The year was 1985. MTV was inaugurating a new platform to enjoy music, and icons like Cyndi Lauper benefited from the increased exposure. At the same time, Hulk Hogan was the undisputed star of professional wrestling. He headlined WWE’s first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden with Mr. T against “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Hogan’s win at that event took the industry to greater heights, making her a permanent fixture in Americana.
The two worlds collided when Lauper managed Wendi Richter for her Women’s Championship match against Leilani Kai. Lauper’s popularity as a musician and Hogan’s dominance in the ring ushered in the Rock N’ Wrestling era. Sports entertainment grew exponentially, making its characters household names. But to capitalize on that appeal to younger audiences, WWE greenlit the animated series “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling.”
CBS originally aired the show from September 1985 to October 1986. The show ran for two seasons and reruns until June 1987. It ran for 26 episodes in total, pitting Hogan and the face wrestlers against either the villains or the heel wrestlers. There was renewed interest in the show when it became part of the WWE Network in April 2015, only to be removed after the promotion cut ties with Hogan. However, the show is full of interesting details, thanks to those behind the scenes.
10 Created by DIC Entertainment
As a huge fan of wrestling, DIC Entertainment President and CEO Andy Heyward pitched the idea for the cartoon to Vince McMahon in 1984. He liked the concept and allowed DIC to use WWE’s image and likeness.
In addition to Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling, DIC also produced Inspector Gadget, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, The Real Ghostbusters and Dinosaucers. They also created The Super Mario Bros. Super Show with Captain Lou Albano as Mario.
9 Voice Actors Dubbed The Fighter’s Lines
At the time, WWE wrestlers were in high demand and traveled on an almost daily basis. That schedule made it difficult for them to record their lines for the animated series. Instead, DIC used voice actors to bring the characters to life. (We’ll get to who was behind those voices a bit later.)
Unlike modern animated films in which the voice actors recorded their lines separately, the voice actors in the Hulk Hogan cartoon recorded as a group.
8 Live action segments were filmed in Culver City
In addition to the animated parts, each episode featured live-action vignettes featuring various WWE personalities. In a 2013 interview for WWEClassics.com, longtime announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund said that the five-minute segments between the cartoons were recorded at a production facility in Culver City.
He had to put in two or three days a week, which required him to fly from New York City to Los Angeles. He has been in segments with Jimmy Hart, The Junkyard Dog, Andre the Giant, and The Fabulous Moolah, to name a few.
7 A stellar voice-over cast
Brad Garrett voiced the character of Hulk Hogan in the animation. Garrett, of course, became known as Robert on the hit comedy series Everybody Loves Raymond. Meanwhile, James Avery was the voice behind Junkyard Dog. He achieved great success as Philip Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Lewis Arquette, the father of Patricia and David, also recorded a few episodes on Okerlund’s behalf.
George DiCenzo became one of the voice actors after he became Marty McFly’s grandfather in Back to the Future. Other voice actors contributing to popular animated series include Jodi Carlisle (The Wild Thornberrys) and Pat Fraley (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).
6 Jim Steinman composed the theme song
Jim Steinman’s composition became the cartoon’s intro soundtrack and Hogan’s original entrance music. However, he did not appeal to wrestling fans and was replaced by Rick Derringer’s “Real American”.
Steinman found musical success writing and producing hit songs like Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Air Supply’s “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All,” Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now,” and ” It does not matter that.”
5 Coca-Cola Telecommunications Distributed A Special Episode
The Coca-Cola Company getting involved in first-run syndication doesn’t sound good. However, Coca-Cola Telecommunications became involved in Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling. It was the syndication unit of Columbia Pictures Television, which was part of Coca-Cola Television.
The company operated from November 1986 to December 1987 before becoming Columbia Pictures Television. It changed names to Columbia TriStar Television in 1994 and Sony Pictures Television in 2002.
4 Two stories in some episodes
Exactly half of the 26 episodes had two stories. Episode 1 had “The Junkyard 500” and “Junkenstein” while Episode 26 had “Rowdy Roddy Reforms” and “Three Little Hulks”.
On the other hand, Episode 2 featured the story of “The Four-Legged Pickpocket” during its 30-minute duration. Jeffrey Scott wrote most of the episodes, while Larry DiTillio, Sandy Fries, and Michael Maurer contributed. It’s not uncommon for cartoons or shows in general to have multiple stories in an episode, and the show experimented with this formula a couple of times.
3 Did not adhere to WWE stories
The long production times meant that the animated series had a separate narrative of what happens in WWE. Therefore, some wrestlers remained good even if they had already turned heel or face on regular programming.
For example, Roddy Piper remained the show’s antagonist despite his face change in 1986. Andre the Giant, meanwhile, remained a good guy in the cartoon, despite turning rude to Hogan in 1987.
2 inspired the creation of a made-for-TV movie
CBS created the “All Star Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Saturday Spectacular” based on their 1985 Saturday morning lineup, including the Hogan cartoon. Piper, Patti LaBelle, Gary Owens, Paul Reubens, and Hervé Villechaize.
Hogan, Captain Lou Albano, New Edition and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also appeared. Mark Evanier wrote and Bob Bowker directed the show.
1 Hogan loved the show
While he was not involved in the production of the cartoon, Hogan approved of the show. “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart said that Hogan had some references to the animated show displayed on the walls of The Immortal One beach bar. Hogan also realized that he couldn’t expand his merchandising line if he wasn’t by Rock ‘n’ Wrestling.
The show may not have lasted very long, but it cemented what the ’80s were all about in WWE. That was to create a family image with a larger-than-life hero that kids could look up to. Hulk Hogan was a perfect case of being the right guy at the right time.