‘The legend of Hulk Hogan will live forever…’
Growing up in the ’90s (and attending a Catholic school) meant that Hulk Hogan was as much a part of the fabric of everyday life as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sugar Puffs and Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Each had equal importance in my life. He was a superstar by the time I knew what it was to be famous, and he remained a superstar throughout the rest of the decade. Hulk Hogan: Real American, filmed in the years before his death in July of 2025, features extensive interviews with the Hulkster himself, as well as many of his family members and colleagues – past and present. This is no hagiography, however. Director Bryan Storkel presents a balanced and nuanced take on an American icon that takes in both the highs and the lows…
This four-episode documentary for Netflix takes in the life and times of Terry Gene Bollea, forever known to the world as Hulk Hogan, from his tumultuous childhood to his meteoric rise as the face of the Worldwide Wrestling Federation to his eventual downfall and more hopeful final act. No matter what you think of the guy, it can’t be denied that he has lived a fascinating life. Nor can anyone question his natural charisma. Bollea makes for a candid and compelling interviewee, and for all the pomp and bombast of his wrestling days, it is his relationship with his ex-wife, Linda Hogan, that actually proves to be the most interesting thing about this documentary. Despite their marriage ending in acrimony (and both of them dating teenagers despite being in their forties), it is clear that they were still very much in love right until the end.
Elsewhere, wrestling legend Bret Hart, one of the bitterest men alive, takes some entertaining swipes at Hogan, while other wrestling stars are more divided in their opinion. What everyone does agrees on is that Hulk Hogan was huge for the WWF and for wrestling in general. When Vince McMahon comments, at the show’s surprisingly emotional conclusion, that the WWF could have fallen out of favour with the American public if not for Hogan, it doesn’t feel like hyperbole.
Hulk Hogan: Real American is not just a portrait of a wonderfully preposterous human being (although it is that), it also provides a snapshot into American culture in general in the ’80s and ’90s. A must-watch for anyone who grew up watching the WWF and not the WWE.
