by Adam Hart

Created on: May 19, 2009

There is only one word needed to answer this question: Hulkamania.

Since both wrestlers are real people whose deeds were not only real, yes this too is debatable, but recorded, perhaps legend in the strictest of definitions is not the correct word. If we take biggest legend to be the most spoken of, most well known, and will go down in history as the name all others are compared to this becomes a more clear-cut question.

During the short period in my life that I was a wrestling fan I do admit I was swept up in Terry 'Hulk' Hogan's act. He is the image I associate with wrestling even though he has been out of the ring for quite some time. This holds true for most non-wrestling fans as well. There are many big ticket names that are known by the general, non-sports watching, populace. Take football for instance. Joe Montana has not done the most for the game, or even played on this century, yet everyone will know his name whether they are a fan or have never watched a game. Hulk Hogan is one of those names.

If the question is on character there is no better example than Babe Ruth. He was a known alcoholic with plenty of personal issues that would take center stage on the back of any newspaper or headline any news story today. Yet again everyone you meet knows the name even if they think a home run happens in football. As time goes by the man is forgotten but the name, the legend, lives on. Most observers could guess Hulk took steroids yet they were not as talked about back then. There are no record books so this fact will quickly fade while the image of Hulk ripping off those cheesy tare-away shirts will not.

Hulk Hogan also helped his own legend by clever marketing. There were headbands, T-shirts, and action figures. They were everywhere and constantly promoting the legend. At the time of no Internet or instant anything the craze swept the nation in record time and got everyone talking about wrestling. Was he a good wrestler? That is a matter of opinion and hard to answer as it was all acting. Either way he put on a good show and could coax an emotional response from the crowd. Love him or hate him the response is passionate.

As time goes by a legend is supposed to grow. I have not followed wrestling for almost two decades now. The story I remember most was Hulk Hogan lifting Andre the Giant over his head for a body slam in the early days of WrestleMania. If lifting a giant that weighed in at over 520 pounds over your head is not legendary I do not know what is. In fact I barely believe it now, but it made me watch.

It made me remember.

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