Customer Reviews

Hollywood Hulk Hogan

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Terry Bollea, known to most of the rest of the world as Hollywood Hulk Hogan, has had quite a 25 year career in the world of professional wrestling. Having finished his new book in one day, I know there are parts of his career he hasn't spoken of here, but most of it was not that important anyway.

In this, he tells of how he dreamed of becoming a rock star (one of the things people don't know about Hogan is he's quite a good bass guitarist) as a boy, but changed his mind gradually as he started meeting wrestlers in the 70's, from his humble beginnings in Memphis, home to the legendary Jerry "The King" Lawler--a particularly interesting story there was how he was in Chicago on a card where Lawler and comedian Andy Kaufman were wrestling, he passed Kaufman in the hallway and said a quick hello just to be friendly. One look at the young bohemeth next to him and the extremely shy Kaufman acted like he was ready to wet himself--to his Japanese exploits where he'd became friendly with his idol, the late great Andre the Giant (known for having a large heart he called everyone boss), to his rocky roads with promoters Vince McMahon, Sr., whom he'd upset by going to do Rocky III for Sylvester Stallone, and Verne Gagne, who seemingly did everything he could to try to control Terry's career, to his road to superstardom in the WWF in the mid-1980's.

He has some particularly interesting stories about Richard Beltzer, Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, Christopher Lloyd, Sylvester Stallone, and of course WWF head Vince McMahon, Jr., whom he's had a rocky relationship with over the years but has finally buried the hatchet.

But surprisingly, everyone who ever thought that Terry Bollea the person was nothing like Hulk Hogan the character should read this book, because he provides a valid explanation for just about everything I've ever heard about him that makes him seem so bad. For instance, I'd heard he wrote a song about a little boy who died of cancer in 1992 that was not about the boy but about how the boy was a Hulkamaniac who died. He provides an explanation that while the album might have seemed like an egofest (and from what I've heard of it, it certainly did from where I sat), the profits from it went to the boy's family, who were having trouble paying his medical bills. I don't know how true this is, but unless I get solid evidence that it isn't, it's good enough for me.

One final thought: I had thought Hogan had reached his lowest in 1997 and 1998 when WCW had made him team with NBA star Dennis Rodman. He explains here that he did not actually want to, but he thought it would be good for the company. Rodman, in turn, was always late to shows and was drunk as a skunk when he finally did show up 75% of the time (if you watch Bash at the Beach 1998, that much is painfully obvious), and besides that his ring skills were not worth what they were paying him. He said he vowed never to work with Rodman again, but was forced to a year later when they made them team up again. They brought Rodman in again a year later, but Hogan (wisely) refused to work with him a third time. According to him, he hasn't heard from him since.

Good read for wrestling fans.

Growing up in the '80's, I loved to watch Hulk Hogan wrestle. So I was eager to read this autobiography. While it was an enjoyable read, it was not at all what I expected. The Terry Bollea who wrote this book is not at all like the "Hulk Hogan" image that became a role model for children years ago. Other amazon reviewers have already questioned how factual some of the content is, and also pointed out how Hogan presents himself in such an overly-positive light. I was disappointed with how many *negative* things he had to say about other media stars or their actions (e.g., Mr. T, Dennis Rodman, Sylvester Stallone), especially when Hogan himself was involved in some of the escapades he disapproves about with them. There are also several admissions throughout the book about how important the money of professional wrestling was to him -- and this was while he was already pulling in a six-figure annual income, and did not need to worry about finances.

Perhaps most disturbing was the profanity in the book. Hogan laces practically every page (not an exaggeration) with four-letter words and curses, almost none of which serve any literary purpose. I don't know if previous wrestling autobiographies have been written this way (e.g., by Bill Goldberg or Mick Foley), whether Hogan wrote this way in an attempt to sound "tough," or whether he really speaks this way in real life. But the effect was to disract and demean the quality of the book, and also my impression of Hulk Hogan as a person. The *real* Hulk Hogan (away from the cameras) comes off as a swearing, cursing, money-loving, beer-drinking strong-man who alternately takes credit for most of what makes wrestling popular today and dismissing critics by saying he only did what his bosses told him to do.

