20 Most Iconic WWE Wrestlers Of All Time

by Andrew Pollard

1. Hulk Hogan

It's often debated as to who really is the bigger star - Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan? Whilst Austin's run was white-hot, Hogan's run at the top was a far longer one. To many wrestling fans, Hulk Hogan was the first huge superstar that they ever saw. Spewing catchphrases, ripping t-shirts, pointing fingers and dropping legs, the Hulkster was a larger-than-life megastar who jumped from your TV screen. More importantly, Hogan was the face of expansion at the set the precedent for future generations. At a time when Vince McMahon was buying out all of the territories, Hulk Hogan was the man tasked with leading this rapidly expanding national and international company. As McMahon's organisation grew to becoming the market leader, Hulk was at the front of it all. Added to that, Hogan was everywhere; there was his own cartoon show, there were a multitude of TV appearances, there was his (attempted) movie career, and he was the first superstar to start pushing merchandise sales through the roof. Like him or not, Hulk Hogan revolutionised the wrestling business. If it weren't for Hogan, it's up for debate whether Vince's WWF would have had anywhere near the success that it has had, making him the WWE's most iconic superstar of all time.
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 dayjob, 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, Jamie Hayer, 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.