The Death of Hulkamania

 When I was younger, I never really got into wrestling. Sometimes I would watch. I knew who most of the big names were. But I was not really a fan. However, I loved Hulk Hogan. I had one of those stuffed Hulk Hogan dolls. I think I won it at the fair. I watched him in Urban Commando and Mr. Nanny. He was just part of the cultural zeitgeist. 

Earlier this week, the wrestler Terry Gene Bollea passed away. Across social media people are talking about it. Many are mourning the loss of a wrestler they loved. Others are pointing out his deep flaws, including racism and union busting.


If I had been a more passionate wrestling fan, I wonder how I would feel about it. It is not easy to see someone, especially someone from your youth, become the villain. And in this case, I don’t just mean turning heel and becoming Hollywood Hogan. 


By a lot of accounts, Terry Bollea was not a great person to work with. He snitched to management when other wrestlers were trying to form a union. Reportedly, he used his power and influence to bully other wrestlers. He was egotistical and fabricated things to make himself look good. 


What really brought down the bad light was him getting caught doing a racism. A rant about not wanting his daughter dating black men and using racial slurs. His star fell. He was not an A list celebrity anymore and after that, people were content to just forget about him. 


And then came the nail in the coffin, supporting Trump.


As a general rule, I don’t (and I think most people don’t) pay too much attention to a celebrity’s politics. There are actors and such that have politics I don’t care for and I mostly just ignore it as long as they are not going on and on about it. But his promotion of Trump really came with a lot of extra baggage. He was embodying the kind of toxic machismo that Trump thrives on. And when you look at that in the light of things like his past racism, it is hard to not think that is who Terry Bollea was at his core.


Hulk Hogan died a long time ago, and Terry Bollea killed him.


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