In the history of wrestling, there’s never been a bigger star — or a more controversial one — than Hulk Hogan. As a child of the eighties, the Hulkster was my guy. I was a full-on Hulkamaniac, along with most of my friends. We loved the guy and religiously watched him take on legendary opponents like Andre the Giant, and even flocked to see his big-screen debut, No Holds Barred. Why was Hulk such an icon? It was the fact that he was the ideal representation of the larger-than-life WWF, with him looking like a full-on superhero who walked out of a cartoon. Sure, his contemporaries were big too, but no one was as dominant as Hulk.
But part of his appeal was the fact that he seemed to be such a positive role model off-screen too. Of course, as time went on and we all grew up, we realized that was definitely not the case. The steroid rumors were one thing, but it was more the Gawker sex tape, with all its racist language, and the resulting court case that definitively tarnished his image, turning him — in the eyes of many — from a babyface into a heel.
Now, Hulk Hogan’s complicated legacy is getting the docuseries treatment from Netflix, who’ve gone all-in with WWE content since their streaming deal with the organization. The four-episode series, Hulk Hogan: Real American, drops on April 22nd and features Hogan telling his own story in one of his last filmed interviews, with him having passed away suddenly in 2025, not long after participating in this series. For many of us, this will be a hugely impactful series, with it perhaps giving Hogan one last, posthumous shot at rebuilding his tarnished legacy. Whatever the case, Hogan was — and is — a legend, and any series investigating the phenomenon that was Hulk Hogan is a must-see.
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