Professional Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan Dead at 71, WWE Confirms

Professional wrestler Terry Bollea, better known to millions around the world as Hulk Hogan, died on Thursday at the age of 71, World Wrestling Entertainment has confirmed. Bollea is widely recognized as the biggest wrestling star of all time and was instrumental in helping WWE become the global entertainment powerhouse it is today.

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Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Bollea’s larger-than-life personality — both inside and outside the ring — transformed him into a household name and a mainstream crossover star, appearing in movies and becoming recognizable worldwide.

WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away. One of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s,” the company said in a post on X. “WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans.

The city of Clearwater, Florida, confirmed in a statement that police and fire personnel were dispatched to Bollea’s residence following a report of an individual in cardiac arrest. Bollea was treated by fire and rescue crews upon their arrival and was transported to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. TMZ was first to report the news.

With his boasts of possessing “24-inch pythons” for arms and his catchphrase reminders to “say your prayers and eat your vitamins,” Bollea was a central figure in wrestling’s 1980s “golden era.” His larger-than-life rivalries with the likes of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, André Rene Roussimoff — famously known as André the Giant — “Macho Man” Randy Savage and numerous others helped transform professional wrestling into a multi-billion-dollar industry during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Bollea’s shocking decision to leave the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the mid-1990s sent shockwaves through the wrestling world. His infamous “heel turn” — the wrestling term for a hero becoming a villain — in 1996 and his reinvention as “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan created one of wrestling’s most memorable eras. The move helped WCW surpass WWF in television ratings for an unprecedented 83 weeks, marking the last time WWE has trailed a rival company in traditional popularity metrics.

However, his time in WCW eventually took a controversial turn during the so-called “Finger Poke of Doom.” The infamous moment saw fellow wrestler Kevin Nash theatrically flop on his back after being poked by Hogan, allowing the villainous Hollywood Hogan to reclaim the WCW championship. The incident, which exposed wrestling’s scripted nature more blatantly than ever before, sent the company into a downward spiral that alienated fans and paved the way for WWE to acquire its longtime rival for a fraction of its former value.

Hogan, pictured during his iconic entrance at a show in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1991, would later return to WWE in the early 2000s. He delivered one of wrestling’s most celebrated matches against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania X8, where two of the industry’s biggest stars created an electric atmosphere at Toronto’s Rogers Centre, then known as the SkyDome.

“The Hulkster” spent several more years with WWE before jumping to its competitor, Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, in 2010. His tenure with TNA fell short of expectations, as the company’s focus on aging stars like Bollea ultimately sidelined younger talent, causing disillusionment among the roster and fans alike. He departed TNA after three years, unable to replicate the ratings success of his early WCW run.

Hogan’s legendary status suffered a major blow in 2015 when he was caught on tape making racial slurs during what was described as an “unauthorized sex tape.” The remarks, which included the N-word in reference to his daughter Brooke’s dating life, prompted WWE to terminate his contract and remove all references to him from its platforms. Bollea later apologized publicly and directly to the WWE locker room, but many wrestlers never forgave him. His subsequent appearances with the company, which resumed in 2019, drew mixed reactions, and he was at times openly booed by the crowd.

Outside the ring, the same sex tape led to a landmark privacy lawsuit against the gossip website Gawker. The $115 million judgment awarded to Bollea ultimately bankrupted the site and became a defining case in American media law.

Bollea’s death comes just weeks before the debut event of his new wrestling venture, Real American Freestyle, which aimed to revive traditional amateur wrestling in a format closer to Olympic competition than WWE’s entertainment style. The company’s first event had been scheduled for August 30. As of early Thursday afternoon, Real American Freestyle had not issued a statement on Bollea’s passing.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information