On Thursday the 24th of July 2025 the world was shocked to hear that the wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan died due to cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida.
To call Hulk Hogan (Born Terry Bollea) only a “superstar” almost feels like you are doing the man an injustice. The truth is he was the biggest star of professional wrestling ever. That is not to throw shade to the likes of The Rock or even Stone Cold Steve Austin (Who reportedly Steve Austin made the WWE more money in his run that Hogan ever did) But the truth is Hulk Hogan was at the forefront of the then WWF (Now WWE) national and later international expansion in the 1980s. Hulk Hogan, simply put, was a legend. The biggest and most recognisable pro-wrestler of all time.
A lot of pro-wrestling fans debate about what are the biggest moments in the wrestling industry. The Mount Rushmore of moments. Moments that stand out above the rest. Two that often top lists are “Hulk Hogan Bodyslamming Andre The Giant” at WrestleMania 3 and The Rock vs Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18 (Which no match has never “matched” – pun intended – in terms of atmosphere and crowd reaction and most of that took place BEFORE the bell even rung). Hulk Hogan was a true legend.
What was the first Video Game that Hulk Hogan appeared in?
Many would be forgiven to think that the first video game Hulk Hogan appeared in was WWF WrestleMania (1989) for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). As it makes sense, WWF grew in popularity as video games did. But did you know that Hulk Hogan’s first video game appearance was not WrestleMania (1989) and in-fact that was not even the first WWF wrestling game?
The first WWF video game was called MicroLeague Wrestling
Released in 1987 for Commodore 64 and Atari ST in 1989 for Amiga and DOS. It was developed by and published by MicroLeague. What is even more interesting is that it was a turn-based strategy game!
You chose your wrestler (Hulk Hogan or “Macho Man” Randy Savage) and selected moves from a menu while animations and pre-recorded commentary played out based on your decisions. The game used digitized sprites and images from real matches, which was impressive for its time. But the game is nothing by what would come after it. A good effort at the time – as hey, it was the first WWF game – but quickly surpassed. Especially considering the amazing WrestleFest was released four years later.