Horace Hogan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Bollea
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Horace Horace Boulder Horace Hogan The Predator
Billed height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Billed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Born	October 21, 1965 Tampa, Florida
Debut	January 1990

Michael Bollea (October 21, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Horace Hogan. He is the nephew of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan and cousin of Mike Awesome.

1 Career
2 In wrestling
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Career

Bollea debuted in 1990 under the ring name Horace Boulder. Throughout the early 1990s, he wrestled for the Japanese Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling promotion. On May 7, 1992 in Tokyo, he and Sabu defeated Atushi Onita and Tarzan Goto for the FMW / WWA Tag Team Championship. They held the titles until May 24, 1992, when they were defeated by Goto and Gregory Veritchev in Tokyo.

For much of 1993 Bollea wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation as The Predator, competing in preliminary bouts.

In 1995, Bollea formed the stable "Lethal Weapon" with Hisakatsu Ooya, Mike Awesome and Ricky Fuji. He and Ooya began teaming together, and won the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship from Daisuke Ikeda and Yoshiaki Fujiwara on December 21, 1995 in Yokohama. Their reign lasted until January 5, 1996, when Jason the Terrible and Super Leather defeated them in Tokyo.

Returning to America, Bollea debuted in World Championship Wrestling at Spring Stampede 1998 on April 19, 1998, helping Raven defeat Diamond Dallas Page for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and joining Raven's Flock in the process. He remained in the Flock until the stable disbanded on September 13, 1998.

The fall of 1998 would hold one of the most crucial moments in Hogan's wrestling career. Hulk Hogan, backed by fellow New World Order members, revealed on WCW Monday Nitro that Horace Hogan was the son of his dead brother. Showing a sincerity not seen in previous years, he continued by proclaiming his love to his family and offering Hogan a membership in the nWo. The mood quickly took a turn for the worse, however, when Hulk Hogan bashed his nephew with a steel chair, a wound that would require several stitches, as later revealed. He continued by throwing his nephew off a stretcher and mercilessly beating him. During this time, Hulk Hogan faced a heated rivalry with the Ultimate Warrior, and this scene worked a testament to his fragile state of mind. With fellow nWo members standing in bewilderment, Hulk Hogan finished with "If I could do this to someone I love, imagine what I'm gonna do to you, Warrior!"

Despite their unsettling confrontation, at Halloween Havoc 1998 on October 25, 1998, Hogan joined the nWo by interfering on his uncle's behalf during the final match between Hulk Hogan and the Warrior. He would continue his part in the nWo both in singles competition and tag teaming with the likes of Scott Norton, Stevie Ray, and Vincent. After the mindgames plotted by his uncle, Hogan even participated in a WCW Thunder battle royal for leadership of the nWo Hollywood faction. When the nWo began to dissolve in 1999, Hogan began competing for the WCW Hardcore Championship. He eventually changed his ring name to Horace Hogan.

Hogan and his uncle began feuding with Billy Kidman and the New Blood in April 2000, with Hogan helping his uncle defeat Kidman at Slamboree 2000 on May 7, 2000. However, Hogan defected to the New Blood after the leader of the New Blood, Eric Bischoff, offered him Kidman's girlfriend Torrie in exchange for his assistance. Hogan feuded with his uncle until the 2000 Great American Bash on June 11, 2000, when he refereed a rematch between Kidman and his uncle fairly, allowing his uncle to cleanly defeat Kidman. After Hulk Hogan left WCW in July 2000, Hogan was released from the promotion.

Hogan wrestled on the Floridian independent circuit until being signed to a developmental contract by World Wrestling Entertainment. He remained with the WWE until being released on September 27, 2002, at which point he returned to the independent circuit.