Hulk Hogan & Terry Bollea: Should WWE Separate The Two?

As a professional wrestling fan, I was both shocked and not shocked about the revelation of Hulk Hogan’s views and comments towards African Americans, along with his views about his own daughter and his own personal relationship choices.

Yes, both shocked and not shocked.

I was shocked because I am a wrestling fan of 31 years. It’s really easy for me to count my years, since I started watching about six months before WrestleMania 1. I’ve watched every single WrestleMania, including all of those headlined by wrestling’s biggest star ever.

Biggest. Star. Ever.

That’s why it’s shocking. Despite what we already know about someone, when they stand at the mountain top, you’re shocked when they do or say something so stupid. And that’s exactly what Hulk Hogan did. When I hear the news I become a kid again—one who sat in the third row at the Nassau Coliseum to see Hulk Hogan battle his arch nemesis in “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff. One who lived and died on each move, and was thoroughly upset when his hero was disqualified. That hero could do no wrong—so him doing so is shocking to the child in me.

But I’m not that kid, and that’s why it’s also not shocking. Not in the least.

I am now a “smart fan,” who understands the politician that Hulk Hogan became during his climb to the top of the mountain. I lived through his WrestleMania 9 victory over Yokozuna, and his eventual debut in WCW. And the NWO. And his WWE return. And his eventual destruction of TNA—a company who is still feeling the effects of Hogan’s short time of influence.

I’ve seen Hulk Hogan ruin the lives of others through his children and end his marriage for a girlfriend who is basically a carbon copy of his daughter.

And his children—damn. What a great job he did there, huh? And “Hogan Knows Best” did a damn good job showing me the real Hulk Hogan, and it wasn’t pretty.

Not to mention his sex-tape, during which a married man, Bubba “The Love Sponge” Clem,” videotaped Hulk Hogan having sex with his wife. Not Hogan’s wife, but Bubba’s.

When you put all of that together—hell, even just a small portion of it—you can’t be shocked that Hulk Hogan said what he said.

What’s even more shocking is the attitude some have taken towards the news of Hulk Hogan’s comments, those downplaying the comments and trying to “put it into perspective.” Much like those who love to run to the defense of Chris Benoit, I keep hearing this sentiment today:

“You have to separate Hulk Hogan the character from Terry Bollea the human being.”

No, no I don’t. And none of us should.

Hulk Hogan made Terry Bollea a very rich man. He made a lot of people very rich, and he’s the #1 reason I have this medium to share my opinions today. We owe him a lot—and when 411Mania did a Top 25 stars series, Hulk Hogan was the easy choice for my top spot. But we don’t owe him so much that we should be ignoring what he’s said, and how it reflects upon him…him being Hulk Hogan.

While closer to entertainment (television, movies, music, Broadway) than sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL), professional wrestling is a genre unlike any other. In entertainment you can easily separate the character from the performer; it’s something fans do all the time. In sports you do not, the athlete and the person are one in the same.

Yet despite professional wrestling’s similarities to entertainment (with performers playing characters) that separation is not possible. Like it or not, a professional wrestler often becomes their character.

Daniel Bryan recently commented that he can’t go out in public without getting “Yes!” chants. That’s Bryan Danielson’s price to pay for being (and benefitting heavily from) Daniel Bryan. And when Daniel Bryan is making the media rounds for his book, he’s not Bryan Danielson…he’s always Daniel Bryan.

Now flip that situation to entertainment. Captain America doesn’t make the media rounds to promote his movie, Chris Evans does. Other than a small child, no one would run up to him in public and call him Captain America. Outside of a rare hospital visit, he doesn’t don the costume for appearances. If he says something stupid, he’s Chris Evans, not Captain America.

But when Hulk Hogan made an adulterous sex tape, it wasn’t Terry Bollea–it was Hulk Hogan. When Hulk Hogan revealed his true feelings towards African Americans, it wasn’t Terry Bollea–it was Hulk Hogan.

The WWE, along with its fans, are very inconsistent when reacting to questionable endeavors outside the ring. But that doesn’t mean we’ve gotten it wrong this time. For once we have it right.

Hulk Hogan is getting exactly what he deserves. We don’t owe him anything, and we don’t need to separate Hulk Hogan from Terry Bollea. They are one in the same. Nothing Hulk Hogan says or does takes away the performances we loved in the past.

But it does take away from how the man is treated today. The WWE is completely in the right for taking swift and heavy action. We can blame them all we want for the times they never took action, but we can’t blame them for this.

For once, they got it right.