Born Terry Eugene Bollea, pro wrestler “Hulk Hogan” cemented his legacy as an icon in the wrestling universe with his fierce persona, signature moves, and larger-than-life character. His out-of-the-ring antics have also helped him become an integral part of our modern pop-culture fabric with his acting roles and even a cartoon for children. His enduring popularity is evident in the fact that “Hulkamania” has taken over the wrestling world many times in his twenty years in the ring.
While he started as a villain and occasionally played with other personas like “Hollywood Hogan” and being part of a tag-team “the Hulk Machine”, as all-American Hulk Hogan, he enthralled millions of fans across the globe and remains one of the most well-known and beloved wrestlers ever.
While the value of wrestling sports cards has varied over the years, recent times have seen a resurgence in the market. Now may be the right time to make sure you add a Hulk Hogan card or three to your collection so you can be part of the next price surge. To help you find the perfect Hulk card for your collection, let’s take a look at 13 of the best of the best featuring the mighty Mr. Hogan.
The 13 Most Interesting Hulk Hogan Cards: A Closer Look
Here, we'll delve deep into the realm of Hulk Hogan cards, illuminating the 13 best cards that any fan or collector would be thrilled to own.
13. 1985 Topps WWF Wrong Kind Of Music! Hulk Hogan #56
This card from the first Topps series to feature Hulk Hogan is one of the funny cards available in the set. Rather than just being a traditional wrestler shot with all the muscles and intimidation, it’s an amusing little two-panel story of the Hulkster punching through a boom box playing something that is not his beloved Rock and Roll.
This was hardly the only unusual card that Topps printed in this set as they tried to capture the theatrical nature of wrestling in their trading cards. As the top wrestler of the time in the WWF, Hulk was all over the cards in this first set, some of which included Inserts that were sticker cards and others that told little stories like this one, all included alongside more traditional athlete showcases.
Despite its unusual format and historical significance as being the first major publisher release of wrestling cards in the US, copies of this card can be had for highly affordable prices. A PSA Gem Mint copy sold in April 2023 for just $205.06. At prices like that, it might not be too hard to collect the whole 1985 run of the Hulksters Topps cards, which you can track here.
12. 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Autograph Hulk Hogan #AGA-HH /200
If this card looks a bit different than the standard photo of Hulk Hogan, it’s because this card is part of the Allen & Ginter series revived by Topps in recent years. The artwork on these cards is modeled after the namesake’s set published back in the 19th century. They’ve carried on the tradition of featuring a mix of sports figures and celebrities and in their 2006 run, they included Hulk Hogan in that year’s set.
While the texture and appearance matches the classic look, it’s still a triumphant Hulk Hogan with his ‘Hulkamania’ shirt on, flexing for the painter instead of the camera now. The 2006 Allen & Ginter Wrestling Card series also features autographs, so that adds a special connection to the card, which was printed in a set of 200 to ensure more collectors got a chance to purchase them. While the 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter Autograph Hulk Hogan #AGA-HH /200 card can still be found ungraded on the open market for much less, a BGG 9.5 Gem Mint copy sold in August 2022 for $2,459. This could be a good investment opportunity if you can pick up a copy in great shape and have it graded.
11. 2022 Panini Revolution WWE Autographs Kaleidoscope Hulk Hogan #AG-HHG /1
Despite coming out in 2022, the design of this Panini Revolution WWE card perfectly captures the feel of the MTV-driven 1980s. With Hulk Hogan at its center, with his ferocious look and tearing his t-shirt apart to reveal his prodigious muscles, this card ideally encapsulates the wrestler’s glory days in the WWF of old. When you flip it over, however, it notes that Hogan won yet another wrestling title in 2002, 18 years after his first one. Hulkmania has some real staying power, and this is definitely one of the reasons his sports cards are so valuable.
Although this copy is a 1 of 1 and it sold in November 2022 for $960, there are a variety of variants that appeared in larger quantities so you can find one that’s in your price range without too much trouble.
10. 1999 Topps WCW nWo Nitro Hollywood Hogan #33
The story of Hulk Hogan’s career wouldn’t be complete without featuring a card from his period as Hollywood Hogan. At the time, he was away from the WWF/WWE league, instead battling it out within the WCW organization Ted Turner had launched. Later on, he embraced their “New World Order” concept for a while, changing out his signature bright colors and USA apparel for black and white garb, and calling himself Hollywood Hogan. While this went on for a while, it wasn’t too long before fans got their original Hulk Hogan back and he began to win matches as ‘the good guy’ again.
