10 Wrestlers Who Can't Stand Hulk Hogan

For as much as '80s cultural icon Hulk Hogan liked to tell people to say their prayers and take their vitamins, he has rapidly become one of wrestling's most reviled figures in recent years. Hogan's star power was bound to ruffle some feathers, as it is difficult to achieve that status without some occasional politicking. These days, wrestling fans are generally mixed on the Hulkster. On one hand, his popularity transcended pro wrestling and helped spark a tidal wave of success the WWE rode into the 21st century. On the other, outside the ring controversy has caused him to make enemies out of some fans and contemporaries of his.

To his credit, Hogan has gone out of his way in recent memory to make amends for any mistakes he made in his career. Lanny Poffo, brother of the late-great Randy Savage, told Sean "X-Pac" Waltman on the "1,2,360" podcast that Hogan had reconciled his differences with "The Macho Man" weeks before his death. Hogan also claims to have made amends with The Ultimate Warrior before his sudden passing in 2014, though Warrior's widow Dana disputes this. Regardless, many more have made up with Hogan over the years as time heals most wounds, though some still can't stand the sight of him.

Here are 10 wrestlers who still can't stand Hulk Hogan.

Bob Backlund and Hulk Hogan have virtually nothing in common, physically or philosophically. The only tie that binds the two together is the WWF/E Championship, a belt Backlund held twice to Hogan's six times (though Backlund has the longer individual reign). Because of this, the two frequently butted heads in the WWF and have exchanged words in the media long past their in-ring primes. Hogan alleged on "The Steve Austin Show" (h/t 411Mania) that Backlund seemingly attempted to change the booking of Hogan's title win over the Iron Sheik in January 1984. He claimed that Backlund told the McMahons the company's world title should be reserved for a "real athlete," implying that Hogan fell short of the title's standards.

Hogan's claim of Backlund trying to pull the plug on Hulkamania may hold water if Backlund's recent comments are to be believed. Backlund told "Ring Rust Radio" in 2016 he was not a fan of the way Hogan carried himself outside the ring. "Hogan was a great person in the ring but we didn't like his outside activities," Backlund said. "We thought he wasn't a very good representation of the business or a model for young people to look up to. He didn't walk the walk." In an interview with Inquisitr, he denigrated Hogan for his use of steroids. Backlund's impressions of Hogan are not likely to have changed in light of his recent controversies. He spoke with Devon "Hannibal" Nicholson in February of 2022 and had very little positive to say on the subject of the Hulkster.

Bret Hart is similar to Bob Backlund in that he represents the sports side of pro wrestling more than the entertainment side. Like Backlund, Hart's grievances with the Hulkster were born out of professional conflict. Hart lost to Yokozuna at WrestleMania IX, only for Hogan to walk down the aisle and pick up the scraps, winning the belt in an impromptu 22-second match. Hart alleged he agreed to the booking with the promise that Hogan would eventually put him over, but the Hulkster shot the idea down, either directly or indirectly. During an episode of "The Wrestling Shoot Interview" (via EssentiallySports), Hogan acknowledged he may have disparaged Hart, framing him as the tag team wrestler he had long since evolved from.

Alas, Hogan never got around to putting Hart over, and "The Hitman" naturally took it personally. Since then, Hart has gone out of his way to bury Hogan any time there's a microphone in his face. He has called him a "one-out-of-three" wrestler and told the Calgary Sun that Hogan "didn't know a headlock from a headlamp." Hart seems to be content on keeping the same level of contempt for Hogan in real life as well. During his appearance on "The Wrestling Shoot Interview," Hogan detailed an encounter he had with Hart at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 2005. When Hogan offered to shake Hart's hand, "The Hitman" declined and was whisked away by Steve Austin before he could say anything else. Hart went on Periscope a few years ago to let the world know that Hogan was a "phony piece of s***," so there doesn't seem to be any love lost on the part of the Canadian legend.

Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan had very little in common from a personality standpoint. Much like Bob Backlund, Sammartino did not approve of Hogan's behavior when the cameras were off, but unlike Backlund, Sammartino could relate better to Hogan. The Italian immigrant carried the WWWF on his back for more than 11 years and is a product of the McMahon family's championship-centric approach. However, Sammartino could never get over how little Hogan seemed to offer from an in-ring standpoint.

Sammartino detailed his stance on Hogan during an appearance on "Legends with JBL." "I was never a fan of Hogan because I was never impressed with his quality of performance in the ring," Sammartino said. "A lot of people thought he was a great draw, but in reality, he really wasn't. That's why Vince McMahon, Jr. asked me if I'd work Boston. He was the world champion, Hogan, and Boston was way down. Philadelphia was way down. An old guy like me came in, we went in there, and we sold the place out." Sammartino also told RFVideo (per Sportskeeda) that Hogan no-showed matches against him in the mid-late '80s and had to be replaced by Sgt. Slaughter. Though Sammartino passed away in 2018 with his Hogan sentiments intact, the feeling doesn't seem to be mutual, with Hogan praising Sammartino shortly after his passing.

