Hulk Hogan, who helped turn pro wrestling into a billion-dollar spectacle, dies at 71
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Hulk Hogan made professional wrestling a global phenomenon and loudly supported Donald Trump for US president.
PHOTOS: AFP
Follow topic:
- Hulk Hogan, aged 71, has died, according to WWE. Hogan was a global wrestling icon who helped transform the sport into a family-friendly, multi-billion dollar industry.
- Hogan leveraged wrestling fame into Hollywood, and supported Donald Trump, declaring "Let Trumpamania run wild, brother!” at the Republican National Convention.
- Major moments included the WrestleMania III slam of Andre the Giant and a villainous "Hollywood" persona. Controversies included a racial slur, leading to suspension by WWE.
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MIAMI – Hulk Hogan, the American sports and entertainment star who made professional wrestling a global phenomenon and loudly supported Mr Donald Trump for United States president, has died at the age of 71, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) said on July 24.
“WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture’s most recognisable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s,” it said on X.
The police in Clearwater, Florida, said the authorities had responded to a medical call for a cardiac arrest at Hogan’s residence on the morning of July 24.
Hogan was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, they said.
The bleach-blond, mahogany-tanned behemoth became the face of professional wrestling in the 1980s, helping transform the mock combat from a seedy spectacle into family-friendly entertainment worth billions of dollars.
A key moment in that evolution came at the WrestleMania III extravaganza in 1987, when Hogan hoisted fellow wrestler Andre The Giant before a sold-out Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan for a thunderous body slam of the Frenchman.
Hogan parlayed his wrestling fame into a less successful career in Hollywood, starring in films like Rocky III (1982) and Santa With Muscles (1996), but kept returning to the ring as long as his body would allow.
In 2024, he appeared at the Republican National Convention to endorse the presidential bid of Mr Trump, who in the 1980s had played host to Hulk-headlined WrestleManias.
Hogan said he made the decision to support the Republican candidate after seeing his combative, fist-pumping reaction to an attempted assassination on the campaign trail.
“Let Trumpamania run wild, brother!” Hogan bellowed to a cheering crowd, ripping off his shirt to reveal a Trump tank top. “Let Trumpamania rule again!”
Mr Trump paid tribute to Hogan on July 24 as a “great friend” and “Maga all the way”.
“He gave an absolutely electric speech at the Republican National Convention, that was one of the highlights of the entire week. He entertained fans from all over the World, and the cultural impact he had was massive,” Mr Trump said on social media.
Becoming ‘Hulk’
Born Terry Gene Bollea in Augusta, Georgia, on Aug 11, 1953, the future Hulk and his family soon moved to the Tampa, Florida area. After high school, he played bass guitar for area rock bands, but felt a pull to the red-hot wrestling scene in Florida in the 1970s.
Many of the details of his career were show-business exaggerations, representative of the blurred lines between fact and fiction in wrestling.
Hogan’s first trainer reportedly broke his leg to dissuade him from entering the business, but he kept at wrestling, weight training and – he later admitted – anabolic steroids. He gained in notoriety as his biceps turned into what he dubbed the “24-inch pythons”.
The “Hulk” moniker came from comparisons to the comic-book hero portrayed on TV at the time. He would end up paying royalties to Marvel Comics for years. “Hogan” was the invention of promoter Vincent J. McMahon, owner of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), who wanted Irish representation among his stable of stars.
His appearance as wrestler Thunderlips in Rocky III, where he dwarfed leading man Sylvester Stallone, rocketed Hogan to the mainstream.
“I had the pleasure of meeting this brilliant personality and showman when he was 26 years old,” Stallone wrote on social media on July 24, posting a photo from the sports film. “He was absolutely wonderful and his amazing skill made Rocky III incredibly special. My heart breaks.”
Upon a return to the WWF, now controlled by McMahon’s son Vincent K, Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik in 1984 to claim the world championship, a belt he would hold for four years.
He became a household name, appearing on the cover of magazine Sports Illustrated and performing alongside pop culture stars like Mr T.
The WWF came to dominate wrestling, anchored by its annual WrestleMania pay-per-view events.
Facing ‘The Rock’
Later, Hogan joined competitor World Championship Wrestling, swopping his trademark yellow tights for black and taking on a persona as the villainous “Hollywood” Hogan, the head of a gang of rulebreakers known as the New World Order. The gimmick reinvigorated his career.
He eventually returned to the WWF, now known as WWE, and faced American actor and professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania in 2002.
“I’m in better shape than him,” Hogan told Reuters at the time, five months shy of his 50th birthday. “I’ll stand next to The Rock and pose down with him if he wants to.” The Rock ultimately won the match.
Hogan was inducted twice into the WWE Hall of Fame, and referred to himself as the “Babe Ruth” of wrestling – after the New York Yankees’ famed baseball player.
But Hogan’s support of Mr Trump in 2024 did not go down well with all wrestling fans, and he also faced other controversies. Gossip website Gawker was shuttered
In 2015, he was suspended by the WWE after another surreptitious recording revealed that he had used a racial slur. He was reinstated in 2018.
He was married three times and had two children, who starred alongside him and first wife Linda in a reality TV show, Hogan Knows Best (2005 to 2007). REUTERS, AFP
