Mark “Rollerball” Rocco had a mixed relationship with Hulk Hogan over the years.
The pair were said to be fast friends, having met during tours of Japan. Hulk Hogan became a big star in the country in his early days. With the help of his trainer, Hiro Matsuda, he became a big star in New Japan.
Hogan won titles and became a rock star in the country, while Mark Rocco wrestled under a mask as Black Tiger. His matches with Tiger Mask, who wrestled in England as Sammy Lee, were ahead of their time and wowed fans in Japan.
It was during this time that Hulk Hogan was coming into Japan, initially as an opening-match wrestler.
In a 2006 interview, Mark Rocco spoke about his time Japan with Hulk Hogan. He noted that he was a main event talent when Hogan was still at the bottom of the card in New Japan.
“I had a fantastic contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling, who looked after me.” Mark Rocco said. “I was top of the bill.”
“I was top of the bill when Hulk Hogan came across there. Hulk Hogan was on the bottom of the bill, and I was on top of the bill. It just shows you how times change.”
However, years later, Hulk Hogan slighted Mark Rocco in the WWF locker room. This was during the Hulkamania period of wrestling, when he was the biggest star in the world.
On a tour of the UK in later-1989, a number of English wrestlers were brought in to wrestle on the tour. According to Cagematch, this must’ve been in the London Docklands Arena on October 10th, 1989.
This was Rocco’s only WWF match that year. It saw Dave Finlay, Mark Rocco & Skull Murphy defeat Al Perez, Dale Wolfe & Tim Horner in a six-man dark match. Sadly, this match hasn’t been release by the WWE.
Bret Hart details an interaction between “Rollerball” and Hogan in his book, “Hitman“. The WWE Hall of Famer spoke about how Rocco was excited to see Hogan again, years after their exploits in Japan together.
However, the Hulkster gave him the cold shoulder, claiming he barely remembered the Englishman. This devestated Mark Rocco, who had bigged himself up to his fellow Brits backstage before the meeting.
“Rollerball’s face lit up when Hulk came into the dressing room.” Bret Hart wrote.
“They’d been good buddies in Japan and Roller had no doubt bragged to everybody the he and Hulk were frends. But that was millions of dollars ago, sadly.”
“Hulk barely remembered him. The dejection of Roller’s face was pitiful.”
Hart went on to say how he felt empathy for Hulk Hogan. So much had gone on in his career since Japan, and he had become such a big star around the world and met so many people, that forgetting a few wasn’t a surprise.
However, they later reconciled backstage at a TNA event.
Hogan Paid Tribute To Mark Rocco When He Died In 2020
The wrestling world was stunned when Mark “Rollerball” Rocco died in 2020. He was only 69, and had been living in a care home after suffering from demetia at the end of his life.
After Rocco’s death in 2020, Hulk Hogan was one of the many wrestlers who paid tribute to the legendary British icon.
He took to Twitter to share a photo and some memories of his times with Rocco.
Hogan revealed that the last time they met was during TNA’s tour on England at Wembley Arena in 2012. The pair were photographed laughing backstage together, indicating that Hogan did in fact remember who he was now.
He also reminisced about their times in Japan together, drinking Ichiban beer with Andre The Giant.
“RIP ROLLERBALL ROCCO,what a good man,our last handshake and laugh was at Wembly,we both rocked that place many times,I always loved going out at night to find the old school fish houses after the matches with Rocco,we would laugh,drink Ichiban beer for hours me,him,and Andre HH”
It appears that Hogan softened up in his old age. At the time of him rejecting Rocco in the WWE locker room, he was at the height of Hulkamania and likely on edge about losing his spot.
It is good to see that the pair reconciled before Mark Rocco’s passing.
