Sports |

Pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan recalls Andre the Giant, local venues on promotional tour for his new beer

BEVERLY HILLS – Say your prayers, eat your vitamins and … drink your beer?

Clearly, it’s a new age of Hulkamania, but the line wrapping around Beverage Warehouse in Beverly Hills Wednesday afternoon suggested that plenty remembered how it all started.

Pro wrestling icon Hulk Hogan was on his third stop of the day as part of a promotional launch tour for his new Real American Beer.

His recent appearance at the Republican National Convention couldn’t have hurt, but the fact that there was little build-up for the appearances and still so many that showed up – as they did at both stops earlier Wednesday in Rochester Hills and Troy, too – might have as much to do with a passionate fan base that has been around since his meteoric rise in the World Wrestling Federation, now WWE, in the 1980s.

Hogan’s push to stardom coincided with Vince McMahon’s push to take what was once his father’s company to nationwide recognition. He headlined the first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden in 1985, teaming with Mr. T in an event that also included stars like Yankees manager Billy Martin and Muhammad Ali that ended up drawing over one million viewers through closed-circuit TV.

He went on to headline seven of the first eight WrestleManias, but none bigger than WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987. Setting a world indoor attendance record at the time – the official number has since been widely debated – at least 78,000 fans watched Hogan body slam Andre the Giant and win the match with his patented leg drop, arguably the industry’s most unforgettable moment.

When asked how many Real Americans his infamous Mania foe could have put down, Hogan recalled watching Andre – who at times was billed at over 500 pounds – put down 108 12-ounce Miller Lite beers. “These Real Americans go down pretty easy when they’re cold, so I’d think he could break that record,” Hogan said. “Especially if I challenged him.”

Hogan, who signed 12-packs and cans for every last fan that arrived at those Oakland County stops Wednesday, had WWF appearances at Cobo Arena, Joe Louis Arena and the Michigan State Fairgrounds before that famed Andre bout.

He headlined a non-televised show for the promotion’s show at the Palace of Auburn Hills just over a month after it opened in 1988 and would fight there at least a handful of times from 1989-92 in matches that included opponents such as WWE Hall of Famers “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Ric Flair and The Undertaker.

Later, Hogan exchanged his trademark red and yellow colors for black and white with WCW for a run as the head of the nWo faction, part of a head-to-head battle with WWE that saw pro wrestling popularity hit unprecedented heights. In his “Hollywood” era, he held the heavyweight title for 359 days, second only to his own record set several years prior, until Lex Luger dethroned Hogan on Aug. 4, 1997, at the Palace. Broadcast live on WCW’s flagship show, Monday Night Nitro, it drew the highest Nielsen TV rating (4.4) for the show up to that point.

“Auburn Hills is just crazy,” Hogan recalled. “I enjoyed going there all the time. It was a little hike from the airport. That was usually a four-to-five beer drive. But no, a lot of fond memories. Cobo Arena, Joe Louis, the Silverdome.

“The history here is just amazing, because I wrestled here for 40 years. I started in 1977. I’ve seen it all, brother. I know where the bodies are buried.”

Hogan said that the idea to suplex the beer market came to him at a convention in Atlanta when he met someone from Pabst Blue Ribbon. After Bud Light’s marketing controversy last year, he saw an open lane for “a beer that America’s been waiting for.”

“Since the Democrats and Republicans won’t talk, I placed my idea at the top of the food chain, brother,” Hogan said. “The beer, and the idea, is, it doesn’t matter what your sexual preference is, what your color of skin is, or where you’re from. It’s all real Americans. The whole idea, as crazy as it sounds – it doesn’t sound crazy anymore – is to bring America back together one idea at a time.”

Those are lofty ambitions, but at the least, Wednesday’s four Oakland County appearances showed Hogan can at least draw plenty of supporters from the area, and send them home happy.

This is the sixth market Real American Beer has launched in as many weeks. According to Real American Beer CEO Terry Francis, the plan is to continue moving into a different state or two a week for a while, with the product being brewed in several locations to keep up with demands.

“It normally takes seven-to-nine months to get a product ready, and we were able to do it in two months,” Francis said. “The same way Hulk is able to move mountains, we’ve been able to move mountains with this beer.”

Hogan was scheduled to make four Macomb County Appearances, including two in Sterling Heights, on Thursday before the tour moves on.