Immortal Lessons

As I’ve already said on the vlog, the day that Hulk Hogan would be no longer with us is a day that I have indeed thought about at times. He transcended. He was not only larger than life but, ultimately, larger than the business that he helped take to new heights. As difficult as it is for some to admit, everything in the previous sentence is true. Because of that, when thinking about his passing I knew that things would feel different. All deaths bring feelings of change and difference, but somehow this is just larger. The true end of an era.

On Twitter (or whatever it is now) all I could think of to write, initially, was the hashtag #TheWeekThe80sDied. A beloved television actor best known for an ‘80s character that many of us grew up with in Malcolm-Jamal Warner. A rocker who tore up stages for decades but had much success, fame and controversy in Ozzy Osbourne. And, of course, The Hulkster.

I also illustrated in the vlog tribute how, in the ‘80s, absolutely everyone knew Hulk Hogan. The same simply cannot be said for any other wrestling star or icon that I can think of, and I, like many of you, am aware of them all. There just isn’t that one who captivated absolutely everyone around the globe. It was an undeniable charisma, a true magic that, even then, detractors wanted to deny.

In recent years did the man, Terry Bollea, earn some of those detractors? Certainly. He was human and he made mistakes. I will reiterate another statement that I made in the vlog: if you want to show me a single human being without a shred of “complicated legacy” then you’d best be showing me a picture of the late Fred Rogers. Everyone else has one. Some are simply targeted more than others. It’s an unfair fact of modern life. The social justice warriors, virtue signalers and white knights WILL pounce on anything to make themselves feel better. It’s an ugly part of the current world.

I choose to remember Hulk Hogan, the man or character that I met. The man you’ve seen standing with me in the main picture of this blog for over a decade. The one who, because of that photo, a clownish wrestling “journalist” tried to use to have me “cancelled” by his followers because I dared question who he was. The perfect example of the aforementioned virtue signalers mentioned above. This idiot failed then and he continues to fail. Funnily enough, he’s another victim of Hulkamania. That’s gotta hurt.

Thank you, Terry Bollea, for bringing Hulk Hogan to life. Thank you, not for “saving” professional wrestling but for transforming it into something that it had not been previously and bringing many new eyes to it. Thank you for, in any interaction that I personally witnessed, treating everyone equally and with respect. I’m sorry that your last years were marred with controversy. You brought that on yourself just as we all cause ourselves issues at one point or another. The ones who think that they’re perfect and incapable of such things…they’ll learn someday.

Thank you for making Hulkamania, indeed, immortal.

Much Love,

JW

Hulk Hogan

1953-2025