10 Fascinating WWE Backstage Facts About Hulk Hogan

2. Hulk Hogan's Leg Was Broken On The First Day Of Wrestling Training

Hulk Hogan invents time travel
WWE.com

Back in the territory days, breaking in wasn't easy. The ornery veteran trainers would brutalise aspiring wrestlers in order to make sure they weren't under the misleading impression that wrestling is "fake". If they wanted in, they had to know that it hurt. 

Hiro Matsuda trained Hulk Hogan. Hiro took this philosophy to a very real extreme when he legitimately broke Hogan's leg on his very first day. 

"It will be months before you come back, that's if you ever do!" Matsuda said. 

Then, something happened. 

Hulk started to convulse. He didn't feel the pain. He thrashed his head from side to side, and pointed at his trainer. "You!" his voice boomed, and after a stern point, Hogan dropped Matsuda with a big boot. As Matsuda lay prone in the practise ring, Hogan fired off the topes and crushed Matsuda's face under his rippling thigh. 

Brutus Beefcake - whom Matsuda had put into a wheelchair by breaking his back a few months earlier - rose up, with tears in his eyes, and applauded, magicked back onto his feet through the magic and very birth of Hulkamania. 

It was on this day that the Leg Drop was born as Hulk's legendary finisher. 

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!