ADVERTISEMENT Hulk Hogan, the headscarf-wearing icon of the world of professional wrestling, has died at the age of 71, Florida police and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) said on Thursday.
In Clearwater, Florida, authorities responded to a call on Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said in a statement on Facebook.
Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was arguably the biggest start in WWE’s long history.
He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre the Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon — whom he later testified in favour of in court over alleged use of steroids in wrestling.
He won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.
In recent years, Hogan added his celebrity to politics, most recently openly supporting Donald Trump. At the 2024 Republican National Convention, he merged classic wrestling manoeuvres with then-candidate rhetoric to passionately endorse him for president.
“Let Trumpamania run wild brother! Let Trumpamania rule again! Let Trumpamania make America great again,” Hogan shouted into the raucous crowd.
He ripped off a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of himself on a motorcycle to reveal a bright red Trump-Vance campaign shirt underneath. Trump stood to applaud the move.
“We lost a great friend today, the ‘Hulkster,'” Trump said Thursday on Truth Social. “Hulk Hogan was MAGA all the way — strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart.”
No stranger to controversy, Hogan was often accused of fabricating stories from his past, including that Elvis Presley was a fan of his and that Metallica wanted him to play bass in the band.
Hulk also invested in sometimes failed attempts at profiting from his superstar wrestler image, including a Pastamania restaurant at the Mall of America in Bloomington which closed in less than a year, and a blender called Hulk Hogan Thunder Mixer.
In 2024, he launched Real American Beer, which he was actively promoting at the time of his death.
In 2016, a Florida jury awarded Hogan $115 million (€97 million) in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media and then added $25 million (€21 million) in punitive damages.
Hogan sued after Gawker in 2012 posted a video of him having sex with his former best friend’s wife. He contended the post violated his privacy.
There was other fallout. The litigation led to the discovery that Hogan had used racial slurs on the tape.
“It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologise for having done it,” Hogan said.
In a post on social media platform X, WWE said it was saddened to learn about Hogan’s death.
“One of pop culture’s most recognisable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans,” it said.
