Updated April 15, 2026, 8:09 a.m. ET
Who actually was Hulk Hogan?
It looks like everybody is aware of the person behind “Hulkamania.” A bigger-than-life, muscular superhero that conquered evil within the ring, inspiring generations of individuals as he turned one of the vital fashionable entertainers of his time, eternally altering wrestling within the course of.
He was additionally a controversial determine, steeped in a number of storms — legally and morally — that modified the notion of a proclaimed “real American, fighting for the rights of every man.”
Whether it’s unfavorable or optimistic, everybody has their perception on who Hogan was, however his closing interviews plan to make clear who he actually was.
Not simply Hulk Hogan, however the man behind the persona: Terry Bollea.
Netflix is releasing “Hulk Hogan: Real American” on April 22, a four-part docuseries on the wrestling icon’s whole life, peeling again the layers of the character and individual that turned such a polarizing determine.
“It’s so comprehensive, it’s so complete,” his son, Nick Hogan, instructed USA TODAY Sports. “This is the authority on the Hulk Hogan story.”
Hulk Hogan had at all times wished to inform his full story, his son stated, however there wasn’t ever a concrete avenue for it to occur. That modified when Bryan Storkel, a director of a number of sports activities documentaries from “30 for 30” to “Untold: Hall of Shame,” approached him about it.
Storkel knew who Hogan was, however admitted he wasn’t a main wrestling fan. Maybe that’s what was wanted to do it.
“I got here into this type of considering, ‘How do I tell the human story?’ That appealed to wrestling fans and to non-wrestling fans,” Storkel said. “My goal from the beginning was just, how do we get to know the man Terry, and the man behind Hulk Hogan? That was the most important thing, is just getting to know him and getting to know things that we haven’t already seen in the headlines.”
Nick Hogan recalled his father being excited about the project, and his complete willingness to do the project. Storkel felt the same sentiment, with Hulk Hogan agreeing to just about anything that was asked, feeling like he wanted it to be his ultimate story.
It felt like the project was going smoothly, and they planned to do another interview with Hogan after doing a series of them. The conversation of having another discussion is included in the series.
However, it didn’t occur, as Hogan died in July at the age of 71.
“I did want, you know, to talk to him about a few more things, and the plan was to continue filming,” Storkel stated. “We never could have expected him to pass so suddenly.”
Hogan’s loss of life did shift the ending of the sequence, Storkel stated, nevertheless it now serves as the ultimate interviews Hogan did in his life.
What to anticipate in Hulk Hogan documentary
The age-old query in wrestling is how a lot of the persona is the character and the way a lot of it’s actually the individual. Sometimes, stars can separate it. Others appear to blur the traces.
It felt just like the latter usually, because it appeared Bollea and Hogan had been intertwined. His son stated he undoubtedly noticed similarities within the two, however they had been “ultimately different.” Nick Hogan stated his dad knew the distinction, and the documentary reveals it.
“There was times where the two may have crossed,” he stated. “There was always times where the character would kind of bleed into his personal life, but he was very aware of the two, and he was very good at keeping them separated and keeping that perspective.”
The eldest son of Hogan stated there have been issues talked about within the documentary that even he didn’t know a lot about, including “everything that he did in his life, this documentary touches on.”
Yes, even the bad stuff.
It is straightforward to fret about this being simply a glorified profile of Hogan and all of the optimistic issues that occurred, particularly when WWE figures like Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Lee Fitting are govt producers. (And when it’s famous to not ask his son or Storkel about any of Hogan’s authorized circumstances, disputes or different incidents.) But the director stated Hogan was way more reflective than he anticipated, and mentioned the controversies of his life.
“He wasn’t afraid to talk about tough things. I think that’s one important thing to note, is this isn’t just like a wrestling puff piece of all the highlight reels,” Storkel stated. “I think we dig a lot deeper than that, and that’s because he was willing to and we were able to talk about things that went well beyond wrestling.”
Of course, some will have preconceived notions about what Hogan says, given there have been some false truths he proclaimed over his life. Still, Nick Hogan believes this will give individuals way more perspective on what transpired.
“When you see it in detail like this, and you hear him talk about it,” he stated, “it gives a lot more weight to the things that you think you may know.”
It all goes again to Storkel’s unique plan of displaying the human Bollea, not the persona of the Hulkster. Storkel added that, early within the sequence, viewers will notice it’s not precisely the identical Hulk Hogan they’ve identified for many years.
In it, the reality of Hogan — and Bollea — might lastly be proven.
“Hopefully you lean in and want to get to know him more and stick around,” Storkel stated. “You actually get to know Terry a bit, and I don’t think people have seen Terry in this way before.”
