By Charles Brammall
As a little fella I would sneak down to the TV (it was forbidden) and watching pro wrestling: “Haystacks Calhoun”, “Mario Milano”, “King Kong Bundy” and “Killer Kowalski” were my all time faves. The was even “Andre the Giant”. And in WWE fashion my neighbour Guy (with whom I had a hate-love relationship), would wrestle me on the footpath. He would rub dry white brittle powdery dog poo in my face til I yelled “Yield!”
I was utterly convinced and horrified when one day a wrestler pulled a hidden hb pencil from out of his boot and thrust it into the temple of his opponent, taking his life.
It wasn’t til many traumatised years later that I realised, to my great relief, that it was all merely theatre.
Wrestler and believer Hulk Hogan died at 71 on Thurs after recently re-surrendering his life to Jesus. Long before that his persona had been branded deeply into the American (and world) psyche.
The Wrestling icon died at home, and WWE have confirmed that emergency vehicles were seen on his street in Clearwater Florida, responding to reports of a “cardiac arrest”. TMZ magazine reported last month that Hogan appeared to be on his “deathbed” after neck surgery.
Terry Gene Bollea, arguably the biggest star in WWE’s long history, won at least six WWE championships. The infamous “fighter”, famous for his horseshoe mustache, Hulkamania bandana, and brazen persona…His flowing blond locks, memorable catchphrases, unprecedented in-(and out of)-ring success, and ripped guns, earned him celebrity far beyond the wrestling world. He also starred in multiple small and large screen offerings.
To Bollea’s (one of pop culture’s most recognisable figures) family, WWE said it: “extends its condolences to his family, friends, and fans,”
Last year Hogan chatted about his renewed walk with Christ following his baptism. He invited his followers to turn to Jesus: “Knowing OF Jesus and KNOWING Him are two different things.”
One of the most recognisable faces in entertainment, he shared that achieving fame and fortune never fulfilled him: “I was always a believer, but I didn’t completely surrender… I thought I could drive better than He could… (and) make the decisions better than He could…
And now (God) takes His hands off the wheel and says, ‘Okay. You think you can do it better, go ahead and do it.’ So, like I said, I got tired of crashing and burning…”
Hogan and his wife Sky Daily Hogan were baptised in Dec ‘23 at Indian Rocks Baptist Church Florida.
He shared an insta video of them being submerged, then popping up smiling: “Total surrender and dedication to Jesus is the greatest day of my life,”
Hogan spoke gently and repeatedly of rediscovering his trust in Jesus: “I accepted Christ as my savior at 14… and the training, (and) prayers,… kept me in the game…”
With a sentiment tantamount to Triumphalism he said, “but now that I am one with God, the main event theme of surrender, service, and love makes me the Real Main Event that can slam any giant of any size through the power of my Lord and Savior and so it is, even now brother, AMEN!”
He has also posted Bible verses to his social media page, and wears a Jn 3:16 T-shirt. Terry has also sought to introduce others to Jesus, inviting then to also rely on Him, regardless of how their life looks:
“So at this point, knowing Him and being one with Him, I think all these scars and all these things I’ve been through– not that I’m leading by example- but I’ve been made an example for people that think ‘I’m not correct’ or ‘I don’t have my act cleaned up’. Or ‘I can’t do this’…
I think all those people… have all the excuses for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or not being good enough. You don’t need to be cleaned up. Come to Him. He’ll clean you up,”
And their baptism was no vain or showbiz act. Wearing a cross around his neck, the actor/sportsman? professed his reliance on Christ: “No worries, no hate, no judgment… only love!”
He first tried his hand at pro wrestling in the late ‘70s, and rose to fame with the WWF (now WWE) in the ‘80s. Despite officially retiring in 2012, Hogan was still actively involved in various pro-wrestling events until this January. Many wrestling historians credit him with being perhaps the most important figure in the growth of professional wrestling:
“You can’t possibly overrate his significance in the history of the business,” sports historian Dave Meltzer wrote on X in ‘22. “And he sold more tickets to wrestling shows than any man who ever lived, and I don’t expect anyone to ever sell more tickets than he did.”
The Hulk’s been more vocal about his faith in recent years, telling TMZ in 2009 that Jesus “died on the cross and paid for my sins”, and in 2015: “the only thing that is really real is the stuff that’s gonna last forever: your faith and your belief in God and knowing that once you’re a Christian and you’ve accepted Christ as your Savior, you’re not gonna perish but you’re gonna have everlasting life.”
In August, Hogan shared with podcast host Joe Rogan that he was raised in church but strayed from Jesus as a young adult. Only in the last few years has God worked in his heart to show him the vanity of fame and to bring him back to Himself:
“As the years went by, I started seeing how things went… it’s got me to the point now where I’m locked back in. … Everything else is a distant second to what happens around me.”
Mr Bollea had been larger than life for millions of adoring fans for decades. But recently, having put off his old self and raised to new life in Christ, he had a new opportunity- to point them to the only One who can save…
This is the FULL Hulk story- the less well known but deeply personal Messianic crux of his life: his dependence on Messiah, God the Son. After his adolescent meeting with Jesus, he failed to take Him seriously during the heyday of his fighting career. Then he ultimately surrendered to Jesus 56 years later, at 70.
So Hulk had a chance to try again:
“It’s given me the opportunity to prove that I’m faithful, that I’ll never make those mistakes again,”
Rev. Aaron Filippone, pastor of Indian Rocks Baptist, described what it was like watching a high profile person go public with his faith: “It was so fun to be part of Terry’s baptism and to see the ripple effect that has made all over the world. He had people in Japan calling him just a couple minutes later. This is the way Christians go public in their faith and he felt it important to do what Christians do.”
The church is part of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Terry helps run a store built around his wrestling persona in Clearwater Beach. In a “700 Club” interview he remarked that people today are still more interested in seeing him act like the wild person he was in the WWE ring than a completely normal, boring and average child of God, brother of Jesus, husband, and father.
Of his baptism he said: “It broke down that fourth or fifth wall to tell people the truth about my Lord and savior. … It set me free.” Also He spoke about the tattoo on his arm: ‘I am that I am’: “The first time God talked to Moses at the burning bush, he told him, ‘I am.’ … I had to have this because it was so important to me,”
Please praise the Lord of repentance for Terry’s almost deathbed conversion.
Dear Father of Jesus Christ the Son,
Please by Your Spirit and Word, work in the lives of Terry’s wife, kids and colleagues. Thank you that she knows You. For Jesus’ sake, please reveal Yourself to the others and help them to humbly bow the knee to you like Terry did.
For the glory of the almighty Son’s name,
Amen.
Father of Jesus Christ,
Please give me, us, and Terry’s wife, kids, and colleagues, the determination to stick with the plain message of the gospel, and not be sucked in by some extra to it.
Amen
Our Gracious God and loving Heavenly Father,
Praise You forever that Terry and his wife were SO excited and grateful to hear and embrace THIS Gospel. Through their chatting to other pro-wrestlers, may many of them surrender to Jesus as well.
For the sake of His mighty, all powerful, muscular, flexed Name,
Amen.
Our Father and God of rescue and salvation,
please bring unity to my local church (…); Terry and his wife’s church, Indian Rocks Baptist in Florida; and to the worldwide church. May we all please faithfully proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ which Terry gladly fell before.
In the strong name of Jesus,
Amen
Image Hulk Hogan: Image Credit: Mike Kalasnik / Flickr