Matt Borne, the originator of the "Doink the Clown" character, may be gone, but his vitriolic thoughts about Hogan live on. Though Hogan has never commented publicly on Borne or his comments, Borne had plenty to say about the Hulkster prior to his passing in 2013.

During an appearance on "Inside the Ropes Radio" (h/t Wrestleview) back in 2012, Borne had plenty to say on the subject of Hogan. Borne claimed he was slated to wrestle Hogan at WrestleMania IX, the same WrestleMania that caused the friction between Hogan and Hart. Borne believes Hogan's refusal had to do with Borne's closeness to Buzz Sawyer, a man Hogan was not on the best of terms with. Borne then alleged that Randy Savage gave Hogan a black eye at that same WrestleMania, and went on to further detail his personal issues with him. "He was an arrogant f***," Borne said. "I still think he is. I look at him and laugh because I know him for who he truly is. I don't like him. I really find it hard to even like him as a person. He's a phony inside and out." Borne also claimed in a shoot interview (via Boston Wrestling) that he could never look Hogan in the eye or take him seriously as a wrestler due to his phoniness and the way he treated people.

Arguably the most notable enemy of Hogan's inside the squared circle, the Iron Sheik also does not seem to be a fan of the Hulkster's in real life, years removed from their heyday. After all, "Sheiky Baby" is one to nary let a day go by without cursing Hogan's name on Twitter. Hogan's experience with the Sheik predates their epic encounter in 1984, as he alleged on the "Steve Austin Show" that AWA Promoter Verne Gagne attempted to put a bounty on his head for leaving the promotion. According to Hogan, the Sheik told him after the match that Gagne requested he break Hogan's leg in retaliation for leaving, though Gagne's son Greg denied the story in an interview with Sportskeeda, claiming the Sheik "made it up."

Hogan and the Sheik make for such natural rivals that many would dismiss the barbs the Sheik would hurl Hogan's way as a "work." However, there seems to be a level of legitimacy to the Iron Sheik's Hogan beef with the Sheik tearing into Hogan's personal life during an interview with "Boston Wrestling." "Linda, his wife, she's a good person," the Iron Sheik said. "She left you [Hogan], and you are some piece of garbage." The Sheik then turned his attention to Hogan's son Nick, detailing his disgust with Hulk over the handling of his son's incarceration after a drunk driving arrest. After Nick was charged with recklessness driving involving serious body injury, the elder Hogan downplayed the injuries suffered by the passenger.

The Sheik also told Howard Stern that Hogan wouldn't return his calls in the years following their Madison Square Garden match, claiming the Hulkster lied to him. It is not known whether or not Hogan has been able to mend fences with the Sheik in recent years, though the two did dress up as one another for Halloween in 2015.

Scott Steiner had less than positive feedback for the Hogan-Bischoff regime in TNA and once tried to talk Dixie Carter out of bringing the duo on to run the company. TNA co-founder Jeff Jarrett detailed Steiner's meeting with Carter on an episode of his podcast, "My World." "It got uncomfortable and Scott didn't want to be uncomfortable," Jarrett said. "He looked Dixie in the eye and said, 'Hulk Hogan will run you out of business. He will put you out of business.'" Carter, of course, did not heed the words of "Big Poppa Pump," and history certainly seems to be on Steiner's side. However, his animosity towards Hogan would escalate into another incident years, around WrestleMania weekend in 2015.

Steiner allegedly had a run in with Hogan's current wife, Jennifer, at the San Jose airport earlier in the week. TMZ reports that he told Jennifer he planned to "kill Terry" as soon as he landed, prompting Hogan to file a police report. While surveillance footage from that day does show Steiner confronting Jennifer, "Big Poppa Pump" denied ever telling her he wanted to kill her husband. Steiner does not deny speaking to Hogan's wife, but claims he only told her that Randy Savage, who was inducted posthumously by Hogan at the Hall of Fame ceremony that year, would have never let Hogan induct him if he were alive. "I'm not going to dignify (Hogan's) lies," Steiner told TMZ. "I didn't put my hands on her. If she felt her life was threatened, why didn't she talk to the cops?" 

Steiner's opinion of the Hulkster may remain the same, but Hogan did take the time to wish Steiner well during his recovery from a collapse suffered at an Impact Wrestling taping in 2020.

Shawn Michaels' problems with Hogan played out for wrestling fans around the world to see during the summer of 2005. Michaels, who interacted with Hogan throughout the summer lead-up to their match at SummerSlam, grew to be annoyed by Hogan for political maneuvering that had started to become par for the course. Michaels got to detail his frustrations with Hogan on the DVD, "The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph" (per Pro Wrestling Stories). Michaels claimed the original plan was to do a best-of-three series with Hogan in order to give both sides a reasonable amount of shine, but Hogan backed out of the series days out from the pay-per-view, forcing Michaels to put Hogan over in a singular match despite Hogan's part timer status. He also preferred a babyface vs. babyface match as opposed to having to temporarily turn heel to service the match.

