a steel cage after Russo - who had returned as the new TNA Director of Authority - chose Styles to replace the injured Chris Harris. Jarrett would get revenge on May 19, however, by hitting Styles with a guitar during a title match, which enabled Ron Killings to win the title. Jarrett then defeated Killings, Styles, Raven and Harris in a King of the Mountain match on June 2 to win his 3rd NWA World Championship.

In early 2005, Jarrett formed a dominant stable known as Planet Jarrett with Monty Brown, Kip James, and, later, Rhino. Jarrett also uses the phrase "Planet Jarrett" to refer to TNA as a whole, reflecting his real-life stake in the company and his prominent role within the promotion. Despite his efforts to hold on to the title, however, he lost it back to long-time rival Styles on May 15, 2005.

Jarrett won his 4th NWA World Heavyweight Championship on September 15, 2005, defeating Raven at a Border City Wrestling event. He lost the title to Rhino at Bound for Glory on October 23, but regained it on the November 3 episode of ''Impact!''. Jarrett's reign lasted until Against All Odds on February 12, 2006, when he was defeated by Christian Cage.

In the following months, Jarrett feuded with Sting, who had declared that Jarrett was a "cancer" in TNA. In the course of the feud, Scott Steiner debuted in TNA as an ally of Jarrett.

At Slammiversary on June 18, 2006 Jarrett won his 6th NWA World Championship in a King of the Mountain match when referee Earl Hebner tipped over a ladder that Christian Cage and Sting were simultaneously climbing. He retained the title in a bout with Sting at Hard Justice 2006 after Cage turned on Sting, hitting him with one of Jarrett's guitars. After a polygraph proved that Jarrett had cheated to win the NWA World Championship, Director of Authority Jim Cornette forced Jarrett to wrestle Samoa Joe in a "fan's revenge" lumberjack match at TNA No Surrender, with Joe winning the match. At the Bound for Glory pay-per-view on October 22, Sting defeated Jarrett for the NWA World Championship after Jarrett was forced to submit to Sting's signature finisher, the Scorpion Death Lock.

Hiatus, return, and face turn (2007–2009)

On the following episode of ''Impact!'', Jarrett announced in an interview that he was leaving TNA indefinitely. For the following 6 months, Jarrett did not appear on TNA television, instead focusing on his role as Vice President of TNA Entertainment. Jarrett, however, temporarily returned to TNA television on the April 12, 2007 episode of ''Impact!'', and aligned himself with Samoa Joe, by helping him defeat A.J. Styles, turning face. On April 15, 2007 at Lockdown, Jarrett, making his in-ring return, and the rest of Team Angle defeated Team Cage in a Lethal Lockdown match. The following episode of ''Impact!'', he delivered his first promo in months, stating it's not all about Jeff Jarrett and he returned to give back to the wrestlers and fans, officially completing his face turn. He then entered into a feud with Robert Roode, losing a match to him at Sacrifice. Jarrett was then scheduled to take on Styles with the winner to earn a spot in the King of the Mountain match but could not compete due to "personal issues". In 2008, Jarrett was featured in the promotion of TNA's "Maximum Impact!" tour of the UK.

At Hard Justice 2008, Samoa Joe defeated Booker T using the Acoustic Equalizer, the trademark move of Jarrett, setting up for his return to in-ring action, as quoted by the website, "Obviously, we all know who used a guitar in the past!" referring indirectly to Jarrett. After numerous weeks of Jarrett's theme song playing and his guitar appearing on TNA programming, Jarrett returned to ''Impact!'' on September 11, 2008. At No Surrender, he would help Joe defeat Kurt Angle and Cage and assist Joe in retaining the TNA World Championship by hitting Angle with a guitar keeping him a face. The following Thursday, on ''Impact!'', Jarrett cut his first promo since Slammiversary, claiming that the current respect angle that Sting was involved in was actually a matter of the veterans refusing to pass the torch to the young guys. Angle came out and challenged Jarrett to a match at Bound for Glory IV, but Jarrett refused, saying he had nothing left to prove, and instead pointed to the screen to reveal the debuting Mick Foley. On the next edition of ''IMPACT'', Jarrett relented to verbal cheap shots taken by Angle regarding Jarrett's children and accepted the match at Bound for Glory. The feud got more personal due to Angle mentioning Jarrett's wife, which lead to Foley being named the Special Enforcer for their match. At Bound For Glory Jarrett returned to the ring after a 1 year and 5 month absence, and defeated Angle using his Acoustic Equalizer.

On the November 20, 2008 edition of ''Impact!'', Kurt Angle threatened Mick Foley and wanted another match against Jarrett at Final Resolution after Foley announced that it was Angle vs. Rhino at the event. Angle continued to demand a match with Jarrett and he said if he couldn't get him at Final Resolution, he would wrestle Foley. Angle then slapped Foley causing Jarrett to come out and talk about what Angle wanted and then what Jarrett wanted (Angle to be fired). Because of Angle's contract clause, Jarrett could not fire him, so he made this stipulation: if Angle lost to Rhino, he would be fired from TNA; if Angle beat Rhino, he would get Jarrett at Genesis. Angle won, allowing him to face Jarrett at Genesis. The feud got even more personal when it started involving Jarrett's 3 daughters during the December 11, 2008 episode of ''IMPACT!''. Angle said that they would become orphans after Genesis and that "Uncle Kurt" may find it in his heart to adopt them and make them his. Jarrett came out to confront him but was held back by his longtime friend, BG James, TNA Personnel Terry Taylor, referee Earl Hebner, and Scott D'Amore. On January 11 at Genesis, Jarrett lost to Angle. Jeff suffered some injuries, but able to compete on the TNA Maxium Impact Tour, by facing against Kurt Angle in 2 singles and a few tag team matches with AJ Styles against Kurt Angle and Scott Steiner. Then on February 12, 2009, Jeff Jarrett returned to ''Impact!'' to stop Angle from forcing Sting to lay down and gain an easy championship victory. The next week, Jarrett allowed Angle to have another match against Sting, and on February 26, 2009 Jarrett announced Angle vs. Sting at Destination X for the TNA World Championship. Jarrett would then enter a feud with Mick Foley who attacked him while shooting his DVD at the TNA Asylum. The 2 would meet in a 4 way match at TNA Sacrifice involving Kurt Angle and Sting with Jarret putting his voting shares in TNA on the line and Angle putting his leadership of The Main Event Mafia and Sting putting his career and Foley putting the TNA World title; Sting would go on to pin Angle for the victory and leadership of the mafia. Jarrett later pinned Eric Young in order to qualify for the King of the Mountain match, however Young attacked Jarrett after the match in storyline. The following week Jarrett called out Young and offered to turn the other cheek but instead Young provoked him by saying that he pays more attention to wrestling than his own daughters just like his father Jerry Jarrett which resulted in Jeff slapping Young and assaulting him. Jarrett also would accidentally punch referee Earl Hebner while Hebner was trying to separate the 2. On the June 11 edition of ''Impact!'', Mick Foley kayfabe fined and suspended Jarrett and threw him out of the arena as a punishment. The following week Foley threw a party for Jarrett and welcomed him back to TNA in order to have him on his side at Slammiversary. At Slammiversary, Jarrett refused to give Foley the belt in the King of the Mountain match, which was won by Kurt Angle after assistance from Samoa Joe. Shortly after Slammiversary, Jarrett once again disappeared from TNA programming. During his hiatus, it was reported that Jarrett had lost all of his backstage power in TNA and would return only as a wrestler.

