The wrestling world stands still today as we mourn the loss of Terry Gene Bollea, better known to millions worldwide as Hulk Hogan, who passed away on July 24, 2025, at the age of 71. On this emotional episode of Wrestling Uncensored, hosts Dave Simon and pro wrestler “Genesis” Johnny North opened their hearts to share what the Hulkster meant to them personally and to the entire wrestling industry.
“Let me tell you something, brother, tonight it’s Wrestling Uncensored. We pay tribute to the great Hulk Hogan,” Dave began, immediately setting the tone for what would become one of the most heartfelt tributes ever delivered on the show.
The Man Who Changed Everything
“He is the reason why professional wrestling is where it is today,” Dave declared with absolute conviction. “And people are saying that now. And they are correct. And you cannot understate that.”
The hosts were unequivocal in their assessment of Hogan’s impact on the professional wrestling industry. This wasn’t just another wrestler who had passed away – this was the man who single-handedly transformed wrestling from a regional attraction into a global phenomenon.
“Hulk Hogan made pro wrestling an international box office attraction that could sell tickets around the world in every market,” Dave explained. “He started all that. The WWF would not have been successful. Vince McMahon would not have the star without Hulk Hogan. Hogan was the man.”
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The conversation painted a picture of wrestling before and after Hogan – two completely different eras. Before Hogan, wrestling was fragmented, regional, and limited in scope. After Hogan, it became the entertainment juggernaut we know today.
The Babe Ruth of Professional Wrestling
Drawing parallels to America’s greatest baseball legend, Dave offered perhaps the most fitting comparison for Hogan’s lasting impact: “He is the Babe Ruth of professional wrestling. People are still talking about the Babe. People, there are still records held by the Babe. Same for Hogan. There will never be another Babe Ruth, nor will there ever be another Hulk Hogan. Never.”
This comparison resonated throughout their discussion. Just as Babe Ruth transcended baseball to become a cultural icon, Hogan transcended wrestling to become a mainstream celebrity who opened doors for every wrestler who followed.
“John Cena and Roman Reigns are cool. They’re not Hulk Hogan. They’re not business-changing,” Dave continued, emphasizing the unique position Hogan held in wrestling history. “John Cena, Roman Reigns, and every other champion that the WWE has had in the past 20-30 years have been able to draw not off their own name but off the company.”
When People Bought Tickets to See One Man
The hosts painted a vivid picture of Hogan’s drawing power that modern wrestling fans might find hard to comprehend. In today’s WWE, fans buy tickets to see the brand, hoping to catch their favorite superstars, but knowing the company will deliver entertainment regardless of who appears.
“Hogan couldn’t depend on the name WWF,” Dave explained. “Like it was people were buying tickets to see Hogan, and that’s why the other wrestlers would come up to Hogan and thank him for the house because they knew that they were making money because of Hogan. It was all trickling down.”
The economic impact was staggering. “The arenas were sold out. You know, the 20 to 30000 people, whatever it was, 90000 people with the Silverdome brother, brother,” Dave recounted, perfectly capturing Hogan’s legendary embellishments of his career highlights.
“The embellishments of Hogan, two people got mad at, but I always felt like it was part of the charm of Hogan. It just amused me all the things that he said. The embellishments, the lies, whatever,” Dave admitted with fondness.
The Magic of Hulkamania
What made Hogan special wasn’t just his size or his charisma – it was his ability to create genuine magic in the ring that connected with audiences on an emotional level.
“I don’t think people today who didn’t see him and weren’t around grasp the level of hype there was around this guy,” Dave reflected. “People wanted to see him pose in the ring after he won his matches. They just wanted to see him come out, rip his shirt off, pose, beat guys up, body slam, let big boot, leg drop, one two three, and then pose for like 10 minutes, and the people went nuts.”
The hosts described the electricity Hogan generated with the simplest gestures: “Let me hear you. Just that tremendous. I loved it, and it seems like nothing when I do it. It looks like nothing, very cordy. Yeah, you look, it’s nothing, but when Hogan did it, it was like electric. There was something magical about him doing this. You wanted to get loud for him.”
