CLEARWAER, Florida — Terry Bollea, universally known by his wrestling persona Hulk Hogan, passed away on Thursday at the age of 71, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has confirmed.

Bollea is widely revered as arguably the most influential wrestling star of all time, instrumental in transforming WWE into the global entertainment powerhouse it is today.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Bollea’s larger-than-life personality, both inside and outside the ring, propelled him to household name status and made him a mainstream crossover celebrity, appearing in films and gaining international recognition.

“WWE is 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,” the company announced in a post on X. “WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans.”

The city of Clearwater, Florida, released a statement indicating that police and fire personnel were dispatched to Bollea’s residence following a report of an individual in cardiac arrest. Upon their arrival, fire and rescue crews provided treatment before transporting Bollea to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. TMZ was the first to report the news.

With his iconic boasts of possessing “24-inch pythons” for arms and his rallying cries to “say your prayers and eat your vitamins,” Bollea was a pivotal figure in wrestling’s “golden era” of the 1980s. His immense popularity and legendary rivalries with figures such as “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, André Rene Roussimoff (André the Giant), and “Macho Man” Randy Savage helped professional wrestling evolve into a multi-billion-dollar industry throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

His groundbreaking decision to depart the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the mid-1990s sent shockwaves across the wrestling landscape. His subsequent “heel turn” – the wrestling term for a hero transforming into a villain – in 1996, and his subsequent run as “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, became one of the most memorable periods in wrestling history.

This era notably propelled WCW to usurp Bollea’s former company in television ratings for an unprecedented 83 consecutive weeks, marking the last time WWE trailed another wrestling company in traditional popularity metrics.

Hulk Hogan, the longtime pro wrestler whose real name is Terry Bollea is dead.

However, his tenure in WCW would eventually sour, particularly following his involvement in the infamous “Finger Poke of Doom.”

This incident, where wrestler Kevin Nash feigned injury after a mere poke from Bollea, allowing Hollywood Hogan to once again become WCW champion, controversially exposed professional wrestling’s predetermined nature to a degree previously unseen.

This event sent the company into a period of crisis, alienating fans to the extent that WWE was ultimately able to acquire its competition for a relatively modest sum.

Bollea eventually returned to WWE as a full-time performer in the early 2000s, famously engaging in a celebrated match against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at WrestleMania X8. The contest between two of wrestling’s biggest-ever stars generated an electric atmosphere at Toronto’s Rogers Centre (then known as the SkyDome).

“The Hulkster” spent a few more years with WWE before once again venturing to a competitor, signing with Total Nonstop Action (TNA) wrestling in 2010. His time with TNA, however, was not as lauded, as Bollea and other older wrestling stars were frequently featured on programming to the perceived detriment of younger talent, leading to disillusionment within the company and among its leadership.

According to the City of Clearwater, 71-year-old resident Terry Bollea, best known as Hulk Hogan, was treated by Clearwater Fire & Rescue crews before being taken by Sunstar to Morton Plant Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

He departed TNA after three years, without achieving the same level of success he had enjoyed during his early WCW run challenging WWE’s dominance.

The WWE Hall of Famer would later return to the company, but his legacy was significantly tarnished in 2015 when a video surfaced showing him making racial slurs. At the time, WWE terminated his contract and removed many mentions of him from its website.

Bollea subsequently apologized for his comments, which he stated were recorded in an “unauthorized sex tape,” according to the Enquirer, and included the N-word in reference to his daughter, Brooke’s, dating life.

He later issued a public apology, stating, “Eight years ago, I used offensive language during a conversation. It was unacceptable for me to have used that offensive language; there is no excuse for it; and I apologize for having done it.”

That particular sex tape also played a pivotal role in the bankruptcy of Gawker, an acerbic website that frequently targeted pop culture and governmental figures in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Hulk Hogan, the mustachioed, headscarf-wearing icon in the world of professional wrestling, has died at age 71.

The website’s publication of the tape led to a prolonged lawsuit concerning the outlet’s invasion of Bollea’s privacy, culminating in a $115 million judgment that bankrupted the website and marked a significant moment in media law.

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While Bollea reportedly apologized to the WWE locker room for his offensive comments, many wrestlers publicly stated they never forgave him. His reception at subsequent appearances within the company—he returned in an on-air capacity in 2019 and made sporadic appearances until his death—often received mixed reactions, sometimes even outright boos from the crowd.

Bollea’s death occurred just over a month before the inaugural event of his new wrestling company, Real American Freestyle. This new venture aimed to provide a larger platform for traditional, Olympic-style wrestling, distinct from WWE’s sports entertainment format, with its initial event scheduled for August 30.

As of early Thursday afternoon, the company had not yet responded to a request for comment regarding Bollea’s passing.

Michael Wandati is an accomplished journalist, editor, and media strategist with a keen focus on breaking news, political affairs, and human interest reporting. He is dedicated to producing accurate, impactful journalism that informs public debate and reflects the highest standards of editorial integrity.

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