Feuding with Eric Bischoff and Sting (2009–2010)

On the December 3 edition of ''Impact!'', Jarrett made his first appearance in months via telephone, refusing to help Mick Foley regain control over TNA after Dixie Carter had announced that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA. On the December 10 edition of ''Impact!'', Foley met with Jarrett, who agreed to return and help him deal with Carter and Hogan. On January 4, 2010, Hogan made his debut, confronted Jarrett and claimed that he had to earn his spot in the company. The following week Jarrett started showing signs of a heel turn as he threatened Hogan with legal action, however, on the January 28 edition of ''Impact!'' he changed his mind and agreed to fight for his spot. In the main event of the show he came out to no entrance music or pyrotechnics and was defeated by Mr. Anderson after a low blow. This started an angle of Hogan's business partner Eric Bischoff, acting on his own without Hogan, having Jarrett work humiliating jobs backstage at the Impact! Zone, such as flipping burgers and cleaning restrooms, while also booking him in unfavorable matches, such as surprise Falls Count Anywhere and handicap matches. On the March 22 edition of ''Impact!'', after Jarrett broke a guitar over Bischoff's head, Bischoff placed him and Mick Foley, another wrestler he had had problems with, against each other in a No Disqualification match, where the loser would get fired from the company. Jarrett managed to win the match, refereed by Beer Money, Inc., and with Foley fired from the company, Hogan ordered Bischoff to lay off of Jarrett. The following week Hogan, prior to leaving on a business trip, apologized to Jarrett for Bischoff's behavior and gave him a chance to earn the number one contendership to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a match against the champion A.J. Styles. With Hogan out of the building, Bischoff and Styles' manager Ric Flair interfered in the match and cost Jarrett the number one contendership. Later in the evening Jarrett was announced as the second member of Abyss' Team Hogan in the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would meet Team Flair, led by Sting. At Lockdown Team Hogan (Abyss, Jarrett, Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm), when Bischoff turned face and helped Team Hogan pick up the victory, effectively ending his feud with Jarrett. Just before Lockdown, Jarrett said that he was going to find out the answers to Sting's behavior, which led into a brawl on ''Impact!'' with Sting leaving a beaten Jarrett in the ring, which in turn led to their match at Sacrifice. At the pay-per-view Sting assaulted Jarrett prior to their match and then dragged him in to the ring, where he managed to score a pinfall in seconds over his bloodied opponent. Jarrett was sidelined for a month before making his return at Slammiversary VIII, where he cost Sting his World Heavyweight Championship match against Rob Van Dam. On the June 24 edition of ''Impact!'' Sting assaulted Jarrett to the point that TNA president Dixie Carter suspended him for 30 days without pay the following week. During Sting's suspension Jarrett found a new enemy in Kevin Nash, who claimed that Jarrett himself, and not Sting, was what was wrong with TNA. Sting returned from his suspension on the August 5 edition of ''Impact!'', wearing a new red face paint, and, together with Nash, beat down Jarrett, Bischoff and Hogan. On the August 26 edition of ''Impact!'' Jarrett attempted to recruit Samoa Joe to help him against Nash and Sting, but was turned down. Thus Jarrett was left alone for a match, where he was defeated by Nash, after an interference from Sting. The following week Sting defeated Jarrett in a singles match, after an interference from Kevin Nash. After the match Samoa Joe joined Jarrett and drove Sting and Nash away. At No Surrender Jarrett and Joe defeated Sting and Nash in a tag team match, after Jarrett hit Sting with his own baseball bat.

Heel turn and feud with Kurt Angle (2010–2011)

At Bound for Glory Jarrett and Joe faced Sting, Nash and their newest ally D'Angelo Dinero in a handicap match, after Hulk Hogan, who was scheduled to team with Joe and Jarrett, was forced to pull out due to a back surgery. At the end of the match Jarrett turned heel and abandoned Joe and left him to be pinned by Nash. At the end of the event Jarrett aligned himself with Hulk Hogan, who ended up making a surprise appearance, Eric Bischoff, Abyss and the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy, all of whom made heel turns with the exception of the already heel Abyss, in the process revealing themselves as the "they" Abyss had referred to. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Jarrett explained that he had joined the stable, now known as Immortal, in order to get back at Dixie Carter for taking away his backstage power in TNA, while also wanting to end the career of Kurt Angle, who had proclaimed that he would retire from professional wrestling if he failed to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory. Jarrett then attacked Angle, when he was being restrained by TNA's security officers. The following week Samoa Joe attempted to avenge what had happened at Bound for Glory, but was restrained by the security officers, before being beat down by Jarrett. At Turning Point Jarrett defeated Joe, after choking him out with a baton, following interference from Gunner and Murphy, his security officers. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Jarrett assaulted Joe, after he had defeated Gunner and Murphy in a handicap match, but was then chased away by the returning Kurt Angle. At Final Resolution Jarrett faced Joe in a submission match. After a pre–match assault and later an interference by Gunner and Murphy, Jarrett managed to force Joe to submit with an ankle lock. On the January 6, 2011, edition of ''Impact!'' Kurt Angle interrupted Jarrett's $100,000 mixed martial arts challenge and signed a contract to face him at Genesis in an MMA exhibition match, since he had promised not to wrestle again. The match was thrown out in the third round after Jarrett blinded Angle. After the match Jarrett bloodied Angle, before announcing that he was ending his mixed martial arts career and promised that his current wife and Kurt's former wife, Karen Jarrett, would be joining the retirement party. On the January 13 edition of ''Impact!'' Karen made her return and stopped Angle just as he was about to attack Jeff, telling him that she would not allow him to ruin their personal lives and promised to tell all about their divorce the following week. The following week Karen slapped Kurt, providing a distraction which allowed Jeff to beat him down. On February 13 at Against All Odds Jarrett defeated Angle in a singles match and as a result Angle was forced to walk Karen down the aisle, when she and Jarrett renewed their wedding vows on the March 3 edition of ''Impact!''. On March 3 Angle proceeded to destroy the wedding set with an axe and forced wedding guest, New York Jet Bart Scott to tap out with the ankle lock. On April 17 at Lockdown, Jarrett defeated Angle in an "Ultra Male Rules" Two out of Three Falls steel cage match, with help from Karen. It was later reported that Jarrett had severely bruised his ribs in the match. On the May 12 edition of ''Impact!'', Angle revealed a name from Jarrett's past, Chyna, as his backup in taking care of him and Karen. At Sacrifice, Angle and Chyna defeated the Jarretts in a mixed tag team match. With Karen out of the picture, Angle defeated Jarrett on June 12 at Slammiversary IX in what was billed as the "final battle" between the two. However, on the following edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Jarrett challenged Angle to a Parking Lot Brawl and agreed to sign a contract that would force him to move to Mexico without Angle's children, which he lost the match. Angle ended up winning the fight after choking Jarrett with a shirt, forcing him to say "adiós", thus ending the long feud in the process. The following week on ''Impact Wrestling'', Bischoff forced Jarrett to obey the match stipulations and exiled him to Mexico.

Mexican Heavyweight Champion (2011–present)

Jarrett returned to TNA on the July 14 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', showing off the "Mexican Heavyweight Championship" belt, playing off the AAA World Heavyweight Championship, he had won during his stay in Mexico. On the August 18 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Jarrett aligned himself with the Mexican America stable by helping its members Anarquia and Hernandez defeat Beer Money, Inc. for the TNA World Tag Team Championship.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2004–2006, 2011–present)

Jarrett made his debut for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) on March 21, 2004, defeating Latin Lover to win the 2004 Rey de Reyes tournament. Over the next two years, Jarrett would make several sporadic appearances for AAA as a member of the heel stable ''La Legión Extranjera'', before the working relationship between AAA and TNA was ended.

