Hulk Hogan: Wrestling Superstar and Face of Hulkamania Dies at 71

Hulk Hogan was an American professional wrestler, actor and entrepreneur who became the biggest star in wrestling history as the face of Hulkamania. Born Terry Gene Bollea on August 11, 1953, in Augusta, Georgia, he helped turn professional wrestling into a mainstream pop-culture phenomenon in the 1980s.

Hogan won the inaugural IWGP tournament in Japan in 1983 and defeated The Iron Sheik for his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1984. In 1990 and 1991 he became the first wrestler to win back-to-back Royal Rumble matches. In 1994 he joined WCW and went on to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times. He also starred in films such as Rocky III and No Holds Barred and in the reality series Hogan Knows Best.

Hogan married Linda Claridge in 1983, Jennifer McDaniel in 2010 and Sky Daily in 2023, and had two children, Brooke and Nick. He died on July 24, 2025, in Clearwater, Florida, at age 71. Remembered as the larger-than-life hero of a generation, he left an unmatched mark on sports entertainment.

Achievements: First IWGP Heavyweight Champion (1983), won his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship (1984), first wrestler to win back-to-back Royal Rumbles (1990-1991), six-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion (1994 onward).

Birth: August 11, 1953 - Augusta, Georgia.

Profession: Professional wrestler, television personality, actor and entrepreneur.

Interesting Facts: Hogan introduced the term "Hulkamania" on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1982. He also fronted the Wrestling Boot Band, whose album Hulk Rules reached No. 12 on a Billboard children's chart in 1995.