In the 1980s, Hulk Hogan, the performer, and Mr. McMahon, the promoter, revolutionized professional wrestling, taking it from dark, smoke-filled arenas to the mainstream. When Mr. McMahon created WrestleMania in 1985, the main attraction was Hogan. Two years later, Mr. McMahon wanted WrestleMania to be "bigger, badder and better" than ever. WrestleMania III, then, was held in front of 93,172 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome. The main attraction? Hogan. By the time Hogan left the World Wrestling in the early 1990s and jumped to WCW, he was such a big star that WCW became legitimate competition for World Wrestling Entertainment. In 1996, he joined two other former WWE Superstars -- Scott Hall and Kevin Nash -- to form the nWo, and WCW's ratings even surpassed WWE's! But boosting ratings was merely an externality to Hogan and his nWo cohorts. They were only out for themselves. It didn't take long for WCW competitors to realize that, and eventually fans did as well. They were both driven away in droves as the weeks and months went by. In 2001, WCW went out of business. Mr. McMahon brought Hogan back with the intention to destroy WWE. But once the Hulkster rekindled his relationship with the fans, he decided he wanted no part of McMahon or the nWo's evil ways. Shortly after his return, Hogan captured his sixth WWE Championship by pinning Triple H at Backlash. Hogan secured more WWE gold on July 4, 2002, by pairing up with Edge and winning the Tag Team Championship. Hogan has once again become one of the most popular athletes on the planet. And whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?