In February 2010, TNA restarted their working relationship with AAA and in early May 2011, Jarrett made his return to AAA television, announcing his and TNA's alignment with Dorian Roldán and his heel stable ''La Sociedad'' and their participation in TripleManía XIX. Konnan, the co-leader of ''La Sociedad'' and former TNA worker, however, was against the idea of his former employer coming to AAA and believed that Roldán had made a mistake by inviting him to the promotion. Jarrett and Abyss arrived to AAA on May 18 for a confrontation with Konnan and ''La Sociedad''. In the end, Jarrett and Konnan revealed that they were in fact on the same page with each other and turned on AAA World Heavyweight Champion El Zorro with Konnan announcing that Jarrett would be challenging for his title at TripleManía XIX. On June 18 at TripleManía XIX, Jarrett defeated El Zorro to become the new AAA World Heavyweight Champion. On July 31 at ''Verano de Escándalo'', Jarrett successfully defended the title in a three-way elimination match against Dr. Wagner, Jr. and L.A. Park, when someone wearing El Zorro's old mask interfered and hit Park with a guitar.

Media

TNA announced that on April 14, 2009 the first-ever Jeff Jarrett DVD release would be a four-disc set, including his best TNA matches and moments, a lengthy and candid interview on his life, career and TNA Wrestling, rare photos, and guest commentary, among others.

Personal life

Jarrett was married to his "high school sweetheart" Jill on November 14, 1992, with whom he had three daughters, Joslyn, Jaclyn, and Jerlyn. His parents names are father, Jerry W. and mother Deborah. He also has two brothers, Jerry Jr. and Jason, and he has one sister, Jennifer. Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer in the late 1990s, and died on May 23, 2007 at the age of 38 from cancer, exactly eight years after the death of his friend Owen Hart.

In 2009, It was reported that Jeff Jarrett was romantically linked to Karen Angle. This resulted in TNA president Dixie Carter placing Jeff Jarrett on leave of absence. The situation was revealed in July 2009 when a caller claiming to be a TNA employee called in on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. Dixie Carter commented on the situation on Impact, stating "a personal situation that affected the company and it put all of us in a very difficult position." She said Jeff was placed "on leave as both a talent and in his capacity with the company and I'd like to leave it at that." In December 2009, Jeff returned to TNA, using the real life situation briefly as a storyline, with Carter reprimanding Jarrett on camera for his actions and ordering him to apologize to Kurt Angle. Jarrett confronted Angle backstage and offered an awkward apology, which a visibly upset Angle brushed off. On April 6, 2010, Jarrett and Karen Angle announced their engagement. Jarrett and Angle were married on August 21, 2010.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Acoustic Equalizer'' / ''El Kabong'' (Guitar shot)

Figure-four leglock

''The Stroke'' (Forward Russian legsweep, sometimes from the second rope)

Signature moves

Diving crossbody

*Double leg slam

*Double underhook facebuster

Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

*Enzuigiri

Lariat

*Leapfrog body guillotine to an opponent draped over the second rope

Powerslam

Sleeper hold

*Snap suplex

Swinging neckbreaker

Managers

The Roadie

Debra

Jim Cornette

Tennessee Lee

*Southern Justice (Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight)

Miss Kitty

*nWo Girls

*New Blood

*Harris Brothers (Don and Ron Harris)

*Don Callis

*Baby Doll

Gail Kim

*Jackie Gayda

*Karen Jarrett

Nicknames

"The Chosen One"

"Double J"

"The TNA Founder"

"The Great One"

"Simply Irresistible"

"The King of the Mountain"

"The Ultra Male"

*"Big Daddy"

Entrance themes

*"Tennessee Jam" by Jim Johnston (WWF; 1998–1999)

*"Rockhouse" by Jimmy Hart and H.Helm (WCW; as part of nWo 2000; 1999-early 2000)

"My World" by Dale Oliver (TNA / AAA; 2002–present)

"Immortal Theme" by Dale Oliver

Championships and accomplishments

American Wrestling Association

*Rookie of the Year (1984)

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

AAA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)

AAA Rey de Reyes (2004)¹

Continental Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Billy Travis (3) and Pat Tanaka (1)

CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CWA International Tag Team Championship (2 time) – with Pat Tanaka (1) and Paul Diamond (1)

NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship (5 times)

NWA Cyberspace

NWA Cyberspace Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling

PCW United States Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (1992)with Jerry Lawler vs. the Moondogs

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2007)

PWI ranked him #5 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000

PWI ranked him #141 in the PWI Years in 2003

PWI ranked him #78 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years in 2003 with Jerry Lawler

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

NWA World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

*King of the Mountain (2004, 2006)

United States Wrestling Association

USWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (9 times)

USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

USWA World Tag Team Championship (14 times) – with Jeff Gaylord (2), Cody Michaels (1), Jerry Lawler (4), Robert Fuller (4), and Brian Christopher (2)

World Championship Wrestling

WCW United States Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

World Class Wrestling Association

USWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Matt Borne

WCWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

WCWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Kerry Von Erich (1), Mil Máscaras (1), and Matt Borne (1)

World Wrestling Federation

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)²

WWF European Championship (1 time)

WWF Intercontinental Championship (6 times)

WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Owen Hart

World Series Wrestling

WSW Heavyweight Championship

World Wrestling All-Stars

*WWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)³

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

*Feud of the Year (1992) with Jerry Lawler vs. The Moondogs

*Most Overrated Wrestler (2005)

¹After Asistencia Asesoría y Administración retracted their working relationship with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Jarrett's win was stricken from AAA's records. However, when the relationship was resumed in 2010, AAA once again began recognizing Jarrett as a former Rey de Reyes.

²Wins the title while working for the World Wrestling Federation as part of an angle with the National Wrestling Alliance.

³Upon winning the title for the second time, Jarrett instantly unified it with the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Lucha de Apuesta record

Jeff Jarrett

style="background:#e3e3e3; width:5%;"	Wager	Winner	Loser	Location	Date	Notes
Hair	Sean Waltman>X-Pac	|	New York City>New York, New York		SummerSlam (1998)>SummerSlam
Career	Jeff Jarrett	Mick Foley	Orlando, Florida

Notes

References

External links

TNA profile

AAA profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:American professional wrestlers Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Professional wrestling executives

bg:Джеф Джарет da:Jeff Jarrett de:Jeff Jarrett es:Jeff Jarrett fr:Jeff Jarrett ko:제프 제럿 it:Jeff Jarrett lt:Jeff Jarrett nl:Jeff Jarrett ja:ジェフ・ジャレット pl:Jeff Jarrett pt:Jeff Jarrett ro:Jeff Jarrett ru:Джарретт, Джефф th:เจฟฟ์ จาเรตต์ vi:Jeff Jarrett

Name	Chris Jericho
Names	Chris JerichoLast SurvivorCorazón de LeónSuper LigerLeón de OroLion DoMoongoose McQueen
Height
Weight
Genres	Heavy Metal
Birth date	November 09, 1970
Birth place	Manhasset, New York
Billed	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Trainer	Ed LangleyKatsuji AdachiKeith HartStu Hart
Debut	October 2, 1990
Website	ChrisJericho.com }}

Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is a Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), as well as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and internationally in Canadian, Mexican and Japanese promotions. He is also the host of the ABC game show ''Downfall'' and the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Fozzy.

Jericho has won 30 championships between WWF/WWE (where he won 24 titles), WCW, and ECW. He is credited as being the first-ever Undisputed Champion within the WWF, having unified the WWF Championship and the World Championship in 2001.

In WWF/E, Jericho was a one–time Undisputed WWF Champion, a three–time World Heavyweight Champion, a two–time WCW/World Champion, a record nine–time Intercontinental Champion, a one–time European Champion, a one–time Hardcore Champion, a five–time World Tag Team Champion and a two–time Tag Team Champion. In WCW, he was a four–time Cruiserweight Champion and a one–time Television Champion. In ECW, he was a one–time Television Champion.

