Hulk Hogan Inspired Legendary Pokémon Video Game Character

Hulk Hogan’s iconic career has made a significant impact on the world of professional wrestling. Hogan is undoubtedly one of the biggest mainstream stars to crossover beyond the pro wrestling business, and now it appears he even inspired a popular Pokémon video game character.

Hulk Hogan’s popularity has led to appearances in many movies and TV shows over the years. He’s also been mentioned in several video games and has been a regular character in various wrestling video games for a long time. His mainstream appeal made him a big name not just in wrestling, but in entertainment as well.

According to a report by BBC, Game Freak, the developer behind the Pokémon series, experienced a data breach that exposed information about current and former employees as well as internal details about past and future Pokémon games. Among the leaked information were early development profiles for characters from the third, fourth, and fifth-generation games. These profiles gave developers an outline of a character’s appearance and personality before they were finalized for the games.

One of the profiles is especially interesting for wrestling fans, as it reveals that Hulk Hogan was one of three key inspirations for Drayden, a popular gym leader featured in Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2, as well as in the anime and manga. The profile also mentions that Drayden enjoys wrestling and has a “muscular body like a wrestler,” further tying his design to the WWE Hall of Famer.

This might not come as a shock to those who have played the Pokémon games or watched the television shows, as there were characteristics in Drayden that were reminiscent of The Hulkster as well. Nonetheless, some fans will undoubtedly find this news to be interesting, if nothing else.

Did you ever expect to see Hulk Hogan being the inspiration behind Drayden? Let us know in the comments section below!