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Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hulk Hogan's Honest Comments About His Serious Health Problems Prior to Death at 71
Hulk Hogan struggled with a variety of serious physical ailments due to his 30 years in the professional wrestling ring. The WWE legend died at age 71 in July 2025, mere weeks after a source exclusively told Us Weekly that he was recovering from 'pretty serious heart surgery.' While Hogan was at the peak of physical fitness in his 1980s heyday, his final years were riddled with back, neck and knee problems that limited his mobility. He underwent total back fusion as well as multiple knee and hip replacement surgeries. 'I had a physical therapist ask me, 'If you could be out of pain or you could have a perfect championship walk, what would you rather have?'' he recalled in a 2024 interview with Chris Van Vliet. 'I said, 'I'd rather have the walk.'' Hogan estimated in a September 2024 appearance on Logan Paul's 'IMPAULSIVE' podcast that he'd had 'like 25 surgeries in the last 10 years' in hopes of improving his mobility, though he'd only experienced marginal pain relief. Hulk Hogan Through the Years: From Wrestling to His Film Career and More Keep scrolling for a look back at Hulk Hogan's honest comments about his health problems. A Lifetime of Injuries Hogan walked TMZ through his long list of injuries, including multiple knee surgeries and a litany of back procedures. 'My knees are fake, the hips are fake, my back is full of metal and part of my face is full of metal,' he revealed. 'I didn't get the memo about the 'fake wrestling.' It's predetermined, we know who's going to win and lose, but what people don't understand is that it's very physical.' He then declared, 'Back in the '70s, when I started, I've still got teeth marks on my finger [from where an opponent bit me]. I had my eye reconstructed a few times … from getting hit in the face, nose broken 13 times, all these fake teeth have been knocked out six times. It's been a wild ride.' Physical Toll During his 2020 appearance on TMZ, Hogan claimed to have actually gotten shorter from his peak height of 6-foot-7 due to his various injuries. 'I was 6-foot-7 before the Rocky movie [in 1983],' he recalled. '[Now] I'm 6-foot-4 and a half … Fast forward 35 years later, dropping a leg drop every night on my spine, two knee replacements, two hip replacements, nine back surgeries. When you get older, you kind of crunch up a little bit anyway. All of those things added up, so it's very physical.' Career Regrets While speaking to Ariel Helwani on the 'MMA Hour' podcast in 2023, Hogan blamed some of his health issues on pushing himself too hard in the ring. The 12-time World Heavyweight Champion singled out his signature wrestling move — the Atomic Leg Drop — as being particularly damaging to his long-term health. 'After everybody says, 'Would you do anything different in your wrestling career?' Everybody always says no. I would have done something completely different,' he confessed. 'When you've got 'the largest arms in the world,' why are you dropping the leg every night for years and destroying your back? Why wouldn't you put people in the sleeper with the largest arms in the world? Why wouldn't you use the sleeper?' Inside Hulk Hogan's Life Out of the WWE Spotlight — From Hall of Famer to Beer Seller Hogan went on, 'Back in the day, the ring, sometimes the concrete was easier to land on than these old-school rings. If you go to the Baltimore Civic Center, they had a boxing ring. If you fell down in the ring, you would be paralyzed." '25 Surgeries' Hogan admitted to Paul in their podcast interview that he should have listened when his in-ring rival Andre the Giant warned him about taking too many physical risks. (Andre died at age 46 from congestive heart failure in 1993.) 'I've had like 25 surgeries in the last 10 years. 10 of them were back surgeries.' Hogan explained. 'Nobody told me this gimmick stuff was fake. I've had 10 back surgeries, both knees and both hips replaced, shoulders — everything.' He went on, 'At the end of the day, the equipment back in the day when I started wrestling in '77 was a little different than the rings and stuff you guys are working in now. [Andre the Giant] used to tell me, 'Boss, don't fall down. You won't get back up.' It was like a 22-foot boxing ring that had lumps in it, boards sticking up — it was horrible.' Mobility Problems Joe Rogan asked Hogan during a 2023 podcast interview whether all of his surgeries — including complete back fusion — had significantly alleviated his pain. 'I don't have the movement back,' Hogan admitted. 'The thing is, my knees and my hips are so old now because I had the left knee scoped three or four times, the right knee three or four times, then I had them replaced. Then, I had the hips replaced. They're all over 20 years old.' Daily Pain After more than 30 years in the ring, Hogan confessed to Chris Van Vliet in 2024 that 'everything hurts' on a daily basis, including performing simple tasks like brushing his teeth. 'If I'm going to brush my teeth, I can't lean on the counter and push away,' he said. 'When I'm done brushing my teeth, I have to lean in … and pull back. I can't push a glass door open. Everything in the gym is short strokes. I can't straighten my arms out. It's the same with my knees, my back, my hips and my neck.' 'Wrestled Too Long' Hogan acknowledged that another factor in his myriad of health problems is that he 'probably wrestled too long.' The Hulkster had his first match in 1977 and last stepped into the ring for TNA Wrestling in January 2012. 'I [told my wife Sky Daily] I'm in pain all the time but I'm used to it,' he told Van Vliet. 'My go-to in the morning, just to get me rolling is two cups of coffee and two Tylenol. That's it. That's as far as I go, as far as the pain pills go.' Meet Hulk Hogan's Family: Details on His Multiple Wives, Kids and Public Estrangement Hogan also confirmed that he also took edible marijuana to help with his sleep issues. 'I don't like not to [not feel] normal and clear-headed,' he added. 'If I can't sleep or I have a hard time sleeping [I'll take an edible] and it knocks me out like a baby.'