Despite these shortcomings, the book was still interesting. It gives some insight into Hulk Hogan's childhood and early career that is not often talked about. He admits that the last thing he ever expected to happen to his career was to become a role model for children, but he took that public perception seriously when it developed. Also, it's interesting to hear his take on some of his own greatest matches (e.g., against Andre the Giant, Randy Savage, and The Rock in WM III, IV, X8), as well as some other events in the recent history of wrestling. (One chapter describes the infamous John Stossel 20/20 interview, in which another wrestler -- not Hogan -- beat up the interviewer on camera. Another chapter talks about the death in the ring of Owen Hart.) It was also mildly entertaining to see Hogan address the reader (and practically anyone else who appears more than 2 times in the book) as "brother."

All in all, this is an interesting look into the life of the most popular wrestler in history. (He wasn't the most talented, but he definitely put professional wrestling on the map, and his longevity has been incredible.) However, reader be warned: the real Hulk Hogan bears very little resemblance to the public image of the '80's.

The book starts out with a truly emotional story of a chubby Terry Bollea (Hogan), then it gets truly ridiculous. I do not mean to insult this book or the man Hulk Hogan himself, but this book has so many untrue stories and things that never happened - even a casual fan of wrestling can know that some of these things never happened. It is a definite must read for any fan of wrestling (love him or hate him), simply to chuckle at Hogan's tall tales, such as Hogan meeting a "Make a Wish" kid before he was to wrestle at Summer Slam 1992. Hogan wrestled his match, but was unable to find the kid sitting in the crowd. When he returned backstage he discovered the child had died before seeing Hogan's match; Hogan was so touched, he wrote a song about it and released it on the Hulk Rules album. Too bad the entire story is false (Hogan never even wrestled at SS92). In the book Hogan talks about steroid usage, his feud with Andre the Giant (10 years before WM3), how he got the role in Rocky 3, his match with the Rock at WMX8, beating up Ricky Choshu in Japan, the end of his WCW career, why he became a villain and much more. It is extremely enjoyable to read because of the tall tales and you can indeed finish the book in a matter of hours with the book's huge pictures and large text. The entire book should be filed under fiction or comedy.

Being a longtime fan of wrestling and Hulk Hogan, I opened the cover really wanting to love this book. I didn't. This book insults the intelligence of a true wrestling fan (or any reader for that matter). At points there seems to be some honesty or sincerity but those points soon get turned into long tales. Hulk Hogan appears to try to take credit for everything from the idea of selling merchandise, to carrying wrestling on his shoulders alone, to being responsible for the purchase of WCW. The Hulkster doesn't need his fans to sing his praises... He does that himself!

Firstly, I like to say that Hogan is the most charismatic wrestler who has ever laced up a pair of wrestling boots. Hogan could return to wresling at 100 years old and I would purchase the pay-per-view to cheer him on (although Hogan does have a tendency to tell "tall tales".)

Hogan's book is not bad, but it's not too good either. It talks about Hogan having an overweight problem as a child (I thought it was funny when Hogan mentioned how big his head was compared to the rest of his body), his early wrestling career, and the Hogan we all know today. I wanted to know more about Hogan's relationship with Eric Bischoff during his WCW years. Although he touched on his time with WCW, he did not give alot of details about that time in his career. I was under the impression that Hogan and Bischoff were pretty good friends. I realize the WWE & Vince McMahon are in support of this book, so it's certainly no secret why the details of Hogan's WCW years are 'watered down.' Hogan's WCW years were just as important to his career as his WWE years.

I wished to have read an autobiography by Hogan that had no backing by the WWE or Vince McMahon, which would have revealed the 'real story' behind Hogan's relationship with both Vince McMahon and Eric Bischof.

Maybe Terry Bollea instead of the Hogan character will write the 'true' autobiography of his career as Hulk Hogan. I hope so. Your fans deserve it!!!

Pro-wrestlers should really do themselves a favour and stop writing autobiographies. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading them and will probably keep buying them, but these guys just aren't painting a healthy picture of themselves or the wrestling profession. Hogan's book really wasn't too much of a surprise in that it is an effort in self-indulgence and major butt-kissing of a certain WWE owner. This was Hogan's opportunity to address so many of his critics and put a number of rumors to rest. But he tends to gloss-over so many events and controversies that the reader is left with no sense of insight.

