Hulk Hogan: This is what Hulk Hogan would have done if he hadn’t been a wrestler

Wrestling icon Hulk Hogan said he once chased a different dream, one that had nothing to do with body slams or championship belts.

Before becoming one of the most recognizable names in professional wrestling, Hogan says he tried to join two of the biggest bands in rock history: Metallica and The Rolling Stones. And he insists, if he had gotten the gig, he would have walked away from the wrestling ring “like that,” he told VICE in 2014, snapping his fingers.

“I would have quit wrestling to play in The Rolling Stones or Metallica like that,” he said.


Hogan, who dominated sports entertainment through the 1980s and 90s with 12 world title wins across WWE and WCW, started as a bassist in Florida bar bands. Before Hulkamania swept across the globe, Terry Bollea (his real name) was playing rock shows under dim lights and dreaming of arenas filled with music fans, not wrestling chants.

That passion never left him.

Two dreams, two rejections

According to Hogan, his first big swing came in the early ’90s, when he was presenting an award alongside Jerry Hall, then-partner of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger. Hall mentioned the band was looking for a new bassist after Bill Wyman’s departure in 1993.

“She had already told me her kids were big fans,” Hogan recalled. “So I was like, ‘Look, I used to play bass. I know all the Rolling Stones' songs. Tell Mick, I could show up, rehearse one day, and play everything.’”

Hogan said he mailed Hall merchandise for her kids, hoping it would help. He never heard back.

Years later, when Jason Newsted left Metallica in 2001, Hogan saw another chance. “I heard Metallica needed a bass player, and brother, I was writing letters, made a tape of myself playing, and sent it to their management,” he said. “Kept making calls… Never heard a word back either.”

Band members respond

While Hogan’s story has gained attention over the years, members of Metallica have cast doubt on it. Drummer Lars Ulrich told The Howard Stern Show he had no memory of Hogan ever auditioning or being in contact with the band.

“That one... I was scratching my head,” Ulrich said. “I certainly have no recollection of doing anything with Hulk Hogan.”

Frontman James Hetfield added, with a laugh:

“Huh? Definitely not. But it’s a good fit, he makes us look very small.”

Had the stars aligned differently, Hogan says he might never have become the larger-than-life figure fans know today.