Wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan has died, his manager confirmed. He was 71.
Manager Chris Volo told NBC Los Angeles that Hogan died at his home in Clearwater, Florida, surrounded by family.
Clearwater Fire and Rescue responded to his home at 9:51 a.m. Thursday for a reported cardiac arrest, according to a media release from the city. Hogan was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.
Hogan, whose given name is Terry Bollea, attained pro wrestling stardom in the 1980s and 1990s and was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s five-decade history. He was the headliner for the first-ever WrestleMania in 1985 and became a fixture at the event, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even company chairman Vince McMahon.
He won six WWE championships and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 by Sylvester Stallone.
But he was able to transcend his “Hulkamania” fan base to become a celebrity outside the wrestling world, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, including a reality show about his life on VH1, “Hogan Knows Best.”
Wrestling legend Ric Flair paid tribute to his “close friend” Hogan, writing in a post on X he is “absolutely shocked” to hear about his death.
I Am Absolutely Shocked To Hear About The Passing Of My Close Friend @HulkHogan! Hulk Has Been By My Side Since We Started In The Wrestling Business. An Incredible Athlete, Talent, Friend, And Father! Our Friendship Has Meant The World To Me. He Was Always There For Me Even When… pic.twitter.com/rOWLakMjr4
— Ric Flair® (@RicFlairNatrBoy) July 24, 2025
In a statement, World Wrestling Entertainment said it’s “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. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans,” the post on X read
Despite his accomplishments in wrestling and role into taking the sport mainstream, Hogan’s career in the last two decades was tarnished with controversies.
In 2013, he filed a $100 million lawsuit against the website Gawker for posting part of the sex tape of him with Heather Cole, the ex-wife of Hogan’s one-time friend and radio show host Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. The trial was salacious and exposed lurid details of his private life. A jury eventually awarded him $140 million in the invasion of privacy lawsuit and he eventually settled with the company for $31 million. The years-long legal wrangling led to the media company’s bankruptcy and the shutdown of Gawker.com.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. severed ties with Hogan in July 2015 on the heels of an audio release that contained him using repeated racial slurs to describe a man his daughter was dating at the time. He was scrubbed from the WWE website and removed from the Hall of Fame.
At the time, Hogan apologized for using “offensive language” and called the scandal the hardest thing he’s ever been through. In 2018, he was reinstated into the organization after “numerous public apologies and volunteering to work with young people, where he is helping them learn from his mistake.”
Hogan is survived by his two children, 37-year-old Brooke Hogan and 34-year-old Nick Hogan, with whom he shared with his first wife Linda Bollea. Hogan married his second wife, Jennifer McDaniel, in 2010 and divorced 11 years later in October 2021. In 2023, he married his third wife, Sky Daily.
Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke Hogan is breaking her silence on her family’s rift.
Last month, Hogan underwent neck surgery amid chronic neck and back issues caused by years of brawling in the ring. He opened up his over two dozen surgeries during an interview on Jake Paul’s podcast last year.
“I’ve had like 25 surgeries in the last ten years. 10 of them were back surgeries,” he told Paul on the “IMPAULSIVE” podcast. “I’ve had 10 back surgeries, both knees and both hips replaced, shoulders — everything.”
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
