Runnin' Wild

It is the birthday of Hulk Hogan today.

When I first became a wrestling fan this was the wrestler who I liked. His charisma was off the chart. And it still is today!

I can remember the first time I saw him wrestle. I was sitting watching the wrestling on ITV at my aunt's home back in the mid eighties and they had a special match from the United States.

There was a wrestler who came out wearing a fireman helmet with a plastic fist coming out of the top. That was the only thing that I remembered other than the American version of wrestling seemed a lot better than what the British company was putting on.

A few years later we had Sky television and the WWF was popular. I decided to watch an episode and lo and behold there was that wrestler who I had seen at my aunt's when I was a lot younger. The helmet had gone but instead was a bandana upon his head bearing the words 'HULKAMANIA'.

I became a Hulkamaniac from that moment on.

I think I embarassed myself back in 2002 when Hogan made his return to the WWE after a near ten year absence (he had jumped to the WCW during the 90's) when he came back at Wrestlemania 18 to fight The Rock.

I was a kid again jumping up and down doing his bicep poses and doing his ear to the crowd thing that he always does at the end of his matches. My friends who were with me in the early hours of that April day held their heads in embarrassment.

He returns to the ring once again in a weeks time.

Watcha gonna do, Randy Orton, when the Hulkster runs wild on you!?