Why Hulk Hogan Matters - by David Shoemaker (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A fitting tribute to the most popular and provocative professional wrestler of all time.

Step into the ring as David Shoemaker wrestles with the legacy of the iconic Hulk Hogan. Why Hulk Hogan Matters traces the explosive heat and heel turns of how Hulk Hogan became a true cultural phenomenon.

Whether you're a lifelong Hulkamanic or fascinated by the Hulk's truly unique, larger-than-life celebrity, Why Hulk Hogan Matters is the ultimate homage to a legend of the ring.

David Shoemaker has been writing about wrestling since 2009. He is the host of the podcast The Masked Man Show With Kaz and the author of The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling.

Review Quotes

"I despise Hulk Hogan for pretty boring reasons--his sex tape bankrupted the media company that employed me at the time--and yet I devoured this enormously wise and deftly judicious tribute to that bum. David Shoemaker writes with the wide-eyed reverence of a Reagan '80s kid but also the clear-eyed wisdom of an oft-exasperated 2026 adult, beautifully illustrating what makes the Hulkster so deserving of our awe, our respect, our sympathy, our confusion, our disappointment, and our contempt, or at least mine. Essential reading even if you've never heard the phrase 'Fingerpoke of Doom' in your life." -- Rob Harvilla

"Insightful, thought provoking and tremendously entertaining. Redefines what a wrestling book can be." -- Brian Gewirtz