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FedExForum
"The Grindhouse"
File:FEFLogo.png
Location	191 Beale Street Memphis, Tennessee 38103
Coordinates	35°8′18″N 90°3′2″W / 35.13833°N 90.05056°W / 35.13833; -90.05056Coordinates: 35°8′18″N 90°3′2″W / 35.13833°N 90.05056°W / 35.13833; -90.05056
Broke ground	June 20, 2002
Opened	September 6, 2004
Owner	City of Memphis
Operator	Hoops LP
Construction cost	$250 million ($308 million in 2012 dollars[1])
Architect	Ellerbe Becket[2] Looney Ricks Kiss
Project Manager	PC Sports[3]
Structural engineer	ABS-EQE Structural Engineers[2]
General Contractor	M.A. Mortenson Company[2]
Capacity	Basketball: 18,119 Ice hockey: 11,411[4]
Tenants
Memphis Grizzlies (NBA) (2004–present) Memphis Tigers (NCAA) (2004–present) Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament (2005-present)
FedExForum
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Part of:	Beale Street Historic District (#66000731)

FedExForum is an arena located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home games at the Pyramid Arena. The arena officially opened in September 2004 after much debate and also a derecho wind storm on July 22, 2003, that nearly brought down the cranes that were building it near the famed Beale Street. It was built at a cost of $250 million and is owned by the City of Memphis; naming rights were purchased by one of Memphis' most well-known businesses, FedEx, for $92 million. FedExForum was financed using $250 million of public bonds, which were issued by the Memphis Public Building Authority (PBA). The venue also has the capability of hosting ice hockey games, concerts, and family shows. In 2011, Tony Allen referred to FedExForum as "The Grindhouse." The nickname is gaining approval from the Memphis fan base.

Design[link]

FedExForum was designed by architectural firm Ellerbe Becket. Concrete work done with the help of Dowco Construction and Apac. The arena is 805,850 ft² (75,000 m²) in size, covering 14 acres (57,000 m²). The Arena is round, with a dome. The playing floor is lower than ground level. It is capable of seating 18,119^[4] for basketball and has 1,000 premiere courtside seats. There are 27 courtside suites, 32 club suites, 4 party suites, and 80 club boxes. It also contains a full-sized practice basketball court, visible from the huge lobby. The plans called for a mass transit bus depot, which brought a federal grant of $6 million, but the depot was changed to a premium parking garage, and Memphis had to return the money.

FedExForum's interior was designed to pay tribute to Memphis' musical heritage, with paintings and murals depicting some of the city's most famous artists. Most of the Arena's restaurants are named in conjunction with FedExForum's overall theme of music with Opus Restaurant and the Blue Note Lounge. The two other restaurants are sponsor-driven with the Lexus Lounge just off the Arena Floor and Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 in the Grand Lobby of the Arena.

FedExForum was the first arena to utilize new "see-through" shot clock units which allow spectators seated behind the basket to see the action without having the clocks interfere with their view. The idea came when a fan of the NBA's New Jersey Nets who sits behind the basket at Continental Airlines Arena sent an e-mail to NBA Commissioner David Stern, asking for technology to improve his view, and Daktronics obliged with the innovation at FedExForum in 2004.^[5] The NBA approved the unit a year later for full use and has seen the new units installed at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Center, Time Warner Cable Arena, TD Garden, Rose Garden, The Verizon Center, Philips Arena, and Staples Center after the approval. As of the pending start of the 2011-12 NBA season every NBA arena has implemented the transparent shot clocks, with Pepsi Center, The Palace of Auburn Hills, Oracle Arena, Target Center and Power Balance Pavilion being the last NBA arenas to install the clocks.

Notable events[link]

On February 23, 2008, FedExForum hosted the college basketball game featuring the Number 1 ranked Memphis Tigers basketball Tigers vs the Number 2 ranked University of Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols won the game 66–62. The facility has also hosted the Conference USA men's basketball tournament since 2005, except for 2010 and 2011. It was the site of the South Regional finals in the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and was one of the four Regional finals in the 2010 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament.

On September 25, 2004, FedExForum hosted the Glen Johnson vs Roy Jones Jr. for the IBF Light heavyweight title. Johnson won the fight with a 9th round knockout.

FedExForum has also hosted two major professional wrestling events: World Wrestling Entertainment's Unforgiven on September 16, 2007 and the PMG Clash of Legends independent show on April 27 of that year. The main event on the latter card was Hulk Hogan versus Paul Wight.

On December 12, 2009, the FedExForum held its first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship match, UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez.

In August 2010, the Professional Bull Riders' Built Ford Tough Series tour made their first appearance at FedExForum.^[6]

On August 4, 2010, FedExForum held the memorial service to Memphis native Lorenzen Wright, a former Memphis Tiger and Memphis Grizzlies star.