For instance he makes an almost casual reference to his heat with fellow NWO members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash but does not
address what caused the heat or how they came to resolve it: "We (Hall and Nash) had been at each other's throats back in WCW, but that was water under the bridge." Vince Russo once accused Hogan of being racist toward Booker T and blames him for holding Booker T back. Hogan devotes a couple of pages refuting this but the reader is never told why he was accused of racism in the first place or how he allegedly held Booker T back. Roddy Piper and Ric Flair (two of the greatest opponents associated with Hogan's success) are barely mentioned. Nor is it mentioned the time he gave a scathing view of Billy Kidman's ability to draw (something about not being able to draw a crowd at a flea-market). Yet he writes about how he was a team player and put Kidman over. My understanding of the incident was that he drew so much heat from the young WCW talent that he HAD to put Kidman over to smooth things over. Hogan also falls short of giving any sort of meaningful account of steroid use in the locker room even though he admits to lying on national television (The Arsenio Hall Show) about his own steroid abuse.

Probably the most interesting part of the book is what went on behind the scenes with regards to Mr T before Wrestlemania I.
In a profession of overblown egos, it seems Mr. T fit in quite nicely-- and was lucky to walk away with his life. Also, the account of his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation is a good read.

Hogan makes numerous references to how every one of his movies made money, yet fails to mention that they were all crap. And
only Hogan could get away with using the word "brother" fifty times in written form.

Don't even get me started about Hogan's belief that he had a shot at being President of the United States. His good buddy Ted Turner polled 15,000 people in three states asking if they'd vote for Bill Clinton (who was ineligible to run), Hulk Hogan or Ross Perot. 70% answered Hogan so based on this he believed he could pull it off. But he gave up on the idea when it occurred to him that "I was going to have to read the paper every day so I could at least know a little bit about everything the way Jesse (Ventura) did, and that was too much work for me."

Pro-wrestlers should really do themselves a favour and stop writing autobiographies.

This was an entertaining book, sure, but it really doesn't tell the reader all that much about Hulk Hogan or the Wrestling industry that you couldn't find elsewhere. Hogan seems to tell a great anecdote, but skimps on details. Rowdy Roddy Piper is only mentioned once, although the Hogan-Piper feud was HUGE back in the day. Macho Man Randy Savage is written off as a "Horse's bum," but never does "the Hulkster" explain why he felt that way. Other wrestling icons who helped get Hogan over with the people don't even get mentioned. The book is random, unfocused, and short changes all the people who helped make Hulk Hogan into the legendary performer he is today. It's like a bunch of unconnected incidents put into Hulkalogical order and printed with BIG pictures.

The bio of wrestler Hulk Hogan was undoubtedly a good easy read. The Hulkster definitely presents himself in an overly positive light where he could do no wrong and revolutionized the industry from many aspects. I doubt that it was totally Hulk's idea to form the NWO as well as that he brought the Undertaker into the WWE. Nonetheless, the stories about Andre The Giant were indeed both heartfelt and amusing. Andre never weighed more than 500 lbs. Certainly not the 700 Hogan exaggerates.

The book is fairly well-balanced between Hulk's appearances in movies, wrestling, childhood stories, wife stories, intimate details about some wrestlers, and publicity stunts. He admits his own vulnerability with helecopters and his general wrestling abilities. His charisma certainly overshadowed his general ability to perform high risk maneuvers in the ring.

In conclusion, its good to get Hulk Hogan's perspective on the wrestling scene. He undoubtedly was a major force in revolutionizing this form of sports entertainment and his views are duly noted. However there are numerous anecdotes where Hogan runs off at the mouth too much. However, its all worth an amusing chuckle especially when the reader can distinguish between fact and fiction.

This is a huge disappointment. Being a huge fan of Hogan growing up, then realizing how out of control his ego was and watching his career more objectively, I figured that a REAL autobiography of mr. Terry Bollea would be fascinating. The man rejuvinated wrestling and, while no Ric Flair, he dominated the "sport". As you continue to read this, keep in mind I like Hogan, and wanted to like this book.

It's a shame. This book was written by either Hogan's ego or a ghostwriter, not a quiet honest Terry Gene Bollea. Someone else here wrote a description of the book explaining that it was very comprehensive and left no stone unturned. With no disrespect intended, I have to scoff at this assertion. He must've been reading a different book, since the book I read was an encapsulated ego trip that I've already heard out of Hogan's mouth a hundred times before. Wanna know what this book is like? Look at the excerpt Amazon gives. It starts with something akin to "Yeah, I was the best. I did it all and gave the WWF life. Brother." Apparently Hogan the god is always on, and I hope you'll allow me to explain why this book suffers greatly from this.

