I only saw him once at a live TNA Impact show during the brief Monday Night War part 2. At 6 foot 5, he was a big man.
1970s and 1980s saw a lot of steroid use and abuse. Terry Bollea did admit to taking steroids himself. That was his choice. As far as the federal trials against WWF and Vince McMahon, what Bollea's testimony is only known to himself and God. For myself and other wrestling fans, that was part of the business.
I remember when as a kid in the 80s watching then the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation). Having very little knowledge of the wrestling territories, we watched on cable TV the start of Hulkamania and the Red and Yellow. Between Vince and Terry, they did change how nationwide wrestling would become. I give them credit for that even though there was a lot of territory politics and destruction.
I was in junior high school during the height of Hulkamania. The Mega Powers when Hogan and Randy Savage teamed up to be unstoppable. Those times were fun to watch.
I was 20 miles away from 1996 WCW Bash at the Beach being held at Daytona beach. I was at my bowling alley during my league watching the event on the TV behind the counter. We had a professional wrestler letting us know who the possible 3rd man would be in the WWF Invasion storyline with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. We knew that if Hogan didn't come out, then Sting was backup. That night started the nWo faction that reenergized wrestling across America.
He did a lot for wrestling. He did make a lot of mistakes. I never met him. I know from other wrestlers that he did love the fans but hated the fans also. Depending on the day and mood, that determined his reaction to fans away from the camera. On camera, it was a different story.
He was just a man who took the opportunities in life both good and bad. That's my opinion of him while others will agree or disagree.