On Jan 2, 2012 WWE held its weekly RAW show at the arena featuring the anticipated return of Chris Jericho.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official FedExForum website
• Arena picture

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: FedExForum

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Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. (August 21, 2005)
Ring name(s)	The Super Destroyer[1] Hulk Hogan[1] Hollywood Hulk Hogan[1] Hollywood Hogan[2] Terry Boulder[1] Mr. America Sterling Golden
Billed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)[3]
Billed weight	302 lb (137 kg)[1]
Born	(1953-08-11) August 11, 1953 (age 58)[1] Augusta, GA[1]
Resides	Tampa, Florida[1]
Billed from	Venice Beach, California[3] Washington, D.C. (as Mr. America)[4] Hollywood, California (as Hollywood Hogan)
Trained by	Hiro Matsuda[1]
Debut	August 10, 1977[1]
Website	hulkhogan.com

Terry Gene Bollea^[5] (born August 11, 1953),^[1] better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).^[6]

Hogan enjoyed mainstream popularity in the mid 1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American character Hulk Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now WWE), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as Hollywood Hogan, the villainous nWo leader, in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Following the closure of WCW, he made a brief return to WWE in the early 2000s before 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 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 won the Royal Rumble in 1990 and 1991, making him the first to win two consecutive Royal Rumbles. He was also the first WWE wrestler to win the WWE Championship three times. In his first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan held the title for 469 days from July 17, 1994 to October 29, 1995—the longest ever reign for this championship.

Early life[link]

Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of Peter Bollea, a construction foreman, and Ruth, a homemaker and dance teacher. He is of Italian, French, and Panamanian heritage.^[7]

When he was one and a half years old, his family moved to Port Tampa, Florida.^[8]

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,^[9] 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;^[9] since he first saw Graham on TV,^[9] Hogan wanted to match his "inhuman" look.^[9] Hogan was also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands.^[2]

He went on to study at Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida. 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.^[10] Eventually, Hogan and two local musicians formed a band called Ruckus in 1976.^[11] The band soon became a local sensation in the Tampa Bay region.^[11]

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.^[12] Many of the wrestlers who were competing in the Florida region visited the bars where Ruckus was performing.^[9] Among those attending his performances were Jack and Gerald Brisco,^[9] 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.^[13] In 1976, the two brothers asked Hogan to try wrestling. Having been a wrestling fan since childhood,^[9] Hogan eventually agreed.^[14] At first, however, Mike Graham, the son of CWF promoter Eddie Graham, refused to put Hogan in the ring;^[15] according to Hogan, he met Graham while in high school and the two didn't get along.^[15] However, after Hogan quit Ruckus and started telling people in town that he was going to be a wrestler,^[15] Mike Graham finally agreed to accept the Brisco Brothers' request.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Early years (1977–1979)[link]

In the summer of 1977, after over a year of training with Matsuda,^[16] the Brisco brothers dropped by Matsuda's gym to see Hogan.^[16] 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.^[16] 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.^[17][18] 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,^[19] whom he felt was an overbearing trainer,^[19] and left Championship Wrestling From Florida.^[20] After declining an offer to wrestle for the Kansas City circuit,^[20] Hogan took a hiatus from wrestling and managed a private club in Cocoa Beach, Florida-known as the Anchor Club-.^[20] for a man named Whitey Bridges.^[20] Eventually, Whitey and Hogan became close friends, and decided to open a gym together;^[20] the gym would be known as Whitey and Terry's Olympic gym.^[20] 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.^[20] On his spare time, he and Beefcake would work out in the gym together,^[20] and eventually, Beefcake developed a muscular physique;^[21] Hogan was impressed by Beefcake's physical stature and became convinced that the two of them should wrestle together as tag team partners.^[21] Depressed and yearning to return to wrestling,^[21] Hogan called Superstar Billy Graham in 1978 with hopes that Graham could find him a job wrestling outside of Florida;^[21] Graham agreed and Hogan soon joined Louie Tillet's Alabama territory.^[21] Hogan also convinced Beefcake, who had yet to become a wrestler,^[21] to come with him and promised to teach him everything he knew about the sport.^[21]

In Alabama, he and Beefcake wrestled as Terry and Ed Boulder, known as the Boulder Brothers.^[22] 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,^[22] 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,^[23] Jerry Jarrett, the promoter for the (CWA), approached Hogan and Beefcake and offered them a job in his promotion for $800.00 a week;^[23] this was far more than the $175.00 a week they would make working for Tillet.^[23] Hogan and Beefcake accepted this offer and left Tillet's territory.^[23]

