CLEARWATER, Fla. — Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing, bicep-busting icon of professional wrestling who turned the sport into a massive business and stretched his influence into TV, pop culture and conservative politics during a long and scandal-plagued second act, died Thursday in Florida at age 71.
Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital less than 90 minutes after medics in Clearwater arrived at his home to answer a morning call about a cardiac arrest, police said. “There were no signs of foul play or suspicious activity,” Maj. Nate Burnside told reporters.
Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was perhaps the biggest star 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 WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.
But outside the the ring, Hogan also found trouble. WWE in 2015 cut ties with him for three years, even removing him from its Hall of Fame, after it was reported that he was recorded using racial slurs about Blacks. He apologized and said his words were “unacceptable.”
Hogan won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and reinstated there in 2018. WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums, and millions of fans have watched the company’s weekly live television program, “Raw,” which debuted in January on Netflix.
“He was a trailblazer, the first performer who transitioned from being a wrestling star into a global phenomenon,” McMahon said of Hogan.
Hogan’s own brand of passion
“Hulkamania,” as the energy he created was called, started running wild in the mid-1980s and pushed professional wrestling into the mainstream. He was a flag-waving American hero with the horseshoe mustache, red and yellow gear and massive arms he called his “24-inch pythons.” Crowds were hysterical when he ripped off his T-shirt in the ring — a trademark move — revealing a tan, sculpted body.
Hogan was also a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, “Hogan Knows Best.”
Correspondent Gethin Coolbaugh reports a wrestling icon has died. In recent years, Hogan added his celebrity to politics. At the 2024 Republican National Convention, he merged classic WWE maneuvers with then-candidate Donald Trump’s 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.”
Hogan lately began to invest in alternatives to theatrical, professional wrestling, announcing plans in April to serve as the first commissioner for the Real American Freestyle organization, which describes itself as the “first unscripted pro wrestling” league in the world. The first event is Aug. 30 at Cleveland State University.
“The idea was so exciting that I get a chance to be involved with all these young people and help guide them in any way, especially to make them huge stars and create a future for them,” Hogan said. “People might be surprised, but wrestling is wrestling, brother.”
The league released a statement, saying it is now part of Hogan’s legacy “and we intend to honor it.”
Broken leg and a new attitude
Hogan was born in Georgia but lived much of his life in the Tampa, Florida, area. He recalled skipping school to watch wrestlers at the Sportatorium, a professional wrestling studio in Tampa.
“I had been running my mouth, telling everybody I’m going to be a wrestler, and in a small town, the word gets out,” Hogan told the Tampa Bay Times in 2021. “And so when I went down there, they were laying low for me. They exercised me till I was ready to faint.”
