Hulk Hogan’s PRIDE Fighting Claims Debunked: Wrestling’s Most Outlandish Tale

The wrestling world is no stranger to tall tales, but Hulk Hogan’s claim about fighting PRIDE MMA fighters in 1977 might just take the championship belt for most creative fiction. Let me take you down this bizarre rabbit hole that has MMA and wrestling fans alike scratching their heads.

When Wrestling Legends and MMA History Collide

In what can only be described as one of wrestling’s most eyebrow-raising historical revisions, the Hulkster once claimed he battled fighters from Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships during a 1977 tour of Japan. There’s just one tiny problem with this assertion – PRIDE didn’t exist until 1997, a full two decades later.

As someone who’s covered combat sports for years, I’ve heard my share of exaggerated war stories, but this one deserves its own special place in the “Creative Liberty Hall of Fame.”

The Timeline That Doesn’t Add Up

Let’s break down this chronological impossibility:

• 1977: Hogan claims he fought PRIDE fighters in Japan
• 1997: PRIDE Fighting Championships actually launches
• 20 years: The time gap between Hogan’s alleged fights and PRIDE’s existence

I’m not saying the Immortal One can’t bend space and time, but even for pro wrestling, this stretches credulity beyond its breaking point.

What Hogan Actually Did in Japan

To be fair, Hogan did wrestle in Japan extensively throughout his career, particularly for New Japan Pro Wrestling. His battles with Antonio Inoki and other Japanese wrestling legends are well-documented. However, these were professional wrestling matches, not MMA bouts against fighters from an organization that wouldn’t exist for another two decades.

Why This Matters to MMA Fans

You might be wondering why anyone should care about this obviously fictional claim. For those of us who respect both the worlds of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, accuracy matters. The history of combat sports deserves better than revisionist tales that confuse fans and muddy the waters between scripted entertainment and legitimate competition.

PRIDE Fighting Championships holds a sacred place in MMA history. It gave us legendary fighters like Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, and Wanderlei Silva. It deserves to be remembered accurately, not as a backdrop for impossible claims.

Wrestling’s Long Relationship With Reality Stretching

This isn’t the first time wrestling personalities have embellished their accomplishments. From locker room stories to attendance figures, pro wrestling has always had a complicated relationship with objective truth. Hogan himself has a well-documented history of, shall we say, “enhancing” stories from his career.

Remember when he claimed Andre the Giant weighed 700 pounds at WrestleMania III? Or that he slammed him for the first time that night, despite footage existing of him doing so years earlier?

What This Tells Us About Wrestling Culture

In many ways, these exaggerated claims are part of wrestling’s charm. The line between character and performer has always been blurry in professional wrestling. When wrestlers spent decades protecting the business by living their gimmicks, those habits die hard.

I sometimes wonder if old-school wrestlers like Hogan even recognize when they’re blending fiction with reality anymore. After decades of working the crowd, perhaps the work starts working you.

The Crossover Between Wrestling and MMA

The irony is that wrestling and MMA have a legitimate, fascinating shared history that doesn’t need embellishment:

• Catch wrestlers like Karl Gotch influenced both Japanese pro wrestling and early MMA
• Ken Shamrock successfully transitioned between UFC and WWE
• Brock Lesnar became UFC Heavyweight Champion after his initial WWE run
• Josh Barnett embraced both pro wrestling and MMA throughout his career
• Sakuraba earned the nickname “The Gracie Hunter” while incorporating pro wrestling techniques in PRIDE

Learning From Wrestling’s Tall Tales

As fans of combat sports – whether the scripted or legitimate variety – we should approach these stories with a healthy mix of amusement and skepticism. The next time you hear an aging wrestler make an extraordinary claim about their past accomplishments, remember the Hulkster and his time-traveling PRIDE fights.

What’s your favorite wrestling tall tale? Have you heard other claims that defy logic and history? Drop a comment below and let’s share a laugh about the creative storytelling that makes professional wrestling the unique entertainment form we love.

Source: ITR Wrestling