World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) legend Terry Gene Bollea popularly known as Hulk Hogan has died aged 71, Daily Mail reports.
Hogan passed away early Thursday morning after medics were dispatched to his Clearwater, Florida home, per TMZ.
Operators stated the call was in relation to a ‘cardiac arrest.’
Police cars and EMTs were parked outside Hogan’s home, with the reality star carried onto an stretcher and into an ambulance.
The shock death comes just weeks after his wife Sky denied rumors he was on his deathbed in a coma – and claimed his heart was ‘strong’ after he underwent a routine neck surgery.
Hogan is survived by his third wife Sky, who he wed in 2023, children Brooke, 37, and Nick, 34, who he shared with first wife Linda Claridge, and two grandchildren.
His representative said in a statement last month: “He’s had problems with his back for years but there’s no emergency.”
Hogan had previously opened up about undergoing 25 surgeries in the past decade.
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Speaking on Jake Paul’s IMPAULSIVE podcast last year, he said: “Ten of them were back surgeries. I’ve had both knees and hips replaced, shoulders — everything.”
Fans were left concerned for Hogan when he appeared as a special guest on Fox & Friends at the start of May while sporting a worrying new look.
Renowned for his deep tan, the WWE great’s skin looked particularly weathered on air, while his usual white beard appeared to be dyed black despite his goatee and hair being left white – making for a strange contrast.
One viewer wrote online: “Tell Hulk Hogan his face is dirty, clean that soot off.”
Another said: “Does anyone believe this is Hulk Hogan?”
A third added: “Hulk Hogan giving off Wooly Willy vibes this am on Fox & Friends.”
In the 1980s, Hogan was the driving force behind WWE’s rise from a regional promotion around New York to an international brand.
He was undoubtedly one of the most popular and successful babyfaces of all-time and the catalyst to what made WrestleMania so successful, main eventing eight of the first nine events.
More recently, Hogan became a celebrity endorser for Trump’s presidential campaign in the United States, which he went on to win.
Hogan began his professional wrestling career in 1977, but gained worldwide recognition after signing with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in December 1983.
There, his persona as a heroic all-American helped usher in the 1980s professional wrestling boom, where he headlined eight of the first nine editions (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) of the WWF’s flagship annual event WrestleMania.
Hogan also was a regular headliner of Saturday Night’s Main Event and its spin-off The Main Event. During his initial run, he was a five-time WWF Champion, with his 1,474-day reign being the longest of the WrestleMania era ever. He was the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991.
His match with late André the Giant on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988, still holds American television viewership records for wrestling with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers.
3 Comments
Death has been working overtime of recent.
People dropping like flies all around the world.
We just emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, from which death reaped a huge harvest.
But death is not satisfied. It wants more, and it continues to claim more.
Just recently:
– All the victims of the recent Bauchi massacre.
– Casualties of the wars going on in Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.
– The Air India flight that claimed hundreds of lives.
– The Texas flood, with the death toll rising daily.
– Diogo Jota.
– Buhari.
– Ozzy Osbourne.
– And now, Hulk Hogan.
– And the many others who have passed, but who are not celebrities.
All these dead persons are not chickens or cattle, or animals. THEY ARE HUMANS.
Indeed, every day of life is a precious gift, as no one knows what tomorrow will bring.
We look to God almighty for comfort and protection in these perilous times.
And you had to remember buhari but forgot about dodo mayana totally…smh! Omo na people like una put us for this situation for this country….
You too forgot about Chairman Christian Chukwu!
So you too are involved in the situation we find ourselves in this country.
Did you not read where I said “And the many others who have passed?”
Instead of you to appreciate the point I’m trying to make, you put my comment under a microscope, meticulously looking for errors. And you kukuma have found one. Oya, clap for yourself!
It is indeed people like you that are the enemies of progress in this country. When people are trying to do something positive, your own is to look for mistakes. The ultimate mistake hunter.
Continue to shake your monkey head. Na you sabi!