Pro wrestler Hulk Hogan has died at age 71 following a reported cardiac arrest at his Clearwater, Florida home.
RIP Big Dude.
Just read this, and came here to post.
I wasn’t a fan of his, but I’m surprised.
He was a BIG, very bulky dude and a body-builder, both of which tend to contribute to a shorter lifespan despite all the muscle and physical fitness. Though 71 is still kinda young for a wealthy man in this day and age.
There were a few years when I was a wee little Odesio that I absolutely loved pro-wrestling. From 4th through 7th grade I made sure to watch the WWF (and GLOW when available) whenever possible and then I completely lost interest for reasons I don’t understand. Maybe I discovered girls? Hulk Hogan was my favorite wrestler of course. And while I haven’t cared for him as a person over the last twenty years, I do appreciate the fond childhood memories I still have.
Honestly, whenever a wrestler I like manages to make it into their 70s I consider it a victory. So many of them die young or suffer debilitating physical problems as they age.
Like a lot of athletes he traded his body for his career. You can’t be that harsh on yourself and expect to live well into your golden years.
I’m not. First, he was in his 70’s. That’s not instantly fatal but it’s getting up into the age range where death is not exactly a shock. Still sad, but not entirely a surprise.
Second, he had admitted to using steroids during his wrestling career. While that is not always fatal it’s also not good for you. Misuse of steroids is associated with early death. Given Mr. Hogan lasted until 71 that might not have been a factor but it certainly didn’t help him any in regards to long-term survival.
Third, he’s been having health problems in recent years, and that’s usually not conducive to long-term survival, either. If nothing else, his back problems would have been limiting his mobility/exercise which, again, is not helpful.
Fourth, he recently (so it is said) had surgery on his neck back in May I’m not entirely sure why, probably an old wrestling injury, but complications from surgery could be a factor here.
So, with all of the above, I’m not entirely surprised.
Exactly so. Even if wrestling is scripted, it’s still a high-impact athletic endeavor, and between the training, collisions, and (very likely) performance-enhancing drugs, it tends to wreck the bodies of its participants.
In unbiased memoriam:
“When they took a shot at my hero, and they tried to kill the next president of the United States,” Hogan said, tearing off his outer layers to reveal a Trump-Vance tank top, “enough was enough, and I said, let Trumpamania run wild, brother. Let Trumpamania rule again. Let Trumpamania make America great again!”
Also during the 2024 campaign, the wrestler threatened to body-slam Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, also making fun of her biracial background.
Stranger
Damn straight. One less MAGAt. Screw 'em.
“He didn’t know a wristlock from a wristwatch.” – Gorilla Monsoon on Hulk Hogan
Aside from being a racist fuckwad, Hogan was horrible in the ring, but great on the mic. He made a major contribution to the popularity of professional wrestling in the ‘80s…but it came about mostly because the Iron Sheik was such an awesome heel (and a bit later, because Andre the Giant willingly allowed Hogan to “slam” him).
I won’t miss him.
I remember in junior high during Rock and Wrestling and the WWF was getting hot. Just about everyone in school was talking about pro wrestling and Hulk Hogan, even a friend of mine told me about some match with Hogan and Bob Orton in excruciating detail. I didn’t have cable then and I hung on every word about the confrontation. Hulk Hogan was bigger than life. He was big, clad in bright yellow and red, and reminded his little Hulkamaniacs to always eat their vitamins and say their prayers. I finally got to see him wrestle and it was pretty spectacular.
A couple years later, I remember another friend who quickly dismissed Hogan as a wrestler. He rarely wrestled, all he did was punch, body slam, and leg drop, and his interviews were repetitive. My friend cited the likes of Roddy Piper and Randy Savage as better wrestlers and I started to side with him on that. THOSE guys were entertaining.
Later, I learned how Hogan kept Jesse Ventura from forming a wrestlers union because that might hurt his position at the top of the WWF. He also was pretty notorious backstage, politicking to protect his top spot, not working with wrestlers he didn’t think were worthy or who worked too stiff, and changing his matches when he wasn’t happy with the booked outcomes. Much later still, his awfulness became more known, and he was booed relentlessly at his last WWE appearance in January.
Not a great guy really, but it is hard to imagine what wrestling in the 80s would have been without him as a focal point. For kids, he was bigger than life, like a real live superhero and he had this charisma that people wanted to see.
Right. As far as I can tell, he was the last living wrestler from when I watched back in the 80s. Everyone else that I recall watching from those days is long since deceased*. Compare that to other pro athletes that played in the 80s, whether baseball, soccer, basketball, or even football, and the difference is very obvious. Wrestling is way worse for the health than other sports.
*. Ok, I think Undertaker is still alive, but I can’t think of any others.
I dropped in mostly to bitch about his anti-unionism, but I see that’s been covered.
I was never a fan, but RIP.
Here’s WWE’s career retrospective.
Wrestling wouldn’t be where it is without him, for good or for ill.
He made millions of wrestling fans with Hulkamania and the nWo. He dazzled the world with his WrestleMania matches against Andre, Macho Man, Warrior, and The Rock.
Yeah he was a horrible human being even before all the Trump nonsense.
Was a fan as a child, when I learned that he was a complete garbage person then I quickly became a hater.
That, or he died a long, long time ago. Before he started wrestling. I was never sure.
I watched his interviews in the recent Vince McMahon docu-series and he came off as ridiculously astute and rational (as did the other wrestlers out-of-character). He helped bring us to the point where almost any public figure on the right is mostly cosplaying a character whenever they appear in public. And a certain segment of the public just eats that shit up.