Of course, the image on the 1999 Topps WCW nWo Nitro Hollywood Hogan #33 card speaks to the 1990s turn that wrestling took, where it was less about two guys fighting in a ring, and more about the spectacle of throwing chairs, walking out into the audience, and bringing lots of gimmicks into the fights. Through it all, Hogan remained a fixture in the major matches and was usually one of the winners in the most popular faceoffs. His cards with this alter ego don’t fetch as much as Hulk Hogan cards do, so it isn’t hard to find yourself a Hollywood Hogan card for your collection in the $40 to $50 range, graded and even in premium condition.
9. 2013 Goodwin Champion Event Worn Patch & Autograph Certified Hulk Hogan #M-HH
The Goodwin Champion series from Upper Deck has done another excellent job of pairing an attractive design with the presence of a relic used by the athlete featured on the card. In this case, Hulk Hogan’s threatening point is well-matched with a piece of what looks like the Hulkamania bandana he’s wearing on his head. This is a late-period shot of Hogan, showing off his white hair and mustache, but he remains fit and ready to rumble.
8. 2013 Upper Deck Employee Exclusive Precious Metal Gems (PMG) Purple #E-HH Hulk Hogan Signed Card /125
Upper Deck’s Precious Metal Gems series tends to dominate lists of the most valuable cards because of their mix of compelling shots and limited distribution. Collectors tend to grab them up when they release, especially when they feature a big name like Hogan. They often also come with different distribution levels for different color cards, but although they used this picture of an aging but still virile Hogan on other cards, this was his only PMG card.
When UD decided to hand out 125 copies of a Purple PMG Hulk Hogan card to their employees as a special gift, Hulk appears to have signed this one, which drove up the value of it a lot. While most copies in near mint plus shape are going for between $1,500 and $2,500, this PSA 8, Autograph rating 10 card sold for $10,200 in August 2022.
7. 2015 Topps WWE Chrome Hulk Hogan #83 plus Refractors
In 2015, Topps brought the retired Hulk Hogan into their WWE Chrome set a few years after he retired because, as the card back suggests, “Hulkamania is still running wild!” The 2015 Topps WWE Chrome #83 Hulk Hogan card keeps the nostalgia going by featuring a classic ring photo with Hulk ripping his shirt to reveal his muscled, tanned Southern California physique to a cheering crowd.
This card was printed a good ten years after Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and as we saw more wrestlers make the move from the ring to the silver screen. Would The Rock, John Cena, and Dave Bautista have had such an easy time transitioning into a film career without the Hulkster’s groundbreaking roles? I think not.
This card is still widely available in both ungraded and graded condition, with prices ranging from $10 to about $120. It’s a perfect image to represent the wild nature of Hulk Hogan’s performances in the ring and a great addition to any wrestling card collection.
https://getcardbase.com/2015-topps-wwe-chrome-83-hulk-hogan?grade=psa-10
The 2015 Topps WWE Chrome Wrestling card has several parallels, including an Atomic Refractor, a regular Refractor, an X-Fractor, a Pulsar Refractor (/75), a Gold Refractor (/50), and a Shimmer Refractor (/10). The prices for these other versions vary, however, if you want the Pulsar Refractor version that is signed by the man himself, it will cost a bit more. A PSA 10 Gem Mint version of this card, which was printed in a limited run of 75, sold in May 2022 for $5,160.
6. 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter Code Breaker Thunderlips Autograph Hulk Hogan #AGATH 1/1
Hulk Hogan’s acting career rarely seeps into his sports cards, but this Topps specialty series card is a special case. As referenced earlier on this list, the Allen & Ginter line is based on a Victorian look that hearkens back to the similarly-named series from the 1800’s. In this case, they’ve incorporated one of Hulk Hogan’s more prominent roles, that of “Thunderlips” in the film Rocky III, into the card’s design. This clever concept means that the only reference to Hulk Hogan is in his broadly-written autograph on the front of the card. Otherwise, it looks like a card from another era specifically for the fictional wrestler Hogan portrayed in that film.
It’s a charming spin on the Allen & Ginter concept and kind of a shame they kept it limited to a single card print because Hulk Hogan’s fans would surely snap this one up if it were more widely available, like his standard Allen & Ginter card from 2006. As it is, the single copy available, which was graded in a PSA 10 Gem Mint condition, was sold in March 2023 for $12,000.
5. 1981 Popy Super Puroresu Figures Cards Hulk Hogan Rookie #NNO
This fascinating card is the oldest one on this list, so it depicts a really early shot of the Hulkster flexing for the camera during one of his Japanese tours, where some fans dubbed him “Ichiban” or ‘Number 1’. If you don’t have Google Translate handy, the card notes the wrestler’s weight and height in metric terms as well as referencing his physical prowess and power, along with reference to his then-rival Andre the Giant. This unusual collectible is very rare and it is a major find if you can locate a copy.
Adding to its rarity is the fact that this Japanese-produced card was never released in the US. This copy, graded by PSA at a 10 Gem Mint condition and noted as the only copy in this condition they’ve seen, recently sold for $15,000 in November 2022.
