Hogan And The Academy Awards

I had the Academy Awards on for a couple of hours before I fell asleep last night.

One of the things I made sure to watch was the In Memoriam tributes where the ceremony honours those who passed away within the past year.

I thought it was splendidly done. I must have dropped off shortly after that, but woke up to find out who won the remaining Oscars.

Upon searching through news, it stumbled across something I should have actually been on the ball about.

There are a few wrestling news sites covering the fact that Hulk Hogan wasn't mentioned in last night's tribute.

The fact I hadn't even noticed it should speak volumes. It's not something I was looking out for, but - with all that said - I find myself in two minds about the exclusion, whether it was intentional or not.

Yes, I state this knowing fully well how Hogan's star fell late in his life due to things he was caught saying on a hidden video. 

I've gone back-and-forth on this today. Hogan should have been included.

He was likely going to be a major star in professional wrestling. However, Hulk Hogan's first step into being a cultural emblem of the 1980s (and beyond, but let's just argue for the 80s only) was through his appearance as Thunderlips in Rocky III.

Rocky III - the second sequel to a film which won a trio of Oscars including Best Picture, from ten nominations, in 1977.

There are other Hulk Hogan films that followed. I'd be a fool to argue he should have been mentioned based off those titles, but - the one that makes the case the most is the one which drove him to the mainstream dance.

Hogan's wasn't the only name missing from the list, however. Other prominent exclusions were Robert Carradine, Richard Chamberlain, James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane and Brigette Bardot.