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The Complete Hulk Hogan is now proud to present an interview with Peter Young, Hulk's longtime agent. Peter recalls his boyhood wrestling fandom and the role it played in him suggesting Hulk for the iconic Thunderlips part in Rocky III. Peter's sister Rhonda was Sly's casting director. Peter, who also repped Mr. T, also recalls the heady Rock n Wrestling days, the Richard Belzer incident, Hulk's 96 heel turn, and his bumpy relationship with Vince McMahon Jr. It wouldn't be The Complete without Peter's testimony. Link in reply 👇

It's one month before the release of Rocky III, and AWA crowds couldn't be more fired up at the prospect of Hulk Hogan taking the world title off Nick Bockwinkel. As discussed on the latest episode of The Complete Hulk Hogan, here's wonderful raw footage of the April 18, 1982 clash in St. Paul, MN. Listen to the hunger in that crowd on the finish. The result, of course, was overturned. Anyone who tells you Rocky III made Hogan a babyface phenomenon is way off. He CAME IN to the movie's release as essentially the most over babyface in the country. Who else is getting reactions like this in 82?

This is massive. As discussed on the latest episode of The Complete Hulk Hogan, we believe this is the first time Hulk ever uttered the phrase "Hulkamania" in a televised interview. It aired Sept. 27, 1980, and was taped Sept. 10, 1980. The idea that "Hulkamania" was first deployed as an obnoxious heel phrase from a vainglorious Hogan - and not after Rocky III as part of his face turn - blew our minds. So Hulkamania was running wild in 1980, and the fans hated it! Here Hogan also hints at magazine and TV offers coming in. We wonder, is this the earliest hint at Stallone's interest in him? We're pretty sure we know what magazine he's talking about - more on that on an upcoming episode of The Complete. Amazingly, Hogan also predicts here that he'll be the superhero of the 1980s - and it's said in a way that fans are expected to scoff at, not believe in. At first, Hulkamania was not supposed to be something the fans got behind. Quite the opposite. Accept this reality.

The Complete Hulk Hogan doesn't just scour, it uncovers. Thanks to the intrepid efforts of @maskedwrestlers, we've secured video of one of Hogan's earliest squash matches in Dec. 1979 against staple WWF jobber Sylvano Sousa. This video, we thought, was lost to the dustbin when we covered 1979. In our latest episode of The Complete, we add this squash to the canon, as well as welcome longtime New York wrestling journalist and photographer @JohnArezzi for an interview. John had a front row seat to the pre-Hogan WWF, and shared the ring with Sylvano in his one and only TV match for WWF, teaming with Sylvano against Dusty Rhodes. It's a great story. John also has great insights about all elements of this time period, from Bruno to Graham to Backlund, to the tenor and rhythms of the MSG crowd, to how Hogan was regarded in his first WWF run. Hopefully the first of many more such UNEARTHINGS to come on The Complete ... Link in reply 👇

Related to our discussion this week with Tito Santana on working with a young Hulk Hogan in early 1980 (spreaker.com/episode/the-com…), here's fan footage of the house show match we discussed. It's March 7, 1980 in a high school gym in McKeesport, PA. It was in these cramped buildings in smaller towns on untelevised cards that Hulk, Tito and their contemporaries really honed their abilities and got their in-ring rhythms down. #thecompletehulkhogan