What wrestler's ring name does Hulk Hogan use in Rocky III?

Hulk Hogan uses the ring name Thunderlips in Rocky III. Thunderlips is presented as a flamboyant professional wrestler and the world wrestling champion who faces Rocky Balboa in an exhibition charity match.

The bout takes place during Rocky’s championship-celebration period, before the serious conflict with Clubber Lang. It is staged as entertainment rather than a sanctioned boxing contest, with the enormous Thunderlips overpowering Rocky physically but eventually turning the encounter into a crowd-pleasing spectacle.

The role was one of Hulk Hogan’s early high-profile film appearances, before his greatest mainstream wrestling fame arrived through the WWF’s Hulkamania era. Because Hogan became much more famous under his own wrestling persona, viewers sometimes remember the character as simply Hulk Hogan. In Rocky III, however, the character’s in-story name is Thunderlips.