For many, Hulk Hogan was the embodiment of morality. For others, he was a fallen hero. For many, he was their first childhood hero. For some, the same childhood hero turned into a villain. For many, he was the one wrestler who put wrestling on the map. For some, he was a politician who used his backstage politics to remain on top. An A-lister, Hogan had the backstage power to mould everything in his favour.

Hulk Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, died aged 71 on July 24 in Florida. The 24-inch pythons, the bandana and the moustache, Hogan had all the tools to become the most recognisable face in wrestling. And he did become the megastar. For the majority of fans in the 1980s, Hulk Hogan meant wrestling and wrestling meant Hulk Hogan.

After buying WWE from his father, Vince McMahon Senior, Vince McMahon junior had one goal: to take wrestling worldwide and make it a juggernaut that it is today. WWE has a $500-million per-year deal with Netflix for 10 years. It is televised and streamed live in more than 150 countries around the globe. It is valued at more than $9 billion.

Vince had mega plans, and he needed someone who could take his product to the moon. Hogan, who returned to WWE in late 1983, was chosen to catapult WWE from being a territorial promotion to a global force. Hogan's first WWE Championship win over Iron Sheik on January 23, 1984, kicked off Hulkamania, which continues to run wild.

WWE targeted the younger audience and Hogan was probably the most famous American among kids. Dressed in Red and Yellow, Hulk encouraged the kids to "train, say your prayers and eat your vitamins." He was portraying the larger-than-life persona in WWE. He was everywhere. From the wrestling ring to TV to Hollywood, Hulkamania was running wild in every corner.

Wrestlemania 1, in 1985, marked a new era in WWE. Courtesy of the celebrities' involvement, WWE became a mainstream thing. Cyndi Lauper, Billy Martin, Muhammad Ali, Liberace and The Rockettes were among the celebrities who graced the first Wrestlemania. Hulk Hogan teamed up with another celebrity, Mr. T, against Rowdy Piper and Paul Orndorff.

Buoyed by the success of Wrestlemania 1, WWE presented Wrestlemania 2 from three different venues. Hogan faced King Kong Bundy in a steel cage match and closed the show again. At Wrestlemania 3, Hogan's most memorable and 'viral' moment came when he bodyslammed Andre The Giant. Andre was 238 kg at that time. Hogan bodyslamming Andre was the first thing that the fans saw for many years at the start of any WWE show.

Hulk main-evented Wrestlemania after Wrestlemania after Wrestlemania and became Mr. Wrestlemania. He closed the show eight times. Needless to say, WWE was Hulk Hogan and Hulk Hogan was WWE. Hulkamania wasn't just running wild; it became a Tsunami.

Earthquake, a superstar, halted Hulkamania by attacking Hogan. It left fans worried about his well-being. The outpouring of support for Hulk under the 'Get Well Hulk' campaign brought him back to life. He made his return and defeated Earthquake at SummerSlam 1990. Hulk's second stint with WWE came to an end in 1993.

A year later, Hulk signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). With Hogan, came his aura, popularity and it gave WCW the guts to directly compete with WWE. Hogan made huge financial gains after joining WCW. Plus, he had the creative control.

Hogan's fan had grown up, and his character became stale. He needed a change. He needed to get away from red and yellow. A character change was the need of the hour. Hogan finally embraced the heel turn at Bash at the Beach 1996. But he had rejected a heel-turn pitch from former WCW president Eric Bischoff in 1995.

“A year before all this went down, I went down to Tampa to meet with Hulk because the red and yellow thing, the babyface thing, the Hulkamania thing, wasn’t working. He knew it wasn’t working. I knew it wasn’t working. The fans knew it wasn’t working. Everybody knew it wasn’t working, so I flew down there and said, ‘okay, I’m going to go down there and take my best shot at convincing Hulk to turn heel. I’m selling my guts out and I see him doing this, it’s this funky thing he does with his lips. It looks like a fish. And he’s stroking his Fu Manchu and I’m thinking he’s either really loving this or he’s going to punch me," he said on Talk is Jericho podcast in 2020.

Hogan's heel turn was kept under wraps. Hogan came out during the main event between The Outsiders (Kevin Nash and Scott Hall) and the team of Randy Savage, Sting and Lex Luger. The impact of Hogan's leg drop to babyface (good guy) Randy Savage was heard around the world and left the fans shattered. The kids were devastated, the adults were angry as Hogan embraced the dark side.

The first thing Hogan did was ditch Red and Yellow. He wore a Black bandana, black gloves, a black t-shirt and black pants. There is a famous clip of a granny trying to fight "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan on a WCW show. Yes, the heel turn worked.

Little did the fans know that the group would revolutionise the entire wrestling industry. Riding on nWo's success, WCW ruled the roost and dominated WWE. nWo was also criticised as the main event only belonged to them. It was "cool" to be an nWo fan.

Like Hogan, WWE needed a change. They embraced "Attitude" and ushered in the Attitude Era. Slowly and steadily, WWE's plans worked. It sometimes got vulgar and in the end, WWE won the Monday Night War. Even Hogan couldn't save WCW's sinking ship. He had already left WWE by the time WWE bought WCW. Hogan made his last WCW appearance at Bash at the Beach 2000, the same pay-per-view where he formed nWo four years ago, in July 1996. WWE bought WCW in March 2001.

Hogan returned to WWE as "Hollywood" Hogan. There was a final chapter to be written. And Hogan, aged 48, delivered a classic against The Rock at Wrestlemania 18. The cheers blew off the roof for both superstars. There was storytelling, emotions and betrayal. Hogan took the adults back to their childhood, who, in turn, forced him to turn into a babyface (good guy). Hogan's red and yellow clothes made a return soon.

Despite being WWE's most popular superstar, Hogan had a love-hate relationship with the company. He left WWE on several occasions only to make a return. The fans turned on him in his later years and he was heavily booed on Raw's Netflix debut.

Hulk Hogan, the most polarising figure in WWE, deserves the majority of credit for WWE's success. The Rocks, John Cenas, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, CM Punks, got the platform to become megastars in WWE mainly due to Hogan. He inspired more than two generations of wrestlers. No superstar has ever reached the pinnacle of wrestling as a babyface and as a heel like Hogan. He was one of a kind.

There was only one Hulk Hogan, who could confidently announce that he was running for President of the United States on a wrestling show. There was only one Hulk Hogan, who could draw 93,000 fans to a Wrestlemania. And there was only Hulk Hogan, who could make children train, say their prayers and eat their vitamins. Thank you, Hulk aka Terry Bollea.