Several police cars and ambulances were parked outside Hogan's home in Clearwater, Florida, on Thursday morning, as the famous wrestler was taken away on a stretcher to an ambulance. Officers received a call at 9:51 a.m. local time that something was wrong with the WWE icon. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Just a few weeks ago, Hogan's wife Sky denied rumors that he was in a coma, saying his heart was"strong" while he recovered from surgery.

Hulk Hogan is one of the people most responsible for the extraordinary rise of American professional wrestling, or WWF (now WWE), from a niche entertainment program to a global powerhouse in the mid-1980s and 1990s. Hulk's in-ring theatrics appealed to children and their parents, giving the mix of sport and soap opera immense power.

He was a"true American"

The beginning of "Hulkamania" is attributed to the victory over the Iron Sheik in 1984. Hulk's golden mustache and long golden hair, covered with a distinctive bandana, became one of the most recognizable symbols of the time. With the famous song"Real American" (Real American), he helped spread a sense of patriotism in the United States, and exported American values to the East.

A turnaround followed in 1996, when he transformed from hero to villain and changed his name to Hollywood Hogan, which made him even more famous. In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was removed again after a scandal broke out due to his racist comments while he was secretly filmed having sex. In 2020, he was inducted into the hall for the second time, but in the role of"villain". His last major public appearance was in 2024, when he wowed the crowd at the Republican National Convention.