Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is arguably the most famous WWE Superstar of all time. World Wrestling Entertainment was never the same after Hogan replaced an injured Bob Backlund and defeated The Iron Sheik for the WWE Championship on January 23, 1984, at Madison Square Garden. A phenomenon was born.

The blonde and muscle-bound Hogan, sporting his trademark 24-inch pythons, urged youngsters to say their prayers and eat their vitamins. His historic championship run would last nearly four years, a reign nobody has even come close to matching in the last two decades. Hogan’s success brought unprecedented mainstream attention to wrestling, even landing Hogan in television and movie roles.

He took on all comers and soundly defeated the likes of Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff and King Kong Bundy. Then at WrestleMania III, in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Pontiac Silverdome, Hogan met his toughest challenge to date. Hogan was forced to defend the WWE Championship against his former friend, the undefeated Andre the Giant. In one of the most memorable moments in professional wrestling history, Hogan lifted the mighty Giant in the air for a bodyslam before pinning the Hall of Famer for the win.

Hogan would eventually lose the championship to Andre the Giant in 1988 in a controversial match, but would regain it in April 1989 when he defeated another former friend, Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Between 1989 and 1993, Hogan, known for his powerful and often imitated leg drop, would hold the championship four more times.

Hogan returned to WWE in January 2002, eventually facing The Rock at WrestleMania X8 in Toronto. Hogan returned to WWE donning the black and white colors of the nWo, but the fans demanded that he go back to his traditional colors of red and yellow, and Hogan was more than happy to oblige. During his final run, he also picked up his sixth WWE Championship and his first-ever World Tag Team Championship when he teamed up with Edge.

Before he left, Hogan bridged a generation gap by having notable rivalries with present-day Superstars like Chris Jericho, Triple H and The Rock.