Jericho is overall recognized as a six-time world heavyweight champion in reference to his one WWF Championship, three World Heavyweight Championship and two WCW/World Championship reigns. He is the ninth Triple Crown Champion and the fourth Grand Slam Champion of WWE.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1990–1996)

At age 19, Irvine entered the Hart Brothers School of Wrestling where, on his first day, he met Lance Storm. Two months later, he was ready to start wrestling on independent shows, making his debut on October 2, 1990, in a draw against Storm. The pair then worked as a tag team, initially called "Sudden Impact". Meanwhile, he took the name "Jericho" from the Helloween album, ''Walls of Jericho''. Jericho and Storm worked for Tony Condello in the tours of Northern Manitoba with Adam Copeland (Edge), Jason Reso (Christian), and Terry Gerin (Rhino). The pair also wrestled in Calgary's Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (CNWA) and Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling (CRMW). In 1991, Jericho and Storm started touring in Japan for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, where he would befriend Ricky Fuji, who also trained under Stu Hart.

In the winter of 1992, he traveled to Mexico and competed under the name Leon D'Oro, and later Corazón de León, where he wrestled for several small wrestling companies, as well as the largest in the country, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In CMLL, Jericho took on Silver King, Negro Casas, and Último Dragón en route to an 11 month reign as the NWA Middleweight Champion that began in December 1993. After leaving Mexico, Jericho would wrestle in Hamburg, Germany for six weeks as part of a tournament run by Rene Lasarteese. His burgeoning wrestling skills also took him to Japan in 1994 where he competed for Genichiro Tenryu's Wrestling and Romance (later known as Wrestle Association "R") (WAR) promotion, facing the likes of Gedo and Último Dragón, to whom he lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship. He would also become a member of the heel stable Fuyuki-Gun (also known as Team No Respect) with Gedo, Jado, and Hiromichi Fuyuki under the name Lion Do, and would go on to team with Gedo to become the first WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

1994 also saw Jericho reunited with his former teammate from CRMW, Storm, as the Thrillseekers in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion, where they feuded with the likes of Well Dunn, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, and The Heavenly Bodies. In December 1995, Jericho competed in the second Super J Cup Tournament, hosted by WAR, losing to Wild Pegasus.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996)

In 1996, thanks in part to recommendations by Chris Benoit and Perry Saturn, to promoter Paul Heyman, and after Mick Foley saw Jericho's match against Último Dragón for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship in July 1995 and gave a tape of the match to Heyman, Jericho began wrestling for the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion, winning the ECW World Television Championship from Pitbull #2 in June 1996. While in ECW, Jericho wrestled Taz, Sabu, Rob Van Dam, Cactus Jack, Shane Douglas, and 2 Cold Scorpio. It was during this time that he drew the attention of World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

World Championship Wrestling

Cruiserweight Champion (1996–1998)

On August 26, 1996 Jericho made his first appearance with WCW, and on September 15, he appeared at his first pay-per-view show in a match against Chris Benoit at Fall Brawl. In January 1997, Jericho made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling, who had a working agreement with WCW, as Super Liger, the masked arch nemesis of Jushin "Thunder" Liger. Super Liger's first match against Koji Kanemoto at Wrestling World 1997 was so poorly received that the gimmick was dropped instantly. The following six months, Jericho worked for New Japan unmasked, before being called back by WCW. On June 28, 1997, Jericho defeated Syxx in Los Angeles, California to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time. He won the title again on August 12, 1997, by defeating Alex Wright.

Jericho began his WCW heel run when he won the title a third time by defeating Rey Mysterio, Jr. at Souled Out by forcing him to submit to the Liontamer. After the match, Jericho assaulted Mysterio's knee with a toolbox. In the storyline, Mysterio needed six months of recovery before he could return to the ring. Jericho then had a short feud with Juventud Guerrera in which Guerrera repeatedly requested a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship, but Jericho constantly rebuffed him. The feud culminated in a Title vs. Mask match at SuperBrawl VIII. Guerrera lost the match and was forced to remove his mask. Following this match, Jericho began his ongoing gimmick of collecting and wearing to the ring trophy items from his defeated opponents, such as Guerrera's mask, Prince Iaukea's Hawaiian dress, and a headband from Disco Inferno.

Jericho then began a long feud with Dean Malenko in which Jericho repeatedly claimed he was a better wrestler than Malenko, but refused to wrestle him. Because of his mastery of technical wrestling, Malenko was known as "The Man of 1000 Holds," so Jericho claimed to be "The Man of 1004 Holds." During the March 30, 1998 episode of ''WCW Monday Nitro'', after defeating Marty Jannetty, Jericho pulled out a long pile of paper that listed each of the 1004 holds he knew and recited them to the audience. Many of the "holds" were fictional, and every other hold was an armbar. On the March 12, 1998 episode of ''WCW Thunder'', Malenko defeated a wrestler wearing Juventud Guerrera's mask who appeared to be Jericho. However, the masked wrestler was actually Lenny Lane, who Jericho bribed to appear in the match. This started a minor feud between Lane and Jericho after Jericho refused to pay Lane. At Uncensored Jericho finally wrestled Malenko and defeated him, after which Malenko took a leave of absence from wrestling. Jericho then proceeded to bring with him to the ring a portrait of Malenko that he insulted and demeaned. Just prior to Slamboree, J.J. Dillon (referred to by Jericho as "Jo Jo") scheduled a cruiserweight Battle Royal in which the wrestler who won would immediately have a shot at Jericho's Cruiserweight Championship. Jericho accepted on the grounds that whoever had to face him would not have nearly enough energy to wrestle two matches in a row. At Slamboree, Jericho came out to announce the competitors in an insulting fashion before the match started and then went backstage for coffee. An individual who appeared to be Ciclope won the battle royal after Juventud Guerrera shook his hand then eliminated himself. However, the winner was not Ciclope, but instead a returning Malenko in disguise. Malenko proceeded to defeat Jericho for the championship. Jericho claiming he was the victim of a carefully planned conspiracy to get the belt off of him. He at first blamed the WCW locker room, then added Dillon, Ted Turner, and finally in a vignette, he walked around Washington, D.C. with the sign "conspiracy victim" and accused President Bill Clinton of being one of the conspirators after being rejected from a meeting. Eventually, Malenko vacated the title. Jericho ended up defeating Malenko at The Great American Bash to win the vacant title after Malenko was disqualified after hitting Jericho with a chair. The next night, Malenko was suspended for his actions.

At Bash at the Beach, the recently returned Rey Mysterio, Jr. (who had recovered from his knee injury) defeated Jericho in a No Disqualification match after the still-suspended Malenko interfered. Jericho regained the Cruiserweight Championship from Mysterio the next night after he interrupted J.J. Dillon while Dillon was giving the championship to Mysterio. Jericho was again awarded the championship. Eventually, Jericho decisively lost the title to Juventud Guerrera in a match at Road Wild with Malenko as special referee.

World Television Champion (1998–1999)

On August 10, Jericho defeated Stevie Ray to win the World Television Championship (Stevie Ray substituting for the champion Booker T). Soon afterward, Jericho repeatedly called out World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg, in an attempt to begin a feud with him, but never actually wrestled him. Jericho cites Eric Bischoff, Goldberg, and Hulk Hogan's reluctance to book Jericho in a pay-per-view squash match loss against Goldberg, which Jericho felt would be a big draw, as a major reason for his deciding to leave the company.

On November 30, 1998 Jericho lost the Television Championship to Konnan. In early 1999, Jericho began a feud with Perry Saturn. The feud saw Jericho and Saturn instigating bizarre stipulation matches, such as at Souled Out, where Jericho defeated Saturn in a "loser must wear a dress" match. At SuperBrawl IX Jericho and Saturn wrestled in a "dress" match in which Jericho once again defeated Saturn. Saturn finally defeated Jericho at Uncensored in a Dog Collar match. Jericho's final WCW match came on July 21, where he and Eddie Guerrero lost a tag team match to Billy Kidman and Rey Mysterio, Jr..

