Hulk Hogan Dies: Pro Wrestling Icon & Actor Was 71
By Patrick Hipes Patrick Hipes
Executive Managing Editor
July 24, 2025 9:18am
[IMG2=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“full”,“src”:“https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/GettyImages-93351528.jpg?crop=0px%2C32px%2C3000px%2C1682px&resize=681%2C383”}[/IMG2] Hulk Hogan in 2009Paul Kane/Getty Images
Hulk Hogan, who served as a main catalyst for launching pro wrestling off the top rope and into the pop culture stratosphere when he joined the World Wrestling Federation and became perhaps its biggest star, died Thursday in Clearwater, FL. He was 71.
WWE confirmed his death but did not reveal the cause. TMZ, which first reported the news, said Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) suffered cardiac arrest at his home. Related Stories
The news comes three days after Fox Nation secured rights to air Real American Freestyle, the wrestling league started by WWE Hall of Famer Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Chad Bronstein.
Born on August 11, 1953, in Augusta, GA, Hogan often was a polarizing figure in and out of the squared circle. Billed as 6-foot-7 and 300-plus pounds, his pro wrestling career began in the late 1970s, and he joined what then was known as the World Wrestling Federation in 1979. His first stint at WWF lasted only a couple of years but included memorable bouts with the likes of Andre the Giant and others.
He moved to grappling in Japan and then to the American Wrestling Association before rejoining WWF in 1983. Soon after that, Hulkamania was born.
Billed as hailing from California’s Venice Beach, where he had been a regular as its famed Muscle Beach, Hogan helped fortify WWF’s mid-’80s heyday, when it — and he — became a pop culture phenomenon. Resplendent in his signature bandannas and tear-away shirts, the brawny wrestler pinned his first title belt by beating uber-heel The Iron Sheik in early 1984. Fans went wild.
Around that time, Cyndi Lauper released her signature hit “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” whose video won MTV’s first VMA for Video of the Year and featured WWF manager Captain Lou Albano. Pro wrestling had entered the zeitgeist, and Hogan was on its throne.
He developed a fierce rivalry with Andre the Giant and in 1985 was the showpiece of WWF’s inaugural WrestleMania — an event that went on to be the biggest night in pro wrestling. Famous for his lurching, oiled-up flexes, Hogan would reign as king of the ring for years. He went on to join Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling in 1994, where he remain for the rest of the decade.
Early in the new millennium, Hogan made a brief return to WWE — which was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002 after a lawsuit by the World Wildlife Federation — before moving on to other pro wrestling entities. He returned again in 2005 for two years before bouncing among other groups and finally landing at WWE for a short fourth stint in 2014. He would come back to WWE yet again in 2018, where he would spend the rest of his career.
Hogan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, but a racism scandal derailed his career a decade later, with WWE terminating his contract and stripping his HoF status. He would be reinstated in 2018.
MORE TO COME…
Not a fan but I recognize his impact on pro wrestling.