"Wait, Hulk Hogan fought Rocky?" - every fan of a certain age remembers thinking that when watching Rocky 3 for the first time. His appearance in the film is part of a ridiculous boxing versus pro wrestling bout, and any credibility that the Rocky films had enjoyed up until that point was quickly knocked out with Hogan's cartoony appearance. The Rocky 3 gig was actually way before his WWF fame, with filming taking place in 1981, some three years before Hogan became WWF Champion. The spot in a major Hollywood film actually increased Hogan's value dramatically, helping him to become a much bigger star in Japan and eventually the WWF.