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

The Y2J problem (1999–2000)

Jericho alternated between WCW and a number of Japanese tours before he signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on June 30. In the weeks before Jericho's debut, a clock labeled "countdown to the new millennium" appeared on WWF programming. On the home video, ''Break Down the Walls'', Jericho states he was inspired to do this as his entrance when he saw a similar clock in a post office. Vince McMahon gave him the green light to use it as his intro to the WWF. The clock finally ran down on August 9, 1999 in Chicago, Illinois while The Rock was in the ring doing a promo. Jericho entered the arena and proclaimed himself "Y2J" (a play on the Y2K bug). The Rock proceeded to verbally mock him for his interruption. Later that month, Jericho made his in-ring debut on August 26, 1999 losing by disqualification in a match against Road Dogg on the inaugural edition of ''SmackDown!'' after powerbombing Road Dogg through a table.

Jericho's first long-term feud was with Chyna, for the Intercontinental Championship. After losing to Chyna at the Survivor Series, Jericho won his first Intercontinental title at Armageddon. This feud included a controversial decision during a rematch in which two separate referees declared each one of them the winner of a match for the title. As a result, they became co-owners of the title until Jericho attained sole ownership at the Royal Rumble. Jericho's subsequent alliance with Chyna, coupled with growing enthusiasm for his ring work and mic skills, effectively turned him into a face. Shortly thereafter, he began a feud with Kurt Angle, and lost the title to Angle at No Way Out.

On April 2, Jericho competed in a Triple Threat match against Chris Benoit and Angle at WrestleMania 2000 where he won the WWF European Championship. Jericho lost the title the next day to Eddie Guerrero on ''Raw'' after Chyna, claiming she could not resist Guerrero's Latino Heat, turned heel to side with him. On the April 17 edition of ''Raw'', Jericho upset Triple H in a WWF Championship match. Referee Earl Hebner made a fast count when Jericho pinned Triple H, causing Jericho to win the title. Hebner later reversed the decision due to pressure from Triple H, and WWE does not recognize Jericho's reign as champion. On the May 4 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Jericho defeated Benoit to become Intercontinental Champion for the third time, but lost the title to Benoit four days later on ''Raw''. Meanwhile, Jericho's feud with Triple H climaxed at Fully Loaded, when they competed in a Last Man Standing match. Jericho lost the match to Triple H only by one second, despite the repeated assistance Triple H's wife Stephanie provided him in the match.

Undisputed Champion (2001–2002)

At the 2001 Royal Rumble, Jericho defeated Chris Benoit in a Ladder match to win the Intercontinental Championship for the fourth time. At WrestleMania X-Seven, he successfully defended his title in a match against William Regal, only to lose it four days later to Triple H.

At Judgment Day, Jericho and Benoit won a "Tag Team Turmoil" match and earned a shot at Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H for their WWF Tag Team Championship on ''Raw'' the next night. Benoit and Jericho won the match, in which Triple H legitimately tore his quadriceps and spent the rest of the year injured, and Jericho became WWF Tag Team Champion for the first time. The team defended their title in the first Fatal Four-Way Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match where Benoit sustained a year-long injury doing a diving headbutt through a table. Though Benoit was carried out on a stretcher, he returned to the match to climb the ladder and retain the championship. The duo lost the title one month later to the Dudley Boyz on June 19, 2001.

In the following months, Jericho became a major force in The Invasion storyline in which WCW and ECW joined forces to overtake the WWF. Jericho remained on the side of the WWF despite previously competing in WCW and ECW. However, Jericho began to show jealousy toward fellow WWF member The Rock. They faced each other in a match at No Mercy for the WCW Championship after Jericho defeated Rob Van Dam in a number one contenders match. Jericho won the WCW Championship when he pinned The Rock after debuting a new finisher, the Breakdown. One night later, the two put their differences aside and won the WWF Tag Team title from the Dudley Boyz. After they lost the title to Test and Booker T, they continued their feud. On the November 5 edition of ''Raw,'' The Rock defeated Jericho to regain the WCW Championship. Following the match, Jericho attacked The Rock with a steel chair. At the Survivor Series, Jericho almost cost The Rock, and the WWF, victory in their elimination matchup by attacking The Rock again. On December 9, at Vengeance, Jericho defeated both The Rock for the WCW Championship (unbranded and only referred to as the World Championship following Survivor Series) and Stone Cold Steve Austin for his WWF Championship on the same night to become the first wrestler to hold both championships at the same time, which made him the first Undisputed WWF Champion. He fought both of the men he defeated at Vengeance on separate occasions and retained his title at the next two pay-per-views, Royal Rumble (vs. The Rock) and No Way Out (vs. Stone Cold). Jericho later lost the title to Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania X8. After his title loss, Jericho became a member of the ''SmackDown!'' roster and continued his feud with Triple H. The rivalry culminated at Judgment Day when Triple H defeated Jericho in a Hell in a Cell match.

Teaming and feuding with Christian (2002–2004)

Jericho was later drafted to Raw, where he won the Intercontinental Championship from Rob Van Dam (RVD). He then later formed a tag team with Christian, with whom he won the World Tag Team Championship, then renamed WWE Tag Team Championship, on October 14, 2002. Christian and Jericho lost the title in a fatal four-way elimination match, involving the teams of The Dudley Boyz, Booker T and Goldust, and William Regal and Lance Storm, on December 15, 2002 at Armageddon.

On January 13, 2003, Jericho won an over-the-top-rope challenge against Kane, RVD, and Batista to select his entry number for the Royal Rumble match. He chose number two in order to start the match with Shawn Michaels, who had challenged Jericho to prove his claims that he was better than Michaels. After Michaels' entrance, Jericho entered as the second participant. Christian, in Jericho's attire, appeared while the real Jericho attacked Shawn from behind. He eliminated Michaels shortly afterward, but Michaels got his revenge later in the match by causing Test to eliminate Jericho. Jericho spent the most time of any other wrestler in that same Royal Rumble. Jericho simultaneously feuded with Test, Michaels, and Jeff Hardy. Jericho and Michaels fought again at WrestleMania XIX. In the end, Michaels scored the victory. Jericho, however, hit Michaels with a low blow after the match following an embrace.

After this match, Jericho entered a rivalry with Goldberg, which was fueled by Goldberg's refusal to fight Jericho in WCW. During Jericho's first edition of the ''Highlight Reel'', an interview show, where Goldberg was the guest, he complained that no one wanted Goldberg in WWE and continued to insult him in the following weeks. On May 12 on ''Raw'', a mystery assailant attempted to run over Goldberg with a limousine. A week later, Co-Raw General Manager, Stone Cold Steve Austin, interrogated several Raw superstars to find out who was driving the car. One of the interrogates was Lance Storm, who admitted that he was the assailant. Austin forced Storm into a match with Goldberg, who defeated Storm. After the match, Goldberg forced Storm to admit that Jericho was the superstar who conspired Storm into running him over. On May 26, Goldberg was once again a guest on the ''Highlight Reel''. Jericho expressed jealousy towards Goldberg's success in WCW and felt that since joining WWE, he had achieved everything he had ever wanted in his career and all that was left was to defeat Goldberg and challenged him to a match. At Bad Blood, Goldberg settled the score with Jericho and defeated him.

