WRESTLING NEWS
Why Hulk Hogan Was Fired By Vince McMahon Sr.
By HAROLD WILLIAMS
Hulk Hogan's popularity landed him acting roles on "The A-Team" and "Rocky III," helping to make pro wrestling and WWF more mainstream. Although a wrestler extending their popularity to TV and the big screen is valued and encouraged today, promoters of Vince McMahon Sr.'s era did not share that same view.
When talking about taking the role of Thunderlips in "Rocky III," Hogan explained, "The mindset back then wasn't like it is now. If you were a wrestler, you didn't do TV, you didn't go do a movie, if you were a wrestler you were a wrestler ... Vince Sr. fired me for doing the movie because you weren't supposed to do movies or TV shows back then."
His last match in WWF was on April 18, 1981, before his return in 1983. Thankfully, Vince Jr. was more of an out-of-the-box thinker than his father, and he saw Hulk Hogan as the asset his father never did, realizing that it would likely benefit WWF financially to have Hogan back on the roster.