Intimate Details About Hulk Hogan's Private Life Are Threatening His 'Macho' Image
"Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?" All it took were those words and a flash of his 24-inch pythons to send opponents scrambling from the ring. Hulk Hogan made a career of being the toughest of the tough, the manliest of all men, and, brother, his 12 world championships definitely back that fact up. But things are never as they seem in the world of pro wrestling, and behind the red-and-yellow spandex and Atomic Leg Drops, Hulk Hogan was living a life his "macho" image never let on.
Oh, the Irony
In fact, Terry Eugene Bollea was absolutely terrified of pro wrestlers growing up. Despite becoming a "huge" wrestling fan in his teens, the future Hulk Hogan always made sure to keep his distance at matches for fear of, well, getting his butt kicked.
Don't Call It Fake
"I was scared to death of them because back in the day wrestlers were very protective, and if you called wrestling fake, they would punch you in the face," Hogan recalled to Vice. "Back in the day there were no lawyers, no lawsuits and obviously no cell phones so no one could take pictures — so wrestlers could do whatever they wanted."
Pitching Prospect
So, rather than get his face smashed in, Hogan turned his attention to a far less dangerous sport. "[Baseball] was the first love," he revealed in an interview with the MLB — and he was pretty good, too. In fact, the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds even scouted him as a pitcher, though all that changed during his senior year of high school.
Forced Retirement
Following a significant elbow injury, Hogan was forced to retire from baseball and give up his major-league dreams for good. Fortunately, the Hulkster had another passion to fall back on — and no, it still wasn't wrestling.
