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Is this Hulk Hogan's first television appearance we still have footage of?

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Discussion starter · #23 · (Edited)
Piehound said:
Who is that doing the arm drag on Hogan during training there? I've seen him before but I'll be darned if I can think of his name.
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That's Wilhelm Ruska

He wrestled in Florida in 1977

Ruska is an interesting character. Was "discovered" by New Japan and was one of the many different "fighters" brought into to make Inoki look legit. New Japan from what I remember sent him to the States to get training in a couple of different territories.
 
#24 ·
Y
Ghost Lantern said:
That's Wilhelm Ruska

He wrestled in Florida in 1977

Ruska is an interesting character. Was "discovered by New Japan and was one of the many different "fighters" brought into to make Inoki look legit. New Japan from what I remember sent him to the States to get training in a couple of different territories.
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I bow to your wrestling knowledge oh great one.
 
#25 · (Edited)
8:10. Maybe one of the earliest promos where he mentions his 24 inch pythons?

Its somewhat suprising to me how many people think that Hogan was a WWF/Vince creation, when he used terms like the pythons and Hulkamania years before he returned to Vince's WWF.

On a side note. It's also fun to see how much he improved promo wise over the years.
In the interview above, he sometimes gets a bit lost. Clearly doesnt know what to do with his hands, constantly pointing, and he doesnt have a whole lot of facial expression.
Compared to this, where hes really dialed it all up to 11.
 
#26 ·
THE_OD said:
Is it just me, or is Hogan even bigger here, than he was during the mid to late 80's? He looks more cut as well.

Probably also easier to maintain that physique at that point. His schedule from 84 onwards must have been crazy.

Fun to see him work as the agressor as well, since he is so famous for his babyface work.
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Kinda hard to tell. Earlier Hogan wasn’t as tanned, often had more body hair, and even wore a singlet instead of trunks.

I always figured Hogan was the most gassed up around 1988 (As you showed his WM4 promo where he is absurdly huge). But maybe that’s just the optic illusion that comes from being extremely tanned. Maybe someone who is even more attuned than I am can do the analysis though.

Personally think Hogan’s best look was around 2002 when he regained some size but was carrying less body fat than his late 80s look.


His Hollywood Hogan look in WCW was also pretty good. Lost a lot of size but was shredded.
 
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#27 ·
Hotdiggity11 said:
Kinda hard to tell. Earlier Hogan wasn’t as tanned, often had more body hair, and even wore a singlet instead of trunks.

I always figured Hogan was the most gassed up around 1988 (As you showed his WM4 promo where he is absurdly huge). But maybe that’s just the optic illusion that comes from being extremely tanned. Maybe someone who is even more attuned than I am can do the analysis though.

Personally think Hogan’s best look was around 2002 when he regained some size but was carrying less body fat than his late 80s look.


His Hollywood Hogan look in WCW was also pretty good. Lost a lot of size but was shredded.
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Not meaning to derail the thread. But damn Hogan really did lose a lot of height im his later years.
He's only a smidge taller than Vince in the 02 clip, and look at the size difference here. I know camera angles and position can scew it. But still..

 
#28 ·
THE_OD said:
Not meaning to derail the thread. But damn Hogan really did lose a lot of height im his later years.
He's only a smidge taller than Vince in the 02 clip, and look at the size difference here. I know camera angles and position can scew it. But still..

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I always guesstimated Hogan around 6’6, at his absolute peak. I hear nowadays he’s around 6’1 from the people who claim to have been near him in recent years. Think Vince is supposed to have been like 6’1-6’2 in his prime too? Hogan is leaning forward a little in that video but he looks like he has around 3 inches on Vince there?
 
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#29 ·
Ghost Lantern said:
I know this is from the Gulas promotion 1979.

But Hogan wrestled as The Super Destroyer in Florida. in 1977. Is there any fottage of that?

He also wrestled for the Fuller's in 78, as Terry Boulder.

I know there is some footage of him training in Florida. It's pretty amazing how thin he looks, but there is not match footage.

As far as I know this is the earliest footage...
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wow Big Van Vader looks really skinny here
 
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