"In my mind, I presented it to [Hulk] as just good guy versus good guy and the thing where HBK was just like 'Man, I gotta know, I gotta know if I can beat the immortal Hulk Hogan,'" Michael said. "The next week, I was told that Terry [Hulk] would prefer classic heel versus babyface 'like you're in '98.' I was like, 'you gotta be kidding me.'" The resulting match saw Michaels obnoxiously sell for Hogan the whole way through, causing fans to question why things played out the way they did. Hogan thought nothing of it in the immediate aftermath and claimed in a 2015 interview it was Vince McMahon's decision for him to ultimately win the match. Michaels followed up the match with a sarcastic promo the following night on "Raw." He buried Hogan, sarcastically putting over his technical wrestling ability before segueing into a new feud with Chris Masters. 

These days, Michaels' resentment of Hogan seems to have waned, as he commented during a Q&A in the UK a few years ago he appreciated the honor of having worked with Hogan. "[The selling] was something I did just for my own enjoyment," Michaels told the live crowd. "It wasn't right, it wasn't professional."

Given Sid's profile as a tall, physical presence in the ring, he was bound to cross paths with Hogan at some point. Prior to their match at WrestleMania VIII, Hogan and Sid had an altercation at the 1992 Royal Rumble to help build to their match later that spring. Sid detailed a negative experience from working with Hogan at the event to the "Wrestling Inc. Podcast." He claimed that, following the segment, Hogan threw a temper tantrum in the locker room to such an extent that Sid was ready to turn in his notice that same night. Sid would ultimately stick around through WrestleMania that year, when a drug suspension caused him to leave the company seemingly to pursue a professional softball career.

Sid has also admonished Hogan's behavior outside the ring. Sid told "Title Match Wrestling" he was not a fan of "Hogan Knows Best," the Hulkster's VH1 reality show, commenting that it exposed him as an "old man." He has also since commented on their WrestleMania VIII match, criticizing it due to Hogan's limited in-ring capabilities. "It was a horrible match with Hogan that night too," Sid told "The Highspots Network." "Hogan was a horrible worker so that's what made that."

The Undertaker's account of his dealings with Hulk Hogan around the time of his debut paints the Hulkster's political ways in a negative light. The two worked together at Survivor Series in 1991 in a match that ended in "The Deadman" pinning Hogan with a Tombstone Piledriver on a steel chair. Following the match, Hogan complained he had sustained an injury as a result of The Undertaker's finishing maneuver and had to spend a night at the hospital. For years, fans had to live with a one-sided account of one of pro wrestling's many mysteries as The Undertaker's commitment to his character knew no equal. However, The Undertaker finally opened up to Peter Rosenberg regarding his issues with Hogan.

According to "The Deadman," Hogan told him upon impact he had been legitimately injured by the move. The Hulkster went on to play up the injury both in the ring and backstage, leaving The Undertaker mortified with himself that he just injured the WWF's golden goose. However, Shane McMahon informed The Undertaker shortly after the match that Hogan's head had not hit the mat after all. This led to The Undertaker confronting a healthy Hogan about the injury the following week, with Hogan allegedly replying that the tightness of the grip jammed his neck. Hogan's weird response caused The Undertaker to question whether the Hulkster tried to sabotage him. While Hogan has refuted the claim, he can never seem to give a straight answer to how the situation played out from his end, stating in his memoir that his head had, in fact, made contact with the chair. "From that 'Tuesday in Texas,' when I got that answer, I knew all I needed to know about him," Undertaker told Rosenberg. "My radar was always up anytime that I had to interact with him, but I dealt with him in a professional manner."

There might not be a man alive more anti-Hulk Hogan than Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Ventura's beef with Hogan stems from a perception of inauthenticity, shared by the likes of Borne and Backlund. Feeling short changed as a performer, Ventura sought to unionize the locker room, but faced seemingly unlikely opposition from Hogan. Ventura claims he learned Hogan ratted out his unionization attempt to Vince McMahon Jr. during a 1991 lawsuit against WWF/E. "That was stunning to me because I thought he was my friend," Ventura said. "But then I realized why during the court case ... we got the payoff for WrestleMania III and Hogan made more money than all the rest of us combined, including Andre."

From the 1991 trial onward, Ventura went cold turkey on Hulkamania, with Eric Bischoff explaining on his podcast, "83 Weeks," that Ventura did not care for Hogan on any kind of level. "Prior to Hulk coming in, I got along great with Jesse," Bischoff said. "When Jesse would come in to do TV, we'd go out to dinner and have cocktails. He was a Minnesota guy. We had a lot in common –- his relationship with AWA, we knew a lot of the same people and had a lot of mutual friends. I got along fine with Jesse until Hogan came in. And once we brought Hogan in and made that commitment there was a negativity or resentment or something in Jesse that made him kind of a downer and kind of miserable to be around." 

Ventura has since taken every opportunity to needle Hogan in the media. He spoke to "Ring Rust Radio" about Hogan's recent controversies, speculating that people were beginning to see "the real Hulk Hogan" in light of racist comments caught on film. When asked if he could ever see himself burying the hatchet with Hogan, Ventura told Graham Bensinger, "Never."