Johnston’s pizza artist just pinned Hulk Hogan, nailing the legendary wrestler in bell peppers and grated Romano cheese.

“I loved Hulk Hogan when I was a kid,” said Eric Palmieri, of D. Palmieri's Bakery in Johnston. “I had a Hulk Hogan Wrestling Buddy, Hulk Hogan lunch box, and when I was 6 I had a Hulk Hogan-themed birthday party.”

Palmieri heard Hogan would be in the Ocean State on a tour promoting his own Real American Beer.

“I reached out to the Real American Beer team about making the pizza art and they were very excited about it,” said the accomplished pizza portrait artist from his family’s Killingly Street bakery.

On Tuesday night, he met up with the professional wrestler at Moonshine Alley on Pine Street in Providence.

“I partnered with them and the staff at Moonshine Alley were amazing as well,” Palmieri said. “We all met backstage before Hulk made his appearance on stage and hung out for a bit and we talked about the pizza art.”

Palmieri recalled the momentous pivot Hogan made, switching his public persona from good guy to villain. Hogan also recently offered a full-throttled endorsement of Donald J. Trump for president at the Republican National Convention.

“As I got older and Hulk turned heel with the NWO, his ability to entertain and make me laugh was extraordinary,” Palmieri said. “I always appreciate people that entertain me and especially make me laugh. He went back and forth between heel and babyface a few times — literally broke his body to entertain us. I think he’s had two hip replacements, two knee replacements, and has steel rods in his back and neck. Gotta respect that.”

Palmieri doesn’t discriminate with his pizza art. He’s crafted pizza portraits of everyone from Tony Soprano to Lizzie Borden.

He said he used red and yellow bell peppers, chicken, olives, grated Romano cheese, black pepper powder, onion powder and mozzarella to create “Hulk Hogan the pizza.” The wrestler signed Palmieri’s work of art in barbecue sauce. 

“Hulk was very generous with his time, humble, and gracious,” Palmieri said Wednesday. “He also tried our pizza strips and loved them!  He’s a real Rhode Islander now.”

FROM THE SUNRISE ARCHIVES:

FEB. 2024: Portnoy, pizza portraiture and D. Palmieri’s signature RI pizza strips

How a pizza review magnate can make or break mom and pop with a single bite ... while their kid's in the back painting pizza portraits with olives and peppers