Like many other wrestlers in the industry, Hulk Hogan stole some of his best ideas from someone who came before him.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley recently met up with Hulk Hogan on WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures. When asked how he came up with the concept of Hulkamania, Hogan revealed he came up with it by stealing ideas from Austin Idol.
“Well, I kind of stole it,” Hulk Hogan admitted. “You know, Austin Idol is the one that really made me wake up, right? Idol had a weird way to hop and skip around the ring for a walk up and do the face thing and in the middle of the ring, I saw him do this [does the earcup]. Hmm, I’m gonna try to remember that.
“Then the next day, when we went to do TV, I was like hiding around the corner watching this promo, and he said the word Idolmania. It’s kind of like he stole that from Beatlemania. So, guess what? Hulk Hogan’s gonna steal it, and it’s gonna be Hulkamania. Then somebody else stole it from me and made it WrestleMania. But anyway, I put my own spin on it.”
Idol is retired from in-ring competition. He most recently worked for the NWA as a manager.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit Most Wanted Treasures with a link to this article for the transcription.