On a Christmas Eve many years ago in Thousand Oaks, California, Wayne Gretzky and Hulk Hogan, two titans from completely different sports worlds, accidentally swapped cars. And with them, each other’s holiday presents.
Wayne Gretzky Once Drove Off With Hulk Hogan’s Car and Presents
Gretzky shared the story during a recent appearance on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, describing the scene like it happened yesterday.
“It was December 24,” Gretzky began. “We go to the Thousand Oaks Mall, and I’m getting some last-minute gifts for my kids who were at the time 10, 12, and 14. So I put them all in the car, and they had valet parking at the mall. So I come out and put all my bags in the car, and I drive home.”
All seemed fine. Until he got a call that evening.
“I get a call around seven o’clock. [Hulk Hogan] goes, ‘Wayne?’ and I go, ‘Yeah.’ He says, ‘It’s Terry. We got a problem.” Gretzky laughed, referencing Hogan’s real name, Terry Bollea.
“I go, ‘What’s the problem?’ He goes, ‘We got the same exact car. I’ve got your car and your presents. You got my car and my presents.’ So I go outside and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, my kids are older. It’s probably not going to work. I’ll meet you halfway.’ So we drove back halfway together, we switched cars out, got the presents, and went home. True story,” he shared.
The two met halfway and exchanged both the vehicles and the holiday loot—no drama, just laughter and a story that would follow them for decades.
A Holiday Story You Can’t Make Up
When Sports Illustrated caught up with Hulk Hogan to confirm Gretzky’s story, he didn’t just verify it; he added hilarious anecdotes that made the story even better.
“It was a lot better for Gretzky,” Hogan said. “He had the more expensive gifts. I didn’t want to give the car back. He had all the expensive stuff in his trunk, I had toys in mine. I thought the presents might save my first marriage, but I had to give the car back.”
While the tale is now just a funny memory, it brought to light a rare moment of normalcy between two larger-than-life figures. Gretzky, the NHL’s all-time scoring leader, and Hogan, the face of pro wrestling in the ‘80s, lived in the same quiet neighborhood but led very different public lives.
Despite their separate lanes in sports, the two bonded over time. Hogan recalled another moment when they crossed paths, this time in an arena.
“Gretzky asked me to sign one of his hockey sticks. I remember thinking, ‘Come on, you’re Wayne Gretzky!’ I was so honored,” Hogan said.
And that bond extended to the next generation. Hogan’s son, Nick, played youth hockey and idolized Gretzky. “I told my son I knew Wayne Gretzky, but he didn’t believe me,” Hogan remembered.
“When Gretzky came in for a game, we went to see him play. The moment he saw me, Gretzky gave me a hug. My son couldn’t believe it. He didn’t care that I was Hulk Hogan, he only cared that I knew Wayne Gretzky. I can still see the look on my son’s face. It was a really cool moment.”
In a world where most sports legends only intersect on highlight reels, Gretzky and Hogan’s mix-up is a lighthearted reminder that even icons have holiday headaches and hilarious ones at that.