| Horace Hogan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Michael Allan Bollea[1] |
| Born | (1965-10-21)October 21, 1965 (age 59)[2] Tampa, Florida, U.S.[2] |
| Children | 2[3] |
| Family | Hulk Hogan (uncle)[4][5] Nick Hogan (cousin) Brooke Hogan (cousin) Mike Awesome (cousin)[1][6] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Axe Boulder Horace[7] Horace Boulder[6] Horace Hogan[6] The Predator[2] Prey of the Dead[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko WCW Power Plant[7] |
| Debut | January 1990[2] |
| Retired | 2002 |
Michael Allan Bollea (born October 21, 1965) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. The nephew of fellow wrestlerHulk Hogan, he is best known for his appearances withWorld Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s under thering nameHorace Hogan.[2][7]
Bollea was trained byBoris Malenko, debuting on the Floridianindependent circuit in January 1990 under the ring name "Horace Boulder".[2] Bollea competed for promotions such as the International Championship Wrestling Alliance.
In May 1991, Bollea joined the JapanesepromotionFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.[6][8] In mid-1991, Bollea formed a dominanttag team with a fellowgaijin wrestler,The Gladiator.[9] The duo engaged in a long-running feud withAtsushi Onita and Sambo Asako.
In April 1992, Bollea began tagging withSabu. On May 7, 1992, inTokyo, Bollea and Sabu defeated Onita andTarzan Goto for theWWA World Martial Arts Tag Team Championship. They held the championship until May 24, 1992, when they were defeated by Goto and Gregory Veritchev in Tokyo.[10] Bollea continued to compete with FMW until December 1992.
In January 1993, Bollea joined theWorld Wrestling Federation as "The Predator". He made his televised debut on the January 31, 1993, episode ofWWF Wrestling Challenge losing toEl Matador.[11] This was his sole televised match in the WWF, as he competed exclusively athouse shows for the remainder of his tenure.[11] He was used primarily as ajobber, losing to wrestlers such asJim Brunzell,Jim Powers, andMarty Jannetty.[11] Bollea made his final appearance with the WWF in August 1993.[11]
In April 1993, Bollea toured Japan withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, wrestling as "Axe Boulder".
In early 1995, Bollea briefly performed withExtreme Championship Wrestling under the ring name "Prey of the Dead".[2]
In mid-1995, Bollea returned to FMW. He joined thestable "Lethal Weapon" withHisakatsu Oya, The Gladiator,Mr. Pogo, andRicky Fuji. He and Oya began teaming together and won the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship fromDaisuke Ikeda andYoshiaki Fujiwara on December 21, 1995, inYokohama.[12] Their reign lasted until January 5, 1996, when Jason the Terrible andSuper Leather defeated them in Tokyo.[12]
Returning to America, Bollea debuted inWorld Championship Wrestling. On the February 23, 1997 episode ofWCW Worldwide, Bollea, as Horace Boulder, defeated J.L. (Jerry Lynn). On April 19, 1998, atSpring Stampede, Boulder officially debuted helpingRaven defeatDiamond Dallas Page for theWCW United States Heavyweight Championship and joiningRaven's Flock in the process,[7] under the name "Horace Boulder".[13] He remained in the Flock until the stable disbanded on September 13, 1998.[13]
The fall of 1998 held one of the most crucial moments in Horace's wrestling career. Hollywood Hogan, backed by fellowNew World Order (nWo) Hollywood members, revealed on the October 19 episode ofWCW Monday Nitro that Horace was the son of his dead brother.[13] Showing a sincerity not seen in previous years, he continued by proclaiming his love to his family and offering Horace a membership in the nWo.[13] The mood took a turn when Hogan bashed his nephew with a steel chair, causing a wound that required several stitches. He continued by throwing his nephew off a stretcher and mercilessly beating him.[13] During this time, Hogan was involved in a heated rivalry withThe Ultimate Warrior, and this scene worked as a testament to Hulk's fragile state of mind. With fellow nWo members standing in bewilderment, Hogan took the mic and said "If I could do this to someone I love, imagine what I'm gonna do to you, Warrior!"[13]
Despite their unsettling confrontation, on October 25 atHalloween Havoc, Horace joined nWo Hollywood by interfering on his uncle's behalf during the final match between Hollywood Hogan and The Warrior.[13][14] Thereafter, he began using the ring name "Horace Hogan" to signify his blood ties with Hulk Hogan. He wrestled for the nWo in singles matches and teamed withScott Norton,Stevie Ray,Vincent; in early 1999, he andBrian Adams challenged for theWCW World Tag Team Championship while feuding with The Four Horsemen.[13] Hogan also participated in aWCW Thunder battle royal for leadership of the nWo Hollywood faction.[13] When the nWo Elite and B-Team began to dissolve in 1999, Horace began competing for theWCW Hardcore Championship.[13]
Horace and his uncle beganfeuding withBilly Kidman andthe New Blood in April 2000, with Horace helping Hogan defeat Kidman atSlamboree on May 7, 2000.[13] He defected to the New Blood after its leader,Eric Bischoff, offered him Kidman's girlfriendTorrie Wilson in exchange for his assistance. Horace feuded with his uncle untilThe Great American Bash on June 11, when he refereed a rematch between Kidman and his uncle fairly, allowing his uncle to defeat Kidman after interference from Torrie who gave Hulk some brass knuckles, which he used to get the win.[13] After Hulk Hogan left WCW in July 2000 due to a legitimate incident with Vince Russo that happened at that year'sBash at the Beach pay-per-view, Horace left the promotion.
After leaving WCW, Bollea began wrestling around the world, appearing with promotions including theX Wrestling Federation, theWorld Wrestling Council inPuerto Rico andFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.
In 2002, Bollea was signed to a developmental contract byWorld Wrestling Entertainment.[7] He was assigned to the Ohio-basedHeartland Wrestling Associationdevelopment territory. In September, Bollea was recalled to the main roster, wrestlingdark matches for theSmackDown brand. He remained with WWE until being released later that month.[7] Following his release, Bollea wrestled briefly on the independent circuit before retiring from professional wrestling to work in the construction industry.[3]
Bollea is the son of Alan Bollea, brother of professional wrestler Terry Bollea better known asHulk Hogan, making him Hogan's nephew. Bollea's parents separated when he was a child. In 1986, his mother, Martha Alfonso, was murdered by her boyfriend, and his father died of a drug overdose. Bollea has two sisters.[4][5][14]
The late professional wrestlerMichael "Mike Awesome" Alfonso was Bollea's cousin. The duo were childhood friends, with Bollea encouraging Alfonso to wrestle and helping him secure a job withWorld Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s.[1][6]
Bollea has two daughters.[3]
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