10 Wrestlers Who Broke Typecasting In The Most Epic Way
9. Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan's size and natural charisma made him an obvious choice for Vince McMahon when he surveyed the industry looking for somebody to lead his kind of national expansion, but Hogan himself ran most of the hard yards refining the character in the American Wrestling Association after McMahon's father Vince Sr booked him as a bully heel during his original run.
Arriving in 1979 as something of a giant compared to the bulk of the New York territory's roster, Hogan was given heel manager Freddie Blassie as a mouthpiece and two jobbers at a time in his squash matches. Big enough to pose a believable threat, he even feuded with Andre The Giant in a ticket-shifting reversal of their era-defining 1987 angle.
It was this villainous charisma that got him cast as 'Thunderlips' in Rocky III, but the decision to take the role that cost him a spot with Vince Sr. A made man from Hollywood upon his return to wrestling, Verne Gagne's saw babyface dollars in Hogan for the AWA, but McMahon saw millions.
The flag-waving, demandment-spewing icon that returned in 1983 was a far cry from the monster that had departed two years earlier. It'd be a wrestling lifetime before he switched again...