Hulk Hogan Once Claimed He Is the “Illegitimate Son” of a WWE Hall of Famer

Hulk Hogan is one of the greatest wrestlers in wrestling history. His feuds with Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, and Jake Roberts are some of the highlights of the early ’80s WWF television. But one person changed the course of Hogan’s career. And Hogan has revealed that the man in question was the one who taught him one of his most secret recipes to superstardom.

Andre the Giant was a legend long before joining WWF. He was the one lending his star power to Hogan in the early days of their fights, which is unbelievable to think. But in a recent interview, Hogan reveals deeply personal to him.

Hulk Hogan speaks about Andre the Giant’s influence

On his podcast, Corey Graves asked Hulk Hogan about the one wrestler he credited and the Hulkamania replied, “Andre, Andre. Andre pretty much raised me. I think I’m his illegitimate son. You know, going back, I first wrestled in a high school stadium in Alabama where Andre sold it out. I wrestled Andre at the Dothan Farm Center, where Andre sold it out. And you know they told us to finish, and I was getting the big foot, he jumped his butt on me and squash me.”

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“But I would always say, hey boss, what do you wanna do in there? Don’t worry. So he made me just not worry about my next move or okay after the dropkick I need to leapfrog, roll down… I didn’t have to worry about all these spots and listen to the crowd about creating emotion. So Andre kinda tethered my whole career not to talk about the match.”

The slam heard around the world

While everyone may know Hulk Hogan around the world as one of the greats, Andre the Giant is a legend in his own right. The way he carried himself in the ring is a testament to his size. Never wavering and always playing the role perfectly as the vicious heel to Hogan’s pure hero. He would pair up with the Million Dollar Man to intensify the heat from the audience.

To build to a perfect main event, Vince McMahon decided that Hogan and Andre will go against each other for the WWF title. But one thing that McMahon kept repeating was that before the WrestleMania III main event, no one had ever pinned Andre in the ring. And when Hogan delivered the perfect body slam to Andre, the crowd went wild.

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What is your most memorable Hulk Hogan match? Let us know your valuable thoughts in the comments below.