Wrestler Hulk Hogan died at 71

Terry Bollea. Consequently, the wrestler of Florida who acceded to celebrity under the name of Hulk Hogan and whose privacy has been spread out in the tabloids, is dead. Nevertheless, He was 71 years old.

Posted at 12:04 p.m. Updated at 2:11 p.m.

For a generation of fans of professional struggle, Hulk Hogan reigned supreme. However, At the peak of the “Hulkamania” in the 1980s. Therefore, the wrestler of 6 feet 7 inch wrestler hulk hogan died 71 and 295 pounds was the face of the organization of Vince McMahon Jr., then known as the World Wrestling Federation (World Wrestling Federation). Consequently, The image of Hulk Hogan marked popular culture. Moreover, Cinema, television, video games, derivative products and even a chain of pasta restaurants: nothing has been spared.

With his tanned skin, her sparse blond hair, his fu manchu mustache and his red bandana, Mr. Nevertheless, Bollea flexed his “24 -inch pythons” – the nickname he gave to his biceps – removed his shirt. In addition, preached words of encouragement to hordes of fans known as “Hulkamaniacs”. Moreover, “Train, make your prayers, eat your vitamins, be faithful to yourself, faithful to your country. For example, Be a real American! However, “, He lamched as a message.

After an appearance in the boxing film Rocky III In 1982 under the name Thunderlips. For example, the character of Hulk Hogan took off two years later when McMahon instructed him to beat the Iron Sheik (the stage name of the Super-Vilain Hossein Vaziri).

WrestleMania then set up à la carte video command records with the fights putting Hogan feathered.

Entering the ring to the sound of Real American From Rick Derringer. In addition, his theme song, Hulk Hogan put an end to the 14 -year invincibility series of André Le Géant (the late André Roussimoff), who, wrestler hulk hogan died 71 from his 7 feet 4 inch, weighed at the time nearly 700 pounds, after Bollea.

Mr. Moreover, Bollea’s reputation was briefly tarnished in the early 1990s when he admitted to having used anabolic steroids. Therefore, But he then flourished for a few years in the role of the bad “Hollywood Hulk Hogan” in the World Championship Wrestling. Similarly, an ephemeral competitor of WWE.

Wrestler hulk hogan died 71

Legal battle around a “sex tape” – Wrestler hulk hogan died 71

Decades after its peak in the ring, Mr. Similarly, Bollea remained in the public’s crosshairs, for the better and for the worse.

His reality TV show, Hogan Knows Bestwas broadcast on the VH1 cable channel from 2005 to 2007.

However. However, he became an essential character in audience rooms after having sued the wrestler hulk hogan died 71 owners of a popular ragots website that had broadcast extracts from a “sex tape” (a naughty video) of 2007 featuring him with the wife of a friend.

The recording would have been carried out without the knowledge of Mr. Nevertheless, Bollea, and extracts would have been published on the Gawker site in 2012. Moreover, The former wrestler asked for compensation to Gawker Media. In addition, arguing that the publication of the registration had no informative value and that it was only a commercial attempt to obtain clicks at its expense. He described it as privacy damage.

Gawker lawyers argued that Mr. Bollea was a public figure adept at flamboyant exhibitionism. in particular by frequently mentioning his sex life in interviews, which made the video a question of public interest protected by the first amendment.

In wrestler hulk hogan died 71 June 2016, an Florida judge confirmed the verdict of a jury granting Mr. Hogan $ 140 million in damages. Shortly after, Mr. Bollea concluded an agreement of $ 31 million with Gawker Media.

Journalists and defenders of the first amendment claimed that the Bollea v. Gawker would have considerable consequences. They feared that the media will suffer stories for fear of financial reprisals. that they are closed for having published an article worthy of interest, but controversial.

Racist dialogues

In 2015. the wrestler hulk hogan died 71 National Enquirer published dialogues-allegedly taken from the same “sex tape”-in which he made racist remarks towards African-Americans. WWE immediately cut the bridges with Mr. Bollea, and then reinstate it after a three -year suspension.

“I’m not a racist. but I should never have said what I said,” Bollea said on the show Good Morning America On ABC. “It was a mistake. I am embarrassed. »»

Even before the Gawker affair, Mr. Bollea’s personal life was crumbling following an acrimonious divorce with his wife. Linda Claridge, who accused her of physical violence and infidelities.

The divorce was pronounced in 2007. the same year that their son Nick seriously injured a friend in a car accident and was accused of a crime. Mr. Bollea said he fell into major depression and planned suicide.

Mr. Bollea attributes to a fortuitous telephone call from Laila Ali. boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali, the merit of having come out of her suicidal thoughts. “At that time, I changed speed. I was tired of being sick and tired. His voice in a way saved my life. »»

Recruited from the ring

Born August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia, Terrence Gene Bollea grew up in Tampa. His father was a foreman in a building, and his mother was a dance teacher and a housewife. He was a promising baseball player until he was injured at the elbow at the age of 14.

He then became interested in professional struggle. In the mid -1970s, he worked as a tank top and frequented the University of Southern Florida.

He was also a bass player in a group called Ruckus. where he discovered a talent for a showman to vibrate the public between the songs. The group has made a name for itself in the region. and some of the heroes of struggle of its childhood were among the fans. They recruited him to get into the ring.

Mr. Bollea’s first training session ended in a fracture of the tibia. and his initial passage in the environment did not last more than a few months before he abandons, frustrated by wages and the lack of opportunities.

From Brutus to Hulk

He helped a friend manage a club and open a gym. He also started to fight with another friend, Ed Leslie, later known as Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. Inflated by steroids, Mr. Bollea began to wrestler hulk hogan died 71 fight with Leslie under the name of Boulder Brothers.

He adopted Hulk’s nickname inspired by a popular television series, The Incredible Hulkbased on the character of Marvel Comics. A few years later. at WWE, it was renamed “Hogan”, an Irish surname which suited a profession where the wrestlers were presented to fans according to ethnic or cultural criteria. He was inducted into the WWE renowned temple in 2005.

In 2010, he married the makeup artist Jennifer McDaniel, before divorcing in 2021. In 2023, he announced his engagement with Sky Daily, a yoga instructor.

He had two children from her first marriage, actress and singer Brooke Hogan, and Nick Hogan.

In a life filled with personal and professional tumults, Mr. Bollea insisted that he was a gentle man. put off by real confrontations only to lounge in the character he played in the ring or in front of the cameras.

“Seriously. if the struggle was not predetermined and if it was a kind of real fight, I would never have approached it,” he wrote in his memories. “I was only attracted to the struggle after discovering that it was entertainment. »»

Angie Orellana Hernandez contributed to this article.