Whatever Happened To Brooke Hogan's Wrestling Career?
Hulk Hogan may be one of the most recognizable stars in professional wrestling history, but the children of the real-life Terry Bollea haven't followed in his footsteps. Out of both of Hogan's children, Brooke and Nick, only his daughter has ever attempted to become a personality within the wrestling business, and her time was fleeting and brief in two separate companies. The world was introduced to the Hogan children on the VH1 reality series "Hogan Knows Best" before either of them stepped foot inside a ring or made any appearances with WWE.
Brooke Hogan is the more famous child of the Hogan family, having dabbled as a wrestling personality and singer. She got her start in the limelight as a reality TV star in her own right, and on social media, she touts herself as an entrepreneur, having attempted multiple business ventures throughout her life.
Despite her good looks, the signature platinum blonde hair that's synonymous with the Hogan family, her charisma, and of course, her family stage name, Brooke was never successful in the wrestling business, where she attempted to make a name for herself for a brief time. With that in mind, let's find out why her sports entertainment run didn't work out.
"Hulkamania" had already been running wild for 11 years prior to his daughter's birth, so one could say that Brooke Hogan was born into the business. Despite that fact, she didn't debut in professional wrestling until WWF had morphed WWE post-lawsuit, bought out WCW, and transitioned into its Ruthless Aggression Era. Hogan's one and only appearance for the sports entertainment giant was alongside her father in an angle in July 2006, prior to the release of her first album later that year.
Hogan, who was only just 18 years old at the time, appeared on the July 15 episode of "Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIII." Randy Orton flirted with Hogan, then challenged her father to a match at WWE SummerSlam 2006. The pair flirted throughout the night before Hogan got in a car to leave the arena, only for Orton to hit him with an RKO. Instead of continuing the angle with the real Hogan, Orton appeared on a later episode of "WWE Raw" with a fake Hogan family, and kissed the daughter. Orton and faced the "Hulkster" at SummerSlam, but the rest of the Hogan family wasn't involved.
As previously mentioned, the Hogan family daughter didn't appear on WWE programming moving forward. It appears that she never had any interest in entering the squared circle at the time, as she wasn't training to be a wrestler, and continued to focus on her music and reality television career for the next few years.
Brooke Hogan's music career started early in life, when she signed with Trans Continental Records in 2002 at the age of 14. Her first single, "Everything to Me," was released that summer and made it to number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Hogan went on the road to tour with Hilary Duff and the Backstreet Boys to promote her debut album, "Brooke Hogan: This Voice," but the album was never released due to her record label's bankruptcy.
Hogan and her father were profiled on VH1 in a special titled "(Inside) Out: Hulk Hogan, Stage Dad," which was so successful, it led to the creation of "Hogan Knows Best" on the network. The reality series debuted in July 2005, and chronicled the Hogan family's lives, focusing on Brooke and Hulk as an overprotective father as she attempted to get her music career off the ground.
Hogan's first hit single "About Us," featuring rapper Paul Wall, premiered on the Season 2 finale of "Hogan Knows Best" and reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her first album, "Undiscovered" was released in October 2006, and debuted at 28 on the Billboard 200. "Hogan Knows Best" ended on VH1 due to Hulk Hogan's controversies , but his daughter signed on to do her own spinoff series, "Brooke Knows Best." The series premiered in July 2008 and centered around the young pop star's life and music career while living in South Beach, Miami. It also dealt with her family issues, including Nick Hogan's arrest following a serious car accident and her parents' divorce. "Brooke Knows Best" ended in 2009, after just two seasons.
Hogan released her second album, "The Redemption," in the summer of 2009. Singles from the album included "Falling" and "Hey Yo!" Hogan released a mixtape called "Judgment Day" ahead of the album's release to promote it.
During a break from her music career, Brooke Hogan gave the wrestling industry another shot when she signed with Total Nonstop Action – the promotion where her father worked at the time — in May 2012. Hogan was signed to appear as an on-screen authority figure, as well as a backstage consultant for the Knockouts division. Then-TNA President Dixie Carter said that she got to know Hogan by working with her during her music career. Carter said she loved Hogan's knowledge and passion for wrestling, and the ideas she came up with. Hogan was open about her TNA stint being temporary , though she was excited about being part of the promotion.
Hogan appeared on TNA television throughout the middle of 2012, making matches within the Knockouts division for stars including Miss Tessmacher, Tara, Velvet Sky, and Mickie James. Hogan's primary storyline saw her get into a secret relationship with Bully Ray. The storyline also involved Aces & Eights, the stable feuding with her father and Sting.
Ray saved Hogan from an Aces & Eights kidnapping at one point in the storyline, and she agreed to marry him. The in-ring wedding dissolved into chaos when Tazz, one of Ray's groomsmen, revealed himself to be with the faction, and the group attacked both men. Following the beatdown, Hulk Hogan, the general manager of TNA at the time, gave Ray a World Championship match. Following the event, Ray turned his back on both of the Hogans and revealed himself to be president of Aces & Eights. Hogan got a divorce from her on-screen husband, ending the storyline. Hogan and TNA amicably parted ways in August 2013 .
Not quite done with the wrestling world following her stint in TNA, Brooke Hogan attempted to start her own promotion. In 2017, Hogan, alongside Lacey Von Erich, Ariel Toombs (the daughter of Roddy Piper), Brittany Page, and Christy Hemme, were set to be involved in the creation of an all-women's wrestling league. Hogan said that they acquired a roster of 40+ women were looking at tour dates in September. She revealed that the women had partnered with Johnny Cafarella, a producer and host for the original Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, who went on to found Wrestlicious. The Daughters of Wrestling promotion quickly fizzled out with no word on what exactly caused its failure to launch.
Hogan then tried to revive her singing career following her time in TNA . In July 2015, she released a alternative country song called "Girlfriend," followed by an EP two months later. She released another EP in 2018 called "So Many Summers," and dropped a new pop single in November 2019 called "Touch My Body." Hogan released a cover of Milo Green's "Move" in the summer of 2020, and at that time, she described her music as adult contemporary pop. She released another country song titled "Love People" in January 2021. In 2024, Hogan released a few different non-album singles, including "Boys Trip."
Hogan also ventured into the world of interior design with her company "BB Designs by Brooke," located in Nashville. The company is dedicating to creating personalized designs for residential homes, as well as providing full-service installations for investment properties.
From Nick Hogan's near-fatal crash that left his friend permanently disabled, to Hulk and Linda Hogan's divorce after he allegedly had an affair with his daughter's best friend , to Hulk's sex tap leak with his best friend's wife and subsequent Gawker lawsuit, the family has been through its fair shame of drama. In 2015, Hulk Hogan was fired from WWE and pulled from the Hall of Fame after a racist rant from 2007 was uncovered during the Gawker libel lawsuit. Following the rant, Hogan defended her father, posting a now-deleted poem, titled "If You Knew My Father" and photo on her Facebook account. In the poem, Hogan wrote that her father never wanted to hurt his fans or family. Hulk was re-instated to the Hall of Fame and brought back to the company in July 2018.
Hogan seems to have distanced herself from her father in the following years, however. She wasn't present for Hulk's third marriage to Sky Daily, a yoga instructor. The small ceremony was reportedly attended by the couple's closest friends and relatives, but Hogan wasn't present, and even issued a statement about her absence, revealing that she wanted privacy while wishing her father well. The "Hulkster" remains a controversial figure, and the status of their current relationship remain unclear.
