The wrestling world was shaken Thursday when news broke that Hulk Hogan, one of the most recognizable figures in sports entertainment, had died at the age of 71.
Fans around the globe woke up to tributes flooding social media from wrestling icons who knew him, worked with him, or grew up watching him redefine what a superstar could be. The Rock wrote about the man who paved the way. Ric Flair called him one of the greatest to ever step into a ring. The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, and countless others shared memories that felt raw and unfiltered, as though even they were struggling to process what had happened.
Rest in Peace, Terry Bollea aka The Immortal Hulk Hogan 🕊️💐
To millions of little kids you were a childhood hero – myself included.
In 1984, I gave you your “HULKSTER” headband back, in the locker room in Madison Square Garden – I was the lucky kid caught it when you threw it… pic.twitter.com/6kl67EZ8g1— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) July 25, 2025
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
— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) July 24, 2025
R.I.P Hulkster, thank you for opening up doors for so many people in the business including myself. There would not be a Kurt Angle, without the American Made, Hulk Hogan. My heart and prayers go out to his family. We lost a real icon today. pic.twitter.com/HgUqiNXKBb
— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) July 24, 2025
Hulk Hogan was a true legend. I was fortunate to work with him a couple of times, including this memorable one. It was easy to do a Hulkster impersonation when, like millions of guys my age, I’d practiced it in the mirror a thousand times growing up. #RIPHULKHOGAN https://t.co/8iRfUDy0D8 pic.twitter.com/h7Un65D7KD
— Kane (@KaneWWE) July 24, 2025
But the announcement wasn’t simple. It wasn’t peaceful. Reports say medics were rushed to Hogan’s home in Clearwater, Florida, early Thursday morning. A 911 call for “cardiac arrest” set off a frantic response from Clearwater Fire & Rescue. Paramedics worked on him there, then loaded him onto a stretcher, and then into an ambulance.
Somewhere between the home that fans had often seen in interviews and the hospital doors that would close behind him, one of wrestling’s most enduring heroes took his last breath.
Questions immediately started swirling. Just last month, there were rumors about Hogan’s health. People whispered about his surgeries, his recovery, and what he might be facing behind the scenes. His wife Sky tried to stop the speculation. She told TMZ his heart was strong. She said he was recovering, just dealing with symptoms after a neck procedure in May. Her words seemed to put people at ease—until now.
Hogan wasn’t fading into the background. He was still building, still dreaming. In 2020, he had been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame again, this time with the NWO, the renegade group that flipped wrestling in the ’90s. And in recent months, he’d been promoting something new: Real American Freestyle, an amateur wrestling league with its first event planned for Aug. 30 on Fox Nation. Fans were already buying tickets.
And now, the man who had body-slammed giants, who had carried arenas on his shoulders, was gone.
The wrestling world has lost a true legend. His contributions to our business are immeasurable and for that I am appreciative.
Thank you, Hulk Hogan. pic.twitter.com/aV4gdTcq4S
— Undertaker (@undertaker) July 24, 2025
WWE would not be where it is today without the larger-than-life characters that compete in the ring … and few, if any, loomed larger than Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea.
He was the archetype of what it meant to be a “Superstar” – a global sensation that inspired millions to work… pic.twitter.com/wXpgFvAhHA
— Triple H (@TripleH) July 24, 2025
HULK HOGAN – THE GREATEST OF ALL
Can’t thank you enough for all that you did for me and for wrestling fans all over the world. I loved you and I will miss you.
My friend, Terry Bollea, RIP pic.twitter.com/DoM4tGaRHT
— Sting (@Sting) July 24, 2025
The tributes continue. The questions only grow louder. And the wrestling world is left holding its breath, waiting to understand how a legend could be here one month, planning his next chapter, and then suddenly, shockingly, gone.