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.^[24] The host commented on how Terry, who stood 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) and weighed 295 pounds with 24 inch biceps, actually dwarfed "The Hulk." Watching the show backstage, Jerry Jarrett noticed that Hogan was actually bigger than Ferrigno, who was well known at the time for having large muscles.^[25] As a result, Bollea began performing as Terry "The Hulk" Boulder^[25] and sometimes wrestled as Sterling Golden.^[2]

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)[link]

Later that year, former NWA World Champion Terry Funk introduced Bollea to the company head 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, and also wanted him to dye his hair red. Hogan who said his hair was already beginning to fall out, refused to dye it and simply said "I'll be a blond irish.^[26] At this time, Hogan wrestled Bob Backlund for the World Championship,^[27] and he started his first big feud with André the Giant, which culminated in a match with André at Shea Stadium in August 1980.^[28] 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 (1980–1985)[link]

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 occasionally toured the country 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 American 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 instead of 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.^[29] 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.

In 1984, Hogan returned to New Japan, to wrestle Antonio Inoki in the finals of the IWGP League, in which he lost the belt by countout, thanks to interference from Riki Choshu. Hogan would also defend his WWF World title against various stars in New Japan including Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi, and Tatsumi Fujinami among others, until the WWF ended their relationship with New Japan in October 1985.

American Wrestling Association (1981–1983)[link]

After filming his scene for Rocky III against the elder McMahon's wishes, Hogan made his debut in the American Wrestling Association, 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 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.

Over twenty years later, just prior to Hulk Hogan's WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2005, the revived American Wrestling Association, under the authority of owner Dale Gagner, retroactively acknowledged Hogan's two previously-overturned title wins over Nick Bockwinkel making Hogan a two-time AWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion.^[30] This resolution, however, has been regarded as apocryphal to most as the resurrected AWA is generally regarded as a 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 that 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 Gagner's claims to ownership of the AWA false and as such rendered the resolution moot as WWE only recognizes twelve American world championships being attributed to Hulk Hogan, and, the AWA World Championship is not among that number.^{[citation needed]}

Return to World Wrestling Federation (1983-1993)[link]

The Birth of Hulkamania (1983–1984)[link]

Hogan as the Heavyweight Champion with Brutus Beefcake.

After purchasing the company from his father in 1982, Vincent K. 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 at a television taping in St. Louis, Missouri on December 27, 1983 defeating Bill Dixon.^[31]

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.^[32] 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.^[2][33] The storyline accompanying the victory was that Hogan was a "last minute" replacement for the Sheik's original opponent Bob Backlund,^[3] and became the champion by way of being the first man to escape the camel clutch (the Iron Sheik's finishing move).^[34] The backstage story was that the WWF Champion Bob Backlund had refused to let Hogan win the title from him, demanding that any wrestler to whom he lost the belt 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.^[2][35] 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.^[36]

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.^[37]

WWF Champion (1984–1988)[link]

On the October 5, 1985 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, he successfully defended the title against Nikolai Volkoff in a flag match.^[38] 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.^[39] 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,^[40] "The Magnificent" Don Muraco,^[41] King Kong Bundy (in a steel cage match at WrestleMania 2),^[42] Paul Orndorff,^[43] and Hercules Hernandez.^[44]

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."^[1][45] 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.^[46] André the Giant, a good friend came out to congratulate him.^[47] Shortly afterward, André was presented a slightly smaller trophy for being "undefeated in the WWF for 15 years."^[46] 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.^{[47][48][49][50]} At WrestleMania III, Hogan successfully defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant. During the match, Hogan bodyslammed the 520-pound Frenchman (which was dubbed "the bodyslam heard around the world") and won the match after a leg drop.^[48][51]

Hogan remained WWF Champion for four years (1,474 days).^[52] 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, the match's appointed referee).^[53] After André delivered a belly to belly suplex on Hogan, Hebner counted the pin while Hogan's left shoulder was clearly off the mat.^[3] After the match, André handed the title over to DiBiase to complete their business deal.^[53] As a result, the WWF Championship was vacated for the first time in its 25-year history.^[53] 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.^[54] Later that night in the main event, Hogan interfered and helped "Macho Man" Randy Savage defeat Ted DiBiase to win the title.^[55]

The Mega Powers (1988–1989)[link]

Together, Hogan, Savage, and manager Miss Elizabeth formed a partnership known as The Mega Powers.^[56] 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.^[57] 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 eliminated Savage from the Royal Rumble match.^[58] 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.^[59] After the match, Savage attacked Hogan backstage, which started a feud between the two.^[56] Their feud culminated in Hogan beating Savage for his second WWF Championship at WrestleMania V.^[3][56]

Later WWF Championship reigns (1989–1992)[link]

Hogan making his way to the ring in 1989.

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.^[60] Hogan and Beefcake defeated Zeus and Savage in a rematch at the No Holds Barred pay-per-view to end the feud.^[61][62]

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.^[3][63] He dropped the title to Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title versus title match at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990.^[64]