This wasn’t manufactured entertainment – this was a genuine connection between performer and audience that transcended the artificial boundaries of sports entertainment.
Revolutionary Twice Over
Perhaps no other wrestler in history can claim to have revolutionized the business twice, but Hogan achieved exactly that feat across two decades.
“For longer than anybody changed the business twice completely revolutionized professional wrestling twice with the rock and wrestling era throughout the 80s, that he was the head of by far, and then with the N.W.O. and making WCW. a massive company and the Monday Night Wars and all of that Hogan,” Dave emphasized.
Johnny North highlighted the significance of Hogan’s heel turn: “The nWo when he turned on WCW and joined the nWo because that changed everything again and that was big to do because no one had beaten WWF at the time and the fact that that pretty much started that like WCW became the wrestling company that was a huge change back then.”
Dave elaborated on WCW’s transformation: “WCW was nothing until Hogan showed up. It was not serious; no wrestling fan took it seriously. It was certainly not a match for the WWF. Hogan shows up, changes the game… he turns heel, which no one ever thought was possible. People were shocked and appalled. It’s like the most evil guy, and he’s Hollywood Hogan with the nWo and WCW, all of a sudden, is the biggest wrestling company in the world. He took it from nothing, a total joke, to number one.”
The Mount Rushmore Debate
When discussing wrestling’s greatest legends, the hosts were clear about the hierarchy: “I think there are only two guys in the history of pro wrestling that you could say are like supremely important to pushing everything forward and making it bigger, and it’s Hogan and Austin.“
While acknowledging other greats like The Rock, John Cena, and Ric Flair, Dave maintained that only Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin belonged in the top tier: “All those other guys were cool, but like The Rock benefited from the wave that Austin was creating.”
Even when Johnny suggested other legends like Bruno Sammartino or “Superstar” Billy Graham, Dave’s response showed his respect for their contributions while maintaining Hogan’s supremacy: “I’d say Ric Flair would be more influential than superstar in many ways… but flair even said it himself he put hogan above himself yeah he gets it yeah hogan hogan for money.”
Personal Memories and Lasting Impact
The most touching moments of the tribute came when the hosts shared their memories of encountering Hogan throughout their lives as wrestling fans.
Dave recounted his experience at the Raw after Toronto’s WrestleMania 18 in Montreal: “Hogan was greeted with the loudest ovation I’ve ever heard in my life I’ve been to the Bell Center for a big George St. Pierre title fights when he won the belt all sorts of big events at the Bell Center I’ve never heard that building louder than it was with Hogan.”
He continued: “Hogan coming out the night after Montreal the night after Raw in Montreal like if you haven’t seen it you could check it out I’ve seen videos it doesn’t compare to how it felt… it was so nuts for Hogan it was a moment I’ll never forget and Hogan’s face I’ll never forget seeing his face there was emotion he was like touched like you could see him emotional it was beautiful it was pure cinema fantastic.”
Ben Simon added his own perspective: “We got to we were lucky enough… we saw that too yeah yeah this was like one show was like we got some good Hogan moments yeah we got some good the like the rebirth of Hulkamania in the early 2000s we got some nice moments there.”
Hogan’s Most Iconic Moments
Throughout their discussion, the hosts highlighted several key moments that defined Hogan’s career and wrestling history itself:
WrestleMania III vs. Andre the Giant: “WrestleMania 3 ” is the most famous match of all time against Andre the Giant. I can’t tell you how many people still talk about Hogan and Andre, as if it’s something that will never go away. I don’t know any other match that people will speak to you like that.”
The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI: Dave chose this as his personal favorite Hogan match, explaining: “How it felt at the time, yeah, and what it meant for me as a kid watching wrestling… You couldn’t believe it because you would you were seeing the warrior climb, and you’re like This guy is unbelievable and then he was going up against Hulk Hogan, who was already established as the guy.”
vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8
The hosts marveled at Hogan’s ability to turn a Toronto crowd: “The double turn Hogan comes in heel, rock comes in baby face, and they leave switched… what happened was rock, they started booing rock and cheering Hogan, they flipped it was a double turn.”