4. 2022 Panini Champion Signature Hulk Hogan #CS-HHG Gold /10 or Blue /49
Panini has recently produced a number of Hulk Hogan cards in limited quantities as part of their Champion Signature series. These parallels feature a fierce-looking shot of Hulk Hogan over a space where the man himself has signed each card.
In keeping with the Panini tradition of limited print runs to drive up pricing, the Gold parallel, which has a yellow gold border, was printed in a limited run of 10. As a result, we’ve seen one of the 10 Gold copies sell for just shy of $20,000 in April 2022. In truth, this series has 20 different parallels of each base card. If the most exclusive copies are a bit out of your price range, copies of the Blue parallel are selling for between $1,500 and $2,000. A tidy sum, but for a piece of Hulkmania history, it may be worth it.
3. 1985 Topps WWF Hulk Hogan #1
In 1985, one of the biggest sports card publishers in the world, Topps, took up wrestling cards for the first time when it signed a deal with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Hulk Hogan was one of the WWF’s most popular performers, so it’s no surprise that he ended up on card #1 in this iconic set filled with 1980s wrestlers.
The image of 1985 Topps WWF Hulk Hogan #1 is classic Hulk Hogan, with his signature headband, clutching his title belt on his hands and with a million-dollar smile on his face. The back of the card notes that Hogan won the 1984 title bout, taking the belt from “The Iron Sheik”, surely a villain in the theatrical world of 1980s wrestling. As a stand-in for the USA, Hogan and the WWF launched a wave of “Hulkamania” in a year when the country was basking in a period of strong economic growth. Hulk Hogan was an ideal hero for the times, which surely has driven up the value of this card.
In April 2022, a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy was sold for $35,000. Even so, ungraded copies are far more affordable, and could be good potential investments as this classic card is likely to appreciate more over time.
2. 1982 Cosmos Hulk Hogan Vending Machine Trading Cards #NNO
This classic wrestling card was part of the 1982 Cosmos Vending Machine Trading Cards set. This set was issued in 5-card packs dispensed from Cosmos toy vending machines. If the Japanese characters are surprising, you might not know that Hulk Hogan toured Japan and wrestled there frequently in the early 1980’s. He was a notably different wrestler when he was in Japan, with more of a focus on his technique and swiftness instead of the powerhouse aggression he used when he was in a match stateside. As always, Hogan knew how to give the audience what they wanted and we loved him for that.
The Cosmo cards in this set are distinctive for their size and simplicity. Each card measures approximately 2.5 inches high by 1.5 inches wide, and the backs of the cards are blank. Other notable wrestlers of the time in this set include Antonio Inoki, Ric Flair, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Tiger Mask. In August 2022, a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy sold for $51,600.00. This stellar price is no surprise as PSA reported this is the only PSA 10 Gem Mint copy in their database.
1. 1982 Wrestling All-Stars Hulk Hogan Rookie Card #2
If you are a fan of Hulk Hogan, you may know that the earliest notable card series in the US featuring him is the 1982 Wrestling All Stars Wrestling Card set, which fans had to mail in to get from Wrestling News magazine. Since the publication printed them and not a traditional company like Topps or Panini, this first set featured wrestlers from different leagues since there was no exclusive license yet.
This 1982 Wrestling All-Stars Hulk Hogan Rookie Card #2 card holds the distinction of essentially being Hogan's rookie card, although he’d been wrestling at the Olympic Arena in Los Angeles for a while by then. Issued in 1982, it captures the burgeoning talent of a young Hulk Hogan with his golden locks of hair, looking like a golden god. This series of cards was pretty basic, using simple headshots and a limited number of action shots. Yet, they capture that early 80’s feel of wrestling, which was a lot less corporate and much more focused on the individual wrestlers.
While you can find ungraded copies of this iconic card for the mid-100’s, a BGS 9.5 Gem Mint copy of the card sold in September 2022 for $52,839.60, which looks to be the most ever spent on a single wrestling card.
Hulk Hogan Cards and the Hulkmania Phenomenon
While this article outlines the 13 most intriguing Hulk Hogan cards, the phenomenon extends far beyond this list. Hogan is probably on more sports cards than any other wrestler because, in addition to being an exceptional wrestler, he knew how to promote himself. That made him the most famous wrestler of the modern era. Each piece of the Hulkamania phenomenon carries a bit of the history of the sport and a healthy dose of the fun of classic WWF/WWE wrestling.
Whether you're a seasoned collector or a budding fan, the allure of Hulk Hogan cards is hard to resist. These pieces are more than just cards - they are tangible remnants of a time when the Hulkster reigned supreme in the wrestling ring, surrounded by packed arenas of fans sent into a frenzy over this beloved showman.