Later in 2003, Jericho began a romance with Trish Stratus while his tag team partner Christian began one with Lita. This, however, turned out to be a bet over who could sleep with their respective paramour first, with a Canadian Dollar at stake. Stratus overheard this and ended her relationship with Jericho, who seemingly felt bad for using Stratus. After he saved her from an attack by Kane, Stratus agreed that the two of them could just be "friends". After Christian put Stratus in the Walls of Jericho while competing against her in a match, Jericho sought revenge on Christian, which led to a match at WrestleMania XX. Christian defeated Jericho after Stratus ran down and "inadvertently" struck Jericho (thinking it was Christian) and Christian got the roll-up. After the match, Stratus turned on Jericho and revealed that she and Christian were a couple. This revelation led to a handicap match at Backlash that Jericho won, thus turning him into a fan favorite in the process. Jericho won his seventh Intercontinental Championship at that year's Unforgiven in a ladder match against Christian. Jericho's seventh reign was short lived, as he lost it at Taboo Tuesday to Shelton Benjamin.

Championship pursuits and departure (2004–2005)

Jericho teamed up with Randy Orton, Chris Benoit, and Maven to take on Triple H, Batista, Edge, and Snitsky at Survivor Series. The match's stipulation stated that each member of the winning team would become the General Manager of Raw throughout the next four weeks. Jericho's team was victorious, so they took turns as General Manager. During Jericho's turn as General Manager, he stripped Triple H of his World Heavyweight Championship because a Triple Threat match for the title a week earlier ended in a draw. At New Year's Revolution, Jericho competed in the Elimination Chamber against Triple H, Chris Benoit, Batista, Randy Orton, and Edge for the vacated World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho began the match with Benoit but Batista ultimately eliminated Jericho.

Later that June, Jericho turned on WWE Champion John Cena. Jericho lost a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship at Vengeance which also involved Christian and Cena. The feud continued throughout the summer and Jericho lost to Cena in a championship match at SummerSlam. The next night on ''Raw'', Jericho faced Cena in a rematch, this time in a "You're fired" match. Cena won again, and Jericho was fired by Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, Jericho then turned on Bischoff. Jericho was carried out of the arena by security. WWE announced that Jericho's WWE contract had expired on August 25, 2005.

Return to WWE

The Second Coming (2007–2008)

WWE promoted Jericho's return since September 24, 2007 with a viral marketing campaign using a series of 15-second cryptic binary code videos, similar to the matrix digital rain featured in The Matrix series. The videos contained hidden messages and biblical links related to Jericho. Jericho made his return to WWE television as a face on the November 19, 2007 edition of ''Raw'' when he interrupted Randy Orton during Orton's orchestrated "passing of the torch" ceremony. Jericho revealed his intentions to reclaim the WWE Championship in order to "save" WWE fans from Orton. On the November 26 edition of ''Raw,'' Jericho defeated Santino Marella and debuted a new finishing maneuver called the Codebreaker. At Armageddon, he competed in a WWE title match against Orton, defeating him by disqualification when SmackDown's color commentator John "Bradshaw" Layfield interfered in the match, but Orton retained the title. He began a feud with JBL and met him at the Royal Rumble. Jericho was disqualified after hitting JBL with a steel chair.

Championship reigns and second departure (2008–2010)

On the March 10 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho captured the Intercontinental Championship for a record eighth time when he defeated Jeff Hardy. In June, Jericho became a villainous character by attacking Shawn Michaels during his talk show segment ''The Highlight Reel''. Feeling the fans were cheering Michaels despite doing wrong and not caring for Jericho, he put Michaels through ''The Highlight Reel'''s "Jeritron 5000" which caused severe damage to his eye. This began what would be ranked by both Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter as the feud of the year. At Night of Champions, he lost the Intercontinental Title to Kofi Kingston after a distraction by Michaels.

Afterward, he developed a suit-wearing "self-righteous honest man" gimmick inspired by Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) from the film ''No Country for Old Men''. In doing so, Jericho purposely shed many of the trademarks associated with the "Y2J" character, taking "every characteristic that made him popular, and strip[ping] those traits away from himself." Jericho and Michaels met at The Great American Bash, which Jericho won after attacking the cut on Michaels's eye. Michaels later announced that his eye damage would force him to retire, Jericho then went to attack him but punched Rebecca, his wife, instead. As a result, they met in an Unsanctioned match at Unforgiven which Jericho lost. In the main event, Jericho entered the Championship Scramble as a replacement for the defending champion CM Punk and subsequently won the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho then successfully defended his title against Michaels at No Mercy in a ladder match. At Cyber Sunday, Jericho lost the title to Batista in a match. Eight days later, Jericho defeated Batista to win back the title in a steel cage match. This reign would last until the 2008 Survivor Series, where Jericho lost to the returning John Cena.

On the January 12, 2009 episode of ''Raw'', WWE Executive Vice President Stephanie McMahon fired Jericho, but he was rehired the following week after making a forced apology. Jericho then had an onscreen feud with ''The Wrestler'' film star Mickey Rourke and with four WWE Hall of Famers. He challenged and attacked Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat on varioos episodes of ''Raw'' leading to WrestleMania XXV. At the event he won an elimination match against Snuka, Steamboat and Piper. After this, Jericho challenged Rourke who was at ringside for the event. As part of the storyline, Rourke knocked Jericho out after a left hook to the jaw.

On the April 13 episode of ''Raw'', Jericho was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2009 WWE Draft. Ricky Steamboat interrupted Jericho's Raw farewell address, which led to the two facing off at Backlash where Jericho came out victorious. In his SmackDown return, Jericho participated in a fatal-four-way elimination match against Kane, Jeff Hardy, and Rey Mysterio. Mysterio executed a 619 on Jericho and then attempted to pin him with a seated senton. Jericho retaliated by throwing a chair at Mysterio and was disqualified. This sparked a feud between the two. Mysterio pinned Jericho after a 619 at Judgment Day to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Jericho defeated Mysterio in a No Holds Barred Match at Extreme Rules to win his ninth Intercontinental Championship, breaking his own record again. At The Bash Jericho lost the Intercontinental title to Mysterio. Later in the same pay-per-view, Jericho and his partner Edge won the Unified Tag Team Championship as surprise entrants in a tag team match. Shortly thereafter Edge suffered an injury and Jericho announced that he had a clause in his contract to allow Edge to be replaced and Jericho's reign to continue uninterrupted. At Night of Champions, Jericho revealed The Big Show as his new tag team partner and they defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase to retain the championship. The 140 day reign of Jeri-Show as Unified Tag Team Champions came to an end at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view at the hands of D-Generation X (DX). As a member of the SmackDown roster, Jericho could only appear on ''Raw'' as a champion and so DX intentionally disqualified themselves in a rematch to force Jericho off the show. Eventually the teams has a match with a definitive finish, though DX still won.

At the 2010 Royal Rumble Jericho was eliminated by the returning Edge, his former tag team partner, who went on to win the match. At Elimination Chamber, Jericho won the World Heavyweight Championship in an Elimination Chamber match, defeating The Undertaker following interference from Shawn Michaels. The next night on ''Raw'', Edge announced that he would be using his Royal Rumble win to challenge Jericho at WrestleMania XXVI for the World Heavyweight Championship. Jericho defeated Edge at WrestleMania but during the April 2 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Jack Swagger cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned Jericho for the championship after he had been speared by Edge. Swagger retained the championship in a match against Jericho and Edge soon after.

Jericho was drafted back to Raw in May's 2010 WWE Draft. He formed a brief tag team with The Miz and unsuccesfully challenged The Hart Dynasty for the Unified Tag Team Championship at Over the Limit A month later, Jericho lost to Evan Bourne at WWE Fatal 4-Way, and the following night won a rematch where he put his career on the line. On the July 19 episode of ''Raw'', after being assaulted by The Nexus, Jericho teamed with rivals Edge, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali and Bret Hart in a team led by John Cena to face The Nexus at SummerSlam. Jericho and Cena bickered over leadership of the team, which led to him and Edge attacking Cena during the SummerSlam match that they won.