A Complex Legacy
The hosts didn’t shy away from acknowledging Hogan’s controversies, but they approached them with nuance and understanding rather than condemnation.
“I understand why people don’t like Hogan. I understand why people don’t like Terry Bollea. But I’m able to separate whatever he was as a person, whatever his beliefs were, from the enjoyment that he brought to my life and millions of others and the sacrifices to his body that he made that probably wound up shortening his life a great deal,” Dave explained thoughtfully.
When discussing the various issues that had surrounded Hogan in later years, Dave offered perspective: “There’s a lot of stuff that happened with Hogan that people did not like… but his contributions to pro wrestling and to pop culture and to you know… it’s complicated I loved Hogan I loved Hogan I forgave whatever it was because I don’t know… It’s hard to judge a man based on his darkest moment when he’s being secretly recorded. I feel like that’s rough.”
Beyond the Ring: Opening Doors for Everyone
The hosts emphasized how Hogan’s influence extended far beyond wrestling into mainstream entertainment, paving the way for today’s wrestler-actors.
“He was like, you know, people say all his movies, whatever, and Cena and Batista and The Rock have kind of surpassed him in the Hollywood thing, but he opened the doors, yeah, exactly like he was the first wrestler in movies,” Dave noted.
“Hogan you know he was in big movies he starred in a couple movies that were like hulk hogan vehicles you know mr nanny suburban commando like they tried to make it work make him Arnold they tried to make him Arnold… hogan started all that opened so many doors for so many wrestlers and a lot of them don’t even appreciate it.”
WWE’s Tribute and Industry Response
The hosts discussed how WWE handled Hogan’s passing, with mixed emotions about the wrestling community’s response.
“They had all those legends there and we didn’t hear them share a single memory about hogan they had a video package they had the ten bell salute with everybody on the stage at the beginning of smackdown but they didn’t yeah they should have followed up with some production like get them talking about hogan cut some clips and sprinkle them throughout the show,” Dave observed.
They praised Cody Rhodes’ tribute: “Cody said Cody did a promo, he said Hogan’s legacy is complicated, but his contributions to the business are not complicated, and proceeded to put Hogan over and thank Hogan, that’s a good way of putting it, thank you for the house brother.“
A Fan’s First Wrestling Memory
Perhaps the most powerful testament to Hogan’s impact came from Dave’s recollection of his first exposure to wrestling:
“Like i remember watching tv on my parents bed pushing buttons on his giant remote control and seeing this giant dude with crazy muscles thinking like is this a human he’s like throwing people around i just couldn’t understand what he was i was like what is this is this a man is this a cartoon what is this tv show but it seemed they seem like real people i’m like four years old i’m trying to compute like what the hell is this you know… and i was like i must watch more of this i need to see how and he was beating people up and like saying crazy he was like brother you know doing the whole Hogan thing i was like okay you could rip your shirt off they rip off how do you do that you know it was just unbelievable.”
“And i’ve been hooked on wrestling you know ever since… and i know i’m not the only one you know no i’m not the only one i’m sure there’s a there’s many a story,” Dave concluded.
The Performer Behind the Character
The hosts also recognized Hogan’s often-underappreciated skills as a performer, defending him against critics who focused solely on his technical wrestling ability.
“People want to bury Hogan for not being great in the ring and he’s like he’s not Bret Hart he’s not Kurt Angle but what he did he did very well and it got people invested it’s not necessarily about the moves it’s really how you do them and how you draw people in great selling like he could sell his ass off,” Dave argued.
“And then the Hulk up was crazy, yeah, and then when you point that finger and the crowd goes, ” you yeah, yeah, it’s true, they would go you so good, ” and they would go like Who, yeah, Hulkster is coming for you… It was so great, that’s part of the body up here.“
The Lasting Impact on the Wrestling Business
The economic impact of Hogan’s career cannot be overstated, and the hosts made sure to emphasize this crucial aspect of his legacy.
