Multiple WWE Legends Reportedly Set For Hulk Hogan Tribute Show
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The professional wrestling world is mourning the loss of one of its most important and recognizable figures, Hulk Hogan, who passed away on July 24 at the age of 71. Tonight, WWE is preparing to honor the life and career of "The Hulkster" with a major tribute on Friday Night SmackDown.
According to a new report from PWInsider.com, the company is bringing in a stacked lineup of wrestling legends and Hall of Famers to pay tribute to their friend and colleague.
Legends To Appear At Tribute
The PWInsider report confirms several names are scheduled to be in attendance for tonight's special tribute segment. The list includes some of Hogan's closest friends and contemporaries from the "Hulkamania" era.
Confirmed names include Gerald Brisco, Brian Blair, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. WWE has reportedly contacted numerous other legends to either appear live or film tribute packages for the show.
More news: WWE Superstar Announces Retirement Match
Heartbreaking Final Days
The tribute comes as new details have emerged about Hogan's final days. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Hogan's health had rapidly declined following a neck surgery on May 14. The report states he was suffering from renal failure and severe COPD.
FILE - Hulk Hogan attends the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment 2015 Upfront at The Jacob Javits Center on May 14, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Hulk Hogan attends the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment 2015 Upfront at The Jacob Javits Center on May 14, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Evan Agostini/AP
Sources close to the situation told the Observer that Hogan was in home-hospice care. Emergency services were called to his Clearwater, Florida, home on July 24 for cardiac arrest, and he was later pronounced dead.
The Immortal Hulk Hogan: A Global Icon
It is impossible to overstate the impact Hulk Hogan had on professional wrestling and global pop culture. After winning his first WWE Championship from The Iron Sheik in 1984, he launched "Hulkamania," a phenomenon that, combined with the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" with MTV, turned WWE from a regional wrestling territory into a global entertainment powerhouse.
He was the main event of the first WrestleMania and the undisputed face of the industry for an entire generation. In 1996, he shocked the world by turning heel at WCW's Bash at the Beach, forming the New World Order (nWo) with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.
This act of betrayal was one of the most pivotal moments in wrestling history, launching the Monday Night Wars and reinventing Hogan for a new era. His larger-than-life persona led to movie roles, television shows, and a level of mainstream celebrity that no wrestler before him had ever achieved.
He was, and will forever be, "immortal."
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