10 Best Years Of Hulk Hogan's Career, Ranked
Isabella Bartlett 
Arguably the greatest pro-wrestler of all-time, Hulk Hogan has made a lot of memorable moments throughout the years. Hogan was the biggest draw for various wrestling promotions and has won multiple championships in his legendary career. Wrestling fans all around the world love, adore, and even hate him to this day.
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Whether it is from his iconic in-ring abilities or his betrayals, he single-handedly changed the way we look at pro-wrestling and sports entertainment as a whole. This historic feat did not happen overnight - it took decades of many twists and turns. Here are my 10 best years of Hulk Hogan's career, ranked.
10 2019: Crown Jewel, NWO Inducted Into The Hall Of Fame, Etc.
On October 31st, 2019, Team Hogan was victorious over Team Flair at the Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. It was a good look for Hogan after years of drama and negativity that had him dismissed from the WWE years before. These last few months have shown the company that they can keep Hogan on board for more public appearances inside and out of the ring.
In December, it was announced that the NWO faction will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame during the WrestleMania XXXVI festivities - that will make him a 2x WWE Hall Of Famer. There is also a rumor that Hogan wants one more match come April 2020 in Tampa, Florida.
9 2003: Mr. America
After a segment involving Vince McMahon forcing Hogan to sit out the rest of his contract, a masked character called Mr. America appeared on Smackdown weeks later after the dispute. He would come out to Hogan's entrance music, do the same mannerisms, and say the same iconic lines, but would never admit that it was actually him under the mask. This would not only anger McMahon but other wrestlers in the locker room as well.
Mr. America went on to have a feud with Roddy Piper which ended at the Judgement Day pay-per-view with Mr. America being victorious. In June, after losing a six-man tag team match, Mr. America finally unmasked himself showing the crowd that it was Hogan all along. He would later quit his second run with the WWE after conflicts with the creative team and his payoffs under the Mr. America character.
8 2015: WrestleMania XXXI
While Sting was in control during his match against Triple H, members of the DX faction came out to help their leader. This lead to Sting beating them all up until Triple H was able to fight back after Sting was distracted. What happened next was a WrestleMania moment that was 18 years in the making.
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The NWO faction consisting of Hogan, Nash, and Hall came out to help their WCW counterpart to fight off DX so Sting could continue on with his singles match with Triple H. Triple H would go on to win the match but the stare down between the NWO and DX brought back all the memories of the epic Monday Night Wars in the past.
7 1983: NJPW IWGP Champion
In the 1980s, Hogan was wrestling for NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling) while still being part of the WWF. He was instantly loved by the Japanese fans - they would call him "Ichiban" meaning "Number One." Hogan even switched his move set while wrestling in Japan.
He was now a technical wrestler rather than the flashy and strong persona he showed with the WWF. Hogan would finish his opponents with a clothesline-like move called the Axe Bomber rather than his signature Leg Drop. During an IWGP (International Wrestling Grand Prix) tournament in 1983, Hogan beat Japanese-Legend Antonio Inoki in the Finals to become champion.
6 1988: The Mega Powers
The Mega Powers formed after Hulk Hogan helped Macho Man Randy Savage win the Heavyweight Championship against Ted DiBiase at WrestleMania IV. With manager Miss Elizabeth by their side, all of them dressed in the red and yellow attire. They would go on to have feuds with The Mega Bucks (André the Giant & Ted DiBiase) and Slick's Twin Towers (Akeem & Big Boss Man).
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The duo would eventually break up due to Macho Man growing suspicious of Hogan and Miss Elizabeth's relationship - ultimately ruining their relationship as a whole. It did not help that Macho Man was the champion at the time either. Hogan would eventually beat him for the title at WrestleMania V.
5 1984: Hogan's First World Heavyweight Championship (WWF)
After wrestler, Bob Backlund was assaulted by The Wild Samoans, Hogan was a last-minute fill-in to face the Iron Sheik for the World Heavyweight Championship. He had gained more fans in the process after getting praise from Backlund for fighting off The Wild Samoans during their assault on him. The stage was set for Hogan vs Iron Sheik in Madison Square Garden.
In a match between two physical behemoths, the turning point came when Hogan would be the first person to escape Iron Sheik's finishing move - the camel clutch. He had Iron Sheik on the ground to finish him with the leg drop and pin him for the victory. The fans erupted while Hogan was circling around the ring telling the fans that the win was for them.
4 1994: WCW Debut
In June of 1994, Hogan signed with WCW (World Championship Wrestling) after his contract with the WWF expired a year before. There was one wrestler in particular who was waiting for Hogan's arrival - Ric Flair. Throughout the years, everyone was wondering who was the best wrestler at the time: Flair or Hogan. They would have their first match in WCW at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view. This would be Hogan's debut match for the company.
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Hulk Hogan had already been set to be the company's face with TV interviews and a welcome ceremony set up for him at Disney's MGM Studios. He would end up defeating Flair at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view to become World Heavyweight Champion. This was just the beginning of Hogan's reign in WCW.
3 2002: WrestleMania X8
When Hulk Hogan came back to the WWE, he came as his Hollywood gimmick with Hall and Nash as the NWO faction. On an episode on Monday Night Raw, the fans erupted and went into a frenzy and gave Hogan a standing ovation which became one of the biggest crowd pops in pro-wrestling history. It really showed how iconic Hogan is in this industry after all these years.
He would go on to face The Rock at WrestleMania X8. When the match started, they began with a staredown with the fans, once again, in a frenzy. It was another addition to Hogan's plethora of WrestleMania moments. Hogan would lose the match - passing the torch to The Rock as the new face of the wrestling industry.
2 1996: The Beginning Of The NWO
Any true wrestling fan will look back at the Bash at the Beach pay-per-view in 1996 as the night when pro-wrestling would change forever. Hulkamania would come out during a six-man tag team match and fans thought he was going to save the day. Instead, Hogan gave a leg drop to the Macho Man. The moment is considered the number one betrayal in pro-wrestling history.
Hogan solidified it by disrespecting the fans and they retaliated by throwing garbage in the ring - fans shook and heartbroken - some applauded it. The NWO would run wild on their competition with Hogan eventually winning the title again at the Hog Wild pay-per-view against The Giant.
1 1987: WrestleMania III
Only Hulk Hogan could upstage a wrestler (André the Giant) who had been undefeated in the WWF for 15 years. With Hogan being the champion at the time, André grew jealous of how he was not champion being the mammoth-sized, dominant force he was. It would all come down to their match at WrestleMania III being labeled as "The Irresistible Force vs The Immovable Object." Hogan would go on to beat André after he was successfully able to lift him up and slam him to the ground - ending it with a leg drop. The match changed the way we perceive professional wrestling to this day.
