Terry Gene Bollea, better known to millions of fans around the world as Hulk Hogan, has died at the age of 71, his family confirmed. The wrestling legend passed away early Thursday morning at his home in Clearwater, Florida, following a cardiac arrest.
Hogan was a towering figure in professional wrestling and a global pop culture icon, whose influence reshaped the entertainment landscape during the 1980s and 1990s. With his signature handlebar mustache, red-and-yellow ring gear, and booming catchphrases like “Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you?”, he transcended the squared circle to become a household name.
He first rose to prominence after joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1983 under the leadership of Vince McMahon. Just a year later, Hogan captured the heavyweight title from The Iron Sheik in a match that ignited “Hulkamania”—a movement that catapulted professional wrestling into mainstream global entertainment.
His most iconic in-ring moment came at WrestleMania III in 1987, when he body-slammed the 520-pound André the Giant in front of a reported 93,000 fans in Pontiac, Michigan. The event is still widely regarded as one of the greatest spectacles in wrestling history.
Throughout the 1980s, Hogan held the WWF title for a then-record 1,474 days and headlined multiple WrestleMania events, firmly establishing himself as the face of the organization.
In a dramatic twist to his career, Hogan joined rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the mid-1990s and turned heel—a wrestling term for adopting a villainous persona—by forming the infamous New World Order (nWo) with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in 1996. The move revitalized his career and ushered in a new, edgier era of wrestling that captivated a new generation of fans.
Beyond wrestling, Hogan’s fame extended into Hollywood, appearing in films such as Rocky III (1982), No Holds Barred (1989), and Suburban Commando (1991). In the 2000s, he starred in the VH1 reality series Hogan Knows Best, which offered a glimpse into his family life and further cemented his pop culture legacy.
However, Hogan’s personal life was frequently in the spotlight for less celebratory reasons. In 2015, he was removed from the WWE Hall of Fame following the release of a transcript containing racist remarks. He was later reinstated in 2020 and remains a two-time Hall of Fame inductee—once individually and once as a member of nWo.
Hogan remained active in recent years, launching an amateur wrestling league called Real American Freestyle and appearing at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
He is survived by his wife, Sky Daily, whom he married in 2023.
Hulk Hogan leaves behind a legacy as one of the most recognizable and influential figures in the history of sports entertainment.
