Before the bodyslams and bandanas, and eight years before “WrestleMania III” shook the sports world, Hulk Hogan was just Terry “The Hulk” Boulder, an unknown sweating under the lights of small-town Alabama.

In May 1979, long before he was a household name, Hogan faced off against the legendary Andre the Giant inside the modest Coffee County Farm Center in New Brockton, Alabama — population 900.

“It had to be some kind of DQ,” recalled Charlie Platt, the longtime voice of Southeastern Championship Wrestling. “He was green. But within four weeks, we had him booked… And it drew way over the capacity of the building.”

Their rivalry had already sparked to life earlier on local TV in Dothan — not in the ring, but across an arm-wrestling table. Flip-flops, biceps, and blood. And the rest, as they say, was history in the making.

“Andre says he’s never arm-wrestled anyone before,” said announcer Dick Steinborn during the broadcast of the confrontation, now preserved on YouTube. “This is a first on television.”

The encounter ended when manager Billy Spears – a former Gulf Coast and Mobile city wrestling champion – got into the ring and prompted Andre the Giant to break from the match. Hulk then attacked the Giant with the arm-wrestling table, causing him to bleed. Andre fought back, leading Steinborn to declare, “look at these two supermen in the ring tearing into each other.”

“Andre helped him learn some stuff,” Platt recalled Thursday, the day Hogan died at age 71 from cardiac arrest. “If Andre liked you, you were OK. If Andre didn’t like you, you needed to get in your car and go. He saw something in Hogan knowing that his looks would draw money later.”

The future Hulk Hogan arrived to Dothan with his friend, Ed Leslie, who would later become Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Together, Ed and Terry Boulder were billed as “The Boulder Brothers,” but it was the Hulk who caught the eye of then booker Louie Tillet.

“He saw a lot of potential in Hogan,” Platt said.

‘Rocky’ preview

Terry “The Hulk” Boulder had a few more standout moments while in Alabama, previewing some of the iconic days to come.

He first became a “babyface,” a professional wrestling term for a good guy, while wrestling at the Mobile Civic Center.

On May 24, 1979, 19 days after the arm-wrestling encounter in Dothan, Terry “The Hulk” Boulder rushed to the ring to save Ron Fuller – a popular wrestling fixture on the Gulf Coast – from an attack by the villainous Ox Baker.

Fuller, at the time, had a bounty placed on him by then-NWA Heavyweight Champion Harley Race.

The moment led to Terry “The Hulk” Boulder receiving his first-ever world championship title match, occurring before 8,000 spectators at the Rip Hewes Sports Complex in Dothan.

Platt said before the match occurred, the territory taped footage of Boulder running up and down the football field’s stairs with the “Rocky” music theme blaring in the background. It was an Alabama-based preview to the character Thunderlips, the fictional pro wrestler Hogan portrayed in the 1982 movie, “Rocky III.”

“That’s exactly what it was,” Platt said. He said that footage of the montage that no longer exists to his knowledge.

“We put that ‘Rocky’ music behind Hogan as he trained for his heavyweight championship match against Harley Race,” he said. “He was the face in that match against Harley. It was the first time he was portrayed like that.”

Terry “The Hulk” Boulder almost won his first heavyweight championship when he seemingly defeated Race during their Wiregrass match. But a referee reversed the decision and disqualified Boulder after he tossed Race over the top rope.

Boulder left Alabama for greener heights that included an early stint with the WWF as a villain and battling the popular Andre the Giant at Shea Stadium in New York City in 1980.

Hogan wrestled for Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association (AWA) also in the early 1980s, and quickly became a fan favorite. He left the AWA for the WWF in 1983 and defeated The Iron Sheik to establish Hulkamania in 1984.

Hulkamania was the term given to the popularity and cultural impact Hogan had through professional wrestling.

Wrestling visits

Hogan wrestled a few times in Alabama during his early Hulkamania heyday from 1984-1990, but never on pay-per-view and rarely on television. The only time he wrestled on a pay-per-view card inside an Alabama-based venue was during “Uncensored 1998,” hosted by World Championship Wrestling.

However, Hulk Hogan had plenty of Alabama moments while his popularity was at its zenith.

