Former WWF/WWE Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan Passes Away

Thursday, July 24th, former WWF/WWE Superstar and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan passed away at the age of 71, due to a cardiac arrest, living in Clearwater, Florida. Authorities responded to a call Thursday morning about a cardiac arrest. Hogan was pronounced dead at a hospital, police said in a statement on Facebook.

He defeated the Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden on January 23, 1984, allowing him to make a run for four years and a month, until he lost his title controversially against André the Giant on NBC’s WWF’s Saturday Night’s Main Event on February 8, 1988. As twin brother Earl impersonated Referee Dave Hebner as Hogan was pinned, lifted his right arm to avoid a three count, but Earl continued to slap the mat three times and award Andre the Giant with Ted DiBiase at ringside to win the title.

Later that year, at WrestleMania IV in the Atlantic City Convention Hall, the WWF had a single-day 14-man knockout tournament that had both Hogan and Andre the Giant battle to a double disqualification, which led to Randy “Mach Man” Savage Winning the title over DiBiase with Hogan at Ringside supporting him.

Hogan won the WWF/WWE World Championship another five times, along with a Tag Team Championship with Edge, Won two consecutive Royal Rumbles, and entered the WWE Hall of Fame twice as a single wrestler in 2005 and when he was in WCW (World Championship Wrestling) New World Order with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, as well as winning the WCW Championship six times as well.

Hogan was also part of the Rock and Wrestling era, which featured other former superstars like Rowdy Roddy Piper, The Junkyard Dog, Big John Studd, Tito Santana, Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, Cowboy Bob Orton, Wendy Richter, and the Fabulous Moolah in a Saturday morning cartoon series. Hogan’s entrance music, called “Real American,” was produced by Rick Derringer and sung by Bernard Kenny.

He was also in several movies like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky III as Thunderlips in a charity match, No Holds Barred, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Mr. Nanny, Thunder in Paradise, Spy Hard, and nine others while being friends with Mr. T. and his The A-Team Show, his reality show called Hogan Knows Best and his Daughter’s show Brooke Knows Best, and 18 other shows.

Anytime Hulk Hogan was scheduled to wrestle at Madison Square Garden, that was always a tough ticket to get. I can definitely say I saw him twice, live. Once at the Garden itself, the second time was at the small theater originally in the back of the Garden on 8th Avenue at the former Felt Forum (Now Called The Theater at MSG) when they had overflow and sold tickets to watch it on a big movie/video screen.

His tag lines were always memorable. He would always tell the kids to “Say Your Prayers, and Eat Your Vitamins,” and whenever he would finish his microphone rant time, it would be toward his opponents, “WHAT’CHA GONNA DO! WHEN HULKAMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU!”While the wrestlers of today are faster, stronger, and more dynamic, they will never have the charisma and flamboyance of Hulk Hogan and what he did in his era.