Pro-wrestling legend Terry Gene Bollea — known to most simply as Hulk Hogan — died on Thursday morning at the age of 71, according to a report published by TMZ Sports.
The report stated that emergency vehicles were dispatched to Bollea’s home in Clearwater, Florida, for what was believed to be a cardiac arrest. The vehicles reportedly remained outside his home for some time.
Bollea’s health has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks as reports circulated that he was “on his deathbed” or “in a coma” — both of which, TMZ reported, were denied by his wife, Sky. She said that the wrestler and actor was doing well and recovering from recent surgeries, including a procedure on his neck that he underwent in May.
The longtime pro-wrestler, whose boisterous personality breathed life into the WWE (then called the WWF) from 1983-1993, as he created the iconic “Hulkamania” that followed him even when he returned to the sport nearly a decade later in 2002.
After storming onto the scene in 1983, Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik in 1984 to win his first WWF championship. In 1990 and 1991, he became the first in history to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches.
He also had a stint with WWF rival WCW from 1994 to 2000, where he turned heel and was part of the New World Order.
In 2002, the WWF became the WWE. That same year, Hogan returned to the organization.
During his brief return to WWE, Hogan briefly held the Undisputed WWF Championship, holding a WWE title for the sixth and final time.
In 2024, he took the stage at the Republican National Convention in support of President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.
“I’ve seen some great tag teams in my time. Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man Randy Savage,” he said. “But you know, something? I see the greatest tag team of my life standing upon us getting ready to straighten this country out for all the real Americans.”