According online resources, he defeated Hercules Hernandez and manager Bobby “The Brain” Heenan in a handicap match on March 6, 1987, at the Boutwell Auditorium. Hogan, at the time, was the WWF champion. The match occurred 23 days before “WrestleMania III.”

He returned to Birmingham a few months later on August 21, 1987, and defeated Killer Kahn in a WWF championship title defense.

A little more than one month later, and twice on the same day (Sept. 27, 1987), Hogan defeated Harley Race – who was then known as “King” Harley Race – during matches at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville and in Montgomery.

On Jan. 5, 1988, Hogan teamed with Randy “Macho Man” Savage as members of the “Mega-Powers” and defeated The Hart Foundation (Bret “Hitman” Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart) and WWF Intercontinental Champion The Honky Tonk Man in a handicap match. Hogan scored the pinfall over Honky Tonk Man.

In 1990, during a broadcasting of “WWF Superstars” in Birmingham, Hogan was the guest on “The Brother Love Show” to hype that month’s “Royal Rumble” pay-per-view. He later defeated “Mr. Perfect” Curt Henning during the show held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.

A year later, on Jan. 7, 1991, Hogan defeated Earthquake in a stretcher match at the Von Braun Center.

Another memorable performance in Alabama occurred on March 9, 1992, when Hogan teamed with his former archrival “Rowdy” Roddy Piper to defeat then-WWF World Champion Ric Flair and Sid Justice. The match, held at the Mobile Civic Center, was produced as a Coliseum Video exclusive and occurred about one month before “WrestleMania VIII.” The match ended after Hogan pinned Flair.

Hogan wrestled much of the 1990s in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). During this time, he visited Birmingham and scored a victory on April 3, 1996, during a handicap match featuring Arn Anderson and Kevin Sullivan.

However, his biggest Birmingham moment came in a rare defeat when he lost to Mike Awesome during a broadcast of “WCW Monday Nitro” on May 1, 2000.

Hogan’s WCW tenure had more high-profile moments to Huntsville and Mobile.

While dressed in black, Hogan and Savage saved Sting and Lex Luger during an Oct. 23, 1995, episode of “Nitro” at the Von Braun Center. This episode was the final TV show ahead of that year’s “WCW Halloween Havoc” pay-per-view. It is best remembered for the debut of the character, the Yeti, who emerged from a giant block of ice.

In 1998, while wrestling as the villainous “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, he wrestled Savage to a no-contest match inside a steel cage. The match took place at the “Uncensored” pay-per-view at the Mobile Civic Center. It’s the only known pay-per-view wrestling event held in Alabama which featured Hogan wrestling in a main event.

In 2002, after returning to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Hogan wrestled in Birmingham and pinned Chris Jericho.

About a decade later, while serving as the TNA Majority Owner, Hogan was the “special enforcer” in a match pitting TNA World Champion Kurt Angle against Sting at the Von Braun Center. Hogan’s interference helped Angle pick up a victory.

Trump and beer

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Hogan returned to Alabama last fall to promote his “Real American Beer” during visits to grocery stores and venues throughout the state. He made his first stop in Fairhope, hours after President Donald Trump was declared the winner of the presidential election.

“Thank God, brother,” Hogan told AL.com after asked to provide remarks about the election outcome. Hogan played a prominent role in boosting Trump’s candidacy, and received a prime-time speaking spot during the Republican National Convention.

“I was praying for that,” Hogan said during a stopoff to the Piggly Wiggly store in Fairhope. “It was in God’s hands. It’s all I can tell you, man.”

Hogan, in his next stop at a Rouses Market in Daphne, was asked to reflect on wrestling in Alabama long before his popularity soared.

“Being here in Alabama is like a throwback,” Hogan said during an interview with Fox 10 in Mobile. “I started here wrestling here at the (Houston County) Farm Center, Birmingham, and northern Florida in (Pensacola).”

Platt, who turns 70 soon, has been doing interviews since Hogan’s death was announced.

He said he isn’t surprised over the announcement, given the health difficulties Hogan has faced in recent years following his decades as a wrestler.

“In all honesty, I wasn’t in shock,” Platt said, recognizing that many professional wrestlers of the past do not live long lives. “A lot of those guys don’t live to be 40. That fact that he lived to 71, doing what he did, kind of amazes me.”