Every young pro wrestler who wishes to become a huge name always emulates and idolizes a bigger superstar. For Hulk Hogan, he also found his idols in the pro wrestling business, which helped him propel his iconic career. Recently, Hogan, reminiscing about his old days, spoke about his fandom for these two legends and the urge to quit WWE during his initial days.

Many wrestlers have looked up to ‘The Hulkster’ and imitated him in some form or way but the legendary Hall of Famer idolized two legendary names- Billy Graham and Dusty Rhodes.

Hulk Hogan stealing from his childhood heroes

Hogan never shied away from admitting that he modeled his career around Cody Rhodes‘ father, Dusty Rhodes, and Billy Graham. Once he got the blueprint, he created his own niche and developed into arguably the biggest WWE superstar in history. 

In a sit-down interview with host Theo Von, Hogan sprinkled kind words towards his idols. He said, “I watched Dusty Rhodes a lot, and then I watched superstar Billy Graham a lot. I kinda like stole a little bit from both of them.”

Hogan then said despite finding his feet in the business, Hogan kept quitting wrestling in various promotions due to the grueling schedule and the paycheck.

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He claimed, “I was wrestling 12-13 times, twice on Wednesday, twice on Saturday, three times on Sunday, I’m wrestling for $125 dollars a week. I am going back to the docks where I was making 400 bucks a day. I quit, I went back and forth.”

Hogan’s admiration for his idols despite the superstardom 

Hogan admired Dusty Rhodes while growing up as a kid. Dusty’s wrestling abilities and his style and outfit colors astounded him.  The Hulkster later started using the Billy Graham template of becoming larger-than-life, including catchphrases and having a muscular build.

Hogan self-admittedly confessed to modeling the Hollywood Hogan gimmick around Billy Graham.  

With these two figures in mind, Hogan shaped his own career ahead. While fans knew he wasn’t the greatest technical wrestler, Hogan eventually became the prototype of what a superstar should be. 

What do you think about Hulk Hogan imitating his idols to make it big in WWE? Do you think he would have succeeded otherwise? Let us know in the comments section below.

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