Jericho was punished for not showing solidarity against Nexus, when he was removed from a Six-Pack Challenge for Sheamus' WWE Championship at WWE Night of Champions. Although he re-earned his place in the match he was the first man eliminated. On the September 27 episode of ''Raw'' Jericho faced Randy Orton, who punted him in the head after to give a storyline reason for Jericho's departure from the company.

In interviews since leaving, Jericho has maintained he will return to WWE but has no immediate plans.

Other media

Music

In the mid 1990s, Jericho wrote a monthly column for ''Metal Edge'' magazine focused on the heavy metal scene. The column only ran for about a year.

Jericho is the lead singer for the heavy metal band Fozzy. Since their debut album in 1999, Fozzy has released four studio albums: ''Fozzy'', ''Happenstance'', ''All That Remains'', and the 2010 album ''Chasing the Grail'', and one live album, ''Remains Alive''.

In 2005, Jericho performed vocals on a cover of "The Evil That Men Do" on the Iron Maiden tribute album, ''Numbers from the Beast.'' He made a guest appearance on Dream Theater's album, ''Systematic Chaos'' on the song "Repentance", as one of several musical guests recorded apologizing to important people in their lives for wrongdoings in the past.

He also started his own weekly XM Satellite Radio show in March 2005 called ''Rock of Jericho'', which aired Sunday nights on XM 41 The Boneyard.

Film, theatre, comedy and writing

In 2000, a VHS tape documenting Jericho's career titled ''Break Down the Walls'' was released.

On June 24, 2006 Jericho premiered in his first Sci-Fi Channel movie ''Android Apocalypse'' alongside Scott Bairstow and Joey Lawrence.

Jericho debuted as a stage actor in a comedy play ''Opening Night'', which premiered at the Toronto Centre for the Arts during July 20–22, 2006 in Toronto. During his stay in Toronto, Jericho hosted the sketch comedy show ''Sunday Night Live'' with sketch troupe The Sketchersons at The Brunswick House.

Jericho was also the first wrestler attached and interviewed for the wrestling documentary, ''Bloodstained Memoirs''. The interview was recorded in the UK during a Fozzy tour in 2006.

Jericho wrote a ''New York Times'' bestselling autobiography ''A Lion's Tale'' which was released in 2007. Jericho's second autobiography ''Undisputed'', the sequel to ''A Lion's Tale'', was released in February 2011. Jericho has announced via his twitter account that a third book has been agreed to with Penguin publishing, and should be available in 2013.

Jericho appeared in the 2009 film ''Albino Farm''.

In the film ''MacGruber'', released May 21, 2010, he briefly appeared as Frank Korver, a former military teammate of the eponymous Green Beret, Navy Seal, and Army Ranger.

Television

Jericho is a contributor to the VH1 pop culture shows ''Best Week Ever'', ''I Love the '80s'', and VH1's top 100 artists.

On July 12, 2006, he made an appearance on G4's ''Attack of the Show!''; he made a second appearance on August 21, 2009. In May 2006, Jericho appeared on VH1's ''40 Greatest Metal Songs'' and ''Heavy: The Story of Metal'' as a commentator.

He was one of eight celebrities in the 2006 Fox Television singing reality show ''Celebrity Duets'', executive-produced by Simon Cowell, and was the first contestant eliminated.

A video shown on TMZ.com featured Jericho working at a McDonald's to show off his skills while prepping for the show.

Jericho also appeared on ''Larry King Live'' on July 9, 2007 to discuss the double murder-suicide of Chris Benoit and his family. Jericho later reappeared on ''Larry King Live'' to further a storyline feud with actor Mickey Rourke.

Jericho hosted his own reality show in 2008 titled ''Redemption Song'', in which 11 women tried their hand at getting into the music scene. It was shown on Fuse TV.

He guest starred as Billy "The Body Bag" Cobb in ''Xero Control'', an episode of the Disney XD 2009 original series ''Aaron Stone''.

He hosted VH1's ''100 Most Shocking Music Moments'', which began airing in December 2009.

In June 2010, Jericho was named the host of the ABC prime-time game show ''Downfall''.

On March 1, 2011, Chris Jericho was named one of the contestants on the 2011 lineup of ''Dancing with the Stars''. This lead to a wave of publicity, such as being interviewed by Jay Leno. On April 26, Jericho was the fifth contestant eliminated on the show.

On May 5, Jericho made his third appearance as featured guest on Attack of the Show! where he depicted Thor to promote the recent Thor film. He promoted Undisputed and announced he would be hosting the Golden Gods awards May 28 on VH1 Classic.

CM Punk mentioned Jericho on an episode of WWE Raw

Publications

''A Lion's Tale: Around The World In Spandex'' (2007)

''Undisputed'' (2011)

Personal life

His father Ted Irvine is a former National Hockey League (NHL) player. Though he was born in the prominent Long Island neighborhood of Manhasset, New York, Irvine was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Vince McMahon felt that by introducing him as "born in Manhasset, New York", American fans would be more likely to get behind him.

Irvine and his wife Jessica have three children-a son named Ash Edward Irvine, who was born on September 24, 2003 and twin daughters.

Irvine has two tattoos on his left hand. The first is his wedding band while the second is the letter 'F' on the back of his hand, representing Fozzy, a band he has been lead vocalist for since 1999.

On July 5, 2004, Irvine was awarded The Order of the Buffalo Hunt in a ceremony held in Manitoba for his achievements in wrestling and his commitment to working with underprivileged children. The award has previously been given to Pope John Paul II, Chicago mayor Richard Daley, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa.

On February 7, 2009, Irvine appeared to have punched a fan after she spat at him with fans outside Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia after a WWE live event. Video footage, however, clearly showed he did not make contact with the woman. As a result of the incident, police detained them, but released them without charge. Police later announced that they would not press charges against anyone in the brawl as it was "hard to determine who provoked who".

On January 27, 2010, Irvine and fellow WWE wrestler Gregory Helms were arrested in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky after leaving a bar. A police report stated that Helms punched Jericho and the other passengers in the cab.

Dancing with the stars

rowspan="2"	Week #
	1		Cha-Cha-Cha/"Should I Stay or Should I Go"		7		6		6		No Elimination
	2		Quickstep/"I Got Rhythm"		8		7		8		Safe
	3		Rumba/"Let It Be"		7		7		7		Last To Be Called Safe
	4		Paso Doble/"In the Hall of the Mountain King"		8		7		8		Safe
	5		Viennese Waltz/"America The Beautiful"		9		8		9		Last To Be Called Safe
	6		Tango/"Don't Stop Believin"		7		8		7

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Breakdown'' (Full nelson facebuster) – 2001–2002

''Codebreaker'' (Double knee facebreaker, sometimes while springboarding) – 2007–present

''Lionsault'' (Springboard moonsault)

''Liontamer'' (Boston crab with a knee pressed into the opponent's back or neck)

''Walls of Jericho'' (Elevated Boston crab)

Signature moves

Armbar

Backbreaker submission

Backhand chop

Double underhook transitioned into either a backbreaker or a powerbomb

Diving European uppercut

''Flashback'' (Sleeper slam, sometimes to an oncoming opponent)

Flying forearm smash

''Jericho Spike'' (Hurricanrana)

Missile dropkick

Multiple powerbombs

Northern Lights suplex

One-handed bulldog

Running back elbow, sometimes while performing a corkscrew

Spinning wheel kick

Springboard dropkick to an opponent on the ring apron

Springboard plancha

Standing, leg-feed, or running enzuigiri

Stepping on the opponent's chest with one foot in a pinning attempt, with theatrics

Tiger suplex

Managers

Ralphus (part of "Jericho Personal Security")

The Jerichoholic Ninja (part of "Jericho Personal Security")

Viva Los Jericho (part of "Jericho Personal Security")

