The connection with Hogan and the WWE is another example of how ‘Rocky III’ opened doors for Mr. T, he explained in the documentary

NEED TO KNOW

• Mr. T and Hulk Hogan first met on the set of Rocky III in 1982
• The pair went on to work together several times over the years, including as a team in WrestleMania I in 1985
• The new Netflix documentary Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool features archival footage where Hogan, who died in July 2025 at 71, looked back on his friendship with Mr. T

Mr. T and Hulk Hogan’s connection was short-lived, but significant.

In Netflix’s Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool, the new documentary features archival footage of the late Hulk Hogan, who opened up about his friendship with the A-Team star, now 74.

“I met Mr. T on the set of Rocky [III]. During that time, we bonded and became friends, and that kind of parlayed into all the appearances on The A-Team, which kind of led us into dragging him into the wrestling ring,” Hogan, who died of a heart attack in July 2025 at age 71, explained in the footage.

Of the moment, Hogan recalled, “This was the first WrestleMania. The electricity in the garden was off the chain.”

Mr. T, whose real name is Laurence Tureaud, added, “He had knew that I was a wrestling champ in high school, but that’s different than doing the stuff in the ring.”

“From being an ex-athlete-turned-celebrity, it was really cool to see Mr. T finding his roots again,” Hogan said.

Speaking with PEOPLE about the documentary, Mr. T shared, “The wow factor to be a part of WrestleMania the first time, that it’s all me. And then I’m in the main event. Muhammad Ali was there, and the manager of the Giants and all these other people in Madison Square Garden. To be a part of it, man. It was wild. It was amazing.”

The night before the big event, Hogan and Mr. T hosted Saturday Night Live, explaining they were there to blow off some steam in their opening monologue.

“We came to Saturday Night Live for one reason and one reason only, brother,” Hogan said. “We haven’t been eating any food all week. We’ve been drinking grapefruit juice and eating skinny little chickens, and tonight, my main man T told me if we came to Saturday Night Live, we’d get a laugh, because this is the best darn show in the whole wide world.” 

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Hogan continued, “My man T promised me that we’d laugh tonight. Because if we don’t laugh tonight, he’s gonna beat up everyone in the cast and everybody in the audience.” 

“That’s right man, you know I never lied to you,” Mr. T said. “I said we’ve been working hard, we’ve been training hard. We need a little laughter.” 

The two ultimately drifted apart, only catching up when they made appearances together. Still, Mr. T called that era of his career “a blessing” for what it afforded him.

“Being a wrestler, that helped my platform so that I could go to the hospitals, visit the kids, give them hope. Go to the neighborhoods, tell the kids to be good, give them hope. Tell them … You can rise. You can become something,” he told PEOPLE.

Untold Mr. T: I Pity The Fool is now streaming on Netflix.

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