Toronto Star
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Hulk Hogan's face now resembles a 1970s station wagon. His zebra-dyed beard is a cautionary tale for all men
To get our minds off real problems, let's discuss Hulk Hogan's face. Now, I don't want any trouble with Mr. Hogan. At 71, he is still capable of coming to my house and beating me with one of those folding chairs before putting me in traction with the Atomic Leg Drop. He has warrior DNA. He is a wrestling legend. What I must respectfully ask: Sir, do you own a mirror or did Trump steal them? The Hulkster was on 'Fox & Friends' Thursday morning. He was there to promote a new venture, Real American Freestyle. Why the world needs a new wrestling league is unclear. But 99 per cent of viewers didn't hear a word of his rassling pitch because they were too distracted by his new look: two-tone beard. The signature handlebar 'stache is white as snow. The rest of his facial hair appears to be spray-painted with black Tremclad. His face resembles a '70s station wagon. Even a shivering chipmunk would not nest in that hirsute mess. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Does Hulk have a stylist who is obsessed with Oreo interpretive art? Is he on a mission to hybridize Santa and James Harden? And when did a midlife crisis drift from Ferrari to Fu Manchu? To gauge if a celebrity fails to promote a new business, just track the headlines following the media hit. Do the stories cover the new business or something else? Let's say I decide to market a new vodka. I name it Starka. My publicist books me on 'CBC Morning Live' with the dazzling Heather Hiscox. She asks me vodka questions. But viewers are watching and thinking, ' Why did this moron paint his teeth bright red?' Headlines following Hogan's Fox interview: 'Hulk Hogan Looks Dramatically Different After Severe Change to His Face.' 'WWE Star Hulk Hogan Concerns Fans With 'Unfortunate' New Look.' 'Oh, Brother! Hulk Hogan Raises Eyebrows with Dramatic New Look.' 'Hulk Hogan's Horrifying New Look on Fox News Sparks Viewers' Concern.' In one screen grab making the social media rounds, Hogan's visage is worsened by bulging eyeballs. He looks like he sat on a bed of nails or accidentally donated money to AOC. I wanted to yank his cobalt sunglasses off his red bandana to cover up his chin. My takeaway: men over 50 should stay away from all follicle dyes. George Clooney. Tom Cruise. Rudy Giuliani. It's always a visual disaster. You know how we have age requirements for drinking, voting or driving? We should have a dye age limit for men. You're 27 and want a purple crewcut next month? Fine. Mister, how about you? Oh, you're 65? You want the salt-and-pepper to magically regress to just pepper? Sorry. We can't legally sell you Just for Men. That's like crack cocaine. You'll get addicted. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW And then you will never stop looking … off. Hulk Hogan's face is not just a reminder that we are not supposed to resemble Roland keyboards. It is proof men are now under the same tectonic pressures to look great that women have endured for decades. Here's the problem: women are just better at looking great. Unlike Hogan, no woman would strive to simulate a zebra. It's not happening. This is why aging men should not feel any shame with flip-flops or Hawaiian shirts. Be comfortable in your own skin and hair. Lean into all those years you triumphed without peroxide. When I was a kid, my mother would urge my dad to dye his hair. She had a real problem with grey. I don't know what product was used. Maybe it was Grecian Formula. Maybe it was something off-brand from Little India. Maybe dad locked himself in the bathroom and rubbed his skull with a hockey puck for two hours. Then he'd emerge and ask, 'How do I look?' Not wanting to risk my allowance, I'd say, 'Two minutes for looking so good!' He'd laugh. But we both knew I was lying. He looked … off. Pops, your hair should not have the same reflecting sheen as licorice. I'm taking a stand. I am willing to die on this artificial hill. No more hair or beard dye for men over 50. It's enough already. That bottle of Touch of Gray is a Pandora's Box toward a Touch of Unnatural. Put it down or risk side-eye from strangers. Once you screw around with potions, radical grooming is next. Per CNN this week: 'Why Men Are Shaving Off Their Eyelashes.' Look what you've started, Hulk Hogan! Next, men will be sewing their ears into sexy shapes. Brother, please either shave or stop treating your face like it's a Franz Kline canvas. We old men deserve warrior role models, not more cautionary tales.