Filled with colloquialisms like "Lemme tell you brother", it's obvious that this book is for the more mark-ish wrestling fan who just wants to hear a little bit more of Hogan's offscreen life. And being that this book is so short, it's sinfully disappointing and banal.

For example, Hogan's clean loss to the Ultimate Warrior (Jim Hellwig) in 1990 was a turning point in both their careers, and a well-planned and political decision by the WWF braintrust. Anyone who watched remembers how shocking and major this win was. It's an example of this book's trivialization and quick glossing of the facts (or maybe the author's own ego) that such an event was summarized, literally, with a statement of (and I paraphrase from memory) "So the Warrior won the title and nobody really cared. He went nowhere and was forgotten". Such an insult to the other wrestler's fans, as well as the intelligence of anyone who cared about this sport and these events, is just a single example of the literary shrugging that fills these pages. In another instance he comes of with an accusatory tale of how Bret Hart tried to edge him out of the championship bout of Wrestlemania 9, when in fact it was pretty obvious (and well-documented in any other wrestling book I've ever read) that in fact the opposite happened. Sad.

Similarly to the officially licensed "Hulk Still Rules" dvd, this effort is a sad distortion of facts and inobjective love of its subject. In both, Hogan freely takes credit for not only the creation of Randy Poffo's character "The Macho Man" (which was a very successful gimmick) but also the NWO, which as anyone knows revitalized late 90's wrestling. Hogan is quick to point out how wise he was to leave the group just before it overstayed its welcome, and it's things like this that make me so upset at what an honest book this could have been. I expected to turn a page and read how Hogan invented wrestling itself.

You will hear some very late and fluffy offerings of apology for his deception of using steroids, as well as some lighthearted banter about getting busted by his wife on a few things. But really, this book does little for the reader besides humanize Hulk Hogan the superhero into Hulk Hogan the nice, perfect guy.

Mick Foley, who is a remarkably kind and intelligent man, has been in the wrestling business for half of the time Hogan has yet he's written two fascinating and humorous books on the subject that total more than a thousand pages. Hogan has been champion a dozen times, wrestled in all the big promotions, had feuds and friendships with the biggest names the business has ever seen, and he's been at this for around 30 years. It's a shame then that this biography, which really should have been a tome of industry legends, secrets, dirt on everyone you've ever heard of, and accounts of the most famous and numerous matches of the era, has become merely a self-serving fluff piece. This should have been the bible of wrestling information. Instead it became the only wrestling book I ever returned.

I'll admit that Hogan's stories of charity work and visiting hospitalized kids was charming and not as self-serving as much of the rest of the book. And yes, you do hear some funny stories about Andre the Giant and lesser-known stuff like Hogan's days in a band. But overall, if you want the same general Hogan story then just seek out the A&E biography or buy the dvd and you'll at least get some decent Hogan classics to watch once it's all finished. Or, buy one of the more honest and less egotistical wrestler bios out there. Mick Foley's is a grand place to start.

While Hulk Hogan's new book was an interesting read, his view of history is in yellow and red glasses. A few examples:

- Andre once again is 700 lbs. when he powerslams him.

- A downside to WCW was when Hall & Nash bring in their friends in 1999. No mention is made of Savage, Nasty Boys, Beefcake & Tenta is involved. I really wanted to hear his view on the Hogan-Beefcake main event from Starrcade 94.

- The chapter on him holding down Booker T was a little odd, especially why he would address it if it were just an internet rumor.

- Someone else already mentioned his make-a-wish deal at Wembley Stadium for SummerSlam 92. Who'd you wrestle Hulk?

- No mention of bringing the Warrior in for a run in WCW in 98.

- After Bret Hart's concussion in 99, how Bret would only work with Hogan, while Bret wrestled Goldberg and Hogan did not wrestle for around 3 months.

- The best one to me was Hulk Hogan, industry insider calling Vinny Mac and telling him what a great idea it would be to purchase WCW.

Overall, the book had a real easy flow, and is interesting, but unless you've lived in a shell, the stories Hogan tells will compell you to read more just to hear how over the top they are.