Return Of Hollywood

In the recorded history of professional wrestling, none captivated crossover appeal to the worldwide masses quite like Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea.  He's the end-all-be-all of the entertainment aspect of the business, thus the sacrilegious term "sports entertainment".  Sure, us purists know very well that, in terms of talent, there wasn't a bigger name in the 80s or early/mid90s then Ric Flair.  However, in terms of draw appeal and ticket sells, the name was Hogan, bottom line.  Before The Rock became the proverbial "wrestler-turned-successful actor", Hogan was it.  Granted, Hogan wasn't the only one starring in movies (remember Roddy Piper's very witty gum line in They Live??), but because of his then-unmatched crossover appeal, he was more in-demand then the likes of Piper or even Terry Funk (Road House anybody?).  His first glimpse of movie stardom came in the form of the annoying, yet very entertaining, Thunder Lips in Rocky III.  From there came his first official headlining role, the  successful No Holds Barred.  Although widely criticized and panned, it's also just as much a cult classic.  While other movies of his like Mr. Nanny and Suburban Commando (how funny was The Undertaker as one of the bounty hunters ??) were just as panned if not moreso, it was the fact that the biggest star in the business had his own movies and was headlining them.
When the 90s hit, especially the mid 90s, it was a new time, a new era.  People were becoming more rebellious, and less complacent.  Attitude was becoming the "in" thing (thank you Paul Heyman and ECW).  Fans were more vocal.  They grew up.  The things that they grew up on were now boring and they wanted a change.  Hogan's decade long motto of "Say your prayers, eat your vitamins, and believe in yourself" had greatly grown on deaf ears.  One can't have the same hokey message at 17 that they did at 7, or at least without new ways of expressing it.  Fans had started to boo the immortal one.
Alas, the unthinkable occurred.  At the tail end of the Bash At The Beach event, he finally turned heel (a bad guy for those that aren't in the wrestling lingo).  That shows the insight of Hogan.  He knew that times had changed and he needed to keep up with them, which meant he needed to reinvent himself.  Boy did he!  He easily went from the loved guy in the business, to the most hated man in the business (give or take a Vince McMahon at this time).  His run as Hollywood Hulk Hogan was nothing short of masterful.  However, after while, people started to miss the nostalgia of the red and yellow.
Before too long, the red and yellow returned, and people realized just how cool Hogan was and is.  The fans just needed a break from the overindulgence of his "pray, vitamins, self-esteem" aura.  The fans deeply honor and appreciate the value of Hogan in this business.  If it wasn't for Hogan, there would be no other megastars in the game like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (a guy many feel eclipsed Hogan as being the biggest star in wrestling history), The Rock, and today's version of Hogan, John Cena.  Hogan showed what it took to be a megastar and a worldwide icon and for him to be a part of Wrestlemania 30 as its host is very appropriate.  He headlined the first one (and 9 others after that), so it's only fair and convenient to have him be the MC and host of the 30th anniversary of the biggest wrestling event of the year in any organization in the world of wrestling.  Besides, let's face it, although Austin became a star at Wrestlemania, Shawn Michaels is known as "Mr. Wrestlemania", Undertaker has the historic 21-year undefeated streak at Wrestlemania, and John Cena is the biggest spokesman for the event, Hogan MADE Wrestlemania.  From him headlining the first one, to his legendary battle with late friend and equally important icon Andre The Giant and his torch-passing match with The Rock and Wrestlemania XVIII, nobody exemplified the grandeur and worldwide success of the event like Hogan, and dare I say, as great as Cena is as the flagship of the company and the business, there will never completely be another Hulk Hogan.  SO with that said, WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN HULK HOGAN AND WRESTLEMANIA WEEKEND RUN WILD ON YOU?!?!?! (if you thought I could resist that, boy were you mistaken!!).  Here's a video look at one of the single greatest icons in the history of this great sport.