Anyone who knows me personally knows I’m a massive wrestling
fan. I’ve been following it since I was eight. I’ve gone back and forth over
the years, but in my heart, I’ve always respected the art form.
If you really know me, you know I’ve always rooted for the
heels more than the babyfaces. That started because of one man: Hulk Hogan.
When I first started watching, it was Saturday
Night’s Main Event. Hogan was always the centerpiece. All his bullshit
about training, saying your prayers, and eating your vitamins—man, I thought it
was so annoying. To me, he was just the superhero guy who won every time. I
didn’t get hooked until I met Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.
You see, I never believed in Hulk Hogan. He was too good to
be true. He talked about being a good guy who didn't cheat, but then I’d see
him raking backs and doing whatever it took to stay in the spotlight. He tried
to steal Macho Man’s woman. He took the spotlight from Andre—the most
monumental wrestler of all time. It took "The Brain" for Andre to
finally see his own worth and go after the title. And don't even get me started
on WrestleMania IX. Bret Hart was supposed to be the future, and here comes
Hulk trying to "save" his buddy. I was never down with the red and
yellow.
I just finished watching the Netflix series, Real
American: Hulk Hogan. It focused on his real-life failures and mistakes. It
humanized him. I hated seeing what he went through, even though a lot of it was
self-induced and he barely apologized for any of it. I won't get into the
politics, but the fact that he equated speaking at the RNC to being in the ring
told me one thing: He was an addict. He was addicted to the crowd.
Unfortunately, that happens to a lot of people in that business.
Watching it made me reflect on my own life—the mistakes I’ve
made, the poor choices, and the people I’ve hurt. I’m grateful I’m still on
this planet to try and make amends, especially with the people closest to me. I
can’t totally judge the man because we all fall down. But what I will say is
this: Do you come back ready to atone, or do you just decide that believing in
Jesus takes care of everything?
For me, religion is one of the great dividers. I’m not
saying religion itself is horrible, but I hate how people use it as a broom to
sweep their sins under the carpet. You have to understand that when you hurt
people, you can’t just say "I believe in God" and expect it all to go
away. For the people you hurt, it doesn't.
Hulk Hogan is a case study showing that we all bleed the
same. We all go through bullshit. We just have to learn how to manage it and
not let it eat us alive. We have to stop acting like victims. Our decisions set
the course for our lives. Yes, people will hurt us for no reason sometimes, but
we decide how to navigate forward. You have to transcend the victim mentality
and move toward a survivor’s way of life.
I look at myself every day and ask: What can I do to be a
better person? I do my best. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. But I
always live by two words:
BEGIN AGAIN
