Ever wonder how Hulk Hogan got his wrestling name? It was inspired by the famous Marvel character The Incredible Hulk.
An obituary that WWE shared for the late wrestler, who died July 24 at the age of 71, explains how Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, came to be known by the famed moniker.
The obit states that Hogan started calling himself Terry “The Hulk” Boulder once he appeared on a local talk show in Memphis, Tennessee, early in his career and “was so much larger” than fellow guest and “The Incredible Hulk” actor Lou Ferrigno.
“One day, I went on a local talk show and wound up sitting on-air right next to Lou Ferrigno,” he recalled in his 2009 memoir, “My Life Outside the Ring.”
“He was a real nice guy, and everyone was so impressed by how huge he looked with those big bulging muscles,” he added.
However, Hogan compared those muscles to his own.
“The thing was, sitting next to me at that point in in my life, the guy looked kinda small,” Hogan said.
The WWE Hall of Famer’s suspicions were later seconded by former pro wrestler and promoter Jerry Jarrett, who saw the whole interview backstage.
“I got back to the dressing room after the show and Jarrett was like, ‘Good God, Terry! You were sitting on TV and you were bigger than the Hulk!”‘ Hogan recalled Jarrett saying. “From that moment on, Jerry Jarrett started billing me as Terry ‘the Hulk’ Boulder whenever I wrestled.”
Hogan first appeared in WWE in 1979 and was later named Hulk Hogan by Vincent J. McMahon, per WWE’s obit.
While looking back at the legacy of his name in his memoir, Hogan said he’s glad he appeared on that local talk show the same time Ferrigno did.
“If it weren’t for that moment, there’s a very good chance I never would have acquired the Hulk nickname. And without the Hulk nickname, could ‘Terry Boulder’ (or whatever other name I might have picked up along the way) have conquered the world the way ‘Hulk’ did?” he said.
“Today I understand a lot more about the law of attraction, and how we have the ability to bring these sorts of powerful ‘coincidences’ into our lives,” he added.
