Clearwater wrestling legend Hulk Hogan dead at 71

The man known for ripping his shirt open, a bleach blonde horseshoe mustache, and calling everyone “brother” is gone.

Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea, died at 71-years-old in Clearwater on Thursday.
Clearwater Fire and Rescue were called to his home at 9:51 a.m. for a reported cardiac arrest, per a city release. He was later pronounced dead at Morton Plant Hospital.

At a 1:30 p.m. press conference, Clearwater Police Department Maj. Nate Burnside told reporters that Hogan experienced a serious medical-related issue and died at 11:17 a.m., adding that there are no signs of foul play or suspicious activity related to the call for service.

Hogan and his wife, Sky, battled rumors that he was dying over the last few weeks after complications from a neck surgery in May. It was one of more than two dozen surgeries Hogan underwent to alleviate back and neck pain after his WWE career.

While his presence was unmistakable at public events, Hulk hasn’t looked comfortable walking around for years.

Hogan grew up in a small home in South Tampa. He attended Robinson High School, Hillsborough Community College and University of South Florida. He dropped out of USF to pursue a music career when the band he played bass in got popular. Meanwhile, after watching wrestling on TV and at local matches, the teenage Hogan was persuaded to make a career change by pro wrestlers he met while lifting weights at Hector’s Gym.

Later, Hogan’s “Hulkamania” helped take professional wrestling into a niche, lowkey homoerotic sport into a beloved family entertainment industry in the ’80s and ’90s. He held one of wrestling’s longest championship reigns, including WWE’s title belt for 1,474 days. He officially retired from wrestling in 2012.

Through bizarre ups and downs of fame, including political and personal controversies, Hogan remained a household name.

His 2005-2007 VH1 reality TV show, “Hogan Knows Best,” launched his then-wife Linda, children Brooke and Nick, and their Belleair mansion into the spotlight. Brooke later got her own VH1 spinoff show and release two albums. He and Linda divorced shortly after.

In 2013, Hogan took news blog Gawker to court in St. Petersburg for invasion of privacy after the outlet released a sex tape that involved Hogan and the wife of his friend, Tampa radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. A $31 million settlement took down the company.

Another sex tape leak led to WWE revoking his Hall of Fame status in 2015. In the 2007 tape, Hogan used racial slurs to refer to a Black man dating his daughter. After Hogan apologized, WWE reinstated his status in 2018.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, Hogan went through a public religious journey where he took to social media to say America needs Jesus rather than a vaccine. Two years later, he falsely implied that Betty White died at 99-years-old as a result of a COVID-19 booster shot.

Through the years, he maintained an empire of products from light beer to vapes to restaurants. 

Some concepts stuck, and some didn’t. His Pastamania restaurant in the Mall of America closed a year after opening in 1995. Hogan’s Hangout, where he frequently met with fans, has been open for five years in Clearwater Beach.

In 2024, he launched “Real American Beer”—endorsed by Trump and targeted to fellow MAGA followers—with an event at MacDill Air Force Base. A month later, he made headlines for ripping his shirt open during a 2024 Republican National Convention speech.

After being heavily booed at his final WWE appearance in January, his newly launched wrestling league was met with lukewarm reception.

This story will be updated.

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This article appears in Jul 24-30, 2025.