Curtis Hughes

Chyna

Nicknames

"Y2J"

"The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla"

"Lionheart"

"The King of the World"

"The First Undisputed Champion"

"The Man of 1004 Holds"

"Paragon of Virtue"

"The Mental Mastermind"

"The Manitoban Jet"

"The King of Bling-Bling

"One Bad Mamma Jamma"

*"Sexy Beast"

Entrance themes

*Extreme Championship Wrestling

**"Soul-Crusher" by White Zombie (1996)

**"Electric Head, Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)" by White Zombie (1996)

*World Championship Wrestling

**"All the Days (Instrumental)" by Mammoth

*"One Crazed Anarchist" by Grunge City from the Aircraft Music Library

*World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

*"Break the Walls Down" by Adam Morenoff (August 9 1999–August 22 2005, November 19 2007–September 27 2010)

**"King of My World" by Saliva (2002)

**"Don't You Wish You Were Me" by Fozzy (2004)

*"Crank the Walls Down" by Maylene & The Sons of Disaster (used while partnering with Big Show, July 31 2009–January 2010)

Championships and accomplishments

Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling

CRMW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

CRMW North American Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Lance Storm

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)

Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW World Television Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Comeback of the Year (2008)

PWI Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels

PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2002, 2008)

PWI ranked him #2 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2009

PWI ranked him #109 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

World Championship Wrestling

WCW Cruiserweight Championship (4 times)

WCW World Television Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

Undisputed WWF Championship (1 time)

World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

WCW/World Championship (2 times)

WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (9 times)

WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Chris Benoit (1), The Rock (1), Christian (1), Edge (1), and The Big Show (1)

WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Edge (1) and The Big Show (1)

WWF European Championship (1 time)

WWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)

*Ninth Triple Crown Champion

*Fourth Grand Slam Champion

Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year (2008)

*Slammy Award for Tag Team of the Year (2009) – with The Big Show

Wrestle Association "R"

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gedo

World Wrestling Association

WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with El Dandy

Wrestling Observer Newsletter

*Best on Interviews (2003, 2008, 2009)

Best on Interviews of the Decade (2000–2009)

*Feud of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels

*Match of the Year (2008) vs. Shawn Michaels in a Ladder match at No Mercy

*Most Underrated Wrestler (1999, 2000)

*Readers' Favorite Wrestler (1999)

*Wrestler of the Year (2008, 2009)

*Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2010) for ''Breaking the Code: Behind the Walls of Chris Jericho''

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)

1 Despite still using the NWA initials, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is no longer a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. As a result, the NWA doesn't recognize or sanction this championship. 2 Both reigns were won during and right after The Invasion with the second reign being the unification with the WWF Championship and becoming the first ever WWF Undisputed Champion. 3 Jericho held the title jointly with Chyna during his second reign. 4 After Edge suffered an injury, Jericho chose The Big Show as a replacement without interrupting the championship reign. 5 Jericho's reign occurred after unifying the WWF Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship, making him the first ever Undisputed WWF Champion.

Luchas de Apuestas record

Wager	Winner	Loser	Location	Date	Notes
Hair	Corazón de León	Cro-Magnon		May 30, 1993
Mask	Chris Jericho	Juventud Guerrera	Daly City, California
Hair	Chris Jericho	Kevin Nash	Grand Rapids, Michigan	August 18, 2003
Title		Chris Jericho	Sacramento, California	June 28, 2009

Notes

References

External links

Official Fozzy website

WWE Alumni profile

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:People from Long Island Category:Sportspeople in Manitoba Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American rock singers Category:American television actors Category:American radio personalities Category:Participants in American reality television series

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playername	Lewis Neal
fullname	Lewis Ryan Neal
dateofbirth	July 14, 1981
cityofbirth	Leicester
countryofbirth	England
height
currentclub	Orlando City
clubnumber	24
position	Midfielder
youthyears1	1998–2000
youthclubs1	Stoke City
years1	2000–2005
clubs1	Stoke City
caps1	70
goals1	2
years2	2001
clubs2	→ ÍBV (loan)
caps2	5
goals2	1
years3	2005–2009
clubs3	Preston North End
caps3	65
goals3	5
years4	2008
clubs4	→ Notts County (loan)
caps4	4
goals4	0
years5	2009
clubs5	Carlisle United
caps5	16
goals5	2
years6	2009–2011
clubs6	Shrewsbury Town
caps6	31
goals6	2
years7	2011–
clubs7	Orlando City
caps7	13
goals7	3
pcupdate	June 10, 2011 }}

Lewis Ryan Neal born (14 July 1981 in Leicester) is an English professional footballer who currently plays for Orlando City in the USL Professional Division.

Career

Europe

Neal started his career at Stoke City making his debut in the Football League Trophy on the 6 December 2000 against Scarborough. He played 70 league games and scored 2 goals for Stoke before signing for Preston North End in 2005 in a player swap deal for Marlon Broomes.

On the 31 October 2008, Neal signed a months loan deal with Notts County, and made his debut at home to Bury.

After playing 65 league games for Preston, Lewis was allowed to join Carlisle United on 30 January 2009, after agreeing to a termination package. He signed a contract to the end of the season. He made his Carlisle debut in the 1-1 home draw against Walsall. But at the end of the season manager Greg Abbott decided to release him.

A day after his contract expired with Carlisle on 2 July 2009, Lewis signed a 2 Year contract with Coca Cola Football League 2 side, Shrewsbury Town.

North America

On 22 January 2011 he was released by Shrewsbury Town, by mutual consent. He moved to the United States and entered training camp with Orlando City S.C. of the USL Pro league. He scored the team's first ever goal on February 19 in a friendly against Philadelphia Union. Lewis signed with Orlando on 21 March 2011. It is now believed he is back in talks with Preston North End over a possible loan move back to the club. August 2011

Career statistics

0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 2 0 1 2 0

Club	Season	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Other	Total
!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
rowspan="6"	Stoke City		1	|	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
2001–02 in English football	2001–02	11	|	2	0	0	0	1	1	14	1
2002–03 in English football	2002–03	16	|	3	0	0	0	–		19	0
2003–04 in English football	2003–04	19	|	1	0	2	0	–		22	1
2004–05 in English football	2004–05	23	|	0	0	1	0	–		24	1
!Total	!70!!2!!6!!0!!3!!0!!3!!1!!82!!3
rowspan="2"	ÍBV (loan)		5	|	0	0	0	0	–		5	1
!Total	!5!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!5!!1
rowspan="4"	Preston North End		24	|	4	0	1	0	–		29	2
2006–07 in English football	2006–07	24	|	2	0	0	0	–		26	1
2007–08 in English football	2007–08	17	|	1	0	0	0	–		18	2
!Total	!65!!5!!7!!0!!1!!0!!0!!0!!73!!5
rowspan="2"	Notts County (loan)		4	|	2	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
!Total	!4!!0!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!6!!0
rowspan="2"	Carlisle United		16	|	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	1
!Total	!16!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!16!!1
rowspan="3"	Shrewsbury Town		29	|	1	0	0	0	1	0	31	2
2010–11 in English football	2010–11	2	|	0	0	1	0	2	0	5	0
!Total	!31!!2!!1!!0!!1!!0!!3!!0!!36!!2
Career Total	!191!!11!!16!!0!!5!!0!!6!!1!!218!!12

Footnotes

References

External links

Lewis Neal player profile at pnefc.net

Category:1981 births Category:Living people Category:People from Leicester Category:English footballers Category:English expatriate footballers Category:Stoke City F.C. players Lewis Neal Category:Preston North End F.C. players Category:Notts County F.C. players Category:Carlisle United F.C. players Category:Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Category:Orlando City S.C. players Category:English expatriates in Iceland Category:The Football League players Category:USL Professional Division players Category:Expatriate footballers in Iceland

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:

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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

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