“When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside…”
Well let me tell you something brother…if you were a wrestling fan in the 1980’s and also into the 1990’s, the sound of those words meant excitement, goosebumps, and chills whether you were in an arena or watching at home. There was an electricity in the air when the legendary Hulk Hogan would make his way down the aisle to the song “Real American” and it still resonates today with younger wrestling fans who get to cheer him on when he makes an appearance from time to time.
All these years later, “Hulkamania” is still running wild and it should come as no surprise that the Hulkster is now captured on the latest WWE bobblehead from Forever Collectibles.
“There’s a certain nostalgia that you feel when the topic of WWE comes around as we’ve all had our favorite wrestler, our favorite match, our favorite finishing move,” said Anthony Davino, Marketing Coordinator-Licensing at FOCO. “Having the opportunity to replicate one of the most iconic wrestlers to ever step foot in the ring was a special moment for us. There was excitement every step of the way.”
Hulk Hogan had been in the WWF (now WWE) before, but Hulkamania was actually born on January 23rd, 1984 when he defeated the Iron Sheik at a sold-out Madison Square Garden to win the heavyweight championship. I remember watching on television that night and the noise was deafening when Hogan entered the ring (his original song was “Eye of the Tiger” but then he switched to “Real American” later on). It was such a huge moment, that a friend of mine brought the VHS tape to high school the next day and our social studies teacher played it for the whole class to see. Hogan’s soaring popularity, along with the marketing genius of WWF/WWE owner Vince McMahon, led to wrestling becoming mainstream and ultimately the creation of “Wrestlemania”, the crown jewel of all wrestling events.
Over the years, Hogan had a Saturday morning cartoon show with his WWF pals, dabbled in acting including a role as “Thunderlips” in Rocky III, hosted Saturday Night Live, and starred with his family in a reality television show. He’s been controversial at times, but Hogan has been an iconic personality for many years and still to this day is a polarizing figure when he enters the squared circle. This bobblehead from FOCO could easily become one of the most popular items in company history.
“We do have higher expectations on some bobbles, but to predict the level of sales for each one is driven more by the market than our own wishes,” said Davino. “However, a name of that stature is synonymous with success and we expect this to move the needle a good amount.”
When you think about the Mount Rushmore of all-time WWF/WWE superstars, there’s no question that Hulk Hogan has to be one of the faces. He combined with Mr. T to bring the house down at Madison Square Garden at the first Wrestlemania in 1985 when they defeated “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorf. Hogan had his battles with the likes of Piper and Randy Savage before joining forces with the “Macho Man” to create the “Mega-Powers”. And in arguably the most iconic moment in wrestling history, Hogan slammed and pinned Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in front of 93,173 fans.
The Hulk Hogan bobblehead, which can be pre-ordered here, shows the six-time WWF heavyweight champion in one of his signature poses decked out in his traditional yellow and red colors. Hogan is wearing a boa while standing on the WWE entrance ramp and on the back of the stage are the words “Hulkster Rules”. Hogan did not have any direct talks with FOCO regarding the design, but WWE always has solid input into any bobblehead that FOCO manufactures.
“That is why we are confident each time we bring one of their products to market,” said Davino.
Hogan is one of several WWE bobbleheads that FOCO has created including Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, Ric Flair, The Undertaker, Becky Lynch, The Rock, Andre The Giant and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
So, what’s next?
“Let’s just say we have the ultimate opportunity to bring more to market, right now it’s a mystery,” said Davino.
Hmmm.
Hulkamania has been running wild since 1984 and Hogan’s fans have always followed his three demandments of training, saying your prayers and eating your vitamins. Now, arguably the most iconic superstar in the history of professional wrestling is captured on a magnificent bobblehead from FOCO. So that leads me to this question…
Whacha gonna do brother, when the 24 inch pythons and the Hulk Hogan bobblehead runs wild on you?
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