World Wrestling Entertainment announced the news on its social media account, X."WWE is saddened to announce the passing of Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan. One of the most iconic pop culture figures in the world, he helped bring WWE worldwide recognition in the 1980s," the company said in a statement.
According to TMZ, Hogan died of cardiac arrest in Clearwater, Florida. The Associated Press reported that paramedics responded to a call of a cardiac arrest at Hogan's residence. Hogan was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The"bad boy" from Georgia was active from 1985 to 2000, winning multiple world championships. The six-foot-tall, blond-haired giant became the face of professional wrestling in the 1980s, helping to transform the derided matches from"low-budget" to multi-billion dollar family entertainment.
Hogan parlayed his wrestling fame into a less successful career in Hollywood, starring in films such as Rocky III, Muscle Santa, Space Commando, Pirate's Treasure, The Secret Service, Mr. Nanny, and Agent WC-40. He returned to the ring as soon as his body allowed him to.
In 2024, he appeared at the Republican National Convention to endorse Donald Trump, who hosted WrestleMania with the Hulk in the 1980s, for the presidential nomination. Hogan said he decided to support the Republican candidate after seeing his combative fist-pumping response to an assassination attempt on the campaign trail.
The wrestler, whose real name was Terry Gene Bollea, has been embroiled in controversy. The tabloid website Gawker was shut down after it published parts of a sex tape between him and his friend's wife. Hogan sued for privacy and won $140 million in damages.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, but was kicked out a decade later after another undercover tape showed Hogan using a racist slur. He was inducted back into the Hall in 2018.
He was married three times and had two children, who starred alongside him and his first wife Linda in the reality television show"Hogan Knows Best" from 2005–2007.
