Hulk Hogan, the greatest legend in the history of professional wrestling, died at 71 years old after suffering a reported cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida, TMZ Sports can confirm.
Emergency medical teams were dispatched early Thursday morning after a 911 call reporting a “cardiac arrest.” Several police vehicles and EMTs were seen around Hogan’s residence. The wrestling legend, born Terry Gene Bollea, was loaded onto a stretcher and transported to a nearby hospital in an ambulance. He was pronounced dead a few moments later.
This comes weeks after Hogan’s wife, Sky Daily, denied swirling rumors that her spouse was in a coma. She said then his heart was “strong” and that he was simply recovering from a neck surgery he underwent in May. Although rumors swirled he was on his “deathbed,” Hogan was reported to be coping with post-operative symptoms and “in good spirits.”
The wrestling world, especially pop culture as a whole, is currently stunned.
From Thunderlips to Wrestling God
Terry Bollea wasn’t just a wrestler. He was a one-person phenomenon who brought the WWE into global fame, taking what was once a niche sport and making it a family-friendly, billion-dollar brand.
His meteoric rise began in the early 1980s when he was contracted to play Thunderlips, the garish fighter in Rocky III (1982). The biceps, bandanas, and bombastic charisma soon became signature trademarks of “Hulkamania.”
At the height of his glory, Hogan was to a generation of children a god. His red and yellow ring attire, handlebar mustache, and always immortal catchphrases “Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?!” were anthems for generations. His matches in WrestleMania were not merely contests. They were cultural events.
Reinvention, Scandal, and the Emergence of the Villain
In 1996, Hogan shocked the wrestling universe by turning heel, trading American hero status for that of the nefarious “Hollywood Hulk Hogan.” As a member of the co-founding New World Order (NWO) stable, he ushered in wrestling’s “Attitude Era,” catering to adult audiences and solidifying his dominance of both WWE and WCW.
Hogan was first inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, an event meant to permanently cement his legacy.
But in 2015, Hogan’s halo was shattered. A secretly recorded video leaked by Gawker showed Hogan yelling racist remarks while engaged in a sex act. WWE quickly dumped him, erasing his name from formal programming and revoking his Hall of Fame status. Hogan sued Gawker, achieving a record $140 million jury verdict, a milestone victory in both privacy and media law.
He would later be re-inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020 as an NWO member. However, for some, the damage was already done.
Hollywood Aspirations and Family Skirmishes
Hogan did not limit himself to wrestling. His Hollywood aspirations bled over into starring roles in cult classics like No Holds Barred (1989), Suburban Commando (1991), and Mr. Nanny (1993). Although never attaining critical acclaim, the films cemented his status as a larger-than-life action-comedy legend.
In 2005, there was the premiere of Hogan Knows Best on VH1, which provided a voyeuristic look at his home life. Co-starring his then-wife Linda, daughter Brooke, and son Nick, the show ran for four seasons until it exploded with divorce proceedings, a car crash scandal involving Nick, and Hogan’s public fall from grace.
A Damaged Legacy
Despite his towering influence on the sport, Hogan’s post-peak years were marked by mounting hostility from the WWE fanbase. His surprise return to WWE Raw this year, the first since the franchise debuted on Netflix, was met with icy contempt.
Arriving at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles to promote his new business, Real American Beer, Hogan was jeered by 18,000 fans. His flag-waving address was drowned out as fans voiced their contempt, a far cry from the thunderous ovation given to The Rock, The Undertaker, and John Cena that night.
And this wasn’t new. At WrestleMania 37 in Tampa in 2021, Hogan was heckled by fans while serving as co-host. Despite WWE’s attempts to rehabilitate his image, many had simply moved on.
His politicizing of political gags didn’t gain him any points. In 2024, Hogan took the stage at Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden. Removing his vest to shouts of “Let Trumpmania run wild, brother!” the meeting went viral, but not the way he may have hoped.
The Cost of the Ring
Years of struggling took their toll on Hogan’s body. As he described in his own words in a 2018 interview with Harvey Levin for Objectified, Hogan had “no original body parts left.” He had undergone hundreds of operations on his back, hips, knees, and shoulders. The toll on his body of competing was great, but Hogan would not give up, not in the ring nor in life.
Recalling the Legend
There is no professional wrestling without Hulk Hogan. He was the atomic bomb that blew open the doors of mainstream entertainment and formed the global juggernaut WWE is today.
Love him or despise him, Hulk Hogan changed the game. He was the anti-hero in an era when superheroes ruled Hollywood. He was the figure who caused millions of people to fall in love with the roar of the crowd, turnbuckle theatrics, and magic of the squared circle.
The world of wrestling is mourning, but one thing is certain: there will be no other Hulk Hogan.
Rest in peace, brother.
