In-Ring

Hulk Up

When a babyface absorbs punishment, stops selling, shakes off the pain, and starts a fired-up comeback. Named after Hulk Hogan's signature sequence: get beat up, finger wag, no-sell three punches, big boot, leg drop, pin. It's the most formulaic sequence in wrestling and it worked for twenty years because crowds love the emotional payoff of the hero rising up when all seems lost.

"He's hulking up! The punches aren't hurting him anymore! The crowd is on their feet!"