Rest in Peace, Hulk Hogan

 

I encountered Hulk Hogan at just the right time in my childhood for him to leave a lasting impression.  

The first time I can remember seeing him was in Rocky III where he played "Thunderlips."  I was impressed by his larger-than-life persona and his sheer size.  

I'm not sure how I first started watching professional wrestling, but it was always in the WWF (now the WWE).  Weeknights on the USA network and for two hours every Saturday on syndication you could watch.

For a child my age, this was high drama.  Like the superheroes and villains of the comics and cartoons I loved, here were bold and colorful characters who provided action and drama.  There were challenges, betrayals, battles, and redemptions.

And at the center of it all was Hulk Hogan.  

Born Terry Bollea, he worked his way into wrestling when it was primarily a regional affair.  But in the early 1980's he was raised to prominence as the Heavyweight Champion.  

A striking figure of size and intensity, he was someone who looked like he was 50 from his 30's through his 70's.  He spoke and you listened.  He projected a rough sincerity.  He was unrefined but also unpretentious.  His body was like that of a superhero in terms of size and muscle.  He even seemed super-heroic to someone my age.  When they started putting the big matches on VHS, I would beg my parents to take me to the video story to rent them.  I watched in awe as he escaped from the unescapable Camel Clutch of the dreaded Iron Sheik.  He would be beaten and broken, but just like the comic book Hulk, he would reach a point where he would find some kind of super strength and win the day.

He was definitely the image of a hero to build the wrestling brand around.  He urged his young fans to "say their prayers and take their vitamins."  He always wore a gold cross around his neck and his entrance song, "I Am a Real American," is unabashedly an anthem to patriotic masculinity.  As a kid I had his wrestling figure along with so many others.  I owned a Hulk Hogan mask and slept in Hulk Hogan Rock'n Wrestling bedsheets.  I even sent away for his Hulk Hogan exercise kit.  He was the leader of the rough and tumble band of heroes.  He was the Optimus Prime of professional wrestling.

My mom (God bless her) would take me to see the wrestling matches live.  It was like watching the drama of good vs. evil play out to cheering fans.  I had the privilidge of seeing Hogan several times and he never disappointed.

I was too young to realize that wrestling was fake.  I remember so distinctly that Wrestlemania 2 was only available on pay-per-view and my dad would not order it for the house (given the price, I don't blame him).  King Kong Bundy had recently broken Hogan's ribs in a match and they were set to be the main event in a cage match for the belt.  But I remember the day that it happened and in the early evening, I remember turning to my brother and saying with great concern, "Do you realize that we could have a new heavyweight champion right now?"  No one in the house shared my distress.  I had to wait until Monday at school to talk to the lucky kids who got to watch it.

Looking back, my anxiety seems rather silly.  But the point of the story is that Hulk Hogan got me to care about him.  I was rooting for him even when I couldn't see him.

My heart broke for him as his best friend, Andre the Giant, betrayed him and challenged him for the belt.  I was filled with awe as he did the unthinkable and body-slammed and pinned the undefeated Andre at Wrestlemania III.

Within two years, I could no longer accept the illusion that wrestling was real.  For many people today, this doesn't matter.  For me, the drama seemed much less important.

But Hulk Hogan always seemed larger than life.

But that was the character I saw in the ring.  Outside of the ring, Hogan had several struggles.  The wear and tear of years of wrestling and steroid use caused him to have severe pain problems, especially with his back on which he had 25 surgeries and receiving little relief.  

He was married three times.  He first wife accused him of repeated infidelity, but he always denied these claims.  After losing her and most of his fortune, he even thought about ending his life.  Another low point came when a few years after his divorce he befriended a married couple.  They encouraged him to commit adultery with wife, not knowing that he was secretly video-recorded.  Not only did the video show someone who was once a childhood hero engage in debauchery, but he was also recorded saying some outrageously racist things.

Especially because of this last detail, there are many who still hold Hogan in contempt.  If you look on social media you can see that this alone has soured many people on the man's life.  And yet there are many who forgave him completely and still held him up as a hero.

I do not know what demons Hogan struggled with, but I do know that less than two years ago, he was baptized.  On speaking about it he said, "It broke down that fourth or fifth wall... it set me free.  I wasn't that perfect vessel that I should be or should have been.  Once I was baptized I felt like I was all-new."  He went on to say, "I accepted Christ as my savior when I was 14, but I derailed.  It wasn't my life.  He has given me the opportunity to prove that I'm faithful and I'll never make those same mistakes again." 

I am not the man's judge.  As a child he was a hero to me.  As an adult, I saw a man with fame and adulation but deep sin and brokenness.  Yet in the end he took all that he was, the light and the dark, and handed it over to Jesus.  It is my prayer that the sanctifying grace of God covered him and carried him through these last few months of life.   According to his daughter, when he talked to her about death he said that meeting God would be the greatest championship that he would ever have.

Hulk Hogan died of cardiac arrest last week at the age of 71.  He leaves behind a wife and two adult children and two grandchildren.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let Perpetual Light shine upon him.

May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Rest in Peace, Hulk Hogan