“The biggest draw ever in wrestling was Hogan, hmm, it’s been proven,” Johnny stated matter-of-factly.
Dave expanded on this: “You tell me Tony Khan wasn’t a hokomaniac at one time… the company wouldn’t exist without the impact that Hogan made on the business, like TV wrestling, the like it’s nothing is here without Hogan.”
A Universe of Merchandise and Memories
The tribute took a lighter turn as Dave showcased his extensive Hogan memorabilia collection, demonstrating the lasting commercial appeal of the Hulkster brand.
“Come on, I got so many Hogans around here, John. It’s crazy how many Hogan-like things I have here in the studio that are just always here. If you watch the show regularly, you know how much Hogan stuff,” Dave laughed, showing off various action figures representing different eras of Hogan’s career.
From his original WWF incarnation to Hollywood Hogan and his appearances in Japan, the merchandise told the story of a character that evolved and remained relevant across multiple decades and wrestling promotions.
International Recognition and Global Impact
The hosts touched on Hogan’s international success, particularly his work in Japan, which showcased a different side of his wrestling ability.
Johnny recalled: “I had it on tape somewhere i think it was Hogan I think against Stan Hansen at the WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit, April 1990 oh yeah like I think it’s at the Tokyo Dome that might be the best Hogan match I’ve ever seen like in terms of wrestling match like there’s better hype matches but in terms of wrestling I was like wow like I wish more Hogan matches were like that.”
This international recognition demonstrated that Hogan’s appeal wasn’t limited to American audiences – he truly was a global superstar who could adapt his style to different wrestling cultures.
The Final Bell
As their tribute drew to a close, the hosts reflected on the finality of Hogan’s passing and its significance for wrestling fans worldwide.
“There are no more moments now, very sad,” Johnny observed quietly.
“That was something you always looked forward to, though it was like we’d always get those Hogan-like now and then, they come back for an appearance here or there, yeah, we always have, and I always loved it,” Dave added.
The hosts expressed regret that modern WWE had moved away from utilizing legends like Hogan more frequently: “If this teaches us anything, it’s like bring these legends out a little bit more because you know we want to see them and nobody’s here forever.”
A Legacy That Transcends Generations
The conversation concluded with recognition that Hogan’s impact extends far beyond his generation of wrestling fans.
“I don’t know professional wrestling without Hulk Hogan existing somewhere in it, it’s never existed, it’s never been like that for me and many others. It’s the same way many, many people, millions around the world, became wrestling fans because of Hulk Hogan, myself included,” Dave said in summary.
The hosts made it clear that Hogan’s influence on wrestling would continue for generations to come. Every wrestler who main events WrestleMania, every promotion that sells out an arena, every fan who falls in love with professional wrestling does so partly because of the foundation that Hulk Hogan built.
In Memory of the Immortal One
Terry Gene Bollea may have passed away on July 24, 2025, but as Dave Simon and Johnny North made abundantly clear in their heartfelt tribute, Hulk Hogan will live forever in the hearts and minds of wrestling fans worldwide.
From his early days bringing legitimacy to Vince McMahon’s national expansion, through the unprecedented heights of Hulkamania, to his shocking heel turn that saved WCW and created the Monday Night Wars, Hogan’s fingerprints are on every significant moment in modern wrestling history.
He wasn’t just a wrestler – he was the wrestler. He wasn’t just a star – he was the star that made all other stars possible. He wasn’t just an entertainer – he was the architect of sports entertainment as we know it today.
“There will never be another Hulk Hogan. Never,” Dave declared with finality, and in that simple statement lies the truth that every wrestling fan, critic, and industry insider understands: Hulk Hogan was truly one of a kind.
The Hulkster may have taken his final bow, but Hulkamania – and everything it represented about the power of professional wrestling to inspire, entertain, and unite people around the world – will live forever.
Rest in peace, Terry Gene Bollea. Thank you for the house, brother.
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