10 Wrestlers Who Flirted With Other Careers (And Then Came Back)

5. Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan Mr Nanny
New Line Cinema

Safe to say, nobody has had more passings of the torch than the 'Hulkster,' brother.

Brock Lesnar mauling Hogan in 2002 was a move done to reiterate how Paul Heyman's 'Beast really was the next big thing. Kurt Angle tapping out the white meat babyface Hulk at King of the Ring was a way to showcase just how much of a killer Kurt was. And even back in 1990, Hogan's loss to Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI was intended to anoint the Parts Unknown native as the next 'guy'.

One other person who Hulk Hogan was supposed to pass the torch to, was Bret Hart.

Having dabbled in the movie business with Rocky III, No Holds Barred, and Suburban Commando, 1993 saw Hulk decide that that was that for the wrestling business, brother, and that he was going to concentrate his full attention of becoming an A-list Hollywood star.

Managing to somehow wangle his way out of WrestleMania IX as the WWF Champion, Hogan was to drop the title to Bret Hart later that year at SummerSlam before sailing off into the sunset. Of course, Hulk ultimately decided he didn't want to lose to Hart, instead dropping the gold back to Mr. Fuji's Yokozuna at June's King of the Ring. Either way, Hogan's career plan was still the same - leave wrestling and make it big with Mr. Nanny and Thunder in Paradise.

Only it didn't quite work out like that, with Mr. Nanny a flop and Thunder in Paradise axed after just one season. And thus, the Hulkster returned to in-ring action in 1994 with the green, green money pits of Ted Turner's WCW.

In this post: 
Lex Luger
 
First Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.